These cards that summon small minions for your opponent while you get an overstated minion have never worked out all too well except for maybe Cornered Sentry. The only difference that I see with this card is the fact that it summons 3 minions.
You could try to use it with Mind Control Tech to try to steal a specific minion (with a small succes rate...) and other minions that benefit from your opponent having lots of minions like Mogu Fleshshaper and Sea Giant.
Or you can use this to counter resurrection priest. if resurrection priest becomes a top meta deck, this card could end up being a nice tech card.
I'm just not sure what direction dragon hunter is heading. Cards like Primordial Explorer, Carrion Drake and Emeriss seem to be aiming at a slower dragon deck, but this card and Corrosive Breath are more aggresive and don't seem to work well with the previous cards mentionned.
A Hellfire but for 1 extra mana, you get a 5/5. This card is very powerful, yet we must see if a dragon warlock can work since warlock didn't get any dragon support from the past expansions. However, this and Nether Breath is a great start.
A good dragon for a slower dragon paladin deck. Maybe we can go for a control paladin with a good amout of healing with this card, Flash of Light and Nozari.
This card is insanely powerful. Just being able to draw a deathrattle from your deck is a nice effect, but also gaining it's deathrattle seals the deal. There are quite a few deathrattle minions you would love to get from this such as Cairne Bloodhoof, Mechanical Whelp or maybe Waxadred. This card combined with Necrium Blade and Necrium Vial can easily bring deathrattle rogue back to its glory days and the fact that this minion has 5 health gives it a better chance of getting that deathrattle synergy going. Who knows, this card might even create a new rogue deck including Hakkar, the Soulflayer with Togwaggle's Scheme. The only thing holding this card back is the fact that you have to combo it.
This is a scary card that you now have to always consider facing when playing against a mech deck. This giving the player a higher chance of magnetizing on turn 6-7 can be game ending. When facing a mech deck, you are always trying to remove their mechs before they can be magnetized and this can just prevent those mechs from dying and your opponent has to deal with a 6/6 which is a nice bonus. You could say that this won't see play since Coppertail Imposter didn't see much play, but when you played Coppertail Imposter, you were kinda forced to magnetize it and it didn't help your tempo. Coppertail Imposter also competed with Replicating Menace and Explodinator for that 4 mana mech slot. With Camouflaged Dirigible, you can value trade or go face with your other mechs and then protect them while adding a 6/6 that forces your opponent to either deal with it or aoe your board and leaving a 6 attack minion alive. It just looks like a nice card to add in a mech deck.
This card is just insane. All 4 Devastation effects are strong and flexible. Drawing Galakrond in a Galakrond deck is a no brainer. If there is a competitive Galakrond deck, this card will see play.
I just hope that Galakrond decks don't end up being an "add all the good Galakrond/invoke cards" since this card is an auto include for those decks. I don't want a repete of C'Thun decks with Twin Emperor Vek'lor. Those decks ended being rather stale to make since the neutral C'thun cards were all about buffing C'thun and the class cards supporting C'thun didn't add much to your strategy except for Hooded Acolyte, Usher of Souls and Cult Sorcerer that did try but ended up not having enough support to change the tempo style of C'thun decks.
Either way, this card is amazing and we should still have a bunch of invoke cards to be revealed that can make Galakrond decks more creative.
This card is an ok 1 drop. It could compete against Mecharoo for 1 mana mech decks, it's a nice base for a magnetic follow up and it can be considered as a 1 mana 1/3 if played on turn 1.
The issue that I see with this card is that it's really bad to draw it in the mid to late game for a mech deck. Obviously since it's a 1 mana card it shouldn't be amazing later in the game, but Mecharoo does give you 2 bodies for a 1 mana card, giving you a higher chance of getting a mech body to magnetize on your turn. So I don't see it completely being superior than Mecharoo as a 1 drop for mech decks.
This card seems like it can really only be properly played in the early game. By turn 3-4, it becomes a bad card to draw. Slower decks won't want this, aggro decks could instead play a guaranteed 1 mana 1/3 like Crystallizer and token decks would prefer Mecharoo if they were looking for some mech synergy.
Since I am not expecting mechs to get too much support in this expension, this card should only see play in mech hunter. Mech paladin souldn't consider this card because it has Glow-Tron which is much better, same for warrior with Eternium Rover.
Steamwheedle Sniper saw quite a bit of support back in the day because The Grand Tournament was the inspire set: all about hero powers. The big distinction between the two cards is that Dwarven Sharpshooter has a better statline for its manacost but, more importantly, the ability lines up so much more cleanly: On turn two you can use HP without wasting mana to presumably negate your opponent's play. If they chose not to develop onto the board then the Sharpshooter has already done its job and you can get even further ahead by playing more minions.
Steamwheedle Sniper doesn't line up well with your mana curve at all unless you coin it on turn one. Otherwise your opponent can play a 3 health minion and effectively negate the effect, not to mention the fact that spending two mana on turn three is pretty painful. It's also worse as a "removal spell" because you're paying 4 for 2 damage instead of 3.
I think the only real question is whether there will be a competitive Hunter deck. If there is, Dwarven Sharpshooter will be in it.
I did neglect to mention the support from The Grand Tournament since Goblins vs Gnomes rotated out in the year of the Kraken (since I am talking about standard), but I didn't really consider those cards being that great to use in a hunter deck since they were not that aggresive and did not support hunters hero power. Even Brave Archer, pretty much the only inspire card that helped your hero power, was too weak because of its condition. Yes you could use Steamwheedle Sniper to push a more value/control oriented hunter deck, but you couldn't just make such a deck while only relying on a 2 mana minion.
Nonetheless, I do agree with you that this card being 1 mana is far superior than it being 2 mana for disrupting your opponents turn 2 play. Having it being able to kill any 1-3 health minion on turn 2 will be something that a slower control deck would love to have. I guess even an aggresive hunter deck wouldn't mind running this card since it is a 1 mana 1/3 that can prevent your opponent from contesting your early game board and give you tempo.
So like you said, if there is a competitive hunter deck, this card will see play.
It's just a really bad card to use unless you are able to get it in your starting hand or draw it on turn 2. And even if you do get it early enough, it will kinda bully you into using your hero power, making you lose your early game aggression for a small payoff. Just seems like a hard card to use.
While very powerful in a dragon hunter deck (if it becomes a thing), this card is good on its own. I just wonder how aggresive will the remaining dragon hunter cards be. For now, they don't seem that aggresive with cards like Primordial Explorer and Carrion Drake.
While the effect is strong, I don't like the fact that it's random and where would this card go? In a hero power hunter deck, a little surprise burst in a highlander deck or maybe in a mech deck? It's an interesting card that seems quite flexible.
Almost all 1 mana 1/3 minons have ended up seeing some amount of competetive play, except for Animated Berserker and maybe Warbot (I don't remember) and this card has a strong effect to accompany it. You could say that it's weak since Steamwheedle Sniper saw little play, but it didn't have the synergy that we have now with cards such as Dragonbane, Toxic Reinforcements, Phase Stalker and maybe even with Waterboy and it's 1 mana.
While I really like the card, I am afraid that it won't be strong enough since it supports a more control oriented strategy, the cards (mentioned above) that synergize with it are more aggresive in nature and you will probably prefer to just keep going face. Don't get me wrong, you could use Phase Stalker to pull defensive secrets and use Dragonbane for board control, but hunter usually ends up going back to its aggresive nature.
Play Swarm of Locusts to instantly proc the Sidequest, feel sad when the 4/4 doesn't appear.
I think that you do end up getting the 4/4 gryphon. When you use Call in the Finishers, the quest Unite the Murlocs will interupt the summoning to update your quest progress. Same for when you use Plot Twist for Supreme Archaeology, the quest can trigger and change your hero power in the middle of the Plot Twist.
So the way I see it is that after you use Swarm of Locusts on an empty board: you get 3 locusts, you get your 4/4 gryphon from the sidequest, you get 3 more locusts and then you end up losing the last locust (if your quest had no progression).
Very powerful effect with high value, but not only is it a 9 mana card, but you will need a worthy minion to target. Not an easy card to properly use but a nice one to try out.
This card would be a nice flavor pick in any token deck like token druid. I see it having some potential in a Unseal the Vault type of deck. It would be a good finisher or quest activator accompanying Onyxia. Nothing too strong, but a nice deck to try out on launch.
This card seems to be able to go either way for warrior. You can go with a more aggresive midrange deck with some charge minions such as Kor'kron Elite, Leeroy Jenkins or even Reckless Rocketeer that would benefit greatly from the +4/+4 buff. Or you could go for a mech control deck that relies on the invoke +3 attack for removal instead of face damage and then you would aim to land the +4/+4 buff on cards like Tomb Warden, Zilliax or other magnetic cards and you might even substitute for Dr. Boom, Mad Genius after Galakronds battlecry.
Gravelsnout Knight - Hungry Ettin - Muck Hunter - Hungry Dragon
These cards that summon small minions for your opponent while you get an overstated minion have never worked out all too well except for maybe Cornered Sentry. The only difference that I see with this card is the fact that it summons 3 minions.
You could try to use it with Mind Control Tech to try to steal a specific minion (with a small succes rate...) and other minions that benefit from your opponent having lots of minions like Mogu Fleshshaper and Sea Giant.
Or you can use this to counter resurrection priest. if resurrection priest becomes a top meta deck, this card could end up being a nice tech card.
The stats are good, the effect is strong and combos well with cards such as Desert Spear, Springpaw, Halazzi, the Lynx, and Unleash the Hounds. I see this card being able to fit in quite a few decks.
I'm just not sure what direction dragon hunter is heading. Cards like Primordial Explorer, Carrion Drake and Emeriss seem to be aiming at a slower dragon deck, but this card and Corrosive Breath are more aggresive and don't seem to work well with the previous cards mentionned.
Again, same as Crazed Netherwing, this card is very powerful and we must see if a dragon warlock deck can work or not.
A Hellfire but for 1 extra mana, you get a 5/5. This card is very powerful, yet we must see if a dragon warlock can work since warlock didn't get any dragon support from the past expansions. However, this and Nether Breath is a great start.
A good dragon for a slower dragon paladin deck. Maybe we can go for a control paladin with a good amout of healing with this card, Flash of Light and Nozari.
The thing is that it looks like dragon paladin is going two different routes. We have this slower route and then there is the more tempo oriented deck with Dragonrider Talritha, Bronze Herald, Sand Breath and maybe Dragon Speaker. There is also Nozdormu the Timeless, but that card is more complicated.
Overall, this is a nice card that most dragon paladin decks wouldn't mind using.
This card is insanely powerful. Just being able to draw a deathrattle from your deck is a nice effect, but also gaining it's deathrattle seals the deal. There are quite a few deathrattle minions you would love to get from this such as Cairne Bloodhoof, Mechanical Whelp or maybe Waxadred. This card combined with Necrium Blade and Necrium Vial can easily bring deathrattle rogue back to its glory days and the fact that this minion has 5 health gives it a better chance of getting that deathrattle synergy going. Who knows, this card might even create a new rogue deck including Hakkar, the Soulflayer with Togwaggle's Scheme. The only thing holding this card back is the fact that you have to combo it.
This is a scary card that you now have to always consider facing when playing against a mech deck. This giving the player a higher chance of magnetizing on turn 6-7 can be game ending. When facing a mech deck, you are always trying to remove their mechs before they can be magnetized and this can just prevent those mechs from dying and your opponent has to deal with a 6/6 which is a nice bonus. You could say that this won't see play since Coppertail Imposter didn't see much play, but when you played Coppertail Imposter, you were kinda forced to magnetize it and it didn't help your tempo. Coppertail Imposter also competed with Replicating Menace and Explodinator for that 4 mana mech slot. With Camouflaged Dirigible, you can value trade or go face with your other mechs and then protect them while adding a 6/6 that forces your opponent to either deal with it or aoe your board and leaving a 6 attack minion alive. It just looks like a nice card to add in a mech deck.
This card is just insane. All 4 Devastation effects are strong and flexible. Drawing Galakrond in a Galakrond deck is a no brainer. If there is a competitive Galakrond deck, this card will see play.
I just hope that Galakrond decks don't end up being an "add all the good Galakrond/invoke cards" since this card is an auto include for those decks. I don't want a repete of C'Thun decks with Twin Emperor Vek'lor. Those decks ended being rather stale to make since the neutral C'thun cards were all about buffing C'thun and the class cards supporting C'thun didn't add much to your strategy except for Hooded Acolyte, Usher of Souls and Cult Sorcerer that did try but ended up not having enough support to change the tempo style of C'thun decks.
Either way, this card is amazing and we should still have a bunch of invoke cards to be revealed that can make Galakrond decks more creative.
This card is an ok 1 drop. It could compete against Mecharoo for 1 mana mech decks, it's a nice base for a magnetic follow up and it can be considered as a 1 mana 1/3 if played on turn 1.
The issue that I see with this card is that it's really bad to draw it in the mid to late game for a mech deck. Obviously since it's a 1 mana card it shouldn't be amazing later in the game, but Mecharoo does give you 2 bodies for a 1 mana card, giving you a higher chance of getting a mech body to magnetize on your turn. So I don't see it completely being superior than Mecharoo as a 1 drop for mech decks.
This card seems like it can really only be properly played in the early game. By turn 3-4, it becomes a bad card to draw. Slower decks won't want this, aggro decks could instead play a guaranteed 1 mana 1/3 like Crystallizer and token decks would prefer Mecharoo if they were looking for some mech synergy.
Since I am not expecting mechs to get too much support in this expension, this card should only see play in mech hunter. Mech paladin souldn't consider this card because it has Glow-Tron which is much better, same for warrior with Eternium Rover.
I did neglect to mention the support from The Grand Tournament since Goblins vs Gnomes rotated out in the year of the Kraken (since I am talking about standard), but I didn't really consider those cards being that great to use in a hunter deck since they were not that aggresive and did not support hunters hero power. Even Brave Archer, pretty much the only inspire card that helped your hero power, was too weak because of its condition. Yes you could use Steamwheedle Sniper to push a more value/control oriented hunter deck, but you couldn't just make such a deck while only relying on a 2 mana minion.
Nonetheless, I do agree with you that this card being 1 mana is far superior than it being 2 mana for disrupting your opponents turn 2 play. Having it being able to kill any 1-3 health minion on turn 2 will be something that a slower control deck would love to have. I guess even an aggresive hunter deck wouldn't mind running this card since it is a 1 mana 1/3 that can prevent your opponent from contesting your early game board and give you tempo.
So like you said, if there is a competitive hunter deck, this card will see play.
It's just a really bad card to use unless you are able to get it in your starting hand or draw it on turn 2. And even if you do get it early enough, it will kinda bully you into using your hero power, making you lose your early game aggression for a small payoff. Just seems like a hard card to use.
While very powerful in a dragon hunter deck (if it becomes a thing), this card is good on its own. I just wonder how aggresive will the remaining dragon hunter cards be. For now, they don't seem that aggresive with cards like Primordial Explorer and Carrion Drake.
While the effect is strong, I don't like the fact that it's random and where would this card go? In a hero power hunter deck, a little surprise burst in a highlander deck or maybe in a mech deck? It's an interesting card that seems quite flexible.
Almost all 1 mana 1/3 minons have ended up seeing some amount of competetive play, except for Animated Berserker and maybe Warbot (I don't remember) and this card has a strong effect to accompany it. You could say that it's weak since Steamwheedle Sniper saw little play, but it didn't have the synergy that we have now with cards such as Dragonbane, Toxic Reinforcements, Phase Stalker and maybe even with Waterboy and it's 1 mana.
While I really like the card, I am afraid that it won't be strong enough since it supports a more control oriented strategy, the cards (mentioned above) that synergize with it are more aggresive in nature and you will probably prefer to just keep going face. Don't get me wrong, you could use Phase Stalker to pull defensive secrets and use Dragonbane for board control, but hunter usually ends up going back to its aggresive nature.
I think that you do end up getting the 4/4 gryphon. When you use Call in the Finishers, the quest Unite the Murlocs will interupt the summoning to update your quest progress. Same for when you use Plot Twist for Supreme Archaeology, the quest can trigger and change your hero power in the middle of the Plot Twist.
So the way I see it is that after you use Swarm of Locusts on an empty board:
you get 3 locusts, you get your 4/4 gryphon from the sidequest, you get 3 more locusts and then you end up losing the last locust (if your quest had no progression).
Very powerful effect with high value, but not only is it a 9 mana card, but you will need a worthy minion to target. Not an easy card to properly use but a nice one to try out.
This card would be a nice flavor pick in any token deck like token druid. I see it having some potential in a Unseal the Vault type of deck. It would be a good finisher or quest activator accompanying Onyxia. Nothing too strong, but a nice deck to try out on launch.
A decent card that all dragon warriors will love to include. Reminds me of Bash which was a good removal tool so this should see some play.
This card seems to be able to go either way for warrior. You can go with a more aggresive midrange deck with some charge minions such as Kor'kron Elite, Leeroy Jenkins or even Reckless Rocketeer that would benefit greatly from the +4/+4 buff. Or you could go for a mech control deck that relies on the invoke +3 attack for removal instead of face damage and then you would aim to land the +4/+4 buff on cards like Tomb Warden, Zilliax or other magnetic cards and you might even substitute for Dr. Boom, Mad Genius after Galakronds battlecry.
A good removal card, dragon synergy and it has some potential in a big warrior deck. I like it.