The Happy Hearthstone Podcast
 

The Happy Hearthstone Podcast

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The longest running Hearthstone podcast in the history of space and time and cards. Join GuyGrumpy and a rotating host of guests from The Happy Hearthstone community as they help you get better at the game and have a blast doing it.

Episodes

Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Review - Episode 84

Wednesday Dec 21, 2016

Wednesday Dec 21, 2016

Happy Feast of Winterveil! Josh and Scot have prepared the ultimate stocking stuffer for you: an epic 4-hour-long episode of Happy Hearthstone!

We review every single card in the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion, and tell you what we like about it, what we hate, and fight over the final scores — all for your entertainment and maybe even (dare I say it?)… EDUTAINMENT!

Don’t forget to check out our Review scores spreadsheet, which has individual comments and scores from each of our four Review Panel experts (Josh, Scott, Ryan, and Matt)!

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The Links

Hearthstone Group Play Art

Hello!

  • Scott is the guest this weeek!
  • Topic: Review EVERY SINGLE Mean Streets of Gadgetzan card — it’s 4 hours long!
  • Reasons to be happy this week

Review Scoring Guide

The Spreadsheet

Below, you’ll find a very basic summary of our thoughts on each card. To get all the juicy details and drama that rose up between our panel of 4 reviewers during the review process, check out the official Happy Hearthstone Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Review spreadsheet.

In it, you’ll find all the good stuff you see here on this page, plus individual scores and comments on every single card by each member of our review team! I hope you enjoy it!

A huge thanks to Matt, Scott, and Ryan for putting in tons of time and effort to help us do this review.

The Review

This list contains our Scores (Constructed Score | Arena Score) and a very short comment.
Be sure to check out our spreadsheet for an in-depth analysis of every card by each person on our review panel!

Hearthstone MSG Common

Neutral Cards (Common)

Hearthstone MSG Rare

Neutral Cards (Rare)

Hearthstone MSG Epic

Neutral Cards (Epic)

Hearthstone MSG Legendary

Neutral Cards (Legendary)

Hearthstone MSG Druid

Druid Cards

Hearthstone MSG Beast

Hunter Cards

Hearthstone MSG Mage

Mage Cards

Hearthstone MSG Paladin

Paladin Cards

Hearthstone MSG Priest

Priest Cards

Hearthstone MSG Rogue

Rogue Cards

Hearthstone MSG Shaman

Shaman Cards

  • Call in the Finishers: (4|2) – Prays day and night for a combo. Broken when it finds it.
  • Jade Lightning: (4|2) – In a Jade Golem deck, does major work.
  • Jade Chieftain: (4|2) – Bigger mana premium than most Jade Golem cards.
  • Devolve: (3|2) – Scott thinks this is hot garbage.
  • Jade Claws: (4|3) – Rogues everywhere are jealous. WTB!
  • Jinyu Waterspeaker: (4|4) – Underrated effect can have a big impact.
  • Finders Keepers: (4|3) – Double Overload synergy!
  • Lotus Illusionist: (3|4) – Please not Big-Time Racketeer! Only 6 downgrades out of 78 options
  • White Eyes: (4|4) – Good vanilla taunt unit, not sure how to combo well

Hearthstone MSG Warlock

Warlock Cards

Hearthstone MSG Warrior

Warrior Cards

Hearthstone MSG TriClass

Tri-Class Cards

  • Jade Spirit: (3|1) – You have to play all the Jade Golem cards if you play any.
  • Lotus Agents: (2|3) – Huge card pool means less control and more bad options that could pop up.
  • Aya Blackpaw: (5|3) – The lynchpin of all Jade Golem decks. Don’t play without it.
  • Grimestreet Smuggler: (3|3) – BOOORING!
  • Grimestreet Informant: (2|3) – SNOOZE!
  • Don Han’Cho: (5|5) – This woke us back up. Hello there, beautiful. Fun first, combo later.
  • Kabal Courier: (3|3) – Everyone wants Mage cards. Hello, Frost Bolt.
  • Kabal Chemist: (2|3) – Potions are just okay.
  • Kazakus: (5|4) – Life of the party. Incredibly fun, and his spells are overtuned.

Looking for more analysis? Check out our Review Spreadsheet for lots more insight and opinions!

Farewell

Join The Podcast

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Karazhan Review (Class) - Episode 78

Thursday Sep 15, 2016

Thursday Sep 15, 2016

Hello!

Review Scoring Guide (NEW!)

Hearthstone KAR Druid

Druid Cards

Enchanted Raven

  • Scott says: I’m less excited about this card than most people. I don’t agree w/ the hype. But I can sit over on the side with my hipster glasses eschewing the zeitgeist.
  • Josh says: Very good. Pre-emptively trumps every 3/2 and will keep them from playing them. Also gives a 1-cost Beast card that’s not bad, which combos great in druid Beast deck.
  • Arena Score: 4
  • Constructed Score: 3

Menagerie Warden

  • Scott says: Hoo boy. Now we’re talking. I already liked Beast Druid, though it wasn’t Tier 1 or anything. This will be a nice addition. The cost premium is a bargain, but being attached to a big body gives it a big enough cost that it’ll only come out late-game and will be hard to combo. Compares well to Ram Wrangler — this has more control (good and bad) but also charges 1 mana less for ability.
  • Josh says: Borderline Bonkers (BB?) when it happens. Blizz is determined to make Beast druid good and this card is blatant in its intentions. Only trouble is finding sticky beasts for the earlier turn, but is reasonable to expect that to happen.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 4

Moonglade Portal

  • Scott says: I’m not a fan of most of these portals. The health is fine, and the minion is fine, I guess. But meh.
  • Josh says: The “free” health is nice when you’re getting rushed down, but doesn’t usually help you win. That summoned minion is same-cost, randomized, and doesn’t trigger Battlecry effects. I’m not excited.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 2

Hearthstone KAR Hunter

Hunter Cards

Cat Trick

  • Josh says: Interesting to see all the classes slowly get all of the triggers. Seems like this will be more likely to proc in the upcoming spell-heavy meta.
  • Scott says: Not sure how I feel about this, as it saves you a mana, but at the loss of control and determinism. It does have a ‘mind games’ factor though. I think I’d rather have a 3/3 taunt as a secret trigger in many cases than the 4/2 stealth, as the 3/3 taunt can more actively disrupt their plans. Seems like this most wants to be in an aggro deck.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 3

Cloaked Huntress

  • Josh says: Secret Paladin’s baby sister isn’t going to win awards like her big bro. Dumping secrets out of your hand isn’t always a smart move. They don’t combo as well as Paladin or Mage secrets.
  • Scott says: Sure it synergizes with secrets, but I’d usually rather have more oomph than cheaper secret cost. This really only buys you tempo, so it implies it wants to be in a faster-paced deck.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 3

Kindly Grandmother

  • Josh says: I really doubt this card’s longterm appeal. Twilight Summoner gave you 5/5 for 4 to make up for the slowness. Here, you’re just waiting to get less than what you paid for in the first place.
  • Scott says: Yeah, this isn’t great. Both forms are beasts, so that’s something. Seems like it wants to be in a horde and/or beast deck. Seems a bit better than a 3/2 on its own, plus it’s got synergy potential.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 3

Mage Cards

Babbling Book

  • Scott says: Josh has a good bead on this. It may be possible to leverage synergies somehow, but by default, you shouldn’t be sacrificing control of the cards in your deck just so you can cast a 1/1 for 1.
  • Josh says: This seems like a trap. If you want mage spells, put one in your deck instead of this card. The 1/1 won’t do much and you’re likely to get a sub-optimal spell. Not much else for Mage to do on Turn 1 atm, but that doesn’t make this card good — it just means it’s likely to get replaced when good Turn-1 options exist.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 2

Medivh’s Valet

  • Scott says: Again, I find myself agreeing with Josh. 3 targeted damage is very good, but it means you’ll need to wait until later in the game to cast this. You can always cast it early in a pinch, but how often will you know you’re in a pinch on turn 2?
  • Josh says: Interesting. Obviously this guy wants to get played on Not-Turn-2. Insane value, but do cards like this typically win out over just a solid card that uses the full mana of the turn it’s meant to be played on? Seems like maybe it works well in spell Mage, who wants to have some mana leftover for a spell each turn?
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 4

Firelands Portal

  • Scott says: Probably my favorite of the portals, but that’s not saying much. Feels especially good in arena.
  • Josh says: Tempo king. It’s slow, but it’s worth the wait. It counts as a spell in decks that want only spells, and provides a solid minion option to that deck. Unlike healing, this is almost a guaranteed 2-for-1 with the flexibility to go face if needed.
  • Arena Score: 4
  • Constructed Score: 4

Hearthstone KAR Paladin

Paladin Cards

Nightbane Templar

  • Scott says: If you’re in a dragon deck, it’s pretty good. Otherwise it’s not. Probably fine. Works in a menagerie deck.
  • Josh says: Haha “Probably fine” is the perfect phrase for this. Standard risk-reward payoffs. Nothing special here. Could replace the Blackwing Technician (once it cycles out).
  • Arena Score: 1
  • Constructed Score: 3

Silvermoon Portal

  • Scott says: I’d much rather have Blessing of Kings.
  • Josh says: No thanks. You’re breaking even on vanilla stats. +2/2 gets “charge” BUT the summoned minion gets no battlecry — seems like a wash, leaving it as a randomized Chillwind Yeti. I want more nowadays.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 1

Ivory Knight

  • Scott says: This one has found a home in control paladin decks. A very solid mana sink near the end of the game, where the player with the biggest punches left in their hand often take control of the game.
  • Josh says: I was fairly confident this card is bad — just like a lot of Paladin spells, but I have to admit it’s looking good in practice. Discover is significantly better than a random card, and I underestimated how often you’ll get at least one good option offered to you.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 4

Hearthstone KAR Priest

Priest Cards

Purify

  • Josh says: I don’t think this card is quite as bad as the ragers are saying, but I agree it’s weak. I would love to see this at 1-cost, but there are some fun synergies!
  • Scott says: Agreed — cost should be 1. Does nothing on its own and has limited, very specific targets (who suffer if they don’t get this card comboed with them). Not sure why anyone would add this to a deck they want to win with.
  • Arena Score: NOT DRAFTABLE
  • Constructed Score: 2

Priest of the Feast

  • Josh says: Sub-par vanilla stats and a lame effect. Pass!
  • Scott says: Good vanilla stats and a decent effect for free! Take!
  • Arena Score: 4
  • Constructed Score: 3

Onyx Bishop

  • Josh says: I think this effect is EXTREMELY underrated (second-most underrated in the game). This guy’s a little clunky because he actually works against his own effect (the strength of spell cards like this is that they don’t dilute the pool of targets when played). Still, very solid. Only needs to grab a vanilla 2/2 to break even on stats. Needs to only get a 2/3 to be “good” — in the right decks, should almost always get WAY more than that.
  • Scott says: This effect generally gets better when cast later in the game, since you can get back more expensive minions. Isn’t great on minions w/ Battlecry. Seems solid.
  • Arena Score: 4
  • Constructed Score: 5

Hearthstone KAR Rogue

Rogue Cards

Swashburglar

  • Scott says: Great fun factor, but not great value. It’s nearly impossible to synergize w/ a random card, though class cards are above-average. Still, I think a random mage spell (in a mage deck) is better than a random class card in a rogue deck. Pirate synergy may help a little.
  • Josh says: I inititally liked this card more than Babbling Book, because this at least lets you do something you can’t at deck-creation. But I think you’re right. Combo synergy helps some, especially in Arena.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 1

Deadly Fork

  • Scott says: 2 overcosted cards in 1. Has some synergy potential, but not great.
  • Josh says: The 3-cost on the weapon that goes into your hand killed my enthusiasm for this guy. Still cool idea, but demands both your Turns 3 and 4.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 2

Ethereal Peddler

  • Scott says: I love the idea, and I hope it’s fleshed out more soon. But right there I just don’t think there’s enough synergy to warrant this, and that cards that give you random class cards just aren’t very good on their own. So this is really just a vanilla card with minor added value in a bad deck archetype.
  • Josh says: I have many conflicting emotions. It looks bad, but Blizzard is pushing the Burgle archetype pretty heavily. Maybe they seem some potential that I’m missing?. At its worst, it at least has solid vanilla stats.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 3

Hearthstone KAR Shaman

Shaman Cards

Spirit Claws

  • Scott says: 3/3 weapon for 1 is seriously intense. But folks don’t generally play spell damage anymore. So this is pushed to encourage that. And Shaman is a place where spell damage is better than most anyway.
  • Josh says: Heart attack. I’m in love.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 5

Maelstrom Portal

  • Scott says: They just out-maged mages. Weird. A good value, but low impact. Gets much better in the spell damage deck they’re trying to promote.
  • Josh says: I think this up for debate as the best portal in the set, with Firelands Portal. Shaman will have a kickass spell power deck, and this is a key part.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 4

Wicked Witchdoctor

  • Scott says: Works well in totem or hoard decks, or any deck w/ Thing from Below. Might also be good in heavy spell (and spell damage?) decks, as you could get extra air totems. Basic totems generally aren’t very good, and these could clog your board for better or worse.
  • Josh says: Plays well in the totem deck, for sure. Allowing duplicates of basic totems is a unique feature that does have some potential. Only needs one proc to pay for itself. Seems good.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 4

Hearthstone KAR Warlock

Warlock Cards

Malchezaar’s Imp

  • Josh says: I want to believe in this caryou can’t expect to get more than one turn with it. Seems like it could trick you into putting sub-optimal cards in your deck, so have to be smart when deckbuilding. That said, opens some cool Zoo variants and only asks for 1 mana.
  • Scott says: Is this effect better than taunt? Maybe in a discard deck, if that’s actually a thing. And it seems it might be. Discard Warlock could always hit fast and hard, but ran out of juice quickly. Effects like this may dampen that. A turn 2 Darkshire Librarian or Succubus after a Turn 1 Malchezaar’s Imp seems pretty good. And if you discard a Silverware Golem, fuggetaboutit.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 4

Silverware Golem

  • Josh says: I have a hard time coming up with reasons to need this in my discard deck that aren’t best-case scenarios relying on some good RNG. Discard deck has me nervous, and the payoff doesn’t seem that huge to me. Maybe in zoo?
  • Scott says: Hard to say how often this will proc. Clearly it only wants to be in a discard deck, but even then, how often will it do what it’s trying to do?
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 3

Kara Khazam

  • Josh says: Sometimes I confused “bad” with “boring”. This card isn’t bad, right? It’s just sooo boring.
  • Scott says: Seems pretty solid to me. 6/6 of stats for 5 mana across 3 bodies. If you’re playing Hordelock or maybe even zoo, this seems like a good addition.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 3

Hearthstone KAR Warrior

Warrior Cards

Protect the King!

  • Josh says: I’ve had a rollercoaster of emotions with this one. Seemed great at first. Lots of stats. But can never outpace the opponent, is constrained by board limit, and will likely give them great trade opportunities. I think it’s bad?
  • Scott says: I want to live the Bolster dream! Outside of that, though, I’m not sure it does what Warrior is trying to do. You can’t put this in a deck w/ whirlwind effects. Has some good synergies w/ cards like Frothing Berserker, Cult Master, King’s Defender, etc. Maybe would go well in an aggro deck if you want to protect your charge guys for another turn?
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 3

Fool’s Bane

  • Josh says: Violet Illusionist’s BFF. That turn-8 combo is going to be SOOOO FUN. Outside of that synergy, This is a dangerous weapon in reckless hands. Perfect name!
  • Scott says: I think I’d rather have an Arcanite Reaper? This is clearly good for control, but I’m not sure it’s great if you’re behind (unless you have Violet Illusionist.) Upgrade is pretty solid on this one!
  • Arena Score: 5
  • Constructed Score: 3

Ironforge Portal

  • Josh says: I’m bored. This is boring. You’re boring, Zoidberg!
  • Scott says: Boo this card!
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 1

Community

  • Questions: Buying the new Adventure
  • iTunes Reviews
  • Donations (More info)

Card of the Week

This is a FAKE card designed by Josh. It is NOT real. We talk about it on the show.
 Hearthstone Injured War HeroNerfed

Farewell

Read more

Karazhan Review (Neutral) - Episode 77

Tuesday Aug 30, 2016

Tuesday Aug 30, 2016

Hello!

  • Scott is on the show this week
  • Topic: Karazhan Neutral Card reviews!
  • Reasons to be happy this week
  • News: Karazhan is out!

Review Scoring Guide (NEW!)

Hearthstone KAR Common

Neutral Cards – Common

Arcane Anomaly

  • Scott says: Low-impact. If I’m going to play a 1-drop minion, I want it to have more impact or at least some synergy. A (very) poor man’s Mana Wyrm
  • Josh says: I’ll go one step further: this is bad. Very high-risk (dies to half the hero powers), very low-reward (2-damage yawn).
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 3

Runic Egg

  • Josh says: I wouldn’t play this for 0 mana, and would have to think about it at -1 mana.
  • Scott says: I don’t get it. At best, I work hard to get it to… Almost break even? I get my card back, but not my mana or those few minutes of my life.
  • Arena Score: 0
  • Constructed Score: 0

Netherspite Historian

  • Scott says: In a dragon deck, seems really good. Small mana premium for the ability, but huge upside. And a Neutral! This feels pushed to keep Dragon decks relevant.
  • Josh says: Deceptively strong. Always have to think about what you’re drawing with Discover. Dragons tend to be big, very strong, and often unique. Late-game gold.
  • Arena Score: 1
  • Constructed Score: 4

Pompous Thespian

  • Josh says: Can trade up, but will most often just break even or a little under. Seems like solid vanilla.
  • Scott says: Agreed. Solid vanilla. From a strictly stats perspective, I feel like it’s a good value. But from a configuration perspective, not as much. Less than the sum of its parts.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 1

Pantry Spider

  • Scott says: Beast keyword helps it. Some decks just want lots of minions, and this gets there. Low-impact, but good for beast and/or swarm decks.
  • Josh says: I can’t follow you into this charge, Scott. 1-attack is just so underwhelming. You’ll likely trade both into the same minion just to deal 2 damage.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 3

Violet Illusionist

  • Josh says: Extremely interesting in Warrior control/attrition. Guaranteed one effect, and that’s all it takes to make it worthwhile. Lots of upside.
  • Scott says: Agreed. Warlock can get some mileage from him too. In a self-harm warlock deck, he might actually make a big difference. Not sure it’ll see much play, but should always prevent a few damage over the course of a game in the right deck.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 3

Zoobot

  • Scott says: This card may skate under the radar, but has the potential to provide the overlooked value of a card like Houndmaster. It is a bit win-more, as you’re more likely to have more minions when you’re ahead. Feels like a rare case of a strong archetype anchor in neutral. It’s hilarious that it’s a mech.
  • Josh says: Deceptively strong. Think it will do well in any murloc, Dragon, or beast deck — particular zoo/aggro. One proc is good enough. Shattered Sun Cleric for the modern meta.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 4

Arcanosmith

  • Josh says: Am I wrong for preferring to just get a 3/5 body with taunt at this cost(Sen’jin Shieldmasta)? The 0/5 taunt feels like a throwaway.
  • Scott says: Hard to know how to judge this. Decks that want lots of minions will likely prefer this. And while the 0/5 will fall over quickly, the 3/2 can survive to attack. Strangely, I think this is an aggro-leaning taunt card.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 2

Menagerie Magician

  • Scott says: This is hard to evaluate. If you have coverage of 2 of the types, this is really, really good. But that’s a pretty tall order. Getting coverage of 1 type will be the most common scenario, and you may need to work a bit to even get that. Higher cost also means harder to combo. It’s also a little bit of a win-more card, since you’re more likely to have more cards on the table if you’re ahead.
  • Josh says: I agree. This sort of effect has diminishing effects as you get higher up the cost scale. Getting 2 bonus stats is less impressive when you paid 5 instead of 3. The penalty for whiffing is higher, AND you’re going to run into a lot of competition for top-notch dragons and beasts up in this cost range! Zoobot is better.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 2

Hearthstone KAR Rare

Neutral Cards – Rare

Avian Watcher

  • Scott says: You’d better be playing a secret-heavy deck if you’re playing this card. Just plain bad if it doesn’t trigger.
  • Josh says: Seems like a really low payoff (slightly above vanilla) for something that’s hard to guarantee outside of Ice Block.
  • Arena Score: 1
  • Constructed Score: 3

Book Wyrm

  • Josh says: As a rule, I generally dislike cards with 2 conditionals — especially if you can’t control one of them. That said, it’s similar to Stampeding Kodo, which saw high-level play despite hitting smaller targets and being random. There’s gotta be more potential here than I’m seeing.
  • Scott says: This charges you 2 mana for the ability, so it’d better fire with a worthwhile target to be worth it.
  • Arena Score: 1
  • Constructed Score: 3

Moat Lurker

  • Scott says: I love the versatility of this ability, but it comes at a huuuuge cost premium (3.5 mana). Most at home with deathrattle minions and shenanigans. (Cairne, Sylvanas, N’Zoth, Ancestral Spirit, Princess Huhuran.) Dat cost premium tho.
  • Josh says: Brilliant fun. So many potential uses for defense and offense. Works as a “heal” like Evolve does. But I agree that it’s too risky. It’s easy for me to best-case-scenario this, but when it comes to actually building a deck, I’ve found that I’m consistently avoiding it.
  • Arena Score: 2
  • Constructed Score: 3

Hearthstone KAR Epic

Neutral Cards – Epic

Arcane Giant

  • Scott says: Requires a very high spell density to be good, and even then, only in the later game. Can’t really be cheated out early like some other minions. You’re casting it late no matter what — the only question is whether you saved some mana.
  • Josh says: Mages just got a little more obnoxious. This guy is a powerhouse minion that gives massive late-game oomf to the spell-heavy decks like mage. The big difference between this and other big 8/8s is that you can cast a bunch of spells AND play this for 0 on the same turn to keep up tempo.
  • Arena Score: 1
  • Constructed Score: 4

Hearthstone KAR Legendary

Neutral Cards – Legendary

Moroes

  • Scott says: I really want to like this guy, but he’s got a lot going against him. Must survive 3+ turns to turn a profit, and that’s a bit of a danger sign. Good luck playing against warrior.
  • Josh says: Fun idea, but there are enough AOE/randomized pings to make me steer clear. (Fun fact: he was undead in the raid, but alive here. WHAT HAPPENED?)
  • Arena Score: 1
  • Constructed Score: 1

Barnes

  • Josh says: Worst case: 4/5 for 4 across 2 bodies. Best case is near-instant-win. Sylvanas, Tirion, Northshire Cleric. Grabbing anything with deathrattle or a passive effect makes this card insane value. There is so much strategy and fun packed into this card, I think it’s the high-water mark for design in this set.
  • Scott says: Priest and Rogue both have fun decks that work well with it. You need to be careful about what you put into the deck, though. Lots of room for fun shenanigans. And maybe a use for Purify since you can silence these to restore their full stats?
  • Arena Score: 4
  • Constructed Score: 5

Prince Malchezaar

  • Scott says: Pure vanilla stats, so his ability is ‘free’. The question is: Is the ability a net positive? In Arena, likely yes. In Constructed, likely no. I will say, if people like Elise so much, why wouldn’t Machezaar be better? (I think neither is good.)
  • Josh says: Awful. Dilutes the card pool, and there are a LOT of bad Legendaries. This card is for the dust-poor who simply must play every Legendary before they die. Elise doesn’t dilute your card pool or strip out your chosen cards until AFTER the payoff hits with the giant taunt monkey idol gold thingy. This guy sabotages your deck before the game even starts. It has all the downsides of Elise without any reliable upside.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 1

The Curator

  • Josh says: How many does he have to draw before you’re happy? I could see a two-tribe deck working well (beast druid with some high-end dragons?) and loving this card. Gotta use it like King’s Elekk in Yogg’n’Load to draw specific targets from a very limited pool of options in your deck.
  • Scott says: 2 mana premium for the ability. Agreed that 2-tribe is probably enough. I could see putting Murloc Knights or Sir Finley in the right deck too. I wonder how much natural coverage you’d get in an average arena deck without trying.
  • Arena Score: 1
  • Constructed Score: 3

Medivh, the Guardian

  • Scott says: The staff is pretty cool, and I love that they finally gave non-weapon classes something to do with their weapon slot. Could work well in Rogue? Not sure how good it’ll be. Seems much better in Arena.
  • Josh says: Cool effect, but is definitely slow. Can tempo mage afford to take a slow turn after they’ve built up an advantage in the early and mid game? With Arcane Golem, there are some fun incentives for something like Freeze mage to try to end via huge creatures at the end.
  • Arena Score: 3
  • Constructed Score: 4

Community

  • Questions: Buying the new Adventure
  • iTunes Reviews
  • Donations (More info)

Card of the Week

This is a FAKE card designed by Josh. It is NOT real. We talk about it on the show.
Hearthstone Scarlet Inquisitor

Farewell

Read more

Whispers of the Old Gods Review (Class) - Episode 72

Monday May 23, 2016

Monday May 23, 2016

Hello!

  • Scott is on the show this week
  • Topic: Whispers of the Old Gods Review (Neutral)
  • Reasons to be happy this week
  • News: Whispers of the Old Gods!

The Review Format

  • We want to give real, valuable insight into the cards we talk about, but there are too many cards in an expansion to do that for every one.
  • So we picked the ones that we think are most important to talk about.
  • This week we’re covering all of the neutral cards
  • Look at each rarity level separately: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary
  • For each tier, each host chooses: The best card to CRAFT, DRAFT, and DUST
  • Next episode: Class cards!

Hearthstone OG Druid

Druid

Best to Craft

Fandral Staghelm

  • Scott says: Druid did really well in this set, but Fandral is a really fun card that can be quite good. It was fun using Raven Idols to discover a minion and draw another Raven Idol for one mana! Power of the Wild gives you a 4/3 panther and +1/+1 to all your other minions for 2 mana. Wisps of the Old Gods fills your boards with 3/3s and buffs existing minions for 7 mana. Ancient of War becomes a 10/10 taunt for 7. And so on.
  • Josh says: Yeah, so many of the choose one cards are high-cost, which means you’re getting a lot for free. You only need one proc for this guy to be insane value.

Best to Draft

Mire Keeper

  • Scott says: I usually chose the 2/2 token, giving me 5/5 across 2 bodies for 4 mana. But if I have an expensive hand, I can always ramp myself by giving me an extra crystal instead. Good options, good efficiency, and good versatility.
  • Josh says: Yeah, one of the prized Choose-One cards where both options are actually above-value. You’ll always be happy to play one of them.

Best to Dust

Feral Rage

  • Scott says: I wouldn’t put a 4/1 weapon for 3 in my deck, nor an 8 armor spell for 3 in a class w/ no armor synergy. Giving myself the choice between them doesn’t help.
  • Josh says: My ELO is pretty garbage, but I got super confused when I kept seeing this card played against me. Thank you for making me feel less crazy and confirming that this is just an awful card.

Hearthstone OG Hunter

Hunter

Best to Craft

Princess Huhuran

  • Josh says: I opened it. I love it. Already a top-notch body (seems 6/5 is more popular than 5/6 right now), and the proc is incredibly unexpected and powerful.
  • Scott says: Yeah, it’s a pretty cool effect, though its cost means most of the time you’ll need the card you’re activating to have lived a turn. With Feign Death gone, this is the next best thing.

Best to Draft

Giant Sand Worm

  • Josh says: Gobble gobble gobble. All these minions taste so good! Combo with charge for an instant AOE. Guaranteed 2-for-1 if they don’t have hard removal.
  • Scott says: Kill the small stuff first, adding up to 7 attack, then attack their biggest minion last for maximum control impact. Or maybe do some select removal, then punch face making your opponent kill it on their turn. Helps a bit that it’s a beast — this and Princess Huhuran are a big buff to Ram Wrangler.

Best to Dust

Carrion Grub

  • Josh says: Hunter got great cards this time around. I’d happily take any of them. The worst thing about this guy is that he’s boring. He’ll do fine in a control deck, but I’d rather take something similar with Taunt in that case.
  • Scott says: Agreed. Stats are fine, but it’s a class card so I’d expect more. By that measure, it’s fairly bad. I don’t know why anyone would put this in a deck, other than to target w/ Houndmaster.

Hearthstone OG Mage

Mage

Best to Craft

Faceless Summoner

  • Josh says: 8 mana value in two bodies for only 6 mana? I think the two-bodies part immediately off-sets the random downside, so this is pure mathematical value.
  • Scott says: Not bad, and good if you want multiple bodies. But you don’t really know where your 3 mana is going to go. Could be invested in Battlecry or synergy effects you don’t support.

Best to Draft

Cabalist’s Tome

  • Josh says: Fact: Every mage loves spells. This card gives you so many spells you’ll weep with joy. BlizzPro put together an awesome infographic about this card that explains what you’re likely to get out of it: http://hearthstone.blizzpro.com/2016/05/05/cabalists-tome-infographic/ . It’s particularly good in Arena, where it’ll give you a second chance to get the high-rarity spells you were never offered during the draft.
  • Scott says: Agreed, Arena’s the place it’s most likely to shine. 10% chance you’ll get a specific named card, including Cabalist’s Tome. Just sayin’.

Best to Dust

Servant of Yogg-Saron

  • Josh says: Mage might’ve gotten the best class cards in the whole expansion. I mean this card isn’t even ALWAYS bad, but it’s the worst option here. It will often be a good value, but the uncertainty puts it below all of the other always-great cards Mages got.
  • Scott says: You’re paying 1 extra mana for a random not-huge spell with a random target. Some spells (secrets, Arcane Intellect) will always benefit you. Others could hurt you. Lots of fun will ensue, but isn’t necessarily good.

Hearthstone OG Paladin

Paladin

Best to Craft

Ragnaros, Lightlord

  • Scott says: He’s no Tirion, but then again, who is? An 8/8 for 8 that heals for 8 each turn isn’t bad. And unlike the original Ragnaros, you can attack the target of your choice with him.
  • Josh says: This card blew my mind when it first dropped on the board against me. He’s a huge body that throws out huge heals AND he can attack? Out of control!

Best to Draft

Steward of Darkshire

  • Scott says: The key word here is “summon.” This doesn’t just apply to minions you cast directly — it applies to tokens created from your hero power, spells, and other minions. Combine with Stand Against Darkness (a latest-set common) for good effect!
  • Josh says: You and your crazy token decks! And don’t pretend you’re not salivating over the combo with Redemption — I know you love that card!

Best to Dust

Forbidden Healing

  • Scott says: Pure healing cards are always a hard sell. This isn’t really any different.
  • Josh says: In the right meta (aka molasses-slow like our current one) I really like running one copy of this card. It fills the mana curve if you’re desperate early and is a 20-health heal late game if you’re desperate late.

Hearthstone OG Priest

Priest

Best to Craft

Darkshire Alchemist

  • Josh says: Healing on Priest cards is like Armor on Warrior cards — it’s actually stronger than you’d judge it on a neutral minion because of all the potential synergy the class has with it. No caveats, no conditions. This is just a great, always-decent value card for priest control decks.
  • Scott says: Yup. Also goes well in an Auchenai deck since you can target friendly stuff or enemy stuff as appropriate. This is like casting 1.4 Earthen Ring Farseers at once (minus one stat point).

Best to Draft

Shifting Shade

  • Josh says: The health is a liability and he’s likely to trade with a 2-cost or 3-cost minion if the board isn’t empty when you play him, but I’ve paid higher prices for a cantrip effect. I look at this as a more pro-active Thoughtsteal (will likely trade for 1 card to make up for the loss of 2nd card drawn).
  • Scott says: This card seems fine, especially in Arena where people generally aren’t picking synergy-related cards. My biggest complaint is that I can’t figure out any way to get synergy out of these effects.

Best to Dust

Power Word: Tentacles

  • Josh says: There’s like 4 cards in the game that make this spell worthwhile, and most good decks aren’t running any of them. Velen’s Chosen spoiled us with 6 stats and a perk for 3 mana, so maybe I’m over-hating on this one.
  • Scott says: Velen’s Chosen was definitely above curve. This is definitely below curve. But I’d still happily throw it on a Northshire Cleric or Holy Champion. Not sure I like combining it w/ a minion and another spell, as 3-card combos are asking a bit much.

Hearthstone OG Rogue

Rogue

Best to Craft

Xaril, Poisoned Mind

  • Josh says: Hope you like spending dust, because Miracle Rogue just got another must-have Legendary! Paying 1 mana and some change for the Toxin card, but the cards are all so good! And they proc Combo!
  • Scott says: Overall, the poisons are definitely better than Spare Parts. But they’re more expensive, since you’re also paying a premium for them on Xaril’s cost as well. While there are Battlecry and Deathrattle shenanigans you can pull, you only get one poison each for doing them, so the stakes are low.

Best to Draft

Shadow Strike

  • Josh says: This removal has a lot of drawbacks, but you’re getting it at an insanely cheap price. In Arena, you’ll have no problem finding targets for this. And since it’s common, you’ll definitely see it!
  • Scott says: Agreed that you’ll generally not have a problem finding a target, but you will sometimes not be able to kill what you want. It’s worth noting that it can hit your opponent’s face too, but face-damage spells when the enemy is at full hp often isn’t great.

Best to Dust

Bladed Cultist

  • Josh says: Rogue has a lot of strong cards, so this is an easy pick to dust for me. If you want an early game combo trick, you already have Defias Bandit — which is a flat-out better version of this card.
  • Scott says: Too low-impact. Its dream scenario is 2 in-hand w/ coin on turn 1. That’s not worth playing it for.

Hearthstone OG Shaman

Shaman

Best to Craft

Master of Evolution

  • Scott says: There were a few good options, but I chose Master of Evolution. At worst, he’s a Chillwind Yeti. At best, he can heal and upgrade a giant minion while still being a Chillwind Yeti. He’s especially useful with cost-reduced minions like Thing from Below or Nerubian Prophet or Giants.
  • Josh says: I see this guy get used on totems all the time to turn them into a real 2-mana minion. The heal effect is the most underrated aspect of this card, I think. Lots of cool synergy here — and like you said, it’s all gravy. You don’t HAVE to get a big combo for this card to pull its weight.

Best to Draft

Flamewreathed Faceless

  • Scott says: This is an insanely strong card in any deck, but in arena it’s even better. No synergy necessary, though it does work well with cards that leverage and/or remove your overload. This card feels like a design mistake in that it’s just blatantly overpowered.
  • Josh says: This guy makes me not-so-happy-hearthstone. Who thought this was okay? Those stats are absolutely bonkers. Every shaman deck simply has to run 2 copies — no excuses.

Best to Dust

Hallazeal the Ascended

  • Scott says: It says something when the worst card in a class is still totally fine. Hallazeal only wants to be in spell-heavy decks. The turn he comes out he probably won’t heal you for much, but he’s a lightning rod that will probably heal for a ton the next turn if he survives.
  • Josh says: Yeah, if you go into this card just trusting in the lightning-rod effect, I think he’s still solid, just like you said. I think he’s a bit of a trap if you’re dreaming of bigger combos. Shaman did insanely well if this is the worst they have!

Hearthstone OG Warlock

Warlock

Best to Craft

Darkshire Councilman

  • Scott says: Wow. Only needs one activation to be balanced, and in Warlock it’s easy to massively exceed that. Works on summons, not just minions played from hand. Insanely strong. Another “What were they thinking?” card.
  • Josh says: Yeah, this card is the scariest thing Warlocks can drop onto the board right now. I suspect we’ll get a nerf to require “playing” the unit.

Best to Draft

Forbidden Ritual

  • Scott says: Paladin has Stand Against Darkness, which is 5 for 5 1/1s. This is a clear upgrade to that card as it’s configurable. Also has lots of good synergy in Warlock decks, including Darkshire Councilman.
  • Josh says: Without Darkshire Councilman, I’d be a lot less interested in this card. Warlock doesn’t have ways to do mass buffs like Paladins do — in fact, they’re more likely to do mass AoEs that kill these little guys — so I think it’s a lot less useful in Warlock. Still, the flexibility is great.

Best to Dust

DOOM!

  • Scott says: Too expensive, and your opponent gets a head start filling the board. You’ll have a ton of cards, but will you still be alive?
  • Josh says: But I opened 3 of them, so I need it to be good! I think this card works in the right deck (lots of removal) and the right meta (uuuuber slow). I think the meta is only going to speed up from here though. Tough sell at the 10 cost, but I love the effect. They’re only playing 1 card next turn, and you’ll have 3+ to deal with it and put your own body down — I actually like those chances.

Hearthstone OG Warrior

Warrior

Best to Craft

Ancient Shieldbearer

  • Josh says: Yes please. Shield Slam has a new best friend in C’thun decks. There’s a lot of competition for high-cost slots in the C’Thun deck, but the 7 slot is one of the most wide-open. Huge heal for 3 stats and it comes with bonus utility thanks to Warrior’s ability to combo off armor.
  • Scott says: As pointed out last episode, survivability in C’Thun decks helps bide time until C’Thun arrives. You should have given C’Thun +4/+4 by turn 7 in a C’Thun deck, so this should pretty much always proc.

Best to Draft

Bloodhoof Brave

  • Josh says: Aww, look at Tauren Warrior all grown up. I think this archetype found its sweet spot at this cost. The opponent will need to use premium removal to deal with his huge health pool. This guy will be an easy 2-for-1 against most decks in arena.
  • Scott says: Unless he’s hit by a 6/6 or bigger, he’s a blatant upgrade to Sen’jin Shieldmasta, which is already a fine card. Gets even better with Warrior-specific Taunt and Enrage synergies.

Best to Dust

Tentacles for Arms

  • Josh says: Flavor win, value loss. This card is just plain awful. I woudn’t say no to dusting that Legendary either to get 800 dust! Or those Blood Brothers… or that 1-cost bug… Geeze, Warrior actually got a lot of weak cards!
  • Scott says: If you’re playing an extreme long-game control warrior deck, this can help you deal damage each turn, like Head Crack. It’s less expensive, too.

Class Cards – Guilty Pleasures

Addled Grizzly

  • Scott says: I want to like him, but I just haven’t had very good luck w/ him. Best played on the same turn as other minions. You need to summon 2 other minions before he dies to make him profitable. At least it’s “summon” and not “play!”
  • Josh says: The only time I’ve seen him work out is when I played against you, but I haven’t seen him much. It feels like he’ll be a key part of a token druid deck later this year.

Bloodsail Cultist

  • Josh says: She’s not my cup of tea, but we’ve got to talk about her. Instantly created a new deck type overnight.
  • Scott says: Keep in mind it has 2 conditions: You need both a pirate and a weapon for her to do her thing. Not sure if it’s worth the effort for a free 1-cost spell or not.

Forbidden Flame

  • Josh says: I love these flexible-mana cards and even though you may sometimes be forced to overkill with this card, it’s ability to usually be exactly as powerful as you need it to makes me love it.
  • Scott says: Hard to say how powerful this is. There will certainly be situations where it’s exactly what you want, but how many situations will you just be staring at it in your hand as an unwanted card?

Eternal Sentinel

  • Josh says: Especially after Knife Juggler got nerfed, it seems like you’d be hard-pressed to find a better 2-cost minion in Shaman tempo. Even has solid value drawn later.
  • Scott says: Not bad, but not good either. Can sometimes have a negative cost, which is nice. You can also just play it on curve if you start the game under pressure.

Undercity Huckster

  • Josh says: I just love this card. Couldn’t beat out Xaril for the rogue craft spot, but it’s pure value and lots of fun. No deck needs him, every deck wants him — that’s my kind of card.
  • Scott says: A good value, assuming the card you get isn’t horrible.

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Whispers of the Old Gods Review (Neutral) - Episode 71

Wednesday May 11, 2016

Wednesday May 11, 2016

Hello!

  • Scott is on the show this week
  • Topic: Whispers of the Old Gods Review (Neutral)
  • Reasons to be happy this week
  • News: Whispers of the Old Gods!

The Review Format

  • We want to give real, valuable insight into the cards we talk about, but there are too many cards in an expansion to do that for every one.
  • So we picked the ones that we think are most important to talk about.
  • This week we’re covering all of the neutral cards
  • Look at each rarity level separately: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary
  • For each tier, each host chooses: The best card to CRAFT, DRAFT, and DUST
  • Next episode: Class cards!

Hearthstone OG Common

Neutral Cards – Common

Best to Craft

Twilight Elder

  • Josh says: Spider Tank with perks. This guy isn’t great because he’ll buff C’thun massively. He’s great because he’ll either trade well and add a few points to C’thun as gravy or (even better) draw out premium removal. The key to the late-game C’thun deck, in my experience, is to make the opponent dump their removal by the time turn 9 rolls around, leaving them with no more answers for your real threats. This guy is key to getting that started early.
  • Scott says: A fine card, and certainly a good choice in a C’Thun deck. But this is a great example of what bores me about C’Thun decks. I wish there was more diversity in the C’Thun enablers.

Psych-o-Tron

  • Scott says: Many people have said Infested Tauren is the new Sludge Belcher, but I disagree — this card is. The whole reason Sludge Belcher was good is that he could intercept 2 attacks, regardless of how big they were. Same here. He acts like a 3/1 Taunt when his Divine shield is up, and I’m thinking having a 3/1 Taunt and a 3/4 Taunt may even be slightly better than a 3/5 Taunt and a 1/2 Taunt. Sludge Belcher isn’t gone!
  • Josh says:I haven’t seen this card played much, but your math checks out. Do you think this is a sleeper that’ll get more popular over time? He’s definitely living up to his family’s legacy of annoying the heck out of me!

Best to Draft

Cult Apothecary

  • Josh says: Solid heals in Arena at a very low premium. You’re paying 3 combat stats for a 4+ heal that only gets better as you fall behind.
  • Scott says: Antique Healbot charged a premium of 5 stats (or 2.5 mana) for 8 heal, so you’re right — this stacks up fairly well. It will tend to be better when you’re behind and less good when you’re ahead, but that’s certainly better than the alternative.

Nerubian Prophet

  • Scott says: I think this is a deceptively good card. It thrives most in decks that are using all their mana every turn. Shaman is a prime example, as it’s full of big guys and overload. Bonus points for Evolution synergy, since his cost reverts to the full 6 mana once he’s on the board. And it’s fine even if you top-deck it in the late game, because at that point you should have the mana to spare.
  • Josh says: I’m so glad you picked this card. I had him down in my guilty pleasures picks because I love playing him, but haven’t seen him used much. The flexibility is amazing and when you start with him in hand, it’s glorious.

Best to Dust

Twilight Geomancer

  • Josh says: I’m officially over minions with 1 attack. And who wants to give C’thun Taunt anyways? The enemy board should be empty after he lands and this barely functions as a “heal 4 health” spell. Bleh.
  • Scott says: I think it’s much better than you’re giving it credit for. It’s strictly better than Silverback Patriarch and gives C’Thun a unique ability that makes a huge difference. It’s a low-impact card, but you can’t expect that much for 2 mana.

Am’gam Rager

  • Scott says: Oh, I get it. It’s a Magma Rager backwards. Cute. But I’m still not playing it. Twilight Geomancer looks like a gold-plated MVP compared to this guy. Blizzard just threw away a card slot on this guy as a joke. Even the flavor text is in on the joke.
  • Josh says: The only good thing I can say is that it’s probably the safest way to guarantee you have a body on your side of the board next turn, which Priest and Paladin sometimes care about. But there are soooooooo many better options for that.

Hearthstone OG Rare

Neutral Cards – Rare

Best to Craft

Skeram Cultist

  • Josh says: This is the perfect always-ready 6-drop in a C’thun deck. The other 6 drops like Sylvanas are a bit more situational, but this guy will always pave the way for your big boss by buffing him and demanding premium removal immediately. They can only have 2 Shadow Word: Deaths.
  • Scott says: Hey look, a vanilla card with a C’Thun ability! Haven’t seen one of those in a while! Snark aside, certainly a fine card. I just find it bor…. zzzzzz….

Blackwater Pirate

  • Scott says: A decent addition for pirate decks. Not great to cast on her own, but flips from being 1 mana overcosted to a 1 mana savings if you bring out a weapon right after you summon her. Pirate synergy is a bonus.
  • Josh says: I haven’t played much Pirate Warrior because I’m missing a few cards for it, but it seems like the deck revolves around keeping one weapon on and then just continually buffing it. Her perk is too situational for me. I think a lot of times you won’t even want to equip a new weapon right away. And 2/5 is such a lackluster stat allocation for a deck that wants to go face.

Best to Draft

Midnight Drake

  • Josh says: Much less risky than his cousin, and a nice body that can trade up for any slow Arena deck. Top decking will suck, like always.
  • Scott says: You’d better have at least 4 cards in your hand after you cast this guy, and/or be in a Dragon synergy deck. Will tend to be better in a warlock deck because of the card draw.

Eater of Secrets

  • Scott says: Slim pickins left, since 3 of the 9 cards are C’Thun cards and those can’t show up in Arena. So…. Eater of Secrets? Congrats buddy, you got there. Let’s hope our opponent is playing a secret class! Too bad Hearthstone doesn’t have sideboards.
  • Josh says: Another of my guilty pleasure cards you’ve turned into a real pick! At least you won’t lose to Secret Paladin if someone magically makes it happen.

Best to Dust

Corrupted Healbot

  • Josh says: I may be missing something here, but gaining *1* bonus combat stat isn’t worth healing 8 to the enemy. (You’d have to hit them in the face 8 times to break even on that tradeoff!)
  • Scott says: I think the trick is combining it with something like Embrace the Shadow or Auchenai Soulpriest so the heal becomes damaging. When that happens, it’s a 6/6 mech that does 8 face damage for 5 mana. So in that deck, it’s a rock star, but I can’t tell you yet whether that deck is any good.

Silithid Swarmer

  • Scott says: No. Just… no. Has me reconsidering my “don’t dust any cards in my playable set” rule.
  • Josh says: I don’t think anyone falls for these cards that give you one bonus stat for a HUGE drawback… right? Right? Please, if you’re reading this, don’t fall for this trap. He doesn’t even look cool!

Hearthstone OG Epic

Neutral Cards – Epic

Best to Craft

Crazed Worshipper

  • Josh says: An absolute pinnacle in C’thun decks, which need time to grow. You simply can’t have enough early Taunt and he’s often worth it regardless of C’thun.
  • Scott says: On paper he looks like he isn’t as efficient as most of the other C’Thun cards, but in practice he’s shown himself to be just fine, thankyouverymuch. This guy has more personality than most of the other neutral C’Thun minions, so he gets a thumbs up for that too.

Twilight Summoner

  • Scott says: He’s actually a great value, though don’t expect your opponent to attack him on their turn. That means your 5/5 will take an extra turn to come out and become useful. Still, he’s a strong contributor, and is one of the better ‘sticky’ minions. Just don’t let him get silenced.
  • Josh says: “Don’t let him get silenced” is much easier said than done, even after the nerfs. There are so many good stat-pile minions in this set that you’d have to do some serious convincing to get me to toss this guy in my deck.

Best to Draft

Cyclopian Horror

  • Josh says: Only needs 2 enemies to break even. Will often get more than that. Not great while ahead, but gets stronger as you fall behind.
  • Scott says: Yeah, seems pretty decent. Basically a variable Sen’jin Shieldmasta that you can get a little extra mileage out of in the right circumstances. Worth noting that at 3 enemies on board, he has the same stats as the Crazed Worshipper we just discussed, minus the C’Thun buff.

Scaled Nightmare

  • Scott says: Takes a little while to get going, but after 2 turns, watch out! In arena where things are awkward and slow, he has a better chance of living longer.
  • Josh says: Yeah, I’m worried about this guy’s weaknesses in constructed, but I’m totally on board for Arena. If they were able to snatch any premium removal, they better pray they draw it by Turn 8, or this guy is going to be out of control. He’ll almost certainly be a 2-for-1 at least.

Best to Dust

Darkspeaker

  • Josh says: You need some serious combo synergy to make this underpowered pile of stats break even.
  • Scott says: Agreed — not sure what you’d be playing this on. Mana Tide Totem? Northshire Cleric? Oooh, I’ve got it: Angry Chicken!

Blood of The Ancient One

  • Scott says: It’s not going to happen. Okay, maybe it’ll happen once, if you try really hard and lose a bunch of games on the way. But that’s not a journey I plan on taking.
  • Josh says: The “end of your turn” is just adding insult to injury. This dream-big combo isn’t even fun like the other ones (Thaddius or Voltron).

Hearthstone OG Legendary

Neutral Cards – Legendary

Best to Craft

Mukla, Tyrant of the Vale

  • Josh says: It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the value here. Do you include the cost of the bananas into the value comparison? If so, he’s a loser at 8 mana for a 7/7. But he lets you give 4 of those stats anywhere you want at any time. Bananas have tons of great synergy with mage cards and minions that like being targeted. Ultimately this is a fun card with a unique effect that’ll have synergy with a lot of decks. And he’s not 10 mana.
  • Scott says: Yeah, you summed it up well. Not an amazing value on his own, but does come with flexibility and can add bonus synergy in some decks.

Twin Emperor Veklor

  • Scott says: C’Thun decks bore me, but if I’m going to build one, you bet your bottom dollar this guy’s in there. 11/11 across 2 bodies with taunt for 7 mana? That’s so bananas that Mukla’s jealous. This guy might be a bigger payoff for a C’Thun deck than C’Thun himself. I don’t see how you won’t have a 10 attack C’Thun by turn 7 in a deck that’s trying.
  • Josh says: I love C’thun decks, so let me stop you right there and say that C’thun is the best tentacle monster I’ve ever pledged allegiance to. But I haven’t seen this guy played in-game yet, so I didn’t actually realize his twin came with Taunt! Yeah, that’s just insane value for 7 mana. Like, my brain hurts this makes no sense value. Want.

Best to Draft

Y’Shaarj, Rage Unbound

  • Josh says: Love this guy. Think he’s severely underrated. Guaranteed to happen once. Even better in Arena where you’ve got decks stuffed with minions.
  • Scott says: 10 mana’s a lot to ask, but agreed that this is a pretty good ability. And doesn’t ask you to dedicate half your deck to making it useful. (I’m looking at you, C’Thun.)

Hogger, Doom of Elwynn

  • Scott says: Hogger’s back! He’s basically 1.5 mana overcosted, but generates 2.5 in value every time he takes damage. In arena where creature sizes are so variable, you’ll often have smaller guys to choose for him to tussle with. Not a fast card, but a strong value play and doesn’t require the babysitting that the original Hogger required.
  • Josh says: Some cool synergy in mage and warrior too that can easily ping him for the effect when needed. This is a great example of ways that Blizzard can put fun twists on old cards with this new Standard format.

Best to Dust

Shifter Zerus

  • Josh says: Get a life, Zerus. And stop leeching off of everyone else’s successes. You disgust me.
  • Scott says: I actually think he’s a decent card. Okay, well, maybe that’s too strong a statement. But he’s cool. I’d definitely invite him to a party.

Nat, the Darkfisher

  • Scott says: Oh Nat. Even when you’re given the Davey Jones treatment, you’re still not good. A least you’ll have a home in mill decks, but that’s not exactly catapulting you into the big leagues.
  • Josh says: Yeah, I mean you’re gaining one stat for giving your opponent a card every two turns? If the stats were at least reversed, it could have its uses as an up-trader (is that a word?)

Neutral Cards – Guilty Pleasures

Twisted Worgen

  • Scott says: I <3 stealth cards with high attack. The only thing missing here is for him to be a beast, but that’s okay. With Knife Juggler nerfed he’s less likely to be killed before you can get a swing out of him. Trades up really well, and can usually punch face before still trading for a minion. Belongs in nearly every aggro deck. Not bad for 2 mana.
  • Josh says: GUILTY pleasure, indeed. I don’t get this card. Did you run Worgen Infiltrator before? You’re paying a full mana for one more stat on this guy. I guess you could look at it like losing 1 cost for 1 stat off the panther, which some people ran? Even with Knife Juggler gone, there are enough random ping effects to make me nervous. Maybe I’m just still too traumatized.

Disciple of C’thun

  • Josh says: It didn’t feel right that we close out this episode without mentioning this dude. Dealing 2 damage on Battlecry is usually costed at a huge premium. Here, you traded stats 1:1 for it (-2 health on stats). Even without C’thun, it’s the only minion that can deal 2 damage at this cost or lower.
  • Scott says: Agreed. He can stand on his own, and is great value in a C’Thun deck. Is there a possibility he’ll add to the playability of the “bounce pandas”?

Faceless Shambler

  • Scott says: A potentially strong card if your deck has a lot of bigger minions. Risky, but feels like it’d be a good value most of the time. Downside is that he’s horrible when you’re behind, or when topdecked with an empty board.
  • Josh says:And super susceptible to silence, although I’ve seen silence drop off recently (at least at my ELO)..

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