Several Previews

Well, today is Friday and that means an official preview at the main Upper Deck site. Next week will start daily previews as the sneak peek draws closer. Today we get the bonus of several previews from the latest Inquest. First up is the official preview:

High Overlord Saurfang
Cost: 8
ATK/Health: 9/4

Protector

When an ally enters combat with High Overlord Saurfang, destroy that ally.

I can think of some ways to make this guy better. Take away Protector and give him Sarmoth. Bump than 4 to a 7. That's much better. Wait, that may actually be too good. I think it's actually quite important to put a low health on allies like this and Jaina Proudmoore that essentially can't be killed through combat. Otherwise it makes Vanquish too important for control decks.

So, what can I say about Saurfang that hasn't already been said. He's a great big sissy girl. That probably hasn't been said. Only problem is, he's not a sissy girl. Someone apparently got the memo that the Horde was tired of being outclassed in the endgame allies department. Let's compare him to his Alliance counterpart Jaina Proudmoore.

He doesn't offer quite the same defensive presence as Jaina as she completely shuts off all attacking. He does however, kill their best ally every turn. Unlike most protectors, who get generally trade with the allies the opponent chooses, you get to decide who is worthy of entering combat with Saurfang.

Offensively Jaina only wishes she could be Saurfang. While a couple of Parvinks have the ability to trade with Jaina, no one trades with Saurfang in combat. If your opponent isn't kind enough to swing into you so Saurfang can protect, he can essentially exhaust to kill any ally. Just attack them and they die as soon as combat starts. The 9 attack is also a ridiculous amount when Saurfang starts attacks the opposing hero.

One of the ironies of Saurfang is that he may put an extra premium on Shamans as they have Lightning Bolt, which is one of the few class specific spells that 1-for-1's Saurfang.

On to the IQ previews.

First up is the new Hunter Pet Chops. He's a 3/4 for 3 who can exhaust an ally when he attacks. The first thing of note is his 4 health for only three resources. This puts him above most removal spells in the game. Voss's ability is gravy. A 3/4 for 3 is a very good card. I'm thinking it might be fun to try a Hunter control deck with lots of Pets, MotH, and Bestial Wrath. Use a Bone Bow to pick off allies on offense, equip a Krol Blade for hitting back when you get attacked, perhaps Dual Wielding something with the new set, keeping giant pets around as long as possible. The pets will probably just get in each other's way but it might be fun to try out.

Trophy Kill is a Hunter ability that is supposed to be somewhere between Arcane Shot and Aimed Shot. Seems good, but without knowing exactly what it does it's hard to say.

Arcane Missiles is a Mage ability with cost X. Deal X damage. Spend no more than 5 resources to play this. This card is ridiculous. Doing X damage for X resources is the bare minimum you want to get, so 4 damage for 4 resources may not seem great. But it's the fact that it can be any amount up to 5 that makes it ridiculous. Versatility is a winner as Grennan has proven so far. Playing 4 of these is like squeezing 20 cards into 4 slots and that's a good thing.

Deep Freeze is another Mage ability. 2 damage for 2 resources with the ongoing ability that ally can't attack. It will take some play before I decide whether this is better than Polymorph. My initial thought is that Polymorph is better. Sure, Deep Freeze actually kills small allies, but Polymorph shuts off abilities and Protector in addition to not allowing them to attack which just seems better. Deep Freeze's saving grace may be Cold Snap (not the last set of Ice Age Block). Some Frost Mages may run DF over Polymorph since it is retrievable with Cold Snap. Of course, I think everyone knows how I feel about Frost Mages in this game.

The next card is Thunder Clap, which may help move Gorebelly closer to the top. Picture Frost Nova. Now change the can't attack this turn to gets -1 ATK this turn. Now put it in a better class and Voila! Thunder Clap. This card is going to help solo Warrior deck handle the weenie rushes that seem to be the only thing holding them down. And anything that does manage to survive the Thunder Clap will just get uber-Executed next turn.

Killing Spree is costs three and is Execute for everyone. Thunder Clap on 4 followed by a Killing Spree on 5 may be the closest we get to Wrath of God. It's also a brutal combo with Skullflame Shield. First attack of the turn after Shield hits everyone for one, go ahead and finish them off. This card falls in the realm of incrediby powerful in combination with other cards but relatively weak on its own. In most cases cards like that don't see play, but this one might get there.

Well, we've got a lot of Regionals coming up this weeked. Good luck to anyone who'll be attending and don't forget that even though Dark Portal is getting close we still have a month left with just Heroes of Azeroth before DP comes in. Anyone attending Regionals please send in results here or email me blyonsmagic@yahoo.com.