Manual Of Monsters - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread

Demonxz95: Love the idea. Don't think it's too strong since Priest lost their burn cards like Mind Blast. 

Linkblade91: I like the epic version and think it's fine with the Taunt. In my mind, it's a pseudo Frost Nova attached to a body but they can decide how to use that one attack. I don't think it needs much tweaking mana wise or stats wise.

Valor1204: Like previously stated, doesn't feel like a Mage card. Also, since this is a bank for latter design, can play this on 3 to have a a sticky 4 drop like Escaped Manasaber stick 

Demonxz95 - I entered a card with this effect in a previous competition in Rogue and ended up kind of medium.  Maybe it will do better in priest.

linkblade91 - The first version I really like.  It should have taunt because it could hide behind another a larger taunt and make it more likely your opponent wouldn't be able to attack at all with sacrificing anything.  I also think it is rather underpowered and could be costed at 5. 

The second version I don't like as much as it could require some bookkeeping, having to remember to subtract 2 every time damage is dealt to it, whether by attacking or casting spells on it.  It is also too small for a big demon deck.  Even Ancient Void Hound isn't enough, and that is much more impactful than this.

Valor1204 - I'm not as persuaded that this would be op, but this would fit better as a shaman card.

Cg8889 - I don't think the cost reduction needs to be so binary. If this had been worded as "costs (1) less per Attack of your weapon" like Dread Corsair, it would function the same if your weapon had 3 or more attack and would allow a 1 or 2 attack weapon to help discount the cost.

Pokeniner - Cool idea and effect. I really like the flexibility and the callback.  There should be an uncollectible spell representing the fourth option to "discover" like Mystery Choice! did for Vulpera Scoundrel.

Demonxz95 - Interesting effect. I think the stats are fine. If anything maybe think about raising its cost by a mana or two, since it's pretty powerful to in some cases double the effectiveness of your hand.

linkblade91 - I personally like the Rare version better, but that may just be me thinking of how annoyed I would get playing against the Epic. If you do go with the Epic, I would at least remove the Taunt, otherwise you may force your opponent into a turn of just removing that, which could leave the rest of your board open to do some shenanigans. I would also maybe knock the Rare version down a health as its pretty powerful knocking two damage off of whatever is coming at it.

Cg8889 - I like the flavor! I'd say ship it!

Pokeniner - The or reminds me of the Choose One cards in Druid and thus doesn't strike me as a Priest card. I think it would look fine as is in Druid!

grumpymonk - I appreciate the reference to Tortollan Primalist. I don't think you need the from your class part though as the other Discover spell cards don't specify that.

KANSAS - I think the wording is fine as "minion type" is used in Waste Warden. I think its power level is fine too. As far as naming, maybe you can think of something along the lines of "Friend to All?"

DavnanKillder - My first thought was that it may be too much of a generator, but you're right that it's a simplified Hagatha for a turn. So, I think it's fine but I'm not certain. I do appreciate its similarity to Lock and Load.

Inconspicuosaurus - I don't think it's too similar. In fact I think it matches the flavor, which may be what you are going for anyways. I would reword it to be more in line with other Choose One cards, such as maybe seeing if you can get it similar to Msshi'fn Prime?

BloodMefist - My first reaction was to what "playable" meant, but then I understood. It's also reference in Chaos Gazer, so I think it's fine, but maybe change the expansion to be with or after that card as that is when "playable" is first seen. I think the first card matches the effect much better, but it still may be improved. Maybe wording it as experimenter or something similar may play to the favor more.

Demonxz95: I like it! Neat and very flavorful. The numbers could be tweaked but I don't really have any better suggestion.

linkblade91: Great name and art, keep those! I'm not really feeling any of the suggested effects, the epic is better though. Also it shouldn't be a demon, compare with Furious Felfin which is a murloc. 

Valor1204: I think you're onto something really nice with the flavor and theme, but I think you should rethink the effect like Demonxz95 wrote. I you want a Mage card you should rework it completely, but with some lighter tweaking it could go as a Shaman card.

Pokeniner: Cute card, but "restore 3 heath" is a pretty crappy alternative option to a Discover. Would it work like a 4th discover option or like Druid's "Choose one"? If it's the latter I would change class to Druid, in any case I think the alternative option should be boosted. Maybe just 5 Health is enough..?

grumpymonk: I think it suits the Tortollan theme well, neat and good card. Maybe you don't need to spell (Ha!) out "from you class"..?

Cg8889: Nice, I really like it! Great art and flavorful effect. I almost said that it should be a Gadgetzan card but realized Rush wasn't a keyword back then…

DavnanKillder: Not sure about the Frozen throne watermark, otherwise I like it.

Inconspicuosaurus: Nice, but you should look more into the wording. I don't mind the effect though.

BloodMefist: Don't much to say, it's a good idea with correct stats and imho both flavors work. Nice card!

Valor1204: The art feels much more like Uldum than Scholomance and I'm not sure if the effect suits Shaman. But I think you should keep it a Shaman card, maybe just something other weapon-related. Like a battlecry that gives your weapon windfury?

Arkasaur: Very cool concept, but I'm not sure about keeping enchantments. Minion buffing ain't a rogue thing and it could be abused somehow.

FieselFitz: I like it! Cute art and I think you're right on stats/effects. And it should absolutely be a Mage minion, don't think twice about that. :)

Wailor: The rare is better, I'm not a fan of "for the rest of the game" effects and I think the legendary could be too OP if played early. I think the rare is spot on though.

Nice effect and artwork. Not sure if the effect fits Priest, though.

About the balance, it's quite hard to tell, because it depends on which degenerate combos it enables… Maybe a 3 mana 3/3 would be less dangerous I don't know.

I prefer the Epic version hands down, since the effect is more unique and interesting. The Rare one is also too strong against swarm decks, IMO.

I think I prefer if you keep the Taunt, it only because fits the card's artwork too much.

• Circle of Life: I like the artwork, but I agree with other people in the issues they pointed (the class should be Shaman and the effect isn't all that interesting). I you come up with a different Ancestral Spirit-like effect, the card could be quite cool.
• Vulpera Electroedge: Shaman has weapons, but doesn't tend to have weapon synergy, so it feels a bit out of place. I'd give it some Shaman mechanic, something like "Your weapon doesn't lose Durability, but Overloads (1) when your hero attacks" (and better stats, obviously).

The card doesn't seem too unbalanced, but I don't find it too interesting either. Might be just me, I don't know.

Vulpera Scoundrel is one thing, because she was Neutral, but having class cards with this kind of effect… I don't know, it kinda overlaps with Druid's Choose One a little bit, for my taste.

• Tortollan Hatchling: It's too similar to Tortollan Primalist to my taste. I know it's part of the appeal, but I'm not convinced.
• Rend and Rear: Interesting, strategic effect that forces your opponent to plan around it. Quite cool, honestly.

Minion type is actually the standard notation, as seen in Battleground cards like Menagerie Mug.

About the card itself, I like that you're trying to bring multi-tribe synergy to Shaman, since it's something that makes a lot of sense in the card. That said, I would try to come up with a different synergy, as drawing is a bit boring and feels too similar to The Curator.

Not bad, but not amazing either. The artwork is quite cool, though.

If you decide to go with it, make sure to add a full stop at the end of its text.

Interesting combination of Spellburst and Choose One. I think you could get away with making it a 5/5, though.

Both cards make sense, but I prefer the Gadgetzan one flavor-wise (the other artwork is also very easy to find, so there will be tons of cards with it). And, because Gadgetzan was the expansion just before Un'goro, you'll still get to play the card with Lakkari Sacrifice.

I think you're good to go with the Gadgetzan one.

Rogue doesn't have minion buffs, so this hard would be pretty hard to use. If you still want to go with it, the only option I see is to change the text to "Stealth. After this survives damage, return it to your hand with +1/+1 and all previous enchantments."

Finally, the effect is too complex for a Common card (and even more with the change I proposed). It feels a lot like an Epic, actually.

Both the effect and the artwork fit Mage more than Shaman or Warlock. That said, I find the effect a little too simple and too similar to the old Azure Drake.

I like it! You're good to go, I'd say.

Pretty cool card, especially for a first-timer. I find it quite balanced, too.

The flavor makes sense, but I don't find the effect very interesting. It's also quite weak when compared to Smuggler's Run.

• Shellcarver Totom: I guess it's balanced, since Totems are a bit weak. That said, the artwork is awful.
• Rejoin the Group: I coud see this card winning the competition. The flavor is superb! My only issue with it is that it should be a Hunter/Druid card, since its effect is a combination of Tracking and something similar to the Choose One mechanic.

Sorry to ruin your hashtag… But I find Polar Ursa Champion much more interesting. It's simple, but in a good way.

Both Educate the Wild and Trainee Archeologist are fine. I'd say I like Educate the Wild a bit more, but some people might have an issue with its slightly colonialist flavor, for a lack of a better word. In any case, I think it's fine to go with either of them.

Oh, btw, Educate the Wild is lacking a full stop at the end of its text.

I like the card pretty much, but I don't understand how it works like an aura.

It's a good stall tool, that's for sure, but I find it a bit too simple.

Neoguli - Simple and elegant, though it might be a little too simple for it to stand out.  I think its slightly below the curve, so I would add a stat point somewhere.

FieselFitz - Reminds me a lot of Azure Explorer, losing a point of spell damage and its dragon tag for a usually more desirable spell.  I would experiment with the cost and stats to differentiate it from the aformentioned card more.  What I said about Neoguli's card applies here too.

BasilAnguis - You seem to fond of "when this loses x, gain y" effects, which is a triggered effect, not like an aura like you mentioned.  I like the flavor of this card a lot and the effects is quite fitting. 

bananenparty - Educate the Wild is very niche, needing to build around both beasts and spell damage.  Yes, both druid and hunter have a lost of beasts naturally, but having to consider both when putting this into your deck make this too expensive at 3. 

Trainee Archeologist is my favorite.  It doesn't need to specify another because discover cards can't discover copies of themselves anymore.

Follow the Frost is a little weird because it keeps track of minions played on subsequent turns without an easy way to visually indicate buffs.  I think it would be better if it buffed minions currently on the board instead.

anchorm4n - Polar Ursa Champion I like quite a bit, though it seemed slow at first glance.  Polar Furblog reminds of Seeping Oozeling, same stats and all and a Deathrattle enabling event, so I would make it 4/5 or something like that.

Nirast - Not a big fan of Shellcarver Totom, to be honest.  The art of  is too un-heartstonelike for my taste and the effect is not fitting for Shaman at all.  I get what you're trying to with the flavor but it seems too convoluted in practice to work well.

Rejoin the Group is very unique and innovative, but why does it select the bottom three cards? Is it so that you could play multiples on the same turn?  You might want to specify that it puts the cards on top of the deck in a random order if Stay Behind is chosen.

Este - Very interesting card!  Ancestral Healing needs to be in single quotes. 

Arkasaur - Good as a consistent combo activator.  I agree with others that this should not be a common.

Valor1204 - Runeforge Haunter already exists, and is a better fit in rogue than in shaman, imo.

Demonxz95: I'm always a fan of Tempo Priest support, especially when done in interesting ways like this.  I'm a bit concerned with how it could create a lot of value generation, especially considering it is from DoD where Galakrond gave Priest an overabundance of value anyways.  I say consider raising the stats and cost by 1 if you want to avoid turns with too much value and make it a custom watermark to indicate it will be around after Galakrond rotates.

linkblade91: If it is a Demon Hunter Tortollan, I do not think it should be a demon as most cards that are Demon Hunters are not demons themselves.  I like it as an interesting disruption mechanic, but am concerned with its potential ability to shut down some decks for a whole turn, namely ones that rely on Rush minions to clear.  I think a 5/3/5 without Taunt lets this stay powerful without feeling too overbearing.  Good luck with your new job!

Valor1204: I think you're right that an overload effect would be more flavorful for the card.  As it stands it is a bit boring and I think has been done in a Rogue card before.  Maybe something like "Battlecry: Give your Hero +1 attack this turn for each of your Overloaded Mana crystals.", something that interacts with Overload and hero attacks.

Cg8889: I dig it!  I was going to say something about it being a bit scary to give Rogue a 0-mana 4 damage to a minion, but then I remembered that Vendetta exists and is arguably way easier to fulfill.  Both existing in the same rotation could be spooky, but the custom watermark leaves that open.  Nice work with this one!

Pokeniner: I like the callback to Vulpera Scoundrel and think Discover alternate choices is a cool enough thing that should be used more often.  However, I think having the two in the same expansion is a bit much and think that you may get some people who vote lower just because it's another Priest generation tool.  I think changing expansion and making a more specific effect, like Discover a Healing spell or restore 4 health to a damaged friendly character, could be better if nothing else than because it doesn't give Priest a way to generate removal, which people despise from Priest.

grumpymonk: Hatchling is cute, which may score you some points, but I think Rend and Tear's design is more interesting.  I like seeing attack as a method of removal for Druid and this fits well as a slow but potentially powerful removal.  I especially love the ability for the opponent to play around it.  I think both could be submitted as they are, but I would personally rate Rend and Tear higher for its uniqueness.

KANSAS: I like the general idea, but think it's a tad clunky as is (at least in wording).  I'm not sure how to adjust the wording to sound better, but I think something like "Battlecry: Choose a minion and draw a minion of the same type." lets it sound a bit better and keeps the idea of the card.  As for name/flavor, I think some sort of tracker or maybe a sage would make sense.

Davnan Killder: The second version is a bit spooky since it isn't too hard to actually go infinite or semi-infinite.  Shaman's can have minion-centric decks that run very few spells and can generate a full hand with just this card.  Your intention may not be that it can go infinite, but cards like Defile and Spreading Plague cast until the requirement is not met, which is very easy to achieve in this case.  I think the card should be reworked to instead of casting itself again, adding extra copies of the card to your hand.  This keeps the spirit of the card as a powerful value-generator and removes any potential for massive abuse cases.

Inconspicuosaurus: I have an issue with something like Choose One occuring on Spellburst since it uses a UI that could conflict with the spell's UI should it also Choose One or Discover.  I think changing it to be a Choose One to pick which Spellburst keeps the card in essence, but may be tricky to work around with wording.  From a balance standpoint, I think the card may be a tad weak.   The effect is certainly strong, but you've also got Speaker Gidra who has Rush and Windfury while being able to combo with many more expensive.  I think you could get away with lowering it to 4-mana and potentially hitting the stats if you think it's too strong there.

Arkasaur: I was skeptical about keeping Enchantments on a Rogue minion, but you've convinced me that it could work out with Rogue's Classic/Basic buffs.  To compensate though, I think its attack or health should be lowered by 1.  A 2/2/3 Stealth baseline is going to be decent in Rogue and the ability to constantly bounce back to your hand has some serious annoyance potential.  If that's what you're going for though, then go for it.

FieselFitz: Not a huge fan of this one.  It's a deluxe Gnomish Inventor and just isn't that interesting.  That said, not all winners are necessarily super interesting cards.  This card could 100% feasibly be printed and I wouldn't bat an eye.  It's got a synergistic and simple design which is great, just not to my personal taste.  I could also be potentially biased against Combo Mage, which this is a natural fit in.

Este: I agree that seeing underused spells is cool and attaching them to minion bodies is a great way to do that.  I think the card is a tad strong as it is now and could be a 3/3 in stats.  To add some more spice, you could make it a Battlecry and Deathrattle to add 1 copy to synergize with Shaman's mini Deathrattle identity.

RealJC1234TheToonist: Really like this one.  I've always loved handbuff ever since the Grimy Goons brought it to the game in MSoG.  That said, I think this is a tad underpowered.  Paladins got the same effect but immediately and for 1 less mana.  I think you could raise the effect to +2/+1 or have it also effect minions on the board.  Both keep the flavor and give the card a bit more oomph that I think it needs.

Nirast: Nice name with 'Totom'.  I think he could get a bit out of hand with how difficult it could become to remove the totems, especially the Taunt one and considering Shaman's could access relatively easy totem spam with Genn or that one spell from KnC that gave minions a totem summon daethrattle.  I think he could be reworked to just having the "Totems can only take 1 damage at a time" as an aura so that the opponent has an avenue of counterplay.  To compensate, you could raise his health to 6.  I like the idea of Rejoin the Group, but agree that the class flavor seems off.  Both classes don't really have options to draw power, so reording top decks feels a bit off.  Maybe in something like Mage?

anchorm4n: Champion works well in Warrior's identity and makes relative sense flavorwise.  I think it shouldn't have the KoFT watermark though since it isn't really connect to death knights at all.  Grad Tournament or Descent of Dragons both are set up north and make sense to feature a 'Polar Champion'.  Not a big fan of Polar Furbolg though.  The effect doesn't really fit the flavor and it feels a bit forced.

bananenparty: I like Trainee the most.  Educate is cool, but spooks me too much when it comes to burst in either class.  Follow the Frost is also neat, but I don't think this is enough for Freeze Shaman either.  Trainee has great flavor and just radiates nice vibes, although it may draw the ire of people who dislike the current state of "Created by…" meta.

BasilAnguis: Seems a bit clunky, given that it requires you to have a weapon, a minion you want to hit with a Poisonous weapon, and that it survives with only 2 health on turn 3+.  I like the general idea of something happening when it loses stealth, but think that it doesn't work well as is.

Neoguli:  I don't think this needs to be a dual-class card, let alone a class card.  The effect and stats are simple enough that I could honestly see this as a Neutral card.  It's like a powercrept Frost Elemental, but that card never sees play so the powercreep is probably justified.