Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum card analyses (Part 2)

Hearthstone is in the middle of the Year of the Dragon and as we pass the halfway point for 2019, it's time for the year's second major expansion. For this latest expansion, Blizzard travels to the desert for Saviors of Uldum. And the publisher is ready to unveil another round of 135 cards to the Standard and Wild rotations.

That means it's time once again for Shacknews to begin another round of card breakdowns. Before the card reveals begin in earnest, we're going to take a look at the cards unveiled earlier this month, some of which utilize some brand new mechanics to Hearthstone.

Before we start, a quick recap of what we've unveiled to this point:

Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum card analyses (Part 1)

Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum - Plague of Murlocs interview

And now, let's get started.

(4) Impbalming
Type: Spell
Class: Warlock
Rarity: Rare
Destroy a minion. Shuffle 3 Worthless Imps into your deck.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Instagram

Analysis: This is a reliable removal spell for the Warlock with a minimal downside. The downside is that it puts three 1/1 Worthless Imps into your deck, which probably aren't going to be great draws in the late game. However, there are ways to make this work in your favor.

Zoo decks, which are already filled with low cost minions anyway, aren't going to be hurt by having Imps around. For one thing, they can work as great sacrificial lambs for EVIL Genius and Grim Rally. They can also be discarded for Shriek or Reckless Diretroll. But at the end of the day, it's a handy three extra cards for Arch-Villain Rafaam, which will turn these three 1/1s into something decidedly not worthless.

(7) Earthquake
Type: Spell
Class: Shaman
Rarity: Rare
Deal 5 damage to all minions, then deal 2 damage to all minions.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Instagram

Analysis: On the surface, this seems to be oddly-worded. Why would it deal five damage and then two? Shouldn't it just be seven across the board? Well, no. There is an important different.

An initial tremor can trigger certain minion effects. Let's look at an example like... Security Rover. Security Rover will eat five damage, which will summon a 2/3 Mech. Then the aftershock will deal two damage, destroying the Security Rover, but leaving a 2/3 Mech and a damaged 2/1 Mech on the board.

This is going to be an effective board clear for the Shaman player, albeit an expensive one. It's hard to imagine not packing in Hagatha's Scheme instead, since both spells have the same downside of damaging all minions. This is a nice pull from Hagatha the Witch, though.

(3) Weaponized Wasp (3/3)
Type: Minion - Beast
Class: Shaman
Rarity: Rare
Battlecry: If you control a Lackey, deal 3 damage.
Source: Hearthside Chat – Join the League of Explorers!

Analysis: To this point, there haven't been a lot of cards that are actively triggered by Lackeys. That looks like it's about to change with the Uldum expansion. Weaponized Wasp is the first of these new cards to take advantage of Lackeys. The Shaman has a few Lackey-generating tools with Sludge Slurper and the other Neutral cards. That would offer a reliable three damage on Turn 4, which could remove some pesky early-turn minions.

It's hard to picture where this would fit in the current Standard meta, given that Murloc and Battlecry Shamans are pretty well set. It's a useful minion, but may not necessarily have a place just yet.

(3) BEEEES!!!
Type: Spell
Class: Druid
Rarity: Common
Choose a minion. Summon four 1/1 Bees that attack it.
Source: Hearthside Chat – Join the League of Explorers!

Now that the requisite meme is out of the way, let's look at this fascinating spell. On the surface, it looks like it does four damage. If a minion has less than four health remaining, it looks like the surviving bees will stay on the board. But going back to that Earthquake card earlier, you want to be careful that it doesn't attack a minion that triggers an effect by taking damage, otherwise it'll trigger that effect four times.

So how can you make the most out of this? How about pairing it with Knife Juggler, so you can get four knives out of this play? Or if you're playing Wild, how about pairing this play with Addled Grizzly and making this an eight damage play? There are some possibilities for this card. Just be careful, because bees will poison your Witching Hour pool, so don't play this card with something like Witchwood Grizzly.

(1) Plague of Madness
Type: Spell
Class: Rogue
Rarity: Rare
Each player equips a 2/2 Knife with Poisonous.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Twitter

Analysis: In announcing the Plague cards, Blizzard initially said that they would effect all minions on both sides of the board. Unfortunately, for the Rogue, that means sort of flying in the face of the "class identity" that was firmly re-established just weeks prior to the expansion's reveal. So that meant the Rogue's Plague needed to be something different.

So here we have the Plague of Madness, which some might derisively call the Rogue's Weapons Project. This might be a tough sell for Rogue players, unless they absolutely need the removal. That's because unlike Weapons Project, they won't have the extra Armor to take the brunt of the hit.

I can't imagine many Rogues playing this one, unless they're really attached to the Turn 6 Plague of Madness/Harrison Jones play.

(4) Psychopomp (3/1)
Type: Minion
Class: Priest
Rarity: Epic
Battlecry: Summon a random friendly minion that died this game. Give it Reborn.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Twitter

Analysis: This has the great potential for abuse, especially for Big Priests in Wild. It's a much better Onyx Bishop, resurrecting a minion with the Reborn mechanic. On the one hand, you can arrange it so that you get something game-breaking, like Catrina Muerte.

Just be careful, because while this is a very useful Battlecry, it also means you're getting a 3/1 minion added to your Resurrection pool.

(1) Brazen Zealot (2/1)
Type: Minion
Class: Paladin
Rarity: Rare
Whenever you summon a minion, gain +1 Attack.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Twitch

Analysis: It takes a lot for 2/1 stats to work well as a Turn 1 play. And this isn't going to buck the trend. Brazen Zealot's 2/1 stats won't be impressing anyone and the attached effect won't win them over, either. Think of it like a roundabout Buccaneer, which didn't exactly see a lot of play in its heyday, either.

Stick with a good Neutral as your Turn 1 play if you're playing Standard. If you're playing Wild, nothing's replacing Righteous Protector anytime soon.

(2) Sandwasp Queen (3/1)
Type: Minion - Beast
Class: Paladin
Rarity: Common
Battlecry: Add two 2/1 Sandwasps to your hand.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Twitch

Analysis: It takes a lot for 3/1 stats to work well as a TUrn 2 play. And this isn't going to buck the trend. Even if it does give you a pair of 2/1 tokens, both the Sandwasp Queen and the tokens get taken out way too easily by most spells and a lot of minion effects.

There's not too much more to say about this one, so let's move right along.

(3) Salhet's Pride (3/1)
Type: Minion - Beast
Class: Paladin
Rarity: Rare
Deathrattle: Draw two 1-Health minions from your deck.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Twitch

Analysis: You might be noticing a pattern here. The Paladin minions seem to be a bit on the uninspired side. There may be a synergy card coming at some point to help bolster these 1-Health minions, but right now, they're quite easily dispatched.

Right now, these cards look like they're no good. But stay tuned. Something might change down the road.

(1) Plague of Murlocs
Type: Spell
Class: Shaman
Rarity: Epic
Transform all minions into random Murlocs.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Twitter

Analysis: Let's just refer to this little masterpiece from earlier this month.

Be sure to check out our interview (link up top) to learn more about this card!

(6) Armagedillo (4/7)
Type: Minion - Beast
Class: Warrior
Rarity: Legendary
Taunt. At the end of your turn, give all Taunt minions in your hand +2/+2.
Source: PlayHearthstone on Twitter

Analysis: Wild players who are still running the old Warrior Un'Goro quest are going to be thrilled to see this guy. Those 4/7 stats are half-decent and should hold up in many instances. And its effect is guaranteed to kick in at least once. So while the Armagedillo won't hold up over time, it'll set up a number of follow-up plays, including Hecklebot, Witchwood Grizzly, Safeguard, and Zilliax.

This may be a Beast, but Armagedillo should fit nicely into a lot of Mech Warrior decks. This is an early winner for the Warrior.

That's all for now! There isn't much time before Hearthstone's next expansion arrives, so that means Shacknews had better get rolling with more card analyses. And we'll have them for you all week! Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum is set to arrive on August 6.