Spells, and The Damage Done

Author: Andrew ‘The Water Boiler’ Klawitter

The game of hearthstone, at its core, is about minions. Playing minions, attacking with minions, killing minions, playing more minions. But one of the most effective ways to deal with an opponents minions, without losing your own, is a damage spell. Just as minions have various strengths and weakness, it takes skill to choose your spells wisely, as all damage spells are not created equal.

Every class has access to a suite of damage spells.The defining characteristics of these damage spells are what set the classes apart. From limiting spell targets, or adding effects like freeze, to increasing exposure of your own minions to the damage affects, the classes differentiate themselves by these supplemental effects to their spells.

For instance, Mage and Shaman are very similar in the total strength of their spell wielding ability. In comparing their spells, we notice the main difference boils down to the shaman paying for his spells over multiple turns, whereas the mage is required to pay in full up front.

Let’s start off with a quick evaluation of the damage spells by class:

• Druid spells are focused around emphasizing versatility. These spells are giving us a choice as to whether we need a large amount of damage to a single target, or if we should only require a smaller amounts of damage with additional bonus effects.
• Hunter spells uniqueness comes from their preemptive damage dealing secrets. Allowing them to set up damage to trigger on the opponents turn, putting the focus on how well your opponent can play around them.
• Mage spells have the highest damage potential, as well as the highest crystal costs. They also have a subtheme of freezing their opponent, which is especially useful if the spell does not deal enough damage to destroy a minion in a single shot.
• Paladins have relatively weak flat out damage spells. Yet, they have a hidden pseudo-damage spell in the form of Equality, which indirectly deals a varied amount of damage to all the minions on the battlefield, without expressly saying so.
• Priest spells maintain a dual focus on both damage and restoring health. They are never at their full potential without the Prophet Velen guiding their way.
• Rogues swing on the opposite end of the spectrum to that of the Mage, having the highest damage potential early, at relatively low crystal costs, but become rather ineffective in the late game. This is because the aggressively low cost spells are excellent combo enablers.
• Shaman overload their spells to allow for the greatest impact on the turn they are played, while worrying about their implications for future turns later. This allows them to have the highest immediate board impact for the printed crystal cost, but leaves them vulnerable to subsequently played minions on the following turn.
• Warlock motto: No Pain, No Gain. The willingness to sacrifice their own minions (and cards) to get in extra damage to the opponent.
• Warrior spells are worded in such a way that they can be either used as removal on enemy minions, or as an enrage enabler. (Just try not to play Inner Rage on your Raging Worgen while you have two Azure Drakes in play.)

Switching Gears, we move from the class evaluation into the more comparative cost evaluation. Here we can see if, perhaps, we might favor a specific class over the others, when it comes to damage spell effectiveness at different stages of the game.

In the lists below, I have put a * star by the two spells that are the best in each category, according to my personal evaluations of usefulness.

Zero Crystal Damage Spells

The cards:
(druid) Moonfire, 1 damage
(hunter) Hunter’s Mark, ? damage
(rogue) *Backstab, 2 damage (to an undamaged minion)
(warlock) *Soulfire, 4 damage (plus discard a card)
(warrior) Inner Rage, 1 damage (to a minion, plus give to +2 attack)

Discussion: Zero Crystal spells still cost you something. They cost you the card slot in your deck. Soulfire is clearly the strongest of this group, but it does cost an extra card, though in a sense it could be considered to have overload (2), deal two damage to your hero, as the warlock hero power will draw that extra card for two crystals and two health. Another interesting spell here, is the much maligned Hunter’s mark. But do not let the crystal cost fool you, this spell is primarily a late-game card, allowing the hunter a means to deal with minions with large health totals, Equality style, but limited to a single target.

One Crystal Damage Spells

The cards:
(druid) Savagery, ? damage (to a minion)
(hunter) Arcane Shot, 2 damage
(mage) Arcane Missiles, 3 damage (random)
(mage) Ice Lance, 4 damage (to a frozen character)
(paladin) Eye for an Eye, ? damage (to the enemy hero)
(priest) Holy Smite, 2 damage
(rogue) Sinister Strike, 3 damage (to the enemy hero)
(shaman) *Earth Shock, 1 damage (to a minion, plus silence)
(shaman) Forked Lightning, 2 damage to two minions (plus overload 2)
(shaman) Frost Shock, 1 damage (plus freeze)
(shaman) *Lightning Bolt, 3 damage (plus overload 1)
(warlock) Mortal Coil, 1 damage to a minion, (plus draw a card)
(warrior) Shield Slam, ? damage (to a minion)
(warrior) Whirlwind, 1 damage to all minions

Discussion: It would appear as if the shaman has the most one crystal damage spells available, but this is merely because his specialty in overloading makes them appear cheaper than they actually cost. Arcane Missiles, Arcane Shot, and Holy Smite should all be consider as minion removal, and should never be played to target your opponent’s hero unless it is either the final points of damage, or you have a Malygos in play. Due to the single crystal cost of these cards, they all work perfectly with Malygos, breathing new life into their effectiveness when you give them all Spell Damage +5. Just don’t fall into the trap of saving them for turn ten when you can get sufficient use out of them in earlier turns.

Two Crystal Damage Spells

The cards:
(druid) Wrath, 3 damage (to a minion), or 1 damage (to a minion, plus draw a card)
(hunter) Explosive Trap, 2 damage to all enemies (preemptive)
(hunter) Snipe, 4 damage (to an enemy minion) (preemptive)
(mage) Arcane Explosion, 1 damage to all enemy minions
(mage) *Frostbolt, 3 damage (plus freeze)
(priest) Mind Blast, 5 damage (to the enemy hero)
(rogue) Betrayal, ? damage to up to two enemy minions
(rogue) Blade Fury, ? damage to all enemy characters
(rogue) *Eviscerate, 2 damage, or 4 damage (conditional on combo)
(rogue) Shiv, 1 damage (plus draw a card)
(warlock) Demonfire, 2 damage to a minion
(warrior) Cleave, 2 damage to two random enemy minions
(warrior) Slam, 2 damage (plus draw a card)

Discussion: There are quite a few spells at two crystals that draw a card, replacing themselves. These are excellent choices to deal with a low health early threat minion, while advancing your own position through card advantage. That being said, Eviscerate and Frostbolt have the highest damage potential with precision targeting of all the two cost spells.

Three Crystal Damage Spells

The cards:
(hunter) *Kill Command, 3 damage, or 5 damage (conditional on beast)
(rogue) Fan of Knives, 1 damage to all enemy minions (plus draw a card)
(rogue) Headcrack, 2 damage to the enemy hero (plus returns to hand)
(shaman) Lava Burst, 5 damage (plus overload 2)
(shaman) *Lightning Storm, 2-3 damage to all enemy minions (plus overload 2)
(warlock) Drain life, 2 damage (plus restore 2 health to your hero)
(warlock) Shadow Bolt, 4 damage (to a minion)

Discussion: It is interesting to see two spells that deal five damage at the three crystal cost, one that requires a beast, the other that depletes your crystals for a future turn. Since the hunter has many incredible beast minions, this puts the Kill Command squarely above the Lava Burst in power level. Though still below the Lightning Storm, which I feel is the most powerful damage spell in the entire game.

Four Crystal Damage Spells

The cards:
(druid) *Swipe, 4 damage plus 1 damage to each other enemy character
(hunter) Multi-Shot, 3 damage to two random enemy minions
(mage) Cone of Cold, 1 damage to up to 3 enemy minions (plus freeze)
(mage) Fireball, 6 damage
(paladin) Consecration, 2 damage to all enemy characters
(paladin) Hammer of Wrath, 3 damage (plus draw a card)
(warlock) Hellfire, 3 damage to ALL characters
(warlock) Shadowflame, ? damage to all enemy minions
(warrior) *Mortal Strike, 4 damage, or 6 damage (conditional on low hero life)

Discussion: This is a very difficult grouping to evaluate, many of these cards will do six damage in the right circumstances. So the question you should ask yourself, is where that damage is focused. For this reason I find Swipe at the top of its game, since you will very likely get to kill two minions with it, plus get some extra damage in on any others. And while mortal strike is effectively a fireball for the warrior, its hard to consider it more effective than an actual fireball, though it eeks out as my second choice for strongest in this category, since it’s strength comes from giving the warrior a means in which to effectively deal damage past an opposing taunt minion.

Five Crystal Damage Spells

The cards:
(druid) Starfall, 5 damage (to a minion), or 2 damage to all enemy minions
(hunter) *Explosive Shot, 5 damage (to a minion), plus a possible two extra damage to two additional enemy minions
(paladin) Holy Wrath, ? damage (plus draw a card)
(priest) *Holy Nova, 2 damage to all enemy characters (plus restore 2 health to all friendly characters)
(warlock) Bane of Doom, 2 damage (to a minion, plus summon a demon)

Discussion: At five crystals, we have Holy Nova, where the Priest gets a Consecration effect, with an extra crystal cost for healing. Starfall is similar, with the benefit of turning it into a weak fireball, thus protecting against large minions, or lots of little ones. And Explosive Shot is like having both effects of Starfall jammed together.

Six Crystal Damage Spells

The cards:
(druid) Starfire, 5 damage (plus draw a card)
(mage) *Blizzard, 2 damage to all enemy minions (plus freeze)
(paladin) *Avenging Wrath, 8 damage (random)
(priest) Holy Fire, 5 damage (plus restore 5 health)

Discussion: In our six crystals costs, we learn that drawing a card is given the equivalent of five health. Yet, the two more significant of these are the area of effect spells, in Avenging Wrath and Blizzard. The first is great against a small number of minions, with varied health totals, where you can follow up with smaller minion hits to clear out any stragglers. Where the blizzard doesnt kill larger minions outright, it will hold off the horde for another turn, allowing the mage a stay of execution for a turn.

Seven+ Crystal Damage Spells

The cards:
(mage) *Flamestrike, 7 crystals, 4 damage to all enemy minions
(mage) *Pyroblast, 10 crystals, 10 damage

Discussion: Clearly the two most flashy damage cards in the game, as Flamestrike and Pyroblast have unparalleled damage potential, and the steep crystal costs to go with them.

There’s a Chill in the Air

If you look at the damage potential of many of these spells, the early damage limit caps around three or four damage. This is just not quite enough to take out a Chillwind Yeti. Which is one of the main reasons he makes such an incredibly strong minion, even without any special game text. Having five health against many of the classes provides incredible resilience against any weak damage spells available.

An even more significant health level comes at six, which puts minions outside of the damage potential of almost any solitary spell, all but that Fireball. Which makes you realize why the following four and five cost minions are some of the strongest mid-range minions in the game: Water Elemental, Druid of the Claw, Fen Creeper, Venture Co. Mercenary.

Which is your favorite damage spell? Do you favor the versatility of the unconditional, unrestrictive damage spells? or do you prefer to have a highly specific, yet higher damage potential, of a more focused spell that has a very limited target range? Let me know in the comments section below.