Will see play. Even hero power + this is a 7 mana 8/8 taunt, which is perfectly fine. Add 0- and 1-cost healing spells into the mix and you've got a powerful card.
The only feasible way to implement something close to this would be to add a “prevalence: X” stat to cards (like health and attack) that increases its odds to be drawn by X times. That honestly might not even be a bad idea because it would allow for Blizzard to make cards that are integral to their archetype more likely to be drawn (for example, Lucentbar could have a very high prevalence to make Druid Heal decks actually functional ). Given that players only get 1 copy of Legendaries, that might actually be a good way to make niche payoff Legendaries a little better. A high prevalence 1 drop would also be able to help control decks reliably get a turn 1 play without sacrificing their deck quality too much. That being said, all this seems like it would be better as an Expansion keyword instead of a rule change to every single card.
Seems good, similar to Tour Guide, which sees lots of play. I wonder how it works in Duels; can you discover any of the hero powers available in Duels or do you discover basic hero powers only?
I'm not sold on the Ogremancer comparison here. The first thing to note is that the 2/2s having taunt is really important because it gets teched into decks to thwart spell-heavy aggro decks. The second thing to note is that its recent prevalence is almost exclusively in Highlander Control decks. But for that deck restriction, those decks would much more happily run a second copy of some class AOE (e.g. Breath of the Infinite or Flame Ward). Highlander decks aren't going to be relevant in Standard after rotation, so many of these control decks will just prefer to run more AOE over convoluted token generation.
Despite Mor'shan Watch Post being decent tech against token generation if it comes down on turn 3, the 2/2 bodies won't be worth nearly as much against midrange or control decks, which makes playing a "Can't Attack" minion a lot more painful.
So, is this affected by any weapon buff with the word "Poison" in its name? If so, this seems like a great card in Wild. There are good number of poisons by now. For 3 mana, I suspect it will also be a powerhouse in Duels.
If you choose your Frenzy cards carefully, playing this could be a powerful turn. This wins the award for most confusing wording on a "Forged in the Barrens" card so far, though. It sounds like it won't damage the Frenzy minions, but I would be willing to bet that it does.
Sorry, he might look interesting on paper, but in practice he's just a smaller, more awkward Mistrunner that requires you to blow your whole hand in one turn. Druid has better ways to generate stats, and if you're using him alongside those, he's just a winmore card.
I won't lie, these achievements have really added an extra layer to the game that is actually fun. Like you don't have to stress about losing a game, coz in essence, you're still winning! (Via achievement XP ofc)
Really sucks that you can't do them in casual mode though
This card is so simple yet so strong, if it doesn't see play I don't know anything about hearthstone. It's a simple 6/7 taunt that removes a minion, but druid is always desperate for removal.
I don't think this enables beast druid in any way though, it's just going to be a strong tempo/control tool. In fact, I don't think Plaguemaw the Rotting or Menagerie Warden enable beast druid either it's just another Freeze Shaman to me, and living seed will just be played for mana cheating card draw in Guardian Animals deck. Hmm I guess you can call that beast druid, it's full of beasts after all.
So instead of gaining more attack by swinging, it gains more durability by playing poison cards. I think we'd rather do the damage over as few turns as possible, so this probably isn't replacing Self-Sharpening Sword.
I don't like this idea. This feels like a very sneaky, and unfair thing to do. In any card game, the point of shuffling cards is so that every card has an equal chance to be at any spot in the deck. By reducing the draw rate of specific cards blizzard is effectively stacking the cards, in other words, cheating.
In games like this there are rules, and expectations. Expectations can be broken by specific cards, rules are concrete. Something like all minions must wait a turn to attack is not a rule it is an expectation since it is usually true but some minions can attack immediately. But something like all minions dying when their life reaches 0 is a rule since it is core to the fundamental nature of the mechanics of the game. Cards keeping their current text/mana cost/attack/health is an expectation since blizzard is able to change those thins at their discretion. The cards being shuffled fairly at the beginning of a match is a rule. It shouldn't be changed. And even if it was changed, I doubt it would fix the game.
If a card is OP then it is just OP regardless of whether or not you draw it. If you fight a deck and they don't draw their OP card because of this new balancing system then blizzard could have just nerfed that card so that it was unplayable and that match would have gone the same. But if your opponent does draw the card then it is still a poorly balanced card, and the knowledge that your opponent had a smaller chance to draw that card won't make the loss feel any better.
In short, adjusting the draw rate of cards is a lazy way to fix a problem, and it would just be healthier for the game overall if unbalanced cards were balanced instead of just being pushed away into a corner.
I mean, there will always be some heal integrated in you deck in control archetypes (and probably a lot of way to generate one). This seems like a really strong card.
I would be interested how you can make a deck around this card, though it seems a bit difficult right now. Might need a strong poison to support such a deck, as other weapons are more interesting for aggro Rogue decks.
The fact that it is often useless/low value condemns it to the "I doubt this would be played much" pile. I might be wrong though, because silence is often run in the meta.
New Priest Minion - Priest of An'she
Will see play. Even hero power + this is a 7 mana 8/8 taunt, which is perfectly fine. Add 0- and 1-cost healing spells into the mix and you've got a powerful card.
Should Blizzard Adjust Draw Rates of Over-performing Cards?
The only feasible way to implement something close to this would be to add a “prevalence: X” stat to cards (like health and attack) that increases its odds to be drawn by X times. That honestly might not even be a bad idea because it would allow for Blizzard to make cards that are integral to their archetype more likely to be drawn (for example, Lucentbar could have a very high prevalence to make Druid Heal decks actually functional ). Given that players only get 1 copy of Legendaries, that might actually be a good way to make niche payoff Legendaries a little better. A high prevalence 1 drop would also be able to help control decks reliably get a turn 1 play without sacrificing their deck quality too much. That being said, all this seems like it would be better as an Expansion keyword instead of a rule change to every single card.
New Rogue Spell - Yoink!
Seems good, similar to Tour Guide, which sees lots of play. I wonder how it works in Duels; can you discover any of the hero powers available in Duels or do you discover basic hero powers only?
New Priest Minion - Xyrella
Reno Jackson + Xyrella = great comeback.
Eduquesa Reveals a New Forged in the Barrens Card - Kargal Battlescar
I'm not sold on the Ogremancer comparison here. The first thing to note is that the 2/2s having taunt is really important because it gets teched into decks to thwart spell-heavy aggro decks. The second thing to note is that its recent prevalence is almost exclusively in Highlander Control decks. But for that deck restriction, those decks would much more happily run a second copy of some class AOE (e.g. Breath of the Infinite or Flame Ward). Highlander decks aren't going to be relevant in Standard after rotation, so many of these control decks will just prefer to run more AOE over convoluted token generation.
Despite Mor'shan Watch Post being decent tech against token generation if it comes down on turn 3, the 2/2 bodies won't be worth nearly as much against midrange or control decks, which makes playing a "Can't Attack" minion a lot more painful.
New Priest Minion - Xyrella
One of the best minion of this expansion so far
New Rogue Weapon - Swinetusk Shank
Can't wait to see all the other poison spells
New Druid Minion - Druid of the Plains
Well in arena it's gonna be op
New Rogue Weapon - Swinetusk Shank
So, is this affected by any weapon buff with the word "Poison" in its name? If so, this seems like a great card in Wild. There are good number of poisons by now. For 3 mana, I suspect it will also be a powerhouse in Duels.
New Warrior Minion - Overlord Saurfang
Can't say more until we see all the frenzy minions
New Rogue Minion - Scabbs Cutterbutter
Well it was good at 2/2, at 3/3... it's just op
New Rogue Minion - Scabbs Cutterbutter
This is a great card, with a great name. Pay 4 for a 3/3 and a 6 mana discount? Clearly good tempo.
New Warrior Minion - Overlord Saurfang
If you choose your Frenzy cards carefully, playing this could be a powerful turn. This wins the award for most confusing wording on a "Forged in the Barrens" card so far, though. It sounds like it won't damage the Frenzy minions, but I would be willing to bet that it does.
Meet the Mercenaries - All of Hearthstone's 10 Fresh Characters For Year of the Gryphon
Sorry, he might look interesting on paper, but in practice he's just a smaller, more awkward Mistrunner that requires you to blow your whole hand in one turn. Druid has better ways to generate stats, and if you're using him alongside those, he's just a winmore card.
Meet the Mercenaries - All of Hearthstone's 10 Fresh Characters For Year of the Gryphon
Remember how the community stirred up a shitstorm over nothing and threw them into crisis mode for a couple of months?
Get That XP! Finish Your Druid, Hunter, and Mage Darkmoon Faire Achievements With These Decks
Really sucks that you can't do them in casual mode though
New Rogue Minion - Scabbs Cutterbutter
This is Azeroth’s version of “Boy Named Sue”. The only way you can survive with a name like that is to be a complete badass.
New Druid Minion - Druid of the Plains
So this card at a base level is better than Coilfang Warlord and Marsh Hydra, in a class than has access to Overgrowth and Living Seed (Rank 1).
This card is so simple yet so strong, if it doesn't see play I don't know anything about hearthstone. It's a simple 6/7 taunt that removes a minion, but druid is always desperate for removal.
I don't think this enables beast druid in any way though, it's just going to be a strong tempo/control tool. In fact, I don't think Plaguemaw the Rotting or Menagerie Warden enable beast druid either it's just another Freeze Shaman to me, and living seed will just be played for mana cheating card draw in Guardian Animals deck. Hmm I guess you can call that beast druid, it's full of beasts after all.
New Rogue Minion - Scabbs Cutterbutter
Damn, this card is going to allow for some massive plays since the discount applies to the next 2 cards. At least Edwin is leaving.
New Rogue Weapon - Swinetusk Shank
So instead of gaining more attack by swinging, it gains more durability by playing poison cards. I think we'd rather do the damage over as few turns as possible, so this probably isn't replacing Self-Sharpening Sword.
Should Blizzard Adjust Draw Rates of Over-performing Cards?
I don't like this idea. This feels like a very sneaky, and unfair thing to do. In any card game, the point of shuffling cards is so that every card has an equal chance to be at any spot in the deck. By reducing the draw rate of specific cards blizzard is effectively stacking the cards, in other words, cheating.
In games like this there are rules, and expectations. Expectations can be broken by specific cards, rules are concrete. Something like all minions must wait a turn to attack is not a rule it is an expectation since it is usually true but some minions can attack immediately. But something like all minions dying when their life reaches 0 is a rule since it is core to the fundamental nature of the mechanics of the game. Cards keeping their current text/mana cost/attack/health is an expectation since blizzard is able to change those thins at their discretion. The cards being shuffled fairly at the beginning of a match is a rule. It shouldn't be changed. And even if it was changed, I doubt it would fix the game.
If a card is OP then it is just OP regardless of whether or not you draw it. If you fight a deck and they don't draw their OP card because of this new balancing system then blizzard could have just nerfed that card so that it was unplayable and that match would have gone the same. But if your opponent does draw the card then it is still a poorly balanced card, and the knowledge that your opponent had a smaller chance to draw that card won't make the loss feel any better.
In short, adjusting the draw rate of cards is a lazy way to fix a problem, and it would just be healthier for the game overall if unbalanced cards were balanced instead of just being pushed away into a corner.
New Priest Minion - Xyrella
I mean, there will always be some heal integrated in you deck in control archetypes (and probably a lot of way to generate one). This seems like a really strong card.
New Rogue Minion - Scabbs Cutterbutter
This seems crazy good, wtf ? The low doesn't seem that much a downside compared with what this card allows to do.
New Rogue Weapon - Swinetusk Shank
I would be interested how you can make a deck around this card, though it seems a bit difficult right now. Might need a strong poison to support such a deck, as other weapons are more interesting for aggro Rogue decks.
New Demon Hunter Spell - Sigil of Silence
The fact that it is often useless/low value condemns it to the "I doubt this would be played much" pile. I might be wrong though, because silence is often run in the meta.