Now that The League of Explorers adventure has arrived, it's time to look back at The Grand Tournament and consider the good cards that never quite made it into the meta, despite having loads of heretofore unexplored potential.
These cards have all seen play to some extent, but still remain undervalued by the community in my eyes. You should keep an eye on them now as new synergies are unlocked and new decks are assembled, because these are the kinds of cards that could make a big impact on your decks at a moment's notice in the era of The League of Explorers.
5. Charged Hammer
 | I think most people recognize that Charged Hammer is a strong card, but it remains underrated simply because Shaman as a class is rarely played at a competitive level. Not only is a 4-durability weapon packed with value, but the deathrattle is fantastic for Shaman as well. The new hero power is more reliable than totems and a 2-damage ping is just ridiculously good. If you get this card out early enough and use its charges quickly, it's loaded with tons of late-game value at a very reasonable mid-game cost. |
4. Wrathguard
 | Wrathguard's effect rightfully scares some people, because it can theoretically cost you games all on its own. A Warrior using Shield Slam for 30-damage is a guaranteed one-hit kill. But of course a Warrior with 30 armor has already won the game, so who cares. And that's really the philosophy you need to take when considering the true value of this card. A 4/3 for 2 mana is totally insane as far as stats are concerned, and it doesn't cost you tempo or card advantage. In Warlocks focused on early-game pressure, this minion is a scary threat that typically results in only 3 damage to your face, making it equivalent to Flame Imp, just a little bigger. Of course 3 health is easy for most classes to clear, but when it sticks, the damage adds up so quickly and the trades are so efficient that Wrathguard can set up overwhelmingly powerful board states. |
3. Kodo Rider
 | It's kind of crazy how good Kodorider could be in the right environment. It's a reliable, predictable, and theoretically infinitely valuable card with solid stats and a reasonable cost. At the very least this card gives you instant board presence and a threat that opponents absolutely have to neutralize. For decks that focus on minion presence or combo damage, the potential is there for Kodorider. It's already insane in Arena, and a few new cards here or there that focus on hero powers may unlock the full potential for Kodorider in constructed play as well. |
2. Polymorph: Boar
 | The standard Polymorph really isn't played all that often despite it being one of the best removal spells in the game. Part of that may be its lack of flexibility, which is something Polymorph: Boar actually provides. Not only can this spell neutralize an enemy threat, it can also be used to do an additional 4 damage anytime you have a minion on the board, and 4 damage for 3 mana is actually quite strong. The only downsides to using it as removal is that you can't ping off the boar, but it combos with Flamestrike or Blizzard in a single turn quite nicely and sets up more efficient trades. When a card can do two different things well, it has loads of potential. |
1. Eadric the Pure
 | Eadric the Pure is a very slow Paladin card, and Paladin decks right now just don't play that slowly. They're far more focused on tempo and aggression than late-game dominance. If Paladins ever return to a control-style archetype, Eadric the Pure will be waiting to dominate a slow meta thanks to this defensive stat alignment and crazy-powerful battlecry effect. You can basically ruin an enemy's huge board of minions with a single card. He's also sturdy enough to trade against weaker minions or combo with something like Defender of Argus or Blessing of Kings for ridiculous effects. Save up your arcane dust, because you might need to go back and craft Eadric the Pure someday! |
Even though The Grand Tournament certainly has some strong cards that have made their way onto the ranked ladder with a force, I'm convinced these 5 cards have a chance to be good in the right deck or at the hands of a creative player.
