Naxxramas Arena Card Rankings

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The new Naxxramas set has finally arrived and I wanted to give you all an insight into how I value the new cards in arena. These will be my first impressions, as they haven’t fully been released in arena just yet. I am going to give each new card a value from 1 to 4 . Here is how I break down the values:

1 Unplayable card – only take in the most dire of circumstances

2 Playable card –not exciting, but not embarrassing either. Might be situational or require synergy with other cards to be good.

3 Good card – You are happy to have multiples of this card.

4 Elite card – Bomb level card- probably a built in two for one or better; or just a very efficient card.

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Dancing Swords - Score: 3

This card is very efficient but comes with a drawback. If your deck is leaning aggressive, this card goes up a bit in value. 4/4 is a very large size, and will usually cost a card and a half to take out if not two cards, which becomes an even trade. There are times where it will go unchecked and deal a lot of damage before being taken down. It also is a great target for buffs like Blessing of Kings as if it becomes silenced, you at least lose the drawback as well. I see this card being a part of some brutal curve outs such as coin out a 3/2, turn two 3/2, turn three Dancing Swords, turn four Yeti. Most decks will have a very hard time profitably getting out of that situation.

Haunted Creeper - Score: 2

This spider seems like a decent turn two play, if that is what your curve needs. I feel it is similar in power level to Loot Hoarder and Novice Engineer. It does allow for some interesting synergies if you have ways of pumping your team and is a beast for hunter decks. Sadly it looks like the spiders it spawns are not beasts, so it isn’t that crazy for hunters.

Mad Scientist - Score: 2.5

Obviously some classes don’t have access to secrets, but I assume the game logic is good enough that this only appears for classes that have secrets. What I like about the Scientist is that you can draft one or two of the same powerful secret and then essentially tutor it up when he dies. If you have a variety of secrets, I feel he is a little less strong as you don’t know what you are getting. He is a little worse in Paladin as their secrets are so cheap anyway, but a free card is a free card. The 2/2 body is fine as well as the most popular two drops are 3/2, which the Scientist happily trades with. I imagine he will be tricky to draft in arena in that if you pick him, you may not see any secrets going forward to draft, in which case he is quite weak. I would lean towards only picking him if I already had a good secret or if I was desperate for a two drop.

Nerub’ar Weblord - Score: 2.5

The weblord is nicely undercosted for his body and the disruption he provides. Many of the best minions have battlecry and thus are tougher to play with him around. Sadly, one power is quite low and thus the card itself is fairly low impact on the board as a minion to battle with. I won’t go out of my way to pick this, but I won’t be sad either to end up with one.

Spectral Knight - Score: 3.5

This is a great card! Faerie dragon is one of my favorite two drops, and I will happily pick and play multiple of his big brother here. This card represents at least a two for one as your opponent will likely need to trade a few smaller minions to take it down and sometimes it may take up to three cards to deal with! Being immune to all targeted removal is a very great benefit. This card will gave Mage decks fits, which is great! The best counter I believe would be a larger minion like Venture Co. or Boulderfist Ogre, but barring those on the other side of the board, you will be happy with your Knight.

Stoneskin Gargoyle - Score: 1.5

This is a very weak card at three mana. I already mentioned how low impact the1/4 body is in general and the extra ability is not enough to account for that on top of an additional mana. The card approaches playability when you have some solid buff cards like Blessing of Kings, but I would much rather have a minion that is individually more impactful.

Undertaker - Score: 1

The power of this card depends how many Deathrattle minions you can draft alongside him. I would lean towards ignoring him early in a draft and then if I have a number of cheap Deathrattlers, I’d consider taking him. Another problem with him is that you want Deathrattle minions that aren’t more than three mana as having a 1/2 that becomes a 2/3 on turn four or five is exceptionally poor. In general this card reminds me a little of Murloc cards – too hard to ultimately build a deck around and it is better to just take cards that are better on their own without help.

Unstable Ghoul - Score: 3

This is a solid two drop that has pretty nice upside in certain situations. One great thing about it is its versatility. It can be played in the late game to absorb a large minion’s attack and potentially take down a few X/1s and it is clearly pretty strong early. The card encourages you not to draft X/1s, which is a policy I try to employ anyway!

I see it pairing well with heroes that can ping minions for 1 damage such as Mage. The card is pretty terrible in a Paladin deck given the nonbo with the hero power.

Zombie Chow - Score: 3.5

I might be a little too high on Zombie Chow, but I find it hard to come up with a better one drop in Arena. Your main play with the card is to trade with a two drop of your opponent, which is a very efficient play. The life your opponent gets doesn’t even matter! The problem is the card is not the best outside the first few turns, but being one mana allows you to sneak it into play on a turn where you can’t be fully mana efficient. One of the least important resources in Hearthstone is the life total and as such, I am not scared to give five to my opponent if I can get a card worth of value as well as gaining a crucial mana advantage.

Deathlord - Score: 2

This is quite the risky card, but I think it may be worth the risk in arena. Most arena decks are at least a third two drops, so what your opponent gets may not be that devastating. It is hard to argue with the stats as this will be quite annoying to fight through with minions. It also has the nice benefit of not getting blown out by a silence effect. I think in general, you will want to take a safer card, but if you’re faced with two stinkers, I would not be afraid to try a Deathloard.

Nerubian Egg - Score: 3

The egg needs some help to get going, but there are plenty of minions that are high picks in arena that play great with him. Shattered Sun Cleric , Defender of Argus, and Dire Wolf Alpha for example. It also synergizes well with buff spells in general. I would be weary of taking this over other cards that are powerful on their own, but if you already have some cards that combo with it, you could do worse.

Sludge Belcher - Score: 3

The Belcher is a fine minion, very similar in power level to Taz Dingo. I prefer my five drops to have a bit more power, but he is a totally fine play.

Wailing Soul - Score: 3

This minion does its best Yeti impression and while it comes up short, it is certainly playable. Five health is quite powerful and the silence ability can be powerful in situations. I wouldn’t want to aim for this if I had a lot of buff cards or minions with lots of abilities, but I wouldn’t be afraid to take it if I had to either.

Echoing Ooze - Score: 2

The Ooze is a cool card, with a very awesome animation, but I feel is a little weak in stats. It combos great with cheap buff cards, and is pretty cool if you can return it to your hand with a brewmaster, but 1/2 bodies are fairly low impact. In the end, it is a playable two drop if that is what you need.

Shade of Naxxramas - Score: 3

The shade is a powerful card and is at least a 3/3 for three if you need to use him right away. He gets considerably weaker as a play as the game goes on, but on turn two or three he is quite good.

Baron Rivendare - Score: 2.5

The Baron is quite weak if you don’t have a number of Deathrattlers. Early on, I would not take him if I had more solid options, but later in the draft if I already had a number of good Deathrattlers, I would give him a closer look.

Feugen - Score: 4

Feugen’s stats are just too good for the mana cost, even if his other text is irrelevant, as it will be most of the time. Seven health is a crazy amount and far worth the additional mana more than a Yeti.

Kel’Thuzad - Score: 4

Kel’Thuzad is absurdly powerful in arena. The body is excellent for the cost, and you can just drop him, trade minions, and profit like a madman. Possibly one of the most powerful legendaries in Arena, all told.

Loatheb - Score: 4

Very great body for the cost, and the ability means your opponent won’t be able to kill him with a spell very easily the next turn, so you will likely get to take down a minion with him before being dealth with.

Maexxna - Score: 3.5

Maexxna has a powerful ability, but her body is a little weak for the cost. I also don’t like that she gets owned by Stampeding Kodo. Still, you will likely get a two for one with Maexxna in most situations, making her a fine pick.

Stalagg - Score: 3.5

Stalagg’s body is quite a bit worse than Feugen, but still powerful depending on the board. I like that it can trade with a Boulderfist Ogre, but it is unfortunate that a Yeti can trade with it straight up. Even more unfortunate is if a 3/2 runs into it and a hero power cleans him up. Still, if he goes unchecked for a turn or two, he can do a ton of damage.

I hope you enjoyed the set review! Next time I will take a look at the class specific cards.

Thanks for reading,

Ben Chapman

@bchap55