Happy with the Horde, pt 1

Ok... the name sounds... 'funny'. Meh, it's the best I can come up with at the moment, I'm not too good with titles.

So anyway... basically, to sum this article up into one sentence: Horde allies rock.

A few weeks ago I never would have found myself saying that. The first two decks I had were Warrax (from the starter) and then Graccus (with some borrowed cards). These decks were the first of many that followed a simple trend. I never touched the Horde. In fact, I didn't even consider playing them, didn't even look over the cards.

Wow... that was dumb.

It took playing against Dr. Device's Horde Priest deck that showed me the error of my ways. The allies were so well put together, complementing eachother defensively while providing a far superior offense than anything I had been able to muster on the Alliance side. And so, I began to look closer at the Horde.

Early game, the Horde allies jump out of the gates with a, dare I say it, Ferocity unmatched by the Alliance. Take these two, for instance. 1 resource cost for some darn good units. Kagra helps you get started on the right foot by coming out and instantly being able to attack. Not only that, but she has a higher survival rate of the lower costed Alliance allies (Like Warden Tonarin for instance...) because of her health. 2 May not seem too great, but early in the game, it's the difference between life and death.

Our other early game lead-card is Ka'tali Stonetusk. You want to talk about putting the meatshield, Warden Tonarin to shame, this is it. 1 cost for a 1/2 Protector is decent in and of itself, but it's his ability to heal himself that makes him useful early on. This is great early on, though after turn 3, his healing ability becomes practically useless, as most of the time things will be able to do 2 damage...

Our next two early game cards are primarily utility, boosting the attack power of your units. This means that while you may not want to play a Ka'Tali Stonetusk on turn 6, you would still want to consider these guys.

Elder Moorf is one that makes it into most of my horde decks. At first glance, his ability is pretty nice, but when looking at it closer, it just gets better and better. The first thing to note here is that his ability does not cause him to tap, meaning he can still attack and use the ability. (This also means that he can use the ability on the turn he came out) The second thing to notice is that he can use his ability on himself. So, if he's the only one out, he's not entirely useless.

Zorm Stonefury's text makes him an absolute must for rush decks. 2 cost for a static +1 Atk for all your allies. He doesn't tap for this, doesn't pay any cost, it's just there. Put this guy behind a few of your protectors and watch him shine. Now, to the muscle...

These guys are the beginning of the backbone of your deck. Their relatively low cost allows you to play them fairly early on in the game, while their mid-range atk keeps them viable even to the end of the game.

Vesh'ral is a great card for rush decks. Sure, he may not have a lot of health, but throw him out there and pump him up with Elder Moorf and he can do some serious damage before your opponent takes him out. Also, if you have some decent protectors out, you won't have a problem keeping him alive.

Benethor at first doesn't seem very appealing. No printed text, just stats, typically makes cards pretty lackluster-seeming to some. However, Benethor can be quite powerful. 3 resources for a 4/2 is not something to sneer at, especially if you have cards like Moorf and Stonefury to pump him up.

I hope this has been informative. Look for the second part of this article soon, where we'll take a closer look at those mid-late game cards that provide you with more of a defensive option, while leaving offensive capability relatively unharmed.