Awakening Impressions LoR Spoilers Day 12: Ornn Support Pack
Hey all, it’s Trevor “Shugo” Yung here and today we’ve got a bunch of cards for the new Forge archetype!
If you’ve missed the previous reveals or need a quick refresher, here’s how the mechanic works.
Forge: Grant an ally +1|+1. If the ally is equipped, grant it to their item instead.
To see the rest of the Awakening reveals, head to our Spoiler page where they’ll be revealed each day until its official release.
If you’d like to see our expert breakdowns for the cards, check out the rest of our reveal articles.
Combat Cook
This is a really cool design for the Forge archetype, while also being overall flexibly useful. It’s another dual-region and Weaponmaster card which opens up a lot of future deck-building potential.
The average Improvise equipment gives +2|+1 in stats, with the lesser options having more powerful keywords. Couple this with the +1|+1 from Forge, and we’ve got a four mana 5/4 with a keyword that gives a forged equipment once he leaves play.
While the actual results will vary, that’s a pretty solid average baseline. The stats are respectable enough to be playable, but it will really come down to how valuable the equipment is to the deck later in the game.
Honestly, the biggest challenge may just be its mana cost. The four mana slot is very competitive in both Freljord and Demacia, and that’s not even taking into account the many other playable options from their paired regions.
At the very least, Combat Cook is an obvious choice for any equipment based deck.
Weaponsmith’s Apprentice
Having access to additional stats early on can be a massive benefit, especially when those stats are permanent. Being able to equip an ally, get an additional +1|+1, then reuse those stats later is quite powerful.
Weaponsmith’s Apprentice gives you this benefit at the cost of being a weak 1/1 follower itself. It’s tough to say whether or not this is worth the trade off.
If Forge decks are able to greatly utilize the same equipment over and over again, the additional +1|+1 will make up for the initial stat loss. Curving Apprentice into Jax gives you a 4/3 Quick Attack on turn two, and that’s pretty solid.
There’s definitely some potential here, but it could end up being a trap depending how the meta shapes out. This isn’t a unit you’ll want to trade on the first turn, and one health makes it vulnerable to pings.
Hearthblood Mender
Having access to additional stats early on can be a massive benefit, especially when those stats are permanent. Being able to equip an ally, get an additional +1|+1, then reuse those stats later is quite powerful.
Weaponsmith’s Apprentice gives you this benefit at the cost of being a weak 1/1 follower itself. It’s tough to say whether or not this is worth the trade off.
If Forge decks are able to greatly utilize the same equipment over and over again, the additional +1|+1 will make up for the initial stat loss. Curving Apprentice into Jax gives you a 4/3 Quick Attack on turn two, and that’s pretty solid.
There’s definitely some potential here, but it could end up being a trap depending how the meta shapes out. This isn’t a unit you’ll want to trade on the first turn, and one health makes it vulnerable to pings.
Adept Weaponsmith
At three mana this is a solid follow up to a turn two equipment play. However, there currently aren’t a lot of options that fit that curve. Jax is the primary target as he comes down auto-equipped. Ionian Hookmaster is the only real other choice, unless we’ve managed to play a unit, plus equip it, all with only three mana.
Giving +1|+1 to a unit without a weapon isn’t the worst case, but isn’t enough to justify the card if that’s the usual result.
The other issue is having our 2-drop removed before Weaponsmith can come down to buff it. Then we fall victim to the issue all Support decks have.. Not having a target to benefit from.
I think we’ll have to wait and see the rest of the reveals. Alongside more consistent early equipment support, Adept Weaponsmith becomes a very nice option. As it stands, I’m not convinced it’ll be consistent enough to be worth it.
Favored Artisan
This has always been a somewhat awkward stat line for a 2-drop. Against X/1’s it’s fantastic and it can help slow the game down, but can be pretty bad against many other board states.
That being said, having extra health makes it a pretty reasonable target for equipment as it’s less prone to removal. And as an added bonus, its generated spell Time and Dedication will improve it further.
It’s a little bit slow, so we’ll have to see how these Forge decks shape up.. But Favored Artisan does offer some nice utility to be worth considering.
Demacian Steel
Demacian Steel is as simple as equipment gets. It’s like a reusable Battlefield Prowess, except it has the potential to become even better with Forge.
At a baseline this feels pretty weak, as Demacia often wants to fully utilize its mana to curve out efficiently. Any spell mana it banks is usually vital for interaction, so sparing even one mana could be a challenge, especially for a mediocre effect.
It could be a decent filler card to help smooth out any awkward curves, and since it’s an equipment, it won’t feel wasteful to use (like Battlefield Prowess would be).
If you’re able to Forge it, Demacian Steel is the real deal. A repeatable +2|+2 grant for one mana is incredible and will turn just about any unit into a relevant threat.
Once again, we’ll have to see the rest of the support cards. We still only have just a handful of Forge effects, and not all of them are efficient. Fingers crossed we get some more goodies before the patch!
Shugo’s Productivity Thought of the Day
Instead of stopping work at the perfect conclusion, consider stopping part way through. Quit in a spot where you absolutely don’t want to stop; deep in the heart of the task.
Once it’s time to work again, you may find it a lot easier to begin.
It’s easier to brush off work when you’re at a point that you can “always continue from later”.
Stay tuned for more reveal articles! To build your own deck, head to our Deck Builder.
