This morning, the Jade Lotus, the final band of criminals who have been terrorizing Gadgetzan, stepped out of the shadows and revealed a ton of new cards for Hearthstone’s next expansion, Mean Streets Of Gadgetzan. They all center on a new mechanic in the game, revolving around Jade Golems. These green giants get summoned by Jade Lotus cards and get stronger the more Golems you summon. For example, the first Jade Golem you summon is a 1-mana 1/1, the second one is a 2-mana 2/2, and so on until it hits 10-mana and then just keeps getting more stats.
This is entirely new territory for Hearthstone ; Blizzard’s card game has never tried to do anything like this before. Four cards that utilize these Jade Golems appeared on the Hearthstone website on Monday. Let’s take a look at the Legendary first, Aya Blackpaw, a 6-mana 5/3 minion usable by Rogue, Druid and Shaman that has a Battlecry and a Deathrattle that summons a Jade Golem. If you break down what you are getting with this Pandaren, her value is pretty good. She gets two Jade Golems who will be at least a 1/1 or a 2/2, that’s 7/6 worth of stats for 6-mana, not too shabby.
The other tri-class card for the Jade Lotus gang is Jade Spirit, a 4-mana 2/3 that summons a Jade Golem. With Aya Blackpaw in your deck, this Spirit can accrue some great value. If it summons a 1/1 Jade Golem, it’s a pretty terrible card, but if it can get a 2/2 or a 3/3, it’s kind of amazing. Chillwind Yeti that sets up future combos, what’s not to like?
The only Shaman card in the reveal is Jade Lightning, a four-mana spell that deals four damage and summons a Jade Golem. Pretty simple; deal some damage, gain a minion. We already know how powerful Blood To Ichor is, so this card should also be good. Building up Jade Golems is going to be a deck archetype, though I’m not sure how fluid the deck will be in Shaman. Why would I bother comboing and building up value when I can just play Tunnel Trogg into Totemic Golem.
The last reveal goes to a Druid card called Jade Blossom. For three mana you summon a Jade Golem and gain an empty Mana Crystal. It costs one more mana than Wild Growth , but gives you at least a 1/1 minion. Later in the game, it’s a free draw and a potentially very strong Golem. On it’s own, this card won’t see much play, but if Jade Golem Druid gets even a few more valuable cards, this card will be a must-have.
It’s impossible to tell yet what impact Jade Golem is going to have on the meta. Will it be another gimmick like Joust or will it change the game like Discover? We won’t know until December, when Mean Streets Of Gadgetzan goes live.
#BrannBronzebeardIsBackBaby
EDIT: One more card, this time from Savjz.
