Our Thoughts on Hearthstone's Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Shaman Cards

The Shamans are getting down to business in the Darkmoon Faire Deathmatches - and also having a bit of their usual fun too!

What can I say about these reviews that hasn't been said before? A lot, actually, but most of it would be lies so I probably shouldn't. It'd be pretty unprofessional to make wild claims about something that can't actually be backed up in any way. Anyway, these reviews will literally save your life one day and also probably rescue stray animals and find them homes or something, they're that good.

"I'll spin for you like your favourite minions used to!"

Quote From ShadowsOfSense

I adore this card. The theming of it is so perfect, making wonderful use of the setting to bring us a new twist on the Evolve Shaman mechanic.

The card is also quite good, on multiple levels. As a disruption tool it works well against decks that want to buff their minions, acting as a pseudo-Silence on them; by shifting around minions at the same mana cost, you can also likely mess with any planned synergies or set-ups that your opponent was working on. Using this to transform a board of Beasts into random other minions, for example, could be a neat way of stopping further steamrolling.

This isn't foolproof, of course. Switching things around at the same mana cost means that unless they'd been buffed, on average minions will remain largely the same threat level. It'll definitely be something you need to keep an eye on when considering whether or not to Revolve a board - are these minions better or worse than the average outcome you might expect at this mana cost?

You can also take advantage of this, of course, by pairing it with your own weaker than average minions. Battlecry Shaman decks with things like Desert Hare would probably quite enjoy shuffling around their minions, though they do have better versions of that effect in other cards already in Standard (such as Boggspine Knuckles). The utility of this card affecting both sides of the board is great, however, and there's certainly room for a redundancy of effects.

All it wants is a clean fight - you can be as unfair as you like.

Quote From Demonxz95

This is the first of the new Weapon Shaman cards. At the very least, Weapon Shaman can't possibly be any worse than Freeze Shaman. Hopefully they actually commit to supporting the archetype instead of what they did to Freeze Shaman.

I can see this card being quite good. The obvious comparison here is Cavern Shinyfinder which was used to fetch out Kingsbane, and it even costs the same amount of mana. Cavern Shinyfinder ended up being quite good at what it did, so I suspect this would do the same thing. If you have a high-priority weapon in your deck that you want to draw, this card lets you do that. Even just a 2/2 for 2 that draws a card, it isn't too shabby. Even if Weapon Shaman doesn't work out, I can see this card working out somewhere. If you want to play The Fist of Ra-den, this tutors that perfectly.

Bug Fix: Made it easier to be considered worthy of using Stormstrike.

Quote From Avalon

Potentially a 3 mana deal 6 damage. Sure, the burst damage must target minion, but with the rest you can always decide to either go face or kill an enemy minion for the early control of the board. You can compare it to Shadow Bolt, but Stormstrike is much more flexible, to the point that it's incredible.

Another must-include in the new Enhancement Shaman.

It's not much, but at least he's the master of something.

Quote From Noxious

Lovely card, in that same frustrating way Saronite Chain Gang and Wolpertinger are! For the cheap price of corruption (formerly known as everything!), enjoy a complimentary duelist on the house. Somehow, the vibe is get from this card is a reverse Nightbane Templar - stats-wise, that is. Pit Master is certainly better, but the higher total stats (7/5) per effect (TSE? You heard it here first) is offset by the fact that the card's full potential cannot be achieved on curve. I think this card will do great in Arena and battlecry-centric Wild decks, and who knows, it could find use in Standard as well, perhaps to a lesser effect than its sister game mode.

They moved the Faire to Darkmoon Isle after getting a few too many complaints from Elwynn Forest residents.

Quote From Avalon

The most interesting part of this weapon is that it curves perfectly with Cagematch Custodian, which is a very good starting point for the new enhancement Shaman. For what regards the card itself, it is a Fiery War Axe that grants resilience to your board, allowing you to get early control of the table and make some efficient trades. 

Shaman's rise will probably happen because of cards like this one.

Don't worry, the Tanks are used to taking the fall anyway.

Quote From Avalon

Considered in its base form, Dunk Tank is just a slightly worse Jade Lightning; however, when corrupted it becomes an incredibly powerful spell: not only you're able to retain the direct damage, but you also get a one-sided AoE, very useful if you're a Midrange deck and you're playing against some pesky aggro opponents. Furthermore, let's not forget that Scholomance Academy gave Shaman Rune Dagger (which could also rise in importance given the whole "enchantment" Shaman archetype that's been pushed in Darkmoon Faire), so Dunk Tank can potentially be seen as a 4 mana deal 5 and clear for 3. Not too shabby.

Shaman has plenty of removals right now, so all it's left to see is which are the best ones and how they can be combined into a winning list. All this said, Dunk Tank seems an okay card depending on the meta.

It's not the winning, it's the taking them apart that counts.

Quote From Noxious

Cheap and versatile card, with an effect I would describe as… rarely seen in Shamans, compared to the other weapon-wielding classes. On its own, Deathmatch Pavilion summons an empty-text 3/2 minion. If your hero attacked, it summons two, which can be quite powerful on turn 2. How hard is that to achieve? Aside from a strong mulligan (and the coin in hand), right now in Standard Shamans can only pull that off with Scholomance Academy's own Rune Dagger, or Stormforged Axe. The card, can, of course, have value past the early game as well, but with how many big, strong and value-for-cost minions are pouring into the game this Hearthstone Year, I fear Deathmatch Pavilion will see some success, but not too much in the meta. If the Duelists were totems, I'd be saying something nicer right now.

Wild Shamans have access to three additional 2-cost weapons, but I still doubt this card will be popular outside of whatever baloney deck could emerge in that game mode at any second, and relentlessly dominate the meta for the next three years. It is so wild that is could even contain Deathmatch Pavilion.

Playing off ritual sacrifice to summon famous people to help you as a 'trick' is the real magic here.

Quote From Avalon

What if Weaponized Piñata and Witch's Cauldron has a child? Magicfin covers the same role of Underbelly Angler, which is giving value to an aggro deck that relies on sheer face damage in order to finish the gas as late as possible. In other words, a value generator card that sometimes can give you the missing damage you need to close the game. Random legendaries are usually bad, but ifs you're playing them just for their bodies you could actually steal some wins.

However, my concern is that I'm not sure this is what Murloc Shaman needs in order to be back on the meta menu: some other classes (mainly Hunter and Demon Hunter, but also Rogue and partially Warrior) are able to do much more unfair plays in the early game. Magicfin has high meme potential as is far from being unplayable, but I don't see Shaman getting out of the dumpster thanks to it.

I'm suddenly overcome with the need to grab a bow and arrow...

Quote From ShadowsOfSense

Eye see what you did there.

This is a pretty powerful tool for a Totem Shaman deck, one which demands answering before it builds up too much potential. I must admit that I'm not totally up-to-date on the Totem meta, but from what I understand we're far from the days of meme decks and much closer to actual viability and power. It's great to see another card that supports this, especially the long-awaited Legendary Totem. Even back when Tuskarr Totemic was able to pull Totem Golems, it was merely a powerful swing tool rather than part of a total Totem package.

Combine this with Totemic Reflection and Splitting Axe - which is even a perfect on-curve play - and I think you're looking at something worth playing. We may have to get used to the idea of being beaten to death by a determined piece of wood from more than just Druids.

Her reflexes are lightning fast, but it's her showmanship that'll really shock you.

Quote From Avalon

Doomhammer on a stick. Combine it with weapon buffs like Rockbiter Weapon or the new Stormstrike and you get insane burst damage. Very interesting minion, which grants immediate impact on the board even without a previously equipped weapon and a must kill for the opponent.