The Totem tribe in Hearthstone has been a part of the Shaman identity since Hearthstone's very conception.
The Hero Power, the classic cards used to boost minion damage and card draw, and the fact that they all have zero attack make for a fascinating way to play.
Totem synergy has been attempted in Hearthstone in the past, with decks like Totem Shaman being a pretty powerful aggro option back in the Ashes of Outland expansion, but it hasn't quite kept that strength in more recent years. Well, this new Totem card is looking to change that, with a constant stream of summons if your opponent doesn't deal with it. Introducing the Party Favor Totem.
Party Favor Totem Revealed
At the moment, the Shaman class is dominated by Murloc builds, so it makes sense to try and add more cards of differing classes in an attempt to balance things out a little bit more. The Party Favor Totem is a 3 mana 0/3 Totem. Its card text reads: "At the end of your turn, summon a random basic Totem. Infuse (2): Summon two instead".
Here's how it looks - it's really bringing the party!
If you aren't sure what the Infuse keyword does, don't worry. Basically, cards with Infuse are upgraded in the player's hand when friendly minions are killed. The number refers to how many minions must die off before your card transforms.
So, Party Favor Totem will turn into a much gnarlier-looking version of itself when it's seen its compatriots perish. Burning up and summoning more friends to help out, you'll want to be playing it with this .
The basic Totems this card can summon are the Searing, Healing, Stoneclaw, and Strength Totems, all of which have various impacts on the board state. Searing is a blank 1/1 minion, whilst the other three all have 0/2 statlines. They heal all your minions by one, have Taunt, and give another friendly minion one attack, respectively.
Whether the Party Favor Totem has an impact on the meta remains to be seen - I can see it being decent in an aggressive deck, in which you keep it in your hand for your mulligan and get a couple minions killed quickly. Then, it's a constant danger, offering up to seven health in stats when it's first played, increasing every turn your opponent can't kill it off.
If you get the Stoneclaw Totem from this effect, it'll be even harder to kill given that they have to get past a Taunt! This constantly-regenerating board could put your opponent on the back foot, leading to a big ol' Bloodlust turn finishing them off.
What do you think of the Party Favor Totem, though? Will it make a splash in Hearthstone? Can we expect calls for nerfs on launch day? We shall soon see.
The Murder at Castle Nathria event launches on August 2nd 2022, so get your magnifying glass out and your deerstalker hat on before you become the next victim.