The next Hearthstone expansion, Journey To Un’Goro , is just a week away. We know all the cards that are going to shape the meta for the next few months; from the mighty elemental all the way to the tiniest prehistoric murloc. With every expansion, there’s always a chance that Blizzard might release a card so broken, so unbelievably unfair, it takes months to fix. By that point, it’s already ruined the meta and made everyone hate the card game, and yes, I’m looking at you Aggro Shaman and Pirate Warrior.
In preparation for our coming dinosaur overlords, I’ve looked over the Journey To Un’Goro set list and narrowed down three of the cards that are going to be the biggest problems during the Year Of The Mammoth, all Quests.
The Marsh Queen- Lifecoach, a Hearthstone pro who quit to play another children’s card game, believes that the Hunter quest will break the game. Summoning seven one-cost minions doesn’t sound very hard and the reward it gives is absolutely bonkers. Adding 15 3/2 Raptors into your deck that have you draw a card for one mana is bonkers, let alone for such a small cost. Jeweled Macaw followed by Fire Bat is a pretty strong board, imagine getting all seven out by turn five?
The Caverns Below- When I first saw the Crystal Core , I didn’t think much of it. 5/5 minions don’t sound too dangerous, and what’s the chance of summoning four minions with the exact same name? After seeing the rest of the cards in the set and the Forsen/ Ben Brode card reveal stream, I’m a bit worried about this card. Mimic Pod combined with Preparation and Thistle Tea makes getting doubles of cards quite easy, and Shadowstep allows you to play the same minion over and over. I don’t want to see a 5/5 Moroes summoning equally powerful copies of himself on the field until you lose. Jade Golems got nothing on this cave.
Fire Plume’s Hearth- Control Warrior has all but disappeared from the meta, with Pirate Warrior slowly strangling it to death. Journey To Un’Goro is giving some major firepower to Garrosh’s who decide to take a ton of Taunt minions into the game, which should pump some pure rage back into the archetype. Bloodhoof Brave and Fierce Monkey are some of the best Taunt minions in the game and now they are getting even more friends. Direhorn Hatchling, Ornery Direhorn and Tar Lord are some of the stickiest (no pun intended) Hearthstone minions to ever exist. Completing this Quest earns you Sulfuras , Ragnaros’ blade that makes your Hero Power deal eight damage to a random enemy target. You used to be able to kill the firelord, now that damage is unblockable.
Quests worry me because their basic mechanic is broken. Players will find a way to cheese the system and come up with a combo that the developers didn’t anticipate. I don’t give the Hearthstone community much, but I do believe they will find a way to ruin the meta for the next few months if given the option.
