Reviewing Hearthstone's New Warrior Cards Arriving in Forged in the Barrens

The full Forged in the Barrens set has been revealed and it's time to look at all the new cards and look at how Warrior will be doing this expansion. We'll be breaking each of the Warrior cards down,

• You can see all the new cards in our Forged in the Barrens expansion guide.
• Our deckbuilder will let you theorycraft your own decks using the new cards before the expansion arrives.
• You can simulate pack openings in our Forged in the Barrens Pack Opening Simulator.
• You can do your best Kazakus impression by trying out our Build-A-Golem Simulator.

Keep in mind that this is an early look at the class before we've been able to play with the new cards, so while we try to be as accurate as possible in our predictions of what is to come, no one can perfectly predict the Hearthstone meta - although many brave souls have surely tried and perished in the process. Let's see how we might fare here: 

Warrior Deck Themes in Forged in the Barrens

Lok'tar Ogar! For a Horde-themed expansion, there is no better representative than our bulky Orc. Even if his career as Warchief might not exactly make for the most inspiring leadership material, here in the Hearthstone universe the rules are different. As we travel to and from The Crossroads, picking up our comrades in arms, a clearer picture of the battles to come emerges: 

• Rushing Frenzy! - Rokara, Overlord Saurfang, Warsong Envoy, Stonemaul Anchorman, Whirling Combatant

That's quite a rabid pack. Prominently featuring the new mechanic along with a very prominent not-so-new mechanic. Warrior always had access to Frenzy, in a way, through various Enrage abilities (good ol' papa Grommash Hellscream), and the class is definitely no stranger to finding good triggers for them. We're really, really going to miss Inner Rage now (not to mention Battle Rage). Up to Slam our own minion in a pinch? I suppose there is always Whirlwind and Cruel Taskmaster as well. Rush has also become the mainstay in the class (heavy contender Bloodboil Brute, we even adopted Crabrider; then further rocking that theme with E.T.C., God of Metal), perhaps Athletic Studies and Stage Dive may find more opportunities to shine. And hey, Warsong Commander got another rebranding to be able to fit in.

• Taunt Control! - Mor'shan Elite, Rancor Outrider's Axe, Bulk Up

Remember any expansion that didn't try to make Taunt Warrior somewhat of a thing? Me neither. Maybe now is the time, at long last. As it has been many times before.... hrm. Feat of Strength gets its chance to shine? Ah, probably not if there is lots of hard removal out there. Nobody seems to remember In Formation! and Scrap Golem much either. Both the new weapon and the board clear seem to provide some really nice building blocks, I'm curious whether the value potential with War Cache might pay off. 

• There Be Handbuffs! - Conditioning (Rank 1), Conditioning (Rank 2), Conditioning (Rank 3), Bulk Up

So that's what Stage Hand was doing there! Sneaky. The whole handbuff mechanic was a prominent feature in Paladin once upon a time, although Warrior is not a complete stranger to it either (takes us back to tri-class Grimestreet Smuggler and Don Han'Cho from Mean Streets of Gadgetzan). At this point, it feels like Overlord Runthak might as well come over and become a Warrior card. We would find a place for Blademaster Samuro as well, why not. I'm actually hopeful about this becoming a thing. 

But, let's have a look at the Forged in the Barrens class cards themselves in a little more detail:

Rokara

Bet you envy that hair styling.

Probably the most prominent of all Mercenaries we've been introduced to so far, Rokara has been a notable presence in the trailer and throughout various art pieces from the expansion. She will also be our first story to follow in the upcoming Book of Mercenaries come early April. And how does she present herself as a Warrior card? 

In all honesty, not looking particularly powerful for the cost and the Legendary tag. I admit that I was expecting something far more earth-shattering given the amount of early name recognition. But perhaps that will come once our mercenary grows in power in further expansions. For now, Rush is always useful in a pinch, even if mainly for removing tokens with that basic statline. That said, we know the initial Attack and Health can be buffed further - something that is true for all Warrior minions. Athletic Studies discount might also prove crucial. 

If you have a larger board with initiative, Rokara offers mass buffs. +1/+1 isn't much, but it adds up. Minions that hit the opponent's face survive by default. And she should be able to buff herself. If the upcoming metas become more minion combat-based rather than ruling with powerful spells, I could see this package make its mark.

Overlord Saurfang

"Rumor also has it that Saurfang once cleaved three men in half with one swing... of his hand".

There is a legend in his own right. One of those huge Horde hero names who took their time making an appearance in our card-slinging universe. Clearly, Anduin has taught him a Priestly thing or two. And why isn't he a Warrior hero skin yet? 

This feels more deserving of that precious Legendary status, although we're clearly missing Rush and Sweeping Strikes baked in here. What, a man can dream. Who would've thought we might see a Resurrect mechanic in Warrior of all classes. The body itself isn't particularly threatening for its mana cost, so it's all going to boil down to this special effect. 

Besides the likes of Stonemaul Anchorman and Whirling Combatant (sometimes you might fancy that board clear combo, other times it might hurt your own minions a bit too much), there is a bunch of Neutral minions that fit the bill. Blademaster Samuro comes to mind naturally, followed by Taurajo Brave, Razormane Raider, Barrens Blacksmith (debatable use), or that Peon card we probably shouldn't mention. Will the dream of a new era Gruntled Patron Warrior ever come true? 

Looking forward to experimenting with this particular interaction. And perhaps the upcoming Mini-Set will have even more Frenzy support to offer, to allow Overlord Saurfang to spread his immortal fame even further.

Rancor

Rancour, Ranker... however, you wish to spell it.

Now there's a new word to put into our personal dictionaries if it wasn't already there. Never say Hearthstone cannot be educational (it's not just teaching you math for missed lethal and confusing card interactions). I predict many will come to feel a certain amount of bitterness and resentment towards this effect. 

Considering how Bladestorm can often be rendered ineffective by a single small minion on the board (although this might change with Frenzy effects in play), it's interesting to get a double-sided Holy Nova of sorts, which stacks in terms of armor gain. We usually only land with conditional board clears for Warrior, so this feels fairly plain and easy to use in comparison. 

You probably wouldn't want to deal 2 damage to your own minions for no reason just to trigger one Frenzy effect, but as a handy survival tool... Lord Barov absolutely approves.

Outrider's Axe

"Meet my newly sharpened Warsong axe".

New set, new warrior weapon. Tradition must be honored thus, and this one is shaping up to become very handy. 

Card draw and weapon in one neat package can never be overlooked, although it's not as simple as that. Going face means no extra cards, and trying to attack any bulky minions repeatedly might result in rather quickly depleting Health and Armor. There is also getting in the way of Sword Eater if running both. 

So it's not quite the Ancharrr level many would like it to be, but that doesn't mean Outrider's Axe is without its merits. Rush and Frenzy can soften up any minion beforehand, and it should be a great answer for clearing anything smaller while cycling through our deck. Corsair Cache is still there to help us get our hands on the weapon quickly.

Mor'shan Elite

That poor training dummy has clearly had enough.

These Horde names just roll off the tongue nicely, don't they?

This one is interesting for a number of reasons, having multiple synergies across the board. Outrider's Axe can play an extra role when we pair them together, and so can any other weapon; even as gifted by Sword Eater. Add to that any potential handbuffs, copying with Bulk Up... the guy sure might increase his mass. 

Our own buffed up Occult Conjurer, where having an equipped weapon might be easier than owning an active secret. That Taunt effect could prove to be even more crucial than it seems.

Whirling Combatant

"You spin me right 'round..."

Whirlwind effect on a stick, just what a good Warrior appreciates. This might look familiar in a way, when we consider past weapon interactions such as Death's Bite or more closely, Blood Razor. 

It goes without saying this should prove useful for clearing smaller boards, as well as triggering other Frenzy effects. You can never ignore 6 Health on a minion that comes down relatively early. We saw a similar Battlecry effect on a much smaller body with Ravaging Ghoul back in the day, and that often proved to be a staple. 

Looking at all those shiny 4-cost cards we just went through, I guess Kazakus, Golem Shaper is going to be a tough sell in Warrior.

Stonemaul Anchorman

"Breaking news, he's got a very heavy AnchArrr!"

Pirate Ogres represent! What more could we possibly wish for?

In some ways slightly more expensive and slightly more inferior than Militia Commander, but the card draw alone is huge, often more than making up for the good ol' Chillwind Yeti statline. Nowadays we've also got our Athletic Studies and Stage Dive to go along with.

Even with base 5 Health and Rush it shouldn't be too difficult to get the effect to trigger, and when we add up all potential buffs... Might be a favorite to get back off Overlord Saurfang.

Bulk Up

"Make sure to get enough protein, kids".

It's a Taunt-themed buff that's more than just a simple buff, so the card has that going for it. Getting an extra minion rather than just a small stats boost is always worthy of some consideration. 

Historically, Taunt cards for Warrior did not have the greatest reputation. Bolster and Into the Fray found few faithful supporters. Feat of Strength was openly mocked just last expansion. 

But with Mor'shan Elite entering combat and even more general buffs to be found, perhaps now is the time. There is always a use for more than one Sword Eater. Could Gold Road Grunt and Scrap Golem find their chances to shine? Will somebody try to live Carnival Clown or Scrapyard Colossus dream? Personally, I'm curiously looking towards Arena powerhouse Ruststeed Raider.

Conditioning

"Ten, thirty, fifty... keep going, never enough push-ups."

Here is a new Hearthstone exercise for you: ten push-ups after every win, twenty after every loss. This card is going to bring bad luck otherwise if included in the deck without honoring that sacred deal. Once you reach the highest level of expertise, imagine doing so while holding your phone in the other hand. Need to productively fill that time during your opponent's turn! 

This card could look so tempting in the ideal world. Early game it's just worse Smuggler's Run, and we give up either Hero Power or a cheap minion if we want to use it at the start when there are several minions in our hand. 5 mana looks like the most appealing breakpoint, but can we afford to skip a turn by then, or find something decent to do with the remaining 3 mana (Rokara)? At 10 mana it's a nice chunk of stats, sure, but how likely it is to have more than a couple of minions in hand when that happens? If any. Might take a truly greedy deck for a somewhat questionable pay-off. 

We've been conditioned not to expect much from handbuffs - that mechanic always worked better in theory than in practice. Each Standard meta is different, admittedly, and we seem to be heading towards more old school Hearthstone. One where there is less crazy tempo and less infinite generation with immediate answers for everything. Maybe it won't be as punishing to wait a little instead of frantically trying to develop or clear the board. Maybe.

Warsong Envoy

"Hey, look, I captured the flag! Huh, what do you mean it's our flag?"

Last and most absolutely the least, we've got this guy. I remain doubtful his flag-carrying abilities might amount to much. 

It's a different, better take on Warbot. He gets more attack when either or both heroes are also damaged, but for any kind of benefit, we would still need to trigger that Frenzy effect with the minion surviving. There is a nifty combo with Cruel Taskmaster for getting an early 4/2, but most of the time we shouldn't expect such an ideal mulligan. 

The card could find its place if we have to defend against a lot of 1 Health minions early on. Otherwise, the trading potential remains poor if there are no cheap means (while not wasting another card in the process) to activate that Frenzy beforehand. 

Theorycrafting Push-Ups Warrior in Forged in the Barrens

There are honestly not enough card slots in the deck for including all the fun stuff. Also known as a "common first world Hearthstone problem". I would like far more space to be able to accommodate the whole Frenzy/Rush/Taunt brigade. We need a proper party. 

So what it's about? Heavy board presence in later turns, fair tempo, ramping up towards overwhelming opponents with the stats while keeping up a good pace of cycle throughout the deck. Praising Overlord Saurfang. 

I do have a soft spot for Enrage, Taunt, and Rush in equally fair measure (although I do recognize how too large of a presence of the latter two mechanics could become problematic for certain decks to deal with), and something like this would be a dream come true. 

We can only predict the upcoming metas so much, and what goes in and out of a deck largely depends on what we're going to face most often. If Hearthstone can return to its roots with fighting for the board and accumulating gradual advantage, I can see the potential for similar gameplans. If there are still many ways to efficiently clear multiple minions with silly spells (hi, Hysteria) while generating more cards, then it's not going to fare nearly as well. 

Corsair Cache might prove to be unnecessary, given all the other card draw. There is always that risk of finding all your weapons before getting the tutor effect and then being stranded with something useless in hand, as all former Bomb and Enrage Warriors might well know. 

And also don't forget to do your push-ups regularly, otherwise, it's just not going to work! 

Closing Thoughts on Warrior in Forged in the Barrens

I'm very much looking forward to this one. Lok'tar Ogar! Here is to fighting for the board! Just your fair blood and sweat. 

Almost all class cards from Forged in the Barrens look reasonably strong and useful, able to support several varied directions. And they seem to gel together rather well, along with the bits and pieces from all expansions from the preceding Year of the Phoenix. The Core Set might be the least inspiring of the bunch, but it's supposed to be introductory cards after all. And somebody might attempt that most greedy Control Wallet Warrior thing once again. 

Horde themes and Frenzy mechanics, there might not be a better fit for Warrior for quite a while. It should continue fighting for dominance at the top of the Hearthstone meta. 

Ah, I'm not sure if there is much else to add that hasn't been already covered at length above. Do your push-ups? 

What do you think about Warrior in Forged in the Barrens? Do you have any favorite "must-craft day 1" from the cards showcased above? Specific deck archetypes you are itching to try? Notice any spectacular synergies nobody else seems to have thought of? Let us know in the comments below!

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