Since yesterday, all Hearthstone cards of the upcoming expansion The Grand Tournament are known. Which of them will likely have the greatest impact on the new decks?
A Look into the Crystal Ball
In the meantime, all 132 cards of The Grand Tournament are known and will be playable in Hearthstone later this month. Unlike in Goblins vs. Gnomes, this time there are many cards with unique effects, which at least drastically increases the chance that the meta will be thoroughly shaken up. Or will it ultimately turn out that the strong decks become even stronger and new creations are stifled in their infancy? We take a look at the 10 most promising cards.
Rank 10: The Shaman receives especially many interesting cards this time, but the standout seems to be Elemental Destruction. For just 3 mana, the Shaman can deal 4-5 damage to the entire field. Due to its high Overload (5), however, the player must accept the possibility of completely skipping their next turn unless they have cards for 0 mana or can pay the cost of Lavasurge.
Rank 9: Paladins can also look forward to new ways to play. However, no card counters the advance of the enemy as effectively as Eadric the Pure. For 7 mana, it sets the attack power of all enemies to 1, making it perfect if you don’t have a Equality-Consecration combo or Pyromancer-Equality combo in hand. At the same time, this card could cause Wailing Soul to be played more often to negate Eadric’s effect.
Rank 8: Aviana joins the Druids and will bring plenty of chaos and, above all, panicked moments for the opponent. If you manage to play the winged lady early (for example, through Innervate, Alarm-o-Bot, Deathlord, etc.), she can have absolutely devastating effects on the opponent’s team. Decks are already circulating on the internet that can achieve a “one-turn kill” and the expansion hasn’t even been released yet. At the same time, the card is very susceptible to the Faceless Manipulator, which can quickly allow the enemy to gain the advantage.
Rank 7: I am particularly fascinated by the possibilities of Wilfred Fizzlebang of the Warlocks. He ensures on the field that every card drawn by “Lifebloom” costs 0 mana to play. This applies not only to Giants but also to devastating Dragons, Lord Jaraxxus, Mal’Ganis or rarely seen cards like Whirling Nether. Above all, this is an incentive to deviate from the two most popular deck schematics and play something other than Handlock or Zoo.
Rank 6: For fun decks, I’ve definitely kept an eye on the Priest card Confessor Paletress. Whether she can really shake up the meta, I’m not sure, but the possibilities are virtually limitless since she can call not only neutral legendary minions but also those from other classes. The outrageous combinations will certainly provide memorable moments, and that alone should be an incentive for theory crafters to build interesting decks around the light-loving Argent Crusader.
Rank 5: A card that has been underestimated in my opinion is the neutral minion Tournament Medic. It allows many decks interesting counters against rush opponents, and Priests even benefit with their cards when they include healing-specific cards like Watcher or Holy Champion in their decks. Then it might take only a single turn until the opponent helplessly flees the match. At the same time, this could also create a rush/control hybrid – a new approach for Priests that usually score in the late game.
Rank 4: The Kodoreiterin will be a sensible addition in almost every non-rush deck. If she is played starting from round 8 and directly triggers her Inspiration effect, she has already paid off (6/10 for 8 mana). Every further use of the hero power then further multiplies her benefit. The summoned minions are strong enough at 3/5 to not be ignored and are quite difficult to remove from the field. Especially in the arena, the card will likely be a top contender.
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- Der Nexus-Champion würde sich für Medivs Deck anbieten.
Rank 3: Nexus-Champion Saraad takes my Rank 3. Although he has a high random factor because he gives a completely random spell to your hand – but more spells are always better, right? With his stats of 4/5 for 5 mana, he is still “pretty okay” to take a 5-mana spot in the deck and be played when you have no other options. If you then draw 1-2 spells from him, possibly even strong ones like Equality, Fireball, or similar, I can already imagine Rush decks taking Saraad just to prepare for the worst case.
Rank 2: Bolf Ramshield is very interesting for several reasons. On one hand, he has somewhat unusual stats of 3/9, and on the other, he is an exciting counter opportunity against a variety of rush decks! Because even if spells or hero abilities (I’m looking at you, Rexxar) go directly to the “face”, Bolf’s damage is absorbed. It gets even better when Bolf is hidden behind another tank or given Stealth – because double protection is always better.
Rank 1: As expected, Justicar Trueheart takes the number 1 spot on my list. She replaces your old hero power with a significantly better one – until the end of the game. She is more or less the essence of what The Grand Tournament is all about: An expansion focused on the various hero powers. Absolutely every class benefits from her and transforms a “Damn, I have to use my hero power” situation into a “Yay, hero power!” moment. Only Hunters do not benefit quite as much from her – but they already have enough rush potential, which is why I can understand this decision.
What do you think, which cards will have the strongest impact on the meta? Which card would you most like to build your own deck around? Demon Warlock or perhaps Mill Rogue?
