The release of Hearthstone's next expansion — Saviors of Uldum — is growing closer, and if you've been following our calendar you might have noticed that Blizzard keeps unveiling cards that are not included in their own reveal schedule.
With this article, we won't breach that rule... because we have been selected to exclusively reveal the next card in the set!
Please give a warm welcome to Mortuary Machine, a Neutral Epic Minion!
Considering its stats and mana cost, Mortuary Machine could be compared to the Fel Reaver from Goblins vs Gnomes. An 8/8 minion costing five mana is typically the kind of minion that suits aggressive or mid-range decks, in order to apply sufficient pressure on the opponent.
The drawback of playing the card — giving Reborn to your opponent's minions — is not as severe as it might look, especially considering the fact that Mortuary Machine forces your opponent to immediately use a removal. When facing a control deck, the drawback should not really matter, as these kinds of decks typically don't play a lot of minions. Against fast-paced decks, it might give you a huge advantage, while pushing your opponent closer to death.
We also need to underline that Mortuary Machine is a Mech, meaning it will be possible to discover it using Dr. Boom's hero power, or from other similar effects. Plus, as a Mech, it will be eligible for the Magnetism effect.
In-Game Preview
We spoke to Hearthstone's Game Designer, Alec Dawson, about Mortuary Machine. Read on!
1. Can you tell us about Mortuary Machine's lore? What links it with Rafaam. and what is its role in his army?
Mortuary Machine fights alongside E.V.I.L.! One idea we had in mind throughout our design process was the League of E.V.I.L. utilizing Uldum to carry out their plans. They have cards like Weaponized Wasp and Armagedillo that were brought into their army to fight against the League of Explorers. In a similar vein, Mortuary Machine is upgrading members of the League of E.V.I.L., mainly imps and Lackeys, into mummies!
2. Do you feel this minion is more likely to fit a control deck, such as Silence Priest, or an aggressive deck featuring a legion of minions?
Mortuary Machine could fit in Silence Priest, or as a bigger minion for more aggressive decks. If you’re playing a card with this sort of significant drawback, it usually means the drawback doesn’t matter too much for your deck or you’re even getting rid of the drawback entirely!
3. During the design of this card, did you consider every Standard minion? Do you think Mortuary Machine's penalty effect could lead to weird shenanigans?
Oh, there’s definitely some shenanigans that could happen here. We did approach designing Mortuary Machine a bit different than, say, a card like Psychopomp. Since you’re buying into playing Mortuary Machine, there’s a lot of different ways your opponent could take advantage of the effect. You don’t want to give Reborn to cards like Convincing Infiltrator or Al’Akir.
4. When we look at this card, instantly Fel Reaver comes to mind. Which of Reaver and Machine is the strongest? Why?
Yeah, it’s pretty easy to compare this one to other 5 mana 8/8s we’ve done in the past, such as Fel Reaver and Bittertide Hydra. I think a big part of the difference lies in what decks you’re playing against. If your opponent is able to play a lot of minions with Taunt, Mortuary Machine’s drawback may come into play more. On the other hand, if they aren’t able to play defensive minions, you have 8 damage going face.
5. Aren't you afraid this new minion will give the Control Warrior another game plan, such as putting pressure on his opponent?
I don’t think this is currently something Control Warrior wants to do, but if there’s a more aggressive Warrior this card slots into, that’s great. Anytime cards help establish new archetypes is really exciting, so we’re looking forward to how the community utilizes this one.
6. Could you describe the different design steps for this card?
Early on, we knew we wanted another big minion akin to Fel Reaver. Next, we took a look at the set and thought about potential downsides. There’s a lot of awesome Reborn cards and some ways to grant Reborn. How powerful can that be, if you do it for your opponent? It’s an interesting question that this card explores.
We're really excited to see how this card plays out when people begin to build their decks in Saviors of Uldum. How will you use this new card?
The Saviors of Uldum, the next Hearthstone expansion, will be released on August 6 and with it 135 new cards. Find all the cards already revealed in the article below!
