One of the additions The Grand Tournament will bring to the game, is a new monthly reward system. The new system keeps track of the highest rank you have achieved in your Hearthstone career. This number will be shown on a crate in the Quest Log, and when the new season begins the crate opens. Not only does the crate pop out the usual season card back, but in the preview some dust and a golden Neutral card were rewarded as well. The higher your rank, the better your rewards will be at the end of the season. The reward system aims to keep players motivated to achieve higher ranks each new season. Previously the community had been complaining occasionally that between Rank 20 - fairly easy to achieve - and Legendary Rank - really difficult to achieve - there were no rewards. Up from Rank 5, all players will receive the same level reward, as stated by Community Manager Robert Wing in a tweet.
Next to that, of course, new cards were shown. A few of the newly introduced cards (see below) had a new mechanic, which Blizzard calls “jousting”, though on the cards it appears as a Battlecry or Deathrattle. All the cards with a jousting effect are in the designed as “Battlecry: Reveal a minion in each deck. If yours is stronger (...)” (for example “gain Taunt and Divine Shield”). The revealed minion goes back into the deck after its been revealed, and the jousting minion (the one on the board) will receive the bonus in case of a victorious joust. The jousting effect rewards the players that have high cost minions, and the effect seems to be an attempt from Blizzard to slow the game down. The jousting effect is the second new mechanic that The Grand Tournament will be bringing to Hearthstone, so there might even be space for a third new effect.
Eadric the Pure is, to describe it simply, a big [card]Aldor Peacekeeper[/card] with an AoE battlecry. Though that effect is nice, this card seems to be very expensive for its price. Pro player Stanislav “StanCifka” Cifka said this about the card: “I don’t think it’s good. It’s 7 mana, which is a lot for its stats. And when is your opponont going to have, like, 4 big creatures on the board?”. Ukranian player Alexander “Kolento” Malsh felt different about the card: “It’s an interesting card. Maybe it will create something like a Control Paladin”.
The Skeleton Knight is one of the new minions with the Jousting effect. It can be compared with [card]Stalagg[/card], only it costs 1 mana more and has a chance of returning to your hand. This card seems to be very bad. 4 health is extremely low for a 6 mana card, and with 7 attack it is also in range of the so beloved [card]Big Game Hunter[/card]. This card is basically doomedl, and most likely will enter the board only when it jumps out of a Sneed’s Old Shredder.
Tuskarr Jouster seems to be a fantastic counter to aggro decks. Previously, after you had used [card]Consecration[/card] on turn 4 or [card]Truesilver Champion[/card] to remove minions from your opponent’s board, most aggro decks could easily refill their board and bash your face. Now you have an answer on turn 5 as well. Since aggro decks tend to run out of cards to play, the more health you have the better the situation looks for you. Tuskarr Jouster is very likely to replenish 7 health, as aggro decks mostly run low cost minions, and contest the board well, which make it a good card.
Another jousting minion, this time one that gains Taunt and Divine shield if your minion wins the joust. In all stats the Master Jouster is an upgraded [card]Annoy-o-Tron[/card]. 4 more attack, 4 more health and for 4 more mana. As said earlier, the minions that joust are to slow the game down. And although the jousting effect will have to be tried in many different decks in order to perfectionalize it, this card could very well become a viable 6 drop in many of them.
Taunt seems to be something which Blizzard wants to see more of in Warrior, and Bolster is proof of that. In the current meta, [card]Sludge Belcher[/card] is undeniably the most seen minion with Taunt. However, only Control Warriors have this card in their deck. The other minion with Taunt that sees play in Warrior decks, is the [card]Dread Corsair[/card] in Patron Warrior. Neither of these decks seem to be in need of any bigger Taunt creatures, but Bolster could change that. In combination with cards such as [card]Defender of Argus[/card], Bolster could quickly create a very strong board that is hard for your opponent to get rid off. That being said, should Bolster find its way into the meta, [card]The Black Knight[/card] will probably be very happy to show his face again as well.
Blizzard has always had, to the community’s surprise, some sort of strange love for overload. [card]Lava Shock[/card] was their first attempt to make an overload deck more viable, and they didn’t really succeed. As stubborn as it may look, they continue to deliver cards with the overload effect. Ancestral Knowledge is, much like many overload cards, absolutely horrible. Basically you’re paying 4 mana to draw 2 cards, which is an awful lot. Unless a new card, something like “gain attack equal to your overloaded mana crystals”, will be added, this card will see no play at all.
Uther takes part in The Grand Tournament as well, and he does so with a brand new weapon. The Argent Lance looks like it will be a good fit in any deck centered around jousting. It is definitely a better alternative then using your hero power on turn 2. However, it has competition in the shape of [card]Shielded Minibot[/card]. As one of the best 2 drops in the game, Shielded Minibot also does two damage and basically has 2 durability, because of his Divine Shield. Argent Lance however can clear minions immediately, which also has its upsides. All in all, should Joust Paladin become a viable deck, the Argent Lance will definitely find its spot in there.
The Gadgetzan Jouster can be compared to the [card]Blackwing Technician[/card]. Only with Gadgetzan Jouster, you don’t control the +1/+1 buff. As said a few times now, it will all depend on how powerful the jousting effect turns out to be whether or not this card will see play. For now it seems better to stick to your [card]Zombie Chow[/card] as your 1 drop.
RNG can of course not be left out, and Burgle brings it to the Rogue. Unlike [card]Nefarian[/card], Burgle can give you any class minion from your opponent as well. Imagine getting a [card]Grommash Hellscream[/card] from your opponent. Or maybe even better, an [card]Archmage Antonidas[/card]. Yes, that would be a fantastic video and it would probably be in the next Trolden video. However, less fortunate outcomes could happen as well. Try working with [card]Recycle[/card], [card]Shield Slam[/card] or a [card]Flame Imp[/card]. Though, to be fair in the end, many class cards will be actually useful to a Rogue. [card]Unstable Portal[/card] sees play, and so will Burgle most likely as well.
The story about Injured Kvaldir can be short: a cheaper [card]Injured Blademaster[/card] and it’s probably good for Priest. It can be healed with either the hero power, [card]Circle of Healing[/card] or, later into the game, with [card]Holy Nova[/card]. Other classes will probably not use this card, but to have a decent minion for Priest (after so long) is more than satisfying already.
Whereas The Skeleton Knight might be the worst jousting card released today, the Armored Warhorse is a good second. It can best be compared with Kor’kron Elite, which costs the same and has guaranteed Charge. Granted, it has 1 less attack. However, 1 more attack and not even guaranteed Charge is a waste of your mana. Many 2, 3 and 4 drops challenge this minion, so it can be concluded that this card will see no play at all.
Mukla’s Champion is interesting. It is so because there will be the possibility of reducing your hero power’s cost, being able to use it multiple times a turn and increasing its power. Mukla’s Champion actually rewards you on board for choosing to improve your hero power, which has at least some potential. 3 health is very low though for a minion that costs 5 mana, as mentioned earlier. If a deck is built so that the Inspire effect can be triggered(almost) immediately, it will be a strong burst as +1/+1 on all your minions is never too shabby.
The last card revealed at Gamescom can has, similarly to [card]Mind Control Tech[/card], an interaction with having 4 minions on one side of the board. However, whereas Mind Control Tech punishes having too many minions on the board, Gormok the Impaler rewards you for it. A 4 mana 4/4 is maybe not the best you’ll get in stats (think of good old [card]Chillwind Yeti[/card]), its Battlecry makes up for it. [card]Fire Elemental[/card] and [card]Blackwing Corruptor[/card] are considered as some of the best minions in Hearthstone, and Gormok the Impaler fits right in the same spot. [card]Unleash the Hounds[/card], [card]Muster for Battle[/card] and [card]Grim Patron[/card] based decks all have an easy way to flood the board, so the expectation is that Gormok the Impaler will definitely see play.
For a first day at Gamescom Blizzard surely has given a lot of treats. Tomorrow, on the 6th of August at 11:30 CEST there will be a show match with pre-made decks. Whether we will get to see new TGT cards, or any other upcoming feature is however unknown.