At the North American Continental Championships, UDE unveiled four new Rings that can only be acquired by redeeming your Badges of Justice. The first set of Badge cards piqued the interest of players around the globe. They were all cards that screamed to be built around! All four cards had unique effects that inspired a variety of ideas. My personal favorite was Icon of the Silver Crescent. Playing four Scout Kurgos on turn 5 is a lot more fun when they become Curse of Endless Sufferings after they're killed.

So let's take a look at the new class and see if they're up to the old standards.

First up is Band of Channeled Magic. Of the rings, this one is the least interesting, but it still has potential. I've never gotten around to building a resource-cheap, burn-you-in-the-face archetype, but that seems like the right deck for the Band. After all, two resources is nothing when almost everything in your deck costs 1! The idea here would be to empty your hand early, once your opponent is at about 18 damage. Then, once your hand is empty, you use the Band along with Orders from Lady Vashj to reload. Mage and Shaman would be the best classes for this strategy, with Cerripha Sunstreak, Blaize Brightspark, and Kil'zin of the Bloodscalp offering Slashdance-friendly flips. Shaman has the usual Storm Shock and Lightning Arc, along with more interesting options for quick damage like Fire Nova Totem, Lightning Bolt, Fire Elemental Totem, and Hatchet Totem.

Next, let's take a look at Ring of Invincibility. This one has so many uses that I barely know where to start. Is your opponent trying to kill your Archbishop Benedictus? He's IN-VINC-I-BLE! Ossus the Ancient? Can't be touched. Need to keep that Sarmoth in play? This'll do it! Want Tinker Bixy Blue to go active? Trouble sticking The Abominable Greench? How about Valthak Spiritdrinker? Sampron the Banisher? Our old buddy A'dal? Need to buy a turn for Exarch Onaala? Or maybe you just want your Retainer Mythras to hang out in your opponent's party forever! The possibilities are endless.

Or we could look at it from the other side. Do you need to Invoke the Nether, or activate The Bringer of Death? Got a Legend of Mount Hyjal burning a hole in your pocket? Just “invincify” a dude, and he'll live through anything! A lot of the same tricks that players are currently using with Will of the Forsaken allies in Drums of War block will work with the Ring, but they didn't print Valthak Spiritdrinker with Will of the Forsaken for a reason. With the Ring, you could build a deck where the only goal was to ensure Valthak and Queen Sylvanas Windrunner never leave play. You could even go Warrior and make an equipment-heavy version with Doomplate Shoulderguards. That would force the opponent to go through the Shoulderguards, then the Ring (or both Rings with a good draw!), then the Queen, and finally kill Valthak just to earn a chance at victory.

Our next new toy is Signet of the Impregnable Fortress. The artwork depicts an axe cracking into pieces upon impacting the ring, which is both awesome and accurate. The deck that springs right to mind for this card neutralizes all of your opponent's allies. In Druid, you can use Demoralizing Roar. In Paladin, you've got options like Devotion Aura and Aegis of the Vindicator. In Warrior, you can play Demoralizing Shout, Finishing Shout, and Deafening Shout. Essentially you can scream at your opponent from an impregnable fortress, and keep his allies from ever hurting you. Or, if you're really good, you can draw a second copy of the Signet and just wear two. Rings are nifty!

The Protector part of this card is also astoundingly annoying. Not only will the opponent's allies be weakened, but they won't even be able to make attacks to compensate for it. The Signet will, in effect, let you build up an army of allies, since one of your opponent's main ways to stop you will be mostly ineffective. The uses in casual play are both obvious and myriad. The degree to which the Signet lets you control combat is incredible; even Battle Tactics, which costs 2 more, pales in comparison.

That brings us to our last ring: Renewal of Life. Just like everyone else, I had a deck built that would kill you at the beginning of turn 5 within fifteen minutes of seeing this card. I think this thing has enough power to be worth a look in Constructed. Short John Mithril gives you four more chances to hit the Renewal on turn 4. There are many quests that put cards in the yard for you: Darkness Calling, The Ring of Blood: The Warmaul Champion, the Donation cycle, and The Darkmoon Faire will all load up your graveyard. Field Repair Bot 74A and Sunken Treasure let you return it in case you need to Renewal again, or if your opponent destroys it.

The question, of course, is what do you bring back? There are several options here. There's the old school Lok'holar the Ice Lord, or the brand new Vanndar Stormpike. You could just go with gigantic Ferocity guys. But my favorite ideas tend to be a little more convoluted. For instance, let's pull out a classic and say you brought back Jurpak, Azaloth, and Silas Darkmoon. Get in there with that 51/53! Or how about Jurpak, Kray'zin Firetusk, Warcaller Zin'bawa, and Vol'jin? You've got a chance to get creative here—don't waste it.

So we've got all this brand new jewelry. It's now time to build what must be the best deck in history. That's right—bust out your Blings!

Hero: Mythen of the Wild

Allies: 6

4 Steelsmith Joseph Carroll

Abilities: 4

Equipment: 33

Quests: 15
4 Big Game Hunter
4 A Final Blow

Clearly, this deck would never survive a 1-on-1 matchup: it's far more suited to team group games. It's also fairly impotent without a Bling in play. But it's hilarious to play when the plan comes together! Once you have a Bling and a half-dozen rings out, you'll be attacking for 4 or 5 damage without having to exhaust any equipment, and your Ring of Flowing Light will heal a ridiculous amount of damage every turn. It's not really tuned, but this is for the most casual of casual players, and I'd imagine that you could acquire the entire thing (excluding Seer's Signet) for about ten bucks. Plus, you'll learn your Ring rarities!

Overall, most of these new Badge cards pack quite a punch—I'm pretty impressed. Be sure you're attending your local Battleground and picking up your Badges of Justice; I know I will be!