4. Brann Bronzebeard
I start with the explorer of the wing. An early game legendary that doubles your Battlecry triggers is a cool concept, if nothing else. [card]Brann Bronzebeard[/card]’s effect – though not deck-defining – opens up a wide array of possibilities which can fit, in theory, in every single deck.
Aggro decks are probably looking forward to double [card]Abusive Sergeant[/card] triggers, adding value +4 attack for a single mana. For control decks, there’s the possibility of 16-heal [card]Antique Healbot[/card]s or obscenely massive [card]Twilight Drake[/card]s in handlock. Midrange decks of various classes can also benefit from Brann’s effect, getting double beasts from [card]Ram Wrangler[/card], double buffs from [card]Quartermaster[/card], double secret steals from [card]Kezan Mystic[/card], or 6-damage [card]Fire Elemental[/card]s in standard Shaman builds.
Indeed, the possibilities for Brann to pull off fancy tricks are abundant, but before one tries to shove it in every deck and build around it, something must always be kept in mind – Brann Bronzebeard is, at the end of the day, a utility card. He is not an [card]Ysera[/card] that you will strive to protect so you can net insane card advantage. Think of him as [card]Bloodmage Thalnos[/card]: Nobody builds an all-burn deck just to make use of him, but he complements spell-heavy decks perfectly. Brann will likely do the same and his low-mana cost is truly something to cherish.
Oh, also, any Battlecry that comes with a discover with let you discover twice, which will probably end up a more powerful effect than any of those previously mentioned.
3. Keeper of Uldaman
At first, I used to dismiss that card. Another Paladin 4-drop when I already have to make room for [card]Truesilver Champion[/card], [card]Consecration[/card], [card]Blessing of Kings[/card] and [card]Piloted Shredder[/card]? If the 4-slot of the class wasn’t so saturated I would’ve hopped on the Uldaman hype train immediately, but as is, I had my reserves.
As I go back Keeper of Uldaman, however, I seem to like it more and more. As the Battlecry can affect allied minions as well, it’s the perfect body to play as a [card]Muster for Battle[/card] follow-up, creating a fantastic tempo. If the MfB board is not cleared, that’s 8/9 worth of stats on T4, plus a 1-attack weapon that can ping down enemies. In late-game, KoU will shrink massive threats and although it’ll never be as good as [card]Equality[/card] or [card]Aldor Peacekeeper[/card], it will reduce big bodies down to killable sizes.
Still, the 4-slot oversaturation of Paladin persists and Keeper of Uldaman will have to be extensively tested before a judgement is passed. It has the potential to be one of the best cards in the set, truly, but at the same time be left just outside the hottest picks for its slot.
2. Tunnel Trogg
Once upon a time, my colleague Tom “Matthieist” Matthiesen wrote an article, saying that getting a Shaman version of Mana Wyrm that works with Overload will be awesome. I will choose to believe this is the only reason [card]Tunnel Trogg[/card] was created!
Blizzard has been incrementally improving Shamans’ early game, first with [card]Totem Golem[/card] and [card]Tuskarr Totemic[/card] and now with Tunnel Trogg. Thrall’s cohorts are salivating at the thought of T1 Tunnel Trogg into T2 Totem Golem for a powerful opening that can get even more out of control as more Overload cards like [card]Lightning Bolt[/card] or [card]Feral Spirit[/card] are played. For Shaman players all over the world, every turn they’re not idly toteming up is a blessing.
Tunnel Trogg won’t singlehandedly make Shaman the best deck in the meta, but it’s a pleasant continuation of the campaign to fix their early game. Despite the many naysayers who point out that Trogg into Golem isn’t that game-swinging like some Dragon Priest opening, it’s certainly better than many of the alternatives. The more serious problem rests with the need to actually include and play Overload cards in your Shaman deck. Unlike [card]Mana Wyrm[/card]’s synergy with Mage spells which has literally no downside, Trogg’s feast off of Overload cards is dangerous firstly because the mechanics has a built-in drawback and secondly because most of the currently existing Overload cards are bad or subpar.
I wholeheartedly expect Shaman to be a popular pick on ladder for the next couple of days. I also wholeheartedly expect that by the release of the third wing, we’ll know if Tunnel Trogg is worth something.
1. Unearthed Raptor
This is by far my most favorite card of the entire LoE set, except maybe [card]Animated Armor[/card]. Unearthed Raptor’s effect is straight up ridiculous: copying a deathrattle for 3 mana while adding a 3/4 body makes me shiver at the thought of doubling my Sylvanas effects, or my [card]Nerubian Egg[/card] and [card]Piloted Shredder[/card] spawns and [card]Sneed's Old Shredder[/card] tokens. As our own Tilmann “RexVayu” Gerbhardt wrote, "in vacuum this card is among the strongest in Hearthstone and would be an outrage if it would’ve been added to Warlock, for example".
But Unearthed Raptor is not a Warlock card, it’s a Rogue card, and for more than a year now, Rogues’ cookie cutter builds have been combos. Neither Miracle nor Oil rely on Deathrattle minions to win the game, which means putting Unearthed Raptor in them is folly.
My hope here is that the sheer power of the card is an incentive enough to stimulate innovative deckbuilds to find a new build for the class, something Rogues have needed for a long time. And unlike other cards which were loaded with similar hopes (looking at you [card]Baron Rivendare[/card], [card]Lock and Load[/card], [card]Aviana[/card], [card]Dragon Consort[/card] and more), Unearthed Raptor might actually do it. As a cheap 3/4 body, it’s a powerful tempo drop which, like Brann Bronzebeard, oozes versatility and that’s something every class and every deck welcomes.
If Rogues actually got good cards with TGT, this Raptor would’ve been the card of the set.
