More Whispers of The Old Gods Cards Revealed

[Steven Bogos]

More Whispers of The Old Gods Cards Revealed

Blizzard continues the slow trickle reveal of Whispers of The Old Gods Hearthstone cards.

Whispers of The Old Gods, Blizzard's latest Hearthstone expansion, is set to have 134 new cards. Despite that massive number, Blizzard is content to "slow roll" us, by gradually trickling new cards one by one. Since we last checked in [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/166837-Hearthstones-Latest-Patch-Finally-Adds-More-Deckslots], eight new cards have been revealed. Lets have a look at them:

[gallery=6039]

Some interesting new cards there. It looks like every class will be getting a variant on the "forbidden" spell - the Priest one in particular looks like it could prove quite useful. There are also some class C'Thun cards in there this time - a kind of Shieldmaiden on steroids for the warrior, and the Klaxxi Amber-Weaver for the Druid.

We'll post more cards as they become available. You can check out previously revealed cards here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/hearthstone].

Source: Blizzard [http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/]

Permalink

 

[MiskWisk]

Those forbidden cards are going to be incredibly irritating aren't they?

Also, does the Ancient Shieldbearer's Battlecry trigger wherever C'thun is or do you need to have him out? If it's the latter I really don't see it being useful.

 

[rcs619]

Those forbidden cards are going to be incredibly irritating aren't they?

Also, does the Ancient Shieldbearer's Battlecry trigger wherever C'thun is or do you need to have him out? If it's the latter I really don't see it being useful.

My assumption is that the Shieldbearer and Amber-Weaver trigger on C'Thun wherever he is, since his effect seems to be global and tracked during the entire game. If the other C'Thun class cards are as good as the druid and warrior's, I really think some sort of C'Thun deck is going to be totally viable. That 4-mana 4/2 with divine shield is also *really* good. A lot of the really easy ways to flood the board and easily break the shield will be gone (looking at you muster) so divine shield minions should be stronger in general.

Even the cards that don't seem that good like the forbidden flame or infested tauren are still pretty interesting. I'm still not sure if forbidden shaping will actually be bad or not. I know from experience that there's a lot of times with control-priest that you're just healing and passing with like 8 or 9 mana, and being able to drop a minion or two to get some tempo with that unspent mana seems like it'd be really nice.

That Herald Volazj though. Man that is a really cool card I don't know how much it'll get used, but that is a super neat effect and I could see some potential shenanigans you could get up to with it.

Still really want to see what the other 3 Old Gods do though.

 

[drakonz]

Those forbidden cards are going to be incredibly irritating aren't they?

Also, does the Ancient Shieldbearer's Battlecry trigger wherever C'thun is or do you need to have him out? If it's the latter I really don't see it being useful.

all c'thun effects trigger regardess of c'thun placement unless otherwise stated and yes you can discard c'thun or have opponent kill him and they will stil work since c'thun effects buff the player owning card and not the c'thun card itself (which is also why c'thun can be revived with all his buffs from cultist using cards like resurrect) naturaly you still need to have him in deck to get effects to work

 

[DoPo]

Herald Volazj - HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Put this thing in a deathrattle oriented deck and it will start just destroying the opposition. Or use him with a bunch of cards with active effects for mega lulz.

 

[MCerberus]

Herald Volazj - HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Put this thing in a deathrattle oriented deck and it will start just destroying the opposition. Or use him with a bunch of cards with active effects for mega lulz.

Or here's something: 1. have Ysera out 2. Drop an Annoy-o-tron (or 2) 3. Herald

 

[DoPo]

Herald Volazj - HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Put this thing in a deathrattle oriented deck and it will start just destroying the opposition. Or use him with a bunch of cards with active effects for mega lulz.

Or here's something: 1. have Ysera out 2. Drop an Annoy-o-tron (or 2) 3. Herald

Yup. Also - with Velen on the board, drop Faceless Manipulator and then Volazj. They'd have to be discounted somehow (the emperor card being the easiest way) but you can do lots then. Heck, if you have each of the two cards discounted, you'd be left with 1 mana, so you'd be able to also play a (discounted) Mind Blast for 5 damage x4 Velens.

You could also do similar things with Malygos and other classes, too. Heck, with Forbidden Flame, the mage can just do 16 damage to a minion for 0 mana. Say, if your opponent has C'Thun out, they might not have C'Thun any more and you'll have 4 Malygoses.

The card is just full of possibilities. A lot of them just broken, too.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

Sludge Belcher being the card that I hate the most and that should never been created, I hate how Infested Tauren is just a 4 mana copy of him. Not even nerfed, just adjusted to the mana cost.

 

[Erttheking]

This is an interesting concept, but there's one thing that no one has been pointing out that's bugging me in this expansion. C'Thun is a legendary card. Lengendaries in Hearthstone are infamous for having a painfully low rate of aquistion. Half of these cards are utterly worthless without C'Thun. So...yeah that's an issue for me. It'd be like if Goblins and Gnomes cards couldn't be used to full effect if you didn't have Dr. Boom.

 

[09philj]

This is an interesting concept, but there's one thing that no one has been pointing out that's bugging me in this expansion. C'Thun is a legendary card. Lengendaries in Hearthstone are infamous for having a painfully low rate of aquistion. Half of these cards are utterly worthless without C'Thun. So...yeah that's an issue for me. It'd be like if Goblins and Gnomes cards couldn't be used to full effect if you didn't have Dr. Boom.

Everyone gets C'thun, I think. You get three free packs and one has C'thun.

 

[Erttheking]

This is an interesting concept, but there's one thing that no one has been pointing out that's bugging me in this expansion. C'Thun is a legendary card. Lengendaries in Hearthstone are infamous for having a painfully low rate of aquistion. Half of these cards are utterly worthless without C'Thun. So...yeah that's an issue for me. It'd be like if Goblins and Gnomes cards couldn't be used to full effect if you didn't have Dr. Boom.

Everyone gets C'thun, I think. You get three free packs and one has C'thun.

Ok then, that makes sense. The whole expansion would kinda fall apart otherwise.

 

[MoltenSilver]

Sludge Belcher being the card that I hate the most and that should never been created, I hate how Infested Tauren is just a 4 mana copy of him. Not even nerfed, just adjusted to the mana cost.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't expect something like that to happen; with sludge belcher leaving the game Blizzard were going to have to put some kind of defensive card in place of it. Currently sludge belcher is one of the few cards stopping the game from being entirely curve-following aggro.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

Sludge Belcher being the card that I hate the most and that should never been created, I hate how Infested Tauren is just a 4 mana copy of him. Not even nerfed, just adjusted to the mana cost.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't expect something like that to happen; with sludge belcher leaving the game Blizzard were going to have to put some kind of defensive card in place of it. Currently sludge belcher is one of the few cards stopping the game from being entirely curve-following aggro.

From what I've read, one of the reasons why the Nax and GvG cards are leaving is for balancing reasons. They are mostly too powerful and new cards to be useful need to be even more powerful. So it creates a power-creep. So I expected that one of the most powerful and most overused cards from the leaving cards not to get an almost exact copy.

There is absolutely no other card in the game that makes me think "fuck this shit fuck this game" besides Belcher. I'm a relatively new player so my experience means little to Blizzard and you, but I think a card that is used as often as Belcher is isn't balanced.

 

[That Guy Ya Know]

Sludge Belcher being the card that I hate the most and that should never been created, I hate how Infested Tauren is just a 4 mana copy of him. Not even nerfed, just adjusted to the mana cost.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't expect something like that to happen; with sludge belcher leaving the game Blizzard were going to have to put some kind of defensive card in place of it. Currently sludge belcher is one of the few cards stopping the game from being entirely curve-following aggro.

From what I've read, one of the reasons why the Nax and GvG cards are leaving is for balancing reasons. They are mostly too powerful and new cards to be useful need to be even more powerful. So it creates a power-creep. So I expected that one of the most powerful and most overused cards from the leaving cards not to get an almost exact copy.

There is absolutely no other card in the game that makes me think "fuck this shit fuck this game" besides Belcher. I'm a relatively new player so my experience means little to Blizzard and you, but I think a card that is used as often as Belcher is isn't balanced.

Apparently the 2/2 doesn't have taunt.

Overall it just seems like a worse arcane nullifier since 2 of the health doesn't have taunt and it can be hit by spells.

Also forbidden flame seems pretty poor. 1 mana for 1 damage is a terrible deal at any point of the game, sure its flexible but requiring you to massively overpay for the damage seems like it will more than compensate. Honestly it seems like it should either be able to hit face or else be 1.5 times damage.

 

[Xeorm]

Apparently the 2/2 doesn't have taunt.

Overall it just seems like a worse arcane nullifier since 2 of the health doesn't have taunt and it can be hit by spells.

Also forbidden flame seems pretty poor. 1 mana for 1 damage is a terrible deal at any point of the game, sure its flexible but requiring you to massively overpay for the damage seems like it will more than compensate. Honestly it seems like it should either be able to hit face or else be 1.5 times damage.

I think people are looking at the Infested Tauren the wrong way. He's still a fairly sticky minion, comes down at 4 mana (where there don't tend to be many good drops) and he can do a lot of damage. 4 damage split between two attacks, one of which is a taunt, isn't a bad shot. He's more similar to a shredder in that regard. More consistent, and not as strong stats wise, but it's hard to compare with shredders.

1 mana for 1 damage isn't too far off curve given it's flexibility. I think if it were on any other class besides mage, it'd be pretty good. Mages don't have the card draw to make it work though, as they've always been inflexible but with very strong cards comparably to other classes. Hitting face seems like it'd be a bit too good.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

From what I've read, one of the reasons why the Nax and GvG cards are leaving is for balancing reasons. They are mostly too powerful and new cards to be useful need to be even more powerful. So it creates a power-creep. So I expected that one of the most powerful and most overused cards from the leaving cards not to get an almost exact copy.

There is absolutely no other card in the game that makes me think "fuck this shit fuck this game" besides Belcher. I'm a relatively new player so my experience means little to Blizzard and you, but I think a card that is used as often as Belcher is isn't balanced.

Apparently the 2/2 doesn't have taunt.

Huh, you're right. I kinda skipped over that and didn't realize it.
I take what I said back. I'm fine with this version. It's far less annoying than Belcher and its double taunt.

 

[DoPo]

Also forbidden flame seems pretty poor. 1 mana for 1 damage is a terrible deal at any point of the game, sure its flexible but requiring you to massively overpay for the damage seems like it will more than compensate. Honestly it seems like it should either be able to hit face or else be 1.5 times damage.

Do remember that it's a mage cards and mages can combo spells fairly well. If you add spell damage, any spell damage and the card immediately becomes better. With +1 you get 1 damage for 0 mana. There is a single other card that does that (although it can hit heroes). For 1 mana, you now do 2 damage. Fairly solid - comparative card would do the same (but can hit heroes as well). But add any more and the spell becomes to shine. The damage/mana ratio still becomes rather the more mana you spend on it, but I don't think it's intended to be a single target nuke of epic proportions. The mage already has enough of those. Heck, the problem is that the mage has too many of those and needs a more cost efficient card to throw around instead of burning precious fireballs at 3-4 HP minions.

But aside from spell damage, since this is a spell, it would also trigger anything that is on casting a spell - Antonidas, Flamewalker, Gadgetzan Auctioneer, Mana Worm.

At any rate, I can see this working as a tempo card. I really can't see why you'd ever play this for tons of mana even if it did more damage. Let's say it does 1.5 damage per point of mana - you would really find that many uses for a card that deals 15 damage to a minion for 10 mana? I wouldn't. That requires me to give up an entire late game turn to deal with one single minion. And that's a mandatory giving up of the turn - normally, if there was a card that actually costed 10, I might be able to squeeze it down to 9-8 with Emperor Thaurissan and probably a bit lower with Sorcerer's Apprentice so I'd be able to play it + something else that is cheap. But Forbidden Flame always uses up all your mana. If you're to play it late game ever it would pretty much suck - even at 1.5 damage per mana, played for 4 mana, that's just a fireball and you'd have to have utilised 5-6 mana beforehand.

This card is definitely stronger near the beginning. Here is a sample play that makes it quite good:

Turn 1: Mana Worm
Turn 2: Kobold Geomancer + Forbidden Flame

You are left with a buffed MW, two minions and you can clear a 1 HP minion from the field. And those are common - Leper Gnomes, or Southsea Deckhands or Abusive Sergeants are really common for early game aggro. You immediately stop it AND gain a big board advantage. If you have the coin, you can even play it on the second turn, so you can get 2 damage to a minion with Forbidden Flame - that kills most 1 drops and some of the 2 drops. You are even left with a 3/3 Mana Worm and a 2/2 Kobold Geomancer that the enemy needs to deal with on turn 3. They very rarely can deal with this on turn 3. For a more defensive play a turn 2 consisting of Kobold + Coin + Mirror Image + Forbidden Flame also deals with 1 HP minions, buffs your MW to 4/3, leaves you with 2 attacking minions and equips you with two taunts.

Another situation is using a Flamewalker and at turn three - if you have that, you can very easily deal 9 damage for 1 mana - Coin + Arcane Missiles + Forbidden flame triggers Flamewalker three times (6 projectiles) and AM does further 3 projectiles. You can play that on turn 3. I repeat you can, at turn three, do 9 damage randomly split on the enemy board. That's without even counting spell power, which would increase this to 11 damage. FOR 1 MANA. Avenging Wrath is the only spell that comes close to that effect and it would only do 9 damage and that is if it's boosted by spell power and it requires 6 mana.

The way I see it, early to mid-game is where this card would shine. It would require buffing it with effects keyed on spells (including spell power) but it's still good. It can also be used early game at the end of a turn to deal with low HP minions that you can't ping for whatever reason - either because you've got 1 mana left or because you have 2 mana, but there is a 2 HP minion. Lategame, the spell loses power fast but can still be used in some situation - card draw with Auctioneer, producing Fireballs with Antonidas and triggering some traps.

 

[MoltenSilver]

From what I've read, one of the reasons why the Nax and GvG cards are leaving is for balancing reasons. They are mostly too powerful and new cards to be useful need to be even more powerful. So it creates a power-creep. So I expected that one of the most powerful and most overused cards from the leaving cards not to get an almost exact copy.

There is absolutely no other card in the game that makes me think "fuck this shit fuck this game" besides Belcher. I'm a relatively new player so my experience means little to Blizzard and you, but I think a card that is used as often as Belcher is isn't balanced.

Apparently the 2/2 doesn't have taunt.

Huh, you're right. I kinda skipped over that and didn't realize it.
I take what I said back. I'm fine with this version. It's far less annoying than Belcher and its double taunt.

1. I actually do care about the new player experience, because this game like any will die if it does not keep attracting new people and in many ways the new player experience is rather lacking (especially the horrid matchmaker. I've both had the infuriating experience of being new and running into legendary-fueled decks played by people vastly above my skill level, and also been that unwilling bully where the game matched someone ludicrously poorer in experience and cards than me, and it happens far too bloody often). I've heard a lot of good ideas from people who don't play the game because they tend to have a more critical eye towards things versus the 'meh it's always been like that' attitude some veterans can fall into. A lot of my friends tried the game then just walked away because they found it too insurmountable to get into and weren't enjoying it. the Standard format shift is probably mainly driven by Blizzard being worried the game is becoming impossible to break into due to needing too many cards to meaningfully play.

2. Sludge belcher wasn't just played because it was the best defensive option, it was played because it was the only really viable defensive option, with a distant 2nd place being healbot. Sure things like booty bay bodyguard and lord of the arena existed but they are woefully inadequate in actually protecting against aggro. The fact is without sludge belcher no game would've gone past the first handful of mana crystals except something like a priest mirror. Does it accomplish that goal in a way that's unhealthy for the game? I can see the argument there, but given that this was the best line of defense against Force-Roar and combo Druid is still in the top-top tier of decks (may it die a well-deserved painful death now that blizzard is finally addressing it) I'm not entirely convinced it was.

3. As for realizing that the tauren doesn't have taunt, I wouldn't quite breathe easy yet; Blizzard is clearly pushing c'thun hard and you have to actually survive to turn 10 to use him, meaning I would be very, very surprised if this expansion isn't armed to the teeth with defensive cards capable of actually prolonging the game that long. This next bit is entirely a nebulous feeling with no proof, but I have a suspicion someone on the hearthstone dev team is tired of coming up with the very elaborate 9/10 mana cards and then having them be basically unusable due to the speed of the meta and emphasis on tempo. In fact I'd take the existence of Elise Starseeker as a large signal of that (be able to turn unused early game survival tools into big scary minions). Part of the problem with gauging this, admittedly, is the fact that a huge number of the deathrattles aggro decks are built on are disappearing and Blizzard seems to now be bringing down the hammer on reliable high-damage combos (Anyfin is losing Murk-Eye and while we don't know the details yet Force-Roar is confirmed as getting some kind of nerf), so maybe the existing defenses in the game will be able to do the job now, but I'd be very surprised if Blizzard didn't provide defensive tools capable of making C'Thun decks (and by extension other mana-heavy decks) very viable. Hopefully they come in ways that are less-infuriating than sludge belcher, but it's hard to think of a sufficient defense that doesn't in some way infuriate the attacker.