EPTIntroduction
Hello everyone and welcome to the first part of the League of Explorers card reviews. This will follow a similar format to the TGT card review where myself and a few other high-level players gave our initial takes on each card. We have changed our rating system somewhat after the feedback we got during TGT to hopefully make it more clear.
- 1=Unplayable
- 2=Almost certainly unplayable
- 3=Bad
- 4=Meh
- 5=Decent
- 6=Playable
- 7=Good
- 8=Very Good
- 9=Extremely Good
- 10=Overpowered
While this scale is not ideal -- and still somewhat subjective -- it allows us to differentiate more between low-quality cards than the previous scale and it makes it more clear just what a certain rating means. As a result, our average ratings are a lot higher than in TGT. Having said that, we are a lot more optimistic about this incoming set than about TGT so even if we would be using the old rating system, the average rating would still be higher. We are also no longer use the ‘’possible rating’’ we used in TGT because we have already seen all the cards coming out. This set of cards is less combo-oriented than the Inspire effects of TGT.
Today’s guests are:
- Deathstar v3, creator of the Midrange Hunter with Deathlord
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/images/social/twitter.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/twitchbutton.png)
- SenX, creator of the SenX Hunter
- Ersee, creator of the Midrange Shaman with Neptulon
- Modernleper, Team Archon writer
Meta Changes
The big question every time a new set of cards are released is how much is it going to affect the current meta? While we were hoping that during TGT the meta would slow down enough to make Inspire viable, we don’t think the meta is going to change significantly because of this adventure. Given how Hearthstone works, whenever a new expansion releases, the average card quality of a high level deck increases. This doesn’t necessarily have to be because of power creep but just the mere fact that there are more available cards means that it will be easier to make more efficient decks. The difference between having a play on turn 2/3/4 and not having a play becomes bigger with every expansion. This in turn makes the influence of having the right early game draws on who wins the game bigger all the time. With the introduction of the Discover mechanic, Blizzard has given themselves some way to alleviate this issue. For example, a card like Jeweled Scarab -- or to a lesser degree Dark Peddler -- which guarantees a turn three play can help alleviate the issues with not having the right draws at the start of the game. Jeweled Scarab, however, doesn’t really fix this issue because of its incredibly poor stats.
Discover
While we have yet to see the Discover mechanic in action, as far as I know it works as follows:
You see three cards from a random pool of spells, minions and weapons (unless otherwise specified by the card you are playing). These cards can be both from the class you are playing and from the neutral card pool but not from any other class. You then choose one of these cards which gets transferred into your hand. One of the big unknowns though is whether or not the options presented are completely random or weighted towards class cards. If they are completely random, this would mean that the vast majority of options that you will get will be the weaker neutral cards. Having the Discover effect on your cards would, therefore, be weaker than if it was weighted towards class cards.
The other big question is how will this mechanic match up against just drawing a card from the top of your deck? On one hand, you have the option to choose a card with Discover; but on the other hand, the three options are on average way worse quality than the cards in your deck.We think that using Discover that can only get a certain kind of card will be better than just drawing a card from your deck whereas drawing a random spell or minion will be worse.
The Discover mechanic is a very interesting and good addition to the game for several reasons. The first is that it adds exactly the kind of RNG I think that the game needs: as outlined in my post on different aspects of RNG a few months ago. Discover both makes for having exciting moments because you will see cards that you generally don’t see as well as it promotes skillful decision making when it comes to playing cards with the Discover mechanic. The second reason is that it has the potential to make drawing the right curve less important since it offers an option to draw them for you.
Here are the individual rankings for each player:
Card Rankings
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_AncientShade.jpg)
Playable In
Current Rating: 3
Ancient Shade
At first glance this might look like an interesting risk-reward since you get to draw another card should you draw the Ancient Curse (Iron Juggernaut has similar wording). Ancient Shade's stats, however, are just too poor and it dies to all other four-drops so there is very little benefit from playing this card.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_Anubisath.jpg)
Playable In
Current Rating: 3
Anubisath Sentinel
If this effect was a Battlecry, this card could be good. Unfortunately this card is a Deathrattle which means quite often your opponent is the one who dictates when it goes off and can make it go to waste. The only deck that would want to play this -- and has enough minions to reliable use the Deathrattle by turn five -- is Zoo and they just have better late game options than this card.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_Djinni.jpg)
Playable In
PriestCurrent Rating: 5
Djinni of Zephyrs
There are two classes that have playable buffs: Priest and Paladin. Paladin buffs are generally something you want to be casting on the same turn you attack; therefore, this card in a Paladin deck would require this minion and another minion to survive for a turn which is going to be rare.
For Priest, it is okay to just play a minion and buff it since Priest buffs mostly give health rather than attack. This card is somewhat win-more because it relies on having another minion alive when you use it and it relies on having a spell that is actually useful for that minion as well as this one. If the wording is correct, you will draw two cards from one Power Word Shield; however, that remains to be seen in practice.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_DarkPeddler.jpg)
Playable In
Zoo WarlockCurrent Rating: 5
Dark Peddler
As you can see in the discussion of the Discover mechanic, this type of cards can help you fill in if you don’t have anything to play in the early game. This card is restricted to Warlocks, however, so you could only run this in a Zoo-style Warlock where it is extremely rare for you not to have enough early game cards to use all your mana.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_Jeweled.jpg)
Playable In
Current Rating: 3
Jeweled Scarab
We think the idea behind this card is excellent. Since it guarantees you a three-drop you get punished less in this tempo-oriented meta if you don’t draw the right cards in the start of the game. While we like the idea, Scarab's stats are just too poor to justify playing it: playing this guy is essentially the same as playing a Hero Power on turn two. This is, however, a step in the right direction as it makes missing early drops less punishing.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_Obsidian.jpg)
Playable In
Control WarriorCurrent Rating: 5
Obsidian Destroyer
This card is essentially a worse version of Dr Boom which will give some more value over time. Obsidian Destroyer needs to stay alive for at least three turns in order to be better than Dr. Boom. This is in reality never going to happen. While this could be played in a Control Warrior, they will most likely have better options than this one.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_Reno.jpg)
Playable In
Current Rating: 3
Reno Jackson
This card is extremely gimmicky and not meant for competitive play. You can either have to build a deck around playing this or you have to wait until you have ten cards left and then pay good attention to what you have drawn (or use hearthtracker, Blizzard said they don’t want to implement any cues on whether or not his Battlecry will work). It’s stat points just aren’t good enough for a six mana minion and the Battlecry will almost never be used.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_Rumbling.jpg)
Playable In
Current Rating: 3
Rumbling Elemental
While this card looks okay on paper, its stat point is just not quite there: being two damage means he really doesn’t contest the board very well and he trades one-for-one with the many of the three-drops out there. Shaman also generally don’t have that many Battlecry minions to begin with unless you specifically put them in there. Lastly dealing two damage to a random enemy is just too weak -- especially since it can also hit face -- in which case it does essentially nothing.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_Sacred.jpg)
Playable In
Current Rating: 3
Sacred Trial
All the Paladin secrets currently being played are really easy to trigger so it is fairly easy to figure out when this is on the board. Secondly Secret Paladin is an aggro deck so if you are behind enough for this secret to activate you will most likely already have lost the game.
![[image loading]](http://www.liquidhearth.com/staff/Hayl_Storm/HS_Cards/LeagueOfExplorers/LoECard_Summoning.jpg)
Playable In
Current Rating: 2
Summoning Stone
Like Blizzard said during the announcement, this card is just there for the people who liked the Tavern Brawl. There is just no way that you can get this card to stick.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/RsM4DFK.png?1)
Playable In
Current Rating: 1
Explorer's Hat
This card is meant as a tool to give Hunters the repeatable value of a (non-face) Hero Power. This card is definitely an upgrade compared to other Hero Powers but the downside is that you can’t play it at will and that it is vulnerable to Silence. This card would be good with Lock & Load; however, time has shown that L&L decks just aren’t good and are inconsistent.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/WMggl4Y.png?1)
Playable In
Tempo Mage, Freeze MageCurrent Rating: 7
Forgotten/Roaring Torch
This card has a completely new mechanic that is being introduced in this adventure where playing bad card A puts overpowered card B into your deck. This is an excellent example of sacrificing tempo for value later on. Freeze Mages often don’t have many plays on turns 3-5 outside of playing Secrets and a few low cost minions. This card might fill that gap. The downside of this card is that it relies on having a lot of draw because not only do you want to draw/play the Forgotten Torch but you also want to play the Roaring Torch. It seems good on paper in Freeze Mage, therefore, as a deck that generally draws most of its deck. The issue with this card in Freeze Mage is that there you generally are looking for Alex or Emperor and putting more cards into your deck makes the chance of drawing them smaller. On the other side of this lies the fatigue argument that Freeze Mage often loses against Warrior because he can just stack infinite armor. This card will delay the moment of Fatigue by a turn.
Thanks everyone for your time and if you have any questions/comments feel free to ask and we hope to see you again for the evaluation of the next batch of cards.
In addition to being a writer for Liquidhearth, Daisyx is head coach of ManaLight. You can follow him here:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/lWQAJLe.png)
