A glimpse of the new Hearthstone set, Rastakhan’s Rumble, has been revealed to us. The new keyword or mechanic is called Overkill. Overkill means that the card text will trigger when the card is used to kill a minion with less health than the damage of the card. Overkill is a good keyword thanks to the value game that is Hearthstone.
Overkill will be heavily prevalent within the set. From the two cards that we have seen with Overkill, it looks to compromise the vanilla power of the card.. However, it is likely that there will be some Overkill cards that will function well on their own. Others may be too strong when Overkill triggers.
Sul’Thraze, until we see the rest of the set, is unlikely to be an extremely powerful tool for Warriors. They currently have Supercollider, which is one of the best removal weapons in the game currently. The benefit of the Overkill text though is that you get benefits out of what is normally seen as a bad value trade.
Baited Arrow is another card with Overkill, but much less powerful as a vanilla card than Sul’Thraze. Using five mana to deal three damage isn’t that good, except when it’s for lethal. If there is a card released that makes Overkill trigger twice, or something of that nature, this card would be a very viable inclusion.
One of the worst feelings in Hearthstone is overkilling minions. In a game of mana efficiency, every point of damage counts. Having to sink extra damage into something because of awkward trades could ruin an aggro or tempo deck’s game plan.
Overkill introduces play that rewards below average trading. The mechanic was designed for those awkward situations where the trades don’t line up perfectly, and you get an added bonus. The issue then becomes that it makes good trades worse. Finding the right balance with Overkill will be difficult.
Bad trades can lose games
This adds a new aspect of the game though, which is healthy. Along with other new cards, the new set definitely looks to spice things up. Seeking alternate lines of play should be in the back of every player’s mind, and adding mechanics that aren’t straight forward aid that cause.
We haven’t yet seen any minions with the Overkill text, but that’s where the most interesting interactions will lie. Should you take the clean trade, or will the Overkill benefit help snowball the game harder are questions that will be new to players.
See cards as they get revealed for Rastakhan’s Rumble here.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via their official website.
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