WoW TCG: Throne of the Tides monster preview
by Mathew McCurley 
Sep 9th 2011 at 8:00PM
New monster heroes and allies will be given brand new rule sets that make them unique and fun, providing lots of flexibility for deck builders and new game play experiences. Monster allies, for instance, have no restrictions based on the hero that the deck is built around, giving them added flexibility. On the flipside, a monster hero deck featuring only monsters gets some cool benefits as well. Monster heroes each have a permanent power on the back of their cards.
The murlocs run in packs, granting each other bonuses that the others possess. I immediately thought back to my Magic: The Gathering days with the Slivers and was instantly excited, since the Slivers were some of the coolest creations in TCG history. The murlocs sound like they are going to be a numerous force at all times, swarming your opponent and building up lots of cool bonuses.
There are new mechanics and keywords as well, including Empower, which gives bonus powers to a player if they control other allies or heroes of the same classification, and Eternal, which allows a card to go back into your deck from the graveyard, making it more powerful over time. It just won't stay dead!
Monsters are not the only factions to get new allies. Alliance and Horde mainstays will also be getting new allies, including Mazu'kon the Troll shaman who can reincarnate himself, and Dulvar the paladin, who can bubble his way out of some damage.
All in all, Aftermath: Throne of the Tides looks like it is going to be one of the most original and expansive sets the WoW TCG and Cryptozoic have offered up yet. Loads of new abilities, great card artwork, and a host of new heroes and allies are coming with the first of the new block of cards. Check out this preview gallery of many of the new cards coming this October.
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Look at what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back! Filed under: WoW TCG
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bluskreem Sep 9th 2011 8:15PM
I wonder if there will be monster premades ala class decks?
Amaxe Sep 9th 2011 8:40PM
Hmm, so if we have the Throne of Tides, there must be some sort of noble who sits on it...
So this means the new villain is the Prince of Tides?
alteran1 Sep 9th 2011 9:26PM
Great. So.... when do we find out just what happened to Neptulon after Ozumat whisked him away...
penguinshogun Sep 10th 2011 12:57AM
OMG i cannot wait to make a murloc deck. *squee*
Yaroukh Sep 10th 2011 8:16AM
i guess i'm not the only one who is having these random thoughts of Cthulhu now :P
Eldoron Sep 10th 2011 8:46AM
Meh.. it's nice to bring in some new ideas but not when it completely messes up what people already like and got used to....
ElrithCC Sep 10th 2011 9:20AM
What are you talking about? What is new that is changing what people like and got used to?
RuzGofDI Sep 10th 2011 11:41AM
@ ElrithCC: The big one I'd say is probably the monster faction. On some level, it would be like adding another color to Magic.
The game was built around the Horde vs Alliance battle. Other groups in the game (aldor, scryer, different color dragonflights) have been neutral cards that could be added to Horde or Alliance decks. As such, expansion sets have been largely the same: you end up getting more faction oriented cards than you would neutral cards that both could use, at least as far as the ally card type is concerned.
If you look at some of the monster hero cards, they have notes saying you can't include Horde or Alliance cards in the deck. So for a Monster faction deck to be possible/viable against Horde/Alliance decks, the booster pack balance is going to have to be different. From my perspective, the ally cards in a pack will have to be mostly Monster, with one or two cards for the alread existing factions.
dave Sep 11th 2011 7:43AM
Got to say,im suprised how twisted the murlocs look. that monster art is amazing. they look like a proper army from something in a future warcraft RTS . i'd love an Expansion that was sea based if the enemy was a swarm army, or there was a 3rd playable faction like that. very cool art.