Hey guys! Conclave Arcana is here and a lot of people have been asking me "which cards will be meta" and "which cards are must have?"
Anytime that happens I know it's time for a Hive post so here it is!
If you don't know me, you might be asking, "why should I value your opinion?" Well, that is a great question! I was part of the Conclave Arcana play testing team and spent a lot of time doing battles with dudes like @bjangles and @roguepatton.
Since I'm trying to cover all the cards in one post, I can't go very in-depth on all of them but if that's something people want to see let me know and I could make a post for each element and every card.
For this one, I'll give every card a RATING out of 100 with 100 being the best, you'll play this card a lot and 0 being absolutely terrible, you'll never play this guy.
First, all the Archons (aka Summoners) are worth having. Especially if you don't have all of the Rebellion ones. Kavor Skarn is a bit weak but he's also the only dragon archon eligible for little league in new modern.
I got super lucky and pulled my favorite in Black Foil and I think it looks so cool! Let me know which Conclave Arcana Archon is your favorite in the comments down below!
Second, some cards have multiple ratings because they rely heavily on synergy with other units so they might score really high when that synergy is maximized while scoring much lower when it isn't.
With that out of the way, let's dive into some of the cards I think you'll really want to have in new modern!
Fire Element
Oridum Graybrow - 95
Blazebeard Merc - 92
Inept Healer - 89
Swiftbeard Stout With Dwarves - 87 (His Value comes from Bloodline Tribute (Dwarves)
Vicious Giraffe - 84
Canary Keeper - 82
Cavewise Wayfinder - 81 (Good card but I found myself playing Graybrow more.)
Ashen Cindergrim - 80 (Cheap Silence for Magic matches)
Forked-Tongue Sage - 79
Flame For Hire - 77
Portly Cannoneer - 77
Swiftbeard Stout Without Dwarves - 50 (not a great card on his own)
Molten Elemental - 20 (Very hard to make this 9 mana melee card with 6 HP work)
Water Element
Jicarilla The Rime - 98
Zargrul With Orcs - 92 (His value comes from Bloodline Tribute (Orcs)
Aerial Shieldmaiden - 87
Water Diviner - 86 (value as a gnome with pain forge trigger: Electrify)
Archer Koi with a Painforge Trigger - 85
Runic Skychonk - 84
Warwall Juggernaut - 79
Zargrul without Orcs - 78 (Decent taunt on his own but you really want some orcs with him.)
Abyssal Elemental - 77
Archer Koi - 77
Tidal Tsunamist 76
Bludgeon Hucker - 72
Stampeding Calf - 69
Steppe Stalker - 40
Earth Element
Phlegmunculus - 93 (2 mana poison burst!)
Silverleaf Mage - 90 (Great slipspawn replacement)
Sylvvaran Sentinel - 88 (one of very few resurrects in new modern)
Decrepit Windseer with Elves - 85 (Value comes from Bloodline Tribute, Elves)
Sacrosanct Shanker - 82
Mahkah Hemlig - 79
Virid Venomancer - 77 (Can be pulled into Water Orc teams, shield ward for Venka)
Fenmoor Platypus - 72
Folen Flameye - 70
Fenmoor Wood Troll - 68
Buttercup Mauler - 65
Mad Kaboomist - 48
Decrepit Windseer Without Elves - 45
Life Element
Moribund Arrowbait with Ulunds - 96 (Rebirth + Bloodline Tribute: Ulunds)
Caravan Guard - 92 (Echo + Triage)
Calabash Sage - 82
Happy Quokka making use of melee weapons training - 81
Mystic Mudbinder - 80
Thunderous Herald - 78
Silverleaf Ranger - 77 (Can be pulled into Elves)
Happy Quokka on it's own - 76
Leolin Sifu - 75
Auroral Elemental - 70
Owlkin Geodesist - 60
Janni Oracle - 51
Moribund Arrowbait Without Ulunds - 40
Death Element
Lucky Longshot - 97
Filthy Scavenger with Gnomes - 93 (Bloodline Tribute: Gnomes)
Craniax The Quick - 90 (The only card with Final Rest)
Umbral Elemental - 88
Gonach Excavator - 85 (Use his Reckless to proc Painforge)
Deep Delver - 80
Shadowfey Sheik - 78 (Make use of Life Leach + Painforge)
Filthy Scavenger without gnomes - 75
SilverLeaf Warlock - 73 (Swiftness and Blind)
Thraghun - 70
Bristleborn Brigand - 69
Thragha - 60
Fenmoor Gorgon - 40
Dragon Element
Desolation - 82
Aranduriel - 80
Songale With Drakoshan's - 78 (Bloodline Tribute: Drakoshan)
Songale Without Drakoshans but trigger painforge - 65 (Reckless to trigger Painforge)
Songale without Drakoshans or Painforge - 30
Neutral Element
Gramel The Hunger - 99 (Shapeshifter fits into any bloodline)
Arcane Skinwalker - 95 (Shapeshifter fits into any bloodline)
Bren Palesworn making use of melee Weapons trainer - 90 (Shapeshifter)
Bellowmancer - 85 (Great Taunt in Neutral)
Taye Loreswift - 83
Grimward Runeshot - 82 (Love the abilities)
Bren Palesworn on his own - 79
Ferrous Brewer - 76
Halfshell seer - 75 (Trigger Painforge with Reckless)
Conclave Artificer - 74 (The only Non attack card in CA)
Anyu Huntswoman - 70
Boring Hobgoblin - 67
Quillstorm Mage - 62
Hodlor - 50
Conclave Tracker - 25
Thanks for reading and I hope this guide helps you build your deck!
Remember these are just my opinions on the strongest and weakest cards of the set. It is still early and even though I did a lot of test battles, cards fall in and out of favor over time as more and more strategies are discovered and counters are found.
I should also note this guide is for max level cards. I didn't spend nearly as much time testing cards at Bronze, Silver, or Gold level and therefore don't feel equipped to give advice on other levels.
Thanks for reading and have an awesome day!