HearthPro Picks: Favorite Plague Quarter Card Reward
by JR Cook - 10 years ago show comments
We here at the BlizzPro Hearthstone site are rabid fans of the game, to say the very least. Whether we’re writing articles, recording podcasts, or chatting it up with you all in the community over social media, we care a lot about the development of the game and how it’s being received by the players. As a result, that leads to a LOT of thinking about Hearthstone. With all of that thinking, some pretty stalwart opinions develop as well. Enter HearthPro Picks! Each week, we’ll be putting our opinions out in the open for you to agree or disagree with on some part of the game – favorite cards, least favorite changes, and on and on. We hope you enjoy and come banter with us!
This week, we’re continuing with the Curse of Naxxramas theme and picking our favorite card reward from the Plague Quarter. Here are the possible options:
Stephen Stewart
– Webspinner –
So, I’m pretty sure the “right” answer here is Loatheb, right? Like, if you’re a conscientious human being with a heart and love for anything in the world, you are heralding Loatheb as not only the card that we want, but the card that we deserve to eradicate the evil Miracle Rogues from this world, yes? Well, to be perfectly honest, I was on this bandwagon and then I started watching some games. I fear Loatheb is not enough. I fear the Miracolis have simply met their maker and shaken hands with him. Loatheb, why you do dis?
In all seriousness, Webspinner: the one drop minion Hunters have been waiting for. Throwing out a Timber Wolf on Turn 1 might as well hit the Concede button for you simultaneously. When it comes to Beasts, more is better and the option to have one that you wouldn’t normally put in your list can be seen two ways. On the one hand, the Webspinner represents so much RNG that most serious players loathe the idea of embracing this playstyle. They want control over all outcomes and to have their skill carry them. On the other hand, Webspinner is just a fun card with upsides and downsides. Imagine throwing one out and pulling an Owl when you didn’t have one in your list, which inevitably proves to be ultimately useful to get a Taunt out of your way and let you carry out a lethal play… Thanks, Webspinner! I think seeing it positively will allow you to have more fun with “riding Spinnas” as I’m now lovingly referring to it. Plus, a Webspinner can give you another Webspinner so that you can Webspinner while you Webspinner. Value?
Shoutouts to Duplicate though; that new Mage deck is a handful and will only get better once we see the Mad Scientist.
Kevin Hovdestad
– Loatheb –
For me, the clear winner this week is Loatheb, hands down. His stats are solid for a five mana minion, but it’s the immense value his Battlecry has in deadening your opponent’s tempo by all but preventing removal that really sells it for me. It’s better as a Battlecry than a fixed minion effect, in my opinion.
I can’t think of a single style of deck that Loatheb shouldn’t feature in. I’m hesitant to say the value here is too high, but I feel like this might be Sylvanas 2.0 – until we see how it bears out with the rest of the Naxx additions, though, it’s probably too early to call.
Shauna Dawson
– Sludge Belcher –
In a control deck, this card has incredible value. You essentially get a Sen’jin Shieldmasta and a Goldshire Footman without sacrificing the deck slot for the poor, unloved Footman. At 5 mana, it does a great job of baiting out The Black Knight or a silence to protect some of your better taunts like Sunwalker or Tirion Fordring, but most importantly, I just love to attack with it. The belching sound makes my inner 7 year old giggle with delight every time!
J. R. Cook
– Loatheb –
In this week’s pick, I feel like there were only 2 real candidates to discuss and those were Loatheb and Sludge Belcher. Loatheb, I choose you.
Not only is Loatheb a meaty 5/5 for 5 mana, he’s the only 5/5 for 5 mana that solely benefits you and screws over your opponent. Elite Tauren Chieftain has nothing on this guy.
However, my main reason for picking Loatheb this week is because he was touted early on as the Miracle Rogue killer. Little did people come to realize, he would actually HELP Miracle Rogues more than hurt them. You mean I can play a turn 5 Gadgetzan Auctioneer, Coin, Conceal, draw 2 cards and then turn 6 drop Loatheb and watch my opponent weep? Yes please. Loatheb is the Anakin Skywalker of the Hearthstone world. He was the chosen one to bring balance, but instead, he joined the dark side.
And that my friends is why Loatheb should win this week’s picks hands down.
Well well! We have a bit more diversity this time around (mostly due to my oddball pick but my co-workers clearly ain’t about that #hunterlife). Which card do you all like this time around? Post a comment and let us know!
I really enjoy tossing down Webspinner and having the wild and unexpected results. It’s value is with the flexibility of the player, and being able to throw a wrench in the expected.
Loatheb is solid. I regularly watch games at high and low ends of the ladder, so seeing how you can stall (or be stalled) with him is impressive. Shadowstep with Loatheb – ouch.
Sludge Belcher is probably my favorite so far. I’ve had some fun shenanigans with him in my shaman and priest decks.
You play him in Priest, really? Tell me more. What match-ups are you finding it most useful in?
I like it vs zoo because by turn 5 quite often having a sticky taunt helps me swing or seal the match. It usually is a target for Doomguard, followed by whatever clears the slime, but that opens the Soulpriest circle wipe more cleanly with Doomguard at 4 health.
Against Druid, having Sludge Belcher in front of a Nerub’ar Warlord can delay the Keeper another turn, bait out a poorly traded swipe (I love dropping a second Warlord the following turn). That setup also makes Black Knight unavailable for a while.
Miracle saps or doesn’t deal with it efficiently. That’s okay in my books.
Honestly, for 5 I view it in some matches as a removal magnet. It’s a card that, if it doesn’t draw CC, often will cost my opponent 6+ resources to deal with or leave their board vulnerable to Nova.
I really enjoy tossing down Webspinner and having the wild and unexpected results. It’s value is with the flexibility of the player, and being able to throw a wrench in the expected.
Loatheb is solid. I regularly watch games at high and low ends of the ladder, so seeing how you can stall (or be stalled) with him is impressive. Shadowstep with Loatheb – ouch.
Sludge Belcher is probably my favorite so far. I’ve had some fun shenanigans with him in my shaman and priest decks.
You play him in Priest, really? Tell me more. What match-ups are you finding it most useful in?
I like it vs zoo because by turn 5 quite often having a sticky taunt helps me swing or seal the match. It usually is a target for Doomguard, followed by whatever clears the slime, but that opens the Soulpriest circle wipe more cleanly with Doomguard at 4 health.
Against Druid, having Sludge Belcher in front of a Nerub’ar Warlord can delay the Keeper another turn, bait out a poorly traded swipe (I love dropping a second Warlord the following turn). That setup also makes Black Knight unavailable for a while.
Miracle saps or doesn’t deal with it efficiently. That’s okay in my books.
Honestly, for 5 I view it in some matches as a removal magnet. It’s a card that, if it doesn’t draw CC, often will cost my opponent 6+ resources to deal with or leave their board vulnerable to Nova.
I think it’s unfair to say Loatheb’s usefulness helps Miracle Rogues more than hurts them. That could be said of all cards: if a card is in your deck, it is more likely to hurt your opponent than benefit them. Playing Loatheb against anyone with a spell deck will hurt them regardless of class so let’s stop with the “it’s helping Miracle more than hurting” argument.
I think it’s unfair to say Loatheb’s usefulness helps Miracle Rogues more than hurts them. That could be said of all cards: if a card is in your deck, it is more likely to hurt your opponent than benefit them. Playing Loatheb against anyone with a spell deck will hurt them regardless of class so let’s stop with the “it’s helping Miracle more than hurting” argument.