This week the final wing of Naxxramas will be opened and the last 4 cards will be released. This is the smallest wing in the expansion and will give us three more neutral cards and the Paladin class card. Although these cards may not be as impactful as cards that have already been released they do have some potential.
Echoing Ooze
The first card you will receive in this wing is the Echoing Ooze, at the end of the turn this card is played it creates an exact copy of itself making it a great card to buff as soon as it’s played. Just like haunted-creeper and nerubian-egg we are being given another sticky two mana card.
As a simple two drop this card is a great card for board control and early trading, however I feel this card’s biggest strength comes from being played later in the game and being buffed. That being said this card fits best with the Druid or Paladin class. In a druid deck this card can be used with mark-of-the-wild that results in two 3/4 taunts for only four mana.
Even without the mark-of-the-wild in a token druid deck having two more minions that could be buffed with power-of-the-wild or savage-roar could help you push for lethal when you have the combo. In a Paladin deck the best way to utilize Echoing Ooze would be with blessing-of-kings helping you push out two strong minions on turn 6. This is a very sticky minion and I expect to see this card in many control decks.
Shade of Naxxramas
Next up we have another epic card Shade of Naxxramas this card starts off as a 2/2 with stealth then being to gain a 1/1 buff similar to gruul. This card will get the most value if you attack the next turn or when it is a 4/4 waiting any longer allows your opponent to play stronger minions or gives them the opportunity to draw into an answer.
Also I feel that this card is only strong if played in the early game. This card starts off as weak an 2/2 for three mana isn’t great and during the mid to late game you won’t have to extra turns to let him sit there before he is ready to use. Also after being used early if your opponent can’t handle it, it will still continue to be buffed each turn.
If you could put this behind a taunt minion such as senjin-shieldmasta that can be played the next turn Shade of Naxxramas could become a real threat. This card could fit into almost any deck since it has the potential to be very strong and requires no activator and can function well on its own. Another reason this card may do well in the current meta is there are so many cards that we received with Naxxramas and no deck can silence them all meaning just his presence will give you value on your other cards.
Kel’Thuzad
Kel’thuzad is the last Legendary card released with Naxxramas. At the end of each turn all of your minions that died are summoned back to the board. This card’s ability has the potential to be very good in almost any deck and unlike baron-rivendare Kel’thuzad’s stats give him so much livability that he has the potential to survive so that you may take advantage of his ability. One problem with this card however is that it is expensive with an eight mana cost.
Although you might not be able to use him with early cards that could benefit from this ability like nerubian-egg it can work well with late game cards such as cairne-bloodhoof or even sunwalker and other big taunts that prevent your opponent from getting to Kel’thuzad. Overall Kel’thuzad’s strongest asset is his stats, specifically his health he will be able to survive for you to take advantage of him and is strong enough to trade with minions himself while you begin to stack the board.
Avenge
The last card being released in Naxxramas is Avenge the Paladin class card. This Paladin card is a secret that gives a friendly minion a 3/2 buff when one of your minion dies. For only one mana this card is very good in terms of value however similar to duplicate the fact that you cannot activate your secrets on your own turn reduces your ability to choose who these secrets apply to and make these cards harder to use to their full potential.
Nevertheless Avenge is still a strong paladin card and can fit will in any Paladin deck whether it be and aggro Paladin or control. However one problem is the current meta being so Hunter heavy makes it difficult to utilize secrets due to flare. Overall I feel this is a good fit for Paladin decks giving it even more ways to buff or buffing already big minions and making them even more difficult to deal with.
Conclusion
The Frostwyrm Lair is the final wing of Naxxramas and although it is not giving us Meta shifting cards such as loatheb or mad-scientist, it is giving us some more fun cards to experiment with. After this week we will see just how much kelthuzad is going to impact the meta or if perhaps a secret based Paladin deck could be viable.
Feel free to leave any comments you have about these cards or how you feel they will do in constructed.
