Happy birthday, Out of Cards! Here is my first attempt at an entry. I have no idea if this is balanced... I really wanted to make use of E.T.C.'s super weird Horde Warrior mechanic, but unfortunately it is inherently super swingy. Might get Frostwolf Grunt, might get Cairne Bloodhoof. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'll add some feedback shortly :)
EDIT: Feedback! (Also, I realised Rush wasn't introduced when Karazhan was released, so I guess I'll change the watermark in the final)
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@MenacingBagel
I love the flavour of Firework Fanatic. It captures the expectation and surprise of fireworks so beautifully. At first I thought it was just useful as a meme card, but honestly as a Warrior card it synergises really well with all self-damage mechanics, and even outside of that archetype, it would be a decent aggro defense, as they would have to weigh up card draw vs potentially wiping their own board.
Reveller Reno is a fun card, and good support for Highlander, which I always appreciate. But personally I prefer Firework Fanatic.
@linkblade91
I love all the hidden depth Break Time has. All those mediocre armour-based cards suddenly get much more useful and reliable with a card like this, which is itself useful even without them. I think it is fine at 3 mana, as to get more than just an Ice Block you do have to draw quite a few specific cards. By the point in the game that you are launching that combo, the difference between 4 and 3 mana is likely irrelevant.
@KANSAS
Trick Gift is very cool. A unique combination of the Warlock themes of giving bad minions to the opponent and destroying your own minions. Which is ironically balanced by the fact that those effects don’t actually work in this case, because it is summoned for the opponent.
@Alfi
I love the art, I love the text flourish, I love the fantasy of this demon just throwing out Hellfire everywhere. I have no idea if it is truly balanced, but honestly the symmetrical nature of Hellfire itself makes me say: probably?
@anchorm4n
I just saw you already submitted, so I will just say: I like it! Cool concept and perfect art.
@Wailor
Damn, I am always impressed by the uniqueness of your ideas. I see you are not letting up for the extra comp this week haha.
Surprise Party is such a fun concept, and fits really well with Paladin’s themes. A great aggro deterrent and a unique kind of secret to play around. No criticisms!
Happy Hour is a great example of an apparently symmetrical card that the player can strategically play when is best for them and/or worst for the opponent. It wold be excellent for Rogue, and I think the cost is good.
Wedding Officeris a super cool concept, both thematically and mechanically. It could help you take out a threat protected by a taunt, or it could just limit the opponent’s trade potential. Either way I could see it being very useful. One minor quibble, I think Wedding Officiant would make more sense. That term is more associated with the role I think you were going for.
@Dermostatic
Definitely more of a meme card than a good card, but I’m not going to turn my nose up at a decent buff-target for my Libram Paladin or Wild Quest Paladin.
@MrRhapsody
I really like the thematics of Wine and Cork Shot, but I think the name is a bit clunky. Maybe something like “Uncork” or just “Cork Shot” would be better. I think the healing being from the wine is apparent from the theme and the art without having to spell it out.
Arena Cheerleader is cool, and I love a bit of hand-buff support, but I think Wine and Cork Shot is more on-theme, and a better design overall.
@Demonxz95
I thought Firework Specialist was way too strong when I realised it was every turn, but then I realised it is Hunter, so the mech options are limited, and the opponent can clear the mechs if they don’t have 5 damage. Still, 6 mana might be more appropriate, just for the face damage potential, I think.
Explosive Pinata is very on theme and I love the images it conjures, but Firework Specialist is definitely more exciting.
@Xarkkal
I was going to say this seemed to weak for the big drawback, but link’s comment about it only being used as a finisher anyway is very fair. You could also play two copies and only really deal with one lot of downside. Unfortunately, any attack buff on the whole board gets really dicey really fast. What if it gave them Immune instead, to reference the pain and inhibition-diminishing effects of drinking?
I think the 4/4 is fine, but an argument could even be made for 5/4 or 4/5 stats. Djinni of Zephyrs has a similar effect in the positive, and his stats are nearly vanilla; your card also has an extreme downside to it, which will be more commonly procced.
The difference between Geminus and Djinni of Zephyrs is that Geminus is 8/8 of stats before any buffs are played. More if it is coupled with Battlecry-doubling or bouncing effects. I was looking at [Hearthstone Card (Faceless Corrupter) Not Found] as a base, but I guess the big downside plus the fact it is legendary (and doesn't have Rush) could make up for the bonuses, so making it 5 mana, or increasing the stats, could work.
Here is the design I've been dwelling on. The idea is that it is a fantastic target for buffs, but with the big drawback that any damage or removal to one copy effects the other (or all others if you manage to make more). I'm struggling to find a balanced cost/stat combo for the effect, so I'd appreciate any help with that. Also, I am aware the art is awful and already trying to find something better.
Feedback!:
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@BasilAnguis
I really like Gravity Well. It is tough to cost because removal is so variable based on how much a class has already and what exists in the meta. I like it better as a Warlock card, but Warlock is all about trade-offs and getting extra effects from manipulating the game state. What about something akin to Crush? Say, a 6-mana that reads "Destroy a minion. If it has more than 7 health, this costs (4) less." Cost changing based on the target hasn't really been done before though, so idk how exactly that would work…
Comet is very nice thematically, and I think it is costed fairly. No criticisms!
Crack in Time is really interesting. It would definitely be a fun new tool for Mage, and fits their theme of being able to "delay the inevitable" with things like Freeze and Ice Block. Again the cost is tricky, but I think you have it right. It is sort of a weaker Maiev Shadowsong battlecry. Maiev only sacrifices about 1 mana worth of stats for it, and it lasts twice as long, but, she is legendary and only a one-of. As a rare twofer, I think 3 mana is good.
@Beatdoof
Constellar's Envoywould be a nice addition to the sparse Neutral dragons, but it seems quite weak to me. Reducing the cost of all Dragons, or even all cards in your hand would be reasonable for that stat loss and with the effect as a Deathrattle. Alternatively, you could up the stats to 4/5 and make it a Battlecry. Then it would be a really useful tool for tempo-oriented Dragon decks.
Touch The Stars is a really interesting concept, and with a little tweaking could be a brilliant design. I would suggest making it affect the right-most card instead, so that it combos nicely with Stargazer Luna. With that it would suddenly become a powerful tool for burn decks, making it worth the high cost. (I wrote this before seeing your new version, but honestly I'd still prefer the old version, but with that change. Up to you though, as the new one is also good and I kinda like the image of a Mage tossing out cards from both sides of their hand to burn through everything.)
@anchorm4n
It took me a second to understand Ebb and Flow, but now I get it the tide theme is really cool, and taking that leap from "space' to moon to tides is ingenious. I really like the effects, but I think the Murlocs one is a bit too powerful. Even with the added unreliability, 14/14 of stats for 7 is pretty crazy, especially when they are the ever-synergistic Murlocs. I'd say 2/1s would be much fairer, and just seems right for Murlocs, due to matching the stats of both Murloc Raider and Murloc Tidehunter. The power of giving Shaman Flamestrike is I think fairly balanced by the switching, so no issue there.
Red Planet is another cool outside-the-box idea - going from Mars to its war god namesake. I love it! I assume just attacking minions would not count towards the Quest? If it would, the total needs to be much higher. If not, I still think it should be increased to 10, just because it so easy and usually beneficial for Warriors to do that nowadays. With that, I'd say the huge power of the hero power would be fair.
@MrRhapsody
Comet Tripis a very cool idea (and awesome art choice!). It seems weak compared to Entomb, but Entomb was ridiculously powerful, and Priest had much less direct removal than Mage, so I'd say it's fair.
Far Sighted Telescope is probably my favourite. Usually these "put [a card] on the top of your deck" effects seem underwhelming to me, but I love that this one gives you valuable data about your deck order ("I can't rely on those two cards, so let's adjust the plan"), plus gives you the chance to save one of those dreaded "last cards in the deck" to pull off whatever combo, draw some needed removal, or just find a good tempo drop. It reminds me of Tracking, but without the inevitable case of discarding 2 out of 3 of the best cards in your deck… One minor quibble - the name should really be "Far-Sighted Telescope" with the hyphen.
Solar Flare is a really neat idea that I know would enrage a lot of people, but I would personally find hilarious (probably until I had to face it…). It is really hard to judge the cost, as it could either be game-winning or completely ineffectual. But, considering you can manipulate your board state and control when you play it to increase its potential benefit, I would probably say it should be at least 2 mana.
Thank you for the feedback, anchorm4n and linkblade. I think I am going to go for the 6 mana 5/5 which adapts and then takes the HP from the result. My heart was telling me that was the most interesting and elegant solution, so I hope everyone else sees it that way!
I think it's funny that Rexus is "Lord of Un'Goro" when Tyrantus is just that much more powerful lol. Kind of disappointing that Tyrantus is already taken, actually, given that Tyrantus adapts when threatened in WoW. Really all of the good ones have become cards already :/
If the card is missing something I don't know what it is either, because every thing looks ready to go.
Yeah, all of the named Devilsaurs are already taken, sadly :( I debated making it a new form of Krush, but I wanted to use that art and it doesn't look much like him.
I am glad you like that version! Did you see my edit with the alternate idea though? Now I am torn!
I've done some thinking about my concept and the feedback you all gave and I'm back with a new iteration.
I decided to keep it neutral and targeting any minion, as I agree with those of you that said this is a more exciting and flexible idea. I have however made it a beast itself so that beast specialists like Hunter and Druid can tutor it. I decided to make it higher cost and legendary, to remove some temptation of aggro decks to make oppressive use of it. Consequently, I changed up the art and name to suit its more grandiose nature. Making it a one-off honestly makes more sense, as a second copy would rarely be useful anyway, and again this promotes building a deck around pulling it.
What do y'all think? I feel like it is still missing something, but I am not sure what.
EDIT: After posting this, I immediately had another idea - for the Hero power to become one of the Adapt options. This is a less flexible ability, but I believe it is more powerful due to the consistency. As such, I have added a deck restriction, but I am not sure how to word the actual effect. I think the last one is my favourite, but which option do you all prefer?
As usual, the first card I thought of was Un'Goro themed... I'm not sure if this is balanced as is, or if it should be "a friendly beast", and if so if it should be a Hunter card. At any rate, I am going to have a longer think and see if I can come up with anything slightly more novel.
I am a huge fan of both Paladin Quests, so I jumped straight to them when I saw this prompt. I spent a good while thinking about my idea before coming here, only to see it was basically the same as Link's first idea! I was coming to ask which of these two wordings sound best to all of you, but I think this makes my decision for me. The second version now seems the best as it would actually work subtly differently to Link's idea in a couple of key instances. Namely, it avoids the issues of recasting things like Libram of Hope. What do you guys think?
Feedback:
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Wailor:Chumsayer - I love the thematics, and of course the callback. However, considering there is no way to stop the effect, it seems very strong compared to Doomsayer. I'd say make it 3 mana at least. Recurring Thief - The name is fine, but you could also say Serial Thief or Re-offending Thief. Darkspear Survivor - A really cool idea. Taunt basically guarantees at least +1/+1, but Warrior damaging mechanics could lead to some awesome combos. Definitely my fav of the three as they are, but Chumsayer could trump it if the balance is sorted.
Hordaki:Anubisath Guardian - This is such a cool concept because it basically balances itself. It's almost like a recurring "Forbidden" card from Old Gods. I love how elegantly it supports both quests. Trans-Mrrgl-Fier - Amazing art choice and fantastic themeing. I am honestly not sure if a transform effect counts as a summon, but even if it doesn't it's a murloc itself anyway. I honestly don't know which I prefer more!
Meisterz39:Fiery Warbringer - Unfortunately very similar to Wailor's Darkspear Survivor, but understandable you both went down that route as it's a cool idea. Your version is on the weaker side, but it doesn't support aggro enrage decks as well, so maybe it would be more fun to play against haha. Hakuna Matata - Glorious. I love the idea, I love the art, I love all of it. I just wish Disney weren't litigious bastards, because I want it in the game! Better Part of Valor - A neat little counterpart to Desperate Stand. I could see this being printed, but I definitely think Hakuna Matata is a better option for standing out in the competition.
DescentOfDragonsOp:Murloc Elder - I definitely agree with Conduit on the draw being way too powerful for this cost/statline. An alternative option to just increasing the cost/dropping the stats would be to add a drawback. Perhaps destroying a friendly murloc, or overloading by a significant amount.
TheHoax91:Nether Tempest - This is a really cool idea, but I don't think it is powerful enough to be legendary. I think it would be fine as an epic with everything else the same. Masquerade -I love this card a lot as an idea and as support for The Caverns Below, but… I don't see how it supports Bazaar Burglary. Am I missing something? Even if the last minion you played was from another class, this would be transforming cards in your hand, not adding them, and I don't believe permanent transformation counts as adding, let alone temporary.
Thez: Frontline Vanguard -I'd argue that if the other entries with simple weapon buffs count, then this should too. However, I think it is a bit strong. If you compare to Ruststeed Raider (a good card being played in several decks right now), Frontline Vanguard has the same stat total for one less mana, and a permanent attack buff instead of temporary. I'd say make it one more mana, or reduce the stats to something like 1/6
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
It's not really a good idea for a class card to be a very specific tech option
I mean, if the opponent has no dragons it's still a 7 mana 8/8. I feel like DH would be happy with that worst case anyway. But regardless, if you take this in the context of an Ashes of Outland card, which comes at a point when almost every class except DH is playing dragons in some form, I feel it is fine.
I didn't really mean from a balance standpoint, but rather from a card design standpoint. By making a tech card a class card, it's taking up a class card slot, when that slot could instead be used for general or archetype support for that class. You're also only giving that one class an out in the event that Dragon decks do become a part of the meta. Imagine if they made an anti-Secret card for a class instead of making it Neutral? It would make no sense to put it there.
That and also what happens when Year of the Dragon rotates out, and we didn't get many more Dragons this year? Exactly.
Firstly, tech class cards already exist. Flare, to name but one. Secondly, I already explained how it is still a decent card even if its effect doesn't activate. As well as being a 7 mana 8/8 body, it also gives you information on your opponent's hand, which is always useful.
Rotating synergy is irrelevant. You could say exactly the same thing about literally any synergistic card, including all the other dragon synergy added in AoO.
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
I'm gonna say this now, I swear this card has been made but for Warrior and I think either Regis or Trump reviewed it as well. The text and idea of the card look way too similar. I don't have the time atm to check which video it was in, but from what it looks like, it's just a copy paste for Demon Hunter which I find really infuriating. Again, I may be wrong, but I'm certain this card with the exact wording has been made and it's just submitted for the Demon Hunter class instead.
I've never watched Regis and haven't watched Trump in years, and the only community creation stuff I ever look at is on this site and HearthPwn before it. If anyone has made this card before then it is coincidence, made not so unlikely by the fact that "Gruul the Dragonkiller" is just Gruul's full name in WoW lore. I really don't appreciate the way you worded this as a PSA to everyone else that I am apparently a thief and liar to beware of. If you didn't mean it like that, then please reassess your wording and your assumptions.
Honestly, with these two comments I've lost all motivation to take part in this competition. Good luck everyone else.
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
It's not really a good idea for a class card to be a very specific tech option
I mean, if the opponent has no dragons it's still a 7 mana 8/8. I feel like DH would be happy with that worst case anyway. But regardless, if you take this in the context of an Ashes of Outland card, which comes at a point when almost every class except DH is playing dragons in some form, I feel it is fine.
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
I had a couple of ideas based around Taunt and hero powers, to synergise with both the Quest and Reward of Fire Plume's Heart. The first is also useful for other Warrior archetypes, the other not so much, but could lead to some fun DIE INSECT! combos.
At the moment I am leaning towards the latter. Which do you guys prefer?
I prefer Sulfuron Firesmith, but it's very similar to my Ironmelt Guardian. Let me know if you decide to go with it, because having two submissions so similar would be kinda redundant and might hurt both of us.
I am afraid I have already submitted, with the adjustments suggested by Xarkkal and Linkblade made.
I honestly don't think they're too similar though. As yours is a Deathrattle it is both not as easily abuse-able, and has a whole other suite of synergies which lend themselves to completely different and interesting combos. I think you would be quite safe to submit it, if that was the one you were thinking of going with too.
I had a couple of ideas based around Taunt and hero powers, to synergise with both the Quest and Reward of Fire Plume's Heart. The first is also useful for other Warrior archetypes, the other not so much, but could lead to some fun DIE INSECT! combos.
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At the moment I am leaning towards the latter. Which do you guys prefer?
I prefer Sulfuron Firesmith. Couple of things though. First, it should say "Your Hero Power triggers twice." Power shouldn't be plural as you can only have 1 hero power active at a time. Second, I think this effect is way too powerful at 3 mana. You can achieve this same effect with Waterboy and Garrison Commander for 4 mana. Not to mention if you combo this with Garrison Commander, that's 32 damage for 9 mana. (and it's Ragnaros' attack, so you know they will all go face!). I think it might be better to try for 5 mana. Maybe 5/2/7?
Yeah, that version of the text does sound better. In my head, I was thinking about the multiple hero powers you can have over time, but that doesn't really make sense.
I don't think comparing the cost to Garrison Commander + Waterboy is exactly fair, considering a) both of those cards were very weak, so making a stronger version isn't necessarily bad, and b) they are both neutral and therefore have to consider the vastly more abuse-able hero powers of other classes. That said, I do see the issues with it being combined with Garrison Commander (as awesome as that finisher sounds), so I'd rather increase the costs and bring the stats in line. 5 mana sounds fair, because then the combo you described costs 11 mana, which means super keen memers can still play it with Emperor Thaurissan, or coin-generators like Licensed Adventurer. If you go that hard on a combo, I think you deserve the 32 damage lol.
I had a couple of ideas based around Taunt and hero powers, to synergise with both the Quest and Reward of Fire Plume's Heart. The first is also useful for other Warrior archetypes, the other not so much, but could lead to some fun DIE INSECT! combos.
At the moment I am leaning towards the latter. Which do you guys prefer?
Following the feedback above, I have created some updated versions of my two ideas.
With Untamed Devilsaur, this now means you are incentivised to play small minions around it to avoid it attacking your own face, which honestly feeds into the fantasy even more in a way I really enjoy. With this added drawback, I think the cost is fine. When compared to Fel Reaver, its downside is much more debilitating in the short term, and it requires constant input on the player's side to counteract. I think this makes up for the 1 mana decrease.
Following Linkblade's excellent point that playing Rebellious Recruit on an empty board removes its downside, I came up with this new design. However, I now realise that maybe this isn't in-keeping with the rules, as it does not have high stats to begin with. I am probably going to go with the Devilsaur (I can't argue with your reasoning, Nirast), but I'd be interested to hear a mod ruling on this.
I finally have time to submit my ideas! I am furloughed from tomorrow though, so I'll have plenty of time to go through and give some feedback then [crylaughing emoji].
The first is just your archetypal uncontrollable beast, which I don't think we really have in HS yet. I'm not sure if it is too bland, or if it's really balanced. I could just make it "a random character" for some real chaos, but I don't know if that is really better or worse. At least how it is you can play it on an empty board for a reliable result.
The second was an idea I had which ironically would have worked great for the last contest too. The fantasy is a demon which has been conscripted by the side of good, but then turns on its allies. Unfortunately I couldn't find any art that better got across the concept. Do you think it is balanced as is, considering Paladin's ease of token generation? Or should it be a 5/5?
Happy birthday, Out of Cards! Here is my first attempt at an entry. I have no idea if this is balanced... I really wanted to make use of E.T.C.'s super weird Horde Warrior mechanic, but unfortunately it is inherently super swingy. Might get Frostwolf Grunt, might get Cairne Bloodhoof. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'll add some feedback shortly :)
EDIT: Feedback! (Also, I realised Rush wasn't introduced when Karazhan was released, so I guess I'll change the watermark in the final)
@MenacingBagel
I love the flavour of Firework Fanatic. It captures the expectation and surprise of fireworks so beautifully. At first I thought it was just useful as a meme card, but honestly as a Warrior card it synergises really well with all self-damage mechanics, and even outside of that archetype, it would be a decent aggro defense, as they would have to weigh up card draw vs potentially wiping their own board.
Reveller Reno is a fun card, and good support for Highlander, which I always appreciate. But personally I prefer Firework Fanatic.
@linkblade91
I love all the hidden depth Break Time has. All those mediocre armour-based cards suddenly get much more useful and reliable with a card like this, which is itself useful even without them. I think it is fine at 3 mana, as to get more than just an Ice Block you do have to draw quite a few specific cards. By the point in the game that you are launching that combo, the difference between 4 and 3 mana is likely irrelevant.
@KANSAS
Trick Gift is very cool. A unique combination of the Warlock themes of giving bad minions to the opponent and destroying your own minions. Which is ironically balanced by the fact that those effects don’t actually work in this case, because it is summoned for the opponent.
@Alfi
I love the art, I love the text flourish, I love the fantasy of this demon just throwing out Hellfire everywhere. I have no idea if it is truly balanced, but honestly the symmetrical nature of Hellfire itself makes me say: probably?
@anchorm4n
I just saw you already submitted, so I will just say: I like it! Cool concept and perfect art.
@Wailor
Damn, I am always impressed by the uniqueness of your ideas. I see you are not letting up for the extra comp this week haha.
Surprise Party is such a fun concept, and fits really well with Paladin’s themes. A great aggro deterrent and a unique kind of secret to play around. No criticisms!
Happy Hour is a great example of an apparently symmetrical card that the player can strategically play when is best for them and/or worst for the opponent. It wold be excellent for Rogue, and I think the cost is good.
Wedding Officer is a super cool concept, both thematically and mechanically. It could help you take out a threat protected by a taunt, or it could just limit the opponent’s trade potential. Either way I could see it being very useful. One minor quibble, I think Wedding Officiant would make more sense. That term is more associated with the role I think you were going for.
@Dermostatic
Definitely more of a meme card than a good card, but I’m not going to turn my nose up at a decent buff-target for my Libram Paladin or Wild Quest Paladin.
@MrRhapsody
I really like the thematics of Wine and Cork Shot, but I think the name is a bit clunky. Maybe something like “Uncork” or just “Cork Shot” would be better. I think the healing being from the wine is apparent from the theme and the art without having to spell it out.
Arena Cheerleader is cool, and I love a bit of hand-buff support, but I think Wine and Cork Shot is more on-theme, and a better design overall.
@Demonxz95
I thought Firework Specialist was way too strong when I realised it was every turn, but then I realised it is Hunter, so the mech options are limited, and the opponent can clear the mechs if they don’t have 5 damage. Still, 6 mana might be more appropriate, just for the face damage potential, I think.
Explosive Pinata is very on theme and I love the images it conjures, but Firework Specialist is definitely more exciting.
@Xarkkal
I was going to say this seemed to weak for the big drawback, but link’s comment about it only being used as a finisher anyway is very fair. You could also play two copies and only really deal with one lot of downside. Unfortunately, any attack buff on the whole board gets really dicey really fast. What if it gave them Immune instead, to reference the pain and inhibition-diminishing effects of drinking?
The difference between Geminus and Djinni of Zephyrs is that Geminus is 8/8 of stats before any buffs are played. More if it is coupled with Battlecry-doubling or bouncing effects. I was looking at [Hearthstone Card (Faceless Corrupter) Not Found] as a base, but I guess the big downside plus the fact it is legendary (and doesn't have Rush) could make up for the bonuses, so making it 5 mana, or increasing the stats, could work.
Here is the design I've been dwelling on. The idea is that it is a fantastic target for buffs, but with the big drawback that any damage or removal to one copy effects the other (or all others if you manage to make more). I'm struggling to find a balanced cost/stat combo for the effect, so I'd appreciate any help with that. Also, I am aware the art is awful and already trying to find something better.
Feedback!:
@BasilAnguis
I really like Gravity Well. It is tough to cost because removal is so variable based on how much a class has already and what exists in the meta. I like it better as a Warlock card, but Warlock is all about trade-offs and getting extra effects from manipulating the game state. What about something akin to Crush? Say, a 6-mana that reads "Destroy a minion. If it has more than 7 health, this costs (4) less." Cost changing based on the target hasn't really been done before though, so idk how exactly that would work…
Comet is very nice thematically, and I think it is costed fairly. No criticisms!
Crack in Time is really interesting. It would definitely be a fun new tool for Mage, and fits their theme of being able to "delay the inevitable" with things like Freeze and Ice Block. Again the cost is tricky, but I think you have it right. It is sort of a weaker Maiev Shadowsong battlecry. Maiev only sacrifices about 1 mana worth of stats for it, and it lasts twice as long, but, she is legendary and only a one-of. As a rare twofer, I think 3 mana is good.
@Beatdoof
Constellar's Envoy would be a nice addition to the sparse Neutral dragons, but it seems quite weak to me. Reducing the cost of all Dragons, or even all cards in your hand would be reasonable for that stat loss and with the effect as a Deathrattle. Alternatively, you could up the stats to 4/5 and make it a Battlecry. Then it would be a really useful tool for tempo-oriented Dragon decks.
Touch The Stars is a really interesting concept, and with a little tweaking could be a brilliant design. I would suggest making it affect the right-most card instead, so that it combos nicely with Stargazer Luna. With that it would suddenly become a powerful tool for burn decks, making it worth the high cost. (I wrote this before seeing your new version, but honestly I'd still prefer the old version, but with that change. Up to you though, as the new one is also good and I kinda like the image of a Mage tossing out cards from both sides of their hand to burn through everything.)
@anchorm4n
It took me a second to understand Ebb and Flow, but now I get it the tide theme is really cool, and taking that leap from "space' to moon to tides is ingenious. I really like the effects, but I think the Murlocs one is a bit too powerful. Even with the added unreliability, 14/14 of stats for 7 is pretty crazy, especially when they are the ever-synergistic Murlocs. I'd say 2/1s would be much fairer, and just seems right for Murlocs, due to matching the stats of both Murloc Raider and Murloc Tidehunter. The power of giving Shaman Flamestrike is I think fairly balanced by the switching, so no issue there.
Red Planet is another cool outside-the-box idea - going from Mars to its war god namesake. I love it! I assume just attacking minions would not count towards the Quest? If it would, the total needs to be much higher. If not, I still think it should be increased to 10, just because it so easy and usually beneficial for Warriors to do that nowadays. With that, I'd say the huge power of the hero power would be fair.
@MrRhapsody
Comet Trip is a very cool idea (and awesome art choice!). It seems weak compared to Entomb, but Entomb was ridiculously powerful, and Priest had much less direct removal than Mage, so I'd say it's fair.
Far Sighted Telescope is probably my favourite. Usually these "put [a card] on the top of your deck" effects seem underwhelming to me, but I love that this one gives you valuable data about your deck order ("I can't rely on those two cards, so let's adjust the plan"), plus gives you the chance to save one of those dreaded "last cards in the deck" to pull off whatever combo, draw some needed removal, or just find a good tempo drop. It reminds me of Tracking, but without the inevitable case of discarding 2 out of 3 of the best cards in your deck… One minor quibble - the name should really be "Far-Sighted Telescope" with the hyphen.
Solar Flare is a really neat idea that I know would enrage a lot of people, but I would personally find hilarious (probably until I had to face it…). It is really hard to judge the cost, as it could either be game-winning or completely ineffectual. But, considering you can manipulate your board state and control when you play it to increase its potential benefit, I would probably say it should be at least 2 mana.
Thank you for the feedback, anchorm4n and linkblade. I think I am going to go for the 6 mana 5/5 which adapts and then takes the HP from the result. My heart was telling me that was the most interesting and elegant solution, so I hope everyone else sees it that way!
Yeah, all of the named Devilsaurs are already taken, sadly :( I debated making it a new form of Krush, but I wanted to use that art and it doesn't look much like him.
I am glad you like that version! Did you see my edit with the alternate idea though? Now I am torn!
I've done some thinking about my concept and the feedback you all gave and I'm back with a new iteration.
I decided to keep it neutral and targeting any minion, as I agree with those of you that said this is a more exciting and flexible idea. I have however made it a beast itself so that beast specialists like Hunter and Druid can tutor it. I decided to make it higher cost and legendary, to remove some temptation of aggro decks to make oppressive use of it. Consequently, I changed up the art and name to suit its more grandiose nature. Making it a one-off honestly makes more sense, as a second copy would rarely be useful anyway, and again this promotes building a deck around pulling it.
What do y'all think? I feel like it is still missing something, but I am not sure what.
EDIT: After posting this, I immediately had another idea - for the Hero power to become one of the Adapt options. This is a less flexible ability, but I believe it is more powerful due to the consistency. As such, I have added a deck restriction, but I am not sure how to word the actual effect. I think the last one is my favourite, but which option do you all prefer?
As usual, the first card I thought of was Un'Goro themed... I'm not sure if this is balanced as is, or if it should be "a friendly beast", and if so if it should be a Hunter card. At any rate, I am going to have a longer think and see if I can come up with anything slightly more novel.
I am a huge fan of both Paladin Quests, so I jumped straight to them when I saw this prompt. I spent a good while thinking about my idea before coming here, only to see it was basically the same as Link's first idea! I was coming to ask which of these two wordings sound best to all of you, but I think this makes my decision for me. The second version now seems the best as it would actually work subtly differently to Link's idea in a couple of key instances. Namely, it avoids the issues of recasting things like Libram of Hope. What do you guys think?
Feedback:
Wailor: Chumsayer - I love the thematics, and of course the callback. However, considering there is no way to stop the effect, it seems very strong compared to Doomsayer. I'd say make it 3 mana at least. Recurring Thief - The name is fine, but you could also say Serial Thief or Re-offending Thief. Darkspear Survivor - A really cool idea. Taunt basically guarantees at least +1/+1, but Warrior damaging mechanics could lead to some awesome combos. Definitely my fav of the three as they are, but Chumsayer could trump it if the balance is sorted.
Hordaki: Anubisath Guardian - This is such a cool concept because it basically balances itself. It's almost like a recurring "Forbidden" card from Old Gods. I love how elegantly it supports both quests. Trans-Mrrgl-Fier - Amazing art choice and fantastic themeing. I am honestly not sure if a transform effect counts as a summon, but even if it doesn't it's a murloc itself anyway. I honestly don't know which I prefer more!
Meisterz39: Fiery Warbringer - Unfortunately very similar to Wailor's Darkspear Survivor, but understandable you both went down that route as it's a cool idea. Your version is on the weaker side, but it doesn't support aggro enrage decks as well, so maybe it would be more fun to play against haha. Hakuna Matata - Glorious. I love the idea, I love the art, I love all of it. I just wish Disney weren't litigious bastards, because I want it in the game! Better Part of Valor - A neat little counterpart to Desperate Stand. I could see this being printed, but I definitely think Hakuna Matata is a better option for standing out in the competition.
DescentOfDragonsOp: Murloc Elder - I definitely agree with Conduit on the draw being way too powerful for this cost/statline. An alternative option to just increasing the cost/dropping the stats would be to add a drawback. Perhaps destroying a friendly murloc, or overloading by a significant amount.
TheHoax91: Nether Tempest - This is a really cool idea, but I don't think it is powerful enough to be legendary. I think it would be fine as an epic with everything else the same. Masquerade - I love this card a lot as an idea and as support for The Caverns Below, but… I don't see how it supports Bazaar Burglary. Am I missing something? Even if the last minion you played was from another class, this would be transforming cards in your hand, not adding them, and I don't believe permanent transformation counts as adding, let alone temporary.
Thez: Frontline Vanguard -I'd argue that if the other entries with simple weapon buffs count, then this should too. However, I think it is a bit strong. If you compare to Ruststeed Raider (a good card being played in several decks right now), Frontline Vanguard has the same stat total for one less mana, and a permanent attack buff instead of temporary. I'd say make it one more mana, or reduce the stats to something like 1/6
Firstly, tech class cards already exist. Flare, to name but one. Secondly, I already explained how it is still a decent card even if its effect doesn't activate. As well as being a 7 mana 8/8 body, it also gives you information on your opponent's hand, which is always useful.
Rotating synergy is irrelevant. You could say exactly the same thing about literally any synergistic card, including all the other dragon synergy added in AoO.
I've never watched Regis and haven't watched Trump in years, and the only community creation stuff I ever look at is on this site and HearthPwn before it. If anyone has made this card before then it is coincidence, made not so unlikely by the fact that "Gruul the Dragonkiller" is just Gruul's full name in WoW lore. I really don't appreciate the way you worded this as a PSA to everyone else that I am apparently a thief and liar to beware of. If you didn't mean it like that, then please reassess your wording and your assumptions.
Honestly, with these two comments I've lost all motivation to take part in this competition. Good luck everyone else.
I mean, if the opponent has no dragons it's still a 7 mana 8/8. I feel like DH would be happy with that worst case anyway. But regardless, if you take this in the context of an Ashes of Outland card, which comes at a point when almost every class except DH is playing dragons in some form, I feel it is fine.
After reading up on the Demon Hunters, it occurred to me that Gruul was really done dirty by his Hearthstone representation, so here's my attempt to rectify that.
It is quite situational, but would be a useful combo disrupter when things like Malygos and dragon Priest are strong, and generally a good turn 7 play when dragons are all over the place, like today.
I was sure there was a card like this I could look to for help on wording and statline, but either it doesn't exist or my Google-fu has failed. Comparing to cards like Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred indicates it should be over-statted, but I feel like more stats would make it too strong, lower cost would make it too powerful for aggro, and any less would make it too weak for such a situational effect. What do you guys think?
I am afraid I have already submitted, with the adjustments suggested by Xarkkal and Linkblade made.
I honestly don't think they're too similar though. As yours is a Deathrattle it is both not as easily abuse-able, and has a whole other suite of synergies which lend themselves to completely different and interesting combos. I think you would be quite safe to submit it, if that was the one you were thinking of going with too.
Yeah, that version of the text does sound better. In my head, I was thinking about the multiple hero powers you can have over time, but that doesn't really make sense.
I don't think comparing the cost to Garrison Commander + Waterboy is exactly fair, considering a) both of those cards were very weak, so making a stronger version isn't necessarily bad, and b) they are both neutral and therefore have to consider the vastly more abuse-able hero powers of other classes. That said, I do see the issues with it being combined with Garrison Commander (as awesome as that finisher sounds), so I'd rather increase the costs and bring the stats in line. 5 mana sounds fair, because then the combo you described costs 11 mana, which means super keen memers can still play it with Emperor Thaurissan, or coin-generators like Licensed Adventurer. If you go that hard on a combo, I think you deserve the 32 damage lol.
Hello again, CDC peeps.
I had a couple of ideas based around Taunt and hero powers, to synergise with both the Quest and Reward of Fire Plume's Heart. The first is also useful for other Warrior archetypes, the other not so much, but could lead to some fun DIE INSECT! combos.
At the moment I am leaning towards the latter. Which do you guys prefer?
Good luck to all my fellow finalists! And thanks to everyone who voted for my card already to get it this far!
That's fair enough. Yeah, I think I will go with Untamed Devilsaur anyway.
Following the feedback above, I have created some updated versions of my two ideas.
With Untamed Devilsaur, this now means you are incentivised to play small minions around it to avoid it attacking your own face, which honestly feeds into the fantasy even more in a way I really enjoy. With this added drawback, I think the cost is fine. When compared to Fel Reaver, its downside is much more debilitating in the short term, and it requires constant input on the player's side to counteract. I think this makes up for the 1 mana decrease.
Following Linkblade's excellent point that playing Rebellious Recruit on an empty board removes its downside, I came up with this new design. However, I now realise that maybe this isn't in-keeping with the rules, as it does not have high stats to begin with. I am probably going to go with the Devilsaur (I can't argue with your reasoning, Nirast), but I'd be interested to hear a mod ruling on this.
I finally have time to submit my ideas! I am furloughed from tomorrow though, so I'll have plenty of time to go through and give some feedback then [crylaughing emoji].
The first is just your archetypal uncontrollable beast, which I don't think we really have in HS yet. I'm not sure if it is too bland, or if it's really balanced. I could just make it "a random character" for some real chaos, but I don't know if that is really better or worse. At least how it is you can play it on an empty board for a reliable result.
The second was an idea I had which ironically would have worked great for the last contest too. The fantasy is a demon which has been conscripted by the side of good, but then turns on its allies. Unfortunately I couldn't find any art that better got across the concept. Do you think it is balanced as is, considering Paladin's ease of token generation? Or should it be a 5/5?
Congrats, Linkblade! I really loved your card, and definitely fitting that such an iconic "good demon" would win for this theme.
And yay me :) Second place is definitely the best I've done yet, on here or Hearthpwn, so I hope I can continue my upward trend!
I tried reducing the text and it worked. Thanks for the help.