Galakrond’s Awakening has brought a slew of goodies to competitive Hearthstone play, but which of them are the real game-changers? With 35 cards in all, Galakrond’s Awakening is sure to shake up the standard meta. But as is always the case in card games, not all cards are created equal. Nevertheless, there’s bound to be a handful of additions that provide interesting changes.
Hopefully, the set will bring some added variety to the current Galakrond and Highlander rampant meta. Realistically, it will make the current best decks even better. Either way, here are the cards you should look out for in the weeks to come.
10 Winged Guardian
Immunity to targeted spells is a mechanic that’s become much more prevalent now than it ever was before. Back in the good ol’ days, the biggest minion with this keywording was the puny Faerie Dragon. As it turns out, immunity to targeted spells is much better on a good sized threat than a miniscule 3/2. Slap taunt, reborn, and a whopping 10 health on top, and you’ve got yourself a card. Druid’s late game has always been powerful, but, with the addition of Galakrond heroes to the other classes, Druid has been overshadowed. Winged Guardian isn’t going to help with this problem, but it’s still a strong card in its own right.
9 Rising Winds
Option cards have a good track record as far as Druid class cards are concerned. Allowing a second choice at the options via Twinspell gives us even more options! That being said, you’re probably using this card to summon a 3/2 the overwhelming majority of the time. Drawing a card for 2 mana is nothing exciting and, quite frankly, there are better cards available that provide card draw. However, the ability to summon two 3/2s in one card is a welcome addition to Token Druid strategies. Furthermore, having the option to draw a card doesn’t hurt. It may very well provide you the extra draw you needed to find your savage roar and close out the game.
8 Frenzied Felwing
Does anyone else think this looks somewhat similar to Corridor Creeper? Granted, it’s not nearly as large nor does its cost reduction carry through multiple turns, but 0 costed minions have proven to be very powerful in previous updates. All you have to do to make it 0 cost is deal 4 damage to the opponent’s face. An easy enough requirement.
There’s no chance that this card will be as powerful and abusive as Corridor Creeper was on release, and for that, we should be thankful. Even so, Frenzied Felwing will probably serve as an important addition to fast strategies like Zoolock, Face Hunter, and Token Druid. It’s also a demon, but that’s unlikely to matter at this point in time.
7 Twisted Knowledge
2 mana draw 2 cards is a card you should play. In comparison, 2 mana discover 2 class cards is a no brainer inclusion unless you’re playing a deck that’s super aggressive. Class cards are among the strongest in the game. Besides the hero powers, they’re the backbone behind the different hero options. Warlock class cards, in particular, are among the strongest in the game. They offer a suite of different removal options including Mortal Coil, Dark Skies, Shadowflame, Hellfire, and Twisting nNther. In short, Twisted Knowledge is a welcome addition to all but that fastest of warlock strategies.
6 Cleric of Scales
Discover is a strong mechanic because of the choice it offers, allowing you to take the card that’s best tailored to your current situation. Cleric of Scales gives you even more control over your discovery as the pool it offers only contains cards inside your deck. A pool that is chock full of the answers you need.
Furthermore, Cleric of Scales draws the card from your deck instead of creating a copy of it. This is actually preferred as it means the Cleric thins your deck, providing you a better chance of drawing your best cards.
5 Rotnest Drake
This member of the Dragon Tribe is already seeing play in Highlander Hunter decks. Deadly shot on a 6/5 body for 6 mana is a bargain deal. Even if you’re forced to play Rotnest Drake without its effect, a 6/5 for 6 is a standard rate. Rotnest Drake is all upside and no downside, which is what we want out of our constructed card selections. It’s probably not powerful enough to make dragon hunter a thing, but that sounds like a silly idea to begin with. After all, Hunter is about beasts, not dragons!
4 Bomb Wrangler
Considering the number of whirlwind effects currently available to warrior, Bomb Wrangler is a very powerful card. You’re often able to get a minimum of 2 boom bots out of it before it is destroyed, providing you a total of 4/5 in stats over 3 bodies for the small cost of 3 mana. If you factor in the damage the bots deal on death as well, it quickly becomes clear why Bomb Wrangler is being tossed into just about every warrior deck out there.
Dr. Boom was too unanimously good of a card for anyone to miss, but the boom bots he summoned alongside him always provided some heart-pounding RNG. Which is, if we’re being honest, at the core of Hearthstone’s gameplay.
3 The Amazing Reno
Another new hero card. These have become popular additions to Hearthstone as of late. Unlike most hero cards, though, The Amazing Reno’s hero power might be more of a curse than a blessing. It costs 0 mana but automatically triggers at the beginning of each of your turns, casting a random spell. If that was all this card offered it would be pretty much unplayable, but the real power of The Amazing Reno is its battlecry: make all minions disappear. Instead of destroying minions, this outright removes them from the game. In other words, The Amazing Reno provides a soft counter to resurrection priest decks, providing the mage class a fighting chance against the strategy.
2 Chaos Gazer
While Twisted Knowledge may find a home in most warlock decks, Chaos Gazer will find one in all of them. A 3 mana 4/3 is already above rate as far as stats are concerned. But what really makes this card special is the high likelihood that it either causes your opponent to discard a card or forces them into making an awkward play. Factor in the prevalence of cards like Galakrond and Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, and there is no shortage of targets that, if hit, will swing the game heavily in your favor.
1 Boompistol Bully
Boompistol Bully is only as good as the number of battlecry cards seeing play in the meta. If there’s a high frequency of battlecry cards, it can easily steal turns from your opponent. If not, a 5/5 for 5 is nothing to write home about. That being said, the current meta is infested with battlecry. Every Galakrond card, Highlander card, Lackey card, and many more features a battlecry effect. As a result, Boompistol Bully is the perfect card to turn your opponent’s Windmill Slam powerhouse turn into an awkward hero power pass. Because it has a sizable body of its own, Boompistol Bully is able to pressure your opponent quickly enough to prevent them from ever taking full advantage of their key bombs. This is the new Loatheb, and, since it’s an epic, you’ll be running into it twice as often. There’s a new kid on the block, and he’s an absolute playground thug.
NEXT: Hearthstone Battlegrounds: 10 Best Heroes, Ranked
