FoO Review-Warlock

Well, after reading a lot of players' input, I have decided to continue posting both here and at TCGplayer. Here, things will be about the same as the always have been. I will be posting strategy and metagame type content mostly. If you want to check out my TCGplayer blog, I will be chronicling my attempt to try to grind into Worlds through Honor ranking/rating. That will be the majority of the content over there at least through November. With all that out of the way, let's finally get back to the now almost too late FoO review.

Death Coil

This card is another solid removal card in a long line of good removal cards for this class. This is the first that only costs one which means it might find a home in Warlock control decks. It can't hit heroes which is a little annoying, but it still removes the majority of 1 and 2 drops that see play. It also has the added versatility of being able to remove a big ally to keep it off the board for a turn. You can remove a Magni to get one last attack through or a Tewa just to keep it from attacking you for a turn. That added versatility probably makes up for the fact that it can't target heroes.

In limited, this is certainly a card to be looking for if you're in the Warlock class. What your deck looks like so far will heavily determine how highly you should value a Death Coil. It's not something you're automatically going to pick from the pack, but it's definitely a mid-level pick.

Immolate

I'm not sure about this card. It has the obvious home in a Warlock DoT deck if one of those ever makes it. It also combos well with Incinerate ensuring your fire damage to kick in. Overall though, Warlocks as a class probably have the best set of abilities which means Immolate is competing with cards like Steal Essence, Shadow Bolt, and Shadowburn for removal slots. I don't think it's better than those cards, so I don't think this will make the cut in most Warlock decks.

In limited, it's not a super high pick, but DoT's do tend to be slightly more effective in limited where there is less ability removal and games tend to drag on longer. I wouldn't take it too high, but I wouldn't hate playing it if I could get it late.

Incinerate

This card suffers from combo syndrome. On its own, Incinerate is strictly inferior to Steal Essence since they do the same thing except Steal Essence has a heal effect tacked on. If you've dealt fire damage to the character in question, you get to deal 4 damage instead of 2. The problem here of course, is that anything big enough to warrant dealing fire damage to it then finishing it with an Incinerate would probably be better served by a Shred/Jar Soul. You can always use it to target an opponent and get the boost, but Warlocks have historically preferred to use their abilities to control the game and then mop things up with a big ally. The other problem is that Warlocks specialize in shadow damage so even doing fire damage in the first place may be a bit of a chore.

In limited, the card is 2 damage for 2 resources. It's not terribly exciting and Warlocks have a lot better options, but it will usually end up in your playables pile. Not a high pick, but not bad as one of the last 5 cards in your deck.

Jar Soul

Now this is what I'm talking about. It's one turn slower than Shred Soul, but it let's you play Infernal on turn 5. I've been playing it in a Mazar control deck and haven't been disappointed by the one extra cost over Shred Soul because it has powered out a lot of turn 5 6/6's.

In limited, I would take it very high. The ability to remove any ally from the game is huge. I would probably only take Norrund over it unless I had some gaping holes in my curve that I had to fill and could get quality in that spot from the same pack. The secondary ability may be worthless to you, but 4 resources to RFG anyone is a great deal in limited.

Shadowfury

I'm not going to lie, if I had written this review 2 weeks ago when I first saw the set, I would have said Shadowfury was the best ability in the set. That may still be the case, but one thing I've noticed with Shadowfury in the above-mentioned Mazar deck is that while I'm never unhappy playing it, I'm not sure the deck actually needs it. It's only really good against Alliance rush decks and for punching the killing blow through a wall of protectors (usually 1/1 Dwarves). It's rarely bad against Horde decks, they just have a lot more guys that survive it and it's not as good vs. Ferocity. While I can't imagine cutting it from the deck, I still think three is probably the right number. It may become a sideboard card depending on the popularity of solo decks. While it is very good, it's not quite the powerhouse I had envisioned. It doesn't really MAKE the Warlock control deck like it would if it were a Mage card. While this card would make a Mage control very formidable, it feels like overkill for the Warlock which already tends to handle rush decks fairly well. I hope no one misunderstands this and thinks I'm saying Shadowfury isn't good. It's very good. It's just not quite the powerhouse I was thinking it would be.

In limited, this one is a windmill slam if you're a Warlock. I was in Alliance Warlock, I would probably take this over any other card in the pack including Norrund.

Soulshatter

I don't think this card is very good. Warlocks aren't really in the business of getting attacked directly which is what this card requires.

In limited, I like it even less because you'll almost always have allies in play which means this is even less likely to make any kind of impact on the game.

Unstable Affliction

This is the card that could make the Warlock DoT deck work. It's pretty cheap. It deals 2 damage every turn which adds up quickly, and if they (or you) destroy the Affliction it chips in an extra four. I think that deck would probably be a control deck that just tries to eat away a them with Afflictions and maybe a Corruption or Immolate. Whether the deck makes it or not, this card is very good.

As I've already said DoT tend to be more effetive in limited due to the longer games and lower amounts of ability removal. This one in particular could be brutal where 2 damage a turn is a decent clock in addition to whatever else you're doing. The low cost also enables you to toss it out there in the mid-game without wasting your entire turn to do so. While it's not the auto first pick that Shadowfury is, I would still pick it pretty high.

Angrida

I can't see a Warlock deck ever choosing to play this over Sarmoth in Constructed. Even aggro Warlock decks tend to like the lightning rod that Sarmoth provides. Her ability will rarely make a difference as she will rarely survive a turn. If she does survive though, she can be especially brutal after just a couple of turns.

In limited, she's a house. Kor Cindervein is a high pick just because he's a 3/3 for 3. So is Angrida with a potentially board dominating ability. Limited decks will be less focused and won't always be able to remove her immediately. If she does make it, you'll put yourself in a tough to lose situation. Another really high pick for Warlocks in the Fires pack.

Hukkath

A 3/5 protector for 4 isn't bad, especially if they manage to off Sarmoth on turn 3. He's big enough to almost guarantee a 2 for 1 if played early. The 5/3 4 drops are rarely seen in Constructed. He's another nice speed bump on the road to Infernal.

In limited, he's yet another super Warlock card. Ironically, he's less of a guaranteed 2 for 1 because a lot more people will be playing their Vaerik Proudhooves and Katsin Bloodoaths in limited. He's still a big protector that is likely to both generate card advantage and control tempo.