5. Imp Gang Boss (Warlock)
Card text: 2/4, 3 mana. Whenever this minion takes damage, summon a 1/1 Imp. Imp Gang Boss has become a staple card in virtually all Warlock decks, and it isnt difficult to see why. Its stats of 2/4 for 3 mana are pretty good for a 3-cost minion and well worth the mana investment, especially in the early turns of the game. In particular, having 4 health means it will survive an attack from most other 2 and 3 cost minions, as well as the early 3-attack weapons like Fiery War Axe. Youre likely to get two or potentially even three Imps out of the deal, which maximises the Gang Boss value. In the more aggressive versions of Warlock, like Zoo, just having the Imps in play is valuable - they can trade into larger minions using cards like Abusive Sergeant or Power Overwhelming. In the more controlling versions such as the Demon decks, the Imps - being Demons - synergise with the Demon cards (MalGanis, anyone?), becoming more of a threat than they otherwise would be. The Gang Boss itself is also a Demon, so in the ideal scenario with MalGanis in play on your side of the board, you have a 4/6 minion spawning a 3/3 minion every time it takes damage. Thats nuts. Warlock doesnt really have a viable alternative 3-cost minion, either. Felguard is unattractive since it throws off your mana curve by destroying one of your own mana crystals, and Void Terror destroys your own minions, which is not ideal when youre fighting for board control early on. Imp Gang Boss is therefore a competitive-standard card ready to go straight into pretty much any Warlock deck you can think up, since it has neither a drawback nor poor enough stats to make it unattractive to play on curve. Whilst it may not be the most exciting card in the set, and certainly isnt the game-winning card, theres no denying that the Gang Boss deserves its place in the competitive metagame.