Hearthstone 18: Mean Priests of Gadgetzan

[Zevox]

Welcome to eighteenth GitP thread for Hearthstone. For anyone who doesn't know, Hearthstone is a video card game from Blizzard, based on the Warcraft series. The game is free to play and available here, so if you're interested, give it a shot. You've got nothing to lose but your free time.

For new players, something to be aware of is that there are a number of hidden "quests" you can complete which will give you free gold, dust, or even a pack. A complete list can be found here. Be aware that not quite all of those are ones you'll be able to complete quickly though.

And here is a list of Playgrounders currently in the game, for both NA and EU servers:

Spoiler

Show

GitP Username	Battle.net ID (US)
aethernox	ethernox#1948
AgentPaper	AgentPaper#1193
AmberVael	AmberVael#1225
Anarion	Anarion55#1254
Antonok	Antonok#1704
Anxe	GoCorral#1879
Baelot	Baelot#1149
Cogwheel	OmegaNixon#1123
banthesun	banthesun#1782
Dancing Owlbear	Owlbear#1586
Destro Yersul	DestroYersul#1239
D_Lord	Volrock#1367
Duck999	Duck999#1349
Duos	DoctorDapper#1491
Firedaemon33	Firedaemon#1486
flat_footed	Hiigara#1357
Fleeing Coward	Scorch#1432
GAAD	GAAD#1126
Gaelbert	SamHouston#1563
Gamerlord	Gamerlord#1612
Gandariel	Ciabatta#2958
Ganorenas	Ganorenas#1457
Gomipile	Glodd#1784
Gray Mage	GrayMage#1723
Grytorm	Grytorm#1777
Hamste	Theorules#1234
Haruspex_Pariah	HaruspexPari#1254
Hatevah	Hatevah#1405
heronbpv	Avan#1991
Hircine	IllusiveMan#1616
jindra34	JinRia #1770
Johnjimco	JohnJimco#1482
Karoht	Karoht#1505
Kish	Grazzt#1417
Krade	Krade#1266
LegoShrimp	legoshrimp#1722
Landis963	Landis963#1789
Loreweaver15	Loreweaver#1199
Lunix Vandal	LunixVandal#1952
MacGiolla	MacGiolla#1982
MathMage	MathMage#1797
MCerberus	MCerberus#1734
mistformsquirrl	mistformsqrl#1430
moosabi	Moossabi#1325
Mystic Muse	NSFJunkblade#1400
Neon Knight	VultureCrook#1434
Neriractor	neriractor#1483
Nerocite	JoeKage#1852
nhbdy	Nohbdy#1927
Olinser	Olinser#1393
Onionbreath	GiantSquid#1845
OrcusMcP	Orcus#1805
otakuryoga	Scootaloo#1471
Pokonic	pokonic#1166
PsyBomb	PsyBomb#1878
Qwertystop	Qwertystop#1897
r2d2go	r2d2go#1262
Rodin	Rodin#1811
Rosstin	Rosstin#1609
SamBurke	SamBurke#1486
Shishnarfne	Gruschenka#1375
Sholos	Veebeebee#1383
Stabbity Rabbit	StabityRabit#1362
Techwarrior	Techwarri0r#1572
Temotei	Temotei#1507
Tesla_pasta	teslapasta#1973
Thanatos 51-50	Thanatos5150#1407
TheGlyphstone	Glyphstone#1419
The Hellbug	thehellbug#1216
The_Jackal	TheJackal#1499
Togarth	Asparag#1680
Trouble Brewing	HairyPoppins#1949
UserClone	UserClone #1545
Volatar	Volatar#1750
Yael	Urashima#1810
Yana	Raltis#1807
ZeroNumerous	ZeroNumerous#1913
Zevox	Zevox#1522
Zmek	JadeReaver #1783

GitP Username	Battle.net ID (EU)
Adumbration	Adumbration#2419
Aran Thule	AranThule#2780
Avaris	Avaris#2378
Avilan the Grey	Beardedgeek#2355
Beelzebub1111	SirArthurIV#1244
boomwolf	BoomWolf#1169
Dada	Scrattlebear#2863
D-naras	Dinos #2811
Epinephrine_Syn	SilverSeraph #2931
Fleeing Coward	Scorch#1432
Frog Dragon	Vasemmasti#2618
FyreByrd	FyreByrd#2962
Gandariel	Ciabatta#2958
GolemsVoice	CrazyCat#29897
Hewhosaysfish	HeWhoSezFish#2503
Hippie_Viking	HippieViking#2866
Infernally Clay	Winny#1904
Jormengand	Trianna#2529
Lionheart	Lionheart#2440
Mr.Silver	SilverSmiles#2462
Murmaider	Murmaider#2273
Posca	Mazura#2636
Raddish	Raddish#2730
ScionoftheVoid	JayPsi#2775
ShinyRocks	MoodyTuskarr#2790
Sian	Sian#2690
Silfir	Silfir#2863
SlyGuyMcFly	SlGuyMcFly#2562
Tokay	Tokay#2518
Tome	Taejix#2836
Volthawk	Volthawk#1214
Weimann	Weimann#2716
Wraith	Illusionist#2224
Xiander	Xiander#2814

[Nerocite]

New Hunter card Revealed.

Spoiler

Show

Dispatch Kodo
4 mana 2/4 Beast Rare
Battlecry: Deal damage equal to this minion's attack.

Pretty cool, obviously wants to be used with all the hand buffing cards.

[PsyBomb]

New Hunter card Revealed.

Spoiler

Show

Dispatch Kodo
4 mana 2/4 Beast Rare
Battlecry: Deal damage equal to this minion's attack.

Pretty cool, obviously wants to be used with all the hand buffing cards.

Whew, a doozy to lead this one off. I actually REALLY like that card, getting a more patient buildup going. Base is a hair underwhelming, but usable. After even one buff, though, it gets good. I'll do full writeups in a bit

[Zevox]

New Hunter card Revealed.

Spoiler

Show

Dispatch Kodo
4 mana 2/4 Beast Rare
Battlecry: Deal damage equal to this minion's attack.

Pretty cool, obviously wants to be used with all the hand buffing cards.

Well, how usable that will be will depend greatly on unreleased cards. If we somehow already know all of the cards that could potentially buff it prior to playing it, well, it's awful. All three provide their buffs at random, which means getting this thing buffed is way too unreliable to warrant play, because without buffs, it's weak. It's probably decent with even a +1/+1 buff, though, and becomes great at +2/+2 and beyond, so if there's a more reliable way to boost it, it could become usable.

Edit: Somehow, I read that thing as a 2/3 initially, so slight ammendment to the above: it's definitely already good with a +1/+1, and amazing at +2/+2 and beyond. Still, without a buff, I don't think it's strong enough, so it needs some way to get one consistently to see constructed play - and it's probably just poor in arena, since odds are long that you'll draft enough synergy for it.

[Yael]

Whew, a doozy to lead this one off. I actually REALLY like that card, getting a more patient buildup going. Base is a hair underwhelming, but usable. After even one buff, though, it gets good. I'll do full writeups in a bit

Keeper of the Groove Dispatch Kodo will see some play, it does not deal damage randomly, so if it is buffed even once, it will deal 3 damage on top of his 3/5 stats, for 4 mana is just worth it. Mixes well with Grimestreet Smuggler, and Shaky Zipgunner, and mostly with Trogg Beastrager, because of the beast tag. Even more, if you can manage to Discover a Grimestreet Enforcer, or a Grimestreet Outfitter using a Grimestreet Informant, or any other method, Kodo's value just skyrockets. I'm actually starting to like the Grimy Goons a lot, they push for hand/control/stall game, imo.

EDIT: probably ninja'd?

[Rodin]

It looks like hand-buffs are going to be Hunter's "thing" this expansion. Hunter buffs individual minions a fair bit - Paladin spams cheap minions and lots of draw with smaller, wide-area buffs. Priest is pushing Dragon Priest with an emphasis on board control.

[Yael]

Alongside with Dispatch Kodo, another card was revealed.

Spoiler: Neutral

Show

Backroom Bouncer <4>
Rare Neutral minion
Whenever a friendly minion dies, gain +1 Attack.
4/4

Ehh, just another Flesheating Ghoul with higher mana cost, but better stats for its cost than the Ghoul's. Probably it will see arena play.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

New Hunter card Revealed.

Spoiler

Show

Dispatch Kodo
4 mana 2/4 Beast Rare
Battlecry: Deal damage equal to this minion's attack.

Pretty cool, obviously wants to be used with all the hand buffing cards.

A Stormpike Commando, but 1 mana cheaper and with a much better stat spread.

Also, it can get its battlecry buffed. A 4-mana 3/5 that deals 3 damage is arguably better than Blackwing Corrupter, based on the statline. Any more than that, and this becomes super-sweet.

[Destro_Yersul]

New cards:

Spoiler

Show

Dispatch Kodo seems good. Damage dealing battlecries have historically been enough to justify poor stats, when the damage dealt was 3. This one has potential to be quite strong, if you can manage a few buffs for it. Hopefully there are more hand buff cards we haven't seen.

Backroom Bouncer is an Arena card. Decent there, but not for constructed.

RE: the brawl, I'm having fun with Mistcaller evolve shaman. The mistcaller buff is so very good in this format.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Spoiler

Show

Also notable that Backroom Bouncer is significantly better than Flesh-eating Ghoul, stat-wise.

[GAAD]

Spoiler

Show

But only works off of FRIENDLY minions.

[Rodin]

Spoiler

Show

Also notable that Backroom Bouncer is significantly better than Flesh-eating Ghoul, stat-wise.

Spoiler

Show

Although it's worth pointing out that the Bouncer only grows from your minions, not all minions, which means it grows about half as fast. Still, that's really only an issue in extreme cases - if only two minions die to the bouncer, he's a 6/4, while 4 minions dying to the Ghoul makes it a 6/3. Having better starting stats is probably worth more, overall, since playing a 4/4 for 4 is not at all bad in Arena, while playing a 2/3 for 3 is pretty painful.

[PsyBomb]

Card review time!

Spoiler: Blowgill Sniper

Show

2/1 common neutral Murloc for 2, battlecry deal one damage. It's mediocre on its own merits, even coming from someone trying to make post-Anyfin Aggro work. Maybe if something else pops up for Synergy, but for now it's not worth running over other options.

Spoiler: Dirty Rat

Show

2/6(!) Epic Neutral Minion for 2, Deathrattle summons a random minion from your opponent's hand for them. Welp, I hope you guys weren't planning on playing aggro like I was, the descendants of Deathlord are, if anything, stronger than the original. Comes down faster, trades with more equivalent drops, and actually eats enemy resources by taking from their hand instead of deck. Easier for the enemy to game the Deathrattle... but also easier for you to strip a combo piece.

Spoiler: Dispatch Kodo

Show

2/4 Rare Hunter Beast for 4, battlecry deals damage equal to its attack. As I said above, this is decent (though not great) on its own. In tandem with Goons buffs, we may finally have a viable Control Hunter finisher (and an excellent addition to non-Secret Hunters). Once it catches at least +1/+1, it's good. Higher than that and it's amazing.

Spoiler: Backroom Bouncer

Show

4/4 common neutral Minion for 4, whenever a friendly minion dies, +1 attack. Better body than flesheater, but only gets bonuses from friendly deaths. Not a fan.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Card review time!

Spoiler: Dirty Rat

Show

2/6(!) Epic Neutral Minion for 2, Deathrattle summons a random minion from your opponent's hand for them. Welp, I hope you guys weren't planning on playing aggro like I was, the descendants of Deathlord are, if anything, stronger than the original. Comes down faster, trades with more equivalent drops, and actually eats enemy resources by taking from their hand instead of deck. Easier for the enemy to game the Deathrattle... but also easier for you to strip a combo piece.

Spoiler

Show

Dirty Rat's effect is a Battlecry, not a Deathrattle. So the enemy minion gets summoned immediately without having to kill the rat first. But it is still pretty strong.

[The Glyphstone]

Isn't the Sniper just a Murloc Tidehunter that trades the extra body-on-field for dealing its 1 point of damage up front? That is to say, it's outright inferior to an auto-awarded Basic set card since it loses synergy with Tidecaller, Oracle, Murkeye, etc.?

[Destro_Yersul]

Yeah, basically.

Somehow missed that the Dirty Rat was a battlecry rather than Deathrattle. That makes it a bit worse, but still not too bad.

[Yael]

Card review time!

Spoiler: Dirty Rat

Show

2/6(!) Epic Neutral Minion for 2, Deathrattle summons a random minion from your opponent's hand for them. Welp, I hope you guys weren't planning on playing aggro like I was, the descendants of Deathlord are, if anything, stronger than the original. Comes down faster, trades with more equivalent drops, and actually eats enemy resources by taking from their hand instead of deck. Easier for the enemy to game the Deathrattle... but also easier for you to strip a combo piece.

Err, Dirty Rat's effect is a Battlecry.

EDIT: Monk'd

[Gandariel]

@Dirty Rat:
Well, thank goodness Shredder is out of rotation :D

[Yael]

@Dirty Rat:
Well, thank goodness Shredder is out of rotation :D

Wait, is Naxxramas released already?

[Yael]

Spoiler: Paladin

Show

Smuggler's Run {1}
Common Paladin Spell
All minions in your hand gain +1/+1.

I was expecting something better with the murloc art. Oh well, fits the archetype of handbuff. Awesome turn 1 play.

EDIT: This will be seen in 80% of paladin drafts in arena.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Spoiler: Paladin

Show

Smuggler's Run {1}
Common Paladin Spell
All minions in your hand gain +1/+1.

I was expecting something better with the murloc art. Oh well, fits the archetype of handbuff. Awesome turn 1 play.

EDIT: This will be seen in 80% of paladin drafts in arena.

Spoiler

Show

Well Blizzard seems pretty dedicated to their themes at least. It'll be interesting to see what the breakpoint is for gathering minions in hand vs casting this spell quickly.

[Nerocite]

Speaking of cards that want to get buffed...

New Neutral Card

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Dopplegangster
5 mana 2/2 Rare.
Battlecry: Summon 2 copies of this minion.

Force of Nature without buffs, but can get big fast. I like cards that spread out your buffs, makes it feel less bad when your big guy gets removed.

[Yael]

Speaking of cards that want to get buffed...

New Neutral Card

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Dopplegangster
5 mana 2/2 Rare.
Battlecry: Summon 2 copies of this minion.

Force of Nature without buffs, but can get big fast. I like cards that spread out your buffs, makes it feel less bad when your big guy gets removed.

Spoiler

Show

Brann'ing that card will be so brutal if you can get it at least +3/+3, 5 mana (8 for the combo) for 5 5/5s on the board. I think it will be fun to use.

[Anarion]

Isn't the Sniper just a Murloc Tidehunter that trades the extra body-on-field for dealing its 1 point of damage up front? That is to say, it's outright inferior to an auto-awarded Basic set card since it loses synergy with Tidecaller, Oracle, Murkeye, etc.?

Outright inferior is an overly bold claim. The ability to do that 1 point of damage immediately is a lot of power, even if it's less synergistic than other murlocs in other cases. Of course, it also means murloc knight is summoning even more 2/1s than it was already (although I look forward to murloc knight summoning a Finja that summons two more murloc knights). And then losing to flamestrike

Spoiler: Paladin

Show

Smuggler's Run {1}
Common Paladin Spell
All minions in your hand gain +1/+1.

I was expecting something better with the murloc art. Oh well, fits the archetype of handbuff. Awesome turn 1 play.

EDIT: This will be seen in 80% of paladin drafts in arena.

Spoiler: Paladin

Show

I'm not sold on smuggler's run. In practice it's worse than power of the wild, I think. It's likely to buff 2-3 cards and you don't get haste so it's much more vulnerable to removal or board clear.

[Yael]

By the way, Doppleganster is an optimal Evolve target.

[heronbpv]

My hope is for the Paladin class to get back on track. It's right now less played than Priest, according to the latest VS Data Reaper.

I'm particularly interested in a reborn mid-range Paladin. Loved to muster + quartermaster back in the day. Nowadays, I'm trying a combination of Kibler's + StrifeCro Dragon Paladin, and a personal take on midrange, both to subpar success so far. :(

[Destro_Yersul]

Card Reviews

Spoiler

Show

Smuggler's Run: Eh, seems kinda bad. Effects like this are better when they're stapled to minions. Being 1 mana it's at least easy to fit it in somewhere, and maybe you can combine it with card draw and stuff to buff a lot of things... Could get used, but I think it's not good enough.
Doppelgangster: FoN no longer gets played, and this is basically minion FoN... but slightly better with handbuff cards around. This is comparable to Patron, I think, so I hesitate to call it bad, but it can't snowball as hard as patron can. This'll be really dependant on how well hand buffs work out in constructed, but in Arena it's fine.

[Zevox]

Smuggler's Run I'm iffy as heck on. Spending a card for just +1/+1 to whatever minions are in your hand sounds like a dicey proposition to me - yeah, technically you're getting a good amount of stats for the cost even if you hit only two minions, but fundamentally here you're spending a card for just a buff that's spread out among several other cards. That, in and of itself, is dicey - it works for Power of the Wild because the things you're buffing are already on the board, so you're not playing it unless you're getting some genuine impact out of it. For things in your hand, it's a lot more questionable, especially without a body attached. You'll need at least some luck for the distribution of the buff to be meaningful on each card, I suspect, which doesn't inspire confidence.

Dopplegangster - Well, given I'm still very dubious about all of the hand-buff mechanics, I have to say I'm equally so about this card. I mean, so far we've seen these buffs mostly for Hunter, who gives them to random cards and so can't reliably buff Dopplegangster, and Paladin, who gives buffs to everyone in his hand at once and so at least hits it guaranteed, but is only giving +1/+1 at a time and each of those cards so far as looked iffy to me. I don't know, maybe this will be potent enough to see play and help make Paladin's buffers see play (I really can't see Hunter when you can't reliably get the buff on the minion you want buffed), but I'm very skeptical at this point.

[Rodin]

Dopplegangster is definitely going in my Evolve deck, assuming all 3 copies are 5 mana. Big Time Racketeer could also fit into that deck too, if the Ogre he summons is also a 6 mana card. I doubt it'll be meta-worthy but additional tools for Evolve decks are always welcome.

Interesting that we haven't seen a single Shaman card yet. I guess that means they're spending extra time working on those because Shaman is so OP right now and they need to make sure not to make things worse.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Yes, the lack of Shaman cards is interesting. I guess they're going to clear the Grimestreet trio first before doing the other six classes in detail (except Priest, which got a fair amount of previews already). Does Warlock have a class-specific preview yet? Can't recall offhand.