We’re nearing the end of The Witchwood reveal season, but there are still a few more cards to be shown before the expansion becomes available.
Two new Mage cards are the latest to be unveiled. One of them may usher in a new Mage deck type, while the other supports an existing one.
Archmage Arugal is a legendary Mage minion that costs two mana and has a 2/2 body. While the Archmage is in play, if you draw a minion, you add a copy of it to your hand. Although this ability can be a bit strong, it’ll be tough to keep the minion alive on-board since its stats are pretty low.
Archmage does have good synergy with the new Mage spell, Book of Specters, because that card also encourages you to run minions in a Mage deck. This card seems a bit out of place because Mage traditionally doesn’t run minion-heavy decks, except for Elemental Mage.
The second card revealed was Bonfire Elemental, which is a five-mana 5/5 Elemental. The minion also lets you draw a card if you played an Elemental the turn before. This is a common mechanic among Elementals, requiring you to play an Elemental to activate the card text. A 5/5 body for five mana is fairly strong, but more importantly, drawing cards is always a crucial mechanic in Hearthstone.
Bonfire Elemental looks great to play in Elemental-style decks and odd-cost decks, which some players are already starting to theorycraft for Mage. Archmage Arugal, on the other hand, will need to be in a minion-heavy deck in order to get value. Players will have to come up with new Mage decks where it will be efficient.
The Witchwood expansion drops on April 12.
