Hello friends! After a brief break, we need to get back to some set reviews! Today is Justice, and I hope to get Primal and Shadow done over the next two days. You can check out the Fire section of the review here, the Time section of the review here, and the two sections of my limited set review in podcast form here and here. You can even find my “Hot Takes” article here, and my Tombstone review here if you are interested in that. Let’s get started by reviewing the grades!

Ranked Ratings:

★★★★★ Format defining card

Examples: Sandstorm Titan, Torch, and Harsh Rule

★★★★ Archetype staple, or multi-deck support card

Examples: Waystones, Permafrost, Rally

★★★ Role player or narrow support card

Examples: Polymorph, Rise to the Challenge, Withering Witch

★★ Long shot or meme-tier

Examples: Knucklebones, Crown of possibilities, Groundbreaker

★ Unplayable

Examples: Idol of Destran, Copperhall Recruit, Daze

Draft Ratings

★★★★★ Bomb or ultra efficient removal

Examples: Twinbrood Sauropod, Annihilate, and Slimespitter Slug

★★★★ Better than average

Examples: Feeding Time, Mortar, Archive Curator

★★★ Around average power level

Examples: Striped Araktodon, Hipshot, Highbranch Sentry

★★ Below average, but not embarrassing

Examples: Centaur Outrider, Cabal Slasher, Cirso’s Meddling

★ Unplayable

Examples: Accelerate, Sanguine Sword, Aid of the Hooru

Emerald Waystone

Ranked

★★★★ This card is great in the right deck. Like, I think this is a reason to go into Rakano Armory over traditional armory. Free armor stacks well with so many things. Tinker Apprentices, Molten Fist, and Runehammer are big winners here. Obviously not a meta-warping effect, but will certainly see a ton of play.

Draft

★★ I describe my thoughts on the subject of Waystones in draft in previous sections, and I don’t really want to repeat everything. This one is better in Justice decks that care about relic weapons or armor (like Valkyrie) but worse in those that don’t (Gunslingers or Unseen).

Humble Instructor

Ranked

★★ This is a weird card to evaluate on multiple levels. First, it is an Unseen, and we are still not a saturation point for cheap Unseen, so there may be a Justice deck desperate for a 1 drop. Second, the “battleskills matter” does have a couple interesting tools, though it feels like most are aimed at limited over ranked. All these things together make me think this is pretty close to unplayable, but I will give him a charity second star.

Draft

★★ As with many cards in this draft format, you need to grade this through 2 different lenses. In a generic Justice deck I think this card is close to unplayable, but in a Hooru Unseen deck this could easily end up being a really valuable card. Given that he has the base case of being bad in a generic deck I will start him at 2 stars.

Rolant’s Intervention

Ranked

★★★ This looks like a textbook example of a “narrow support card”. Valkyrie decks will probably be pretty happy with playing a couple copies since this is better than Protect in a Valkyrie deck, and that card is obviously amazing.

Draft

★★★ Almost every Justice deck will have some number of Valkyrie, the -3 attack mode is almost worth a card, and giving a Relic Weapon a +1/+1 can be surprisingly swingy certain game states. There are pretty brutal diminishing returns and the card isn’t worth fighting for, but the first copy is certainly a solid inclusion. You probably want at least 3-4 Valkyrie before you are happy to play this, but that is most Justice decks.

Steady Marshal

Ranked

★★★★ Yeah. That’s right. 1/2 for 1 is constructed playable now. Fight me. In reality, and deck that plays a card like this is obviously going to need a high density of Gunslingers on turn 2, but luckily that is not too hard to pull off. I have been seeing the card a ton recently, and although I don’t know if the card is being overplayed at the moment, it clearly has legs. I am looking forward to the Quartermaiden gunslinger deck personally.

Draft

★★ Yup, a common that is better in ranked than in draft. Still, Steady Marshall needs a critical mass of gunlingers before he is good enough. If you are fairly certain you are going to be a gunslinger deck by the back half of pack 1 you can start picking these up and be happy, but by pack 4 you should really know how many gunslingers you have. This guy is more playable than the average 1-drop, but remember that his ceiling is still just a 2/3 for 1, which is still invalidated by a decent 3-drop.

Wanted Poster

Ranked

★★★★ It is hard to grade this one properly because expectations around this card are kind of wild. Some people have argued that this should be a 4-of in every Harsh Rule deck, which seems over-enthusiastic. Other have said it is close to unplayable, which is also clearly wrong. I think the average controlling Justice deck will play some number, but very decks should play 4, and some decks should play none.

Draft

★ Wanted poster is pretty close to unplayable in draft. The play pattern this card asks for is “poster + removal” in one turn, and that is just not really possible in draft. I think the average Justice deck in draft basically can’t play this card. I actually played against the card in my win-and-in for Master in draft. I had a 1/1 grenadin on board along with some 3 and 4 health units. My opponent used Wanted Poster on my 1/1 then used alchemical blast to kill it. This was actually the second Wanted Poster my opponent had played that game. The purpose in doing this is not for shaming my opponent, but rather illustrating the fail state. Drawing cards is sweet, but this is not a good way to get that done.

Whetstone

Ranked

★ I have spent a while trying to figure out how an armory deck could take advantage of this, and I really feels like it does basically nothing. If you play this on turn 1 you might get 3 or 4 attack worth of value over the course of the game, but that is basically the ceiling on this card. Imagine top-decking this on turn 7. Bleh!

Draft

★ Read the above description but tune what you expect as realistic numbers for draft.

Copperhall Porter

Ranked

★★★ This little value duder falls into the same category of unit Temple Scribe, Dark Wisp and Amber Acolyte, which have all seen considerable play. Probably better than Dark Wisp in the average deck, though there isn’t much in the way of “Justice sacrifice value” decks (yet). He is probably best in 2F control or big midrange decks like Rakano Armory or Hooru. Depending on what aggro generally looks this may not be good enough all the time, but it certainly has potential.

Draft

★★★ After playing with the format some I am actually lower on this guy then where I started. Justice has felt fairly aggressive to me between Gunslingers and Valkyrie, meaning 2/1s for 2 are not amazing, and the extra power isn’t exceptional. Still, this is going down from “one of the best commons” to “solid inclusion”. I should also note this this card has diminishing returns after the second copy. I suppose at that point you should start cutting power from your decks, but 2/1s are not exactly impactful plays in the mid game.

Crackshot Fugitive

Ranked

★★★ How’s this for a curve: turn 1 Steady Marshall, turn 2 Crackshot Fugitive, attack for 2 with Steady Marshall. Turn 3 play Ornate Katana on Fugitive + another Steady Marshall, attack for 9. Are you interested? Because I am interested. I’m not sure if this is what Rakano is supposed to look like, but it is at least a possibility.

Draft

★★★★ This is one of the reasons to go into Gunslingers, allowing for explosive openings with Steady Deputy and First Shot Rioters. Not quite bomb status since you need to put some work into building your deck properly, and she can still just die for little value, but there is no question that she can pack a punch.

Curfew Enforcement

Ranked

★ I have a hard time imagining a deck that would want to play this over Copperhall Bailiff, or a deck that would want 5+ Copperhall Bailiff effects. I guess the joke is that you spend 6 on this, neuter your opponent’s ground game and you kill them in the air? Seems kind of thin, especially since I would usually rather be attacking with my Valkyries than casting a spell like this.

Draft

★★★ In my podcast review I was pretty down on this card, but after thinking about it more I am revising my grade. It has a bit more potential than I gave it credit for. You really need to be in Valkyries, but giving your opponent’s entire team -3/0 has got to really mess with their plans. From this point your trope of fliers can take down the game from the air. I don’t know yet if this is a card that gets you into Valkyries, or a reward when you are already there, but it is probably playable at least. If you have experience with this card I would be very curious to hear about it.

Rampart Protector

Ranked

★ A slow value engine that dies to Vara’s Favor? Not interested. 2/2s are also not exactly setting the world on fire.

Draft

★★ I don’t really think this card does anything. 1/1’s for 1 are obviously not interesting. A 1/1 for 1 that could give you a 2/2 a few turns later is also not interesting. As a Valkyrie deck you are really trying to win in the air, so the 2/2s are probably basically chump blockers. In addition, your Valkyrie are really valuable to you, so you would rather play mediocre pump spells or removal just so you can maintain control of the skies, rather than trading off for value.

Reinvigorate

Ranked

★★ I think there is a universe where Permafrost becomes so popular where a +2/+2 or +3/+3 effect that counters Permafrost while setting up a blow out in combat is good enough. This application seems a little narrow, but this at least has a chance.

Draft

★★★ This is an above average combat trick, though it is still far behind Finest Hour and Rapid Shot. It should be noted that getting the Reinvigorate “surprise block” in combat is usually not actually a blow out, since you are still trading 1-for-1.Obviously trading your combat trick with a premium unit is great, but don’t think you are get away with anything if you are just eating a 3/3 for 3.

Soaring Guard

Ranked

★ An overpriced Cloadsnake Hatchling doesn’t interest me, even if it has a relevant unit type.

Draft

★★ See above. Obviously if you have some sick Valkyrie payoffs like Spireguard and you are somehow struggling to hit the needed number of Valkyrie, I guess this is acceptable, but obviously try to avoid this.

Tax Collector

Ranked

★★★ This card looks pretty neat to me. The base of 2/3 for 2 really doesn’t need a lot of help to make it’s way into competitive deck, and this has some tasty gravy. You probably need to play this in a more midrangy deck, or a unit heavy control deck, but if this card reliably gets you 2-3 armor you should be pretty satisfied. The ultimate ability also seems like it could end the game pretty easily. Imagine ever being able to activate this with a Daisho, Sword of the Sky King, Runehammer or Molten Fist! Obviously that isn’t going to happen very often, but having the chance to go totally over the top of your opponent with a defensive 2 drop is great. I don’t think you want this in many 3F decks, as the 2JJ cost is pretty steep.

Draft

★★ This card is not that great in draft. 2JJ is steep, and the point of 2-drops is that you get to play them on turn 2, and that is just not the case with this card. The ultimate ability is also really unlikely to come up in a game of draft. I guess if you are in pack 4 and you already know you are deep into Justice this jumps up to 3 stars, but the realistic ceiling value on this is not particularly high.

Copperhall Marshal

Ranked

★ Though I might be pretty high on Gunslinger decks for Ranked, this just seems too low impact. Rakano has some powerful 3s, and this probably doesn’t crack the top 5.

Draft

★★★ In draft basically everyone will play as many 3/3s for 3 as they can get. That alone gets this to 3 stars. There is a pretty good chance that most Justice decks will have some Gunslinger synergies, so this card obviously helps there too. Once you are actually in the Gunslinger deck this card is solidly 4 stars. Imagine putting a Stonescar Sawed-Off on this, and just setting up a devastating alpha strike. Rock solid.

Crownwatch Legionnaire

Ranked

★ This probably needs at least 2 more stat points or another ability before it would be a consideration for ranked.

Draft

★★ If you are deep into a “2 battle skills matter” deck I think you will jam these all day. Imagine having 2 Humble Instructors and 2 of the Hooru uncommon? Outside of that this is below replacement value.

Entrapment

Ranked

★★★ This card actually has potential. Obviously this card becomes unplayable if Nightfall decks become popular, but non-shadow control decks will likely be willing to try something like this. Hooru control or versions of TJP control could want a couple copies. This card is not premium removal, but it is perfectly serviceable.

Draft

★★★★ This card is easily the best removal at common. Every Justice deck will want access to removal of this quality. Playing with and against this card will be one of the important skill tests of the format. My personal favorite thing to do is play out a Nightfall card before combat when my Justice opponent has left 3 power open.

Showdown

Ranked

★★ Double damage is a lot of damage, so I don’t want to count this out. Feels like it could be a cheaper Righteous Fury in the right deck. Obviously this is narrow, and Righteous Fury hasn’t been a popular ladder card in about a year, but I don’t want to totally count this out.

Draft

★★ This probably moves from “mediocre combat trick” to “OK combat trick” when you are in a devoted Gunslingers deck, but this card is clearly not a slam dunk in any draft. Playable, but unexciting.

Signal Flag

Ranked

★ If this was a 2/4 relic weapon might spend time talking about it have potential applications, yadda yadda, but 1/4 is truly garbage-tier levels of bad.

Draft

★ I really don’t think this is even playable in draft. 1 strength just does so little. If this were a weapon rather than a relic weapon we might have a chance, but this looks terrible.

Silverwing Smith

Ranked

★★★ 1/4 is an important stat line, and flying is a useful ability. Think about curving Tax Collector into Silverwing Smith! I am not exactly sure what you are doing, but you sure are doing it! This probably necessitates a slight reimagining of what Armory looks like, but I am honestly interested.

Draft

★★★ 1/4 flying for 3 with a relevant type line is literally all I needed to consider this as a playable card. The text box after flying should probably be ignored most of the time for draft, thought it certainly will come up at some point.

Stella, the Shotcaller

Ranked

★★★ Though excited for this card at first, I am more on the fence about Stella now. 2/2 aegis with pseudo-warcry is very tempting, but I feel like I need to spend a good deal of time working on Argenport gunslingers before I can have a real opinion about a card like this. I think Argenport is a much better shell for a card like this as it gives you access to cheap removal to keep the path clear, which I think is needed for a card like this.

Draft

★★★★ This has the fail case of “+1/+1 to half my deck” which is pretty solid in draft. This format is also fairly saturated with weapons, so it should be easy to enable Stella. She is still not particularly reliable, since she is going to need a lot of help surviving combat, but I think it is worth the work.

Tandem Watchwing

Ranked

★ I don’t think Valkyries are desperate enough to play this card. 3-drops need to be able to block Oni Ronin profitably, or provide some serious value, and this does neither.

Draft

★★★ 2/1 flier for 3 is slightly below average. 3/2 flier for 3 is above average. Most Justice decks will have enough Valkyries to turn this on, and the fail case is certainly not embarrassing.

Unseen Commando

Ranked

★★★★★ This card is already seeing significant play in Rakano decks, and I think it has a lot more potential than that. I feel like a lot of aggressive Justice decks are going to want access to this guy. Just attacking as a 3/4 lifesteal flier is insane, and the fact that his is not strong defensively doesn’t matter given the effect that he has on races. I should also note that he doesn’t need to attack to get the bonus, so he can mess up combat from the turn he comes down. A lot of people are sleeping on this card, but I think he is a big deal.

Draft

★★★★ This guy is beatable in draft. If you top deck this on turn 5 in an average draft deck and he will be very good, but not busted. On the other hand, if you are able to curve out with him and other units with multiple battle skills this card is busted. Not quite into the 5 star range, but you are still taking this over literally every common and uncommon.

Valkyrie Cadet

Ranked

★★ I have mentioned a couple times the possibility of a “big pump” style deck. This is another card that fits into that archetype. I am obviously not excited about that deck, but this certainly has the chance to be meme-tier.

Draft

★★ This card is a little confusing. The picture is clearly a Valkyrie, and the type-line says “Gunslinger Valkyrie”, but this card is like 90% Gunslinger, 10% Valkyrie. I think the average Valkyrie will not want this card, but a good gunslinger deck will love this card. I think the good Gunslinger decks have around 6-8 weapon, and this lady will rock if you hit that threshold. If you are only 3 or 4 weapons, I think this card is very dangerous, given how fragile she is.

Valkyrie Justiciar

Ranked

★ I do not this this card is very good. It is interesting to see the “Meddling Mage” effect here, but the body is so pathetic that I don’t think this has a chance. Obviously it is possible for some games to be decided by Justicar hitting an opponent with 2 Harsh Rules in hand, but at feels very thin. This card is even vulnerable to things like silence, and can obviously still be hit by Torch or something.

Draft

★ I don’t think you can evaluate this card as much more than a 1/1 flyer for 1. She is not going to survive long in the average game of draft, and even if she does, you are just blocking one card out of your opponent – it isn’t like they won’t have access to other cards! Way to fragile.

Bisma, Revered Elder

Ranked

★★ Though Bisma was impressive in the event, he cost 3 there, and the rest of the Unseen cost like 1 or 2. I guess he could fit into some weird versions of Crown or Echo-Revenge, but I really don’t like his chances.

Draft

★★★ The fail state of 3/3 for 4 is not that bad, and if you are able to even get 2 keywords you should be pretty happy. If you have no Unseen going into pack 4 you should probably pick a decent common over this, but if you are pack 1 pick 1 it will be worth picking him up and trying to build around him.

Caltrops

Ranked

★★ DWD appears to really be pushing the Meddling Mage type effects in this set. We have this, Justicar, Nametake and Shush all being aimed as hate cards. Well, I kind of hate all of those hate cards. This one is probably the least bad, but it still seems wildly underpowered.

Draft

★ This card seems like a more shameful mark of shame. Think about how much play that saw.

Curse of Taxation

Ranked

★ Conley is going to get mad at me about this, but power destruction effects at 4 are really where you want to be. If we had some “curse copying” or “curse tutoring” effects this might make it up to meme tier, but for now it is relegated to unplayable.

Draft

★ Not only is this a weak card for the 80% of times it does basically nothing, the other 20% of times you are winning because you are being a jerk and stopping your opponent from casting their spells. Don’t play this card.

Ironclad Oath

Ranked

★ This is probably not in the top 5 pump spells I would want to play.

Draft

★★★ After playing with this card a bit it is honestly fine. You are going to encounter big Sentinels or Gunslingers armed to the teeth when you are drafting, and this allows your medium sized Valkyries to go head-to-head in those kinds of fights. The bonus armor is certainly a secondary element of the card, but it has come up for me that this gets a Valkyrie Bodyguard active. Non-Valkyrie decks will obviously play this too, but this is obviously a clunky combat trick, and you hopefully can figure out if you need that or not.

Lawman’s Sidearm

Ranked

★★ Gunslinger Ramp? I don’t really see it. What are you ramping to? I guess it would go into the Copperhall Paladin deck, but as of right now those lists are firmly meme-tier.

Draft

★★★ This is a slightly above average weapon in most Gunslinger decks. 3/2 weapon for 4 is about average, and the Justice sigils are helpful for powering out mid-game threats, or setting up a double spell turn. Still card is not doing anything crazy, so it feels like a solid 3/2 for me.

Rakano Sheriff

Ranked

★★ This card is honestly closer than it might look. I can imagine a number of truly nutty draws where a Rakano Sherrif just takes over a game. Still, this card just seems too fragile and clunky to make it. Let’s bench her for the time being.

Draft

★★★★★ This card is bonkers. Yes, 3/3 for 4 is not exciting, but she will often come down as a 5/5 with the help of First-Shot Rioter or Steady Deputy. From that point, you get to just go off, giving out guns to the entire team. Even just curving 2-drop into First-Shot Rioter into Sheriff and activate Sheriff next turn should win the game by itself. The card is nuts.

Shielded Shortbarrel

Ranked

★ Really not the caliber of weapon I want for Ranked play. I suppose Stella decks might want this, but it is probably too low impact.

Draft

★★★ This card is very solid. Do you have a big voltron Gunslinger you want to protect? Do you have a key Valkyrie you care about? This card does the trick! You shouldn’t go crazy over stacking these in your deck as they are not committing that much in the way of stats to the board, but the first and second copies should always make the cut.

Shieldsmith

Ranked

★ Ranked is a places where people are playing 5/6’s for 4. This card just doesn’t stack up against what other people are doing. Obviously he could be nutty against some aggressive decks, but he just seems too slow, too clunky, and too conditional for be worth playing.

Draft

★★ SirRhino and I had a pretty long discussion about this card in our set review. I said it was bad, and he said it was reasonable. I haven’t changed my mind yet. If you want the details you can go listen, but this card is just too close to a 0/5 for 4.

Spiritblade Stalker

Ranked

★ 2/4 for 4 is just not acceptable, and although the ability is sweet, this card needs at least 2 more stat points before it is even worth considering.

Draft

★★★ This is very close to 4 stars, but just misses it in my opinion. Lifesteal is obviously very powerful, and the activation is not that expensive. Stalker also synergies with the “2 battle skills matter” stuff in Unseen, which is excellent gravy. Very strong for a common.

Valkyrie Bodyguard

Ranked

★ I don’t think this would see play if it were just a 3/4 flier for 4.

Draft

★★★ This is honestly pretty OK. Though it is hard to reliably attack with a card like this, she is solid flying defence. Try to include a couple ways to generate incidental armor of course, but you don’t really need much. In some ways I think she is best in non-Valkyrie decks, as she defends the skies while your Gunslingers or Unseen stay aggressive on the ground.

Amilli, Cloudmarshal

Ranked

★★★★ This one is hard. For the purposes of ranked this is very close to a massive beat stick, with very little added value. Generating Valkyries is not as busted as some of the other abilities on the Diesel cycle. This is also going head-to-head with cards like Tavrod, which is pretty tough competition. Though others are out on this card, I think I want to give her another show, as there is a lot to like here.

Draft

★★★★★ This is my bet for most busted draft card in the set. 12 stats on a 5-drop flier is insane. How do you ever attack past this? The attack ability is also absurd in draft. If you opponent doesn’t have a removal spell immediately you should win pretty fast.

Frontier Confessor

Ranked

★ 3/4 for 5 needs to have some busted text to see ranked play, and that is certainly not busted.

Draft

★★★ Silence units are great, and this is no exception. If you are crowded on 5 you don’t want to go crazy on a card like this, but you should very happily play the first 2 you get.

Hammer of Authority

Ranked

★ AHA! The counter to Temporal Distortion we all needed! In all seriousness, when would you really want this over Runehammer? There are obviously doing to be times that a card like this will mess up your opponent, but I have a hard time believing that it is reliable enough to see serious play.

Draft

★★★ As a 4/4 weapon for 5, this is merely a better Mithril Mace. It is obviously nice that your opponent can’t Finest Hour to blow out a weapon attack, but that is obviously not a particularly important aspect of the card. Most legends tend to be really good or really bad, but this one is just OK.

Valkyrie Arcanist

Ranked

★ I think the rule of thumb right now is that 5 drops that die to torch are totally unplayable unless they have some very important summon effect like Withering Witch. Imagine getting this Purified? Bleh.

Draft

★★★★ Card is great 3/3 flier with relevant type for 5 was already a solid 3 stars, but that entomb ability is great. My bet for best common in the set.

Challenge by Law

Ranked

★★ This card is so clunky. Seems like the clunkiest clunker to ever clunk. I can think back to the days that Combrei mirrors defined the game and this probably would have seen play back then, but it is just way worse than other options we have available.

Draft

★★★★ This is a pretty weak 4 stars, but given the scarcity of removal I will give this a nod. Silencing the rest of the team is certainly decent value, but paying 6 for a slow removal spell is not exciting even in draft.

Crownwatch Quartermaster

Ranked

★ This card feels like Harsh Rule fodder. If Rule somehow became unpopular in the meta I could imagine this have a weak impact on ranked, but that just seems outlandish.

Draft

★★★★★ This is a bomb straight up. Even if you don’t have Valkyrie ally it feels like you can just slam the activated ability for +3/+3 or +4/+4 every turn without much difficulty. Very very powerful.

Emerald Spear

Ranked

★ Too much cost for too little impact. Not interested.

Draft

★★ You really need to have Valkyrie Ally to make this card tolerable. 3/3 relic weapon for 6 is a bad Mithril Mace, and an inconsistent 2/2 doesn’t really make up for that. If you are in Valkyries this moves up to the status of “fine”, but still is not exciting.

Regent’s Blade

Ranked

★ I can’t really imagine a world where you actually want this. invulnerable to damage does not combo protect a unit from non-damage based removal or Harsh Rule. 3 strength is also just not that much, and 6JJJ seems hard to do. Pass.

Draft

★★★★★ I will need to play with the card to verify how busted it is, but it feels like Regent’s Blade will totally warp the game around it. I have played with Ancient Terrazon before, and there are some decks that literally can’t win the game when he is on the field. I just want to put this on something stupid like an Auric Sentry and just ride him to victory.

Tower Shield

Ranked

★ This is an overcosted Healer’s Cloak, which no longer sees play. Not interested.

Draft

★★ This is an overcosted Healer’s Cloak. Cloak is pretty decent in draft obviously, but 6 is just so much. I guess if you really think you can use the armor for a weapon you can set something up, but how are you surviving if you are setting up a 6-drop weapon, into playing a relic weapon you are sandbagging?

Town Watchman

Ranked

★ Probably worse than an off-faction sigil in 95% of ranked decks.

Draft

★★ This card actually does have a place in Valkyrie style decks, which aim to win in the air. 7 health is a lot to get through, even for a Sentinel or Gunslinger deck. Obviously this is not an amazing card anywhere, but he is not stone unplayable.

Aerial Attendant

Ranked

★ That 3 health really hurts. I can imagine some sweet Valkyrie decks with bond synergies, but this card is just so fragile for a 7-drop, even though it is closer to a 5 drop in theory. The bar for bond in ranked probably need to be pretty high.

Draft

★★★★ This is certainly a solid card, but also very badly needs to be in a good Valkyrie deck. If you can get this out before turn 6 she is great. If you can get her on turn 6 she is very good. If you need to wait for 7 power she is merely fine. Still, the fail case is not terrible, and the ceiling is very scary, leaving her at 4 stars.

Crown of Authority

Ranked

★ This is just way too slow and durdly, even for me. I actually have my eye on this as a side board plan in certain control match ups, but that is an exceptionally narrow application. If Eilyn is held back from competitive play it will not be a result of being inadequately big.

Draft

★ Just way too expensive for no board impact. Not interested.

Last Stand at the Gate

Ranked

★★ We have had this card revealed for a while, and I still don’t know how I feel about it. Maybe this is what we are supposed to be doing in our Tax Collector deck? I am just so scarred of attachment removal, which is so much more popular with the advent of Disjunction. I look forward to trying this card out, but if I had to bet, I think this is jank tier.

Draft

★★★ I really have no idea. 3 2/3s is nice, but very beatable. A 6/6 weapon is useful for killing pesky fliers, but now you are even lower than 7. I think if you really build around this it could be pretty good, but there are going to be a lot of draft decks where this is unplayable.

Minsod, the Peerless

Ranked

★★★ This is pretty respectable as a 5-drop, and that shouldn’t be that hard to do if you put some effort into it. Assuming your deck is built properly, I imagine you can usually win the game with one clean hit. Still, that is all a lot of conditions. I would certainly try him in some midrangy Unseen decks, but I could see being a very high variance card.

Draft

★★★★ This is pretty close to a straight up bomb. This attacks as a 10/10 or 20/20 pretty easily, and that is just filthy. Minsod is not great on defence, and has a number of vulnerabilities, but he is still a total monster is if you are ahead or at parity.

Silverwing Rallier

Ranked

★ We live in a world with 5/5 fliers for 5.

Draft

★★★ Big fliers are great finishers in an draft deck. You really need to be in Valkyries for this card to be playable, but when it is good, he is going to crush people. Bond is obviously a very linear mechanic, but I think this card is reward enough to put in the effort.

Ok, that was Justice. You can probably see why many are saying it is the strongest faction in draft. Some very powerful commons and uncommons, along with a handful of bombs at rare and legend. Be sure to check out the Reddit thread to share your thoughts! Until next time!

Love,

Neon

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