Hearthstone: Kobolds & Catacombs - Analyzing The Runespear

As part of its upcoming Kobolds & Catacombs expansion, Hearthstone is adding an interesting new mechanic that takes weaponry to a (literal) new level. Legendary weapons are now a part of the game, giving each of the game's nine classes a Legendary weapon to wield. Each of these weapons has the potential to impact the game in various ways and Shacknews is going to break each of these arms down one-by-one.

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We've looked at three classes that don't normally use weapons. So for today, let's look at one that does. The Shaman has some pretty decent weapon choices already, so what can a Legendary weapon offer that Thrall's normal ones can't?

(8) The Runespear (3/3)
Type: Weapon
Class: Shaman
Rarity: Legendary
After your hero attacks, Discover a spell and cast it with random targets.
Source: Kobolds & Catacombs Card Reveal Kick-Off Show

The Runespear At A Glance

For a Legendary weapon, The Runespear might not even be the Shaman's most physically imposing one. That's still Doomhammer. A 5-cost 2/8 weapon with Windfury is still as scary as it gets, even with the Rockbiter Weapon nerf. A 3/3 certainly isn't going to challenge it, in terms of pure stregnth.

What The Runespear does offer is a unique Discover mechanic, allowing the Shaman wielder to find and immediately use a new spell everytime he attacks with it. That would be fine and all, except that the spell is cast on random targets. That might make this weapon more trouble than it's worth. But hey, it might still fit in a few deck types.

The Runespear Synergies

The Discover mechanic on this weapon makes such a huge difference, because it slightly minimizes the "random targets" risk. The Shaman has some key spells that get around the "random" whamy, like Evolve, Devolve, Feral Spirit, Lightning Storm, Spirit Echo, Maelstrom Portal, Far Sight, and Bloodlust. Needless to say, any of those options are preferable to a burst spell that might end with you shooting yourself in the face.

The potential of pulling Evolve makes this weapon an enticing option for Evolve Shaman. But it might actually find a better home in Aggro or Quest Shaman, just because those decks are more about trying to go face above all else. But in those instances, it would act more as a fallback option, because let's face it, a Turn 8 3/3 feels far too slow in a quickie aggro or Murloc deck.

I will say that while it's hard to pin down exactly what deck will best utilize The Runespear, it is safe to say that this will be the first of the Legendaries to benefit from Captain Greenskin. Because The Runespear's usefulness is only as good as the number of times the Shaman attacks, it's in the player's best interest to buff this weapon's durability up as much as possible.

There are still six more weapons to break down and Shacknews will be here to analyze them over the coming weeks. Kobolds & Catacombs is set to hit Hearthstone on December 7.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?