The Archbishop Benedictus is causing heated discussions in Hearthstone . But how good is the new Priest Legendary?
The next expansion of Hearthstone, Knights of the Frozen Throne or in German “Ritter des Frostthrons”, is only a few weeks away from release. Every day, the developers, in collaboration with streamers and fan sites, present new cards.
Recently, the Priest Legendary Archbishop Benedictus was revealed, and we want to talk a bit about him.
For 7 mana, Archbishop Benedictus is a minion that fits more into the mid to late game. The stats of 4/6 are not outstanding but understandable given his powerful Battlecry: Shuffle a copy of your opponent’s deck into your own deck.
Story-wise, the Archbishop has little to do with the Lich King or the Frozen Throne, as he is actually a servant of Deathwing and thus a follower of the Old Gods. For many years, he was the leader of the Light’s Faith in Stormwind, but in reality, he betrayed his people and revealed himself as the “Twilight Father” with Deathwing’s attack. However, thematically, this seems to fit well since Anduin in his “Death Knight form” looks more like a creature of the Void than a true servant of the Lich King.
How useful is Archbishop Benedictus?
The usefulness of the Archbishop can be debated for a long time. The fact is that the Archbishop can create a huge card advantage if played in time. On turn 7, most players will still have between 18 and 22 cards in their deck, meaning that their own card pool will grow to about 40 cards. A loss due to lack of cards seems thus excluded.
However, the Archbishop also has a negative effect. With each additional card in the deck, the chance that your deck strategy works decreases dramatically. It’s incredibly difficult to create a deck that works against every opponent’s deck. If you play the Bishop at the wrong time, you’ll draw a lot of cards that may help a Quest Rogue but bring the Priest closer to annihilation.
A nice gimmick for “Fun” players
Most professionals can only imagine a few very specific scenarios where the Archbishop has a truly game-changing benefit. Sure, against a “Fatigue” deck that aims to annihilate all cards, doubling your own card pool can offer a significant advantage. However, the actual purpose of this card seems much simpler and not necessarily aimed at the pro scene: fun.
Because if you think a little about what this card actually allows, especially Free2Play players and those with a smaller card pool should be excited. The Archbishop is rarely about making a game-changing move, but rather something else: Testing new cards that you don’t own.
Anyone who has the Archbishop in their collection gains a powerful weapon to simply try out all the cards of the current meta. With just one minion, you can access all those annoying cards of a Tank Warrior, a Miracle Rogue, or a Quest Mage. The Priest has the chance to play all those cards himself and get a feel for them.
In conclusion, it can be said that the Archbishop is one of those “Fun” cards that may not find its own niche in the meta, but will surely find a place in the hearts of players who just want to play for fun.
What do you think of Archbishop Benedictus? A great card that you will definitely play? Or useless junk that Hearthstone doesn’t need?
More new cards, such as a gnome vampire, were revealed in the latest card reveal!
