Gamescom has wrapped up and it was a busy time for Blizzard, especially in regards to Hearthstone's upcoming Grand Tournament expansion. The card reveals kept on coming, but even now that the event is over, there is still a lot of catching up to do. Shacknews is breaking down another handful of them today, as we resume our look at the new cards that were revealed prior to last week's Gamescom news. Let's get started.
Be sure to catch up with our previous breakdowns:
- Part 1 - Frost Giant, Lowly Squire, Skycap'n Kragg, Maiden of the Lake, Coldarra Drake, Lock and Load, Nexus-Champion Saraad
- Part 2 - Poisoned Blade, Thunder Bluff Valiant, Ball of Spiders, Draenei Totemcarver, Effigy, Fallen Hero, Kodorider, Tuskarr Totemic, Totem Golem
- Part 3 - Justicar Trueheart, Wilfred Fizzlebang, Sacred Warrior, King's Defender, North Sea Kraken
- Part 4 - Coliseum Manager, Flame Juggler, Clockwork Knight, Savage Combatant, Silent Knight
- Part 5 - Eydis Darkbane, Fjola Lightbane, Argent Watchman, Spellslinger, Demonfuse
- Part 6 - Argent Horserider, Flame Lance, Darnassus Aspirant, Wrathguard, Shado-Pan Cavalry, Master of Ceremonies
- Part 7 - Master Jouster, Tuskarr Jouster, Argent Lance, Armored Warhorse, The Skeleton Knight
- Part 8 - Ancestral Knowledge, Bolster, Burgle, Injured Kvaldir, Mukla's Champion, Gormok the Impaler
- Part 9 - Warhorse Trainer, Flash Heal, Living Roots, Fist of Jaraxxus, Charged Hammer, Alexstrasza's Champion
(2) Druid of the Saber (2/1) - Choose one: Charge or +1/+1 and Stealth
This expansion has been very kind to the Druid players thus far and here's a low-cost minion that may start to frequent their decks.
As discussed earlier this week with Argent Horserider, it's always nice to have a hard counter for Knife Juggler. Druid of the Saber can certainly be that and, in most instances, can outright replace Bluegill Warrior.
But if there is no Knife Juggler in play, Druid of the Saber is immensely useful for its latter effect, which turns it into a stealthed 3/2 minion. This sets up a Turn 3 play where it can be buffed with either Mark of the Wild or Mark of Nature unimpeded. It's a combination that will be hard to beat and can help set the table for some other minions.
(4) Crowd Favorite - Whenever you play a card with Battlecry, gain +1/+1
Well, this guy certainly lives up to his moniker. Crowd Favorite could find a good home in a lot of decks, especially with a bevy of Battlecry minions out there.
There are a slew of options out there for Crowd Favorite, but players may want to focus on minions that buff his stats even further. A Shattered Sun Cleric can give him an additional +1/+1 on top of his effect, while Abusive Sergeant can add even more attack power for the next turn. Healing minions like Voodoo Doctor or Earthen Ring Farseer can also focus on keeping Crowd Favorite alive, while simultaneously buffing him up. There are numerous synergy possibilities with this new minion and its true potential will only be revealed once the expansion goes live.
(3) Bash - Deal 3 Damage. Gain 3 Armor.
Here's an interesting card, where pros and cons need to be evaluated. This Warrior spell operates at the same cost as Shield Block, but offers slightly less damage and trades in its card draw effect for an immediate 3 damage to a target.
This can help the Warrior rack up his armor count, while also offering a class-specific removal spell like Frostbolt and Lightning Bolt. But don't forget that the Warrior does not need this kind of removal spell, since Fiery War Axe often makes him the removal spell. The Warrior's current cards are pretty sufficient, but keeping Bash in a deck would be a perfectly fine option, as well.
(1) Brave Hunter (2/1) - Inspire: If your hand is empty, deal 2 damage to the enemy hero
The poor, downtrodden Face Hunter clearly needs a hand and Brave Hunter is here to give it a new boost. This card will go just fine with other low-cost minions, like Clockwork Gnome and Leper Gnome.
Its effect will deal additional damage to the opponent for every Hero Power used if the Hunter's deck is empty, which shouldn't be a problem for most Face Hunters. So yes, look for those Face Hunters to potentially put their games away even earlier than they already do. Start planning those anti-Face Hunter strategies a little better, because this could hurt.
(1) Gadgetzan Jouster (1/2) - Battlecry: Reveal a minion in each deck. If yours costs more, gain +1/+1
Behold, the next jouster to join the party. This is Gadgetzan Jouster and unlike the other jousters revealed so far, this minion is meant for a first-turn play.
There are few drawbacks to Gadgetzan Jouster, as the best case scenario turns him into Zombie Chow without the crippling drawback. At worst, he's a vanilla 1/2, which isn't a bad first move. Handlock users may like him as a first move, since their giants will often ensure many joust victories. Otherwise, it's better to have a 1-mana minion with a more reliable effect, like the aforementioned gnomes.
(7) Eadric the Pure (3/7) - Battlecry: Change all enemy minions' Attack to 1
We conclude this week's look at the Grand Tournament with a new Paladin legendary. This is something of a hefty cost for what's merely a 3/7 minion. But it's hard not to be enticed by the Aldor Peacekeeper effect on a much wider scale.
The only question becomes whether Eadric the Pure is even a necessary addition. This legendary is clearly designed to work on a wide array of minions, but by Turn 7, the Equality/Consecration combo should be in play to deal with opposing zoos. With deck space becoming more precious with every new card revealed, it's hard to recommend Eadric over the much more effective Tirion Fordring. In terms of Paladin-exclusive legendaries, he still reigns king.
There's still plenty more to go with the reveals for Hearthstone's Grand Tournament expansion. Shacknews will continue its ongoing analysis of these new cards as they're released, so stay tuned for more, as we continue our series tomorrow.
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replyOzzie Mejia posted a new article, Inspired: Breaking down the Hearthstone 'Grand Tournament' cards (Part 10)
