Neoguli's Custom Warlock Core Set Changes

Greetings there! I'm here to present you my version of how I would change Warlock's Core Sets. I'm jumping the bandwagon a bit with the changes after seeing some other people trying their reworks and generally accepting classes may need some updates.

I've decided to try out Warlock, because Gul'dan also seems to have too many bad cards in his Core sets, and while it has core staples like Flame Imp, other cards haven't got much time to shine... maybe Sacrificial Pact, which only sees play now with Galakrond Warlock. Some cards do need changes or replacements as I said despite some cards being already HoF'd before (hello Power Overwhelming and Doomguard).

Strengths and Weaknesses

New Sets

Explanations

Hall of Fame

Some cards that were considered, but didn't make the cut

I actually was thinking of doing a similar thing for all the classes, so I guess I can leave out Warlock.

A few things I don't agree with:

Drain Soul doesn't need to replace Drain Life. I think it would be better to just rework Drain Life into "Deal 3 damage and heal fo 3". No lifesteal, because that was never really a focus of Warlock and only came later, which also means no scaling healing with spell damage so it won't ever become a staple.

Searing Pain seems like a straight up nerf for no reason. There's absolutely no scenario in which I'd want to play this over [Hearthstone Card (Shadowbolt) Not Found]. having to wait for a turn to remove a minion is just not really something that has ever been played and in comparison to Corruption it just looks terrible.

Malchezaar's Imp is too good to be a Basic card. It's a 1-mana 1/3 that would forever push Zoo into a discard niche.

Healthstone similarly (while not a bad idea by itself) doesn't fit Classic, because Discard itself isn't really a coherent theme in the set and giving Warlock that much unconditional healing is kind of silly and doesn'T fit the class. If anything it would have to cost 4-5 mana to be balanced (and still wouldn't really fit the overall idea of how Discard decks play)

Just in general I feel like you're putting too many cards from other expansions in there, instead of trying to actually rework existing cards into something more fitting. Remember, the idea of the core set is to introduce players to the theme of a class and what they usually are expected to do, not just use vanilla cards.

Blood Imp could easily be reworked into something like a 1/1 with Battlecry: give a friendly demon +1/+1 (which emphasizes the Zoo and demon theme)

Siphon Soul is still a staple when removal is needed so removing it makes very little sense. Warlock has always been about minion destruction and this embodies the concept.

Removing Jaraxxus I could technically agree with although I would rather see them rework it into something not completely garbage, seeing how Classic Legendaries are actually supposed to see play (and Fizzlebang would never, because he is just too damn slow and was also printed within the context of Inspire)

Bane of Doom and Call of the Void could similarly be reworked into something basic but more useful. Make Bane target minions only and buff its damage to 3 (still useless, but still works with the class identity) and Call into a 2-mana "Add two random Demons to your hand" which makes it comparable to Thoughtsteal and also supports the Hand theme of Warlock without being entirely pointless.

I also think Pit Lord shouldn't rotate because the idea of Self damage in exchange for bigger stats is central to Warlock and it's fine if the card itself is bad (part of the core set should be to teach new players which cards aren't worth running)

Things I like:

Felguard needs to go, Self mana burn will never be a thing, at least not in a tempo sense. They could add lifesteal, but the card would still be bad and it would be a bit too complex for a core card. Better to replace it with something else, although I don't think your idea of Impeccable Doomguard really does the trick. I a better idea would be a taunt demon with self-damage (maybe even the same card but with 3 damage selfharm instead of mana burn?)

I really like your idea for Summoning Portal. The current version is not only pointless but also somewhat of a ticking timebomb for potential abuse. However, I would HoF the current one for Wild shenanigans and come up with a new replacement with your effect.

Quote From YourPrivateNightmare

I actually was thinking of doing a similar thing for all the classes, so I guess I can leave out Warlock.

 

A few things I don't agree with:

 

Searing Pain seems like a straight up nerf for no reason. There's absolutely no scenario in which I'd want to play this over Shadowbolt. having to wait for a turn to remove a minion is just not really something that has ever been played and in comparison to Corruption it just looks terrible.

 

 

Searing Pain says at the start of the next turn, not the start of your next turn. So the minion would be dead before it gets a chance to attack again. The only way this is different than just "deal 4 damage" is if you want to clear a taunt or something. 

Honestly though I would just leave Shadow Bolt in the basic set, there is nothing wrong with the card. It is a lot fairer and simpler than Searing Pain. I really don't see the need for the change.

So just to let you know (and to shamelessly self-advertise) I did my ow Core Set overall for all the classes and just referenced your post in the Warlock section, I hope that's fine with you.

Here's the thing in case you're interested:

https://outof.cards/forums/hearthstone/hearthstone-general/3590-a-custom-core-set-overhaul

Not agree with Healthstone, Because Sacrificial Pact is exist, and it fits how Warlock should be.

Another suggestion I'm trying to throw is, how about instead of focusing more on discard and damaging self, use our own mana crystal.

For example, Spell Card like "Destroy a mana crystal, draw 3 cards" or something like that.

Made some changes, including your feedback. It was very helpful, as it was a challenge to revamp a classic set for a class within 4 hours or so, because that's how this set was created. I retunred a lot of cards that were previously HoF'd and went for Kil'Jaeden, but I still kept Drain Soul.

Just a few observations:

Impeccable doomguard - I like the idea. But I dont get why you didnt just give Pit Lord taunt, since every pit lord in the game have taunt for some reason. Seemed a better fit than this card.

Drain soul - Might as well have just buff Drain Life to 2 mana. There's really no need to directly drag expansion cards into the set. Its not what team5 have been doing, so in that spirit I guess we shouldn't neither.

Kil'Jaeden - I like Kil'Jaeden as a concept, though not the effect since its nearly unplayable and I cant really say what this will do to Zephrys the Great. Maybe its time to just buff Lord Jaraxxus to an 8 mana HERO card, that grants no armor and sets health to 15 as a battlecry. And make him immune to Sacrificial Pact. Its been funny in the past, but time to move on with this joke.

Other than that, its a good attempt. I like the concept of warlock cards being more attrition based, or turn-based rather than immediate effect. Perhaps a card that deals x damage over several turns? or a card that targets friendly minions, "after 2 turns, transform this minion into x". Maybe you can expand on that too.

It was something Searing Pain was supposed to show in some way, aswell as one iteration of Kil'Jaeden which was about dealing damage to all enemy minions at the end of each turn. Rejected that version, because I didn't feel it was flashy enough for new players to get excitement from playing a legendary card.