Mixed feelings. The nerfs seem solid. The buffs are actually choosing better targets than normal, but I have a minor nitpick with Demon Hunter.
DH has a lot of completely dead spells that never had the mana cost they needed but would otherwise be playable. The buffs here are to cards that don't have the support needed because Team 5 exiled said support out of rotation (Irebound Brute) or hit a card that would have to be ludicrously cheap to justify its very weak effect (Abyssal Depths). Still, the fact that it occured to the devs to buff a card that saw no play is a very good thing. There's a possibility that a big DH could happen with Vanndar Stormpike coming out consistently because of Abyssal Depths.
They're using a very light touch on Relics, which stink on ice; not too sanguine about that. They did pick a set of buffs that help you defend from Imp Warlock (location plus buffed relic does 6 to the enemy board on turn 3) so that could be effective despite my reservations.
Warrior buffs have something more ambitious: buffs to ancient cards that are being updated for modern Hearthstone. That's an attitude we wish could be extended to all the dead neutrals that were never good but are inevitably put into the core sets, so that's very promising.
The only Pally archetypes that looked decent to me were handbuff and holy and the buffs don't directly help those archetypes. The buffs might justify combining them with pure or dude. I doubt it, but again, I appreciate them hitting some old cards with buffs.
Rogue bucks the trend and gets a buff to an already-strong card: Edwin, Defias Kingpin. Not a fan of that, but the other buffs are fine and, tbh, Edwin isn't a particularly toxic card.
The philosophy behind these changes is actually good and that's something I almost never say about Hearthstone changes.
I mean, I liked the changes, but IMO at least give Guff a empty mana crystal when ramping, feels a bit unfair playing with/against someone with double the mana.
I dont like the interactivity that shaman have with battlecry having 2x maccaw, brann and bolner, but I'm a shaman hater so in this matter my opinion does have a little value.
I didnt liked the Edwin change, is to much power for a single card, but the draw cards for rogue is pretty bad, so maybe is justified? I still believe that the secret package is bad, really bad (kidnap is a joke), so the Halkias change doesnt change much, but a will give a try, I didnt enjoyed miracle rogue and playing thief rogue for 3 expansions in a row feels bad
I have mixed feelings. On one hand, every bullet point in Rubin's list sounds like a good goal. I also want to see a lot of variety over time! But I also want to see healthy, fun metas at any given point in time. LoR has bounced between great metas and boring, oppressive ones, and it seems like the team may still consider that a success because things changed a lot. Also, I have enjoyed Hearthstone's recent approach in which they (usually) dial back the strong decks a little bit, still leaving them viable. It sounds like the LoR team may be too eager to kill current T1 decks just so new ones can arise.
Right now, Illaoi/Bard is clearly too strong, but it's a fun deck with a lot of healthy counterplay. Before this rose to the top, the first week or two of the new expansion was defined by really awful solitaire decks that raced to complete their win condition on turn 4 or 5. The upcoming balance changes nerf Bard more than everyone expected, nerf Illaoi slightly, and also hit Tentacle Smash. That feels like overkill, and I don't know if I can expect fun decks to arise back in its wake.
Mechlock is a cool archetype to push. I am slightly worried about the fact that your cards seem to push Discolock more than Mechlock though, not necessarily for validity, but because it'll probably affect your score.
Jaraxxus, Metal Mayhem is a really cool incantation of Mecha-Jaraxxus in card form, although I am slightly worried about both the amount of damage it can deal, and how much it can put on the board.
Abandoned Laboratory is a little safer in my opinion, although it seems difficult to use well and the artwork doesn't feel Hearthstone-y to me.
With all that said though, I really enjoy the direction you're going.
AeroJulwin
I'm not sure if Arcane Druid counts given that Druid has never had any cards which support Arcane spells, thus it usually isn't classified as an archetype. If the card does count, then it seems okay to print if slightly uninspired. It's not particularly great that it can be traded for free and doesn't pose a big threat. All those 0 mana 1/1s like Snowflipper Penguin have only ever been played in extremely specific strategies to exploit the fact that they're free cards that can synergize with something and aren't game breaking. And in VttSC, we got Priestess Valishj in Priest, so I think you can get away with making this a 1/1 especially since the Spell Damage is specifically just for Arcane spells. I'm also worried about the fact that there are so few Arcane spells, and only about half of them deal damage.
Discover the Light is a pretty good flavor card, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't count since it doesn't support an existing undersupported archetype for Warlock. I wouldn't call Renounce Darkness an archetype as much as it is just a fun meme card that people sometimes make decks for.
Moonglow Stalker is probably my favorite of the three cards by design, but Rush didn't exist yet in Journey to Un'Goro.
Wailor
I like Ferocious Wildcat. Not only does it support that "5 or more Attack synergy", but since Druids in general are just good at running big minions, many Druid decks can run it no problem.
Deathmetal Encorer is a fine, although slightly weak support card for Deathrattle DH, but I see one pretty major problem with it. It uses the same art as Mordresh Fire Eye.
adamsleungcm
Advance Wave is an okay idea in principle, but Paladin doesn't typically exceed in spell-spamming despite their affinity for small spells. It also uses the same artwork as Level Up! It has some other, more significant problems such as the fact that it uses Rush in TGT, which is a set where Rush didn't exist yet. The biggest problem however is the fact that it's a card that requires spell school synergy in a set spell schools didn't exist yet, meaning the card is literally unfunctional. This is what my note I left earlier in the thread was referring to, but there's still plenty of time to fix the problem.
Hold the Ground is a neat idea, but it feels a bit weak.
BloodMefist
I like Malicious Magmacaster as support for hand size synergy in Mage. It is quite easy to get about 5 damage with this, which might make it incredibly strong.
Archimonde is a cool Legendary. It's a bit limited by the fact that Warlock doesn't have any huge Fel spells (Felfire Potion and Impfestation are the most expensive Fel spells for the class), but there's probably still some strong things you can do with it.
I really like Jaraxxus. Abandoned Laboratory is also nice, but Jaraxxus is the same but cooler.
That said, I'm not sure if any of these cards count for the comp. I mean, Jaraxxus and the tokens of both cards are Mechs, but devoid of other cards to synergize with, that just seems flavor. It's like saying Blackwater Behemoth is support for Beast Priest. There are some neutral buffs for Mechs, so maybe I'm wrong with this assumption, but that's how I feel anyways.
In any case, if you can't participate, I'd save Jaraxxus for another comp, because I really liked it.
AeroJulwin
Arcane Lily is very charming, but you're right that it's too simple. Also, I'm not sure if it counts, as Druid hasn't received Arcane synergy so far (although he will surely receive it some day).
Discover the Light is flavorful, but I'd say it's my least favorite of your cards. It's also a bit on the weak side, but I'm not sure how would I fix it, beyond making the discount bigger.
Finally, Moonglow Stalker is probably my favorite of the bunch, despite being a bit similar to my Ferocious Wildcat (not sure if I'll end up going with it, so this might not be a problem for any of us). Besides this, I'd use a different watermark, since Rush didn't exist in Un'goro and the art doesn't fit the expansion anyways. Also, the restriction of only copying a minion 5 or more Attack seems a bit shoe-horned to fit the archetype. Overall, I think this can achieve a high score if you fix the small issues it has.
Demonxz95
SI:7 Scout is nice, but a bit too simple.
Commander Akrula is more interesting, but I wonder if she could be a bit cheaper. I mean, I don't like cards that allow you to cheat stuff too early, but 8 Mana is a bit too much. Also, the minion won't stick to the board, so her effect is not as dangerous as other stuff which is actually cheaper. The alternative to this would be keep her Cost but make her a non-Legendary card.
adamsleungcn
I'm not sure these cards count, since Holy Paladin, Silver Hand Paladin and Taunt Warrior have received support in a lot of different expansions.
If I'm missing something and they support an archetype I'm not familiar with, I think I prefer Hold the Ground. I think it's balanced, as its infinite nature is held back by its low tempo and small effect.
Advance Wave isn't bad either, but you should change the watermark, since neither Rush nor spell schools existed in TGT. Finally, about the artwork, I'd recommend using a generic Paladin art if you're unable to find a good one with Silver Hand Recruits in it. This is much better than reusing existing artwork, IMO.
BloodMefist
I'm a big fan of Archimonde as a character, but the 0-Cost makes him a bit scary. Setting the cost to 1 would make him suck, so I'm not sure how to fix it beyond lowering his Cost too (which doesn't fit Archimonde).
For this reason, Malicious Magmacaster is my prefered card. The fact it supports two archetypes is very cool.
Elemental Mage has been supported in the past, but never really took off, and Big Hand Mage was only ever supported in Boomsday. Malicious Magmacaster provides mostly new support for Big Hand Mage, but also synergizes with existing Elemental Mage themes of creating lots of cards in hand. Archimonde is a desperate attempt to give Warlocks some real Fel payoff. 0-cost spells can get spooky, but the selection of Warlock's Fel spells isn't that impressive.
Awh, that is a bummer. Probably to be expected with the way their quest system works, but it sure would be nice if it could do a retroactive check for Noz's monthly completion and then grant it later if it was missed.
Oh? Consider me very surprised if that's going to last, although so far I haven't heard any talk about solutions and measures. As Careidina mentions, have to wonder whether it survives for the next patch or two. But fingers crossed, it's nice to get an unexpected free gift.
How to Complete Castle Nathria's Druid Achievements for Rewards Track Experience - Great Deck Lists!
Excellent work with all the achievements articles!!! Keep the good work!!
All Standard & Wild Hearthstone Balance Changes Detailed - Some Nerfs and Lots of Buffs Are Now on the Way
Mixed feelings. The nerfs seem solid. The buffs are actually choosing better targets than normal, but I have a minor nitpick with Demon Hunter.
DH has a lot of completely dead spells that never had the mana cost they needed but would otherwise be playable. The buffs here are to cards that don't have the support needed because Team 5 exiled said support out of rotation (Irebound Brute) or hit a card that would have to be ludicrously cheap to justify its very weak effect (Abyssal Depths). Still, the fact that it occured to the devs to buff a card that saw no play is a very good thing. There's a possibility that a big DH could happen with Vanndar Stormpike coming out consistently because of Abyssal Depths.
They're using a very light touch on Relics, which stink on ice; not too sanguine about that. They did pick a set of buffs that help you defend from Imp Warlock (location plus buffed relic does 6 to the enemy board on turn 3) so that could be effective despite my reservations.
Warrior buffs have something more ambitious: buffs to ancient cards that are being updated for modern Hearthstone. That's an attitude we wish could be extended to all the dead neutrals that were never good but are inevitably put into the core sets, so that's very promising.
The only Pally archetypes that looked decent to me were handbuff and holy and the buffs don't directly help those archetypes. The buffs might justify combining them with pure or dude. I doubt it, but again, I appreciate them hitting some old cards with buffs.
Rogue bucks the trend and gets a buff to an already-strong card: Edwin, Defias Kingpin. Not a fan of that, but the other buffs are fine and, tbh, Edwin isn't a particularly toxic card.
The philosophy behind these changes is actually good and that's something I almost never say about Hearthstone changes.
One-Set Wonder - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
If people are uncomfortable with Mecha-J being more Discolock than Mechlock, I'll table it for now. I have a new idea, this time for Mech Shaman:
All Standard & Wild Hearthstone Balance Changes Detailed - Some Nerfs and Lots of Buffs Are Now on the Way
"Card draw is a strength of rogue but we noticed it hasn't been drawing cards"
Yeah. It's because discover is so stupid.
Also not even mentioning big priest when they nerf kobold illusionist lmao
All Standard & Wild Hearthstone Balance Changes Detailed - Some Nerfs and Lots of Buffs Are Now on the Way
I mean, I liked the changes, but IMO at least give Guff a empty mana crystal when ramping, feels a bit unfair playing with/against someone with double the mana.
I dont like the interactivity that shaman have with battlecry having 2x maccaw, brann and bolner, but I'm a shaman hater so in this matter my opinion does have a little value.
I didnt liked the Edwin change, is to much power for a single card, but the draw cards for rogue is pretty bad, so maybe is justified? I still believe that the secret package is bad, really bad (kidnap is a joke), so the Halkias change doesnt change much, but a will give a try, I didnt enjoyed miracle rogue and playing thief rogue for 3 expansions in a row feels bad
All Standard & Wild Hearthstone Balance Changes Detailed - Some Nerfs and Lots of Buffs Are Now on the Way
When I saw the updates to Warhorse Trainer and Promotion I thought, "The Odd Paladin list I've been messing around with just got better!"
All Standard & Wild Hearthstone Balance Changes Detailed - Some Nerfs and Lots of Buffs Are Now on the Way
Boy I sure hope they playtested that Abyssal Depths buff. There was a reason they shipped it at 4 and I'm worried we might regret this down the line.
All Balance Changes Coming to Hearthstone Battlegrounds - The Return of Grease Bot and Garr, Minion and Hero Updates, & More
Lil' Rag dropping to Tavern Tier 5 is a HUGE deal for those of us still desperately clinging to Elementals.
And I'm very interested to try out Elise's new hero power.
Runeterra Game Designer Steve Rubin Shares His Thoughts on Ideal Patch Outcomes
There are many ways I can describe Bard/Ilaoi or any Bard deck for the matter and fun isn't one of them xD
Runeterra Game Designer Steve Rubin Shares His Thoughts on Ideal Patch Outcomes
I have mixed feelings. On one hand, every bullet point in Rubin's list sounds like a good goal. I also want to see a lot of variety over time! But I also want to see healthy, fun metas at any given point in time. LoR has bounced between great metas and boring, oppressive ones, and it seems like the team may still consider that a success because things changed a lot. Also, I have enjoyed Hearthstone's recent approach in which they (usually) dial back the strong decks a little bit, still leaving them viable. It sounds like the LoR team may be too eager to kill current T1 decks just so new ones can arise.
Right now, Illaoi/Bard is clearly too strong, but it's a fun deck with a lot of healthy counterplay. Before this rose to the top, the first week or two of the new expansion was defined by really awful solitaire decks that raced to complete their win condition on turn 4 or 5. The upcoming balance changes nerf Bard more than everyone expected, nerf Illaoi slightly, and also hit Tentacle Smash. That feels like overkill, and I don't know if I can expect fun decks to arise back in its wake.
How to Complete Castle Nathria's Warlock Achievements for Rewards Track Experience - Great Deck Lists!
Added the Brewmasters - thanks for the tip!
One-Set Wonder - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Feedback time
Mechlock is a cool archetype to push. I am slightly worried about the fact that your cards seem to push Discolock more than Mechlock though, not necessarily for validity, but because it'll probably affect your score.
Jaraxxus, Metal Mayhem is a really cool incantation of Mecha-Jaraxxus in card form, although I am slightly worried about both the amount of damage it can deal, and how much it can put on the board.
Abandoned Laboratory is a little safer in my opinion, although it seems difficult to use well and the artwork doesn't feel Hearthstone-y to me.
With all that said though, I really enjoy the direction you're going.
I'm not sure if Arcane Druid counts given that Druid has never had any cards which support Arcane spells, thus it usually isn't classified as an archetype. If the card does count, then it seems okay to print if slightly uninspired. It's not particularly great that it can be traded for free and doesn't pose a big threat. All those 0 mana 1/1s like Snowflipper Penguin have only ever been played in extremely specific strategies to exploit the fact that they're free cards that can synergize with something and aren't game breaking. And in VttSC, we got Priestess Valishj in Priest, so I think you can get away with making this a 1/1 especially since the Spell Damage is specifically just for Arcane spells. I'm also worried about the fact that there are so few Arcane spells, and only about half of them deal damage.
Discover the Light is a pretty good flavor card, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't count since it doesn't support an existing undersupported archetype for Warlock. I wouldn't call Renounce Darkness an archetype as much as it is just a fun meme card that people sometimes make decks for.
Moonglow Stalker is probably my favorite of the three cards by design, but Rush didn't exist yet in Journey to Un'Goro.
I like Ferocious Wildcat. Not only does it support that "5 or more Attack synergy", but since Druids in general are just good at running big minions, many Druid decks can run it no problem.
Deathmetal Encorer is a fine, although slightly weak support card for Deathrattle DH, but I see one pretty major problem with it. It uses the same art as Mordresh Fire Eye.
Advance Wave is an okay idea in principle, but Paladin doesn't typically exceed in spell-spamming despite their affinity for small spells. It also uses the same artwork as Level Up! It has some other, more significant problems such as the fact that it uses Rush in TGT, which is a set where Rush didn't exist yet. The biggest problem however is the fact that it's a card that requires spell school synergy in a set spell schools didn't exist yet, meaning the card is literally unfunctional. This is what my note I left earlier in the thread was referring to, but there's still plenty of time to fix the problem.
Hold the Ground is a neat idea, but it feels a bit weak.
I like Malicious Magmacaster as support for hand size synergy in Mage. It is quite easy to get about 5 damage with this, which might make it incredibly strong.
Archimonde is a cool Legendary. It's a bit limited by the fact that Warlock doesn't have any huge Fel spells (Felfire Potion and Impfestation are the most expensive Fel spells for the class), but there's probably still some strong things you can do with it.
One-Set Wonder - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Feedback:
That said, I'm not sure if any of these cards count for the comp. I mean, Jaraxxus and the tokens of both cards are Mechs, but devoid of other cards to synergize with, that just seems flavor. It's like saying Blackwater Behemoth is support for Beast Priest. There are some neutral buffs for Mechs, so maybe I'm wrong with this assumption, but that's how I feel anyways.
In any case, if you can't participate, I'd save Jaraxxus for another comp, because I really liked it.
Discover the Light is flavorful, but I'd say it's my least favorite of your cards. It's also a bit on the weak side, but I'm not sure how would I fix it, beyond making the discount bigger.
Finally, Moonglow Stalker is probably my favorite of the bunch, despite being a bit similar to my Ferocious Wildcat (not sure if I'll end up going with it, so this might not be a problem for any of us). Besides this, I'd use a different watermark, since Rush didn't exist in Un'goro and the art doesn't fit the expansion anyways. Also, the restriction of only copying a minion 5 or more Attack seems a bit shoe-horned to fit the archetype. Overall, I think this can achieve a high score if you fix the small issues it has.
Commander Akrula is more interesting, but I wonder if she could be a bit cheaper. I mean, I don't like cards that allow you to cheat stuff too early, but 8 Mana is a bit too much. Also, the minion won't stick to the board, so her effect is not as dangerous as other stuff which is actually cheaper. The alternative to this would be keep her Cost but make her a non-Legendary card.
If I'm missing something and they support an archetype I'm not familiar with, I think I prefer Hold the Ground. I think it's balanced, as its infinite nature is held back by its low tempo and small effect.
Advance Wave isn't bad either, but you should change the watermark, since neither Rush nor spell schools existed in TGT. Finally, about the artwork, I'd recommend using a generic Paladin art if you're unable to find a good one with Silver Hand Recruits in it. This is much better than reusing existing artwork, IMO.
For this reason, Malicious Magmacaster is my prefered card. The fact it supports two archetypes is very cool.
How to Complete Castle Nathria's Shaman Achievements for Rewards Track Experience - Great Deck Lists!
I just noticed this comment - sorry for the late reply!
Seems like you came up with a rather interesting strategy, so it definitely deserves to be included in the guide :)
One-Set Wonder - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Elemental Mage has been supported in the past, but never really took off, and Big Hand Mage was only ever supported in Boomsday. Malicious Magmacaster provides mostly new support for Big Hand Mage, but also synergizes with existing Elemental Mage themes of creating lots of cards in hand. Archimonde is a desperate attempt to give Warlocks some real Fel payoff. 0-cost spells can get spooky, but the selection of Warlock's Fel spells isn't that impressive.
Detective Nozdormu Is Onto Murder at Castle Nathria - Special Hearthstone Quest and Decks for August 2022
Awh, that is a bummer. Probably to be expected with the way their quest system works, but it sure would be nice if it could do a retroactive check for Noz's monthly completion and then grant it later if it was missed.
Detective Nozdormu Is Onto Murder at Castle Nathria - Special Hearthstone Quest and Decks for August 2022
So if you're busy with other things and you don't log in on the 15th, you just don't get the quest. You just get a random regular quest instead.
Might be good for some who didn't want to do it anyway, but effectively I'm out 500xp. Bummer.
How to Complete Castle Nathria's Mage Achievements for Rewards Track Experience - Great Deck Lists!
You cannot: it is a mistake by my side, as I clicked on that card too many times.
I replaced the excess two copies of Runed Orb with two School Teachers for some additional flexibility and Discovery shenanigans.
How to Complete Castle Nathria's Mage Achievements for Rewards Track Experience - Great Deck Lists!
Team 5 took it away from us, but that cleavage is safe here!
One-Set Wonder - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
More cards as promised. This one's based on Renounce Darkness:
And another Druid card. It's been a while since I last made cards for older expansions.
Just noticed I made a mistake on this^ one: "5" shouldn't be between brackets. Force of habit... I'll fix it may I submit it.
How to Complete Castle Nathria's Mage Achievements for Rewards Track Experience - Great Deck Lists!
I love you Avalon for using pre nerfed Jaina skin
How to Complete Castle Nathria's Mage Achievements for Rewards Track Experience - Great Deck Lists!
How do you get 4 copies of Runed Orb in one deck?
How to Complete Castle Nathria's Hunter Achievements for Rewards Track Experience - Great Deck Lists!
Meaningful tips! Added to the guide ;)
[Updated] Upcoming Hearthstone Hotfix Patch for Castle Nathria - Guff Banned From Duels, Arena Balance, Returning Player Decks, & More Bug Fixes
Oh? Consider me very surprised if that's going to last, although so far I haven't heard any talk about solutions and measures. As Careidina mentions, have to wonder whether it survives for the next patch or two. But fingers crossed, it's nice to get an unexpected free gift.
Group Therapy! Need to blow off some steam? Mega salty? Here's the place!
Just hit Level 50. Opened my 2nd Paladin legendary, a class I have been using as dust scrap for three years.