Army of the Apocalypse Rating
Draft Frequency: 1
Draft Power: 6
Army of the Apocalypse has a ton of theoretical value, but it requires a lot to be amazing. At minimum, you need to get more value out of playing it than your opponent. You could either get more raw champions or better champions like inherent airborne, blitz champions (since loyalty 2->blitz won’t trigger). If you can wait until your opponent’s gold is gone and you have blitz champions that it can bring back, it is even better. Either way, they can all be cleared by 1 board clear on your opponent’s turn if they have one.
If you drafted Amnesia or Heinous Feast this gets significantly stronger, even if you just bring back multiple champions to force a board clear. Blitz champions also make this better.
Rating: 3+, 2+
This is a conditional card. By itself, it is difficult to predict or create a situation where it is more beneficial for you to play. Here are a few situations that make this card potentially very powerful:
- You have ways to banish champions (in play and/or in an opponent’s discard pile) and your opponent does not. For example, Amnesia, Guilt Demon, Divine Judgement, or Palace Guard.
- Having champions with blitz (not from Loyalty 2) can turn this into a finisher.
- Your champions have better bodies in general (bigger or evasive).
If you meet any of these criteria it can be very strong, if your opponent meets these conditions, it might be good to counter pick this card. In the right circumstance this is theoretically a first pick, but be prepared to just draw 2 if the situation does not present itself.
Bitten Rating
Draft Frequency: 7
Draft Power: 7
I love targeted removal in Epic draft, and Bitten is solid targeted removal that doesn’t give much to the opponent in exchange. Or draw 2 too.
Rating: 3+, 4+
I highly value direct removal. This does not require an Evil investment. In a light (direct) removal environment I consider this a 5 potential first pick.
Angelic Protector Rating
Draft Frequency: 3
Draft Power: 5
A 5/9 airborne, ambush champion is solid. The fact that it can’t be broken or targeted the turn you play it makes it great to play on your opponent’s turn, even before they spend their gold, since you can’t be easily punished by a big non-breakthrough blitz champion.
I do like this more in constructed though. Since this doesn’t draw cards, remove most champions, or have blitz, it isn’t as reliably powerful in draft as other cards.
Rating: 3
5/9 airborne, ambush is a really good body. The tribute unbreakable, untargetable (which can target itself) can be situationally very good. Most of the time it is just used on itself as a blocker. 9 defense is a magic number because it survives Flame Strike.
Tyrants Updated Rating: 4
I value airborne, ambush champions with more than 6 defense a lot more now. This card also really works well with Sea Hydra. Block a Steel Golem with your Sea Hydra. Then, before damage, ambush this in targeting your Sea Hydra. Your Sea Hydra will still take the 13 damage, but it won’t break. So, your Sea Hydra will gain 13 +1/+1 counters and become an 18/23.
Avenging Angel Rating
Draft Frequency: 5
Draft Power: 6
I like blitz champions now, but almost exclusively only after my opponent has spent their gold on my turn. This card does deal 6, gain 6, and must be answered before your opponent attacks, but it dies to almost all 1-cost removal.
Rating: 2+
At Gencon 2015 (before the game was released with only 100 of 120 cards available), this was one of the most discussed cards. A lot of people were saying this card was way too powerful because the combination of all of the abilities (airborne, blitz, righteous, while expended you cannot be attacked) just controlled the game too much. Which if Avenging Angel survives, it is indeed incredible. However, it is so ridiculously fragile that it is frequently removed in a 1 for 1 trade (or it just get’s blocked by another airborne champion). I don’t like those cards because I value targeted removal so highly.
If you are in a light (direct) removal environment this card can dominate. Or if you can deny your opponent card draw or force them to discard with Psionic Assault/Thought Plucker, this card is much better; if your opponent is low on cards, a 1 for 1 trade can still be favorable for you, since this card must be removed.
Blue Dragon Rating
Draft Frequency: 4
Draft Power: 4
I love tribute -> draw a card. I love Sage. Airborne is nice. Direct Damage is nice. But, I’m not a big fan of 4 defense champions, even after this card was crucial in the finals of my qualifying run.
Rating: 3.5
6/4 airborne is okay, but I love champions that draw a card when played. In addition, the 2 damage can help finish off a player or deal with a lot of small threats like Necromancer Lord, High King, Muse, etc. The 4 defense does make me hesitant to give it a 4, but if your opponent has a lot of cards like the ones mentioned above, it easily makes it to that 4, possibly 5 with enough Sage ally triggers.
Tyrants Updated Rating: 4
Blue Dragon deserves the straight up 4 because the evasive airborne body is that important. Everything Blue Dragon has together make this an excellent card, even if you aren’t running Sage.
Crystal Golem Rating
Draft Frequency: 8
Draft Power: 7
This card consistently exceeds my expectations, especially in constructed. Ambush on an untargetable body is great, even if it only has 4 defense. Chump blocking and then breaking this before it dies is solid. Chump attacking and then breaking this before it dies is also solid. Overall, a super solid card.
Rating: 3.5
This card is essentially draw 2 cards + a chump block. You ambush this in after attackers are declared, wait for blocker declarations, declare it as a blocker, then when your opponent passes initiative, break it to draw 2 cards. The low defense prevents it from surviving most combat, but the high offense, untargetable, and ambush can let it attack if your opponent has no champions in play. If it gets blocked, you can always still break it to draw before damage is assigned. It does break to board clear and non-targeting cards like Lying in Wait though, so be careful if you really need to draw those 2 cards.
Tyrants Updated Rating: 5
I really underestimated this card. While the draw 2 cards + a chump block is a solid, common way to use this card, it is also quite strong as an ambushed 7/4 untargetable attacker. If you play it to an empty board, especially after your opponent spent their gold on their turn playing a board clear, you get to attack with a 7/4 untargetable on your turn. So, they probably won’t be able to remove it (barring Lying in Wait, Spike Trap, or Hands from Below), and you can always break it if they ambush something in to block it. In addition, if you play it when there are champions in play, you can attack with this first, force your opponent to flip a champion to block it, break this to draw 2, and then your opponent has one less champion to block the rest of yours this turn.
This is an excellent card in so many situations, and it doesn’t require a Sage Investment.
Cave Troll Rating
Draft Frequency: 2
Draft Power: 6
I generally don’t have the Wild to support this card so I haven’t drafted it much, but I love it in theory. A recurrable chump attacker/blocker is pretty nice, and it has reasonable offense.
Rating: 3 with partial Wild investment (4+ with heavy Wild investment, 1 with no Wild investment), Counter Pick
This is one of my favorite cards of the set. A 5/3 for 0-cost isn’t great, but being able to block or attack with it every turn is excellent. A slow reusable 0-cost 5/3 blocker that doesn’t cost a health is respectable (unlike Plentiful Dead). It is also worthwhile to attack with since it will come back anyways if broken, and 5 damage to the face can’t be ignored. In addition, it can draw out a blocker before you attack with something more important.
If you can’t recall this though, spending a card on a 5/3 with nothing else will just get you behind.
Overall, an incredibly solid card. I would possibly counter pick it if my opponent had a heavy Wild investment. If either player gets it, discard removal is important to control.
Chomp! Rating
Draft Frequency: 6
Draft Power: 6
Fast targeted removal that leaves nothing behind for my opponent, yes please. This card is criminally underrated in draft. Drain Essence is much better, but Drain Essence is one of the best cards in the game so that isn’t saying much. The +2/+2 to dinosaurs is usually meaningless, but my blocker and I were on the wrong end of a Triceratops once when this was played. That hurt.
Rating: 4
Fast 12 damage removal with no draw back is quite strong. I have yet to see the +2 offense +2 defense for dinosaurs do anything, but could be nice with Triceratops etc.
Updates
Burrowing Wurm was reduced to Draft Frequency: 0. One of the worst possible cards in draft because it requires too much to make it valuable. The value you can achieve is strong, but not worth chasing.
