The Comprehensive Descent of Dragons Preview

Sand Breath

In a pool of very strong dragon breaths, this might be the weakest one. Sand Breath can be a strong enabler of value trades in a midrange dragon deck, but the issue with this card is that it requires you to have a minion on the board. It doesn’t do anything if you’ve fallen behind, which is something most dragon breaths excel at. At 1-mana, it’s easily playable, but it’s certainly not the card that convinces you that Dragon Paladin is real.

Score: 2

Bronze Explorer

Very nice stats for the cost, much like the Hunter equivalent, but the lifesteal means that this body scales hard with buffs, which is a signature strength of the class. Bronze Explorer is a staple for any Dragon Paladin deck, but a good card on its own.

Score: 3

Amber Watcher

Another overtuned minion. Amber Watcher pays a single stat penalty compared to a vanilla 5-drop for a targeted heal worth 8. That’s just very powerful and makes Antique Healbot, a card that’s still played in Wild today, pale in comparison. A staple in dragon decks, but a minion that any Paladin deck interested in a heal will strongly consider.

Score: 3

Righteous Cause

Not the worst side quest, but not one that fills us with confidence. The main issue of this card is that it may be awkward to utilize to its full potential. You might run into an awkward turn where you are about to complete the quest but only have 1 minion to play. In addition, this is a card that’s supposed to go into Aggro decks, but these decks aren’t fond of slow payoffs such as this one. Drawing this card off the top is painful.

Score: 2

Sky Claw

Solid minion for floody mech decks. Can be very annoying to deal if it’s played into a wide board and the opponent doesn’t have an easy way to kill the main body. Paladin has usually been the class to utilize a few big mechs alongside Kangor’s Endless Army, but Sky Claw promotes a very different style. We’ll see if it works out.

Score: 3

Lightforged Zealot

The first payoff card for a “Pure Paladin” deck, a deck that only runs Paladin class cards. Essentially, this minion is a “free” 4/2 on top of your Truesilver turn. Not bad, but is it worth giving up neutral minions for this kind of payoff? It isn’t, because the condition means your deck is terrible. Take 5 minutes to build a Pure Paladin deck and you’ll see. It’s grim.

Score: 1

Sanctuary

The only quest that costs 2 mana for the simple reason that if it cost 1, it would be completely broken. Unfortunately, just adding 1 mana to its cost turns it from broken to weak. The main issue is that you’ve spent a card for 2 mana that relies on your opponent not hitting your face to activate, but the card does nothing to stop your opponent from hitting your face. Sanctuary is far more likely to activate in slower matchups since the opponent is less likely to develop a board in the early game and hit your face, but in these matchups, you’re not that desperate for a taunt. Sanctuary also gets worse and worse as you reach the later turns.

Score: 1

Lightforged Crusader

The “big” payoff card for Pure Paladin, Crusader certainly looks cool. A War Golem that generates 5 random cards seems powerful… if we were in Rastakhan’s Rumble. This payoff is laughable compared to what other decks should be able to do in Descent of Dragons. Highlander decks, Galakrond decks and Dragon decks carry stronger, more consistent rewards while paying a much smaller price for them. This has to be a bait.

Score: 1

Dragonrider Talritha

A solid 3-drop with decent upside, Talritha should be a staple for any midrange Dragon Paladin deck. Even though the card may not look flashy and seems a little boring compared to some of the legendary minions shown in other classes, a +3/+3 buff is a lot to attach on a 3 mana 3/3.

Score: 3

Nozdormu the Timeless

One of the hardest cards to evaluate because it’s so unique. Nozdormu could help entirely new archetypes break into the scene and carry them into a competitive status, which is the definition of a meta defining card. However, it can quickly fall off into meme status and not be seen at all. Specifically, a Big Paladin deck abusing Nozdormu with Call to Adventure could end up being successful, but this shell may have not received enough upgrades in this expansion to compete. Don’t hold your breath.

Score: 2

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Final Thoughts

Descent of Dragons Set Rank: 9^th

Overall Power Ranking: 8^th

Continuing the tradition of getting screwed over this year, Paladin managed to get a weak set in one of the most broken expansions ever. That’s quite an achievement. Last time, Tip the Scales was enough to cheese Paladin into a few good weeks during Saviors of Uldum before being thoroughly exposed. After that, Highlander Paladin got boosted by wild cards that helped it stay afloat. Now, the class is in a bad spot entering Descent of Dragons. Can it pull another rabbit out of the hat?

It feels like a lot is riding on Paladin’s utilization of dragons. If it can’t find a strong midrange deck, and if it can’t solidify a Highlander build in the new meta, it’s going to struggle to find a competitive deck. Outside of those two main pathways, it’s got a few Hail Mary’s left.

Aggro Paladin. Mech Paladin. Big Paladin. Pure Paladin. None of these archetypes inspire confidence in the face of the insane power we can see in other classes. Perhaps, one of these decks will surprise us. Perhaps, Pure Paladin will make us look stupid in a few days.

Or perhaps, Uther is headed for a long vacation. Well met, friend.