I Cast, I Win: Top Hearthstone Spell Cards Identified!

With the upcoming expansion for Blizzard’s Hearthstone coming in August, it is a good time to look back on the recent state of the meta-game after beta, Curse of Naxxramas, Goblins vs. Gnomes and Blackrock Mountain were released.

More than just another review of decks, this would be a review of the most enchanting aspect of the game – Spell Cards. This is an in-depth analysis of what spell cards are considered “core” as it greatly contributes to a deck’s success.

Method:

Data was pulled from TempoStorm’s meta snapshot #12 to #20. Deck lists were copied manually from the Tier 1 and Tier 2 deck archetypes that have been the most successful in competitive play recently. A score was then given to the individual spell cards per week based on what Tier of the deck they belong in, which was then averaged to arrive to the final score.

Interesting preview notes:

Out of 185 spells, only 82 cards were deemed helpful to a deck’s success. The top 32 of these can be considered the most used high quality spells in the game.

Also, out of the 9 classes, Priest has only one deck ranked in TempoStorm’s 8 meta snapshots that would explain why the class spells are nowhere to be seen in this article.

Spell Cards Tier Summary:

Execute achieved the highest rank in our calculations and receives the sole distinction of being the best spell in the game. It stands alone in its bracket of scores.

THE ULTIMATE SPELL

 Execute (Warrior) – 1 Mana: Destroy a damaged enemy minion.

• • After all the three expansions, the top spell card goes to a basic Warrior class card, Execute! A staple on both the Control and Patron Warrior decks, this versatile card can help you on the defense by easily eliminating threats on the board in exchange for 1 mana (or 2 if you also need whirlwind; or plus damage to your face if you need to deal damage to the said threat with a weapon).

(c)ArchonTeamLeagueChampionships

We can also attribute this to the Patron and Control Warrior decks that prove to be always successful in the meta.

TIER 1: Enthralling Aggression

Aggressive decks are really common in the meta. Cheap to build and quick to play, aggressive decks allow you to grind and win more games on average, by volume, than say, a more controlling deck like Control Priest. The following are the staple cards for Face/Hybrid/Mid-range Hunter, Zoolock and Demonlock decks.

• Animal Companion (Hunter) – 3 Mana: Summon a random Beast Companion.

  • Another basic spell, this 3 mana spell card offers a big help to all flavors of Hunter decks: Face, Hybrid or Mid-Range. Any of the three possible beasts to be summoned helps the Hunter class to gain or sustain their advantage. Auto-Huffer for 4 damage to the face!

    It’s a different story to Mind Control Huffer as done by Kibler though. Look at that reaction when he kills the Hunter with his own Huffer.

(c)Kibler

• Kill Command (Hunter) – 3 Mana: Deal 3 damage. If you have a Beast, deal 5 damage instead.

  • Rexxar’s finisher! Don’t you just hate (or love) it when the match seems to be stabilized already? After all, you did weather the assault by dropping that Sludge Belcher. Then comes Hunter’s turn and they drop Ironbeak Owl to silence your beloved slimy monster and deals 10 damage to your face using 6 mana for two cards? Way better than Pyroblast.

    Young Dragonhawk is a beast, so that works too.

(c)Mike’s Gameplay on Youtube

Also, check this sick Kill Command play by Reynad!

(c ) DHB 14 NESCAFE HEARTHSTONE/ForgedChampion

• Unleash the Hounds (Hunter) – 3 Mana: For each enemy minion, summon a 1/1 Hound with Charge.

  • Zoo what? Those zoo-ey kind of decks can easily be countered by just this one card. Summoning a 1/1 charged beast can help you either by biting the opponent’s face for X amount of damage, or just clearing the board really well with that Knife Juggler synergy.

(c) TroleyHS on Youtube

• Imp-losion (Warlock) – 4 Mana: Deal 2-4 damage to a minion. Summon a 1/1 Imp for each damage dealt.

  • Zoo what again? Yeap Zoo! A great damage/removal spell that also summons you 1/1 imps that helps for board. Oh and of course, Unleash the Hounds is not the only spell that benefits with Knife Juggler.

(c) HearthstoneSecrets on Youtube

TIER 2: Removal/Damage then Draw

Card draw is a huge part for any collectible card game. More cards give you more options and more options give you a higher chance of winning. The following cards draw their value through the amount of cards you can draw from them.

• Mortal Coil (Warlock) – 1 Mana: Deal 1 damage to a minion. If that kills it, draw a card.

  • One of the best options for any Warlock deck to deal with aggressive decks or just Leper Gnome, really. Just dealing that one damage to kill a minion will help slow down the game and maybe help you draw the card you’re looking for.

• Brawl (Warrior) – Destroy all minions except one. (chosen randomly)

  • This is very RNG dependent but it does clear everything in the board with an exception of the one minion who wins the brawl. The satisfaction when its you clear the imps or the hounds with your Armorsmith being the last woman standing. Ahh…
    Of course, the decks that utilize this are built to mitigate the off-chance of having a bad brawl.

• Darkbomb (Warlock) – Deal 3 damage.

  • Another card we have to thank GvG for. Direct 3 damage for 2 mana. This is the only spell I can think that is better for its cost is Frostbolt because of the additional freeze.

• Hellfire (Warlock) – Deal 3 damage to all characters.

  • A masochistic board clear. Hellfire dealing 3 damage to all characters can get you to clear the board plus get closer to lethal range. Deals very well with aggro decks as almost all low-cost minions are with 3 health and below.

• Quick Shot (Hunter) – Deal 3 damage. If your hand is empty, draw a card.

  • Blackrock Mountain does not only have Emperor Thaurissan, Flamewaker and Grim Patron. Quick Shot is also there that boosted Hunter’s direct damage to the face.

Another conclusion we can draw from this is that Warrior, Warlock and Hunter really are the most consistent classes for competitive play as well. Of course the other classes are there, but I don’t think we can really argue about these three to be at the top at this period in the game.

TIER 3: For Control and Survival

The following spells have something in common: they basically help you survive crucial turns. The other thing is that they either win or lose you the game.

• Freezing Trap (Hunter) – Secret: When an enemy minion attacks, return it to its owner’s hand and it costs (2) more.

  • Played mostly on mid-range Hunters, this trap essentially makes your opponent pass a turn if he has only one minion on board. Though be careful, getting an Antique Healbot Freeze Trapped would give them advantage.

• Power Overwhelming (Warlock) – Give a friendly minion +4/+4 until end of turn. Then, it dies. Horribly.

  • Your finisher with Doomguard. Or your Nerubian Egg activatior. That’s a total of 3 mana plus 4 damage to the face or an enemy minion that gives you a 4/4 body on board.

• Shadowflame (Warlock) – Destroy a friendly minion and deal its Attack damage to all enemy minions.

  • Used mostly on Handlock, Malylock or Demonlock decks, this card will help you control the game and clear the board. Ancient Watcher will deal 4 damage to the enemy board; Molten Giant will deal 8. At the cost of your 1 minion, this is a sure board clear.

• Shield Block (Warrior) – Gain 5 Armor. Draw a card.

  • A very basic Warrior spell. The spell can help you cycle for a card and net you 5 armor. What’s not to like for just 3 mana?

• Shield Slam (Warrior) – Deal 1 damage to a minion for each Armor you have.

  • A guy removed my Mal’Ganis with just a 1 mana card. How sick is that? This spell is a good option to remove minions.

Conclusion:

The latest developments and additions to the game help shaped the current meta for Hearthstone. Blackrock Mountain has given the Hunters Quick Shot, while GvG powered Warlock with Imp-losion and Darkbomb. But still, the most useful spells remain with the Basic set and the Expert Packs.

With the next expansion coming soon, it will be very interesting to see some new spells that will be added into the game.

Blizzard please, help Priest and Shaman!

Interesting ending notes:

Mage, Shaman and Priest,which are the classes that utilizes magic the most are not in the top tiers of the spells list.

Rogue, having its game play mostly relying on spells and its combo synergy, is also not in the top 3 tiers. This is because the amount of Warrior, Warlock and Hunter decks are just higher. Rogue is being underplayed at the moment, so it does not account for much of the spell use in the game.

Bonus Tables:

Final Credits:

• TempoStorm for the Meta Snapshots.
• Hearthstone Philippines Facebook page for the card list.
• All the Youtube channels for the gifs embedded in these post and the respective tournaments where the original content came from, if any.

Do you agree with us? What kind of spells would you want to be see in the upcoming expansion? Tell us below!

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