The new Hero Cards are one of the biggest draws to Knights of the Frozen Throne, Hearthstone’s next expansion. Hero Cards turn your Hero into a Death Knight that provides both a powerful ability when it enters the battlefield and a new Hero Power.
In today’s Hearthside Chat with Matt Place, the Paladin Hero Card was revealed.
Uther of the Ebon Blade costs nine mana and gives the player a 5/3 weapon with Lifesteal upon entering the battlefield. Similar to Ashbringer, the weapon gained off of Tirion Fordring’s Deathrattle ability, the added Lifesteal to this new weapon helps to preserve the Paladin’s life total as you use the weapon to take control of the board. Balancing the play of Tirion and Uther of the Ebon Blade will be key to taking full advantage of both weapons’ power.
The biggest draw to the Paladin Hero Card is its Hero Power: The Four Horsemen. The Four Horsemen summons one of four Legendary 2/2 Horseman minions to the battlefield. When all four Horsemen are on your side of the battlefield, the opponent’s Hero is destroyed, and you win the game.
The Four Horsemen offers a unique way to win the game for Control Paladin strategies. The Horsemen strategy is soft to AoE removal like Consecration and Primordial Drake, so the Control Paladin player has to ensure complete control over the game and ideally deplete the opponent’s hand of resources. This strategy requires playing a longer game, and the Control Paladin player will want resources that ensure he reaches the late game.
Blackguard may serve as one of these late game resources. A 3/9 body for six mana, Blackguard deals damage to a random enemy minion equal to the amount your Hero is healed. Blackguard combines well with the Lifesteal weapon gained off of Uther of the Ebon Blade, but also other Paladin healing cards as well. Cards like Ragnaros, Lightlord and Forbidden Healing gain additional value as removal as long as Blackguard is on the field. These two cards are already Control Paladin staples, and it seems Blackguard may have already found a home.
