You thought I was actually ending this series at the end of last time? Nope, I'm still at it (surprise, surprise). Today on Fan Community Spotlight, I've got Neoguli here for the fifth time to check out a project that I haven't covered in a month. That is their Core Set reworks, and we've got only two classes left: Shaman and Priest. I for one am happy to get back to this and see Neo's last remaining classes to cover on this project.
What cards did you cut and why?
Neoguli: "Across both classes, this was the biggest reshuffle, even bigger than between Mage and Rogue. I’ve moved away 23 cards, but that is because all of those cards were either obsolete or got better replacements. For Priest, most of their new tools from Blizzard’s official Classic set rework weren’t seeing that much play, and while it is in intention for the Classic set to not overshadow expansions, cards from there still need to see a bit more play."
Let's talk about the cards you made yourself for these classes.
Neoguli: "Seashore Guide is meant to solidify Shaman as the primary Murloc tribe class. It’s been given so many Murloc-related cards over the years to the point it should become their main strength.
Whirlwind Spear is an upgrade from Stormforged Axe due to the added half-cleave effect, which I believe Shamans can use to control the board better.
Tornado is still something I should probably strafe away from. It’s definitely a fun card due to sheer RNG packed into it, but the average results may not outweigh the damage in Overload that you are going to take. Contrary to what some people think, it’s meant to actually be triggered 20 times instead of 21. On average, this is a big board clear, but it overloads you for your entire mana bar unless you got Lava Shock in your pocket.
Sanctuary Angel is meant to give the class a solid minion to include in their Resurrect builds. By herself, she gives some decent protection.
Shadowmelder adds a Deathrattle minion to the pool, which can be further used for upcoming Deathrattle synergies and Shadowy Figure.
Reviving Infusion is the evergreen piece for Resurrect Priest. Because it searches for the highest-Cost minion, it’s also a consistent piece for the deck to find the minion that you want."
What identity were you going for with both classes?
Neoguli: "I decided to let Shamans embrace RNG, because we all know nature is unpreditcable. I still retained the weakness of lack of card draw, but they still get a bit more value generation than Blizzard supposelly thinks they should have.
Priest hasn’t changed much, but they got upgrades across the board and got their weaknesses softened a little. They now have a bit more legit card draw."
As this is the final Core Set rework for all the classes, how do all these remade sets come together?
Neoguli: "Only playtesting will tell. I hope I’ve done a decent job at making a balanced and sustainable core set for every class. Most of the sets went well, but there are still outliers that need further supervisory."
We've now covered every class in this multi-segmented installment of Fan Community Spotlight, but it's not over yet. I'll be back to this again to cover the Neutrals. That's it for now though. Take a look at Neo's Shaman and Priest Core Set reworks and let us know what you think.
Comments
Instant dislike for putting a revive mechanic into the core set for Priest.
Couldn't agree more. One of the most annoying mechanics ever put into the game.
Many thanks for sharing and your work (Neoguli). I must admit I like this quite a bit more than the previous iteration on DH / Hunter.
Some points that come to my mind:
Just my two cents. Again really appreciate your work (Neoguli). Keep it up.
Thanks for your feedback!
When creating Seashore Guide, I was actually thinking whether to nerf it to 2/2 or keep it as it is. It was a decently difficult situation, but I ultimately landed on the 3/2 statline to make it a strong card.
While Reviving Infusion does represent the controversial Rez Priest archetype, the mechanic inside the class has become almost a core staple in each Standard rotation. Every Standard set so far had Rez mechanics in one way or another, so it would be discgraceful not to solidify it's place. If this mechanic wouldn't have an evergreen card, we would soon reach a critical mass of cards that fill that purpose - we argueably reached it with the original Rez Priest back when Barnes was at 4 Mana.
Hi, not to nit-pick, but you should probably call out Neoguli by name, this way, it seems like you are talking to the writer of the article, Demonxz95, who did not make the set, but interviewed the person who did :) Just so no one is confused :)
Feedback is always good tho, so thanks for that! :)