The new Hearthstone expansion, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, was announced at BlizzCon a few days ago, and as you’d expect, it’s destined to really shake up the meta. Not only will it inject 132 new cards into the game, but it’s also introducing tri-class cards, which is obviously a HUGE deal for the game. In keeping with the shady, underworld theme of the set, the class groups are set up as gangs. They are: the Grimy Goons, an alliance of Hunters, Paladins and Warriors; Jade Lotus, comprised of Druids, Rogues and Shamans; and The Kabal, mana-obsessed Mages, Priest and Warlocks.
We saw several of these cards as part of the announcement, but now IGN has another to reveal to the Hearthstone community! Grimestreet Smuggler is a common Grimy Goons card that costs three mana to play, and is a 2/4 with the text “Battlecry: Give a random minion in your hand +1/+1.” Cool, huh? And because it’s a Grimy Goons card, it’s able to be played by Hunter, Paladin and Warrior.
It's a strong battlecry.
In terms of base stats, this is a solid card, offering 3/5 in stats for three mana, making it slightly better than the vanilla value you’d expect (3/4 for 3). Importantly, unless you have no cards in hand, or only spells, its battlecry will always go off, so you won’t miss the +1/+1 that makes this card (potentially) worth playing. You have more control over the “ability” of the card, in other words, than with something like Zealous Initiate, which has the deathrattle “Give a random friendly minion +1/+1.” That said, it’s obviously a horrible top deck later in the game if you’re out of gas.
So, how might you extract maximum value out of Grimestreet Smuggler? And what types of decks might it appear in? Let’s go class by class.
Paladin seems like an obvious fit, given it’s already a class that likes to buff its own minions, and has some existing Divine Shield synergy. Right now the only vaguely viable Paladin build is Murloc Paladin, but that’s likely to change with the expansion. In fact, from the cards we’ve seen so far, Paladin will likely go in a more aggressive direction with this expansion, thanks to cards like Small-Time Recruits that emphasises one-drops and lets you quickly reload your hand if you run out of gas. The new secret, Getaway Kodo, could also be potentially used in an aggressive Paladin build that tries to snowball early. So how does Grimestreet Smuggler fit in? Well, there’d likely be some good targets for its battlecry – Meanstreet Marshall being a prime candidate. Getting Grimestreet Smuggler back via Getaway Kodo would also be great, allowing you to get the battlecry a second time. Playing Getaway Kodo on one then coining into Grimestreet Smuggler on two is an ideal play.
Three of the new Paladin cards coming in the Gadgetzan set.
Love this guy.
Alternatively, both Grimestreet Marshall and Getaway Kodo could be used in a new build of Secret Paladin. The aim of that deck is to play the strongest minion possible on every turn before curving into Mysterious Challenger, so Grimestreet Smuggler is slightly underpowered for its cost, but sets up for a stronger future turn. Plus, it curves into Truesilver Champion. That said, Getaway Kodo has some negative synergy in Secret Paladin – more often than not you’d be returning the Noble Sacrifice to your hand, as opposed to something bigger. This build could potentially include Wickerflame Burnbristle, one of the other new Paladin cards we’ve seen so far, as hitting that with a buff while it’s in-hand could be good, but ultimately you want to be hitting a four drop, or a two drop (so you can play a two and a two), so that you recoup the lost tempo as quickly as possible. Paladins only want to run so many three drops, too.
How about Hunter? Well, Secret Hunter is the new default build of this class, and I just can’t see this card making the cut there. Not without knowing all the other cards in the set, that is. Secret Hunter already runs Eaglehorn Bow, Kill Command, Animal Companion and Cloaked Huntress at three. There’s really no room for more.
A Secret Hunter list via Tempostorm.
How about the more aggressive Face variant of Secret Hunter, then? Well, it can help boost the burst damage in hand from the likes of Argent Horserider and Leeroy, but it’s at odds with what that deck wants to do, which is get minions on the board that guarantee damage. It doesn’t really work with the existing build of Midrange Hunter, either. Sure, you’re not going to complain about it hitting a Huge Toad or Infested Wolf, but it makes Barnes weaker and it has awkward synergy with Houndmaster. If you’re playing this on three, chances are you’re not going to be able to play Houndmaster on four. Hunter, in other words, needs a new archetype to take advantage of this card.
Last up – Warrior. Control Warrior has quite a few minions that could benefit from the buff. Acolyte of Pain is an obvious one (although, again, there’s that awkward three drop double up unless you have the coin), and plenty of the cards further down the curve could be made sturdier – Cairne, Thaurissan, Justicar, Sylvanas, Grommash and N’Zoth. It once again makes Barnes weaker, however. And what would you take out? Ultimately the upside probably isn’t big enough to justify the weak attack strength on the board. Control Warrior wants to spend the early and mid-game removing minions and keeping the board clear so it can start dropping bombs.
A charging 4/4 for two?
Dragon Warrior is actually a much better fit, as the fact that this minion has higher health than attack is an asset when it comes to surviving whirlwind effects. And the battlecry will be a huge deal when it hits minions like Alexstrasza’s Champion, Frothing Berserker, Kor’kron Elite and Blackwing Corruptor to name a few. As to what you’d take out? Maybe a Ravaging Ghoul and a Faerie Dragon. There’s definitely promise here.
Overall though, Grimestreet Smuggler is unlikely to be one of the stronger cards in this set unless it’s complemented by cards we’re yet to see. No matter, there's plenty of exciting potential on the table already. Just take a look at the cards that have been announced to date:
And how about a game showing off some of those cards?
Cam Shea is senior editor in IGN's Sydney office and recently wrote a guide to Hearthstone for beginner/intermediate players. Tweet at him here.
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