Maximizing Loatheb Combos
by JR Cook - 10 years ago show comments
We have all been waiting for Naxxramas since before it was even announced and finally the day is JUST about here. For those of you who watch the Hearthstone Power Hour, you’ll know that myself and Studder are all about making you a better player. One of the best ways to have the edge is to understand the synergy between two cards and how to use them to your advantage at the right time. The latest card that was announced was Loatheb. This card’s 5 cost and Battlecry makes it a possible staple in every deck. The strongest part of this card (in the current meta) would be stopping the Force of Nature/Savage Roar combo as well as the inevitable turn where Miracle Rogues draw half their deck!
One of the most intriguing combos is Loatheb played with Millhouse Manastorm. The question has already been addressed to the developers and the answer has been plainly given. If Loatheb is played first, playing Millhouse will put you into a real problem. The order of this combo is critical. Millhouse Manastorm’s Battlecry will be overridden by Loatheb’s. When played in the right order, you’ll have a 5/5 and a 4/4 on the board for 7 Mana and all of your opponent’s spells cost 5.
Getting a lot of questions about Millhouse/Loatheb interaction. Millhouse then Loatheb = 5 cost spells. Loatheb then Millhouse = 0 cost.
— Ben Brode (@bdbrode) July 18, 2014
What’s the catch? We’ll tell you. Flamestrike! Anyone that can do simple math will figure out that 5 mana plus 2 mana is 7 mana. So turn 7 is the earliest turn that this combo can be played. The pesky Mage you’re playing against can Flamestrike for 5 and hero power Loatheb for a clear board. Our recommendation is to play Loatheb by himself or buff him when against a Mage. For any other match-up, this is nearly an unstoppable combo. And lastly, as a side note, everyone knows playing Millhouse Manastorm is pure swag. Never forget that.
Swag!
The second combo that can be used with Loatheb lies with the Rogue. What’s worse than all your spells costing 5 more mana? How about 10 more? By using Shadowstepping on Loatheb as early as turn 8 (5 mana initially, 0 to cast Shadowstep, and then play him again at the new reduced cost of 3), the Battlecry is doubled and your opponent’s spells will cost 10+ mana. It forces them to play a minion instead of using spells to remove him and leave something on the board that’s now YOUR problem to deal with.
Let’s bring Millhouse back in. For a turn 10 play, you can put him out first for 2 mana, then Loatheb for 5 mana, Shadowstep Loatheb (reducing his cost to 3), and then replay Loatheb for 3. You’ve now just set all of your opponent’s spells to 10 mana cost for their next turn, while negating Millhouse’s Battlecry and developing your board. The only spells you have to fear at that point are Pyroblast and Mind Control.
There’s a bit of incorrect information here. First off, referring to this: “For any other match-up, this is nearly an unstoppable combo and almost forces a silence from your opponent.” Silencing Loatheb wouldn’t actually do anything, because it’s a Battlecry and not an aura-type effect. Once Loatheb is played, that Battlecry is active for the entirety of the enemy’s turn, there is no work around for it. Even killing Loatheb wouldn’t remove the effect, you’d have to wait until next turn for mana costs to return to normal.
Secondly, referring to the last paragraph, in that scenario Pyroblast would either cost 15 (Loatheb by himself) or 20 (Loatheb + Shadowstep). He causes spells to cost 5 -more- mana, not causing the spells themselves to have a cost of 5 mana.
Thanks for pointing out some of the early errors in this article. We have gone in and made the appropriate edits where necessary. We appreciate you taking the hard look at the information and sorry for any inconvenience the original article may have caused you!
Hey, no worries. Just wanted to make sure it was caught, and it was. Thanks for the timely fix 🙂
Yes who ever wrote this article is not a pro and should not be writing for BlizzPro. Shouldn’t a moderator approve articles before they get published?
Dibface, your 1st paragraph is right, but referring to the last paragraph, the author is stating a scenario where millhouse is played first.
Aaron, thank you for submitting your comment. I apologize for any misinformation or misleading information that may have been published in the original version of this article. I have spoken with the writer and we have been editing it and cleaning it up. It’s my fault for letting it go through without giving it a harder read and I promise to do better in the future. Thank you for being so attentive to our content. I really appreciate it!
The entire article is about playing the two together. So yes, while I should have explained that playing Millhouse was a given, I didn’t. That’s on me. It’s not impossible to play Millhouse, Loatheb, Shadowstep, Loatheb either. 2+5+0+3=10. Shadowstep makes him cost 2 mana less.
A lot of the previous errors came from the editing/proof reading process and some poor communication. Also 2 paragraphs got merged with separate thoughts that somehow became one thought. That’s what I get for doing it at 12:30 in the morning LOL! Either way, there errors have been fixed and I’m sorry for the poor wording on some of the things that really needed more detail.
Aaron boy,
2+5+0+3=10
A pro should know how to count to ten, right? Well, you obviously don’t fit that description…
Well that is embarrassing…you’re right, I was thinking Shadowstep costs 2 mana for some reason. I never claimed to be a pro lol, that’s why i’m reading articles here.
That’s what I get for trying to think I know what I am talking about lol.