Maiev Shadowsong
- Leader: Maiev Shadowsong
- Ability: Master Assassin – Maiev’s cost is reduced by 1 for each Unbound troop you play.
- 6 Cost, 620 Health, 100 DPS
- Unbound, Stealth, Melee, AoE
Why Maiev?
Maiev’s playstyle can cater to both rushdown and control type archetypes, but she heavily relies on her Leader Ability to have her cost reduced many times before being the best valued unit in the game.
Luckily and unluckily, there are only a few unbound minis that are very strong and can be used in different ways to answer opponents backline, control space and flow, or just “unbound spam” enemy buildings/boss for a quick win.
This type of unbound army does require more timing and placement knowledge compared to others, so it does have a steeper learning curve. If you like being versatile with your gameplay and you don’t mind going for a specific synergizing mini selection, Maiev might be for you.
Army
In my opinion, Maiev as a leader is only viable with at least 3, ideally 4, unbound units to get her cost reduced consistently. When she costs 4+, she should not be played. At 3 cost, she is a viable drop and better than most of the cast, but only be done if needed. Ideally, you want to place her at 1 every time, but at 2 she’s still one of the best value plays in the game. Below are all the unbound units available to chose from ordered in priority:
S.A.F.E. Pilot (free), Quilboar, Whelp Eggs, Maiev, Worgen, Earth Elemental, Skeleton Party, Skeletons, Dark Iron Miner
3 of these on the list are S tier minis in ANY deck and should be the core of any Maiev builds; S.A.F.E. Pilot, Quilboar, and Whelp Eggs. I would also suggest having at least 1 spell in your army like Blizzard (Holy Nova, Chain Lightning, Deep Breath are other good options) and 1 flyer like Harpies (Drake or Gryphon Rider are other good options). That leaves 1 spot flex to fit whichever unbound you have or what is good for the content you’re tackling. Earth Elemental, Worgen, Skeleton Party are great unbound minis. Can slot in generally good or utility minis like Defias Bandits, Murloc, Pyromancer, or Meat Wagon. You can also have more niche things like Cheat Death, Banshee, Smoke Bomb to cheese certain maps.
General Playstyle
Bread and butter is to drop Whelp Eggs let them hatch and then place Quilboar immediately after to redirect attention to him and tank while the Whelp Eggs do massive damage. Same thing can be done with Harpies, Maiev, or Worgen as the DPS and Earth Elemental as the tank.
Use S.A.F.E. Pilot, Maiev, Worgen, or Spells to protect your army against problems or snipe AoE/ranged units and assist with more damage. Cycle and repeat until the target is gone.
Valor Slots Priority
- Unbound > Tank > Flying > Spell > Alliance = Cycle = Siege > Fast
Will be running multiple unbound so this is the best slot. There will always be a tank ideally Quilboar and/or Earth Elemental. Flying units are generally pretty good and want to have at least 1 in your army. Will need Spell valor slot if you plan to run a non-Alliance spell. Alliance, Cycle, and Siege are okay options. Fast should be avoided.
Minis
Talents ordered in priority (only prioritize units you plan to use):
- Whelp Eggs – Rookery is a must have. Others would be just for levels.
- S.A.F.E. Pilot – Gnomish Cloaking Device is my preferred. Comin’ in Hot! is good unavoidable damage. Gnomish Muttonizer I haven’t tried but seems ok.
- Harpies – Infectious Swipes or Trinket Collectors. Talon Dive is okay.
- Gryphon Rider – Sky Rider’s Glory is best. Odyn’s Fury is good. Air Drop is okay.
- Earth Elemental – Obsidian Shard is best. Ready to Rumble is good. Shrapnel Blast is not good.
- Blizzard – Brittle Ice or Cold Snap. Cold Snap for PvP. Icecrown is bad.
- Holy Nova – Inner Fire or Renew. Amplify Magic is good in PvP (Kills Old Murk-Eye, Jaina, Pyromancer. S.A.F.E. Pilot, etc)
- Worgen – Premeditation or Frenzy. Lone Wolf is not good.
- Maiev – Remorseless. Enveloping Shadows is good if you have ambush talented S.A.F.E. Pilot and Worgen. Shadowstep is a bit unpredictable, I do not like.
- Drake – Engulfing Flames. Mother Drake is good too. Roost is bad.
- Quilboar – All of them aren’t good, mostly gotten for levels. Bristleback is probably slightly better than Bramble Burst. Do not use Tunnel Vision.
- Skeleton Party – 5-Man or Corpse Run. Ritual of Rime does not seem good.
I sincerely hope this was helpful. Good luck to you!
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