Today we're going to be taking a look at cards in Hearthstone that resemble cards from other card games as sort of part 2 to an article we released last week on cards from Hearthstone that made it into Legends of Runeterra. Let's go!
Spoiler Alert: Most of these are Magic cards. It has the most cards out of any TCG as well as simply being the closest mechanically to Hearthstone.
The Classic Electrifier
If your opponent plays an Enchanted Raven on turn 1, you can play Lightning Bolt on it, and you have the Hearthstone equivalent of "bolting the bird". Just, watch out for the 1 Overload.
Renounce Lightness
If you thought Paladins were standing against darkness, well I've got bad news for you. They've got the unholy strength this time around.
If you want to see a more modern rendition of Unholy Strength, click here.
Literally Parasitic
Parasite Paracide is one of those weird Yu-Gi-Oh cards that is just so weird, and everyone knows about (also one of my personal favorites because of how weird it is). I've always thought that Iron Juggernaut was at least slightly inspired by Parasite Paracide.
If you can read Parasite Paracide's text box, then you just passed your eye exam.
What Kind of Castle Are We In?
They're both 5 mana, have the same effect, and are even both blue. The resemblance is uncanny. Although in MTG, you don't have to jump through hoops to get the card. Now, let's do the Time Warp again!
Beast and Appliances, Oh My!
It's no fairy tale how these cards managed to resemble each other so well, even down to the mana cost.
Wait, What Does This Do Again?
Okay, I fully admit this is one is only for the memes as the effect is dumbfoundedly simple. But still, Pot of Greed is basically the poster boy for banned cards in Yu-Gi-Oh. A 0 mana Arcane Intellect would be broken in any card game (tell that to Ancestral Recall). If you're familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh, it's hard not to see a card that draws 2 cards without thinking of Pot of Greed.
Yeah, there's Divination and Bill as well, but those aren't nearly as memey.
Hello, Meet My 5 Identical Sisters
It appears that a number of cultists are so loyal that they'll literally die for the rituals, like these 2 (or 13?), although given that Shadowborne Apostle is black, it makes sense. Mogu Cultists though? Female Mogus are nearly extinct, we need those to breed the species.
Wurms Armageddon
Mike Donais had actually worked on both cards over the span of his career, so this one's extra special.
C-C-C-C-C-COUNTER!!!
A Hearthstone incantation of yet another of Magic's most iconic and memorable cards ever (although it's a little bit different since in Magic, everything except for lands count as spells).
Blizzard, why did you make Counter a keyword, and then only use it for 1 card?
Where Slime Falls, Ooze Shall Sprout!
I think the lesson here is that you can't kill biology, it just keeps sprouting, and it keeps being annoying.
Argonians Believe in the Heart of the Cards
A tiny snail vs Deathwing - Who wins?
A weak Argonian warrior vs Alduin - Who wins?
(Bonus) Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, 4 mana 7/7, but no Overload 2.
Yes, even Magic has its own 4 mana 7/7. 4 of them actually. In addition to Traxos, we have Deep Slumber Titan, Ruhan of the Fomori, and Wooly Razorback. They're everywhere, you can't escape!
(Bonus) A Missed Opportunity
To be honest, I'm still not sure if this reference was intentional or not, but either way, why couldn't they have themed Jin'zo around Secret negation or something like that instead of Battlecries? That would've been so much better.
(Bonus) A Fusion of Ideas
Regardless of whatever the plan was or not, The Ancient One is basically a Fusion Monster, and probably the closest thing we'll ever get to a proper Hearthstone Fusion Monster, but you can still create your own Fusion Monsters with Deathstalker Rexxar.
(Bonus) A Vortex Conspiracy
The three vortex cards all share three things in common: They destroy every unit on the field (relative to the game's terminology), depict a vortex, and are arguably one of the more iconic cards of their respective games. Despite being surely a coincidence, it's hard not to play one of these cards without thinking of another one of them (or perhaps even both). As something extremely simple, this is largely just here for flavor.
Funny observation - Twisting Nether is 8 mana, Wrath of God is 4 mana, and Dark Hole is 0 mana. Does that mean the next one will be -4 mana?
Comments
Well, actually, we have our own Fusion Monsters in MTG.
Man, if only I knew what Pot of Greed did...
When you activate pot of greed magic card you can draw two more cards from your deck! Impressive, huh?
Divine Strength is literally MTG Holy Strength :) Edit: ok, I'm late to the party.
and
Counter is a keyword for a single card, yet we cannot have a keyword for "cannot be targeted by spells or hero powers". Also, *enrage goes to cry in the corner*
Um, instead of Unholy Strength for Divine Strength, why didn't you use Holy Strength from MtG, which is Exactly the same thing. +1/+2 White Spell for 1 white mana.
It has the same effect as Holy Strength, but the artwork of Unholy Strength. The card is basically a reference to both cards in one.
Very nice post
good job OoC
Female Mogus are nearly extinct, we need those to breed the species.
Look, man, I said don't want to read your fanfic. Stop trying to entice.
It's interesting to see how there are many keywords that are similar across games, but you can't say they're "copying" each other. For example, Hearthstone Coined the phrases Battlecry and Deathrattle to mean their corresponding effects, but other games like MtG use "When played" or "When [Hearthstone Card (dies", while Runeterra uses Play and Last Breath. They're literally the same thing, except they're different ways of expressing it. If the art for Counterspell in Hearthstone was the same as that of Counterspell from MtG, then that would be blatant copying. However, because they're written differently and have different art, they're no longer the same. I mean, when it's such simple cards like "draw 2 cards" or "destroy all minions/creatures/monsters", there's no room for creative liberty, so you don't really have much of a choice. But if a unique effect like Ragnaros the Firelord was copied or was very similar to another card, that's a little suspicious in my opinion.
) Not Found]Calling yu gi oh cards 0 mana cards is weird they just don't have a mana system there at all but a star system and various other requirements "free text requirements"
But I guess you could say 0 mana to make it easy to understand to mana based card game players..
This one came out years after HS, but I'm gonna post it anyway because I have an unhealthy obsession with really like Mythgard:
Let's do the time warp again!
Bolt-snap-bolt
man, there are so many iconic Magic cards mentioned here.
Lightning Bolt is one of the most, if not the most iconic Magic card of all time. When Magic was first made there was no limit to how many copies of a card you can have in your deck, so some people would just play 20 lands and 40 lightning bolts and they had a very competitive deck. There is also a video about the card which I thought was quite interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=QwsxIojAnus
Is it plagiarism if you copy your own work for two different games?
You can always sue yourself, so all good
Why is Divine Strength paired with Unholy Strength instead of Holy Strength, which is literally the exact same, including thematically?
Really fun article by the way. Lovely walk down memory lane.