We’ve seen what Elemental heroes can do, especially Lightning, Ice, and Earth heroes. And when players sent those heroes to the land of Living Legends, LSS had a new idea. Rosetta is a set devoted to the elements, with new Elemental Runeblades and Wizards. Today we’re looking at our first ever Elemental Wizard, Verdance.

Essence of Verdance

Step aside Kano, there’s a new Wizard in town, and she is tough. Earth heroes were always tanky, with Embodiment of Earth giving you that extra defense. Verdance takes the cake with her passive ability, which harms opponents on heal. There’s just one tiny little catch: you need to make sure you banish Earth cards. How many? There’s the real catch. Take a look at the adult and the young version of Verdance. Other than the usual, notice a difference in these two versions? That’s right – Verdance, Thorn of the Rose needs to banish twice as many cards.

The Rose and All Her Thorns

Rosetta gave us some new toys to play with and for those wanting to play Verdance, here’s what you’ll want to crack. Starting with weapons, there’s only one right answer – you need Staff of Verdant Shoots. This beauty comes equipped with a new keyword, amp. It’s pretty straightforward, but at the same time can be dangerous at times. After all, Rosetta is all about arcane damage. When it comes to equipment, you’ll want to keep your eye on two legendary pieces: Barkskin of the Millennium Tree and Aether Bindings of the Third Age. Both are cards with their pros and cons, but Barkskin takes the cake on being an Earth chest piece that was missing for Essence of Earth tanks. On that topic, this set brings a few more common Earth equipment pieces: Helm of Lignum Vitae and Well Grounded, both dependent on Earth cards in your banished zone.

Spring is Coming

Rosetta is packed with Earth cards. Verdance’s specialization, Heartbeat of Candlehold, is really something. It takes her passive ability and turns her into a lean, mean, pinging machine, at least three times. We also have a new Channel card. After Channel Mount Heroic, say hello to Channel the Millennium Tree, another nifty amp card, this time in the shape of a majestic aura. Speaking of auras, can’t forget Earth’s Embrace and Sigil of Sanctuary which give you Embodiments and protect you from arcane damage, and Harvest Season which heals you.

Other noteworthy Earth majestics include Plow Under and Felling of the Crown, both of which have the new keyword decompose, Seeds of Tomorrow, a pretty powerful damage-preventing instant, and an interesting dual card, Rampant Growth // Life. That’s right, Flesh and Blood doesn’t just have dual tokens anymore! Can’t split these in half though.

Attack actions that are must-haves include Fruits of the Forest, Blossoming Decay, Earth Form, Cadaverous Tilling, Strength of Four Seasons, and even Summer's Fall. Notice that some of these might be expensive heavy hitters, but most of them don’t just do damage. Then there’s the supporting Earth cards: Fertile Ground, Canopy Shelter, Rootbound Carapace, and Summerwood Shelter. These babies are here to keep you as safe as a bee in a rose bud.

The Bloom of the Arcane

Of course, Earth cards are only half of the Verdance equation. The orther half belongs to everybody’s favorite arcane assasins – Wizard! And boy do we have some beauties in Rosetta. Starting off with majestics, there’s Destructive Aethertide, Sigil of Aether, Eternal Inferno and Mental Block. The ones you’ll want to combine with Verdance are mostly Mental Block and Sigil of Aether, but all of them are good cards. Sigil of Temporal Manipulation is a rare Wizard aura that will help get those Earth cards in your banished zone. Glyph Overlay also gives you that yummy health with its Surge effect. Other Wizard cards that are fun in Verdance include Exploding Aether, Perennial Aetherbloom, Etchings of Arcana and Photon Splicing.

How Deep Do the Roots Go?

The thing with Rosetta is that it feels like Flesh and Blood, the original Flesh and Blood. It takes me back to Tales of Aria and the first time Elemental heroes were even introduced, but also Arcane Rising because of all that arcane damage. The artwork in this set is pure fantasy with a dash of extraordinary. All of the Earth cards feel like something pulled out of a fairytale and most of the Wizard cards aren’t any different (looking at you Mental Block). If history is to repeat itself, Verdance could end up being a turtle deck. How long will it take to send her to LL? We shall see.

More Rosetta Reviews:

The Best Rosetta Cards for Commoner

Rosetta Review – Florian

Valera

Valera tried Magic in highschool then forgot about it. Some years later, she fell in love with broken FaB heroes (like Data Doll MKII) and tribal commander MTG decks. A shapeshifter, collector, traveller, writer... Who needs free time?