Epic Dark Draft Decisions Pantheon (1)

This is more for fun since we have 5 cards from the new Pantheon set spoiled, so why not just draft them using the Dark Draft rules? For those of you unaware, I am considering this to be the first pack opened in a Dark Draft. I get to pick 1 card, then pass the remainder to my opponent, who will pick 2. So here we go with the first draft of Pantheon!

Steel Titan - I have talked about this guy before. I think he will be a Limited monster. If your opponent doesn’t draft certain cards, this guy can win you the game by himself. It is slow, but so is Sea Titan and that is one of the most sought after Limited cards in a draft. This card maybe even more so.

Steed of Scara - Loyalty 2 cards lose some of their luster in Limited. Evil is known for its amazing Loyalty triggers, but it requires a pretty decent investment into Evil cards, and that is not always guaranteed. This is a decent card, and even more so with Loyalty, but I think there are better cards in this pack.

Elf Shaman - In my final’s loss last year in a World Championship Qualifier against the eventual top-8- at-Worlds- player, Gabriel Costa-Gionni , he showed me the value of grabbing every 0-cost champion possible and just plinking down an opponent’s health while controlling the board. I have always liked Dark Knight and this card reminds of him. A 5/5 Blitzing 0-cost is annoying to just take, and you might force your opponent to spend their gold first. This is very high on my take-list in a draft. The secondary ability is nice, but probably won’t be a factor in Limited.

Will of Scara - Card draw in Limited is very important, and this is the only card in the pack that helps you do that. With a strong Evil dedication, this card gets even better. It’s also one of the cards that can take care of champions like the above Steel Titan, since you are not targeting the champion, only the play. However, you better hope they don’t have some chump champion lying around or it will be a waste.

Battle Angel - This card is alright in Limited. A 7/7 Airborne can be difficult to deal with, as it trades nicely with a lot of fliers. But it’s not doing much else. If you have a lot of Good events then she is better, but right now, Good is still the worst faction in general to go for in a draft. So when compared to the rest of this pack, I will probably pass.

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So after thinking about the pack I’m going to go with Steel Titan. I think that’s a pretty obvious pick. I definitely never want to pass it to my opponent. That being said, I am technically giving my opponent a chance to grab a card that can deal with it, but I will take that chance. If I received this pack I would take at least the Elf Shaman, for reasons I’ve already mentioned. It would be tempting to grab the 2 Evil cards but I think Elf Shaman is a safer pick that doesn’t pigeon-hole me into a faction. My other pick would probably be Will of Scara. I can keep a lookout for other Evil cards but I won’t be killing myself to get them. Will of Scara will be a draw-2 or a Sea Titan/ Steel Golem/ Steel Titan, etc removal with some luck.

Well that’s it for the first pack worth of cards from the new Pantheon set. I can’t wait for some more to come around! What do you think, what would you pick?

Epic: The Card Game Pantheon new set examination (1)

At Origins 2017, we were introduced to the new Epic: The Card Game expansion called Pantheon. It will be another 60 card set similar in the vein of Tyrants and Uprising. Several cards were spoiled for us and this is what my article will be talking about.

Steel Titan - 13/9 1-cost Sage. Untargetable. Unblockable to champions with strength less than this card's strength.

My first thought is here is another card in the steel/titan category that I will inevitably confuse with the originals. As if I did not already have issues. I am looking forward to some better pictures but I can already tell I'm gonna love the art of this card. It is suitably epic. The card also seems quite awesome. I am unsure how much play time it will see in constructed, but my mind is already racing with using this card with Surprise Attack or Final Task, in order to attack with it sooner. Right now, the only champions that can actually block this guy without help are Burrowing Wurm, Kong, Mythic Monster, Rampaging Wurm, and Steel Golem I believe, That is a short list, and being Untargetable certainly makes things more difficult. Luckily he is very slow, but he will be a very strong pick in Limited I would imagine.

Steed of Scara - 6/7 1-cost Evil. Airborne Blitz. Loyalty 2 - Deal 5 damage to target player. Players damaged by Steed of Scara can't gain health this turn.

When I first saw the art I thought we might have our first Evil dragon, but oh well. Still, this card is hopefully the first of many anti-Kark cards in the new set. This has many similarities to Strafing Dragon. The 7 health will really help its longevity, and although I miss the Ambush, the secondary ability of no health gain could be a difference maker against Kark. The loyalty factor will hurt its use in Limited, but I feel as though Airborne Blitz will always have a place, and I never mind going into Evil in Limited.

Elf Shaman - 5/5 0-cost Wild. Blitz - Opponents cannot gain health.

Now this is the kind of anti-Kark card I was waiting for. This is the exact ability I have mentioned several times that we need against Kark, and I am so glad it was made. I may not even attack with it. Just having it around and forcing my opponent to play a sweeper should be game changing against Kark. I think Wild has a decent chance at beating Kark already, so this should be able to be easily placed in a deck. You would have to invest a decent amount of Wild cards in order to get 3 in a different color since it's a 0-cost card, so that will have issues. In terms of Limited, this will definitely see play. A 5/5 0-cost Blitzer is always a welcome addition to a Limited deck. I really hope this isn't the only card that does this in the new set, though. I think thematically, an Evil card, maybe a 1-coster, with the same ability, should also be in this set. We shall see.

Will of Scara - Evil Event 1-cost. Draw two cards - or - If it is your turn, target player breaks a champion they control if able. You gain 1 gold that can only be used to play an evil ability or card.

This is the first event that we've seen. I love cards that allow you to play additional cards on your turn, and I love cards that encourage thematic decks. You will want to play a lot of Evil cards in order to get the most out of this card. There are a lot of fun tricks one can use with this, too. For one, it's a good way to get rid of the above Steel Titan. You can also use this to break your own Soul Hunter and still have gold leftover. I am sure we will see some other awesome combos with this card. As a removal and draw two option, this will definitely see Limited play, even without an Evil investment. I love the Evil faction, so I am looking forward to making some decks using this card.

Battle Angel - 7/7 1-cost Good. Airborne Blitz. - Tribute - You may return a good card from your discard pile to your hand.

Our first Good card from the new set, and it is of course another angel. I am not sad about this, as I love the angels, and the the art is pretty fantastic. I can practically see the drool through the internet from Tom Sorenson, as this will fit right in with his favorite faction. The 7/7 is a great statline, and having Blitz and Airborne are solid abilities. I really like the ability to grab my favorite 0-cost Good events like Blind Faith and Brave Squire and replay them. I am hoping we get some more Good support in order to have a more consistent aggro Good deck. Besides Kark being the most dominant deck in Epic so far, there really aren't any other representations from Good decks, which is sad. This is also a solid Limited pick, although without a strong Good investment (which is usually a bad idea), this card loses a lot of its merit. But hopefully that will change.

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Well that is it for the spoilers so far. I can't wait for more to roll out. I think we've seen some awesome cards so far. Considering the title of the new set, I would imagine we will be seeing at least some names, if not the same characters, that we have from the kickstarter variant cards. I always have liked the Greek-god-like theme, so I'm looking forward to seeing what White Wizards can come up with.

I hope you enjoyed this article, I hope to be making more as more of the set is revealed. I am sorry for the long drought of articles, but getting a new job has taken more time out of my schedule. Have a great week and happy gaming!