Silence and Suppress is an interesting card, like a superior version of Purify. Silences and destroys equipment but doesn't deal with Attach units... I wonder if there will be more equipment destruction cards? Because there are no cards that specifically deal with Attach units. Obliterate gets rid of the unit and the attached unit, but Obliterate also deals with equipment. Is equipment just going to be more interactable (easier to get rid of ) than Attach units? I sure hope so, attach is kind of awful in that sense.
New card type sounds ominous. Landmarks were very poorly implemented originally. Early landmarks were either entirely inviable (Vaults of Helia, University of Piltover), oppressive (Grand Plaza, Veiled Temple), or just plain toxic (Star Spring, Bandle Tree). Some early landmarks were inviable AND oppressive (Sun Disc), at different points in time.
While they did eventually settle on a formula that mostly worked in Countdown landmarks, it was a bumpy road to get here, and my guess is that we've got another bumpy road ahead with the new card type.
Gwen seems like a better Vlad. At level 2, she drains health from the enemy Nexus, but does so much more reliably, and with high power and Quick Attack making her a lot safer to attack with. She costs less mana too...
Hard to evaluate this card without understanding exactly what it does. This should remove debuffs such as Vulnerable and Stun. What about Can't Block / Immobile? Frostbite? Kindred's Mark? Mark of the Storm? Ephemeral? Disintegrate? Silence? Transformation effects like Minimorph? Stress Defense? The card draw debuff from Ye Been Warned?
The list of positive keywords that units Pantheon, Viktor and The Arsenal can get is already a pain to keep track of, now we need to memorize a whole new list of effects that this card can remove. Can't give this card a score without knowing what it does.
The effect is strong, but the danger of putting all your eggs in one basket... is that you lose all of them if the buffed unit gets killed. This risk is made even worse by the fact that this doesn't buff the unit's stats in any way.
For 4 mana, Rainbowfish grants a unit Elusive and +2|+1, plus if the unit dies you get your Rainbowfish back which is the equivalent of drawing a card. I think Rainbowfish is better than this, and Rainbowfish only sees play in like one deck.
Sumpworks Map sees zero play at 2 mana, and my guess is that this will see zero play at 3 mana. 1/5
Looks bad. This is obviously meant as a Shen support card, and a 2 mana barrier sounds pretty good... the problem is that it's conditionally a 2 mana barrier. You need to have supported a unit first, and Shen decks don't use any support units other than Shen himself. The odds that you'll
A) Draw Shen early,
B) Play him early and get to attack with him while supporting an ally, and
C) Also draw Moral Support early enough that the mana cost decrease is meaningful...
... well, the odds of all that happening aren't great. And what's the payoff if you do jump through all those hoops successfully? Prismatic Barrier for 1 less mana is... nice, but nowhere near good enough.
Shen decks don't want this, but will Lulu decks want it? Probably not. 1/5
Very interesting card. +2|+2 and Challenger for 3 mana is a great deal, but the downside is the spell speed: Focus speed is a LOT worse than Burst speed. Focus speed means you can't use this reactively at all, so this is NOT a combat trick and should not be compared to buffs like Sharpsight.
Because this cannot be used reactively, and it can get countered by a Stun, a Frostbite, Vengeance, etc, it needs to be a total blowout when it succeeds, in order to see play. How do you get a blowout with this buff? You cast it on a unit with Scout. Ideal case scenario would be a unit like Greenfang Warden, this card would buff it to a 4|4 with Challenger and Barrier, so you can challenge two units on your attack token turn. Cast it on any other Scout unit, and you turn them into Genevieve Elmheart for the turn.
Being able to summon an Honored Lord at Focus speed is a nice bonus, but Honored Lord is not a top tier unit at 2 mana and being able to summon him at Focus speed is not worth the mana cost increase.
Overall, this may see play in Scouts, but I don't think any other archetype wants it. 2/5
At first glance, this seems like Callous Bonecrusher, only way worse. Reputation decks don't want this card; Reputation is very prone to disruption, if your Gloryseeker dies to Vile Feast and LeBlanc dies to Mystic Shot your Reputation can be heavily delayed, that's why you want cards like Callous Bonecrusher and Whispered Words which are decent even without the Reputation trigger. In a Reputation deck, this guy is terrible without the Reputation trigger and he's not even that great with the Reputation trigger.
However, that doesn't mean he's useless. He has two advantages over Callous Bonecrusher: 1. He's from Noxus so you can run him in Noxus + Freljord, and 2. He's a Yeti. If reading that makes you think of the LeBlanc Yetis archetype, then you win an internet point. I'm not very familiar with that archetype, but I think he could be good there. 3/5
Frostbites are at their strongest when used in combat (or in response to Single Combat), turning a 1-for-1 trade into a blowout in your favor. This effect is more akin to Rimetusk Shaman's effect, which frostbites an enemy unit at the next Round Start. It's not a bad effect, but it's both weaker and less versatile than Flash Freeze.
This card works best alongside followers like Trifarian Gloryseeker and Rimefang Wolf; it's hard for me to imagine any midrange Frostbite deck without Noxus, so those are your only real Challenger options (Zombie Ashe is more of a combo deck). The biggest problem I see with this card, is that Rimefang Wolf only makes sense in the heavy frostbite variant of Ashe Noxus, with Rimetusk Shaman and Rimefang Denmother; but that deck doesn't have the draw engine of Classic Ashe Noxus with Hearthguard and Trifarian Assessor, and this is not a card you want to draw when you're running on fumes. 2/5
For the Classic Ashe Noxus deck with Avarosan Hearthguard, Trifarian Assessor and Avarosan Trapper, this looks like a decent card. You need to have frostbitten 3 times before casting Frozen in Fear for it to summon a 5|5.
There's also a version of Ashe Noxus which, instead of running the Reputation package (Avarosan Hearthguard, Trifarian Assessor, Avarosan Trapper), leans more heavily on the Frostbite synergy: Rimefang Wolf, Rimetusk Shaman, Rimefang Denmother. Rimetusk Shaman and Enchanted Crystal Arrow can frostbite a bunch of units which leads to a giant Rimefang Pack (from Rimefang Denmother). It's a worse version of Ashe Noxus overall, but this card could make it viable. 4/5
With the Zenith Blade nerf and the addition of Supercharge to Shurima, the dev team is pushing Fated decks away from Targon Demacia because Overwhelm + Cataclysm + Rally = Breaks the game. They're pushing Targon + Shurima for Fated decks instead, and it's really hard to guess in a vacuum how those will work out. I think this will see play regardless because the Fated archetype wants to be able to field more than 3 different units (Pantheon, Wounded Whiteflame, Saga Seeker). 3/5
Decks that use the Reputation mechanic (Ashe Noxus, Sivir LeBlanc) already have access to Rally effects with Incisive Tactician, and because those decks run LeBlanc, they can use Mirror Image on the Tactician to rally multiple times in one round.
Training Pits advantages: It costs less mana than Tactician, it doesn't require you to have Reputation enabled beforehand, and it essentially gives you two attacks on every round in which you have the attack token.
Training Pits disadvantages: Awful as far as board control is concerned, it doesn't come with a body AND it doesn't aid your board control in any way, unlike other landmarks like Grand Plaza or The Scargrounds. Landmark removal is more common now and you're giving enemy landmark removal cards a target by including this card. Training Pits does not allow you to attack when the enemy has the attack token, because the trigger is on declaring an attack, not on striking something.
Aggro and Control decks don't want this card. When it comes to midrange, Reputation decks don't want this either because Incisive Tactician is better. Maybe some other types of midrange decks could want it, like Rumble discard decks or all-in Overwhelm decks. 2/5
I see two main uses for this card: All-in overwhelm decks could want it, and transform decks could want it. Because it's a transform effect, it benefits from Chief Nakotak. 3/5
Silence and Suppress is an interesting card, like a superior version of Purify. Silences and destroys equipment but doesn't deal with Attach units... I wonder if there will be more equipment destruction cards? Because there are no cards that specifically deal with Attach units. Obliterate gets rid of the unit and the attached unit, but Obliterate also deals with equipment. Is equipment just going to be more interactable (easier to get rid of ) than Attach units? I sure hope so, attach is kind of awful in that sense.
Good changes overall, but I don't like the Benemone buff. Prank is extremely vexing to play against.
New card type sounds ominous. Landmarks were very poorly implemented originally. Early landmarks were either entirely inviable (Vaults of Helia, University of Piltover), oppressive (Grand Plaza, Veiled Temple), or just plain toxic (Star Spring, Bandle Tree). Some early landmarks were inviable AND oppressive (Sun Disc), at different points in time.
While they did eventually settle on a formula that mostly worked in Countdown landmarks, it was a bumpy road to get here, and my guess is that we've got another bumpy road ahead with the new card type.
Gwen seems like a better Vlad. At level 2, she drains health from the enemy Nexus, but does so much more reliably, and with high power and Quick Attack making her a lot safer to attack with. She costs less mana too...
Hard to evaluate this card without understanding exactly what it does. This should remove debuffs such as Vulnerable and Stun. What about Can't Block / Immobile? Frostbite? Kindred's Mark? Mark of the Storm? Ephemeral? Disintegrate? Silence? Transformation effects like Minimorph? Stress Defense? The card draw debuff from Ye Been Warned?
The list of positive keywords that units Pantheon, Viktor and The Arsenal can get is already a pain to keep track of, now we need to memorize a whole new list of effects that this card can remove. Can't give this card a score without knowing what it does.
The effect is strong, but the danger of putting all your eggs in one basket... is that you lose all of them if the buffed unit gets killed. This risk is made even worse by the fact that this doesn't buff the unit's stats in any way.
For 4 mana, Rainbowfish grants a unit Elusive and +2|+1, plus if the unit dies you get your Rainbowfish back which is the equivalent of drawing a card. I think Rainbowfish is better than this, and Rainbowfish only sees play in like one deck.
Sumpworks Map sees zero play at 2 mana, and my guess is that this will see zero play at 3 mana. 1/5
Shen likes this. 3/5
Looks bad. This is obviously meant as a Shen support card, and a 2 mana barrier sounds pretty good... the problem is that it's conditionally a 2 mana barrier. You need to have supported a unit first, and Shen decks don't use any support units other than Shen himself. The odds that you'll
A) Draw Shen early,
B) Play him early and get to attack with him while supporting an ally, and
C) Also draw Moral Support early enough that the mana cost decrease is meaningful...
... well, the odds of all that happening aren't great. And what's the payoff if you do jump through all those hoops successfully? Prismatic Barrier for 1 less mana is... nice, but nowhere near good enough.
Shen decks don't want this, but will Lulu decks want it? Probably not. 1/5
Very interesting card. +2|+2 and Challenger for 3 mana is a great deal, but the downside is the spell speed: Focus speed is a LOT worse than Burst speed. Focus speed means you can't use this reactively at all, so this is NOT a combat trick and should not be compared to buffs like Sharpsight.
Because this cannot be used reactively, and it can get countered by a Stun, a Frostbite, Vengeance, etc, it needs to be a total blowout when it succeeds, in order to see play. How do you get a blowout with this buff? You cast it on a unit with Scout. Ideal case scenario would be a unit like Greenfang Warden, this card would buff it to a 4|4 with Challenger and Barrier, so you can challenge two units on your attack token turn. Cast it on any other Scout unit, and you turn them into Genevieve Elmheart for the turn.
Being able to summon an Honored Lord at Focus speed is a nice bonus, but Honored Lord is not a top tier unit at 2 mana and being able to summon him at Focus speed is not worth the mana cost increase.
Overall, this may see play in Scouts, but I don't think any other archetype wants it. 2/5
Total trash in Daybreak decks, but maybe Soraka wants this? Probably not. 1/5
At first glance, this seems like Callous Bonecrusher, only way worse. Reputation decks don't want this card; Reputation is very prone to disruption, if your Gloryseeker dies to Vile Feast and LeBlanc dies to Mystic Shot your Reputation can be heavily delayed, that's why you want cards like Callous Bonecrusher and Whispered Words which are decent even without the Reputation trigger. In a Reputation deck, this guy is terrible without the Reputation trigger and he's not even that great with the Reputation trigger.
However, that doesn't mean he's useless. He has two advantages over Callous Bonecrusher: 1. He's from Noxus so you can run him in Noxus + Freljord, and 2. He's a Yeti. If reading that makes you think of the LeBlanc Yetis archetype, then you win an internet point. I'm not very familiar with that archetype, but I think he could be good there. 3/5
Frostbites are at their strongest when used in combat (or in response to Single Combat), turning a 1-for-1 trade into a blowout in your favor. This effect is more akin to Rimetusk Shaman's effect, which frostbites an enemy unit at the next Round Start. It's not a bad effect, but it's both weaker and less versatile than Flash Freeze.
This card works best alongside followers like Trifarian Gloryseeker and Rimefang Wolf; it's hard for me to imagine any midrange Frostbite deck without Noxus, so those are your only real Challenger options (Zombie Ashe is more of a combo deck). The biggest problem I see with this card, is that Rimefang Wolf only makes sense in the heavy frostbite variant of Ashe Noxus, with Rimetusk Shaman and Rimefang Denmother; but that deck doesn't have the draw engine of Classic Ashe Noxus with Hearthguard and Trifarian Assessor, and this is not a card you want to draw when you're running on fumes. 2/5
For the Classic Ashe Noxus deck with Avarosan Hearthguard, Trifarian Assessor and Avarosan Trapper, this looks like a decent card. You need to have frostbitten 3 times before casting Frozen in Fear for it to summon a 5|5.
There's also a version of Ashe Noxus which, instead of running the Reputation package (Avarosan Hearthguard, Trifarian Assessor, Avarosan Trapper), leans more heavily on the Frostbite synergy: Rimefang Wolf, Rimetusk Shaman, Rimefang Denmother. Rimetusk Shaman and Enchanted Crystal Arrow can frostbite a bunch of units which leads to a giant Rimefang Pack (from Rimefang Denmother). It's a worse version of Ashe Noxus overall, but this card could make it viable. 4/5
No matter how many stuns you add, Yasuo decks still fall apart if your opponent kills Yasuo. 2/5
With the Zenith Blade nerf and the addition of Supercharge to Shurima, the dev team is pushing Fated decks away from Targon Demacia because Overwhelm + Cataclysm + Rally = Breaks the game. They're pushing Targon + Shurima for Fated decks instead, and it's really hard to guess in a vacuum how those will work out. I think this will see play regardless because the Fated archetype wants to be able to field more than 3 different units (Pantheon, Wounded Whiteflame, Saga Seeker). 3/5
I guess it's cool to include this in a meme Demacia + Freljord Warmother's Call deck alongside Cithria Lady of Clouds and Tianna Crownguard. 1/5
Decks that use the Reputation mechanic (Ashe Noxus, Sivir LeBlanc) already have access to Rally effects with Incisive Tactician, and because those decks run LeBlanc, they can use Mirror Image on the Tactician to rally multiple times in one round.
Training Pits advantages: It costs less mana than Tactician, it doesn't require you to have Reputation enabled beforehand, and it essentially gives you two attacks on every round in which you have the attack token.
Training Pits disadvantages: Awful as far as board control is concerned, it doesn't come with a body AND it doesn't aid your board control in any way, unlike other landmarks like Grand Plaza or The Scargrounds. Landmark removal is more common now and you're giving enemy landmark removal cards a target by including this card. Training Pits does not allow you to attack when the enemy has the attack token, because the trigger is on declaring an attack, not on striking something.
Aggro and Control decks don't want this card. When it comes to midrange, Reputation decks don't want this either because Incisive Tactician is better. Maybe some other types of midrange decks could want it, like Rumble discard decks or all-in Overwhelm decks. 2/5
Drakehound doesn't have 5 power though
I see two main uses for this card: All-in overwhelm decks could want it, and transform decks could want it. Because it's a transform effect, it benefits from Chief Nakotak. 3/5
Disintegrate looks to me like the strongest card of the entire set. It's definitely going to make an impact in the meta.