Wes Davis (Jazzfan27) ranks the cards

[Wes Davis]

3/2/5 Twilight Ritualist - 2: Target enemy item or ability with cost 3 or less is destroyed, and Twilight Ritualist is killed at the end of your turn.

With a limit of 3cc you aren't going to be able to destroy a large number of items. Most weapons/armor are over 3cc. While it's true you might take out a Blood Frenzy, Tomb of Knowledge, or Antimatter those Wizent's staffs, IGG, WotFs are going to escape you. Still, a 2/5 for 3 isnt' too shabby, and when the ability hits it's very strong. I don't think it'll supplant Artful squire, but, it may suppliment him. Pretty good card.

4/5

3/3/3 Twilight Warden - Steadfast. While there are at least 3 Twilight allies in your graveyard, Twilight Warden has +2 attack and +2 health.

I think this again is a case of not enough Twilight allies. As a turn 3 drop it's pretty poor. TONS of better options. Even as a midgame drop a 5/5 vanilla creature generally isn't that hard to deal with. I wouldn't play it.

1/5

4/3/5 Twilight Champion - When a friendly Twilight ally is killed, Twilight Champion gains +1 base attack and +1 health.

3/5 for 4 isn't bad. And if you are running a Twilight deck you probably want 4 of these. That being said, if you aren't running a Twilight deck there is no reason to play this card. So, it's highly situational. By my eye, Twilight decks aren't going to be that strong, so you probably won't be running a Twilight deck meaning that this card isn't going to see much play.

2/5

4/3/5 Templar Champion - When another friendly Templar ally is summoned, all opposing allies take 1 arcane damage.

I tend to like the Templar class of cards a lot better than the Twilight ones. As such, I think this might get some play. However, the effect is pretty mild and fairly easy to disrupt. Not like a Furion Terror when the effect is immediate on summon. I think this card end up being more cute than effective.

2/5

6/3/6 Viska, the Scarlet Blade - Haste. All combat damage dealt to Viska from heroes is reduced to 0.

Love the Haste. Love the ability. Hate the casting cost. For 6cc I'd like something a little more disruptive. Outside of a tech card vs solo allies she's not that good. Even then she's not that hard to deal with. I'll take an Aeon any day over her.

2/5

2/0/4 Avenger of the Fallen - Avenger of the Fallen has +1 attack on your turn. While there are at least 3 Templar allies in your graveyard, Avenger of the Fallen has +3 attack.

I think this is a pretty decent 2 drop. And an ok mid game drop if you are running a lot of Templars. I think it fits in nicely as a 2cc drop for a Templar deck.

3/5

[Wes Davis]

3/3/3 Tenacious Buccaneer - When Tenacious Buccaneer is discarded from anywhere, she enters play instead.

Hmm. A card never intended to be cast. I like it! It combos well with a handful of cards that ask you to pitch a card and it provides some mil defense. I think you just have to not include more of them than you feel comfortable using as resource.

4/5

4/2/5 Irina, Guardian of the Swan (I'm calling her Swan Princess) - Irina may attack 2 times on each of your turns.

4 for a 2/5 is kinda lousy. But, 4 for a 4/5 is pretty good. And she will really pack a wallop combined with hero abilities, Aldon, Attachments, etc... Only downside is her being unique. I think she'll find a way into any deck with a lot of attachment buffs or Heros that provide an ally buff. Nice art too.

5/5

4/1/4 Fortified Wisp - All damage to Fortified Wisp is reduced by 2. When Fortified Wisp kills an opposing ally in combat, it gains +1 base attack.

I love durable creatures. I love growy creatures. How can I do anything but love Fortified Wasp? I can't. Give me 4 of them please. Then let the Kings Prides rain down.

5/5

5/3/5 Thunderstrike Construct - When Thunderstrike Construct is summoned, target opposing ally is reduced by 2 health, and target friendly Homunculus ally has +2 attack until the end of the turn.

Love it. health reduction is so much handier than damage. And if you've got a deck built to take advantage of the +2 attack so much the better. I'll be looking for ways to play him more than once, I doubt I'm the only one. (retreat, VO, ?) Did I mention I love on summon abilities?

5/5

6/5/6 Eriss Fateweaver - 1SE: Target ability is destroyed.

Human's answer to Scourge Colossus. Love this lady. Lance loves her. Portal loves her. Heck, even Holy Shield might love her. She's a walking game changer.

5/5

7/4/7 Nathanias, People's Champion - When Nathanias is summoned, draw a card: if that card is an ally, it is summoned at no cost; otherwise, it is discarded.

Not a huge fan of this guy. Unless you are running a card that reveals the top card of your library or you have a way to put a card there the risk of getting a 4/7 vanilla is too high. Even if you have a lot of allies not all of them are going to be suited to the late game. It's a risk/reward equation, and I'd rather have a sure thing. I'd play an Aeon over this guy and Aeon is 1 cheaper. Still, he might be FUN for some folks, so I'll bump his score a bit for that.

3/5

[Wes Davis]

Shadow Allies

1/1/1 Plightbred Runt - When Plightbred Runt is discarded from anywhere, all friendly allies gain +1 health and all friendly Homunculus allies gain +1 base attack.

Another card like the Tenacious buccaneer that is never intended to be cast. It'll combo terrifically with a host of cards. Even if you aren't playing Homunculsi this card could provide something for 'nothing'. And that's pretty good in my book.

5/5

2/1/5 Rapacious Vermin - Sustain: 1HP. When Rapacious Vermin is summoned while an opposing player controls at least 3 items and/or abilities, target item controlled by that player is destroyed and Rapacious Vermin gains +1 base attack and +1 health.

I think this card is pretty strong. It's a very hearty turn 2 drop that will likely deal at least 2 damage before it dies. Maybe more. And it's basically a shock troop, you'll be attacking anything that moves with it. And it's not a dead draw later on unlike a lot of 2cc allies. It'll take some testing to make sure the Health Sustain isn't too much of a drawback, but, I suspect it'll be tolerable. It's especially nice in the Edgenel rush deck, pushing Brutalis to the curb.

4/5

2/1/2 Frostmare - Haste. While an opposing player controls more allies than you, Frostmare costs 1 less resource to summon.

Haste creatures can always find a home. I doubt this one is any different. At the very least it'll be good for running down those pesky Kristoffer Wylds.

3/5

2/1/3 Harbringer of the Lost - When Harbinger of the Lost enters play, each player discards a card from their deck. If at least one ally was discarded this way, Harbinger of the Lost gains +1 base attack and +1 health.

Love this card. There is an above average chance that it's a 2/4 for 2. And it combo's well with a ton of cards and a few Heroes. For my money he's better than Karash, meaning he's probably going to be my goto 2cc creature.

5/5

2/1/3 Spitfire Hound - When Spitfire Hound is summoned, you may destroy target item you control: if you do, target opposing ally takes 3 fire damage.

I don't really care for this ally. Maybe there is a combo somewhere I'm missing at the moment, but, I usually like my items to stay in play. I guess he could turn extra copies of some items into damage, but, I would usually just rather have a better ally and use my extra copies for resource/backups. Maybe you will like it better?

2/5

3/3/4 Wulven Scout - You can view the hands of opposing players on your turn.

I'm not sure how much play this will get. It's decent as a 3/4 for 3. And it does have a 'on summon' ability of sorts. It's just rather weak. Still, how nice would it be to know how many Tidal Waves your opponent was holding? Pretty nice. Still, I suspect the better player you are the less you'll find the need to see your opponents hand.

3/5

[Wes Davis]

3/3/4 Cleric of Asyn - When an item or ability is targeted and destroyed, Cleric of the Asyn gains +1 base attack and +1 health.

Seems like a perfect fit for a Jericho deck. Too bad it's Shadow. Even so, there is enough Item and Ability destruction in the game to buff this guy every now and then. I just don't think it's gonna be something that you can count on when you want it. As such, I think there are better options out there.

2/5

3/3/4 Cryptspawn Hound - When Cryptspawn Hound is killed by an ability while there are at least 2 Undead allies in your graveyard, Cryptspawn Hound is returned to its owner's hand.

I'd love to have a counter to Tidal Wave. If it went back to play instead of your hand I'd love it. As it stands, it's just nice.

2/5

4/4/4 Gravemonger - When Gravemonger is summoned while there are at least 6 cards in your graveyard, you may exile target card in your graveyard and Gravemonger gains +2 base attack and +2 health.

I think the condition is fairly easy to meet. So, I think it'll trigger quite often. I think most decks would like a 6/6 for 4. So, I'm guessing it sees quite a bit of play.

4/5

4/4/4 Wulven Tactician - While every ally you control is a Wulven ally, opposing abilities and items cost 1 additional resource to summon.

There are a lot of cards centered around a Wulven only build. And I think it's gonna be viable as the Wulven are pretty good cards on their own. I could see this paired with some resource denial for extra annoyance. But, I think the effect is just going to be a little weak and with only 4 health the card is a little fragile.

3/5

3/2/2 Rampant Krygon - Haste. 1: Target ally gains +1 base attack and is reduced by 1 health.

Lightning Hunter is a 3/4 with Haste that when you cast it you lose 1 Shadow energy and any support abilities you have. So, it can kill a 3 health creature. With 4 resource (the amount it takes to cast Lightning Hunter) You can also kill a 3 health creature with Krygon. You don't lose a shadow energy and you don't lose support abilities. It's a superior card for the most part, if a bit more fragile. But, you CAN cast it a turn earlier if you only need to knock off 2 health. This is a FANTASTIC card in my opinion. Tide turning with lots of options to use. I think it's better than DMT and will see a ton of play. Almost a 4x auto include for any ally based Shadow deck. Love this card.

6/5 (on my Nerf watch list)

3/3/3 Ravager Zealot - When Ravager Zealot is summoned, you may destroy target item you control; if you do, Ravager Zealot gains haste.

I'm not a huge fan, but, I could imagine it being the killing blow for that final 3 points of damage for some rush deck. I'm having trouble imagining what item you'd want to sac to use this ability but, maybe it's out there. I think I'd rather just play a Krygon, DMT, Gargoyle, MA, etc...

1/5

3/2/4 Grimghast - Opposing allies have -1 attack.

Pretty cool card. I hope the Art is up to the challenge. I want him in my decks. Should be a good draw all game.

5/5

3/1/5 Voracious Arachnid - When an ally is killed, Voracious Arachnid gains +1 base attack. 1SE: Target opposing ally with cost less than Voracious Arachnid's current attack is killed.

I tend to like growy creatures, but, I think this one will tend to disappoint. You could see it in an elementalis deck quite easily though.

3/5

4/2/6 Corpse Hurler - 0: Target Undead ally in your hand is discarded: Target opposing hero or ally takes 3 damage.

2/6 for 4 isn't bad. But, you tack on the ability and you have a mini Plasma Beast as long as your draw is strong. There aren't a ton of good 4cc drops for Shadow, I think this is a great one, as long as you are willing to carry a ton of undead with a lot of draw.

5/5

4/2/6 Murderous Hulk - 2: The opposing ally with the lowest health takes damage equal to Murderous Hulk's attack.

Another card I like. Another 4 drop no less. Love the 6 health. Love the ability. Will have tons of combos. Also a cute way to take out that damn Jasmine Hiding behind Aeon.

5/5

5/3/6 Grimjaw Hydra - When damage is dealt to Grimjaw Hydra, it gains +2 base attack. When Grimjaw Hydra deals damage to an ally, that ally loses all passive abilities until the start of your next turn.

So, if this is attacked by a Sandworm does the retaliation kill the worm or do 1 point of damage? It's not a terrible 5 drop, but, I think I'd rather any of Shadow Knight/Plasma Beast/Molten Destroyer instead.

2/5

5/4/5 Flameborn Defiler - Flameborn Defiler has immunity to fire damage. Opposing allies that take fire damage are set ablaze.

Maija's new pet. Immune to her Nova. Helps her fireballs hit a bit harder. Makes her hero ability hit a bit harder. Hits pretty hard coming through a portal. What's not to like? The art should probably have Majiya riding on the back of this ally.

5/5

3/2/4 Brimstone Devourer - When Brimstone Devourer is discarded from anywhere, the opposing hero or ally with the lowest health takes 3 fire damage.

Man, this is an awesome card. Decks with Discard are gonna love this. Poor Serena, waht did she do to deserve all this nerfing?

5/5

3/3/3 Slingblade Demon - When Slingblade Demon is summoned, you may return target other friendly ally to its owner's hand to renew 2 resources.

It's Voltesian orders on a stick. Great for getting some more use out of the Furion Terror, Wrath, Crippled ally, DMT, Cultist, you name it. The swiss army knife of Shadow allies.

5/5

4/2/4 Falseblood Cultist - When Falseblood Cultist is summoned, you may discard target card in your hand to draw 2 cards.

I love on summon abilities. I think the elementals are gonna love this card as their draw was kind of poor to begin with. But, I think it's soo good that almost every deck will consider adding in a few of these for the draw. And you get to discard a card which as we've seen can reap it's own benefits.

5/5

5/3/6 Thriss Demolitionist - 3: Target item or ability is destroyed if there is another friendly Ravager in play.

I can see Moonstalker enjoying this card. It's kinda hard to get the abiltiy to fire with the restriction for most heroes, but, I think Moonstalker will find it managable to have Focused Prayer on a stick.

4/5

4/3/4 Der'kan, the Bone King - When Der'kan is summoned while there are at least 3 Undead allies in your graveyard, target hero or ally takes 2 ice damage. When Der'kan is killed while he is the only ally you control, he is returned to your hand.

Pretty fun card. I think it's got decent utility as well. I'll want to have one or two in any undead deck.

5/5

6/6/6 Infernus, Tyrant of the Damned - Steadfast. Fire damage to opposing allies is increased by 1.

Ok, Majiya got 2 new pets. This is the larger one. Maybe Preybird can illustrate her walking along with each one on a leash. It's a 7/6 for 6 with Steadfast. That can also boost some of your other damage. I'm not really sure how this got through the Design Team as I think it's OP.

6/5 (on nerf watch list)

7/5/5 Dakrath Shadow - Dakrath can't be frozen or disabled. When Dakrath is dealt damage while your deck is not empty, that damage is reduced by 2 and 1 card is discarded from your deck.

Another fantastic card. At least they had the good sense to make this one unique. I'd think this is Gravebone's new pet. (among a ton of others) Slip this into your graveyard and pull is back out turn 4 and let the beatdown commence. Other decks are going to have to make sure they've got some way to deal with this potential or suffer the consequences. And you thought you had to have a way to deal with Sandworm. Pah. Puny worm.

5/5

[busti]

Good job keep it up!

[Wes Davis]

Warrior Abilities

0 Intimidate - Exhaust your hero: attach to target opposing ally until the end of its controller's next turn. That ally can't attack or activate abilities.

Pretty useful card IMHO. Not sure how much play it'll get though. But, say you go first. on turn 2 your opponent drops a Puwen. On turn 3 you are going to drop a PotL. But, there is a good chance that your ops next drop will be an Aldon killing your PotL. So, you cast this, disable the Puwen, and on your next turn you can take out the Puwen with your PotL. Sorry if that was too hard to read. I guess the point is that it can help you regain teh tempo. Might also combo well with Bad Santa.

3/5

2 Rock of Ages - Sustain: 1HP. When Rock of Ages is destroyed, the opposing ally with the lowest health takes 2 damage. 1: Target friendly Ravager ally has +2 attack until the start of your next turn.

Ahh, here is an Item to kill off to combo with a couple of those earlier allies. (Ravager Zealot, Spitfire Hound) Pretty strong card for a Ravager deck.

4/5

2 Iron Will - Attach to target friendly Warrior or Ravager ally. That ally has +1 attack and +1 health, and combat damage to that ally is reduced by 1

Nothing too exciting here. Pretty self explanatory.

2/5

3/2/5 Yari Shieldbearer - Friendly Yari allies have steadfast

I dunno. It's kinda meh. Weakest link of the Yari.

2/5

4 Mettle of the Yari - Attach to your hero. When you summon a Warrior card, your hero and Yari allies you control heal 1 damage.

I think it's an ok source of healing. In small doses. I wouldn't put more than 2 in a deck.

2/5

4/4/2 Yari Marksman - When Yari Marksman is summoned while an opposing player controls at least 3 allies, target ally controlled by that player is killed.

Combo's well with Crippling Blow. Gives you a way to deal with allies that Crippling blow isn't the answer for. Should see some play for those two reasons I think, but, I don't see it being a must have card.

3/5

2/2/3 Yari Bladedancer - 0: Exhaust Yari Bladedancer: target other friendly ally has +X attack until the end of your turn, where X is Yari Bladedancer's attack.

Goodbye Puwen. Goodbye CoI. Hello Yari Bladedancer. Just an awesome card. Consider.

Turn 1 sac
Turn 1 sac

Turn 2 - Sac, Blade Dancer
Turn 2 - Karash

Turn 3 - Sac Aldon Blade dancer kills Karsh
Turn 3 - Gargoyle

Turn 4 - Aldon is buffed to 5 by Blade dancer and kills Gargoyle (or any other 5 health creature)

It's mega tempo boost if you are going first. This card by itself could power you to victory if you are going first.

5/5

2 Desparate Tactics - Target opposing hero or ally takes 2 + X damage, where X is the attack of target weapon you control. That weapon is then destroyed.

It's a mini Speedstrike and Darkclaw ability wrapped up into one little 2cc card. Could really bring the pain to your opponent timed correctly with Beserker's Edge. I think this is a card that is really good, but, will take a while to catch on.

5/5

4 Spiked Bolas Strike - Attach to target opposing ally. That ally has -3 attack and -3 health, and that ally's controller takes 2 damage when Spiked Bolas Strike leaves play.

It's a little spendy, but, pretty good creature control. Especially when you consider that it's resuable with Braxorian Veteran unlike a lot of creature control.

3/5

5/3/5 Xander Yari Captain - Friendly Yari allies have +1 attack and +1 health.

I'm assuming this becomes a 4/6 creature. As such it's a pretty good card. Combos very nicely with those Yari Pikemen and Bladedancers.

All in all, I think a Yari deck is viable.

4/5

[Gondorian]

This is nice to read, since you have so many 5/5.

Also worth pointing out for people who might not have noticed that you joined the forum in October 2010, so you must be one of our game's oldest players. I'd be interested to hear a memory lane post from you dating back to October 2010 and how you feel the game has developed.

[Sesostris]

Its awesome that i dont need to think on cards anymore. Can you please highlight the card names?

Great thread!

[Snowstalker]

This is nice to read, since you have so many 5/5.

Also worth pointing out for people who might not have noticed that you joined the forum in October 2010, so you must be one of our game's oldest players. I'd be interested to hear a memory lane post from you dating back to October 2010 and how you feel the game has developed.

I 'd be excited about that too!

[Wes Davis]

This is nice to read, since you have so many 5/5.

Also worth pointing out for people who might not have noticed that you joined the forum in October 2010, so you must be one of our game's oldest players. I'd be interested to hear a memory lane post from you dating back to October 2010 and how you feel the game has developed.

Well, at that time I believe I was playing an online game called, crap can't remember. Anyway, it was a card game where you built your deck and then it played itself against a deck another person made. Matches were very fast, but, totally passive. I kinda liked it as I enjoyed the deck building aspect. But, I started to look for something better and ran across Shadow Era.

Sadly to say, I didn't like shadow Era at the time that much. I wasn't used to all the panning of the camera and the game's pace was quite slow and I found the music a little over the top. I probably had it set to the slowest speed. At any rate, I moved on quickly to something else. I think I may have started playing Dragon Age and that captured my attention for a while.

But, eventually I started the search for a free online TCG again and found 'Elements'. That was a pretty good game, a giant leap over that other one I was playing. But, after a while I got bored with the cards. There just weren't that many and new cards were very slow in coming. So I left (there is a lesson in there somewhere)


Then I rediscovered Shadow Era. For some reason the game just seemed more engrossing the second time around. Pace was quicker and I got used to the computer panning around all willy nilly all the time. Plus DP had been released so there were a lot more cards to play with. But, I think the big thing is I discovered quick matches. I am not sure I discovered those the first time around. (there is a lesson there as well)

Now it's all I play. And I doubt I'll be moving on until I tire of the new set of cards, and that will surely take a few months at a minimum. One thing that will help keep me around is the forums though. All the interaction and contests help drive my interest. (wow, more lessons)

But, I can't promise anything once Civ6 is released. All bets are off at that point.