It's around that time again in the Hearthstone expansion cycle that a new expansion is on the horizon, and it's well time to look back into the cards released from the previous expansion, and see just how accurate or inaccurate my predictions back then has been. Witchwood's going to be a bit of a hard expansion to do this for, though, for the simple reason that there were a couple of very significant nerfs around halfway through the expansion which really knocked down top-tier decks like Even Paladin and Cube Warlock, and brought up the rise of what's easily the most control-dominated meta in Hearthstone's history.Don't really have that much to talk about here, honestly. I've not been playing as much Witchwood as I did some of the previous expansions, although that's not Blizzard or the game's fault -- real life has been pretty demanding and I've not been getting the energy to play the ladder. Still, I've played enough to have a neat feel for a good chunk of the new cards introduced. I'm going to rate these cards as they are post-nerf, but will leave 'honorary' rankings for cards that were good pre-nerf but not so good afterwards.
Druid:
Druid proves, once more, to be one of the most versatile classes, and had a lot of decent work back in the pre-nerf era with Spiteful Druid. While Spiteful Summoner's nerf has surprisingly knocked her down from her perch, Druid ends up dominating the top tiers with a mixture of Token Hand Druid, Malygos Combo Druid and Hadronox Druid. And I am genuinely bamboozled and pleased! Hadronox isn't a card that was on my radar when I was reviewing these cards, and to realize that getting him back with Witching Hour is not only powerful, but straight-up bonkers with some of the Taunts currently in standard... and everyone was just freaking out over silly old Witchwood Grizzly!
Malygos's a pretty good deck, too, which only really survived when the nerfs curbed the stem of aggro, allowing Malygos to really shine. Most surprising is that Hand Druid actually worked out as the newest iteration of the monstrous Token Druid that ends up playing out like a fun little deck that plays like a midrange/control hybrid. Easily the biggest surprise for me personally. Granted, not all of the Hand Druid synergy cards ended up being actually good, but damn if the archetype isn't badass.
A lot of the other cards that they pushed ended up just sort of not really working out, but honestly? Druid had enough super-powerful cards as they are with the little boost they got from this expansion. Hell, even the cards that I didn't really mention, like Druid of the Scythe and Ferocious Howl, are honestly pretty damn solid little tech options that saw a fair amount of play both pre- and post-nerf.
- 5: Wispering Woods (up from 2), Witching Hour (up from 3)
- 4: Ferocious Howl (up from 3)
- 3: Druid of the Scythe (up from 2)
- 2: Witchwood Apple, Bewitched Guardian (down from 3)
- 1: Duskfallen Aviana, Gloom Stag, Forest Guide, Splintergraft (down from 3)
Hunter:
Hunter ended up being a bit of a surprise, too! Early on Hunters ended up being pretty powerful with Odd Hunter being a very valid aggro option, with none of the actual control like the overhyped Wing Blast and Dire Frenzy tools ending up working at all. But Odd Hunter was great pre-nerf... and post-nerf, we get a couple of honestly powerful decks like a pretty badass recruit hunter that utilizes Kathrena Winterwisp, and one that ends up being an insanely fun Deathrattle Egg/Kathrena deck to muck around with.
Perhaps the biggest and most pleasant surprise is realizing that Houndmaster Shaw isn't only just a good card, but also one of Hunter's most versatile tool particularly partnered alongside Hunter's current card pool. Interestingly, while cards like Vilebrood Skitterer and Hunting Mastiff don't really make anyone's rank-5 lists, they actually significantly affect the playability of Deathstalker Rexxar.
Hunter ended up being a bit of a surprise, too! Early on Hunters ended up being pretty powerful with Odd Hunter being a very valid aggro option, with none of the actual control like the overhyped Wing Blast and Dire Frenzy tools ending up working at all. But Odd Hunter was great pre-nerf... and post-nerf, we get a couple of honestly powerful decks like a pretty badass recruit hunter that utilizes Kathrena Winterwisp, and one that ends up being an insanely fun Deathrattle Egg/Kathrena deck to muck around with.Perhaps the biggest and most pleasant surprise is realizing that Houndmaster Shaw isn't only just a good card, but also one of Hunter's most versatile tool particularly partnered alongside Hunter's current card pool. Interestingly, while cards like Vilebrood Skitterer and Hunting Mastiff don't really make anyone's rank-5 lists, they actually significantly affect the playability of Deathstalker Rexxar.
- 5: N/A
- 4: Houndmaster Shaw (up from 3)
- 3: N/A
- 2: Wing Blast (down from 5)
- 1: Toxmonger, Carrion Drake, Duskhaven Hunter, Rat Trap (down from 2), Vilebrood Skitterer (down from 2), Emeriss (down from 2), Hunting Mastiff (down from 3), Dire Frenzy (down from 4)
Mage:
Mage is... cute. Early on, pre-nerf, several variations of Aggro Mage that use either Vex Crow or Aluneth end up being the primary ones to play, although a Control list would rise up in the sidelines. Elemental Mage didn't end up working out all that well, although it wasn't horrible -- I suspect that the slight success of Elemental Mage isn't because the package given to us in this expansion is good, but simply because the Lifesteal passive from Frost Lich Jaina is just that good. Sadly, Book of Specters, Arugal and either Odd or Even Mage didn't really end up panning out.
Most interestingly, though, is the buff Elemental Mage currently got with the addition of Mountain Giant as a cheap 8/8 with potential lifesteal. The biggest surprise for me is just how insanely great Cinderstorm is to curb down token decks, especially pre-nerf, and how everyone's honestly been underestimating this card. Hell, I rated it one, and I'll happily eat my hat now. Another interesting one is actually just how good Arcane Keysmith ended up being. I'll still rate the Arugal and Specters package a 2 because there are some fun decks using them, but they're not super-good.
Mage is... cute. Early on, pre-nerf, several variations of Aggro Mage that use either Vex Crow or Aluneth end up being the primary ones to play, although a Control list would rise up in the sidelines. Elemental Mage didn't end up working out all that well, although it wasn't horrible -- I suspect that the slight success of Elemental Mage isn't because the package given to us in this expansion is good, but simply because the Lifesteal passive from Frost Lich Jaina is just that good. Sadly, Book of Specters, Arugal and either Odd or Even Mage didn't really end up panning out.Most interestingly, though, is the buff Elemental Mage currently got with the addition of Mountain Giant as a cheap 8/8 with potential lifesteal. The biggest surprise for me is just how insanely great Cinderstorm is to curb down token decks, especially pre-nerf, and how everyone's honestly been underestimating this card. Hell, I rated it one, and I'll happily eat my hat now. Another interesting one is actually just how good Arcane Keysmith ended up being. I'll still rate the Arugal and Specters package a 2 because there are some fun decks using them, but they're not super-good.
- 5: N/A
- 4: Cinderstorm (up from 1)
- 3: Vex Crow (mostly pre-nerf), Arcane Keysmith (up from 2)
- 2: Toki Time-Tinker, Book of Specters (down from 5), Archmage Arugal (down from 4), Bonefire Elemental (down from 4)
- 1: Black Cat (down from 3), Curio Collector (down from 2), Snap Freeze (down from 2)
Paladin:
Holy shit, Paladin, Paladin, Paladin. The best Paladin card isn't anything from their newest set, because even Silver Sword was just a neat little tech for Even Paladin when they don't have access to the better Vinecleaver. No, the best card they got in this expansion are Baku and Genn, with both Odd and Even Paladin having a tight stranglehold over the pre-nerf metagame. Turns out the Silver Hand Recruit synergy cards like Level Up, Call to Arms and Lost in the Jungle just needed that one boost to make them go from "neat" to "overpowered"... and that boost is the hero power upgrade, whether making it cheaper or making it summon two 1/1's. None of the synergies introduced in this expansion really actually worked out -- not Secrets, not Liam, not dragons.... but simple dudes. It's truly the age of Aggro Paladin, and while Even Paladin was whacked down a fair bit when Call to Arms was nerfed, Odd Paladin and a Murloc variant still are very much acceptable high-tier decks. So Paladin in the Witchwood might not look spectacular with a huge amount of their new cards ending at 1's and 2's, but god damn if they didn't get really good this expansion.
And honestly, perhaps one of the biggest surprises is how much of the old Classic/Basic cards that Even and Odd Paladin lists ended up using, with cards like Stormwind Champion, Raid Leader and Amani Berserker actually being pretty good cards in multiple top-tier decks.
Holy shit, Paladin, Paladin, Paladin. The best Paladin card isn't anything from their newest set, because even Silver Sword was just a neat little tech for Even Paladin when they don't have access to the better Vinecleaver. No, the best card they got in this expansion are Baku and Genn, with both Odd and Even Paladin having a tight stranglehold over the pre-nerf metagame. Turns out the Silver Hand Recruit synergy cards like Level Up, Call to Arms and Lost in the Jungle just needed that one boost to make them go from "neat" to "overpowered"... and that boost is the hero power upgrade, whether making it cheaper or making it summon two 1/1's. None of the synergies introduced in this expansion really actually worked out -- not Secrets, not Liam, not dragons.... but simple dudes. It's truly the age of Aggro Paladin, and while Even Paladin was whacked down a fair bit when Call to Arms was nerfed, Odd Paladin and a Murloc variant still are very much acceptable high-tier decks. So Paladin in the Witchwood might not look spectacular with a huge amount of their new cards ending at 1's and 2's, but god damn if they didn't get really good this expansion.And honestly, perhaps one of the biggest surprises is how much of the old Classic/Basic cards that Even and Odd Paladin lists ended up using, with cards like Stormwind Champion, Raid Leader and Amani Berserker actually being pretty good cards in multiple top-tier decks.
- 5: N/A
- 4: Silver Sword (up from 3)
- 3: N/A
- 2: Bellringer Sentry, Prince Liam (down from 4)
- 1: Hidden Wisdom, Cathedral Gargoyle (down from 2), Paragon of Light (down from 2), Rebuke (down from 3), Ghostly Charger (down from 3), Sound the Bells (down from 2), The Glass Knight (down from 2)
Priest:
Priest is indeed a bit more mellow, as I predicted. They still manage to survive with a mixture of Dragon and Inner Fire combo shenanigans, but nowhere quite the power level of the Raza/Anduin days. Pre-nerf, Priest ended up playing the Spiteful Package, only swapping out their minions for the dragon synergy introduced in this expansion like Scaleworm, but post-nerf this fun little hybrid combination of dragons trying to Inner Fire you, and then switching to Shadowreaper Anduin if the game goes too far, ends up popping up. Also interesting is that a Quest Priest list that runs Vivid Nightmare and Archbishop Benedictus is one of the most surprisingly powerful Control Priest lists out there. Even more interesting that the Quest Priest doesn't actually run Coffin Crasher.
Chameleos, sadly, isn't viable, but I love him anyway. Divine Hymn surprised me at just how versatile it is, and even when you don't need the extra heal it ended up being a fun little tool in a control meta, if nothing else to trigger Anduin and Nightscale Matriarch -- the Matriarch is also an interesting one. I like dragons and I loved the fact that she became pretty viable, but I certainly didn't expect her to be in this sort of deck.
Priest is indeed a bit more mellow, as I predicted. They still manage to survive with a mixture of Dragon and Inner Fire combo shenanigans, but nowhere quite the power level of the Raza/Anduin days. Pre-nerf, Priest ended up playing the Spiteful Package, only swapping out their minions for the dragon synergy introduced in this expansion like Scaleworm, but post-nerf this fun little hybrid combination of dragons trying to Inner Fire you, and then switching to Shadowreaper Anduin if the game goes too far, ends up popping up. Also interesting is that a Quest Priest list that runs Vivid Nightmare and Archbishop Benedictus is one of the most surprisingly powerful Control Priest lists out there. Even more interesting that the Quest Priest doesn't actually run Coffin Crasher.Chameleos, sadly, isn't viable, but I love him anyway. Divine Hymn surprised me at just how versatile it is, and even when you don't need the extra heal it ended up being a fun little tool in a control meta, if nothing else to trigger Anduin and Nightscale Matriarch -- the Matriarch is also an interesting one. I like dragons and I loved the fact that she became pretty viable, but I certainly didn't expect her to be in this sort of deck.
- 5: N/A
- 4: Vivid Nightmare (up from 3)
- 3: Divine Hymn (up from 2), Nightscale Matriarch (up from 2)
- 2: Squashling, Coffin Crasher (down from 3)
- 1: Glitter Moth, Quartz Elemental (down from 2), Holy Water (down from 2), Lady in White (down from 4), Chameleos (down from 3)
Rogue:
Bit of a shame that Tess Greymane didn't end up being a bit more viable, because I really kind of wanted this controlled-Yogg to be viable. Echo Rogue also unsurprisingly didn't end up panning out, and Rogue tended to be shunted off to Odd Aggro Rogue because of the sheer power of Hench-Clan Thug and the upgraded Baku hero power. Miracle is also not bad, and Kingsbane remains kind of a stable deck that puts Cutthroat Buccaneer in for necessity more than anything. Not much to say here, really.
Oh, and there was Quest Rogue pre-nerf, which benefited a lot from the simple addition of Vicious Scalehide, which gave Quest Rogue recovery in addition to instantly-rushing minions.
Bit of a shame that Tess Greymane didn't end up being a bit more viable, because I really kind of wanted this controlled-Yogg to be viable. Echo Rogue also unsurprisingly didn't end up panning out, and Rogue tended to be shunted off to Odd Aggro Rogue because of the sheer power of Hench-Clan Thug and the upgraded Baku hero power. Miracle is also not bad, and Kingsbane remains kind of a stable deck that puts Cutthroat Buccaneer in for necessity more than anything. Not much to say here, really.Oh, and there was Quest Rogue pre-nerf, which benefited a lot from the simple addition of Vicious Scalehide, which gave Quest Rogue recovery in addition to instantly-rushing minions.
- 5: N/A
- 4: Blink Fox
- 3: Cutthroat Buccaneer (up from 2)
- 2: Face Collector, Tess Greymane (down from 4), Pick Pocket (down from 3)
- 1: WANTED, Spectral Cutlass, Cheap Shot (down from 2), Cursed Castaway (down from 2), Mistwraith (down from 3)
Shaman:
Oh dear, Shaman really got out of its funk in this expansion, with two huge powerhouses vying against Druid for the current Tier 1 deck, with Even Shaman being a surprisingly stable aggro/control deck. I rated Murkspark Eel a '1'! But apparently Murkspark Eel and Shaman's little band of even-class legendaries are enough to push it over the top. Certainly unexpected! Shudderwock initially started off as a gimmicky combo deck that had immense power, and now ends up actually being a pretty surefire late-game deck that just has a way to stall out the game before winning with the combined battlecries of Lifestealer, Saronite Chain Gang and Grumble. Sometimes you throw Hemet Jungle Hunter in the deck too. While I've never actually played Shudderwock at all, not having either Shudderwock or Grumble and not being enthused to craft either, I'm actually impressed by the existence of the deck and just how interesting it is.
Hagatha the Witch also ends up being surprisingly decent, which is another surprise -- I genuinely thought random shaman spells are too weak, but it turns out you don't need stuff like Bogshaper and Witch's Apprentice. You just need Hagatha to stall out the game to get to your finishers. Overall, a good expansion for Shaman. Also worth noting is Earthen Might, a pretty strong and surprising tech choice for both Even and Shudderwock Shaman decks, and Ghost Light Angler, which is a neat little tool for the fringe Murloc Shaman deck.
Oh dear, Shaman really got out of its funk in this expansion, with two huge powerhouses vying against Druid for the current Tier 1 deck, with Even Shaman being a surprisingly stable aggro/control deck. I rated Murkspark Eel a '1'! But apparently Murkspark Eel and Shaman's little band of even-class legendaries are enough to push it over the top. Certainly unexpected! Shudderwock initially started off as a gimmicky combo deck that had immense power, and now ends up actually being a pretty surefire late-game deck that just has a way to stall out the game before winning with the combined battlecries of Lifestealer, Saronite Chain Gang and Grumble. Sometimes you throw Hemet Jungle Hunter in the deck too. While I've never actually played Shudderwock at all, not having either Shudderwock or Grumble and not being enthused to craft either, I'm actually impressed by the existence of the deck and just how interesting it is.Hagatha the Witch also ends up being surprisingly decent, which is another surprise -- I genuinely thought random shaman spells are too weak, but it turns out you don't need stuff like Bogshaper and Witch's Apprentice. You just need Hagatha to stall out the game to get to your finishers. Overall, a good expansion for Shaman. Also worth noting is Earthen Might, a pretty strong and surprising tech choice for both Even and Shudderwock Shaman decks, and Ghost Light Angler, which is a neat little tool for the fringe Murloc Shaman deck.- 5: Shudderwock (up from 4), Hagatha the Witch (up from 3), Murkspark Eel (up from 1)
- 4: Earthen Might (up from 2)
- 3: Ghost Light Angler
- 2: Witch's Apprentice (down from 3), Blazing Invocation (down from 3)
- 1: Totem Cruncher, Zap (down from 4), Bogshaper (down from 2)
Warlock:
Our great oppressor, Cubelock, is dead with the nerfs to Possessed Lackey and Dark Pact, although it of course ran rampant as one of the top decks pre-nerf. Post-nerf, though, Warlock is still one of the more powerful decks, with Even Warlock and Zoolock both being pretty insane as a speedy deck, and the whole existence of Bloodreaver Gul'dan makes the switch from aggro to control pretty smoothly. Also, goes without saying that basically the entire self-harm gimmick didn't actually work. At all. I tried using Glinda Crowskin as well, but turns out decks are far more stable without her than with.
Easily the most powerful card in Warlock's arsenal from Witchwood is Voodoo Doll, though, and not Lord Godfrey. Godfrey's still a powerful tool in Warlock's aresenal, but sometimes just a bit too redundant with Defiles, Hellfires and Twisting Nether. Warlock got knocked down a couple of pegs, but still manages to go on pretty strong. And that's what makes the Witchwood meta so interesting, really -- every class is viable, and there's no traditional "strongest deck to beat" and the "dumpster class", because even the lower-tier ones like Hunter, Warrior and Priest aren't even struggling.
Our great oppressor, Cubelock, is dead with the nerfs to Possessed Lackey and Dark Pact, although it of course ran rampant as one of the top decks pre-nerf. Post-nerf, though, Warlock is still one of the more powerful decks, with Even Warlock and Zoolock both being pretty insane as a speedy deck, and the whole existence of Bloodreaver Gul'dan makes the switch from aggro to control pretty smoothly. Also, goes without saying that basically the entire self-harm gimmick didn't actually work. At all. I tried using Glinda Crowskin as well, but turns out decks are far more stable without her than with.Easily the most powerful card in Warlock's arsenal from Witchwood is Voodoo Doll, though, and not Lord Godfrey. Godfrey's still a powerful tool in Warlock's aresenal, but sometimes just a bit too redundant with Defiles, Hellfires and Twisting Nether. Warlock got knocked down a couple of pegs, but still manages to go on pretty strong. And that's what makes the Witchwood meta so interesting, really -- every class is viable, and there's no traditional "strongest deck to beat" and the "dumpster class", because even the lower-tier ones like Hunter, Warrior and Priest aren't even struggling.
- 5: N/A
- 4: Lord Godfrey (down from 5)
- 3: N/A
- 2: Glinda Crowskin, Dark Possession, Ratcatcher (down from 4)
- 1: Deathweb Spider, Blood Witch, Fiendish Circle, Duskbat, Witchwood Imp, Curse of Weakness (down from 3)
Warrior:
Perhaps the weakest of the nine classes at this point, mostly because the Rush package isn't quite as powerful as it could've been... but still not in the dumpster! Warrior's actually doing a fair bit of work in the ladder with variations of Quest Warrior, with or without the Baku hero power added in. That kind of makes the most powerful of Warrior's cards at this point the neutral Phantom Militia, as well as the echo spell Warpath. Shame, though, that so much of the Rush mechanics ended up being duds. This is a class where I basically got everything except for Deadly Arsenal wrong.
Perhaps the weakest of the nine classes at this point, mostly because the Rush package isn't quite as powerful as it could've been... but still not in the dumpster! Warrior's actually doing a fair bit of work in the ladder with variations of Quest Warrior, with or without the Baku hero power added in. That kind of makes the most powerful of Warrior's cards at this point the neutral Phantom Militia, as well as the echo spell Warpath. Shame, though, that so much of the Rush mechanics ended up being duds. This is a class where I basically got everything except for Deadly Arsenal wrong.- 5: N/A
- 4: Warpath (up from 3)
- 3: Darius Crowley (down from 4)
- 2: Militia Commander (down from 3), Rabid Worgen (down from 3), Town Crier (down from 4)
- 1: Deadly Arsenal, Blackhowl Gunspire (down from 2), Redband Wasp (down from 3), Festeroot Hulk (down from 3), Woodcutter's Axe (down from 4)
Neutral:
A lot of neutral cards end up delivering the biggest impact for this meta, yeah? Baku and Genn basically created more than half of the current top-ranking decks simply due to their effects alone, and for Baku in particular I might actually make a new slot of "6" just due to how utterly influential she is. Among the other cards, Lifedrinker is a great addition and a vital component of the Shudderwock Shaman decks; Voodoo Doll is a horrifying removal tool for both Control Mage and any sort of Warlock; Sandbinder is an interesting tech choice for Shaman decks to fetch Grumble; Hench-Clan Thug is one of the most powerful cards in Odd Rogue; Vicious Scalehide got Quest Rogue so out of control it got nerfed; Witchwood Grizzly is an immense powerhouse in Taunt Druids and practically all Hunter decks; Phantom Militia is great in Quest Warrior; Nightmare Amalgam surprisingly saw play in Murloc decks; Scaleworm and Wyrmguard both are neat tech cards in any dragon-synergy decks (though these two have since fallen out of favour); Rotten Applebaum is great in multiple control decks and Witchwood Piper ends up being surprisingly good when the meta shifted away from Aggro, causing you to actually reliably tutor a cheap card like Keleseth.
-whew!-
As for the cards I got wrong... I definitely got caught up in the Ashmore hype when she barely saw any play in the metagame. I also overrated Rush as well, rating Muck Hunter a 4 when in reality she never really saw play. Also put way too much faith in Blackwald Pixie and Clockwork Automaton and their hero-power modifying effects... turns out you don't need them because the upgraded Baku/Genn hero powers are already pretty powerful without having to go the long way and try to get too greedy. Like everyone else, I also slept on Hench-Clan Thug and Lifedrinker, rating them pretty low. I overrated Dorian a lot, although Dorian and Ashmore are both cards that might just be waiting for a perfect set of combos to pull off.
Honourable mentions are Ravencaller and Swift Messenger, which I rate 2 here, but early on in the expansion the two of them saw a fair bit of experimentation although ultimately fell out of favour. The dragon synergy cards are kinda good earlier in the pre-nerf meta, but have since fallen out of favour. I'll be ranking them all 3 to be fair. Vicious Scalehide would've been ranked around 3 or 4, and he's not necessarily a bad card (and great in Deathstalker Rexxar!) but with the fall of Quest Rogue no one's playing Scalehide in their decks. Witch's Cauldron is also an interesting one here, being used as a tech card in Odd Paladin pre-nerf, but I personally never found it particularly practical. Also honourable is Azalina, who ends up in a surprisingly powerful Togwaggle Druid deck combo in Wild.
What makes the difference between 4 and 3? The cards at 4 are kind of really necessary for you to play the deck. The ones at 3 are great to have, but you can tend to substitute them with something. You could argue that Voodoo Doll and Witchwood Grizzly should be ranked 4, and that may be true, I suppose.
Overall... yeah, a good chunk of Witchwood's newfound power levels is partly due to Baku and Genn, but also due to a large swarm of actually decent neutral cards.
Overall, despite outcries of "Dustwood" (and that might still be true, considering the huge amount of 1-rated and 2-rated cards here), Witchwood did end up delivering us the fabled Control meta and one of the rare cases where all nine classes actually have a viable deck or two on the ladder. It is a fun meta to play despite my slight doomsaying earlier on, although a good chunk of the good cards being played right now also involve a lot of older Legendaries from previous expansions -- cards like Grumble, Kathrena, the Warrior Quest, Hadronox and Al'Akir are really given some new life by this expansion. I also felt that while Witchwood itself isn't super expensive and I may have spent a lot less gold on this expansion because I ended up resorting to crafting the one legendary I need for the deck or something, it also makes opening Witchwood packs feel kinda bad of sorts?
A lot of neutral cards end up delivering the biggest impact for this meta, yeah? Baku and Genn basically created more than half of the current top-ranking decks simply due to their effects alone, and for Baku in particular I might actually make a new slot of "6" just due to how utterly influential she is. Among the other cards, Lifedrinker is a great addition and a vital component of the Shudderwock Shaman decks; Voodoo Doll is a horrifying removal tool for both Control Mage and any sort of Warlock; Sandbinder is an interesting tech choice for Shaman decks to fetch Grumble; Hench-Clan Thug is one of the most powerful cards in Odd Rogue; Vicious Scalehide got Quest Rogue so out of control it got nerfed; Witchwood Grizzly is an immense powerhouse in Taunt Druids and practically all Hunter decks; Phantom Militia is great in Quest Warrior; Nightmare Amalgam surprisingly saw play in Murloc decks; Scaleworm and Wyrmguard both are neat tech cards in any dragon-synergy decks (though these two have since fallen out of favour); Rotten Applebaum is great in multiple control decks and Witchwood Piper ends up being surprisingly good when the meta shifted away from Aggro, causing you to actually reliably tutor a cheap card like Keleseth.-whew!-
As for the cards I got wrong... I definitely got caught up in the Ashmore hype when she barely saw any play in the metagame. I also overrated Rush as well, rating Muck Hunter a 4 when in reality she never really saw play. Also put way too much faith in Blackwald Pixie and Clockwork Automaton and their hero-power modifying effects... turns out you don't need them because the upgraded Baku/Genn hero powers are already pretty powerful without having to go the long way and try to get too greedy. Like everyone else, I also slept on Hench-Clan Thug and Lifedrinker, rating them pretty low. I overrated Dorian a lot, although Dorian and Ashmore are both cards that might just be waiting for a perfect set of combos to pull off.Honourable mentions are Ravencaller and Swift Messenger, which I rate 2 here, but early on in the expansion the two of them saw a fair bit of experimentation although ultimately fell out of favour. The dragon synergy cards are kinda good earlier in the pre-nerf meta, but have since fallen out of favour. I'll be ranking them all 3 to be fair. Vicious Scalehide would've been ranked around 3 or 4, and he's not necessarily a bad card (and great in Deathstalker Rexxar!) but with the fall of Quest Rogue no one's playing Scalehide in their decks. Witch's Cauldron is also an interesting one here, being used as a tech card in Odd Paladin pre-nerf, but I personally never found it particularly practical. Also honourable is Azalina, who ends up in a surprisingly powerful Togwaggle Druid deck combo in Wild.What makes the difference between 4 and 3? The cards at 4 are kind of really necessary for you to play the deck. The ones at 3 are great to have, but you can tend to substitute them with something. You could argue that Voodoo Doll and Witchwood Grizzly should be ranked 4, and that may be true, I suppose.
Overall... yeah, a good chunk of Witchwood's newfound power levels is partly due to Baku and Genn, but also due to a large swarm of actually decent neutral cards.
- 5: Baku the Mooneater (up from 4) Genn Greymane (up from 4), Voodoo Doll (up from 4), Witchwood Grizzly (up from 3)
- 4: Rotten Applebaum, Phantom Militia (up from 2), Lifedrinker (up from 1), Hench-Clan Thug (up from 1)
- 3: Witchwood Piper, Scaleworm, Sandbinder (up from 1), Nightmare Amalgam (up from 2), Wyrmguard (up from 2), Azalina Soulthief (up from 2)
- 2: Marsh Drake, Ravencaller, Swift Messenger, Vicious Scalehide (up from 2 post-nerf), Witch's Cauldron (up from 2), Countess Ashmore (down from 4), Clockwork Automaton (down from 3), Blackwald Pixie (down from 3)
- 1: Walnut Sprite, Mad Hatter, Cauldron Elemental, Darkmire Moonkin, Felsoul Inquisitor, Unpowered Steambot, Swamp Dragon Egg, Splitting Festeroot, Worgen Abomination, Furious Ettin, Tanglefur Mystic, Lost SPirit, Spellshifter, Swamp Leech, Baleful Banker (down from 3),Gilnean Royal Guard (down from 2), Chief Inspector (down from 2), Mossy Horror (down from 2), Muck Hunter (down from 4), Night Prowler (down from 2), Pumpkin Peasant (down from 2), Dollmaster Dorian (down from 3), Deranged Doctor (down from 2)
Overall, despite outcries of "Dustwood" (and that might still be true, considering the huge amount of 1-rated and 2-rated cards here), Witchwood did end up delivering us the fabled Control meta and one of the rare cases where all nine classes actually have a viable deck or two on the ladder. It is a fun meta to play despite my slight doomsaying earlier on, although a good chunk of the good cards being played right now also involve a lot of older Legendaries from previous expansions -- cards like Grumble, Kathrena, the Warrior Quest, Hadronox and Al'Akir are really given some new life by this expansion. I also felt that while Witchwood itself isn't super expensive and I may have spent a lot less gold on this expansion because I ended up resorting to crafting the one legendary I need for the deck or something, it also makes opening Witchwood packs feel kinda bad of sorts?
Eh, I dunno. Bring on Boomsday!
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