I brought the value of Bottles up in Limited in a forum post and thought this would be a decent Limited article. Mike went over the Bottles before, but it was more from a Constructed standpoint only hinting at Limited play. I’m not the best player (hence the title: Limited Play Skill), but I think I’m decent in analyzing and explaining some aspects of strategy. As a back up, I’ve talked to Tim about the ideas behind this list along with our experiences in drafting Throne of the Tides.

1) [Bottled Cunning]: Hold on, let me explain. Versatility is the key to Bottled Cunning’s power. It costs two, so it’s great early game to take out some one or two drops at the cost of some life. Mid Game it’s good to take out a 4 health ally; which leads me to point out that this bottle is good in any hero class because it is best used by your hero and has plenty of decent common and uncommon allies to support it. Even if your hero is a Rogue, you won’t really be tapping your hero to pop it- but that option does give you more options. Late game, you can use it to finish off your opponent’s hero. So that’s it: three factors make it number 1: Its low cost, its desirability no matter what class your hero is and it’s versatility.

2) [Bottled Spite]: 1 aoe damage over two turns, or two aoe damage in one turn to opposing team is pretty good for 3. Like Cunning, this bottle is as good in a Non-Monster Hero deck because it has plenty of Monster ally support. This card is great against a couple of viable draft strategies: Druid tokens and Murloc Monster Mage. But it doesn’t have the versatility of Cunning: it’s close, almost tied for number 1, but just gets edged out in that it’s a little more focused than Cunning.

3) [Bottled Death]: -2 to two things or -4 to one. Straight up removal that doesn't need anything else to work, until its second activation anyway. Highly draftable even if you aren't playing DK hero, with a little bit of ally DK help, but obviously best in a DK deck. If you are playing a DK hero, this is a higher pick than Spite or Cunning, but it gets edged out by those two bottles when you’re any class but DK.

4) [Bottled Knowledge]: Digging two deep for 3 is decent in the current quest situation; digging four deep is better. Also, both Horde and Alliance have good common two cost allies for support. Alliance also has the 3 drop common that bounces one of your other allies (great with Empower guys and activates this bottle). This is another highly playable bottle outside of Mage.

5) [Bottled Light]: This card is just about card advantage, eventually turning itself into two cards as long as you have a target. It does rely on what you can get in your graveyard, so it’s not as independently good as the above bottles. Of the four common Paladins, only two of them are playable; there are lots of decent two or less cost targets, though, and if you get a rare two drop, it’s even better.

6) [Bottled Mind]: Probably not the best card for my personal play style, but better players will use it to better effect than I will to gain card advantage. So in a general Limited format, it's higher on this list than cards I would personally take over it. Seems better for Horde decks because Jex'ali and Parexia are the best Priest allies. The other good Priest common, [Faceless Sapper] would also be good to activate it, but he probably won't live beyond his first Enraged turn.

7) [Bottled Rage]: I would take it over Mind, because it fits my play style better, but it needs other cards to be good. Two cost is great, but you really need multiple allies still in play to abuse it. It's great to give your hero +2 ATK, but you need a Warrior ally in play for that kind of action. Which brings me to the point that exhausting your Hero or a Warrior ally takes away some of the power (hence why you need at least two, or better yet, three allies in play for it to get silly). The majority of the common and uncommon Warrior allies have Protector, so they're almost better off staying open rather than exhausting to use the bottle. Tough one to get the right situation in, but sometimes +1 ATK to your hero and an Ally or two is still worth it. If you are playing a token based Druid or Mulroc rush deck, Bottled Rage becomes a top 3 Bottle for you.

8) [Bottled Elements]: Another very situational card, but great if you draft mid-range control or just some very beefy allies. Best with a Shaman hero, meh with a non-shaman, because you’ll probably want to be using on your Shaman Allies.

9) [Bottled Wild]: This seems really good on paper, but after a number of drafts you’ll soon realize it’s usually the worst card in your Hunter Deck. Its cost seems right, but it’s still just too situational to get the stars to align and get the right trades. Probably better late game, but most Bottles are just higher picks than this one.

9) [Bottled Life]: If you get some key token cards for Druid, this card is one of the pieces. We’ve seen a couple really good Druid token strategies in our draft, but all in all that is the only deck this card is good in. Bottled Rage and this card are much higher picks if you go this direction.

10) [Bottled Void]: It’s awesome if you can draft four or five of them and you are a Warlock. If not it’s not worth playing one or two in any deck, including Warlock, because it’s only going to impact the board if you play four or five in a row.

Thanks for tuning in. Check back next week to see if my evaluations hold true for drafters at the World Championship.