More Molten Core Previews

We've got two more Molten Core cards in the last two days, Blastershot Launcher and Obsidian Edged Blade. The first is a very good card for one class and the second is probably not as good as other options currently available.

The Blastershot Launcher seems like it will probably find its way into the Hunter mid-range and control decks. It's probably a little too expensive to get into Hunter rush. This card is solid as a drop on 5, but is even better on 7 when you can play it and swing in the same turn, probably killing off two allies while taking no damage yourself.

This card also carries with it something that we saw with Halberd of Smiting and that is a comes into play effect. The CIP effect on the Launcher is pretty good as it will kill all but the highest end allies in the game as soon as it comes in. There are very few who can survive the CIP plus one swing and those few are seeing less and less play as the game becomes more aggressive.

The Launcher is also anoher ranged weapon avaible to the Warrior and Rogue classes but in those decks, I don't think this is appreciably better than Gurubashi Dwarf Destroyer. The Dwarf Destroyer's effect is becoming less relevent as its main targets, Medoc and Magni, are starting to phase out of play, but the one less resource to play it is not insignificant. And although the Dwarf Destroyer's effect will rarely impact a game these days, its bonus will come up more often than Blastershot's in a Warrior deck. When you factor in that the Warrior decks that run a Ranged weapon will also be running Stronghold Gauntlets, Cruelty, and Deathdealer Breastplate, the 1 extra ATK becomes even less of a factor.

Now, I didn't say all that because I don't like Blastershot Launcher. Quite the contrary, I think it's a very good weapon. It just might as well have been Hunter only. But it's still good in any Hunter deck that plans on playing past turn 6.

Today's preview was Obsidian Edged Blade. At first glance, this card seems pretty good. A 4-cost 4-ATK weapon that only costs one to swing is very solid. One thing that you have to do when evaluating a card though, is compare it to your other options at the same slot. Let's take a quick look and compare the OEB to the other weapons likely to make it into a Paladin or Warrior deck to see how it stacks up.

The first thing worthy of note here, before we even get to other weapons, is that OEB is a two-handed weapon. This means that you cannot Dual Wield (which isn't too big of a problem honestly) or use a shield. Obviously a lot of Warrior and Paladin decks will want to use a shield. If you want to use a Draconian Deflector, Skullflame Shield, or Argent Defender, OEB is out as your weapon of choice.

Now let's take a look at some of the weapons that are taking up slots in Warrior and Paladin decks these days. I'm just going to look at the most popular choices quickly and see how they stack up.

Wraith Scythe. Wraith Scythe doesn't swing as big as OEB, but can arguably have a bigger impact on the game. The fact that Wraith Scythe triggers off of all combat damage your hero deals, means that the Scythe effects the game by just being in play. With a Ranged weapon or Cruelty, the Scythe will trigger multiple times and the healing effects can all but cripple rush based decks. The OEB won't have that effects on rush decks. In fact, against swarms of allies the extra ATK value of the OEB will often go to waste as the allies you are striking against will rarely have 4 health.

Deathbringer. This weapon isn't used in all Warrior/Paladin builds, but many use it as a means to get through protectors. In these cases, the Deathbringer's stats are all but irrelevent, it's simply the fact that all your damage gets through to the hero that gets the card played. Since, OEB can't do anything to help against protectors, it is unlikely to replace Deathbringer in builds that still run it.

Annihilator. Much like Deathbringer is used to get through allies, Annihilators are added to get through pesky armor. Again, strike costs and ATK values are largely irrelevent in comparison to the inability to be prevented. No room for OEB here.

Fel Iron Hatchet. This card isn't seeing much play in Warrior builds, but I'm playing it as the main weapon in my Paladin deck right now. The free swings it enables are invaluable against rush decks. It can kill most of their allies in one shot and more importantly allows me to continue to develop my board without concerning myself with leaving resources open to swing my weapon. While the extra ATK is nice, here again it will be wasted the majority of the time when my Hatchet is doing what I want it to (killing weenies). OEB also forces me to leave a resource up to swing with which is unfavorable when trying to hold off the initial onslaught.

Scarlet Kris. This card sees a lot of play in Cruelty based decks especially, because it turns on Cruelty on turn 3. The 0 strike cost doesn't suck either. OEB doesn't do anywhere near the same things that Kris does and it's a little like comparing apples and oranges.

Not one to be negative all the time, I will contribute something positive here and tell you where I think the card could shine. If an aggressive Warrior or Paladin deck becomes viable, I think this would be a great weapon choice for that deck. That type of deck is unlikely to want a shield so the two-handed drawback is nullified. You'll generally wait until you're out of dudes to play it so the one extra resource over Krol Blade is a minimal disadvantage while the one extra ATK will rarely go to waste since it will be swinging to the face more often than not. But why this may be the best weapon for a beatdown Warrior or Paladin is the bonus that you get when you draw more than one in the same game. With Krol Blade, every copy after the first is either a face down resource or just insurance for your first one. Well now, you can pitch extra copies to bump up the attack on your first one, making extra copies not dead where they generally would be with other weapons.

Tomorrow, I'll be posting this week's results from Regionals. There's not much new to report at the top, but it looks like we have a new No. 2 and it may surprise some of you.