Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Hearthstone's latest expansion is almost here. The Year of the Dragon continues with the year's second expansion, Saviors of Uldum. Blizzard will add another batch of 135 cards to join the Standard and Wild rotations. But there's more than just minions and spells this time. This expansion also marks the return of quests.
Quests are a massive change to both the Standard and Wild Hearthstone metas as everyone knows them. They will be played in a vast majority of new decks. So it's probably a good idea to know what they do and what players can use them with. Having said all of that, Shacknews is here to break down each of the Uldum quests and give them our full analysis.
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 card analyses (Part 6)
Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum card analyses (Part 7)
Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum - Plague of Murlocs interview
And now, let's get started.
(1) Untapped Potential
Type: Spell
Class: Druid
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: End 4 turns with any unspent Mana. Reward: Ossirian Tear.
Ossirian Tear
Passive Hero Power
Your Choose One cards have both effects combined.
Analysis: (From our card analyses)
The Druid certainly wasn't going to get along for very long without the ability to exploit its "Choose One" keyword. It's been more than a year since Fandral Staghelm rotated into Wild, but Blizzard's found a clever way to bring his effect back. And unlike before, there's no stopping it this time.
While the Druid's selection of Choose One cards isn't what it used to be, there are still a handful of existing cards that can take advantage of the Ossirian Tear like Crystal Power, Power of the Wild, and Ancient of War. Wardruid Loti also becomes an amalgamated monstrosity, standing a 4/6 with Taunt, Rush, Poisonous, Stealth, and Spell Damage +1.
In Wild, the Ossirian Tear is outright devastating, especially in Jade decks. It might not border on broken like the Malygos Druid, but I would still expect this Quest to see a lot of play in Wild circles.
(1) Supreme Archaeology
Type: Spell
Class: Warlock
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: Draw 20 cards. Reward: Tome of Origination.
Tome of Origination
Hero Power
Draw a card. It costs (0).
Analysis: (From our card analyses)
This isn't exactly power overwhelming, mostly because if you do manage to draw 20 cards, it means you're probably running low on cards. But there are a few tools that can maximize the usefulness of Supreme Archaeology. Plot Twist and Augmented Elekk can shuffle extra cards into your deck while also drawing a significant number towards completing the Quest.
The Tome of Origination is essentially the Wilfred Fizzlebang effect, only without the underpowered minion attached. That makes this a better proposition overall, especially if you're near the end of your rope and need to play Arch-Villain Rafaam.
(1) Unseal the Vault
Type: Spell
Class: Hunter
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: Summon 20 minions. Reward: Ramkahen Roar.
Ramkahen Roar
Hero Power
Give your minions +2 Attack.
Analysis: Summoning 20 minions might sound like a lot, but the Hunter player can actually accomplish this quite easily. Thanks to cards like Unleash the Hounds and the new Swarm of Locusts, this quest gets completed rather quickly. But the question is, what does one do with this particular Hero Power.
As it turns out, the Hunter can easily fill the board with lower level Beasts, thanks to... er... Unleash the Hounds and Swarm of Locusts! You'll also get a lot of minions with Halazzi, the Lynx, Hunting Mastiff, and others. And hey, if you used up those minion-producing spells, Zul'jin can more often than not refill your board.
It's hard to see this quest replacing Mech Hunter as the Hunter deck of choice. So with that said, why not do both? After all, Replicating Menace can give you a lot of Microbots just waiting to be boosted.
(1) Raid the Sky Temple
Type: Spell
Class: Mage
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: Cast 10 spells. Reward: Ascendant Scroll.
Ascendant Scroll
Hero Power
Add a random Mage spell to your hand. It costs (2) less.
Analysis: Conjurer's Mage appears to be all the hotness, but it doesn't hurt to have a backup win condition. Raid the Sky Temple is a simple enough task to complete, especially if you play a deck that's packing Mana Cyclone.
The catch to Ascendant Scroll is that it gives you a spell discounted by two, but it costs two mana to use the Hero Power. So it all evens out. This is mainly a resource generator for the late game, in the event that all else fails. I wouldn't expect a lot of Conjurer Mages or any other Mages to fall back on this random spell generator just yet. But there's plenty of time for this to grow into a strong card in later expansions.
(1) Making Mummies
Type: Spell
Class: Paladin
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: Play 5 Reborn minions. Reward: Emperor Wraps.
Emperor Wraps
Hero Power
Summon a 2/2 copy of a friendly minion.
Analysis: Emperor Wraps is a Hero Power, not a minion, you silly person.
This is one of those quests that sounds weak or boring on paper, but it's actually going to wreck people's faces more than anyone expects. Making a copy of any friendly minion on command leads to a well-equipped Paladin for the late game.
Do you have a Magnetic Mech filled to the brim with Deathrattle effects and other bonus stats? Make a 2/2 copy of that and get more of those Deathrattle benefits. Maybe you want to make a copy of a vanilla Mech? What's out there that you can use? Well, how about a Mechano-Egg, a Mechanical Whelp, or a Safeguard?
Or how about using this on any of those Reborn minions that you may be packing? Play this Hero Power on a Reborn minion to get two Reborn minions that are not so easily dispatched.
Don't sleep on this quest, because there are some real possibilities for it.
(1) Hack the System
Type: Spell
Class: Paladin
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: Attack 5 times with your hero. Reward: Anraphet's Core.
Anraphet's Core
Hero Power
Summon a 4/3 Golem. After your hero attacks, refresh this.
Analysis: This is interesting, because it flies in the face of a lot of the Warrior meta decks. What this essentially does it put a 2-mana, 4/3 Golem on the board. Depending on how many times the Warrior attacks, it can put down multiple Golems in a single turn.
There are certainly weapons out there that can take advantage of that refreshed Hero Power. Sul'thraze can trigger this new Hero Power more than once in Standard, while Fool's Bane will do the same in Wild.
But at the end of the day, what good are 4/3 Golems with no tribe synergies going to do for you? Let's revisit this in a future expansion and see if something else comes along to make this quest stronger.
(1) Bazaar Burglary
Type: Spell
Class: Rogue
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: Add 4 cards from other classes to your hand. Reward: Ancient Blades.
Ancient Blades
Hero Power
Equip a 3/2 Blade with Immune while attacking.
Analysis: This isn't going to be a game-breaker for the Rogue player, but it is going to be a very solid effect. Rogues often need to trade into other minions, but that strategy takes its toll quickly, since it doesn't have the Armor count of the Warrior. Getting a 3/2 attack that grants zero damage is an excellent reward for what's a fairly easy quest condition.
It's hard to imagine wanting to buff this with anything like Deadly Poison, but it certainly couldn't hurt.
(1) Activate the Obelisk
Type: Spell
Class: Priest
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: Restore 15 Health. Reward: Obelisk's Eye.
Obelisk's Eye
Hero Power
Restore 3 Health. If you target a minion, also give it +3/+3.
Analysis: Alright, now we're getting to the flat-out broken stuff. The Priest player getting a chance to buff minions for +3/+3 is insane value, especially if it's also healing them for three as a bonus.
If you're packing anything like Catrina Muerte or any myriad of Resurrection effects, you can waste no time buffing a minion of your choice by +3/+3. But believe it or not, Resurrection may not be the path you want to go down.
There have been rumblings of a Zoo Priest meta and this would certainly seem to help support that. Now imagine adding Surrender to Madness to your deck and turning a multitude of minions into big-time threats.
Your success with Obelisk's Eye will ultimately depend on how quickly you can get it online, so don't be afraid to pack those Divine Hymns and Circles of Healing to see this quest through to the end.
(1) Corrupt the Waters
Type: Spell
Class: Shaman
Rarity: Legendary
Quest: Play 6 Battlecry cards. Reward: Heart of Vir'naal.
Heart of Vir'naal
Hero Power
Your Battlecries trigger twice this turn.
Analysis: The Priest quest may arguably be the more broken of the bunch, but it'll be the Shaman quest that you see a lot. Many players will use this, just because the quest condition is so easy to complete and because there are so many good Battlecry cards out there.
Pick your favorite Battlecry minion and go nuts. Any of your Lackey-generating cards? Any of your Lackeys? All fair game! Don't forget that Menacing Nimbus and that Lifedrinker. They're good for this deck, too! And once your back is to the wall, throw down Shudderwock and play those Battlecries all over again.
The other thing to note is that Barista Lynchen is absolutely devastating in this deck, especially if she's paired with low-cost Lackeys. I said last expansion that she was an absolutely bonkers card and it's going to come to pass in this expansion. She's going to absolutely wreak havoc with Lackeys, thanks to this quest.
Those are your new Hearthstone quests! Come back tomorrow morning, as we Lightning Round through the remaining cards before the expansion's big release! Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum is set to arrive this Tuesday, August 6.