Hearthstone: Boomsday Project - Analyzing Dr. Boom, Mad Genius

Hearthstone's next expansion, The Boomsday Project, has been revealed and is set to arrive in just a few short weeks. Earlier today, Team 5's Peter Whalen and HCT caster/streaming personality Brian Kibler revealed a handful of new cards for Hearthstone's next big set and arguably the biggest highlight was the reveal of the expansion's new Hero Card: Dr. Boom, Mad Genius.

(7) Dr. Boom, Mad Genius
Type: Hero
Class: Warrior
Rarity: Legendary
Battlecry: For the rest of the game, your Mechs have Rush.
Source: The Boomsday Project Card Reveal Livestream

(2) Big Red Button
Type: Activate this turn's Mech Suit power!

This new Hero Card is sure to be a game-changer for Hearthstone, both in Standard and Wild. There's a lot to break down here, so let's dive into the newest Warrior Hero character.

First Look

This is the Warrior's second Hero card and one that, at first glance, looks to be much more appealing than Scourgelord Garrosh. With a cheaper cost, a greater Armor boost, and an incredible Battlecry, Dr. Boom's newest form is downright terrifying.

In fact, let's look closer at that Battlecry. All friendly Mechs going forward will have Rush. This is going to make Control Warriors very happy, depending on the Mechs they're employing. We'll touch on that in just a second.

But the Hero Power is going to be what's truly fun about Dr. Boom. First of all, anybody who has ever watched a cartoon knows about the tempting allure of a Big Red Button.

Yes, the Big Red Button's power is any one of five random effects. The effect will change on the opponent's turn, allowing them to prepare for what's coming a turn in advance, but that's not going to make this any less fun to use. Especially when those effects include:

• Micro-Squad: Summon three 1/1 Microbots. Swaps each turn.
• Delivery Drone: Discover a Mech. Swaps each turn.
• Zap Cannon: Deal 3 Damage. Swaps each turn.
• KABOOM!: Deal 1 damage to all enemies. Swaps each turn.
• Blast Shield: Gain 7 Armor. Swaps each turn.

There are few downsides to the Big Red Button and it'll play a major role in the overall Dr. Boom experience.

Synergies

Has Mech Warrior ever really been a thing in Hearthstone? Well, it's going to be one now! Dr. Boom's Battlecry bonus should entice players to pack their decks full of Mechs to maximize its effectiveness. Fortunately, it shouldn't come at the expense of certain existing Warrior archetypes.

Control Warriors, in particular, should welcome this new Hero Card, since Rush is a valuable tool in maintaining board control. This is especially true if any of those Mechs have useful Deathrattles that can help clear out the opposition. It remains to be seen just how many new tools the Standard player will have available to them, though the new Magnetic keyword and the new Beryllium Nullifier are going to prove immensely useful.

Wild players will already have an army of Mechs to choose from and those Mechs will almost all prove useful to the Control Warrior style. Mechs like Explosive Sheep can help keep the board clear, but let's go next level on this. Piloted Shredder, Piloted Sky Golem, and Sneed's Old Shredder become frightening, since then can effectively trade one-to-one with minions and still leave a body on the board. Force-Tank MAX and Clockwork Giant become massive forces that can trade into just about any enemy minion and survive. Wind-up Burglebot is usually a dead play, since it often gets wiped out right away, but with Rush, it's almost an assured card draw. Iron Juggernaut can trade into a big body, while also putting opponents on the clock. Combine all of this with the usual parade of Control Warrior spells and weapons, like Brawl, Shield Block, and Gorehowl, and a Dr. Boom Warrior suddenly becomes a very hard out in Wild, with only one-turn kill combos able to reliably knock him out.

But Mechs are only one part of the Dr. Boom formula. There's also that Hero Power to play with. What's better than a Big Red Button? Finding ways to abuse the Big Red Button. Standard players can pack in a Blackwald Pixie to get double their Hero Power for their buck, while Wild Players may want to look into a few Inspire minions from the Grand Tournament set. Be on the lookout for any other cards from The Boomsday Project that can manipulate Hero Powers, because anything that can stack onto the Big Red Button could prove invaluable.

Playing Against Dr. Boom, Mad Genius

Dr. Boom is a madman, but he's far from unbeatable. Going aggressive is the easiest way to stop his onslaught before it starts, but there are also quite a few existing deck types that can ruin his day quickly.

The Recruit Hunter and Big Spell Mage, in particular, will prove to be a good matchup against a Dr. Boom Warrior. The Recruit Hunter can have a field day going straight for the face with Charged Devilsaur and King Krush before Dr. Boom even has time to react. Big Spell Mage is well equipped for the machine uprising, given this class' spell arsenal and also Frost Lich Jaina's Lifesteal effect. What good are Mechs trading with minions if their attacks only replenish the Mage's Health?

The Taunt Druid may also be able to out-control Dr. Boom through sheer numbers. Dr. Boom's Mech army is vast, but it's not infinite. If Hadronox can keep pumping out large Taunts like The Lich King, Dr. Boom's control spells will eventually start to run dry and the Taunt Druid should be able to win this matchup running away.

The Big Red Button is intimidating, but it's important to recognize that the power will refresh on the opponent's turn. That means it's possible to know what the Big Red Button will do before Dr. Boom's turn comes up, so prepare accordingly. If the power Armors him up, maybe don't feed into a Reckless Flurry. If he's getting three 1/1 Mechs, be ready with a Drywhisker Armorer or Defile. If he's going to Discover a Mech, anticipate that he won't play anything over 8 Mana for that turn. Planning ahead can be a big key to victory against a Dr. Boom player.

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project is set to release on August 7. Shacknews will continue analyzing Boomsday Project cards as they come in, so be sure to follow our continuing coverage. And don't miss our exclusive interview from earlier today.

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?