Shatter and execute are very similar cards yet they are so different . Both are two mana cards that destroy a monster under a condition . Execute destroys a damaged “enemy” minion while shatter destroys a frozen minion .

I once saw a comment on hearthpwn following the nerf of execute saying : kill any minion for 2 mana..still very good ,And “damaged” doesnt mean anything because warriors have a lot of cards that deals 1 damage. I’ll be shocked if any warrior will stop using it, which got me thinking about shatter and how this comment could apply to it aswell : Kill any minion for 2 mana..very good, and “frozen” doesnt mean anything because mages hace a lot of cards that freeze enemy minions.i’ll be socked if this card isn’t a staple in every mage deck.

So inspired by the random guy’s comment i decided to write this article.

1.Cards history:

• Execute is a warrior spell card, from the Basic set.

Patch 6.1.3.14830 (2016-10-03): Cost increased from 1 to 2.

Commentary: The Warrior class has access to a large amount of removal spells, and while we want to continue providing Warrior players with powerful removal options, Execute stands out as one that has proven to be too efficient in too many situations. We’re increasing the cost of Execute from 1 to 2 Mana in order to keep the card as an option closer in power level to other existing and future removal tools.

• Shatter is a common mage spell card, from the Whispers of the Old Gods set.

Patch 5.0.0.12574 (2016-04-24): Added.

2.cards synergy:

cards synergising with shatter

cards synergizing with execute :

Judging by the synergies shatter is the better card , however the freeze mechanic is limited compared to the damaging mechanic , you can basically use any weapon equipped to your hero or monster you control or spell to damage your enemy’s monsters and enable execute to activate , the cards listed above are only the most common and viable cards paired with execute.

It’s the flexibility of the card that makes execute a staple in almost all the warrior decks .

Shatter on the other hand is a bit harder to use. altough having more synergies , it requires only those specific cards to work , otherwise it’s a dead card in your hand , plus not all the mage freeze cards are playable, which makes the card bad .Shatter is also harder to include in mage decks that often don’t bother to clear the board but burn you with spells instead.

3.situations where shatter might be playable:

• If the meta shifts to be decks with big treaths as win conditions then single target removal will be much needed , therefore shatter may make it’s place into the meta , and decks the likes of firebat’s elemental shatter mage won’t be a meme anymore.

links : http://www.hearthpwn.com/

http://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Hearthstone_Wiki