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The 8 most powerful Journey to Un’Goro cards
It’s early days, but these are some of the most powerful cards in Hearthstone’s latest expansion.
Players have already discovered powerful new cards
© Blizzard
Azure Drake, Ragnaros, Sylvanas – all gone. With the launch of Hearthstone's latest expansion and the start of the Year of the Mammoth, a number of the game's most powerful classic cards were moved from Standard to Wild. It's a massive change and has forced players to rethink common deck lists, and the cards that were automatically included in a lot of popular decks.
Now, we may have only just begun our Journey to Un'Goro, but a handful of new cards have already emerged at the top. The meta is still far from settled following the launch, but if you're looking for a deck for this month's ladder climb, then you'll probably want to include some of these cards.
Jeweled Macaw
This new Hunter card seems fairly innocuous at first glance: it's simply a neutral one mana 1/1 that adds a random beast to your hand. If you remember how powerful Webspinner was back in the day, though, then you should have a good idea why Hunter players are excited for Jeweled Macaw.
It's perfect for the new Hunter quest, The Marsh Queen, and also swapping the random beast you're given from a Deathrattle to a Battlecry is a major plus, as it makes the card more viable in the late game. When you're topdecking it's all but guaranteed that you'll have the mana left to play the new beast card it grants you immediately – pretty handy if you end up with King Krush or a Savannah Highmane.
Humongous Razorleaf
Guess who's back? It's Handlock. And Humongous Razorleaf is the new toothy star bringing the deck back to viability. Similar to Ancient Watcher, the Humongous Razorleaf offers a substantial stat line of 4/8 considering its three mana cost. It also, however, has the small downside of being unable to attack.
That's not an issue for Handlock. With Sunfury Protector and Defender of Argus, the Humongous Razorleaf becomes an impenetrable wall of greenery that fast aggro decks struggle to cut through. Overall, the deck still struggles with minimal healing and the lack of finishing power from a card like Ragnaros, but this is a positive sign for a deck that was thought long lost to the annals of Hearthstone history. And all thanks to a giant plant with teeth.
Blazecaller
The new Elemental minion type was added to the game with Journey to Un'Goro, and one of their key mechanics is gaining additional power or effects if you played one on the previous turn too. Blazecaller has a below average stat line for its cost, but it does come with the huge bonus of being able to deal a whopping five damage to a target if you fulfill the activation requirement.
Play this in a Shaman deck that's loaded with Elementals and you can set up an impressive chain of minions that all activate off each other. Servant of Kalimos into Fire Elemental into Blazecaller into Al'Akir into your opponent weeping from the mad value you've extracted out of your cards.
The Caverns Below/Crystal Core
Of the nine new legendary Quest cards in Journey to Un'Goro, only a handful have made their way into seemingly viable decks. One, however, has caused quite a stir all on its own. The Caverns Below is a card that's been well and truly plundered for all its worth a mere few days into the expansion's life cycle, going from being thought of as completely unplayable by some to the dominant position it sits in for now.
The reward for completing the quest, Crystal Core, sets the health and attack of all your minions to 5/5 for the rest of the game. By bouncing minions back into your hand using Shadowstep, Youthful Brewmaster and Gadgetzan Ferryman, you can complete the quest by turn four with an exceptional draw. Then, the damage can immediately pile on, as you throw down cheap charge minions that are now buffed up to overrun your opponent. It's brought back Stonetusk Boar, but many are expecting to see (read: praying for) a nerf.
Tar Creeper
Tar Creeper is another seemingly insignificant card that actually disguises a lot of its power. It's also one of Blizzard's most interesting new design mechanics. A three mana 1/5 with taunt doesn't inspire much excitement, but the bonus two attack it gains on your opponent's turn can do wonders for slowing down those niggling aggro decks.
It's perfect for control-oriented decks that take their time to grow in power over the course of the match and are all about delaying the opponent. Warrior and Warlock both have class specific versions of this card too, though it's the basic Tar Creeper that stands out the most.
Open The Waygate/Time Warp
A lot of players are already out questing in Un'Goro with the new spread of legendary quest cards and rewards added in the latest set. Some have come off quite poorly (looking at you The Last Kaleidosaur and Lakkari Sacrifice), whereas others have gone on to define entirely new deck types. One winner is the new Mage quest, Open the Waygate, and its reward, Time Warp.
Having a whole extra turn is massively powerful and players are already putting that advantage to full effect. There have been adaptations on the classic Freeze Mage using this card and new decklists that fill the board with Giants on the first turn before they proceed to run you over on the second. You can do nothing but watch your life pool dwindle away.
Awaken the Makers/Amara, Warden of Hope
Another huge Quest reward grants an immensely powerful card. In the past Priest decks have had the benefit of being able to extend games longer than you would have thought possible, thanks to a bevy of comeback mechanics and an arsenal of healing cards. Now there's a new one for the list.
Amara is like running a more powerful Reno Jackson, restoring you to 40 health and giving you an 8/8 taunt on the board. Also, you're not forced to run only one copy of each card in your deck. You do have to play seven Deathrattle minions to complete the Awaken the Makers Quest, but there are multiple comfortable ways to achieve that on Priest. Once that's done your opponent is stuck trying to figure out a way to defeat you all over again.
Kalimos, Primal Lord
Back to Shaman again, the new class legendary offers insane value if you're able to pair it up with an Elemental on the previous turn. Again, it's a mediocre stat line, but you're playing the card for the Elemental Invocation – the 7/7 body is a small bonus.
There's a lot of flexibility to the Invocations, which makes the card useful in almost every situation. Does the opponent have a board full of small minions? Wipe them out by dealing three damage to all. Need that last bit of damage to defeat your opponent? Deal six to the enemy hero. Empty board? Fill it with 1/1 Elementals. Need a health boost to stay alive? Restore 12 to your hero. There's an answer to every situation.
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