All of the Quest cards in Hearthstone Saviors of Uldum, reviewed

You could be forgiven for not being familiar with Hearthstone’s Quests, because Blizzard hasn’t used them in a while. Quests are 1-mana Legendary spells which provide a powerful reward when you perform a specific set of actions. They always start in your opening hand so you can play them on your first turn and spend the rest of the game completing them. Saviors of Uldum is the first expansion since Journey to Un’Goro to include new quests — there’s one for each class.

One of the original problems with Quests was how they slowed your deck down and gave you one less card in your opening hand. Classes with good stalling tactics like Priest, Warrior, and Rogue made the best use of Quests in the past. The original Rogue Quest — The Caverns Below — was so powerful that it had to be nerfed on three separate occasions.

But it seems the developers understood these weaknesses. In Saviors, they added Questing Adventure, a 2/3 minion which draws a card if you have a Quest. Cards like this, that give you bonuses if you’ve played a quest, tried to make Quests more playable for all classes.

Even with the lessons learned, this batch of Quests is a mixed bag. Let’s dive into the Quest each class received.

Shaman Quest: Corrupt the Waters

The Quest. The requirement is to play six Battlecry minions which is easy to complete without hurting the deck too much. Shaman decks have plenty of good Battlecry minions.

The reward. You’ll earn The Heart of Vir’naal hero power, which, in addition to being the river flowing through Uldum, makes your Battlecries to fire twice.

The results. This is the same as the Battle Totem treasure you can get in the Dalaran Heist single player mode, which is a lot of fun to play. But unlike the treasure, the Hero Power costs two mana. Math says you can’t get double Shudderwock due to the mana cost, but with all the Battlecries, he’s still core to the deck.

Still, Shaman have access to lots of powerful (and less expensive) Battlecry options. How about two 5/5 Horrors from Swampqueen Hagatha, each with two spells attached? Or a Fire Elemental that does 6 damage. On top of the Shaman cards, there are neutral minions. Lifedrinker becomes a Fireball (6 damage), plus a Radiance (6 healing). Former Champ gives you two 5/5s on board for seven mana. Mind Control Tech (if your opponent has 4 or minions, take control of one) acts as a board equalizer.

Lackeys are where Heart of Vir’naal shines. All the Lackey generators generate twice as many Lackeys, and Shamans received a new Lackey generator in the E.V.I.L totem card. Lackeys only cost 1 mana, so can you play many the same turn as your Hero Power. With the Heart of Vir’naal, Kobold Lackey does 4 damage, Faceless Lackey summons two minions, Ethereal Lackey gives you two spells, Goblin Lackey gives +2 attack, and Witchy Lackey transform a minion into one that costs two more.

Is it worth playing? Maybe. Quest Shaman didn’t turn out to be the powerhouse many expected and is currently considered a tier 3 deck with a sub 50% win rate. I’ve also seen a fatigue version which runs cards like Hecklebot. It can be annoying to play against, but hasn’t caught on in the wider meta.

Druid Quest: Untapped Potential

The Quest. Untapped Potential requires you to end four turns with unspent mana. You have to play the Quest on turn 1, then spend your next three turns spending exactly the appropriate amount of mana. With lots of extra card support you could conceivably complete it as early as turn four, but too many support cards to complete the quest hurt the deck more than it helped. Those precious slots were better saved for cards you could use after completion.

The reward. For your trouble, you get the Ossirian Tear hero power which causes your Choose One cards have both effects. We’ve seen this type of effect before with the Fandral Staghelm card, but you can’t take Ossirian Tear off the board. Unlike the Shaman Quest, this reward doesn’t cost mana, making it very strong — if you can get it.

The results. Wardruid Loti becomes a monster with this: a 4/6 with Taunt, Rush, Poisonous, Stealth and Spell Damage. Starfall becomes an upgraded Swipe. Druid of the Scythe gives a 4/4 with Rush and Taunt. Oasis Surger gives you two 5/5s with Rush. Tending Tauren gives you two 3/3s plus buffs your other minions. Hidden Oasis gives you a 6/6 Taunt plus a massive heal. All are core to the deck.

Is it worth playing? Probably not. But Quest Druid decks are also mired in tier 3 with a sub 50% win rate. Druid players are having more success with Token Druid decks without the Quest.

Warlock Quest: Supreme Archaeology

The Quest. The name of the quest is a nod to Supreme Archaeologist Rafaam, the leader of the League of E.V.I.L. To complete it, you need to draw 20 cards, which works well with Warlock’s Hero Power of drawing cards.

The reward. You’ll get a new hero power called Tome of Origination: for 2 mana, you draw a card and reduce its cost to 0.

The results. No-cost cards are powerful, but the key is getting the right cards. If you get a 0-mana Mecha’thun, it opens a one turn kill possibility. Tome of Origination could be excellent after Arch-Villian Rafaam cards turns all your cards into Legendary minions, but still somewhat at the mercy of the RNG.

The problem is once you’ve drawn 20 cards, you’ve been through most of your deck. If only there was a way to draw your deck multiple times. Plot twist: there is, and it’s called Plot Twist.

Is it worth playing? No. Unfortunately, this has turned about to be worse performing Quest of the bunch. Even though this deck packs a ton of healing for a Warlock deck, it still needs more cards to deal with early game aggression. Perhaps in the next expansion, it will receive more cards to support its playstyle.

Mage Quest: Raid the Sky Temple

The Quest. Raid the Sky Temple asks Mages to cast spells. Really? That’s like their thing. To complete the Quest, the Mage player must cast 10 spells. That’s a third of your deck dedicated to spells, but with cards like Magic Trick, Twinspells like Conjurer’s Calling, and Ray of Frost, plus spells generated from Mana Cyclone, you could cast complete the Quest with far fewer dedicated spells.

The reward. For 2 mana, your new hero power Ascendant Scroll adds a random Mage spell to your hand, and it costs 2 less. It’s a permanent Primordial Glyph, but weaker because it’s purely random instead of letting you pick a card with Discover.

The results. Still, this is an infinite value generator for Mage. Any spell you get even — Pyroblast or the new Puzzle Box of Yogg Saron — will be playable on the same turn. You’ll want to run this quest with the Giants package (Mountain Giant, Sea Giant) along with the power cards of Archmage Antonidas, Luna’s Pocket Galaxy, and Conjurer’s Calling.

Is it worth playing? No. The deck is held back by the randomness of the generated spells and the by skipping Mage’s excellent board clears. Quest Mage is tier 3 deck with a sub 50% win rate. Mage simply has better options right now. Big Mage is doing well and as I’ve found out on stream is a ton of fun to play. Control Mage and Highlander Mage are high tier 2 decks.

Mage players don’t need to try to force the Quest to work in order to earn wins.

Warrior Quest: Hack the System

The Quest. Hack the System is a weapon based Quest. To complete it, the Warrior must attack with his Hero four times. While you can dream of a one turn completion with Sul’thraze, it’s still Turn 6. Warrior is better off with cheaper weapons like the new Livewire Lance, Wrenchcalibur from Boomsday and Woodcutter’s Axe from The Witchwood. Throw in an Upgrade for good measure and you’ve got plenty of ammunition to complete the quest.

The reward. This is a good one: your hero power now summons a 4/3 minion, and it refreshes each time you attack — meaning you can use it more than once per turn. You can keep sustained board pressure on your opponent and get 4/3 for 2 mana on top of it. It’s a great value.

Is it worth playing? No. The quest is a little inconsistent as it relies on specific key cards in your deck. It’s hard to say how powerful Quest Warrior might be because it’s just not being played — and it’s easy to see why. Control Warrior is a dominate tier 1 deck, and new Aggro Warrior is also strong. Aggro Warriors don’t want to give up their first turn to start the quest, and Control Warrior would rather have the Dr. Boom hero powers.

Priest Quest: Activate the Obelisk

The Quest. Surprise! While the Warlocks Quest requires them to draw cards, the Priest Quest requires them to heal. To activate the Quest, you just need to heal 15 damage — this can be minions, your own face, or even your opponent’s minions and face. Quest Priest has proved to be a little slower than some thought in the days leading up to Saviors release. To increase the consistency of getting the Quest done in a reasonable number of turns, you have to add some cards to your deck that wouldn’t be strong enough to make the cut if you weren’t running the Quest.

The reward. The Obelisk’s Eye hero power is a straight upgrade: it heals for 3 and also gives minions healed +3/+3. If you’re ahead on the board, you can turn a minion into an unstoppable force quickly. The Quest does create some interesting decisions for your opponent. Chip away at your health and help you complete the quest or hold back?

Is it worth playing? Yes! Activate the Obelisk is one of the better performing Quests right now hanging on to a spot in tier 2 with a 50% win rate. Activate the Obelisk improved the Taunt Resurrect Priest from Rise of Shadows. Much like the Diamond Spellstone version, the deck relies on spell removal to survive until it can drop Convincing Infiltrator, Zilliax, Archmage Vargoth and Mosh’Ogg Enforcers. It gives Mass Resurrection and Psychopomp plenty of good targets. Plague of Death is the ultimate board clear. With all the big mana spells the deck runs, you can an instant big board with King Phaoris.

Rogue Quest: Bazaar Burglary

The Quest. After many years of Hearthstone, Blizzard figured out it made more sense for Rogue to the be premier stealing class instead of Priest, and Bazaar Burglary continues that trend. The Quest requires you to add four cards from another class to your hand — you don’t even have to play them, just steal them. The new card Clever Disguise, along with old favorites like Blink Fox and Hench-Clan Burglar, make it easy enough to complete.

The reward. This is another good one. It upgrades your hero power to give you Ancient Blades, a 3/2 weapon that makes you immune while attacking. This is a great tool for helping Rogue stay even or ahead on the board and has brought Blade Flurry back into the meta.

The results. The deck survives until it can pull off the power plays of either Heistbaron Togwaggle or Tess Greymane. Hitting either with a Togwaggle’s Scheme can be too much value for most decks to deal with — but the problem is surviving long enough.

Is it worth playing? Not seriously. The deck is somewhat at the mercy of the RNG of the cards you generate, and Rogue, aside from Blade Flurry, struggles with wide boards. The deck can be fun, but its better for casual matches with a sub 45% win rate.

Hunter Quest: Unseal the Vault

The Quest. Unseal the Vault asks you summon 20 minions, so Quest decks runs plenty of generators like Halazzi, the Lynx, Unleash the Hounds, and Swarm of Locusts. Still, this Quest takes some time to complete.

The reward. Once you do complete it, the reward is, essentially, Savage Roar as a hero power.

The results. This should lead to a zoo/token type of deck, but it isn’t working as well in Hunter as it did in Druid. Perhaps a Soul of the Forest type of card comes next expansion to help the Quest. Soul of the Jungle, maybe?

Should you play it? No. Part of the problem is Hunter has better options right now. Highlander and Secret Hunter are both tier 1 decks with fantastic win rates. Neither wants nor needs the Quest.

Paladin Quest: Making Mummies

The Quest. Making Mummies didn’t get much hype in the lead up to Saviors of Uldum, but it’s turned out to be the best-performing Quest of the bunch. The Quest is simple, just asking you to play five Reborn minions. When the Quest was previewed, the Reborn pool was limited and people worried you’d be forced to play suboptimal cards to complete the quest. Even with the full complement of Reborn minions, you’re running some cards that probably wouldn’t be in your deck without the Quest — but you have a lot of options. The current Reborn pack includes Murmy, Micro Mummy, Temple Berserker, Candletaker, Ancestral Guardian, Bone Wraith, and Khartut Defender.

The reward. And the reward for this Quest is fantastic. Emperor Wraps makes a 2/2 copy of any friendly minion.

The results. In addition to copying your Reborn minions, this power shines when combined with Zilliax, Mechano-Egg, and Mechanical Whelp. Mass Dispel can be a problem, but as long as you’re smart about not playing all your Eggs and Whelps at once, you can play around it. Like many Quests, the key is draw your activators so the Quest is done when you draw your buff targets.

Is it worth playing? Yes. One of the reasons this Quest is performing so well is it has a good match up with one of the most popular decks in the meta right now, Control Warrior. Reborn gives it a stick board, and the deathrattle minions laugh at Brawl.

Are quests worth it?

Quests in Hearthstone make for some interesting gameplay — but their quality has been a mixed bag, and these new Quests are no exception. Paladin and Priest have great Quest decks, but most other classes you have better deck options. If you happen to have a Quest card there’s no harm in trying it — but most of them probably won’t help you rank up.