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Viewing 37 - 39 out of 39 Blogs.
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My set review rolls on as we're getting down to the classes that didn't really need any more help and today we'll take a look at the Shaman.
Bloodlust
This one is far better than the Alliance version. In Grennan rush decks, this has the potential to get anywhere from 4-10 extra damage into an attack. I personally prefer a more mid-range type of Grennan deck that isn't as likely to have 3 or more allies in play at a time to make the most use of this, but I could definitely see it getting some play.
For limited, this card is a lot like Zorn Stormfury. It's not great in sealed, but it has a definite spot in an aggressive Horde deck.
Chain Heal
This card isn't nearly as good as its damage dealing cousin. Its not likely to see much constructed play.
The card's not terrible in limited. If it were instant it would be a lot better because it would be so easy to really mess with combat. As is, it's still not terrible because larger allies who can actually be healed are far more common in limited matches than Constructed ones, so it will still have its uses.
Earth Shield
Non-recurring heal generally has to be in massive amounts to be playable. Think Lay on Hands, Cannibalize, etc. Earth Shield effectively heals 12 for 3 resources, which isn't a bad deal, but I don't think that it's enough to warrant taking up a slot in a deck, especially a Shaman deck.
It's not something that I really want to have in limited either. Generally when you hero is getting attacked, it means all your allies are dead. If all your allies are dead, you need to be doing something besides healing.
Earth Shock
I've already talked about Earth Shock, so I won't rehash all of that, but I do think the card is playable.
Fire Elemental Totem
This is one of the better abilities in the set. For Alliance Shamans it gives them Ferocity which is something that faction gets very little of. On the Horde side, this is probably your best bet for a 2-drop with Ferocity. This card is good enough for just about any Shaman deck.
In limited, it should go in any Shaman deck that has it in its pool. I'm not sure how high I would pick it in draft because 2-drops aren't usually too hard to come by. The more aggressive your deck is, the higher you should pick this card. Even in a control deck though, it should still be a pretty high pick.
Heroism
Bloodlust is just better.
Life Arc
I don't think this card is good enough for a Constructed deck, but it could definitely have its uses. It would need to go into a deck with big allies to get the maximum potential out of it though.
I love this card for limited though. As I have already said, bigger allies that can actually sustain some damage are more prevalent in limited so you should find more uses for it. In addition, limited tends to be more about card advantage than Constructed, and this can be a source of major card advantage if you play it right.
Shamanistic Rage
Enhancement heroes don't get much play. Grennan and Phadalus get to do most of the playing for Shamans and Warriors tend to do the solo thing better than Shamans anyway. This card does have some potential for abuse though. Any time you get to ready resources, that is something to keep an eye on.
In limited, the card is probably playable if you have a weapon or two with high strike costs. Making something like Annihilator effectively free to swing can be a big boost in a game.
Tremor Totem
Between this and Purge, Shamans have ability removal covered. Right now, I'm not sure that this even warrants a sideboard slot especially on the Alliance side since they have Chipper as well. This and Mass Dispel are just waiting for an Affliction Warlock to become big though.
In limited, it's a decent way to get rid of annoying DoT's which are generally more effective in Limited with the lower amounts of ability removal. I wouldn't take it too high, but it's worth remembering in your sideboard.
That wraps up all the Shaman cards. Next up is Warlock.
We're getting closer to the end of the class review for Fires of Outland. Today's class is the lowly Rogue.
Anasthetic Poison
This card is going to be situationally incredible. It's not going to be great against Warlocks and Mages who don't exhaust their heroes very often without a little added something to force them to exhaust. But against solo decks or even just decks that use their hero for attacking, this card has the potential to be game-breaking. Despite all my apparent disdain for the class, I do feel like there is a solid Rogue deck here that isn't just a bad version of a different deck.
In Limited, it's a solid sideboard cards against decks that hav weapons. I'm not sure it's versatile enough to warrant a main deck slot, but it's definitely something to look at to at least somewhat offset the power of opposing weapons.
Deadly Brew
I'm not really a fan of cards that require other cards to be useful. This card does absolutely nothing on its own, but with Anasthetic or possibly Deadly Poison it could do some damage.
This card is simply too situational for limited.
Envenom
This card depends on two things. First, how many combo cards are you running? Second, how many Poisons are you running. My problem with the finishing moves has always been the amount of restriction you automatically place on your deckbuilding based on how many combos you have to run to properly support them. When you factor in that this one also requires some Poison to be better than Eviscerate, and I personally just don't like it. It has the potential to do 10 damage though, which is a significant amount.
This card has too many restrictions to be played in limited.
Filthy Tricks
I've talked about this card before. It's not good.
Garrote
Garrote is a classic example of why I don't like Rogue. The ability is decent. It's not spectacular and far from game-breaking and yet it gets hit with the stealth requirement. If you're hero is planning on being stealth'd it's a decent sideboard card against a very few decks. Other than that, most decks aren't particularly concerned with playing abilities on your turn anyway.
Like many Rogue cards, Garrote has too many limitations for limited play. Even if you manage to get your hero stealth'd, abilities are played a lot less in limited, and making them only playable on your opponent's turn isn't likely to be worth taking up a slot in your deck. The stealth requirement does lower the cost to a 1-damage 1 resource DoT which may make it for the damage if you're planning on being stealth'd anyway. I guess.
Jackknife
Finally a good Rogue card. Rogues should almost never be without a dagger so you should almost always get the added three damage. Even if you find yourself without a dagger, it's still 3 damage for 3 resources which isn't bad. One of the best Rogue cards in the set.
In limited, this card is good enough to run on its own as just a 3 damage ability. The 2-for-1 potential is very good though. It's a common and by the time you get to your Fires packs you should already have an idea what kind of dagger selection you have. If you've already managed 2 dagger it's a super high pick. If you've only got one, it's still a pretty good choice. With no daggers, it's still easily playable.
Mutilate
Another good Rogue card. This one is unfortunately wholly dependent on other cards, but the ability to I really just wish that this a Surprise Attacks hadn't both been Talent Spec'd because I want to play with both of them. Given the ability to dual wiled much more easily this card can dish out a lot of damage.
In Limited, even at 1 damage for 2, it's playable. If you manage any daggers, it becomes better and with any dual wield daggers it becomes downright nasty.
Pick Pocket
This card is especially good the turn after you play Purloin. It also has the potential to take out more than one card if you're lucky enough to find them with multiples in their hand. At one resource, it's not even bad just to make sure the coast is clear for you late in the game.
In limited, you're far less likely to know what cards your opponent is playing just by seeing their hero. It's not a bad sideboard card if you don't have answers to some bombs to hope you can just play it and get lucky, but it's not going to be a high pick in draft.
Surprise Attacks
Another solid card for Rogues that is unfortunately Talent Spec'd opposite Mutilate. The ease with which Rogues will be able to dual wield in this set makes this card even deadlier. There's not a lot to say about it. It's not flashy, but it's solid.
In limited, it obviously depends on how many weapons you have. A lot of the time, simply having a weapon is enough so it may be better to look for cards that affect the board more than this one, but it's not junk by any means.
That wraps up the Rogue abilities in Fires of Outland. We've only got Shamans, Warlocks, and Warriors left before we take a look at the allies.
Today's my first post in since I've moved my blog over from Blogger. For anyone who didn't read my blog, welcome and you can find all my old posts at ccggamer.blogspot.com. Today I'm going to keep talking FoO with the review of the Priest cards.
Binding Heal
This card is like a lot of healing spells and generally not worth it for Constructed. The only use I could see for it would be possibly in a Two Headed Ogre tournament since it can heal both heroes for 5 which isn't too shabby.
In Limited, the card isn't great. It could see some use, but Priest is probably the worst class to be drafting. If you end up in it, you probably don't want to have to play this because then you're playing the worst class and not even very good cards from the class.
Holy Fire
I'm still unsure of this card. 2 damage for 3 resources isn't terribly efficient, but Priest isn't a class with a lot of options for efficient removal. Still, I think Priests have better options than this, and I can't see a deck relying on a DoT as a finisher with the amount of ability removal present in the game today.
In Limited, it's still not great, but you take what you can get. Especially if you're in Priest, you won't get many shots at abilities better than this.
Mass Dispel
That sound you just heard was the death of Cat Form decks. Just in case they weren't already dead enough, now Priests get this ability that really sticks it to them. The fact that it also only destroys abilities you want to destroy instead of all abilities means it could be a good card in 2HO.
In limited, it's not as important to get ability removal especially en masse, but it's certainly a nice luxury to have. I wouldn't draft it particularly high, but don't forget about it in your sideboard either.
Mind Sooth
This card seems like it would be a lot better in a new style Warlock deck. It's not completely terrible, especially against control decks who look to finish with a big ally, but it's not particularly good either. The ally you attach this to will usually end up just trading with one of your allies instead which actually nets you -1 card. And I don't think a solo Priest deck is going to make it so that idea isn't worth it either.
In limited, the card suffers even more from the fact that it will almost always be card disadvantage (which is more important in limited than Constructed) and you're even less likely to build a good solo deck in limited.
Pact of Shadow
My initial thought about this card is that Shadow Priests are too aggressive to make good use out of it. My second thought is that this + Anathema = some good. However, given the amount of both equipment and ability hate, getting both into play long enough to trigger seems unlikely. It would take out their entire hand and deal a pretty significant amount of damage though.
In limited, I think the card is too narrow in scope to be generally successful. Given the relatively low number of abilities you will generally be running, it's not worth playing one that is reliant on the others.
Pain Suppression
It's like Devotion Aura that works for only your hero. It would be significantly better if it worked for your allies too, but it doesn't. It's also only really good against several allies at once. The problem of course is that you don't want your opponent to have several allies at once. I think if I were playing Priest I would rather just run Greater Heal or something similar than trying to prevent a bunch of damage with an ongoing ability.
In limited, it suffers greatly from the fact that it doesn't also stop damage to your allies. Limited is really about board supremacy and this does nothing to help you there.
Soul Rend
I think this is a good tempo card for aggro Priests. You should generally be able to make it pseudo-target by simply removing as many allies as possible before playing it. The fact that it doesn't target is mildly annoying when facing off with things like Steppestriders and such, but hopefully you left them with no allies on three so you can just bounce Steppestrider on 4. The cost of 2 is very nice as well, since you will be able to play this and another ally most of the time, hindering your opponent's board position while simultaneously advancing yours. I like this card for aggro Preists.
In limited, it's a little more situational. You need to be somewhat dictating the attacks so you have a better chance of bouncing the guy you want bounced. It's still a solid tempo play but aggro Priests are far less popular in draft than, well, just about anything.
Vampiric Touch
This card is definitely solid. The only thing that worries me about playing it is whether Shadow Priests actually play enough abilities to really abuse it. If it's just ok, you're probably better off playing something that isn't as reliant on other cards to be good. Effectively making all your shadow abilities cost one less is certainly good though.
This card seems playable from a Priest's perspective in limited. Priests don't get a great selection of abilities in any set really, so you have to take what you can get. It takes a while, but with less ability removal in limited, it can add up some damage on the opposing hero, and if you do play any shadow abilities, getting extra out of your resources can go a long way in limited.
Shadowfiend
Priests last card isn't actully an ability, but is probably their best card in the set. This little Vesh'ral gives is really good. I've already talked about him before so I'm not going to re-hash it all now, but this guy is definitely very good.
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