The Comprehensive Reign of the Black Empire Preview

 

Stone Gauntlet

A 1-mana 2/2 weapon is not terrible, but its impact on the board is not consistent due to the prevalence of 3-health minions in the format. For this weapon to see play, its bonus effect needs to be valued. This Warrior set is focused heavily on gaining and spending armor. Stone Gauntlet offers a way to gain a lot of armor reliably and early, which could enable armor payoffs even at the early stages of the game, such as a turn 3 Forge of Origination.

This weapon does not have much value beyond the context of armor spending, as it does not gain us effective life. It only turns health into armor so that we are comfortable utilizing cards that spend armor. If this set proves to be successful for the class, then Stone Gauntlet will be a very important glue card. It may drastically increase the effectiveness and uptime of Shellnado, for which it is the perfect enabler.

Score: 3

Chisel

This spell seems to do okay for the mana cost. A guaranteed buff on a taunt is a bit more valuable than on a minion without a defensive keyword, so if we value the buff at 1 mana, then Chisel offers a decent deal.

However, we are not convinced this card belongs in Control Warrior archetypes, where Chisel would make the most sense as it is a 2-mana value generator. Warrior wants to focus on removal and armor gain to survive until a very specific win condition comes online. Chisel does not directly further that game plan, nor does it synergize with any win condition that the class has access to. It is a decent standalone card, but that is it.

For faster Warrior decks, this card is a bit too slow. We do not have much control over the minion’s cost and when it comes down, so the window of opportunity for Chisel to make an impact might be short.

Feels like filler and nothing more. We suspect Warrior will be focused on other things and skip it.

Score: 1

Tol’vir Vanguard

A 2-mana 1/4 taunt that gains a total of 6 armor between its battlecry and deathrattle is an outstanding package. The taunt keyword means that the opponent cannot ignore Vanguard and will have to trigger its deathrattle if they want to pressure us.

When we think about the total effective life this card provides us, we cannot see it being passed over by any defensive Warrior decks. This single 2-drop gives us 10 effective health between the taunt and the armor, making it an incredible stalling card against any kind of aggression.

It curves perfectly into a turn 3 Halls of Origination and is cheap enough to activate cards such as Show of Force or Animator of Iron.

The only downside of Vanguard is its 1 attack, making it easier to value trade into, especially later in the game. However, the upsides of the minion dramatically outweigh its weakness. This is the new, all-purpose Armorsmith for Control Warrior archetypes going forward.

Score: 4

Show of Force

Show of Force at its baseline is the standard 3 damage for 2 mana spell that we are familiar with, though it is a little bit on the weaker side of this equation as it cannot go face. Its active form destroys the targeted minion, turning it into hard removal. A destruction effect that costs 2 mana is solid. When a card that destroys a minion costs 1 mana, it will usually see play. 2 mana is when the effect is acceptable.

One issue is that gaining armor costs mana too, so the entire action of destroying a minion is a bit more expensive and makes it unlikely that the Warrior gains initiative from the play. What makes it a bit more bearable is that Show of Force can still be used to clear nearly every early-game threat in the format on turn 2, without needing activation.

In a deck that has a plethora of armor gain cards, Show of Force should be a consistent destruction effect, but not removal on the level of Torch.

Score: 2

Forge of Origination

The baseline effect of this location is a bit weak, but not outright terrible when we consider the total value. The armor-spending outcome is where things get crazy. A 6/6 taunt for 3 mana is amazing value, especially if it can be done on turn 3 with the help of armor-gaining cards on the first couple of turns. This might be done relatively consistently with Stone Gauntlet, Shield Block and Tol’vir Vanguard all available.

Another 6/6 taunt on turn 5 with all the mana to spend becomes backbreaking. Aggressive decks will struggle to get through and in slower matchups, Warrior might be able to pressure the opponent surprisingly well.

There is no real point in the game where Forge of Origination is a weak card in a Control Warrior deck. Whenever we have 3 armor to spend, it is an efficient and powerful way to develop a board and challenge the opponent. Should become a Control Warrior staple.

Score: 4

Brassknuckle Brawler

An 8-mana 10/10 with charge when we have a lot of armor. We do not have much of a problem with the condition. Assuming we are playing a Control Warrior deck with a bunch of cards from this set, 10 armor should be a trivial amount to activate Brawler.

Our issue is whether Control Warrior wants to run Brawlers as its primary win condition, or whether there are more lethal conditions to build around. Are Brawlers superiors to Enter the Lost City? Or even a simple Murozond/Yogg combo? Brawlers’ advantage is that they can come down on curve and just punch the opponent in the head. Against some decks, that will be enough.

However, against decks with removal and strong life gain, such as other Control Warriors, Brawlers are unlikely to be able to land lethal by themselves. And if we need to invest more deck slots to complement them, we might as well run the card that requires a smaller investment but can deal infinite damage.

If Warrior is required to pressure early against some opponents, a Brawler on 8 might help. If the format turns into a late-game arms race, they will be inadequate.

Score: 2

Anvil of Reshaping

In Control Warrior, our hero attacks are dedicated mostly to removing minions in play. This requires us to take damage in the process, damage that we mitigate through armor gain. In the case of Anvil, we are spending armor to attack, then take more damage to clear an enemy minion. That is a lot of life to spend on removing a single minion from the board.

While Anvil of Reshaping carries the big upside of costing no mana, we think this card is a little bit excessive in its armor spending to fit into Control Warrior. The archetype has plenty of other defensive tools, efficient single-target removal and board clears. It does not need a free punch that takes off 6 to 8 of its armor.

We think its armor is best spent on other payoffs.

Score: 1

Animator of Iron

A Gadgetzan Auctioneer for armor gain. Animator turns every source of armor gain in our deck into cycle, potentially. That is transformative for the archetype, as it removes the cost of spending a card to gain armor. Every armor card can now replace itself, just like Shield Block.

Animator has particularly good synergy with Stone Gauntlet and Scramble for Gear due to their cheap cost. A “miracle” turn can lead to Animator triggering off the Gear spells once they are drawn too.

This minion makes us think of armor gain differently too. Rather than a “Classic” Control Warrior deck that utilizes Animator as a source of card draw, we can envision a cycling Warrior deck that looks to draw as quickly as possible to assemble a specific win condition. We anticipate plenty of experimentation with Miracle Warrior builds that attempt to imitate Cycle Rogue archetypes of the past.

A monumental addition to the class, one that can put defensive Warrior playstyles back on the map.

Score: 4

Archaedas

This legendary is extremely unique, as it generates a weapon based on the spell we discover. For example, if we discover Shield Block, each swing of the weapon casts Shield Block. In total, we get to cast Shield Block three times. All of this inside a 2-mana weapon!

It is not difficult to understand that while Archaedas himself is a bit slow as a 4-mana 4/3, the mana we cheat with the weapon we discover can be enormous. Beyond cheap utility spells, we can also discover mass removal. Imagine Warrior equipping a weapon that casts Crowd Control on every swing. How is the opponent ever supposed to develop a board in this case?

We did not imagine the best-case scenario; we looked at the entire spell pool and the likelihood of finding a powerful spell with this legendary is relatively high. We either discover a high-cost spell and blow the opponent out of the water, or we discover a cheap spell and enjoy a 1- or 2-mana 3/3 weapon with great upside.

This feels like a mandatory card for Warrior. An unconditional, single-card win condition that can end games by itself without any other support.

Score: 4

Setesh

A 7-mana 7/7 that gains 20 (!) armor in one burst. Setesh carries a “catch”, which is that all the Warrior’s armor is spent after 2 turns to summon a taunt with stats equal to the armor that we have. For example, if we end up with 15 armor when the taunt is summoned, then the taunt will be a 15/15.

We do not believe that Setesh carries a real downside and we will explain why.

In faster matchups, Setesh buys us two full turns. The opponent can punch through the armor, which is going to be gone anyway, or risk us summoning a massive taunt they cannot get through. In the following turn after Setesh, we can focus on removing the opponents’ board or aggressively digging for answers, knowing that we are safe. When the taunt is summoned and we lose the armor, we can then cast other armor-gain cards to stay out of burst range, while sitting behind the taunt. Regardless of the opponent’s decision, Setesh buys us time to stabilize in situations we may have otherwise lost.

In slower matchups, Setesh is less useful for its defensive impact but can be turned into an offensive powerhouse. If we are playing against another slow deck that does not pressure us, we can accumulate a massive amount of armor before playing Setesh. When the massive taunt is summoned, we play Yogg and give the taunt charge, ending the game on the spot. Alternatively, we can use Time Warp to do the same thing. The opponent either expends resources to reduce our armor or risks getting OTK’d. From being a relatively weak resource in slow matchups, armor becomes the way Warrior gains lethality.

Considering the versatility and impact of this card in different matchup dynamics, there is only one way to rate it. Setesh is going to turn L’s into W’s.

Score: 4

Final Thoughts

Black Empire Set Rank: 2nd

Overall Power Ranking: 3rd

Warrior’s set is an intriguing and bold attempt to bring back Control Warrior to the format. This popular archetype, pined over by many players, is getting a powerful package of tools to boost its survivability and its late-game prowess. It needs a powerful set, because it is far away from being competitive, so we look forward to seeing how much progress it makes.

Warrior’s armor-gain capabilities might reach a relative peak compared to several of the previous years. Armor payoff cards make sure that this resource is not dead in slower matchups either, providing it the versatility it needs to not regress into a one-dimensional turtle.

Control Warrior’s win condition options become stronger. A defensive powerhouse is a natural home to an Old God. For example, Herald Warrior may have subtle synergy with N’Zoth. Yogg-Saron is an alternative Time Warp effect to Enter the Lost City.

What is also very notable is the improvement in Warrior’s drawing power. Animator of Iron can rapidly dig through the deck with armor gain, giving Scramble for Gear a potentially meaningful role. We would not be surprised to see low-curve Cycle Warrior decks that resemble Cycle Rogue, just with a massive amount of armor.

And let us not forget that Warrior currently has two of the strongest aggressive packages in the game. Both Pirate and Dragon Warrior may not be receiving new cards, but they can heavily punish greedy Old God decks.

This expansion undoubtedly aims to put defensive Control decks on the map. Control Warrior will be one of this set’s greatest tests.