Yesterday, an especially icy Blizzard revealed a new card from Hearthstone's upcoming Rastakhan’s Rumble expansion: Belligerent Gnome, a 2-mana Taunt minion with 1 attack, 4 health, and +1 to attack if your opponent has two or more minions on the board.

Belligerent Gnome

This is yet another slap in the face to the poor, maligned Silverback Patriarch, a 3-mana Taunt beast with 1 attack and 4 health. Every time Blizzard expands Hearthstone it makes sure this once-respected jungle creature knows that its days are past, and Belligerent Gnome is one of the worst cases of Silverback Patriarch disrespect: not only does Silverback cost more than Belligerent Gnome for the same stats, it lacks the potential extra attack from the Battlecry. (But it does have the 'beast' tag, as someone will point out.)

The Hearthstone wiki's 'Cards better than Silverback Patriarch' page has been updated accordingly, and it's getting pretty long. Past hits include Bronze Gatekeeper, a mech with the same cost and stats plus one more health, and Stonehill Defender, which has the same cost and stats but also lets you discover a new taunt minion.

Now that Silverback Patriarch has been dunked on by a gnome, I'd be astonished if he could be degraded any further, but Blizzard is merciless. This poor gorilla will likely be shoved to the ground yet again. Maybe by a really strong leaf or something.

My new goal is to deliver a winning blow with Silverback Patriarch. He deserves one last victory before this asshole gnome shows up with Rastakhan’s Rumble on December 4 and kicks more sand in his face. Be strong, gorilla.