Some quite familiar decks are in this meta. Highlander Hunter, Face Hunter, Evolve Shaman, Highlander Mage, Enrage Warrior, Zoo Warlock, Galakrond Rogue - all from the Year of the Dragon. Outside of Spell Druid and Demon Hunter, no groundbreaking new archetypes. The only thing players miss about Year of the Raven is Zilliax. Shows the huge power difference between last year and the one before.
And I'm very surprised that Galakrond Priest is finally a top meta deck. It was dismissed as terrible for almost the entirety of Descent of Dragons.
At this rate nothing is new, ever. Zoolock existed since lauch, higlanders and galakrond decks will be there until Zephris/Dragon queen and Galkrond will be out, and so on.
But you have to see beyond this, Egg warrior is really a new deck, using mechanics that are very different than what we had with Galakrond warrior before Ashes of outland came out.
Highlander mage is now very different, Luna and Luna's pocket galaxy going to wild really changed the flavour of the deck.
Galakrond rogue is now played with secrets (in its best version imho) and no longer has Leeroy jenkins. It's a totally different deck.
And you could talk about all the archetypes that disappeared : mech pal, mech control warrior, quest hunter, embiggen druid...
Honestly the game is vastly different than what it was before rotation.
A new idea to round out my trifecta! My favourite is probably Manastorm, but feedback on all three would be greatly appreciated! I'll try and give some of my own in a couple hours :)
Here's my thoughts @Conduit
Manastorm - Honestly, I love it, but I do think in order to fit the flavor, it should be "At the end of your turn, your opponent casts random spells equal to the amount you cast this turn." You could possibly keep the original mana and cost that way which i highly recommend seeing Blizzard attempts to keep original cards in mind when making copy cards (i.e. Reno and Relicologist Reno, Ragnaros and Lightlord Rag, Ysera and Unleashed Ysera, Alex and DQ Alex, etc. Not all remakes are the same like Elise and Brann, but they keep a close connection to their originals).
Gruul - It's a really weak tech card. The flavor fits, but a 7 mana 6/8 with a minimum upside is just bad in normal gameplay.
Goya - I don't know if this was said earlier, but the card is kinda pointless. The +1/+1 on Jade Golems is already a common occurrence and by the time you play this card you already have 2/2s or 3/3s in Jades and 5/5s for the next leave no heavy impact. If you are playing Jade, you are focused on late game value where stats don't matter and the big body itself is the win condition. Your opponent doesn't care if it's a 10/10 or 11/11, they know they are either dying to it, or trading to stay alive another turn. If the +1/+1 difference ever came into play, you've probably gotten terrible jade draw and too late to pull a comeback as a result.
edit: I accidentally read Gruul as a 6/6, but if it's a 6/8, I still don't think the payoff for a technical benefit is worth it.
The Rise of Shadows era Conjurer Mage. Bad mojo all around when your opponent is dropping an 8/8 on turn 4, you're not able to deal with it, them getting a free trade, and then Khadgar into CC into a board fully of 7/8 taunts.
I don't think I'll ever be as sexually gratified as I was one time watching a mage Book of Specters into Conjurer's Calling, Conjurer's Calling, Power of Creation, then instantly concede.
Don't know about anyone else, but when it comes to the finals I basically always give out 5-stars or 1-star. 5-stars for the card I want to win, and 1-star for everyone else. At that point we're looking for a sole winner, so I give the card I want to win the maximum chance of victory. This is especially true if I'm one of the finalists: frankly, how else should I vote? I would be shooting myself in the foot and jeopardizing my chances to win by giving someone else more than 1-star. I don't do this during the regular voting period, but I absolutely do so if I'm in the finals.
On a side note, we (the moderators) have been discussing the possibility of removing the ability to vote for finalists if you yourself are a finalist. That would remove the situation I just described, wherein the meta way to "play the game" is to vote 5-stars for yourself and 1-star to everyone else.
I guess I'm an exception then. I'll generally keep to my standard voting style in finals, which results in not giving any 1's out, since cards that have made it that far should be correct, playable, and not hopelessly broken. Incendiary Chicken did earn a rare (for a finalist) 2, just because I felt it was significantly weaker than the competition.
Even when I'm in the final, I stick to my rating system, which generally means I will vote other people higher than my own. If they made a better card, they deserve a higher vote. I've just got to hope enough people disagree with me.
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
I'm gonna say this now, I swear this card has been made but for Warrior and I think either Regis or Trump reviewed it as well. The text and idea of the card look way too similar. I don't have the time atm to check which video it was in, but from what it looks like, it's just a copy paste for Demon Hunter which I find really infuriating. Again, I may be wrong, but I'm certain this card with the exact wording has been made and it's just submitted for the Demon Hunter class instead.
I know Kael'thas has only been out for a bit, but his smile made me think of Corrupted minds so much this art just screamed "Freeze you to death". The card bascially is a mage exclusive Kael'thas that forces you to have previous setup in order for their to be a benefit. The only 0 cost spell with Freeze is Freezing Potion, and running 2 potions for this seems like a stretch. Thoughts?
And it's a Knights of the Frozen Throne card, so it would technically exist before the original Kael'thas (although I know most people don't use watermarks that way).
As for the card, I like the idea of a Freeze Mage card that actually does something different than just "stall, stall, stall". Its combo potential is maybe, slightly scary though.
Isn't Hench-Clan Thug better than Dragonhawk Rider? It deals damage slightly slower, but the Windfury is less good in DH because they don't have buffs and the scaling health makes it a bit harder to clear.
Alternatively, Vicious Fledgling is probably more effective as well. It can give itself permanent Windfury and also protect itself better.
A new idea to round out my trifecta! My favourite is probably Manastorm, but feedback on all three would be greatly appreciated! I'll try and give some of my own in a couple hours :)
I know Kael'thas has only been out for a bit, but his smile made me think of Corrupted minds so much this art just screamed "Freeze you to death". The card bascially is a mage exclusive Kael'thas that forces you to have previous setup in order for their to be a benefit. The only 0 cost spell with Freeze is Freezing Potion, and running 2 potions for this seems like a stretch. Thoughts?
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
It's not really a good idea for a class card to be a very specific tech option
I mean, if the opponent has no dragons it's still a 7 mana 8/8. I feel like DH would be happy with that worst case anyway. But regardless, if you take this in the context of an Ashes of Outland card, which comes at a point when almost every class except DH is playing dragons in some form, I feel it is fine.
I didn't really mean from a balance standpoint, but rather from a card design standpoint. By making a tech card a class card, it's taking up a class card slot, when that slot could instead be used for general or archetype support for that class. You're also only giving that one class an out in the event that Dragon decks do become a part of the meta. Imagine if they made an anti-Secret card for a class instead of making it Neutral? It would make no sense to put it there.
That and also what happens when Year of the Dragon rotates out, and we didn't get many more Dragons this year? Exactly.
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
It's not really a good idea for a class card to be a very specific tech option
I mean, if the opponent has no dragons it's still a 7 mana 8/8. I feel like DH would be happy with that worst case anyway. But regardless, if you take this in the context of an Ashes of Outland card, which comes at a point when almost every class except DH is playing dragons in some form, I feel it is fine.
I'm sure there will be many Gruul cards, so I'm probably gonna lab up some other stuff, but here's what I've got for now. Is it too simple for a Legendary?
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
It's not really a good idea for a class card to be a very specific tech option
Everyone else is going for incredible lore related characters, while my mind went to revamp trash meme legendaries!
I'm not overly happy with either, and I'll probably come up with something completely different overnight, but for now... thoughts? Cards are based (loosely!) on Sergeant Sally and Nexus-Champion Saraad.
Feedback! (Take with a large dollop of salt. I'm fairly certain I fluked my way into winning previously)
Xarkkal - Nice DR hunter finisher. It's a archetype I really enjoy, and this would fit nicely. It's not too strong, but would work with a deck built around it, exactly how a legendary should be. My only concern would be this idea has come up twice in the first 4/5 posts, and may struggle to stand out. Out of the two, I prefer this, but it will probably suffer the same way the Rogue "go dormant" secrets suffered.
anchorm4n - See Shadows comments regarding this activating itself for lethal loops with several different minions. I don't think she overlaps Teron enough to make it redundant, but featuring in the same set might be a little much. My main concern would be this idea has come up twice in the first 4/5 posts, and may struggle to stand out. It will probably suffer the same way the Rogue "go dormant" secrets suffered.
Demonxz95 - The card that would push Thief Rogue into the meta. Maybe. One of the main drawbacks of Thief rogue has been getting lumbered with expensive cards that aren't really worth the mana cost, so they just sit in hand. Admittedly, this is less so now a lot of the thief cards are discover, rather than pure random, but it can still be a problem. My main concern is the number of cards that can push this from "really good in the right deck" to "horrible cheesy unfun way to lose. You flagged Antonidas, but imagine getting an Evocation with this? There's other problematic cards, that aren't so powerful, but cards like Cabalists Tome or Devour Mind might even feel like too much. I really like the idea, but it might be a little too problematic. Maybe first card? Or costs 1, that way multiple cards can be prepped or coined out, but you couldn't pull a ridiculous swing turn.
Linkblade91 - Love it. Flavour is there and would add something massive to an archetype that is already looking like it's going to be forgotten. I really don't have much to add.
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
Some quite familiar decks are in this meta. Highlander Hunter, Face Hunter, Evolve Shaman, Highlander Mage, Enrage Warrior, Zoo Warlock, Galakrond Rogue - all from the Year of the Dragon. Outside of Spell Druid and Demon Hunter, no groundbreaking new archetypes. The only thing players miss about Year of the Raven is Zilliax. Shows the huge power difference between last year and the one before.
And I'm very surprised that Galakrond Priest is finally a top meta deck. It was dismissed as terrible for almost the entirety of Descent of Dragons.
Do tri-class cards count? Also, any other feedback on this would be nice. :)
We're fine with Tri-class cards, as they are technically class cards despite their Neutral coloring and location in your Collection. Slight bending of the prompt's intent, maybe, but still within the barriers of the competition.
As for feedback, wouldn't you accomplish something similar by just summoning another Jade? This is technically worse than that, because you don't gain another body like you do with Aya Blackpaw. The flavor overlap is significant, as well, considering there already is a Tri-class card focusing on Jades.
The idea would be to use him in a Plot Twist / Fel Lord Betrug Deck to shuffle more Legendaries into your deck. It can also take enemy Legendaries, which I think would be fun. It could also be used to double up on Late game win conditions like N'Zoth.
Did Riot Just Leak the Next Legends of Runeterra Region and Two New Champions?
I’ve been playing it on iPhone all week. I’m enjoying it but I’m not really sure which direction I should be going..or deck building.
Did Riot Just Leak the Next Legends of Runeterra Region and Two New Champions?
Have they come forward and talked about their general design philosophy for adding regions? Will every expansion come with a region?
Standard Meta Report #32 - Top Hearthstone Decks April 26, 2020 - May 3, 2020
At this rate nothing is new, ever. Zoolock existed since lauch, higlanders and galakrond decks will be there until Zephris/Dragon queen and Galkrond will be out, and so on.
But you have to see beyond this, Egg warrior is really a new deck, using mechanics that are very different than what we had with Galakrond warrior before Ashes of outland came out.
Highlander mage is now very different, Luna and Luna's pocket galaxy going to wild really changed the flavour of the deck.
Galakrond rogue is now played with secrets (in its best version imho) and no longer has Leeroy jenkins. It's a totally different deck.
And you could talk about all the archetypes that disappeared : mech pal, mech control warrior, quest hunter, embiggen druid...
Honestly the game is vastly different than what it was before rotation.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I personally enjoy the 2 mana 4/4, but I think you'll need more opinions than just my biased one
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Alright, I'm just gonna hone in on these two, thanks @Pokeniner!
Which one do you guys like better? I honestly cannot decide, I really like both.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Here's my thoughts @Conduit
Manastorm - Honestly, I love it, but I do think in order to fit the flavor, it should be "At the end of your turn, your opponent casts random spells equal to the amount you cast this turn." You could possibly keep the original mana and cost that way which i highly recommend seeing Blizzard attempts to keep original cards in mind when making copy cards (i.e. Reno and Relicologist Reno, Ragnaros and Lightlord Rag, Ysera and Unleashed Ysera, Alex and DQ Alex, etc. Not all remakes are the same like Elise and Brann, but they keep a close connection to their originals).
Gruul - It's a really weak tech card. The flavor fits, but a 7 mana 6/8 with a minimum upside is just bad in normal gameplay.
Goya - I don't know if this was said earlier, but the card is kinda pointless. The +1/+1 on Jade Golems is already a common occurrence and by the time you play this card you already have 2/2s or 3/3s in Jades and 5/5s for the next leave no heavy impact. If you are playing Jade, you are focused on late game value where stats don't matter and the big body itself is the win condition. Your opponent doesn't care if it's a 10/10 or 11/11, they know they are either dying to it, or trading to stay alive another turn. If the +1/+1 difference ever came into play, you've probably gotten terrible jade draw and too late to pull a comeback as a result.
edit: I accidentally read Gruul as a 6/6, but if it's a 6/8, I still don't think the payoff for a technical benefit is worth it.
What is your most unreasonable dislike of a deck?
The Rise of Shadows era Conjurer Mage. Bad mojo all around when your opponent is dropping an 8/8 on turn 4, you're not able to deal with it, them getting a free trade, and then Khadgar into CC into a board fully of 7/8 taunts.
I don't think I'll ever be as sexually gratified as I was one time watching a mage Book of Specters into Conjurer's Calling, Conjurer's Calling, Power of Creation, then instantly concede.
Archaeological Deck - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I guess I'm an exception then. I'll generally keep to my standard voting style in finals, which results in not giving any 1's out, since cards that have made it that far should be correct, playable, and not hopelessly broken. Incendiary Chicken did earn a rare (for a finalist) 2, just because I felt it was significantly weaker than the competition.
Even when I'm in the final, I stick to my rating system, which generally means I will vote other people higher than my own. If they made a better card, they deserve a higher vote. I've just got to hope enough people disagree with me.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I'm gonna say this now, I swear this card has been made but for Warrior and I think either Regis or Trump reviewed it as well. The text and idea of the card look way too similar. I don't have the time atm to check which video it was in, but from what it looks like, it's just a copy paste for Demon Hunter which I find really infuriating. Again, I may be wrong, but I'm certain this card with the exact wording has been made and it's just submitted for the Demon Hunter class instead.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
And it's a Knights of the Frozen Throne card, so it would technically exist before the original Kael'thas (although I know most people don't use watermarks that way).
As for the card, I like the idea of a Freeze Mage card that actually does something different than just "stall, stall, stall". Its combo potential is maybe, slightly scary though.
Super Aggro Odd DH
Isn't Hench-Clan Thug better than Dragonhawk Rider? It deals damage slightly slower, but the Windfury is less good in DH because they don't have buffs and the scaling health makes it a bit harder to clear.
Alternatively, Vicious Fledgling is probably more effective as well. It can give itself permanent Windfury and also protect itself better.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
A new idea to round out my trifecta! My favourite is probably Manastorm, but feedback on all three would be greatly appreciated! I'll try and give some of my own in a couple hours :)
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I know Kael'thas has only been out for a bit, but his smile made me think of Corrupted minds so much this art just screamed "Freeze you to death". The card bascially is a mage exclusive Kael'thas that forces you to have previous setup in order for their to be a benefit. The only 0 cost spell with Freeze is Freezing Potion, and running 2 potions for this seems like a stretch. Thoughts?
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I didn't really mean from a balance standpoint, but rather from a card design standpoint. By making a tech card a class card, it's taking up a class card slot, when that slot could instead be used for general or archetype support for that class. You're also only giving that one class an out in the event that Dragon decks do become a part of the meta. Imagine if they made an anti-Secret card for a class instead of making it Neutral? It would make no sense to put it there.
That and also what happens when Year of the Dragon rotates out, and we didn't get many more Dragons this year? Exactly.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I mean, if the opponent has no dragons it's still a 7 mana 8/8. I feel like DH would be happy with that worst case anyway. But regardless, if you take this in the context of an Ashes of Outland card, which comes at a point when almost every class except DH is playing dragons in some form, I feel it is fine.
Were expedition drops nerfed?
Ok thank you for the info. I don't think it is worth it to purchase the expedition with shards anymore. I will make an analysis on this and post it.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I'm sure there will be many Gruul cards, so I'm probably gonna lab up some other stuff, but here's what I've got for now. Is it too simple for a Legendary?
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
It's not really a good idea for a class card to be a very specific tech option
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Everyone else is going for incredible lore related characters, while my mind went to revamp trash meme legendaries!
I'm not overly happy with either, and I'll probably come up with something completely different overnight, but for now... thoughts? Cards are based (loosely!) on Sergeant Sally and Nexus-Champion Saraad.
Feedback! (Take with a large dollop of salt. I'm fairly certain I fluked my way into winning previously)
Xarkkal - Nice DR hunter finisher. It's a archetype I really enjoy, and this would fit nicely. It's not too strong, but would work with a deck built around it, exactly how a legendary should be. My only concern would be this idea has come up twice in the first 4/5 posts, and may struggle to stand out. Out of the two, I prefer this, but it will probably suffer the same way the Rogue "go dormant" secrets suffered.
anchorm4n - See Shadows comments regarding this activating itself for lethal loops with several different minions. I don't think she overlaps Teron enough to make it redundant, but featuring in the same set might be a little much. My main concern would be this idea has come up twice in the first 4/5 posts, and may struggle to stand out. It will probably suffer the same way the Rogue "go dormant" secrets suffered.
Demonxz95 - The card that would push Thief Rogue into the meta. Maybe. One of the main drawbacks of Thief rogue has been getting lumbered with expensive cards that aren't really worth the mana cost, so they just sit in hand. Admittedly, this is less so now a lot of the thief cards are discover, rather than pure random, but it can still be a problem. My main concern is the number of cards that can push this from "really good in the right deck" to "horrible cheesy unfun way to lose. You flagged Antonidas, but imagine getting an Evocation with this? There's other problematic cards, that aren't so powerful, but cards like Cabalists Tome or Devour Mind might even feel like too much. I really like the idea, but it might be a little too problematic. Maybe first card? Or costs 1, that way multiple cards can be prepped or coined out, but you couldn't pull a ridiculous swing turn.
Linkblade91 - Love it. Flavour is there and would add something massive to an archetype that is already looking like it's going to be forgotten. I really don't have much to add.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
highlander support hoop de doo! Definitely not my final print but just kind of wanted to get the first Brightwing.
Standard Meta Report #32 - Top Hearthstone Decks April 26, 2020 - May 3, 2020
Some quite familiar decks are in this meta. Highlander Hunter, Face Hunter, Evolve Shaman, Highlander Mage, Enrage Warrior, Zoo Warlock, Galakrond Rogue - all from the Year of the Dragon. Outside of Spell Druid and Demon Hunter, no groundbreaking new archetypes. The only thing players miss about Year of the Raven is Zilliax. Shows the huge power difference between last year and the one before.
And I'm very surprised that Galakrond Priest is finally a top meta deck. It was dismissed as terrible for almost the entirety of Descent of Dragons.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
We're fine with Tri-class cards, as they are technically class cards despite their Neutral coloring and location in your Collection. Slight bending of the prompt's intent, maybe, but still within the barriers of the competition.
As for feedback, wouldn't you accomplish something similar by just summoning another Jade? This is technically worse than that, because you don't gain another body like you do with Aya Blackpaw. The flavor overlap is significant, as well, considering there already is a Tri-class card focusing on Jades.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
This is my idea:
The idea would be to use him in a Plot Twist / Fel Lord Betrug Deck to shuffle more Legendaries into your deck. It can also take enemy Legendaries, which I think would be fun. It could also be used to double up on Late game win conditions like N'Zoth.
Classically Trained - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Do tri-class cards count? Also, any other feedback on this would be nice. :)