With 5 new spiders and a fresh Druid spell, Hearthstone players have a lot to contend with when they venture into game modes with constructed decks.
Right now, there is a lot of discussion about how the metagame in Hearthstone will change next week or the week after, or what it might look like when Naxx is fully introduced. But all of this is just speculation. Currently, there are 6 new cards in Hearthstone that already play a significant role in constructed decks, and you will surely encounter them in your gameplay, as it only takes 30 minutes to obtain the cards. What do they look like, what can they do, and how do you counter them?
The six new Hearthstone cards, fresh from the Arachnid Quarter
Haunted Crawmer (1/2 for 2 mana, summons two 1/1 spiders upon death and counts as a beast, available as a reward for defeating Anub’Rekhan) – Alone, it’s nothing special, but it benefits mainly from synergy effects with the gravekeeper, beast buffs in Hunter decks, or combinations with other minions like the “Carrion Hawk.” Provides relatively good value for 2 mana but is particularly vulnerable to AoE damage.
Nerub’ar Weblord (1/4 for 2 mana, increases the cost of Battlecry minions by 2 mana, available after defeating Lady Feralina) – A defensive card that can slow down the opponent’s tempo, especially against well-formed decks relying heavily on Battlecry minions (and there are quite a few). It could prove to be much stronger than it looks at first glance, especially as Deathrattle minions are newly entering the Hearthstone metagame.
Nerubian Egg (0/2 for 2 mana, summons a 4/4 minion upon deathrattle, obtainable by defeating Maexxna) – This is an inexpensive trick card that usually requires another card from the remaining deck to become active. It’s often not about breaking the egg itself, but rather letting the opponent do the work. Therefore, you need to give the egg taunt or find a way to assign an attack point to it so you can break the egg on a Kamikaze attack against an opponent’s minion (exactly – a Nerubian omelette à la Hearthstone). A 4/4 minion for 2 mana offers really good value.
Maexxna (2/8 for 6 mana, beast, kills minions it damages, available for completing the Arachnid Quarter, thus also for defeating Maexxna) – the first legendary card and sure to be the most played legendary in beginner decks in Hearthstone soon. Quite slow tempo, situationally usable, and will probably need extensive protection from overzealous attention from the opponent. With buff spells and a taunt, Maexxna can play an unpleasant role, but no frequently played deck has really been waiting for her. Would have been significantly more attractive at 5 mana.
Poison Seeds (Druid class card, 4 mana, transforms all minions on the field into 2/2 Treants, available for the class challenge to take down Faerlina with a pre-made deck). A very situational card around which one would probably need to build a deck. It has quite good synergy effects with Swipe and could ruin the opponent’s day with certain board combinations (basically a kind of mass-sheep). But it could also become one of those cards that sit in hand for the whole game and are never seen again after three matches. Some clever Druid player is surely working on the hammer deck idea for the Poison Seeds. Definitely a card to keep in mind when facing Druids from now on.
Anub’ar Ambusher (Rogue class card, 5/5 for 4 mana, deathrattle returns a randomly chosen friendly minion from the battlefield to hand, available as a reward for defeating Maexxna with a rogue pre-made) – 5/5 for 4 mana is quite a lot of value and a solid chunk in the mid-game. The deathrattle effect is positively received for Miracle Rogue decks that rely on Battlecry and combos. However, it can also be used against the Rogue by the opponent. It’s probably the card among those presented here that is most likely to land on a Top 5 Hearthstone Plays of the Week list. However, it may also appear as the card that ruins the Rogue’s game. However, because it is quite difficult to remove, it should see plenty of play.
