Omega Agent

Unsurprisingly, the last card in our Arena tier list is another Omega card -- Omega Agent. It's very similar in design to Mithril Spellstone, a 7-mana Warrior spell that summoned three 5/5 minions, that had a huge success on Arena. But this one costs five mana, which makes it a lot more attractive.

Omega Agent is not amazing on curve, but will be extremely hard to remove on turn ten. And that's exactly how you want to play it!

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That is all for the best Arena cards from The Boomsday Project, and for other Hearthstone guides at GameSkinny, please see the links below:

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• 11 Best Hearthstone Cards from The Boomsday Project for Standard
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• The 15 Best Hearthstone Cards from The Witchwood
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• The 15 Best Hearthstone Cards from Kobolds and Catacombs
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• Top 20 Hearthstone Cards from Knights of the Frozen Throne
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• Top 20 Hearthstone Cards from Journey to Un'Goro
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Omega Defender

Fortunately or unfortunately, epic cards are extremely rare in Hearthstone Arena. So if you get one, make sure that it's super strong. And by the looks of it, the epic Omega cards from The Boomsday Project are the strongest.

Even without the Omega effect, Omega Defender is a totally playable card on Arena. Who wouldn't want a 2/6 taunt minion for four mana? But everyone will most likely just try to wait and play it on turn ten for that huge power buff of +10 Attack.

Tending Tauren

Veteran Hearthstone players know the card named Cenarius very well. It's a legendary minion that has similar effect to Tending Tauren. But look at this: Tending Tauren is a rare card that costs three less mana than Cenarius, making it possible to draft more than one copy on Arena.

This alone makes the card highly desirable during each and every upcoming Druid Arena drafts. Just like Landscaping it synergizes well with Mulchmuncher, or you could just buff your board and win.

Giggling Inventor

Annoy-o-tron, anybody? How about two Annoy-o-trons? Giggling Inventor will definitely be annoying, and possibly turn out to be the best neutral card for Arena in The Boomsday Project.

Just think about it: you need to hit it four time before you can do anything else. And that is disgusting! There is one card on Arena that can quickly deal with it though -- Mossy Horror. But it's an epic card, so be prepared for some annoying encounters with Giggling Inventor.

Spider Bomb

Here is another card that synergizes extremely well with Carnivorous Cube. But you can exploit this card's deathrattle in other ways. For example, with the help of such spells like Play Dead and Terrorscale Stalker you can kill more than one enemy minion.

The only drawback here is that you can't choose the targets, but that would probably make the card too OP. In the current form it's still very good, and will surely see a lot of play in many Hunter Arena decks.

Omega Medic

The basic stats of Omega Medic are good enough to draft this card every time you see it. A 3/4 body for three mana is the classical Tank Spider that was one of the most popular cards on Arena.

The Omega effect on top makes it an instant bomb that can be played as a powerful healing card after reaching ten mana crystals. Otherwise, just slam it on curve and let it dominate the rest of the 3-drops.

Necrium Blade

The best case scenario for Necrium Blade is combining it with Carnivorous Cube, but it's not going to happen too often on Arena dute to Cube's epic rarity. Nevertheless, this weapon will do good with any other deathrattle cards, especially Devilsaur Egg and Mechanical Whelp.

Rogue also has the ability to destroy a weapon if you wish by simply activating your hero power without waiting two turns before triggering a required deathrattle effect. This puts Necrium Blade on top of the list among all Rogue weapons in Arena.

Astral Rift

Think of this card as draw two minions for two mana. Great stuff right here! Again, the RNG element can give you either something very good or bad, but most likely the average outcome is what you should be looking for.

What's great about cards like Astral Rift is that they can give you a lethal outcome or some healer, when you're low on life. In any case, it'll perfectly fit into any Arena Mage deck.

Omega Assembly

Imagine having no cards in hand at the latter stages of the match-up and drawing Omega Assembly. If you have ten mana crystals, you will be able to add three Mechs to your hand.

In short, Omega Assembly can win you the game -- that's how strong this card is. Of course, it all depends on the types of Mechs you get, but there is a potential for something really powerful to happen.

And if you draw it early in the game, you can use it flexibly and Discover one of the Mechs for your next turn.

Spring Rocket

The best types of cards on Arena are reactive cards. Spring Rocket is an excellent reactive card, which can take care of an early 3/2 enemy drop. Also, it's a Mech that can be buffed next turn with the help of Magnetic effect.

It's very similar to Disciple of C'thun, which was very good on Arena prior to rotation, and it looks like Spring Rocket will follow in the same footsteps.

Landscaping

Druid players also get a 2-for-1 card, but this time in the form of a spell. It means that you will not be able to buff it while in hand. However, it still works just fine in combination with Fungalmancer.

This card should also be auto-included in all decks that build around Mulchmuncher, a giant minion that costs less for each Treant that died during a match-up. And unlike Doubling Imp, Landscaping has the right to be a common card, since it's only a spell.

Doubling Imp

Here is a classical 2-for-1 effect that can be buffed for even more powerful turns with such cards like Soul Infusion and Void Analyst. It also conveniently sets up two bodies on board for Fungalmancer that will turn it into two 4/4's.

Warlock is already a top-tier class on Arena, and with cards like Doubling Imp it'll only get stronger. Blizzard could make it at least a rare card just to keep the draft numbers lower, but with it being a common, you'll surely be seeing multiple copies in each deck.

Venomizer

Poisonous is one of the most valuable keywords in Hearthstone Arena. That's why cards like Emperor Cobra, Giant Wasp and Stoneskin Basilisk see play in almost every Arena deck.

Now combine it with the Magnetic effect, and you get Venomizer. This Hunter class Mech is going to be everywhere from now on. And if you can combine it with another new card, Missile Launcher, then you can potentially clear the board each turn.

Menacing Nimbus

Currently, Earthen Might, a spell that buffs an Elemental and puts another Elemental in your hand, sees a lot of play on Arena. Nimbus is just like Earthen Might but attached to a body, which at times is even more convenient in case when you don't have an Elemental on board.

It can give you another small Elemental, but at times it may give you something really powerful. So pick this up whenever you see it in your draft, as it will generate more value for your Arena deck the more copies of it you manage to get.

Glow-Tron

This new Mech is very similar in design to Dire Mole, a Hunter class minion that had the same stats for one mana ,which was drafted and played in every Hunter Arena deck. But Glow-Tron is strictly better due to the Magnetic keyword that allows it to buff other Mechs in play.

Arena players will also be looking to play this card not only in Mech-based decks, simply because, as already mentioned, the statline is just too good on its own for such low cost.

With the release of the newest Hearthstone expansion, The Boomsday Project, Blizzard decided to improve the Arena experience as well. From now on the number of class cards appearing in drafts will be increased. On the other hand, the rate of cards that have been appearing far too often will be decreased by 50%.

The developers say that this will diversify the meta game, and will make players use more skill instead of pure luck. For this reason, it is now important to filter out the best class cards that can be used in actually skillful ways on Arena.

Follow our guide for the best Arena cards from The Boomsday Project, including:

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• 6 common cards
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• 7 rare cards
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• 2 epic cards
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Luna's Pocket Galaxy

Overpowered is the word that comes to mind when looking at this legendary Mage spell. Just imagine making your Antonidas or Alexstraza cost one mana, without even mentioning the possible discovery of the Luna's Pocket Galaxy through Primordial Glyph.

However, note that this spell doesn't mention the minions in your hand, but only the ones in your deck. So if you already have your expensive combo pieces in hand, then it wouldn't matter too much.

In any case, this card will do a lot of damage in the upcoming seasons, so be prepared to witness some of the most explosive turns in the history of Hearthstone.

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Share your thoughts below on your favorite cards from The Boomsday Project, and for other Hearthstone guides at GameSkinny, check out the list below:

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• The 15 Best Hearthstone Cards from The Witchwood
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• The 15 Best Hearthstone Cards from Kobolds and Catacombs
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• Top 20 Hearthstone Cards from Knights of the Frozen Throne
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• Top 20 Hearthstone Cards from Journey to Un'Goro
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Dr. Boom, Mad Genius

Dr. Boom is back! This time in the form of an alternate hero with five different hero powers that change each turn. The battlecry is probably the most significant feature of this card, which gives all your minions Rush. It isn't Charge, but you will be able to attack enemy minions right away.

This is undoubtedly the most powerful card in The Boomsday Project, and all Warrior players would want to have it. Not sure, if it will replace the Garrosh alt-hero, but there is a big chance that these two legendaries will be combined in one deck for flexibility.

If you want to be aggressive, play Dr. Boom, and if you need to be in a control mode, then play Garrosh.

Zilliax

Among all the great number of keywords printed on Zilliax, Magnetic is probably the most important one. On its own it's still pretty good, but if you can buff another Mech on board with all these effects, then you will end up with an absolutely OP card.

It combines well with Corpsetaker as well, and basically serves as the neutral Al'akir the Windlord for three less mana, but without the Windfury effect. This could be a great card for Mech Hunter that simply begs for heal effects.

All in all, Zilliax is not a must-have legendary, but in the right deck it will be an indispensable card.

Whizbang the Wonderful

Whizbang is a perfect legendary card for beginner players! You can make up any deck with 30 cards, which should include Whizbang the Wonderful. As a result, it will turn your deck into one of the 18 available deck recipes in Hearthstone, regardless of the fact whether you have the required cards or not.

So, if you're a budget player, or a new player, but you have enough dust for one legendary card, then you probably should craft Whizbang above all others from The Boomsday Project.

It will let you play with other expensive cards and help you understand meta better.

Flobbidinous Floop

This new legendary Druid card will make sure that the Malygos Druid deck will stay on top of the tier list for at least a few more seasons before the release of the next expansion.

It allows you to play Malygos and then follow it up with another one but only for four mana. A huge upside of the Flobbidinous Floop is that it doesn't have to be played that same turn.

So even if your opponent removes the original Malygos, you can still play the Floop next turn and win the game with that massive +5 Spell Damage.

Dreampetal Florist

What makes this card extremely powerful is the repeatable effect that reduces the cost of minions in your hand by seven mana. This means that if your opponent doesn't have the means to remove it right away, it will keep reducing the cost of your minions.

This card will do wonders in combination with Juicy Psychmelon and Drakkari Enchanter that will make it trigger twice. Just imagine having 1-mana Lich King, 2-mana Hadronox and 2-mana Malygos all in your hand.

All this does look really good, but any experienced Hearthstone player will sense an incoming nerf, so be prepared for that as well.

Reckless Experimenter

Priest is getting a couple of strong cards, too. Reckless Experimenter, for example, offers a whole myriad of possible combos with such cards like Voodoo Doll, Devilsaur Egg, and Carnivorous Cube.

But that's only the beginning! You can now draw cards for free with the help of Loot Hoarder and Bloodmage Thalnos, or gain free armor with Plated Beetle, and so on and so forth. The possibilities are limited only by the number of deathrattle cards in Standard and your imagination.

Some of the new Mech synergies from The Boomsday Project will also help this card stand firm in the new meta.

Juicy Psychmelon

Essentially, Juicy Psychmelon is a 4-mana card that draws you four cards, which is absolutely broken when you think about it. Yes, it's limited to expensive cards only, but when you play Big Druid, big cards is really all you have.

Even if it draws you only two or three cards, it's still incredibly valuable. Taking into consideration the new ramp spell, Biology Project, Druid can now get to seven mana in just two to three turns depending on the coin. This means that you can then draw your big cards and play them on turn four already.

So Blizzard really just gave us another reason to play Druid these few coming months!

Academic Espionage

Here is another potentially broken card for Rogue class. If you can play it on turn one with the help of Preparation, there is a big chance that you will most likely never fatigue during your matchup (especially if you have two copies of it in your deck).

All you are left at this point is to draw as many cards as you can with the help of Sprint and Elven Minstrel. Then, you can play all those cards in one turn, since they will cost only one mana each.

Of course, you could get some bad cards too in the process, but when they cost so little, it won't matter anymore.

Lab Recruiter

Rogue players get a significant boost to the Gang Up spell, as now it's attached to a 3/2 body. Just imagine playing this on Fal'dorei Strider and summoning nine more spiders from your deck.

Another fantastic possibility is combining it with Cavern Shinyfinder and Kingsbane. As a result, you will literally have no problem finding your weapon anymore.

Lastly, what Mill Rogue would do without this card? When it comes to fatigue this card can single-handedly win you the game by putting more copies of friendly minions in your deck. And this is just a short list of all the things you could do with this great card.

Biology Project

Cheap ramp is back in Hearthstone! Many non-Druid players will now have a lot of trouble playing against an already top-tier class.

Surely, this card is a double-edged sword, and accelerates your opponent's mana base, too. But Big Druid decks don't care about the opponent's mana base -- all they want is to get faster to that magical ten mana number, and the game is over in their favor.

Biology Project is even better than the pre-nerf Innervate, because it let's you keep the mana crystals, which is essential for ramp decks. And with the introduction of the Omega cards, this will be one of the most overpowered cards in any Druid archetype.

All the fans of Goblins vs. Gnomes set can cheer up, as the new Hearthstone expansion returns to the theme of Mechs and is titled "The Boomsday Project." It includes 135 new cards and is set for a release date of August 7.

A couple of new mechanics have been introduced as well, such as Magnetic, which allows certain Mechs to merge, and Omega, which triggers extra powerful effects when players reach ten mana crystals.

This opens up a lot of new opportunities for deck-building, and if you're a Standard laddering enthusiast, then you need to be sure which cards will be the best in this meta.

Follow our guide for 11 of the best standard cards from The Boomsday Project, including:

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• 2 common cards
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• 4 epic cards
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• 5 legendary cards
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Shudderwock

The final and best legendary in The Witchwood is Shudderwock. This is an incredibly OP card if you figure out how to build and play the deck around its effect.

The two combos that come to mind are Jades and Elementals. But there is so much potential in Shudderwock that players will probably find something even more powerful.

In any case, watch out for Shamans in this meta, as they will quickly jump to top-tier level with cards like this.

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What are your favorite Hearthstone cards from The Witchwood expansion? Which class do you think will dominate this meta? Let us know in the comments section below.

Baku the Mooneater

Here is a card that will define and dominate all odd-cost decks in this meta. Baku is a legendary that upgrades your hero power in the same way Justicar Trueheart had done before.

Since it's also a beast, it will potentially see play in Hunter, but the one class that proves this card to be really good is Mage. Then, the hero power with 2 damage can be upgraded to 4 damage with the help of Clockwork Automaton. And there you have it!

The last but not least mention is Control Warrior that relies on upgraded hero power, which is now a possibility once again.

Hagatha the Witch

The reason why Hagatha is such an attractive alt-hero is not because it has a solid battlecry, which is similar to Hunter's Death Knight, but because it grants you a passive hero power that gives you a random spell each time you play a minion.

This means that you will be able to refill your hand with spells, even if you play zero of them in your deck initially. Just imagine the potential with all the great new Shaman spells.

Lord Godfrey

Everyone likes to play Defile, a powerful AOE spell, in their Warlock decks. With the introduction of Godfrey, we get a super-Defile and a minion in addition to it. So it serves two purposes: it clears the board, and it avoids spell breakers, such as Counterspell and Rebuke.

All Control Warlock players will want to have Lord Godfrey in their decks. It could even replace some of the staple AOEs, such as expensive Twisting Nether or DOOM!

Countess Ashmore

Card draw has always been considered one of the most powerful effects in Hearthstone. That's why minions like The Curator and the pre-nerf Ancient of Lore were such great cards.

Countess Ashmore is very similar to The Curator in this regard, and may draw three cards on turn seven. The only drawback is that it has no Taunt, but this time, the attack is higher.

It's hard to say which one is better -- the Taunt or the attack -- but in any case, if you properly build your deck around this legendary, you will get some really good results.

Lady in White

For many years, Divine Spirit + Inner Fire combo has been a staple in many Priest decks, especially budget variants. Now, Blizzard offers us a legendary that just happens to cast Inner Fire on all minions. This is a really interesting design, and quite a powerful one.

Imagine you're playing all those cheap cards with lots of health and 1 or 2 points of attack, such as Silverback Patriarch, Mogu'shan Warden, Public Defender, etc. And suddenly, they all turn into these overpowered creatures that are really hard to remove. Not a bad move, Blizzard, not bad at all!

Arcane Keysmith

Arcane Keysmith is not only one of the most powerful Mage cards in The Witchwood, but also one of the best-designed cards in Hearthstone.

The low cost and flexible effect make it a sure winner. This card will not only see play in Secret Mage decks, but in all other Mage decks as well ... except the odd-cost decks, of course.

Just imagine having a choice of setting up a secret that you need in a certain moment, even if you don't have it in your deck at all. Your opponents will have no choice but to surrender.

Voodoo Doll

Every control deck would want to have two copies of Voodoo Doll. Of course, a class like Mage will benefit the most from it since it can kill the minion right away using its hero power.

But other classes also have the tools to make it work. For example, Warlock has a combo with Mortal Coil, Druid with Moonshine, Rogue with Backstab, Shaman with Zap!, and so on.

Think of it as a 3-mana Assassinate that requires a combo, and you will have a very good hard removal on your hands.

Baleful Banker

The effect on Baleful Banker isn't anything new, but the fact that it's a neutral card makes it instantly very exciting. We've seen a similar card in Mage, but now you can play this in any deck you want.

So let's start with Warlock and all of its demon synergies, including the infamous Voidlord. Then, let's look at Rogue and Fal'dorei Strider, which can keep putting those spiders in your deck.

But the best one yet comes from Shaman and the new legendary Shudderwock that repeats all the battlecries, and will keep doing so with the help of Baleful Banker. So all in all, this is one minion that you can combo out really well with!

Coffin Crasher

The Old Gods are rotating out, which means that N'Zoth Priest is dead. However, here's a card that can effectively utilize the Deathrattle effect in the new meta. Coffin Crasher can summon Obsidian Statue, Bone Drake, and Cairne Bloodhoof for free.

If you're out of options, then even by summoning a second copy of itself, you're already saving 6 mana. Think of it as Savanna Highmane but much stronger. If even Hunter can afford playing a 6-drop with high value, then Priest can too.

Wing Blast

To be honest, this card will rarely cost 4 mana, so it's more like "deal 4 damage" for 1 mana, which is incredibly strong. There is no question this card will see play in all new Hunter archetypes, whether midrange or aggro.

Sure, you can't go face with it, but when you need to remove a cheap Taunt or any other minion that prevents you from winning, then this will do the job. Wing Blast will also be invaluable on Arena since it's only a Rare card.

Bellringer Sentry

Here is a fairer version of Mysterious Challenger -- a card that can only be seen in Wild format now. Bellringer Sentry puts two random secrets on the board, which is totally enough for current Aggro Paladin decks that use only a few really effective secrets.

One of them is the latest Hidden Wisdom, which draws two cards in case your opponent plays three minions in one turn. This means that Bellringer Sentry and Hidden Wisdom create a perfect combo against aggro decks.

Dire Frenzy

This Hunter buff spell will work especially well with low-cost beasts. You can cast it on all the cheap beasts with Rush, Charge, or Echo that will come back buffed once again. Beasts with Lifesteal are another great option, which may finally fulfill the lack of proper healing within the class.

Also, consider playing it with Rexxar the Deathknight. His Zombeasts can be really powerful and cheap, and now you can also put three copies of these unique cards in your deck.

It's definitely a great tool for all Beast Hunter players!

Black Cat

Odd-cost deck is a new thematic archetype in The Witchwood, which is supported by some really strong cards. Black Cat is a very similar card to once-staple Azure Drake that had the same effect.

Nothing beats the early draw and spell damage -- both essential elements for Mage's survival. It could easily replace Arcane Intellect as the Mage's usual 3-drop, and put a minion on board at the same time.

The only drawback is that you won't see this card on Arena, as all cards with odd-cost effects are eliminated from the drafts.

Rebuke

Paladin is getting some serious support from Blizzard in the shape of Rebuke, a spell that stalls all opponent's attempts at casting AOEs, targeted removals, card draws, minion buffs, or any other spells.

Currently, every single deck utilizes spells in one way or another, so Rebuke will be a perfect tech card in any Paladin deck. It should be played right after you build up a board and repress the desire of your opponent to clear it.

That one turn of a timely Rebuke can easily win you one game after another!

With the standard set rotations, Hearthstone enters the New Year of the Raven, which eliminates all the sets from 2016, such as Whispers of the Old Gods, One Night in Karazhan, and Mean Streets of Gadgetzan.

Lots of powerful cards leave the meta. But don't worry, there's more than enough new cards from the latest expansion, The Witchwood, to replace them all. Some of the legendaries in the new set are so strong that players will be able to create whole new archetypes with no problems.

If you want to know which 15 cards are the best in The Witchwood set, then follow this guide for the top:

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• 3 common cards
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• 3 rare cards
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• 3 epic cards
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• 6 legendary cards
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Tis the best time of the year ... to be a Hearthstone player. The Witchwood expansion is approaching, which means transitioning into a new thematic year and bidding farewell to many of the older cards, welcoming new cards in their stead with (hopefully) equally new mechanics and a meaningful impact on the meta. Missed the previous reveal? Here are the cards revealed since then:

Common Cards

Black Cat is a mage class card and is very similar to Soot Spewer, which is currently a wild-only card. In addition to providing a bonus to spell damage, however, it also draws you a card if your deck does not contain any even-cost cards. It already has synergy with the previously revealed Baku the Mooneater, making it a particularly likely inclusion for that kind of deck.

At first glance, Warpath is just a more expensive Whirlwind, yet the fact that multiple copies of it can be played on a single turn, thanks to the new Echo keyword, makes for a versatile board-clearing option which Warrior is not really known for. It also fits well alongside many existing class cards like Frothing Berserker and Rotface, among others.

Rebuke is a Paladin-class card, and it is reminiscent of the effect from Loatheb. Since Paladin relies heavily on controlling the board, this card can be played right before the turn you expect your opponent to use either a board-clear, or hard removal. It lacks versatility, however, and therefore is useless against aggressive archetypes or decks with few spells.

After a careful look, this actually is not as bad as it may seem. Sure, the stats are underwhelming, but if you take into consideration the fact that it has a taunt, then it has the potential of healing your hero for 9, which is a good deal.

Assuming each Treant costs 2 mana, Witchwood Apple is quite poor. It does not complement any of the current Druid archetypes and, unless there are upcoming cards to synergize with, it might be dead upon arrival.

Witch's Apprentice is a Babbling Book for Shaman, except it lacks any attack value, which makes it significantly worse. It's also a beast and has taunt, but it doesn't compensate for that single shortcoming.

Hunting Mastiff is a Hunter-class card and, so far, the only card to contain both of the new keywords. After being played, the card creates a copy of itself thanks to Echo and can attack minions immediately via Rush. It is also a beast and therefore synergizes well with a card like Scavenging Hyena.

Rare Cards

"Excuse me, you are on fire"

Electric shock is seemingly weaker than fire, because science. Nonetheless, Murkspark Eel is a shaman card with a decent stat distribution and, if your deck revolves around the new odd/even mechanic, it also deals 2 damage. However, shaman is not exactly among the classes which benefit from the effect of Genn Greymane, a card likely played along with this one; perhaps further cards in the set might incentivize the creation of such a deck.

Redband Wasp is on the weak side of stats, being a 1-mana 1/3. It does gain 3 attack when damaged, becoming a 4/2 at best. On turn 2, though, it is unlikely to attack into something, get damaged, and somehow survive. On the other hand, if it's damaged by a whirlwind-like effect before attacking, then it becomes a decent source of 4 damage.

Epic Cards

Initially a powerful-looking card, Gloom Stag is a 4/8 beast with taunt for 5 mana, if your deck meets the condition of only containing odd-cost cards. This means it is a slightly better Nesting Roc, and that card doesn't see any constructed play. Moreover, it is susceptible to silence effects, which are quite prevalent in the current meta and are likely to remain as such even after the release of the expansion.

Glitter Moth is another one of those cards that works in tandem with Baku the Mooneater. As a class, Priest can benefit from an improved hero power, especially if minions have more health to begin with. This card definitely has potential.

There isn't much to say about Wispering Woods. It's not a bad card, but it doesn't do anything revolutionary or exciting, either. If played while having another 7 cards in hand, it does create a powerful board presence, especially if supplemented with buffs. How good this card will actually be remains to be seen.

Vivid Nightmare is likely a card which belongs in a quest-based Priest deck, where it can take advantage of the many deathrattle effects. Otherwise, it can be used on minions which have 1 health by default, like Cursed Disciple and Twilight Summoner, for instance (though value gained is too insignificant in those cases).

Nightmare Amalgam does what no other card in Hearthstone has ever done, as it basically has synergy with any cards that represent a particular tribe/type. It doesn't have any special abilities, but the stat distribution makes it a great card in its own right.

Muck Hunter has incredible stats for its cost, but it does have a significant drawback. If you can immediately clear the summoned Mucklings, however, then this is a really, really good card. Just don't get your hopes up about getting this from Firelands Portal (like I did for a brief moment), because One Night in Karazhan is rotating out.

Legendary Cards

Face Collector is a legendary Rogue class-card with the new Echo keyword attached to it. Despite its cost, it is actually a late-game card. Ideally, you would play it on turn 9 and add 3 legendary cards to your hand in the process. This is an unusual Rogue card, as it doesn't quite fit into any of the existing class archetypes. Practical experimentation will be required to properly evaluate this card.

At its worst, Houndmaster Shaw is a minion with a really good stat distribution, and 6 health makes him difficult to deal with right away, which means that your other minions are likely to trade more efficiently on turn 5 thanks to having Rush.

Glinda Crowskin is a Warlock-class card with underwhelming stats. Its ability, however, is quite powerful and can provide a huge amount of value in the late game. Though it begs a question: Does Warlock need all that?

Hagatha the Witch will be the only hero card The Witchwood expansion will introduce, and it's for Shaman. Once played, it provides an immediate AoE (Area-of-Effect) comparable to Warlock's Hellfire, and changes your current hero power to Bewitch, which can add a lot of value in the later stages of a match.

This card is nuts -- there is no better way of putting it. Lord Godfrey is a board-clear which Warlock doesn't lack, yet it completely blows any of the existing options away. Its battlecry is, in essence, an amplified Defile, and it is much easier to set up. In addition, it doesn't damage your hero or itself, which means it will completely clear most, if not all, board states and create a favorable board presence with a reasonable 4/4 body. This card will be a must for any control-style Warlock deck.

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Are you pumped for the new expansion? Stay tuned to GameSkinny for news on Hearthstone cards, game modes, guides, and other extras.

Blizzard recently announced its newest Hearthstone expansion -- The Witchwood. It will introduce 135 collectible cards with several new mechanics, a new hero skin for the Druid class, and an entirely new game mode called Monster Hunt which will, judging by initial information, be similar to the recent Dungeon Run mode and feature four classes unique to this mode. All of that and more will come in due time, but for now, enjoy these six newly revealed cards to give yourself an idea of what the upcoming expansion is all about.

Starting with, arguably, the least interesting card, Pumpkin Peasant is an average-looking card with underwhelming stats, and Lifesteal doesn't really compensate for that. However, the utility of being able to use the card either offensively or defensively, especially with hand-buffs, could prove useful in certain situations.

Next one up is the Phantom Militia, which sounds like a good name for a rock band. This card introduces a new mechanic: Echo. Once you play the card, it will create a copy of itself in your hand and, provided you have enough mana, allow you to play it again on the same turn. Under normal circumstances, up to 3 copies can be played on the same turn for 9 mana. Many have already pointed out this card's synergy with Warlock's class card Summoning Portal, which would allow up to 6 Phantom Militia to be played on turn 10. Think of it as a Spreading Plague for Warlock in that case.

Militia Commander is the only class card revealed so far for Warrior, and it also features a somewhat new mechanic. The Rush mechanic is your typical Charge, except it can't attack heroes on the turn it's played. This has already been seen in the past with cards like Icehowl and Charged Devilsaur. The battlecry, however, effectively makes this into a 5/5 charger, and if you attack with it on turn 4, you will often be left with a 2/2 minion, which is a pretty damn good deal. It's essentially a better Bomb Squad.

One of the three legendaries to be revealed, Genn Greymane introduces a new Start of Game mechanic and discounts your hero power by 1 if your deck meets the requirement of only including cards with an even mana cost. Consider it a neutral Raza The Chained with much more severe deck-building restrictions. Despite that, Prince Keleseth has been a great example of how ignoring cards of a particular mana cost can still lead to a more than capable deck, and I'm sure Genn Greymane will be experimented with a lot.

Similarly to the previous card, Baku the Mooneater restricts your options when building the deck by only allowing the inclusion of cards with an odd mana cost. If this condition is met, then at the beginning of the game your hero power will be upgraded. Kind of like what Justicar Trueheart did in The Grand Tournament expansion way back when. The resulting effect itself is nothing new, but it will be nice to see it come back and spawn new, original decks.

Last, definitely not least, Azalina Soulthief is a highly understated 7 mana legendary neutral minion with an equally powerful effect. It has been compared to a Paladin class card Divine Favor, which draws cards until you have as many as your opponent and has been included in aggro decks for the longest time. This, in essence, has a similar effect, with the exception that you are taking your opponent's cards and, hence, if you are playing against a combo deck, the cards might not be as useful to you. Regardless, this is an exciting card and one you will see a lot during the first weeks of the expansion.

The precise release date for The Witchwood is not yet known, but it is slated for a mid-April launch, and we still have 129 new cards coming up. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Hearthstone and The Witchwood info as it develops.

Although the Grand Tournament is scheduled to release later this month, Blizzard didn’t neglect Hearthstone in its volley of announcements this morning at Gamescom.

In addition to a slew of new cards, executive producer Hamilton Chu and senior game designer Mike Donais announced a second new mechanic for Hearthstone and a new reward system for Ranked Play.

Joust!

A familiar mode of battle in any Grand Tournament, the Joust mechanic adds some gaming to your game. Minions and spells with the Joust mechanic get a little meta in your meta, creating a small contest of wills within the larger battle.

When a Joust is triggered - usually via a battlecry mechanic, but occasionally through deathrattle -  one random minion from each deck is revealed. If the Jouster’s revealed minion has the higher mana cost, then the Joust is successful and the stated effect is applied.

Highest Rank Bonus to Address Ladder Concerns

Currently, Ranked Play only offers two rewards - a card back at level 20, and a card back for reaching Legendary. A longstanding complaint among the Hearthstone community is that the reward is not equal to the risk, meaning many players only play long enough to get their level 20 card back or until they’ve reached the edge of their comfort zone, then refuse to take another step.

Blizzard is addressing that by adding the Highest Rank Bonus to Hearthstone’s ladder play.

Beginning this month, the highest rank attained by a player will be saved and displayed in the player’s Quest Log, recognizing their accomplishment, even if they happen to lose that rank. In addition to this acknowledgement, the end of season rewards will now include golden cards and dust, as well as the card back, appropriate to the highest rank earned. The higher the rank, the better quality - and quantity - of the golden cards.

It seems the Joust mechanic will encourage the use of higher cost minions to offset the chance of one’s opponent winning the Joust. And the Highest Rank Bonus may well encourage more and more players to continue working their way up the ladder, allowing in turn for a greater pool of players to compete against. These are just two more examples of how The Grand Tournament is poised to take the current state of the game and flip-turn it upside down.

The Grand Tournament is Hearthstone’s second major expansion. It’s due out later this month.

Do you think Joust will provide an answer to low-cost minion decks like Face Hunter and Zoolock? Will the Highest Rank Bonus encourage you to play the ladder beyond your comfort zone? Tell us what you think of these latest announcements in the comments below!

Hearthstone is one of the most addictive games available, as the World of Warcraft-based card game blends a mix of strategy, humor, and RNG. However, based on this video clip I wouldn't blame a particular Warrior if they never came back to the game ever again. There are simply some things you cannot prepare for under any circumstances, especially dealing with a Mage opponent.

It required everything to come together in one turn for the player's Mage deck, as they faced a stacked opposition of legendary creatures and buffed minions. They were left with only 1 health point thanks to a timely ice block secret, and staring down a Warrior opponent with 80HP and 30 potential damage on the board. 

That's where the fun began. Well, fun for the player and viewers of this viral clip, not so much the guy on the other side of the table. Two Emperor Thaurissans dropped the cost of the Mage's cards effectively when played, setting up an unfathomable final turn.

Two Sorcerer's Apprentices went down, followed by Archmage Antonidas, for a grand cost of five mana crystals. A free Echo of Medivh allowed the Mage to bring out two more Sorcerer's Apprentices, meaning all four drop spells became free. This allowed the player to cast relentless Fireballs being spawned by Antonidas until the opponent surrendered, realizing his health would be gradually whittled down to zero in these bizarre circumstances.

Mages might have spells constantly up their sleeves, but now I'm convinced they snuck a few miracles up there as well.

When Hearthstone was released in closed beta format in August 2013, the developers quickly learned that designing cards was a tricky proposition. The constant need to alter abilities, values and power in the pursuit of fairness has been on of the addictive game's major preoccupations.

Well, player Scfdivine has looked to create a neural network that takes on this task of creating new Hearthstone cards. They were inspired by a similar network that makes random cards for Magic: The Gathering that has gained a solid reputation. So, Scfdivine attempted to do the same with Hearthstone, and it has proven to be a treasure trove of the bizarre and the spectacular.

It has been remarkably successful at developing cards considering how simple the AI mechanic is.

Essentially, as Scfdivine explains, after inputting the card list into the network, it predicts what the next character should be based on previous ones encountered. Despite not recognizing what a Hearthstone card even is, it uses this system to develop a whole new list of cards, yielding some strange results.

What is the network good at? The class and rarity distribution is accurate. There are no neutral spells, and weapons are usually given to the weapon classes. Minions, on average, have reasonable stats for their cost. You don't see things like spells with Taunt or Battlecry effects. It recognizes things like how hunter minions are usually beasts and that shaman has totems. It knows that Battlecry and Deathrattle are followed by an effect. It also tends to make 9 mana legendaries into 8/8 dragons.

Sounds very promising that such a basic mechanic has proven capable of establishing exciting new character prospects for the WoW-inspired card game. However, Scfdivine does point towards a couple of drawbacks in the system, as a result of Hearthstone's relatively small card pool and the power of his own PC. As such, the output quality can be somewhat erratic, leading to unexpected results:

It doesn't really limit class-specific abilities like Overload to the proper classes. It can't distinguish weapons and minions very well, so you sometimes get, say, a weapon with Taunt. It doesn't understand Secrets, probably because there's a limited number of them and they tend to have unique effects (if an effect only occurs once in all cards, it can't really learn context). Similarly, most spells are boring, because outside of basic effects like "deal damage", spell effects aren't repeated enough. The same goes for rare keywords like "Immune" or "Freeze". It doesn't really understand how most abilities affect cost, so it will make minions with below-average stats and give them "Give your opponent an extra mana crystal".

The neural network has thus been able to produce a vivid variety of new characters, ranging from the genuinely intriguing to the downright unplayable. Scfdivine includes links to some of the program's unique creations, including some which have true potential in Hearthstone:

Some which are slightly lacking but show promise with a few tweaks:

And, finally, some that will have you kicked out of the Tavern as a laughing stock: