Hey everyone, Alexicon1 here. Last patch I detailed the changes to cards and their effects on the metagame. The response was quite positive, so here I am with round 2, but now I'm talking about the monthlies. There is plenty to talk about here, and some of these cards are definitely doozies. If you haven't read an "Under The Hood" before, in this segment I discuss card additions and changes to the game not necessarily been specified by Counterplay. I'll run over each change, and a basic breakdown of the effect on the game. So sit back, relax and enjoy the first breakdown on the 2-mana Common card: Azure Herald. This is one of those cards that has a use all throughout the game, where its effectiveness doesn't drop off as the game advances from the early game, through the mid-game and ends up at the late game. In those first few turns you can drop this and go face a little bit without much undue damage, and this minion is quite tanky for a 2-drop, surviving a Phoenix Fire and as well should take 2 hits to clear off. I fully expect this card to become a staple of Healyonar (for whoever plays that) and feature in Control decks, because with Reva currently terrorising the ladder, every bit of health counts. We may see this card feature in many decks for that sole reason, a good Reva counter. It's still good enough to play on Turn 1 - a 1/4 body is good enough to trade with 2/3s alongside your general, with the option of playing it later for the healing effect. It's just like a Turn 1 Mystic - reliable when you're just starting, and useful forever. Good start Counterplay: now let's see what we can do with the 1-mana Rare, Zyx. I liked this card the moment I saw it for its synergy with Kara's BBS, whose change I covered last edition - for 2 mana you get 10 stats (a pair of 2/3s). An almost better Gloomchaser, this will be very nice as a Turn 1 play. Even better if you have 2 in hand as that is 4 minions, a 4/8 for 2 mana which can always take another mana tile. This card could also see use in Swarm Abyssian as this accomplishes Swarm's goal perfectly, it's a better Lilithe BBS, although without Wraithling synergy. Throwing this out to try and reach for a Snowchaser to infiltrate first turn is also a very nice bonus. A really good value card overall, definitely expect this to see play in certain archetypes. So, with No. 2 done, let's move on to one of the more interesting monthlies I've seen in a while: Ironclad. Here is a very interesting one, I was quite surprised when I saw this one. This seems to be partially directed at salvaging Vetruvian's overnerfed Siphon Energy and synergises with a Dying Wish Vetruvian deck. Although the cost is quite high for a relatively weak minion stat-wise, it makes up for it with quite a potent effect, which may see use with Vetruvian, and perhaps Abyssian for a pseudo-3 mana minion when used with Darkfire Sacrifice for an board-wide dispel. Although a powerful card, I don't actually expect it to see much play except for a few archetypes. Perhaps if it was 1 mana cheaper it may see more play, but yes, this seems like damage control for Vetruvian's removal options. Next up, we have probably the most synergistic card of the lot: the 4-mana Legendary, Decimus. First of all, I have to say I'm loving the art of this card, getting a real butcher vibe out of it. And Counterplay have answered our prayers and given us damage synergistic with Starhorn! This is a strong minion stat-wise, and coupled with an amazing effect can be free damage in the late game when Starhorn's BBS is active every turn. Spelljammer procs for 4 damage, amazing burst potential with this. To be completely honest, this might see use in Fast Songhai, as Songhai need the card draw anyway, why not add some damage to the enemy? That and Starhorn of course. This can be a huge danger point and can be the subject of a deck and become a win-con. That's it for today everyone, I hope to see you guys and gals next time, and be sure to check out Turn 1 Mystic for more quality Duelyst content. But before I go, we had a teaser posted on the @PlayDuelyst twitter about the Cryptographer, the card designed to honour the 20 people (including me) that solved the Seven Sisters riddle. The card is below, feel free to theorise on its effects! Until next time,
Alexicon1
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