Drafting the Classes

When you draft World of Warcraft, the most important decision by far that you will make is whether you are Horde or Alliance. After that, which class you choose to play is the next important decision regarding the direction of your deck. Today, I'm going to talk about the classes and which ones are good to draft, and which others are not so hot.

Hunter

I think Hunter is by far the top class. Hunter has access to 2 things that make it better than the other classes. 1) They can use most of the really good weapons in the game. Almost all of the heavy hitters in gray are useable by this class and being able to use cards like Krol Blade and Scimitar of the Nexus Stalkers is very good in a format where having a solid weapon can make all the difference. 2) Pets. Hunter has access to some incredibly efficient allies in the form of its pets. Bloodclaw, Rayder, Hootie, and Chops are all very good picks and commons. Old Bones is incredible as an uncommon 4-drop. Most of these allies are considered high pick value, but you can get a lot of them later than you should since Hunter is the only class that can play them.

Looking a little deeper, Hunter also has some very good common abilities. In Heroes of Azeroth there are only 2 Hunter abilities that are common that aren't pets, Arcane Shot and Ravenous Bite. Conveniently, they are both very solid cards. Moving on to Dark Portal, there are three commons there that are also all very good. Trophy Kill may be the best common in Dark Portal as it will relatively cheaply kill big allies that pose significant problems otherwise. Wing Clip is cheap removal that can have a secondary purpose in a pinch, and Point Blank is a decent card but the problem I have with it is early in a game when the battle for board position is in full swing, your hero doesn't get attacked as often. It's better against the Horde aggro decks that tend to try to kill you faster than trying to achieve board position through favorable trades. It's worth a mid pick, but don't go crazy scooping these things up. Hunter tends to be a pretty popular class, so if you open something worth going into Hunter, you generally have to do more early on to make sure you cut it off from your neighbors.

Shaman

This class also has the luxury of getting to use most of the good weapons in the game. It also has access to slightly better armor than the Hunters, but not the pets which are probably the best abilities in the game. To make up for that lack of great allies masquerading as abilities, Shamans just get brutal abilities. In Heroes of Azeroth, you get Frost Shock and Lightning Bolt at common. Frost Shock has the extra versatility of being instant and aving an extra ability tacked on while Lightning Bolt just goes beatdown, dealing 4 damage for only 3 resources. Healing Wave isn't a terrible common, but most of the time you'd like to have instead. Searing Totem is also an uncommon here and another very good card.

When you move on to Dark Portal there are only a few cards that are worth picking in the common slot with Shock and Soothe and Ancestral Spirit. Surge of Life again is not terrible, but you would probably rather have something else.


Warrrior/Paladin

I put these two classes together because you tend to play them for the same reaso. With these classes you want the gray cards more than the purples. In the equipment department, these classes are a little better than Hunters and Shamans because they get all the heavy armor in addition to all the good weapons. Warrior has the advantage of getting the Dwarf Destroyer, but that's a rare so we're not too concerned with it. You don't really go into either of these classes looking for great abilities, but they have a couple of solid ones. Hammer of Justice is probably the best of the ones you are likely to get. Execute isn't bad if you end up as a Warrior, but the real reason you go into these classes is for the equipment you'll end up with.

The plate armor can also soak up a lot of damage over the course of a game. Just even 2 pieces of armor can cause some major headaches for your opponent. Draconian Deflector in particular can cause some major problems. Giving protector to your hero can be one of the most game changing abilities in draft.

Another nice side effect of playing the plate armor classes is the higher health total. The Warriors have the highest health total of any class in the game. While the difference is relatively small, sometimes even one point of health can make a difference.

Warlock

The first of the classes that can't use most of the melee weapons, Warlocks, in my opinion, have the best ability set in the game. Like Hunters, Warlocks also get pets, but their selection is far less spectacular. The only one that is common is Sarmoth. While Sarmoth is still good in limited, he's not quite as good as he is in Constructed.

Fear is a card that I think gets overlooked. It's not that good in Constructed because of the prevelence of Alliance rush decks where bouncing one and two drops because it's just too easy to put them back out. But in draft, 3,4, and 5 drops see a lot more play and so Fear, which only costs 1 becomes a very solid tempo play. When they exhaust all their resources on turn 4 and you can essentially wipe out that turn for 1, I think that card is definitely worth playing. It's much the same reason Karkas Deathhowl is so good in draft.

One of the problems with Warlocks in draft is that their best abilities in HoA are uncommon. Shadow Bolt and Steal Essence are both very solid cards, but the fact that they are uncommon makes them much harder to see unless you get them early because there just won't be that many at the table.

In Dark Portal they get a decent pet in Morfiel. Its ability isn't great, but a 4/4 body for 4 resources is pretty good anyway. But also in Dark Portal, Warlocks get probably the best common in the game for draft right now, Shred Soul. If you are a Warlock, it's an easy first pick. If you haven't decided yet, it's a really good reason to get into Warlock. After that, there's not a whole lot to pick from in Dark Portal. Eye of Kilrogg isn't bad, but the common abilities are a little shallow here.

Based on ther popularity in Constructed, Warlock tends to be a popular class to draft in WoW. This can make it very hard on you if you're not the only Warlock at the table because their best cards are all uncommon.

Rogue

I actually really like drafting Rogues. They still get to use a lot of good weapons plus because of the fact that they are perceived to be bad in Constructed a lot of that carries over to draft meaning that they are generally underdrafted. They have some very good cards in the common and uncommon slots like Coup de Grace and Sinister Strike (this of course assumes you have a weapon). The fact that Rogues have gotten a bad rap in Constructed is actually very good for them in draft because no one seems to want to draft them meaning you can get some of their best cards very late in a draft.

Druid

I also like drafting Druid for the same reason that I like drafting Rogues, no one else drafts them. I rate Rogues a little higher because they get to use weapons, but Druids have a lot of really good cards too. Natural Selection and Nature's Majesty are very good removal spells and in Dark Portal specifically, you can pick up some very good cards, very late in the draft. From now on, when you draft, watch how many Cat Forms and Cyclones are still floating around your table at the end of the draft.

Mage

Mages suffer from having such a low health total. Starting 3 or more health points behind most of the popular heroes is just a huge drawback. While Mages definitely have some solid abilities, they also suffer from the fact that their low health total means you almost always have to draft an aggressive deck with them. Drafting is all about being flexible and forcing yourself into an aggressive strategy early isn't flexible. If you're already drafting an aggressive deck, Mages can actually be one of the better classes for that. One of the nice things about most of their abilities is that they can serve as removal or double as finishers when you're close to ending the game. Ta'Zo has one of the best flip abilities for draft of any hero in the game, so drafting Horde Mage aggro decks are actually pretty successful.

Priest

Priests have a few decent abilities, but for the most part I steer clear of Priests. The only two cards they have that I would really want are Power Word:Shield and Shadow Word:Death. Other than those two cards, I don't really like any of the Priest cards. I don't draft them, and neither should you.