Hearthstone Players!

Playing around with something new that was part of a Reddit discussion. Needless to say, the Great Paladin Hope- Secrets -has not panned out as anticipated. People have veered toward Mech Secrets, thinking that maybe NOW after hero powers aren't all that anymore, a Paladin Mech deck might be viable. Not as far as I can tell. But a more midrangey approach, rather than the control of Eggs and Glow-tron, might be:

### New Challenger
# Class: Paladin
# Format: Standard
# Year of the Dragon
#
# 2x (1) Autodefense Matrix
# 1x (1) Hidden Wisdom
# 2x (1) Never Surrender!
# 2x (1) Redemption
# 2x (2) Mysterious Blade
# 2x (2) Sunreaver Spy
# 1x (3) Commander Rhyssa
# 2x (3) Earthen Ring Farseer
# 2x (4) Bellringer Sentry
# 2x (4) Blessing of Kings
# 2x (4) Consecration
# 2x (4) Truesilver Champion
# 1x (5) Harrison Jones
# 1x (5) Leeroy Jenkins
# 2x (5) Sunreaver Warmage
# 2x (6) Avenging Wrath
# 2x (7) A New Challenger...
#
AAECAZ8FBK8EkAfA/QKUmgMNjAHcA88GrweWCfMMrfIC2P4C44YDvpgD05gDjpoDkJoDAA==

What?, you say. How can you run Secret Paladin without Get Down! Well, easy. The point of the deck is to isolate when your Secrets actually go off. Wasting them on a 2/1, no matter how cool his attack line ("I live!"), usually isn't worth it. You'd rather have that bubble on your Totem Golem or Sentry or your Warmage. The latter has emerged as one of the cards of the set for midrange and control decks, since its 4 damage is targetable anywhere. You might not even need Rhyssa, since she's kind of a win-more. You will, however, need the late game of A New Challenger and you WILL need the formerly almost useless Secret known as Hidden Wisdom. It's the only draw in the deck, other than the Sentry's ability and it's been a real boon in all of my games with it. The most mundane choice is Farseer, but his ability to keep both kinds of Sunreavers in play is really useful. Plus, he's also a backup against extreme Bombs or Rogue burst. And Avenging Wrath is still a great finisher.

hsreplay.net/replay/UyffGboCwqaThsWam43jHD
hsreplay.net/replay/3g4MRfgBcRLgji4n8VgNS2

Had my first proper dive into the new meta after coming home from a holiday, and it's got me wondering whether there's just a fundamental problem with Hearthstone that can't be solved.

Some of this, no doubt, is burnout, having been a regular player since the beta. And it's not a new argument, either. But it just seems impossible for the game to find a happy middle ground. We've just had 18 months of the meta dominated by joyless, grindy control decks. Now it's back to being dominated by joyless rush-down aggro decks.

Ever since the first expansion, really, it's just swung from one to the other, with aggro mostly dominating. There's something about the quickfire structure of the game that makes it great for mobile but ill-suited to a good balance, although I'm not clever enough to work out what it is.

I've been having some fun playing Bomb Hunter, a quirky deck with a lot of options that seems to be excellent at only losing to everything by a very narrow margin. Tempo Rogue is interesting to play, I'll grant, but the wall to wall Token Druid and Zoo decks are just depressing and dull.

Unlike most of you, I don't really like Wild as Reno and Mill archetypes are still relatively common there and they completely ruin the game for me.

I'm going to keep on playing because it's a great way to keep myself entertained while sitting on the can at work. But the spark went out for me maybe six months ago. I was hoping the big shake up of a new year and the hall of fame rush would relight it, but maybe it's gone for good.

I think there's something to that, in that the decks are so small and the games are so short that you're often not going to get the experience of satisfaction that you would with a lengthier game. It still often feels like the meta is so polarized that if you meet the wrong deck, the game simply isn't worth playing. However, as I posted above, there are those games where comebacks are still quite possible (recovering from one Health with Shaman, etc.) And with the meta being so wide open at the moment, I'm still finding deck lists that can do different things (like the midrange Secret deck I posted above) and be entertaining for at least a while.

However, I think it's only one end of that wide open meta that you're experiencing. If you log back on today, you might run in to the seemingly-dominant control decks that I've been seeing a lot of.

Aggro always dominates out the gate because it's easy and effective. It takes longer to sort out the ideal mix of early game removal, mid-game clears, and combination of advantage and reach that can get a midrange deck to come to life. Bomb Warrior is top tier and is in its essence a Midrange-to-Control deck. Bomb Hunter, similar. When I play it, it comes down to how utterly ruinous Venomizer-magnetized-to-Missile Launcher is for them. That's a turn 8 play that doesn't immediately win the game--it just makes things tricky. Solid Midrange plays happening there.

//edit

Enjoying more Control Paladin.

#
AAECAaToAhLcA9IEgwX0BfoGognL7AL57AKl9QK09gLh/gLx/gKggAPPhgPOhwOLigOtlAOKmgMGzwb2B48JhPwCkYAD7IYDAA==
#

Same list as the mine on previous page, except -Safeguard +Consecration. I needed more help early game, and honestly, less late-game. There's room to improve. Bronze Herald is kind of meh. It's not -bad- or anything, but I feel like other stuff would be better there probably. You know what is pretty good? Wild Pyro + Lightforged Blessing, and if possible, a couple of Sound the Bells on that guy. Man, that is a lot of life, a clear, &c. This deck doesn't require Pyro + Equality—honestly, I get plenty of satisfaction from Pyro + whatever.

Here's a game with the deck:
hsreplay.net/replay/ZkEzZe6X6xUevK2mqhWLVW

I saw it was Rogue and decided to keep Pyro + Bronze Gatekeeper (over Annoy-o-Tron) because it will probably be weenies (it is) and they probably run Sap. I would much rather Sap hit Gatekeeper than Annoy-o-Tron. They didn't have or find Sap, though, which I discovered when they left a Drake alone on Turn 6. The tempo of Sap there would have killed me, so, awaaay I went with the buffs, setting up for the Kangor's that won me the game.

I had a couple Warlock quests and I've simply never been good with Zoo. I like the Magic Carpet deck, but I always seem to run into a neverending stream of Control Warriors or Mages who keep the board clear and take advantage of my Life Tapping when I try to refill by burning me down. It's obviously a successful model through the years and is one of the better decks in the current meta, but I just can't get it to work on a consistent basis. So, I thought I'd try out an idea similar to my Spell Damage Shaman (which should be Rogue) and try Token Warlock (which should be Druid.) It's an idea posed by someone on Reddit and I mixed it around a bit and came out with this version:

### Demon Token
# Class: Warlock
# Format: Standard
# Year of the Dragon
#
# 2x (1) Flame Imp
# 2x (1) Grim Rally
# 2x (1) Soulfire
# 1x (1) The Soularium
# 2x (1) Voidwalker
# 2x (2) EVIL Genius
# 2x (2) Knife Juggler
# 2x (2) Scarab Egg
# 2x (3) Doubling Imp
# 1x (3) Rafaam's Scheme
# 1x (3) Witch's Cauldron
# 2x (4) Fiendish Circle
# 1x (4) Hench-Clan Hag
# 1x (6) Eccentric Scribe
# 1x (7) Blood Troll Sapper
# 2x (8) Demonbolt
# 2x (10) Jumbo Imp
# 2x (10) Sea Giant
#
AAECAf0GBu73Ao+CA5aHA6uRA7+YA4eaAwww0wHOB7EIwgiQ7gL09wLchgPEiQOvjgOAmgOInQMA

You know there's at least the facade of something there when they put in their deck recipes for each expansion. One of them for RoS is Ultimate Impfestation, which is pretty clunky and not particularly aggro for what is essentially a swarm deck. The decklist above is kinda like that, using the subpar Fiendish Circle and the not-quite-as-bad-as-Dr. Boom's Scheme. The original list had two of those. I took one out to put in a Blood Troll Sapper, which is a card I tried to get to work in Rumble but couldn't make it happen. I think the inclusion of even more tokens with the Scheme and token generators like Hag and Scribe lead to it being a workable card. The mirror image is Jumbo Imp. Unlike the giants, whose discount properties are based on universal effects (cards in hand, minions in play, etc.), the Imp is based on specific circumstances. What made Snowfall Giant playable was that it reflected the game even while it was in your deck. To make Jumbo Imp a really great card, it would probably have to have the same property, which it doesn't. There are times when you're tossing down a pair or 8/8s for 3 or 4. And then there are times when you're still paying 8 or 9 mana (i.e. your entire turn) for a vanilla 8/8. So, we'll see.

I've just been playing in Casual, so not the most tuned decks, but 4 of my 5 wins were against gold players, so people who knew what they were doing.

hsreplay.net/replay/fgSxnTkLn5fk8mYJGhe9iG

This was the most unfortunate play of Unseen Saboteur I've yet seen. The game highlighted the Lackeys (props to the devs; one of the best features in years), and the Troll Sapper.

hsreplay.net/replay/Rsa8HJbjg6hygsbQse7PnJ

This was Knife Juggler doin' work and the Cauldron simply not doing its job (Mutate, 2 x Totemic Might, Earth Shock.)

hsreplay.net/replay/fmhf52qEzgDbqBjGQ52TC3

This was kind of a god-draw opening where my opponent just wanted a Consecration.

hsreplay.net/replay/7rv9s3m8QqTqaHjHt3qD8V

This was a relatively poor start, but matched by my opponent's slow start. Knife Juggler did work... but mostly at the wrong target. Still, double Grim Rally was too much to deal with without a Warpath.

hsreplay.net/replay/hbu4X63UUNQmvPwKbbxkGR

Again, Knife Juggler doing work because my opponent was determined to go face. Plus, how Sea Giants react to the board as it is now and Jumbo Imps really don't.

Another zoo variant I have had modest success with is one that leveraged the minions that are Omni tribe. Nightmare Amalgam and Hench-clan Hag tokens. Mix in the mechs that are magnetic. Add Murlocs that get buffs from or buff Murlocs. You wind up with a Murloc Mech deck. I don’t want to give my list. It’s not optimized but try it out.

Every Shaman deck I play uses Amalgams, because the Elemental and Dragon synergies are (at least were) so solid. They even get buffed by the Totemic Might(s) you inevitably draw as Hagatha! Love those 3/4 dudes. Stock goes up as more cards are in the pool, obviously, and they are good even now.

//edit

Streaked from 12.3 to 9.3 with Control Paladin, posted above. Has the goods to deal with early stuff (kind of) and outgreedies everything in the universe. Topping out with Ysera AND Undertaker AND Tirion AND a big Kangor's Endless Army—it's a bit much. One thing I like about it is being largely immune/indifferent to Brawl. Chances are they are blowing up Eggs and blowing up Eggs is good. I say a small prayer that Sylvanas isn't Standard Legal.

hsreplay.net/replay/3tuqhpsZseki43bVnBU8WQ
Control Warrior here. Burns through the deck, sets up a win in fatigue. Can't win in fatigue if you are taking 30 on the chin though. Key here was waaaaaaiting with Pyro. These Boom decks can get nuts with huge wide boards, so I need to keep a Shrink Ray or Equality back to clear that while I rebuild. Didn't need it in this game though as Pyro + Sound The Bells Bells Bells Bells was able to clear his small Taunts and let me swing.


hsreplay.net/replay/sa4teFDboM3RyPSsWjzkm3
Bomb Warrior here. They play more Rush stuff and are trying to jam the deck with Bombs. Bombs are fine, I am running a LOT of lifegain and unless I hit 3+ in a row I am probably fine. Not sure if this guy didn't know how Da Undatakah works or just gave up.

I thought I'd bring up a deck I've been playing in the last couple days that I saw Kibler play. Someone sent it to him, but he's since tweaked it a bit, and I think it's a fine example of what I think the devs intended the last two expansions to contribute, if only we hadn't been plagued with Baku and Genn.

### Mechs
# Class: Paladin
# Format: Standard
# Year of the Dragon
#
# 2x (1) Glow-Tron
# 2x (1) Skaterbot
# 2x (2) Crystology
# 2x (2) Galvanizer
# 2x (3) Bronze Gatekeeper
# 2x (3) Call to Adventure
# 2x (4) Annoy-o-Module
# 1x (4) Coppertail Imposter
# 2x (4) Prismatic Lens
# 2x (4) Truesilver Champion
# 2x (5) Mechano-Egg
# 2x (5) Wargear
# 1x (5) Zilliax
# 2x (6) Glowstone Technician
# 1x (6) Missile Launcher
# 1x (7) Countess Ashmore
# 1x (7) Kangor's Endless Army
# 1x (8) Tirion Fordring
#
AAECAZ8FBvoGm/ACqPsC8f4CoIAD0YADDM8Gn/UCpfUC/PwC1v4C1/4C2f4C3f4C4f4CkYADzIEDtJsDAA==

Pretty sure Kibler only added the Countess, who is really useful here, since she always pulls the Z Man if you don't have him, but also can pull a Skaterbot (incredibly, incredibly useful with all the buffs) and an Egg. The combination of free Skaterbots via Galvanizer and having been buffed by Call and/or Glowstone Technician is just amazing. Plus, Crystology, the Lenses, and Countess make up for the lack of draw that always plagues Paladin midrange and control decks. Everyone thought Glow-tron would be this amazing card, since it was a 1/3 for 1 (like Dire Mole and so many other recent great cards) but also a Mech. And it did nothing, because there was no sense in playing Paladin unless you were producing two Dudes a turn or occasionally OTKing your opponent with Holy Wrath. Glow-tron is brilliant. A 3/5 Glow-tron for 1 is even moreso. My first game with this deck was a loss to a Hunter. Then I won six straight. I also had an OTK in hand against a full health Warlock. I was going to hit him with my multi-Magnetized Glow-tron for 31 when I got disconnected, As you'll see in the games below, making abominably huge mechs is something that's actually viable these days.

hsreplay.net/replay/mZ2xpGayLq3zUCthaXtjan
Midrange Murlocs, although I confess to not having seen Rain of Toads in one before (It's kind of in-theme, though!) Early game is just clear, clear, clear. Oh, and here's my 6/12 Rushing Egg that drops a 7/7 if you kill it. Sorry, that's actually a 13/19, isn't it? (Most frog decks don't play Hex. Otherwise, you should probably be a bit more judicious.)

hsreplay.net/replay/Pv9dLWoBm3zi2QHCDxba3V
I kept piling on here because there were a couple spots where a Sap would've been ideal and he clearly didn't have it, so I just kept building this monstrosity that Rogue really can't deal with now that the plant is gone.

hsreplay.net/replay/t4sFjGrZGui2Bboo9oMDQ7
Lucentbark decks can be a problem if they get ahead of me, since this is strictly a minion activation deck. Still, I think he should have tried hard to get rid of the Glow-tron in the early stages, before it became a monstrosity. The cool thing about Magnetism is that even if you get something copied (like by a Faceless), you can just continue to make your things better. And then there's Kangor's, which is another good excuse for piling on.

hsreplay.net/replay/S3hL8WKaU9DCNs9s56NM4T
... even when your opponent gets Deadly Shot off the 2/4 that I've never seen played until today. Secret Hunter is a thing, but I think that card is a bit of a reach, even if it did work out (for a while.) And then he sets up the Misdirection on my 5/4 and 4/5. Both times, he had 1 in 3 odds. Both times, he lost.

hsreplay.net/replay/7jwJgoVBuduVS8WibtZFt3
This guy was kind of distracted, since he fumbled his Miscreant and was roping early on, but he was running kind of a cool Pirate token deck, a version of which I hadn't seen in a while. Knowing the power of lackeys, I dumped a lot of cards into making sure he couldn't Shadowstep the Miscreant. Admittedly, the play with getting out an 8/8 Edwin and using the Tooth to clear my 8/15 was pretty slick. But tokens have little chance against all my buffed taunts and after I'd dealt with his Sharkfins, his wad was shot.

Anyway, fun deck and not very costly in dust if you're willing to put together the seemingly questionable Lenses and Glowstones (3 of which I already had, thankfully.)

Man, I'm loving Paladin this expansion, and add Kangor's to the list of Paladin legendaries I was wrong about (see also: Sunkeeper Tarim). It's so sadistically satisfying to troll Warriors with eggs that they can't brawl away. Players usually can't handle eggs in general, except for one rogue I played against who knew the deal and, smartly, sold out and played four cards or so to clear my Mechanical Welp and its spawn because he knew he'd be in a world of hurt if he didn't.

In a way, Magnetism was a smart way to make the board matter again - at least for Warrior, Mech Hunter and Paladin - because you almost always have to consider trading with or clearing mechs because one good Zilliax/Magnetism turn can flip the game.

This is the first season where my sons have been trying to ladder. I suggested Token Druid since it's cheap, the games are fast, and the principles are pretty much the same as the last time Token Druid was a thing during the Jade Druid era. The eldest is at that age where losing even one game, let alone a losing streak, is enough to tilt him and it's been a struggle to get him to improve his play instead of oftentimes blindly playing into removal. The younger one has a more level head but he often does that to make his brother look bad, and the little shit can be preternaturally lucky which also doesn't hurt.

I've also introduced their seven year-old sister to the game after she insisted. So far she's just played against the Innkeeper: always her Classic Hunter vs. the beginner Priest. She's only played a half dozen times or so, so she's still in the very early stages and she isn't quite at the level of knowing when to pressure versus making trades. If she draws King Krush and has lethal on Turn 8 - which has happened twice already - I tell her not to attack so she can have her Timmy moment of experiencing KK's entrance animation and sounds.

Meanwhile I have sold my soul to the devil: Aggro Rogue. I crafted Leeroy Jenkins! I am the heel and this is my turn, mWAHAHAHA!

2@ Backstab
2@ Preparation
2@ Shadowstep
2@ Wisp
2@ Southsea Deckhand
1@ Acidic Swamp Ooze
2@ Eviscerate
L@ Edwin Van Cleef
2@ EVIL Miscreant
2@ Raiding Party
2@ SI:7 Agent
2@ Dread Corsair
2@ Lifedrinker
2@ Waggle Pick
L@ Leeroy Jenkins
L@ Myra's Unstable Element
L@ Chef Nomi
1@ Sprint

EVIL Miscreant is a fucking house. Lackeys are among the best 1-drops ever and stuffing your hand with them is awesome. I think Lackey's as just vanilla 1/1s would see play, but making them like this is just ridiculous.

Between Waggle Picks and Shadowsteps I can deal 18 with Leeroy, swing the health totals for 12 with Lifedrinker, do some tricks to make a huge Van Cleef, toss out a few rounds of 6/6s. Whatevs.

The more popular build of Rogue is slower for Tempo plays and has things like Sap or Hench-Clan Thug in it. BORING. I will Wisp/Agent your face on Turn 3, let's gooooo.

Matchups as I see them:
Mech Hunter: CLEAR THE BOARD.
Token Druid: CLEAR THE BOARD.
Murloc Shaman: CLEAR THE BOARD.
Giants Mage: Lose.
Everyone Else: Gasface victims.

....and Blizzard hates the devil and is beating the hell out of this deck! They just announced a Card Balance update and it is squarely aiming at Rogue. This seems right, even though Hunter seems to be leading the HSReplay meta. Rogue can seem just cruelly unfair and immune from counterplay. I think Blizzard doesn't mind that Rogue has great cards, but they need to be in interactive games that allow for battles on the board and bluffing.

Changes[/i]

• EVIL Miscreant goes to 1/4 (from 1/5). Still gets two Lackeys off Combo, but could actually die instead of pinging and being bounced to the hand for another two, which is what I usually do with it.
• Raiding Party costs 4 (from 3). No longer "free" from Preparation (see more below), the days of Turn 1: Prep, Draw Three Frigging Cards are over,
• Preparation lowers costs by 2 (from 3). YEEZY WAZINGLES. That's a big change. Cheating stuff out is a Rogue mainstay and it's much harder now. You can still burst with Prep --> Evisc, but Sprint for 4 is gone, alas.
• Archivist Elysiana costs 9 (from 8). Everyone hates Warrior getting Elysiana twice with Banker or Brewmeister, so now you have a chance to stop it assuming you can kill a 7/7.

Goes live on Wednesday.

In the meantime, enjoy The Dalaran Heist. Which, honestly, if released on its own, would win awards as Best Roguelike in iOS even if they only published the free first chapter. Because it's Blizzard, folks will complain about how much it costs though, alas.

Not a big fan of these changes.

The nerf to Preparation in particular is wholly unnecessary. It'll completely kill this particular archetype and nerfs Rogue generally as a class, which is neither needs nor deserves.

Preparation based builds are fun to play and need a decent skill threshold, and I will be sad to see that gone.

The archivist nerf is wrong for a different reason. It's mana cost is near irrelevant: the whole basis of the card is bust in the sense that it makes tedious, unfun games.

And while we're on that subject, another deck that makes for unfun games, Token Druid, is wholly unscathed.

I can see Hunter taking over again. Three viable high tier builds and nothing that strongly counters them.

Hunter is solid right now, but the real gainer from all these is Shaman. Murloc Shaman becomes a lot better once Rogue goes away, and Control Shaman now wins in fatigue against Control Warrior. Hunter loses to Shaman, by and large.

They announced MORE changes--and these are buffs!

• Druid
• Gloop Sprayer to (7) Mana. (Down from 8)
• Mulchmuncher to (9) Mana. (Down from 10)
• Hunter
• Necromechanic to (4) Mana. (Down from 5)
• Flark's Boom-Zooka to (7) Mana. (Down from 8)
• Mage
• Unexpected Results to (3) Mana. (Down from 4)
• Luna's Pocket Galaxy to (5) Mana. (Down from 7)
• Paladin
• Crystology to (1) Mana. (Down from 2)
• Glowstone Technician to (5) Mana. (Down from 6)
• Priest
• Extra Arms to (2) Mana. (Down from 3)
• Cloning Device to (1) Mana. (Down from 2)
• Rogue
• Pogo-Hopper to (1) Mana. (Down from 2)
• Violet Haze to (2) Mana. (Down from 3)
• Shaman
• The Storm Bringer to (6) Mana. (Down from 7)
• Thunderhead to 3/6 (Up from 3/5)
• Warlock
• Spirit Bomb to (1) Mana. (Down from 2)
• Dr. Morrigan to (6) Mana. (Down from 8)
• Warrior
• Security Rover to 2/6 stats. (Up from 2/5)
• Beryllium Nullifier to 4/8 stats. (Up from 3/8)

The mage and warlock changes look good -- which is nice since those are really the only two I play.

Finally made it back up to Level 5 on the back of Blood Troll Sapper (actually went undefeated from 9 to 5 and then lost my first match at 5) -- my belief is that people don't realize how quickly this dude can get out of control in terms of direct damage.

Well, this qualifies as threadomancy, since this thread hasn't been touched in a month, but I thought this was big enough to do so:

news.blizzard.com/en-gb/hearthstone/2301...f-fame-and-new-cards

Oh, My, They've certainly turned the corner in terms of "making changes that might UPSET OUR MOBILE PLAYERS!!!!" So, no more Vanish and no more Mind Blast. Neither of them ever felt inherently appropriate to the class. Vanish in WoW is a personal effect, like the Death Knight. Mind Blast is a core element of Shadow Priest, but it looks like that will finally be fading from HS. How long until Shadowform is HoF'd? That's disappointing for Priest players, but since it never really worked in the first place, I'm fine with it.

I think their Strengths and Weaknesses breakdown is questionable in a few spots. For example, it doesn't really highlight how bad it is to have "Card draw, card generation" as a weakness in a CARD GAME. But Shamans are eternally the red-headed stepchild when it comes to competitiveness, so everyone should be used to that by now. "Overload lets you get a jump on other players!" "Uh, yeah, but then we can't do anything on the following turn...?" I'm not getting into it again...

New cards:
Plaguebringer is... OK for Rogue. Board clear replaced by a single-target removal. Of course, Poisonous is persistent, so if you target the right minion, it can be multiple removal. Bit of a step down, though.
Radiance is boring, in addition to just being a mirror image of Mind Blast. One of Priest's problems is that its basic set is 9th out of 9 in terms of general usefulness. This doesn't help.
Siegebreaker = "Oh, God, PLEASE plays Demon decks!" I like the statline, but not the cost. A lot of tribe decks are midrange and a 7-cost minion has to do something really spectacular to be included. It DOES affect the board, since all your demons get the Dire Wolf treatment. Question is: how many of your demons are alive by turn 7? Flame Imp and Voidwalker aren't. Succubus and Felguard might be, but no one will play them because their costs are awful. Meh.
Gift of the Wild might be good for more controlly Treant/Beast decks? It's kind of Level Up!, but perhaps too expensive to be played very often?
Righteousness might be amazing. Paladin has struggled with the Divine Shield problem forever. DShield effects basically double your minions on both attack and defense. The best Secret in Paladin right now is Autodefense Matrix. I've had people concede just from that Secret going off. Many cards were printed that never saw use (Bolvar, Light's Sorrow) because they were too limited. Blood Knight is a meme card because of what it does. Righteousness might be a tide turner.
Brightwing and Whitemane are amusing, since they're both present in Heroes of the Storm (I was formerly an enthusiastic Brightwing player, not least because of her homicidal voice emotes delivered in her sing-songy tone.) Whitemane is a return to Kel'Thuzad, albeit just for one turn. She's solid. Brightwing is meh.

The other three are Arena cards.