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Kobolds and Catacombs bought a number of new mechanics to Hearthstone when it launched in December, namely, the Recruit keyword, Dungeon Run and a legendary weapon for each class.
The legendary weapons were of particular interest pre-release, as weapons have never previously had legendary status in the game, while they served as the first (and only) weapon for four of the game’s nine classes too.
Now that we’ve had two months for the metagame to evolve around them, it’s time to observe each blade closely and see which ones are ‘legendary’ for the right reasons.
This isn’t just the worst legendary weapon of the lot, this is just a bad card.
The stat line of 3/3 is miserably bad value for its eight-mana cost and not only are the spells it lets you choose from upon usage random, you have to cast them automatically with random targets.
The unacceptably high potential for this effect to backfire in catastrophic ways makes it nowhere near worth it. Just use Doomhammer and combine it with Rockbiter Weapon – it’s cheaper and does more than triple the damage.
It would be quite odd to see Mage heroes on the attack, so the Aluneth’s status as a weapon that isn’t really a weapon makes thematic sense, at least.
Its ability seems very strong at first, with a three-card draw at the end of each turn allowing the Mage to cycle through their deck for win conditions at a worrying speed.
The problem is that weapons with zero attack never lose durability, so you’re stuck with this unsustainable level of draw for the rest of the game.
This creates an obvious problem if your game goes long enough to reach the fatigue stages – you’ll take a whopping 21 damage just two turns after emptying your hand – but it also forces you to manage your hand size more conservatively than a control deck would like.
To avoid burning your deck’s key cards, you more or less have to play four cards each turn with Aluneth equipped and, for a class that specialises in efficient area of effect and removal plays, this reckless resource usage is often detrimental.
While this weapon’s ongoing effect is vastly superior to the Runespear’s, it is identical in both stats and cost – making the Woecleaver woefully underpowered.
Recruiting three minions for eight mana is potentially quite a good deal, but getting the most of this card either requires a meticulous buildaround or just plain luck.
By turn eight your opponent likely has minions too strong to consider attacking with a three-attack weapon, while the chances of you drawing a strong Recruit candidate before you play Woecleaver are quite high – and that’s presuming you’re able to play it on curve.
That said, a Warrior deck built around armour generation may still be able to attack okay with this, while the potential to nullify problematic battlecries – think Charged Devilsaur – is quite valuable.
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This was easily the most eyebrow-raising card reveal of the expansion – perhaps even the whole year. A battlecry that fills your hand with Hunter spells, but only if your deck has no… minions?
Like many of these weapons, Rhok’delar doesn’t have superb stats (4/2) for its seven-mana, but its battlecry is potentially game-changing. While you do have to build a deck around it to get any value, the Hunter’s large number of minion-summoning spells mean it isn’t a suicide mission.
While your opponent will almost certainly cotton on and realise the Rhok’delar is coming, destroying the weapon isn’t actually that big of a loss to the Hunter at all, with up to ten more spells putting your opponent on the back foot for the rest of the game.
Like Aluneth, the Dragon Soul doesn’t actually give the Priest a means of attacking, instead summoning a 5/5 Dragon Spirit whenever they cast three spells in one turn.
On its own, this sounds like a lot of resources to expend for one minion, but the Priest has some great tools at its disposal to get the most out of this weapon.
In addition to a large number of cheap spells already available, this card can form a lethal combination with Radiant Elemental and Lyra the Sunshard, giving the Priest and endless supply of cost-reduced spells to summon Dragons with.
Additionally, there is no limit to the number of Dragons summonable in a turn. If a player manages to cast six spells, they’re not only rewarded with the undoubted benefits of such a play, they also gain two 5/5 bodies on the board.
While the Grimy Goons mechanics may be leaving standard format soon, the Paladin still has access to some almighty minion-buffing courtesy of Val’anyr.
Like Rhok’delar, the seven-mana 4/2 seems like a raw deal, but its deathrattle gives a minion in hand a massive +4/+2 buff as well as a deathrattle that re-equips this weapon.
Given the Paladin has good access to hero-healing cards, they can afford to be aggressive with the weapon. The potential for it to create horrifyingly overpowered minions – like a 7/6 Saronite Chain Gang – also allows for them to pick off weaker minions or go for the face instead and allow their buffed minions to trade up.
There’s never really a bad time to play Val’anyr, making it one of the picks of the bunch.
The third example (and final) of a weapon that can’t attack, the Warlock’s Skull of the Man’ari produces the most reliable and least conditional effect of the three.
Summoning a demon from your hand for free each turn is extremely powerful. It allows the Warlock to cheat out expensive minions, like the Voidlord, earlier in the game, while also putting strong minions like Doomguard on the board and ignoring their detrimental battlecries.
With Bloodreaver Gul’dan a near unanimous inclusion in most Warlock decks too, the problems any potential premature summoning creates is mitigated by the fact you’ll probably get to revive the wasted minion later on anyway.
The Druid is the only previously-weaponless class to actually get one that deals damage, but the Twig of the World Tree is a lot more than just a sharp blade.
Combined with the Druid’s hero power, the weapon often acts as a source of two damage for five turns, making it not a bad deal for four mana, but its the deathrattle that does the real damage.
The card’s deathrattle grants the player ten mana crystals – not empty mana crystals – ten, ready to use pieces of cold hard card currency.
Not only does this badly punish any player foolish enough to destroy it, it allows the Druid to play two turns worth of cards if exhausted at the right time.
That kind of power swing is enough to change a game at the best of times but, given the Druid specialises in big minions, in this circumstance the momentum shift can be downright insane.
This has been, by far, the most commonly used legendary weapon so far – and with good reason.
No matter how many times the Kingsbane is used up or destroyed, you’ll get it back with all the improvements you’ve made to it over the course of the game.
It’s not uncommon to see Rogues running a seven-attack weapon with lifesteal and poisonous before turn five, with the devastating effects of these weapons further amplified by spells like Doomerang and Blade Flurry.
Cavern Shinyfinder also serves a useful tool to retrieve your Kingsbane once it’s (temporarily) destroyed.
While Southsea Squidface’s upcoming move to wild will be a big loss, Kingsbane still has an incredibly strong set of complimentary to cards to work with and, as of now, is undoubtedly the most dangerous legendary weapon in the game.