The Comprehensive Into The Emerald Dream Preview

 

Goldpetal Drake

A minion that imbues twice? That is nice to have. Paladin’s Imbue hero power is slower to impact the game than other classes, as it requires a prolonged game, so it makes sense that it will have stronger Imbue cards than others, but Goldpetal Drake does not even carry a stat penalty.

A 3 mana 3/4 does an adequate job of fighting for board and applying pressure. The dragon tag could be relevant, as Paladin has ways to tutor dragons with Redscale Dragontamer. Giftwrapped Whelp and Netherspite Historian are additional options in the neutral set to boost Imbue Paladin’s early game if it opts for a full dragon package.

Solid card that makes building around Imbue easier.

Score: 3

Lightmender

Lightmender is a 4-mana taunt with two forms. A 6/3 taunt with divine shield sounds extremely aggressive. A 3/6 taunt with lifesteal is a stabilizing play. Neither option is particularly amazing, but both options are solid for different game states and matchups.

The main problem we have with Lightmender is that it has no real synergy with the rest of the set. It just fills the “Choose One” quota for the class. Different decks could opt to run the card, but it does not further any specific win condition. Generically solid cards usually fill the last slots of a deck.

The one exception could be Handbuff Paladin, as Lightmender does have scaling keywords that we can amplify with buffs. However, we have no faith in this archetype surviving rotation.

Score: 1

Renewing Flames

A massive Fel Barrage with lifesteal is the best way we can describe this spell. Renewing Flames heals for a total of 10 health, while dealing 10 damage via two shots. This damage can deal direct hero damage on an empty board.

The smaller the shots are, the more efficient and consistent the damage becomes at clearing boards, as they will have less overkill. Mask of C’Thun clears the board better than Renewing Flames, for example. Of course, compensation for that inefficiency is the health gained through lifesteal.

We do not think Renewing Flames is a card we put with the intention of hard casting it. This is a complementary piece to Ursol, which turns it into a 3-turn aura. In this context, Renewing Flames becomes incredibly powerful, dealing a total of 30 lifesteal damage over 3 turns, making it incredibly difficult for the opponent to pressure us, or even just survive.

The spell is largely dependent on whether Ursol sees competitive play.

Score: 2

Aegis of Light

A random 1-drop is worth less than 1 mana but giving the minion taunt is a compensation worth half a mana, so Aegis of Light offers a strong turn 1 play that should not disappoint when contesting early game boards. This means that once again, Paladin does not need to sacrifice board control to Imbue.

Aegis of Light is also the cheapest Imbue card in the game, giving Paladin access to the only 1-mana Imbue. This should significantly help its curve and accelerate its ability to scale into the late game with Emerald Portals.

Score: 3

Dragonscale Armaments

There are three main sources of shuffled cards worth discussing, that turn Amaments into a 1-mana spell that draws 2 cards, which is incredible value for the cost. The first is Paladin’s Imbue hero power. The second and third are Moonstone Mauler and Incindius.

Armaments is clearly mandatory in an Imbue Paladin deck. The remarkable thing about Armaments in this context is that it does not just draw 2 cards, but it also summons stats in play, as we are drawing an Emerald Portal. An Emerald Portal is admittedly a little weak early, but once we have played a couple of Imbue cards, we are able to draw cards while outpacing our opponent on the board.

With Maulers and Incindius, Armaments becomes a damage enabler that we can play alongside spell damage to clear enemy boards. Lynessa Paladin did get significantly nerfed (Incindius/Glowsticks/Oracle), so we will have to see whether Armaments can carry it back into competitive play.

Score: 3

Ursine Maul

This weapon does a lot for its cost. We like 4 mana 4/2 weapons a lot, as they are fast enough to deal significant damage to the opponent without sacrificing too much of a board lead. A 5 mana 5/2 weapon is too slow and is almost forced to go face. A 3 mana 3/2 weapon is mostly used for board control. A 4/2 weapon is versatile enough to be able to control the board effectively but also pound face.

But the upside on Maul is where things get crazy. We draw a card on every swing, so Maul draws 2 cards on top of being a 4/2 weapon. Those cards are not even random, they are the top end of our deck. In other words, this is a 4 mana 4/2 weapon that draws 2 of our win condition cards.

No matter which way you slice it, Ursine Maul is too good to be true. Whether we play an aggressive deck, or a more defensive deck, we will warp our deck building around taking advantage of Maul. For example, Maul can find us Ursol and Renewing Flames, making it a consistently trivial play. Maul can do disgusting things with Dorian, drawing us a 0 mana Ceaseless Expanse, or a 1 mana Ursol/Malorne, or a 1 mana Incindius, or a 1 mana Lynessa.

If you are not putting this card in your Paladin deck, you might be doing something wrong.

Score: 4

Mark of Ursol

Dark Conviction was not a great card. Neither was Subdue. So, Team 5 decided to merge the two with optimal outcomes on whether it is an enemy minion (Subdue) or a friendly one (Conviction). We still do not think this is a great card.

The issue with Dark Conviction is that it is not even good to land on a 1/1. That means we are spending 2 mana to buff a minion by 2/2. The issue with Subdue is that it does not remove the minion in play. We still need to invest something into killing it. That is okay if we are trying to deal with plain giants, but minions with static effects need to be cleanly removed. As a recent example, Mark of Ursol would not have been able to deal with Titans well enough. Good news is that they are rotating.

Could be a filler card, but nothing more.

Score: 1

Dreamwarden

This dragon becomes active after we shuffle a card into our deck. When it is active, it is a 4 mana 5/6 taunt that draws a card and summons extra stats, which is incredible.

This looks like a mandatory inclusion in Imbue Paladin and a card that makes us want to put Illusory Greenwing into the deck. Imagine playing this after a Greenwing dies? A 5/6 taunt and a 4/5 taunt, while drawing a card, for 4 mana. This can be done as early as turn 5 or turn 4 with the coin.

Dreamwarden is also another dragon, which makes a turn 1 Giftwrapped Whelp a real possibility for Imbue Paladin. It looks like Imbue Paladin does not need to sacrifice any board initiative for the privilege of scaling up Emerald Portals.

Score: 3

Toreth the Unbreaking

Toreth’s aura affects itself, which means it is a very sticky taunt that requires 4 damage instances to kill. The minion itself is small. A 5 mana 3/4 does not do much when it comes to pressuring the opponent, but it is very annoying to get through. It is a mega Annoy-o-Tron.

We are not counting on playing Toreth when we have other divine shield minions in play, but in that scenario, our opponent should enter a major struggle. A single Righteous Protector suddenly becomes the most obnoxious thing.

Where Toreth is strongest is in a Handbuff Paladin deck, since buffing its stats turns it into a serious threat, rather than just a major roadblock. It remains vulnerable to non-damage-based removal, but it can be game ending if the opponent does not have access to them.

Otherwise, Toreth does not have the best synergy in other strategies. Spending 5 mana on this card in Imbue Paladin, for example, may not be worthwhile as it does not progress our Emerald Portal game plan. In the immediate term, we think Toreth’s competitive prospects are reliant on Handbuff Paladin’s existence.

Score: 2

Ursol

This Wild God casts the most expensive spell in our hand for free, and for 3 consecutive turns. The most obvious target spell here is Renewing Flames, in which case, we are dealing 30 lifesteal damage across 3 turns. Not only does that make it incredibly hard to kill us, but it can outright kill the opponent.

Ursine Maul can tutor this two-card combo, though it does require us to give up any other top end threats if we want it to be consistent.

There are other options. Sea Shanty makes Ursol cast a full board every turn. Crafter’s Aura makes Ursol stack multiple auras and summon a total of 9 6-drops over 5 turns. Ursol does not work well with Shaladrassil.

We think this is one of the stronger Wild Gods if we leverage it correctly through deckbuilding.

Score: 3

Final Thoughts

Into the Emerald Dream Set Rank: 3^rd

Overall Power Ranking: 5^th

The cycle begins anew. Paladin is pressing the reset button Into the Emerald Dream with a new, compelling package of cards that promises a new foundation.

Paladin’s Imbued Hero Power Emerald Portal is slow in theory, but it provides a unique form of inevitability that is board-based. The value potential of portals means that, over the course of a drawn-out game, Paladin is likely to dominate the board through a high density of threats.

The good news is that Paladin does not pay a significant cost to scale portals. Its Imbue package produces strong stats in the early-to-mid game, establishing it as a deck that is capable of pressuring rather than trying to keep up. Emerald Portal offers sustained pressure in the late game to beat defensive decks, rather than just offer a way to come back into the game in faster matchups.

And, when it comes to inevitability, Paladin wins through consistency. It is getting so much card draw that Uther must be getting dizzy. He is not used to this! Ursine Maul allows us to tutor our win condition every game. Ursol casting Renewing Flames suddenly deals 30 damage over 3 turns, which is a crippling number if we control the board and keep the opponent on the backfoot. It also makes us extremely difficult to kill.

That source of off-board damage, as well as the absence of any real sacrifice to get it, is what sells us on Paladin the most. Dominating the board throughout the game and possessing burst damage in the late game is a blueprint for success in Hearthstone.

The one concern we have with Paladin is that it is highly reliant on its Imbue package to work. Lynessa Paladin has been nerfed. Handbuff Paladin is going through a difficult rotation and a nerf to its cornerstone card. Aggressive Paladin decks do not have a great reason to come back.

It might be Imbue or bust. Thankfully, we do not think there will be a bust here.