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Wrathgate Previews - Blessings and Burst

May 3, 2010

by Tim Rivera

The first things that I do when a new set comes out is skim the allies it has and find the ones that are going to be my best friends for years to come.  Wrathgate continues the theme of “class matters”, which will continue throughout the Wrath of the Lich King block.  Each class has traits that make them unique, and they can team up with likeminded friends to power each other.  Some classes let you summon Demons, others let your hero shapeshift into a bear or a cat.  This Paladin buddies up with your hero to give you a discount on your most powerful class cards.

Blessing of Freedom
Blessing of the Martyr
Blessing of Kings
Blessing of Sanctuary
Blessing of Salvation
Blessing of Wisdom

Aura of Anger
Resolute Aura
Sanctity Aura

Seal of Righteousness

Roshen will change how players will construct their Paladin decks, fueling explosive starts.  The wheels in my head won’t stop turning thinking about what do with him.  I’m sure my favorite play is going to be turn 3 Roshen, turn 4 Blessing of Kings!  Can you handle that?!

I’m reminded of one of my favorite decks ever, Aggro Paladin.  The deck would play an aggressive Horde ally, drop a Blessing of the Martyr onto it, and then use abilities to protect it.  Roshen would have fit perfectly in that deck since the Blessing of the Martyr would play for free while the 1/5 provides a defender from opposing allies. 

The last bonus of Roshen is that he deals Holy damage.  You might be asking yourself “Why is this a bonus?”  By now, I hope everyone has seen the EA card you get from supporting your local gaming store through the “Buy a Box” promotion.  Check out Torch of Holy Fire!

This torch spits hot justice, and Roshen will be there to support it.  I think I’ve talked enough about how awesome Roshen is; let’s take a look at Uruka the Cutthroat. With Uruka, she lives up to her role as a Rogue. The backstabbers are known for the sneakiness and Uruka the Cutthroat fits into that category perfectly. 

The part that gets me excited about Uruka is the second power.  “Death Rattle: You may choose “ability”, “ally”, or “equipment.”  If you do, target opponent reveals his hand and this ally deals 1 melee damage to his hero for each card of that kind.” Uruka lets you see your opponent’s hand, and we get to deal damage on the way out if we decide to trade allies. In Core, one of the most popular and despised decks is Vorna.  Vorna is a deck that has nearly forty ability cards in it, and her pilot typically has tons of cards in hand. Uruka is a 4 ATK / 3 health ally for only 3 resources, plus we can dump her in the graveyard for a surprise burst of damage.

Tired of having your ally countered or removed instantly? Control decks can't afford to kill her once she's in play since they'd take a big burst of punishment, nor can they counter her since the death rattle will trigger anyway. Equipment-based decks can't simply strike her down with no consequence. And what about that surprise burst damage? Opponents will always wonder if you can pop a surprise Uruka or two, either through a Wrathgate hero flip or effects like Falling to Corruption. Better dead or alive? How could you not love this ally?

If these two previews are any indication of what allies are going to look like in Wrathgate, I’ll be happy that I don’t have to wait much longer to get my hands on my new Horde friends. With Roshen powering out blessings and Uruka keeping control opponents in check, I'm sure we'll be best friends forever.