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.

Raging Worgen vs. Thrallmar Farseer

Leviathan: Things are back to normal this week. Well, as back to normal as normal ever gets around here. Scratch that. I’m usually a pretty easy-going guy; it takes a lot to get me riled up. But this week? I’M RAGING! That’s right; I’m here to defend my angry brother-in-arms, Raging Worgen. In its native habitat, the Worgen enjoys being a 3 damage, 3 health minion for 3 mana. It leads a very peaceful life this way, observing your opponent’s minions and becoming hungrier by the moment. When it’s next your turn to attack, things can get interesting. Even if you can’t Enrage it for the +1 Attack and Windfury, that’s still a 3/3 body, which will get you good trades at the end of the early phase of the game, if need be.

However, if you have an Elven Archer (such value) or even a Mage Fireblast ping to spare, you might as well paint this fellow green, because it’s angry now! Being able to transform it into a 4/2 with Windfury means you can go ahead and pop the opposing hero in the face for four damage, and, if the board state is not looking favorable for you, take that second attack and likely trade up for a minion kill. I don’t know about you, but I see the Thrallmar Farseer and the Raging Worgen, and a little birdie inside my head says, “I think four might be double that of two, but I’m unsure. Check back after these messages…”

Rongar:  I will admit, a battle between the Raging Worgen and the Thrallmar Farseer is not an easy match-up. I do have a soft-spot for Orcs, though. An Orc shaman was my first character I leveled all the way up, and consistently spent the most time in game with. Shamans are awesome, but I’m more of an Elemental/Resto shaman kinda guy, and the Thrallmar Farseer is clearly an Enhancement shaman (probably named Oprahwindfury). That’s a big strike against him, but I’ll do my best to make a solid case for this regal spirit walker, and not the mutt.

For starters, this minion offers Windfury right out of the gate. It is not an ability that needs to be triggered as is the case with the Raging Worgen. You get what you get, no crossed fingers for a misplay by your opponent, or some ability Voodoo to poke your own minion to make some magic happen. There’s probably a reason I haven’t ranked into the single digits yet, and that’s likely my disdain for Plus Spell Damage and Enrage cards. I like my Swiss Army knife to work, dammit, and to not require a second Swiss Army knife to get things going in the first place. The Raging Worgen is your Swiss Army knife that doesn’t work properly without help. Take the Shaman. To the face. Twice.

Leviathan: So, you may find yourself saying, “What does the future hold?” Fair question. I think it’s grim for our Farseer here. That guy obviously needs some glasses because I don’t think he sees the writing on the wall. While Thrallmar Farseer may come fully equipped with Windfury from the get go, what good is it if he gets killed the next turn? What I mean by this is, comparing them both right after they’ve been played, the difference between what a Raging Worgen can kill by having 3 damage outright versus the trades Thrallmar Farseer will be able to make with his 2 damage outpace the utility of any innate Windfury. It’s not as if a Faerie Dragon is going to say, “Oh, you have Windfury? Well, please, trade with me and then pick another of my friends to hit, too, before you die.” History lesson: Faerie Dragon don’t play that.

If I may get serious for one last moment here, though, I think it’s safe to say that Raging Worgen just has more potential, and, therefore, works as a better minion for multiple situations. Its synergy with cards like Cruel Taskmaster, Whirlwind, and its friend, the Amani Berserker, make it an easy pick for a Warrior Arena run or even an attempt at Warrior Aggro in Constructed, where one might also utilize Warsong Commander.

I’ma let you finish though…

Rongar: Thanks Kanye. Here’s a little secret folks: going second is huge, in Hearthstone and in life. The first few times we’ve written this column, Leviathan had the opportunity to write his section after I had finished mine. Basically, he had the Coin. This week, thanks to fate and work obligations, I get to go second and flip the script. Literally.

Now here is my dirty little secret: I get to phone a friend, and Shoctologist, Master of Cards and Avatar of the Coin swoops in to rescue me with some sage advice. Granted, his sage advice is Paladin-specific, but that’s a minor detail. Card draw is absolutely huge in this game, and pairing Blessing of Wisdom with any Windfury minion is a boss play. There are only a handful of neutral minions with Windfury, and the Thrallmar Farseer is arguably the best. Young Dragonhawk is too puny to survive anything, and the Windfury Harpy is tough to consider at the cost of 6 Mana. She’s great with full board control, not so much without. The Farseer sits nicely in the middle, and provides exceptionally good value for a 3 Mana card. Throw in Blessing of Wisdom on your next turn, and you’ve got an OP winner.

Sorry, Leviathan. No matter how enraged you might get, this is the power of true Windfury: punch one – Rongar. Punch two – Shoctologist. Game, set, and match.

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.