Hearthstone: The Witchwood Card Analyses (Part 2)

Blizzard is kicking off card reveals for Hearthstone's next expansion. The Witchwood will introduce 135 new cards, using new Echo and Rush mechanics and also introducing a Monster Hunt single-player mode. The Witchwood marks Hearthstone's eighth expansion and the first one for the Year of the Raven.

As is tradition, Shacknews is stepping into the murky forest to break these cards down by the handful. We continue by analyzing the full batch of cards revealed on Monday's live stream.

Need a recap? Here's what you've missed:

Hearthstone: The Witchwood - The GDC 2018 Interview with Dave Kosak & Dean Ayala

Hearthstone: The Witchwood Card Analyses (Part 1)

(4) Houndmaster Shaw (3/6)
Type: Minion
Class: Hunter
Rarity: Legendary
Your other minions have Rush.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: Say hello to the first of the featured Heroes in the new single-player Monster Hunt mode. This is Houndmaster Shaw and his function in the main game mode is fairly interesting. As long as he's on the board, any minions that hit the board are given Rush. That means everything that hits the board can charge at opposing minions, including Poisonous and Deathrattle minions.

Blizzard's Peter Whalen noted that this could have some synergy with the Emerald Spellstone. At 4 mana, Houdmaster Shaw is going to be a solid option for midrange decks, especially with a solid 3/6 stat line that will likely keep him standing for more than one turn.

(5) Rotten Applebaum (4/5)
Type: Minion
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Common
Taunt. Deathrattle: Restore 4 Health to your hero.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: This is a fine Turn 5 drop for just about any class, especially for the Warlock player who's frequently Life Tapping. Rotten Applebaum's 4/5 stats make it a solid Taunt option, while the modest Health return is good for the later stages of the game.

This is where it's worth remember that N'Zoth, the Corruptor is heading off into Wild, which is a real shame, because this is a fantastic N'Zoth tool if ever there was one. Wild players will definitely want this guy for their N'Zoth deck. As it stands, Quest Priests will want to pack in a Rotten Applebaum, as they build to their quest completion.

(2) Witchwood Apple
Type: Spell
Class: Druid
Rarity: Common
Add three 2/2 Treants to your hand.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: This is a bit of a twist on an old favorite. While Force of Nature puts three 2/2 Treeants on the board, this card will put those three 2/2 Treeants in your hand. Think of it as the Druid's Drygulch Jailor.

This is the first indication that Blizzard is trying to make Hand Druid into a thing. If it gets a few more tools, it has the potential to work. But Standard players will want to be aware that Mark of the Lotus is rotating out, so that's at least one tool that's going away. Still, maybe Blizzard will add a few more pieces to make this deck type worthwhile. Something like...

(4) Wispering Woods
Type: Spell
Class: Druid
Rarity: Epic
Summon a 1/1 Wisp for each card in your hand.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: Hey, a new tool for the Hand Druid!

This fills the board with a bunch of 1/1 Wisps for each card in-hand. It's like getting attacked by a bunch of really weak guys. Yeah, Wisps don't hit very hard and are also pretty easy to ward off. Even if the idea is to prepare a Savage Roar, there are too many counters like Duskbreaker for this idea to work. But the Hand Druid idea is off to a decent start. It just needs a few more tools if it's going to be viable.

(2) Rebuke
Type: Spell
Class: Paladin
Rarity: Common
Enemy spells cost (5) more next turn.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: Check it out! It's Loatheb in spell form. This is a big win for Paladin players, because this plays very nicely with Divine Favor.

This spell can either work as a follow-up to that Divine Favor to set up a Sunkeeper Tarim finisher or it can be used after the Sunkeeper Tarim play to ensure the board stays populated.

(3) Vivid Nightmare
Type: Spell
Class: Priest
Rarity: Epic
Choose a friendly minion. Summon a copy of it with 1 Health remaining.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: This is some interesting language on this card. It's not summoning a 1 Health copy of a minion, it's summoning a copy of a minion with its full base Health but damaged down to 1. There's a big difference between the two.

What this means is that at Turn 5 or after, a minion can be healed up to 3 Health. Or hey, if you're only playing odd-Cost cards, heal that minion up to 5 Health. In the early game, it can lead to some easy card draw opportunity with Northshire Cleric. Use that boosted Hero Power to summon another Cobalt Scalebane and heal it to full Health. Or if you're running a Combo Priest deck, use this to summon another Radiant Elemental and get one step closer to that OTK combo. There are some interesting possibilities for this spell and it'll be fun to experiment with this in the expansion's first few weeks.

(6) Glinda Crowskin (3/7)
Type: Minion
Class: Warlock
Rarity: Legendary
Minions in your hand have Echo.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: Make no mistake about it, if Glinda Crowskin is left alive, it has the potential to be extremely dangerous. The Warlock has more than enough dangerous minions that just one of them is a pain in the neck, much less multiple copies.

This also becomes a deadly combo with Summoning Portal, because it means those Echo minions now come a lot cheaper. Think of what could be done with minions like Leeroy Jenkins. Or to go a different route, what about something like Gnomeferatu, which can repeatedly mill the opponent's top card? Or how about Giants and lots of them? Wild players will get some joy out of multiple copies of that freshly un-nerfed Molten Giant. There are some dangerous possibilities for this Legendary and is an intriguing alternative to Rin, the First Disciple.

(3) Nightmare Amalgam (3/4)
Type: Minion - All
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Epic
This is an Elemental, Mech, Demon, Murloc, Dragon, Beast, Pirate, and Totem.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: What is this abomination?

Say hello to the Amazo of Hearthstone minions. It's one of everything! And with 3/4 stats for only 3 mana, it's a pretty good bit of everything.

Nightmare Amalgam, as one would imagine, has synergy with every type of tribe out there. That means it can find a good home in a lot of tribal decks as a solid Turn 3 play. In particular, Shaman players can fit this in with both their Totems and their Elementals.

But be careful!

"It's a package deal. You get our strengths, but you also get our weaknesses."#Hearthstone #Witchwood pic.twitter.com/5XG68RJNhQ

— Ozzie Mejia @ #OWL2018 (@Ozz_Mejia) March 26, 2018

While Nightmare Amalgam will work with all tribal synergies, it also inherits all of the tribal weaknesses. That means Golakka Crawler, Hungry Crab, Dragonslayer, and a host of other cards will end its day quickly. So be wary when taking this thing into battle.

(1) Witch's Apprentice (0/1)
Type: Minion - Beast
Class: Shaman
Rarity: Common
Taunt. Battlecry: Add a random Shaman spell to your hand.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

Analysis: The Shaman class has had a history of great Turn 1 drops, going back to the old Tunnel Trogg. Now here comes... a frog.

The Witch's Apprentice is being described as the Shaman's Babbling Book, which would be fine, except for a few things. One, the stat line is worse. Two, the Mages have much better spells. Shaman spells range from powerful with big drawbacks (Hello, Overload!) to the totally lame. Shaman's allure isn't in its wide variety of spells and that makes the Witch's Apprentice a tough sell. And speaking of Shaman spells, there's one place left to go...

(8) Hagatha the Witch
Type: Hero
Class: Shaman
Rarity: Legendary
Battlecry: Deal 3 damage to all minions. Gain 5 Armor.
Source: The Witchwood Card Reveal Livestream

(*) Bewitch
Type: Passive Hero Power
After you play a minion, add a random Shaman spell to your hand.

Analysis: Here's the one and only Hero Card for the Witchwood. It's the mysterious Hagatha the Witch!

There's some more to say about this card, but not quite enough room to discuss it. So let's table this discussion for now. Come back later in the week and I'll have a little more to say about Hagatha the Witch.

That's it for now! Keep it on Shacknews for the next few weeks for more card breakdowns for the Witchwood, leading all the way up to the expansion's release in mid-April.

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?