The 10 Cards You MUST Craft for United in Stormwind

A new jungle is upon us: United in Stormwind is firing on all cylinders, and the world has charged into the surrounding woods. I've designed for you a brief map, ten points on a paper, that promise to take you in new directions; Quests that, at the very least, will have you clicking on the exclamation point. And that they should, because these cards will offer you broken, juicy, and spicy ways to experience Hearthstone's newest set. Whether you're in it for the jewels or the art or the fame, these are the Top 10 cards you should have in your backpack. Bust out that United in Stormwind Crafting Budget!

Do you guys remember Warlock? No, like, what it could be, what it used to be? This class has probably been the most-neglected in Standard for the longest time now. In the Barrens, Priest was doing what Warlock thought it could but even better, driving it to near extinction. The deleterious avenues of Tickatus and Altar of Fire just never really found their footing, but lately there's been a buzzing in the streets.

The reviews for these new cards are glowing-- perhaps radioactively.

After just one day The Demon Seed is the talk of the town, found reaching some particularly disgusting heights when combined with, well, just about anything. The rewards from the Quest seemed medium at first glance-- but Blightborne Tamsin, the final gift, is perhaps the strongest of any of the five mana "Quest Gods" Stormwind has to offer.

Along with the power of Runed Mithril Rod doing a mighty fine Octo-bot impression (twice!) this deck doesn't even need a win condition. Pilots will simply turbo through their deck, play Tamsin, and then Backfire themselves into Fatigue until their opponents pass out. There are even rumors of a Darkglare version, too. If you wanted Warlock to come back, you might've wished too hard-- be wary of a nerf coming to this archetype.

Perhaps the most-slept-on Quest that then had one of the strongest performances, Sorcerer's Gambit has proven itself to be amazingly powerful. In combination with Ignite, our newest Ice Lance, and another underrated Quest God, Arcanist Dawngrasp, this deck pops off way harder than you'd expect. The +3 Spell Damage clause from Dawngrasp goes completely ballistic with Cram Session (It just draws four! right there!) and almost any two spells sniffs lethal.

But the world was leery-- were there enough decent Frost and Fire spells to actually complete this quest on time? There were a wealth of powerful Arcane spells, but United in Stormwind crafting needed to provide the rest. Turns out: it did. Ignite was exactly what this deck wanted, in conjunction with First Flame and Fire Sale.

Ignite is a "Go Face With Upside" spell that Mage can trigger the Quest with and then win with later. First Flame and Fire Sale provide additional copies to that fiery Quest-triggering suite. The Frost Spells fill in with Flurry (as a zero mana Frost Nova) and before you know it this deck starts checking for lethal around turn 7.

Sorcerer's Gambit has an extremely high ceiling but doesn't feel as giga-broken as what Warlock can do. This could mean relatively strong security when it comes to dodging nerfs, so I would feel safe in this pick. And hey, this is probably a blast in Wild too!

If you hadn't noticed, all of the cards in this article have been extremely Combo-slanted-- these too are no exception. It looks like we might be going into a Combo Summer, where OTKs shatter the ceiling and leave the rest of the world behind. Will Aggro be able to return in force and take these greedy decks down?

The problem is-- there's a combo deck that is great against Aggro: Lifesteal Demon Hunter, or OTK DH. (Be careful when you touch that link-- the contents may be hot to the touch.) The pre-Stormwind version had great matchups into Hunter, for example, and this Quest can slide right into that deck.

OTK Demon Hunter focused exclusively on churning through cards, hunting for poor lost Il'gynoth lost in his own green and purple woods. Final Showdown was made for decks that simply want to draw draw draw. Sigil of Alacrity does it all: a way to fly through your deck, slide your hand for Outcast, and get 5Head timings of "Draw 1-2-3-4 Nailed It" turns.

If you liked laser blasting your opponent's for 48 before, definitely give this deck a spin now. But hold on tight to your Il'gynoth while he's still here, and give him goodnight smooches-- he isn't the only OTK in the jungle anymore.

So far I've given you some very secure picks. These last four will focus on a hopeful future and United in Stormwind crafting may not be for the faint of heart, the way things are shaping up.

Mr. Hammerbeak was about to do some evil things. At least, that's what Twitter felt pretty sure about. Not much has resurfaced on Ladder since those initial conversations, but Bolner is silently doing some work. His synergies with the new Elementals lets you play him for Value alongside Auctioneer's Gavel and trusty cotton candy creatures.

But here are the real reasons he's on this list:

I'll leave you with one extremely high variance stonk option. This explosive deck was running all over the place on Wednesday, the day after release, thanks to Feno's post. The Auction House tickers are spiking: you can find Gadgetzan Auctioneer in Warlock, Druid, Mage, and now even Rogue. Let this new technology come with a sticker: there are debates as to whether or not this deck works as intended, but here it is.

The synergy completely leans on other new cards, Sketchy Information and Loan Shark. When combined they land you a bunch of Coins. Auctioneer then goes off the rails once you start stacking-- reduce your hand with Octo-bot, add some Spell Damage, and voilà! Bleeds shuffle into your deck and are drawn seconds later, dealing 3, 4, even 5 damage once you Shadowstep an Ethereal Augmerchant or three. And this can all be done as early as turn 5.

With that, there is no denying the face of this new format we've found ourselves staring at: Combo, combo, combo. But here we are, so reach into your United in Stormwind crafting satchel and choose your weapon. If you're indeed a Combo Player, this format appears to be your dream. If you're an Aggro Player: the law of the land is yours to control.

If you're anything else: buckle up or... check out our Hearthstone news section. Either way, good luck!