Lock On
A soft removal effect, one that you would never consider running outside of a synergy package. The issue with soft removal that only manipulates stats is that you need another card or action to remove the threat. Shaman doesn’t have a damaging hero power, which makes it worse compared to a class like Mage.
The discount on a starship launch is the main reason to run the card, but a discount still requires us to develop enough starship pieces to make the launch worthwhile. Considering how weak this effect is, how reactive it is, and how little impact it may have at the early stages of the game, we’re not convinced.
Score: 1
Missile Pod
Missile Pod is a small starship piece that can help us clear enemy boards, though 1 damage isn’t much to handle most board-based threats. The AOE triggering at launch is nice, and the minion does work reasonably well in combination with Lock On.
But how impactful is this effect? A starship deck is not likely to hold on to pieces to play at the right moment. If we have mana to spend, we will be playing Missile Pod on an empty board. The launch of a starship is also not likely to occur at the most convenient time for the AOE to matter, which means this card could be fancier than it looks.
Taking that into consideration, how much better is Missile Pod compared to Dimensional Core? Arguably, the latter is stronger in the early game, unless we’re specifically dealing with Zerglings. Even if we did make a good case for Missile Pod, the fact this question isn’t a slam dunk, makes us wonder whether it’s good enough to be competitive. We know Dimensional Core, at its buffed iteration, is not good enough to be played anywhere.
Score: 1
Siege Tank
The baseline version of this card is completely unplayable. A 5 mana 5/5 that essentially casts a worse Deadly Shot is not something we ever want to play. The upgraded version of the card isn’t much better. The effect is still random. The overkill damage being directed face isn’t something to write off in a second, but it’s not something you can reliably build around to win the game. This doesn’t work with Shudderblock either.
To us, it seems like a luxury card that a Starship Shaman may not want even if it becomes competitive. After all, who wants to draw this card on turn 3 with Lift Off?
Score: 1
Final Thoughts: Another timid Terran set. Ironically, we think the neutral Terran set is good enough to potentially create a disruptive Shaman deck centered on Shudderblock and Ghost, but we’re not sure any of these class cards will be involved, as they are not needed to make it work.