Hi RoseMuffins, and welcome to the forum. I think there are lots of discussions here about game balance/region balance, and Shadow Isles does come up regularly (though perhaps these discussions are sprinkled throughout posts rather than in some dedicated balance thread).
FWIW, you'll get more responses to your posts if you actually share your point of view. Whether you meant for this or not, this kind of post ("I have thoughts, but I won't share them until you do") doesn't really invite conversation.
I hated the previous rewards. I always dust my golden cards, so every month was the same 500 dust reward. Which is fine, but incredibly boring. Packs are a lot better because you get more playable cards.
@DecentOfDragonsOP, Overload 2 may be better, but I am not sure. I just think having the ability to deal 4 damage every turn is a lot. I think 3 damage overload 1 is fine. It is a little worse than Lightning Bolt, but as a Hero Power it should be okay.
@Linkblade91, I didn't know Motorcycles were a thing in WoW. I guess the card is fine then.
@TheHoax91, I like A'dal, though I don't really like the Humility Hero Power. I really liked the flavor of the Divine Shield one, but hitting your entire board seems like a lot. I would change the Hero Power to give a single minion Divine Shield. On a more minor note, I would adjust the stats to 3/4 simply because I feel that is more aesthetically pleasing.
@DestroyerR, I like Healing Stasis, but I think it could be worded better. It should say "Change your Hero Power to restore (2) Health to your Hero at the end of your turn. Add an 'End Stasis' to your hand." If you try and put a description of what both the Hero Power and the token do on the card, it isn't going to read very well. I think just putting the name of the token is sufficient, but I am not 100% sure on the correct wording. Lighning Shield is OP and the wording is super weird.
@CapnMunch, In all honesty, this card is really bad. You are spending 10 mana on a vanilla minion, so that later you can Heal yourself while also accelerating fatigue. In the short run, you are gaining life, but in the long run you are ultimately taking more damage. I would reduce the cost of G'huun to either 7 or 8, and maybe change the Hero Power to kill a friendly minion and gain life? I feel like this would have more interesting interactions that removing the top card of your deck.
@anchorm4n, Having played a good bit of Lorewalker Cho, I can say that having this ability as a one-sided effect for the entire game is really powerful. I would increase the cost to 8 mana to compensate for the near-infinite value.
@meisterz39, I like Shadow Mend a lot better than Thunderfury. Though I do think it would make more sense as a Warlock card. You are gaining a lot of immediate power, at the cost of having your life slowly sucked away from your body. One note about the wording, I think the "swap back at 15 or less life" bit should be on the Hero Power instead of the card, or maybe on both.
@shaveyou, I like the change, but I still think 3 mana may be a bit too little. 4 mana would probably be good. Also, you Hero Power costs 2 mana when it is passive, don't forget to fix that.
@Thez, I like it. It is interesting and flexible, but not really OP. It is really creative and interesting, but in a subtle way. Good job.
@grayghost, Pretty neat idea and good flavor. I don't have anything to criticize.
I am also going to re-post my cards here since it seems people didn't notice one of my first ideas.
Do you think Chalice of Rebirth should be Legendary and also buff the Orc? Or should I increase the cost?
Some people were confused as to whether Old-Fashioned Blacksmith was a passive effect, or if I had just forgotten the Battlecry. I want to clarify that it is a passive effect. Once he dies your Hero Power goes back to what it was.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I've received mixed reviews, but I'm going to stick with my card as I find there's some beauty in it's simplicity, even if it doesn't rock the boat all that much.
There were two comments concerning the power level I'll address: Whilst it's true that no one wants to pay (6) for a single 2/2 body, the cost of the spell factors in the existence of Goru the Mightree and the fact that Druids can ramp quite easily. That said, Treant decks aren't exactly top-tier, and this card could be a useful tool in giving the deck some more consistency, so I'll reduce the mana-cost to (3).
Finally, a comment concerning the art as well. Some liked, some didn't. I wanted: a) an image of a Druid midway through a treantsformation (please, don't hurt me) and, b) something that would be Witchwood appropriate. This was the best I could find, even after spending an extra hour this morning scouring the internet. I have however changed the art and name of the Hero Power to be a bit more suitable.
I'll probably submit later in the day. If anyone has any other feedback or noticed that I've missed something obvious, please fire away! My own feedback for the un-submitted is below...
Show Spoiler
Demonxz95: I like the card, it's creative, though I do think it could cost a mana or two more. Nice job!
linkblade91: First off, great competition idea. As for your cards, To the Arena! could be a lot of fun, though I can also see the opposite since you and your opponent might miss out on a lot of useful Battlecries. I don't think it needs fixing since it seems to be more about flavour than anything, and for that alone it has my vote. The other two are both good, but nowhere near as interesting as your main choice :)
inconspicuosaurus: The card isn't bad, but very swing-y. The right Adapt at the right time could mean game over for an opponent, and the wrong one would be very frustrating for you, the player. Also feels like it should be a Hunter card.
menacingbagel: There are many formatting and grammatical errors with this card and it's hero powers. I'd suggest you look at a few examples of other's cards and/or actual Hearthstone cards for an idea of what to do. Ignoring those, you stood by your words. Balance screwed indeed.
KANSAS: Old-Fashioned Blacksmith is a good card, I'm just unsure as to whether it's an aura or you forgot to include the Battlecry?
Tox: The card is a little complicated, but does make sense. I can see it fitting into a casino mage for sure.
shaveyou: Interesting card, although I can't see it being any better than most Warlock board clears. I do like that it can synergise with self-damage cards however, an archetype which I have a soft spot for, so I'd personally score this card well.
meisterz39: For the hero power, Life Tap just says '… take 2 damage', so you needn't specify your hero. As for the card, don't quite understand it. Does the hero power swap back if you couldn't fully heal to more than 15 Health, or does it activate later, once you do go below 15 Health?
Conduit: More Silence Priest, yes please! I like how elegant it is and that it pushes an underused archetype. Good job!
DescentOfDragonsOP: This card is too stronk. The hero power should cost more (3, probably). There should also be a full stop between the card text and Overload, and Hero Power doesn't need a semi-colon after it.
anchorm4n: Either this card should cost more, have a drawback, or needs some way to be stopped. It's a flavourful and fun card, but the ability to copy your opponent's spells with zero drawback would be frustrating as heck to play against.
DestroyerR: Really cool card! Not much to critique, other than that 'Hero' in the text of 'After your Hero…' doesn't need to be capitalised ;)
CapnMunch: I'm not really feeling this card. Aside from a few formatting errors - and the fact that the card doesn't say what the hero power is - I don't see why it's neutral when discard is almost exclusively a Warlock trait. Also, 7/14 with an effect like that is brutal - the stats need to be reduced.
bigcums: Unfortunately neither of these cards strikes me as good. I want to like Iron Wrath, but the effect is too wordy and the condition makes little sense. The Mage card provides far too much tempo. With small spells, it would fill the board and with big spells it would provide a big body. Even in this meta I find that OP.
TheHoax91: How much would A'dal's hero power cost? It's possibly OP, certainly infuriating to play against. Symbiosis is interesting. I like the card, but I'm not sure about forcing both players into it. If it only lasted a few turns and affected just you I think it'd be great.
I"d like to see [Hearthstone Card (new plan!) Not Found] actually crafted. Although the power of it being a cost - 1 would be nerfed quick, great concept though
Exactly. LoR took the last little slice of available market share. Don't think there is any room left for more competition. At this point for any company to even consider a slice of the card game market, they'd have to do not only something TRULY innovating but also blow the other competition out of the water. Something I don't see Artifact doing on either account...
@grayghost39, I think you may need to adjust the costs a bit. "3 mana draw 2" is generally a fair price, and this is more like "5 mana draw 4." Yes, the "end your turn" clause is something of a counter balance, but it's not hard to just use the hero power as your last action on your turn anyway and mitigate that cost. I think I'd rather see the cost increased a bit (maybe to 3 for the base spell) and then drop the "end your turn" bit. In that way, it's balanced against Sprint from a cost perspective, but you get to trade certain efficiencies for "cards over time."
Regarding the art, I think it works but it would be better as something more tavern-centric to fit the broader Hearthstone "meta" nature (e.g. a human and an orc having a beer together). (And I'm not sure an elf bathing would get past Blizzard censors.)
@Thez, I could make it say "Swap your Hero Power to Shadow Drain" in the interest of shrinking the text box a bit, but I used Metamorphosis' text as my baseline for how to template it. The card text says "Deal 5 damage" despite the hero power being called "Demonic Blast," so I opted to print its effect as closely as I could (while keeping text at 4 lines or fewer).
Gives more flexibility with 1 mana and it lets you spend 3 mana for 3 Health if you want to.
Any thoughts?
Feedback:
Show Spoiler
Shaveyou: Interesting, though I'd consider reducing it to 1 damage. Yes, it's a 3 mana Twisting Nether, but you only get the one and are taking damage for the entire remainder of the game for each and every card drawn.
meisterz39: I like it, but shouldn't it say: Swap your Hero Power to Shadow Drain, as that is the name of the Hero Power?
Its shame that missing duplicate rule seems to be disabled, if it would be still on it would guarantee at least 260 dust/pack.
It is not disabled. But it will not work on card you already owned. So if you for example have two Crimson Sigil Runners and you dust them, the game knows, that you owned them and hence they are not missing, ergo they will not be in the next pack.
Totally intended to go with the competition's title. The token is just simply one example of what you can do.
Well, there are a "few" issues:
there is a gazillion of combinations (possile basic hero powers, upgraded hero powers, hero card hero powers, quest hero powers) - roughly 2000 possible combinations, so creating an art for each is nonsense, you need to find a good are for all of them
Some combinations do not make sense (mage + priest)
Do same hero powers double? (for example 2x upgraded hunter deals 6 damage to enemy hero)
How would for example 2x Frost Lich Jaina hero powers work? Deal 2 damage, summon 2 elementals?
What about passive hero powers combined with active one? (Amazing Reno hero power)
etc. etc.
Ooh, and I forgot - read the rules - The Hero Power your card gives you cannot be an existing one
Thanks for the feedback. Based on what I've received, it's a good idea, but exploitable with Supreme Archaeology, because you could play this, followed by Plot and get a 3 mana Twisting Nether with no draw back. So, slight rework to counter/limit that below.
This way, trying to Plot Twist after playing this would be...painful. It can still work with the quest, but requires much more precise timing in order to minimise the damage.
It does look like they're doing a complete overhaul - there's a ton of detail in the last month of news posts. They're removing unit placement RNG, for one. I don't think we can write it off until we see what game emerges from beta.
@TheHoax91: A'dal looks a lot better to me now, this could be very annoying to play against. It's a good thing you've put it behind the Pure Paladin restriction. I must say Symbiosis is even more interesting, though. That's a great example for a highly creative card that doesn't blow up the boundaries of what we're used to (which are my favorite cards in these competitions). Major BUT: Making it change both player's Hero Powers could be too much. There are lots of cards and even decks which are directly countered by your card. Toxic Reinforcements, Activate the Obelisk, Supreme Archaeology, practically almost all the Uldum quests and/or their rewards. I love this effect but you should really restrict it to your own Hero Power.
@DestroyerR: Yeah, 1 Health sounds more fair. It's hard to evaluate because it triggers every turn and that way is of potentially really high value. If you play this on curve you should be able to trigger it at least 5 to 8 times. A priest would have to pay 10 to 16 mana for this. Your new card is very creative, I like the idea.
Thanks to folks for the feedback on Thunderfury. It was kind of a mixed bag, so I'm going to play with some other ideas (might revisit it later). Here's a new idea I worked on this morning:
I had to play around a little with standard templating to make the text fit within four lines. Typically you'd expect the card to include "At the start of your turn" in the hero power description, and you'd expect the damage to be described as "deal 2 damage to your hero," but all of that was impossible to reasonably fit.
However, against certain decks the combo can be unfair and unforgiving.
In fact, that's the point of Fiora and Unyielding Spirit.
By design, these cards have a property I'd call "countermetish". They are gamebreaking if an opponent has no answer to them... but they are not that good if he does. The same deck constructed around Fiora may be great in one meta and awful in another. If it was too easy to answer her, nobody would play Fiora.
On the other hand, I must agree that Unyielding Spirit seems to be available to deploy a bit too early. But I don't think it needs anything else than cost nerf. Heightening it's price even by 1 would give more time to an opponent and burn more resources, giving slightly bigger chance to outspeed the deck. Which is crucial, because if another deck has no direct answer to a buffed unit, it's only way to win is to outspeed.
What you call "countermetish" design, most people would call "bad design." The argument you're presenting for it is basically "this card is only good in certain situations, so the meta game will just balance it out and it won't be oppressively powerful." The problem is that even when a card is not inherently ruining the game by being so OP that it dominates all match-ups and crowds out other strategies, it can still have warping effects on the meta game and make playing the game miserable.
A great example of this comes from Hearthstone. The Caverns Below was not a massively OP card - the win rates for the archetype were only narrowly over 50% - but it created a meta game where match-ups were super polarized. Either you were playing a deck that was good against Quest Rogue, or you weren't, and that was the deciding factor in whether or not you won, not how you played the game. Blizzard tried and failed to balance it multiple times with nerfs.
Feelings on Shadow Isles?
Hi RoseMuffins, and welcome to the forum. I think there are lots of discussions here about game balance/region balance, and Shadow Isles does come up regularly (though perhaps these discussions are sprinkled throughout posts rather than in some dedicated balance thread).
FWIW, you'll get more responses to your posts if you actually share your point of view. Whether you meant for this or not, this kind of post ("I have thoughts, but I won't share them until you do") doesn't really invite conversation.
Anyone else ticked about losing golden epic rewards?
I hated the previous rewards. I always dust my golden cards, so every month was the same 500 dust reward. Which is fine, but incredibly boring. Packs are a lot better because you get more playable cards.
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Some more feedback:
@Linkblade91, I didn't know Motorcycles were a thing in WoW. I guess the card is fine then.
@TheHoax91, I like A'dal, though I don't really like the Humility Hero Power. I really liked the flavor of the Divine Shield one, but hitting your entire board seems like a lot. I would change the Hero Power to give a single minion Divine Shield. On a more minor note, I would adjust the stats to 3/4 simply because I feel that is more aesthetically pleasing.
@DestroyerR, I like Healing Stasis, but I think it could be worded better. It should say "Change your Hero Power to restore (2) Health to your Hero at the end of your turn. Add an 'End Stasis' to your hand." If you try and put a description of what both the Hero Power and the token do on the card, it isn't going to read very well. I think just putting the name of the token is sufficient, but I am not 100% sure on the correct wording. Lighning Shield is OP and the wording is super weird.
@CapnMunch, In all honesty, this card is really bad. You are spending 10 mana on a vanilla minion, so that later you can Heal yourself while also accelerating fatigue. In the short run, you are gaining life, but in the long run you are ultimately taking more damage. I would reduce the cost of G'huun to either 7 or 8, and maybe change the Hero Power to kill a friendly minion and gain life? I feel like this would have more interesting interactions that removing the top card of your deck.
@anchorm4n, Having played a good bit of Lorewalker Cho, I can say that having this ability as a one-sided effect for the entire game is really powerful. I would increase the cost to 8 mana to compensate for the near-infinite value.
@meisterz39, I like Shadow Mend a lot better than Thunderfury. Though I do think it would make more sense as a Warlock card. You are gaining a lot of immediate power, at the cost of having your life slowly sucked away from your body. One note about the wording, I think the "swap back at 15 or less life" bit should be on the Hero Power instead of the card, or maybe on both.
@shaveyou, I like the change, but I still think 3 mana may be a bit too little. 4 mana would probably be good. Also, you Hero Power costs 2 mana when it is passive, don't forget to fix that.
@Thez, I like it. It is interesting and flexible, but not really OP. It is really creative and interesting, but in a subtle way. Good job.
@grayghost, Pretty neat idea and good flavor. I don't have anything to criticize.
I am also going to re-post my cards here since it seems people didn't notice one of my first ideas.
Do you think Chalice of Rebirth should be Legendary and also buff the Orc? Or should I increase the cost?
Some people were confused as to whether Old-Fashioned Blacksmith was a passive effect, or if I had just forgotten the Battlecry. I want to clarify that it is a passive effect. Once he dies your Hero Power goes back to what it was.
[Game] Card Treasure Hunt (The Resurrection Attempt)
Interesting guess, but neither of the above is true.
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I've received mixed reviews, but I'm going to stick with my card as I find there's some beauty in it's simplicity, even if it doesn't rock the boat all that much.
There were two comments concerning the power level I'll address: Whilst it's true that no one wants to pay (6) for a single 2/2 body, the cost of the spell factors in the existence of Goru the Mightree and the fact that Druids can ramp quite easily. That said, Treant decks aren't exactly top-tier, and this card could be a useful tool in giving the deck some more consistency, so I'll reduce the mana-cost to (3).
Finally, a comment concerning the art as well. Some liked, some didn't. I wanted: a) an image of a Druid midway through a treantsformation (please, don't hurt me) and, b) something that would be Witchwood appropriate. This was the best I could find, even after spending an extra hour this morning scouring the internet. I have however changed the art and name of the Hero Power to be a bit more suitable.
I'll probably submit later in the day. If anyone has any other feedback or noticed that I've missed something obvious, please fire away! My own feedback for the un-submitted is below...
Demonxz95: I like the card, it's creative, though I do think it could cost a mana or two more. Nice job!
linkblade91: First off, great competition idea. As for your cards, To the Arena! could be a lot of fun, though I can also see the opposite since you and your opponent might miss out on a lot of useful Battlecries. I don't think it needs fixing since it seems to be more about flavour than anything, and for that alone it has my vote. The other two are both good, but nowhere near as interesting as your main choice :)
inconspicuosaurus: The card isn't bad, but very swing-y. The right Adapt at the right time could mean game over for an opponent, and the wrong one would be very frustrating for you, the player. Also feels like it should be a Hunter card.
menacingbagel: There are many formatting and grammatical errors with this card and it's hero powers. I'd suggest you look at a few examples of other's cards and/or actual Hearthstone cards for an idea of what to do. Ignoring those, you stood by your words. Balance screwed indeed.
KANSAS: Old-Fashioned Blacksmith is a good card, I'm just unsure as to whether it's an aura or you forgot to include the Battlecry?
Tox: The card is a little complicated, but does make sense. I can see it fitting into a casino mage for sure.
shaveyou: Interesting card, although I can't see it being any better than most Warlock board clears. I do like that it can synergise with self-damage cards however, an archetype which I have a soft spot for, so I'd personally score this card well.
meisterz39: For the hero power, Life Tap just says '… take 2 damage', so you needn't specify your hero. As for the card, don't quite understand it. Does the hero power swap back if you couldn't fully heal to more than 15 Health, or does it activate later, once you do go below 15 Health?
Conduit: More Silence Priest, yes please! I like how elegant it is and that it pushes an underused archetype. Good job!
DescentOfDragonsOP: This card is too stronk. The hero power should cost more (3, probably). There should also be a full stop between the card text and Overload, and Hero Power doesn't need a semi-colon after it.
anchorm4n: Either this card should cost more, have a drawback, or needs some way to be stopped. It's a flavourful and fun card, but the ability to copy your opponent's spells with zero drawback would be frustrating as heck to play against.
DestroyerR: Really cool card! Not much to critique, other than that 'Hero' in the text of 'After your Hero…' doesn't need to be capitalised ;)
CapnMunch: I'm not really feeling this card. Aside from a few formatting errors - and the fact that the card doesn't say what the hero power is - I don't see why it's neutral when discard is almost exclusively a Warlock trait. Also, 7/14 with an effect like that is brutal - the stats need to be reduced.
bigcums: Unfortunately neither of these cards strikes me as good. I want to like Iron Wrath, but the effect is too wordy and the condition makes little sense. The Mage card provides far too much tempo. With small spells, it would fill the board and with big spells it would provide a big body. Even in this meta I find that OP.
TheHoax91: How much would A'dal's hero power cost? It's possibly OP, certainly infuriating to play against. Symbiosis is interesting. I like the card, but I'm not sure about forcing both players into it. If it only lasted a few turns and affected just you I think it'd be great.
Card Design Conversation - Chart A Course
I"d like to see [Hearthstone Card (new plan!) Not Found] actually crafted. Although the power of it being a cost - 1 would be nerfed quick, great concept though
Artifact 2.0 Beta Invites Begin Next Week
Exactly. LoR took the last little slice of available market share. Don't think there is any room left for more competition. At this point for any company to even consider a slice of the card game market, they'd have to do not only something TRULY innovating but also blow the other competition out of the water. Something I don't see Artifact doing on either account...
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
@grayghost39, I think you may need to adjust the costs a bit. "3 mana draw 2" is generally a fair price, and this is more like "5 mana draw 4." Yes, the "end your turn" clause is something of a counter balance, but it's not hard to just use the hero power as your last action on your turn anyway and mitigate that cost. I think I'd rather see the cost increased a bit (maybe to 3 for the base spell) and then drop the "end your turn" bit. In that way, it's balanced against Sprint from a cost perspective, but you get to trade certain efficiencies for "cards over time."
Regarding the art, I think it works but it would be better as something more tavern-centric to fit the broader Hearthstone "meta" nature (e.g. a human and an orc having a beer together). (And I'm not sure an elf bathing would get past Blizzard censors.)
We're Getting a Faerie Dragon Card Back in September - Concept Card Back Art Stream Recap
I had always thought that these card backs were similar to the art on the cards like MTG: a full size piece of art that was shrunk down to fit scale.
Watch Hearthstone's September Ranked Card Back Get Designed Live! Day 1 - The Concept
Pretty damned interesting.
Hearthstone Patch 17.2.1 Now Live - 8 Cards Available For Full Dust Refund
Already had someone drop a torrent for 1 on my kill condition thanks to Zephyrs...
Last Chance for a Free Warlock Hero Nemsy Necrofizzle - No Fireside Gatherings Required
I would like to see some of the other hero skins become available like this one was.
Hearthstone Grandmasters 2020 Season 1 - Week 5 Recap
I want to try the mage and priest decks
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
@Thez, I could make it say "Swap your Hero Power to Shadow Drain" in the interest of shrinking the text box a bit, but I used Metamorphosis' text as my baseline for how to template it. The card text says "Deal 5 damage" despite the hero power being called "Demonic Blast," so I opted to print its effect as closely as I could (while keeping text at 4 lines or fewer).
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Buffed Pure Libram Paladin
I don't have Shotbot as I didn't get the adventure. Is Micro Mummy a good replacement?
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Gives more flexibility with 1 mana and it lets you spend 3 mana for 3 Health if you want to.
Any thoughts?
Feedback:
Shaveyou: Interesting, though I'd consider reducing it to 1 damage. Yes, it's a 3 mana Twisting Nether, but you only get the one and are taking damage for the entire remainder of the game for each and every card drawn.
meisterz39: I like it, but shouldn't it say: Swap your Hero Power to Shadow Drain, as that is the name of the Hero Power?
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
@shaveyou - your passive hero power shouldn't have a cost associated with it
Hearthstone Patch 17.2.1 Now Live - 8 Cards Available For Full Dust Refund
It is not disabled. But it will not work on card you already owned. So if you for example have two Crimson Sigil Runners and you dust them, the game knows, that you owned them and hence they are not missing, ergo they will not be in the next pack.
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Well, there are a "few" issues:
Ooh, and I forgot - read the rules - The Hero Power your card gives you cannot be an existing one
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Thanks for the feedback. Based on what I've received, it's a good idea, but exploitable with Supreme Archaeology, because you could play this, followed by Plot and get a 3 mana Twisting Nether with no draw back. So, slight rework to counter/limit that below.
This way, trying to Plot Twist after playing this would be...painful. It can still work with the quest, but requires much more precise timing in order to minimise the damage.
Original in the spoiler:
Artifact 2.0 Beta Invites Begin Next Week
It does look like they're doing a complete overhaul - there's a ton of detail in the last month of news posts. They're removing unit placement RNG, for one. I don't think we can write it off until we see what game emerges from beta.
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Thanks for the feedback so far!
@TheHoax91: A'dal looks a lot better to me now, this could be very annoying to play against. It's a good thing you've put it behind the Pure Paladin restriction. I must say Symbiosis is even more interesting, though. That's a great example for a highly creative card that doesn't blow up the boundaries of what we're used to (which are my favorite cards in these competitions). Major BUT: Making it change both player's Hero Powers could be too much. There are lots of cards and even decks which are directly countered by your card. Toxic Reinforcements, Activate the Obelisk, Supreme Archaeology, practically almost all the Uldum quests and/or their rewards. I love this effect but you should really restrict it to your own Hero Power.
@DestroyerR: Yeah, 1 Health sounds more fair. It's hard to evaluate because it triggers every turn and that way is of potentially really high value. If you play this on curve you should be able to trigger it at least 5 to 8 times. A priest would have to pay 10 to 16 mana for this. Your new card is very creative, I like the idea.
By Your Powers Combined - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Thanks to folks for the feedback on Thunderfury. It was kind of a mixed bag, so I'm going to play with some other ideas (might revisit it later). Here's a new idea I worked on this morning:
I had to play around a little with standard templating to make the text fit within four lines. Typically you'd expect the card to include "At the start of your turn" in the hero power description, and you'd expect the damage to be described as "deal 2 damage to your hero," but all of that was impossible to reasonably fit.
Fiora + Unyielding Spirit is BS.
What you call "countermetish" design, most people would call "bad design." The argument you're presenting for it is basically "this card is only good in certain situations, so the meta game will just balance it out and it won't be oppressively powerful." The problem is that even when a card is not inherently ruining the game by being so OP that it dominates all match-ups and crowds out other strategies, it can still have warping effects on the meta game and make playing the game miserable.
A great example of this comes from Hearthstone. The Caverns Below was not a massively OP card - the win rates for the archetype were only narrowly over 50% - but it created a meta game where match-ups were super polarized. Either you were playing a deck that was good against Quest Rogue, or you weren't, and that was the deciding factor in whether or not you won, not how you played the game. Blizzard tried and failed to balance it multiple times with nerfs.