KANSAS: I think the second wording works best. Not sure if the ability to tutor like that would make he card too strong.
Fedrion: Why not just make it 'Gain an empty Mana Crystal'? Balance-wise, it looks fine.
BasilAnguis: I really like the Rare version for some reason. You could call the card 'Rare Miner' or something similar. Maybe even make it from other classes.
Arkasaur: Like the flavor. Seems balanced compared to the Rogue plant. Rarity should probably be bigger.
BasilAnguis: I actually think this is a bit strong. A lot of Dragons are BIG, so giving them Rush means it can kill a lot of stuff. Not to mention Dragon synergy. But I also feel making it cost 2 would make it near unplayable.
anchorm4n: Balance is good, but flavor is really off. He doesn't look lazy, and nothing about the effect says it's lazy either.
grumpymonk: This is an interesting one! No way of knowing how strong the ability to mulligan is.
Demonxz95: This can be REALLY annoying! But the balance is probably fine.
My issue with Serena is that priest just lost Shadow Word: Pain, Shadow Madness, Forbidden Word, etc. so there's not much for priest to take advantage of the now smaller enemy minion other than Cabal Acolyte (which also dropped off the face of the meta)
Yeah, 11 years is a lot. Blizzard released 3 new IPs in that time and the ammount of Blizzard fans and the general gaming audience also increased a lot. So I don't think that Article is a good reference point for today.
Here's Tournament Fixer with two changes: the art is from Wailor's suggestion, and I included the word "total" in there to help eliminate confusion. No text-size adjustments were necessary, thankfully.
Edit: Should it be a 4/3/3 like Witchwood Piper? I'm wondering if the stats are too low, meaning you're most likely to pull another copy of Tournament Fixer before anything else. At 3/3 you could tutor for larger things, like Zilliax or something.
I'll try to work on some feedback after I finished up something IRL.
I'd love to see the numbers on it because I feel like at this point, Blizzard makes some pretty solid bank with in-person BlizzCon and you have to consider the effect a huge in-person event has compared to online - I feel like there was more coverage during a real BlizzCon from outside outlets; that spills over into less money needing to be spent on marketing potentially.
Ticket sales almost certainly cover the cost of the convention itself though with them increasing almost every year. The excitement of being there and willingness to spend on the experience also likely gets people spending more than they would normally on merch had it been online only (idk, I find online merch kinda not as hype).
I think this hybrid we're going to see early next year is super awesome and is a good indication of what is to come. The pandemic has let them change the model of BlizzCon without anyone being upset about it since everyone is quite understanding in-person just wouldn't have worked last year. Maybe do the big convention but then have smaller, satellite parties around the world at the same time so everyone could have a chance at having some kind of BlizzCon experience. Anyone outside of the Americas kinda gets rekt when it comes to BlizzCon.
[UPDATE: The author incorporated this into the page, thanks!]
A couple of notes, since this page is a little out of date...
The JSON import is now destructive -- i.e. it clears your entire collection, then replaces it with whatever's in the JSON. You no longer need to request a manual reset. (This is very handy for those of us with Macs, since the JSON approach is the only bulk option we have right now.)
If you do need to reset your collection manually for some reason, there's actually a way to do it yourself. Just go to My Hearthstone collection -> Edit collection. When you land there, the default search shows all your cards (every set, every rarity). Click the Bulk Remove Filtered From Collection button, and it will remove all those cards from your collection. Since these are all your cards, that leaves your collection empty.
Wow, that's next level depth of design and the reason why I like to compete with you veterans so much: I'm learning a lot.
I will tinker some more with your text tomorrow, but maybe just cutting the "always" might be an acceptable solution. It isn't really necessary, even if the text sounds better with than without that word. "Always" is also very rarely used in HS so far. "Your Hero Power summons Stoneclaw Totem."... Hmmmm.
I Take Flight. It may be simple, but it's very flavorful.
In any case, both cards could use some improvement in the artwork department (not that they are bad arts, but the style doesn't fit Hearthstone)
Fedrion
Be careful, because the two versions you made later have three lines of text and would be diqualified.
I think the text should probably read: "Restore X Health. Gain an empty Mana Crystal." This will hopefully fit in two lines.
Arkasaur
So, it's a 4 mana spell + a 2 mana minion for 5 mana. I don't think it's too OP, especially Hunter tends to receive very OP control cards and it ends up never using them lol.
KANSAS
I prefer the shorter version, purely because it looks cleaner. Blizzard has been pretty inconsistent with the wording of this kinds of effects, so it's "correct" either way.
Demonxz95
I don't think the unorthodox wording is too much of a problem. I'd still submit the card as it is.
Honestly, I think tinkering with the font size shouldn't be an immediate reason for a DQ as long as you don't go out of the window with it. I mean you have to compensate for a single letter, that should be done by going -1 or -2 and won't probably be noticed at all if people don't know it from the start. I've tried out alternate wording for KANSAS' card and it still looked okay at -4. We could also ask Shadows but I'm all for not asking questions in cases like this.
I do agree with this. The current wording actually already has text size reduced. It's currently at -2, but it works because it looks natural with the way the text on the game is usually presented. There is a problem with reducing the card text too much in that it can come off as natural and an attempt to force a card into the prompt where it wouldn't otherwise belong.
Alternatively, "can only" will make the text work while still appearing natural, but my hesitancy to use this wording stems from the fact that "can only" could psychologically make the effect sound like a downside even if the effect itself is still exactly the same.
I doubt that the previous Blizzcons didn't make any profits (Tickets, Virtual Tickets, Merch, greater advertisement range, more hype -> more pre-orders etc). In this case there is no way they would stop the physical Blizzcons.
@Wailor A neat idea, and I'm not too concerned about reusing designs from other sites. I would like to this this card with more warlock flavour - I'm not really sure at the moment why it's a warlock card over say a Mage card that has historical "Time magic" effects - An infinite dragonflight art/name could fix that of course.
I used the Hourglass watermark to simulate that it belongs to an expansion where all classes have time-based cards (just like all classes got Demons in Outlands). The card also has a bit of Warlock flavor in that it is suposed to make the minion die of old age (Tempus Fugit means one day you're young and before you realise, you're old AF).
I understand this can be a bit of a stretch (basing the flavor on an expansion that doesn't exist lol), so I made a Priest version. Warlock tends to have more removal with drawbacks than Priest and the gameplay of a Zoo class is more interesting with this effect, but maybe the extra flavor makes up for it.
Honestly, I think tinkering with the font size shouldn't be an immediate reason for a DQ as long as you don't go out of the window with it. I mean you have to compensate for a single letter, that should be done by going -1 or -2 and won't probably be noticed at all if people don't know it from the start. I've tried out alternate wording for KANSAS' card and it still looked okay at -4. We could also ask Shadows but I'm all for not asking questions in cases like this.
@Demon: Thanks for the explanation. Regarding the text, why don't you simply phrase it in the present tense? "Your Hero Power always summons Stoneclaw Totem."
There is a technical problem with this text which is the fact that despite having less characters overall, this exact wording is harder to fit into 2 lines of text because of the specific line "summons Stoneclaw Totem" as opposed to "summon Stoneclaw Totem" which takes up more space on one line and forces it into another line. This is actually something I'm finding out after I already made the card with the wording it has now, which makes the process moving forward a bit more difficult to navigate around.
It's a case of a weird wording problem, which is one reason why prompts based on specific card texts are usually avoided.
I wouldn't be surprised if BlizzConline continues even after the pandemic is over. It's so much more affordable for them, they don't need to organise a massive venue like Anaheim and all those extras. Lets just hope they keep it free like this year's event
@Fedrion: I understand your train of thought, I've done something similar in that competition that made us design effects that trigger next turn. But this week is about having 2 lines of text max and so your current version doesn't work. :/
@KANSAS: I feared as much. I've tinkered a bit on Hearthcards and you get it into two lines if you set the font size to -5 and end the first line with "Legendary". I don't know where the DQ line is drawn when it comes to altering font size, but for my eyes this looks okay. If you choose to ignore my little nitpicking issue, I'd definitely go with the original wording.
@Demon: Thanks for the explanation. Regarding the text, why don't you simply phrase it in the present tense? "Your Hero Power always summons Stoneclaw Totem."
Personally, I think the 4 heroes limit at startup should be removed. The main purpose is probably to have a broader representation of all classes during each run, but I think we should not be restricted in our choice of which class to play. I have always thought it was weird for Arena also. Especially when you are spending 150 gold or a tavern ticket.
It's a simple but very solid effect on that iconic 1/1/3 statline. I like it. That said, two minor issues: I'm no native speaker, but "Earthwarder" got me irritated for a moment. Shouldn't it be "waren"? Then I'm not sure why you're using future tense in the effect ("will always summon"). Don't aura cards usually use present tense ("always summons")? I've run a quick check and there's not a single card in the database that has the word "will" on it.
"Warder" is actually correct here. A "warder" is another word for a guard of some type, and to "ward" something can be used as a way of saying to protect or guard something. This is enforced on the card as summoning Stoneclaw Totem, which protects things and is also the representative of earth out of the original 4 Hero Power Totems.
You actually aren't the first person to point out that "will always" is not proper wording here. Truth be told, I'm not quite sure what the best wording to use here is. I haven't really been able to find anything better.
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Got two ideas for this comp:
Feedback for everyone's latest card:
linkblade91: Looks good! It's basically Call to Adventure, but for stats and the buff is now on a stick.
Wailor: I like Tempus Fugit more flavor-wise.
KANSAS: I think the second wording works best. Not sure if the ability to tutor like that would make he card too strong.
Fedrion: Why not just make it 'Gain an empty Mana Crystal'? Balance-wise, it looks fine.
BasilAnguis: I really like the Rare version for some reason. You could call the card 'Rare Miner' or something similar. Maybe even make it from other classes.
Arkasaur: Like the flavor. Seems balanced compared to the Rogue plant. Rarity should probably be bigger.
BasilAnguis: I actually think this is a bit strong. A lot of Dragons are BIG, so giving them Rush means it can kill a lot of stuff. Not to mention Dragon synergy. But I also feel making it cost 2 would make it near unplayable.
anchorm4n: Balance is good, but flavor is really off. He doesn't look lazy, and nothing about the effect says it's lazy either.
grumpymonk: This is an interesting one! No way of knowing how strong the ability to mulligan is.
Demonxz95: This can be REALLY annoying! But the balance is probably fine.
How To: JSON Importer for Hearthstone Collection
Thanks for your notes, i made an edit to the first post and included them at the end.
Forged in the Barrens Midset Archetype Review & Decks - Mage, Paladin, and Priest
My issue with Serena is that priest just lost Shadow Word: Pain, Shadow Madness, Forbidden Word, etc. so there's not much for priest to take advantage of the now smaller enemy minion other than Cabal Acolyte (which also dropped off the face of the meta)
Blizzard Will Not Hold BlizzCon This Year - Global Event Planned for Early 2022
Yeah, 11 years is a lot. Blizzard released 3 new IPs in that time and the ammount of Blizzard fans and the general gaming audience also increased a lot. So I don't think that Article is a good reference point for today.
Blizzard Will Not Hold BlizzCon This Year - Global Event Planned for Early 2022
Last I read (granted it's been many years since this was published), but they said lose quite a bit on Blizzcon.
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/blizzards-agdc-keynote-we-lose-money-on-blizzcon/
Banana Rogue Budget Deck List & Guide - Hearthstone Budget Deck Breakdown
It's called a knife.
Group Therapy! Need to blow off some steam? Mega salty? Here's the place!
I would rather fight 100 paladins in a row than fight a single druid. Scummy deck for a scummy class, what are you even supposed to do against it
Showdown at Blackrock Mountain
still no Elemental tag for the Rag boys
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Here's Tournament Fixer with two changes: the art is from Wailor's suggestion, and I included the word "total" in there to help eliminate confusion. No text-size adjustments were necessary, thankfully.
Edit: Should it be a 4/3/3 like Witchwood Piper? I'm wondering if the stats are too low, meaning you're most likely to pull another copy of Tournament Fixer before anything else. At 3/3 you could tutor for larger things, like Zilliax or something.
I'll try to work on some feedback after I finished up something IRL.
Blizzard Will Not Hold BlizzCon This Year - Global Event Planned for Early 2022
I'd love to see the numbers on it because I feel like at this point, Blizzard makes some pretty solid bank with in-person BlizzCon and you have to consider the effect a huge in-person event has compared to online - I feel like there was more coverage during a real BlizzCon from outside outlets; that spills over into less money needing to be spent on marketing potentially.
Ticket sales almost certainly cover the cost of the convention itself though with them increasing almost every year. The excitement of being there and willingness to spend on the experience also likely gets people spending more than they would normally on merch had it been online only (idk, I find online merch kinda not as hype).
I think this hybrid we're going to see early next year is super awesome and is a good indication of what is to come. The pandemic has let them change the model of BlizzCon without anyone being upset about it since everyone is quite understanding in-person just wouldn't have worked last year. Maybe do the big convention but then have smaller, satellite parties around the world at the same time so everyone could have a chance at having some kind of BlizzCon experience. Anyone outside of the Americas kinda gets rekt when it comes to BlizzCon.
How To: JSON Importer for Hearthstone Collection
[UPDATE: The author incorporated this into the page, thanks!]
A couple of notes, since this page is a little out of date...
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Wow, that's next level depth of design and the reason why I like to compete with you veterans so much: I'm learning a lot.
I will tinker some more with your text tomorrow, but maybe just cutting the "always" might be an acceptable solution. It isn't really necessary, even if the text sounds better with than without that word. "Always" is also very rarely used in HS so far. "Your Hero Power summons Stoneclaw Totem."... Hmmmm.
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Feedback
In any case, both cards could use some improvement in the artwork department (not that they are bad arts, but the style doesn't fit Hearthstone)
I think the text should probably read: "Restore X Health. Gain an empty Mana Crystal." This will hopefully fit in two lines.
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I do agree with this. The current wording actually already has text size reduced. It's currently at -2, but it works because it looks natural with the way the text on the game is usually presented. There is a problem with reducing the card text too much in that it can come off as natural and an attempt to force a card into the prompt where it wouldn't otherwise belong.
Alternatively, "can only" will make the text work while still appearing natural, but my hesitancy to use this wording stems from the fact that "can only" could psychologically make the effect sound like a downside even if the effect itself is still exactly the same.
Showdown at Blackrock Mountain
Feels like Rag is stronger this time due to buffed classic cards, while Nef got weaker due to increased spell pool
Blizzard Will Not Hold BlizzCon This Year - Global Event Planned for Early 2022
I doubt that the previous Blizzcons didn't make any profits (Tickets, Virtual Tickets, Merch, greater advertisement range, more hype -> more pre-orders etc). In this case there is no way they would stop the physical Blizzcons.
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I used the Hourglass watermark to simulate that it belongs to an expansion where all classes have time-based cards (just like all classes got Demons in Outlands). The card also has a bit of Warlock flavor in that it is suposed to make the minion die of old age (Tempus Fugit means one day you're young and before you realise, you're old AF).
I understand this can be a bit of a stretch (basing the flavor on an expansion that doesn't exist lol), so I made a Priest version. Warlock tends to have more removal with drawbacks than Priest and the gameplay of a Zoo class is more interesting with this effect, but maybe the extra flavor makes up for it.
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Honestly, I think tinkering with the font size shouldn't be an immediate reason for a DQ as long as you don't go out of the window with it. I mean you have to compensate for a single letter, that should be done by going -1 or -2 and won't probably be noticed at all if people don't know it from the start. I've tried out alternate wording for KANSAS' card and it still looked okay at -4. We could also ask Shadows but I'm all for not asking questions in cases like this.
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
There is a technical problem with this text which is the fact that despite having less characters overall, this exact wording is harder to fit into 2 lines of text because of the specific line "summons Stoneclaw Totem" as opposed to "summon Stoneclaw Totem" which takes up more space on one line and forces it into another line. This is actually something I'm finding out after I already made the card with the wording it has now, which makes the process moving forward a bit more difficult to navigate around.
It's a case of a weird wording problem, which is one reason why prompts based on specific card texts are usually avoided.
Blizzard Will Not Hold BlizzCon This Year - Global Event Planned for Early 2022
I wouldn't be surprised if BlizzConline continues even after the pandemic is over. It's so much more affordable for them, they don't need to organise a massive venue like Anaheim and all those extras. Lets just hope they keep it free like this year's event
Blizzard Will Not Hold BlizzCon This Year - Global Event Planned for Early 2022
Well Blizzconline was in February 2021, so makes sense
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
@Fedrion: I understand your train of thought, I've done something similar in that competition that made us design effects that trigger next turn. But this week is about having 2 lines of text max and so your current version doesn't work. :/
@KANSAS: I feared as much. I've tinkered a bit on Hearthcards and you get it into two lines if you set the font size to -5 and end the first line with "Legendary". I don't know where the DQ line is drawn when it comes to altering font size, but for my eyes this looks okay. If you choose to ignore my little nitpicking issue, I'd definitely go with the original wording.
@Demon: Thanks for the explanation. Regarding the text, why don't you simply phrase it in the present tense? "Your Hero Power always summons Stoneclaw Totem."
Should the 4 heroes limit at startup be removed?
Personally, I think the 4 heroes limit at startup should be removed. The main purpose is probably to have a broader representation of all classes during each run, but I think we should not be restricted in our choice of which class to play. I have always thought it was weird for Arena also. Especially when you are spending 150 gold or a tavern ticket.
Two The Point - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
"Warder" is actually correct here. A "warder" is another word for a guard of some type, and to "ward" something can be used as a way of saying to protect or guard something. This is enforced on the card as summoning Stoneclaw Totem, which protects things and is also the representative of earth out of the original 4 Hero Power Totems.
You actually aren't the first person to point out that "will always" is not proper wording here. Truth be told, I'm not quite sure what the best wording to use here is. I haven't really been able to find anything better.
Showdown at Blackrock Mountain
About a year since we don't count 2020