Hearthstone
Absolute Unit - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Submitted 2 years, 4 months ago by
ShadowsOfSense
Competition Theme: Absolute Unit
These cards left a Colossal impact, so it's time for an equally massive send-off!
- You must create a Colossal minion
- Like the Legendaries from Sunken City, of course - though yours don't need to be either, merely Colossal in their own right!
Wailor isn't ready to say goodbye to the last expansion, so let's give it one last send-off as we usher in Castle Nathria!
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, Aug 1 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Sat, Aug 6 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
- Voting Phase: Starts on Sat, Aug 6 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Sun, Aug 7 16:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
- Finalist Phase: Starts on Sun, Aug 7 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400). Runs until Mon, Aug 8 17:00 EDT (GMT -0400)
- Winner Selected: After finalist voting concludes and we validate votes.
Discussion Thread Rules
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Competition Theme: Absolute Unit
These cards left a Colossal impact, so it's time for an equally massive send-off!
Wailor isn't ready to say goodbye to the last expansion, so let's give it one last send-off as we usher in Castle Nathria!
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
Discussion Thread Rules
No thread rules were added to this season. Please populate and manually edit this thread with them.
Welcome to the site!
I have two already made:
Klai, Tiki Terror was my entry for a preorder giveaway last expansion, but I never heard back.
Edit: I replaced the old Klai with something similar that I like more. Instead of just replacing Treants as they fall - which could get nasty if there was ever a Treant with Rush - now you must sacrifice the trees to the Colossal to keep it alive. An incredibly sticky minion if you can maintain a board.
Anise, Avatar of Ice is a newer idea, creating a board out of your opponents' popsicles. Ironically a Mage minion so that Freeze Shaman cannot have it XD I was worried about Snowball Fight! and Snowfall Guardian, although Flurry (Rank 1) could be its own problem.
I can't believe we didn't have a seahorse card in Sunken City, so here's my take on it.
This is based on the fact male seahorses get pregnant. They're the best dads in the entire animal kingdom :)
I realize both tokens need to have a watermark, but I'll correct that later.
Finding art for this is hard, so I just ended up working around the art. This one's pretty cool. I think it might do well. I just don't like that it doesn't really has any synergies.
This one's got a bit more synergy. And I think it's really nice how all three effects work in tandem.
Edit: Both cards should probably cost 1 more. I made them late at night and the cost of Zorqon is based on Neptulon the Tidehunter, but that one's already quite high in value compared to other Colossal minions.
edit: new idea
I love Klai, Tiki Terror's art and it is probably the only card here with perfect Colossal art. I like the flavor of the new effect. My only concern is that the destroy effect has anti-synergy with the AoE buffs you'd find in a Treant deck, but it's probably worth it regardless. I see you already reduced Klai's Klaw's Health, but I still think this card could also be an 8-Cost with the amount of stats you're getting.
It's nice that you can manually buff it as well, but I think the passive Attack scaling is a little slow. Since unlike Xhilag of the Abyss the Deathrattle can trigger during each players turn, it might be nice for the +1 Attack to trigger at the end of both turns as well. That being said, it's probably fine to give Kavei's Belly Taunt and maybe even some Attack, because right now it can't really die before the main body does unless you buff it, but the card is designed so that you'd rather buff the main body.
I'll be honest, I don't think this really needs to be a Colossal minion. The main body and its limbs don't synergize with each other at all, which is what all Colossal minions are based around. The Splat's Splits not being attached to the main body is also unconventional, but I guess it makes sense flavorwise. Overall I think it works just as well as a single minion with "Battlecry, Spellburst and Deathrattle: Destroy a random enemy minion.", so the Colossal +2 is only really there for flavor.
I've been MIA for a few days because a hectic moving expedition that had to happen on extremely short notice, and not having wifi for my computer during that time, but here I am again.
Feedback
Klai, Tiki Terror is certainly a strong wall. It's probably balanced by the fact that if your opponent has hard removal, that will take care of Klai no problem, but if you don't have it, then you're in for quite a strong defense. I don't want to say that it's OP, but it definitely can be quite strong and problematic to get around.
Anise, Avatar of Ice seems easier to evaluate. Contrary to your comment, I think this is safer in Shaman since they have less cheap Freeze effects that Freeze multiple things at a time. I don't think Snowfall Guardian would be a big problem.
Glorth the Glutton is a strong source of hard removal for Shaman which they normally don't have. The flavor of the card though is absolutely on-point.
Zorqon, Granter of Power is a cool Elemental buffer. I like that the appendages do slightly different things, but in a way that still feels believable. One thing that does bug me though is that Zorqon himself has anti-synergy with the left arm since Immune + Taunt has the same interaction as Stealth + Taunt, which will turn the Taunt off.
Addendum: "Depths" was supposed to refer to volcanic depths, but now I notice how weird that is. I'll be changing that should I submit it.
New version of Kavei according to feedback:
If you don't buff him at all and your opponent kills his Belly in the very next turn, you'll end up with three 2/2 and a 2/6 that grows by itself, which doesn't seem too bad for token decks, but still not mind blowing. Of course, you can buff him to improve this result, but you risk eating removal (still not too bad, as you end up with a Scarab Egg on the board).
In short, this will rarely live up to its potential (unless you buff him and manage to sacrifice his belly the very same turn you play him), but he'll usually be a pain in the ass to remove completely. Not the flashiest Colossal, but still.
I might still give the main body or the Belly 1 extra Attack, though.
Feedback:
My only gripe with it is that it seems strange that it has only one Claw. My suggestion is changing it to Colossal +2 but make each Claw summon a single Treant. Also, the palmtree custom watermark would fit the flavor better than Sunken City, IMO.
About Anise, it's also quite cool (no pun intended), but I'd make it a Shaman card, since Mage doesn't tend to have many Rush minions. I still prefer Klai, though.
Zorqon seems very dangerous, even if he costs 10 Mana. Immune is scary.
Other than that pretty good card (although the Cannon should be a Warlock card too).
My only question is how will you submit it, since the website doesn't allow that many tokens.
Not a problem. According to Shadows, this competition allows up to seven total cards per submission.
Unfortunately the art doesn't really help in that regard: Maokai (the League of Legends character) has the one big claw with a second mouth, and his other one is a baby T-rex arm by comparison lol. I could do it, but it wouldn't look as good in my opinion. Edit: Maybe if I made it "Klai's Lesser Klaw" and "Klai's Greater Klaw"? Could have different stats, too; I'll give it a try.
I will change the Cost and the watermark, though, as per everyone's feedback.
How's that; better? Maybe it should cost 9 now *shrugs* Not sure if I like this iteration as much, but it could grow on me.
Feedback:
Demonxz95 - As I mentioned elsewhere this is really cool. Not the fastest way for the Mage to pump out damage, but it's still flashy and the art works perfectly. Just need to change Volcan's title, as I said before. "Volcan, Molten Lord"?
R - This is powerful, especially now that we know Implock is a thing in the very next expansion. The Cannon needs to be Warlock, and should lose the gem if you want it to look right: use the "Force Apply Emblem" and "Force Apply Dragon" options. As for balance, I would honestly jump this up to a 9 or 10: you could be summoning a bunch of Imps that are guaranteed to stick. All that being said, this is a really cool idea, the art is good, and it's much better than the slime :)
AeroJulwin - Immune is always a scary prospect, but it also messes with the Taunt you want to hand out with Zorqon's Right Arm, making it kind of clunky. Glorth is much better and could be fun in that Mutanus the Devourer way: just eat all da stuff!
I'm still not sure which card to go with. Glorth the Glutton seems to be well-received, but the fact that it's a Shaman hard removal doesn't sit totally right with me. I seriously need to start remembering class identities beyond Druid. Normally I have a general sense of it, but this time my brain just went "Frog goes with Shaman". I don't think I should mess with its effect. I'm not sure on what other class it would make sense though. Warlock maybe?
I honestly wasn't sure how Immune and Taunt would mix, but the intended purpose of forcing your opponent to deal with Zorqon, Granter of Power's main body first worked regardless. But I agree that it makes for weird card design and I'd like to make some changes to the effect, hopefully also reducing its powerlevel a bit.
I'll make new versions for both tomorrow. I don't really need any more feedback at that point in time, but I'd like to get an idea of what people prefer.
Yeah, this is a pretty big upgrade to Impfestation. I think you should increase the cost and probably reduce the Attack on the main body.
I agree: was kind of waiting for someone to say it so I can feel better about reversing course lol
Sneaky! You're welcome.
How about flipping the artwork for the other claw? I still think it's strange to feature just one card, but I do agree the lesser/bigger Klaw looks strange.
I originally had a different concept and I was also in a hurry. Anyway... I quite don't like the immune effect. So I slightly changed the card. Thinking about to make it as a permanent battlecry or leave it as an aura.
I'll try to find time to write feedback later.
Here's the new version of Zorqon. It's a little less exciting, but it still works the way I wanted it to. I kept the tokens the same.
Decided to move Glorth to Priest because the copy effect makes the most sense there. Although most destroy effects in Priest are situational, it does have some direct destroy effects. Mainly on bigger cards. Warlock is still on the table.
I'm currently leaning towards this^ one, but please let me know which card (and version) you like best.
Hey! This week's competition looks fun, so I'm trying to participate. This is the design I've come up with and submitted:
I thought it would be fun to combine the Colossal mechanic with the new Locations.
Nash's Burrow actually allows for a bunch of cool different strategies.
You may use him in slower Hunter decks as a way to clear big enemy threats (usually at least two of them, as his beefy stats allow him to trade with two 8/8s, a common statline for big 8-Mana cards). You may also buff him after he comes out of his burrow with Hunter spells that buff friendly Beasts to make him even beefier without having to spend Mana for the spells in the same turn you've played him.
Finally, he can be used as a creative finisher thanks to cards like Tundra Rhino.
Two small design insights:
1) In other circumstances, I think Nash, the Greatworm would be fine at 7 Mana (see: Blackwater Behemoth) but currently Harpoon Gun is still in Standard and that's a bit too scary for the format. If we pretend this was part of Saviors of Uldum, this would be fine at 7 Mana in Wild.
2) Both Nash, the Greatworm and Nash's Burrow specifically mention only one Nash and one Burrow because Hunter have had, and will probably have in the future, a bunch of cards that allow them to copy Beasts in some way. I wanted to make sure that if a player managed to get two Nash, the Greatworms on the battlefield at the same time they could choose to maybe have one Dormant and one active at the same time.
I made a fun custom expansion called Holidays at Un'Gol Island. You should check it out :)
If I correctly think how colossal works, then the main problem with this card is that after Nash awakes from dormant, he will summon the location again.
I don't really like Zordon. Glorth has an interesting effect and gool flavor, but I can't figure out how strong it is or not.
Interesting card's effect. The "greater claw" art looks strange. I would use "lesser claw" art for both tokens, but for the second one it needs to be photoshopped a little.
I don't know. I don't like. A beast for a paladin. Weak stats. Strong vulnerability to silence and removals. Maybe increase the cost and change to "at the end of your turn, double this minion's attack". So that the effect of the card justifies its vulnerability.
Not bad at first glance, but later you notice that it is unlikely that it will be played on curve. If not count cost reduction things - turn 9th Volcan + HP looks weak. Maybe change the text for tokens to "your hero power deals 1 more damage and costs 1 less"?
Ah yeah, you're right. Probably should have waited a bit before submitting. I'll keep it in mind for the next competition.
The problem would be pretty easy to solve, I think. Just change the Location's durability to 2 and Nash's text to "Deathrattle or when I go Dormant: Destroy the friendly Nash's Burrow with the highest Durability" -- though it would be a bit less elegant. A shame :(
I made a fun custom expansion called Holidays at Un'Gol Island. You should check it out :)
Hey there, welcome to our little side of things :D Always nice to see new faces.
To go along with what R said about the location reappearing, there are some who will frown on the fact that your card is in the Uldum set (when it couldn't possibly exist yet with both Colossal and locations). I think your idea is very creative, though, so I wouldn't let nit-picky details get in the way haha. The flavor of it is great. Just...something to think about for next time: if you want that truly "authentic" feel, it would need a custom expansion watermark.
Super duper late feedback seeking:
I like Big Demons and I cannot lie. Archimonde is intended to work with the fact that if the attack target dies before the attack goes through, the attacking minion can attack again. It's a bit of a niche mechanic, but I thought it was flavorful and provides powerful board clear potential. Sargeras adds some potential lethality to token demon hunter, but only if he is played from hand directly. Cheating him out is still very powerful, but you won't get as big of a swing with his blade. The "Also damages all enemies" works like other cleaving effects we've seen, such as Sweeping Strikes or Stonebound Gargon, just damaging everything instead of just adjacent things.
I like Sargeras more than Archimonde. Using the Blade of Sargeras in that way is cool. Just two things:
6.5 hours left to submit!
Next time ya'll need to double-check the order in which you submit your Colossal card tokens: it makes a difference based on the art you used :P When Colossal minions are summoned, their tokens come out on either side based on what the art depicts; I wouldn't say it detracted from my voting, but it looks silly if the cards aren't in the correct order.
...I might be the only one who cares about this lol.
Good luck to the finalists!
Congratulations to Moondreamer! A winner right out of the gate :D
Thanks! Did not expect that, especially considering the fact that the card was a bit flawed. Still, I'm happy the idea caught on!
Good luck to everyone else for the next competition! :)
I made a fun custom expansion called Holidays at Un'Gol Island. You should check it out :)
Congrats Moondreamer!
Sorry for the late reply, my browser didn't show new comments for some reason.
I actually submitted my token before the main card, because the effect of the body doesn't make much sense if you don't read the token's effect first. I guess token before card may have looked weird, but it's definitely an exception anyway.