The Comprehensive Echoes of the Infinite Preview

 

Dimensional Weaponsmith

A 3-mana dragon naturally brings the discussion to Dragon Warrior, but is Weaponsmith a good card in the deck? The archetype currently runs no weapons, so Weaponsmith may only act as a handbuff card. Buffing attack has consistently been an underwhelming effect in the game’s history, as it does not make our minions more resilient to removal.

On a 3-mana 2/5 that has no immediate impact on the board, the package is not that enticing. This is weaker than a non-forged Muscle-o-Tron. It is barely better than Darkfallen Neophyte, which never saw play. Dragon Warrior has an assortment of quality cards, and it is getting other new options as well that seem more appealing. We think Weaponsmith likely gets skipped.

Score: 1

Time-Twisted Seer

A 1-drop that is not really a 1-drop, as it is more of an enabler piece for spell damage synergies. While a 1-mana 1/3 dragon is not a terrible choice for Dragon Warrior, it is difficult to leverage the card in an aggressive deck that does not run many spells.

Our immediate thoughts go to Arcane Mage, which now has access to a significantly cheaper source of spell damage than the terrible Algeth’ar Instructor. It is peculiar how these cards got printed within two months of each other. Nevertheless, Seer is significantly better, even though the self damage requirement makes it tricky to activate in the presence of Sindragosa and Malygos. We might need to play Wild Pyromancer before casting Azure Oathstone to get the desired effect from our resurrected Seers.

Should a viable activation solution be found, then Arcane Mage’s late-game win condition will become far more reliable and easier to execute. We will give this one a chance.

Score: 2

Bitter End

This spell is awful at its baseline. It is a worse Frost Nova, as it only freezes three enemy minions, for a whopping 5 mana. Its bonus effect is dependent on the minions being damaged, which requires some ‘whirlwind’ effect to make work.

We cannot see this spell being utilized in Warrior when it has superior and unconditional AOE at its disposal. For Mage, this is also highly questionable, as the class does not have the whirlwind effects to activate it.

The only possible utilization for this spell is in an Imbue Mage deck, where we can hero power to damage the opponent’s board before casting Bitter End, making it a scuffed 7-mana asymmetrical board clear. Considering Imbue Mage has never been close to competitive viability, we doubt this becomes a thing even post-rotation. This spell would have been fine at 4 mana, which is usually a sign it is unplayable.

Score: 1

Flames of Infinity

A removal secret that hits the opponent’s biggest minion in play at the end of their turn, which means it always activates if the opponent has any board.

Regardless of the effect, we just do not see a point in secrets when they are not aggressively supported. A secret being thrown into a mini-set without any other support is either a card that was thrown in to fill the quota, or one that was simply made to fulfill the “infinite” flavor of the set with no regards to gameplay. Considering the state of the Mage class, this one stings.

Score: 1

Eternal Firebolt

This card theoretically provides infinite removal and life gain to either Priest or Mage, the latter gaining access to a heal thanks to the dual class mechanic. If Firebolt kills a minion, we get a new copy of it at the end of the turn. We cannot cast two Firebolts on the same turn with a single copy.

This card is nothing to write home about. Eternal Firebolt can be compared to Warlock’s ‘Health’ Drink, which is a fringe survivability card in the class. Realistically, there are not many opportunities to cast multiple instances of an inefficient removal spell during the average Hearthstone game. The lifesteal effect is mostly important in aggressive matchups, yet this is where it is most difficult to get the most value out of additional Firebolt copies. ‘Health’ Drink is not a great card in aggressive matchups. We do not expect this one to be either.

Score: 1

Fragment of Nothing

Fragment works on spells targeting either friendly or enemy minions, so we can pair it with removal or buffs. Note that it activates off spells being cast on it too.

We think this is an interesting draw engine with a potentially high ceiling with the right support. It is just that this support might be difficult to find. Mage barely has any cheap spells that can work with Fragment of Nothing in a reasonable window of time. Priest looks like a stronger home for the card, as it has far more cheap spells, including buffs, that Fragment of Nothing can receive.

In addition to spells such as Power Word: Shield, Power Word: Barrier, Nightshade Tea and Orbital Halo, Priest can also generate 0-cost Bandages with Careless Crafter. We can envision Fragment of Nothing going off in a similar way to Gadgetzan Auctioneer.

The question of what we are drawing towards is less important here, as a win condition is not difficult to find if we have the capability of drawing our entire deck quickly and consistently. Fragment of Nothing is an all-in build-around card. It either sits in the collection and does absolutely nothing, or it becomes the cornerstone draw engine of a Miracle Priest deck. No in-between.

We are sceptical of an immediate impact, but we should remember this card in the future, depending on how many cheap spells Priest gains access to in subsequent sets to replace some of the stuff that is about to rotate.

Score: 2

Wings of Eternity

A 1-mana spell that generates a minion with a Dark Gift is clearly good enough for constructed play, judging from experience. A Dark Gift is roughly worth 2 mana, so we are gaining a mana advantage once we play the minion we discover.

Wings of Eternity is not a spell we are looking to play on turn 1, but we could still roll it early and hope to hit a cheap dragon that helps us contest board. Later in the game, it scales well, as we can choose to discover a higher value dragon in control matchups. This is the kind of value card that the Priest class should appreciate. Giving us some flashbacks of Draconic Studies, albeit weaker.

Score: 2

Voodoo Totem

This might be the most useless card in the set, or at least the one that irks us more than any other. A 2-mana 0/4 that generates random garbage is not something we ever want to play. Totems are weak unless they are massively pushed or aggressively supported through synergies. The reason is that they are free value trades for any enemy minion on the board, so they have to offer something significant to be worthwhile.

Neither Priest nor Shaman have any interest in this totem because they should have better options for value generation and this totem offers no survivability in faster matchups. Thoroughly unplayable.

Score: 1

For All Time

This spell might get a bit too much hate. Admittedly, it is not a very good card in Shaman, as the class often looks to proactively fight for board even when its playstyle is slower and more defensive-minded. There is a chance this spell sees play in Shaman if it finds a way to leverage overload in a slower strategy, but we do not see it happening with the current card pool.

In contrast, Priest should appreciate this spell. It offers something it currently does not possess in its toolkit, a reliable board clear for early game minions. Priest has late-game mass removal, but it sorely lacks early game survivability.

For All Time cleans up almost every minion in the game with a cost of 3 or below, as well as most 4-drops, making it a reliable reset button on the opponent’s aggression.

The overload limits our turn 5, but the total cost of the card can be considered fair and is comparable to previously playable constructed cards. It reminds us of Clean the Scene. Clean the Scene was a stronger card, but the format was also stronger back in Castle Nathria. For All Time has a lower ceiling but a higher floor, coming down a turn earlier without the need of activation to reach its max potential.

We do not think this card will see play immediately, as Control Priest has bigger problems, but if the archetype is competitive in the next year, it is likely to run this card. Pairs well with Shadow Word: Ruin to have a solution for any board.

Score: 2