What are the best cards from Rastakhan's Rumble?

Almost three months passed since the release of Hearthstone's new expansion Rastakhan’s Rumble. The best part of every expansion is to play with new cards. And have fun. And win. But, mostly have fun while winning, right? Even though we are almost three months into the new expansion, there were no changes in the form of new best decks. Paladin still holds the lead with both Odd and Even Paladins in the top three even after last big official nerf. After them, his place found Secret Hunter, then Even Shaman, Odd Rogue and then to round up Tier 1 decks, two Hunters Deathrattle, and Spell Hunters. But for how long will this placement last. If you ask Hunter players not for long. There are three Hunter decks in Tier 1 and they are slowly hunting down everyone in front of them. Just those three decks make Hunter first place in win rates, slightly above Paladin. That is why in our list we have four Hunter cards.

• But before we move onto the list, one honorable mention. This card is seen the most in Even Paladin, but other classes also play it. That card is Mojomaster Zihi.

• It may seem strange at first glance, but this card is a very good card. It is used against combo decks first and foremost and that represents its main purpose. We all know that combo decks are for late game and that combo cards are usually high costed. Putting combo decks on 6 mana crystals is a great way to ruin their game plan and take a win.

• Even though there are a lot of combo decks around, Mojomaster Zihi is still flying under the radar. If it were played in Hunter decks it may be in top 10, but since Hunters don’t have a need for this card, we may need to wait if there are going to be some changes in meta for Zihi to shine or another new expansion.

• But let’s get going with Top 10 cards from new expansion. As criteria, we used win rates, the percentage of the decks they show up into and future applications in the next expansions. One more criterion which hasn’t made much impact on final 10 is reliance on other cards. Even though some of them are reliant on other cards, you will see that they make enough impact on their own which satisfies the norm for using them in your decks. Without further ado, number 10.

10. Jan’alai, the Dragonhawk

• One of the two Loa’s on our list (if you want to know which is the second you will need to keep reading), Jan’alai is a Mage Legendary card. If you compare it with the second one you will see that Jan’alai is much better and more useful of two. Poor Malacrass :(.

• Jan’alai, the Dragonhawk is 7 mana 4 attack and 4 health Beast, which has a unique Battlecry effect. And that effect reads, If your Hero Power dealt 8 damage this game, summon Ragnaros the Firelord. Even though Ragnaros is not a part of the standard rotation he still found a way to return. This elemental fire lord is always cooking some schemes, it seems.

• I mentioned the reliance some cards have from the others. With Jan’alai, is a little different. The moving power of this card is Mage Hero Power.  But is Jan’alai good enough to be in every mage deck? It should be. Odd Mage, Secret Odd Mage, and Big Spell Mage all run Jan’alai, the Dragonhawk.

• We must also have in mind that one of the new cards is also part of these decks. And that is Daring Fire Eater. Having it will greatly boost your chances to bring Jan’alai onto the board. And with Jan’alai comes Ragnaros. One 4-4 minion and one 8-8 minion with 8 damage dealt onto a random opponent on one turn is a big swing for any Mage.

• Whether you are playing it as a power swing on an empty board, as a control tool to clear some minions, or in late game when fatigue is in play, Jan’alai makes a big impact, nonetheless. Or is it Ragnaros that makes impacts, I am always confused about that.

9. Mass Hysteria

• Only board clear and one of four spells on our list. Mass Hysteria is a new Priest card which has seen play in every Priest deck that is relevant right now.

• Mass Hysteria is a 5 mana board clear, with a very unique effect amongst that type of spells. The text reads like this. Force each minion to attack another random minion. Most board clears until now were very straightforward.

• Only exceptions are maybe Warriors Brawl and Warlocks Defile. Brawl deals with every minion on board except one, and Defile uses minion’s health in a very intricate manner.

• Mass Hysteria is a first board clear which involves minions themselves in the outcome. This card makes it so that one minion must hit another and so on until all minions made an attack. The outcome may sometimes be hysterical.

• Before coming of Mass Hysteria Priest had only one real board clear in Psychic Scream. But Psychic Scream still didn’t remove minions from the game but just returned it into the deck. Mass Hysteria deals with that problem.

• High health minions are the bane of this card, but such situations are somewhat rare. Mass Hysteria can deal with small minions very easily especially if they are with one health like Paladin or Hunter minions.

• Midrange and late board states are also subjective to Mass Hysteria. Whether it is early, midrange or late game this card can thrive in any circumstances. Mass Hysteria will for sure become staple Priest board clear even in the future expansions.

8. Amani War Bear

• First of two neutral cards on our list and second of, if you can believe 5 beasts. Who are the other three, read ahead to find out. This 7 mana, 5 attack and 7 health Beast with Rush and Taunt is a true War Beast. In the sea of good Taunt and Rush minions, it found its place under the sun. Is the reason for that both rush and taunt on one body? It is certainly a good part of it.

• A swing on board as soon as it lands on it with its 5 Attack can kill most of the minions. And then it protects you and your other minions. It is literally two in one card.

• It is most utilized in 3 decks. Odd Quest Warrior, Undatakah Druid, and Deathrattle Hunter. In Odd Quest Warrior it is a great proactive taunt. Most of the Taunt minions are defensive tools, but Amani War Bear is offensive as well. In Undetakah Druid it is a great addition to Hadronox’s pool of taunts and in Deathrattle Hunter good Kathrena pick if some of your other big targets are in your hand.

• It is too bad that most of the Odd decks are already set in stone with their lineup, otherwise Amani War Bear would be a good inclusion in them too.

We must also mention that this card is an excellent Arena card. It is the most played arena card with an above 57% win rate.

7. Shirvallah, the Tiger

• Third Beast on our list and first Paladin card. This is the Loa that made the greatest contribution to new meta, aside from Jan’alai. It made OTK DK Paladin even better deck with couple more cards from new expansion.

• Shirvallah is a Beast, as all Loa’s are, and it costs 25 mana. It has 7 Attacks, 5 Heath, Divine Shield, Rush, and Lifesteal. That is a lot, right? Wrong. It also costs 1 mana less for each Mana you’ve spent on spells.

• Is it viable, is your first question? Can I really lower its cost to 0? Well if you are playing Paladin, and you must because this is Paladin exclusive card, then yes. Paladins have good high-cost buff cards, which are perfect for lowering the cost of Shirvallah. Two Consecrations and two Spikeridged Steeds are already 20 mana spent. Finding five more mana from Paladin spells is easy enough.

• Deathrattle, Secret, and Control Paladins (If you are one of those guys who like Control Paladins as I do) are where Shirvallah thrives. Still, the best deck in which Shirvallah found a home is still OTK DK Paladin. As their goal is to arrive at four horsemen on board, Shirvallah, with some other cards is a great stalling tool. Shirvallah even brought Holy Wrath back.

• The sheer power that Shirvallah brings onto the board is good enough reason for it to be on our list today. #MakeControlPaladinGoodAgain

6. Flash of Light

• Second of our Paladin cards on this list, and second of four spells. It has an excellent effect for only two mana. Heal for 4 and draw a card. This is a good small compact card that Paladins sorely needed. Lack of fast heals and good card draw was fixed with Flash of light.

• Even though it is mostly played in OTK DK Paladin its application is far more than in just that one deck. Already filled slots in Even Paladin make this card look unutilized. Until Even Paladins reign meta this card will only be seen in OTK DK Paladin decks. Or in Control decks, if you tried one as I did. (it still needs fine tuning)

• Shirvallah, the Tiger, Flash of Light and Time Out! which almost made this list, are key cards in OTK Paladins. But as Time Out! is just a stalling tool, for now, if we don’t see some new decks, the other two cards are prime Paladin cards from new expansion.

• Flash of Light will be played until it exits standard rotation. And until then it will be one of the staple Paladin cards.

5. Oondasta

• Second to last Beast on our list and second neutral card. And only one of two with new Overkill mechanic on the list. Oondasta is 9 mana 7/7 with Rush and Overkill which say to summon a Beast from your hand. Being a 7/7 Overkill is very easily obtained.

• Oondasta decks are the ones in which Amani War Bear resides, as well with some other inclusions like Recruit Hunter, regular Taunt Druid, and Quest Druid. In contrast to Amani War Bear with whom Oondasta has great synergy in all decks where they appear together, who is most popular with Warriors, Oondasta is primarily in Hunter decks. To be more precise Deathrattle and Recruit Hunters.

• Pooling Oondasta, with Kathrena whether with a Battlecry or a Deathrattle and triggering Overkill effect with a possibility of summoning a Charge or Rush Beast is one of, if not the most, powerful 8 turn plays in the game.

• Since we have four more cards to review and if you paid attention so far all of them are Hunter cards, we can see how powerful Oondasta really is, to be placed in the middle of our list.

4. Baited Arrow

• Hunters reign over our list we start with this card. Third spell on our list and one of two with Overkill mechanic. It cost 5 mana, deals 3 damage with an Overkill option of summoning 5/5 Devilsaur.

• If you are still not familiar with Overkill mechanic, its effect triggers if you deal more damage on a minion (higher then minions health) then necessary and kill it.

• 5 mana for 3 damage is certainly not a good exchange but Overkill effect is one that compensates for any lack of flare. This card is a great tempo swing. It manages to do two things. Remove something from your opponent's’ side of the board and summon a 5/5 on your side.

• Spell Hunter is the main deck in which this card is played, but it can still be played in other Hunter decks. Baited Arrow is also in over 7% of the decks with a win rate of over 56 only behind the first card on our list%. It’s effect and these facts are enough for it to be forth on our list. But it is still not enough to be placed any further.

3. Master’s Call

• Hunter’s reign continues with this card. Master’s Call is a 3 mana spell with a Discover mechanic.

• The effect says to Discover a minion from your deck and if all 3 of them are Beasts to draw them all. 3 mana to draw 3 cards. Is that possible you wonder? Well if you are playing Midrange Hunter who now plays only Beasts as minions it is. No Houndmaster in Midrange Hunter who could tell, am I right?

• If we look at the current statistics we can see that Master’s Call, even though at the release of the expansion and few weeks into it was not that played off a card, today it is played in 11% of all decks and has an over 56% win rate.

• The only reason it is not higher on our list is, that it is only played in Secret and Midrange Hunter, together with its partner in crime which happens to be our next card.

• That is also the only reason why Master’s Call isn’t in number 2. Our next card may have more applications in the future expansions, but that is a little far to be seen yet.

2. Springpaw

• One more Beast or two to be more precise. Second of four Hunter cards on this list. It is mostly played in Midrange Hunters, while there are some Secret Hunter versions where you can see this card.

• Still, this card is the most played card from Rastakhan’s rumble in current meta with over 12% in all decks, a little more than the card on the top of our list.

• This is a 1-1 Beast for one Mana with Rush, with a Battlecry effect of putting 1-1 Lynx with Rush into your hand.

• If you remember Allycat from Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion this is clearly its improved version. What hunters always needed, well until Spell and Secret Hunter came along, were good 1 mana minions. In ancient times that was Webspinner and that position until now was under Jeweled Macaw. Now that place goes to Springpaw.

• Rush as a mechanic is certainly a good one and small cheap minions with Rush are early game winners. And Springpaw is one of them. Even if you just play it on an empty board on turn one for tempo, having that one more 1-1 rush minion in hand for turn two or later is pure value. Pairing it with Hunter’s Mark, Crackling Razormaw or Houndmaster will make this card even better.  

• If Springpaw and Master’s Call together couldn’t achieve number one who took the first place then? Is there any need to ask. One ax for you.

1. Zul’jin

• Who else then this guy. The main culprit of this expansion. And the one most credited for Hunters rise in power. Zul’jin is one and only Hero card of the new expansion and one of four Hunter and Legendary cards on our list.

• Besides his lack of one arm, what would he do to other decks if he still had both I wonder, like all other Hero cards before him he has 5 armor gain, new Hero Power and a Battlecry effect. Gaining 5 armor is nothing new and his Hero power of dealing 2 damage to whomever he wishes so, looks like child play in comparison with his effect when he enters the battlefield.

• Zul’jin casts all the spells you’ve played in this game with randomly chosen targets. If you think that this is a new Yogg you made a mistake. Unless they nerf Zul’jin in the future. Just with this effect, Zul’jin made viable 2 great decks by himself. Spell and Secret Hunter.

• Both decks had past versions but with the coming of Zul’jin, they made a great comeback. Whichever of the two decks you play against you need to pass several obstacles to win the game. Although secrets are all known so far figuring out which one is the right one can put a wrench in your plans.

• Secret Plan can also worsen your situation. Against Spell Hunter, you must endure constant waves of Bests whether they are wolves or animal companions.

• All of this, together with statistics, makes Zul’jin by far the best card from Rastakhans’s Rumble.

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