Hearthstone continues through the Year of the Dragon, as the long-running card game moves into this year's second expansion. The League of E.V.I.L. now ventures into the desert for Hearthstone's next expansion, Saviors of Uldum. Blizzard is moving forward with another round of 135 cards to join the Standard and Wild rotations.
That means it's time once again for Shacknews to break down each of the expansion's cards, one-by-one. Before the card reveals begin in earnest, we're going to take a look at the cards unveiled, 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 card analyses (Part 2)
Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum card analyses (Part 3)
Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum card analyses (Part 4)
Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum - The livestream card reveals
Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum card analyses (Part 5)
Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum - Plague of Murlocs interview
And now, let's get started.
(7) Overflow
Type: Spell
Class: Druid
Rarity: Rare
Restore 5 Health to all characters. Draw 5 cards.
Source: Inven
Analysis: This isn't quite Ultimate Infestation. Let's face it, nothing can be Ultimate Infestation. But this is somewhat in the spirit of that card.
This is for the Healing Druid players out there. The ones running Lifeweaver, Crystal Stag, and Lucentbark. This is also good for replenishing your hand in the late game, which should come in handy for the Arena player. Just be careful about what situation you use this in, because healing all enemies for five could be a big downside.
(5) Anubisath Defender (3/5)
Type: Minion
Class: Druid
Rarity: Epic
Taunt: Costs (0) if you've cast a spell that costs (5) or more this turn.
Source: Inven
Analysis: Arcane Tyrant proved to be great value for a lot of decks in its day. Now the Druid player get a pretty good replacement. This is essentially a free 3/5 Taunt in exchange for a strong Druid spell like Starfall, Starfire, or The Forest's Aid.
This is a strong card for the Druid player and one that will only get more useful in future expansions. Expect to see this quite a bit in the months ahead.
(1) Plague of Flames
Type: Spell
Class: Warlock
Rarity: Rare
Destroy all your minions. For each one, destroy a random enemy minion.
Source: LingGe on Douyu
Analysis: Twisting Nether can be such an expensive spell. What if you want to clear the board with something a little less pricey? This 1-Cost spell might be able to help, provided that you have the board to make it work. Fortunately, we got something to work just with this kind of card in the last expansion.
Rafaam's Scheme can provide more than enough expendable minions to sacrifice. Fill the board with useless imps and then sacrifice them all to clear the board. And it'll work at half the cost of Twisting Nether. That's a potent combo and should work as one of the Warlock's new reliable board clear options.
(2) Micro Mummy (1/2)
Type: Minion - Mech
Class: Paladin
Rarity: Epic
Reborn: At the end of your turn, give another random friendly minion +1 Attack.
Source: DEKKI JP on YouTube
Analysis: Micro Mummy doesn't look all that great on paper, since its stats are relatively weak. It might get its effect off once and that'll probably be the end of it.
However, the Mech syngergy gives this thing legs. Putting a Magnetic Mech on this thing could lead to some interesting possibilities, especially if it gets brought back by Kangor's Endless Army. It'll also be good for boosting Mechano-Egg's attack power, giving it more of a chance to hatch that 8/8 Robosaur.
(3) Livewire Lance (2/2)
Type: Weapon
Class: Warrior
Rarity: Epic
After your Hero attacks, add a Lackey to your hand.
Source: Attrix on YouTube
Analysis: This is an interesting weapon for the Warrior, because it looks like it's setting something up for farther down the road. Lackeys feed into a lot of decks for other classes, like Warlock, Rogue, and Shaman. But Lackeys are fairly inconsequential in Warrior decks... at the moment.
A good Warrior weapon is hard to turn down, but it's tough to justify packing this over Wrenchcalibur.
(3) Desert Spear (1/3)
Type: Weapon
Class: Hunter
Rarity: Common
After your hero attacks, summon a 1/1 Locust with Rush.
Source: RegisKillbin on YouTube
Analysis: The Hunter is getting a new weapon too, with slightly tweaked stats. And instead of getting a Lackey, they immediately summon a 1/1 Locust with Rush. It's a slightly lesser, yet also slightly better, version of the Piranha Launcher.
I can't imagine it sees a lot of play because three mana for a 1-Attack weapon seems weak, but you may see it a couple of times off a Hunter's Pack pull. If you do wind up with this, take advantage of the Locust's Beast properties and use Beast synergy cards to make it work for you.
(5) Dark Pharoah Tekahn (4/4)
Type: Minion
Class: Warlock
Rarity: Legendary
Battlecry: For the rest of the game, your Lackeys are 4/4.
Source: USGamer
Analysis: Zoo Warlocks often work with a lot of Lackeys, but what if those Lackeys were significantly bigger? This takes the Warlock's Lackeys and throws them in an Un'Goro Rogue Quest blender, spitting out 4/4 Lackeys that can't be Silenced. A bunch of 1-Cost 4/4s is devastating and there are a lot of ways to get Lackeys on the board.
This is a huge winner for the Zoo Warlock, especially given how much bigger those Lackeys could potentially get, thanks to spells like Grim Rally. Beware of the Zoo Warlock in this next expansion.
(2) Vilefiend (2/2)
Type: Minion - Demon
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Common
Lifesteal
Source: USGamer
Analysis: This is surprisingly not a Warlock Demon, but rather a neutral Demon. Regardless, even with its Lifesteal properties, the Zoo Warlock deck has gotten crowded and it's hard to imagine finding a place for this. This is unlikely to see play, though you might see it once or twice in Arena.
(6) Pharoah's Blessing
Type: Spell
Class: Paladin
Rarity: Rare
Give a minion +4/+4, Divine Shield, and Taunt.
Source: Iyingdi
Analysis: This is going to an essential card for Mech Paladins who are looking to upgrade their Mechs. Kangor's Endless Army will be a great tool to bring back whatever Mech has been given this massive buff.
The big buffing candidate here will obviously be Mechano-Egg, turning it from an 0/8 to a 4/12 with Divine Shield and Taunt. This is going to be a very useful spell going forward and I'd expect to see it in almost every Paladin deck.
Immortal Prelate will also be very happy to see this spell in the late game. And if you've satisfied the requirements to reduce its cost enough, Shirvallah, the Tiger becomes very dangerous with this spell.
(8) Tomb Warden (3/6)
Type: Minion - Mech
Class: Warrior
Rarity: Rare
Taunt. Battlecry: Summon a copy of this minion.
Source: Basgamer on Facebook
Analysis: "The feast of souls begins now!"
Yes, this immediately makes me think of Twin Emperor Vek'lor, in terms of summoning a pair of mid-sized Taunts. However, there are going to be some key differences here, namely that Tomb Warden has a chance to get buffed all to Hades.
Let's look at some of the cards that have been introduced for this set alone. Into the Fray and Armagedillo are both going to buff any Taunt minions in hand, which means this pair of 3/6 Taunts could become much more threatening by the time they're played.
And even vanilla copies of this are nothing to sneeze at, which is where it should be noted that you'll probably see these getting pulled from Dr. Boom, Mad Genius quite a bit in the late game. Just a total winner for the Warrior in all aspects, both in constructed and in Arena.
(1) Embalming Ritual
Type: Spell
Class: Priest
Rarity: Common
Give a minion Reborn.
Source: Huya
Analysis: Giving any minion the Reborn mechanic could be a big boost for the Priest player, depending on which minion they pass it on to. Giving it to Catrina Muerte is just going to be crushing for your opponent, given how she can just keep the pressure going with more and more minions.
But the minion with the most potential for abuse is Zerek, Master Cloner. Giving him this spell would bring him back at a 5/1, but also bring back the original Zerek at a full 5/5. There's room for shenanigans here for those willing to try it out.
(1) Pharaoh Cat (1/2)
Type: Minion - Beast
Class: Rogue
Rarity: Common
Battlecry: Add a random Reborn minion to your hand.
Source: Online-Station
Analysis: An absolutely excellent Turn 1 play for Rogue! It's 1/2 stats to start the game and you'll get an extra resource for down the line. And given that the Reborn pool is rather shallow, you're going to have games where this just pulls out Colossus of the Moon for you to use on Turn 10.
There's no going wrong with this card at all. An A+ for both constructed and Arena.
(4) Bone Wraith (2/5)
Type: Minion
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Common
Taunt. Reborn
Source: Online-Station
Analysis: Revealed alongside the Pharaoh Cat comes this guy, who offers some nice 2/5 stats, along with the Reborn mechanic that keeps it standing. It should be able to stand up nicely against zoo decks and should also work in the resurgent Taunt Warrior meta, both in Standard and Wild.
Bone Wraith is also a solid Arena pick, able to keep the board at bay while you prep to get your late game strategy online.
That's all for now! There isn't much time before Hearthstone's next expansion arrives, so that means Shacknews needs to hurry and wrap this up. We'll have more cards for you tomorrow and then the final Lightning Round on Tuesday morning before the expansion's big release! Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum is set to arrive this Tuesday, August 6.
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replyOzzie Mejia posted a new article, Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum card analyses (Part 6)
