It’s been a week since Blizzcon, and the Hearthstone team has been busy showing off some of the newest cards from the next expansion, Mean Streets Of Gadgetzan. We haven’t seen all of the cards yet – only around 50 so far – but we do know a few things: Tri-class cards will change the game forever, Kazakus will be insanely fun to play and Hunters will be OP when the set comes out in December.
On Saturday morning, a brand new Hunter Legendary was announced on Chinese site 1713, called Knuckles. It’s a simple 5-mana 3/7 Beast that after it attacks a minion, it also hits the enemy hero. Nothing too fancy, just a really good card. The five slot in Hunter decks has never been hotly contested, you either put Stranglethorn Tiger in your deck or you just don’t have anything to play on turn five. Now, Hunters have a little more flexibility and a card that can stick on a board for at least a couple of turns.
Knuckles may be a great card, but it isn’t why Hunter will be the meta-defining deck. Every expansion adds a new gameplay mechanic to Hearthstone : The Grand Tournament brought Discover and Whispers Of the Old Gods gave us C’thun decks. MSG has cards that can be used by three classes, but also has a ton of cards that buff minions in your hand. There’s over a dozen cards in this set that give minions in your hand just a little extra punch and Hunter have a few of the best.
Shaky Zipgunner is a 3-mana 3/3 that has a Deathrattle that gives a random minion in your hand +2/+2. That’s three mana for 5/5 worth of stats, making this angsty Gnoll one of the best value cards in the game. Turn a Houndmaster into a 6/5, or a King’s Elekk into a 5/4 and watch your opponent struggle with these insignificant threats.
Trogg Beastrager is a 2-mana 3/2, which has a Battlecry that gives a random Beast in your hand +1/+1. Goodbye Huge Toad, your days as best the best low mana Beast are past you. This Trogg is definitely not stupid, training even the dumbest animals with his little stool and whip, like a member of Piccadilly Circus in the 1920s. Unlike Shaky Zipgunner , this guy gets immediate value when he hits the field, as long as you don’t top deck him late in the game.
If buffs were the only things that made a deck good, then Paladin with Grimestreet Outfitter and Smuggler’s Run would be OP. It’s the other cards in the set that really allow Hunter to shine. Rat Pack is a 3-mana 2/2 minion that has a Deathrattle that summons a number of 1/1 rats equal to its Attack. Without buffs, it’s still a 4/4 for three mana, but with even the tiniest nudge from any of the number of cards in Hunter that can buff Attack, it’s value only skyrockets.
Drop a Houndmaster on a Rat Pack and watch your opponent struggle to clear a 4/4 with Taunt and then four 1/1 minions. It even works with Abusive Sergeant and Defender Of Argus , the possibilities are almost endless. No deck can come close to accruing the value a Mean Streets Of Gadgetzan Hunter can accumulate, making it one of the strongest decks of the next format.
Cross your fingers nobody comes up with a Face Hunter deck that can utilize this value, or else this format is really screwed.
