Epic Dark Draft Decisions (3)

Welcome to the 3rd Dark Draft Decisions! Here is a rundown of what I'll be doing:

I use a random card generator to generate a hand of 5 cards from a complete singleton set of Epic, which includes the Core, the Tyrants, and new Uprising sets. I will then analyze the hand and decide what I would tend to pick if I were to draw that hand in the Dark Draft format of play. I will decide which card to pick if I got that pack, as well as which 2 cards I'd pick if I got the remaining 4. For the sake of consistency, I will assume this is the first pack I open.

For your information and as a reminder, here are the Dark Draft rules from the official website:

Dark Draft (2 players)

• Shuffle a stack of at least 120 cards. Deal 5 to each player.
• Each player takes 1 card out of their hand of five cards and drafts it, then passes the other 4 to the other (at the same time).
• Each player takes 2 cards out of their new hand of four cards and drafts them, then discards the remaining two cards into a shared face-down discard pile.

Both players now have drafted three cards. Repeat nine times to get to a 30-card deck, shuffle and play.

This is a fun, fast, and skill-testing draft format for two players. Many of our competitive events use this format in the playoff rounds. This format is used in our World Championship. Source: http://www.epiccardgame.com/formats-draft/

So what do we have for today?

 

I like this pack too. There are some really good things here. Angelic Protector is a nice addition because of Airborne, Ambush, and that high health, not to mention it's almost impossible to get rid of the turn it comes in. You can even use it on offense to play it to boost your really good attacker to prevent removal. Citadel Scholar I am not a huge fan of but it is a 0-cost, which are needed in this format, and it has the potential to get big and force your opponent to spend gold to break it. Divine Judgment is a board sweeper and those are always helpful. Raxxa's Curse is one of my favorite cards as it will almost always find use in a match. The Risen isn't great in general, but in Limited if you can find yourself with some other zombies on the board, or a Soul Hunter that just entered play from your discard pile, then this card can be quite useful.

I think I would have to go with Divine Judgement as my first pick. This one hurts a little as I really love Raxxa's Curse, but you NEED to have access to board sweepers in Dark Draft, and I just can't pass one up in the first round. I also really don't want to give it to my opponent. It has to be played on your turn, but it's a great answer to pesky Sea Titans and Steel Golems.

 

If I am given the remainder pack I personally wouldn't have any issues with grabbing Angelic Protector and Raxxa's Curse. For reasons already stated I think they are both very decent cards, and neither force me into a color which is great early on in Dark Draft. Those choices give me a little of everything that I need in a Dark Draft deck, which is a 0-cost removal spell with a draw option, and a body with evasion and ambush. I would be very happy with this pack no matter if I opened it or was passed it.

Thus wraps up my 3rd attempt at Dark Draft Decisions! I hope you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a comment, as as always, happy gaming!

Epic Dark Draft Decisions (2)

Welcome to my 2nd attempt at Dark Draft Decisions! For those of you unaware, here is what I'm doing:

I use a random card generator to generate a hand of 5 cards from a complete singleton set of Epic, which includes the Core, the Tyrants, and new Uprising sets. I will then analyze the hand and decide what I would tend to pick if I were to draw that hand in the Dark Draft format of play. I will decide which card to pick if I got that pack, as well as which 2 cards I'd pick if I got the remaining 4. For the sake of consistency, I will assume this is the first pack I open.

For your information and as a reminder, here are the Dark Draft rules from the official website:

Dark Draft (2 players)

• Shuffle a stack of at least 120 cards. Deal 5 to each player.
• Each player takes 1 card out of their hand of five cards and drafts it, then passes the other 4 to the other (at the same time).
• Each player takes 2 cards out of their new hand of four cards and drafts them, then discards the remaining two cards into a shared face-down discard pile.

Both players now have drafted three cards. Repeat nine times to get to a 30-card deck, shuffle and play.

This is a fun, fast, and skill-testing draft format for two players. Many of our competitive events use this format in the playoff rounds. This format is used in our World Championship. Source: http://www.epiccardgame.com/formats-draft/

So without further ado, let us open a pack!

 

 

Look at all that Good and new stuff! Yeesh. Considering those loyalty triggers, it would make me sad to open this pack first. Jungle Queen is a decent card in Limited because it replaces itself and makes champions like Kong have Ambush, which is insane. However, without the other Wild cards it's very subpar. Infernal Gatekeeper is a very slow but very big body that can spew out a ton of awesome Demon Tokens if left unchecked, but you need to have some more Evil in your deck to really help him reach his potential. Angel of Light is a great card, and amazing if you can hit the Loyalty trigger.

Kark is a new card and we are still waiting to see what kind of impact he will make in the tournament scene. I personally have worries that he will really narrow the deck options as a healthgain deck sounds like a real annoyance to play against, and one that many decks will not be able to handle. However, I hope that I'm wrong and he is just another player in a rock/paper/scissors meta. Rescue Griffin is another new card but one I think gets surpassed by other 0 cost cards, however I think is much better in Limited due to the uncertainty of champions.

Since it's nice and early in the Draft, I could grab Kark in the hopes I can continue to get a lot more Good and try to find a way to get that alternate win condition, but that sounds risky. He's not a bad card to just have around at 9/12, and there should be a decent chance that you can draft a few more Good cards to get at least 4 health when he's played, but I'm actually leaning towards Jungle Queen as my first pick.

Jungle Queen's replacement card and giving other Wild stuff Ambush can be huge. Suddenly Kong is able to attack sooner, as are any number of other Wild champions. And since Wild is often very good anyway in Limited, you should have no trouble with wanting to get more in future packs. The little stat boost is just icing on the cake. The Queen is also a decent body to leave behind for blocking.

Angel of Light has that highly desirable Ambush and Airborne feature, which is a saving grace on defense, and a great annoyance on offense. You will always get 5 health from her as well. Yes, 10 is much, much better, and I would be looking a little closer at other Good cards in the future, but I think she's a strong champion to pick in Limited.

I really could not fault someone who wanted to pick Angel of Light or even Infernal Gatekeeper as their first pick though. Angel of Light has that highly desirable Ambush and Airborne feature, which is a saving grace on defense and a great annoyance on offense. You will always get 5 health from her as well. Yes, 10 is much better, and I would be looking a little closer at other Good cards in the future, but I think she's a strong champion in Limited.

Infernal Gatekeeper is a decent choice as a stand alone too. You will most likely play him as an establishing champion who also gives you a Demon Token. Your opponent will either need a sweeper or will have to deal with them with 2 cards, and most likely spend some gold, so that's pretty desirable too.

After picking Jungle Queen, I would have to think that a lot of players would be grabbing at least 1 of the Good cards. They might not be tied down to it and draft more Good but I'd have to mentally prepare for that Angel or Kark at least I'd say.

If I got the remaining cards passed to me I think I might have to go with Angel of Light and Infernal Gatekeeper actually. I stated my reasons above why I like the cards. I don't like that they both require similar colored cards in order to be amazing, but they are fairly decent cards on their own, and since it's the first pack, I have plenty of time to fill in those colors should I choose to commit to them. It's possible that is a horrible choice though and I wouldn't be surprised if I regretted that choice either, lol. After all, I would say Good and Evil are the lesser of the 4 factions in Epic Limited.

This was a really tough pack, I would love to hear what people think. Chime in and let me know, and happy gaming!

Epic Dark Draft Decisions

This is a little segment I'd like to do from time to time where I use a random card generator to generate a hand of 5 cards from a complete singleton set of Epic, which includes the Core, the Tyrants, and new Uprising sets. I will then analyze the hand and decide what I would tend to pick if I were to draw that hand in the Dark Draft format of play. I will decide which card to pick if I got that pack, as well as which 2 cards I'd pick if I got the remaining 4. For the sake of consistency, I will assume this is the first pack I open.

For your information and as a reminder, here are the Dark Draft rules from the official website:

Dark Draft (2 players)

• Shuffle a stack of at least 120 cards. Deal 5 to each player.
• Each player takes 1 card out of their hand of five cards and drafts it, then passes the other 4 to the other (at the same time).
• Each player takes 2 cards out of their new hand of four cards and drafts them, then discards the remaining two cards into a shared face-down discard pile.

Both players now have drafted three cards. Repeat nine times to get to a 30-card deck, shuffle and play.

This is a fun, fast, and skill-testing draft format for two players. Many of our competitive events use this format in the playoff rounds. This format is used in our World Championship. Source: http://www.epiccardgame.com/formats-draft/

So, let's dive right in!

 

 


At first glance this seems like an amazing pack. There are some solid Dark Draft/Limited options here. Wild is always a popular option for this format as the direct damage and large champions can be harder to deal with. Drinker of Blood, when given the proper support, can really wreck house, and getting it early on is key.

However, Thought Plucker is just so very good and it can completely disrupt an opponent. Even if it only works once you get a card and force your opponent to discard one, and it is unlikely they will benefit from that using stuff like Soul Hunter or Markus. If it is allowed to survive, it will win you games by that card swing. It forces your opponent to deal with it which means gold spent a lot of the time. This is a must draft for me, so I would have to go for it.

 


The Wild and DoB both require other cards to be really good, with an exception for maybe Mythic Monster, whose large body could maybe justify a pick, but I can't imagine a scenario where I'd pick that card over Thought Plucker.

I would have to take a mental note (because you are not allowed to take physical notes during this format according to tournament rules) of the cards I would be giving my opponent as well. They could very well take Drinker of Blood as it is a solid pick early in the game, but I would wager they would take 2 Wild cards. Wild is just very consistently good in this format but they do often require loyalty, and the chance to grab 2 decent cards right off the bat might be too hard to pass up.

If I was given those remaining 4 cards in the opening round I think my choice would be Fire Spirit for sure, as it is a huge body that replaces itself, and every time you play a Wild gold cost card, you get to do some direct damage to a champion. It's a very annoying card to deal with. The debate between Hunting Raptors and Mythic Monster is a good one though. I really like Ambush and direct damage to the face, but if you don't hit the loyalty the Raptors are a horrible choice. Even though It think it's a better card in something like Constructed, I think it may be too much of a risk for Limited.

Mythic Monster replaces itself, which is very important, and it's just a huge body to contend with. It will beat and destroy almost every other card in the game. Yes it can be chump blocked or bounced, but at least its Tribute is drawing a card, so it won't be a waste, and if your opponent can't remove it, it could win you the game. Time will tell as to how good this card really is, but I'd feel pretty good about grabbing it. You better believe I would be looking for a Lash or Rage as well to give it Breakthrough in future packs.

 


Well that concludes my first look into Dark Draft Decisions. I hope you enjoyed it. Disagree with me strongly? Please leave a comment and tell me why. Until next time, happy gaming!

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!

Epic Card Game: Uprising - Velden's Wrath Pack Analysis (3)

Halfway there, here is part 3 of 4 on my analysis of the new Epic Card Game expansion called Uprising. Like before, I will go through each card, and offer my thoughts on the cards and how I think they will perform in both the Constructed and Limited formats.

Here is part 1: http://amazingspidertank.blogspot.com/2016/11/epic-card-game-uprising-karks-edict.html

Here is part 2: http://amazingspidertank.blogspot.com/2016/11/epic-card-game-uprising-flames-of.html

Velden’s Wrath pack contents:

Velden, Frost Titan
Erratic Research
Frantic Digging
Angel of the Gate
Rescue Griffin
Village Protector
Den Mother
Flame Spike
Winds of Change
Demonic Rising
Raxxa’s Enforcer
Rift Summoner
and a Human/Demon token.

Velden, Frost Titan - Man that's a cool name and even better art. Sad that I actually am more intrigued by the guy who is attempting to go up against Velden, and I think we should know more about him. He seems to be the bigger deal and the more interesting one. Anyway, I think this is the weakest of the titular characters in Uprising. Actually, I take that back, he is amazing. Although he is custom fitted to be killed by Kong, he is a game ending character in the same vein as the Frost Giant. He is also very similar to the War Machine I previewed in the last pack. a 10/13 Blitzing champion is harm enough, let alone that he can completly remove all blockers from play, and in the case of tokens, destroy them. Great stuff.

Constructed - He'll be in most Sage control decks. He does what they love to do, mess with people. You thought Sea Titan was annoying when he popped someone back to your hand, try all your stuff! Oh, and I hope you have removal or else it's 10 to the face!

Limited - He'll be around in Limited for sure. Sage is extremely popular in Limited and even if it wasn't, he'd warrant an inclusion. A big guy with Blitz that removes a couple of blockers or kill some tokens? Yeah that's gonna be powerful.

Erratic Research - Sage does love its researching. This is an extremely simple card, and it does 2 of the things Sage love to do most: Disrupt your opponent and draw cards. I think there are much better cards out there though. Most cards have a draw 2 option, and although banishing a target player's discard pile is great, Sage already has those.

Constructed - As I said I think Sage has plenty of better ways to draw cards (Lesson Learned and Ancient Chant), and although Banishing a discard pile is nice, I don't think it warrants simply drawing cards. Amnesia banishes a pile and lets you draw 1 card with Recycle and it costs 0! Is 1 more card really worth it? This is awfully restricting for a gold.

Limited - This will see some play simply because most decks in Limited need to have discard pile removal. I think there are better options, but you will take what you get. As a side note this set seems to have a lot of discard pile removal, I am wondering if we will see less Draw Out wins than in hte past (although I've never seen it personally). It also makes me wish there were better strategies to make a draw out a more viable option in Constructed.

Frantic Digging - Oh man is this a good card. One of the best in the entire set in my opinion. I am always up for Biggs Darklighter art, although I wish I could see why he's franticly digging. Is that something in the top left? Not sure. I would have liked some Cthulhu-like tentacle in the background as motivation (and for Cthulhu to make it into Epic in fact). The text says it's Demons, but I wanted to see them, and Cthulhu could work. But anyway this card is amazing and will see a ton of play.

Constructed - I think most decks will have to think of a way to include this in their deck. just like in Magic, sifting through your deck is important, and this does a lot of it at 0 cost! This is the first card in Epic I believe to give you a card for free. Yes, you have to discard a card as well, but that's not always a bad thing (Soul Hunter, Ancient Chant). THEN, you get to recycle and draw another card! Ridiculous for a 0 cost!

Limited - Of course this will see play, it's an amazing card. I'm sure people will find all sorts of fun interactions to use with this card, but it's such a cheap way to draw 2 cards essentially. This is an auto pick for sure.

Angel of the Gate - I'm always up for more angels, they always look so cool. Angel of the Gate is also a very decent card. Airborne and Ambush is a great combination, and a health of 7 means she's staying around, and if she does, you will never die. +5 health at the start of your turn is amazing.

Constructed - Kark decks be praised. heck, any deck be praised. This angel has no loyalty requirement, and she's an ambushing flier! If you don't deal with her, she will give health every turn, and in the case of a Kark deck, she will much more easily help you to win the game via life gain. Fun stuff.

Limited - Angel of the Gate will see Limited play for sure. She's so easy to add in a deck. Bounce definitely hurts her as she's very slow, but like most angels if she can manage to survive, she will do a lot of damage, or in her case, do a lot of health? Sure.

Rescue Griffin - Is it just me, or are 0 cost cards getting huge? I know we've had Ankylosaurus but still, a 0 flier with 7 health sounds like more for some reason. I actually don't think this card is very good, but it has awesome art.

Constructed - I doubt this will see too much play. Griffins have no synergy with other cards right now like humans do, and although it is a flier and it has ambush, it doesn't do anything else. That 3 attack is awfully low so it's not likely to kill anything. It makes a good blocker to other 0 cost stuff, but I think I'd rather have those other 0 costers.

Limited - It's possible this will see more play in Limited, as its keywords are very desirable. It won't win you games, but it could save them in a pinch. It almost surely will require someone to spend gold to kill it or at least stall for a turn, but then again it's lack of punch means the threat will most likely stick around.

Village Protector - That's some really good art, and it is just dripping with theme. It also has errata built into it, lol. That little tidbit at the end really makes it a good card. As long as you have tokens on the board, any break all board wipes won't get her.

Constructed - I think she may be too slow for a human token deck. She doesn't remove anything, and although she is a threat, a human token deck relies on its tokens, with support from other champions, and she doesn't really do that. In a combative humans deck though, putting out some blockers and being very hard to get rid of should be a good thing. She will definitely be annoying

Limited - Without a good amount of human tokens she really isn't good at all. She at least comes with a couple, but you won't want to use them or lose them. I think this card more than most will show it's strength through actual play, rather than theorycrafting. We shall see.

Den Mother - What a wonderful card. My good friend, Josiah Fiscus got to spoil this card and offered some wonderful insight and strategy for this so you should go read it: http://www.epiccardgame.com/epic-uprising-preview-den-mother/. In general though, this card is amazing. Time will tell if it can live up to Raxxa, with whom she shares a lot of similarities.

Constructed - Oh man I hope wolf decks become viable. I always love a good themed deck, and the wolves have been on the periphery, never really viable until hopefully now. We are still waiting for Keira to become legal https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/202502/epic-card-game-keira-wolf-caller-promo-card, but until then, this Den Mother could very well be what allows us to have a wolf deck. Wolf decks aside, this is still a decent card in and of itself. It puts out blockers and a large body. Only board weepers take care of everything just like Raxxa. Unlike Raxxa, you actually want to attack with the Den Mother. If you remove her wolves she can get scary big. The tactics and choices one has to make when it comes to whether or not you should kill her wolves before attacking or whatever will keep players very entertained. I love Breakthrough so she is definitely a card I will have to think about adding to some decks. And just like Raxxa, I don't mind if she gets bumped (although I will be sad if she is like 20/20).

Limited - Den Mother will definitely be played. I think she is a strong choice, maybe even stronger than Raxxa. She puts out more blockers, and the annoyances with dealing with her vs her wolves can force an opponent to make a mistake. She can win games with breakthrough, and bouncing just means you can have more blockers. Be wary of Drinker of Blood decks though (to be fair, DoB doesn't see a lot of Limited play).

Flame Spike - This is a fun card. It of course reminds me of Wolf's Bite. This has a little more flexibility as you can target anybody, not just a champion. It has Recycle just like Wolf's Bite. It doesn't put out a wolf though which makes me think I would rather have that than this. I doubt 2 damage to the face will make this worth it, but then again, I've lost plenty of games with my opponent at 1 health. I also find it funny that the art on this card practically is a direct challenge to Wolf's Bite.

Constructed - In burn decks this definitely warrants a look-see. If every bit of direct damage counts, then even 2 can make a difference. I think I personally would prefer Wolf's Bite simply because having a blocker or a weenie attacker seems better, but I would not be surprised if this saw more play.

Limited - This will definitely see play. Considering how popular 2 and 1 life champions are like Muse and Thought Plucker, you will always have a need for this card. Heck, 2 damage to the face isn't bad either. Plus, it replaces itself so no worries!

Winds of Change - That art is awesome, and there should be a video game based on it alone. I think that's about as far as I will take this card, but maybe I'll be surprised.

Constructed - I can't really see me spending gold for this card, even though it permanently improves your guys. There is just too much bounce and removal in Epic to make me think anything will like that long. Breakthrough is amazing though and this card could win you a game, so I guess time will tell. The second option at least lets you draw a card.

Limited - For the same reasons above I doubt this will see much play. I think this is worse for Limited, as you really have to build around this and make sure your opponent has already spent their gold before playing this. And even then, you'll probably just be Hasty Retreated. I have been screwed by bounce effects too much to warrant also losing my gold.

Demonic Rising - Ok this looks straight out of Diablo 3 and that's awesome! This definitely tugs at the imagination strings. It is a board sweeper with a draw 2 option, fairly typical. I think this isn't a great card though.

Constructed - If a deck is built around this card it could be quite good. Attack with all your stuff, and then play this card to give you a second attack with demons! This could be awesome in a human token deck for that reason. Upgrading human tokens to demons AND attacking could end a game real quick (excited to try this out). However, it is just awful on defense and should never be done, and that's a shame for an off-turn board sweeper as there aren't many of them.

Limited - This is in the same vein as Army of the Apocalypse. It could win you the game, or just sit in your hand. I think it has some more utility than AotA as it is an off turn board wipe that in a pinch could downgrade some big guys like Sea Titans and the like which could definitely be worth it. On second thought, yeah that's pretty good. And if you can get a lot of attackers on the board, you can essentially have a double attack.

Raxxa's Enforcer - Who said Draka and temporals were the only ones with enforcers? This guy is an odd one. A weenie board wipe with an ongoing debuff. Sounds like fun but doesn't seem great for a gold. You have to acknowledge the amazing art though.

Constructed - I doubt this will see much play. It isn't killed by Raxxa's Displeasure, and it adds to a fun themed Demon deck, but it doesn't seem great. Draka is a flying 9/9 that does the same damage and although does require loyalty, just seems like a much better card. 5 health also really hurts, and he's so darn slow. A 1 cost Wither just doesn't seem great even though it's a body.

Limited - No loyalty cost is nice, and he can function as a weenie board clear so that's a great thing. I do like his defensive capability in that after he attacks, he still affects his opponents and can really slow down an offense. Since this is the first time we've seen an ability like this on a champion card and one that lasts forever (unlike Wither), I could be way off base in regards to how good this is.

Rift Summoner - More Demon stuff! There sure is a lot in this set, not that I'm complaining, as I said I love themed decks. This card is awesome.

Constructed - This is a must have for any Demon deck, and is a great addition to any deck with a decent amount of Evil cards in it. Ambush and Blitz is always fun, but that Loyalty trigger helps put out a total of 13 damage/life with 1 card! Heck, you can use her ability to break 1 of the demons and get 2 more, for a total of 17 damage/life spread out among 4 cards! That is insane! I love how this can be used on offense or defense, not to mention it is wonderful with Soul Hunters.

Limited - This isn't quite as good as it is in Limited, simply because the lack of a Loyalty trigger really takes this down, but I would be tempted to keep it anyway. You can guarantee a use of its ability as long as you have a target. In a pinch maybe you destroy your expended champion. Maybe you simply break a human token and get 2 demons! That's a heck of a deal! And the ability to use this on yours or your opponent's turn makes this pretty close to an auto pick for me.

End Thoughts

This was an amazing pack with some really great staples that will see play in all formats. This pack has me the most excited for some themed decks around wolves and demons. I hope you enjoyed this article and come back for the last bunch of cards. Until then, happy gaming!

Epic Card Game: Uprising - Flames of Scarros Pack Analysis (2)

Here we go, part 2 of 4! This time we are looking at Flames of Scarros. I will be going through each card in the pack and offering my thoughts including what I think they give in terms of Constructed and Limited. I hope you enjoy!

If you missed the first one, Kark's Edict, here it is: http://amazingspidertank.blogspot.com/2016/11/epic-card-game-uprising-karks-edict.html

Flames of Scarros pack contents:

Scarros, Hound of Draka
Hunting Pack
Go Wild
Little Devil
No Escape
Saren, Night Stalker
Force Field
Reset
War Machine
Brand, Rebel Fighter
Master Zo
Silver Dragon
and a Wolf/Zombie token.

Scarros, Hound of Draka - As with Kark, and the other titular champions in Uprising, Scarros continues the new trend of the Loyalty X keyword, which is just a slight modification of Loyalty. Now your loyalty is only limited to the number of cards in your hand. If you go full Wild with this guy, you better watch out! As with most Wild cards, Scarros has a little bit of everything to offer. He deals damage to the board, damage to the opposing player, and he's a huge champion by himself. Boasting stats higher than even his owner, Draka, he will definitely be seeing a lot of play. I don't think his art fits with Wild as he looks more like a Demon than a wild creature, but I was assured by someone at Epic that Scarros may be "mutated by energy from an evil source, but he's Wild at heart"

Constructed - Scarros will be in most Wild decks, especially burn. He just does so much damage. He can wipe the board and hit your opponent in the face. Sure, Draka's Fire may be more consistent, but it can sometimes hurt yourself, and it definitely doesn't leave a giant 11/11 on the board for your opponent to deal with. I can't wait to have like 9 cards in my hand from card draw on my opponent's turn, and then hitting my opponent's board and face with 8 damage.

Limited - Scarros will see less play in Limited but that completely depends on what other cards you get. If you have a decent amount of Wild, he's a must have. And considering how popular Wild is in Limited, you will probably see a lot of him. I don't think his slowness is that much of a factor. He's awesome.

Hunting Pack - Wow, Wild gets all the awesome art. I really like wolves, and I'm so glad they are getting so much love in this pack. I think this will be a decent card but we'll see.

Constructed - If you are running a wolf deck, which I hope everyone who plays Epic does at some point, then this is probably going to see play. We'll see how competitive it is but I think it could be quite good. If you have a handful of wolves already out on the board and expended from attacking or something, this card could take out a lot of different Champions. You can definitely get something with 3 health, which is probably not great, but if you can hit something with 6+ life, then you got something. Adding 3 other wolves into play is important as an establishment. It may not be consistent enough for most people though.

Limited - I doubt this will see much play. It's just not consistent enough to spend your gold to just put out 3 weenies and maybe kill a low life champion. Other free cards can do a lot of that, and the wolves don't even have blitz. However, if you have enough wolf support and can find a way to give the wolves blitz, this could be good.

Go Wild - Haha, Wild also has the most hilarious art in Epic. This card just drips with testosterone and I love it. It's too bad the card itself is rather bland. When you have Lash and Rage in the same faction, this just doesn't hold any weight. Recycle is nice, but I'd rather have Lash and Rage almost in every case.

Constructed - Not much to say, I sadly think this card is a dud. maybe I'm missing something, but Rage and Lash are much better choices

Limited - Same thing here, although it may see more play if people don't have access to the 2 better cards. Recycle is always nice.

Little Devil - Here is another Evil 0 cost blitzing champion. The Airborne is nice, but I think Evil already has enough of these and they do a better job. I'd much rather have a Dark Knight or Guilty Demon. However, if the meta favors fliers more then maybe this will see play.

Constructed - Guilt Demon and Dark Knight are much better. Maybe if you are running a really specific 0-cost blitzing deck you will find room for this but I doubt it.

Limited - He could see play. A surprise 4 damage after your opponent spent gold can be nice, but he probably won't do too much else. 4 defense is at least annoying enough that it might draw out your opponent's gold though.

No Escape - I always like direct removal, so this card catches my eye. However, I prefer my removal on my opponent's turn, and this card just gives my opponent way too much flexibility. I like some of the shenanigans you can do on your turn, and there are situations where this card can save you, but I'm thinking there will be better choices. Tom from Tom's Epic Gaming Blog got to showcase this card and he does a great job of analyzing it. http://www.tomsepicgaming.com/epic-uprising-spoiler-no-escape/

Constructed - As I said I think there are better cards out there for Evil in terms of removal. There are some trick decks that I'm sure could use this card though. My Drinker of Blood and Soul Hunter deck comes to mind. Break your own Soul Hunter, dealing damage to your opponent, and then get a Drinker of Blood back to your hand for future use. Not the greatest play, but it could be fun.

Limited - Since there is a huge need for removal in Limited, I think this can always find a place in a deck. It's not the best card out there, but you can help yourself in a lot of ways on your turn, and it could save you in a pinch on your opponent's.

Saren, Night Stalker - This guy is very big, very hard to kill on your opponent's turn, and has the potential to stay around a little longer since he has the magic life total of 6+, but he's not amazing.

Constructed - I will be surprised if this sees a lot of play. I predict him being bounced or weenie blocked most of the time. He crushes if he can get through, but I don't think you could take a chance with him in Constructed.

Limited - This is definitely better in Limited, but sadly most of the bounce cards in Epic are must-haves so I fear the same thing will probably happen to him as in Constructed. However, your opponent doesn't automatically get bounce cards or weenie blockers, so Saren might work. He is awesome if your opponent has already spent their gold on your turn.

Force Field - This might be the first card to give us 2 "Or" options, although they are very similar. I do like the flexibility, but I doubt this card's usefulness.

Constructed - This is obviously meant for a control deck, but with Sage having so many good sweepers and bounce effects and such, I find it hard to justify spending my gold on a stall tactic. And the times that you really need to lower offense, is usually not before your opponent spends their gold. Usually the situation is that you are against the wall and you need the offense lowered immediately. Only now they will spend their gold AFTER you play this and you will be in trouble again. The 2nd option can be nice if the opponent has flooded the board and you need to stall a ton of units, then save your blockers for attackers that actually have any offense left, and it's nice to draw a card to replace it, but still. Fumble exists and is a 0 cost card that allows you to draw a card with Recycle.

Limited - Meh. There are better cards out there for Sage especially. Certain situations may call for it and if you have no sweepers I guess this will have to do, but you're in trouble already if that happens.

Reset - A similar Hasty Retreat and Vanishing, but this card costs 1 gold, and hits everyone. Could be good against tokens, but those decks aren't very popular right now. I hate giving my opponent a card and why would I want to do this on my turn and rob myself of doing anything really productive?

Constructed - The why is if I have a ton of 0 cost attacking cards. If I have a board/hand filled with Dark Knights, Ambush Demons, Shadow Imps, etc, this card could do work. Play this to return everything, including blockers, then attack with all your 0 cost stuff. Outside of that and only in desperate situations would I recommend this in another deck.

Limited - For the same reasons above, it can be a good finisher if your opponent has a ton of blockers or tokens, and/or if you have a lot of blitzing 0 cost champions, but other than that I wouldn't play it. I love seeing Minotaurs in the art though!

War Machine - I like this one. It reminds me of Frost Giant in that it can be good at removing blockers, but it's less consistent. Or maybe it's just different. Banishing is very nice. If you can manage to Surprise attack this guy you get around Dark Knight attacks which is nice. You have to hit that Blitz though or else this guy is a weak sweeper. I am happy it only hits the opponent though. I really like the card though

Constructed - I think he will go into a lot of decks, and not just because the art is amazing. We need a similar thing to chant when it comes in like "Grond!" from Lord of the Rings. This card can get rid of a ton of nasty stuff, and get rid of them forever. Sweeping banishing stuff without any drawback is practically unheard of in Epic, so this guy will fit it. In a strong Sage deck the loyalty shouldn't be a problem either.

Limited - You really need the loyalty to make him work, but I wouldn't blame an auto inclusion either, as it can be a decent sweeper for certain stuff and leave behind quite the body. The Blitz could wreck though (hahaha siege puns).

Brand, Rebel Fighter - Adding to our impressive list of 0-cost Good champions, the hardcore brand joins us. I am torn with this guy. I love ambush, and he can boost himself when he comes in, and the Loyalty thing is very nice if you can hit it, but I don't know where to put him. I'm probably missing something?

Constructed - I don't think he really fits into a human token deck as he just doesn't do much to help the engine like other 0 cost champions do, and he isn't amazing to be put into a combative big Good guys deck or a dragon deck. I dunno, I'm sure someone will figure out some amazing combo with him but at first glance I can't see it.

Limited - I really doubt this guy's inclusion in anything besides a heavy Good deck, and even that is in question. There are just so many better 0 cost stuff in even Good, let alone in other colors.

Master Zo - This guy looks like he will have some amazing background lore. He also looks like a huge pain to get rid of, but he might just not do much otherwise.

Constructed - He is quite the big body, and ambush is awesome, but your opponent will get a chance to remove him when he's played, and that would be awful. Meanwhile, if you play him on your turn, he will just sit there waiting to be killed too. I think there are too many ways to get rid of him before he can have some evasion, and he's just way too slow to be that great. However, if you expect or see that your opponent doesn't have direct removal, then he could last forever.

Limited - He has no faction loyalty, so that's a big plus. He's very big and has ambush, which are more pluses. And then if your opponent doesn't have a good answer for him, he can survive all over the place, so that's nice. I do worry about the many windows of opportunity an opponent has to remove him, and I hate how slow he is, but we'll have to see how he does in real life.

Silver Dragon - I love dragons, and this one looks different from the others, so that's cool! This dragon is very big, and can go toe to toe with almost every other flier in the game, and most likely will defeat them all and stand a good chance of surviving except for Draka (but at least it's a trade). it is slow, but it replaces itself and can remove some pesky tokens. Great stuff.

Constructed - I think it'll be in a lot of decks. It doesn't require loyalty, and there are so many good cards that add tokens that we need some good removal, and this thing does it in spades. It's a huge body with the natural evasion of flying, so it will be very hard to take out. Most other fliers cannot beat it and survive. The card draw really puts it over the edge as it is an amazing ability to have. I am sure I know of at least one Worlds Qualifier who will find a place for this thing in his deck.

Limited - This card is an auto include for me for the same reasons I said above. No loyalty needed, a huge body, a flier, it replaces itself, and can even remove so harmful stuff in addition. Great card!

Ending Thoughts

Well that wraps up Flames of Scarros. As I was going through this pack I definitely felt like it was weaker than Kark's, but there are some solid cards in here in the Silver Dragon, Scarros himself, and War Machine. Hmmm, actually that might be it. Oh well. Stay tuned for next time, when we go into Velden's Wrath! I hope you enjoyed this and as always, happy gaming!