The Ethereals are a strange race in World of Warcraft. They are beings of pure energy that make their way in the world as traders and merchants. They will deal with anyone as long as they can turn a profit, but you really don’t want to get on their bad side.

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Yes, this guy is really a Mage. With 2 armor, 4 resist, and 7 health, this is one of the most durable Mages you’re likely to see. Monsters get to play around with their stats in unusual ways like this, but you do pay for what you’re getting. This is also the only Mage with a range 1 attack, so you’re going to have to rely on his stats to get up close and personal with your opponent. While you’re there, it’s a great opportunity to toss out a Frost Nova, one of the currently underused Mage cards.

Mobility is the name of the game with this character. Astral Traveler allows your minis to bounce from enemy to enemy to make the most advantageous attacks possible. While your opponent’s mini needs to be within range 2, the space you teleport to does not. You can use this to teleport to terrain spaces behind your opponent, or to get adjacent to VPs that you normally couldn’t access. Even better, all your Ethereals gain this power, so it’s going to be pretty difficult for your opponent to keep you from taking advantage of it.

Once you get to melee range with your enemies, you can start nailing them with Warp Discharge. It’s difficult for your opponent to spread out in such a way that you can’t get to another character on a crit. When you do crit, a free 4 power follow-up attack is a nice bonus, and if that attack crits, you get to go again if you can reach the opponent’s last mini. Not having to pay the cost makes this pretty exciting, especially if you use Energy Leech to give him a +1 power counter or two. The extra power also makes it easier to start the crit chain in the first place. If your opponent spreads out to avoid it, then you can focus down his or her characters pretty easily while they’re separated.

I actually ran the Ethereal army in playtesting a couple weeks ago, just to see how it played out. It’s a lot of fun to play hit and run with your opponents, and Razaani Nexus Stalker is a key component of that strategy. It may not be the most powerful party available, but if your opponent doesn’t adapt to it, you can cause some serious headaches. Give it a try, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Aaron Lewis