Ravencaller

Ravencaller Card

Ravencaller is a 3 Mana Cost Common Neutral Minion card from the The Witchwood set!

Card Text

Battlecry: Add two random 1-Cost minions to your hand.

Flavor Text

That Friends and Familiars Plan is really paying off!

Ravencaller Additional Information

Ravencaller Card Review

I just can’t see a deck that would want to play it. If you play Control, you definitely don’t need a 2/1 3-drop that gives you two 1-drops. If you play Aggro or Midrange, you’d rather play something powerful on curve, because this card is super low tempo. Those are 1-drop stats, which is far from optimal.

Then, the fact that it gives RANDOM 1-drops means that you can’t even put it into a specific deck. If it gave you two Beasts, you might consider using it in a Hunter. If it gave you two Murlocs, maybe in a Murloc deck. But random 1-drops aren’t exactly most thrilling. There are lots of bad / useless ones.

Outside of this being a Battlecry, I just don’t see it being better than Igneous Elemental. 2/3 is already slow, but it is so much better than 2/1. Getting two 1/2 Elementals is also more consistent – you know what the outcome will be and you can put it into the right deck. For example, I’ve heard some people saying that this might combo well with Hagatha the Witch. And yes, you’re right, but why would you run it over Igneous Elemental, which also combos with Hagatha, is better, and has Elemental synergies too?

Quest Hunter maybe? But not only is that deck bad, but playing a 3 mana 2/1 might mean that you fall behind on the board even more in the early game, which is bad. One of the reasons Quest Hunter doesn’t work is that while 1-drops are great on Turn 1 and Turn 2, when you’re forced to play only them on Turn 4 or Turn 5, you start falling behind.

Possibly it might make sense in the upcoming “HandDruid” they seem to be pushing, but I’m not sold on the whole concept yet. We’ll see. For one, it at least looks better than Witchwood Apple.

All in all, this card looks bad. It doesn’t make sense in “generic” Aggro/Midrange/Control decks, maybe some specific build would want to play it, but then the random aspect of the card means that it will be slightly unpredictable. Those specific builds might try to experiment with it, but I can’t really see it sticking in the meta anyway.

Card rating: 2/10

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46 Comments

  1. Springtail
    April 6, 2018 at 8:05 am

    Quest Hunter:

    This card does not improve the fast version of this deck; in my opinion the best version. Let me explain: the fast version optimised its one drop count so that you always draw one drops – this meant going second you 100% could play the 8/8 on your 5 mana turn. As such we will disregard going second as this new card neither improves or weakens it overall. The issue was going first: you have 9 mana to work with (factoring in quest cost) and only 6 potential 1 drops drawn, you need to play 7 to complete the quest, before your 5 mana turn where you want to play the 8/8 on curve. Thus far the only minion that lets you do that is firefly – as such the deck runs tracking because you have the 2 spare mana to allow their cast and it improves chance of hitting firefly.

    This minion does not allow the 8/8 to be played on curve as it leaves you with a maximum of 6 mana, so 6 1 drops played, before turn 5. Thus you cant play the 8/8 on 5 if you draw this new card meaning it wont see play in the deck. Analysis done. (A slower version it could work in but at that point why aren’t you running midrange hunter instead?).

  2. Fred
    March 31, 2018 at 12:10 pm

    to be honest i have a pretty good quest hunter deck, and i think this card will actually fit better than tol’vir warden currently does – as it works better with hemit, and is faster. And it will work better than igneous elemental as this card might be able to get you some pretty cool tempo 1 drops instead of trash 1/2s, and you can play them straight away. Maybe quest hunter will get buffed a little!

  3. GlosuuLang
    March 30, 2018 at 7:32 am

    Best case scenario: playing this in a Hagatha Shaman. You topdeck this in Turn 10, play it, get two extra one drops. Now Unstable evolution it until you get a good minion for the cost. With the remaining mana you can drop the worst one-drop in your hand, then Unstable Evolution it until you run out of mana. Also, you get the Shaman Spells because of Hagatha. Otherwise, pretty poor stats. 2/1 is bad for a one-drop without extra value (see Murloc Raider), and this is a three-drop… I think it would have been more fair at 2 mana. Rating it 1.5 out of 5 stars.

  4. NIGHTxBLADE
    March 29, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    Not bad for making edwin bigger

  5. SinisterOne
    March 29, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    I like this card. I have a Quest Hunter deck that currently runs Igneous Elemental to potentially help with the Quest, however, Ig is often targeted by Silence abilities and one advantage this has is it generates the 1 drops immediately which bypasses Silence.

    The lower toughness is a manageable trade for the immediate value and this can lead to a lot more value than just the two one drops for Quest Hunter since it could give Fire Fly which would generate even more value.

    Of course this isn’t going to define the meta but it is an useful tool for some decks and isn’t a trash card. I would say this is a 3 to 3-1/2 star card.

  6. KaihatsuJai
    March 29, 2018 at 5:56 pm

    Can I shit on this entire expansion yet?

    • NIGHTxBLADE
      March 29, 2018 at 9:37 pm

      Yes man now we all know why they are giving 70 pack i just see 5K DUST in the packs im glad i didnt buy them

      • KaihatsuJai
        March 29, 2018 at 9:50 pm

        Same here. Why giving away so many cards…? Oh, because they’re terrible.

  7. Tamerlein
    March 29, 2018 at 5:35 pm

    QUEST HUNTER!!!!!!!

    Nah, don’t go there.

  8. Blitz
    March 29, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    Hagatha Shaman might like this card. For one card you get three minions and three spells.
    But other than that, filler I’m afraid.

    • SwoleLord
      March 29, 2018 at 3:05 pm

      Quest hunter Lol

      • Thrombin
        March 29, 2018 at 4:18 pm

        I have a Quest Hunter deck in Wild which I play for fun. The win rate is about 48% at the moment but I’ll definitely give this a try in that deck 🙂

  9. Nerose
    March 29, 2018 at 2:35 pm

    I don’t see this being better than igneous other than high-rolling good 1-drops, and igneous isn’t that great. 2/5.

  10. Nerose
    March 29, 2018 at 2:35 pm

    I see potential, but needs the right meta. I don’t think it has a high value in arena.

  11. Soup And Salad
    March 29, 2018 at 12:56 pm

    I can see the utility in this card, and most 1 drops are pretty decent. It’s just that its a slight redesign to the Paladin Spell Small Time Recruits. Where as playing everything this provides only costs 5 mana and comes with a body on the board immediately versus the 6 mana the other card would cost, it is more random than Small Time Recruits was.

    Perhaps it’ll see play in aggressive Baku decks to help fill in gaps in your curve or aggressive deck without a lot of access to other card generation since the cards this creates will usually be a 2/1 or 1/2 with some sort of upside, often related to stat buffing like Young Priestess, Acherus Veteran, Abusive Sergeant, Mana Wyrm, and Blood Imp or useful later game taunts like Shieldbearer, Voil Walker, or Righteous Protector.

    The primary issue of this card is its stats. While 3 mana 2/1s have seen play before like Disciple of C’Thun, most of the other 1 health 3 drops are generally considered bad. However, none of them draws you cards right as it is played. It has more potential than most.

    • Toast
      March 29, 2018 at 1:05 pm

      I think a rather huge misconception many have is to think that baku decks will not be good. Baku decks will work, but they will rely on a 3 one drop opener (unless rogue baku is a thing, which i tend to believe as well). But lets just stick to the obvious choice, that is face hunter. Tripple one drop means your hand will be drained and you are very much all in from the start. Therefore this is probably a must include in like since it fixes the very akward turn 4 on his very own, while only being super slightly below curve. If it was 2/2 noone would be arguying i guess.

      • Matt
        March 29, 2018 at 1:26 pm

        2/2 would be a massive difference. Then people would actually be comparing it to igneous.

      • Matt
        March 29, 2018 at 1:31 pm

        If you want filler cards play the actually decent ones like you mentioned. Stuff like firefly and stonehill.

      • Soup And Salad
        March 29, 2018 at 1:36 pm

        I’m not totally convinced on Face Hunter because 3 damage to face per turn is not that much better than 2 damage, but Baku Quest Warrior does have quite a bit going for it. (Although I foresee it not doing that well against Cubelock because that deck spawns so many 1/3 to absorb the 8 damage throws) Granted, part of the reason why I want Quest Warrior to work again is because I crafted it a year ago now.

  12. Xix
    March 29, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    A better name for this card would be Trashcaller.

    • Toast
      March 29, 2018 at 12:43 pm

      You do know that this can get you very good one drops as well, like constructed worthy ones that compare to two drops? So how is this a „trashcaller“ then?

      You are probably one of those that thought stonehill would be crap.

      If theres an aggro deck that needs some card advantage, this might very well fit into that.

      • OhlienUFZ
        March 29, 2018 at 3:11 pm

        Do you know what aggro means? Also if an aggro deck needs some card advantage it’ll be a tier 10 crap
        You are probably one of those that thought sleeping dragon is good

        • Toast
          April 5, 2018 at 6:06 am

          And you are probably rank 19 at best.
          I get rank 3 every season and make it to legend occasionaly.

          There is a huge difference between an easy +2 CA +curve filler and a 9 drop.
          Yes a 2/1 body is weak, but it usually still takes about 2 mana (hero power) to clear it. Its really not THAT bad.

          Aggro needs no CA? Are you out of your mind? Do you even know why Face hunter is not good anymore whereas other aggro decks shine O.o

          So lets see:
          Aggro Pala: Divine Favour tons of token generators Call to Arms

          Mage: Archeanologist, Arcane Intellect, Aluneth (sole reason Mage is good basically)

          When tempo rogue was a thing it also used tons of CA tools.
          When Zoolock was a thing, it was bcs of it‘s hero power.

          Any decent aggro deck uses some form of sustain.

          So… how does aggro not need any CA tools.

          • OhlienUFZ
            April 5, 2018 at 11:44 am

            When you draw cards you are getting cards that you intentionally and purposely put into your deck. This card gives you random crap. Why are you defending this trash with your life?

    • KaihatsuJai
      March 29, 2018 at 5:31 pm

      I lol’d

  13. Matt
    March 29, 2018 at 12:28 pm

    It probably makes the cut in hunter quest if it was magically somehow a thing.

    • Toast
      March 29, 2018 at 12:45 pm

      Howabout no quest and just take the +2 in an aggro deck and get the curve filler?

      • Matt
        March 29, 2018 at 1:01 pm

        Not worth it.

        • Toast
          March 29, 2018 at 1:15 pm

          I guess Mage is stupid then for running arcane intellect.

          • Matt
            March 29, 2018 at 11:19 pm

            and fireball. Because a 3 mana firefly is basically the same as fireball.

  14. xix
    March 29, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    I was thinking the new shaman hero card Hagatha. But that’s because we have not really seen good echo cards that could fit in. Since shaman does have one of the worse draw mechanics generating cards might be a thing for shaman.
    Though the stats are like a 1-drop. In a way it’s like pay 5 mana to get 3 one-drop minions on the board. That is kind of like doppelganster but doppelganster has allways solid stats and better to evolve…

    I dont see it happening tbh even from a optimistic point of vieuw…
    I think even in arena this is a weak card. Maybe for rogue to have combo activation…

    • Toast
      March 29, 2018 at 12:29 pm

      This card is ment to be a +2 and a curve filler: you can go with a baku aggro deck for example: this card solves your akward t4 on its very own (2 one drops, hero power). Yes 2/1 is weak, but take fiery fly as an example: everyone thought that card was trash but flexibility and using up all of your mana every turn is very strong, card advantage as well.
      This is ment to be played in aggro as a curve filler imo.

      • Matt
        March 29, 2018 at 12:43 pm

        I’d be shocked if any pro thought firefly was trash when it was revealed. This is firefly but you pay triple just for 1 extra 1/2.

        • Toast
          March 29, 2018 at 12:49 pm

          At least there were plently of streamers (some of them tournament pros i guess) that thought both stonehill and fiery fly would suck.

          But this doesnt just give you an extra 1/2, sometimes one drops can be much better. Think mana wyrm or kobold librarian, those are arguably two drops. If the pool allows for it this will generate good value imo.

          • Matt
            March 29, 2018 at 1:00 pm

            The pool is hugely defined already, this set won’t make a splash. The upside/downside doesn’t matter, just the average and the average is this gives you 2 flame eles.

  15. Santoro
    March 29, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    random random random

  16. Piterno
    March 29, 2018 at 12:13 pm

    Odd Hunter Quest maybe
    Other than that, arena

  17. Crapcrack
    March 29, 2018 at 12:09 pm

    Great in arena, not in constructive

    • Toast
      March 29, 2018 at 12:19 pm

      Yeah like: any baku hunter and most likely any other aggro deck will use this. O.o

      This allows you to curve t3 into t4 hero power +2 one drops and it is a +2 on its own.

      2/1 is a bit weak ofc, but a good effect like this can easily compensate for that.

      If there are not too many pings next meta this will definetly see play.

      • Xix
        March 29, 2018 at 12:25 pm

        Are you on drugs?

        • Toast
          March 29, 2018 at 12:33 pm

          No Sir, but i remember how incredibly bad people are at card predictions, that would probably include you.
          Curve fillers with in built card advantage have already seen play: take stonehill defender (trash tier when spoiled they said), take fiery fly.
          You should not write an easy +2 off.

          • Toast
            March 29, 2018 at 12:38 pm

            Oh, and dont forget that this can get you very good one drops as well: like mana wyrm, kobold librarian etc. It’s not exactly like one drops are useless shit in this game, some can easily compare to two drops.

          • Random Dude
            March 29, 2018 at 11:24 pm

            But then, filler remains filler. Polish a turd, it remains a turd, albeit polished.

            Stonehill is a great staller, while its effect has the random moniker, it has *taunt* still gives you a *choice* of a further *taunt* minion. This here is only marginally similar.

            Agreed though, until we know the entire set, we actually know squat. Knowing what we’ve seen so far, though, this card is weak (unless you get incredibly lucky, but then – hope is not a strategy).

          • StarPlatnum
            March 30, 2018 at 12:27 am

            so i just ran the numbers, i basically counted all the 1 drops that were used in at least a 3rd tier or better deck according to tempo storm during the year of the mammoth. (I clearly have no life) i did however include cards that will be rotated out this year so that’ll throw the numbers off a little.

            Assuming all classes value each 1 drop the same there are roughly 2 good cards for every 3 bad. both cards have a 40 percent chance to give you a “good card” which is not that bad.

            i know it starts to dip when you factor it class by class, (hunter can’t exactly utilize north shire cleric) but even if we say 30% thats still playable odds in at least a few decks.

    • wow
      March 29, 2018 at 6:38 pm

      Lol I never heard anyone saying 3 mana 2/1 is great in arena

      • StarPlatnum
        March 30, 2018 at 12:04 am

        Card creation in general is good in arena. arena a lot of times becomes a game of attrition. don’t think it’ll be great but more than likely above average