hearthstone Furbolg Mossbinder, Evasion, Leyline Manipulator Reveals: Kobolds & Catacombs

[Aleco 252]

The new Rogue secret draws some serious comparisons to Ice Block.

Three new K&C cards have cropped up over the past few hours, including a beefy Elemental for Mage, a neutral card with Elemental implications, and a very exciting new secret for Rogue:

This card draws immediate comparisons to Ice Block, which is great news Rogue fans and bad news for everyone else. Though Evasion isn't nearly as powerful as the Secret it hearkens to, this card still has a very powerful text box and I fully expect it find a home in several non-aggressive Rogue decks. Miracle Rogue has seriously fallen by the wayside in the past few months, could Evasion be the missing piece that buys enough time for Valeera the Hollow to take over the game?

In a class which is themed around Elementals in the upcoming expansion, a 4 mana 4/5 Elemental with upside looks to be an important curve-filler for what could potentially be a strong new archetype. Even if the upside on this card is limited, playing this into Servant of Kalimos on curve will earn you some serious value while developing a threatening board. I don't expect this card to make a splash in Quest Mage, but if Elemental Mage is a player in the upcoming meta then this card will surely make the cut.

The early front-runner to win the "Silliest Name of the Set" award, Furbolg Mossbinder is a card that I don't expect to make a big splash on the competitive ladder. The card's Battlecry ability unfortunately doesn't trigger cards like Servant of Kalimos, which means that the main reason you'd play it is to transform a card with a negative Deathrattle (such as Rattling Rascal) into something that won't benefit your opponent. This also seems like a great curve-filler in the Arena.

Which of these cards are you most (or least) excited to try out on the ladder? Let us know in the comment section, and be sure to check out our Kobolds and Catacombs hub for more information on the upcoming set.

[Caldyrvan 377]

42 minutes ago, Aleco said:

and a very exciting new secret for Rogue:

Three words I was hoping they will never show up in the same sentence :D But I already mentioned that I don't believe that giving rogue secrets will do any good. At least it might help to punch a few more exodia mages ;)

Leyline Manipulator: I'm really looking forward to play a nice elemental deck :)

That Fulborg thing: What Aleco said.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Caldyrvan

[FanOfValeera 253]

Leyline Manipulator has a synergy with spellstone too, which also has a synergy with elementals.

Rogue secret might be whats needed to give miracle rogue some durability.

[VaraTreledees 138]

I think the evasion is more comparable to ice barrier then ice block.  Yes going immune is nice, but really it is just a psedu heal.  How much damage does it have to prevent to actually be good?  Holy light sees no play, costs 2 and heals for 6, but healing is more valuable in rogue, so probably in that neighborhood.  That seems hard to accomplish, plus they can just boop your board if you go immune, most rogues have minion based strategies, unlike most mage decks that run iceblock.  I personally don't think this will see a lot of play in standard miracle rogue.  It provides no value and no proactivity, 2 things highly valued.  For the more combo oriented miracle rogues, like say maly, it's going to be great though.

 

The mage elemental is insane.  As long as you can reasonably get a single discount, the card is broken strong.  Definitely seeing play if mage is viable, specifically ele mage.

 

The last card is pack filler.  Not enough stats for it's Mana cost, since you are losing stats when you transform.

Edited November 29, 2017 by VaraTreledees

[Yridaa 490]

5 minutes ago, VaraTreledees said:

I think the evasion is more comparable to ice barrier then ice block.  Yes going immune is nice, but really it is just a psedu heal. 

If Rogues get a card that says "At the start of the opponent's turn, deal x damage to all characters." then this secret can be combo'd to give yourself an extra turn. Especially if you're planning to set up something like a vanish if the opponent has board control.

 

Of course that's all just wishful thinking, but triggering your own secrets on your terms definitely seem to have the "cunning Rogue" vibe that the class is.

[VaraTreledees 138]

1 hour ago, Yridaa said:

If Rogues get a card that says "At the start of the opponent's turn, deal x damage to all characters." then this secret can be combo'd to give yourself an extra turn. Especially if you're planning to set up something like a vanish if the opponent has board control.

 

Of course that's all just wishful thinking, but triggering your own secrets on your terms definitely seem to have the "cunning Rogue" vibe that the class is.

I guess, why wouldn't you just vanish that turn though?  Why wait, and play 2 unnecessary cards.  Especially since you don't want to vanish minions you just damaged to fully heal them.

[Bozonik 94]

So you simulacrum two sorceror’s apprentices. Then you play Leyline Manipulator. Then on Turn 10, play your 2-mana sorceror’s apprentice, the two 0-mana ones, Antonidas, leaving you with 1-mana to play your molten reflection and start firing off free fireballs. Who needs quest...

[Shine 144]

wait isnt the furbolg incredibly good to cast evolve effects on? just change your 1/1 totem into a 6/6 and evolve the furbolg into a 6 cost for a total of say 6 mana..

[Bozonik 94]

28 minutes ago, Shine said:

wait isnt the furbolg incredibly good to cast evolve effects on? just change your 1/1 totem into a 6/6 and evolve the furbolg into a 6 cost for a total of say 6 mana..

True, but that’s not much different to doing the same thing with the 1/1 from big-time racketeer which never saw any play. Why evolve one 6-mana 1/1 when you can evolve three 5-mana 2/2s I guess.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Bozonik

[Strongpoint 74]

Mage card looks more broken than Drakonid Operative. I played enough Ethereal Peddlers to know how powerful this kind of effect can be. But this has a tribal tag and discounts good cards instead of burgled nonsense. Playing discounted card(s) on turn 5 is also more effective than doing this on turn 4.

 

[Kuster 10]

You can't write this ***** up. 

>Guys, ice block might be a problem, we have to keep an eye on it and potentially move it to the hall of fame 
>Great, let's print other versions of it

Meanwhile, no new cards to interact with secrets are printed. You know, because multiplayer games are at its best when each player is doing his own thing, not giving a crap about what the other one is doing, and eventually someone wins.

More than ever they're pushing me not to buy the promotional pre-release bundle. No card has made me go "wow, I REALLY want to play this", they've given secrets (the worst thing in the game) to yet another class, RNG effects aren't getting less prevalent, the expansion theme is boring AF, who the hell gives a flying **** about kobolds? More worthless class legendaries, weapons included, recruit mechanic (because big priest wasn't annoying enough), bonus mechanic (because **** skill, praise RNG) and while we're at it let's bring joust back, of all things.

Seriously, I'd have to try really hard to **** up as much as they do. Is there ever going to be a time they try doing what most players are asking them to do? Just once. If it fails they can go right back on working to make control hunter viable by 2078. 

[Yridaa 490]

1 hour ago, Kuster said:

You can't write this ***** up. 

>Guys, ice block might be a problem, we have to keep an eye on it and potentially move it to the hall of fame 
>Great, let's print other versions of it

This has been Blizzard's forte ever since WoW entered alpha.

[Caldyrvan 377]

Someone compared HS with a slot machine, the difference is, the slot machine has at least a small chance to give you a lot of money. HS is only taking it.

My first thought was they are just idiots not really thinking about the cards they create but maybe they are just smart and they totally stopped caring about it but creating sets to maximize cards pack purchases. 

Am I to pessimistic?

[Bozonik 94]

2 hours ago, Caldyrvan said:

but creating sets to maximize cards pack purchases. 

Well, that’s kinda natural, they’re a company making a game to make money.

In an ideal world the created set that maximises pack purchases should be the set that maximises fun playing the game too (why would we spend more on a set that is less fun than one we would spend less on?). If that’s not the case, it’s as much our fault as theirs.

[Caldyrvan 377]

I never said I have problem with them making money. And of course a company wants to optimize the profit but to max it out at all cost is not a road they should be on. Blizz has a history of providing great games but when I look back at hmm... 1-2 past years they more and more often traded quality for more profit.

Additionally they do things like in HotS, making gem only skins then in a well worded statement they try to convince us we wanted it that way and they are doing us a favor by confining us(if we badly want those skins)  to give them more money.

We may not see that happen soon but on the long run it will hurt them more than it profits them now.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Caldyrvan

[Bozonik 94]

1 hour ago, Caldyrvan said:

1-2 past years they more and more often traded quality for more profit.

Not sure how you have come to that conclusion, but still, I would have thought more quality should lead to more profit, not vice versa. If you’re suggesting players will spend more following an update that reduces the quality of the game, then there’s something wrong with the players. If you’re suggesting Blizzard are putting less effort into updates in the hope that players will spend the same anyway, is there evidence of that (ie. are Blizzard employing less people on the game’s development than before?).

 

[Caldyrvan 377]

I didn't want to start a trial, do I need an advocate? :D

You are definitely right if we (players) keep paying even though we might think it's quality has decreased it's our own fault. Maybe it's just a reflection of my own feelings as well as the expression of feelings of players in several media/social platforms. Does this make it true? Maybe not. But a growing dissatisfaction can't be a good sign either.

Employing more people doesn't ensure quality. Often companies do it to ensure the job gets done faster. Additionally (and call this a bad attitude or not) the majority of the customers do not care about a companies' employees (even thought that matters, I know). They want to enjoy a product they bought and they don't want to feel bad or have second thoughts when spending their money.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Caldyrvan