Hey guys! Welcome to the third review of the new expansion set in Gods Unchained, Trial of the Gods. Today on the menu we have Malissus, the god of death accompanied by her Champion, Neferu. If you missed the first two review you can read them here: Neutral cards, Light cards.
DISCLAIMER:
All of this data is subject to change before and after the release of Trial of the Gods.
Many card names are placeholders. Many cards do not have tribes assigned, but will prior to release.
Rarity of cards are not final. Some of these cards may be deleted. We may add cards prior to release."
Here is a document with the full list of cards: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qJBtnGvIP7pxWMP12aIe-Bs43-XRMwGaGXhz22iVvLg/edit#gid=0
Anubian Rejectionist
A 6 mana 5/6 Anubian creature with Ward and reads: At the end of your turn, if your god has 15 health or less, summon a 3/2 Experimental Outcome.
In comparison to a Helian Blademaster, we can surely say that these stats with Ward are pretty good and if you aren't losing on the board it reasonable to expect this card to survive at least for one turn. Now this means that if you have 15 health or less this effect will trigger twice. Summoning two 3/2 creatures are worth around 4 mana in tempo, on average this card is quite strong.
This is all good, but what exactly are Experimental Outcomes? Well, we don't know yet. On the reveal of the Champion of Death, Neferu we were teased that these are some kind of new "anims" and will most likely have random effects or something. They didn't update us on this idea so, for now, I'll pretend they are just vanilla 3/2s without any effects. Oh yeah, it also has a Nether tag even though it doesn't look too important currently.
Ataraxia
A 4 mana spell that reads: Both players unlock 1 mana lock for each 2 points of health their god is missing.
As we go further down this list, you will notice that Death is getting more cards that support the self-inflicting damage style of play so this card might find a spot in that mayhem. Generally, that won't be too necessary since we already have this late-game heavy Death decks that rely on ramping up mana as fast as possible while trying to survive and sustain using the god power Blood Ritual. For 4 mana I think it will be quite satisfying to unlock at least 3 mana locks, especially if your opponent doesn't get as much, or any for that matter. Having two of these in your deck in addition to already existing mana ramp cards will up the consistency of getting to a fast late-game but will worsen your top-deck potential while already on 9 mana or close to it. That is a trade-off one will need to consider if they want to run this card on their list.
Blessing of Death
A 3 mana spell that reads: Your relic gains: “Whenever a creature without soulless dies, gain 2 favor.”
The game doesn't offer too many soulless creatures so this card is going to be dependant on the strength of Undying Wish and that is kind of bad right now. The second thing is that you need a relic equipped and you need to refrain from using it to get that extra favor. A lot of requirements only to get some favor and that can get disrupted by your opponent's relic removal. Don't think this one will see much play.
Diones, Spectral Sceptic
A 3 mana 3/3 legendary creature with Roar: If your god has 15 health or less, draw 2 cards.
Definitely a staple in Soul Burn aggro Death decks. Aside from that, I don't think it will be used that much since you don't wanna draw too much with Control decks and Midrange doesn't seem likely to be a Death thing. Nothing more to add than, it is a pretty strong aggressive card.
Exchange Teacher
A 3 mana 2/4 Anubian creature with Ability: give a friendly creature without an afterlife "Afterlife: Summon a 3/2 Experimental Outcome."
An okayish sized creature with the ability that can generate a 2 mana value if it's only used once. The effect is interesting and doesn't have a huge restriction but it still feels a bit clunky. But even though it can't attack to help you fight for the board control, it serves as a pseudo-frontline Skeleton Heavy and that is something. I really need to try this one out because it is hard to tell if it is worth running. The card is in that weird spot, it supports Midrange but Aggro is something that will definitely be stronger.
Experimental Chimera
A 4 mana 3/5 creature that reads: After this creature attacks, deal 2 damage to both gods.
You want to go face but you really need to trade efficiently to maintain board control? Then this is a card for you! 3/5 is a bit under 4-cost standards but for this creature, it is enough. Going face still deals 5 damage so that's great. Ever since the nerf of Singsong Satyr and Traveling Bard, Soul Burn Aggro struggled to find a decent 4-drop to fill the spot, this card looks like it will serve that purpose.
Forbidden Experiment
A 2 mana spell that reads: Destroy a friendly creature that costs 3 or less to summon and summon a 3/2 Experimental Outcome.
Yes, that typo is from the original document but let's just assume it only summons a 3/2 and nothing else. In that case, it's only a smaller version of Daemonic Offering with an additional restriction. I really hope there is more to this card than that if I get any additional information I'll update this one.
Guardian of the Underworld
A 8 mana 13/17 creature with Frontline and Roar: Deal X damage to your god where X is the number of cards in your opponent's void.
Okay, ummm, this creature is insanely huge with a Frontline on top of it. The drawback of the roar effect sadly makes this card less interesting because you can't really manage it or affect it in any way other than playing it as fast as possible or summoning it from the void. Even if you do build a deck around lucky discards to revive it with Raise Dead, there are better options that won't punish you further if you don't get lucky at the start of the game, a quick example would be Helian Elite. It is a funny counter to Nature's god power Forage though.
Hades' Sceptre
A 1 mana 0/1 relic that reads: After any creature is destroyed, deal 1 damage to both gods.
I'd say that this card is garbage mostly just because it looks like an Aggro card that needs a lot of time to be worth it. If we somehow get a meta with a low amount of relics and with that low amount of relic removal I'd say it can be quite strong. More often than not you will be top decking after around 5-6 turns with an Aggro deck, getting this relic in the later turns will straight up suck and having this in the early game won't be that good either since you want to spend as much mana on tempo rather than a couple of damage (maybe) to face. If it only did damage to the opponent it would still be kinda weak.
Hippacria's Monster
A 9 mana 0/1 legendary creature with Ward and Overkill, also reads: When this creature is summoned, it gains the combined strength and health of each creature in your Void.
A new win-condition card for Control decks that is more than likely be huge enough to instakill your opponent in if it isn't answered immediately. But even if it gets removed it can be brought back with Raise Dead for another round. Ward and Overkill are probably the best combinations as it can be really hard for most gods to remove Ward and then also use a hard removal to get rid of it, while Overkill guarantees you that you can deal damage to your opponent even if they block you with a Frontline creature. Weaknesses of this card include Deception of course as it could get stolen or redirected to your face with Anti-magic Experts and also Onslaught War can remove it with Deadly creatures, other than that it looks pretty solid.
Neferu, Champion of Death
A 6 mana 3/5 legendary Anubian creature that reads: When this creature is summoned, deal 3 damage to each other character. Afterlife: If your god has 15 health or less, pull this creature into your hand and permanently reduce its cost by 1.
Nice addition to already available board clears in Death with potentially infinite value. It can even turn your Raise Dead or other things that can summon it from the void into board clears as well. If this is in your void it is possible to return it to your hand by activating its Afterlife effect with cards like Sand Scorpion, if you have 15 health or less of course. A card that will be invaluable to every Control deck and probably become a staple.
Neferu's Khopesh
A 6 mana 0/2 legendary relic that reads: After you play a Death card, add 1 durability to this relic. Ability: Destroy a creature. If it is friendly, add 1 durability to this relic. Otherwise, remove 2 durability.
Like with many relics already introduced, I'd say it is strong if the meta isn't populated with relic removal too much but since it most likely will be I don't see this becoming a top choice. And why it should be? Death already has so many removals that the unreliability of this relic won't be that attractive even if it offers, potentially infinite value.
Neferu's Will
A 7 mana spell that reads: Target a friendly creature. Destroy all other friendly creatures. Give the targeted creature overkill, and +3/+3 for each creature destroyed.
This is the only reason I can see Midrange/Zoo Death existing. 7 mana is too much for Soul Burn decks so this is most likely to rise the Undying Wish from the dead. Okay so, if you have a full board you can buff a creature with +15/+15 which is a huge damage boost for 7 mana. Don't forget that you can also attack with creatures that you are going to destroy beforehand and let's say they are all 1/1s, the total damage with this spell is 21. This kind of finisher is quite strong but will it be enough to resurrect the whole archetype? We can just wait and see. Just imagine buffing a Twin strike creature...
Nether's Advocate
A 2 mana 1/1 Anubian creature with Afterlife: Summon a 3/2 Experimental Outcome.
Solid 2-drop with fair stats. The upside is that you can use it to activate cards like Untold Greed, Daemonic Offering, Living Container, etc. while also getting tempo. It can offer an opportunity to apply more pressure while at the same time allowing you to play around board clears. There is not much else to it, just a solid creature indeed.
Princess of Takhat
A 1 mana 1/1 Anubian creature that reads: Whenever this creature or another Anubian dies, deal 1 damage to your opponent’s god.
The body is obviously awful, the effect, on the other hand, has a lot of potential. This is definitely the beginning for a new type of aggro deck but currently, we don't have enough Anubians that would fit this style of play. For now, I'd say this card won't see much play, although that can get easily changed in the next expansion with the introduction of additional aggressively stated Anubians.
Return to the Cave
A 1 mana spell that reads: Add 3 mana locks and heal your god for 12.
Excellent card to get you out of jail versus aggro decks that go all-in when you have a good start with ramping, so it's basically a tech card. Other than that, it is hard to fit it anywhere else. It is only playable if you already have a lot of mana unlocked because if you use it on let's say 4 mana, your next turn starts back from 2 mana, so no thank you. In slower match-ups, this seems unnecessary as you should be able to sustain yourself with the Blood Ritual. Not a bad card, but hardly good enough to get a slot on a decklist.
Sceptic Necromancer
5 mana 5/6 Anubian creature that reads: At the end of your turn, if your god has 15 health or less, heal it for 3.
An upgraded version of Helios Battlesworm. It could be the big beater for Soul Burn and it comes on the right mana cost. 5 mana is usually too costly for this type of deck but the combinations of the great body with the effect that will most certainly be active a lot makes this an option to look out for. Especially good in mirrors to give you a much-needed health gap to enable use of Blight bomb and Dangerous Rituals later in the game than usual. This creature can also be a decent replacement for the Amazon Hearteater in Control lists. The body helps a lot more in slower match-ups and the effect somewhat replaces the roar from Hearteater to compensate it versus aggressive opponents. Well rounded card, it will see a moderate amount of play.
Soul Shatter
A 3 spell that reads: Destroy target creature with cost 3 or less. Deal 1 damage to each friendly character.
I'm actually baffled with the existence of this card. I don't see why would you use something so limiting with a bonus drawback. Please someone explain to me what is the use case for this one, I just don't see it.
Thananomics
A 2 mana spell that reads: Deal 10 damage to your god and refresh 7 mana.
This one looks awful too. It refreshes, in total only one more mana that Pack Stalk but it costs you a third of your god's health. Yeah, you can get an incredible tempo swing but it comes with a lot of risks, assuming you aren't at full health at that point because you need to have 7 mana unlocked before you can use it for full potential. Since we didn't have anything like it in Death's toolset I can't really tell if we are going to find a list that will use it. Definitely a card that needs some testing before a definite conclusion even though I think it's bad currently.
Trial of the Underworld
A 8 mana spell that reads: Pull a random 6 mana creature from either void to your side of the board. Repeat this for 7, 8, and 9 mana.
Another late-game bomb added to the arsenal. There will be so many options for win-conditions in Death. This one is probably the strongest. Even if you only pull a 6 and a 7-drops from the void that is a hell of a lot of tempo cheated out. If a couple of those pulled creatures have Ward, this could easily overwhelm any opponent, the best thing they might have to answer this is Apocalypse Now and not much else. Easily one of the strongest finishers, there is a counter to it though, we will cover it in the next review.
That's it for today's review. Oh man, Death is getting some exciting cards and they cover most of the classic archetypes from totally aggressive ones to incredible value bombs. Anubian tag is getting a lot of new creatures added to the pool but there is not enough cards that support it to give it more meaning, maybe in the next expansion. If you have any questions or want to discuss some cards in detail please leave a comment below. And if you can, please give feedback on the Soul Shatter, that card genuinely confuses me.
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Thank you for reading!
,z3ll