Sound the trumpets! Alert the media! We’ve come to the end of the Crafting Redemption Program previews, and we’ll finish where we began—with a set of plate bracers.
Ahh, you hear that? That’s the sound of fresh cardboard being cracked open in unison. Time seems to slow to a stop when you sit down at the Sneak Preview and the judge starts rattling off the rules, the new abilities, and so on. Meanwhile, you’re sitting there with brand new unopened packs of March of the Legion in front of you, and it’s hard to pay attention. Doesn’t the judge understand that you already know the new abilities? You’ve scoured the Internet for every last tidbit of information on the new set; you’re ready to go. You want to dive in, and I don’t blame you. This set looks like a doozy, and today’s card is no exception.
What? That’s the reaction I had when I first saw this monster of a Warrior ability. That can’t be right; let me read it again. Yep, it’s really good. Kind of like a stop sign for any opponent who gets a little too greedy. You’re playing out 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 1-drops this turn? Well, wait until my turn. You’re going to regret it. That’s a big wall of protectors you’ve got there: two Guardian Steelhorns and a Guardian Steppestrider? Go back from whence you came, please; I’ve got some attacking to do. Oh, and by the way, spend the next three turns drawing them all over again. Meanwhile, I’ll be developing my board, and you never know . . . as soon as you get them all back out again, I might just drop another one. Good Game.
This really catapults any kind of Warrior deck into the next century. Be it an aggressive build filled with allies, or your championship solo build, it will have any ally-heavy deck running for the hills. Sure, opponents will probably replay their dudes over the next few turns, but at the cost of a crazy amount of tempo and card advantage. When the board becomes flooded with Kulvo Jadefists, just let out a resounding yell and the rest of the game should be a formality. I can’t stress this enough: this card is amazing.
Let’s take a look at a couple of the small “disadvantages” this card has. It has the Fury talent spec, which means that you’re currently limited to playing Fillet, Kneecapper Extraordinaire and Bulkas Wildhorn. Emphasis on the “currently,” since March of the Legion will bring us another ferocious one. Rumor has it that Horde may be getting one who is not with the living—keep it on the hush hush. These guys are no slouches, though, and both have tier 1 decks running around that would gladly slide this card into the starting rotation.
If your opponent happens to have a card such as One Draenei’s Junk . . . out, then he or she can complete it to clear the top of his or her deck, sure. But this means that you just nullified three of your opponent’s allies for the low cost of 5 resources, and that is hardly a bad thing. Keep in mind that you can choose to hold on to Piercing Howl until later in the game when your opponent doesn’t have any reveal quests out, as well. I think you’ll find, though, that just removing them from the board in a worst-case scenario is more than enough to swing the game in your favor.
The way this card is worded does not indicate that it will only work if your opponent has three or more allies out. It works even if there is one or two. Maybe your opponent isn’t playing a wall of protectors or tiny drops, but sending a pair of Tewa Wildmanes back on top of the deck should be just as devastating. Sure, against solo decks it may possibly be a dead card, but it seems like even those guys are running some form of protector or Steelsmith Joseph Carroll these days.
This card introduces an entirely new world of removal to us. Vanquish is rather straightforward; target an ally and it goes to the graveyard. You create an on-board advantage with it, but no card advantage outside of what’s already on the board. With Piercing Howl, though, not only will you gain a tremendous advantage on the board, but you will also gain card advantage off the board. If your opponent is running low on cards, then he or she will be forced into a very sticky situation, possibly a game-losing one. This card also hits the tricky untargetable duo Jeleane Nightbreeze and Apprentice Merry without a hitch.
Whether you play against this card or with it at the Sneak Preview, one thing is for sure: someone is going to be screaming. This set just gets better and better, doesn’t it? I am as excited as it gets. I can’t wait to sit anxiously with my unopened packs on Saturday morning, waiting for those magical words, “You may now open your packs.” Join me, won’t you?
It’s no different for the Warriors and the Paladins in the WoW TCG. You can be an Arms Warrior like Gorebelly and burst opposing heroes out with damage, a Fury Warrior like Bulkas Wildhorn and furiously swing at all opponents with Cruelty, or a Protection Warrior like Warrax and tank people with Devastate. Paladins, too, can tank with Avenger’s Shield and Graccus, fly through healing abilities with Illumination and Aleyah Dawnborn, or dust some Scourge with Seal of Command and Savin Lightguard. However, just as in the MMO, all these abilities would be pretty weak without some corresponding equipment. Savin can’t hit anyone without a weapon, and Warrax would take too much damage without some support armor.
With Bracers of the Green Fortress, Warriors and Paladins will be able to find armor everywhere. Armor, armor everywhere, and not a damage taken. All of a sudden, playing cards face down as resources has a bonus!
How will your opponent get through your brand new swarm of mini-armors? While the Bracers have no DEF on their own, every completed quest or face-down resource has a second life as a 1 DEF buffer to protect your hero’s health. Get into the late game and combine the Bracers with a few more pieces of armor, and you’ll have an impenetrable fortress of plate to keep your hero safe and seal your opponent’s fate.
One of the drawbacks of armor is that you don’t always get the full benefit of it. For example, if I have to prevent 2 damage and all I have is Ornate Adamantium Breastplate, I only prevent 2 damage and the other 4 DEF gets wasted. Now, if I have a ton of 1 DEF face-down resources available to exhaust, I can maximize the use I get out of the rest of my armor.
One of the other drawbacks is that you can wear only one piece of armor per slot. That means just one shoulder, one helm, and one shield. Now, you can continue to build up your endless fortress of plate without having to worry about duplicate slots.
Against opponents, 1 DEF is perfect against small attacks or the dreaded DoT strategy with Immolate, Unstable Affliction, and Corruption. This piece of plate really shines up nicely at the multiplayer table, where armor and long-term effects are at a premium and you have multiple opponents attacking you with a wide range of allies and abilities. Think of what these Bracers can do when raiding. Suddenly, Onyxian Whelps don’t look so menacing and the “full clear” mode of Molten Core is much more manageable with the long-term defense provided by the cuffs.
How best to use these Bracers? You want your resources ready to prevent damage, so you either need a lot of cards in play early, or you can use the aforementioned Illumination. It goes well with the tanking theme of healing your hero while he or she takes on an army, and it allows you to heal, draw cards, and dig through the deck while keeping your resources ready to prevent damage. You can also use your resources to prevent your opponent’s burst damage without using your abilities, further complicating combat math.
If you want to go the Warrior route, then this is the perfect late-game card to muck up opposing math and hero combat. They could simply attack your hero to ensure you don’t complete more quests to continue building your armor base, but you probably have a weapon, maybe even two or three, and those allies will meet the wrong end of a sword or dagger while you soak up all that damage with your brand new armor. No matter which class you are, very few cards have the impact that Bracers of the Green Fortress has when dropped on turn 7 or 8. Suddenly all those innocent, harmless face-down resources find new life in defending the hero.
That’s the best part of the card—further exploiting cards that you’ve already used. In the late game, you’ll usually have more resources than you need for the cards in your hand. So why not give yourself some options with these Bracers? Every completed quest or unneeded face-down resource card adds one more armor to the field. Yes, Chasing A-Me 01 is incredible, but why not get a second use out of it as a mini-armor? How about One Draenei’s Junk . . . or It’s a Secret to Everybody? Cheap quests with non-reactive or non-conditional powers are the best fit because you flip them early for the power and then they’re ready to be buffed by these brand new Bracers.
These Bracers show that, while they were revealed last, they are certainly worth the wait. Will they usher in a new dawn for tanking in tournaments? Only time will tell. But with the mass-armor effect offered by these Bracers, players will be trying the solo build with a big buff added to their defenses. The fortress of armor created by Bracers of the Green Fortress will be a tough nut to crack, so make sure to get your own copy through the Crafting Redemption Program as soon as possible!
