Hearthstone Witchwood: Analysis and predictions of the cards so far (Part Two)

Last week, we covered all the Witchwood cards that had been revealed for the latest Hearthstone expansion. Another week has rolled around and a bunch more cards are now known, so let’s take a look at some of the newcomers and see if we think they’ll fit into any constructed decks, or potentially be good picks in arena. Like last time, we’re not going to include any cards we don’t think will be good, we’re only going to look at the ones we believe will see some play.

Darius Crowley - Warrior

A much more viable Boogeymonster type effect, but with a much worse name, Darius Crowley is understatted for the 5 mana cost, but can be a potentially devastating card if it sticks to the board. The addition of Rush is mainly what makes it much better than the Boogeymonster, but if you’re just looking for instant removal, Militia Commander is a 4 mana 5/5 is a better choice, especially since you can run two of them. Darius Crowley could see play, but right now it’s 50/50.

Emeriss - Hunter

Hear us out here. We don’t think Emeriss is going to be drafted in arena, nor is it going to be included in any competitive deck. Why we’re including Emeriss in this list, is the instant win it will give any Dragon Priest player who gets this from Bone Drake. If you see this get dropped when you’re against a Priest, you may as well just concede. Here’s hoping some more cards get printed that enable Control Hunter.

Raven Caller - Neutral

There’s one archetype we can see Raven Caller absolutely excelling in, and that’s Quest Hunter. One of the Un’Goro quests that everyone predicted to be very powerful before the expansion launched, but turned out to be sorely disappointing, Raven Caller along with a few other cards this expansion could turn Quest Hunter into the monster it has the potential to be.

Sound the Bells! - Paladin

Witchwood seems like Blizzard’s last ditch attempt to get some of the lesser-played quests in the meta, and Sound the Bells! is one of the cards printed that could make Quest Paladin viable. Previously, one of the big weaknesses about Quest Paladin, Galvadon, and Lynessa Sunsorrow, is that a single silence or hard removal can completely ruin your win condition. Sound the Bells! has Echo though, so you can apply the buffs to multiple targets at once, even if the card is slightly understatted for what it does.

Cheap Shot - Rogue

A very simple card, but one that could be devastating, especially in Rogue. Two damage to a minion for two mana isn’t anything to write home about, but when you can combo it with Edwin, easily awaken Sherazin, or trigger Auctioneer, it can potentially become broken very quickly. Thank the heavens it can’t target face.

Lady in White - Priest

One of the strongest classes right now, Priest is just going to keep getting stronger if cards like this continue to be printed. Lady in White fits into any archetype with the exception of Dragon Priest (1/1 Twilight Drake anyone?), and could easily be the strongest legendary of the expansion. Expect 8/8 Obsidian Statues, 12/12 Yseras, and 3/3 Northshire Clerics to deal with after Witchwood launches.

Cursed Castaway - Rogue

If there’s anything Rogue doesn’t need more of, it’s direct damage and card draw. But these are the two effects Cursed Castaway has with it, to buff both Tempo and Miracle Rogue even further. Combine these potentials with the Pirate synergy and buffs it can receive from cards like Cold Blood and Keleseth, and you’ve got a card that will likely find its home in many Rogue decks this year.

Chameleos - Priest

Priest undeniably gets the award for having the best two legendaries this expansion. Chameleos is Shifter Zerus’ stronger sibling, as it can in theory give you complete knowledge of every card in your opponent’s hand. The longer you hold off playing it, the more information you gather about what cards your opponent has drawn, but you can also play a stupidly powerful card if you have the mana for it. And if you know your opponent is just drawing the stronger cards from their deck and has no early game removal, you can play as offensive as you like to take advantage of that. Chameleos will be in every Priest deck, guaranteed.

Toxmonger - Hunter

Quest Hunter players will LOVE this card. Understatted, but with the very powerful effect of giving every one-mana minion you play Poisonous, this turns Quest Hunter into a deck that can essentially remove any target whenever it wants as long as you have Toxmonger down on the board. That’s the only drawback; Toxmonger has to be alive for the effect to trigger, but if you can snowball minions after completing the quest, then you have an almost full board of 4/3 beasts with Poisonous.

Witchwood Grizzly - Neutral

Against aggro, this card is at worst a 3/8 or 3/9 taunt for 5 mana, which is fantastic. At best, you’ve got yourself a 3/12. Playing Priest? Throw down Lady in White and you’ve got a 12/12 taunt for 5 mana; potentially TWO on the same turn in late-game. It won’t always be a broken card, because there’s plenty of hard removal around and more often than not it will only have 3 attack, but if aggro decks become prominent, this card will be an auto-include in most decks.

Woodcutter’s Axe - Warrior

Oh Fiery War Axe, how we miss you. Woodcutter’s Axe is the latest Warrior weapon, and has worse stats than FWA did, but the deathrattle is what gives this card so much potential. Warrior has received a few decent Rush cards, notably Darius Crowley and Militia Commander, so if you can buff one of these then Woodcutter’s Axe will definitely be ran twice in Rush Warrior decks. If Warrior gets a 3-cost Rush minion? We think it could easily be one of the most powerful archetypes enabled by this expansion.

Wing Blast - Hunter

Could Control Hunter actually become real? Wing Blast is an incredible card. Hunter almost always has minions on the board, so this becomes essentially a 1-cost deal 4 damage to a minion, which is a fantastic way for Hunters to regain board control. If you’re running Flanking Strike or Kill Command, you also don’t have to trade a minion every time. Since it’s a spell, it also buffs Spell Hunter, so this should see play in almost every archetype except Face Hunter if it makes a comeback.

Deathweb Spider - Warlock

5 mana for 4/6 stats is often hit and miss. Burgly Bully saw play in niche decks, while Spectral Knight didn’t see any play outside of Arena. Deathweb Spider could be the strongest 5/4/6 yet, as Lifesteal is very strong in Warlock, a class that doesn’t have too much healing otherwise. The main downside to this is not being able to play it on curve, as you need to play it directly after you use your hero power, or play a Flame Imp.

Bogshaper - Shaman

At last! Shaman gets something that could be half decent! Bogshaper is understatted, but is meant to combo with Hagatha the Witch and be an almost endless supply of minions. The issue is that Hagatha the Witch isn’t powerful by itself, and neither is Bogshaper. And Bogshaper would need to survive for a turn to have much effect at all, so while we don’t think this is the card or synergy to bring Shaman back to the top tier, Bogshaper could be alright.

Dire Frenzy - Hunter

Dire Frenzy will be a strong card under one condition: Hunter receives another way to draw/cycle cards. As it stands, the main synergies this card could have are with Stonetusk Boar and Tol’Vir Warden, creating a bunch of 4/4 chargers, or with Charged Devilsaur/King Krush and Kathrena Winterwisp. It’s got so much potential, and as keen Hunter players, we’re very excited for this card, but some card draw for the class would turn this card into a must-include.

Gilnean Royal Guard - Neutral

Switching the stats every other turn is a new mechanic introduced with Witchwood, and on most cards it feels awkward and unnecessary. With Gilnean Royal Guard though, despite it being very expensive, it’s powerful with both sets of stats. An 8 attack minion with Rush can take out almost every other minion in the game, and Divine Shield means your opponent must remove it next turn, while the 3/8 version means you can trade with smaller minions when you’re against aggro, and then trade another few times before it dies if your opponent doesn’t do anything about it, which they likely can’t if they’re playing an aggro deck. One of the only stat switchers that feels worthwhile.

Voodoo Doll - Neutral

Despite being heavily understatted, Voodoo Doll is essentially a guaranteed Assassinate or Vilespine Slayer for two less mana, and it fits into any class. Your opponent could silence it, but in a midrange or control style deck, when your opponent has limited silence options available, they’ll probably want to wait for something more attractive. It makes Cubelock even more powerful when combined with Dark Pact, Frost Lich Jaina can ping it for hard removal and a Water Elemental, it helps out Warriors with Whirlwind and Warlocks with Defile, it’s simply a very strong card. If you’re playing Shaman and running Murmuring Elemental, you could also get TWO hard removals for the price of less than one.

Toki, Time-Tinker - Mage

Perhaps the most interesting card of the expansion so far, Toki is the only card that can take a card from Wild and bring it into Standard. But how much potential does it have? The important thing to remember is that Toki is Mage only, and a lot of the Wild legendaries simply don’t synergise or buff Mage in any way. With that said, there’s some stand-out synergies that could happen. Acidmaw is one, as it turns your hero power into a 2-cost Assassinate, Hallazeal the Ascended could give you a full heal if you’re rocking a lot of damage spells, while Justicar Trueheart is great for your hero power. Not to mention the legendaries like Ragnaros the Firelord, Sylvanas Windrunner, and the infamous Dr. Boom that are powerful by themselves. It requires some lucky highrolling, but Toki, Time-Tinker has the potential to be great. Not to mention featured on Trolden a lot.

That’s all the cards for this week, check back next week for part three of our analysis. If it carries on this way though, Hunter could be one of the better classes again, while Priest and Warlock stay right at the top.