Icecrown Previews - Blue Ice
September 2, 2010
Welcome to Icecrown home of the Frozen Throne. After the betrayal of the Forsaken at the wrath gate, the Argent Crusade helped muster the forces of Azeroth to stand one final time against the Lich King. On the Alliance side three new allies join the fray.
First we introduce an ally we knew would join the Alliance; anti-Mage Justicar Andra Goldblast is a solid Hunter 2/3 two drop. Her power mirrors the signature Hunter card Snipe, except this time it is directed only at Mages. How powerful is this effect? Most Justicars end up in side deck slots for Constructed, since they tend to have a narrow yet powerful effect on the opposition. Andra is similar, but she may be sneaking into some main decks as well, but not those you would expect!
By her very nature, Andra forces you to leave open resources on your opponents turn, therefore comboing well with her namesake Hunter abilities, building upon the popular “sniping” theme you usually see with Snipe and Bombard. Other classes that can make use of end of turn effects and suffer to the interrupting power of Mages, such as Druids, may also benefit from Andra. For the Mage player, Andra represents a real threat, forcing you to deal with her before you can drop threats like the Slow and Netherbreath Spellblade combo, Everlasting Cold, Invocations, Mana Sapphires, or even Mystic Denials. She also stops popular Mage Allies such as Broderick Langforth and Vuz’din. The real key is getting her to work double duty against other archetypes. For example, the once popular Warlock control deck built around Zhar'doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer and Vengeful Gladiator’s Fellshroud would also be vulnerable to the sting of Andra. The more powerful equipment that Mages and their brethren have access to, the more reach Andra will have.
The real secret that Andra has is that while she hates Mages, she secretly serves a very important purpose in protecting those on the Alliance side! Currently Alliance Mages, including the popular Spellweaver Jihan, are vulnerable to the duo of Broderick and Vuz’din. They also usually operate with unspent resources on your opponent’s turn, so they are a perfect compliment to the two cost ability on Andra. Having that type of utility combined with an efficient body may give Alliance Mages a new friend in their once assumed enemy!
Another potential collaborator in the battle against the minions of the Lich King is our new two drop Rogue friend Tani Bixix. She represents a much more straight forward threat to Arthas’ forces with her power to keep his minions in check. If the Scourge have efficient tiny beaters, Tani will be there to wipe up the mess. She will represent a “must kill” threat to the Scourge.
In Limited, Tani should be very popular, again assuming the Scourge allies and heroes are playable in draft. In Sealed Pack play you should always main deck her, and I find it hard to believe that any 3/2 for two resources would not be efficient enough to always run. As a cheap Rogue she also turns on the Alliance Rogue flips, and also fuels the powerful flip of the Wrath Gate hero Tysandri Duskstrike. Two drops are the lifeblood of limited decks, and I expect to be playing with Tani often in the next few months.
It is his secondary ability that truly makes Fansal shine and a potential Constructed staple. The power of cards with Death Rattle is when you can essentially use them to get “something for nothing,” or “discarding for fun and profit.” Fansal fits these descriptions nicely. When combined with the Ring of Blood: Brokentoe, The Ring of Blood: The Warmaul Champion, Darkness Calling, the Donation quests, or The Darkmoon Faire Pathfinder Fansal offers a powerful sifting option for your deck and a denial strategy against your opponent. This is especially powerful when you are playing a deck designed around manipulation of the graveyard, such as Death Knights with Lessons from the Grave and Brothers in Death. He also combines well with some previously spoiled Icecrown cards. The Hunter pet Deuce is powerful in play as a 4/3, but getting him into the graveyard for no additional cost and allowing multiple pets immediately is extremely efficient. The Sword of Oblivion (a 6 cost weapon with 8 attack, 5 strike cost, free to strike if a copy of The Sword of Oblivion is in your graveyard) is another powerful outlet for graveyard manipulation. He also could start a chain reaction of Death Rattle, such as revealing an Incendiary Totem of your own and choosing to add it to your graveyard for more “free” damage.
The mathematics of deckbuilding is both and art and science and cards such as Fansal are powerful tools. The goal of any deck is to play as consistently and powerful as possible, taking the same avenue to victory each game. The free sifting nature of Fansal could come into play here, effectively increasing the number of threats, if not subtlety increasing the numbers of each card in your deck. What I mean is that the more card drawing and sifting (draw and discard) you have in your deck, the less of each card you can run. The real winners here are The Darkmoon Faire and the Ring of Blood: Brokentoe, since the discard is done before you can draw, so you can manipulate your deck to help you draw the cards you need in each situation. You are increasing your chances of drawing your various outs each turn. In effect, Fansal may allow you to play with a virtual 56 card deck, as long as your couple him with the right resources.
Overall the Alliance is gaining some powerful additions to its forces to stand against the might of the Lich King in this final battle! See you in September at the Icecrown release parties, and I hope you get a chance to enjoy these new allies.
-Scott Landis
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