Release Day High-Level New Reward Card Review

The new reward cards are finally in! With new abilities, monsters, and strategies, these cards are definitely going to shake up the meta at the top of the ladder. Without using these cards myself yet (since they were released only a few hours ago), these are the cards I believe will have the greatest impact in diamond & champion level matches.

If you thought Yodin was already overpowered, just wait until you encounter him with his new ranged tank. A maxed level Lava Launcher brings 5 ranged attack, 7 shields, 6 health, close range, and a stun to already potent Yodin ranged line-ups. This card will combo especially well with other fire stunners (Spark Pixies, Goblin Fireballer) and monsters with knock out (Kobold Bruiser, Ettin Spearman) to make line-ups that will blast through your team before you even know what hit you!

Hello to the new meta-defining card for Equilizer rulesets. Previously, the Exploding Dwarf was everyone's favorite equalizer, and for good reason. The Dwarf (5 mana, 6 attack, 6 speed, 1 hp, blast, piercing, retaliate, and trample) has been a staple in this ruleset due to the rules covering its 1 weakness: HP. With the introduction of the Exploding Rats, the Equilizer ruleset just became even more advantageous to fire splinters. The Exploding Rats are faster, cost 1 less mana, cannot miss, and leave the field with a redemption parting gift for the unfortunate remainders of your opponent's line-up. Be on the look-out for this card in every Equilizer ruleset once the supply catches up.

Djinn Oshannus comes onto the scene with a big presence and will be a huge difference-maker in water v. water match-ups. Void, Phase, and Forcefield are all incredible counters to popular water splinters such as Ruler of the Seas, Mischievous Mermaid, and Phantom of the Abyss, all of which do 5+ damage when paired with Valnamor or Alric Stormbringer. Because of Djinn's newly introduced Forcefield ability (This monster takes only 1 damage from attacks with power 5+), all of the damage that normally comes from a potent water line-up will be drastically reduced. The 5 speed on Djinn Oshannus already outspeeds many water splinters and increases the effectiveness of his phase ability. One thing to watch for is the interaction between Forcefield and Void; if the monster's Void ability reduces the magic damage before the Forcefield takes effect, the Forcefield ability may go unused against other water line-ups. This interaction will determine the overall effectiveness of this card and its meta-defining status.

Earth summoners were granted a budget Hydra with the introduction of the Pelacor Mercenary. A maxed Pelacor Mercenary will have Flying, Heal, and Retaliate, giving Llama another powerful Last Stand candidate. Be especially weary of this card coming out in 14 mana battles as well as Earthquake & Noxious Fumes rulesets. Shout out to Djinn Biljka as well; Djinn Biljka is a new legendary reward card with the new Camouflage ability (This monster cannot be attacked unless it is in the first position). When combined with its Void & Weaken abilities and low 3 mana cost, expect the Djinn to be at the ends of many Earth line-ups wreaking havoc.

The Life deck was blessed with 3 great reward cards. All 3 could honestly make this list, but the one I want to highlight today is the Pelacor Conjurer. One of Life's biggest weaknesses is its susceptibility to magic, and this card is essentially an even stronger anti-magic Failed Summoner. With a Magic Reflect/Phase combo, this card should become one of the staple anti-magic cards of the Life decks. (Be on the look-out for more cards with Snare abilities to turn the tables on this card's Flying ability). The other 2 Life reward cards give the splinter type more healing options, so the stalls from Life decks may become even more effective than before.

Harklaw gives Death decks a great option for a counter to other Death line-ups. Immunity is an underappreciated ability in my opinion, but I believe this card will be the card to make more people recognize the versatility of the ability. Death decks are missing cleanse abilities, so any debuffs against Death tanks tend to stick. Harklaw removes this vulnerability and reduces the opponent's damage at the same time, which should make it a very tough card to remove from the field. The only obvious weakness on this card is its susceptibility to magic which can be removed with an Owster Rotwell or Mimosa Nightshade pairing. Expect to see this card often.

The Llama's new worst nightmare comes in the form of a rare neutral monster: The Gargoya Devil. This monster brings the new Deathblow ability (Monster does 2x damage if their target is the only monster left on the enemy team) to the table as a neutral monster, meaning a Llama killer can be successfully placed into most line-ups with enough mana. If that wasn't enough, the Gargoya Devil also has Close Range, removing the ranged monster's main weakness.

All of these cards (as well as most of the cards left off this list) will be game-changers. I'm excited to see how the meta shakes up as these cards get up to Diamond & Champion level. If these are any preview of what is coming with Chaos Legion the strategies of the next several months may look vastly different than what you have been learning since the introduction of Untamed cards. Which cards do you see changing the meta? Let me know in the comments below!