Post by kevinfelixlee on Apr 25, 2011 21:54:45 GMT -5
I wanted to take a break from my look at ¡°mistakes you see in tournament play¡± and turn my attention towards something that is on most players¡¯ minds: War of the Elements. I wanted to take a typical look at the set, ripe with top 10 list and the impact on Core, but I realized the set is simply too powerful and far-reaching to limit it to only 10 cards. Refocused, I want to approach runescape gold the set from a ¡°question and answer¡± type of format and see if the set answers some of the burning questions facing the metagame today.
When I first analyze a set, I try and look at the biggest problem cards in the environment and whether or not there are new cards to combat them more effectively. Then I look at the new cards on their own for the basis of new strategies. Most players will take the safe and easy route of updating old decks before using the set cards runescape money to form the foundation of new ones. I haven¡¯t checked the complete organized play schedule post release of Elements, but I believe the metagame will be still relatively unexplored come June for the North American Continental Championships, especially with Darkmoon Faire Koln being Classic instead of Core.
Over the next few weeks, I will continue to explore the themes of the set and its effect on the ever-changing Core environment. Today I want to start to review the first major step, the heroes in War of the Elements and potential new decks that may arrive in Las Vegas.
¡°A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.¡± Christopher ¡°Superman¡± Reeve
Overall, the removal of specs from the heroes is going to have a dramatic effect on the Core metagame, especially years from now after the rotations of the Drums of War and Wrath of the Lich King blocks. The removal of talent specs makes deckbuilding easier, but unless the ¡°race matters¡± theme of Drums Block returns in ¡°Menagerie,¡± the format will simply become ¡°which flip is best for the deck I want to run?¡± I am going to assume that R&D realizes this (feel free to comment in the blog, my friends!) and has planned for this eventuality; however, as time goes on and flips continue to evolve into static powers that are deck defining, they will have to stand out from the competition to avoid degenerating into a ¡°just play the best¡± situation. Until rotation, use of these new heroes in conjunction with the allies from the Drums block and mounts from Wrath block will be important launching points for discussion.
Almia Moonwhisperer is an interesting option as the first Night Elf Mage, giving you access to Zempre as a potential finisher. Her flip in the right deck, perhaps an arcane-damage-based Dragonkin aggressive deck, will allow you to keep pace as your threats are dealt with. Her flip is certainly not cheap, but as a secondary source of card draw with the ever popular Tuskarr Kite, you can certainly do worse, especially since you are starting with this power right on your hero.
Aric Stonejack follows Haedis from Worldbreaker as a hero that has a built-in finishing flip. Whereas Haedis¡¯ flip is linked to the powerful Death Knight DOTs, essentially doubling their damage output each turn, Aric¡¯s flip is a virtual copy of the most powerful use on Scourgeborne Battlegear: making the Ghoul each turn. Granted, you cannot create a virtual army of Scourge to serve you as time goes on, but creating a 3/3 each turn ¡°for free¡± cannot be ignored as time goes on. This flip will shine in the metagame runescape accounts if it continues to be focused on the mid-game since a 3/3 ally is definitely worth a card each turn. When it comes to static flips, I ask myself ¡°is the flip worth a card a turn?¡± Typically this means that it should draw you a card or have such a dramatic effect on the game state that it creates card advantage. The answer is certainly ¡°yes¡± for Aric.
Gundek Hammerguard is certainly interesting. Although abilities that grant the hero Protector cost two resources on average, you again have the ¡°it is a flip¡± factor. That means it will not cost you a card from your deck or your hand. This will be key against various decks looking to control allies with Ferocity allies of their own. Gundek puts an end to those shenanigans.
Thira Anvilash is interesting and probably a big help to the potential Warlock DOT deck that Everlasting Affliction could bring to prominence. You basically have to deal and heal three over the course of the game to even out with Drain Essence over time, but this is a nice addition to the damage you plan on dealing throughout the game. Add in a Haunt or two and you are well ahead of the game. This flip is very interesting to me if a solid Warlock DOT deck can be built.
Vanira Raventhorne is interesting in combination with the forms from Scourgewar, Feline Grace and Ursoc¡¯s Fury. Since each of these forms allow you to ready your hero once a turn, you are looking at an extra four damage a turn at minimum. Is this worth a one-time investment of five resources? Well, at least you can flip at any time, so you can always just leave yourself with enough resources to play a surprise Form and Feral Charge to disrupt your opponent¡¯s plans. The only problem with these Scourgewar rs power leveling forms is that they are not immune from the ¡°non-Feral, non-weapon striking¡± clause of the newer forms. Will that matter? Will extra +2 damage attacks win out in the end? Will Feral return to a playable spec for the first time in a long time? Vanira will be a key component if that is the case!
Baxxel Geartooth is interesting as a permanent attack pump for your pets, especially if you can get Deuce into your graveyard for a double dose of action! Baxxel has a flip that is the classic ¡°one time spend, eventual big time reward¡± type of flip. Much like Vanira¡¯s flip benefits from the ability to attack multiple times in a turn, Baxxel¡¯s is similar that you need a way to either attack with a pet multiple times in turn or have more than one pet in play simultaneously. Once you¡¯ve attacked twice, a total of four damage for four resources, you are getting a cost efficient flip and anything over that is well worth the investment.
Jinxy Blastwheel is similar to her Alliance counterpart where she should shine in an arcane-based aggressive deck. Her flip is expensive at four resources, but again you are talking about free damage each turn. Just like Baxxel, once you reach four damage, it¡¯s worth the investment. There are several Horde and Dragonkin arcane-damage allies, including the new powerful Maxie the Blaster, and I must believe that Jinxy will be leading the pack.
Mindtwister Quimtrix (who comes up with these names?!) had a very interesting power. Similar to my review of Holy Vengeance, you should be looking for Horde allies that allow you to destroy themselves for fun and profit. The obvious culprits here are Sivandra Darklust and Alexi Barov. In each case, the flip gives you ¡°something for nothing,¡± with Alexi as an opposing ally destroying menace. Again, if the metagame continues to be full of mid-range ally based decks in some way shape or form, Mindtwister becomes a viable option.
Tazrik Crankrust has my favorite flip of the set. I am excited about his synergy with the Elemental sub-theme of the set (that I will cover next week). He has obvious synergy with the various elemental-based totems, especially ones like the new Blazing Elemental Totem. With that four cost totem alone, you turn your hero into a free-striking, three-attack hero. Of course additional copies or use of the various Elemental cards will only increase this attack. For me, this is the most exciting hero of the set; you can almost build an entire strategy solely around his flip and cards mostly from War of the Elements.
Zin¡¯sul¡¯s flip is so cheap at only two resources that you only ¡°lose out¡± on one resource the turn you decide to activate it. Therefore, you only need to strike with a normal one-strike weapon or above one more time to even out the resource cost of your flip. That is a very easy and early flip to ¡°recoup the cost¡± for as the game progresses. Turn two is not always a key turn for Death Knights, so it is very possible this flip will see play for years to come!
¡°The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.¡± Benjamin Disraeli
Overall, War of the Elements brings an exciting new crop of heroes that should see a lot of play in Core. Some of the flips are subtle in their power level, while others simply beg for entire decks to be crafted around them.
Stay tuned for next week¡¯s War of the Elements review as I take a look at my favorite parts of the new set, the Elemental sub-theme and the new Dragonkin.