With the Knights of the Frozen Throne just announced our writer Appa will be taking a look at the first five revealed cards! Keep in mind that this is obviously a first look, and it will be easier to understand each card’s place in the set when more are revealed.
Deathstalker Rexxar
This is our first taste of the new hero card type that will be introduced with Knights of the Frozen Throne. Each of these cards will change your hero in some unique way and change how the class plays. In Hunter’s case, when you play Deathstalker Rexxar, you gain five armor and deal two damage to all enemy minions as well as change your hero power. The new hero power allows you to create a custom beast by discovering one beast, then discovering a second beast and essentially stitching them together – mana cost, power/toughness, abilities, etc.
This is a difficult card to evaluate and I will not be giving card ratings (especially as this is only the first set of cards revealed) since I think rating cards without all of the cards spoiled is silly. We can, however, talk about the card in a vacuum and how it functions within the Hunter class in general. This card does a few interesting things that hunter does not usually have access to. Hunter has virtually no area of effect spells or abilities and has no life-gain currently. Deathstalker Rexxar is a Consecration coupled with an Iron Hide that allows you to play a game from a different angle of attack. The Hunter hero power is a very linear one as it does not affect the board and is only really relevant when ahead, so the new hero power gives you a way to play the game that doesn’t rely on you being ahead. Again I will not be rating the cards, but aside from the Control Hunter memes, this will be a very interesting card-type to look at and evaluate as we move forward.
Chillblade Champion
Personally, I think this is the best of the five cards that were previewed so far. We know charge is a very strong mechanic, and lifesteal (healing for the damage dealt) is also a very powerful mechanic. If we compare this card to its closest relative (Kor'kron Elite), we can see that it loses one power and toughness for the lifesteal mechanic. Kor’kron elite has been a very strong card because of its ability to trade efficiently and pressure life totals. Chillblade Champion, while not as efficient, does the same job. He can come down on turn four as a pseudo-removal spell that gains you three life or he can be played on curve on turn four as a three damage spell that leaves behind a 3/2 body. He allows Paladin to build decks a bit differently and definitely seems a bit more powerful than he appears on the surface. I’m not saying that he will be a great card, but the pieces are there for him to see some play, although we will obviously have to wait until all of the other cards are revealed. I think this card could potentially go into control, midrange, or aggressive paladin builds with relative ease while being a really cool introduction to the new lifesteal mechanic.
Spirit Lash
This is our second card that introduces the lifesteal mechanic to the game. While not an inherently powerful card, Spirit Lash draws clear parallels to Whirlwind and Maelstrom Portal, both of which have seen heavy constructed play. Priest is a little hard to evaluate this card for as the class doesn’t naturally run spell damage cards and doesn’t have ways to abuse a whirlwind effect, so I think for this card to see play, it will need to be built around a little bit. It is entirely possible that the metagame shapes up to be aggressive and this is just a natural fit in Priest decks, but we will just have to wait and see.
Prince Keleseth
This card is another interesting one with a unique effect (see a theme here yet?). The body is pretty weak on it, but the effect is actually quite powerful. Although +1/+1 may not seem like a big deal, over the course of a game if your opponent continuously plays cards that have been buffed with Prince Keleseth‘s effect (especially if they have taunt) can very quickly overrun you. The card’s buff wants to be played in an aggressive deck, but the stipulation on it makes sure that it won’t see play in hyper-aggressive builds which leads us to the question: What deck does he fit in? To be completely honest, your guess is as good as mine and we will have to wait and see. If I had to take a guess, I would say he could go into a quest warrior build with no Armorsmith in it (this was pointed out to me that it refers to two-cost cards, not just minions so it doesn’t work like I initially thought).
Shallow Gravedigger
Shallow Gravedigger may come attached to a weak body, but it also comes with a decently powerful effect. Admittedly, some of the deathrattles in the game are quite weak, the upside on this card is huge. I’m not claiming this card is great by any means (I actually think it does not look great), but be prepared to get high-rolled by this one on ladder.
Outside of high-rolling potential, I do see this deck fitting in very easily to one deck: Quest Priest. The deck is fringe playable at best right now and could really use some help. One of the problems with the deck is that it tends to not hit the critical mass of deathrattles required to complete the quest, but this card helps to fix that issue. When you draw Gravedigger in Quest Priest, you are getting two quest activators for the price of one, regardless of how good or bad the deathrattle is that you get off it. Outside of that, I have a hard time imagining this card seeing any serious play (but I have definitely been wrong before).
I am very excited for the next set of cards to be spoiled starting on July 24th and I hope you all are just as hyped as I am.
About the Author
Appa is a professional Hearthstone player with high finishes at multiple high-level events. He has been rated in the top 100 players in the world multiple times and brings a deep knowledge of the game with him. You can follow him on social media on Twitter or follow his weekly podcast that he co-hosts at Coin Concede.
Priest doesnt abuse whirlwind effects? What! Why evry combo priest runs double Wild Pyromancer and Acolyte of Pain? Spirit Lash will be sick in those decks. Combined with Cleric and Circle of Healing it is insane draw + heal for very cheap mana cost.
Just wanna point out, I really really want Keleseth to work, if i learned one thing from handbuff paladin, it was, yes it sucks, but it was just so good when it out right worked, there are plenty of 1 drops that are broken as +1/+1s and plenty of 3 mana 2/3s that would die to have a spider tank body. However, as much as I want it to work, id say Quest Warrior is out of the question. Unless Warrior would ever relinquish the power that is Fiery War Axe…
Prince Keleseth is probably not going to see play in Taunt Warrior because it reads “two cost CARDS”, not “two cost MINIONS.” Fiery War Axe and Sleep with the Fishes are probably too good to be cut from the list. There is, however, one archetype that this card would excel in.
Quest Hunter is rising.
This is actually a good point and something I initially overlooked when writing this. Updated to include that, thanks!
My official predictions without going into too much detail:
1. Deathstalker Rexxar – Might be experimented with, but at the end of the expansion’s life cycle there will be much better things to play.
2. Chilblade champion – just a solid common, won’t be making or breaking any decks.
3. Spirit Lash – Everybody online seems so focused on the Lifelink and how it’s not so good without spell damage, etc. Pirest is exactly the class that can make great use of an Arcane Explosion-type card. Expect this to see a lot of play in an aggro meta.
4. Prince Keleseth – it’s either broken or very bad, too early to say. But these are predictions after all, so I’m going to say it’s bad. Not every deck/class needs an abundance of 2-drops and most control decks often forgo them entirely, but in those decks +1/+1 on every minion doesn’t see as good as it is to include the 2-drops that actually do something. Case in point – Hydrologist.
5. Shallow Gravedigger – Very bad card. Might see play in something like Quest Priest because it’s 2 deathrattle cards in one deck slot. Will have exactly the same application as Stonehill Defender has in Warrior, except it discovers (which is better) and it can be very good if you hit a Gadgetzan Armorsmith with it. Gravedigger might be more decent in Wild, but things with 1 hp that are not sticky are very bad. Even the sticky ones aren’t amazing.