Hearthstone Witchwood: March 26th Card Reveals
With the reveal stream, many new cards were shown. Here are my thoughts on all of these cards.
Houndmaster Shaw
Mana Cost: 4 Attack: 3 Health: 6
The first Hunter Legendary to be revealed, Houndmaster Shaw very well stated minion. This card allows for potential board clears or board state control. In the past mid ranged Hunter decks performed very well and with this new tool, depending on the other Hunter cards in this set, it has a high potential in returning. In arena this card will likely be average with other legendaries with stronger effects being favoured.
Overall Houndmaster Shaw is a good card but will only see play if more cards in this set support a midrange/control Hunter deck.
Rotten Applebaum
Mana Cost: 5 Attack: 4 Health: 5
Essentially a stronger version of "Booty Bay Bodyguard", Rotten Applebaum is a strong card offering great deffensive power, ableit sussceptable to silence. With " N'zoth " this card would very likely see play but due to it moving to wild that might not be as likely. Another potential deck with this card would be "Odd Quest" Warrior. In arena this card is very likely to see play due to its high value and strong body.
Overall this card is very strong and might see play in a few decks such as "Odd Quest" Warrior. Whether this card is strong enough to see play in other decks as a Neutral card, I cannot say for certain but I think it is likely.
Witchwood Apple and Wispering Woods
Mana Cost: 2 Mana Cost: 4
These cards are put together here due to their design made to compliment each other. Witchwood Apple on its own looks like a horrible card and Wispering Woods on its own seems like an issue for Druids due to their lack of card draw early game. Together however these cards seem like a very strong tool in Token Druid, possibly filling the hole that the loss of Jades will have on Druid. In arena these cards will most likely be avoided .
Overall these cards will likely see play in Token Druid and no play in arena.
Rebuke
Mana Cost: 2
A throwback to " Loatheb ", Rebuke causes your opponents spells to cost 5 more but at the cost of 2 mana, and no body accompanying it. Although Loatheb was an extremely strong card, its value highly depended on its body as the opponent almost certainly had no way to remove the minion without trading. This card being a spell reduces the strength making it a highly conditional card yet potentially strong at protecting a board from board-clears. In arena, this card is unlikely to see any play.
Overall it is uncertain if this card will see any play but there is a small potential.
Vivid Nightmare
Mana Cost: 3
A card with a lot of potential, Vivid Nightmare is likely to see play as a combo priest in decks such as Big Priest, or OTK Lyra Priest. Outside of those decks I am not certain on what else this card could see play for. A card with potential but in very niche decks. In arena this card is likely too conditional to see play.
Overall if Big Priest survives the standard rotation, this card has a high chance of seeing play.
Glinda Crowskin
Mana Cost: 6 Attack: 3 Health: 7
The first legendary revealed for Warlock, Glinda Crowskin gives all minions in your hand the new "Echo" ability. This card opens up many possible combos if allowed to stay alive for a single turn such as double Cube, becoming a must kill card and a placebo 7 health taunt at worst. However even on the turn you play this card there are many things you could do with it such as quadruple Kobold Librarian for an aditional 3 card draw or many other things. With this potential Glinda Crowskin is very likely to see play but could potentially be too slow. In arena this card is moderately strong given its potential game changing power if the enemy has no answer.
Overall Glinda Crowskin is a strong card with great potential and is likely to see play if the right deck is created.
Nightmare Amalgam
Mana Cost: 3 Attack: 3 Health: 4
A very well stated card, Nightmare Amalgam is a very unique card with every single tribe as a tag. This unique feature is both beneficial and harmful to the player as it can be buffed with all tribe unique cards and destoryed by all "Hate" cards such as "Hungry Crab". Simply due to the stats there is a chance this card will see constructed play but I believe it is unlikely. In arena this card is very likely to be picked for its stats and the higher possibility of synergy with buffs, as well as Hate cards being rarer.
Overall this card is good but possibly not strong enough to see constructed play.
Witch's Apprentice
Mana Cost: 1 Attack: 0 Health: 1
Not the most impressive of cards, Witch's Apprentice is another 1 drop that offers a random spell much like "Babbling_book. Unlike Babbling Book however, Witch's Apprentice gives a random Shaman spell, which has a much lower power level than Mage spells. Due to this weakness of Shaman spells this card is unlikely to see play, esspecially with such a weak body. In arena this card is also unlikely to see play as taunt and such low stats are highly avoided.
Overall Witch's Apprentice is very weak and almost certainly not going to see play.
Hagatha the Witch
Mana Cost: 8
The first Shaman Legendary and the teased only Hero Card of the set is Hagatha the Witch. With a battlecry of deal 3 damage to all minions, this card is highly likely to clear the board the turn it comes into play, however, does not do anything to maintain it much like the Hunter or Priest hero cards. The Hero Power of Hagatha is much like the Rogue Hero, offering passive card generation although in this case, it gives Shaman Spells for each minion you play. Once again as I stated before Shaman Spells have an overall low power level making a weak form of card generation. In the long run though, the value is likely to build up and can allow for a potential game swing. In arena Hero Cards are not given and this card likely will not too.
Overall I do not think Hagatha is a very strong Hero but it still has potential to slowly outvalue your opponent. This card is very likely to see experimental play in the first few weeks but I cannot be certain that it will find a place in competitive decks.
Overall Thoughts
There are many cards here that have high potential but they whether they will make new decks will all depend on the future cards and how the meta shifts. What do you think of all these new cards? Let us know below.