The hype-train was derailed this week as the launch of Shattered Destiny was pushed back another week. While this is unfortunate, it's also understandable considering just how important the launch of this upcoming patch will be to perceptions about how consistently and effectively Hex can implement new material. Despite this, Shattered Destiny spoilers have been flowing consistently on the main site, as well as Twitch and Twitter. The set plays on themes that were established in Shard of Fate, empowering strategies that revolve around the four races: humans, dwarves, orcs, and shin'hare. But hidden among the tunneling rabbits and noble knights of Entrath are a slew of other cards that are just begging to be built around.
If I had to do a list of my favorite cards from Shards of Fate, Zombie Plague would be up there. I mean, who doesn't dream of overrunning their opponent with an army of slavering, brain-hungry minions? While zombies are a popular archetype in other games, they are separated from their Necrotic cousins in Hex from being a main race. But just because they're outside the spotlight doesn't mean you can't win games with them, and Shattered Destiny gives zombie fans some love with Izydor, a Goblin whose affinity for necromancy is deadly! Well... deadlier than normal. Any zombies you manage to summon from your Plague, or perhaps from a Corrupted Afterlife gain Lethal, meaning any damage they deal will be enough to take down their opponent with them. Once per game you can use Izydor's ability to create a couple minions out of dead troops (even your opponents) to bolster your field. The ability requires 5 resources, which can be a bit restrictive. Add the fact that this Goblin's four-resource cost has him competing with the likes of Vampire King and Xarlox and you may find yourself omitting Izydor in favor of something else in generic Blood control decks. But for dedicated Zombie decks, he fits right in the curve. He's also very strong in draft, where you might actually have a use for those 13th pick Determined Zombies that would otherwise litter your reserves.
It didn't take long for people to start crying "power creep" when this card was spoiled. Her combat stats (3/3) were actually boosted from the version leaked at GenCon, where she had one less point of toughness. Now for only two resources you get a 3/3 with Steadfast that prevents your troops from being bogged down from exhaust effects like Menacing Gralk and Wind Whisperer. The double Wild Threshold means you'll likely want to only be running the green shards in your deck, but with all the other aggressive Wild cards, a mono-Wild violent beatdown deck could make a serious impact on the constructed metagame. Constantina is a Unique troop though, which means that while an army of 3/3s might be something you want, you can never have more than a single copy of her on the field.
Archon of Nulzaan is one of those cards you might have to read twice. A 4/4 for 6 is nothing special, but the tactical use of his search ability combined with a diversity of the Gems in both Major and Minor Sockets can give you an answer for multiple situations. In Sapphire decks you can set it up so three of the Archon's can fly, while one is equipped with the Quick Gem for a savvy combat trick. You can also search up versions of the Archon that have effects granted from other cards, like Spirit Dance or Replicator's Gambit, for an even more explosive play. With all the new threshold fixing Shards in Shattered Destiny, it's no longer as crazy to run three or more thresholds in your deck, increasing your Archon specialization options. The ability isn't strong in Highlander unfortunately, but that's something I'll forgive in my quest to scoop up four copies of this guy ASAP!
While this guy is a dwarf, he probably won't be played in your typical Volcannon style Dwarf decks. Sabotage was a card from Shards with lots of cool design but little support. Now with a stick that can keep on infiltrating your opponent's deck and loading it with Booby Traps, the chance their draw step will be both dead and deadly increases. His attacks won't kill your opponent outright, but combined with deck destruction cards like Chronic Madness or gem effects like the Prime Ruby of Intensity and Prime Sapphire of Subterfuge, the traps can flow to the top and accelerate your opponent's demise.
Hope you guys had a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
No comments:
Post a Comment