merry christmas to all indeed.
actually i think the rs is vastly underrated by many who have pointed out what they see as drawbacks. romeoxero has aptly pointed out the strengths for rs. arcane duels has me on video stating how much i like this spell. i can indeed credit this one card for multiple tournament match wins that likely would have been losses had i not used it. however others have their own experiences so mileage may vary.
the real trick is knowing when to cast it and where. i recall one match, i think 2014, where a forcemaster had cast force hold on my wizard. so i cast the spring, and a wizard tower. he was pounding me with a large creature, maybe a bear. i spent some rounds sucking the spring dry while hammering the bear with the tower. once i eliminated the bear threat, the fm finally let the hold drop and i chased him into the corner and finished him off. after the match he asked why i did not dispel the hold as he expected. i told him it was great that he was spending 4 mana upkeep to lock me where i wanted to be anyway. that is just one example. another of many, is in my 2015 match against sharkbait. his trogdor warlock came out of the gate super agressive and lit me up. again as a wizard. he had me one or two points from dead at one point. the spring bought me just enough time to turn the corner and take control of the game, and i was able to kill his warlock.
you can say how about adding a few heals, or regen, or other healing cards. i had regen going most likely. and heals offset one enhanced fireball. so at 4 sbp each, not running a playset of them, but my opponent certainly is running a playset of fireballs and a host of other attack spells. so two fire spells a round versus my shield, regen, some armor plus the spring allowed me to substitute actions for sbp. once i was able to outlast the damage fury, my opponent was super low on offense while i was just getting started. a few healing spells are not nearly enough to outlast a highly agressive mage imo. i am super happy more opponents do not run the spring.
again your mileage may vary, but the spring has and will continue to work for me.
