Cosmetics, while we would consider them successful to expectations, do not monetize like gameplay focused products. I imagine this is true for any game.
Now this is just plain wrong. Look at Fortnite, League of Legends, Dota 2, CS:GO: all of these are giants in the industry, having esports tournaments with massive budgets, and they are all 100% free to play with cosmetic only purchases.
Celestalon's argument does not hold up in justifying Hearthstone's enormous cost of cards and the terrible game economy. I really wish they would move away from packs being the main source of income, and prioritize cosmetics, just like Runeterra. A shift like that would make the game so much more enjoyable for everyone.
I'm hoping for Spellburst myself, one of the coolest keywords in general and I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface of how interesting it can become (especially with the recent addition of spell schools).
Fond memories :) I was always more on the Jade Druid side. I would argue that Jade Idol is the strongest jade card, but overall Shaman is looking stronger (especially as it received much better support cards in the following expansions).
So we know that honor kill only triggers in your turn, but does it trigger on killing your own minions? On blizz's own website they spelled it out as 'killing an enemy minion". I believe this to not be the case, that it also triggers with your own minions, but obviously I can't test it. Guess we'll find out on the theorycraft stream.
On the question about questlock, I really think at some point something will be done about it, not because its very oppressive, but because of its sheer power it more or less pushes everything else warlock has aside, at least anything that even resembles a win condition. Doesnt help a lot that the warlock set this time round doesn't look particularly great.
Wouldn't be too surprised if The Demon Seed gets another nerf, and this time it may just kill it. Likely going to see lifesteal dhunter and garrote rogue on that list as well.
I love this article, thank you! I've always wanted to build/play this deck, and have "most" of cards. But I can't bring myself to craft bolner, aya, and fireheart... I might try without them for fun, although I suspect Bolner in particular would be missed
That's actually not a new Information. Iksar also mentioned many months ago that some cool cards didn't made it to the live version because it would break wild.
An older non-evergreen keyword will be making a return in the future.
There's a few keyword that fit this:
Adapt - Was pretty fun and I'm sure can be used in other themes, I'm sure not only beast can adapt right?
Inspire - The effects would need to be much better than in TGT
Echo - This mechanic was abused in some circumstances but the entire expansion didn't showcase the mechanic well enough.
Magnetic - Probably one of the best mechanics and I know Dean and several devs really enjoying designing this mechanic. This one will probably be the keyword they talking about.
Twinspell - Wasn't bad, but Echo is just way better right?
Recruit aswell, since they like constantly keep using it
Medivh playing Medivh isn’t weird because Medivh is an alternate hero, not a base hero. I think they have a strict rule that the 10 base heroes shouldn’t have minion counterparts, while alternate heroes are allowed to have them (Medivh, Maiev, Prestor, Vanndar, N’Zoth to name a few)
Illidan Stormrage was changed to Xavius because they thought he might receive play in Demon Hunter and it would be weird to have Illidan playing Illidan.
And Medivh playing Medivh wasn't weird at all.
Gnomes are supposed to only have 4 fingers.
Really? I played WoW 8 years and never noticed this (mostly because I was playing Horde and was seeing gnomes squished on the ground only).
I'd argue twinspell is better than echo for being made evergreen because it isn't limited to 1-3 mana cards and hence has much larger design space worth exploring over a long period of time. While echo has popped up a few times outside Witchwood, its too narrow to really be common.
That being said, I'd expect either inspire or magnetic to be the one being made evergreen. Inspire is open-ended enough to make sense in the game when there is a lot more support for hero powers than back in TGT, while magnetic is the only thing that distinguishes mechs from other tribes, so they probably should have it long term.
While I do love Magnetic and Mechs in general, I doubt this is the one he was hinting at because Magnetic is essentially nothing but Charge and therefore hard to balance. Wouldn't mind in the least to be wrong though :-)
An older non-evergreen keyword will be making a return in the future.
There's a few keyword that fit this:
Adapt - Was pretty fun and I'm sure can be used in other themes, I'm sure not only beast can adapt right?
Inspire - The effects would need to be much better than in TGT
Echo - This mechanic was abused in some circumstances but the entire expansion didn't showcase the mechanic well enough.
Magnetic - Probably one of the best mechanics and I know Dean and several devs really enjoying designing this mechanic. This one will probably be the keyword they talking about.
Twinspell - Wasn't bad, but Echo is just way better right?
I'm really torn in this case. It's a very cool card overall - disruptive, strong, great flavor, fitting art. But as you've said yourself, the effect is pretty much symmetrical so might not make the cut for this comp. You should send Shadows a DM to clarify things quickly.
Arkasaur
I'm not completely sold on the statline, but everything else looks cool. I'm a big fan of simple designs so you'll get a good rating from me ;-)
DestroyerR
I like the flavor of the card (name/art/idea for the effect), but the card needs to be even stronger to work for me. Giving it Charge looks like the most obvious solution to me.
Neoguli
Now this one confuses me. If I just look at this card without much thought, it doesn't appear very attractive, I wouldn't be happy to pull this from a pack. When I take a closer look though, it offers a nice body, HP disruption and a high chance of getting a Treasure. Maybe you can make it a bit more attractive at first glance by lowering the cost to 4 and adjusting the stats accordingly.
MenacingBagel
I'd definitely go with the Rush version if you really are sold on the idea of attacking the Hero Power, but honestly, I'm not. It's not so much the fact that the mechanic isn't in the game yet, but that it doesn't make sense from a flavor point of view. Hero Powers are abilities so you can't really attack them, just like spells. I know that affecting them with spells and battlecries is a thing, but an attacking minion is a very physical thing in my mind and therefore doesn't work out in this case. Maybe other folks don't consider this an issue, just my 2 cents.
BloodMefist
Awesome idea, my favorite card so far! Balance seems just fine for me.
Demonxz95
Quite hard to judge as a whole… I'll start with the simple part: Your reasoning for putting it in DH is solid, it fits the classes flavor very nicely. Your statement about the 1/1/4 statline makes sense for me as well, but the upside of this card is just to big in this case. I'd go with 1/1/3 or 2/1/4. It's also too strong and too complicated for a common, I'd prefer it being a rare. The effect itself might be stronger than it looks since Hero Powers are especially useful in the early stages of the game and DH can very easily attack face each turn due to their 1 Mana HP, so it shouldn't be too hard to remove. All that said, it's a nice idea but my advice would be making it a 1/1/3 rare.
Wailor
Quite creative idea, nice one!
linkblade91
I'd go with 2 turns but use the "disable" wording. The idea is nice overall, but maybe you should look for different art and a new name since the current flavor is a bit too nice for Rogue imho.
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
Now this is just plain wrong. Look at Fortnite, League of Legends, Dota 2, CS:GO: all of these are giants in the industry, having esports tournaments with massive budgets, and they are all 100% free to play with cosmetic only purchases.
Celestalon's argument does not hold up in justifying Hearthstone's enormous cost of cards and the terrible game economy. I really wish they would move away from packs being the main source of income, and prioritize cosmetics, just like Runeterra. A shift like that would make the game so much more enjoyable for everyone.
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
I'm hoping for Spellburst myself, one of the coolest keywords in general and I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface of how interesting it can become (especially with the recent addition of spell schools).
Golems Galore - A Full Guide to Jade Shaman on the Wildest of Wednesdays
Fond memories :) I was always more on the Jade Druid side. I would argue that Jade Idol is the strongest jade card, but overall Shaman is looking stronger (especially as it received much better support cards in the following expansions).
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
So we know that honor kill only triggers in your turn, but does it trigger on killing your own minions? On blizz's own website they spelled it out as 'killing an enemy minion". I believe this to not be the case, that it also triggers with your own minions, but obviously I can't test it. Guess we'll find out on the theorycraft stream.
On the question about questlock, I really think at some point something will be done about it, not because its very oppressive, but because of its sheer power it more or less pushes everything else warlock has aside, at least anything that even resembles a win condition. Doesnt help a lot that the warlock set this time round doesn't look particularly great.
Wouldn't be too surprised if The Demon Seed gets another nerf, and this time it may just kill it. Likely going to see lifesteal dhunter and garrote rogue on that list as well.
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
Yeah, its nice to have finally have it said out loud. Not nice that it is actually a reality.
Golems Galore - A Full Guide to Jade Shaman on the Wildest of Wednesdays
I love this article, thank you! I've always wanted to build/play this deck, and have "most" of cards. But I can't bring myself to craft bolner, aya, and fireheart... I might try without them for fun, although I suspect Bolner in particular would be missed
Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov Takes on Hearthstone
Corny but cute at the same time. This would have been a great ad when HS was originally released back in 2014.
PC gamer also had an interview with him: https://www.pcgamer.com/garry-kasparov-is-diamond-5-in-hearthstone-but-reckons-if-i-make-a-push-i-can-go-to-legend-rank/
Hearthstone Duels Has 15 New Passive Treasures - Here’s What We Think About Them and How They Can Be Used
Great write-up on each of the new passives. Keen to see the 12-win decks that use them
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
That's actually not a new Information. Iksar also mentioned many months ago that some cool cards didn't made it to the live version because it would break wild.
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
Recruit aswell, since they like constantly keep using it
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
Medivh playing Medivh isn’t weird because Medivh is an alternate hero, not a base hero. I think they have a strict rule that the 10 base heroes shouldn’t have minion counterparts, while alternate heroes are allowed to have them (Medivh, Maiev, Prestor, Vanndar, N’Zoth to name a few)
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
LOL - no team for Arena - for those few that play it, that was obvious
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
And Medivh playing Medivh wasn't weird at all.
Gnomes are supposed to only have 4 fingers.
Really? I played WoW 8 years and never noticed this (mostly because I was playing Horde and was seeing gnomes squished on the ground only).
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
So they adress Scabbs but ignore Xyrella?
Alterac Valley Theorycraft Streams Bring Free Hearthstone Packs to Twitch This Thursday
Alterac Valley Theorycraft Streams Bring Free Hearthstone Packs to Twitch This Thursday
The event is six hours.
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
I'd argue twinspell is better than echo for being made evergreen because it isn't limited to 1-3 mana cards and hence has much larger design space worth exploring over a long period of time. While echo has popped up a few times outside Witchwood, its too narrow to really be common.
That being said, I'd expect either inspire or magnetic to be the one being made evergreen. Inspire is open-ended enough to make sense in the game when there is a lot more support for hero powers than back in TGT, while magnetic is the only thing that distinguishes mechs from other tribes, so they probably should have it long term.
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
Poisouness not causing a honorable kill reminds me of Garrosh vs Cairne.
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
While I do love Magnetic and Mechs in general, I doubt this is the one he was hinting at because Magnetic is essentially nothing but Charge and therefore hard to balance. Wouldn't mind in the least to be wrong though :-)
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
"When designing a new set they do so with Standard in mind first but they do also consider wild."
I could have sworn they said they did not design with wild in mind. Maybe the most recent expect changed that.
Celestalon's Hearthstone Community Q&A #1 - Old Keyword to Return in the Future, Scabbs Fingers Mistake, EDM Playlists, & More
Good thing this was in bold:
There's a few keyword that fit this:
Adapt - Was pretty fun and I'm sure can be used in other themes, I'm sure not only beast can adapt right?
Inspire - The effects would need to be much better than in TGT
Echo - This mechanic was abused in some circumstances but the entire expansion didn't showcase the mechanic well enough.
Magnetic - Probably one of the best mechanics and I know Dean and several devs really enjoying designing this mechanic. This one will probably be the keyword they talking about.
Twinspell - Wasn't bad, but Echo is just way better right?
Fight The Power - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Feedback:
Get a Taste of Fractured in Alterac Valley Early With Hearthstone Duels - New Cards Are Now Available in Buckets
I don't know if Questine Hunter will be a thing in the upcoming meta, but I have high expectations for the Secret package.
Kennen: New Bandle City & Ionia Champion Reveal - 4 New Runeterra Cards Revealed
Right...I really hope that's not the way it turns out being used...I'd not thought about things like summoning tokens though.