2 mana 6/4 is very powerful, but nowhere near as strong as 1 mana 6/6, and Deathmatch Pavilion has a condition that's more awkward to fulfill for shaman than 6 attack for DH, so this card is incredibly balanced, I guess.
Yes exactly with solar eclipse it's a great card 8 armor turns to 16 you can lightning bloom and do the combo turn 6 or 8 now that u have armor you can safely play C'thun cards without worrying about taking damage and if you take too much you can play Hidden Oasis + Solar Eclipse
Totem Shaman actually has a positive winrate on HSReplay. I somehow expect a totem lover to show up in this expansion and maybe round out the deck. As far as Grand Totem Eys'or, it is the most aggressive target for Totemic Reflection, turning all totems in deck to reasonably beefy dudes, but the best target for the spell is still EVIL Totem (mostly because is cheaper).
I am the biggest Rafaam fan boy you will ever meet, so I had to take this opportunity to finally give him a hero portrait. The 'powerful Artifacts' are the same ones from OG Rafaam, so Lantern of Power, Mirror of Doom, and Timepiece of Horror. I wanted the hero power to somewhat synergize with Arch-Villain Rafaam without losing application to other cards. Works as a transition for Control Warlocks to get rid of their clunky cards, or as a way to push Control Disco-lock (another obsession of mine). I thought about making the legendary cheaper by (1) than the discarded card, but thought I'd try this one first.
Alternative idea has the same base hero but a radically different hero power that swaps after each use. The hero powers go in sequence of Explosions!, Vengeance!, Insight!, Loot!, back to Explosions!, etc. The hero powers represent each part of E.V.I.L and their corresponding members. I understand that there is a 4 image limit and I will probably just go with the original version, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there anyway.
One thing you need to keep in mind: if you play this, every single spell discounts Mana Giant. Every single spell still synergises with spell lovers like Mana Cyclone and Sorcerer's Apprentice. Yes, this is extreme RNG, but the current spell mage can use the random spells for their advantage. I just believe that instead of running spells like Conjurer's Calling, a deck with Deck of Lunacy might run other cheap spell loving minions like Dune Sculptor.
PS: Do Deck of Chaos and Deck of Lunacy represent the Old Gods? And if yes, can we expect two more Deck of *Old God Reference* cards?
I just worry about card draw in a deck like that. Your Mage draw spells are going to get transformed along with everything else. Do you hold this until you have those in hand, or just cross your fingers and hope you get some draw in your "upgraded" spells? Or maybe rely on minion-based draw?
How do you see these pairing up with Old Gods? Lunacy = C'Thun, Chaos = Yogg, perhaps? I can imaging a N'Zoth version (Priest?) that transforms your minions into random Deathrattle minions of higher cost (that don't actually cost more). As for Y'Sharrj ... maybe Druid or Warrior? Does a similar thing, but gives you Rush minions?
Well, as far as the no draw scenario, I agree entirely, which is why the first spell loving minion that came to my head was Dune Sculptor, which can allow you to get enough value to keep you in the game and to somewhat compensate the loss of draw. As a side note, I decided to quickly check the number of spells in standard that cost between 4 and 6 mana, seeing as how most mage spells played tend to be between 1 and 3 mana (didn't count spells from the new expansion) and there are 12 spells in around 80 cards that draw cards, so around 15% are drawing spells (not too many, but I actually expected a smaller number, though the big draw bombs sit mostly at 6 mana).
As far as the Old Gods pairing, I honestly don't know, I never played WoW. But, I did go to WoWpedia yesterday and according to them, C'thun is the god of chaos, Yogg is the god of death, N'Zoth is the god of corruption and Y'Shaarj is the god of rage (so no lunacy, but lunacy can be seen as a result of corruption). So, as far as pairing possible remaining cards with the Old Gods, I can guess Deck of Rage (or some synonym), if placed on Warrior, it can be something similar to your idea, though I believe it could be something along the lines of "Minions in your deck have rush. If they already had Rush, reduce their cost by X". No idea how to connect a possible Deck of Death, but your deathrattle minion idea is possible (maybe a deck of Undeath, that gives minions in deck a deathrattle that summons lower cost minions like the Tavern Brawl that sometimes shows up).
EDIT: Just realized that Deck of Rage idea can't go to Warrior, they already have both legendaries revealed. The only classes with unrevealed legendaries are Priest and Shaman right now. Priest fits the Deathrattle theme, Shaman is not a primary target for Rush mechanics, though they do have a couple of Rush minions.
Well Kronx will rotate out next year anyway, so there's not much reason to send Shadowstep with him. In the meantime, I doubt a 4 card 10 mana combo that isn't an OTK is likely to sound many alarm bells.
Yeah, I always forget about the rotation, you're right. But I feel that Shadowstep is causing design team headaches, maybe returned cards should cost (1) less.
About the new Kronx combo, I thought in the context of Rogue early chip damage, this will be a very strong finisher, that is also very flexible (10-15 heal in Rogue is very strong, also double Taunt is great). So it may be a bit problematic.
On the removal of Charge (which seems to be the most contentious point) : First thing is I didn't remove it completely since it is still present on Skycap'n Kragg (and will be on class legendaries). Second thing, the Charge keyword is a powerful keyword on any card especially those with a high attack/cost ratio. Having those in Core sets limits design space for future cards. Stonetusk Boar has been problematic several times (with [Hearthstone Card (Caverns Below) Not Found] and Dire Frenzy). Bluegill Warrior was problematic in Anyfin Paladin (even though that deck was never tier 1, it's uninteractive).
On basic cards that are supposed to be bad : The game has been powercrept to such a degree that "fair" normal cards have nearly no change of seeing play. Even if the power level of the core sets is raised, the average power level of expansions is so high that new players will quickly learn how the game works anyway. I don't think a 2/4 Patriarch and a 7/1 Rager will change that. (Shieldbearer also serves that purpose of showing that stat distribution matters).
On the core sets being pure tempo : I agree that my Basic set is nearly-pure tempo not by choice but as a consequence of it being simple. There's only that much you can do without advanced mechanics. For the Classic set however I tried to go beyond pure tempo and put some control/combo cards in there. Did I fail? It must also be compared to the currently existing sets. When you get rid of cards that are supposed to be control but are bad, there isn't much left anyway.
Alexstrasza and Nozdormu : I changed their effect instead of HoFing them for one simple reason : they're cancer as they are. I don't want them in ANY MODE neither Standard nor Wild. Alexstrasza nullifies all efforts to counter combo decks. Nozdormu is bad because it penalizes players for reasons external to the game (disabilities, bad mobile, etc...). I stand by that choice.
Malygos : The initial version of this post contained a lengthy explanation for each choice I knew would be controversial such as Maly but I scrapped this part because nobody would read it. I'll CP the Maly part : "Malygos is a good illustration of the difference between design space and deckbuilding space. Malygos restricts design space, namely space for cheap damaging spells. However, Malygos also created archetypes around him. Despite fears, those archetypes 1. have never been oppressive in the history of HS and 2. have varied across time. I estimate that the deckbuilding space Malygos creates is greater than the design space it restricts so I left him in the Classic set." (and yes, I will HoF Moonfire not just because of this interaction but also because it doesn't fit Druid in general).
Justicar Trueheart : I'm not sure why it would be too OP. The only deck that historically played Justicar were Control Priest and Control Warrior, both of which can be countered (by sustained pressure and value generation respectively). Other classes' upgraded HPs are generally not worth playing a 6mana 6/3. Having Justicar in the Classic set also show players who didn't play during TGT/Witchwood what the upgraded HPs are.
Subject 9 : Secrets aren't for tempo. Drawing 5 secrets (but you must first put them into your deck) may become too good at some point in the future, but like Malygos I think the deckbuilding space it opens is way greater than the design space it closes.
Scrapyard Colossus, Fungalmancer : I admit those were on the edge and were pretty late inclusions in my sets. Colossus is supposed to fill the role of the high-value big minion that is awesome when cheated but maybe it restricts design space too much? Fungalmancer replaces Defender of Argus/Stormwind Champion as the zoo buffer. I remember that it became playable only after the nerf to [Hearthstone Card (Spiteful Summonner) Not Found] so presumably it won't see play everywhere.
Arcane Devourer : My reasoning for not buffing it is that it could become broken if it is mana-cheated with the right cards. However I agree that in its current state it has no chance of seeing play. Will reduce its cost.
Acidic Swamp Ooze... yeah it was a mistake to replace it with Corrosive Sludge. That change was made only to keep a smooth curve. I will reintroduce it in the next version (but as a 2/2).
Yeah, I will continue to replace art that deserves to be replaced.
OMG! I can't believe they are going to let you summon a copy of your hero, but with Stealth!?!? I didn't even know that was possible! OMG, Hearthstone is really upping their game now! I am surprised they didn't wait to put such a game-shattering mechanic into the game until the new year. Just imagine how much more hype whatever they have planned must be then!!!!!
I don't think this card will see as much inclusion on decks as it will see lots of "created by" shenanigans (and I believe the value it can generate can really be game changing in that scenario). Seeing as how this card tends to counter big clunky minions and those come from big clunky decks, Rogue is already equipped with tons of value and tempo to play against those decks. Rogue's biggest overall weakness is being out aggroed and I don't see this card alleviate that weakness that much, unfortunately.
One thing you need to keep in mind: if you play this, every single spell discounts Mana Giant. Every single spell still synergises with spell lovers like Mana Cyclone and Sorcerer's Apprentice. Yes, this is extreme RNG, but the current spell mage can use the random spells for their advantage. I just believe that instead of running spells like Conjurer's Calling, a deck with Deck of Lunacy might run other cheap spell loving minions like Dune Sculptor.
PS: Do Deck of Chaos and Deck of Lunacy represent the Old Gods? And if yes, can we expect two more Deck of *Old God Reference* cards?
I just worry about card draw in a deck like that. Your Mage draw spells are going to get transformed along with everything else. Do you hold this until you have those in hand, or just cross your fingers and hope you get some draw in your "upgraded" spells? Or maybe rely on minion-based draw?
How do you see these pairing up with Old Gods? Lunacy = C'Thun, Chaos = Yogg, perhaps? I can imaging a N'Zoth version (Priest?) that transforms your minions into random Deathrattle minions of higher cost (that don't actually cost more). As for Y'Sharrj ... maybe Druid or Warrior? Does a similar thing, but gives you Rush minions?
My curiosity lies in will they be class specific spells, or any class spells? If it is class specific, then it limits the types of spells transformed and leaves the potential to have tons of Blizzards in a deck. On the other hand, getting DH or Warlock cards in your mage deck can be really really scary
My curiosity lies in will they be class specific spells, or any class spells? If it is class specific, then it limits the types of spells transformed and leaves the potential to have tons of Blizzards in a deck. On the other hand, getting DH or Warlock cards in your mage deck can be really really scary
We'll have to see how much support Attack Shaman gets to properly judge this card, but it still feels exceptionally out of place in the class. The effect feels like it could fit in Warrior, Rogue, DH, or even Druid with some flavor changes.
This makes Rogue secrets kind of tricky to play around, now that they've got a trigger for almost everything (playing minions/spells, attacking minions/hero). Now you kind of have to treat Rogue secrets like Freezing Trap (attack the hero with a small thing) until you can sus out what they are.
New Shaman Spell - Deathmatch Pavilion
Name: warrior
Art: warrior
Flavour: warrior
Mechanics: warrior
Class: shaman!?
New Shaman Spell - Deathmatch Pavilion
2 mana 6/4 is very powerful, but nowhere near as strong as 1 mana 6/6, and Deathmatch Pavilion has a condition that's more awkward to fulfill for shaman than 6 attack for DH, so this card is incredibly balanced, I guess.
Cenarion Ward is a New Druid Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Darkmoon Faire Expansion
Yes exactly with solar eclipse it's a great card 8 armor turns to 16 you can lightning bloom and do the combo turn 6 or 8 now that u have armor you can safely play C'thun cards without worrying about taking damage and if you take too much you can play Hidden Oasis + Solar Eclipse
New Shaman Minion - Grand Totem Eys'or
Totem Shaman actually has a positive winrate on HSReplay. I somehow expect a totem lover to show up in this expansion and maybe round out the deck. As far as Grand Totem Eys'or, it is the most aggressive target for Totemic Reflection, turning all totems in deck to reasonably beefy dudes, but the best target for the spell is still EVIL Totem (mostly because is cheaper).
Holding Out For A Hero - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I am the biggest Rafaam fan boy you will ever meet, so I had to take this opportunity to finally give him a hero portrait. The 'powerful Artifacts' are the same ones from OG Rafaam, so Lantern of Power, Mirror of Doom, and Timepiece of Horror. I wanted the hero power to somewhat synergize with Arch-Villain Rafaam without losing application to other cards. Works as a transition for Control Warlocks to get rid of their clunky cards, or as a way to push Control Disco-lock (another obsession of mine). I thought about making the legendary cheaper by (1) than the discarded card, but thought I'd try this one first.
Alternative idea has the same base hero but a radically different hero power that swaps after each use. The hero powers go in sequence of Explosions!, Vengeance!, Insight!, Loot!, back to Explosions!, etc. The hero powers represent each part of E.V.I.L and their corresponding members. I understand that there is a 4 image limit and I will probably just go with the original version, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there anyway.
Will try to get to feedback tonight!
New Mage Spell - Deck of Lunacy
Well, as far as the no draw scenario, I agree entirely, which is why the first spell loving minion that came to my head was Dune Sculptor, which can allow you to get enough value to keep you in the game and to somewhat compensate the loss of draw. As a side note, I decided to quickly check the number of spells in standard that cost between 4 and 6 mana, seeing as how most mage spells played tend to be between 1 and 3 mana (didn't count spells from the new expansion) and there are 12 spells in around 80 cards that draw cards, so around 15% are drawing spells (not too many, but I actually expected a smaller number, though the big draw bombs sit mostly at 6 mana).
As far as the Old Gods pairing, I honestly don't know, I never played WoW. But, I did go to WoWpedia yesterday and according to them, C'thun is the god of chaos, Yogg is the god of death, N'Zoth is the god of corruption and Y'Shaarj is the god of rage (so no lunacy, but lunacy can be seen as a result of corruption). So, as far as pairing possible remaining cards with the Old Gods, I can guess Deck of Rage (or some synonym), if placed on Warrior, it can be something similar to your idea, though I believe it could be something along the lines of "Minions in your deck have rush. If they already had Rush, reduce their cost by X". No idea how to connect a possible Deck of Death, but your deathrattle minion idea is possible (maybe a deck of Undeath, that gives minions in deck a deathrattle that summons lower cost minions like the Tavern Brawl that sometimes shows up).
EDIT: Just realized that Deck of Rage idea can't go to Warrior, they already have both legendaries revealed. The only classes with unrevealed legendaries are Priest and Shaman right now. Priest fits the Deathrattle theme, Shaman is not a primary target for Rush mechanics, though they do have a couple of Rush minions.
Grand Totem Eys'or is a New Legendary Shaman Totem Revealed for Hearthstone's Darkmoon Faire Expansion
I don't think that's the case, it's worded "give +1/+1 to all other Totems" which implies that it doesn't buff itself.
New Rogue Minion - Tenwu of the Red Smoke
Yeah, I always forget about the rotation, you're right. But I feel that Shadowstep is causing design team headaches, maybe returned cards should cost (1) less.
About the new Kronx combo, I thought in the context of Rogue early chip damage, this will be a very strong finisher, that is also very flexible (10-15 heal in Rogue is very strong, also double Taunt is great). So it may be a bit problematic.
New Shaman Spell - Deathmatch Pavilion
It can stay or go. For 2 mana, getting a 3/2 minion, meh. If you get to attack, then you get 2? Not bad.
Deathmatch Pavilion
It can stay or go. For 2 mana, getting a 3/2 minion, meh. If you get to attack, then you get 2? Not bad.
Cheese's custom core sets revamp - Global thread (done!)
To give some answers
A new version of my neutral set is under way.
Shadow Clone is a New Rogue Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Darkmoon Faire Expansion
OMG! I can't believe they are going to let you summon a copy of your hero, but with Stealth!?!? I didn't even know that was possible! OMG, Hearthstone is really upping their game now! I am surprised they didn't wait to put such a game-shattering mechanic into the game until the new year. Just imagine how much more hype whatever they have planned must be then!!!!!
New Shaman Minion - Grand Totem Eys'or
Even it if only gets one tic on the board, it feels that it was worth it.
Grand Totem Eys'or
Even it if only gets one tic on the board, it feels that it was worth it.
New Rogue Spell - Shadow Clone
I don't think this card will see as much inclusion on decks as it will see lots of "created by" shenanigans (and I believe the value it can generate can really be game changing in that scenario). Seeing as how this card tends to counter big clunky minions and those come from big clunky decks, Rogue is already equipped with tons of value and tempo to play against those decks. Rogue's biggest overall weakness is being out aggroed and I don't see this card alleviate that weakness that much, unfortunately.
Holding Out For A Hero - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I decided to make one of my favorite Dalaran heist bosses as my card and attempted to make him balanced.
Feedback soon probaley
New Mage Spell - Deck of Lunacy
I just worry about card draw in a deck like that. Your Mage draw spells are going to get transformed along with everything else. Do you hold this until you have those in hand, or just cross your fingers and hope you get some draw in your "upgraded" spells? Or maybe rely on minion-based draw?
How do you see these pairing up with Old Gods? Lunacy = C'Thun, Chaos = Yogg, perhaps? I can imaging a N'Zoth version (Priest?) that transforms your minions into random Deathrattle minions of higher cost (that don't actually cost more). As for Y'Sharrj ... maybe Druid or Warrior? Does a similar thing, but gives you Rush minions?
New Shaman Spell - Deathmatch Pavilion
What a weird card for shaman, I mean it is good but it feels more like a Warrior or Paladin card.
New Rogue Minion - Tenwu of the Red Smoke
Card with lots of potential. Pretty sure it will see play somewhere through its standard life.
New Rogue Spell - Shadow Clone
This has a lot of potential to be super annoying. However, with so many ways to destroy low health minions, this may not see as much play as we'd like
Shadow Clone
This has a lot of potential to be super annoying. However, with so many ways to destroy low health minions, this may not see as much play as we'd like
New Mage Spell - Deck of Lunacy
My curiosity lies in will they be class specific spells, or any class spells? If it is class specific, then it limits the types of spells transformed and leaves the potential to have tons of Blizzards in a deck. On the other hand, getting DH or Warlock cards in your mage deck can be really really scary
Deck of Lunacy
My curiosity lies in will they be class specific spells, or any class spells? If it is class specific, then it limits the types of spells transformed and leaves the potential to have tons of Blizzards in a deck. On the other hand, getting DH or Warlock cards in your mage deck can be really really scary
New Shaman Spell - Deathmatch Pavilion
We'll have to see how much support Attack Shaman gets to properly judge this card, but it still feels exceptionally out of place in the class. The effect feels like it could fit in Warrior, Rogue, DH, or even Druid with some flavor changes.
New Rogue Spell - Shadow Clone
This makes Rogue secrets kind of tricky to play around, now that they've got a trigger for almost everything (playing minions/spells, attacking minions/hero). Now you kind of have to treat Rogue secrets like Freezing Trap (attack the hero with a small thing) until you can sus out what they are.