Zygote 1-) Tortugan Scout
Utilizing spells was already a key aspect of Intellect and with the release of hero abilities and Starter Expansion, it became more significant. Tortugan Scout contributes to this playstyle by reducing the cost of your highest-cost spell by 1 on the play, making it easier to play. As a unit, it doesn’t offer much more than its ability, but the ability can be useful for playing your spells easily. On top of that it can be used not only in Ari decks but all sorts of Intellect decks. If it can combined with other cost-reducing cards such as Hexed Siren the effect can become even more useful.
Ari
General
2-) Visions
A very simple 1 cost card allowing you to draw a spell. Even though the effect is simple, it allows you to cycle through your deck and since the cost is very low, it can allow you to trigger the effects of other cards that require a spell to be played.
Ari
General
3-) Twinspear
A nice low-cost spell that allows you to deal damage to a target of your choice and adds a Spear Shot to your hand that you can use at any time, which can be beneficial for both dealing with threats and triggering card effects. Overall, it’s a nice simple design that grants you options to play.
Ari
General
4-) Spellstorer
Spellstorer is a risky card to have in your deck that can be rewarding for its cost depending on the amount of spells you played or it can stay in your hand for a while waiting for the right turn to be played. Its condition makes it not too easy to play because it can come onto the board as a weak card without any additional effects. One of the drawbacks of the card is it can affect your late-game development negatively. Since players may play most of their spells to summon Spellstorer as a strong low-cost unit, they may find themselves out of spells and may not utilize their other units well because of this. Overall, it can be easier to play this unit in Ari’s decks thanks to Ari’s ability and it’s a risky choice in other decks.
Ari
General
5-) Maskmaker
Another simple card for Intellect Prism that can benefit Mind Spell strategies. Since it is a Mind unit, it can combine with them well, and since it draws a spell it can benefit decks that utilize them. It is not an extremely beneficial card but useful for having more options in hand.
Ari
General
6-) Reload
A 2-cost spell that adds your hand two 0-cost deal 1 dmg spells. It allows you to play a minimum of 3 spells in a turn which can boost the effects of some units such as; Tortugan Tinker and Tortugan Shaman. Other than that, damage-wise the spell is weak compared to other spells at its cost but the variety it adds is beneficial.
Ari
General
7-) Grizzled Fisher
Grizzled Fisher can be a very annoying unit to play against, because of its low attack it can escape from many removal spells and thanks to its high health, again it can survive many removal spells and survive against enemy attacks especially if it is played during early turns, eventually granting its user several Spear Shots that can come in handy. Grizzled Fisher can be useful for allowing other units to utilize their effects and also help remove the threats on board.
Ari
General
😎 Tortugan Fisher
A unit that can get powerful depending on how many spells you can play and also depending on whether your opponent can remove it. Since it doesn’t have any protection and not so high base stats it is not so hard to remove both with units and spells. Thanks to its spell it can become 3-4 on the turn that it is played and it can benefit from Ari’s ability. Even though its attack power can scale up easily, the unit is very vulnerable to removal and doesn’t affect the state of the game instantly which makes it not so effective but an okay card to use.
Ari
General
9-) Tortugan Monk
Different from Tortugan Fisher and Tinker, both of Monk’s attack and health increases if you are able to play a spell, but at the end of the turn instead of an instant increase. Since both of its stats increase, overall it can become a more reliable unit that can stay on board but it can’t make the huge effect quickly that Tortugan Fisher is able to make. Overall, if it can survive the first 1-2 turns, Monk can become effective but other than that it might not be the best option to play.
Ari
General
10-) Tortugan Tinker
Similar to Tortugan Fisher, Tinker also benefits from the spells that you play, this time increasing its health for each spell that you play. Compared to Fisher, Tinker has more chance to survive on board and benefit in the long run. After you play 2 spells, it becomes a 3-cost 4-4, which is not a bad stat line and has the potential to get even stronger on the turn you play it thanks to Ari’s ability and its 0-cost attached spell. Overall, it is not a bad card to create some aggression and deal with enemy units, but it is definitely a better card in Ari decks.
Ari
General
11-) Mystic Secrets
Another simple yet beneficial addition to the Intellect card pool. Instead of drawing randomly, Secrets draws two spells, granting you more options to play and allowing you to access your key cards/answers easily. The card can be played both in and outside of Ari decks, making it a nice option to include in decks.
Ari
General
12-) Masked Crystalmage
As I mentioned in the previous part of the series, Skyweaver’s mana system changed with the release of Starter Expansion and cards that grant Mana Crystals become more valuable. Crystalmage is one of the cards that grants a Mana Crystal but its value is much less when compared to some of the other cards that grant Mana Crystal such as; Gemboid and Vialet due to its cost and its impact. In the case of 1-cost units, it’s easier to compromise their weak stats and cover up what they lack with other cards, however, Crystalmage is a 4-cost, 2-6 unit that doesn’t create any solid impact on board and it is much harder to cover up for it with other cards at this stage of the game. The mage can still find itself some use in certain decks but right now it is far from an insta include card for Intellect decks.
Ari
General
13-) Tortugan Raider
Tortugan Raider is a unit that requires you to play a spell so that you can get its benefit at the end of the turn. My question is, if its benefit is strong enough to play this unit at 4 cost. Having an extra free Spear Shot in hand is useful to trigger the effects of the other cards at later turns, it can help you to build up for future combos, such as; Cryogen or Tortugan Shaman. In this regard, the card seems not bad. On the other hand, you also need to spend a spell to be able to trigger this effect and this might not be so easy to do each time, especially if you are not playing Ari. I think the card has a potential but could be better if it had any attached spell, such as a Spear Shot to make it more useful outside of Ari too.
Ari
General
14-) Masked Sentinel
Sentinel has an easy-to-trigger effect if you are Playing an Ari deck. Most probably you will have a 0-cost Spear Shot in hand to benefit from Sentinel’s effect. Outside of Ari, it is harder to benefit from its effect, and if it is played without triggering its effect, Sentinel becomes a very weak card. Is it a strong card when its effect triggers? I think not so much. Yes, it can hold the game a little more but the amount of damage that Sentinel and its copy can deal and hold is not so much and they are very open to being removed from the board with removal spells. Overall, not a very strong card, especially if it is played outside of Ari
Ari
General
15-) Tortugan Crusher
Crusher is another card that can benefit from being in an Ari deck, which can help trigger its effect much easier. If you can trigger its effect on the turn that is played, Crusher is not a bad card standing strong as a 5-cost, 7-7. Even if your opponent damages it, if it can survive, Crusher can gain its life back and continue dealing damage and holding the game. In a situation where it stays on board unanswered, Crusher can become a serious threat and deal a good amount of damage. Overall, a nice addition to Ari decks and not a bad card for some Intellect decks.
Ari
General
16-) Avalanche
An interesting addition to Intellect because we already had the Frigid Blizzard in the game at 5-cost. Avalanche comes with two main advantages when compared to Blizzard. First, it can deal the 3 damage to units with Lead, second it doesn’t attach Frostbite to your units giving them a chance to survive in later turns. If you don’t have any units on board, Blizzard can become much more useful especially if you can combine it with Ari’s ability. Also as a removal tool in general Blizzard is more effective against units with higher stats. Overall, not the best removal spells but a not bad addition for some control and midrange decks.
Ari
General
17-) Many Faces
Many Faces is one of the new Intellect units that doesn’t see enough use these days. As a 6-cost card, it comes with weak base stats, and when it is played if you can’t trigger its effect it doesn’t create any impact. Its attached spell is also not very cheap, making it a 9-cost card if you are planning to trigger its effect just by using the attached spell. Playing it in Ari decks makes it easier to trigger its effect on the play making it a 6-6, which is still pretty weak since it doesn’t create any instant impact or protection, and even if it can get stronger on the turn you play it, your opponent can remove it with a removal and you may not get any benefit out of it. Overall, if it can survive, Many Faces can be a strong threat but other than that it is a not-so-useful card to play.
Ari
General
18-) See Beyond
Another 6-cost +1+1 card, this time for Mind and Water units. Intellect units usually tend to have low stats and they fall back when compared to the units of other prisms, See Beyond can help water and mind-focused decks by making their units stronger. Especially water focused decks are very common for the Intellect prism, so they can utilize See Beyond. However as I mentioned in the previous parts of the series, +1+1 cards can be beneficial but they are risky to play. If you are already leading/controlling the game they can benefit you more, however, if you are behind and your opponent is pushing you, they can make you lose the game, because you will be skipping an important turn by playing this card instead of playing an answer. Overall, See Beyond can be slightly better than other +1+1 cards, because some Intellect decks focus on late-game control strategies, but still it is not a top-tier card.
Ari
General
19-) Sea Storm
3 base damage is pretty low for a 7-cost spell, even though it only deals damage to the enemy units. Luckily this spell allows you to deal more damage depending on how many water spells you played on the turn that you are going to play Sea Storm. Even if you have a Spear Shot in your hand you can make Sea Storm deal 4 and possibly more damage. Because of its condition, it’s a risky spell choice because there will be games in which you will need to play your water spells earlier and be left with no spells to trigger Sea Storm’s condition. In Ari decks the card can be easier to play because of Ari’s hero ability, outside of Ari it is still not bad but not the best.
Ari
General
20-) Shell Commander
A card that is similar to the Shell Officer but the Commander can fill the board on the turn that is played. Commander summons a 1-5 Guard unit whenever you play a spell from hand, allowing it to create large walls depending on how many playable spells you have in your hand. The problem is that during the turns that you play the Commander, your opponent will possibly have answers in hand to deal with the Shellguards that the Commander summons. Also, the enemy units probably will be strong enough to deal with them. In addition to that Commander itself doesn’t have a strong body or a protective ability to defend itself. Because of all these reasons currently Shell Commander is not a very strong card to play, especially outside of Ari decks.
Ari
General
21-) Shellhemoth
Shellhemoth is a large defensive unit that comes with a defensive ability on top of its defensive body. Its ability allows you to reduce the health of enemy units on board and makes it easier to clear enemy units with your own units. Usually, its ability won’t deal too much because it is not easy to play many spells at turn 8, especially if you are not playing Ari. Its 10 health can allow it to survive enemy attacks but its attack power is not very impressive making it not so effective against strong late-game units. Overall, it is not a bad defensive option to play but if your opponent is already stacking up large units, it can’t do a lot.
Ari
General
22-) Vathyos, the Sunken
Vathyos is Intellect’s new 10-cost finisher, which can deal 10 damage to the enemy hero on play. If your hand has any empty slots it adds Spear Shots to your hand allowing you to choose the targets yourself. Vathyos is a powerful card thanks to its ability which can also create nice combos with other cards such as Cryogen or Frost Adebt. One problem of Vathyos is Armor. If the enemy hero has Armor, its ability suddenly becomes useless. Armor on hero is not very common but there are decks that utilize this strategy. Also, the Spear Shots on hand lose their effects if the enemy units have armor. Vathyos is not a bad card that can cause some problems for your opponent, however, it is not a finisher that suits all kinds of decks. It mostly performs well in combo decks, and it can be used both in and outside of Ari decks.
Ari
General
Thanks for reading the final part of the series.
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