Cindersword
This weapon is crazy when it is activated. A 1 mana 4/2 weapon represents insane damage to mana ratio. The condition makes Cindersword nearly impossible to activate on turn 1, but this is not too important. There are multiple early game cards that generate Dark Gifts available to the class, which should ensure Cindersword is consistently active by turns 3-4.
From there, the skies are the limit. Weapon Rogue could emerge, with the potential of finding Cindersword alongside Dread Corsair through Raiding Party. Sharp Shipment looks absolutely disgusting as a Cindersword follow-up.
A Cindersword/Dark Gift package could find its way to other Rogue decks, such as Ashamane Rogue. The archetype already runs Creature of Madness as part of its core build, while Nightmare Fuel is not too bad an option either. The archetype has some issues closing out games, so this could help.
We will be very surprised if this card does not make an instant impact somewhere. How many cards deal 8 damage for 1 mana? Not many in the game’s history are so lethal with such relative ease.
Score: 4
Smoke Bomb
This card will always offer one minion of each type. Both combo and stealth minions represent small pools, with the combo pool being of very high quality, as seen with Lucky Comet. Smoke Bomb discovers a Dark Gift minion for 2 mana, essentially costing a net 0 mana, as Dark Gifts are worth 2 mana.
But this does not matter too much. What matters is that it activates Cindersword, along with Creature of Madness and Nightmare Fuel, making the 1 mana weapon consistently active by turns 3-4. We want that, so we will happily play Smoke Bomb in our decks. We believe it might even be stronger than Nightmare Fuel in a Cindersword deck, as it is cleaner to use on turn 3 alongside the weapon.
Score: 3
Everburning Phoenix
Frostwolf Warmaster was a neutral 4 mana 3/3 with the same text box, but without the deathrattle. It saw some play in Rogue, as the class does tend to play a flurry of cards in single turns, fully discounting the minion with relative consistency.
However, Everburning Phoenix looks weaker than Warmaster. It may have a deathrattle that returns it to our hand, representing more “value” over time, but these cards are about frontloading maximum stats in the shortest period, with the intention of taking over the board. A persistently small body that becomes more difficult to discount as we use up resources does not seem that appealing. If Phoenix had a 3/3 body, we would be more interested, as it would be big enough to matter within a single use. The deathrattle needs to be extra gravy. It is not.
Score: 1
Final Thoughts: Cindersword is one of the best cards in the set and should spark a flurry of experimentations in the class. Watch out for Weapon Rogue’s return, or Dark Gift packages being splashed across other archetypes.
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