Sword mains, Dragon mains and Forest mains alike have been struggling in the recent Heroes of Rivanbrandt expansion. At certain points of Ratings, Sword had a literal zero percent play rate. While Forest managed to pick up some surprise results in various tournaments, winning both a JCG and the SEAO SVO, the other two classes were not so fortunate.
However, the time of Sword and Dragon are finally here! And these buffs are HUGE!
The implications of the Plumeria buff are extremely large and buff all Forest archetypes with the exception of Magachiyo, here's some of the key points:
- 1-cost creates synergy with Castelle Spell, Salvia Panther and Windflower Tiger.
- Is significantly easier to play at all stages of the game
- Makes it far easier to achieve "played x cards this turn" effects, especially Rayne
- Still heals for 3 drain on evolve, making it far stronger in the late game for 1pp, as well as enabling chain drains with bounces
- Can now combo with Nobilis on Turn 4, evolving to play Plumeria -> 2/1 Fairy
I expect this buff to have a significant effect on Forest's performance. Anyone who has played Forest will know how heavy Plumeria felt to play in the early stages of the game, often requiring a loss in tempo. This will no longer be the case.
Further, Forest is already a contender in the current meta against decks like Haven, and I do not expect this to change. In addition, with some of the other buffed classes gaining significant buffs against Shadow (sword and dragon), this will also make the metagame more favourable for this class overall.
This is one of the largest buffs we've seen to a card, pushing it from unviability into a potential staple for the class. Here's a quick summary of the key points
- Provides large burst healing comparable to Gilnelese, with evolve can heal for 7.
- Is self sufficient, and does not require other condemned cards to see play (Though it still fits in well with cards like Drazael, Azvaldt and Hotheaded Marauder)
- 3 damage removal is actually very relevant in the current meta, with cards like Lucius, Freya and Kyrie seeing large amounts of play
- Easy access to storm damage that can be saved for later turns is also quite strong
Due to the way the card operates, it can be played in literally any dragon deck. Dragon now has access to some of the most healing in the game between Antemaria, Drazael, and the new Forte. In some ways, this fills the void sorely felt by the loss of Gilnelese and Si Long. While 5 play-points seems expensive on the surface, Dragon remains a class that can ramp, thereby mitigating the downsides. There are also various tech options that can alleviate early losses in tempo, such as Flame Lizard's Breath + Antemaria at 7 mana.
I believe these changes makes the deck significantly more reliable against aggressive decks like Ghost Shadow, Vengeance Blood and Forest (when they aren't otking you), but I don't think these changes are likely to make the deck much better against Crystallize. Overall, the main hope is that the buffs to Forest and Sword push out Crystallize, which will enable Dragon to make use of its strong healing options against other decks in the meta.
Again, another buff clearly targetted against Ghost Shadow. In my opinion, one of the major reasons why Sword has struggled to find a footing in this meta is its inability to consistently challenge Masquerade Ghost. A board full of 4/4 wards is impossible to clear without Opulent Strategist, and the card has been more controversial in recent times due to how it interrupts the tutor effect of General Maximus. Enter Aurelia:
- A very powerful answer to Ghost Shadow Boards
- Can potentially cost 1 play point against board heavy decks, allowing for turn 5 Aurelia, with Weiss Evo for an instantaneous game win
- Autoevolve effect is extremely potent. 7 rally is quite easy to achieve
- Synergises with Rally condition extremely well, while also increasing evo count for a single play point, increasing the reliability of win conditions such as Radiel and Twinblade
- Is capable of protecting key followers such as Weiss and Opulent Strategist
Overall, this card can singlehandedly invalidate your opponent's entire early game and enable extremely powerful locks with Weiss. Overcoming the deck's massive weakness to Ghost Shadow is likely to enable Swordcraft to shine in the resulting meta, as Weiss is surprisingly strong against both Evolve Portal and Crystallize Haven.
To conclude the article, I expect these buffs will shake up the metagame rather significantly. While some may feel that the lack of nerfs to the current Tier 1s is unreasonable, I personally think that strong buffs have the same overall effect. If Dragon, Sword and Forest perform well in the meta, then it directly affects the win rate of the Tier 1 decks (aka nerfing them), because it's ultimately a zero-sum game.
