I admit that there are a ton of new cards that seem to be ... very very cost efficient. And efficiency is key, if you invest x mana, get value out of it and then your opponent has to invest x+y mana, to get rid of it (perfect example is ghoul rot or mage bane) it is a net win.
And I see a lot of new potentially net-win cards on the warlords side.
Since I am no playtester I never played with the new lvl 1 goblins before, but they seem to be so strong for their mana cost and with all those new, cheap buffs it appears to me that the warlord might finally become a tier2 mage.
Your optimism that he suddenly gets a positive win ration against druid/necro/priestess is premature imho but I think it's unquestionable that these new cards are a huge boost for him.
Tier 1 mages (above average):
Druid, Necro, Priestess
Tier 2 mages (average):
All who are not Tier1 or Tier3
Tier 3 mages (below average):
Siren, Bloodwave Warlord
I know, Mage Wars player do never agree on those "rankings" but I think it is common knowledge that the Bloodwave Warlord was considered (by most) to be on of the weakest mages. So some efficient cards certainly do not offset the balance right away because he
needed this. To become viable.
The strongest cards from this new expansion so far:
1. Elven Warrior
If you compare him to other lvl 1 creatures, there are plenty of "equally" efficient creatures.
Mana Worm (6life/1armor/2dice + mana drain) for 5 mana
Acolyte of the Bog Queen (7life/2dice + "healing") for 5 mana
Skeletal Minion (6life/3dice) for 5 mana
Asyrian Cleric (6life/1armor/2dice + healing) for 5 mana
Wychwood Hound (7life/2dice + 1amor/1dice if another of them is present in the same zone) for 5 mana
And so on, and so forth. So at first glance his stats are nothing special. Buuut against other creature decks he excels if played by a Bloodwave Warlord because he can get veteran tokens and secondly those cheap formation buffs might really do something. Add the helmet for a "free" charge +1 every turn and they are at 4 dice, piercing 1. Not bad for a 5 mana trash creature.
Although, for 3 mana more you could get a butcher.. And he has 4 life and "1" dice more (technically 2 but you know).. I still think the goblin is more efficient, but we will probably see a mix of both? Because the Warlord only has 9 channeling, he's probably play with barracks + at least 1 outpost, so it's 11. And using 8 of those 11 mana every turn for a butcher probably is too much because you can't properly use your other 2 actions. But well, I need to play myself to say for sure.
2. Press the attack
Why only on #2 you ask? You are right, Press the Attack would be good without the Elven Soldier but Elven Soldier wouldn't be good without Press the Attack. Still, I think a strong, cheap lvl 1 creature is more valuable in general than a good buff. But this buff right here is wonderful. In most cases only costing 2 mana (because of the Ring of Commands) you basically get value out of this card even if you only use it by 1 creature.
Bear Strength costs 4-5 mana and gives you +2 meele. This card costs 2-3 mana and gives you meele +1. And the opportunity to roll all attack dice again for 2/1 mana. Soo... it is already decent enough if there is only 1 soldier in the zone - but honestly - how often is that going to happen in a swarm deck?
This card definitely is a key card for anyone who attempts to build a swarm Warlord.
And you can use it with the Paladin and a army of "Knights of Westlock" as well.. and they have 6 dice which they can reroll then... And since the holy school lacks regular power buffs in school like Bear Strength, this is a perfect card for such a build as well. Especially because paying 2 mana to reroll a 6 dice attack is much more attractive than rerolling 3-4 dice.
And probably the best part is, that with the new Warlord weapon the mage himself can use the effect to reroll his dice and gets an additional attack die as well. That's deadly efficient as well..
To sum it up, this card has many implications and is useful in a variety of situations and additionally is a very cost efficient card, certainly one of the best new cards!
3. Ivarium Halberd
Doesn't look like much at first glance. But again, it is another one of those highly mana efficient new cards. Compare it to the last 2 released weapons (the Trident and the Paladin sword) and the first thing you recognize is that it is sooo much cheaper! Far cheaper but looking at the powerlevel it is as good as those weapons who cost 4-5 more mana! The Sword of Radiance costs 8 mana and has 4 dice (without piercing) but it has some other stuff (ethereal and +2 vs. non living) and you can daze/burn etc pp. The Trident also costs 8 mana, has 1 piercing more and Push on 5+ (and a theoretical ranged attack, ok..)
Still, my point is, that this card is super mana efficient if you consider wearing the helmet (+1 charge) and have a Press the Attack revealed in the zone. Suddenly you already have 7!! dice with piercing 1. (4+1[pta]+1[BO/charge]+1[ability]). And for 2 mana you can reroll those dice.
It's best compared to Vorpal Blade which I consider to be the most efficient weapon at the moment. But this weapon is - in the right setup - even stronger/more efficient.
Okay, now the drawback - the reason why it is so comparatively cheap - it's a double handed weapon.
Pretty big disadvantage (no Elemental Wand to throw a stone every turn) but I think this weapon suits the Warlord better anyway. He was designed to fight in the front lines (meele +1 inherently and 36 life..) and it was strange to have this Warlord equipped with a Mage Wand in the one hand and an Elemental Wand in the other. That just never really fit. So I think this card is more balanced than the other 2 but still a strong card because it fits the theme perfectly.
4. Gear Up
This card is another thematically good card and I think a very important one as well for the "way to play" the new Warlord. Because you just cannot afford to play the barracks and a Battleforge. It slows you down, you need to press the attack and not stand in the corner, starting to mediate to get the mana for all your spawnpoints (you see what I did there? :p).
All those new stuff.. the helmet, the weapon and the Breeches want to be equipped but you only need it once the fight actually starts.
So it really makes a difference when you have to cast this equipment. If you have to cast equipment right from the start, you severely limit your options because it drains a lot of mana (BF [8] + 1-3 mana additionally every turn). In the best case you get your creatures out at fast as possible and the moment you have enough you sprint into meele and then you equip yourself, that way you have used your mana more efficient since the alternative would be that you had your equipment from the start but 1-3 creatures wouldn't be on the battlefield yet or they would but not ready to fight yet. I hope I could express why this card is so good for the swarm Warlord.
5. Strategist's Helm
Well. I think this card is pretty strong and might make a ranged-build finally viable. I wonder if you can use Battle Orders twice in the same zone and turn? Once from Gurmash and once from the Warlord himself? Should be possible.. And if it is, that might be another strategy, maybe playing with Gurmash instead of barracks..? Or maybe with both? Though, both might be too slow..? Well, it's an interesting card which might allow for developing whole new strategies.
