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Hearthstone | Posted by | 4 years, 11 months ago
Fan Creations

Watch Post And Learn - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread

Competition Theme: Watch Post And Learn

It's time to start building things up around here - stop fighting already!

  • You must create a minion which can't attack
    • We're specifically looking for the 'can't attack' text on the card, not just a 0-Attack minion or something like that
  • Your minion must have a passive effect
    • It can't just sit there and look pretty - like the new Far Watch Post and its ilk, it needs to do something worthwhile

Arkasaur is looking for the best architects to help construct some magnificent new cards - so start surveying and draw up some plans!

As always, I can be reached through Discord or here on the site via PM if you have any issues to report.

Competition Phases

Here are the phases of this card design competition

  • Submission Phase: Starts on Mon, Apr 5 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Sat, Apr 10 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
  • Voting Phase: Starts on Sat, Apr 10 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Sun, Apr 11 16:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
  • Finalist Phase: Starts on Sun, Apr 11 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Mon, Apr 12 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
  • Winner Selected: After finalist voting concludes and we validate votes.

Discussion Thread Rules

No thread rules were added to this season. Please populate and manually edit this thread with them.

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  • Competition Theme: Watch Post And Learn

    It's time to start building things up around here - stop fighting already!

    • You must create a minion which can't attack
      • We're specifically looking for the 'can't attack' text on the card, not just a 0-Attack minion or something like that
    • Your minion must have a passive effect
      • It can't just sit there and look pretty - like the new Far Watch Post and its ilk, it needs to do something worthwhile

    Arkasaur is looking for the best architects to help construct some magnificent new cards - so start surveying and draw up some plans!

    As always, I can be reached through Discord or here on the site via PM if you have any issues to report.

    Competition Phases

    Here are the phases of this card design competition

    • Submission Phase: Starts on Mon, Apr 5 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Sat, Apr 10 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
    • Voting Phase: Starts on Sat, Apr 10 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Sun, Apr 11 16:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
    • Finalist Phase: Starts on Sun, Apr 11 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Mon, Apr 12 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
    • Winner Selected: After finalist voting concludes and we validate votes.

    Discussion Thread Rules

    No thread rules were added to this season. Please populate and manually edit this thread with them.

  • MORTAR COMBAT!

    These guys are so iconic I can't believe they're not already in the game.

    I'm not satisfied with the effect, though. While it makes sense for them, I feel it's too bland. It has a very early Hearthstone feel to it which I'm not sure if I like.

    EDIT: Added a nerfed version, because I just realised AoE + good body is too good for a Neutral card, even if it hits random targets.

  • Yes, Mini Ragnaros will come with a high-pitched "DIE, INSECT!"

    Friendly Staff

  • First ideas. I might come with something else later.

  • Here's my goofy idea. Who needs Whizbang the Wonderful when you can change your deck every turn?

    I used the phrasing of Renounce Darkness. I'd like to think it would be a free, amusing Legendary to mess around with.

    Friendly

  • Feedback later maybe

     

  • I'm still looking for art for a more creative idea, but I had to get this out of my head first. Inner Demon on a stick, kind of.

    Edit: The text misses "this turn". Thanks for the pointer, cydonianknight! 

  • First 2 ideas for this comp:

    Feedback:

    Show Spoiler

    Wailor: Simple, but effective. I think you can get away with the second version, since the minion can't attack. 

    Demonxz95: I like the cannon more, tough neither of them do much, since they're pretty small units. The Cannon has synergy with Scavanging Hyena, I guess. Surprised you didn't go the 4/4 route with Rag.

    grumpymonk: Arcane Watchtower is an interesting one, since it's fairly easy to play around. This is an Aggro tech more than anything else. The other card is pretty basic, and quite annoying.

    linkblade91: LOL, I love this! I'd make it end of turn, so you know what you do next turn, and are guaranteed the effect if your opponent is a killjoy and removes the wardrobe before it triggers.

    DestroyerR: Pretty nice, but you'd need a decktracker to remember what cards your opponent revealed, since Hearthstone doesn't implement revealed cards.

    anchorm4n: Targeted Rag, but you must use your face to do it. I think it's balanced, maybe even weak, since it does nothing when you play it.

    Staff

  • Some early feedback:

    Show Spoiler

    Nirast - The Arcane Focus sounds like it should be a weapon: from my perspective, it's only a minion because the prompt says it has to be. Maybe if it were a character it would make more sense; the effect is interesting, though. I think I like the Rusted Harvester more, regardless, Treant Druid being a guilty pleasure of mine.

    anchorm4n - The card is okay, but I don't know if it stands out enough.

    DestroyerR - I don't know if Hearthstone has the same UI capability as Legends of Runeterra in-that it can keep a revealed card in that state for your opponent to see. Otherwise, you'd have to keep track of the cards mentally/manually, which is a bummer. Would people pay 3 mana and a deck slot for the information? I'm not sure.

    grumpymonk - I like the Dreadmist Watch Post more than the Arcane Watchtower. I think the Watchtower effecting your opponent's costs is too similar to the one we have already. "Armor" should be capitalized, though.

    Demonxz95 - Mini Ragnaros is a little on-the-nose for this prompt, in my opinion, creatively-speaking. Sheep Cannon is amusing and could see play in the right deck, like maybe a Spell Face Hunter or Token Druid.

    Wailor - If you're going with Mortar Team, I would definitely pick the one with less Health. Either-way, I feel like it might be too powerful for 4-mana, clearing away up to 3 enemy minions at the end of the turn. I wish it could be something like "3 damage to a random enemy minion and 1 damage to its neighbors", but that's far too many words.

    Friendly

  • Here are my two ideas so far:

    Feedback

    Show Spoiler

    Wailor: I think this needs just a little bit of a re-tune on the effect, perhaps making it more like Chain Lightning (Rank 1). I would definitely stick with the reduced statline of your second version though. Overall, pretty decent card.

    Demonxz95: Overall, I prefer Sheep Cannon to Mini Rag, the flavour of the card is just hilarious and it provides a pretty cool ping effect for classes that need it. Possibly too easily abused by Librams in Paladin, but nowhere near as toxic as Pen Flinger so it's probably fine.

    grumpymonk: Congrats on the win for the last competition! As for these cards, I'm not a massive fan of taxation effects (hence my vitriol towards Far Watch Post atm) so I'm not a lover of your second card. As for the Dreadmist Watch Post, I think it's pretty good. I might lean towards changing the trigger to playing a minion rather than just a card, just for minor flavour reasons but idk. Neat card.

    linkblade91: Absolute ridiculousness and I love it! Honestly not got anything negative to say about this, it's great.

    DestroyerR: I like the effect, great flavour match. The only thing for me is that the art doesn't necessarily look like a watch post and is more like a full blown mage tower if not castle so maybe consider changing the art? I've found a few pieces if you want me to DM them to you.

    anchorm4n: I kinda like this version of Rag, but it doesn't feel particularly unique tbh. Also I'm uncertain if this was intended or not, but with the way it's currently worded, you would keep the +8 Attack permanently, so maybe add a "this turn only" condition to it?

    Nirast: I much prefer the Rusted Harvester out of the two cards. The only thing for me is that the Armor effect seems pretty pointless and makes the card text box look a bit overcrowded imo. Love the flavour though and I enjoy a good Treant card.

  • Here's a slightly more creative approach. What if every class got their own Watch Post?

    It triggers at the start of your turn for synergies with Varden Dawngrasp and Snap Freeze (plus Shatter in Wild). Do you like this more than Green Rag?

    Feedback:

    Show Spoiler

    cydonianknight - Hushing Librarian is probably my favorite card so far. Great flavor, very well done! 

    Nirast - I prefer Headmaster's Arcane Focus. It's a quite cool mechanic, really nice idea. That said, I'm not a big fan of the art and the name of the card.

    DestroyerR - As I've already told you on Discord, it's a neat card. It rewards paying attention and I wouldn't mind having to keep track of the revealed cards in my head at all.

    linkblade - I really like it when you post goofy ideas :) Nice one!

    grumpymonk - I prefer the Arcane Watchtower. Very effective and very evil. Hits the Watch Post flavor spot on.

    Demon - Sheep Canon is the more interesting card and one of my two favourites so far. Really cool design. Minor "but": you should a) consider making this a Hunter card because it might end up very broken in Mage and Paladin (Librams!) and b) create a token if you can.

    Wailor - First of all, please add a bit of lore if you want us all to appreciate your card. I take your word for those guys being iconic but I have no idea who they are. That said, I think the lower Health version is a safer bet since the effect is super strong. It's also cooler to have three 3s on the card ;-) 

  • Okay, I did an even more nerfed version of my card, since it's true it was a bit busted even as a 4/3/3.

    I'm also going to give a bit of context for it, as anchorm4n suggested.

    The Mortar Team was the siege unit for the Alliance in Warcraft III, fulfilling a the same role as Demolisher did for the Horde or Meat Wagon for the Undead. This kind of units used long ranged, AoE attacks which excelled at damaging buildings, but had a hard time hitting moving targets and were completely helpless against melee units, since they couldn't shot too close to themselves. That's why they fit so well for this "Can't attack" thingy, IMO.

    What made Mortar Team a fan favorite (at least, among my group of friends lol) was their wacky personality and funny dialogs, which often played as mini conversations.

    Alright, feedback time.

    Show Spoiler
    Demonxz95. I like your Sheep Cannon the best, mainly because of its funny flavor (altough it also has interesting synergies). It might be a bit too similar to Magic Dart Frog, but the things that set them appart are probably enough.

    grumpymonk. Both are fine, even if a bit dull. If you go with Dreadmist Watch Post, I think the word "Armor" should be written with capital A.

    linkblade91. Very fun Legendary card. The art is a bit off, but not excesively. Otherwise, I think it's fine.

    DestroyerR. While this effect has been done a lot of times, I think it fits this comp really well. I like it.

    anchorm4n. I think I prefer Ragnaros, Felfirelord, but it might be a bit too weak right now. So much that I think it would be more balanced without the "Can't attack" thing (just like Ragnaros, Lightlord). Thus, I would go with Frost Watch Post, which isn't bad either.

    Nirast. Headmaster's Arcane Focus has a very interesting effect, but the flavor is very weird. I'd try to find a different flavor, but the card is otherwise pretty interesting.

    cydonianknight. Both are very cool cards, but I think I prefer Explorer's Blimp, since Hushing Librarian has a very similar flavor to Dalaran Librarian, and flavor is the best selling point of your card.

    • Quote From Wailor

      Okay, I did an even more nerfed version of my card, since it's true it was a bit busted even as a 4/3/3.

       

      .

      The Mortar Team was the siege unit for the Alliance in Warcraft III, fulfilling a the same role as Demolisher did for the Horde or Meat Wagon for the Undead. This kind of units used long ranged, AoE attacks which excelled at damaging buildings, but had a hard time hitting moving targets and were completely helpless against melee units, since they couldn't shot too close to themselves. That's why they fit so well for this "Can't attack" thingy, IMO.

      If it was completely defenseless against melee targets it should have zero attac

      • Quote From Alfi
        Quote From Wailor

        ...

        If it was completely defenseless against melee targets it should have zero attac

        That's true, but I felt having a pair of buff dudes have 0 Attack made little sense in the context of Hearthstone. I guess Hearthstone and Warcraft have different ways to translate the fantasy of a particular character via its mechanics.

        More feedback:

        Show Spoiler
        linkblade91 I like Enrique more than the Wardrove, both flavor-wise and the end of turn instead of start.

        Karmin The effect is kinda cool, but the artwork isn't good. I'd also put it in Rise Of Shadows, since it makes sense both flavor-wise and because of its similarity with the Twinspell keyword.

        shatterstar1998 I prefer the Temple, Velen is a bit uninteractive. If you go with the temple, I think the wording should be "Discover a Corrupt card and Corrupt it".

        Pokeniner I'd just make it damage all other minion instead of non-Watch Post ones. I don't know, I feel it's a weird way of pushing Watch Post synergy.

  • Alright, time for my own feedback

    Wailor
    I feel like it is slightly too powerful, but it is otherwise a pretty solid card. At 5 mana, it seems a lot better.

    Grumpymink

    Congrats on the win in the previous comp!

    Personally, I prefer Dreadmist Watch Post since it seems easier to play around, and I feel like simplicity will likely be a key factor in getting a good score in this comp. Arcane Watchtower is fine, but it does feel quite a bit like Far Watch Post and might sometimes be too annoying to play around.

    Linkblade91

    I did already post about your card in Discord, but I will reiterate that the flavor is a little bit weird since I struggle to understand how a wardrobe can have more than 0 Attack unless it's supposed to represent a monster hiding in the wardrobe that only attacks when something gets close to it (hence why it still damages when it's traded into). If that's the intention, then there's probably a better way to illustrate that.

    Beyond that, it's a meme card which tend to vary in scoring quite a lot.

    DestroyerR
    Beyond what others have told you about Hearthstone UI and how its compatibilities with this effect are not too clear, hand information is generally overvalued and (in Hearthstone anyway), is not as strong as one might think, so I think it could probably use one additional stat point.

    Anchorm4n

    I'm thinking for the Sheep token, I'll probably just use the same one found on cards like Polymorph. Save myself a little bit of real estate.

    As for your cards, Ragnaros, Felfirelord is super flavorful, but it is unfortunately quite weak as it is an 8 mana minion that does nothing when it hits the field, nor does it represent any type of long-term "floating" value. Frost Watch Post is pretty decent.

    Nirast

    Rusted Harvester is kinda neat, although I feel like it's not really that effective since it requires you to control Treants and suicide them on your turn to benefit from the additional Mana Crystal. Otherwise it just doesn't do anything.

    Headmaster's Arcane Focus is a pretty cool idea, but the name sounds more like a spell than a minion.

    Cydonianknight

    Explorer's Blimp is a little bit confusing. When you draw a "duplicate card", what is the card of a duplicate of? A card in your hand, your deck, on the field? It has very weird flavor too given that the Explorers are supposed to be about not having duplicates in your deck.

    Hushing Librarian is pretty nice.

    Friendly Staff
    • Quote From Demonxz95
      Explorer's Blimp is a little bit confusing. When you draw a "duplicate card", what is the card of a duplicate of? A card in your hand, your deck, on the field? It has very weird flavor too given that the Explorers are supposed to be about not having duplicates in your deck.

      The way Explorer's Blimp was intended to work was as follows: If you have multiple copies of a card in your deck, draw one of those copies. 

      Effectively, it tutors cards from your deck to potentially leave you with a deck full of singletons, allowing your Highlander cards to come online much more consistently in decks which run multiple copies of cards. 

      I do think the wording of the card could do with a bit of work myself, but I'm unsure how to clarify the effect without going over 4 lines of text.

  • How's this for an update to the Wardrobe of Wonders? I've replaced the art with something more Warcraft-y, shifting to the flavor of dressing-up via a tailor.

    It also says "end of turn" now, so you get to utilize the effect at least once before he's removed.

    Friendly

  • Predicting that we might see towers next expansion, since we'll be likely venturing in Alliance zones, I think this could be a cool (but hopefully not too strong effect) for a Mage Tower minion.

    Edit: Thank you for the feedback, lowered the mana cost to (4) from (5) and attack and health to (4)/(6) from (5)/(7).

    • Velen, Prophet of Peace is a stalling minions so your opponent has to remove him if they want to attack. Even against token decks you can use him to limit them to essentially 5 board slot.
    • Temple of Y'Shaarj is meant to synergize with Y'Shaarj himself to create more Corrupt card.

    Feedback

    Show Spoiler

    @Linkblade: The card seem too swingy whether or not you get a good batch of cards every turn.

    @Nirast: Both of them are way too specific while being not very powerful in the pay off.

    @Anchorm4n: There's no way Demon Hunter will run Rag over something like Priestess of Fury since it doesn't do anything if it got killed. The Frost Watch Post is great and fitting with Mage flavor. Because Frost Nova isn't in the core set you can print this and not having it be degenerate.

    @Karmin: Seem way too low impact for the cost and stat.

    @Wailor: The 5 mana version is much more balanced and ready to go.

    @CydonianKnight: What does duplicate card even mean? Do you need to already have the first copy in your hand?

    @Demonxz95: Sheep Cannon is literally just a weaker version of Kolkar Pack Runner. Mini Ragnaros is way too swingy for such a low mana cost.

  • "Don't look at me, it was the Far Watch Post that killed the Tinyfin."

    Thoughts?

  • Guess I should give some feedback.

    @Wailor

    Show Spoiler
    Looks ok and on flavour, but I'm not sure if the effect is outstanding.

    @Demonxz95

    Show Spoiler
    I like Sheep Cannon more, especially because Ragnaros feels kinda weak, as well as the effect doesn't feel kinda unique. Sheep Cannon looks pretty good.

    @grumpymonk

    Show Spoiler
    I think I like Arcane Watchtower more, but maybe people may not like another Watch Post which abuses costs of cards. The other card seems fine too.

    @linkblade91

    Show Spoiler
    I like second version more. However, it looks pretty memey, and I'm not sure if there is good reason for this card to exist.

    @DestroyerR

    Show Spoiler
    I feel like revealing cards has almost no value in HS, so it is not only bad at 3 Mana, but the effect is kinda pointless no matter what stats and Cost you give this. I'm not a fan.

    @anchorm4n

    Show Spoiler
    I like Frost Watch Post more, it's ok

    @Nirast

    Show Spoiler
    Headmaster's Arcane Focus looks pretty interesting, I like it.

    @cydonianknight

    Show Spoiler
    I realy like Hushing Librarian. Explorer's Blimb is also ok, but I like Librarian more.

    @Karmin

    Show Spoiler
    Looks fun, I kinda like it. Maybe it should have lower stats and Cost, so the effect is more impactful.

    @shatterstar1998

    Show Spoiler
    I think I like Velen more, i's kinda good. Also, Temple of Yshaar'j seem to have wrong wording, it should be 'Discover a Corrupt card and Corrupt it'. Look at Gift of the Old Gods, a card from Duels.

    @Pokeniner

    Show Spoiler
    I think this may be problematic, considering it would kill some minions itself, and then trigger again, like Lord Godfrey/

  • Feedback round 2. This comp definitely seems to be slower than the previous one.

    Linkblade91
    I already mentioned it on Discord, but I definitely like this a lot better.

    Karmin
    I appreciate that artwork for this comp is probably difficult to find, but the art on the card could definitely use an upgrade. Aside from that though, the card is fine.

    Shatterstar1998

    Not quite since there are quite a few characteristics that separate the two.

    But onto your cards, Velen looks a little too "weird" and it might look your opponent, but it can technically also be played around easily by just placing minions on the left or right-most sides so that the minions you want to attack with can attack (and the ones that can't attack couldn't attack anyway due to summoning sickness).

    I prefer Temple of Y'Shaarj. Good flavor. My only concern is the potential to be extremely swingy if you manage to pull a Strongman or Carnival Clown.

    Pokeniner
    Watch Post synergy is pretty neat. The idea of the ability is nice, but I fear that it basically creates a Lord Godfrey-like effect that any class can access with relative ease and is also easier to chain.

    Friendly Staff

  • "Now watch, and learn, here's the deal..."

    Is this considered a 'passive' effect?

  • It is, but I can't figure out if this card is incredibly weak or incredibly annoying. Can't be worse than Harbinger Celestia.

    Staff

  • Yeah, I changed it to 2 Mana, because it's like a worse Sap but can be played multiple times.

  • Forgot to submit before the deadline D:

    was waiting for the “less than 24 hours to submit” message, lesson learned I guess

  • Congrats to demonxz95!

  • Congrats Demon! What a cool card to win a competition with :D 

    When I first saw your card, I was worried it might be too powerful in Paladin and Mage in a Flamewaker / Pen Flinger kind of way. But as it turns out, you've kinda applied the Pen Flinger nerf with Sheep Cannon! Once there are no more minions to hit, the Sheep are guaranteed to go face, so they don't die and voilà: the potential face damage is capped at 6 (as long as you don't kill your own Sheep. Which you wouldn't. Only a monster would do that.). Genious!

  • Little slow on the uptake, but congrats to Demon :)

    Friendly