Chillwind Yeti
Mana: 4
Attack: 4
Health: 5
Crafting cost: N/A
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Basic
TC: Glamorous? No. Effective? Yes. There's a reason the 4/5 abominable snowman pops up in so many basic decks, and that's because at four mana you won't find many better footsoldiers amongst the neutral class of minions.
Remember: not every card in your deck needs to have a fancy effect, so long as the baseline stats are attractive enough, but players of 'control' decks should consider swapping for Sen'jin Shieldmasta , while heavy spell users might take the Ogre Magi as an alternative.
Cairne Bloodhoof
Mana: 6
Attack: 4
Health: 5
Crafting cost: 1600
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Legendary
Deathrattle: Summon a 4/5 Baine Bloodhoof.
TC: As the crafting cost confirms, this is one of the best legendaries out there – and has become a must-have in many decks. Because Cairne summons another 4/5 Bloodhoof when he croaks, playing him is akin to sticking two Chillwind Yetis down on the board. And hey, you know how much we love those Chillwind Yetis.
He's also a bit like a deluxe version of the also excellent Harvest Golem. Both cards are likely to become even more important as Deathrattles become more of a factor after the release of the Curse Of Naxxramas content in the summer.
Water Elemental
Mana: 4
Attack: 3
Health: 6
Crafting Cost: N/A
Class: Mage
Rarity: Basic
Freeze any character damaged by this minion.
VS: Chillwind Yeti is often cited as the best 4-mana Basic minion. That might be true when considering only Neutral cards, but the Mage class has access to an even better option.
Water Elemental is stupendously durable at 6 health, without being totally passive. It's 3 attack allows it to deal with any 1-3 health minion. Essentially, it's a more durable Chillwind Yeti with the added benefit of dictating board trades by using freeze to prevent an enemy minion from attacking.
It can even stall weapons by hitting the enemy hero. In general, weapons are incredibly efficient in terms of tempo, so being able to stop them from removing your minions can often seal the game.
Harvest Golem
Mana: 3
Attack: 2
Health: 3
Crafting cost: 1600
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Common
Deathrattle: Summon a 2/1 Damaged Golem.
TC: A deceptively solid minion, thanks to its Deathrattle ability, which summons another weaker Golem. Add the two together and you're looking at 4/4 minion for 3 mana.
That also means it can't be taken out by a single attack, other than a removal card, and helps insulate it from area of effect spells. The Harvest Golem is cheap to craft too, so consider swapping a couple into your deck in exchange for footsoldier cards like Acidic Swamp Ooze or Faerie Dragon .
Lord Jaraxxus
Mana: 9
Attack: 3
Health: 15
Crafting cost: 1600
Class: Warlock
Rarity: Legendary
Battlecry: Destroy your hero and replace him with Lord Jaraxxus
GW: Jaraxxus completely changes how a Warlock is played. Knowing that you can reset your hero's life total to 15, equip one of the most absurd weapons in the game [the 3/8 Blood Fury], and play a 6/6 minion for 2 mana on every turn [he swaps the Warlock's Life Tap hero ability for INFERNO!, which summons a 6/6 Infernal at a cost of 2 mana] gives Handlock players the safety net to use the Life Tap ability as much as necessary.
TC: I mean, be serious, why wouldn't you want to become Lord Jaraxxus?
Onyxia
Mana: 9
Attack: 8
Health: 8
Crafting cost: 1600
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Legendary
Battlecry: Summon 1/1 Whelps until your side of the battlefield is full.
PW: I do not have this card. I would like this card. What Onyxia does is make sure your side of the board has 7 minions on it, so if you play her after a boardwipe you're essentially bringing 14/14 to the table.
It's this ability to capitalise on a later game board disadvantage that makes her strong. You can also use her minion-flood in conjunction with cards like Knife Juggler which spits out random damage at the enemy according to how many minions you summon.
Gurubashi Berserker
Mana: 5
Attack: 2
Health: 7
Crafting cost: NA
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Basic
Whenever this minion takes damage, gain +3 Attack.
TC: The 'bashi Beserker's low attack is offset by high health and a potent reaction to being hurt, which results in a +3 attack boost each time.
It's particularly effective in Warrior decks, where cards like Rampage , Charge and Inner Rage can make that attack stat rocket (the latter instantly turns him into a 7/6 minion), but any hero can use low damage attacks and/or healing to juice him up. As ever, beware your opponent's removal cards.
Murloc Warleader
Mana: 3
Attack: 3
Health: 3
Crafting cost: 40
Class: Neutral
Rarity: Epic
ALL other Murlocs have +2/+1
TC: For a while Murloc 'rush' decks, which overwhelm the opponent with low cost amphibians, were all the rage – and cards like this are why.
Having slapped down a load of cheap Murlocs, (use Murloc Tidehunter ), playing this in conjunction with a Coldlight Seer or a Grimscale Oracle , which offer yet more buffs, will create a froggy army. One note of caution: it will also buff any enemy Murlocs.
