The Comprehensive Saviors of Uldum Preview

Data Reaper Report - Warrior

Frightened Flunky

Frightened Flunky(90758).png

This is a very good card that will likely see play in many Warrior decks because it offers a strong turn 2 to a class that doesn’t really have one. You can think of it as a new Stonehill Defender. It will also very often discover Warrior class taunts (including itself), which is very relevant if we’re looking to abuse Tomb Wardens and Armagedillo.

Score: 3


Reckless Mummy

Restless Mummy(90696).png

An excellent rush minion that can deal 6 damage to a single target or 3 each to two targets. Extremely versatile and should be a strong addition to the common rush package alongside Militia Commander, Town Crier, and Zilliax. This package should be played in every Warrior deck, which means that Reckless Mummy is extremely likely to become a staple card for the class.

Score: 3


Armored Goon

Armored Goon(90824).png

This card is very slow and very bad. There are better ways to gain armor in Warrior and we shouldn’t be scraping the bottom of the barrel for this effect.

Score: 1


Into the Fray

Into the Fray(90754).png

Strong card in a theoretical Taunt Warrior deck but requires us to run a size-able taunt package with what would likely be a couple of underwhelming minions. Since this card is highly dependent on the success of this specific, dedicated archetype, we’re giving it a smaller chance of seeing play.

Score: 2


Plague of Wrath

Plague of Wrath(90765).png

Nice mass removal option for Warrior if the class is interested in some redundancy alongside Brawl or Supercollider, but this card is slower than both and requires activators such as Warpath or Whirlwind to come online. Warpath might be needed at a different point in the game and we’re not too interested in running Whirlwind strictly to activate this card. More likely to be featured as a 1-of.

Score: 2


Tomb Warden

Tomb Warden(90781).png

We wouldn’t be as high on this card if it wasn’t a mech. The fact that it’s a mech means this giant Saronite Chain Gang can create a huge tempo swing in Control Warrior builds with Mad Genius even if they include just a small taunt buffing package alongside it. Unlike Into the Fray, this card doesn’t need a dedicated Taunt Warrior deck to succeed.

Score: 3


Livewire Lance

Livewire Lance(90766).png

This card would be nutty in other classes, but Warrior doesn’t care about lackeys as much since it’s not as reliant on developing into the board. The value represented is also less meaningful since our resource generation potential is already top tier, and we don’t have lackey payoff cards.

Score: 2


Bloodsworn Mercenary

Bloodsworn Mercenary(90738).png

Mercenary could be the card that fuels a more aggressive Warrior deck that runs enrage mechanics such as Inner Rage and Rampage. The tempo swing of the Inner Rage/Mercenary combo can occur as early as turn 3 and should often snowball games out of control. It’s basically a Faceless Manipulator for 3 mana on top of a 3/3 body, which is simply bonkers even when the activation requirement is a relevant limitation. The only reason this card isn’t rated higher is that faster Warrior decks generally don’t do well when slower Warrior decks are as strong as they are right now.

Score: 3


Armagedillo

Armagedillo(90718).png

Other than being a cornerstone card for a potential Taunt Warrior deck, which may not be good enough, think of this card in a slower Warrior deck that looks to simply buff Tomb Wardens and Zilliax. A curve of Armagedillo, Mad Genius into rushing Tomb Wardens is certainly interesting to consider. We also must consider that Flunky will often give us a missing piece in our hand, making this combo more consistent than it should be.

Score: 3


Hack the System

Hack the System(90768).pngAnraphet's Core(90769).pngStone Golem(90770).png

All that hard work to complete this quest when we can just draw Mad Genius and have a better quest reward. Hack the System simply can’t compete, and the deck building requirement is steep and makes us run cards we don’t want to run. Very unlikely to see play until April at the very least.

Score: 1


Final Thoughts

Saviors of Uldum Set Rank: 5th

Overall Power Ranking: 1st

Ah. The joys of Mad Genius preventing opponents from ever developing a board. The glee at seeing a juicy big minion getting shut down by a randomly generated Omega Devastator. The thrill of highlander strategies rubbing their shiny lamps only to see bombs shuffled into their decks. Warrior got a strong set with several cards that could either slot into existing Warrior archetypes and boost their consistency, or even create entirely new archetypes, but what will mostly carry Warrior to the competitive elite will be what it already has.

While Mage gets a lot of attention, the true test of meta viability will be the new strategies’ ability to stand up to the Mad Genius and say: not today. Warrior currently dictates the resource battles in Hearthstone. If you cannot formulate a strategy that is capable of sustaining pressure against this class, you will be cast aside and fade into obscurity.

The revolution begins on August 6th.

 

 

6 Comments

  1. One more thing about the Warrior quest: Yes it does conflict with Madlad Boom but I think H4xx0r Warrior will be its own deck and even be very good (like tier 2). Warrior is already on the verge if being broken, and imo the Bomb-Control-Quest dark triad of warrior decks will dominate the meta. Madlad Boom will finally be nerfed.

  2. My 2 cents:

    – You’re overrating the Druid quest. You’re underestimating the huge tempo loss of having to spare mana on the first turns. Druid is a class that naturally struggles with tempo and this is making things worse. If there were more cards like Oasis Surger that are insane when the effects arr combined, it could hve been viable, but those that exist are too scarce. I can see it being viable later expansions.

    – Similarily you’re overestimating the warlock set. The quest sucks, we agree on that (it’s even worse than Lakaari Sac!) but the lackey synergy doesn’t compensate for that. Youre way too optimistic about EVIL summoner, its harder to activate than you think. Will see play for sure but its not insane.

    – Bug Collector is the sleeper neutral common of the set. It’s excellent tempo and fits in a wide variety of decks. I may be completely wrong but if im right i’ll take credit. Jar Dealer and Pit Crocolisk could see some fring constructed play.

    Apart from that, I agree with the rest of your analysis.

  3. I love that you all are doing this for every expansion now. love, love, love how informative it is for the reader. thank you.

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