You need at least 1 merchant and Kronx/Galakrond to start the fire.
You need some luck as always. Because every deck contains some key card and the odds of the draws are the same for everybody.
Also, it's really important to invoke faster as you can to discard full upgraded galakrond asap.
I usually play very conservative, I spam doomsayer and barrels in early game to dodge some damage.
I played combo decks for a long time. The most important thing is to survive as long as you can pull out the combo. And to do so, you need to master the list and some luck.
1) I did confirm that the card you're looking for is indeed a Mech.
2) "Creature" doesn't necessarily mean some creepy crawly. I just needed something to rhyme with "feature". So, what's confirmed so far is that this female minion has the same stats (mana, attack, and health) as the Mech with no face and makes an appearance in an Adventure.
3) Yes, it does have an interaction with other minions.
If it helps, this is the original two lines I had before I finalized the riddle that doesn't mention the female at all:
My power is one of a kind among all these creatures,
What? You think I'm ugly?! I don't even have facial features.
anyone having problems with this weeks tavern brawl?
I lost against Sir Finnley because Reno buffed my opponents minion twice in a row. I am supposed to get a second chance against aviator Bob but every time i enter the mulligan phase, the game crashes.
I haven’t tried this on PC yet but right now i‘m unable to play the brawl since i get reconnected to the same match every time...
The Class is infamous for relying too much on current Expansions and having no real win-condition. I, like probably most of the Priest players, would love to see a big overhaul of their base Cards to change that. And seeing Things like this thread are great for this! It can give the Devs some more Insight on what the Players think about a class as well as give some new Ideas, so thank you.
That being said, I don't like this overhaul overall, but there are some changes I completely agree with. Here are some of my thoughts/questions about this:
Prophet Velen: Why remove him? Cards you've added/changed are reason enough to keep him around. Penance alone would be „2 Mana deal 6 to a Minion and gain 12 Health" and this version of Holy Fire would be a „deal 10, heal 20". I see no reason to replace him with a Legendary that has, at best, a mediocre effect compared to him.
The whole Barrier-Thing: Remember Ice Block? It allows Mage to win games they shouldn't have and straight up kills Combo-Decks. So why give Priest, a Class that can (unlike Mage) heal out of Lethal range, 2 Versions of it? Someone before commented that this effect would be healthier if it was restricted to Minions only, and I agree with that.
Battle Medic/Inner Fire and Divine Spirit: I personally think it's in the wrong Class. Tempo-Priest was a Meme up until SoU, and without Inner Fire it's not even that. Speaking of: As much as I hate Inner Fire/Divine Spirit, I have to admit that these 2 Cards give the whole Healthbuffing Priest has a Payoff. I'd rather see Inner Fire being changed or replaced by another Payoff than ditching both Cards.
Meeting of Minds and Prosper in Peace: Straight up busted. Madame Lazul might not be great, but I don't think you should give Priest a permanent Card like this. And the other Card is just to good of a draw in a Class that is supposed to have limited Draw (I can get behind the Idea of HoF'ing Cleric).
Changes I like: adding more heal to the base sets (Holy Alignment would be a great Card), giving Priest a better AoE and changing Auchenai Soulpriest for Embrace the Shadow. Oh, and getting rid of Inner Fire. I know I said it already, but really, I hate this Card!
Since the card name also mentions Lackey.. Is this guy also a Lackey? If yes, can you get it via "add a random Lackey to your hand" cards? I know that keyword Lackey says that it is 1 mana 1/1 card with battle cry, but.. And yes, I know that [Hearthstone Card (Kabal Lackey/card] and [Hearthstone Card (Possesed Lackey) Not Found] exist, and they are not considered as Lackeys:)
They are "solo only": you can get them only if you buy the adventure; therefore, without purchasing Galakrond's Awakening you won't be able to craft them as well (as long as they remain in Standard Mode).
Edit: didn't see someone else answered, and better then me too.
Wargear? It has the same stats as Elise (Un’goro version), is triggered by “standing beside” a Mech (Magnetic) and its attack line has “overdrive” in it
Meeting of minds is straight up busted. It essentially allows you complete information of your opponent's hand AND your choice of a card.
Information of your opponent's hand is a bit overrated as a mechanic. Madame Lazul never saw any play, and she has a very similar effect also attached to a 3/2 body for only 1 more mana. I don't think being able to run a second copy makes it hugely better, and that's basically what this is. Not even any board presence as Lazul does.
Madame Lazul is currently unplayed simply because she has anti-synergy with Resurrection Priest, which has been the only viable Priest archetype for ages now. Not because she's not worth it.
Meeting of Minds is pretty OP as already said. This is way better than Madame Lazul because not only do you see entire hand and not only 3 cards, but you also get to pick from the whole selection. You can easilly pick the best card in hand and have exact info about the stage of the game at the moment.
Imho it needs to cost at least 3,more so since it is a basic card.
Other cards seem like an interesting direction for priest. Tho i dont like removal of Auchenai, too iconic and Embrace is in no way a suitable replacement for what it provided, it wasnt only the CoH combo, but a decent 4-drop and the potential to control the board with her, which ironically, is the direction you want to go in 🙂
Also Mass Hysteria in Classic is a bit too much lol.
I agree that Madame Lazul have been hyped to high heaven as was Chameleos. But in both instance, they only allowed a glimpse, not the entire hand. I think its fair to say that being able to switch gears or strats mid game is not to be underestimated.
I would also argue that the reason both are not as popular is because priest does not have a proper mid range deck that could use a value generator (not to mention information of the opponent's hand). We've seen this in spiteful priest, where one of the best card (aside from Spiteful Summoner herself) was Drakonid Operative and not always because of the 5/6 body.
Also, this not only provides information, but it allows you your choice of a card. Its not even random. Essentially it means I will almost always have my opponent's hero card, or finisher, or at very worst a tech card or spell. In most mid-range and control games, this may well be the decider where games go from then. (As a spiteful priest player myself, I can't say how many countless times games was decided by merely discovering dk guldan off drakonid)
Meeting of minds is straight up busted. It essentially allows you complete information of your opponent's hand AND your choice of a card.
Information of your opponent's hand is a bit overrated as a mechanic. Madame Lazul never saw any play, and she has a very similar effect also attached to a 3/2 body for only 1 more mana. I don't think being able to run a second copy makes it hugely better, and that's basically what this is. Not even any board presence as Lazul does.
I really like your design about healing and protecting (so far, played Priest cards are always about Shadow, Madness and Necroing... to the point i absolutely dislike the class), and I absolutely love Faol being there (although i think he should either cost (7) or have 9/10 health).
The only thing i deem to be out of place is the new Vision card: showing full hand is too much, and visually complicated. [i](from up to 4 cards)[/i] should be added to the text.
Most of the other cards are great, although maybe the protecting cards need some testing to be properly valued about their cost.
I like the cards, but I think we can straight up ditch the 'copy X card from your opponent' mechanic. Its just one too many for a basic set.
A few observations;
Meeting of minds is straight up busted. It essentially allows you complete information of your opponent's hand AND your choice of a card.
Prosper in peace is interesting and kinda a nice spin, but since its condition for draw affects both sides, it punishes your opponent for having a board, making this almost broken in both aggro and control decks (essentially any deck). I would either raise its mana cost to 4-5, or straight up only allow draws on characters on your side, not the opponents.
I'm a little torn over the barrier concept. Its very powerful, almost close to ice block levels of denial but without the 2 card restriction per deck. And this applies to both face and minions. I think restricting this to minions is a better idea.
I really like the battle medic, to be honest, and hope to see it one day in standard for priest.
I've been seeing alot of comparisons with Vilespine Slayer but heres some differences to consider;
- Vilespine Slayer destroy the minion. Aeon Reaver merely deals damage to it. Means it can't go through divine shields.
- Aeon Reaver deals damage equal to the target's damage. It is therefore not a guaranteed kill. Most pro players generally believe health to be better than damage and therefore more cards in standard decks generally reflect that. Its worth noting that most taunts do not have more damage than health. So as a tempo tool, this can sometimes be a whiff
- Priest decks are usually combo or control. The closest priest deck that isn't that, is spiteful priest. This would fit rightly inside that. But aside from that, you'd have to go back to year 1 of hearthstone to find anything remotely close to a midrange or aggro deck (with more than 50% win rate). Aeon Reaver is more a tempo card, since priest often have better control options for removal than this.
Given that there's quite a lot of tempo tools provided to priest I think this is the direction team5 wants priest to go into. Probably as a prelude to HoF-ming Divine Spirit come Apr 2020.
Recently, over on our Discord we had a discussion about the Priest class, and how its Basic and Classic sets just kind of suck. It's even been mentioned by the Devs before that 'fixing' the Priest class may involve an overhaul of their Basic and Classic sets, rather than just some balance tweaks.
This is my take on that overhaul.
I wasn't sure how to format this at first, but I think I'll tackle this in three parts: first, I'll show you the cards that I'll be removing completely from the Basic and Classic sets, with reasoning; second, I'll show off my revised Basic set and walk you through the changes; third, I'll show you my revised Classic set, also walking you through the changes.
For some card replacements, I created entirely new cards; some cards have instead been plucked from previous expansions.
Part 1: Those We Left Behind
Cards Removed From The Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
Now, a lot of people are going to look at that list and scream "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" - which, first of all, rude, and second of all, fair. There's a lot of tried and true Priest cards on that list, many of which people don't really complain about. I'll go through them one by one.
Radiance - This is a bad card. An aggressively bad card. Priests do not need this aggressively bad card. They need a better card.
Northshire Cleric - The Cleric is a strong, strong card. It's one of the last unnerfed powerful 1-drops from the early days of Hearthstone. I don't want to take this card away from Wild players by nerfing it, which is what I would do were I to keep it. I'm introducing a different kind of draw card that plays more into the style of gameplay I want to encourage from Priest - a style of gameplay that I fear would allow an unnerfed Cleric to be too strong.
Mind Vision - I'm replacing this with a different card that I think can be expanded upon better. This is a fairly bad card - and to be honest, so is the replacement - but that's ok. I just want a different bad card in its place.
Holy Smite - Not a fan of positioning Priest as a spell-burst combo class. Play with that in Wild; this Priest is doing something different.
Divine Spirit - Haha this would be kind of nuts with some of the stuff I'm giving them. As one half of one of the most tired combos in the game, this card can go.
Holy Nova - This is a bad board clear. They deserve a better one, and they don't need this one sitting there looking ass.
Inner Fire - Oh hey, the other half of the combo! This card can also leave, thank you. Attack buffing is not something I think Priest should have - I'd rather they just get minions with some more Attack than rely on cards like this.
Lightspawn - It just doesn't really fit the theme much anymore. I could honestly have kept it, and it was touch and go for a while, but in the end I decided to include more changes.
Lightwell - Bad card, didn't want it in my set, simple as that.
Auchenai Soulpriest - I don't like that this is a permanent shift as long as she remains on the board. I've replaced it with a different card which grants the effect for a turn, so the combo with Circle of Healing remains, but I just prefer it not be on a body like this.
Shadowform - It's just a bad card. I'm sorry. I want it to work too, but I'm not buffing it or putting synergy for it in Basic or Classic, so it can leave.
Mindgames - Bad, weird card. We have plenty of representation of their thieving abilities, we can do better than this.
Prophet Velen - Hot take: I removed a bunch of the direct face damaging cards (and Blizzard already started this by chucking Mind Blast) so the original point of Velen is kind of lost in this new redesign. Tear up Wild with your combo decks, but he's not needed here anymore.
Part 2: Back to Basics
The New and Improved Basic Set
While you look at that, I suppose I should explain my vision for the Priest Class. I imagine a Priest Class who is the king of the board - they have big minions which they can beef up or protect, which they then use to knock out your minions and slowly chip away at your health. They can also get tricksy, stealing or outright destroying their enemy's minions. This is not a class of waiting to draw into your combo pieces - it's a class of outliving and outlasting the opponent, of answering their threats and whittling them down.
Now, some card explanations!
Holy Alignment- Oh look! A replacement for Holy Smite! This one doesn't do face damage, but offers the versatility of healing a friendly minion by a small amount if that is needed to help a favourable trade.
Power Word: Shield - Strong card, follows what I want from the class. I see this as an absolute win.
Battle Medic - A Vanilla 2/4 for (2)? Blasphemy! This is the sort of card I think Priest can safely have when they're not hampered by silly things like Divine Spirit or Inner Fire. Is this strictly better than Nat, the Darkfisher? Yes. Do I care? No.
Meeting of Minds - Remember that Mind Vision replacement I talked about? Uh… here. I don't think this is particularly good, but it shows a mechanical idea - of gaining knowledge from the opponent directly, of choosing cards to take - that I'd quite like to see more of.
Prosper in Peace- It's Reverse Battle Rage! Priest needed some more card draw since I denied them Northshire Cleric, and this feels appropriate for what I want their gameplan to be. Stay healthy, get wealthy!
Power Word: Barrier- Ah, a new(ish) mechanic! Being able to reduce the damage dealt to their minions (and even themselves) feels very appropriately Priest. In some cases, it might simply work like a single-turn Immunity for the characters that it covers, which is why this is costed so conservatively - it could save a large board for you to swing with.
Soul Survivor - Another reliable minion that Priest can get when not hampered by the dreaded combo. This is actually weaker than Ancient of War, but I think given the class tools available to Priest, and of course the rarity difference, the difference in mana costs is appropriate.
Mind Control - It's Mind Control. It's iconic. It's not always very good, but it sets the stage for similar effects.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Balance changes - Meeting of Minds increased to (3), from (2); Prosper in Peace increased to (5), from (3); Power Word: Barrier decreased to (6), from (7), and now only affects friendly minions instead of characters.
Part 3: Classical Conditioning
The New and Improved Classic Set
Circle of Healing - A strong card by itself which also has combo potential. Works well with the plan to overwhelm on board by sheer bulk.
Silence - Strong tech card on occasion. Leads into later silence-related gameplay well.
Penance - Our first borrowed card. This is a simple, strong piece of minion control that I think would be well-suited to the Classic set. Not much more to say, beyond mentioning that I think including things like Lifesteal or Discover in the Classic set is fine - we already have Poisonous.
Thoughtsteal - Is it good? Not really. Does it represent a mechanic I like and would enjoy seeing more of in future expansions? Absolutely. Not every card needs to be a 10/10 hit.
Darkshire Alchemist - Strong single target heal. Again, it can be comboed to deal damage, but in general it just works with my outlasting gameplay I want to encourage.
Temple Enforcer - Simple health buff. Not too strong, but reliable and emblematic of something I want to see.
Barrier Priest - An expansion on the Barrier concept. Can be used to potentially save a single minion for a turn; to defend your hero in a pinch; or to hide behind a Taunt in the hopes of no targeted removal. I even let it target enemy characters for some sort of nonsense - make 'em overdraw a ton with their Acolyte of Pain or something =P
Mass Dispel - Solid area silence. Little bit of additional draw. Nothing fancy, but a solid card.
Shadow Madness - An expansion on the stealing concept that works quite nicely, I feel. Didn't see a need to remove it, but not one I'm particularly attached to either.
Mass Hysteria - The replacement for Holy Nova, so that Priest doesn't need to keep getting strong board clear after strong board clear. Plays well with the idea that you would have high Health minions. I changed the art because it felt quite expansion-specific, but really it doesn't need it.
Holy Fire - Technically a small buff here, but I figured if we were adding Penance we may as well. A little bit of reach or some more minion damage, as needed.
Embrace the Shadow - Combo time! This feels much better as a Classic card than Auchenai Soulpriest to me. It's more obviously a combo piece, rather than a weird inbetween, and its lower cost allows you more flexibility in how you play afterwards.
Holy Guardian - Strong Health gaining target, like a reverse Holy Champion. As I said, I prefer Health buffs than Attack buffs in Priest, which is why I made this card instead of just taking Champion in. Could maybe use a numbers tweak, but the overall design is one I'm pleased with.
Cabal Shadow Priest - More stealing, more fun! Solid card with an interesting effect to get players excited to pull of a weird play with it.
Alonsus Faol - I thought long and hard about the Legendary to include in the Classic set. It needed to be something that was 'game-ending' - something that represented a power-spike when it entered, rather than a combo piece or simple good card. I almost went with Catrina Muerte, to give Resurrect some representation in basically its most balanced card, but the flavour isn't quite right. No other existing cards felt right, so I had to make one up; using a prominent lore character, we get an extremely strong heal which can allow you to wipe a board favourably and then remain completely healthy afterwards. Not your traditional game-ender, but then, Priest isn't trying to win in a traditional way.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Balance changes - Barrier Priest can now only target minions instead of characters.
I for one am glad to finally see priest get a proactive tempo card for once. More of this please! Seems like a solid card even with no further support. This is a lot like a Vilespine Slayer, removal on a stick at an affordable price. This will definitely see play in standard at some point, and it probably will see play in wild as well. It's not just good tempo, it's a form of single target removal that plays around a lot of the counters to single-target removal, like secrets and the evasive non-keyword.
Edit: regarding the whole tempo/control debate: a card that generates tempo can still be good in a control deck. If you can remove a big threat and make a mid-sized dude in the process on turn six that means you can probably spend a small amount of resources to control the board on the subsequent turn. Most control decks don't have the removal to clear every single board, they have to force their opponent to overcommit in order to use their mass-removal cards efficiently. Also, having several different options to take care of different types of boards is generally a boon to the control archetype, CF control warrior all of last year. Aeon Reaver can reset a board for a turn so you can save that Mass Hysteria for an even more threatening board. It can punish a player for not committing heavily enough or only playing one big minion by creating a huge tempo swing.
Not to mention, a lot of aggro decks in particular are terrible at swinging back tempo in their favour. If you do manage to bully them off the board with a mass-removal, they will often only be able to play one thing per turn, making a two-for-one tempo swing with a card like Aeon Reaver very powerful as a followup to a board clear.
Four New Cards Revealed From Galakrond's Awakening Including a Neutral Legendary Lackey Synergy!
No, you can only disenchant/craft the cards from the wings you bought. You can buy the adventure with money or gold.
Aeon Reaver
Could be very good, especially if Priest gets a little more dragon support.
INFINITE GALAKROND OMG!!!
You need at least 1 merchant and Kronx/Galakrond to start the fire.
You need some luck as always. Because every deck contains some key card and the odds of the draws are the same for everybody.
Also, it's really important to invoke faster as you can to discard full upgraded galakrond asap.
I usually play very conservative, I spam doomsayer and barrels in early game to dodge some damage.
I played combo decks for a long time. The most important thing is to survive as long as you can pull out the combo. And to do so, you need to master the list and some luck.
Aviator Bob crashes the game
I've got this crash on my iOS devices. Solution is simple - hit settings and concede before crash (there is enough time for it) and play from pc.
[79% WR] Giant Galakrond Rogue
Deck title:
[79% WR] Giant Galakrond Rogue
Actual winrate based on HSReplay.Net:
51,1%
Four New Cards Revealed From Galakrond's Awakening Including a Neutral Legendary Lackey Synergy!
Hi Cap, will cards be really craftable even if you don't buy the adventure? I heard quite opposite.
[Game] Card Treasure Hunt (The Resurrection Attempt)
[EDIT] Where did anchorm4n's post go?
No to Wargear or Zilliax.
1) I did confirm that the card you're looking for is indeed a Mech.
2) "Creature" doesn't necessarily mean some creepy crawly. I just needed something to rhyme with "feature". So, what's confirmed so far is that this female minion has the same stats (mana, attack, and health) as the Mech with no face and makes an appearance in an Adventure.
3) Yes, it does have an interaction with other minions.
If it helps, this is the original two lines I had before I finalized the riddle that doesn't mention the female at all:
My power is one of a kind among all these creatures,
What? You think I'm ugly?! I don't even have facial features.
Aviator Bob crashes the game
Hi folks,
anyone having problems with this weeks tavern brawl?
I lost against Sir Finnley because Reno buffed my opponents minion twice in a row. I am supposed to get a second chance against aviator Bob but every time i enter the mulligan phase, the game crashes.
I haven’t tried this on PC yet but right now i‘m unable to play the brawl since i get reconnected to the same match every time...
Any suggestions?
New Druid Minion - Winged Guardian
Embiggen, Oondasta and Witching Hour! Looking forward to this card:)
New Paladin Spell - Air Raid
It feels meh. I can't think of any use in standard. In wild, maybe in even paladin.
New Priest Minion - Aeon Reaver
It is a common card that can remove deathwing or giant and leave 4/4 on board for 6 mana. Situational, but me like.
A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
Ok, so Priest-Main here.
The Class is infamous for relying too much on current Expansions and having no real win-condition. I, like probably most of the Priest players, would love to see a big overhaul of their base Cards to change that. And seeing Things like this thread are great for this! It can give the Devs some more Insight on what the Players think about a class as well as give some new Ideas, so thank you.
That being said, I don't like this overhaul overall, but there are some changes I completely agree with. Here are some of my thoughts/questions about this:
Prophet Velen: Why remove him? Cards you've added/changed are reason enough to keep him around. Penance alone would be „2 Mana deal 6 to a Minion and gain 12 Health" and this version of Holy Fire would be a „deal 10, heal 20". I see no reason to replace him with a Legendary that has, at best, a mediocre effect compared to him.
The whole Barrier-Thing: Remember Ice Block? It allows Mage to win games they shouldn't have and straight up kills Combo-Decks. So why give Priest, a Class that can (unlike Mage) heal out of Lethal range, 2 Versions of it? Someone before commented that this effect would be healthier if it was restricted to Minions only, and I agree with that.
Battle Medic/Inner Fire and Divine Spirit: I personally think it's in the wrong Class. Tempo-Priest was a Meme up until SoU, and without Inner Fire it's not even that. Speaking of: As much as I hate Inner Fire/Divine Spirit, I have to admit that these 2 Cards give the whole Healthbuffing Priest has a Payoff. I'd rather see Inner Fire being changed or replaced by another Payoff than ditching both Cards.
Meeting of Minds and Prosper in Peace: Straight up busted. Madame Lazul might not be great, but I don't think you should give Priest a permanent Card like this. And the other Card is just to good of a draw in a Class that is supposed to have limited Draw (I can get behind the Idea of HoF'ing Cleric).
Changes I like: adding more heal to the base sets (Holy Alignment would be a great Card), giving Priest a better AoE and changing Auchenai Soulpriest for Embrace the Shadow. Oh, and getting rid of Inner Fire. I know I said it already, but really, I hate this Card!
New Neutral Minion - Grand Lackey Erkh
Since the card name also mentions Lackey.. Is this guy also a Lackey? If yes, can you get it via "add a random Lackey to your hand" cards? I know that keyword Lackey says that it is 1 mana 1/1 card with battle cry, but.. And yes, I know that [Hearthstone Card (Kabal Lackey/card] and [Hearthstone Card (Possesed Lackey) Not Found] exist, and they are not considered as Lackeys:)
) Not Found]Four New Cards Revealed From Galakrond's Awakening Including a Neutral Legendary Lackey Synergy!
They are "solo only": you can get them only if you buy the adventure; therefore, without purchasing Galakrond's Awakening you won't be able to craft them as well (as long as they remain in Standard Mode).
Edit: didn't see someone else answered, and better then me too.
[Game] Card Treasure Hunt (The Resurrection Attempt)
Wargear? It has the same stats as Elise (Un’goro version), is triggered by “standing beside” a Mech (Magnetic) and its attack line has “overdrive” in it
A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
Curious Glimmerroot used to have its place in Reno Priest.
Madame Lazul is currently unplayed simply because she has anti-synergy with Resurrection Priest, which has been the only viable Priest archetype for ages now. Not because she's not worth it.
Quest Trading - Play A Friend!
Battletag: Lallygag#2631
Region: Eu
Trade Only?: Yes, you go first
A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
Meeting of Minds is pretty OP as already said. This is way better than Madame Lazul because not only do you see entire hand and not only 3 cards, but you also get to pick from the whole selection. You can easilly pick the best card in hand and have exact info about the stage of the game at the moment.
Imho it needs to cost at least 3,more so since it is a basic card.
Other cards seem like an interesting direction for priest. Tho i dont like removal of Auchenai, too iconic and Embrace is in no way a suitable replacement for what it provided, it wasnt only the CoH combo, but a decent 4-drop and the potential to control the board with her, which ironically, is the direction you want to go in 🙂
Also Mass Hysteria in Classic is a bit too much lol.
A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
I agree that Madame Lazul have been hyped to high heaven as was Chameleos. But in both instance, they only allowed a glimpse, not the entire hand. I think its fair to say that being able to switch gears or strats mid game is not to be underestimated.
I would also argue that the reason both are not as popular is because priest does not have a proper mid range deck that could use a value generator (not to mention information of the opponent's hand). We've seen this in spiteful priest, where one of the best card (aside from Spiteful Summoner herself) was Drakonid Operative and not always because of the 5/6 body.
Also, this not only provides information, but it allows you your choice of a card. Its not even random. Essentially it means I will almost always have my opponent's hero card, or finisher, or at very worst a tech card or spell. In most mid-range and control games, this may well be the decider where games go from then. (As a spiteful priest player myself, I can't say how many countless times games was decided by merely discovering dk guldan off drakonid)
A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
Information of your opponent's hand is a bit overrated as a mechanic. Madame Lazul never saw any play, and she has a very similar effect also attached to a 3/2 body for only 1 more mana. I don't think being able to run a second copy makes it hugely better, and that's basically what this is. Not even any board presence as Lazul does.
Card is fine in my opinion.
A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
I really like your design about healing and protecting (so far, played Priest cards are always about Shadow, Madness and Necroing... to the point i absolutely dislike the class), and I absolutely love Faol being there (although i think he should either cost (7) or have 9/10 health).
The only thing i deem to be out of place is the new Vision card: showing full hand is too much, and visually complicated. [i](from up to 4 cards)[/i] should be added to the text.
Most of the other cards are great, although maybe the protecting cards need some testing to be properly valued about their cost.
A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
I like the cards, but I think we can straight up ditch the 'copy X card from your opponent' mechanic. Its just one too many for a basic set.
A few observations;
Meeting of minds is straight up busted. It essentially allows you complete information of your opponent's hand AND your choice of a card.
Prosper in peace is interesting and kinda a nice spin, but since its condition for draw affects both sides, it punishes your opponent for having a board, making this almost broken in both aggro and control decks (essentially any deck). I would either raise its mana cost to 4-5, or straight up only allow draws on characters on your side, not the opponents.
I'm a little torn over the barrier concept. Its very powerful, almost close to ice block levels of denial but without the 2 card restriction per deck. And this applies to both face and minions. I think restricting this to minions is a better idea.
I really like the battle medic, to be honest, and hope to see it one day in standard for priest.
New Priest Minion - Aeon Reaver
I've been seeing alot of comparisons with Vilespine Slayer but heres some differences to consider;
- Vilespine Slayer destroy the minion. Aeon Reaver merely deals damage to it. Means it can't go through divine shields.
- Aeon Reaver deals damage equal to the target's damage. It is therefore not a guaranteed kill. Most pro players generally believe health to be better than damage and therefore more cards in standard decks generally reflect that. Its worth noting that most taunts do not have more damage than health. So as a tempo tool, this can sometimes be a whiff
- Priest decks are usually combo or control. The closest priest deck that isn't that, is spiteful priest. This would fit rightly inside that. But aside from that, you'd have to go back to year 1 of hearthstone to find anything remotely close to a midrange or aggro deck (with more than 50% win rate). Aeon Reaver is more a tempo card, since priest often have better control options for removal than this.
Given that there's quite a lot of tempo tools provided to priest I think this is the direction team5 wants priest to go into. Probably as a prelude to HoF-ming Divine Spirit come Apr 2020.
A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
Hello!
Recently, over on our Discord we had a discussion about the Priest class, and how its Basic and Classic sets just kind of suck. It's even been mentioned by the Devs before that 'fixing' the Priest class may involve an overhaul of their Basic and Classic sets, rather than just some balance tweaks.
This is my take on that overhaul.
I wasn't sure how to format this at first, but I think I'll tackle this in three parts: first, I'll show you the cards that I'll be removing completely from the Basic and Classic sets, with reasoning; second, I'll show off my revised Basic set and walk you through the changes; third, I'll show you my revised Classic set, also walking you through the changes.
For some card replacements, I created entirely new cards; some cards have instead been plucked from previous expansions.
Part 1: Those We Left Behind
Now, a lot of people are going to look at that list and scream "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" - which, first of all, rude, and second of all, fair. There's a lot of tried and true Priest cards on that list, many of which people don't really complain about. I'll go through them one by one.
Radiance - This is a bad card. An aggressively bad card. Priests do not need this aggressively bad card. They need a better card.
Northshire Cleric - The Cleric is a strong, strong card. It's one of the last unnerfed powerful 1-drops from the early days of Hearthstone. I don't want to take this card away from Wild players by nerfing it, which is what I would do were I to keep it. I'm introducing a different kind of draw card that plays more into the style of gameplay I want to encourage from Priest - a style of gameplay that I fear would allow an unnerfed Cleric to be too strong.
Mind Vision - I'm replacing this with a different card that I think can be expanded upon better. This is a fairly bad card - and to be honest, so is the replacement - but that's ok. I just want a different bad card in its place.
Holy Smite - Not a fan of positioning Priest as a spell-burst combo class. Play with that in Wild; this Priest is doing something different.
Divine Spirit - Haha this would be kind of nuts with some of the stuff I'm giving them. As one half of one of the most tired combos in the game, this card can go.
Holy Nova - This is a bad board clear. They deserve a better one, and they don't need this one sitting there looking ass.
Inner Fire - Oh hey, the other half of the combo! This card can also leave, thank you. Attack buffing is not something I think Priest should have - I'd rather they just get minions with some more Attack than rely on cards like this.
Lightspawn - It just doesn't really fit the theme much anymore. I could honestly have kept it, and it was touch and go for a while, but in the end I decided to include more changes.
Lightwell - Bad card, didn't want it in my set, simple as that.
Auchenai Soulpriest - I don't like that this is a permanent shift as long as she remains on the board. I've replaced it with a different card which grants the effect for a turn, so the combo with Circle of Healing remains, but I just prefer it not be on a body like this.
Shadowform - It's just a bad card. I'm sorry. I want it to work too, but I'm not buffing it or putting synergy for it in Basic or Classic, so it can leave.
Mindgames - Bad, weird card. We have plenty of representation of their thieving abilities, we can do better than this.
Prophet Velen - Hot take: I removed a bunch of the direct face damaging cards (and Blizzard already started this by chucking Mind Blast) so the original point of Velen is kind of lost in this new redesign. Tear up Wild with your combo decks, but he's not needed here anymore.
Part 2: Back to Basics
While you look at that, I suppose I should explain my vision for the Priest Class. I imagine a Priest Class who is the king of the board - they have big minions which they can beef up or protect, which they then use to knock out your minions and slowly chip away at your health. They can also get tricksy, stealing or outright destroying their enemy's minions. This is not a class of waiting to draw into your combo pieces - it's a class of outliving and outlasting the opponent, of answering their threats and whittling them down.
Now, some card explanations!
Holy Alignment - Oh look! A replacement for Holy Smite! This one doesn't do face damage, but offers the versatility of healing a friendly minion by a small amount if that is needed to help a favourable trade.
Power Word: Shield - Strong card, follows what I want from the class. I see this as an absolute win.
Battle Medic - A Vanilla 2/4 for (2)? Blasphemy! This is the sort of card I think Priest can safely have when they're not hampered by silly things like Divine Spirit or Inner Fire. Is this strictly better than Nat, the Darkfisher? Yes. Do I care? No.
Meeting of Minds - Remember that Mind Vision replacement I talked about? Uh… here. I don't think this is particularly good, but it shows a mechanical idea - of gaining knowledge from the opponent directly, of choosing cards to take - that I'd quite like to see more of.
Shadow Word: Pain - Good card. Solid stay.
Prosper in Peace - It's Reverse Battle Rage! Priest needed some more card draw since I denied them Northshire Cleric, and this feels appropriate for what I want their gameplan to be. Stay healthy, get wealthy!
Shadow Word: Death - Good card. Solid stay.
Power Word: Barrier - Ah, a new(ish) mechanic! Being able to reduce the damage dealt to their minions (and even themselves) feels very appropriately Priest. In some cases, it might simply work like a single-turn Immunity for the characters that it covers, which is why this is costed so conservatively - it could save a large board for you to swing with.
Soul Survivor - Another reliable minion that Priest can get when not hampered by the dreaded combo. This is actually weaker than Ancient of War, but I think given the class tools available to Priest, and of course the rarity difference, the difference in mana costs is appropriate.
Mind Control - It's Mind Control. It's iconic. It's not always very good, but it sets the stage for similar effects.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Balance changes - Meeting of Minds increased to (3), from (2); Prosper in Peace increased to (5), from (3); Power Word: Barrier decreased to (6), from (7), and now only affects friendly minions instead of characters.
Part 3: Classical Conditioning
Circle of Healing - A strong card by itself which also has combo potential. Works well with the plan to overwhelm on board by sheer bulk.
Silence - Strong tech card on occasion. Leads into later silence-related gameplay well.
Penance - Our first borrowed card. This is a simple, strong piece of minion control that I think would be well-suited to the Classic set. Not much more to say, beyond mentioning that I think including things like Lifesteal or Discover in the Classic set is fine - we already have Poisonous.
Thoughtsteal - Is it good? Not really. Does it represent a mechanic I like and would enjoy seeing more of in future expansions? Absolutely. Not every card needs to be a 10/10 hit.
Darkshire Alchemist - Strong single target heal. Again, it can be comboed to deal damage, but in general it just works with my outlasting gameplay I want to encourage.
Temple Enforcer - Simple health buff. Not too strong, but reliable and emblematic of something I want to see.
Barrier Priest - An expansion on the Barrier concept. Can be used to potentially save a single minion for a turn; to defend your hero in a pinch; or to hide behind a Taunt in the hopes of no targeted removal. I even let it target enemy characters for some sort of nonsense - make 'em overdraw a ton with their Acolyte of Pain or something =P
Mass Dispel - Solid area silence. Little bit of additional draw. Nothing fancy, but a solid card.
Shadow Madness - An expansion on the stealing concept that works quite nicely, I feel. Didn't see a need to remove it, but not one I'm particularly attached to either.
Mass Hysteria - The replacement for Holy Nova, so that Priest doesn't need to keep getting strong board clear after strong board clear. Plays well with the idea that you would have high Health minions. I changed the art because it felt quite expansion-specific, but really it doesn't need it.
Holy Fire - Technically a small buff here, but I figured if we were adding Penance we may as well. A little bit of reach or some more minion damage, as needed.
Embrace the Shadow - Combo time! This feels much better as a Classic card than Auchenai Soulpriest to me. It's more obviously a combo piece, rather than a weird inbetween, and its lower cost allows you more flexibility in how you play afterwards.
Holy Guardian - Strong Health gaining target, like a reverse Holy Champion. As I said, I prefer Health buffs than Attack buffs in Priest, which is why I made this card instead of just taking Champion in. Could maybe use a numbers tweak, but the overall design is one I'm pleased with.
Cabal Shadow Priest - More stealing, more fun! Solid card with an interesting effect to get players excited to pull of a weird play with it.
Alonsus Faol - I thought long and hard about the Legendary to include in the Classic set. It needed to be something that was 'game-ending' - something that represented a power-spike when it entered, rather than a combo piece or simple good card. I almost went with Catrina Muerte, to give Resurrect some representation in basically its most balanced card, but the flavour isn't quite right. No other existing cards felt right, so I had to make one up; using a prominent lore character, we get an extremely strong heal which can allow you to wipe a board favourably and then remain completely healthy afterwards. Not your traditional game-ender, but then, Priest isn't trying to win in a traditional way.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Balance changes - Barrier Priest can now only target minions instead of characters.
New Priest Minion - Aeon Reaver
I for one am glad to finally see priest get a proactive tempo card for once. More of this please! Seems like a solid card even with no further support. This is a lot like a Vilespine Slayer, removal on a stick at an affordable price. This will definitely see play in standard at some point, and it probably will see play in wild as well. It's not just good tempo, it's a form of single target removal that plays around a lot of the counters to single-target removal, like secrets and the evasive non-keyword.
Edit: regarding the whole tempo/control debate: a card that generates tempo can still be good in a control deck. If you can remove a big threat and make a mid-sized dude in the process on turn six that means you can probably spend a small amount of resources to control the board on the subsequent turn. Most control decks don't have the removal to clear every single board, they have to force their opponent to overcommit in order to use their mass-removal cards efficiently. Also, having several different options to take care of different types of boards is generally a boon to the control archetype, CF control warrior all of last year. Aeon Reaver can reset a board for a turn so you can save that Mass Hysteria for an even more threatening board. It can punish a player for not committing heavily enough or only playing one big minion by creating a huge tempo swing.
Not to mention, a lot of aggro decks in particular are terrible at swinging back tempo in their favour. If you do manage to bully them off the board with a mass-removal, they will often only be able to play one thing per turn, making a two-for-one tempo swing with a card like Aeon Reaver very powerful as a followup to a board clear.