So this spell is probably best compared to Druid's Mark of the Wild, another 2 mana spell that gives it's minion +2/+2 and Taunt, or Warlock's Demonfire, which will deal 2 damage to a minion unless it's a friendly demon, giving it +2/+2.
Mark of the Wild hasn't seen play on the ladder in a long time, and Demonfire sees SOME fringe play here and there.
Where this spell shines is the text "fully heal this minion at the end of your turn", making this spell Fantastic when you need to trade, just buff your target, eliminate the opposing minion, and it'll heal before your opponent starts their turn.
This spell has a very strong synergy with the activate the obelisk quest, allowing for an easy way to restore health and complete the quest with only 2 mana.
I believe this spell will help Obelisk priest see a resurgence on the ladder once scholomance launches
Haha, yeah, some of those pros get predictions so horrible wrong that it is incredibly amusing.
I like to give people an idea of what thoughts go into stuff behind the scenes when possible (usually when people bring it up) so I'm glad I was able to let you in on that.
Thanks for contributing and being a part of everything here. Never stop!
Definitely looks like a strong one. All but guaranteed card draw on a decent-sized stick. Gives hope of more varied Druid archetypes instead of just different Spell builds.
Probably have to try out Umo Malygos Druid first. If it works, awesome. If it doesn't, I'll probably playtest the new Quest Warlock and a disruption focused Tempo Demon Hunter. I'll also try out Tempo Priest, but it's not as exciting to me.
4 mana 4/3 is acceptable stats, Kor'kron Elite, warriors 4 mana 4/3 with charge has seen play depending on the meta, usually when warrior is a very aggressive class playing pirates.
And while this murloc can't go face the turn it's played, it's rush is something that murloc decks usually lack - single minion removal. 4 attack is usually enough to chip a taunt in your way and finish it off with a token, or completely remove a taunt if Murloc Warleader is on the field.
What makes this minion even stronger still is the additional 4/3 with rush that it adds to your hand upon death. Not as mana efficient as say Restless Mummy that deals 6 damage for 4 mana, but this minion is still perfect cannon fodder for murloc decks that want to play aggressively (i.e, ALL OF THEM)
Since I believe the entire team gets together to discuss themes for new sets, I don't believe he'd have any say in that until sets coming out in 2022 or possibly the last set of 2021.
Do you have any info about who exactly decides on the theme of a new set? Do the ideas come from Team 5 or from someone more on top? Maybe even someone who is involved in writing the WoW lore?
It is good, but I do think it is a bit slow for Rexxar, as to benefit you'd have to play this on T4 - 3 if you coin - but at the same time, Hunter always struggled with card draw, so this could be a remedy. But overall, decent cost, stat and effect with a beast tag already slapped on, I'm confident this will find its niche.
Very reminiscent of Living Dragonbreath (providing an effect that has a lot of potential, but will likely only pop up as a tech card for the pros under certain circumstances).
Cool idea and flavor, but I don't know if it will make the cut with the rampant AoE in Hearthstone.
I think this Sneaky Delinquent is sneaky good ; 3/1 stealth for (2) mana with a token - in hand - but still, it generates something for you while being a safe play on curve. I don't think it is as bad as some are insinuating in the comment section
You gave me/us some insight into the thought process that went into Tavern Crawl. From the outside, it's always easy to judge, but when you are on the inside of things (like you), you sometimes see certain aspects differently because you have more information about what's going on. So your post helped me a lot to understand.
I absolutely agree with you that this community should always stay on the positive side and that it can be hard for newcomers to get into the game. Also what you said about early judgment of the cards, while the rest of the set is unknown, is of course also very true. Nobody - not even the pros - get all their predictions right, but I don't consider those early comments "low quality", as people enjoy discussing and meme-ing the new cards.
"low quality" was meant more in the sense that people would just comment "+1" - basically spam. But I guess, I just assumed the worst in people (it happens...). We will see.
As I said before, I really like this page and the non-toxic community. I even submitted a few ideas for improving this site in the forums a while ago. I just don't want it to become a spam-fest.
I am extremely excited for this card because I love making spell damage decks!
I want this to be good enough to bring spell damage decks into the meta, but it might be too slow to fit into spell damage decks (not too slow in that it doesn't have a big enough pay off, but too slow in the same way that Animated Avalanche is generally too slow).
Nevertheless, I am going to be playing with this card a lot throughout this expansion.
I'm late to the party I know, but I have mixed feelings about this card. On one hand, it's a 1 mana draw 5, which can search for lethal if you really need it to, but on the other hand I personally never saw any success with Myra's Unstable Element so I'm a bit iffy on this one
a 2 mana minion with stealth whose death rattle provides another 2 mana minion with stealth.
Rogues stealth package from AoO was pretty good, giving them ways to draw cards or give a minion immune and additional attack to clear a high value target.
Good, but not great, as only the minions that drew cards in the stealth package have seen play in the Galakrond decks.
The deathrattle also doesn't have synergy with most death rattle game plans, where the death rattle leaves minions on the board or deals damage to the opponents health. She might still see play in face hunter decks, however, as 3/1 that can't be targeted with single spell removal can allow for moderate face damage or to clear a small taunt in the way for the rest of your minions
Hunter loves 1 mana beasts with an upside, so this is definitely going to see play. The fact that the bunny has devil elements to it is fitting because that's exactly how I think people will feel about this card after a few weeks.
This card is going to be a staple until it rotates. It's Shadow Bolt with a very strong upside, and it fills a void in Mage's current board control for the early game.
Now that spell damage is being pushed in Mage too, this card is definitely going to be the go-to removal for Mage until this rotates.
It's also nice that it forces board placement thoughts from the opponent.
New Demon Hunter Minion - Soulshard Lapidary
10 damage for 5 mana?
Oh, it's Demon Hunter, that makes sense.
New Shaman Spell - Molten Blast
Yes, it would have been 10 time better and clearer - Indeed
New Priest Spell - Power Word: Feast
BLESSED BE THIS FUNNEL CAKE
So this spell is probably best compared to Druid's Mark of the Wild, another 2 mana spell that gives it's minion +2/+2 and Taunt, or Warlock's Demonfire, which will deal 2 damage to a minion unless it's a friendly demon, giving it +2/+2.
Mark of the Wild hasn't seen play on the ladder in a long time, and Demonfire sees SOME fringe play here and there.
Where this spell shines is the text "fully heal this minion at the end of your turn", making this spell Fantastic when you need to trade, just buff your target, eliminate the opposing minion, and it'll heal before your opponent starts their turn.
This spell has a very strong synergy with the activate the obelisk quest, allowing for an easy way to restore health and complete the quest with only 2 mana.
I believe this spell will help Obelisk priest see a resurgence on the ladder once scholomance launches
Scholomance Academy
Haha, yeah, some of those pros get predictions so horrible wrong that it is incredibly amusing.
I like to give people an idea of what thoughts go into stuff behind the scenes when possible (usually when people bring it up) so I'm glad I was able to let you in on that.
Thanks for contributing and being a part of everything here. Never stop!
New Druid Minion - Twilight Runner
Definitely looks like a strong one. All but guaranteed card draw on a decent-sized stick. Gives hope of more varied Druid archetypes instead of just different Spell builds.
New Priest & Warlock Spell - Raise Dead
For (0) mana, that's awfully a lot of value - potentially
New Neutral Minion - Ogremancer
Can't wait to see the Cherubs token it will generates on the Chinese side of HS ^^
New Neutral Minion - Sorcerous Substitute
Dang .. that's a lot of stats for (6) mana ...
I"m kind of scared this will be a little too potent
which deck will you start to play with ?
Probably have to try out Umo Malygos Druid first. If it works, awesome. If it doesn't, I'll probably playtest the new Quest Warlock and a disruption focused Tempo Demon Hunter. I'll also try out Tempo Priest, but it's not as exciting to me.
New Neutral Minion - Steward of Scrolls
Almost forgot about elementals as a tribe altogether. Good to see some more.
Was there any new or refreshed elemental synergy tho ...
New Neutral Minion - Lake Thresher
Will probably see play with Guardian Animals, but that's about it. In fact, without this card, I'm not sure Guardian Animals is playable.
Outside of big beast Hunter/Druid, I don't see this ever being relevant.
New Neutral Minion - Fishy Flyer
4 mana 4/3 is acceptable stats, Kor'kron Elite, warriors 4 mana 4/3 with charge has seen play depending on the meta, usually when warrior is a very aggressive class playing pirates.
And while this murloc can't go face the turn it's played, it's rush is something that murloc decks usually lack - single minion removal. 4 attack is usually enough to chip a taunt in your way and finish it off with a token, or completely remove a taunt if Murloc Warleader is on the field.
What makes this minion even stronger still is the additional 4/3 with rush that it adds to your hand upon death. Not as mana efficient as say Restless Mummy that deals 6 damage for 4 mana, but this minion is still perfect cannon fodder for murloc decks that want to play aggressively (i.e, ALL OF THEM)
Hearthstone Grandmaster Gallon Joins the Final Design Team, Cora Moves Off Battlegrounds to Initial Design
Do you have any info about who exactly decides on the theme of a new set? Do the ideas come from Team 5 or from someone more on top? Maybe even someone who is involved in writing the WoW lore?
New Neutral Minion - Manafeeder Panthara
It is good, but I do think it is a bit slow for Rexxar, as to benefit you'd have to play this on T4 - 3 if you coin - but at the same time, Hunter always struggled with card draw, so this could be a remedy. But overall, decent cost, stat and effect with a beast tag already slapped on, I'm confident this will find its niche.
New Neutral Minion - Fishy Flyer
I love the spectral flavor across the set ; they had an opportunity and didn't missed their chances to make their deathrattle flavorful!
New Neutral Minion - Robes of Protection
Very reminiscent of Living Dragonbreath (providing an effect that has a lot of potential, but will likely only pop up as a tech card for the pros under certain circumstances).
Cool idea and flavor, but I don't know if it will make the cut with the rampant AoE in Hearthstone.
New Neutral Minion - Sneaky Delinquent
I think this Sneaky Delinquent is sneaky good ; 3/1 stealth for (2) mana with a token - in hand - but still, it generates something for you while being a safe play on curve. I don't think it is as bad as some are insinuating in the comment section
Scholomance Academy
Thanks for your reply man!
You gave me/us some insight into the thought process that went into Tavern Crawl. From the outside, it's always easy to judge, but when you are on the inside of things (like you), you sometimes see certain aspects differently because you have more information about what's going on. So your post helped me a lot to understand.
I absolutely agree with you that this community should always stay on the positive side and that it can be hard for newcomers to get into the game. Also what you said about early judgment of the cards, while the rest of the set is unknown, is of course also very true. Nobody - not even the pros - get all their predictions right, but I don't consider those early comments "low quality", as people enjoy discussing and meme-ing the new cards.
"low quality" was meant more in the sense that people would just comment "+1" - basically spam. But I guess, I just assumed the worst in people (it happens...). We will see.
As I said before, I really like this page and the non-toxic community. I even submitted a few ideas for improving this site in the forums a while ago. I just don't want it to become a spam-fest.
New Neutral Minion - Sorcerous Substitute
I am extremely excited for this card because I love making spell damage decks!
I want this to be good enough to bring spell damage decks into the meta, but it might be too slow to fit into spell damage decks (not too slow in that it doesn't have a big enough pay off, but too slow in the same way that Animated Avalanche is generally too slow).
Nevertheless, I am going to be playing with this card a lot throughout this expansion.
New Rogue Spell - Secret Passage
I'm late to the party I know, but I have mixed feelings about this card. On one hand, it's a 1 mana draw 5, which can search for lethal if you really need it to, but on the other hand I personally never saw any success with Myra's Unstable Element so I'm a bit iffy on this one
New Neutral Minion - Sneaky Delinquent
a 2 mana minion with stealth whose death rattle provides another 2 mana minion with stealth.
Rogues stealth package from AoO was pretty good, giving them ways to draw cards or give a minion immune and additional attack to clear a high value target.
Good, but not great, as only the minions that drew cards in the stealth package have seen play in the Galakrond decks.
The deathrattle also doesn't have synergy with most death rattle game plans, where the death rattle leaves minions on the board or deals damage to the opponents health. She might still see play in face hunter decks, however, as 3/1 that can't be targeted with single spell removal can allow for moderate face damage or to clear a small taunt in the way for the rest of your minions
New Neutral Minion - Fishy Flyer
I think this is going to be really strong, but maybe it's too slow as a Murloc?
This might be one of the few Murlocs that makes its way into non-murloc decks because of the rush and deathrattle rush minion to hand.
Might be too slow overall, but a solid neutral rush minion with an additional upside is rarely un-played.
New Hunter Minion - Wolpertinger
Blatant power creep on Alleycat.
Hunter loves 1 mana beasts with an upside, so this is definitely going to see play. The fact that the bunny has devil elements to it is fitting because that's exactly how I think people will feel about this card after a few weeks.
New Mage Spell - Combustion
This card is going to be a staple until it rotates. It's Shadow Bolt with a very strong upside, and it fills a void in Mage's current board control for the early game.
Now that spell damage is being pushed in Mage too, this card is definitely going to be the go-to removal for Mage until this rotates.
It's also nice that it forces board placement thoughts from the opponent.
New Neutral Minion - Divine Rager
Another Rager that will see no play?
Maybe Paladin can make use of this in a divine shield and/or Salhet's Pride deck, but I doubt it will be any good.