3. Dragon Consort (Paladin)
Card Text: 5/5, 5 mana. Battlecry: The next Dragon you play costs (2) less. Prior to release, Dragon Consort looked to be one of the strongest cards in the set, and that has turned out to be the case. Cost reduction mechanics are always powerful in any card game, so it isnt a surprise to see that Dragon Consort is doing well. As far as its stats go, Dragon consort is nothing special, but thats fine. A 5/5 for 5 mana minion is on curve but nothing to shout about, but at the same time it isnt drastically awful either. Look at Loatheb, another 5 cost 5/5 minion Loatheb sees play in a variety of decks even with its fairly average stats, because its ability is powerful. The same applies to the Dragon Consort its Battlecry effect is so useful that it makes up for the average stats. So lets talk about that Battlecry. The Dragon Consort is probably the biggest incentive to play with a Dragon deck in Hearthstone, because it lets some of the biggest dragons out there appear way ahead of the curve. Youre essentially getting a deferred Innervate attached to a fairly hefty minion, and Innervate is already pretty powerful. In the ideal situation, a Dragon Consort on turn 5 can lead directly into Chromaggus on turn 6, or even Ysera if the Coin is still around. Even without having a big Dragon to ramp into, the Consort can let you play something like an Azure Drake or Volcanic Drake cheaply, and still have mana to protect it on the same turn. And the Consort is a Dragon itself, so it will activate supporting cards like Rend Blackhand or Blackwing Corruptor. If Dragons are your thing, look no further - this guy is pretty much the pick of the bunch.