Why Quake is Hurr's favourite scroll

Quake - the ultimate double edged sword. When I first encountered this card, I absolutely despised it. Admittedly that was only because it was a complete ball-ache once I had placed my units all perfectly on the field, only to have them wiped out in one move and my opponent taunting me with “LOLQUAKE”.

I soon discovered however that Quake can be dealt with if you plan carefully. Keeping an eye on your enemies ramp is key, as soon as they reach 7 I know it’s going to be quake time. There are several ways to avoid being wiped out – the first is to hold out. Don’t put all your units down as soon as you can, place a few units carefully and keep the rest in your hand. Maintain a steady ramp so you can make a quick recovery.

The second option is to make your units fat, Crowne of Strength, Bear Paw or anything that reduces damage/increases health. You can also reduce their units health below 5 to decrease the chance of them wanting to use Quake – cards such as Thunder Surge and Frost Wind work well.

Once I built my own growth deck (after sticking to order for a while) I was so used to avoiding Quake that I had learned the perfect time to use it in order to screw the other guy over. I baited my enemies with kinfolk and wolves, forcing them to place more units. Once my small units had done some damage and were picked off, my enemy had a field full of units which are easily wiped out with Quake.

I guess it’s the cat and mouse game between players that make Quake such an interesting card; you have to take your own units as well as your enemies into consideration. And if the other player is also running Quake, you have to decide if you want to use it before or after they do.

Overall, I think Quake can be a powerful card if used correctly. I’ve seen a few players use quake, causing their own untimely demise (e.g waking stones only take 1 damage) and I admit to have forgotten about Potion of Resistance (a costly mistake - thanks Durr!). It is certainly a must have for all growth decks and I will be interested to see if order or energy will have any similar mass removal cards introduced in the future.

  Cost: 7 Growth

Type: Spell

Ability: Deal 4 damage to all units.

Lore: Even the bravest get scared when even the ground beneath them attacks.

Rarity: Rare