I'll just add comments to your review, hopefully this doesn't look too messy. Overall, I'm excited for the new cards as usual but nothing in particular about these reveals is exciting me much. Irelia is the last hope.
Blade: That's a token, not sure what summons it so can't really comment on it.
This is related to Irelia in some way.
Chip: 1/1 for 1 that is a 3/3 once you summoned a Landmark. So most likely always going to be a 3/3 for 1 so not awful.
Should see lots of play, easy to trigger in landmark decks.
Clockwork Curator: 2/2 for 2 that advance all landmark by 2 rounds. Bad stats, but could be interesting with all the countdown landmark we've seen introduced, advancing 2+ could be big, it will depend on how good these decks will be and if there's room for 2 drop with bad stats.
I saw a deck concept for Frozen Thralls, seems usable for that but not much play elsewhere.
Prevervationist: 5 mana 4/4 that advance allied landmark by 3. Similar to Curator above bad stats with same effect. So essentially in same position, probably worse since at 5 mana there could be some significantly better option. Heck I think I'd prefer playing a Curator and something else on turn 5 than this.
Looks bad.
Time in a Bottle: Probably good, 2 mana for predict and advancing a landmark 2 round. Predict is a really good mechanic. Might be niche but good where it fits.
Will be hard to slot in anywhere. Probably sees no play.
Imagined Possibilities: I like this as cards that give you options are generally pretty good. 1 mana to get a random Countdown landmark or advancing one by 1 seems decent enough.
This card could see play. It works well with Frozen Thralls and it also allows you to proc Time Bomb on demand, and can generate some value if necessary. I have slotted it into a Zilean deck I've theorycrafted... we'll see if it works out.
The Clock Hand: 8 mana for a 4/7 that summons 2 Instant Century. Ok awful stats but makes a viable blocker or decent target for buffs, The value of this card comes from the 2 Instant Century. A zero mana focus speed card that either summon a random countdown landmark or advance a landmark 4 rounds...this has a lot of potential in certain decks. If you have no landmark in play, you can summon one and advance it 4 rounds and for most of them it will trigger their effect right away which could create interesting scenarios. Might just be a meme card, or will fit as a 1 off in some decks.
Probably a 1-of in specific decks like Frozen Thrall / Sun Disc.
Zilean: He looks awesome to me, both in term of power and how fun he looks. He seems extremely anti-aggro. 2 mana for 1/4 makes it a very resilient unit. The 4 times bombs he create are pretty good and predicting after they are put in the deck gives you a good chance to get one the next turn and stopping aggro. His leveled up effect is also very good and will create some exciting scenarios, although your opponent will see it coming which gives them the possibility to act to counter it somewhat. I love him.
I like him but it's not immediately apparent how good he is. I think he's good, but I don't think he's a win condition. His level-up is really tough to get off and even then it probably doesn't help too much, you still need to use mana for cards. He is a value engine, sure. Against other value decks he's unlikely to stick to the board. Against faster decks you won't level him up. He's certainly anti-aggro and having the Time Bombs in deck is going to be worth it. He's very similar to Zoe.
Regarding his level-up: The Time Bombs need to be drawn AND Zilean needs to SEE you destroy 2 of them. Taliyah can help with leveling since she can copy 1 Time Bomb. What I like about Imagined possibilities is you can level Zilean in the same round & next round get Time Bomb(s) in hand again. But overall I think the level-up is going to be pretty tough. By the time you draw 1 or 2 bombs, you will probably also be waiting to draw another Zilean. Then he actually needs to stick to the board for a turn, or long enough to play a 2nd Time Bomb/Taliyah and then a Focused card (imagined possibilities) or wait a turn, there is no "burst speed" cheat possible that I see.
Time Bombs: They are great, 2 mana and draw 1 is decent on it's own. A countdown 1 that does 1 to enemies and enemy nexus is pretty good, and if you have a time bomb in play when playing another it triggers it by advancing it's countdown. These are very good, and make Zilean and excellent champion in my opinion.
Only reason Zilean is good.
Southsayer: Awesome card I think, 2 mana 1/4 that grant allied Champions and Landmarks spellshield will go a long way to protect some gameplans while offering a decent blocker for its cost. Pretty good card I think.
Good for Sun Disc deck, maybe some other areas like mono-fiora. Downside is you can't bait out removal. But for Landmarks you are usually good since Landmark removal is already premium.. if you force 2x removal on a landmark you should be sitting pretty good.
Chronoshift: Not sure, it has the possibility to maybe have some very toxic gameplay scenario, but it is costly.
Most toxic thing I can see is pairing this with "out of the way". There's still Hush/Obliterate to get around it. I was thinking with Atrocity it saves your unit and possibly adds the +3/+3 to the atrocity damage. That's a full 13 mana for both spells though. It also prevents removal of your Atrocity target, in case you're afraid of a Vengeance or even do it post-Hush/silence.
If Zilean is good then it's natural we may see this played often just to save a key unit.
Ardent Tracker: 6 mana 3/5 scout that cost 1 less for each Elite summoned. Bad when not discounted, but reduce it's mana cost by 1 or 2 and it starts being pretty good. It's an elite itself which will benefit with synergy in elite decks. 3/5 scout is kind decent as it will most likely survive it's first attack to attack a 2nd time. It will most likely see play in elite decks, but not outside of that.
I think it's bad. 3/5 scout even if Free is not earth shattering. Terrible top-deck card.
Cithria, Lady of Clouds: Meme card I think, or as 1 off in certain decks. It's strong but too costly otherwise.
meme/bad/etc... I agree, but I feel there is some chance she can find a home.
Harrowing deck/Warmother deck... we'll see. I'm thinking of a Tryn/Trundle Warmother deck with her.
Chirean Sumpworker: I love this one. 2 mana 1/2 elusive is pretty bad, but when you summon another it kills the first one and transform all Shumpwrokers everywhere into Sumpwork Posse which is a 2 mana 4/2 elusive that deals 1 to enemies and nexus when it attacks. That's very strong. It will most likely find a place in a deck somewhere, and at very least attempted to be built around with ways to copy it. I just like the concept regardless of power level.
It's likely a very good card with potential to be very toxic.
Adaptron 3000: 1 mana 1/3 Tech that when another Tech card is summoned we share Keywrods. I think the only Tech cards right now are Heimerdinger Turrets which may make this a pretty strong card if I understand it correctly. So if you have 1 Adaptron 3000 on board and you get a Turret is summoned, the Adaptron will get the keyword. When you summon a 2nd Turret...the Adaptron will get the keyword of the 2nd Turret, but also share it's keyword with it if I understand correctly so there could be multiple keywords shared. I'm not 100% sure though.
Best combo will be Adaptron + Production Surge. Seems legit. Dead card if you don't have Heimer or Production Surge though. It's a fun looking card but probably too limited in use.
Incisive Tactician: Awful if reputation isn't met, but activating reputation is usually pretty easy at which point it's ok, not great but ok...obviously rally effect is always good but it's not a great card otherwise.
Rally for Noxus is always scary. I wouldn't be surprised if we see this played.
Thrashing Snapper: This seems like it will be good in some decks. 1 mana 2/1 that gets +3/0 when blocked so possibly a 1 mana 5/1, this could create some really awful trades for your opponent combined with Vulnerable. It can easily be killed though either with direct damage or any type blocker.
Only used in Reputation decks for the off-chance it gets a block. Noxus has the best 1-drops in the game. Even in a Rep deck it needs to prove it can get that Rep trigger often enough. It probably sees no play.
Bone Skewer: 2 mana, an ally strike an enemy then moves to the top of your deck. This seems like it might be interesting with units that have a summon effect you want to use again. It's a new type of tool for Bilgewater though so that may make it better than it seems as Bilgewater doesn't really have this type of tool.
Seems best in Deep decks. Use on any Sea Monster, Jaull Hunter, Deadbloom Wanderer. Deep has plenty of good targets for this.
Monster Harpoon: Obviously limited to Plunder deck, but it's great when Plunder is trigger...3 mana to deal 5 to a unit is insane. 5 damage is a lot in Runeterra, it's a threshold that will allow removing tons of stuff. It's most likely going to find a home in most Plunder decks.
It should see play even without plunder. Best deck I've heard is Gangplank/Sejuani, which is a plunder deck, but in most cases you would use this before you get the plunder trigger off I think.
The Wing and The Wave: Another card that I just love the design, once again I am a big fan of cards that allow you to chose different effect. 1 mana 0/1 that comes out as 2 0/1 or a 3/3 that require killing an ally. Lots of possibilities here in Slay decks either by providing multiple target for your cards to Slay or Slay and provide a decent 3/3 for 1 mana. I think this will find a room somewhere, or at very least see serious experimentation.
Seems made for Thresh/Nasus deck right now but I can't see it elsewhere atm.
Succumb to the Cold: Flash Freeze that cost 1 more mana and summons a Frozen Thrall which cost 1...so basically 2 cards combined into 1 card for the same cost. It may find room in some decks...but most of the time people will just prefer Flash Freeze I think as 1 more mana is important and the Frozen taking 8 turns is probably just going to be a waste of space on most board not equipped to cheat it sooner. All in all I don't think it's that great.
Bad card.
Buried in Ice: More or less a Ruination type spell for Freljord. I think it will see some play.
Not exactly a Ruination, the use will be more for an offensive attack rather than a defensive hold. I think it sees a lot of play in specific decks like Liss/Trundle and possibly the Frozen Thrall deck we might see crop up. Helps get Freljord out of Shadow Isles.
Spiral Stairs: 3 mana landmark countdown 3 that create a Seed of Strength in hand. Seed of Strength is a 0 mana slow fleeting spell that Grants a ally 3/2 and overwhelm. Seed of Strength is pretty good, but you have to be sure to have a decent target for it in 3 turns. Your opponent also sees this coming and might be able to counterplay it somehow by removing interesting targets, or keeping a Deny type spell in hand for the turn in comes into play. So with that said, I don't think it's going to be that great. I think for the same cost and being non-fleeting that Might is just going to be better most of the type even without the health and Grant.
Bad card.
Rockfall Path: Landmark, countdown 2: Obliterate the weakest enemy. This has some potential as we know the weakest enemy can sometimes be a big or important unit if you can remove smaller targets. The same way though, your opponent can counterplay this by insuring there's a unit he doesn't care about that is going to die to this. I think it's good, and will create some fun interaction and strategies from both sides...which is what card games are all about play and counterplays.
Looks good. 1 Attack champions need to watch this: Zoe/Zilean/Ezreal/Azir
Earth Elemental: 4 mana 3/5 with Overwhelm that becomes a 6/5 after 4 landmarks have been summoned. Obviously only played in landmark based decks but might be pretty good in some of those decks as it should be fairly easy to have this out as a 6/5 very often. Maybe not on curve but later on.
I don't know if it finds a home. Landmark deck already has so many useless units on their own, having a vanilla stat minion on 4 seems like a tough fit.
Blue Sentinel: 2 mana 2/3 with last breath effect to summon a Crest of Insight which is a 2 mana countdown 1 landmark that gives you an extra mana gem this round. Ramp for Targon. I'm sure this will see play, a 2/3 for 2 is decent statline and ramping definitely has its use. Maybe be hard to get the ramp on the turn you want though because you're not totally in control of when the Sentinel will die.
Auto-include for Landmark decks but probably many Targon decks too. Replaces Goat in many spots.
Stonebreaker: 6 mana 6/4 that deals 4 to an enemy and 2 to the enemy nexus if you've summoned 4 landmarks. Not great stats, but effect is pretty good, 4 landmark may not be too hard in the proper deck. I think this might see play in some landmark based decks and may be strong in some cases. It's very niche though.
Looks good. Direct Removal in Targon is a premium.
Malphite: 7 mana 6/10 with Tough, requires 12 mana worth of landmarks being summoned to level up. Statline that will allow him to survive until he levels up, once leveled he's extremely strong since when you have the attack token he creates and Unstopple Force, 2 mana slow fleeting spell that stuns all enemies...this is strong, I wonder how it work with Rally effect. If you cast Rally during opponent attack turn, does he create an Unstoppe Force(he should I think). Like a lot of these big creature, if he levels up you're on a very short race to losing if you can't deal with him. Probably good but not my type of Champion, I much prefer champions like Zilean to him.
Seems too vanilla for me, which matches his LoL counterpart pretty well. He's not interesting to play, or play against. The decisions are already made. Getting Unstoppable only when you have Attack Token seems like a weakness as well.
Ground Slam: This is also Malphite signature spell. Basically giving Targon a new tool, bascially a Concussive Palm which is a very good card. I think this will see play in many decks that use a few landmarks, the stun alone is good for Targon, the 3 damage is great since Targon lacks both. As a signature spell it's just awesome.
Looks great. We don't see too many signature spells main-decked... the most popular has to be Swain's. This might rank up there. I think with Blue Sentinel in most Targon decks, this card will be as popular as Flock.
Solari Sunhawk: 2 mana 2/3 that stuns on Daybreak. Great card, will most likely see a lot of play. Good stats and easy strong effect to activate. Essentially Arachnoid Sentry for Targon, and Sentry sees a decent amount of play.
Good card. The Daybreak component limits this a bit. It's best use will be to try and allow an expensive Celestial to get to the Nexus. I feel this card gets passed over in most decks and it sees most play in Daybreak/Leona decks, and maybe even a Yasuo deck.
Eye of the Ra-Horak: Great for Malphite deck, probably an auto-include really as with Daybreak you summon a 2nd copy which is 10 of the 12 mana required for Malphite level up. Stunning 2 weakest enemy 1 and 2 turn later providing what might be very needed delay in your opponent gameplan to get leveled up Malphite out. It might see play with Yasuo but not sure. I think it will be an good card in the deck where it finds a home, but those will be quite limited.
Seems made for a Malphite deck obviously. But Im also thinking of Leona. Morning Light allows you to keep generating more of these. On top of Leona's stuns.
Shadow of the Past: I'm not sure where this will be good.
Can help powerlevel Yasuo, can turn weenies into 3/2 units. Works with Elusive plan to replay Dancing Droplets/Bladescouts. Probably a bad card, but might actually see play if the Elusive plan works out. Dancing Droplet might make this card playable.
Dancing Droplet: Great card I think, 1 mana 1/1 with Elusive and Attune...basically you can play 1/1 elusive on turn 1 that banks you 1 mana...so it's somewhat free to play. The recall to draw 1 is ok, but I feel like it will just be a bonus really. Might have some interesting gameplay potential with Monastery of Hirana but I am not sure how good this would be.
Looks great. Might make a lot of bad cards actually playable.
Merciless Hunter: I think this is a great card that will find a home in many decks. 3 mana 4/3 Fearsome that Grants Vulnerable when played. Greats stats, good keyword and great effect.
Fearsome, 3 mana, 4/3 and Grant Vulnerable... auto-include.
Profiteer: 4 mana 5/3 that create a Lucky Find when summoned. Not sure about this one. Lucky Find is fleeting which may not be that great on curve when you play this as it's not necessary a great target for a lot of the buff Lucky Find creates. It's 5 attack so it will be ok in Reputation decks. All in all, I don't think this is great but find a home somewhere.
Looks good for Rep deck except that no Rep deck wants to be Shurima. It's Freljord/Noxus that has the best Rep deck right now. I know Sivir is a thing but unfortunately Shurima lacks support right now.
