In previous rundowns of the cards revealed from the imminent Hearthstone expansion Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, we've talked about the tri-class cards and the general theme of three gangs fighting it out, represented by cards with similar mechanics. We've talked quite a lot about the Grimy Goons and their hand-buffing cards and The Kabal and the various potion cards, so now we get into the final member of the warring triads, The Jade Lotus.
Like the other "card gangs" in MSG, the Jade Lotus comes with their own unique deck flavor and also like the others, it's one that encourages a less linear style of play. What do I mean by linear? In many of Hearthstone's most successful decks, the play style has been extremely tempo-based. A great two-drop then a great three-drop and then a great four-drop, wash, rinse, and repeat. Cards that trade time for value have generally not been successful as the effects have either not been strong enough to compensate for the tempo loss or if they have had a powerful effect, thet cost was simply too high.
The Jade Lotus's nod to a more a non-linear style of play relies on the Jade Golems that their cards summon. Jade starts off as a 1/1 card, a simple token. But each subsequent Jade Golem summoned gets +1/+1 added to their stats from the previous one. And once you've taken the time to play Jade Golem cards, once you get into 7/7 or 8/8 or 9/9 Jade Golems later in the game, your opponent will have a great deal of trouble dealing with the board. You lose time to pump up these Jade Golems, but the upside effect is legitimately terrifying. This lack of upside is what doomed the Inspire mechanic.
We start off with three of the class-card Jade Golem-enablers. Jade Blossom ties into the general theme of Druid ramping into its higher-mana cards, a two-mana Wild Growth attached to the Jade Golem. Even in its worse case scenario, it's a Wild Growth and a 1/1 token and a lot of times, it will be better than that. However, it's missing an important aspect of Wild Growth, the ability to draw a card if you already have ten mana. That pretty much leaves Jade Blossom strictly limited to Jade decks as the 1/1 token just won't be enough value for non-Jade decks given that this card will be a dead draw late-game.
Like the Jade Blossom, Jade Lightning has limited utility outside Jade decks. Shaman doesn't have an exact spell that does precisely four damage to any enemy, but Lightning Bolt does three for half the cost, Stormcrack does four to a minion for two mana and one overload, and Lava Burst does five damage for three mana, two overload. You may see this in Arena as it's common and you don't necessarily have a choice to simply play Lightning Bolt or Stormcrack instead.
Jade Shuriken may have the toughest time seeing play, simply because the Jade Golem style is a bigger departure from existing meta-Rogue decks than either Jade decks for Druid or Shaman. It's an obviously weaker card than Eviscerate without the additional text, so like the Blossom and Lightning, won't see play outside of a Jade deck. The Shuriken likely will see only very limited Arena play, with Eviscerate also being a common and a much preferable one.
The Jade Spirit is a tri-class card, playable by all of Shaman, Druid and Rogue. This card is even weaker than the previous ones without a Jade deck because without the synergy, it becomes a slightly worse Razorfen Hunter, a card that's already less expensive at three mana, and never sees competitive play. While it's an obvious inclusion in a Jade deck, I can't help but think that this is one of the marginal Jade cards. There will be an upper limit on how many Jade cards even a Jade deck can include, simply because players will need other cards that help survival until the Jade Golem factory really gets churning. Cards like Jade Lightning or Jade Shuriken, while overpriced for what they do, at least help enable survival while triggering Jade Golems, something a 2/3 on four will have a lot more trouble doing.
And to illustrate that, here's the Jade Behemoth which does help with survival. If by the time you play this card you don't have the Jade Golems pumped up a bit, the six mana and taunt at least adds in survival, something the previous card doesn't. And if the Golems are strong by this point? A 3/6 taunt and a 5/5 Jade Golem is a lot of stats for six mana. This card will be a staple if Druid Jade decks work.
Another card that will be a big part of that deck is the Jade Idol. It has great synergy with Fandral Staghelm, a card that's already included in most Druid decks. And at one mana, it's a slow card that can fill in as the opportunity arises, because you'll rarely have the perfect card. No, Gang Up, a similar card at two mana, didn't work out, but this card has more natural synergy with its deck since the card you want doesn't have to be on board already and one mana difference is significant.
The stats for Jade Swarmer are weak, but I think the combination of Stealth and Deathrattle make this card. The weakness of the low-health Stealth minions that we see from time-to-time is simply the danger of AOE effects, whether from spells like Maelstrom Portal or Battlecries like Ravaging Ghoul. But here, the card replaces itself with a 1/1 at worst in this case and in a Jade deck, it actually has the potential to act as a disincentive for a Control deck to remove. If it's late in the game and you've played a lot of Golems, the opponent will have to think twice whether they want to kill it because summoning, say, a 9/9 Jade Golem might be worse than leaving the existing board as is. Even at its worst, it's a stealthed Possessed Villager for an additional mana and is usable in Arena.
Thankfully, Blizzard has realized that the cards that enable the Jade Shaman deck can't also make Midrange Shaman more dangerous. Neither Jade Claws nor Jade Chieftain make Midrange Shaman better, so mission one is accomplished. But in a Jade deck that needs to survive, the additional taunt summoned by the Jade Chieftain and the minion removal/Jade Golem pumping from the Jade Claws furthers the decks goals. Good cards. The Jade Claws will see play in Arena as well, a 2/2 weapon that summons a 1/1 is good value there simply because Stormforged Axe, which has an extra charge instead of the token, also sees play.
Aya Blackpaw seems very likely to see play in Jade decks, even with the underwhelming 5/3 statline for six. In the worst case scenario, Aya summons a 1/1 Jade Golem and a 2/2 Jade Golem and while a vanilla 8/6 card for six wouldn't be played, it's pretty good as a near worst-case scenario (it could also be silenced, but there are lots of other targets for the limited silences vailable). Just one Jade Golem before this card and all of a sudden it's 10/8 stats for six, which is interesting. Great addition for Jade decks, terrible otherwise.
Why did I take so long to get to the Dopplegangster? In this case, it's a tricky card to evaluate until you've seen how hand-buffing works. When this card was revealed, we only saw a few of these types of cards, making any analysis for the Dopplegangster a bit tricky. Unbuffed, it's weak, but summoning three 2/2s for five mana isn't the end of the world, similar to nerfed Force of Nature and and Kara Kazham! among existing cards. But buffs have a multiplier effect with this card, a simple +1/+1 buff, executed once on this card, makes three 3/3 cards, which is tremendous value for five. I think this will be a staple if hand-buff mechanic is strong enough in the end.
One neutral that I think will see some play is Bomb Squad. A targeted five damage is a terrific control card and those types of decks will happily trade five life to do five damage (most control decks would play a five-mana 5/1 weapon that summons a 2/2). Who's going to care about five damage to their hero if they took out an Azure Drake or a Thing From Below? It doesn't have a lot of synergy with things like Dragons or buffs, but any card that has this kind of value potential will see experimentation. Plus, it nerfs Fireland Portal!
What won't see experimentation is the Backstreet Leper. It's usually going to be worse than Wolfrider, a 3/1 with charge for the same mana cost and Wolfrider is a very niche card that only sees limited play in a few very aggressive decks. I'd rather play Ice Rager, a three-mana 5/2 and that card was essentially a meme. A worse Leper Gnome.
If Backstreet Leper is a worse Leper Gnome, then Toxic Sewer Ooze is a worse Acidic Swamp Ooze. A 3/2 for two (the Swamp Ooze) is a better statline than 4/3 for three and removing one durability from your opponent's weapon is worse than simply destroying it, as the Swamp Ooze does. Any constructed deck that wants to play Acidic Swamp Ooze will prefer that card over this card. You'll see this in Arena, only becuase 4/3s get more play and you don't necessarily get to choose between this card and its superior cousin.
This article is part of a series analyzing the cards in the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Hearthstone expansion. For more, see part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6 and part 7.