Imployee of the Month
Lifesteal can be a powerful keyword when we can give it to any type of minion, but it’s important to remember that it doesn’t impact the board. Therefore, this 2-drop doesn’t do anything by itself. For Imployee to be useful, it’s ideally combined with a big minion that’s ready to attack and immediately heal us.
There are a few notable options. Pain Warlock can use Imployee of the Month to give a Molten Giant lifesteal, which helps us recover our life total after dropping low to discount it. Another possible utilization is with Forge of Wills. A big rush minion is a strong target to gain lifesteal, as there’s no counterplay from the opponent that can prevent the healing value. Finally, minions that deal AOE damage, such as Wild Pyromancer, could also be considered.
The fact that Rogue gains access to the card is interesting. Maestra now offers a bunch of healing tools that the class can use.
Score: 2
Deadline
This removal spell seems very awkward, as we can only cast it off the top of our deck. A temporary card gets discarded if it stays in our hand at the end of our turn. Deadline forces us to either cast it, trade it, or lose it. A 2-mana spell that destroys a minion is quite efficient, but we have little control on when we can play it. There will be plenty of times we want to develop a play, then draw Deadline off the top and are faced with a decision on whether to play off-curve.
We’re not convinced there’s any need for the card in Warlock or Rogue. Warlock’s removal toolkit isn’t the limiter of its late game viability, while Rogue has plenty of strong single target removal effects that it doesn’t even use much of, such as Antique Flinger.
Score: 1
Fine Print
Dealing 4 damage for 4 mana is a decent AOE effect, but the drawback of the card is potentially hazardous. We might be able to clear a wide board with it, but we could be taking a ton of damage in the process, risking the opponent’s aggression paying off regardless. Fine Print also affects our own minions, so it encourages a very passive playstyle in which we don’t develop minions in the early game.
Felstring Harp is the best enabler of the card, as it circumvents the damage we’re taking, but we’re not sure it makes the card consistently helpful. Warlock has a bunch of strong AOE effects, with Domino Effect directly competing with Fine Print. 1 mana cheaper, asymmetrical and can potentially deal as much damage to the opponent’s board. Wheel Warlock currently runs Wing Welding, which is much more powerful of an effect.
For Rogue, the drawback might be too much to handle, but it is an interesting AOE effect to potentially run in Cutlass Rogue, as the deck does have a consistent source of healing.
Score: 2
Final Thoughts: While Warlock’s set isn’t terrible, with some of the cards potentially surprising us down the road, it’s hard to see an immediate impact. Control Warlock’s current issues are not related to its survivability, which is what the set provides.
