I know it’s early days and there are a LOT more cards to come but I wanted to give my first impressions of the teaser cards they’ve shown so far and, more importantly, I’d really like to hear other peoples opinions.
So first let’s kick things off with the quests. I like the return of quests. While the original quests were very hit and miss in power it was a fun and interesting mechanic to introduce to the game. It’s interesting that they’ve chosen to give new hero powers upon completion which would suggest they’ve combined ideas from the original quests and the KotFT hero cards. Hopefully they’ve learned valuable lessons from both of these previous mechanics to create a good and fun hybrid:
Supreme Archaeology - draw 20 cards, hero power draws a card and reduces cost to 0: I’ve seen a few people suggesting this could herald the return of Mech’thun warlock…honestly, I’m not convinced as, unless you’re lucky enough for Mecha’thun to be in the back of your deck, it doesn’t really bring a huge benefit to the archetype. It’s an interesting hero power though and could potentially see play in a control warlock deck that could benefit greatly from Archivist Elysiana
Untapped Potential - End 4 turns with unspent mana, hero power combines choose one effects: Say hello to midrange druid. For me, this quest might be a little bit too easy to complete given the potential power swings it unlocks. We all remember the shenanigans of Jade druid if you couldn’t get Fandral Staghelm off the board. Potentially very strong and could create a monster of Jade Druid in wild.
New keyword: Reborn (when this minion dies, return it to life with 1 hp). Basically a minion with redemption secret built in. In the teaser card shown, Restless Mummy, it creates another powerful clear option for warriors, especially when combined with Inner Rage . I expect to see a few interesting interactions with this new keyword. A taunt minion is probably guaranteed and shaman and priests could potentially get wicked value out of it with their resurrects. Likely not going to be the strongest keyword we’ve seen when compared to the likes of Magnetic/Lifesteal, but has potential for some interesting gameplay.
Onto the regular teaser cards:
Jar Dealer: Not great for value. If it was a battlecry I’d expect it to see play in zoolock or token druid but, honestly, not expecting much from this card.
Questing Explorer: Nice cheap card draw for anyone using their quest. Good stats for its value too. Expect this to be in every warlock quest deck.
EVIL Totem: Lackeys have proven to be stronger than a lot of people expected them to be in the right decks, though they are still struggling to make any major impact on the meta. Could potentially see play if Shaman gets some more lackey support, but also could just as easily be a nothing card.
Plague of Death: Strong board clear, but will it have a place in the meta? If the next meta is anything like this one…then no. Too many matchups being decided by turn 10 to make this card viable if the trend continues. If a more control oriented meta is on the horizon, however, could be a potentially strong card. Will be interesting to see what other plagues are in the works for the other ‘villain’ classes (Plague of frogs for Shaman???) and what cards the ‘hero’ classes will get as their counterparts to these, likely to be treasure type cards like the next one on the list.
Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron: Honestly, I was never a big fan of Yogg-Saron, powerful cards that cast multiple random effects are just too hit and miss. I can see this being used in some meme decks, but can’t see it having too much impact on competitive play.
Obviously it’s too early to form any real opinion on how the meta may shape up. My biggest concern is whether or not they’ve learned enough from the Un’Goro Quests and the KotFT DK hero powers to properly balance the new quests, but only time will tell. The reborn mechanic has potential to be interesting. I’d say, though, that…while it isn’t likely to be powerful enough to cause major concerns, there is potential for the odd broken card if combined with something crazy.
Would love to hear other peoples opinions on the cards they’ve seen so far.