by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

With hundreds of minions, spells and weapons to choose from, where do you start? You can start right here: every Thursday, we will feature one card in our Weekly Spotlight and share with you how to use it in your constructed deck.

Doomsayer (2M/0D/7H) At the start of your turn, destroy ALL minions. “He’s almost been right so many times. He was sure it was coming during the Cataclysm.” Epic. Crafted: 400 Arcane Dust.)

The Doomsayer is modeled after Kael’thas Sunstrider, the final raid boss in Tempest Keep. Kael’thas made a pact with the Burning Legion, thus his whole “burning down the world” routine. He’s also the guy who drops Ashes of Al’ar, so he’s got at least that going for him.

Despite his 7 Health points, Doomsayer isn’t quite the formidable board-clearing weapon that a later turn Flamestrike or Brawl could be. He must survive the likely onslaught to even render all the doom and gloom he’s supposed to.

Or is he?

While the Doomsayer is hardly the “ace up your sleeve” to wrest late-game board control from your opponent, even then he can be a decoy that might buy you time by occupying some of your opponent’s minions, or or at least draw out a silencing effect you’d rather have out of the way before playing some of your other minions. Only a well-placed Conceal spell could make the Doomsayer truly viable and effective as a late board-clearer.

The Doomsayer is perhaps most effective against early aggressive decks, especially if your removal spells our taunt minions would force you to wait until turn 4 or 5. By then it could be too late to withstand the Might of the Murloc Rush™. 7 Damage is a lot to dish out on turn 2 or 3, and has the potential to deal with a whole lot of Murlocs or other low cost minions. At a minimum, it would force your opponent to either direct all their attention to this one minion, or make them hold back a bit from placing too many of their other minions.

With early pressure decks, timing and tempo is everything, and if nothing else the Doomsayer will disrupt timing. The end of the world may not be near, but he is an unwelcome distraction nonetheless.

My absolute favorite part about this minion are his emotes: he will proclaim that “the end is coming” the moment he’s dropped on the board. However, if your opponent silences him and the Doomsayer sticks around to (with some buffs) dish out damage, he’ll utter a rather bewildered “Did I miss it?”

He wouldn’t be the first.