by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

Deck slots are precious, and several cards in Hearthstone are somewhat similar. So which one do you choose? Every Saturday, we take a look at two somewhat similar cards, and two of our writers will duke it out and make their best case to convince you that their card should be the one deserving of one of your precious deck slots.

Gladiator’s Longbow vs. Gorehowl

Rongar: When Leviathan, our new co-host for HearthPro Show, suggested that we duke it out over weapons for this week’s installment of Face-off, I was immediately intrigued. I jumped on Gorehowl, because (given the choice between two epic weapons) Gorehowl is by far the more epic one. There’s some history there. You just have to give it up for the blade that struck down Mannaroth the Destructor, freeing the entire Orcish race from its demon curse.

That said, in this case we are looking less at a “which weapon is better” debate, but rather a “which weapon serves your hero more” discussion: the Gladiator’s Longbow is for Hunters only, while Gorehowl is reserved for Warriors. The mechanic for Gorehowl is rather unique: it only has 1 Durability, but that only comes into play when you choose to attack your opponent’s hero directly. That will shatter your blade immediately. You can however keep attacking minions; the weapon just loses one damage point following each attack, as if it was getting dull in the heat of the battle. If you ever felt like role-playing a hero in Hearthstone (as crazy as this may sound), the Warrior is practically tailor-made for that.

But back to the weapon. Clearing enemy minions out is absolutely critical for maintaining board control, and Gorehowl is designed to help you do just that. The way its mechanics are set-up, it practically punishes you for attacking your opponent directly. Starting out with 7 Attack, it packs a mighty punch and can clear some pretty big minions off the board. It also has an almost symbiotic relationship with the warrior’s hero ability: buffed up with a proper shield bonus, it doesn’t matter quite so much when you are forced to eat a larger minion’s attack. At the same time, Gorehowl allows you to deal some massive hits without sacrificing your board presence. Advantage warriors.

Leviathan: “I hunt alone.” These are Rexxar’s words as he swings into your opponent’s minions or face with the limited weapon selection available to him. It’s either the Eaglehorn Bow or the Gladiator’s Longbow and, truth be told, both are fantastic options for the Hunter play style. As the meta shifts and new strategies ebb and flow, some cards come into greater importance and then fade in popularity. Hunter Control seems to be something that was popularized previous to the latest card changes due to Yong Woo’s Hunter deck that was big on Eaglehorn Bow usage and secrets. However, with the retooling of Unleash the Hounds, Hunter Aggro is very much a thing of the present.

All of that said, I consider much of that useful information for Constructed play. In the tricky realm of the Arena, where you take what you can get, I think that the Gladiator’s Longbow should be an instant grab. Here’s why: the importance of weapons cannot be overstated – they will almost always result in two for ones (that is, getting rid of two of your opponent’s cards while only using one of your cards to do so) and they are Hearthstone’s only real Damage over Time plays. The latter is important mentally because applying pressure to your opponent is the best way to get them to make plays they would otherwise not want to or consider to be less mana efficient. At 7 mana, the Longbow represents more late game play, so you will need to survive until then with the Hunter’s tool set of Multi-Shot, Explosive Trap, and Explosive Shot leading the way for board control. Once the bow is out though, you have unfettered control to remove minions with no risk to your health at all (so, even if you were being slowly whittled or rushed down by your opponent, you can very likely swing the board back into your favor and not worry about your health due to Longbow’s invulnerability).

However, if you’re actually playing the aggressive style, I’d say the Longbow comes in as a perfect finisher, guaranteeing 10 damage to your opponent’s face unless they can pull a heal, taunt, or lucky Acidic Swamp Ooze, thus creating that situation I alluded to earlier regarding forcing your opponent to find an answer that might be outside of their plans.

Such versatile, very use, many damage, wow.

Rongar: As I look at different weapons in Hearthstone, I can’t help but think that we need more Acidic Swamp Ooze cards in the game. Weapons can be game changers, but they need to be used properly. Only the Warrior and the Paladin have 3 weapons at their disposal, all other heroes fall short of that number. While the Hunter comes close, to me this is an indication that Warriors are designed with weapon use in mind. Their hero power points to that, and so does Shield Block. Aside from Brawl, Warriors are a bit short on board clearing abilities. Along with their weapons, they can only Cleave, Execute and Whirlwind their way to victory.

If you are heading into arena mode with your Warrior, picking up weapons is absolutely essential. With limited card draw options, Garrosh needs to take care of business himself, otherwise you find yourself starved for minions. No minions means no win. I still think the meta game hasn’t quite cracked the code on Warriors yet, but I strongly believe you have to play it like a tank in order to succeed: prepare to take major damage on behalf of your minions, and use your hero power wisely to do so. While other heroes cowardly send their minions to their doom (I am looking at you, Rexxar, “friend” of the animals), Garrosh stands tall, cutting down foes like trees. Playing a Warrior doesn’t mean playing an aggro deck or a turtle deck – it means playing a “tank deck”.

Between Gladiator’s Longbow and Gorehowl, it is hard to say which weapon is objectively better. Both weapons will impose a different approach to the match on you.

I say, be a man. Be a Warrior. Choose Gorehowl. Lok’tar Ogar!

Leviathan: Garrosh is a fool. While he’s busy bringing about his own demise (Valeera says please keep hitting yourself…I have four Eviscerates waiting for you.), Rexxar is over here feeding Starving Buzzards, making giant Scavenging Hyenas, and protecting them while also protecting himself with a Gladiator’s Longbow. A weapon that loses its attack power instead of its durability does sound pretty precious, but that just means it sticks around long enough for your opponent to draw into that hiding Acidic Swamp Ooze (I do agree we need more cards like that; we also need secret removal cards besides Flare) and even if that never happens, it also means you just punch yourself in the face until you lose or until Jaina draws her Fireball.

Rexxar here. Tell me, traveler, if I remove half of your life with my Kill Commands, Arcane Shots, and awesome beasts, what sort of resource is life for you at that point? Certainly not one that allows you to freely swing your axe. You’re telling me about your hero power… It sounds cool, but did you remember that mine directly counteracts it? I don’t know, Garrosh. My weapon is looking pretty awesome right now. You buffed that Frothing Berserker to 15 damage? Hm…still only has four health though. Gladiator’s Longbow to the rescue and hey, look! No damage!

What do you think? Did one of our writers make a compelling enough case for you to pick one card over the other? Share your thoughts in the comments below.