I've been playing a ton of Hearthstone lately. Some of it has to do with the fact that I got my fix of Sylvanas in Heroes of the Storm, but mostly, it's because Blackrock Mountain is coming. Last time I did a partial review of the cards we had been shown up to that point. This time I just want to stick to the cards I think will have a real impact. In my opinion Blackrock Mountain is bringing a bit less to the competitive scene than Naxxramas did. But who could have expected the effect of 30 cards in Naxx. Sludge Belcher, Loatheb, Zombie Chow, Shade of Naxxramas, Kel'thuzad, Mad Scientist, Webspinner, and obviously the mess that was Undertaker, have all made huge waves at one point or another. I'll start with the class specific stuff I think will see some play.
Fireguard Destroyer fits a spot that Shaman desperately needed some help. They have often struggled in the 4 drop spot and have been forced to play an excessive number of 5 drops and 3 mana overload spells. Even if this guy only gets 1 extra attack it's ahead of budget for a 4 drop and all that's left is to decide how much the Overload affects it. The downside is sometimes you will get 4 attack and play into your opponents Big Game Hunter (Shaman usually is light on targets) but those situations will be few and far between. I like the role this guy fills for shaman, giving it earlier board presence without relying on Flametongue Totem to make it's trades.
Demonlock has been around since GvG in one shape or another. Some versions were running Imp-losion and Mistress of Pain to control the board early, before Mal'ganis and Jaraxxus closed things out. Lately, we have transitioned into a hybrid Handlock/Demonlock that plays more to the late game. Demonwrath fits more in the former but could see play in both. A 3 mana Consecrate is nothing to scoff at. Especially when you don't have to worry about killing all the Imps you just made. Warlock does have a lot of competition in board sweepers with Hellfire and Shadowflame. I think all 3 have their upsides and the deck they are going into will decide which will see play. People are expecting BRM to usher in a very controlling metagame. If that doesn't end up being the case Demonwrath will go along way to keeping the hyper aggressive decks in check.
Paladin is being hyped as the class to truly take advantage of the dragon synergy theme of BRM and it's primarily due to this card. 5/5 for 5 is the stats we're looking for, and it comes with upside to boot. There is no shortage of Dragon cards with high cost and high upside that let you take advantage of this Battlecry. A turn 7 Ysera, or turn 6 Chromaggus (who we will get to in a minute) can have a huge effect on a game. We'll see exactly how the decks shape out but I expect to see a lot of Paladin on ladder the week Dragon Consort is released.
Chromaggus creates some interesting situations that we don't have a chance to see often. Similar to Duplicate and Echo of Medivh, it allows us to play 3 more of the same card in a game. Any time a card allows you to break the rules of the game it's worth paying attention to. This holds true in most games. Magic players may remember when the "Wish" cycle was released years ago. Being able to access your sideboard mid-game created avenues to win games that normally didn't exist. We get in habits of trying to bait the Black Knight or a Shaman's last Hex before playing a high impact minion. What happens when your opponent has a second Black Knight because of this core-hound dragon? Chromaggus has the size we want as well. Not enough power to get killed by BGH, and 8 health to not easily be taken down in combat. This is by no means a card for every deck, but it should see play in midrange and control decks, especially ones that have consistent card drawing engines.
This is the best card in the set. Expect to see this in any deck that doesn't want to win the game before turn 7. Similar to how Chromaggus lets us break the 2 card maximum rule, Thaurissan lets us break the 10 mana per turn maximum rule. I expect the Dark Iron Emperor to slide into decks the same way Loatheb did after Naxx. I can't overstate how powerful the effect on this card is. If your opponent gets 2 turns worth out of this with more than 3 cards in hand, expect to fall way behind. Decks like Freeze Mage, Combo Druid, and maybe even Malygos Shaman, will make this guy a lynchpin. Being able to play an Alezstrasza and an Ice Block in the same turn, Force of Nature and double Savage Roar in the same turn, or Malygos and multiple burn spells, sign me up. It is also going to become much more difficult to track what your opponents care capable of on a given turn. All that being said, kill this guy as soon as you can.
I'm sure other cards will see some competitive play. Quick Shot is right up Face Hunter's alley. Both Volcanic Drake and Hungry Dragon will probably find decks. Maybe even Nefarian will find a home. I'm excited to see what Blackrock Mountain does to the game, and I'm excited to dive in.
Thanks for reading. See ya next time.
Chris
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