Today's post looks at all the Rebellion Promo cards we've had (minus Mantaroth and Grim Smith, which I consider part of the Core set). It goes from worse to best (for the build-up!) and for each one I also give the "Tier" I feel the card belongs to. At the end, I also have a Tier List visual to easily see everything in one place. I'm sure I'll ruffle a few feathers with this one, and it's likely not everyone will agree, which is perfect! Let's discuss in the comments :)
Here we go!
#15 (C Tier): Henchling Enforcer
In 15th place I put the Henchling Enforcer. Probably Not overly contentious as this guy largely got overshadowed by the other promo he came with (coming later) and has seen very limited use in action. 4 Ranged damage with True Strike was probably meant to counter Djinn Oshannus and other Forcefield units, but it just isn't enough to warrant this guy. Halving is a great ability, but sticking it on the tank that can get cleansed also isn't that interesting. And the Camouflage simply doesn't make sense. He's not terrible, but he's just really not great.
#14 (C tier): Warborn Shaman
On paper the Warborn Shaman can be interesting. Self heal is always a great ability, and Ambush & Poison pair well. So what's the issue? 10 mana's a lot. Void Armor suggests tank but she's actually a bit squishy. Impede doesn't add much. Overall the kit feels lacking for that cost. It's possible we haven't quite figured out her spots, but overall she's not yet finding great utility. Lorkus can be a great fit but if you face Cryptic and either an Oshannus or a Slade with Phase then the shaman's speed is an issue.
#13 (C Tier): Nephket
Nephket got the lowest excitement among the Legendary Hall of Legends promo cards, and for good reason. Despite a nice synergistic kit, he's (a) too slow if you're dealing with the threat of Cryptic with the speed and Blind debuffs, and (b) too squishy if you have Tofu to worry about (when Life's available). He's better with Fizbo (getting Reflection Shield) but still too slow. Overall it's tough getting it to work. Given the artwork, I would've loved this card to be super speedy, e.g. 6-7 speed. Would've dramatically changed its outlook. As it stands however, it's highly mediocre. Not to mention 3 speed isn't even great in Reverse Speed, so it further limits its spots.
#12 (B Tier): Rune Arcanist
It seems Rune Arcanist has ONE job, and that's giving Phase to Commander Slade. Now granted, that is a very important job in the current meta, and when Oshannus leaves Modern it may become even more important depending on what CA brings. However, that's basically her only job. I've rarely seen her used effectively elsewhere. I feel that could change in the future with more experimentation putting Phase on high-speed cards, but for now Rune Arcanist is a B Tier card sitting at 12th among the Rebellion promos.
#11 (B Tier): Mana Warden
Ah, if only Mana Warden had Reach... His melee damage, speed, piercing, and Impede make him a great attacker but he NEEDS to be behind someone else to get the benefit of his main ability, Shield Ward. There are definitely interesting spots for him, e.g. behind a Xenith Monk to turn an already strong magic tank into a complete tank, or behind any unit you want to protect in the back like Night Stalker, but the fact he can't attack from the back line (without a favorable ruleset or a flank monster) limits his utility. Still a B Tier however, and I do like my Mana Warden.
#10 (A tier): Sanctus Vicar
Sanctus Vicar has a unique ability that can turn the tide in Poison rulesets but also has an under-appreciated quality: it gradually removes debuffs that are placed on back-line units at the beginning of any match. That means all those pesky debuffs (slow, demoralize, silence, etc.) eventually come off if you sustain through the rounds. He's difficult to use, but this unique ability puts him in the tail end of the A tier for me, at 10th among the Rebellion promos.
#9 (A Tier): Ulfga The Blighted
We're getting into some really good cards now! Ulfga, firstly, is FUN. She's got a great kit with lots of depth to it, and of course the Poison Burst combined with Rebirth at max level is what makes her especially deadly. She pairs extremely well with Lily, and I'm a bit worried her utility will go down once Lily leaves Modern. Despite that, Ulfga's firmly in the A Tier and 9th in my ranking of Rebellion promo cards.
#8 (S Tier): Meriput Mossmender
The Mossmender is an awesome card with another currently unique ability. Echo makes it trigger active abilities (repair and all healing and cleansing abilities) TWICE per round. You can put Avina's heal on this little mouse and she'll self-heal twice. Same for Triage from Tofu. The double repair can be fantastic behind Bera or in a Rathe-led team. She's an S Tier support card, but she's the lowest S Tier on my Rebellion promo card list, coming in at 8th overall!
#7 (S Tier): Delya
Surprised to find Delya "so low"? Well, there are a LOT of good promo cards in this set... Delya's 4-damage double strike and speed put her squarely in the S Tier, and she's particularly important with Cryptic/Oshannus in the meta. As I write this, she's the most expensive Legendary promo in the group on the market, though that's probably because there are only 3 BCX available on the market! An absolute killer, she also gets a great boon from Reflection Shield and her speed, making her a go-to in Ranged-only matches not only for her attack but also for her survivability.
#6 (S Tier): Night Stalker
Oh man, it's heating up. Night Stalker was one of the most anticipated promo cards and he has delivered and more. The 4-damage / Execute / Blast combo is one of the deadliest in the game. With Lorkus he gets to 5 damage, dropping 3 Blast damage, and can go on killing sprees in a hurry. His speed's also good, and he has a great BFF in the Gobalano Soldier who can open up the back-line's armor before Night Stalker goes in for the kill. Against Tofu, he'll need Reflection Shield (from Fiz or Reklah) or Life Leech (from Lorkus) and he's viable. Really a fantastic S Tier card.
#5 (S Tier): Baron Fyatt
I'm sure this one will get some discussion. I'm putting Mr Fyatt in 5th overall for the promos, and that's because when Fyatt's around you almost ALWAYS have a chance to win. His Scattershot/Ambush/Halving combo is top tier. Given a few rounds, he can absolutely wreck the opposing team's backline and make your tank (e.g. Grim Smith perhaps?) basically invulnerable. He also pairs fantastically with Lorkus due to the magic boost, and I like giving him Life Leech as well as he'll leech 2 health per hit (unless debuffed of course). Blind is just a cherry on top, and a bit of an odd one. If you're min-maxing you can probably stop at level 3. In any case, this guy's a menace and I think one of the more underrated cards in the set right now.
#4 (S Tier): Elanor
Little Elanor is a 0-mana neutral who can attack from the back line, and as such you will use her A LOT. Her abilities are a little weird, and we've yet to see what sorts of "fiends" will be available in CA, so that will affect her value in Modern after CL rotates out, but simply having her in the fray, especially adding Strengthen at max level, is a big boost to many a lineup.
#3 (S Tier): Heloise
Whaaaat? Heloise isn't #1? Well, I don't think so. Don't get me wrong though, Heloise is a MASSIVE S Tier card. Of course she is, being the first auction card and selling out of the store for 700k+ DEC every day. Her Spite and Soul Siphon abilities are god-tier, and her attack is highest in the game. Biggest problem is her Speed, which, sitting at 3, makes her miss more often than you'd like. Second problem is the lack of pierce. 1 Armor on the enemy and she'll get stuck. She can get your whole team weary in no time without the right lineup, and is a hard card to play. Still a raging S tier card.
#2 (S Tier): Riklauniman
Other than having an awesome back-story, Rik is a phenomenal card and has one of the highest win rates of any card when you combine his performance in Modern & Wild for Diamond+ (his 2024 win rate in Wild was nearly 70%!). The big draw? Expose combined with dual attacks and stun of course. He's perfect against Grim Smith, against Inevitable, and any other tank your opponent can bring. He pairs perfectly with Iziar in the Life team (though that'll go away with the set rotation), and of course pairs well with Tofu. He can take down Forcefields, Void Armors, and everything else with that Expose. His synergy with Pallus is unfortunate because Pallus is just a bummer of a card, so it doesn't get used much, but he's terrific even without Pallus. Riklauniman is #2 in my ranking of Rebellion promo cards.
#1 (S Tier): Fizbo the Fabulous
My #1 Rebellion promo card is Fizbo...! I know several of you who will vehemently disagree with this, and the first thing I'll ask you to do is to look past the funky artwork (which personally I don't mind...) and the poor power curve. Tank Heal on its own for a dual-element card that also goes to Fire is already S Tier, but Shroud of Reflection Shield gives Fiz the pole position in my mind. He increases the viability of great cards like Mantaroth, Night Stalker, Jared Scar, Riklauniman, and more, and single-handedly makes certain cards viable that otherwise wouldn't be in the current meta, such as Nephket, Halaran Huntress, and Thanalorian Blade. His own base stats aren't fantastic and I still maintain his shroud should give him Reflection Shield as well (there are 3 shields there!) as he can otherwise kill himself in 1 amplified magic reflect, but besides that he's an absolute killer because of the Reflection shield he gives others. Stick him behind Bera, and then the Mossmender behind Fiz, and that trio's nearly unkillable in many scenarios.
Here's the full picture. As you can see, lots of S Tiers, which makes sense as these are expensive and exclusive cards:
Hope this article will cause some discussion as I'm sure many of you would have a different #1, so let me have it! Which of these do you disagree with? Which of these are spot on?
I believe that when Lily leaves the modern, Splinterlands will make a card in lieu of her just like Nidhoggr on behalf of Yodin. Ulfga would never be alone in her battles. !BBH
Indeed Fizbo is savage one
Great post again! Thank you! I just wished I had the money at the time :-D Saving up for CA now, excited to see what that brings.
I will go with Baron because you know Praetoria 😎
Thanks for this great post. I've not played much with these promo cards so this was a very interesting read for me, learning about their strengths.
My brain started working on possible other uses for Rune Arcanist, and I landed on the following combo: Nidhoggr+Redwyrm Dragon+Rune Arcanist (with the +2 speed, execute tactic). Disregarding other buffs, the Dragon has a base speed of 8, flying, and gets phase. Sounds like fun!
Superb post, as always! Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, I had to pass on all of them. However, I might reconsider Baron Fyat—trusting your expertise above all! Have a great weekend! #Vonak
Another excellent guide! This time I don't have much to add since the only one I have at max level is Baron Fyatt. Out of the rest, only Mana Warden is at a decently high enough level to be used effectively.
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Another one of those impressive posts! This is a lot of help. Thank you very much! I really wish there was more use for Nephket. Maybe there can be a killer combo once CA is released.
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