Card Analysis: Tinkmaster Overspark

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Tinkmaster Overspark is one of those cards that’s often overlooked by many players, because of its “random” card text. Where it’s true that he is random to some degree there is a lot about the card that you can control and expect. This is exactly why he could be seen amongst some of the top contending shaman decklists in the Hearthstone close beta tournaments.

Why “not” so random?

The first thing that we know for sure about this card is that it will silence our target. So whatever we chose to change will be silenced. This means that we can consciously use him as a taunt remover, or getting rid of a pesky card effect that bugs us. We KNOW that it will work. We also know that it will always be a 2/2 for 3, which is a bit much more than a Ironbeak Owl.

The randomness comes in a form of what we will get from our target after we play this playful gnome. Here again we can expect two things, we will either get a 1/1 funky squirrel, or a 5/5 dino. This is another thing that we KNOW will happen. What we do not know is whichever we will get. So how do we deal with this last part that’s truly random? We consciously assign our targets.

What should I target?

When using Tinkmaster Overspark you want to target the beefy stuff. The bigger the guy you target the more value you can get from this card. The best example is Sunwalker. When I use my gnomish power on this guy I know that in the worst case scenario he will become a 5/5 blank, which is obviously better for me than what the card represents. If I’m lucky with my coin flip I might get a 1/1 squirrel just for 3 mana, which will put me far ahead on the board. If I chose to use this trick on Ragnaros the Firelord I’m fine with whatever I can get. So the conclusion here is to pick your targets wisely for maximum profit.

When should I play it?

So we already know how to deal with our gnomish randomness, but this card is more than that. It’s mainly a removal card, or a silence card, but it can also serve a slightly different purpose. In some specific board situation you will want to use its powers on your own minions. In aggressive decks taking a chance and turning your 1/1 beat up minion into a fresh and hungry raptor can benefit you immensely. Again if you miss you will end up with whatever you had and a 2/2 blank gnome that can also be used. This means that this card is flexible enough to use it in different situations.

Where should I play it?

Tinkmaster Overspark is mostly popular in mid-range shaman decks, where he serves as a 3rd Hex card. So in any type of a deck, when you’d like to have that flexible Hex he is a good addition. He is also a cool card to have in an aggro deck. I was using him in one of my tempo murloc builds, where he mainly served as a cheap silence card that could be used with all the above mentioned flexibility and change the board state.

How to value our gnome when I mulligan?

This is clearly a mid-game/ late-game card. So when I was playing it I was mostly throwing it out of my starting hand. As mentioned before you really want to target the bigger minions, or to use it under specific conditions that can benefit you.

Conclusion.

To close it up Tinkmaster Overspark is not the best card you can have in your deck, but it’s decent if used well and is definitely undervalued. Knowing how to handle it’s supposed randomness you will be able to use him to a much wider extent than before. This is a card that will be greatly appreciated by players who are willing to take a bigger risk to grab a greater reward.

There is nothing better than getting that squirrel token from something very scary, so good luck with your future “sparking”!