Emberroot Destroyer
This 3-drop can help us control the board when paired with self-damaging effects. The issue is that Warlock does not have access to mana refresh effects that can turn Destroyer into a serious swing turn. Its best use cases are pairing it with Flame Imp or Spirit Bomb, but what shell would want to play these cards, or save them for an Emberroot Destroyer turn?
In theory, this minion fits into a Pain Warlock deck, but support for this archetype has long rotated. The main problems is that Destroyer is weak in slow matchups, and weak on-curve. We cannot just drop it to the board and threaten a swing the next turn. Dealing 3 damage to a minion is very easy for almost every opponent on turn 3. On turn 5 with Life Tap, it is not an acceptable play.
Score: 1
Shadowflame Stalker
Stalker has two main synergies. The obvious one is in a Wallow Warlock deck. An additional Dark Gift resource means Wallow’s consistency in the late game increases. Note that Wallow does not get buffed twice by this discover effect. It is a nice 4-drop to develop just before playing Overgrown Horror on turn 5, as Horror will discount both copies.
The other synergy is found in a Demon Warlock deck. Since it discovers two demons, it is a nice value card to play in a deck with Foreboding Flame or even Archimonde.
Demons are a minion pool of relatively good quality, but Stalker’s weak body makes it a very slow card we can only see being played in decks that heavily leverage its synergies. Currently, Demon and Wallow Warlock are nowhere near competitive play, so we doubt it makes an instant impact.
Score: 2
Conflagrate
Dealing 5 damage for 1 mana is a very good damage to mana ratio, helping us to deal with mid-sized threats easily. The drawback is that if we use it to clear an enemy minion, we draw them a card. However, if it means we deny the opponent from establishing initiative or pressuring us further, this is a worthwhile tradeoff, especially in aggressive matchups where a faster deck will lose the game once it loses the board, no matter how many cards it has in hand.
What makes this card extra useful is its versatility, as we can target our own minion with it to draw a card. That is not worth doing if we lose control of the board, but if we use it on valuable deathrattles, we can turn this drawback into an upside and benefit twice.
The first thought will be eggs, but a more immediate role can be found in current Control Warlock decks that run Ancient of Yore. Conflagrate allows us to conveniently sack an Ancient of Yore with a Cursed Campaign buff without needing to spend mana on an Eternal Layover. This combo is available once an Ancient wakes up, costs 4 mana, draws us 3 cards and gains us 10 armor on the execution turn, which is incredible.
Considering that Wheel/Starship Warlock have a few flexible slots that are open for competition, this looks like a no brainer.
Score: 3
Final Thoughts: Warlock’s current strategies are receiving a strong and versatile removal/combo card in Conflagrate. We do not think the class is incentivized enough to do other things here.
Be the first to comment