Hearthstone Teases New Galakrond’s Awakening Cards

Winged Guardian (Rare, 7-cost – Beast): A 7-cost with Taunt and Reborn? In Druid, that sounds pretty darn nice. I wish they had received a new Treant, but here we are. This is a 6/8 for 7, that cannot be the target of spells or Hero Powers. It can be the target of creature abilities, I imagine, though. The fact that it was reborn and is so beefy is just another reason to love this card.

Most of the “Reborn” cards I can think of are easy to kill. This one sounds like it will stick around and be a nuisance. Having Taunt on top of that means players are going to have no choice but to go through it – twice.

Mage

The Amazing Reno (Legendary, 10-cost):This is a card for when you are battered. There seems to be no way to win through force of arms. Perfect for a Mage deck, since it’s already well equipped with plenty of direct damage and board control responses. I mean, it is a 10-cost and has no physical attack power. This is a 10-drop 0/5. But what I think is interesting is its Battlecry. Its Battlecry “Makes all minions disappear. *Poof!*

Does that mean The Amazing Reno disappears too? I bet he does. Did your opponent just play an annoying Galakrond ability that re-floods the board with foes that you now have to deal with? Or will on the next turn at least? Well, let’s not worry about that so much. The Amazing Reno makes those annoying dorks disappear if you can last long enough to get 10 mana.

Paladin

Air Raid (Rare, 2-cost, Spell): Twinspell is a neat feature. When you cast a spell with Twinspell, a copy that does not have Twinspell will go to your hand immediately. This is a 2-drop, making it easier to use. When you cast it, you summon two 1/1 Silver Hand Recruits with Taunt. Yeah, I know. A 1/1 with Taunt? That sounds lame.

But they must be attacked before that player moves on to attacking you. That makes it awesome! Not to mention, you can then cast it again for yet another pair of frustrating taunt creatures. If you buff them somehow, that makes them even more frustrating. It’s a great way to hold off your opponent while you try to get your dragons on the field. As a Paladin, that’s a possibility in this expansion.

Shotbot (Common, 2-drop – Mech): This one’s nice and simple, easy to understand. Shotbot’s a 2-drop that is a 2/2 with Reborn. It’s a Harvest Golem that costs 1 less but has 1 less health. That’s fine with me! The reborn thing is also very handy, meaning it’s going to come back one time. But, what about Magnetic? Magnetic is a keyword that lets certain mechs combine. With the right cards, perhaps you can merge this card with something that has Magnetic, for explosive results. It’s not such a bad thing, I think!

Dark Prophecy (Rare, 3-Cost, Spell): Here’s a fun way to use your low-cost creatures in a Priest deck. There are a few options that spring to mind, like the Acolyte of Pain. What’s Dark Prophecy do for them though? When you cast Dark Prophecy, Discover a 2-Cost minion. Summon it and give it +3 Health.

Now I’ll grant, you aren’t guaranteed to get what you need, it can bring some serious value if you do. Acolyte of Pain, as an example, lets you draw a card when it takes damage. With Dark Prophecy, it becomes a ⅙, so it’s going to stick around a lot longer. This would also make the Lightwarden, which is popular in a lot of decks like priests, much stronger. It’s going to be harder to deal with the Lightwarden when it’s a ⅕ instead of a ½. I can’t think of too many times when I say, “Boy, I hope my creature dies soon!”. Dark Prophecy helps them stick around a tiny bit longer. You don’t have to have the creature in your deck to start with.

Aeon Reaver (Common, 6-Cost Creature – Dragon): Aeon Reaver feels like it’s doing some future-proofing. If we see more dragons in the next set for Priest, this could be an incredible card. Some dragons could have Aeon Reaver buffed before it hits the field, though and that’s where it will shine.

Aeon Reaver is a 4/4 baseline for 6, that has a fun Battlecry: Deal damage to a minion equal to its Attack. So, if you can buff this dragon before he descends (Hah), you can batter your opponent’s annoying taunt creature before you even swing for damage! It’s not a godlike card, but it’s going to be a whole heap of fun either way.

Warlock

Chaos Gazer (Epic, 3-Cost Creature – Demon): Cards that are “combo-hate” are never a bad thing. Like the Aeon Reaver before it, I think this is a card that looks towards the future. The Chaos Gazer is a 3-drop 4/3 with Battlecry. It’s battlecry is a doozy, too.

Corrupt a playable card in your opponent’s hand. They have one turn to play it! The most important part of the card is a “playable” card. It’s not going to be something they are unable to use (so a 10-drop on turn 3, for example). Sure, that player will be casting a potentially perfect card, but that’s the idea. I love this card for dealing with annoying combo decks. The slower the combo deck is, the better this will shine. Worst case, you get your opponent to cast something they didn’t want to and you destroy it the next turn somehow. Plus, the Chaos Gazer is a 4/3, so it can at least dole out decent damage after it fulfills its purpose.

Neutral

Grand Lackey Erkh (Legendary, 4-Cost Creature): Lackeys, lackeys, lackeys. They’re everywhere. You can’t escape them. Especially not with the mightiest Lackey of all, the Grand Lackey Erkh. If you need some wild lackeys to come out of nowhere for special abilities and cannon fodder, Erkh’s going to be your guy. He’s a 4-drop and a ⅔. What makes him so great is you add a Lackey to your hand, after you play a Lackey. Sadly, he isn’t classified as one.

That means he’s probably going to start slotting into Rogue Lackey and Warlock Lackey, as soon as it’s unlockable (which is probably going to be soon). That’s the important thing: how good is the card? 4 Mana is not that expensive, though. It shows me that Galakrond’s Awakening will have some serious value.