Text by: Nydra
Being a player who favors slow, control, heavy deck, I like what I’m seeing with druid. Early game cards like [card]Anodized Robo Cub[/card] and [card]Grove Tender[/card] give that much more versatility to the class and smooth its early game curve, especially if no [card]Wild Growth[/card] or [card]Innervate[/card] is drawn. The Grove Tender in particular sounds like a double edged sword, but let’s not forget that druid can usually do better stuff with more mana than, say, an aggro deck.
Druids’ options towards the end of the curve are also great. [card]Malorne[/card] not only hits cards but can be more freely sacrificed, knowing that it will potentially come back. Using the same shuffle-in-deck mechanic is [card]Recycle[/card] which will be druid’s go-to removal against control decks and is one of the best point removals in the expansion so far in my opinion.
Druid will likely perform well in arena as well. While I don’t see [card]Dark Wispers[/card] seeing that much use in constructed due to better 6-drop options, to give a minion +5/+5 and taunt can be game ending in arena as [card]The Black Knight[/card] is not exactly in every deck. [card]Mech-Bear-Cat[/card] also screams value (7/6 for 6? Yes, please) and while I’m not a huge fan of the Spare Part mechanic, I can say it works wonders in arena. Unless this is killed by something like [card]Assassinate[/card] it will give you at least one spare part, often even two.
Finally, no, I don’t think [card]Tree of Life[/card] is amazing. Even though on paper it’s good against beatdown classes, its mana cost is just overwhelming.
Constructed score: 9/10
Arena score: 9/10
Text by: Sylvanhunter
It looks like there’s no sign of Rexxar backing down—cue the collective groans of people who are tired of fighting with Hunters on the ladder. The good news is, we might be seeing more variety now since the new hunter cards like [card]Gahz'rilla[/card] are more suitable for control builds. Even [card]Steamwheedle Sniper[/card] seems to work better not as an early drop since it’s easily killed by 2 to 3-cost opponent weapons.
[card]Gahz'rilla[/card] seems to be Blizzard’s way of making up for giving Hunter an almost unplayable legendary in vanilla Hearthstone (sorry, [card]King Krush[/card]). Imagine having [card]Gahz'rilla[/card] working with [card]Wild Pyromancer[/card] or [card]Unstable Ghoul[/card]. It is admittedly vulnerable to [card]Big Game Hunter[/card] and [card]Execute[/card] though.
The [card]Glaivezooka[/card] seems like a “meh” weapon compared to the reliable [card]Eaglehorn Bow[/card] but it could be useful in fast builds. [card]King of Beasts[/card] works well with [card]Snake Trap[/card] and most rush to midrange beast decks. [card]Metaltooth Leaper[/card] is not bad for a 3-cost, 3/3 Mech that gives other Mechs +2 Attack but it won't be so useful in beast decks.
Gaara is one of the pros who are looking forward to the hunter decks' viability in the ladder. "I'm really excited about Hunter , it was always the class I was known for the most, in my opinion. I think that there are many viable new Hunter Decks and I'm really looking forward to try them out. There are plenty of awesome GvG cards , but right now my favourite card has to be Troggzor the Earthinator (a neutral)," said Gaara in our recent interview.
Hunter still won’t be lost in oblivion on constructed but most of its GvG cards are not that awesome for Arena.
Constructed score: 8/10
Arena score: 6/10
Text by: Dorazion
While mage has always (and remains) arguably the strongest class to enter the Arena as, its deck options for constructed play has always been lacking. In Goblins vs Gnomes their arena dominance remains strong with cards like [card]Goblin Blastmage[/card], [card]Snowchugger[/card] and surprisingly [card]Unstable Portal[/card]. The most breakout card appears to be [card]Unstable Portal[/card], as simply put, many unfair things can happen on as early as turn 3. Having a mage summon Cenarius for 6 mana is hard to come back from, and that is one of the more mild plays I have seen from the card.
While cards like [card]Illuminator[/card] give mage new synergies for the secret deck, it is probably not enough to compete. [card]Polymorph[/card] has gotten a lot better with inevitable wave of piloted minions that will be see in in constructed, and by that accord, so does [card]Echo of Medivh[/card]. [card]Duplicate[/card] plus [card]Echo of Medivh[/card] + sticky minions and piloted minions might very well be a powerful enough base to build a value based mage deck.
Constructed score: 7/10
Arena score: 9/10
Text by: Stothex
Paladin got some interesting class cards: [card]Coghammer[/card] and [card]Seal of Light[/card] function as early game removal, which paladin lacked, while [card]Scarlet Purifier[/card] and [card]Shielded Minibot[/card] are finally low cost minions you actually want to play early (at least in a control variant), while still being useful in the late game. [card]Muster for Battle[/card] plus [card]Quartermaster[/card] could also be a nice combo to populate the board after a board clear ([card]Equality[/card] combos, [card]Brawl[/card] etc.)
Neutral cards like [card]Explosive Sheep[/card] and [card]Lil' Exorcist[/card] help strengthen the class against aggressive decks like Zoo, which is the hardest matchup for the class.
I personally think that control Paladin will be a stronger option overall, but since it’s generally very time consuming we will see a lot more aggressive or midrange version that try to close out the game early. With the new GvG additions to the cardpool Paladin should climb up to one of the stronger classes in the format, since it’s biggest weakness, the lack of early drops and removal, finally were addressed.
Constructed score: 7/10
Arena score: 7.5/10
Text by: Dorazion
To get the obvious out of the way, [card]Vol'jin[/card] will see play in every single priest deck and is a huge favor to priest players everywhere. The other class legendaries are all somewhat situational but [card]Vol'jin[/card] does not have this problem at all. The rest of the Priest cards are less obviously powerful, however [card]Lightbomb[/card] has the potential to be a sleeper hit from the expansion. Control Priest is already powerful, and having extra copies of AoE removal capable of killing powerful minions on its own might secure its spot in the constructed meta.
The second interesting consideration is the possibility of a suicide priest aggro deck inspired by the new card [card]Shadowbomber[/card] and [card]Fel Reaver[/card]. We have already seen attempts at [card]Mind Blast[/card], decks, but maybe the raw strength of early drops like [card]Ogre Brute[/card] and hand refills with [card]Jeeves[/card] will make the deck more competitive. It may also be worth noting that the OTK priest combo of [card]Divine Spirit[/card] and [card]Inner Fire[/card]is one of the only considerable reasons to play [card]Flying Machine[/card].
Constructed score: 8.5/10
Arena score: 8/10
Text by: Sylvanhunter
Rogue is getting more interesting. It gets cheap but useful minions this time. [card]Goblin Auto-Barber[/card] gives your weapon +1 Attack. This is surely going to see play in the Arena. Iron Sensei, a 3-cost 2/2 minion that buffs other Mechs, will be great in mech decks but it may however not be the case when used in others. Ogre Ninja is another good card. At 5-cost 6/6 is quite good since it can go through Taunt minions—just don’t use it when Sylvanas is around though.
Weapon-wise, the Rogue's arsenal gets a good upgrade this time. [card]Tinker's Sharpsword Oil[/card] is useful as it adds +3 Attack to your weapon and a random friendly minion (given that we almost always play with Combos to get better value). [card]Cogmaster's Wrench[/card] is a cheaper Assasin's Blade when there’s a mech around.
Rogue's legendary, [card]Trade Prince Gallywix[/card], is like [card]Lorewalker Cho[/card] with a 5/8 body. The casting cost is alright for its board presence and ability to snatch copies of spells such as your opponent's Fireballs. [card]Sabotage[/card] on the other hand is kind of useless when facing decks that flood small minions. At 4-cost and with its randomness, killing a [card]Webspinner[/card] with it might not be worth it.
It also seems like the Rogue pirate decks that people have been trying to build since the beginning of Hearthstone will finally get better cards. The neutral pirates and Rogue's [card]One-eyed Cheat[/card] could make that possible.
Constructed score: 8/10
Arena score: 8/10
Text by: Nydra
I would have to say that of all the new class cards we’ve seen so far, Shaman’s look the most underwhelming. The class has always had some randomness in it with its hero power and spells such as [card]Lightning Storm[/card] but it was all just in the right amounts. All Shaman decks required careful planning, and not just because of the Overload mechanic.
Out of the eight new Shaman cards, five have some sort of volatility in them. Cards like [card]Crackle[/card] and [card]Ancestor's Call[/card] show just how uncontrollable the post-GvG Shaman can be. There’s also the [card]Dunemaul Shaman[/card] who, like all ogres, can ruin your battle math.
An interesting note to make is that Shaman murlocs are supposed to be a thing in GvG as [card]Siltfin Spiritwalker[/card] and class’ legendary [card]Neptulon[/card] are all tied to the murlock tribal. Which doesn’t excite me even one bit. From what we’ve seen on paper so far, mech does look like the stronger tribal and I think Shamans will rather put in a pair of [card]Powermace[/card]s in and go full mechanical rather than playing lords of the sea and trying to make murlocs work.
That said, there are a pair of Shaman cards I love. [card]Vitality Totem[/card] is the much need heal mechanic that the class lacked thus far and is another card that will draw our removals or force minions to run into it. [card]Whirling Zap-o-matic[/card], on the other hand, is a minion that adds more early game options and now shamans’ T2 doesn’t just have to be totem and pass or removal pass.
Constructed score: 7/10
Arena score: 7/10
Text by: Dorazion
As the definitive “Zoo” class, it is understandable to be wary of this class getting any stronger. The nerf to [card]Soulfire[/card] is a huge one, but the inherent power of [card]Jeeves[/card] might be just what Zoo needs to stay dominant. Aside from that the only other Warlock class cards to encourage Zoo players is potentially [card]Anima Golem[/card] has a 1 of finisher. What I hope to see some play is an attempt at a tempo deck that runs excessive removal coupled with [card]Fel Cannon[/card], [card]Imp-losion[/card], [card]Bomb Lobber[/card] and [card]Madder Bomber[/card] to constantly keep the board empty. [Card]Floating Watcher[/card] + bomber combo anyone?
The card that has received the most buffs from the new expansion is definitely [card]Voidcaller[/card], as [card]Mal'Ganis[/card], [card]Floating Watcher[/card], and [card]Demonheart[/card] gives even more incentive to play a highly synergized Demon deck. Warlocks have been given more ways to control the board and access to more huge minions, so Handlock will still be around.[card]Clockwork Giant[/card] and [card]Goblin Sapper[/card] are great meta calls, but something tells me they won’t be too popular on their own.
Constructed score: 8/10
Arena score: 7/10
Text by: Stothex
Warrior gets 2 very nice removal spell with GvG, [card]Crush[/card] which will often be a 3 Mana [card]Assassinate[/card] and [card]Bouncing Blade[/card] which has great Synergies with [card]Acolyte of Pain[/card], [card]Armorsmith[/card] and [card]Execute[/card]. [card]Shieldmaiden[/card] and [card]Iron Juggernaut[/card] may help establish a midrange Warrior, but could also be added to control or more aggressive versions.
[card]Gazlowe[/card], [card]Troggzor the Earthinator[/card], [card]Antique Healbot[/card] could be interesting choices for Warrior control, as well as [card]Explosive Sheep[/card] and [card]Lil' Exorcist[/card]. 
I could see aggressive or midrange Warrior mech decks to be popular, but my prediction is that Control Warrior will still be the number one choice in terms of power and consistency. The control variant of the class could change appereance quite a bit, probably cutting cards like [card]Cairne Bloodhoof[/card], [card]Baron Geddon[/card], [card]The Black Knight[/card] from the deck, while also trying out single copies of certain cards instead of a full set.
A lot of premium removal, an pretty much unrivaled strength vs Aggro decks and fearsome threat density could easily make this into one of the best classes in GvG.
Constructed score: 8/10
Arena score: 6/10
