The Gruesome Howler from the Witchwood of Hearthstone causes frustration. Because it is part of a new, unstoppable “OTK” deck.
Even before the release of Hearthstone: The Witchwood, there were some doubting fans who took a closer look at the Gruesome Howler. This Shaman card is particularly nasty and repeats all other Battlecries that have been triggered during this game as a Battlecry.
It happened as it had to: The Gruesome Howler takes over Hearthstone and already causes loud cries for a nerf, as an almost unstoppable combination leads to absurd (and incredibly funny) victories for the Shaman.
The Gruesome Howler Provokes Calls for Nerfs
To trigger the madness, a combination of the following cards is needed:
- The Saronite Chain Gang. Its Battlecry creates a copy of the Chain Gang. However, if the Battlecry is copied by the Gruesome Howler, it creates a copy of the Gruesome Howler.
- The Life Drinker. This Battlecry deals 3 damage to the opponent and heals your own hero by 3.
- A Rumbling Elemental, followed by Wrath of the Worldshaker. This makes the Rumbling Elemental cost only 1 mana.
From now on, you basically have won. Because in the next turn you can play the Rumbling Elemental for 1 mana and then the Gruesome Howler. This copies itself, deals 3 damage to the opposing hero (and heals your own hero by 3), then returns itself to your hand and costs only 1 mana. This can be repeated endlessly – up to ten times per turn, dealing 3 damage each time.
The only catch is that the animations and spell effects take quite a long time. Individual turns can easily take three to four minutes, even though the timer has actually run out after 90 seconds.
What do you think of the Gruesome Howler and its terrible “OTK combo”? A cool card that should stay in the game? Or does Blizzard urgently need to push a nerf to save Hearthstone?
