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The popular online card game, Hearthstone, received a new expansion. With a new expansion comes a brand new meta.
The Grand Tournament update added over 100 cards to the game, meaning a lot of new legendaries to play in arena and constructed decks.
Combining both the previous expansions and the Grand Tournament, here are our favorite 15 legendary cards.
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Sylvanas Windrunner
Neutral
Sylvanas always has and always will be one of the best legendaries in Hearthstone. It's always been impactful because it's hard ignore a 5/5 minion, no matter what it is.
The Deathrattle effect is what makes it one of the best, "Take control of an enemy minion." This either forces your opponent to make an unfavorable play to counter it or you can capitalize on it and trade and/or take control of your opponent's minion.
The reason that Sylvanas remains one of the best cards in the Grand Tournament is because now there are even more amazing cards to steal for your own.
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Nexus-Champion Saraas
Neutral
A new card to hit the scene, the Nexus-Champion Saraad fits perfectly into the current tempo meta.
There's a great possibility to hit a great value spell off this card, which is incredibly important for card advantage and gaining control of the game. Not to mention that the Inspire can be triggered more than once, this card is definitely one of the best from the expansion.
Not only that, but there are many more over powered spells available now that Grand Tournament has been released, which means more of an opportunity to get something great.
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Mal'Ganis
Warlock
Any warlock veteran will be familiar with Mal'Ganis, which is an incredibly powerful card that powers up your other demons and makes your hero immune to damage.
Being able to use your warlock hero power without damaging yourself is very broken, and a 9/7 minion isn't exactly easy to get rid of. The demon lock deck is one of the most popular warlock decks right now, and you can't play it without Mal'Ganis.
Mal'Ganis actually got even better with the Grand Tournament because now there are even more demons to use in the infamous demon deck.
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Varian Wrynn
Warrior
Varian Wrynn is arguably the best card in the Grand Tournament expansion, and can instantly turn the tides of either a constructed or an arena deck.
There's not many other times players will be able to play a 7/7 minion, draw 3 cards, and probably put even more minions on the board in one turn.
With all the huge new monsters in the new expansion, the chances of getting harmonious value out of this card increases even more. Basically, now there are even more op minions to put on the board for free.
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Tirion Fordring
Paladin
It's likely you've either played or played against this insane legendary Paladin card. It's not just a thorn in your side, it's a way to gain comeplete advantage using only 1 card.
Before the Grand Tournament expansion, just a silence would put Tirion away, but now that all the Paladin secrets are available, you can bet this guy is going to see a lot more play. The Paladin secret deck is already climbing the lists of the best constructed decks in play and including Tirion is only going to increase the deck's mortality.
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Chillmaw
Neutral
Chillmaw compliments the new dragon decks that have been popping up by adding yet another big creature with insane abilities. Various classes can play dragon decks, and Chillmaw can fit into every one.
A 6/6 creature is difficult to get rid of, but if you have another dragon in your deck (which any constructed deck will) you have another free AoE option. You can use this to gain control against the annoying aggro decks that plague ranked play.
Dragon decks were scare and few between before the Grand Tournament expansion; however, with the addition of many more, we'll be seeing many different dragon decks and Chillmaw is a must have.
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Ragnaros the Firelord
Neutral
Like Sylvanas, Ragnaros is a time-old card that will likely never leave the meta as one of the greatest card to have in any tempo or control deck. There's always a place for a free 8 damage, no matter who it hits.
The Grand Tournament will only make Ragnaros more powerful because majority of the monsters introduced have 8 or less health, increasing the chances he'll be a lethal threat to your opponent.
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Confessor Paletress
Priest
Confessor Paletress is yet another new card to make it to this list, and it's easy to see why. While other legendary cards have a single deathrattle effect that will spawn another legendary minion, this one can be triggered by inspire multiple times.
This means that, if kept alive multiple turns, you can continue to crank out a board of legendary minions. Paired with all the Priest buff cards like Velen's Chosen and Power Word: Shield, Confessor Paletress will absolutely see a lot of play in both constructed and arena.
This card also works with the rest of the expansion in a positive way. With all the new, amazing legendary cards, the chances you'll hit a legendary worth playing is much higher.
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Justicar Trueheart
Neutral
Another Grand Tournament card that is going to be played in many different decks, Justicar Trueheart will double the hero power of whatever class you're playing as.
For example, if you're playing as a Mage, your hero power will do 2 damage instead of 1 and if you're a Priest, your healing will be 4 instead of 2. This is an amazing legendary card because it's only 6 mana, meaning that you can get instant gratification with it from turn 8 on.
Another reason this card is so good is because with the Grand Tournament we saw a shift from a flood of aggressive decks to more control-dominated ranked play. With Justicar Trueheart, we can make better plays for 2 mana, giving us more opportunities to take control.
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Rhonin
Mage
Besides being incredibly fun to say, Rhonin is another new card making its way to the top 15 for many different reasons. Such a massive minion is already powerful, but his Deathrattle will automatically give you 9 damage, which is basically a free Avenging Wrath.
Not only that, but if you're playing any spell power cards, which many Mage decks are now doing, then this card's value starts increasing even more.
Rhonin is especially good with the Grand Tournament update because of all the spells it brought with it. Spell power Mage decks were already seen a few times during the constructed ladder climb, but with all the new Mage cards, spell power is all the rage. Rhonin adds a perfect opportunity to capitalize on this with 3 free Arcane Missiles.
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Dr. Boom
Neutral
Played in almost every deck in the current meta, Dr. Boom has some of the most value of any card in the entire game of Hearthstone.
A 7 for a 7/7 that automatically spawns 2 more minions gives players board control that they wouldn't have had previously. The 2 1/1 Boom Bots that spawn with Dr. Boom will also explode for 1-4 damage when they die. That's already 9 damage from the bombs themselves, which isn't even including the 7 damage from Boom himself.
Dr. Boom's value has even increased since the expansion, since the addition of many new cards that promote control. Dr. Boom is the ultimate control card, wince you get 2 free minions which can take out multiple enemies. He fits right in!
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Loatheb
Neutral
In a spell-heavy meta that focuses a lot on controlling the board, Loatheb can prevent your opponent from gaining control in almost any situation.
Often times Hearthstone players will think about plays a few turns in advance, and Loatheb is here to completely ruin that and make everyone re-think the direction they have to take.
I previously mentioned all the spells that have been added with the Grand Tournament expansion, and the addition of the Spell Power Mage deck. Loatheb is the perfect counter to this, and will shine in this expansion because of it.
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Archmage Antonidas
Mage
Another Mage card to make the list, Archmage Antonidas fits right into the spell-heavy decks that have surfaced in the past few weeks.
Archmage Antonidas and Rhonin together will mean devastating damage for your opponents, and will definitely be a force to be reckoned with.
Bringing up the spell power Mage deck yet again, the Archmage is the another great option to this deck. You can bet it will dominate the Grand Tournament meta and more decks will have this card included.
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Prophet Velen
Priest
A favorite in almost every control Priest deck in the scene, Prophet Velen is hard to deny. Doubling the damage or healing of all of your cards means you can close close games aggressively or gain control back by healing back to a comfortable health.
Prophet Velen fits into any situation and therefore shouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.
The Grand Tournament introduction, with the push for tempo and control decks, will make other classes hard to top a Priest deck containing Prophet Velen.
Published: Aug 30, 2015 06:49 pm