Foreword

Below are the 264 currently-legal cards for Epic constructed divided into 9 tiers (Core, Tyrants, Uprising, and 4 of 6 Pantheon packs [not yet available for retail]). In constructed, the power level of each card is heavily influenced by the other cards that are being played, the “meta.” For example, if everyone is playing untargetable champions, non-targeted removal (Scara’s Will and Winged Death) are effectively better while targeted removal (Erase and Drain Essence) are effectively worthless.

Therefore, since I want this first rating to be relevant for as long as possible, I have tried to keep it as meta-agnostic as reasonable. Instead of rating the cards based on their power level at this exact moment, I have grouped them by relative power level that can fluctuate based on the meta. From these tier groupings, I plan on making around 9 videos (about 1 per tier) to explain the cards’ strengths and weaknesses and my rationale for their placements [edit: first video is up going over all of the top tier cards, future videos will be broken up into small packages of similar cards]. The videos also go over community terminology and key Epic concepts. I recommend focusing on tiers 1-5 when building decks. (I might also write a meta-based ranking to accompany this article that I can update as the meta shifts.)

If you disagree or want clarification on any of the cards’ positions below, let me know in the comments. I’ll plan on spending a bit more time talking about those cards in my videos. Also, I know this clashes with most players’ views on at least a few cards, so tell me why I’m wrong!

Since limited formats (like Dark Draft) are entirely different animals, I have a separate Dark Draft Card Ratings as well.

Videos

Below are the videos I have produced so far broken up by tier.

Top Tier

Top Tier Constructed Cards (I’ve set it to start on Muse, my rant.)

This video goes over a significant amount of the terminology and key Epic concepts. For the rest of these videos, I’ll assume that knowledge:

Ratings Formatting

The below formatting is as follow

Tier Name (# of cards in tier / # of cards total legal cards)

Brief description of tier

Alignment (# of cards in alignment in tier / # of legal cards of that alignment total) [# of cards in the alignment for this and all previous tiers]

Individual cards are searchable with ctrl + f / cmd + f. Clicking on a card name will currently open the card’s linked image in a new tab. Once the videos are up I’ll, ideally, switch the link to the timestamped video where I discuss it (this has begun).

Banned Cards (3/264)

These cards were banned from constructed largely because of their interaction with Chamberlain Kark Combo/Control decks.

Good (2/66)

Blind Faith, Ceasefire

Sage (1/66)

Fumble

Tier 1: Meta Shaping (28/261) [31]

These cards are absurdly powerful and/or have heavily influenced the meta at some point.



Evil (10/66)

Drain Essence, Drinker of Blood, Medusa, Necromancer Lord, Raxxa’s Curse, Rift Summoner, Scara’s Gift, Scara’s Will, Soul Hunter, Zannos Corpse Lord

Good (4/64) [4]

Angel of Light, Chamberlain Kark, Noble Unicorn, Silver Wing Savior

Sage (8/65) [8]

Amnesia, Ancient Chant, Erase, Lesson Learned, Muse, Sea Titan, Thought Plucker, Wave of Transformation

Wild (6/66)

Brachiosaurus, Kong, Raging T-Rex, Smash and Burn, Strafing Dragon, Surprise Attack

Tier 2: Powerful Support (31/261) [62]

These are cards that play important roles in powerful decks and/or cards not quite strong enough to make tier 1.



Evil (5/66) [15]

Angel of Death, Dark One’s Fury, Dirge of Scara, Guilt Demon, Zombie Apocalypse

Good (12/64) [16]

Bodyguard, Brave Squire, Cast Out, Divine Judgement, Gold Dragon, Inheritance of the Meek, Insurgency, Martial Law, Palace Guard, Priest of Kalnor, Silver Wing Guardian, Silver Wing Lancer

Sage (5/65) [13]

Forcemage Apprentice, Force Lance, Frantic Digging, Hasty Retreat, Mist Guide Herald

Wild (9/66) [15]

Draka Dragon Tyrant, Draka’s Enforcer, Feeding Frenzy, Flame Spike, Hunting Pack, Kalani Woodreader, Lightning Strike, Rage, Wolf’s Bite

Tier 3: Powerful Filler (45/261) [107]

These are powerful cards that fill very specific roles for very specific decks.



Evil (15/66) [30]

Apocalypse, Army of the Apocalypse, Consume, Demonic Rising, Final Task, Forbidden Research, Murderous Necromancer, Plague, Plentiful Dead, Raxxa Demon Tyrant, Reaper, Steed of Zaltessa, Unquenchable Thirst, Winged Death, Wither

Good (8/64) [24]

Brand Rebel Fighter, Faithful Pegasus, Justice Prevails, Markus Watch Captain, Rescue Griffin, Resurrection, Revolt, Urgent Messengers

Sage (10/65) [23]

Helion the Dominator, Ice Drake, Juggernaut, Keeper of Secrets, Knight of Shadows, Siren’s Song, Steel Titan, Vanishing, Velden Frost Titan, War Machine

Wild (12/66) [27]

Brak Fist of Lashnok, Fiery Demise, Fires of Rebellion, Flames of Furios, Flash Fire, Go Wild, Greater Lightning Wurm, Herald of Lashnok, Hunting Pterosaur, Hurricane, Scarros Hound of Draka, Spore Beast

Tier 4: Tech Cards (44/261) [150]

These cards fill even narrower roles based on the meta and/or are linchpins in specialized decks.



Evil (9/66) [39]

Corpsemonger, Heinous Feast, Little Devil, Plague Zombies, Raxxa’s Displeasure, Scarred Cultist, Scarred Priestess, Spawning Demon, The Gugeon

Good (8/64) [32]

Ambush Party, Angel of Mercy, Angeline’s Will, Master Zo, New Dawn, Paros Rebel Leader, Watchful Gargoyle, White Dragon

Sage (15/65) [38]

Arcane Research, Citadel Raven, Crystal Golem, Deadly Raid, Djinn of the Sands, Elara the Lycomancer, Ethereal Dragon, Knight of Elara, Memory Spirit, Reset, Reusable Knowledge, Shadow Imp, Spike Trap, Teleport, Time Walker

Wild (12/66) [39]

Cave Troll, Draka’s Fire, Fire Shaman, Fire Spirit, Flame Strike, Hunting Raptors, Lash, Lashnok’s Will, Pyromancer, Pyrosaur, Savage Uprising, Stampeding Einiosaur

Tier 5: Reasonably Powerful (36/261) [187]

These are okay cards on their own. They might make it into competitive decks or find homes in highly synergistic decks.



Evil (7/66) [46]

Dark Knight, Grave Demon, Necromancer Apprentice, Necrovirus, No Escape, Raxxa’s Enforcer, Zealous Necromancer

Good (14/64) [46]

Angel of the Gate, Avenger of Covenant, Avenging Angel, Banishment, Courageous Soul, Helena’s Chosen, High King, Inner Peace, Knight of the Dawn, Lord of the Arena, Quell, Second Wind, Secret Legion, White Knight

Sage (10/65) [48]

Erratic Research, Frost Giant, Gareth’s Juggernaut, Gareth’s Will, Master Forcemage, Psionic Assault, Steel Golem, Temporal Enforcer, Temporal Shift, Warrior Golem

Wild (5/66) [44]

Den Mother, Keira Wolf Caller, Rybas Canopy Sniper, Triceratops, Wurm Hatchling

Tier 6: Might Play (22/261) [209]

These are the weakest cards I can feasibly see myself playing in a competitive deck.



Evil (7/66) [53]

Dark Offering, Hands from Below, Herald of Scara, Krieg Dark One’s Chosen, Reap or Sow, Run Riot, Thrasher Demon

Good (5/64) [51]

Angeline’s Favor, Noble Martyr, Priestess of Angeline, Royal Escort, Silver Dragon

Sage (6/65) [54]

Alchemist Assassin, Fairy Entrancer, Mystic Researcher, Scrap Golem, Stand Alone, Winter Fairy

Wild (4/66) [48]

Lightning Storm, Mighty Blow, Mythic Monster, Rain of Fire

Tier 7: Might Experiment (26/261) [235]

These cards are the bottom of the barrel of cards I would theoretically play.



Evil (6/66) [59]

Corpse Taker, Dark Assassin, Demon Breach, Inner Demon, Succubus, Word of Summoning

Good (6/64) [57]

Angelic Protector, Feint, Hand of Angeline, Herald of Angeline, The People’s Champion, Village Protector

Sage (7/65) [61]

Blue Dragon, Citadel Scholar, Erwin Architect of War, Fairy Trickster, Helion’s Fury, Lying in Wait, Turn

Wild (7/66) [55]

Ankylosarus, Battle Cry, Great Horned Lizard, Jungle Queen, Lurking Giant, Pack Alpha, Winds of Change

Tier 8: Effectively Unplayable (20/261) [255]

I can’t see myself ever playing these cards in constructed at this point.



Evil (4/) [63]

Bitten, Saren Night Stalker, The Risen, Vampire Lord

Good (6/64) [63]

Forced Exile, Gladius the Defender, Rabble Rouser, Standard Bearer, Thundarus, Vital Mission

Sage (4/65) [65]

Force Field, Ogre Mercenary, Time Bender, Transform

Wild (6/66) [61]

Bruger the Pathfinder, Chomp!, Entangling Vines, Fireball, Rampaging Wurm, Sea Hydra

Tier 9: Nothing to See Here (9/261) [264]

You can basically forget these cards exist for constructed.



Evil (3/66) [66]

Dark Leader, Infernal Gatekeeper, Trihorror

Good (1/64) [64]

Rally the People

Sage (0/65) [65]

Wild (5/66) [66]

Bellowing Minotaur, Burrowing Wurm, Forked Lightning, Wolf Companion, Wolf’s Call

Disclaimer

I am a better limited player than a constructed player. I tried to factor out my personal biases for these rankings as much as possible, but doing so completely is impossible and ultimately undesirable.