New heroes for Hearthstone - or class skins - are they worth it?

It comes down to the same thing in the end, but doesn't the first one sound way more epic?  Blizzard apparently thought so too, as I have yet to find anywhere in the Blizzard press release referring to the "fresh face" for each class as new skins.  I'm sure it didn't hurt their decision that it's far easier to pitch a 10 dollar price tag for a new hero than it is for what essentially amounts to a shiny new portrait.  So far new representatives for the Warrior (Magni Bronzebeard), Hunter (Alleria Windrunner) and Mage (Medivh) classes have been unveiled.  

Hearthstone: Crafting versus card packs for beginners

Blackwing Lair was released today, and with it the new cards to be unlocked from defeating bosses and completing class challenges.  Playing through it got me thinking about the two primary ways of getting new cards in Hearthstone - purchasing packs and crafting.  Writing this, that does seem a bit of a weak connection but it's totally what happened.  I'm sure we've all had the dilemma of deciding whether to craft that card you want right away or waiting to see if it pops up in the next batch of card packs (I suspect a lot of us have been on a pack buying spree too, but that's another story).  Both arcane dust and in-game gold take a while to build up and crafting one card or purchasing one pack makes a pretty major dent.  So which one's better?  The answer may surprise you.