Mother Escani Is Still Too Flexible
Mother Escani is down from four Power to three, but I do not think that will change much.
Mother Escani is one of the strongest cards because it is one of the most flexible cards, and its effect is what is doing it.
Technoorganic Virus May Need a New Shell
The question after this OTA is whether Technoorganic Virus still belongs in its familiar shell. I do not think it does.
Technoorganic Virus no longer scales through its copies. It now begins at two cost and stays there. This matters because a lot of Technoorganic Virus decks want it to stay at one cost all the way through.
Before this version, Technoorganic Virus had moved from one cost to three to five, then from one to two to three. It now stays at two cost across three plays. The total may still be equal over those three plays, but now it opens a completely different play line.
Quinjet is the line I want to explore: Quinjet on one, then Technoorganic Virus into an empty lane on two. It is a one-cost card the rest of the way.
I am not saying Quinjet restores the old Technoorganic Virus shell. The point is that it creates a different deck-building path, and I expect there will be a meta-relevant version.
I do not think the Quinjet version will be anywhere close to as prominent as those decks were in the past.
Technoorganic Virus still needs cooking, and the Quinjet build needs time to develop. I’m excited to cook with it.
Martyr also lost a point of Power. The earlier increase happened alongside the prior Technoorganic Virus adjustment and Shadowlands Daredevil's arrival. With that extra point gone, I am much more interested in returning to Hydrobob for consistency and flexibility. It was fun, but I think it is time to move on.
Zombie Sentry Gets a Job
Zombie Sentry, meanwhile, is much more interesting to me in the Zombie Horde package. Misery is the first pairing that jumps out to me. I would like to trigger Zombie Sentry's effect twice, and one Power makes it much easier to accept removing the card again.
The new version will probably see some experimentation. Zombie Sentry feels like an easy option for Zombie Horde.
This version fits the Zombie Horde deck’s lines better than the three-cost version.
There is still a rank split here. Above rank 90, I would not play the Horde package. The higher you go in the meta, the more Shadow King you see.
Karlin Wants a Different Kind of Deck
Karlin just got really interesting. I would look at it in non-combo decks with multiple lines to victory built from individual cards or two-card packages. Losing one line should not sink the rest of the deck, and any banish needs to hit something you can accept losing. Is Karlin actually good?
The attraction is that I can accept either outcome. If the ramp side finds a four-cost-or-more card, I get extra energy. If it misses, I do not feel bad about the resulting Power.
Magus Has a Better Baseline
Magus is now at four Power. In the week of Jubilee Silver Surfer, that catches my attention. I saw players play Magus, skip on four, and turn Magus into Jubilee Silver Surfer. I am comfortable with that line, though it does not make Jubilee Silver Surfer that good.
What I like is the baseline. A two-cost, four-Power body gives me something acceptable if it whiffs. I want to cook with Magus again because it has always been interesting.
Lockheed Gets a Second Look
Kitty Pride is the explicit synergy I associate with Lockheed.
That pairing has little middle ground in my view. It can be mediocre or broken. I still cannot call Lockheed a top-tier two-cost card or put him beside Chamber and Moon Dragon. I put him close, but just underneath.
Playing a one-cost card is a relatively easy condition to meet. I do not expect a harmless middle ground if Lockheed gets much stronger. It could settle as mediocre or become broken.
Crystal Gets the Stats and Adamantium Infusion Gets Correct Text
Crystal gets an unexpected update, and I like the new version much more.
There have always been moments where you look at Crystal and think maybe it can work, with some copium while trying to get your combo. With the new version, I do not feel bad about it in a high-combo deck because I can accept my opponent drawing its own card when the stats are justified.
Adamantium Infusion is different. It is not a balance change. The text is finally being corrected to match the effect: the skill banishes, then the revive happens. When played as the fourth card in a lane, it should disappear and fill that fourth slot rather than demand two open slots. The card changed before. The wording simply did not catch up.
The old functional change had already made the fourth card disappear and then take that slot. This OTA only brings the words into line with what the card has already been doing.
Do not mistake the accurate wording for an actual balance change.
Play for the Meta This OTA Creates
My expectation is that this OTA will shake up the meta, though perhaps not in the way that I think you might like. We might see a lot less of the Wilson Fisk TOV decks. More Captain Carter decks should appear.
Please start playing Shadow King. Watch the full OTA discussion in the original episode.
