I was originally going to write about the top five cards we’ll miss when the next group of sets rotates out, but as I was making it, I realized that most of it was from League of Explorers. I decided the adventure was so good that it deserved a list of its own. So, without further ado, here are the top five cards we’ll miss when League of Explorers rotates out in a couple months.
5. Elise Starseeker
Some of my best memories are with Elise. I’ve always loved fatigue style decks, but before League of Explorers they were mostly gimmicks. Elise introduced a viable way for them to win, and added a ton of depth to control games. Do you play the card? Should you save it for a random legendary? Sure it partially came down to randomness, but this was actually exciting randomness. You work your entire game towards it and pick and choose which cards are worth saving. Also when to play the Monkey… there was so much strategy involved. I’ll miss Elise a lot, even if she’s not viable anymore.
4. Tomb Pillager
One of the staples of Rogue, and one of their few playable class cards. Still run in nearly every archetype of Rogue, Tomb Pillager will be missed immensely. Rogue is sorely missing cards that fit its class. They will still have Xarill, but he simply cannot compare to the strength of the coin. Not to mention the larger body. Losing League of Explorers will be a huge blow to Rogue, simply for the strength of Tomb Pillager.
3. Anyfin Can Happen
Losing an archetype is always a sad moment. It’s not the first we’ve lost, and it certainly won’t be the last. However, when an archetype is so concentrated on a single card, it’s hard for it to survive. Anyfin Can Happen is the core of the Murloc Paladin archetype. The archetype suffered a blow when it lost Old Murk-Eye, but it survived. Just two weeks ago it went 6-0 in a high stakes tournament. Now it will be gone from standard forever. Murlocs, you will be missed.
2. Reno Jackson
Reno has been a very contested card in terms of whether people want it to stay or not. Many say that they want it to stay because he keeps the aggro decks in check. Others disagree, saying that he makes every meta feel far too similar. Either way, he was a staple of not only League of Explorers, but Hearthstone itself. Losing Reno will be the biggest shake up to the current meta. Many will miss being rich, and we’ll all be hoping for new cards that provide healing.
1. Brann Bronzebeard
Swinging his way into first is the lovable Brann Bronzebeard. I can hardly imagine a Hearthstone without Brann, he is played in so many decks. Dragon decks, Reno decks, C’Thun decks, Jade decks. Every one of them will be considerably hurt by the loss of Brann. He introduced a layer of complexity to many decks, forcing players to understanding what and when you should save, when to bait out removal, and when to use him to soak damage. He’s been very versatile, and it will be a real shame to lose him.
Did we miss some of your favorites? Let us know on Twitter!