Overrated/Underrated

The buzz for Through the Dark Portal is getting bigger as the spoiler madness settles down, but people get to work building new decks. There are a lot of cards that have gotten a lot of hype already and some that are flying under the radar despite, IMO, being very good cards. Therefore, I give you the top 5 overrated/underrated cards in TtDP.

Overrated:

Number 5: Illumination

Ever since this card popped up, people have been talking about how unfair the Paladin's healing cards have become and how broken this would be in conjunction with cards like Holy Light. I can tell you I have been working feverishly trying to make a great Paladin deck, and this card just doesn't have room in a very tight decklist. The only cards that even trigger it in most Paladin decks will be Seal of Light (which is actually really good, essentially making all your swings free) and Lay on Hands. The problem with Illumination is that on its own, it's just bad. Even with healing spells, the only one that is consistent is Seal of Light. I just don't think it's worth taking up a card slot to make Holy Light free. I also don't think it's worth it playing enough healing spells to make Illumination actually have a significant impact on the game, because then, you're just healing and doing nothing else.

Number 4: Cat Form

A lot of people are talking up Cat Form Feral Druids. Relying on having an ability in play in a format that promises to be packing ability hate everywhere is a recipe for disaster. First of all, any time you don't draw a Form card, you're just screwed. I'm not big on the idea of devoting 8 card slots to getting myself into Cat Form or the inconsistency that would come with running fewer form cards. I'm also not a big fan on not being allowed to play Druids best abilities. Even if you manage to find the right balance with the Form cards, the format won't play nice as ability hate is sure to start becoming more popular with a lot of good new abilities. Even if you manage to survive all the ability hate, you're talking about either trying to outrace rush decks (by sending your hero into combat) or have to fight through a sea of protectors to get to a control player's hero. There is just too much that can go wrong for Feral Druids right now. However, people will play them, and the games they do win will be in spectacular fashion.

Number 3: Arcane Torrent

First of all, the only two Blood Elves in the set have access to better interrupts. The Mage has Counterspell which is better because it costs less and the Rogue has Kick which is better because it actually deals damage. You'll be very surprised over the first month or so how many people accidentally counter their own abilities with this card because their opponent responds to an ability and they Torrent their opponent's ability (and then get their own by mistake).

Number 2: Distract

Everyone is raving about this card. First let's look at the facts. It's a 3-cost Fog. It sets up Slaughter From the Shadows, but if your opponent isn't attacking you, that's just fine with you anyway and if he is attacking, well his allies are already ripe for the Slaughter. Okay, but it moves Protectors out of the way though. Right, because Rogues worry about Protectors. The number one reason though that Distract is grossly overrated is that Vanish does the same thing for less AND puts you in Stealth. Because Distract is not an instant, it only buys you one free turn (and doesn't stop Ferocity during that turn). Vanish also keeps you from getting attacked for a turn (and does stop Ferocity) while costing only 1 and putting you in Stealth.

And the most overrated card in Dark Portal.........Dual Wield

The idea of Dual Wield is great. The execution is just bad. First, you have to draw the Dual Wield and put it into play. Then you have to draw and play both weapons you want to play. Lastly, you will lament how unfair it is when your opponent destroys your DW and takes out one of your weapons for free. It suffers from most of the same problems as Cat Form. It all but requires the deck to plan on playing it. If you don't run extra weapons you run the risk of not having an extra to take advantage of Dual Wield. But then if you run say 8 weapons, you run the risk of clogging your hand those times you don't have DW. Not to mention the whole set up takes up very valuable deck space. And then there's that tendency to set yourself up for getting 2-for-1'd.

Now let's take a look at what I think are the most underrated cards in the set. I was planning on putting Boneshanks in here, because he hasn't gotten nearly enough pub based on how ridiculous he is, but then Mike Rosenberg went and said he was the best ally in the set. Sigh.

Number 5: Quests

I just decided to put quests in general as No. 5. There are a lot of really good quests in this set, and I am finding myself actually wanting to make room for more quests in my decklists. Obviously, they're not as flashy as the Eye of Kilrogg's of the set, so they're not getting much attention, but I expect quests to take on a greater role in the game when this set becomes legal.

Number 4: Meekway Humzinger

I love this Elusive ally. It has 2 health which is important since there are now so many 1-damage abilities. It's elusive which means to remove it your opponent has to use an ability which is very nice. And it gives you a card for three resources. One nice bonus is that you can split the resources over 2 turns, or after the first time you play Meekway, you can get one card per turn. Just return Meekway, then replay him that turn and he will be ready to get another card next turn. And as we all know, recursive card draw is very good.

Number 3: Steelsmith Joseph Carrol

I'm not going to go into great detail here, but expect to see lots of 4/4+ Josephs out of the Alliance "turtle" decks (Warrior, Paladin, and Shaman can all do the turtle thing).

Number 2: Cruelty

For anyone playing Warrior, this card alone should be enough to at least make you consider playing the Fury Warrior. The thing that makes this card so good is the fact that it doesn't say while attacking. That means that everyone that crashes into your hero is taking damage back. It's also stackable which can be a very bad thing for little guys wanting to take small shots at your hero.

And the most underrated card in Dark Portal......Scorch

I think this card has the potential to make Mage aggro the premiere aggro deck in the game. I know what you're thinking. Hunter and Shaman both play aggro better than Mage. That was true (and may remain so), but Scorch is the first card that can undo the damage of going second in the aggro matchup. Aggro matchups are so often defined by the die roll in this game. Whoever goes second is put in the painful spot of having to play control with an aggro deck, removing their opponent's allies instead of attacking directly since they will inevitably lose the race. But with Scorch, you have the ability to remove your opponent's one drop and play one of your own, re-seizing the aggro. Suddenly, your opponent who went first, doesn't have an ally while you do. He's up a resource, but you're up a card and an ally.

Well, there you have. What I think are the most overrated and underrated cards of the Dark Portal.