This card has very interesting design! I like it a lot. The common matchups it can have are:
1/2 or 2/1 = 1/8 warmaul challenger still standing
1/3 or 3/1 = 1/7
2/2 = 1/6
2/3 or 3/2 = 1/4
2/4 or 4/2 = 1/2
3/3 = 1/1
3/4 or 4/3 = draw (both minions die)

As mentioned this card goes very well with handbuff mechanics including Galakrond

Looks possible in say, Quest Druid. Even with Fungal Fortunes I’d still play 2x Oasis Surger as they’re just too good.

Thing is, that deck doesn’t really need more card draw, as it already has Rising Winds and Nourish. And the other minions it runs, such as Ysera Unleashed or even Steel Beetle, seem more important to the deck than just more card draw.

Arguably better in Rogue as you need 1 less mana for the initial secret. Also in Mage it wouldn’t have the “from a different class” keywords.

🙁

Good in a spell-based control deck
Early game: great stats for trading
Late game: double your spells for removing big threats

Secret Rogue?
Ambush looks decently good. They both seem to fit well in the usual tempo-based Rogue deck.
Need more good secrets to make it work

Vilespine Seline.

You want to steal a card? *I* want to steal a card!!

You want board clear in Priest classic set?
You got board clear in Priest classic set!… but only against big minions. Still decent to include most of the time: even if it hits only 1 big minion it’s not too bad, and if it hits 2 or more it’s fantastic value.

Very weak to tokens and ping (Mage, and Druid/Rogue if you don’t have taunt)
Against Hunter hero power, it’s like ~8 armor for 3 mana. Not great.
On the other hand, obviously very good against big minions.
You can re-equip and Upgrade this for great annoyance, but is it really worth putting those cards in just for stalling?

Is it worth playing this which means that you’re playing a mostly-spells deck?

Is there a combo for Druid that requires no minions, only spells?

Total dust for Year of the Phoenix (2020) rotation, assuming you have all the cards in regular (non-golden) set

1600 + 400+400 + 100+100 + 40+40 + 40+40 + 100+100 + 40+40 + 100+100 + 40+40 + 400+400 + 1600
=
5720

(please correct me if i’m wrong)

If only cyclone mage was still a thing

With Mountain Giant going into HoF, Handlock could use more good cards

Blizz has been giving out free stuff a lot these days so f2p players can fare decently if they’re patient.
I would say overall dragon hunter is fairly f2p friendly.
As for the 2800 gold investment, this is quite likely the best 2800 gold you’re going to spend (rather than packs).

I’ve been f2p on 2 accounts (regions) for years and it’s definitely doable. It does mean that you can’t play EVERY good deck out there, but I can generally afford 2 or 3. It also does mean paying really close attention to what is actually worth crafting, and sites like these help a ton.

It still does suck, especially with nerfs. I went all in on Gala Shaman on one account and that’s been gutted.

Priest always does get a new board clear. I think the idea is that (a) it’s a class that clearly NEEDS board clear, and (b) you don’t want to use the same board clear year after year.

This is probably my favourite article of all time on this site. I still do hope it’ll be updated yearly.
Until then, I’ll be making my own notes.

Boomsday:
Zoo Warlock, various Odd/Even decks, Cube Hunter
As we can see, the Odd/Even decks continue to dominate.
Cube Hunter cheats out big minions through Kathrena and has Deathstalker Rexxar backup.

Rumble:
Odd/Even Paladin, Spell/Midrange Hunter
Baku and Genn will get the HoF treatment after this.
Control hunter ft. Zul’jin has some success, as well as Midrange versions with Master’s Call.

Rise of Shadows:
Lackey Rogue, Bomb Hunter
With no more Odd/Even decks, good old tempo Rogue makes a comeback with new tools.
Bomb Hunter is mech-based aggro with lots of goblin bombs and magnetize.

Saviors of Uldum:
Quest Shaman, Highlander Hunter, Highlander Mage
Quest Shaman has great tempo and resource generation, especially during Doom in Tomb.
Zephrys makes his presence known and brings back highlander archetypes

Descent of Dragons:
Galakrond Shaman, Gala Rogue/Warrior, Highlander/Dragon Hunter
Galakrond Shaman had OBSCENE tempo through rush and too-cheap cards.
After nerf, Galakrond-based tempo-style Rogue and Warrior decks are consistently good.
Highlander Hunter was also solid. After Awakening, Dragon Hunter becomes the premium aggro archetype.

They always go overboard with the nerf bat.
I’d like to see more buffs in all honesty. Buff classic cards that have fallen victim to power-creep, instead of printing very similar new cards. Buff clearly under-performing cards from last expansion when the next expansion comes up. Etc.

Nice list.
Here’s a deck code for something similar:

AAEBAf0GBNsKl8sCy+wC8fcCDZ8DoQbOBs4HxQnhugLnwQL40AK90wKJ4gLchgOInQOdqQMA

Uses Mossy Horror, Stampeding Kodo (both are a bit slow tbh) and Kooky Chemist

I agree that this is bad design… free tempo with no penalty.

But what they meant by “bad stats” is that 4/5 or 3/6 are generally considered “better stats” than 5/4 even though the totals are the same vanilla value.