I'm so glad they did this, and very glad with how happy the community is about it. I wouldn't mind seeing them revamp 1 or 2 classes each expansion (not just rotation). Warrior next please!
Any permanent Attack upgrade to your hero active during your opponent's turn is an automatically irredeemably unacceptable no matter how you design it. It's pretty much an unwritten rule of custom Hearthstone. If for some reason, you really want Attack added to your hero active on your opponent's turn, it needs to temporary in some form.
The basic Hero Power seems way too complicated anyway, and I'd highly suggest a complete overhaul of it.
The rotating hero power mechanic is the fundamental core of this design and I really wanted to pursue that - it was the very starting foundation for this class/set of cards. I like the gameplay dynamic of having to constantly predict possible outcomes based on probability and alter the plays based on the result.
As for the clarity of the mechanic, it works just like Dr. Boom, so yeah it is random. Might be ambiguous initially, true but the same can be said about many mechanics in Hearthstone (some truly wacky cards out there), including Dr. Boom. You have to play the card at least once to understand how it works, there are no tooltips that explain how creating a beast for the DK Hunter works, etc.
I don't want the hero power to fundamentally always swap to the same one, by design it is supposed to be random. Then again, I wanted to have a card that allows one to manipulate that randomness if they so wish - one of the cards in the set swaps the hero power. This somewhat manipulates the randomness. There is also a card that changes the random order to a persistent one that can be predicted, allowing for player actions that can be planned accordingly.
The current balance of the permanent upgrade might need tweaking but I would really want to playtest it and iterate it further - the player fantasy of slowly upgrading your hero to be more powerful, much like in deck builders such as Dream Quest/Slay the Spire is very intriguing to me and I really want to explore it further. Sometimes it is better to pursue what you describe as 'unacceptable' design, even bad one, initially, to end up with the design after playtesting that you would otherwise not have come up with.
I tried two decks with Keal'thas Sunrider, one was very similar to this and ran a bunch of jade stuff. The other one which I thought was a bit better also ran Jade Idol so that you could go infinite and would never fatigue, but the main win condition was using spells like Starfire, Swipe, and Ultimate Infestation alongside some other smaller damaging things and a LOT of draw to play your entire deck in one turn and just kill your opponent with that.
I am not very serious about climbing and grinding, but with the new ranked system plus the new demon hunter class who, in my opinion, has the best 1,000 wins portrait of any hero I might start grinding out ladder games more intently.
Would Brann make the battlecry double to make it dormant for 4 turns? Or once its dormant, would the second Battlecry fizzle?
I think the second Battlecry would just cancel out the first and it will only end up dormant for two turns. Think of it like doubling Keeper of Uldaman's Battlecry. It wouldn't make the minion a 6/6, but rather a 3/3 twice.
I agree with ShadowOfSense that this is a positive change. If they kept the face damage then they wouldn't be able to give it the damage buff and make it a playable card. If it could it face then it would have just been stuck between a rock and a hard place because it doesn't deal enough damage to be worth playing, but then if it did do enough damage to be worth playing then it might be too powerful as an OTK tool, but it wasn't ever going to be used as an OTK tool because there isn't a good way to set up an OTK, but we aren't going to have any good ways to set up an OTK because then it might end up being abused with cards like Holy Smite. In short, it was bad, but they couldn't make it good because then it would be too good in a way that isn't fun. So it just ends up being a waste of a card. Now it is playable and fair and I like it.
If there is a world where priest is being pushed to be more tempo oriented then the above cards checks out and will work very well...but only if there's something on board. Just about all the minions above work to sustain an existing board and its only unfortunate that they also fail miserably once they lose it. Compared with paladin, who also has many cards that works to sustain a board by buffing and generating, priest doesnt current have any ways of generating wide boards, or in fact, generate board at all aside from the one minion played per turn. Couple this with the fact that priest no longer draws well anymore, if they start losing tempo I'm afraid there's no real way for them to build it back up again.
Both Northshire Cleric and Acolyte of Pain rotating also creates another problem by affecting the bread and butter of a possible tempo priest; Northshire Cleric into Injured Tol'vir, into Injured Blademaster + Circle of Healing. They may be uncomfortably moved towards playing Thoughtsteal unironically, which really sums up why I think tempo priest just simply cant exist without massive support. They need a card like Underbelly Angler (maybe generate more dragons in their hands, fingers crossed), or it will simply not work since they will run out of steam turn 5 period.
The problem of tech cards is that they're good only in some matchups and useless most of the times.
You can argue that every deck runs minions with less than 4 attack, but not every minion is worth a slot in your deck. Moreover, you'd add Shadow Madness in order to hope to get that matchup, to hope for your opponent to play [Hearthstone Card (Zixor, Apex Predatore) Not Found] but to not kill it, to hope to have SM in your hand for that moment and to use it to kill Zixor with another one that you opponent might or might not have on the board. Those are a lot of ifs man.
I get what you're trying to say and why you're saying it, but I think that the only one that will really benefit from this buff will be Zephrys the Great.
Hey, new mage archetype! This card looks very promising, any card that can remove a minion and get you a minion on the field is worth considering. Obviously this card isn't very good on its own, but I am under the impression that this archetype will be getting a lot more support this expansion. At least two other cards that either say "no minions" or just really really want you to have a lot of spells.
Eh, unless this manages to stay alive for a few turns alongside some Sorcerer Apprentices or you happen to have two Cabal Lackeys in your hand then I just don't see you getting enough value from the card for it to be worth it. Mage secrets are just too expensive.
Something to add: A possible reason to carry Shadow Madness in the next expansion.
Most of the deathrattle cards that add a "Legendary PRIME" from the upcoming expansion can be stolen by the new, slimmer Shadow Madness, which historically shines against deathrattles (often in Hearthstone 3 attack or less) as you get the result if you kill the minion you briefly stole.
A very nice card that is flexible and powerful. I like legendaries like this where they are really useful to have, but you don't need to craft them to be able to play a deck.
I like how this card can be used in so many ways. You can protect a minion to set up for a combo, you can use it to bypass a taunt and get lethal, you can use it to remove any enchantments, or you can just use it to as a double freeze. This is definitely a card I will end up crafting.
I was hoping for more ways to obtain gold/dust. Or if they increased the chance of getting a epic/legendary from packs, or ia revamp to the dusting system to make it more forgiving.
It is not that I am not pleased with the protection, I was just hoping for something more useful.
Nearly all the deathrattle "get a superOMGWTFBBQ prime shuffled into deck" can be stolen by Priest using Cabal Shadow Priest or the new, slimmer mana Shadow Madness. And Teron Gorefiend too.
Hope for control players still, but a lot of aggressive/tempo so far (as of 3/21).
The thing is, new Holy Smite is a much better Control tool. Losing the ability to target face is tiny in the face of a full extra point of damage, in my opinion.
I like that they've made it a much better card, and also killed off another avenue for annoying combo plays.
Apexis Blast is a new Mage Spell Revealed for Hearthstone's Ashes of Outland Expansion
More stuff for Albatross to tech against. Muahahahaha.
Test DH
Daily golden Kappa check
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
I'm so glad they did this, and very glad with how happy the community is about it. I wouldn't mind seeing them revamp 1 or 2 classes each expansion (not just rotation). Warrior next please!
Apexis Blast is a new Mage Spell Revealed for Hearthstone's Ashes of Outland Expansion
Blizz going for a viable spell mage? I'm all for it but I don't think this is happening before next expansion.
Introducing the Death Knight: A new Hearthstone class!
The rotating hero power mechanic is the fundamental core of this design and I really wanted to pursue that - it was the very starting foundation for this class/set of cards. I like the gameplay dynamic of having to constantly predict possible outcomes based on probability and alter the plays based on the result.
As for the clarity of the mechanic, it works just like Dr. Boom, so yeah it is random. Might be ambiguous initially, true but the same can be said about many mechanics in Hearthstone (some truly wacky cards out there), including Dr. Boom. You have to play the card at least once to understand how it works, there are no tooltips that explain how creating a beast for the DK Hunter works, etc.
I don't want the hero power to fundamentally always swap to the same one, by design it is supposed to be random. Then again, I wanted to have a card that allows one to manipulate that randomness if they so wish - one of the cards in the set swaps the hero power. This somewhat manipulates the randomness. There is also a card that changes the random order to a persistent one that can be predicted, allowing for player actions that can be planned accordingly.
The current balance of the permanent upgrade might need tweaking but I would really want to playtest it and iterate it further - the player fantasy of slowly upgrading your hero to be more powerful, much like in deck builders such as Dream Quest/Slay the Spire is very intriguing to me and I really want to explore it further. Sometimes it is better to pursue what you describe as 'unacceptable' design, even bad one, initially, to end up with the design after playtesting that you would otherwise not have come up with.
Quest Jade?
I tried two decks with Keal'thas Sunrider, one was very similar to this and ran a bunch of jade stuff. The other one which I thought was a bit better also ran Jade Idol so that you could go infinite and would never fatigue, but the main win condition was using spells like Starfire, Swipe, and Ultimate Infestation alongside some other smaller damaging things and a LOT of draw to play your entire deck in one turn and just kill your opponent with that.
Golden Hero Portrait - Completionist & Grind
I am not very serious about climbing and grinding, but with the new ranked system plus the new demon hunter class who, in my opinion, has the best 1,000 wins portrait of any hero I might start grinding out ladder games more intently.
New Neutral Minion - Maiev Shadowsong
I think the second Battlecry would just cancel out the first and it will only end up dormant for two turns. Think of it like doubling Keeper of Uldaman's Battlecry. It wouldn't make the minion a 6/6, but rather a 3/3 twice.
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
I agree with ShadowOfSense that this is a positive change. If they kept the face damage then they wouldn't be able to give it the damage buff and make it a playable card. If it could it face then it would have just been stuck between a rock and a hard place because it doesn't deal enough damage to be worth playing, but then if it did do enough damage to be worth playing then it might be too powerful as an OTK tool, but it wasn't ever going to be used as an OTK tool because there isn't a good way to set up an OTK, but we aren't going to have any good ways to set up an OTK because then it might end up being abused with cards like Holy Smite. In short, it was bad, but they couldn't make it good because then it would be too good in a way that isn't fun. So it just ends up being a waste of a card. Now it is playable and fair and I like it.
New Hunter Minion - Zixor, Apex Predator
Fine, unlike MOST other Prime generators. My point still stands.
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
Imagine stealing Teron Gorefiend with it
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
If there is a world where priest is being pushed to be more tempo oriented then the above cards checks out and will work very well...but only if there's something on board. Just about all the minions above work to sustain an existing board and its only unfortunate that they also fail miserably once they lose it. Compared with paladin, who also has many cards that works to sustain a board by buffing and generating, priest doesnt current have any ways of generating wide boards, or in fact, generate board at all aside from the one minion played per turn. Couple this with the fact that priest no longer draws well anymore, if they start losing tempo I'm afraid there's no real way for them to build it back up again.
Both Northshire Cleric and Acolyte of Pain rotating also creates another problem by affecting the bread and butter of a possible tempo priest; Northshire Cleric into Injured Tol'vir, into Injured Blademaster + Circle of Healing. They may be uncomfortably moved towards playing Thoughtsteal unironically, which really sums up why I think tempo priest just simply cant exist without massive support. They need a card like Underbelly Angler (maybe generate more dragons in their hands, fingers crossed), or it will simply not work since they will run out of steam turn 5 period.
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
The problem of tech cards is that they're good only in some matchups and useless most of the times.
You can argue that every deck runs minions with less than 4 attack, but not every minion is worth a slot in your deck.
Moreover, you'd add Shadow Madness in order to hope to get that matchup, to hope for your opponent to play [Hearthstone Card (Zixor, Apex Predatore) Not Found] but to not kill it, to hope to have SM in your hand for that moment and to use it to kill Zixor with another one that you opponent might or might not have on the board. Those are a lot of ifs man.
I get what you're trying to say and why you're saying it, but I think that the only one that will really benefit from this buff will be Zephrys the Great.
New Neutral Minion - Maiev Shadowsong
Kind of funny that Illidan would run Maiev
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
* Hats Off * Congratulations on your first official Article <3
New Mage Spell - Apexis Blast
Hey, new mage archetype! This card looks very promising, any card that can remove a minion and get you a minion on the field is worth considering. Obviously this card isn't very good on its own, but I am under the impression that this archetype will be getting a lot more support this expansion. At least two other cards that either say "no minions" or just really really want you to have a lot of spells.
New Neutral Minion - Maiev Shadowsong
Would Brann make the battlecry double to make it dormant for 4 turns? Or once its dormant, would the second battlecry fizzle?
New Mage Minion - Apexis Smuggler
Eh, unless this manages to stay alive for a few turns alongside some Sorcerer Apprentices or you happen to have two Cabal Lackeys in your hand then I just don't see you getting enough value from the card for it to be worth it. Mage secrets are just too expensive.
Hall of Fame Crafting Guide for Hearthstone's Year of the Phoenix Rotation & Ashes of Outland Expansion
The basic priest cards should turn into common cards when they rotate. So you will be able to disenchant the golden versions for a total of 200 dust.
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
Something to add: A possible reason to carry Shadow Madness in the next expansion.
Most of the deathrattle cards that add a "Legendary PRIME" from the upcoming expansion can be stolen by the new, slimmer Shadow Madness, which historically shines against deathrattles (often in Hearthstone 3 attack or less) as you get the result if you kill the minion you briefly stole.
So hey, let's thank our Hunters for giving Priest decks Zixor, Apex Predator in upcoming games (and Zixor Prime).
New Neutral Minion - Maiev Shadowsong
A very nice card that is flexible and powerful. I like legendaries like this where they are really useful to have, but you don't need to craft them to be able to play a deck.
I like how this card can be used in so many ways. You can protect a minion to set up for a combo, you can use it to bypass a taunt and get lethal, you can use it to remove any enchantments, or you can just use it to as a double freeze. This is definitely a card I will end up crafting.
Ashes of Outland has a Legendary Quest Chain for its Launch - Earn 6 Card Packs, 3 for Outland!
I was hoping for more ways to obtain gold/dust. Or if they increased the chance of getting a epic/legendary from packs, or ia revamp to the dusting system to make it more forgiving.
It is not that I am not pleased with the protection, I was just hoping for something more useful.
Ashes of Outland
Nearly all the deathrattle "get a superOMGWTFBBQ prime shuffled into deck" can be stolen by Priest using Cabal Shadow Priest or the new, slimmer mana Shadow Madness. And Teron Gorefiend too.
Hope for control players still, but a lot of aggressive/tempo so far (as of 3/21).
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
Whoops, totally missed that!
Thanks, it's actually my first article on this forum, so I'm very glad to read your words ^^
Priest is Getting an Overhaul! An Analytical Dive into the New and Changed Cards
The thing is, new Holy Smite is a much better Control tool. Losing the ability to target face is tiny in the face of a full extra point of damage, in my opinion.
I like that they've made it a much better card, and also killed off another avenue for annoying combo plays.