The Comprehensive Reign of the Black Empire Preview

Shadow Sculpt

If we were to speculate on the merit of a 1-mana spell that generated an Assemble minion, we would rate it highly. A 1-mana spell that discovers a minion is borderline. However, in this case, we are creating a high-quality minion. Assembled minions are superior to baseline minions, making the mana cost justified.

Shadow Sculpt has the same net cost but banks a discount through a higher initial cost. In many situations, this would make the spell better than a 1-mana spell without the discount, as it allows the Shaman to swing the game more dramatically with a discounted minion. Late game, the difference between the effects would matter less.

But in the case of Mug Shaman, Shadow Sculpt is perfect, as it comes online exactly on the turn the reworked Mug hero power is activating, allowing us to play an assembled 4-cost minion immediately or a whopping 8-drop on turn 4. Another upside of the card is that it is a Shadow spell, a rare commodity in Shaman. It suits the Rainbow package that is featured in this set, encouraging us to run spells from different schools.

A guaranteed inclusion in Mug Shaman, where it should be a high mulligan priority, while remaining useful elsewhere.

Score: 3

Eyemaul

This is a 4-mana weapon with two charges that can deal 6 damage to an opponent’s board per swing. When it comes to board control, it is stronger than a 6-attack weapon, as it allows us to split the damage and remove multiple minions in play. We can also swing Eyemaul on an empty board just to develop our own board. This is a weapon that is never going to be an awkward equip on turn 4.

Shaman should highly value weapons, as they circumvent the deckbuilding restriction of Mug’Zee. In fact, we are a little curious whether we will be running two copies of Eyemaul alongside Tiny Pal, which is a strong turn 4 performer for both archetypes. Our gut feeling is that good cards see play. A consistent turn 4 weapon for these decks is not a bad thing to have.

We believe that Eyemaul’s incredible board-control utility will establish it as a ubiquitous, core inclusion in a wide variety of Shaman decks of different playstyles. The numbers on it are too high to be ignored.

Score: 4

Watch Over

We have established that a C’Thun ability is worth roughly 3-4 mana, which makes Watch Over’s cost a fair representation of their impact. The added upside is that Watch Over is a strong enabler for C’Thun, since it activates it twice. It can even follow up Therazane and activate C’Thun fully by itself. However, this is the slowest and most expensive class activator for the Old God. Demon Hunter’s Tentacle Lash, in comparison, is a superior card.

This is the second Shadow spell in this set for Shaman, making it a possible enabler for the Rainbow package, though it is quite expensive and does not trigger these cards as easily as Shadow Sculpt.

Ironically, Shaman may choose to skip Watch Over if it opts for a Zee C’Thun shell. Zee C’Thun can still double activate C’Thun with its minion enablers but also carries the more explosive late game of its hero power. This adds further doubt to whether Watch Over will be a prominent feature in a competitive deck.

Score: 2

Flame Shock

A cheap fire spell, which we believe is meant to offer an easy activator for this set’s Rainbow payoffs. This would be the best Fire spell we can run in such a deck. However, we have doubts on whether this spell is good enough for any other archetype. While it can go face, its overload penalty makes it less flexible than a similar spell in another class, First Flame.

Frontloading mana just for the sake of low-impact removal does not seem great. It can disrupt our future turns, and defensive decks rarely want many overload cards. It is a mechanic that encourages aggression. We do not think Mug Shaman, for example, wants this spell.

Decent fit for a Rainbow Shaman but likely skipped everywhere else.

Score: 2

Elemental of Madness

Let us evaluate the baseline effect. A 2/2 that allows us to cast a discovered 2-mana spell for 3 mana is not great. A 2/2 is worth 1 mana, so we are breaking even on a spell that is at a lower quality than an average card in our deck.

We see two possible roles for this card in a class that does not have great turn 3 plays. First, it can be used as a Rainbow Shaman enabler. It can discover any spell, which means it can find spells from other classes, ones that possess different spell schools than what Shaman normally has access to. Its placement in the curve conveniently precedes Primus of Power and Scorchfist Scholar.

Its other role is in a Neptulon deck. Post-Neptulon, it becomes a 5/5 that casts a 5-mana spell for free, a much stronger effect. However, this can only happen at the later stages of the game, where mana cheating is not as powerful as if it were to happen early.

We do not think this is a great card for Zee Shaman, as it wants to be more aggressive early and doubling the baseline effect is not that strong. This is a Rainbow Shaman card and not much else.

Score: 2

Scorchfist Scholar

An asymmetrical AOE for 4-damage is very powerful on turn 5, so Scholar offers a big payoff for running a diverse package of spells. The damage even goes face. It allows us to proactively develop the board and strictly resets the opponent’s development. Turn 5 is late enough that we can activate it on curve too.

The main issue of the Rainbow payoffs is that they need to be in hand while we play spells to activate them. It makes them weak draws off the top, as we need to find Scholar earlier than turn 5 to be able to play it on time. It might even be a mulligan priority in faster matchups.

We do believe that an active Scholar on 5 can win games against aggressive decks, so we respect it as a legitimate win condition in faster matchups, freeing the prospective archetype to invest other deck slots into building a successful late game strategy.

Score: 3

Unnatural Cold

This spell does a lot for its cost. It stalls an enemy minion or a hero from attacking with their weapon. It gains armor. It replaces itself. This is what every resource-focused deck wants, the ability to delay the game while retaining card advantage.

Shaman having access to armor, albeit a small amount, is an interesting development in the game’s design. We personally believe that armor makes it easier for classes to develop viable late-game strategies, as it can protect decks from burst damage. While it is understandable why Warrior should have the strongest armor-gaining tools alongside Druid, more classes should have access to it. It extends the average Hearthstone game.

It is hard for us to think of any Shaman deck with late-game aspirations that will not run this card, if it can. It is an obvious inclusion in Mug Shaman. It is a cheap Frost spell for Rainbow decks. It is a good defensive card for Herald Shaman. It is going to be a glue card for the class going forward.

Score: 4

Primus of Power

Primus of Power offers two big taunt bodies for a cheap cost but requires ‘Rainbow’ activation. Its placement on turn 4 makes it more difficult to activate on curve. It is possible, but we do take into consideration that it will be less consistent than Scholar on 5.

The advantage of Primus is that it is a proactive play that is independent of the opponent’s board state. It produces a big block of taunts, which makes it a powerful swing card in faster matchups. But it also produces a lot of pressure against slower decks.

We do consider it to be relatively niche in its use. We can see decks that run Scholar but skip Primus, not fully committing to a Rainbow package. It is harder for us to think of decks that run Primus and skip Scholar. A robust package of spells usually means the deck is not inherently aggressive, making the reactive tool a better fit on paper.

Score: 2

Therazane the Earthmother

Therazane’s effect has a long-term memory. It can work on a unique spell several turns after it was played, so it rewards a Rainbow Shaman deck with a robust package of spells from different schools.

The doubled effect, in such a deck, can produce a significant mana advantage. However, this advantage is delayed and paid for with an underwhelming 5/5 for 6 mana with no immediate impact.

Even in a Rainbow Shaman, Therazane might be greedy. The main issue is that Therazane is unlikely to support a primary win condition. Shaman does not possess spells that ‘win the game’ when they are doubled. It only provides an incremental advantage that needs to offset the initial penalty first. It requires a strong deckbuilding commitment to take advantage of.

The class is not desperate for more late-game tools. It is hard to beat the Herald package. At best, Therazane is added alongside it.

Score: 2

Neptulon, Lord of Tides

A permanent, overriding aura attached to an expensive minion. Neptulon affects both minions we play and minions we summon. For example, it turns the elementals summoned by Eyemaul into 5/5 rushers. That is quite an impressive effect on paper.

The issue is where Neptulon belongs and how consistent it is. On one hand, there is no way to tutor the card beyond some coping Taelan idea. The deck must be able to function without drawing it, especially in the early-to-mid game. Neptulon is strictly a late-game card that is not going to impact faster matchups.

But Neptulon also needs a specific deck composition, one with a critical mass of Elementals that can quickly take advantage of the effect after spending 7 mana on a War Golem. This is not easy to accomplish without devolving the idea into a tribal deck.

Cards such as Ritual of Power and Slagclaw offer good synergy with Neptulon, but we struggle to see Herald or Zee Shaman having the critical capacity to run this card, as the number of payoffs is not quite there.

If this is an Elemental Shaman card, we have only one way to rate it. Tribal decks be damned.

Score: 1

Final Thoughts

Black Empire Set Rank: 5th

Overall Power Ranking: 6th

Shaman already has a solid foundation, and the upcoming set is doing what is needed for an established class. It is refreshing its existing archetypes with new possibilities, and it opens new strategies worth exploring.

Mug Shaman is getting a few meaningful upgrades in Shadow Sculpt, Unnatural Cold and Eyemaul. Herald Shaman can experiment with a survivability upgrade leaning on a Rainbow spell package. Zee Shaman is getting Vaultkeeper, a massive card for all aggressive decks, as well as the possibility to run a C’Thun package.

Even though Watch Over is the Shaman support for C’Thun and it is feasible to run it in a more defensive deck, a C’Thun package in Zee Shaman can work thanks to the ability to double the battlecry of the neutral C’Thun minions. While C’Thun is an expensive, late-game card, its minions can help an aggressive deck put a lot of pressure on the opponent.

In general, Shaman should be in a good position. We doubt Mug or Zee Shaman substantially fall off. At worst, they may suffer from a lack of attention. But if Shaman can successfully utilize its new set, we think it has a good chance of maintaining visibility. C’Thun is an appealing win condition that Shaman is in a great position to utilize, while the new Rainbow package offers a real alternative to Mug’Zee decks, with the Shaman Herald package remaining a solid late-game foundation to build on. We used to lament Shaman’s late-game weaknesses, so it is nice to see the class in a position of such security.