The Perfect Match Card Design Competition

Standalone the weapon can be used either as 2M 2/2 Lifesteal, or to get a discount of (2) on two spells, so one could cast e.g. two (2)-Mana spells on turn two. Or anything inbetween. A flexible card for Buff Paladin.

The gameplan is this:

turn 2 - "Double Edged Word"

turn 3 - Attack an enemy minion (first weaponcharge), to take damage, heal with Lifesteal. Use the second weaponcharge to cast "Protect the Innocent" and summon two 5/5 taunts.

There are plenty of ways to counter this, though. But those cards would be the perfect match for an early game combo.

Druids and Shamans share a theme of transformation, so why not support them both simultaneously?

Most "Druid of the (X)" cards do not see play, so this could potentially be used for all of them. It could even benefit a card like Explosive Evolution, which was in Standard for a time when Scholomance Academy came out. Although one must keep in mind that a card like Revolve would change the Miracle Grower too; an Evolve Shaman deck featuring her would need to be built differently.

This is meant to support anything that buffs your Hero Power. Besides the two featured cards, it would also pair well with Wildfire or almost any Hero card.

Note: Just like Spirit of the Dragonhawk, this card wouldn't work with Reckless Apprentice. Both the Spirit and my card work by casting the HP again after it is used on a minion, so I'm assuming this is what prevents them from working with the Apprentice.

Baku the Mooneater has also been intentionally left out of the picture.

"He's really wrapped himself around those trees."

Obviously, best with other Beasts with rush, especialy with another copy of Direhorn Alpha.

The Perfect Challenge is the Honorable Kill minion's best friend, providing them with the perfect conditions to trigger their effect. However, Troll Centurion is an example of one of the strongest combinations to be made with this, spending as little as 5 Mana to deal 8 damage to the enemy Hero, although its probably better served used on minions with higher Health than Attack so as to potentially get a second Honorable Kill off, so making your Centurion a 1 Mana 1/1 isn't best suited for that. The Perfect Challenge would work best being used on minions with between 3-5 Health. By keeping the net cost under 10 Mana, this spell and  the cost and stat altered Troll Centurion can be played same turn, and in the late game can make that last push to finish the opponent off.

I wanted to make a BFF for Ras that gives him a little more reach as a panic button as well as a decent spell damage card on it's own legs. I know Shaman is a little bit more restricted in spell school types but with the recent bumper crop of Frost spells? Tempoing out a 4 mana 3/3 with spell damage +2 can be scary for spell-heavy lists.

Art courtesy of Ramon Wadry.

"... yet somehow, neither?"

Balinda Stonehearth is an awesome card. She has however faced several problems, namely a lack of immediate impact (even if you have 10 Mana, you have to wait a turn to put her effect to use), and susceptibility to being removed. Fire and Ice aims to address both of these weaknesses, as if drawn with her Battlecry, you can immediately cast a Fireball and summon a Water Elemental for free - along with giving Balinda herself a sizable stat bump!

Note: While Fireball isn't limited to "an enemy", I gave Fire and Ice the Arcane Overflow treatment for the benefit of other Big Spell Mage staples like Clumsy Courier and Grey Sage Parrot. Balinda Stonehearth however remains the clear focus for synergy and flavour.

Ragers are an iconic part of the game. They're all intentionally terrible cards, but we all love them because they're terrible in a special way and it's always funny to see a new Rager added to the game.

But what if we could make Ragers into a proper archetype? Play a bunch of Ragers and get a pretty sweet reward for a cheap price. It's a pretty safe bet that the archetype will see continued support after rotation too.

Gives some love to Shuffle Rogue and Deathrattle Rogue, both archetypes often left by the wayside. Has some synergy with other cards from United in Stormwind such as Garrote and Parrrley, so its not completely out of place in its set.