The observation that Path of Champions has superseded Expeditions in the drafting space is very much on point for me. Something Blizzard has yet to realise: it's more fun to draft decks with random OP synergies without being subjected to the same. They practically invented the genre with Dungeon Runs then botched it with Duels.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to more content for PoC: more Champions, more bosses etc.
Duels is very far from Arena. Having a deck from your own cards is diametrically different starting grounds. Im not sure about "natural" or "evolution", but those game modes play very differently.
Was more referring to how you build your deck after each battle in duels. I felt like that was the natural evolution of Arena to have a small starter draft deck that built up over each battle. I'm fully aware of how duels differs from Arena Sinti.
It’s worth its gold price just for the dust; in terms of cards seeing play in Wild it depends on what kinds of decks you want to play. If you only care about playing tier 1 decks to climb ranked maybe 2-3 cards will see play but if you want to play a wide variety of different decks for fun you may want more of the cards.
Mage's legendary and 10 mana spell indeed look promising. I like your suggestion of a big-spell mage shell trying to discount LPG, acting as a control mage and using a 1-mana Haleh as a finisher with a load of dmg spells from hand (APM style...?) Could use some experimentation. Regarding the 10-mana summon 2 dragons... Unless it is cheated very early I don't believe it's fast and consistent enough. Not many dragons have taunt or rush (and Big decks haven't been really good in a long time)
About Mi'da, I kinda liked it... Until you reminded me Reno Jackson is a thing lol. Even still, an interesting card with good keywords. Let's keep an eye on it.
BTW, I hope at the end of these reviews you sum it up answering the most important question. Is Onyxia's Lair worth its gold price for us Wild-only players??
Alright, so Im not always super aware of whats used in Ladder right now, so please let me know if any of the below cards don't really fit the criteria of the competition due to what they are meant to synergize with.
So I had three ideas so far.
This one is meant to synergize with Troll Centurion. Its currently Warrior, but I thought it might be a good Paladin card as well. Quite wordy, but I couldn't figure out any way to reduce the wording further than it already is without it sounding awkward or simply being unclear about the full effect.
This one's meant to synergize with Glacier Racer. My favorite of the three I've thought up. Nice and simple. Also, the Freeze does also break under normal Freeze's one turn wait conditions if you didn't play any further cards.
And this one is meant to synergize with Showstopper. Probably my least favorite of these three cards.
I don't actually play constructed, so this will be hard for me.
This is meant to synergize with Magister Dawngrasp (which I don't know how viable it is after being buffed), but it can also be used with upgraded Hero Powers, Shadowform, Wildfire or basically all current Mage and Priest Hero cards.
I also find this kind of gamemode fun, getting away from standart and facing the same exact deck 20 times in a row
Maybe the problem in these modes is just its too random, some times we have to pick one of the worst cards ever while may end facing an opponent with perfect synergy, also likely many players are not interested into learning these gamemodes, like cards that are terrible in standart but good in draft, and lastly its the rewards, i don't think anyone other than a veteran will ever achieve high rewards, combined with the last factor (No interest in learning) they may never open again after first try.
I literally just had this happen to me. Opponent had a deck that was literally all just puffcap synergy. The 4/4 that gives two puffcap spells - he played that guy three times. Peddler. At least two copies of Hexcore Foundry, etc. The turn before I was going to attack for lethal, he pumped a bazillion puffcaps into my deck, and I went from nearly full health to -20 during the next turn. Freaking absurd to have to deal with that kind of junk in a draft-style format.
Expedition can be summed up quite easily as this: Get offered puffcaps, or lose.
Yeah, any draft mode is about the challenge of building a decent deck from random stuff. But it happens too often in expedition that your random stuff just doesn't work.
This is a good thing, guys. They are not permanently removing a Draft gaming experience. They are going to re-create it in a different way later.
Yes, there will be a gap where nothing exists in that space, but hopefully when it comes back, it will be a much better version of draft.
MTG and Eternal did draft in a way that was significantly more compelling than Expeditions (and in Eternal, you even got to keep any cards you drafted as a permanent part of your collection - not saying the LoR should do that part though - especially not with champions).
Yeah, i don't like hearthstone's arena, i thought it was pretty clear. Runeterra was f2p and i said it's ok in that case. Hearthstone's has a ton of annoying problems in it's design.
I'm not sure why you went off the rail there, you were the one to accuse me first of bias, i just pointed out you have it too. We both do, like all humans. I'm just stating my opinion, no need to fluff out your feathers like i'm attacking your prized egg.
All card games have RNG built in but there are different levels of RNG. In constructed you pick the cards, so a random draw from your deck doesn't feel bad. In drafted you will have at least a couple of really awful cards that when you get you feel bad. Card games are almost always built on synergy between individual cards, drafted cannot have synergy unless... well, RNG blesses you. I'm not hating the idea of the format in general, duels is a version of drafted i love because you can lessen the initial RNG by having a base of your choice to build on. All my "whining" is towards HS Arena.
In Runeterra you can add more cards as the run goes, in Arena you're stuck with the initial 30 cards. Arena has a mandatory barrier of entry that by it's very existence changes the mode from something fun into something "high stakes". No one plays arena for fun cause now you have a sunk cost into it and if you do bad you lose currency. Unless you're one of the few that considers it their main mode but even they have a pressure to get to a certain number of wins to go infinite. Perhaps you can get 10k gold with ease each expansion but i guarantee the average player only gets 4 or 5k.The vast majority of runs end very early and only 10% make it past 6 wins i think. For sure only like 1% get it to 12. That means the vast majority of players draft bad decks, only the lucky or Arena enthusiasts get good decks and even they do so rarely.
And i think everyone hates when you get 15 gold or 25 gold, a subtle push to play more Arena to fix your gold count.
My initial ideas are supporting Discardlock and Shufflelock. Discarding large cards already has some love with the combo of Nightshade Matron and Hand of Gul'dan, but small discard has historically not worked out as well (Shriek, Reckless Diretroll). Attempting to synergize with the new Core version of Lakkari Felhound, Void Wisp will almost always be the cheapest card in your hand at 0-mana but will mitigate losing card advantage.
Ambitious Acolyte looks to support Warlocks recent affinity for shuffle mechanics such as Soul Fragments and Fel Rifts. The two cards primarily in mind are Seeds of Destruction and Envoy Rustwix, which offer very powerful cards to draw.
Duels is very far from Arena. Having a deck from your own cards is diametrically different starting grounds. Im not sure about "natural" or "evolution", but those game modes play very differently.
It must be enraging to these guys that they never see any play, so let's help them out a little bit. I'm sure all of us would think that it'd pretty cool for a dedicated Rager deck to actually be pretty good.
Side note: The card is meant for Onyxia's Lair, but the watermark for the mini-set doesn't exist in HearthCards yet. Come on Dnikko, where are you?
I originally was looking to match with Druid of the Plains, but most "Druid of the (X)" cards do not see play as it is. Plus, why not pair it with the Shaman, who shares the transformation theme? This could then include cards like Bogstrok Clacker, as well as Mutate, Muckmorpher, and Explosive Evolution (all three would still be in Standard for a bit after Miracle Grower came out). Muckmorpher saw play, but the others didn't as much.
I'm willing to nerf the effect to +2/+1 or whatever, but focused transformations are low enough in quantity that I feel she can get away with it. Remember that Revolve, Boggspine Knuckles, etc. will transform her as well, losing you the opportunity to buff. This Evolve Shaman deck would need to be built differently.
I also find this kind of gamemode fun, getting away from standart and facing the same exact deck 20 times in a row
Maybe the problem in these modes is just its too random, some times we have to pick one of the worst cards ever while may end facing an opponent with perfect synergy, also likely many players are not interested into learning these gamemodes, like cards that are terrible in standart but good in draft, and lastly its the rewards, i don't think anyone other than a veteran will ever achieve high rewards, combined with the last factor (No interest in learning) they may never open again after first try.
Riot is Getting Rid of Legends of Runeterra's Expeditions System in May to Rethink the Draft Experience
The observation that Path of Champions has superseded Expeditions in the drafting space is very much on point for me. Something Blizzard has yet to realise: it's more fun to draft decks with random OP synergies without being subjected to the same. They practically invented the genre with Dungeon Runs then botched it with Duels.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to more content for PoC: more Champions, more bosses etc.
Riot is Getting Rid of Legends of Runeterra's Expeditions System in May to Rethink the Draft Experience
Was more referring to how you build your deck after each battle in duels. I felt like that was the natural evolution of Arena to have a small starter draft deck that built up over each battle. I'm fully aware of how duels differs from Arena Sinti.
A Wild Review of Onyxia’s Lair's New Mage, Paladin, Priest & Rogue Cards Coming to Hearthstone
It’s worth its gold price just for the dust; in terms of cards seeing play in Wild it depends on what kinds of decks you want to play. If you only care about playing tier 1 decks to climb ranked maybe 2-3 cards will see play but if you want to play a wide variety of different decks for fun you may want more of the cards.
A Wild Review of Onyxia’s Lair's New Mage, Paladin, Priest & Rogue Cards Coming to Hearthstone
Mage's legendary and 10 mana spell indeed look promising. I like your suggestion of a big-spell mage shell trying to discount LPG, acting as a control mage and using a 1-mana Haleh as a finisher with a load of dmg spells from hand (APM style...?) Could use some experimentation. Regarding the 10-mana summon 2 dragons... Unless it is cheated very early I don't believe it's fast and consistent enough. Not many dragons have taunt or rush (and Big decks haven't been really good in a long time)
About Mi'da, I kinda liked it... Until you reminded me Reno Jackson is a thing lol. Even still, an interesting card with good keywords. Let's keep an eye on it.
BTW, I hope at the end of these reviews you sum it up answering the most important question. Is Onyxia's Lair worth its gold price for us Wild-only players??
The Perfect Match - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Alright, so Im not always super aware of whats used in Ladder right now, so please let me know if any of the below cards don't really fit the criteria of the competition due to what they are meant to synergize with.
So I had three ideas so far.
This one is meant to synergize with Troll Centurion. Its currently Warrior, but I thought it might be a good Paladin card as well. Quite wordy, but I couldn't figure out any way to reduce the wording further than it already is without it sounding awkward or simply being unclear about the full effect.
This one's meant to synergize with Glacier Racer. My favorite of the three I've thought up. Nice and simple. Also, the Freeze does also break under normal Freeze's one turn wait conditions if you didn't play any further cards.
And this one is meant to synergize with Showstopper. Probably my least favorite of these three cards.
Please let me know what you think.
The Perfect Match - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I don't actually play constructed, so this will be hard for me.
This is meant to synergize with Magister Dawngrasp (which I don't know how viable it is after being buffed), but it can also be used with upgraded Hero Powers, Shadowform, Wildfire or basically all current Mage and Priest Hero cards.
Riot is Getting Rid of Legends of Runeterra's Expeditions System in May to Rethink the Draft Experience
I literally just had this happen to me. Opponent had a deck that was literally all just puffcap synergy. The 4/4 that gives two puffcap spells - he played that guy three times. Peddler. At least two copies of Hexcore Foundry, etc. The turn before I was going to attack for lethal, he pumped a bazillion puffcaps into my deck, and I went from nearly full health to -20 during the next turn. Freaking absurd to have to deal with that kind of junk in a draft-style format.
Expedition can be summed up quite easily as this: Get offered puffcaps, or lose.
Riot is Getting Rid of Legends of Runeterra's Expeditions System in May to Rethink the Draft Experience
Yeah, any draft mode is about the challenge of building a decent deck from random stuff. But it happens too often in expedition that your random stuff just doesn't work.
Riot is Getting Rid of Legends of Runeterra's Expeditions System in May to Rethink the Draft Experience
This is a good thing, guys. They are not permanently removing a Draft gaming experience. They are going to re-create it in a different way later.
Yes, there will be a gap where nothing exists in that space, but hopefully when it comes back, it will be a much better version of draft.
MTG and Eternal did draft in a way that was significantly more compelling than Expeditions (and in Eternal, you even got to keep any cards you drafted as a permanent part of your collection - not saying the LoR should do that part though - especially not with champions).
A Wild Review of Onyxia’s Lair's New Demon Hunter, Druid, & Hunter Cards Coming to Hearthstone
Hunter is the clear winner here! I agree that regular QL Hunter may see an upheaval with Furious Howl and Dragonbane Shot. Definitely worth trying!
BTW, thanks for doing the Wild set review! Don't know if my suggestion played a role or not, but anyway.
Riot is Getting Rid of Legends of Runeterra's Expeditions System in May to Rethink the Draft Experience
Yeah, i don't like hearthstone's arena, i thought it was pretty clear. Runeterra was f2p and i said it's ok in that case. Hearthstone's has a ton of annoying problems in it's design.
I'm not sure why you went off the rail there, you were the one to accuse me first of bias, i just pointed out you have it too. We both do, like all humans. I'm just stating my opinion, no need to fluff out your feathers like i'm attacking your prized egg.
All card games have RNG built in but there are different levels of RNG. In constructed you pick the cards, so a random draw from your deck doesn't feel bad. In drafted you will have at least a couple of really awful cards that when you get you feel bad. Card games are almost always built on synergy between individual cards, drafted cannot have synergy unless... well, RNG blesses you. I'm not hating the idea of the format in general, duels is a version of drafted i love because you can lessen the initial RNG by having a base of your choice to build on. All my "whining" is towards HS Arena.
In Runeterra you can add more cards as the run goes, in Arena you're stuck with the initial 30 cards. Arena has a mandatory barrier of entry that by it's very existence changes the mode from something fun into something "high stakes". No one plays arena for fun cause now you have a sunk cost into it and if you do bad you lose currency. Unless you're one of the few that considers it their main mode but even they have a pressure to get to a certain number of wins to go infinite. Perhaps you can get 10k gold with ease each expansion but i guarantee the average player only gets 4 or 5k.The vast majority of runs end very early and only 10% make it past 6 wins i think. For sure only like 1% get it to 12. That means the vast majority of players draft bad decks, only the lucky or Arena enthusiasts get good decks and even they do so rarely.
And i think everyone hates when you get 15 gold or 25 gold, a subtle push to play more Arena to fix your gold count.
The Perfect Match - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
My initial ideas are supporting Discardlock and Shufflelock. Discarding large cards already has some love with the combo of Nightshade Matron and Hand of Gul'dan, but small discard has historically not worked out as well (Shriek, Reckless Diretroll). Attempting to synergize with the new Core version of Lakkari Felhound, Void Wisp will almost always be the cheapest card in your hand at 0-mana but will mitigate losing card advantage.
Ambitious Acolyte looks to support Warlocks recent affinity for shuffle mechanics such as Soul Fragments and Fel Rifts. The two cards primarily in mind are Seeds of Destruction and Envoy Rustwix, which offer very powerful cards to draw.
Riot is Getting Rid of Legends of Runeterra's Expeditions System in May to Rethink the Draft Experience
Duels is very far from Arena. Having a deck from your own cards is diametrically different starting grounds. Im not sure about "natural" or "evolution", but those game modes play very differently.
Make Your Own Luck - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Congratulations to Shadows, who won his own comp! That sneaky turtle... :D
The Perfect Match - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
It must be enraging to these guys that they never see any play, so let's help them out a little bit. I'm sure all of us would think that it'd pretty cool for a dedicated Rager deck to actually be pretty good.
Side note: The card is meant for Onyxia's Lair, but the watermark for the mini-set doesn't exist in HearthCards yet. Come on Dnikko, where are you?
The Perfect Match - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I originally was looking to match with Druid of the Plains, but most "Druid of the (X)" cards do not see play as it is. Plus, why not pair it with the Shaman, who shares the transformation theme? This could then include cards like Bogstrok Clacker, as well as Mutate, Muckmorpher, and Explosive Evolution (all three would still be in Standard for a bit after Miracle Grower came out). Muckmorpher saw play, but the others didn't as much.
I'm willing to nerf the effect to +2/+1 or whatever, but focused transformations are low enough in quantity that I feel she can get away with it. Remember that Revolve, Boggspine Knuckles, etc. will transform her as well, losing you the opportunity to buff. This Evolve Shaman deck would need to be built differently.
The Perfect Match - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Competition Theme: The Perfect Match
Some Hearthstone cards really only start to shine when they receive a little help - so let's start pairing them up!
Kommutator has asked us to lift up some underused cards this week, so find them their perfect partner!
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.
New Warrior Spell - Hit It Very Hard
ye you are right i test it and it adds number to hero not weapon , thank god tho
Our Thoughts on the Onyxia's Lair's New Demon Hunter, Druid, & Hunter Cards Coming to Hearthstone
Predictions about what will happen to a given archetype after the annual rotation are seldom accurate.
Riot is Getting Rid of Legends of Runeterra's Expeditions System in May to Rethink the Draft Experience
I also find this kind of gamemode fun, getting away from standart and facing the same exact deck 20 times in a row
Maybe the problem in these modes is just its too random, some times we have to pick one of the worst cards ever while may end facing an opponent with perfect synergy, also likely many players are not interested into learning these gamemodes, like cards that are terrible in standart but good in draft, and lastly its the rewards, i don't think anyone other than a veteran will ever achieve high rewards, combined with the last factor (No interest in learning) they may never open again after first try.
New Warrior Spell - Shoulder Check
with Animated Broomstick cycling in the future, this will be an absolutely must
New Warrior Minion - Onyxian Drake
Shield Slam with legs gets my approval
New Warrior Spell - Hit It Very Hard
I think this is hilarious and just like a double edged sword, great and dangerous.
New Warlock Minion - Spawn of Deathwing
I want so badly for this to be awesome, but I think this is going to be like finding out the Easter Bunny isn't real
New Warlock Spell - Curse of Agony
This feels just not the best. In a meta with The Demon Seed, the last thing you want to do is let them take damage on their turn