Also check out our list of Goblins vs. Gnomes’ worst new cards.
It’s called Goblins vs. Gnomes, but the real fight is between you and any random person also playing Hearthstone.
The digital card game’s new expansion, which adds 143 new cards, is out today. Of course, some of the new minions and spells are better than others. And while it’ll take a lot of playtime and testing to see which cards become the best of the bunch, a few of them already show a lot of promise.
Five new cards in particular, detailed below, look like they can change any match.
Bouncing Blade
Class: Warrior
Type: Spell
Mana: 3
Rarity: Epic
Bouncing Blade randomly hits enemy minions for 1 damage until one of them dies. In the right situation, this could be insane. If your opponent has only one minion in play with a ton of health, this card could kill it for just 3 mana. If he has two minions with a lot of health, it could kill the one and also do a lot of damage to the other.
Of course, that is a bit situational. If your opponent has any weak minions on the field, especially one with just 1 health, this card might not be as useful, especially if any of them have Deathrattles that you’re trying to avoid. Still, the potential for this spell is pretty nuts.
Keep in mind that Bouncing Blade can hurt your own minions too, but this could actually work to your advantage with cards like Acolyte of Pain, which draws a card for you each time it takes damage.
Bolvar Fordragon
Class: Paladin
Type: Minion
Mana: 5
Rarity: Legendary
Forget about Warlock Zoo and Hunter Zoo. Here comes Pally Zoo.
Bolvar is an incredible mid- to late-game card, especially for decks that have a lot of low-cost, low-health minions. Each time one of them dies, Bolvar’s attack goes up by one while he’s in your hand. By the time you play him, he could have a ton of attack power.
Of course, this ability is a buff, so any silence spell or card that reduces a minion’s attack to 1 (like Humility or Aldo Peacekeeper) would negate it. But considering you could play this card toward the end of a match and potentially have a minion with 10 attack power that costs just 5 mana, it’s worth the risk.
Feign Death
Class: Hunter
Type: Spell
Mana: 2
Rarity: Epic
Deathrattles can trigger a ton of interesting effects, like giving you cards, health, or even new minions. Feign Death activates those abilities without killing your minions, meaning that they’ll likely trigger again.
Combined with cards like the Nerubian Egg, which summons a 4/4 minion when it dies, this could quickly give you a huge advantage in any match. Imagine having two Nerubian Eggs on the board and then using Feign Death. You’d still have the Eggs and two 4/4 minions.
Foe Reaper 4000
Class: Neutral
Type: Minion
Mana: 8
Rarity: Legendary
A 6/9 minion might not seem like a great value for 8 mana, but Foe Reaper 4000 can attack three minions at the same time. He deals 6 damage each to the target minion and the ones next to it, but he only receives damage from the target.
This makes Foe Reaper an incredible way to clear your opponents board, especially since it will let you bypass things like Taunt and Stealth. He also has 9 health, so you should get to use his attack more than once before your opponent is able to destroy him.
Of course, if the other player has less than three minions on the board, Foe Reaper’s value drops considerably.
Kezan Mystic
Class: Neutral
Type: Minion
Mana: 4
Rarity: Rare
Everyone hates trying to play around your opponent’s Secrets, trap cards that activate under special conditions. Not only does the Kezan Mystic take a Secret away from the other player, but it also gives it to you. All of this happens while you add a 4/3 minion to your board.
Of course, not every class has Secrets (only Paladins, Hunters, and Mages use them) so this minion’s use depends on your opponent. Otherwise, you just have a 4/3 minion with an uneven 4 mana cost.