Kobolds and Catacombs is the new Hearthstone expansion that offers 135 cards, including nine unique legendary weapons for each class of heroes, and a few new mechanics.
The Recruit mechanic is the most interesting one, letting you summon a random minion from your deck. It will definitely help create several fresh deck archetypes and maybe even overwhelm some of the most dominating classes in the current meta.
But only time will tell how good it is, and while you're deciding what decks to build next, here is a cheat sheet of the 15 arguably most powerful cards from the Kobolds and Catacombs set. The list includes the following cards:
- 4 common cards
- 2 rare cards
- 6 epic cards
- 3 legendary cards
Kobold Librarian
Warlock is one of those lucky heroes that received a few really strong and cheap minions, such as this tiny Kobold. It costs only 1 mana and immediately draws you a card, which is an unprecedented effect for such a low-cost card.
There is a small drawback that hurts your hero, but Warlock is the class that is used for this sort of interaction. Kobold Librarian will definitely find its place in most Zoo decks that strongly rely on the card draw mechanic.
Vulgar Homunculus
Here is another Warlock minion that has excellent stats for the cost of only 2 mana. Again, there is a small drawback that hurts your hero, but putting out a 2/4 minion with taunt on turn two is something every Warlock players dreams about.
It will surely see play in both aggressive and control archetypes, and it's a demon, which means that all the demon synergies will help it grow turn after turn, giving your opponents the creeps.
Cave Hydra
Hunter is another class that can now add a few powerful minions to their roster, such as this Hydra creature. Midrange Hunter has always struggled against other aggressive decks, but with the help of Cave Hydra, it will be able to deal with several enemy minions at once.
The beast synergies will also help this creature grow in size and potentially remove several bigger threats in the course of a game, so it's definitely a welcome addition to any modern Hunter deck!
Flanking Strike
With the Kobolds and Catacombs expansion, Blizzard clearly hints at the new Hunter archetype -- Spell Hunter. There are a lot of cards in the new set that give Hunter players advantages if they play decks with no minions.
Unfortunately, many new Hunter spells aren't as strong as most players would like them to be, but there is one that may fit in already established archetypes: Flanking Strike.
It can be compared to Jade Lightning, which is super popular in Shaman, but with this spell, you are also guaranteed to get a 3/3 beast, which is a big deal for only 4 mana.
Duskbreaker
Please welcome the most OP dragon in the entire K&C expansion: Duskbreaker. It costs only four mana and clears everything that your opponents might play before turn four -- that is how powerful this minion is.
Too bad it's specifically designed for Priest class only. Otherwise, it would've been an auto-include in each and every deck that runs dragons. In any case, Dragon Priest archetype will become a huge threat for all aggressive decks that rely on early, cheap minions from now on.
Hooked Reaver
Warlock keeps getting one good minion after another. Here is a new demon that will shatter any opponent's hope for winning.
Of course, first you must meet a condition of getting as low as 15 life total, but with the way Warlock class works, it won't be a problem. And just like Vulgar Homunculus, this minion will be played in both aggressive decks, which will gladly take a 4-mana 7/7 creature, and control decks, which always want as many big taunts as they can get.
Fal'dorei Strider
Finally, Rogue is getting a decent 4-drop: a card slot, which was heavily ignored by Blizzard in the past.
Every longtime Hearthstone player should remember the Ambush spell that had similar effect, but instead of putting three spiders into your deck, it gave them to your opponent. It was a fun card, but it was flawed since you couldn't control the opponent's draws.
Fal'dorei Strider, on the other hand, puts spiders right into your deck. And if you have a card draw engine ready for the next turn, you can easily bring two or all three spiders on board and thus acquire massive advantage.
Carnivorous Cube
Every once in a while Blizzard designs some incredibly strong cards, and Carnivorous Cube is one such example. This 5-mana minion has one of the most OP effects ever.
Surely, first you need to remove your own minion from the board, which may give an advantage to your opponent. But that's only before the Cube dies, as later it will bring back twice as many threats to your side.
It could also be well paired with a Spiritsinger Umbra that will trigger the deathrattle effect after the battlecry, making your board look super intimidating.
Windshear Stormcaller
Totem Shaman archetype always had a lot of potential, but only now with the introduction of Windshear Stormcallercan it actually gain a definite win condition in the form of Al'Akir.
Getting four basic totems on board isn't that hard these days, with cards like Wicked Witchdoctor, Kobold Hermit, and Primal Talismans. This means that you will actually be able to summon Al'Akir on turn five already, which is as good as it can get when playing Shaman.
Spiteful Summoner
This is a build-around card that requires you to include only big spells in your deck if you want to get good results. Fortunately, there are plenty of big spells in all classes for it to really shine in this meta.
Such classes as Mage and Warlock will definitely benefit the most from Spiteful Summoner. Cards like Pyroblast and Twisting Nether will summon you random 10-drop or 8-drops respectively, and all this for only 6 mana.
Psychic Scream
Here is the best board clear spell in the K&C set. Don't worry that it doesn't destroy the enemy's minions but shuffles them into their deck, as the effect is still incredibly powerful.
For example, consider facing an Aggro Druid that plays Living Mana. With the help of Pyschic Scream, you will put all of the Mana Treants into your opponent's deck without actually restoring the mana crystals. This will instantly break their game and grant you a victory.
The Darkness
The Darkness is definitely the most controversial card from the new expansion, but that also makes it the most interesting one.
Here is what happens when you play this card. First, it becomes dormant, which means that it can't be silenced, targeted, or destroyed. Then, you need to wait for the three candles that go into an opponent's deck to get activated at the draw. And finally, as soon as all three candles are drawn, The Darkness will awaken by turning into a 20/20 minion.
It may take a while before that happens during the game, but when it does, you will be able to attack for 20 damage, and that's basically game-winning.
Grumble, Worldshaker
The battlecry on this Shaman elemental may not fit all archetypes (e.g. Evolve Shaman), but the mere 7/7 body for only 6 mana totally makes up for it. It's just a really powerful minion that can let you rebuild your board next turn, which isn't a huge loss of tempo by any means.
On the contrary, imagine that your minions get heavily damaged in combat, so when you return them to your hand, they're basically fully healed and ready to be deployed to the battlefield once again.
Val'anyr
The Kobolds and Catacombs expansion introduced nine legendary weapons for each class that have some really interesting effects. Unfortunately, most of these weapons are too expensive, and while Druid's and Mage's weapons look really interesting, this Paladin's weapon takes the cake.
It virtually offers you an infinite value if you can keep at least one minion in your hand every time before the weapon breaks. In this way, you will always have one buffed creature and a weapon at your disposal.
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All these amazing cards will surely produce a whole slew of new deck archetypes in the coming months. Hopefully, these 15 choices will help you find the best deck for your next ladder run and get you the well-deserved Legend rank.
What do you think about the Kobolds and Catacombs expansion for Hearthstone? What cards you liked the most? Let everybody know in the comments section below.
Published: Dec 5, 2017 09:07 am