Oh wow Blizzard, you were just teasing us the first three weeks weren’t you? Just pretending that you’d set the difficulty to a level that was challenging but nothing more than that. Because boy does the Construct Quarter top everything seen before it in difficulty. Which I suppose makes sense as it’s the forth wing…
As I said up there, the forth wing of Naxxramas proved to be the most difficult one so far, and while some of that could be put down to the fact that it hosts FOUR bosses instead of the three per wing we’ve been used to; honestly most of it is down to the first two bosses. That was my experience of it anyway.
The bosses this time are Patchwerk, a creature who plays with no deck (weirdly) but is equipped from the start with a weapon with 8 durability that hits for 5 damage each time. And has a Deathrattle that returns it to his hand after it breaks, so he can play is again for 3 mana. On top of this, his 4 mana cost ability allows him to destroy any minion on the board. If you have a deck full of Taunt and low cost Charge, you stand a chance. Also, any card that can destroy his weapon might help you. I personally did it by adding two Acidic Swamp Oozes into my deck.
Next is Grobbulus, a boss that gave both myself and our station manager trouble. His Hero Power is a 2 mana cost ability that causes 1 damage to all minions on the field and summons him a 2/2 slime if any die because of it. He’s also very fond of the Echoing Ooze, and giving it a power up that buffs it 4/4 and gives it Taunt. One is annoying enough, but given that the Echoing Ooze divides once at the end of the turn it is played you suddenly have double the trouble.
The third boss is Gluth, and after the first two bosses I personally didn’t find him as hard. His Hero Power is a 2 mana cost that reduces all minions on the field to 1 health. The only thing you really need to be aware of is that he has a special weapon card for 1 mana – Jaws. At 5 durability and 1 damage you’d think it easy, but every time a Deathrattle minion dies, it gains +2 power. This includes your minions. Keeping a careful eye on it and thinking about your actions means that you should be able to control its power and not get bitten too badly by him (if you’ll excuse the pun).
Finally, you face off against Thaddius; a giant reanimated and seemingly being forced to fight you. His Hero Power costs nothing and inverts the Attack and Health of all minions on the field. He does this at the beginning of every turn without fail, so once again a little careful thought means that you can win although he is tougher than Gluth certainly. Beat him and you can be sure that Kel’Thuzad is not impressed and has had enough… cliffhanger to the Frostwyrm Lair next week and the final wing!
The Class Challenges once again are harder than they have been in the last few weeks, the Warrior one against Grobbulus and the Priest one against Thaddius. Once against Thaddius is easier of an opponent because of his stat-switching ability which he also uses here without fail at the start of every turn. Grobbulus? Well, keep trying and hope that you beat him. That is honestly the only way I managed to beat the Warrior class challenge.
In summary the Construct Quarter surprised me with how difficult it was. At times the level of difficulty with Patchwerk and Grobbulus had me somewhat annoyed, but since the end prize was two Legendaries (Feugen and Stalagg) I guess I can’t complain too much. I certainly earned those cards. The fact that at least 3 of the bosses required you to control or take advantage of their weaponry and abilities gets a tick from me though, Hearthstone should be a game that requires you to really think about your next action and with this Quarter I was made to do just that. Can’t wait for the final wing and the Frostwyrm Lair!
… Grobbulus can get knotted though frankly.
