Blizzcon has been a ridiculously massive event, full of exciting news across all of Blizzard’s games, as well as the finals of the Hearthstone, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft Arena.
During all of this, Blizzard unveiled a new set coming to Hearthstone: Mean Streets of Gadgetzan. While the super catchy theme song and the promotional video were certainly something to get me excited, the new cards sold me very, very quickly. There’s a lot of spoilers, so we’ll jump right into it.
The biggest push of the set is the introduction of tri-class cards; Cards that can be used across three different classes, separated into factions. Kabal cards are for Mage, Priest, and Warlock, Grimy Goons cards are for Warrior, Hunter, and Paladin, and Jade Lotus cards are for Rogue, Druid, and Shaman. This will not only completely change the dynamic of archetypes in tournaments especially, but it will also add a ton of value to crafting, which is excellent for high level and newer players alike.
A plethora of cards have also been spoiled. As of this writing, 34 of them have been revealed, and quite a few of them have piqued my interest.
We’ll start with one of the most talked about cards, Kazakus.
Now, personally, I’m not the biggest fan of Reno-style decks or cards, but this one seems to fit right in with almost all of them. The amount of combinations are apparently in the hundreds, so making a potion that fits whatever situation you want looks to be well within the realm of realistic. Anything from sweeping the board and making something afterwards, to doing damage and getting some taunts, or maybe even healing and drawing cards. The possibilities, and more importantly the actual good possibilities, seem vast, and add a lot of value to what would otherwise be inconsistent and flimsy Reno decks.
Kabal Courier seems like a card that can fit into a lot of slower midrange decks that want a little extra value. I can see playing this in any sort of [Brann Bronzebeard] deck, or even a Kazakus deck, where you’d love some virtual duplicates of cards anyway. The stats themselves aren’t great, but at least you’ll be able to get cards that are outside of your class, which gives you a bit more flexibility. Cards like this are exactly what something like a Reno-Warlock deck needs. Anything that increases the chances of improving your consistency in card choices in a rather inconsistent archetype is worth playing, and this should further tighten up the rather loose card choices going on right now.
Fel Orc Soulfiend is another iteration of the [Injured Blademaster]-esque cards, but this one may just be the best of them all, and likely to complement or even replace the Blademaster in Ressurect Priest decks. The body is excellent for what you’re paying, and getting even one minion out of an aggressive deck makes this well worth it. Killing [Huge Toads] and [Voidwalkers] is great, and while this can’t deal with [Imp Gang Boss] the way that [Injured Blademaster] can, but the extra health upfront, combined with the residual effect (as opposed to an upfront damage trigger), allows for more longevity, at the cost of moderately higher maintenance, should you choose to even maintain it.
For Paladin, Wickerflame Burnbristle just might be the most impactful card in the set, and that’s before we’ve even seen most of the cards! An Annoy-O-Tron-esque effect is already playable, but getting a minimum three damage from it in most situations is such a great deal in so many archetypes that Paladin could want, that it, singlehandedly, will change how many matchups would normally play out. This is yet another major threat that Zoo-esque decks will have to figure out, and between this, and the plethora of burst healing that Paladin already has access to, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Paladin aggro or midrange make a big surge in popularity.
Priest may have gotten the biggest overall boost from this set, as Drakonid Operative is a major boon to Dragon Priest decks that fills in a void between your early-mid game, and your mid-late game. The body is also very respectable, though it could potentially pose problems against Sylvanas, but that’s a minor detail in a major game changer. If Priest gets back in the mix, then this card will be it, and if it isn’t Operative, then it will be Operative plus Dragonfire Potion. Priest wasn’t necessarily stressing over sweepers, but the Soul-Circle combo would take up too many slots, and Holy Nova was more of a utility piece when combined with attacking. Excavated Evil is fine, but can’t get everything, but Dragonfire Potion will be a ridiculously powerful sweeper that can clean up everything you can think of, and if it doesn’t, the Dragons you have will. This is a bit awkward in a Dragon mirror, but the upside is too good to pass up.
While all of these cards interest me the most, I’m the biggest fan of Wickerflame Burnbristle and Drakonid Operative. The exciting part about all of this is that this is just the beginning, and there are still 98 cards left to be spoiled. There will be plenty more spoilers coming in the weeks, and I’ll certainly be talking about the most exciting ones!
Anthony has been competing in games for the better part of his adult life and is dedicated to improving his game, improving his community, improving himself as a person, and most importantly having fun and enjoying himself while doing so. You can check out his stream to find out which video game is the latest to catch his attention.