Hour of Devastation: Second Impressions.
Mainloop25
Posts: 1,961 Chairperson of the Boards
It's kind of fun to go back and see what I got right, and more fun to see what I got wrong in my first impression of this set. If you want to see what my first impressions were, you can go back and check it out here: https://forums.d3go.com/discussion/66397/hour-of-devastation-first-impressions-updated-with-notable-uncommons-and-commons/p1
Angel of Condemnation - I was probably the most wrong about this card than any other card in my first impression. This card is only somewhat decent when paired with other cards that keep it alive, such as Cartouche of Ambition and Saving Grace. It's too expensive for what it does, and can't stay alive long enough to be useful. If you can keep it alive, you probably didn't need to activate its ability anyway. A real dud. Sounded awesome at first glance but is actually one of the worst mythic creatures in the set.
Apocalypse Demon - It seemed decent at first glance, and is just decent in practice. Problem is, it is only very good late in the game. It can be pretty strong late in the game though. Needs some building around it to be effective.
Crested Sunmare - I am really surprised at how dismissive I was about this card in my first impression. In the right deck it's a real monster. Really shines with certain SOI cards but it does take some real deck commitment. Best with Sorin as the center piece of a lifegain deck. Fair warning, sometimes it's inconsistent. Very good card but not the most essential.
Djeru With Eyes Open - I overrated this card in my first impression but mostly because it was unclear how this card works. Because it has vigilance, it's so vulnerable. Doesn't prevent damage to itself or your other creatures, so essentially it's a 4/3 defender for 14 mana, which is garbage unless you are going against creatures with unblockable. I guess it has some really niche uses, but otherwise it's pretty awful.
Fraying Sanity - I don't see it very often. Probably because blue supports are so oppressive that this effect is toward the bottom of usefulness in the current meta, but I think its real problem is its mana cost.
Hour of Eternity - Yeah, still not totally sold on it. I guess it goes ok with Gather The Pack.
Imminent Doom - You know, I liked this card a lot at first impression, then I thought more about it when I saw it for sale and went back and forth about buying it, and eventually decided not to buy it. And then I ran into a deck that put it to great use in a Baral spell-loop deck that really decimated me. Even though the novelty of it would wear off for me eventually, I kinda wish I went with my first impression and bought that one. I will hope to pull it out of a pack one day.
Majestic Myriarch - I still don't have this card and I don't think very many people do yet. In the right deck it can be a really good defender but I haven't really seen it used to its potential.
Neheb, the Eternal - Really solid card. A Swiss Army Knife of a card, it can do a lot for you. Happy to have this one. I've collected four of these guys already.
Overwhelming Splendor - Definitely annoying to play against. More of a piece of a Starfield-Hell deck, but I don't use it as much as I used to. A bit of a troll card.
Pride Sovereign - It's got a little too small of a body, but it's got a really solid effect. I haven't seen it enough in PvP to really fear it yet, but once it becomes lootable it will likely see plenty of play.
Ramunap Hydra - It's a middle-of-the-road mythic. Decent when you go all-in with deserts but it tends to die a bit easily. Still, it's nice to have a green blocker with Reach in Standard sometimes. Plus it's always kind of fun to see how big you can grow a hydra.
Razaketh the Foulblooded - It's an ok card. I use Gideon's Intervention and lifelink to get around its drawback. I give it a 7.
Swarm Intelligence - Boy did I underrate this one as well. A key piece of a Dovin TG deck I used to slay with, it is the centerpiece of a ridiculously broken deck I've made. Combining it with Whir of Invention? Just killer. In a set full of broken cards, this one is right up near the top.
The Locust God - It's fun when I steal it with Lay Claim, but I don't think it was worth buying. The most fun of the "bug gods."
The Scarab God - It's a fun card to steal as well, but unless I happen to have some other zombies on the board, it's just so expensive to cast without help. Maybe a good card to cheat out with Reason/Believe or Deploy.
The Scorpion God - The least impressive of the bug gods, but it's still a nice card to Lay Claim.
Torment of Hailfire -The worst mythic in this set and one of the worst mythics in the whole game. I've tried all sorts of things to get it to be effective, but the damage tends to be between 7-12hp on average. That is a terrible return on a card that requires a 17-mana investment.
Uncage The Menagerie - I know a lot of people who love this card. I don't have it yet, so I haven't made much of an opinion of it beyond my first impression.
Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign - This was another fun yet non-essential card. I'm glad I have it, but I don't use it much anymore.
Wildfire Eternal - I just don't think a lot of people have this card yet, otherwise I don't know why it's not seen more often. Even at the cost, it seems like it's pretty useful.
Mythics I didn't see the first time:
Hour of Devastation - Can be a really strong card in any spell-based deck. Really good in any red deck, really. Not many people must have it yet, otherwise I am surprised not to see it very often.
Hour of Glory - Another solid card I hate to see played on me.
Hour of Promise - I've needed something to replace the power of Season's Past in Standard. Really want this one.
Hour of Revelation - A good global board-wipe when you need it.
Rares:
Accursed Horde - It's an OK zombie. I don't tend to pop its Activate-2, and rarely does it do much for me even when I pop it anyway.
Adorned Pouncer - This card can go from pretty weak to pretty solid depending on what you can pair it with. Its Eternalize is nice but I don't really rely on it.
Ammit Eternal - This card is actually pretty good! I have gotten a lot of good use out of it, and sometimes the Afflict surprises even myself.
Reason /Believe - I have found both sides of this card extremely useful. Green gets much-needed card draw, and who doesn't like a "free" creature on the board. Probably my favorite Aftermath spell.
Burning-Fist Minotaur - You know, this card can grow very quickly and be quite the pain-in-the-neck. I'm often surprised at how little play it gets. It's easily one of the stronger rares and just gets better the more you build around it.
Champion of Wits - It's an ok card. I don't find myself using it a whole lot. Just a bit too much on the weak
Leave / Chance - It requires an incredibly specific type of deck to use. I have to admit that I've never tried to make this card useful, but that doesn't mean that it's not.
Chaos Maw - I don't love that it hurts your own creatures as well, but I can see it having its uses.
Refuse/Cooperate - Cooperate is bugged in a way that makes it better than it should be, but this is a decent card that I use every now and again.
Driven / Despair - Never really lived up to its potential for me, and I rarely see it played.
Doomfall - I dare say that this is a better card than its mythic sister "Hour of Glory!" A lot of times you want untargeted removal, and the discard can disrupt your opponent more.
Dreamstealer - This card is quite fearful if you get caught without many cards in your hand and a way to get rid of it once its on the board. The menace and Eternalize is also useful.
Grind /Dust - I used to use this one plenty before I got Gideon's Defeat. I don't see it terribly often but it definitely has its place in a lot of decks. This was one I underestimated before I got it.
Earthshaker Khenra - Definitely one of the weaker Eternalized creatures but it has some uses in a Nahiri deck. Not one of my favorites though.
Gideon's Defeat - Really one of my favorite rares in the whole game at this point. It is more powerful than Silverstrike or Farm, and it stays alive longer. In a Starfield-hell deck, it really does a number on creature-heavy decks.
Imaginary Threats - Great card to disable your opponents to pick off hexproof decks. Very useful.
Inferno Jet - Solid on its own and in combination with spell-chainers like Swarm Intelligence, HUF, and whatnot. Not as good as Approach of the Second Sun, but I think its a good card.
Magmaroth - A good card to buff and do quick cheap damage when combined with other cards. A great card to combine with Lightning Runner and buffing cards.
Nimble Obstructionist - This one was a real dud in practice. Too expensive to cast and even too expensive to cycle. It's collecting dust in my library.
Obelisk Spider - This card turned out to be quite useful actually. Even though it doesn't do a lot on its own, it can do a lot of stalling in certain circumstances, and yes, it can be a real pain when buffed; especially with a sword.
Ominous Sphinx - Its mana cost is too prohibitive even with Unesh, and the cycle effect is pretty underwhelming in practice.
Overcome - I really underestimated the power of this card. It is a staple in my Samut deck, and gets used in a lot of my other decks. My favorite combo is to pair it with Lightning Runner and Cultivator of Blades to cut giant gashes in your opponent's HP quickly.
Quarry Beetle - If you can build around this card and find a way to get it out on the board consistently, it can blow up the whole board to give you tons of mana. A better card than I thought when I first got it, but after a while, it's a bit of a novelty.
Ramunap Excavator - Both its body and effect is just too weak to use this card in any serious deck.
Resilient Khenra - Its Eternalized ability is really slept on, because they did a terrible job of showing how Eternalized cards work. Because its buff stacks in its Eternalized form, it can really help to grow your creatures quickly. Great for Gather The Pack shenanigans.
Sifter Wurm - Too expensive. Plus for its ETB? Quarry Beetle is far superior
Solemnity - I have nothing new to add to this garbage.
Steward of Solidarity - Good little card for its effect. I've found myself using it in a lot of early stages in PvE events.
Vizier of the Annointed - It's a good enough card I guess, but it's just a little too vanilla to justify a deck slot most of the time.
Vizier of the True - This card is very good. I only don't use it much anymore because I just have cards that suit my needs better, but it would otherwise be a staple.
Rares that were not yet released in my first review:
Bontu's Last Reckoning - It's like a worse Fumigate. I guess it's ok with creatureless Ob if you don't have any other options for untargeted creature removal.
Chaos Maw - Not a bad boardwipe card if you're not running a lot of creatures. I've definitely been disrupted heavily by this card.
Endless Sands - I still have yet to figure out the best way to use this card. My favorite use so far has been to bring Shefets back to my hand. I feel like I'm missing something here.
Hollow One - I don't have this one yet, but it feels like a perfect fit for most cycle decks.
Hazoret's Undying Fury - Easily one of the best rares in the set. Even with such a high casting cost, it is usually worth it. Like Deploy The Gatewatch, it's as strong as what you cast with it. One of my favorite ways to use it is with R/G decks that can cause cascades or buff up a bunch of creatures via spells. I mean, get creative. What deck wouldn't benefit from being able to cast 4 spells in a row for free?
Hostile Desert - Fun card. In the right deck you can really buff up some creatures with it. Don't sleep on this card.
Kefnet's Last Word - When it actually works it's quite a potent card even with the drawback, but unfortunately due to its buggy nature I'm too scared to use it in any serious play.
Oketra's Last Mercy - Rarely do I cast this card from my hand but it is great in a deck with Hazoret's Undying Fury. It has definitely helped me stay alive for a win, as well as done the same for my opponents. Very good card.
Rhonas' Last Stand - Not a bad card either. It's one that I'll sometimes use with HUF since you can cast a few of these on the same turn with it, and gives you a nice stack of snakes once you've cast a few.
Scavenger Grounds - Very situational. I like graveyard tricks so I'm not a big fan of this card normally, but I've pulled it out on some PvE fights. An interesting sideboard.
Angel of Condemnation - I was probably the most wrong about this card than any other card in my first impression. This card is only somewhat decent when paired with other cards that keep it alive, such as Cartouche of Ambition and Saving Grace. It's too expensive for what it does, and can't stay alive long enough to be useful. If you can keep it alive, you probably didn't need to activate its ability anyway. A real dud. Sounded awesome at first glance but is actually one of the worst mythic creatures in the set.
Apocalypse Demon - It seemed decent at first glance, and is just decent in practice. Problem is, it is only very good late in the game. It can be pretty strong late in the game though. Needs some building around it to be effective.
Crested Sunmare - I am really surprised at how dismissive I was about this card in my first impression. In the right deck it's a real monster. Really shines with certain SOI cards but it does take some real deck commitment. Best with Sorin as the center piece of a lifegain deck. Fair warning, sometimes it's inconsistent. Very good card but not the most essential.
Djeru With Eyes Open - I overrated this card in my first impression but mostly because it was unclear how this card works. Because it has vigilance, it's so vulnerable. Doesn't prevent damage to itself or your other creatures, so essentially it's a 4/3 defender for 14 mana, which is garbage unless you are going against creatures with unblockable. I guess it has some really niche uses, but otherwise it's pretty awful.
Fraying Sanity - I don't see it very often. Probably because blue supports are so oppressive that this effect is toward the bottom of usefulness in the current meta, but I think its real problem is its mana cost.
Hour of Eternity - Yeah, still not totally sold on it. I guess it goes ok with Gather The Pack.
Imminent Doom - You know, I liked this card a lot at first impression, then I thought more about it when I saw it for sale and went back and forth about buying it, and eventually decided not to buy it. And then I ran into a deck that put it to great use in a Baral spell-loop deck that really decimated me. Even though the novelty of it would wear off for me eventually, I kinda wish I went with my first impression and bought that one. I will hope to pull it out of a pack one day.
Majestic Myriarch - I still don't have this card and I don't think very many people do yet. In the right deck it can be a really good defender but I haven't really seen it used to its potential.
Neheb, the Eternal - Really solid card. A Swiss Army Knife of a card, it can do a lot for you. Happy to have this one. I've collected four of these guys already.
Overwhelming Splendor - Definitely annoying to play against. More of a piece of a Starfield-Hell deck, but I don't use it as much as I used to. A bit of a troll card.
Pride Sovereign - It's got a little too small of a body, but it's got a really solid effect. I haven't seen it enough in PvP to really fear it yet, but once it becomes lootable it will likely see plenty of play.
Ramunap Hydra - It's a middle-of-the-road mythic. Decent when you go all-in with deserts but it tends to die a bit easily. Still, it's nice to have a green blocker with Reach in Standard sometimes. Plus it's always kind of fun to see how big you can grow a hydra.
Razaketh the Foulblooded - It's an ok card. I use Gideon's Intervention and lifelink to get around its drawback. I give it a 7.
Swarm Intelligence - Boy did I underrate this one as well. A key piece of a Dovin TG deck I used to slay with, it is the centerpiece of a ridiculously broken deck I've made. Combining it with Whir of Invention? Just killer. In a set full of broken cards, this one is right up near the top.
The Locust God - It's fun when I steal it with Lay Claim, but I don't think it was worth buying. The most fun of the "bug gods."
The Scarab God - It's a fun card to steal as well, but unless I happen to have some other zombies on the board, it's just so expensive to cast without help. Maybe a good card to cheat out with Reason/Believe or Deploy.
The Scorpion God - The least impressive of the bug gods, but it's still a nice card to Lay Claim.
Torment of Hailfire -The worst mythic in this set and one of the worst mythics in the whole game. I've tried all sorts of things to get it to be effective, but the damage tends to be between 7-12hp on average. That is a terrible return on a card that requires a 17-mana investment.
Uncage The Menagerie - I know a lot of people who love this card. I don't have it yet, so I haven't made much of an opinion of it beyond my first impression.
Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign - This was another fun yet non-essential card. I'm glad I have it, but I don't use it much anymore.
Wildfire Eternal - I just don't think a lot of people have this card yet, otherwise I don't know why it's not seen more often. Even at the cost, it seems like it's pretty useful.
Mythics I didn't see the first time:
Hour of Devastation - Can be a really strong card in any spell-based deck. Really good in any red deck, really. Not many people must have it yet, otherwise I am surprised not to see it very often.
Hour of Glory - Another solid card I hate to see played on me.
Hour of Promise - I've needed something to replace the power of Season's Past in Standard. Really want this one.
Hour of Revelation - A good global board-wipe when you need it.
Rares:
Accursed Horde - It's an OK zombie. I don't tend to pop its Activate-2, and rarely does it do much for me even when I pop it anyway.
Adorned Pouncer - This card can go from pretty weak to pretty solid depending on what you can pair it with. Its Eternalize is nice but I don't really rely on it.
Ammit Eternal - This card is actually pretty good! I have gotten a lot of good use out of it, and sometimes the Afflict surprises even myself.
Reason /Believe - I have found both sides of this card extremely useful. Green gets much-needed card draw, and who doesn't like a "free" creature on the board. Probably my favorite Aftermath spell.
Burning-Fist Minotaur - You know, this card can grow very quickly and be quite the pain-in-the-neck. I'm often surprised at how little play it gets. It's easily one of the stronger rares and just gets better the more you build around it.
Champion of Wits - It's an ok card. I don't find myself using it a whole lot. Just a bit too much on the weak
Leave / Chance - It requires an incredibly specific type of deck to use. I have to admit that I've never tried to make this card useful, but that doesn't mean that it's not.
Chaos Maw - I don't love that it hurts your own creatures as well, but I can see it having its uses.
Refuse/Cooperate - Cooperate is bugged in a way that makes it better than it should be, but this is a decent card that I use every now and again.
Driven / Despair - Never really lived up to its potential for me, and I rarely see it played.
Doomfall - I dare say that this is a better card than its mythic sister "Hour of Glory!" A lot of times you want untargeted removal, and the discard can disrupt your opponent more.
Dreamstealer - This card is quite fearful if you get caught without many cards in your hand and a way to get rid of it once its on the board. The menace and Eternalize is also useful.
Grind /Dust - I used to use this one plenty before I got Gideon's Defeat. I don't see it terribly often but it definitely has its place in a lot of decks. This was one I underestimated before I got it.
Earthshaker Khenra - Definitely one of the weaker Eternalized creatures but it has some uses in a Nahiri deck. Not one of my favorites though.
Gideon's Defeat - Really one of my favorite rares in the whole game at this point. It is more powerful than Silverstrike or Farm, and it stays alive longer. In a Starfield-hell deck, it really does a number on creature-heavy decks.
Imaginary Threats - Great card to disable your opponents to pick off hexproof decks. Very useful.
Inferno Jet - Solid on its own and in combination with spell-chainers like Swarm Intelligence, HUF, and whatnot. Not as good as Approach of the Second Sun, but I think its a good card.
Magmaroth - A good card to buff and do quick cheap damage when combined with other cards. A great card to combine with Lightning Runner and buffing cards.
Nimble Obstructionist - This one was a real dud in practice. Too expensive to cast and even too expensive to cycle. It's collecting dust in my library.
Obelisk Spider - This card turned out to be quite useful actually. Even though it doesn't do a lot on its own, it can do a lot of stalling in certain circumstances, and yes, it can be a real pain when buffed; especially with a sword.
Ominous Sphinx - Its mana cost is too prohibitive even with Unesh, and the cycle effect is pretty underwhelming in practice.
Overcome - I really underestimated the power of this card. It is a staple in my Samut deck, and gets used in a lot of my other decks. My favorite combo is to pair it with Lightning Runner and Cultivator of Blades to cut giant gashes in your opponent's HP quickly.
Quarry Beetle - If you can build around this card and find a way to get it out on the board consistently, it can blow up the whole board to give you tons of mana. A better card than I thought when I first got it, but after a while, it's a bit of a novelty.
Ramunap Excavator - Both its body and effect is just too weak to use this card in any serious deck.
Resilient Khenra - Its Eternalized ability is really slept on, because they did a terrible job of showing how Eternalized cards work. Because its buff stacks in its Eternalized form, it can really help to grow your creatures quickly. Great for Gather The Pack shenanigans.
Sifter Wurm - Too expensive. Plus for its ETB? Quarry Beetle is far superior
Solemnity - I have nothing new to add to this garbage.
Steward of Solidarity - Good little card for its effect. I've found myself using it in a lot of early stages in PvE events.
Vizier of the Annointed - It's a good enough card I guess, but it's just a little too vanilla to justify a deck slot most of the time.
Vizier of the True - This card is very good. I only don't use it much anymore because I just have cards that suit my needs better, but it would otherwise be a staple.
Rares that were not yet released in my first review:
Bontu's Last Reckoning - It's like a worse Fumigate. I guess it's ok with creatureless Ob if you don't have any other options for untargeted creature removal.
Chaos Maw - Not a bad boardwipe card if you're not running a lot of creatures. I've definitely been disrupted heavily by this card.
Endless Sands - I still have yet to figure out the best way to use this card. My favorite use so far has been to bring Shefets back to my hand. I feel like I'm missing something here.
Hollow One - I don't have this one yet, but it feels like a perfect fit for most cycle decks.
Hazoret's Undying Fury - Easily one of the best rares in the set. Even with such a high casting cost, it is usually worth it. Like Deploy The Gatewatch, it's as strong as what you cast with it. One of my favorite ways to use it is with R/G decks that can cause cascades or buff up a bunch of creatures via spells. I mean, get creative. What deck wouldn't benefit from being able to cast 4 spells in a row for free?
Hostile Desert - Fun card. In the right deck you can really buff up some creatures with it. Don't sleep on this card.
Kefnet's Last Word - When it actually works it's quite a potent card even with the drawback, but unfortunately due to its buggy nature I'm too scared to use it in any serious play.
Oketra's Last Mercy - Rarely do I cast this card from my hand but it is great in a deck with Hazoret's Undying Fury. It has definitely helped me stay alive for a win, as well as done the same for my opponents. Very good card.
Rhonas' Last Stand - Not a bad card either. It's one that I'll sometimes use with HUF since you can cast a few of these on the same turn with it, and gives you a nice stack of snakes once you've cast a few.
Scavenger Grounds - Very situational. I like graveyard tricks so I'm not a big fan of this card normally, but I've pulled it out on some PvE fights. An interesting sideboard.
1
Comments
-
Thanks for this second review of the Hour of Devastation set @Mainloop25. If you were to pick your Top 3 Mythics and Top 3 Rares of the set for others to aim for with BC, which ones would you add to these three:
Mythic
1) Swarm Intelligence
2) ?
3) ?
Rare
1) Imaginary Threats
2) Hazoret's Undying Fury
3) ?0 -
@sjechua you mean of stuff I don't have yet? I think I want Hour Of Devastation the most. It's a crazy good board wipe for red and does great damage to your opponent as well. Hour of Promise I've wanted for a long time. I don't really need any of the rares left to collect. I guess Hollow One? That's not a must have.0
-
@Mainloop25
No, I meant Top 3 of each rarity for the set0 -
Thank you @Mainloop25.1
-
sjechua said:@Mainloop25
No, I meant Top 3 of each rarity for the set
Oh ok. Well this is purely my own opinion and can be convinced otherwise but here are my top 3:
Mythic
1: Swarm Intelligence
2: Hour of Devastation
3: Hour of Promise
Rare
1: Gideon's Defeat
2: Overcome
3: Hazorets Undying Fury
Uncommon
1: Ambuscade
2: Desert's Hold
3: Ruin Rat
Common
1: Desert of the Mindful
2: Lethal Sting
3: Unsummon0
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