Killswitch’s 2 Cents: The Top 5 Most Undervalued and Underplayed Hearthstone Legendaries

Introduction

Hello, again my friends!  Hopefully, your brief stop into my neck of the woods is the equivalent to a 2 a.m. mad rush into the “FLYING J” truck stop en route to your 2,289 mile trek from California to Florida. I’m just a simple gas station attendant, willing and able to provide the road weary traveler a nice shower, a hot-pot of coffee, a variety of snacks, a restroom break, a warm smile and friendly conversation. Today’s topic: The 5 most undervalued and underplayed Hearthstone Legendaries.

Rest assured, behind my rather rough exterior lies a bulky, military grade, bullet-proof-body-armor suit, the likes of which would turn even  grommash-hellscream 3 shades of green with envy.  The subject matter at hand would cause the lesser man to be pulled from his home and out into the street and shot, for suggesting anything outside popular opinion. Lucky for us, I’m quite the bad-ass, having survived a decade or two, under much worse conditions.

Pull up a chair, allow that calorie-free, Taurine infused, Monster energy drink to dilate your pupils, increase your heart rate, and open up your senses to be receptive to this guy’s 2 cents worth of advice (all pocket change happily and grateful accepted at the bottom of the page). If you find my prospective to fall short, feel free to take a penny and leave a penny, we’re all friends here.  Sit back, enjoy your Cheetos and engage with me as we further look at Hearthstone 5 most under-valued, under-played Legendaries.

Number 5: Tinkmaster Overspark

A couple of years ago amidst soft bag-pipe tunes, somewhere in the Blizzard universe, a gentle, lazy flowing stream carried a gold embossed casket set aflame, housing the powerhouse of what once was  tinkmaster-overspark. The juggernaut joined the likes of  leeroy-jenkins, starving-buzzard, and more recently warsong-commander in the Hearthstone after-life.

His once-upon time 3 mana, 2/2 body with battle cry effect: “Transform A minion into a 5/5  devilsaur or a 1/1  squirrel at random” was a game changer regardless of the deck you were running during the meta at that time. If you listen closely his “This time for sure” battlecry can still be heard in faint whispers within the ever-transforming fabric of the meta game.

Post nerf, in the right deck, under the right architect, this little guy can still aid you in your Hearthstone quests and adventures. Particularly if your deck’s foundation is an aggressive build (The Way of The Aggro). Due to the overly aggressive nature of an aggro deck’s dynamic, this post nerf, 3/3 Legendary minion for 3 mana can still pressure your enemy into submission with early-game superiority and damage. His stats aren’t exceptionally overwhelming for a 3-drop, however his battle-cry effect (while not as potent as it once was) still more than makes up for his lack of stats.

Consider further, in the 3 mana slot, cards like harvest-golem and spider-tank (the chillwind-yeti of the 3 drops) are the only other types of cards that offer you more bang for your buck.

Furthermore, if you’re playing Mr. Overspark on turn T2-T3, after dropping a couple of 1-mana minions, he’s virtually all upside. He has the potential to either turn your 2/1 into a 1/1 (after you’ve attacked with it of course), which in the grand scheme of things isn’t a complete let down, or he’ll turn that 2/1 into a monster 5/5 powerhouse that totally cements your advantage and dumps a devilsaur-sized helping of extra pressure on the enemy’s plate on turn 3! Score a point in tempo, board control and pressure all in one foul swoop for the good guys!

Number 4: Blingtron 3000

The little Mech that could, blingtron-3000 is pretty much considered the fat kid when choosing teams for dodge ball–no one wants his pudgy-ass out there for rubber ball fodder. Considering there are a whole lot better and safer alternatives in the 5-mana slot, guys like loatheb and sludge-belcher, who will 9 times out of 10 get picked first. Consider further that his 3/4 body at 5-mana, isn’t exactly hanging from Target’s 75% off end-of-summer sales rack, its no wonder most Hearthstone players pass his sweet cheeks bye.

However, that 3/4 chunky monkey isn’t completely worthless on the board–in other words he’ll still pull his weight as a minion not just as an effect.  That said, it’s the effect that puts the “bling” in the “BLINGtron” of Blingtron 3000. Despite the fact that his battlecry is a symmetrical effect, you’re essentially getting “charge” through his battlecry, because it’s your weapon that gets to attack first which grants you 2 treasured and worthwhile intangibles: tempo and momentum. Not to mention, you stand a good chance of receiving an overpowered weapon that will snowball into a huge lead and an insurmountable advantage.

Blingtron 3000’s additional upside is his potential to destroy the weapon, of a weapon hero class, trading-in that hero’s potentially game-ending doomhammer or lord-jaraxxus‘s blood-fury for a random weapon. Of course you do run the risk of your enemy gaining an even better weapon, but even in that scenario you have the opportunity to react first.

Furthermore, should you run Blingtron 3000 in conjunction with minions like  acidic-swamp-ooze, snowchugger or even better yet harrison-jones, the weapon your opponent receives is negated altogether and you end your turn with the upper hand.

Number 3: Deathwing

There are many school’s of thought that believe deathwing is one of, if not, THE most worthless legendary minion in the game. Which is sad, because he’s one of the most iconic and powerful villans in the Warcraft universe, and its a down right dirty shame that his insanely powerful Hearthstone counterpart goes significantly underplayed.

I’ve played many games in the virtual universe, in which I paused, saved, and reset each and every time things weren’t going my way. Deathwing essentially encompasses that very concept personified in a monster 12/12 juggernaut. He’s pretty much the”in case of emergency break glass” last-ditch effort to come out unscathed. He’s the Alamo, the giant big red re-set button that saves your sticky buns from the fire.

The problem most people have with Deathwing is, the uncomfortable needy personality he smothers you with the second you elect to provide him with a slot in your deck.  He’s that weird relationship you got into, that you can’t escape. He’s that girlfriend/boyfriend you keep trying to leave, except every time you do somehow you end up deeper within your lover’s clutches. When you come out of the bathroom he’s there, when you come home from work he’s there, when you pick up your phone he’s there.

The point is no one wants to risk their entire game on a single card when it can be easily disposed of in one thunderous crack of big-game-hunter‘s shot gun. What most people fail to realize however, is that Deathwing shouldn’t be that big play in the mid-game. He should be reserved for the absolute last card you play in a hardcore control deck that allows you to extend the game for as long as possible.  By design, Deathwing shouldn’t be your mid-game atom bomb, he should be the final nail in your opponents coffin.

Since he’ such a gruesome finisher, he commands respect and consequently demands another worth-while look for inclusively in your deck.

Number 2: Captain Greenskin

captain-greenskin is a pirate–and therein lies his biggest problem. Despite the fact that he is a blatantly strong card, he goes unnoticed and un-played with regularity. Most Hearthstone players, will not even consider him outside of a pirate build. His 5/4 body is pretty reasonable for 5-mana and he is sturdy enough to trade quite efficiently with minions like emperor-thaurissan and Sludge Belcher.

Furthermore, in my opinion his battlecry effect boarders on the absurd and even overpowered. Any time you get a minion with a reliable body AND an absurd effect you have the potential for a game-winning card. Any weponized hero class, who can gain extra attack AND durability in a weapon as well as a decent 5/4 body is nothing to bot an eye at. Think of it this way, essentially you’re gaining a free damage spell in the vain of a fire-elemental or goblin-blastmage. On the right weapon, you have to potential value of up to 8 damage in one turn! Thats almost 1/3 of your opponents health pool people!

In weapon classes this card has the potential to be absolutely amazing! Plus, it has the added benefit of adding synergy to the rare and under-tested pirate builds which are also worthy of your consideration.

Number 1: Troggzor the Earthinator

Upon announcement, this card was causing people to riot in the streets; people were shouting from the roof-tops to have this card nerfed way before it ever even hit the board. Since then it has fallen from grace, with cards like dr-boom becoming Hearthstone’s darling in the 7-mana slot. Dr. Boom has supplanted troggzor-the-earthinator  as the ultimate 7-drop and has never looked back. With 9/9 worth of stats (at worst) for 7-mana, its not difficult to understand why Dr. Boom told Troggzor to shove a bun, there’s a new sheriff in town.

However, I think it’s high time and worth your troubles to give this card another shake, because its effect is simply one of the most powerful in the game. All it would take is for this card to be placed into the right deck, and it would be an absolute powerhouse that would reshape the meta game that surrounds it. I sincerely believe that there is a big untapped potential for Troggzor enveloped in a mist of an enigma that someone needs to take the time to unlock.

In an age of spell happy Tempo Mages, Freeze Mages, and variations of Dragon Priests, a deck running Troggzor the Eartinator could greatly benefit the player who utilizes him.

Conclusion

One of the world’s worst offenses is a legendary Hearthstone minion who goes unplayed, and rots away in the collection manager like an old toy that is unloved and unseen. I wanted to provide you with an article that would provoke your imagination, to give these 5 legendaries another more exhaustive look. Often times we get so caught up in the meta we forget about these other legendaries we pass by with regularity sitting in our collections, just waiting for the opportunity to unlock the hidden potential they were designed for.

I realize there are many of you who will read this, and think I’ve gone completely off my rocker and disagree with my assessment every step of the way. Well, that’s OK because I’m not above reproach and enjoy spirited conversation. I encourage you to leave your opinions below, and let me know if you think there are other less popular legendaries out there who are worth further consideration as a valuable addition into the right deck. So, please feel free to leave me a comment or two with your thoughts as well as a penny or two for mine (all your donations are greatly appreciated).

Until next time!

---