Saviors of Uldum is the newest set to be announced in Hearthstone. In this set, the League of E.V.I.L comes to invade Uldum right after their victory in Dalaran. However, they are met with the League of Explorers. Each member of the League of Explorers has taken up a class as predicted, rather than staying as neutral minions. Additionally, in this set, players get three new features. Players will notice the return of Quests, the creation and usage of Plagues and finally, the new keyword, Reborn. Will these bring back some nostalgic Hearthstone or be the fresh breath of air and the breath of life that Hearthstone wants.
Quests
Players see the return of Quests.in this set, however with a completely different theme about them. They still will be the first card shown in the opening hand as well as only costing one mana. The part that is completely different is that the reward is immediately put into effect. Additionally, the reward is not a minion or a weapon or a spell. The reward is a new Hero Power. This is very similar to how the Warrior Quest worked. The only difference is that there is no weapon that is needed to be equipped to change the Hero Power.
These new Quests bring in a ton of new ideas and variables into Hearthstone games. Hero Powers have been the most balanced part of the game, and any changes to them have proven to throw the balance completely. However, these rewards are not simply changing the numbers on the Hero Power by increasing its effectiveness or lowering its cost, it is completely changing it to something new. For example, with the Shaman Quest, playing six battlecry minions will give you the reward. The Reward is a Hero Power that will trigger battlecries twice for the turn. This essentially makes Ellectra a useless card as well as becoming useful for mid and late game.
Changing the Hero Power completely as a reward for completely a quest could be just as powerful as the old Quest cards, if not more. The replacement of them will change the mid and late game, especially since some are straight improvements on the original Hero Power. The Warlock Quest reward is to make the Hero Power into draw a card with no damage as well as making the drawn card cost zero mana. This is a huge boost in power, however the stronger the reward, the harder the quest is to complete. Although with a card like Plot Twist, the quest might not be as hard as it seems.
Plagues
The League of E.V.I.L. has not been sitting by doing nothing. They have increased in power and now wield the power of Plagues. Plagues are powerful spells that can devastate entire boards, not distinguishing between friend or foe. Only the Priest, Warlock, Shaman, Rogue and Warrior classes will be receiving these Plagues spells, for those are the only classes in the League of E.V.I.L. Perhaps in the final set of the Year of the Dragon will add the other four classes to the dark side of things and grant them the power of Plagues.
These Plagues seem like a Twisting Nether type card. The only one that we have seen is for the Priest. The Plague of Death costs nine mana and will silence all minions as well as destroying them. This one Plague does not entirely mean that each Plague will kill all the minions. This Plague might end up being a replacement for Psychic Scream, except it would cost two more mana but with the added bonus of not having to worry about your opponent drawing your cards. However, some players want to put cards in their opponents deck to cause them to draw more and be further from potential combos.
The Plagues that will be released seem to do with the theme of the class. Priests are known for the ability to Silence minions, but not for their mass minion removal. So, this might point to the Plagues doing an effect that is known for the class as well as one that they are not. Perhaps this means that the Warlock will deal damage to everyone, Heroes included, and then give the survivors Taunt. But until more of these powerful spells are revealed, this is all speculation.
Reborn
Perhaps one of the most interesting keywords that have been added to Hearthstone for a very long time. This one keyword might change the way players go about playing minions and trying to protect themselves. This ability grants any minion with this keyword the power to come back to life with one health after it dies for the first time.
The first card shown with this ability, Restless Mummy, is incredibly powerful. Being able to deal six damage to a single minion or three damage to two minions could be powerful. If the other cards are just as powerful as this one, Reborn will be an impactful ability. This ability might make Resurrection Priest a viable deck. Since the dead minions are dying twice, you are putting two minions in the resurrection pool for the price of one without having to use extra resources to put multiple copies of it in the grave.
Initial Thoughts
This set seems incredibly powerful and fun right off the bat. There is potential for both standard and wild. Having both quests in your deck might be an interesting idea for Wild format play. Only time will tell if this set will continue to impress players. The release of the set is on August sixth. Players can also start preordering the bundles for the best value.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other TGH writers along with Cameron!