The dinosaurs are getting ready to hatch.
Hearthstone’s newest expansion, Journey to Un’Goro, launches on April 6 for PC and mobile. The set adds 135 new cards and adds new concepts like Quests and Adaptations. It’ll give the digital card game leader a boost, giving lapsed players a reason to return (and spend money on new cards packs).
Now, that’s a lot of new cards. But they are not equal. While it’s impossible to know exactly how good a minion or spell is without trying them out in new decks, some are already standing out thanks to unique designs or useful abilities. Below are five of Un’Goro’s most promising additions.
Above: Hemet, Jungle Hunter.
At first glance, this card looks kind of bad. Why would you want to destroy cards in your deck? Well, because drawing a low-cost minion in the later stages of the game usually hurts you. Playing Hemet on turn 6 ensures that you’re going to be drawing higher quality cards in future turns.
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It does have some risk. Getting rid of those cards could make susceptible to fatigue, which chips away at your health once your deck is empty. I like cards like this, that give a unique benefit that could come back to bite you.
Above: Elise the Trailblazer.
The Un’Goro Pack is a 2 mana spell that adds five random cards from the Un’Goro expansion to your hand. Blizzard has stated that at least one card will be Epic rarity, and you’ll often get at least one Legendary.
First off, the design itself is super cool. It’s like your opening a pack of cards inside the actual game. But it’s also a useful card, especially for decks that don’t have a lot of card draw. If your hand is running on empty, that Un’Goro pack can immediately give you the fuel you need to win. And since the cards are random, you can surprise your opponent with unusual spells or minions.
Above: Tar Creeper.
Blizzard has introduced a few of these Tar minions in Un’Goro, which have Taunt and gain more attack on the opponent’s turn. Tar Creeper is the most intriguing, however, since it has the cheapest mana cost and is a neutral minion, meaning all classes can play it.
Hearthstone has struggled under an aggressive metagame for some time now. Often, the player with the fastest deck wins. Tar Creeper will make it much hard for a group of low-cost minions to quickly kill you. The whole “extra attack on your opponent’s turn thing” is a great idea. It means that Tar Creeper isn’t overpowered, since it can’t help attack the enemy hero or other minions with much damage on your own turn, but the 3/5 stats when you’re on the defensive will likely stop at least two enemies (or cost your opponent a decent spell).
Above: Give me a quest!
Honestly, all of the Quest cards look cool. The idea of giving players a task that they can work toward through an entire game sounds fun, and the rewards make the ordeal worth it. Awaken the Makers is the easiest to understand. Summon 7 Deathrattle minions, and you get a card that even puts Reno to shame.
Each of these Quest cards will encourage new types of decks. Awaken the Master should bring about Priest decks focused on Deathrattles, which Blizzard is supporting with new cards for the class like Crystalline Oracle. I can’t wait to make my Quest decks.
Above: Devilsaur Egg.
We’ve seen these egg cards before, notably with Nerubian Egg. I think that they’re great, because they can make your opponent think twice about using oppressive board clears like Flamestrike.
The Devilsaur Egg also has potential with the Paladin Quest, which requires players to cast six spells on their own minions. Buffing an Egg can help it trade into an enemy and trigger its Deathrattle, giving you a free 5/5 minion. And, since it is a Deathrattle card, it might even work with the Priest Quest.
