A lot of the Legendary cards in the core set have not been seeing consistent play in the meta. This is quite a shame being the rarest drop and yet not even worth putting in the deck. It's reflected in their current market prices where some Epic cards (Warmonger Smith) are even worth more than a legendary card.
It's a good thing that the GU team has finally come to their senses and proposed changes to these legendary cards in the upcoming core refresh that may finally give these cards a boost to be able to see play on the ladder.
Managarmr, Moon Hound
Add faction Wild. Change stats from 4/3 to 3/4. Change text from "Confused. Whenever this creature attacks, refresh three mana." to "Confused. After this creature attacks, refresh three mana."
Three Mana cards with 3 health are one of the worst in the game in my opinion. It just dies easily to a lot of creatures or spell damage in turn 3. By increasing the health of Managarmr to 4, it will be harder to kill and will be able to stick to the board longer and provide a lot of value with its mana refreshing ability.
Porphyrion, Dread Cyclops
Changed stats from 7 mana 7/8 to 5 mana 5/5
Porphyrion, unlike its other contemporaries, is not a bad card. But at 7 mana, there are a lot better options than playing this card. Decreasing it to 5 mana makes it a great option for mid-range control decks. It will help slow down God Power smashing archetypes like Slayer War.
Choralis Rune Moth
Add faction Wild. Change health from 1 to 3. Change text from "Backline. At the end of your turn, add a random rune to your hand and reduce its cost to 0." to "Backline. At the end of each turn, add a random rune to your hand and reduce its cost to 1."
This is another card that gets a lot of benefit from increasing its health from 1 to 3. At 1 health, it can be easily pinged by a lot of spells/ability effects. Even with the runes now costing 1 mana, this card will still be able to bring a lot of value for spell damage deck archetypes.
Asteriues, Glittering One
Add faction Aether. Change text from "Frontline. Roar: Friendly creatures with strength 2 or less get +2/+2." to "Frontline. Roar: Give +2/+2 to your creatures with a base strength of 2 or less strength."
Light is lagging behind the meta at the moment. I'm predicting that the new cards in the core refresh set will bring a new life to this domain. This modification to Asterius' ability will make it more synergetic to cards to the likes of Radiant Dawn and Serene Blade.
Thalia, Charite Temptress
Change stats from 4/3 to 2/2. Change text from "Roar: Pull any cards in your opponent's hand that cost 2 or less onto the bottom of their deck" to "Roar: gain control of an enemy creature with sleep."
Probably the most frustrating card to pull on a Legendary pack, Thalia can now use her extraordinary charm to take control of one of your enemy's sleeping creatures. Sleep deception has another weapon at its disposal.
Grendel, Night Terror
Add faction Nether. Change stats from 8 mana 6/6 to 6 mana 4/4. Change text from "Blitz. Twin strike. After this creature attacks another creature, this creature becomes protected." to "Blitz. Protected. After this creature attacks, it becomes protected.
In my opinion, this card is flying under the radar of a lot of people. The reduction to 6 mana is great! Just look how Sole Survivor single-handedly evolved the meta after decreasing its mana cost from 7 to 6. I would compare this card to Aeneas (Twin strike, Protection. At the end of your turn, this creature becomes protected) which is one of the best War cards out there so I really think this is another great weapon for Slayer War.
Which of these cards do you think will get a lot of play after the refresh? Let me know if there are other cards I should mention in this list.
May the mulligans be in your favor.
Disclaimer: This article is not financial advice.