I have been playing lots of Eternal lately, and with the NDA lifted, it is time to put out my thoughts on the cards! I am going to work my way through reviewing all of the cards, next up are the Feln(Primal/Shadow) and Stonescar(Fire/Shadow) factions. I am rating the cards 0.0 to 5.0, with 5.0 being the best. I will have both draft and ranked ratings. My draft ratings for multi-faction cards assume you are already in those factions. You do need to be careful first picking multi-faction cards because you sometimes will need to abandon them. Enjoy!
Reviews
Time | Primal | Shadow | Fire | Justice | Elysian – Combrei | Feln – Stonescar | Rakano – Factionless
Black-Sky Harbinger
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 4.0
This was recently changed to a 3/5, which is a nice little bonus to an already strong card. This will swing most games in draft where you cast it as it is incredibly hard to race and it might kill a number of small units in the process. Remember, the Lifesteal ability means that you gain a life for each enemy you hit with the ability, so you can gain quite a bit of life with this just on the Summon effect alone! In ranked, this is probably too slow to combat Fire based token decks, but it is nice as a follow up after they have recovered from a Lightning Storm. The card has gained new utility as a fantastic answer to Scouting Party, the new promo card that was just released a few days ago and is all over the place in ranked play.
Cabal Mastermind
Draft: 1.0
Ranked: 2.5
This is very hard to pull off for much value in draft. The cost is prohibitive and by the time you can cast it, it will be very hard to punch through. If you do manage to get through, the opponent might not have any worthwhile things to steal. This is more useful in ranked where you can possibly reanimate it a few turns early, but it is still hard to get through without help. At least when it does connect, you will get a ton of value most of the time. Probably more for fun/casual than laddering, but the effect is powerful enough I would keep an eye on it for future synergies. I did pull it off once at Gen Con and it was amazing! Remember when you steal cards, the influence requirements are removed from the cost.
Champion of Cunning
Draft: 5.0
Ranked: 5.0
My choice for best Champion. The influence requirements are steep, but if met, you will have a hard time losing with this card in draft. In ranked, it is the cornerstone to the Scouting Party/Witching Hour decks that are everywhere on the ladder right now. It is not that hard to set up a turn where you play this plus Witching Hour in the same turn for a combo kill. It goes VERY well with Scouting Party as a way to give the tokens Charge or to allow them to fly in to get their infiltrate on. Having played a bunch of the mirror lately, a lot of the games revolve around who draws more Champions or who can kill opposing Champions. Make sure to save your Deathstrikes for them! If the developers decide the Witching Party deck is too broken, this is the card I see getting changed. Making it work like the other Champions, only buffing itself, seems like a reasonable place to start.
Dimensional Rift
Draft: 1.0
Ranked: 2.0
A card after Patrick Chapin’s heart! Who knows, maybe he designed this one…either way this is a very sweet card, but probably too expensive to see play in the current environment. 10 is probably asking too much in draft, but if you did cast it I am sure you will be in a good spot. If you had a deck capable of getting things to the extreme late game, this might be a thing, but those decks will be rare.
Feeding Time
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 3.0
Unconditional removal is a great thing to have in draft, and this also removes any buffs that the unit may have acquired as it is turned into a pig after resolution. This can also be relevant if they wanted to reanimate or Dark Return the unit. This faces competition for Death Strike in ranked, but sometimes sees play as a two of.
Feln Banner
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 4.5
These are a four of in any Feln ranked deck that plays enough units and you clearly would never cut them from an Feln draft deck either. The Banners can be a liability in tri+faction decks that don’t run enough units, but in any straight Feln build you will play all four. The question is how high to draft them, and usually I would take 3.0 rated cards over it unless I was trying for an ambitious splash.
Feln Bloodcaster
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 4.0
This was recently changed to: Ultimate 7: Draw a card from each deck instead of the Summon ability. The new ability makes this a pretty attractive card. It locks down the ground on turn 3 and then threatens a pretty powerful ultimate later in the game. I have been very happy with this card in my ranked Witching Party deck as a way to block early aggression and to mitigate flood in the late game.
Gorgon Fanatic
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 3.5
One of the more powerful Infiltrate abilities on a card that can reasonably get through. Pairs ridiculously well with Haunting Scream as you can intentionally get it killed and then scream it back for value later. Once you’ve screamed the Fanatic, you can then Dark Return it back to your hand and it retains Charge and Flying allowing you to trigger Infiltrate yet again. This combo will often lead you to drawing a huge amount of cards. The problem is that it is hard to pull off in draft due to Haunting Scream being Uncommon and in ranked the combo is ruined by Sandstorm Titan and Silence effects, of which usually 8 are played commonly in Combrei decks that are very popular. Certainly give the Haunting Scream deck a spin at least a few times though as it is a ton of fun when it works. In draft, this will often force a trade with an opposing unit, which makes it a fine card but not all that exciting if you don’t have a number of ways to get it through.
Gorgon Swiftblade
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 3.5
One of the better two drops in draft. If you manage to get it through once, it effectively becomes unblockable from that point on given how Quickdraw works with Deadly. The opponent would need to throw away two units and have the surviving third unit be able to deal three damage to kill it. Not an easy thing to do and certainly it will be better to just take two when the best case scenario is getting two units killed. It gets very ugly if this has a weapon attached to it. Worst case scenario it can be used as a fantastic blocker to trade with any ground unit. This hasn’t been widely played in ranked, but it is plenty powerful enough to do so.
Grim Stranger
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 2.0
A fine two drop in draft regardless of your stranger count, I imagine this would be a strong play in any ranked stranger deck as well.
Harbinger’s Bite
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 2.5
There are enough targets in draft, and you can use it to finish off a damaged unit, that I would run this but it is not super exciting. In ranked, I like it more as a side deck card to combat aggressive Fire decks.
Haunting Scream
Draft: 2.0
Ranked: 3.5
The aforementioned Haunting Scream! See my comments on Gorgon Fanatic for more, but this is the cornerstone of a ranked deck that is probably tier two. It is hard to make work in draft because it is only really worth comboing with the Fanatic or a Direwood Beastcaller, which is rare. If I had some combination of at least two of those cards I would definitely be in for the Scream.
Midnight Gale
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 3.5
A very powerful card on rate that will win a ton of draft games. In ranked, it faces two big problems – Torch and Sandstorm Titan. Unfortunately these are two of the most played cards, which makes me less excited about Midnight Gale. If it goes unchecked, it is certainly a great card though.
Nightmaw, Sight Unseen
Draft: 4.5
Ranked: 2.5
I imagine you win very quickly with this in Draft but it is a little slow to play in ranked. Its job is done a lot better by Champion of Cunning currently, but if that card gets changed perhaps this will come in as a mirror breaker for the Witching Party decks. Also not a bad one to reanimate.
Recurring Nightmare
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 3.5
This card is a nightmare to face in draft! There are a number of answers, but if the opponent does not have a fast way to kill it or a flying blocker, it can be game over quickly. This can be abused in ranked with pump spells and Protect to reapply an Aegis shield for each go around. This can also be especially hard to deal with for control decks that are light on fast speed removal and flying units.
Seat of Cunning
Draft: 3.0 (currently not in the draft pool)
Ranked: 5.0
Similar to the Banners, but the Seats require that you play a certain number of Sigils in order to not be depleted. Luckily a number of effects search up Sigils which can help these come into play as normal. Feln decks tend to run four of these in ranked and Seats play nicer in tri+faction decks assuming you have enough Sigils.
Snowcrush Animist
Draft: 5.0
Ranked: 3.5
It is probably VERY hard to lose if you cast this in draft, but you do need to bend your deck a bit to make eight drops castable. The effect is certainly worth the effort! This effect is certainly powerful enough for ranked, but the question is if it is too slow. I love reanimating this one!
Spell Swipe
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 2.5
It is pretty hard to leave five power up in draft, but this is especially great to blow out combat tricks played by the opponent on your turn. I would probably always play this in draft, but don’t pick it that highly. This is a little too narrow for ranked play, but I could see it as a side deck card to combat Channel the Tempest/Witching Hour/Scouting Party!
Trickster’s Cloak
Draft: 3.5
Ranked: 1.5
Gorgon Swiftblades’s favorite article of clothing! That can be a combo that is very hard to beat in draft, and this is clearly built as a way to get your Infiltrate units through. It goes very well with Lethai Ranger as well. Probably not work the risk of ruin in ranked play.
Twilight Raptor
Draft: 3.5
Ranked: 3.0
You will be pretty happy to have as many Raptors as you can find in draft and they are certainly playable in ranked but not widely played at the moment.
Withering Witch
Draft: 3.5
Ranked: 2.0
I have not played with or against this yet, but it strikes me as an okay card for draft. The rate is certainly not there when it comes to the cost for the body, but the ability can be quite good against big units. It doesn’t do all that much against a lot of the fliers. It is a very nice combo with Plague. Probably not impactful enough for ranked.
Autofurnace
Draft: 4.5
Ranked: 4.0
Very strong card on rate that is easy to grow very large in either format. Even if they Torch it in ranked, you at least got some Grenadin out of the deal. Not seeing a ton of play right now, but if midrange Stonescar becomes popular I am sure this will be a part of it.
Bandit Queen
Draft: 3.5
Ranked: 4.5
Was recently changed to a 3/2 from 3/3. This is a cornerstone of the Stonescar token decks which usually had the Queen as the curve topper and finisher. Unchecked, playing Bandit Queen on consecutive turns is an easy way to win. With the right amount of token producers, even one can be enough to swing a game. This is a little harder to make work in draft, but I imagine it will still deal tons of damage the turn it comes down.
Black Iron Manacles
Draft: 2.0
Ranked: 2.5
This is probably too low impact to normally make the cut in draft, but it is a cute side deck card in ranked.
Bloodrite Kalis
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 2.5
This is a hard one to evaluate. I have never seen it played in draft, but the effect could be strong enough to be worthwhile. It gets a lot better with tokens that you don’t mind sacrificing. It obviously requires some planning, don’t just go all in with this losing all of your best units. There will be situations where this is great and wins you an otherwise unwinnable game and others where it is uncastable. In ranked it is pretty powerful against decks that don’t play many units but pretty hard to make work otherwise.
Brimstone Altar
Draft: 2.5
Ranked: 2.5
You can certainly build around this with Entomb cards, but it is probably too hard to make good in draft to always start it. It is a very nice combo with Madness. It feels too slow for ranked, but repeatable sacrifice outlets can be a powerful thing to have access to.
Champion of Chaos
Draft: 4.5
Ranked: 4.5
My pick for second best Champion, though it is a lot easier to turn on than Champion of Cunning and it presents a very lethal threat early in the game. If you turn both sides on, the way Deadly and Overwhelm work together, when they block it with a 5/5, you will deal one damage killing the 5/5 and then four to the enemy player. This interaction means that you can’t get too low against this card before dealing with it. It is kept in check in ranked by the abundance of Silence effects, but barring those it is one of the better three drops in the game.
Combust
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 3.0
Very good with Entomb and token units, but I would avoid it if I didn’t have at least 3-4 of those type of things in draft. In ranked you can build around it and it is reasonable in those style of decks. Not being a fast spell is a big drawback.
Infernal Tyrant
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 3.5
The summon effect might look a little strange at first, but you use it to gain a bunch of life as each damage dealt by it will heal you by that much due to the Lifesteal ability. If you have big enough units, the damage won’t matter that much, or if you have a ton of tokens that are sitting around being outclassed by larger opposing units, you might not mind sacrificing them to gain a bunch of life. The real point of sale here is the body – 6/6 Lifesteal is a big game at six power. It is not currently seeing a ton of play, but it has the rate to be playable.
Nightsworn Chieftain
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 2.5
Monstrously large for the cost in draft, and the Entomb ability is very relevant. One of the stronger reasons to be Stonescar in draft. The rate is fine on this for ranked, but the impact might be too low.
Obsidian Golem
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 3.0
Another great reason to be Stonescar in draft! These units provide very nice value on a two drop you would play anyway. There are a number of weapon synergy cards in Fire that go nicely with these as well. Certainly playable in ranked, but there seem to be better options for two drops. It can be hard to fit in the two cost weapons on your curve.
Pit Fighter
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 2.0
Strange card because while it looks aggressive, it is hard to get it through in most draft games. It trades down with too many one and two drops. Interestingly it has a lot of value as a blocker as it can trade up against a lot of units. There are situations where it can really punish the opponent if they stumble on playing cheap units. Extremely fragile for ranked, but it does threaten a lot of damage to decks skimping on blockers.
Runic Revolver
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 1.5
This can mow down any number of two health or less units, but the trick is getting enough turns to get value out of it before the opponent’s bigger units take the weapon down. It also doesn’t really do anything if they have just a few large units and nothing two health or smaller. Too slow for ranked play in most cases.
Seat of Chaos
Draft: 3.0 (currently not in the draft pool)
Ranked: 5.0
Similar to the Banners, but the Seats require that you play a certain number of Sigils in order to not be depleted. Luckily a number of effects search up Sigils which can help these come into play as normal. Feln decks tend to run four of these in ranked and Seats play nicer in tri+faction decks assuming you have enough Sigils.
Slagmite Swarm
Draft: 3.5
Ranked: 2.5
Powerful effect on the surface, but only really profits if there is a nice 2/2 or smaller thing to eat. I believe this does not survive if it tries to eat a 3/3. There are enough fliers worth munching on that I would always run this in draft. Somewhat reasonable rate for ranked play, but really easy to get blown out by Torch.
Smuggler’s Stash
Draft: 3.5
Ranked: 3.5
It can be hard to get enough weapons to get max value in draft, but even getting back two units and one weapon is usually enough value to get a large advantage. This is pretty slow, but playable in ranked, especially in a relic weapon focused deck.
Statuary Maiden
Draft: 5.0
Ranked: 5.0
Very powerful midrange card for Stonescar decks that can generate a ton of value as you turn your enemies to stone. One huge point in its favor in ranked play is that it is a clean answer to Dawnwalker. If you kill the Dawnwalker, it will then turn into a Cudgel(1: +2/+2 weapon) and thus can’t be brought back. It matches up nicely with popular cards in ranked as well – Torch, Sandstorm Titan, Annihilate, Siraf, and more. If midrange decks exist that can cast it, they surely will. Those don’t seem to be very popular right now, but they definitely have been played in ranked. It seems very hard to lose with this in play in draft.
Stonescar Banner
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 4.5
The first of the influence fixers for each faction. These are a four of in any Stonescar ranked deck that plays enough units and you clearly would never cut them from an Stonescar draft deck either. The Banners can be a liability in tri+faction decks that don’t run enough units, but in any straight Stonescar build you will play all four. The question is how high to draft them, and usually I would take 3.0 rated cards over it unless I was trying for an ambitious splash.
Stonescar Leviathan
Draft: 4.0
Ranked: 3.0
Pretty solid top end card for draft and I believe an under-utilized card in ranked thus far. The rate seems playable, and the effect feels very powerful as well. Looks like some brewers should get to work on breaking this one!
Swift Stranger
Draft: 3.0
Ranked: 2.0
A fine two drop in draft that would definitely make the cut in a stranger ranked deck.
Treachery
Draft: 2.5
Ranked: 2.0
This will usually hit something in draft, but it is such a bad top deck in the late game that I would avoid running it. Similar issues in ranked, but there is a lot more card advantage available that makes it less likely to whiff.
Voprex, the Great Ruin
Draft: 3.5
Ranked: 2.0
I am in for the 5/5 flying body for draft, but the ability likely won’t do that much given how late in the game this will come down. Often the opponent will just discard their empty hand or, less likely, sacrifice their empty board. Too expensive to make work in ranked most likely.
Make sure to follow me on Twitch so you are notified when I stream next.
-Ben @bchap55
