Epic Card Game: Uprising - Will of Zannos pack Analysis (4)

This is the 4th, and final analysis for the recently spoiled Uprising expansion to the Epic Card Game. I hope you've enjoyed the read so far. I've worked very hard to get this out quickly to begin the theorycrafting and build the excitement for this newest expansion. it will be released at World's later in November, and hopefully soon after that for retail so the rest of us who haven't qualified for Worlds will get it.

If you missed the previous entries, here they are:

Part 1 Kark's Edict http://amazingspidertank.blogspot.com/2016/11/epic-card-game-uprising-karks-edict.html

Part 2 Flames of Scarros http://amazingspidertank.blogspot.com/2016/11/epic-card-game-uprising-flames-of.html

Part 3 Velden's Wrath http://amazingspidertank.blogspot.com/2016/11/epic-card-game-uprising-veldens-wrath.html

And here we go!

Will of Zannos pack contents:

Zannos, Corpse Lord
Corpsemonger
Plague Zombies
Citadel Raven
Reusable Knowledge
Siren’s Song
Avenger of Covenant
Bodyguard
Gladius, the Defender
Entangling Vines
Pyrosaur
Savage Uprising
and a Wolf/Zombie token.

Zannos, Corpse Lord - Our last titular character is quite a thematic fun one. He's like a miniature Drinker of Blood that requires no build up other than Evil cards in hand. He doesn't hit nor heal as hard so he won't be ending games most likely, but it's a wonderful swing card to bring you back from the brink of death, as well as hit your opponent. He's also quite the establisher. Not only do you get a large 9/9, but for every loyalty you show, you get a zombie token! Playing this card even in your opening hand could be devastating. With a full hand of Evil cards you are talking about an 8 health swing, with a 9/9 and 4 zombies with a single card! Say nothing of a turn or 2 later when you have a full hand.

Constructed - Drinker of Blood decks rejoice! I'm not sure if this is the card to truly catapult that deck archetype to the forefront, but dang it it will help. This is an awesome card. This should be put into any deck with a decent amount of Evil, as it is an Epic card worthy of the game title. The shift in board position and even health for players makes this quite the turn-around card.

Limited - This card is a very strong pick, as long as you can hit the loyalty. Even showing 2 loyalty might make this worth a play. I can't wait to see what people can do with this card.

Corpsemonger - More discard pile manipulation, it really isn't a safe place anymore. Gotta say my favorite Soul Hunter is gonna take a hit. This card is very simple, but I doubt it'll be good enough to earn a spot.

Constructed - This won't be making its way into many decks. It just doesn't do enough as a 0 cost. Discard pile manipulation is great, but Evil has much better cards. The health gain is very negligible.

Limited - If one is strapped for discard pile removal then this might be chosen, but there are better options all over the place.

Plague Zombies - Yay for more themed stuff. The art feels out of place, it looks like the zombies are trying to do a superhero pose. I do really like this card for a zombie deck though. It's like having a mini Drinker of Blood without needing all the bits and pieces. Just straight damage.

Constructed - This will definitely see play in Drinker of Blood and other zombie decks. Just 3 zombies may not be enough to make it worth it, but Evil has a lot of ways of getting lots of zombies on the board cheaply (Hands from Below on the previous turn, Plentiful Dead, etc). Attack with them, and then maybe break them at the end for double the damage. Or just destroy them without giving your opponent the priority for guaranteed damage.

Limited - This isn't an awful card for limited, as it can mean 6 direct damage or even more if the zombies get through. And since there are so many zombie cards in Epic (and your opponent may even give you some with Zombie Apocalypse or Necrovirus), you will most likely be able to do more. It's not a guaranteed addition but it could be added without too much trouble.

Citadel Raven - Simple and elegant. It's an easy way to grab events back from your discard pile. I'm unsure that's worth a gold but then again I love Lesson Learned, and this puts a body on the board.

Constructed - I can't imagine this would replace Lesson Learned as I use that on defense half the time. However maybe I would use it in addition if there were events I felt like I needed to play a ton like maybe Drain Essence. But still, even though you put a body on the board it's hardly anything special. Every little bit can count though and if it can attack multiple times (it probably won't), then maybe it will be worth it.

Limited - If you are finding yourself with some really good event cards like Flamestrike or a board sweeper or Drain Essence or something, this might be worth taking so you can double up, but it's far from a guarantee.

Reusable Knowledge - Here's another card similar in vein to the Citadel Raven, except I think I like this better. Raven will most likely not get a chance to use its ability again. This lets you get any card and it replaces itself. Much more useful.

Constructed - If you love a small amount of cards in your deck, then including 3 of these should be easy. You get card draw and your favorite card back. There is a lot you can do with this card and it will be a valuable addition to many decks.

Limited - This will also see a lot of play in Limited. Your opponent finally figured out a way to deal with your Sea Titan or Steel Golem? Sorry, but you'll have to deal with it again. Thought you were out of direct damage options? Sorry, I just grabbed that Flame Strike again. Fun stuff.

Siren's Song - I'm not really getting this card. Yes it removes a blocker or some other decent 0 cost card for the turn, but that's it. It doesn't remove it, it doesn't let you use it, it just expends it essentially for the turn. The card draw option is hardly anything special. I think I'd much rather draw cards or actually destroy something or do any number of things other 0 cost cards can do. It's so restrictive too. Might be one of the worst cards in the set.

*Edit - It was brought to my attention that I somehow missed that you get the champion permanently. That definitely makes this a better card.

Constructed - Although you get the champion permanently, I still can't help but think I would be better suited simply to add the champion of my choice rather than wait for my opponent. I could be wrong, but I still probably won't play this.

Limited - This is definitely better than I initially thought, and since there will be so many 0 cost champions most likely in your opponent's deck, this is not a worthless card. I still think there are better options though.

Avenger of Covenant - Boy these guys sure are active in this set. Taking a not so subtle bow to a certain video game series, the Avenger of Covenant seems very similar to the Palace Guard, except it can be used defensively. It's quite a restriction though, as you have to take damage. I don't really like that. Also, stuff like Zannos above doesn't actually deal damage, it only makes you lose health, so that wouldn't even count.

Constructed - Someone might want to put this in their deck, although I think there would be better cards. Banishing can be nice but it seems so restrictive. You do at least have an ambush 8/8 body which is fairly decent.

Limited - Sometimes just taking the hit and putting out an 8/8 to strike next turn might make this a worthy pick. it would be a later pick for sure, but at least it doesn't require a loyalty trigger.

Bodyguard - Mr. nothing-but-keywords. I kind of like him. He's very simple, and he'll keep coming back.

Constructed - I could see this in a human token deck. He will benefit from a lot of those cards and he can do whatever is needed, and you will most likely keep getting him back. He can do a lot of little damage and it's a way to goad your opponent into spending gold when they are tired of taking a hit. I have dreams of grabbing 3 of these guys from my discard pile when spending gold.

Limited - Only take this if you have enough Good so to grab him several times in a game.

Gladius - Unbanishable is one of my least favorite keywords, as it never really seems that good. Luckily, the rest of him is fairly decent. The lack of speed means he will most likely not be able to put 3 tokens into play, and I'm not sure you'd always want to. 6/11 is a decent amount of damage. Boosting all of your other good champions is very nice though.

Constructed - This is obviously built for a human token deck. I'm unsure it's worth spending your gold on this as you probably won't be doing much with whatever tokens you have considering they won't have any evasion at all. But if they get through that could be a lot of damage. I just think there are cheaper and better cards that boost your token's attack. There was a little confusion with the wording since I think it originally said they "have" +3 strength. I think it was changed to "get" to avoid confusion. I see this image is fixed but the original as well as the one used by Epic Foundry (awesome deck building service by the way) http://decks.epiccardgame.com/

Limited - Not likely to see any play. Human token cards are not very good in Limited as you have to have a lot of them to make it worth it. And even then this card won't help you that much.

Entangling Vines - This one I like. This feels very out of place for Wild, I would have thought Sage would have gotten this ability, although I wont complain as Wild could use it. A strong, Ambushing champion is already nice, but to be able to expend target champions, and then KEEP using it whenever you play Wild, that's very impressive. I think the key will be to spend your gold on events right after an opponent ambushes what they hope is a blocker, only to have it expended.

Constructed - This is a very good card for Wild. I'm unsure it will find its way into burn decks as they have plenty of cards already, but large monster dinosaur decks could use something like this to remove blockers to allow the biguns in.

Limited - This isn't a horrible card even if you only had this in Wild, but it gets much much better with a large Wild contingent. it doesn't help against lone enemies, but if your opponent wants to use more than one attacker on the board, they are gonna have trouble. And then on your turn if you have to spend your gold you can expend a defender.

Pyrosaur - This was one of the earliest spoiled cards, and I think it's great.

Constructed - This will most likely be included in burn decks. You will most likely be able to deal 4 damage to each opposing champion and player, AND have a 6/3 attacker. If it survives it can keep doing it although that most likely won't happen. He's a little mini Scarros. This will go great against the inevitable Demon token deck.

Limited - As much as I love the card and the art, I doubt this will see much play unless you have a decent amount of Wild. But since Wild is so popular and has great cards for Limited, perhaps that will happen often.

Savage Uprising - This has one of the most entertaining card arts in the game. It encompasses Epic perfectly. Two giant, some could say epic, monsters duking it out. It's not the best card though.

Constructed - This is a decent card to go into a token deck, since it acts as an off turn board wipe to 1 costers. It's a decent board wipe in general although obviously Hurricane is just better in that regard. Dealing 5 damage to a player and drawing a card is nice, but it's a little low. In a pinch maybe it's ok, but I think burn decks have better alternatives.

Limited - This is a better Limited card, though. Board sweeps can be hard to come by, so this can give it to you, and it can give some direct damage, which is very useful in Limited. That card draw will be even more loved.

Final Thoughts

Well that ends the new Uprising cards.We still have a little surprise left in waiting to see what the tokens look like, and as a collector I can't wait to see new tokens (crosses fingers for a zombie Minotaur). I really like this set and I think it will add a lot of great stuff to the game.

I really like all the thematic token strategies that are added. I still think Kark might be the biggest deal and will have the biggest impact on the meta as it exists for Worlds, but time and testing will tell. I can't wait for Worlds and the chance to see what people will bring. I have another chance this coming weekend to qualify so wish me luck.

I hope you enjoyed all of these and happy gaming!