All the latest Goblins vs. Gnomes cards, analyzed

On Dec. 8, the full brunt of Hearthstone’s first full expansion, Goblins vs. Gnomes, will finally arrive, completely reinventing the game’s meta from the ground up. A 120 card injection cannot be taken lightly, so we’ve been previewing them as they’ve trickled out over the last few weeks (check our previous guides here and here).

Of course, a couple days ago Blizzard threw caution to the wind, and and announced every single card in the expansion. For those keeping track, that’s something like 60 new cards that we’ve only had 72 hours to digest!

Do you think we’re up to the task of previewing every single one of those cards? Of course we are! This is the homestretch, so kick back, relax, and let all the new mechanics wash over you.

Warbot

Arena: Good one drops in arena are hard to come by, this certainly fits the bill.

Constructed: The dream would be to get this down and hit it Cruel Taskmaster, which would serve up a 4/2. Of course you wouldn’t want to do that in standard Control Warrior decks, so this card seems to exist  to push the meta in a different direction.

Tinker’s Sharpsword Oil

Arena: Deadly Poison is decent, so this is okay too.

Constructed: Yeah maybe, you’re basically getting a Cold Blood and a Deadly Poison in one card for four mana. That’s not bad!

Stonesplinter Trogg

Blizzard

Arena: It’s an anti-spell card with reasonable stats. Which is fine. It could be worse.

Constructed: In a spell-heavy meta this thing could turn into a 3/3 for two mana if your opponent casts a spell, and that’s a big deal. Maybe it could find some situational use in Zoo.

Ship’s Cannon

Blizzard

Arena: At its worst it’s River Crocolisk, which is mediocre but not totally awful.

Constructed: So if I play this with a pirate I have a chance to wipe off a two-health enemy minion for free. That’s pretty awesome. It certainly makes pirates look a lot better.

Shielded Minibot

Arena: This is a two mana minion that trades evenly with any four health minions your opponent might have. That’s pretty awesome!

Constructed: I pray for a return to those wonderful early Shockadin days where Paladins stormed through with hugely effective aggro decks, and maybe Shielded Minibot can get us thinking on those terms again.

Seal of Light

Arena: The health regeneration won’t matter much, but doing two damage to clear off your opponent’s 3/2s is pretty decent.

Constructed: It’s nice that Paladin now has a consistent way to deal two damage, I just don’t think Seal of Light is important enough to merit a deck slot.

Salty Dog

Arena: Four health for five is pretty bad value.

Constructed: It’s such bad value that I can’t even see this working in a pirate deck. A huge pass!

Puddlestomper

Arena: It’s a two mana 3/2! That’s perfectly reasonable.

Constructed: If you’re running with this new Murloc Shaman concept, this will definitely be involved. It’s a very stable minion for an archetype that tends to rely too heavily on buffs.

Mechanical Yeti

Arena: A YETI WITH HIGHER UPSIDE! THE POWER CREEP IS REAL.

Constructed: I actually do think this will get play if only to feed those Spare Parts to Gazlowe.

Lost Tallstrider

Arena: Sometimes you’re developing a game and you think “man we really need a beast to fit a mid-rangey spot for arena picks and Hunter meta.” Then you get this completely average, unremarkable card.

Constructed: You’ll inevitably see a ton of Lost Tallstrider thanks to Webspinner. And honestly it’s not a bad result to get!

Gnomeregan Infantry

Arena: I stopped reading at “One Damage” and you should’ve too.

Constructed: This is officially the worst way to deal one damage in Hearthstone.

Glaivezooka

Arena: Weapons are good in arena, and this one even buffs your board. Not bad.

Constructed: I fail to see a reason you play this over Eaglehorn Bow, but maybe I’m misguided.

Gilblin Stalker

Blizzard

Arena: Stealth is pretty good in arena because it lets you dictate trading, it’s why Worgen Infiltrator rules. I’d take this thing.

Constructed: A fine card that doesn’t seem to have any obvious place in a meta that’s generally pretty specific to highly-focused decks and ideas.

Force-Tank MAX

Arena: Not great! But better than War Golem.

Constructed: You realize cards like Ragnaros are competing for the eight spot right? There’s no way this gets play.

Flying Machine

Arena: I’d seriously take Silverback Patriarch over this.

Constructed: Can’t wait to see the hilariously misjudged Hobgoblin decks this inspires.

Floating Watcher

Arena: You’ll be able to take advantage of the effect with your Hero Ability, and that definitely counts!

Constructed: You’d have to be comboing this with Flame Imps and Pit Lords for this thing to truly matter, but you could see it working especially if brought out through a Void Caller.

Darkbomb

Arena: It’s Frostbolt, that’s pretty good.

Constructed: Yep, still Frostbolt.

Cobra Shot

Arena: What? Ew.

Constructed: This has my vote for worst card in Goblins vs. Gnomes. I have no idea why you’d want to split damage llike this. I really don’t like it.

Vitality Totem

Arena: Don’t draft cards that can’t attack in arena.

Constructed: The Shaman finally gets the healing it needs, and I could totally see a copy or two of this popping up in a handful of decks.

Target Dummy

Arena: Again, don’t draft cards that can’t attack in arena.

Constructed: I’ve already seen the turn one Flame Imp/Target Dummy combo. It made me cry, just as expected.

Soot Spewer

Arena: It’s a three mana 3/3 with spell damage +1.

Constructed: It’s a three mana 3/3 with spell damage +1. Look, I don’t know what you want from me. It’s fine? I guess? This feels like it should’ve been in the starter set or something like that.

Siege Engine

Arena: Unlike a lot of effects, this one is really easy to take advantage of in arena. Drop it and armor up for a 6/5. Not bad!

Constructed: The synergy potential with this and Armorsmith could be incredible. It’s like a bulkier Frothing Berserker.

Shadowboxer

Arena: Knife Juggler is great in arena, and this is basically that.

Constructed: You don’t run Knife Juggler in Control Priest, or even Deathrattle Priest really. I don’t know if this quite earns a deck slot. It’s certainly a good card, but that’s not always enough.

Recycle

Arena: Druid lacks hard removal, so this is okay.

Constructed: There are more Deathrattles you want to avoid in Constructed, so this could see some value on a Sylvannas or something. Six mana is quite a price though.

Powermace

Arena: Weapons are generally valued really highly in arena, so this one just barely makes the cut.

Constructed: Could be powerful if you land this on a Spider Tank or something. But paying an extra mana for a Fiery War Axe kinda hurts.

Mistress of Pain

Arena: One attack minions are terrible unless there’s a lot of potential. This isn’t one of the exceptions.

Constructed: If you buff this thing up you’re looking at a lot of free Life Taps. It can get Demonfired and Fel Hearted, so sure? That hypothetical mid-range Demon Warlock looks stronger and stronger with every new card.

Metaltooth Leaper

Arena: It’s a three mana 3/3 at its worst, and the upside pushes ahead of scrubs like Ironfur Grizzly.

Constructed: The real new OP. This card doesn’t sacrifice anything in terms of stats and instead throws out some ridiculous burst potential. This card will definitely get some experimenting.

One-Eyed Cheat

Arena: You won’t have a pirate deck in arena, so this card will be really bad.

Constructed: If pirates do become a thing, then I could see this serving for some pretty consistent damage in one of those decks. One health is pretty vulnerable though.

Light of the Naaru

Arena: Lightwardens can really do some work. It’s only a one mana spell too. I’d draft it!

Constructed: The potential for Auchenai combos is insane. This definitely could be a staple.

King of Beasts

Arena: It costs too much and you’re not going to have many beasts on the board. Pass.

Constructed: It’s the new Unleash The Hounds/Hyena combo. Except it costs too much mana and doesn’t really do anything super scary. The taunt implies Control Hunter postulations. Maybe so!

Kezan Mystic

Arena: Great against three out of the nine potential matchups. So maybe worth it? It certainly could win you games.

Constructed: We play specific cards like Black Knight and Harrison Jones, I don’t see why Kezan Mystic couldn’t be thrown into that pile.

Imp-losion

Arena: You know someone played this against me in arena today and I responded with an Infernal to completely wipe his board. It was fantastic. Highly recommended. Outside of that devastation, this card seems mostly okay.

Constructed: The only real way I can see Warlock take advantage of a bunch of 1/1s would be through Mal’Ganis. They don’t really have a Savage Roar or anything like that. So I’m not sure about this card’s viability in ladder play.

Grove Tender

Arena: Three for a 2/4 is pretty good, since it can efficiently take out two-mana drops. The effect is symmetrical and probably won’t matter too much. I don’t know, not the most exciting card but certainly not the worst.

Constructed: I could see this becoming a staple. Not a super incredible staple, more like a “sure, why not?” sorta thing.

Wee Spellstopper

Arena:
2/5 is pretty bad, and the whole “Not Affected by Spells and Hero Powers” thing is pretty overrated.

Constructed: Basically this thing means a mage will use a Fireball on it instead of your Mountain Giant or whatever. That’s pretty limited usage.

Arcane Nullifier X-21

Arena: A slightly better, neutral version of the above card.

Constructed: Same as above.

Siltfin Spiritwalker

Arena: You won’t be drafting a Murloc Shaman in arena.

Constructed: If you are playing a Murloc Shaman, well, God rest your soul. But you’ll definitely be including this.

Shadowbomber

Arena: It’s a worse Leper Gnome, which was already pretty bad in arena.

Constructed: Maybe there’s some potential for an all-out Suicide Priest deck? I don’t know, that’s the only way this thing would make any sense. I don’t really see it, but maybe? Shadowform?

Quartermaster

Arena: You’ll be making guys, so you might as well get the thing that makes your guys even better.

Constructed: I think this will be a staple in all flavors of Paladin. The guy-making is too crucial for it not to be.

Mini-Mage

Arena: One health minions are for bad people.

Constructed: I just can’t see a reason why you’d play this over standbys like Bloodmage or even Kobold Geomancer. Maybe I’m missing something?

Lightbomb

Arena: A pretty reliable board clear, you’d take Flamestrike so why not this?

Constructed: Could this replace the tried-and-true Auchenai/Circle? I think it’s possible!

Junkbot

Arena: LOL NO.

Constructed: So the idea is you drop this on turn five, trade in a bunch of Mechs, and this guy gets really big. The problem is on average you’ll grab a 3/7, which isn’t great, but it might be sticky enough to build on? I don’t know, this card has potential. There’s enough other Mech abilities flying around that I’m not ready to write it off.

Hobgoblin

Arena: Too situational, bad stats, nope.

Constructed: There’s going to be so many terrible attempts at Hobgoblin decks you guys. Get ready.

Fel Reaver

Arena: Strong! Who cares about those junk cards you drafted anyway.

Constructed: Less strong! Your opponent just forced you to burn 10 cards and then iced your Fel Reaver with a Big Game Hunter. Maybe it’ll work, it’s certainly scary enough. I don’t know.

Echo of Medivh

Arena: This won’t be great because you’re soaking up a turn to grab whatever you have on a board, which limits your ability to get back useful Battle Cries and such.

Constructed: Duplicate has been surprisingly effective, and Echo of Medivh should fit the same purpose. Just be careful not to burn cards.

Dark Whispers

Arena: You’re paying six mana for a 5/5 of stats, or five 1/1s, also 5/5 in stats! Six mana for that isn’t that good!

Constructed: Maybe this will work if you throw out the wisps the turn before you do Savage Roar or Cenarius or something, but I just think it costs too much to be playable.

Crush

Arena: It’s a seven mana Assassinate that can be easily turned into a three mana Assassinate, that’s pretty solid.

Constructed: It might not fit into a Control Warrior because the only things you’ll be damaging are Acolytes of Pain and such. But if a faster enrage Warrior deck picks up steam, look out.

Cogmaster’s Wrench

Arena: Three mana 1/3 with a 3/3 upside. Bleh.

Constructed: This is a rogue card, and maybe it’ll see play if a fast Mech Rogue archetype takes course. But there’s plenty of better weapons out there. I don’t even know if this thing is as good as Perdition’s Blade, and I’m prepared to eat my words on that.

Anima Golem

Arena: You aren’t guaranteed to have a board presence sticky enough in Arena for this to make sense, it’s gonna be pretty bad.

Constructed: Someone will try to make this work. Worgen Infiltrator? Blood Imp? I don’t know, is a six mana 9/9 enough of an advantage for an entire deck to be built around it? I think it’s possible, it just depends if it’s consistent enough.

Bolvar Fordragon

Arena: Way more inconsistent than a Yeti, or even like a Spectral Knight. Not the worst card, but certainly not the best.

Constructed: A very specific set of circumstances need to go right in order for this card to be any good. If it gets shuffled into the bottom 5 cards of your deck it could be super bad, (or maybe really good if it goes into fatigue.) It’ll soak up silences, or it could be laughed at. We shall see, but I’m leaning towards no.

Flame Leviathan

Arena: War Golem is okay, and this is just War Golem with an extraneous effect. It’s fine.

Constructed: I don’t get how this helps you, really. The damage is really inconsistent, and at its worst it can pop off your Ice Block and kill you. Maybe in an all-out nuke mage, but man you spend seven mana for Flamestrike already!

Gazlowe

Arena: Bad stats, inconsistent ability. Nah.

Constructed: There aren’t a ton of one-mana spells in the world. But if you start plucking off those Spare Parts? Those all count! You’ll be talking some serious value if you make that happen. I think it’ll get play.

Hemet Nesingwary

Arena: Nope! Might be good every hundred matches. But, nope!

Constructed: With Druids getting more beast synergy, maybe this will see some play. 6/3 is pretty bad for five mana, but plucking off a 7/7 snake or a Gahz’rilla might be worth it?

Iron Juggernaut

Arena: 6/5 for 6 mana isn’t great, dealing 10 unavoidable damage to your opponent is pretty good. I’d pick Sylvannas over it, but not by much.

Constructed: I think this will become a mainstay for Control-oriented Warriors, or even maybe a newer mid-rangey meta. If you expect your opponent to draw their whole deck anyway, you might as well make them draw a card that will kill them while they’re at it.

Mal’Ganis

Arena: Pretty decent, you won’t take advantage of the Demon synergy, but there’s always a chance your opponent lacks hard removal and you’ll stay invincible for a while.

Constructed: Nine mana is a ton,  but if you’re running a Demons deck this will be a mainstay. Blizzard has really been trying to make that happen since Nax, and popping out Mal’Ganis via Void Caller is super duper strong.

Malorne

Arena: This is the ultimate anti-fatigue card. It’s an infinite 9/7 for 7 which—sure! You’d draft that.

Constructed: I don’t know. It’s fine but also kinda general? Not a bad thing to ramp into necessarily, but I’d probably rather have Cenarius. Does Druid really need another giant card like this? I think you’ll see it for sure, I just don’t know how vital it will be.

Mogor the Ogre

Arena: Decent stats, but not quite as good as the Boulderfist. It’ll cause a ton of confusion, and a lot of laughs. A perfectly reasonable draft, nothing too exciting.

Constructed: I don’t know exactly how much this will help you in constructed, it doesn’t really counter Zoo, and the idea of a Grom completely missing your face is hilarious, but also kinda niche. I’m mostly happy this card exists for the highlights it will provide.

Neptulon

Arena: Better than you think, actually! You won’t be getting the murloc synergy, but adding four of them to your hand is pretty decent if you’re just straight running out of cards.

Constructed: Will Murloc Shaman become a thing? That’s really the only question here.

Trade Prince Gallywix

Arena: Great stats, and a solid counter to spells. If this thing needs to eat a Fireball to go down, you’re already getting immense value.

Constructed: Kinda the same story. With the nerf to Gadgetzan Auctioneer we’re going to be living in a post-Miracle world. Will Rogue morph into something that can take advantage of Gallywix? It’s certainly possible, because fundamentally it’s a pretty good card.

Troggzor the Earthinator

Arena: Your opponent will probably cast a spell, and that’s some pretty good value on top of a 6/6 body.

Constructed: In some ways I think this is better than Loatheb, which is already getting played everywhere. You’re completely hampering your opponent’s removal, if the spell they need immediately puts out a 3/5. I think this could end up being a commonly played legendary, if players are willing to swallow that high cost.

Vol’jin

Arena:
Swap health with a Molten Giant and then run your 2/2 into that for massive value!

Constructed: The exact same thing. Expect this to be in every Priest deck.

Image via Blizzard