This will be a fourth part of card review series for the upcoming expansion Rise of Shadows.This part will finally feature more cards, the expansion release is only two weeks away and there is more than 100 cards yet to get revealed. This time we get to see some new archetypes forming for Warrior and Mage so let's check that out.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Boom Warrior Archetype:

It looks like Blizzard is going to push for this new style of Warrior where the main theme will be adding Bombs to the opponent's deck. Just to make this clear, every Bomb card/tokens will be the ones that were already introduced in the Boomsday Project expansion with the card Seaforium Bomber that will deal 5 damage to the opponent's face when they draw it just like it's printed on Clockwork Goblin.

So let's start with the Goblin, a 3 mana for 3/3 is just a bit under premium stats for a 3 drop, it also has a Mech tag which is nice and on top of that a Bomb battlecry. This minion wouldn't really work in traditional Warrior decks we have today but as we can see it is only a piece for a new style that will be possible with Warrior. Nothing much other than that, it's an okay card that will support other cards in the archetype.

Wrenchcalibur is in a similar position to a Goblin, a 4 mana 3/2 weapon. Basically, a Fiery War Axe that costs 1 more mana. That said, it has the potential to deal 10 damage to the opponent's face which is actually a lot, like a free delayed Pyroblast of sorts. What makes this card strong is that it can do more than that with cards that buff weapon durability, such as Warrior class spell Upgrade! and a neutral legendary Captain Greenskin. This way, at least in theory, one Wrenchcalibur can add up to 5 bombs and that's 25 DAMAGE! Not too much likely but this card could even see play out of this archetype that Warrior seems to be drifting to and could make it in some Tempo decks with the unusual win condition.

Blastmaster Boom, oh boy, brings some memories. It's nice that Blizzard kept the iconic Dr.7 feel to the card, being a 7 mana 7/7 Dr. Boom feels like home. Even though that at the time we had the first appearance of Boom the card was in every deck ever because the power level of the card was outright the highest. This time we have almost the same card but in a different era and it feels thought-out. It won't be "always play on turn 7" card because of the added condition for the battlecry but it will still be strong and potentially even stronger depending on how much bombs the opponent has in the deck. Boom Bots will be the same old, Deathrattle: deal 1-4 damage to a random enemy. This time around we have also Magnetic effects that can be used on them and this will create unconformable decision from the opponent when will they decide to clear them or trade into them.

Definitely, a strong card which can deal huge amounts of damage, it is a bit of shame that it will see play only in this archetype of Warrior but maybe that is a good thing.

Dr. Boom's Scheme:

Last Warrior card for today and it will be the last Scheme card of the expansion. I got to say it right of the bat, it is probably the worst card of the expansion. Maybe I'm wrong but I doubt it. We had so many Armor/Life gain cards throughout these 5 years of Hearthstone and this one feels sooo weak compared to even the bad ones. Probably the best comparison is with other 4 mana gain cards, like Greater Healing Potion and Branching Paths. Both of these cards, the turn you draw them and whenever you play them you get to heal for 12. 12! So for this card to the same, it needs 12 turns in your hand. This "condition" is almost impossible. It's not that gaining 10 armor is bad but again, you have to hold onto this card so long not to mention that you have to draw it first. Topdecking it is undoubtedly the worst card you could get in a tight spot but even after that, it is a dead card for more than half of the game.

The artwork of this card suggests something totally different from the effect and that could indicate that it was supposed to do something else in the testing phase of the expansion, most likely the team's decision to change it was too late to come up with something less "disappointing" I guess. But hey, this is a Scheme card and we all know that Dr. Boom's plan is... That there is NO Plan!

Summoner Mage:

Another class that is being pushed in a new direction is Mage, it seems like some kind of minion summoning Mage rather than spell heavy Mage we used to see. Even though this isn't totally new, we have seen Blizzard trying it out with cards like Archmage Arugal and Book of Spectres, but this time it is being pushed enough that it might actually work. Note, cards mentioned that already support this archetype won't be leaving standard rotation and will be able to shine with additional tools provided.

Khadgar is the most promising card for this archetype. Not only does he bring value, but he also brings tempo as well. The first thing that comes to mind is comboing Khadgar with Jan'alai for double Ragnaros, it just feels amazingly strong. Also, Astromancer that already sees play in Hand Mage. This card is simple and strong, definitely gonna see a lot of play.

Power of Creation is a good complementary card to this strategy of minion based Mage. 6-Cost minions have a lot of diversity in body sizes which will keep this card in check in terms of power level but there will always be those times that you get Damaged Stegotrons coming out as 5/12 taunt which is insane tempo for an 8 mana card. Also, being an 8 mana card it can be comboed with Khadgar making it a huge 10 mana tempo play. Another card that will definitely see play in the new Mage archetype.

Messenger Raven:

3 mana 3/2, a decent body size for its value-driven effect. This card will probably make a cut in most Mage decks. The ability to get an extra Jan'alai, Khadgar or Kalecgos is amazing. In some cases, you could get infinite value by discovering another Messenger Raven. Nothing much to talk about this one. Just a solid card with a solid battlecry, sacrificing a bit of tempo for huge value, gonna see play for sure.

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Heistbaron Togwaggle:

A new Rogue legendary, 6 mana 5/5 body, not good but isn't the worst. Battlecry, on the other hand, is fantastic (pun intended) A condition for this card is really easy to meet, all Lackeys are 1 mana so basically for 7 mana you get the effect. Fantastic treasures will be the same as those that you get from Marin, the Fox and yes those are some powerful cards. Conveniently all treasures cost 3 mana so they can be played in the same turn with a Lackey and Togwaggle when you have 10 mana of course. Marin wasn't that much played although he had a short time in the meta, Togwaggle will definitely be seen more often. And that's because of how reliable Togwaggle will be, with Marin you had to destroy a 0/8 chest that is summoned to your opponent's side of the board, with that you can come to some problems. Enemy buffing the chest, silencing it, hiding it behind taunt, etc. Getting the treasure right aways makes it so much better and it makes sense to build a deck around a reliable card. The cool this about this card is that you can't just jam it into any Rogue deck, even though it has an easy requirement it is a specific one, so that limits this card a bit, and it should.

TL DR: Treasures are strong, this card is strong, gonna see play.

Hench-Clan Burglar:

Another Rogue card and it's a pretty wild one. 4 mana 4/3 body is a bit on a low end but the battlecry is so unpredictable to say how strong it is. Discovering a spell from any class bring so much RNG that it is impossible to tell how it will perform in the meta. Also, it has a Pirate tag and that has some synergies with other Pirates and more specifically with Raiding Party, there is also an anti-synergy with Captain Hooktusk but then again, pulling a 4/3 with rush still gives tempo nonetheless. This card seems suited to Tempo Rouge style of play even though it's not the most "tempoy" card, aggressive stat distribution helps and getting any spell generates some steam to continue the pressure Pirate decks are known for. Only way to evaluate this card is that is a Pirate and that's a plus and it gives Rogue more steam which is also a plus. So this card can't be straight out bad but it can be sometimes too powerful depending on what spell you get from it.

It will be fun to play with and sometimes frustrating to lose to card in my opinion. Can fit in any Rogue deck because of its possibilities. This is some Trolden material right there.

Unidentified Contract:

Unidentified Contract is a Callback card from Kobolds & Catacombs expansion and like any other Unidentified card it gets 1 out of 4 random effects when it gets to a players hand. Let's start with Assasin's Contract, the bonus effect is summoning Patient Assasin. This is the only way a Rogue would ever have that minion in play. A 1/1 Stealth, Poisonous, easily cleared with any AOE but if it sticks it creates a board state where the opponent can't play their big minions and sort of slow the game down which only favors Rouge player. Next one is Turncoat Contract. Destroyed minion also deals damage to adjacent minions. This is like a mix of Assassinate and Betrayal with 1 mana discount. Also, remind of a meteor in term of playing around it. Having the biggest minion in the middle will spell disaster if the opponent plays this card. The third one is Recruitment Contract. Simply adding destroyed minion to your hand. This is arguably the best one if your opponent is playing big minions because of the value you get, then again, it will be the worst one if you are playing versus aggro. The last one is Lucrative Contract, gives you 2 coins after you play it. Assassinate that helps you with future combo activations and really good if you are playing some kind of Miracle Rouge.

Like any other Unidentified Contract, it can be good in some situations and bad in others, the biggest issue with this one is that it is a really expensive spell and it is a Rogue spell. If the meta doesn't slow down considerably this won't see play, Sap is just too good of a solution for every Rogue nowadays. One thing to consider is that Rogue will be losing Vilespine Slayer so it could be partially used as a replacement but I don't think so.

Neutrals:

Not much to say about these. EVIL Cable Rat is an overpriced 2 mana 1/1 that gets compensated with a Lackey, will see play if Lackeys are so much needed in "EVIL" decks depending on not yet revealed Lackey cards.

Travelling Healer is an okay card, Shroom Brewer is leaving the rotation so we got a replacement for it. Will 3/2 Divine Shield be better than a 4/4 even though it heals 3 and not 4 Health. This is going to depend on how much "Ping classes" are dominant in the meta. It's always nice to have healing options even if they end up being bad cards.

Okay, that wraps it up for this card review. This was a long one, next parts will be like this since they are speeding up the reveal process. We are yet waiting for at least 1 Paladin card and some Druid cards would be nice.

Thank you for reading!

, z3ll