A little quick note because 50% of the entries so far use the Classic watermark, and that percentage was even bigger a few days ago.
Don't use it. Highlander deckbuilding is not a Classic mechanic. It did not exist until League of Explorers, so cards for this prompt should realistically not exist any earlier than that.
Brand new idea. Lots of people seem to be trying Legendary weapons, so I figured I would try. Only problem is that balancing it is not the easiest thing in the world. Two separate versions.
The version that is stronger is paradoxically easier to balance due to the fact that it's effectively a 0-mana weapon when played with the ability, so the stats can be low without making the card extremely weak to play in mana value. The version that draws is obviously not as strong on base value, but it also has a harder sweet spot to find.
Looks like a slow start into the week... I'm sorry if I suggested a difficult theme again. I thought designing OP cards would be fun :(
Feedback:
grumpymonk
Again, I hope you don't mind my own Demon Hunter card. Please tell me if you'd feel better if I went with something else. That said, what makes both our cards dangerous is the combo potential with Il'gynoth. While mine is somewhat limited because the cost of the Demons would still have to be paid, your card allows preparation via Weapons and is way cheaper. I do have to conceed that your card has much better flavor thanks to your great choice of its character. If we're lucky, Il'gynoth will get nerfed this week. Anduin is a nice and flavorful card as well. I do think it might end up too slow, though. Would it be possible to give him Taunt?
linkblade
Ooof, this is super hard to evaluate. The idea is certainly very strong, but I can understand grumymonk's reasoning that the card is too expensive. It reminds me of Luna's Pocket Galaxy that needed several attempts to find the right cost. I would advocate for making it cost 5.
Wailor
Very creative approach, super flavorful! I do like grumymonk's suggestion for the card text. Regarding the strength of the card, I'd compare it to Archbishop Benedictus. You're pretty much immune against fatigue which makes for great Control decks. I'd see this in Mill or Deathrattle builds, maybe Shuffle Rogue could also abuse it. Cool idea!
Nah, not your fault. The comps this season have consistently been getting a lower and lower turnout than the comps from the first two seasons. I'm not exactly sure why though
I've made a 4 mana version of The End Foretold. I don't really "feel" this one though since it seems to me that 3 mana is too strong but 4 mana is too weak.
I've also got a concept for another card, with some similarities to [Hearthstone Card (Sigil of Flames) Not Found]. I have absolutely no idea what class to give it to or how much mana it should cost.
For additional feedback
Neoguli
Secret Code is… okay. It feels much more like a Rogue card than a Mage card. It also feels way too weird.
Anchorm4n
I'm going to disagree with what Sinti said on Discord and tell you that this card is actually not overpowered. This is mostly for one reason: The delay. 5 mana to draw 5 cards with a free Binding Heal? OP. 5 mana to do nothing right now and THEN draw 5 cards with a free Binding Heal on your next turn? Not OP. If you want to make the most of it, you'll have to spend a ton of mana doing absolutely nothing and then getting a larger benefit later. Which is sorta what makes the Sigils balanced. For comparison sake, Nourish has always seen a lot of play in Druid to draw 3 cards immediately whereas Outrider's Axe is actually not performing as strongly as predicted and draws 3 cards with a 3/3 weapon, but the drawing is delayed.
Overall, I'm going to say that your card is actually pretty good in terms of balanced. I do agree however that there is a disconnect with using the Forbidden mechanic on a non-Forbidden card.
Allthehype
I share Anchorm4n's view on the fact that it will lock your board with 1/1s that you can't take advantage of immediately which will be a bad disadvantage to try to overcome. The best thing you can do is to maybe have 1 minion on board at the start of your next turn to summon 6 of the Murlocs and then run your minion to play something like Coldlight Seer to buff their Health to they might not die next turn. The 1/1s themselves are also not very threatening unless you have the methods to buff them.
BasilAnguis
In almost all circumstances, this is worst Frost Nova. Unlike Nova, it doesn't even prevent lethal damage either. It is flavorful, but that flavor unfortunately comes at the cost of any chance of being playable.
Grim Fortune is indeed way too obvious. I'm not being any bit hyperbolic when I say that the card I originally conceived in my head for the comp is literally a 100% carbon copy of this exact card. The card itself is perfectly fine, but I wouldn't submit it under the fact that a lot of people submit without looking at the Discussion Topic and the chance that someone else will make this exact same card seems pretty high to me.
Smart Investment I think is the better choice. It's more original and has really nice flavor.
Having not played the game since Uldum, I think the way you've continued to make your cards is impressive.
TheHoax91
Extremely flavorful and I love effects that mess with time (and this is where I plug my Time Traveler class), but it seems that a lot of people here already don't love it and I would probably agree that this specific version of it is probably not the best interpretation of making some type of time-warping effect.
Nirast
If I read Recurring Recruitment strictly as it's worded, then the card is non-functional since it's requiring a minion you summon to die before your next turn, but the problem is that the minion is summoned… on your next turn. See what I'm saying? I'm not exactly sure what the card is actually intended to do. I'm also not really sold on the usage of "cast this again" since that was a thing mainly in the previous expansion (from the card's perspective), Knights of the Frozen Throne.
Copy Homework is definitely a much "cleaner" card and for that reason, I prefer it. I think the flavor is also better here.
Linkblade91
I like this card. Big Paladin is a deck that has been supported by a few singular expansion cards, but has never been a sole focus for any set, so I think it's cool to have something like this.
Grumpymonk
As far as I can tell, this is fairly solid.
Anchorm4n
As pointed out, this is a simply a much weaker Corruption. Same exact text and costs 2 more mana. Corruption has never been a great card, which is not exactly a good sign for the card.
For what it's worth, I do think the flavor on this version is better and is really good overall, though I think you're better off just making a different card altogether.
Neoguli
There's a bit to unpack here.
As noted, the first version has quite a bit of ambiguity in terms of whether or not it's actually allowed for the competition. This means that even if it was allowed, it would likely get quite a few negative votes under the perception that it goes against what the comp is trying to do. Beyond that, the actual card itself doesn't seem to strong. You need to Combo with it before it becomes an okay card. I don't believe a 3 mana 4/3 that just had Stealth would be broken by any means. By itself without Combo-ing it, it is incredibly weak.
Meisterz39 pointed out the problems with a second version. As a Casts When Drawn card that you put into your deck, it allows you to basically run a 28 card deck, which in a huge majority of situations, is better than running a 30 card deck. In addition to that, it has an upside of summoning a 3/2 minion with Stealth. Granted, it only summons it at the start of your next turn, but even if the only effect it had was a downside, it would still see play simply as a way to get a free cycle with no effort required (unless the downside was REALLY bad). Free Casts When Drawn cards to put into your deck sounds like it would be a fun idea for some type of adventure mode, but not for Constructed.
AnAngryBadger
The Coming Storm is pretty neat, and I wouldn't surprised to see this effect in the game. I do agree that you could also zoom in the artwork. My only concern is that the delayed aspect of the effect doesn't feel "needed" for the card (which I do predict will be a very recurring element of many card in this comp), although it is obviously needed for the comp.
Changing Winds I don't like as much since it's harder to use (when your opponent can easily play around it) and I feel like it robs Silas Darkmoon of his Legendary-ness. The fact that the direction is random also means that you can't really take advantage of it very well.
Damn, I've been late for the second round. Truth be told, I really can't think of anything else for this comp.
Anchorm4n
You've already submitted, so I can't really give any feedback in terms of improving the card, but the card that you submitted is pretty good. I could see it being a finalist.
Linkblade91
I do still stand by everything I've said about the card on Discord. Good luck with the scoring.
Nirast
I appreciate the idea of Misterious Wildkin (which has a typo by the way, it should be "Mysterious", unless it's supposed to be a pun), but the text is very clunky and doesn't look too good.
Barrens Black Drake feels mostly weak overall. Moat Lurker has never been an "okay" card and this isn't that much better.
Hungry Crocolisk is really flavorful, but it suffers from a few problems. Namely that good targets for it will be hard to come by since it has low Attack and Health, needs to kill the minion and survive the attack. Lots of variables there. It does also run into a problem that Wailor pointed out where it might attack something with 0 Attack and not get damaged. If that happens, then the Frenzy is basically gone. A less talked about problem with cards that gain stats when they die is that they don't work as the creator will have intended and the same works for this card. Since it's killing a minion, it won't gain any Health since the minion it's basing its Health gain off of is 0 or lower. In fact, if it's lower than 0 then it'll take further damage since it's trying to gain a negative number of Health.
Grumpymonk
You've already submitted, but it looks pretty solid.
Shatterstar1998
I prefer Explore the Barrens personally. Thalnos the Soulrender seems like it would be too difficult to use properly since it not only requires you to control a lot of minions and then damage them, but the classes that are most capable of accomplishing these tasks are typically not very good at bursting the opponent's hero which is basically what people use Spell Damage for.
I'm really surprised by the fact that 4 out of 5 entries so far aren't Frenzy minions, but instead give a Frenzy effect to other things. But anyways, feedback.
Wailor
It's a perfectly fine "filler" card (if a bit out of flavor), but these types of cards usually don't do that well in comps.
Linkblade91
I did already mention my feedback on Discord, but I still stand by everything I mentioned. I prefer Gargok since he's more interesting than No Pain No Gain.
Cydonianknight
Pretty solid card all around.
KANSAS
I really like the idea of the card, but I'm not sure how playable it would be in practice, specifically as you need to pay the full Cost every time you want to play it (ala Coliseum Manager). I do also agree with Anchorm4n in that it could probably just be a Neutral card.
I will admit that I also did not consider the possibility of infinitely combo-ing with Saurfang. I'm not so sure that it would even be broken, but it does make me want to think of a new card.
Grumpymonk
Really like the idea, but I do agree with the other feedback in regards to the Frenzy negating the Overload. Tweak it yourself and you could have a pretty solid card. I have the same opinion as Anchorm4n regarding the art.
Anchorm4n
I quite like the idea, but I feel the card is currently a little bit clunky in terms of translating the gameplay and the flavor. I'm not quite sure how to fix this and the card is otherwise solid.
It's late, but I wasn't going to particpate this week at first, because I don't have much experience with LoR or with LoL in general. I played LoR a few months back and just couldn't get into it for some reason.
Anyways, I came up with this. Like Cannonmaster Smythe, but for the board. I provided an example with Possessed Villager if your have one. Is it too slow for zoo, where this would best fit in? It could also be used as a general value/deathrattle synergy card.
I am slightly concerned of how much "sticking power" and stat bonuses you could potentially get from this. Since the Riders don't have Rush though, that does help a bit
This is definitely better, though the T-Hex himself ultimately just amounts to being an 8/8 with Taunt.
And I do still believe that you shouldn't use an existing set watermark. We're making cards for characters from another franchise, so having them located in an existing set doesn't feel right.
ElSabidon
Link is right. I have never played League of Legends before. It seems that the ability is based on JudgementBADCARDNAME which happens to be Garen's champion spell, so it does fit the character.
ChickyChick
Congrats on your win last week.
I feel like Taric would say "Whenever a minion attacks this, set its Attack to 1". As Link pointed out, it does make him very difficult to remove with any type of minion combat.
Cydonianknight
Both Gangplanks looks good. The first one might be better since the second one is basically another Iron Juggernaut but slightly different.
KANSAS
Really nice flavor, but I concerned that this is basically just a Neutral hard removal on a 7 mana 7/7 with Taunt (and even better since it also effectively Silences the minion).
Ignoring that one incident, it's nice to see how civil this comment section is for the most part. This is definitely one reason why I love being part of this community and being a writer for the site.
A second card. This has been a very slow comp as I probably should've seen coming. How about we blow something up?!
Jinx is a character that's all about explosives and blowing stuff up. She is the "loose cannon". This card is based off or her LoR design which wants you to dump your hand out as quickly as possible and her token card, Super Mega Death Rocket! which is primarily about face damage.
I could also make it an AoE card so it's a little bit more interesting than just being super-Aggro. And truth be told, I feel like this might be too weak.
EDIT: Off of feedback, I did decide to add a cantrip. I did feel it was on the weak side, and this does similarly fit her LoR card.
Feedback
Linkblade91
I talked about it on Discord already, and I think it's good.
NerdyMcNerd
This reaction is extremely faithful to Viktor's LoR design and the effect can certainly be quite good. My only concern is that I'm not sure gaining a random keyword really translates to good gameplay as much as it does to LoR, but that's not that big of a deal so I think you're good.
Anchorm4n
For someone who hasn't played LoR, you've translated the champs into gameplay quite well! Your first version of Jarvan IV is a decent card, but it feels a bit too similar to just a Divine Shield/Rush card and there's also an empty line in the textbox.
Ashe has a good effect, but right now she has a chance to Freeze the minion she's currently attacking. If you can find a way to change that, then I think what you've got is pretty good!
Your second version of Jarvan IV is a good representation of the Level Up mechanic in LoR, although "Primes" are a distinctly Ashes of Outlands thing so I think I would change the name of the token. I can't help but also feel that the Prime might be a bit weak specifically compared to Deathwing, Mad Aspect.
I do quite like your Battlegrounds version of Jarvan, but I'm not sure how I feel about Battlegrounds and Constructed cards being in the same space given that they have very different design protocols.
I know I mention this a lot, but I think using a custom watermark for this competition is likely advisable. After all, we're making cards for characters from another franchise, so it doesn't really make sense to put them in an existing set... for now.
With that said, here's some early feedback.
Nirast
So I did already mention everything on Discord, but Teemo could I think could cast the Secret regardless of its name. I think of it like Inconspicuous Rider and I think you should also get rid of the Demon tag since the meme will be lost on a lot of people.
Heimerdinger is a flavorful recreation of his LoR card, but it unfortunately isn't that strong. As an 8 mana 1/3, the chance that it survives your opponent's next turn is extremely slim meaning that at most, you'll just get to cast one 2-Cost spell or two 1-Cost spells before it dies.
Both of them also use existing set watermarks. Heimerdinger though is a bit problematic in that regard since it uses a set-exclusive keyword.
KANSAS
I want to show you a card I made almost exactly 1 year ago for a previous competition. Blasto McBoom.
It got pretty mixed reception. Not because people thought it was overpowered, but because people didn't like Bomb Warrior at the time. I suppose nowadays, that problem is avoided, though your Teemo still remains week. I understand why you chose Bombs too, since they're effectively an equivalent to Poison Puffcaps in LoR, but it's still very weird flavor.
Nautilus is better, but it seems difficult to use, and it also uses an existing set watermark.
Wailor
Miss Fortune has a really cool ability and you've fit it into Warrior pretty well. That said, one minor problem I see is that you've used "when" instead of "whenever". "When" is only used on Secrets and refers to only a one-time effect. Heimerdinger seems slightly concerning since it scales in value a lot quicker than Magic Dart Frog.
A little quick note because 50% of the entries so far use the Classic watermark, and that percentage was even bigger a few days ago.
Don't use it. Highlander deckbuilding is not a Classic mechanic. It did not exist until League of Explorers, so cards for this prompt should realistically not exist any earlier than that.
Brand new idea. Lots of people seem to be trying Legendary weapons, so I figured I would try. Only problem is that balancing it is not the easiest thing in the world. Two separate versions.
The version that is stronger is paradoxically easier to balance due to the fact that it's effectively a 0-mana weapon when played with the ability, so the stats can be low without making the card extremely weak to play in mana value. The version that draws is obviously not as strong on base value, but it also has a harder sweet spot to find.
Nah, not your fault. The comps this season have consistently been getting a lower and lower turnout than the comps from the first two seasons. I'm not exactly sure why though
Very much a flavor-focused card, but you get to ROCK ON!!!!!!
Reminder of what the Power Chords are:
Why do these Q&A articles always have nightmare-inducing thumbnails?
Really hoping I can get feedback on this before time is up.
Which version do you guys prefer? Or do you guys just prefer The End Foretold?
EDIT: And I just realized that I forgot to put the spell schools on both of the cards.
I've made a 4 mana version of The End Foretold. I don't really "feel" this one though since it seems to me that 3 mana is too strong but 4 mana is too weak.
I've also got a concept for another card, with some similarities to [Hearthstone Card (Sigil of Flames) Not Found]. I have absolutely no idea what class to give it to or how much mana it should cost.
For additional feedback
I'm going to disagree with what Sinti said on Discord and tell you that this card is actually not overpowered. This is mostly for one reason: The delay. 5 mana to draw 5 cards with a free Binding Heal? OP. 5 mana to do nothing right now and THEN draw 5 cards with a free Binding Heal on your next turn? Not OP. If you want to make the most of it, you'll have to spend a ton of mana doing absolutely nothing and then getting a larger benefit later. Which is sorta what makes the Sigils balanced. For comparison sake, Nourish has always seen a lot of play in Druid to draw 3 cards immediately whereas Outrider's Axe is actually not performing as strongly as predicted and draws 3 cards with a 3/3 weapon, but the drawing is delayed.
Overall, I'm going to say that your card is actually pretty good in terms of balanced. I do agree however that there is a disconnect with using the Forbidden mechanic on a non-Forbidden card.
Fairly late first feedback, but here we go.
Grim Fortune is indeed way too obvious. I'm not being any bit hyperbolic when I say that the card I originally conceived in my head for the comp is literally a 100% carbon copy of this exact card. The card itself is perfectly fine, but I wouldn't submit it under the fact that a lot of people submit without looking at the Discussion Topic and the chance that someone else will make this exact same card seems pretty high to me.
Smart Investment I think is the better choice. It's more original and has really nice flavor.
Having not played the game since Uldum, I think the way you've continued to make your cards is impressive.
If I read Recurring Recruitment strictly as it's worded, then the card is non-functional since it's requiring a minion you summon to die before your next turn, but the problem is that the minion is summoned… on your next turn. See what I'm saying? I'm not exactly sure what the card is actually intended to do. I'm also not really sold on the usage of "cast this again" since that was a thing mainly in the previous expansion (from the card's perspective), Knights of the Frozen Throne.
Copy Homework is definitely a much "cleaner" card and for that reason, I prefer it. I think the flavor is also better here.
As pointed out, this is a simply a much weaker Corruption. Same exact text and costs 2 more mana. Corruption has never been a great card, which is not exactly a good sign for the card.
For what it's worth, I do think the flavor on this version is better and is really good overall, though I think you're better off just making a different card altogether.
There's a bit to unpack here.
As noted, the first version has quite a bit of ambiguity in terms of whether or not it's actually allowed for the competition. This means that even if it was allowed, it would likely get quite a few negative votes under the perception that it goes against what the comp is trying to do. Beyond that, the actual card itself doesn't seem to strong. You need to Combo with it before it becomes an okay card. I don't believe a 3 mana 4/3 that just had Stealth would be broken by any means. By itself without Combo-ing it, it is incredibly weak.
Meisterz39 pointed out the problems with a second version. As a Casts When Drawn card that you put into your deck, it allows you to basically run a 28 card deck, which in a huge majority of situations, is better than running a 30 card deck. In addition to that, it has an upside of summoning a 3/2 minion with Stealth. Granted, it only summons it at the start of your next turn, but even if the only effect it had was a downside, it would still see play simply as a way to get a free cycle with no effort required (unless the downside was REALLY bad). Free Casts When Drawn cards to put into your deck sounds like it would be a fun idea for some type of adventure mode, but not for Constructed.
The Coming Storm is pretty neat, and I wouldn't surprised to see this effect in the game. I do agree that you could also zoom in the artwork. My only concern is that the delayed aspect of the effect doesn't feel "needed" for the card (which I do predict will be a very recurring element of many card in this comp), although it is obviously needed for the comp.
Changing Winds I don't like as much since it's harder to use (when your opponent can easily play around it) and I feel like it robs Silas Darkmoon of his Legendary-ness. The fact that the direction is random also means that you can't really take advantage of it very well.
Won't be able to give feedback at the moment, but I've got the idea all here. I'm a little unsure about how much mana it should cost though.
Wait. Vol'jin has... DOUBLE TARGETING
Now this is something I've wanted forever. This is such a game changer for us card makers.
Damn, I've been late for the second round. Truth be told, I really can't think of anything else for this comp.
I appreciate the idea of Misterious Wildkin (which has a typo by the way, it should be "Mysterious", unless it's supposed to be a pun), but the text is very clunky and doesn't look too good.
Barrens Black Drake feels mostly weak overall. Moat Lurker has never been an "okay" card and this isn't that much better.
Hungry Crocolisk is really flavorful, but it suffers from a few problems. Namely that good targets for it will be hard to come by since it has low Attack and Health, needs to kill the minion and survive the attack. Lots of variables there. It does also run into a problem that Wailor pointed out where it might attack something with 0 Attack and not get damaged. If that happens, then the Frenzy is basically gone. A less talked about problem with cards that gain stats when they die is that they don't work as the creator will have intended and the same works for this card. Since it's killing a minion, it won't gain any Health since the minion it's basing its Health gain off of is 0 or lower. In fact, if it's lower than 0 then it'll take further damage since it's trying to gain a negative number of Health.
Time Traveler ;)
I'm really surprised by the fact that 4 out of 5 entries so far aren't Frenzy minions, but instead give a Frenzy effect to other things. But anyways, feedback.
I will admit that I also did not consider the possibility of infinitely combo-ing with Saurfang. I'm not so sure that it would even be broken, but it does make me want to think of a new card.
Then you get nothing
I did quite enjoy the last comp, but it does feel nice to go back to something Hearthstone.
I am slightly concerned of how much "sticking power" and stat bonuses you could potentially get from this. Since the Riders don't have Rush though, that does help a bit
Even more feedback.
And I do still believe that you shouldn't use an existing set watermark. We're making cards for characters from another franchise, so having them located in an existing set doesn't feel right.
Congrats on your win last week.
I feel like Taric would say "Whenever a minion attacks this, set its Attack to 1". As Link pointed out, it does make him very difficult to remove with any type of minion combat.
Ignoring that one incident, it's nice to see how civil this comment section is for the most part. This is definitely one reason why I love being part of this community and being a writer for the site.
A second card. This has been a very slow comp as I probably should've seen coming. How about we blow something up?!
Jinx is a character that's all about explosives and blowing stuff up. She is the "loose cannon". This card is based off or her LoR design which wants you to dump your hand out as quickly as possible and her token card, Super Mega Death Rocket! which is primarily about face damage.
I could also make it an AoE card so it's a little bit more interesting than just being super-Aggro. And truth be told, I feel like this might be too weak.
EDIT: Off of feedback, I did decide to add a cantrip. I did feel it was on the weak side, and this does similarly fit her LoR card.
Feedback
For someone who hasn't played LoR, you've translated the champs into gameplay quite well! Your first version of Jarvan IV is a decent card, but it feels a bit too similar to just a Divine Shield/Rush card and there's also an empty line in the textbox.
Ashe has a good effect, but right now she has a chance to Freeze the minion she's currently attacking. If you can find a way to change that, then I think what you've got is pretty good!
Your second version of Jarvan IV is a good representation of the Level Up mechanic in LoR, although "Primes" are a distinctly Ashes of Outlands thing so I think I would change the name of the token. I can't help but also feel that the Prime might be a bit weak specifically compared to Deathwing, Mad Aspect.
I do quite like your Battlegrounds version of Jarvan, but I'm not sure how I feel about Battlegrounds and Constructed cards being in the same space given that they have very different design protocols.
I know I mention this a lot, but I think using a custom watermark for this competition is likely advisable. After all, we're making cards for characters from another franchise, so it doesn't really make sense to put them in an existing set... for now.
With that said, here's some early feedback.
So I did already mention everything on Discord, but Teemo could I think could cast the Secret regardless of its name. I think of it like Inconspicuous Rider and I think you should also get rid of the Demon tag since the meme will be lost on a lot of people.
Heimerdinger is a flavorful recreation of his LoR card, but it unfortunately isn't that strong. As an 8 mana 1/3, the chance that it survives your opponent's next turn is extremely slim meaning that at most, you'll just get to cast one 2-Cost spell or two 1-Cost spells before it dies.
Both of them also use existing set watermarks. Heimerdinger though is a bit problematic in that regard since it uses a set-exclusive keyword.
I want to show you a card I made almost exactly 1 year ago for a previous competition. Blasto McBoom.
It got pretty mixed reception. Not because people thought it was overpowered, but because people didn't like Bomb Warrior at the time. I suppose nowadays, that problem is avoided, though your Teemo still remains week. I understand why you chose Bombs too, since they're effectively an equivalent to Poison Puffcaps in LoR, but it's still very weird flavor.
Nautilus is better, but it seems difficult to use, and it also uses an existing set watermark.