It's not a mage card. You are doing what I did and thinking Polymorph. That's not what it says. Polymerisation is a Yu-Gi-Oh card that combines two monsters. Can you think of a Hearthstone equivalent that might be appropriate for Halloween?
Haha, amazing. It is a real testament to the value in the deck that it can hold out against DMH.
Ziliax is a really good replacement for Wickerflame, and honestly might just be better... I'll have to try it. Wickerflame's only advantage is the lower cost, but that is rarely an issue when trying to protect big threats late game, and the Rush would be phenomenal for recovery.
Eydis is a fantastic shout. I wish I had her to try that. The machine gun with the 0-cost Librams would be glorious.
Thanks for trying it and thanks for the feedback. I'll add those suggestions to the guide! :)
First off, I love both this theme and the presumably D&D-inspired title. All the weird anthropomorphic animals are my favs in both games.
Secondly, here is my first idea. I tried to go with something flavourful and linked to the furbolgs' lore in WoW, but I am not sure if the end result is very exciting (is it too similar to Druid of the Claw?). I thought a furbolg would work well for a card that adds new flare to classic Druid mechanics, but I am not sure if it ended up over- or under-powered. What do y'all think?
I will be back tomorrow with some feedback for everyone.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Following your suggestions, I am going to submit School Dinner pretty much the same, but at 4 mana. I see the card as a finisher for Face Hunter, or as a late-game board clear for a midrange deck. In either circumstance I think any lower cost would make it too powerful, especially considering Hunter has so much small minion generation with things like Desert Spear, Unleash the Hounds and Swarm of Locusts.
I also decided to stick with Hunter, even though a "damaged minions" based version in Warrior does sounds very cool and flavourful, simply because the 1/1 Piranha token is already a thing for Hunter with Piranha Launcher, and attacking random enemies is too with Nagrand Slam, The Beast Within, Imprisoned Felmaw, etc.
Thank you for all your feedback, everyone. It seems everyone agreed my first idea was a bit too bland and a bit too strong (and it also seems people either love my name or hate (to spell) it, haha).
I have come up with another idea, but it was really tough to find appropriate art. I was hoping to find something vaguely wow-styled that showed a cafeteria lunch with like a fish head or something, but that proved far too obscure. I thought with an image like that and the punny name it would be perfect for Scholomance. I hope this still gets the idea across? Is it clear that it's the number of piranhas that increases whenever a friendly minion dies? This would have to be in the hand for it to count up, but "while this is in your hand" has been variously included or not with no apparent consistency, so I left it off to save text.
Feedback for everyone!
Show Spoiler
Demonxz95 - I love it. Humorous, fits the theme, fits the direction HS took the Lich King in their ad materials for KFT, and some much needed Freeze Shaman support.
linkblade91 - I like the idea, and the art is adorable, but the effect is not very clear from the text and I don't really know how you'd fix that. I can only suggest a different effect with the same art.
Cg8889 - A very interesting idea. I like that it's sort of like a living secret, and it plays into druids whole "5 or more attack" theme. I just think the concept in general would be more suited to Rogue than Druid. Oops, just saw you posted a new idea. This one is very cool, and the name and theme are great, as is the attribution to Gadgetzan (although I could just as easily see it in Kharazan). It is definitely a VERY powerful draw tool, but I suppose you can't use it for tempo plays, as whatever you draw is coming 2 turns late, so I guess it should be okay?
Valor1204 - I like it. Very clear and appropriate theme, cute art, and it would be a decent Reborn minion to help curve out Paladin quest. It could even work in quest Priest too.
Hordaki - A fun idea, and kudos on the TGT representation. I could see this genuinely being run in Face decks, just to get around taunts and hit face when the opponent has one minion. Ironically, it would bring some interesting plays to a usually very simple playstyle for the deck.
linkblade91 - I like this one much more :) The art is perfect, I love the unusual angle on the Menagerie theme, and destroying minions fits Warlock perfectly. Not to mention they do tend to run a weird mix of tribes in Zoo too.
KANSAS - I much prefer Fish Dinner (werdly similar name to my new idea, but thankfully very different effects). I do think you could make it Warlock though. Warloc was the first true murloc deck, and they've had some support in the form of Seadevil Stinger in MSG. I don't see why you can't bring it back!
Arkasaur - The effect is very interesting, but I am not sure how it really fits the competition theme. How does it give the card back if it eats it? I am not sure I want to know…
grumpymonk - The art is amazing and the effect is very cool. The damage seems high considering it isn't bad even without the weapon boost, but I guess it being only undamaged minions should make it okay.
Pokeniner - I love the art and how perfectly it fits the punny name. Big props for that lol. The effect seems to fit the greedy idea of the art and name too, so all works for me!
BloodMefist - I love all the little nods to WoW lore and the irl Gordon Ramsay here. Even without them, it's an interesting effect that I could definitely see in the game. Neutral discards are very rare, but this seems like a good use of it.
Neoguli - It's a really cool effect and the art is great, but I don't see how it fits the theme? I saw you explain how the effect relates to the art, but I mean, how is it related to cooking/eating? Is it an oblique reference to Beauty the Beast and the Be Our Guest segment? If so, that seems a bit to tenuous a link to me…
anchorm4n - I am a sucker for good colour synchronisation between art and card border, so this one immediately got me. The art itself is also awesome, and the effect is a kind not seen in HS in a while that I think deserves another chance. I like it! Didn't see your other card until after I wrote this. I stand by what I said, but I do really like the new one. The fantasy makes perfect sense, and I like that i's sort of a "chill" card that still makes perfect sense for hunter.
TheHoax91 - This is such a cool effect, and of course very powerful, but I think the high cost and low stats balance it, while keeping a statline that could definitely make use of it, especially with things like Warrior's Galakrond battlecry. Definitely a strong contender!
JackJimson - I like the first part of the effect (a board-wide The Beast Within is a pretty fun idea), but the second part adds unnecessary complication and doesn't really fit Hunter imo. Heals are not really a part of the class. Perhaps, if you wanted to keep that theme and reduce text on the card you could instead make it this: "Your friendly beasts gain Lifesteal and attack random enemies." You could do Lifesteal and Immune, but that would be too strong for 2 mana I think.
FieselFitz - A cool effect and perfect art. I definitely perfer the second version though. I seems everyone wants to eat murlocs in this competition! XD
BasilAnguis - Conjure Food is an interesting idea, and I see why it kind of has to be a Secret as it currently is, but it feels kinda clunky. You could just make it "Restore 4 Health, your next spell costs 1 less mana" to accomplish a similar effect without that added clunkiness. I think I prefer Morbid Recipe. The art for both parts is great, and the Sweney Todd thematics are on point.
I have a question: The topic is "food or eating", so would something like Hungry Crab that canonically "eats" a minion be acceptable?
Its up to the mods to decide but since I've suggested this theme, my opinion is that yes, things that eat are acceptable. I think Humongous Razorleaf might be a better example, since Hungry Crab is already a food.
Awesome, thank you grumpymonk.
In that case, here is my idea:
Is it too simple, being a direct counterpart to Hungry Crab? Should I give it a different bonus for destroying the beast? I also have a feeling that it might be too good considering beasts are much more common than murlocs (and there is actually a beast played in current murloc decks).
I saw "Nozdormu Hotfix" and assumed this would be removing the stacking of the sand particle effect for multiple Noz on the board. Some streamers have been using it with the Tortollan Primalist / Potion of Illusion combo to summon 7 Nozdormu and almost completely obscure the screen. It's not actually a good tactic to win, but I can see why they wouldn't want it getting out of hand.
Poisonous needed to be a keyword. The other new keyword in Un'goro - Adapt - would have been a lot clunkier without it, not to mention it just generally fit the theme of an unexplored prehistoric jungle. Plus, cards like Plague of Madness and Ambush would have had too much text without it, and Deathstalker Rexxar would have had a much more limited pool for its Hero Power. Plus, Toxfin, Professor Slate and Plaguebringer would have been way more difficult to make.
Desperate Stand is not Reborn. The created minion has 1 Health, not 1 Health Remaining (it cannot be healed). It is more like a targeted Redemption.
I agree with you on the issues with Recruit and the fact that Elusive really should be a keyword (and Enrage tbh). But Poisonous is actually a case where Blizz made a good change that was simple, logical and positively impactful. That's what your arguing for with Elusive, so don't rag on them for it.
Dawson was very clear that they do in fact have upcoming expansions in mind, but not because they want to milk us for $ with power-creeped cards - because they want the new cards to be able to bring out new archetypes and fun and unique playstyles, without what already exists overshadowing them or making them broken. It's quite obvious how Corsair Cache could make any strong Warrior weapon problematic, and how Fungal Fortunes looses its only downside if all-spell druid is at all viable.
Either they change these cards now, or the same people complaining they've made them too underpowered end up screaming about unbalanced metas when the new expansion makes them too good.
I've never heard of this before, but it sounds like a very cool idea. I love Highlander decks, and I love a good "feature legendary" in a deck, so this sounds like a great combination.
Perhaps they could run it as a Tavern Brawl one time and then make it a full mode if it is super popular.
Welp, I was busy and completely missed the submission deadline for this comp. Thankfully I did catch the birthday one. Good luck to everyone who entered!
So, feedback has been mixed on my new design and seems some people like the old one more. I have re-tweaked both. Which do y'all prefer?
Gemina is now a 4/5. It was been pointed out that all copies effectively share a health pool as damaging one damages all of them. So, this is effectively a 6 mana 8/5, which is the same total as Boulderfist Ogre. Also, someone asked about how boardclears would work. I see them just functioning normally, as Gemina's effect would only adjust copies at the end of each damage phase. So, Hellfire would not immediately kill all copies, but one lucky Cinderstorm could.
Quanta is now a 5 mana 3/4 which only shuffles one copy. Having just two copies honestly fits the idea of quantum entanglement better, and limits the danger of it snowballing out of control.
This card is absurdly good just because each of the Golden Pouches burn a draw. It is essentially a Bad Luck Albatross on steroids that provide your opponent with even an even worse card to play. I'd make each of the gold pouches draw a card so at least the opponent can still get their normal draw. I like the idea though and the flavor fits well, its only a minor oversight that makes it unfair to play against.
In addition to this very good point, I think the minion's text should read, "Start of Game: If it's your birthday, shuffle a Golden Pouch into your opponent's deck."
When I first read it I was very confused as to what was actually going on. The way it is currently written is just untrue, as you are not literally shuffling gold into your opponent's deck, plus I suspect many players/contest voters would assume it meant 10 The Coins, as I did.
So there are clearly a lot of people confused about how my card would work (myself included), which probably means it is not a great design. I have taken the base idea in a new direction and created this new design:
The idea is that any buffs to the original on the board would also effect the copies, but also any hand or deck buffs that affect the copies would affect those on the board, or elsewhere, too.
Is this easier to understand? Is the cost okay? I figured there is no immediate benefit to the battlecry, but it shouldn't have straight vanilla stats or it would just be run by any old deck to resist fatigue.
EDIT: I realised just after posting this that all the copies would generate more copies. Do I increase the mana cost and make this a feature? If not, how should I alter the card text to prevent this?
Thanks for the feedback guys. I have a new iteration of my card, which I think is much more fair. Still very RNG-heavy, but you can manipulate it by playing it when you are behind on board.
"Band for hire. Genre: Loud. Alignment: Horde. Free mosh pit provided with every booking."
I agree with Wailor that having a minion summon the weapon seems unnecessary. The effect on the weapon is really cool, but I think you should either move the effect to the minion (you then don't need the durability loss limit as the minion can be removed more easily), or just make it a Legendary weapon. If you do the latter, I would recommend searching for a space-themed weapon in WoW lore, just to make it more appropriate as a weapon and more directly associated with the theme.
@Wailor
Space-Time Rip is really cool. I thought it was weak, but then I realised it can effect your minions. Casting it on something like Khartut Defender would be insane. Plus there's the added utility of dismissing an enemy minion to set up for a board clear, or just buy time. I love it!
Gravity Crash is a really neat idea. I love these kinds of out-there removal cards. I like the flexibility too. If you're behind you're probably just making two enemy minions attack each other, but if you do have your own high-attack minion, you can make it clear two things in one turn. Very cool!
I like the thematics of The Big Freeze, and symmetrical freezing is an interesting idea, but honestly it is a bit underwhelming compared to the other two.
Also, thank you for your feedback. I am glad that the flavour and true power does come across. And you almost got my name right haha; just got the middle "uo" the wrong way around ;)
Quote From BloodMefist
Inconspicuosaurus: I like the idea, but agree that it is too vulnerable to single target removal from the opponent. Increasing health should be a fine fix since it doesn't actually double down.
That is a very good point that I honestly hadn't considered. It is technically an 8/4, as the health is effectively shared between them. In that case, I think making it a 5 mana 4/5 may indeed be fair. Or perhaps 6 mana 4/6.
For the Hearthstone one, think about creatures that might bite your neck.
Haha, amazing. It is a real testament to the value in the deck that it can hold out against DMH.
Ziliax is a really good replacement for Wickerflame, and honestly might just be better... I'll have to try it. Wickerflame's only advantage is the lower cost, but that is rarely an issue when trying to protect big threats late game, and the Rush would be phenomenal for recovery.
Eydis is a fantastic shout. I wish I had her to try that. The machine gun with the 0-cost Librams would be glorious.
Thanks for trying it and thanks for the feedback. I'll add those suggestions to the guide! :)
Oh wow, thanks for featuring my deck again!
First off, I love both this theme and the presumably D&D-inspired title. All the weird anthropomorphic animals are my favs in both games.
Secondly, here is my first idea. I tried to go with something flavourful and linked to the furbolgs' lore in WoW, but I am not sure if the end result is very exciting (is it too similar to Druid of the Claw?). I thought a furbolg would work well for a card that adds new flare to classic Druid mechanics, but I am not sure if it ended up over- or under-powered. What do y'all think?
I will be back tomorrow with some feedback for everyone.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Following your suggestions, I am going to submit School Dinner pretty much the same, but at 4 mana. I see the card as a finisher for Face Hunter, or as a late-game board clear for a midrange deck. In either circumstance I think any lower cost would make it too powerful, especially considering Hunter has so much small minion generation with things like Desert Spear, Unleash the Hounds and Swarm of Locusts.
I also decided to stick with Hunter, even though a "damaged minions" based version in Warrior does sounds very cool and flavourful, simply because the 1/1 Piranha token is already a thing for Hunter with Piranha Launcher, and attacking random enemies is too with Nagrand Slam, The Beast Within, Imprisoned Felmaw, etc.
Thank you for all your feedback, everyone. It seems everyone agreed my first idea was a bit too bland and a bit too strong (and it also seems people either love my name or hate (to spell) it, haha).
I have come up with another idea, but it was really tough to find appropriate art. I was hoping to find something vaguely wow-styled that showed a cafeteria lunch with like a fish head or something, but that proved far too obscure. I thought with an image like that and the punny name it would be perfect for Scholomance. I hope this still gets the idea across? Is it clear that it's the number of piranhas that increases whenever a friendly minion dies? This would have to be in the hand for it to count up, but "while this is in your hand" has been variously included or not with no apparent consistency, so I left it off to save text.
Feedback for everyone!
Demonxz95 - I love it. Humorous, fits the theme, fits the direction HS took the Lich King in their ad materials for KFT, and some much needed Freeze Shaman support.
linkblade91 - I like the idea, and the art is adorable, but the effect is not very clear from the text and I don't really know how you'd fix that. I can only suggest a different effect with the same art.
Cg8889 - A very interesting idea. I like that it's sort of like a living secret, and it plays into druids whole "5 or more attack" theme. I just think the concept in general would be more suited to Rogue than Druid.
Oops, just saw you posted a new idea. This one is very cool, and the name and theme are great, as is the attribution to Gadgetzan (although I could just as easily see it in Kharazan). It is definitely a VERY powerful draw tool, but I suppose you can't use it for tempo plays, as whatever you draw is coming 2 turns late, so I guess it should be okay?
Valor1204 - I like it. Very clear and appropriate theme, cute art, and it would be a decent Reborn minion to help curve out Paladin quest. It could even work in quest Priest too.
Hordaki - A fun idea, and kudos on the TGT representation. I could see this genuinely being run in Face decks, just to get around taunts and hit face when the opponent has one minion. Ironically, it would bring some interesting plays to a usually very simple playstyle for the deck.
linkblade91 - I like this one much more :) The art is perfect, I love the unusual angle on the Menagerie theme, and destroying minions fits Warlock perfectly. Not to mention they do tend to run a weird mix of tribes in Zoo too.
KANSAS - I much prefer Fish Dinner (werdly similar name to my new idea, but thankfully very different effects). I do think you could make it Warlock though. Warloc was the first true murloc deck, and they've had some support in the form of Seadevil Stinger in MSG. I don't see why you can't bring it back!
Arkasaur - The effect is very interesting, but I am not sure how it really fits the competition theme. How does it give the card back if it eats it? I am not sure I want to know…
grumpymonk - The art is amazing and the effect is very cool. The damage seems high considering it isn't bad even without the weapon boost, but I guess it being only undamaged minions should make it okay.
Pokeniner - I love the art and how perfectly it fits the punny name. Big props for that lol. The effect seems to fit the greedy idea of the art and name too, so all works for me!
BloodMefist - I love all the little nods to WoW lore and the irl Gordon Ramsay here. Even without them, it's an interesting effect that I could definitely see in the game. Neutral discards are very rare, but this seems like a good use of it.
Neoguli - It's a really cool effect and the art is great, but I don't see how it fits the theme? I saw you explain how the effect relates to the art, but I mean, how is it related to cooking/eating? Is it an oblique reference to Beauty the Beast and the Be Our Guest segment? If so, that seems a bit to tenuous a link to me…
anchorm4n - I am a sucker for good colour synchronisation between art and card border, so this one immediately got me. The art itself is also awesome, and the effect is a kind not seen in HS in a while that I think deserves another chance. I like it!
Didn't see your other card until after I wrote this. I stand by what I said, but I do really like the new one. The fantasy makes perfect sense, and I like that i's sort of a "chill" card that still makes perfect sense for hunter.
TheHoax91 - This is such a cool effect, and of course very powerful, but I think the high cost and low stats balance it, while keeping a statline that could definitely make use of it, especially with things like Warrior's Galakrond battlecry. Definitely a strong contender!
JackJimson - I like the first part of the effect (a board-wide The Beast Within is a pretty fun idea), but the second part adds unnecessary complication and doesn't really fit Hunter imo. Heals are not really a part of the class. Perhaps, if you wanted to keep that theme and reduce text on the card you could instead make it this: "Your friendly beasts gain Lifesteal and attack random enemies." You could do Lifesteal and Immune, but that would be too strong for 2 mana I think.
FieselFitz - A cool effect and perfect art. I definitely perfer the second version though. I seems everyone wants to eat murlocs in this competition! XD
BasilAnguis - Conjure Food is an interesting idea, and I see why it kind of has to be a Secret as it currently is, but it feels kinda clunky. You could just make it "Restore 4 Health, your next spell costs 1 less mana" to accomplish a similar effect without that added clunkiness. I think I prefer Morbid Recipe. The art for both parts is great, and the Sweney Todd thematics are on point.
Awesome, thank you grumpymonk.
In that case, here is my idea:
Is it too simple, being a direct counterpart to Hungry Crab? Should I give it a different bonus for destroying the beast? I also have a feeling that it might be too good considering beasts are much more common than murlocs (and there is actually a beast played in current murloc decks).
I have a question: The topic is "food or eating", so would something like Hungry Crab that canonically "eats" a minion be acceptable?
I saw "Nozdormu Hotfix" and assumed this would be removing the stacking of the sand particle effect for multiple Noz on the board. Some streamers have been using it with the Tortollan Primalist / Potion of Illusion combo to summon 7 Nozdormu and almost completely obscure the screen. It's not actually a good tactic to win, but I can see why they wouldn't want it getting out of hand.
Poisonous needed to be a keyword. The other new keyword in Un'goro - Adapt - would have been a lot clunkier without it, not to mention it just generally fit the theme of an unexplored prehistoric jungle. Plus, cards like Plague of Madness and Ambush would have had too much text without it, and Deathstalker Rexxar would have had a much more limited pool for its Hero Power. Plus, Toxfin, Professor Slate and Plaguebringer would have been way more difficult to make.
Desperate Stand is not Reborn. The created minion has 1 Health, not 1 Health Remaining (it cannot be healed). It is more like a targeted Redemption.
I agree with you on the issues with Recruit and the fact that Elusive really should be a keyword (and Enrage tbh). But Poisonous is actually a case where Blizz made a good change that was simple, logical and positively impactful. That's what your arguing for with Elusive, so don't rag on them for it.
Me go face? Yup. Do me trade? Also yup.
Dawson was very clear that they do in fact have upcoming expansions in mind, but not because they want to milk us for $ with power-creeped cards - because they want the new cards to be able to bring out new archetypes and fun and unique playstyles, without what already exists overshadowing them or making them broken. It's quite obvious how Corsair Cache could make any strong Warrior weapon problematic, and how Fungal Fortunes looses its only downside if all-spell druid is at all viable.
Either they change these cards now, or the same people complaining they've made them too underpowered end up screaming about unbalanced metas when the new expansion makes them too good.
I've never heard of this before, but it sounds like a very cool idea. I love Highlander decks, and I love a good "feature legendary" in a deck, so this sounds like a great combination.
Perhaps they could run it as a Tavern Brawl one time and then make it a full mode if it is super popular.
Welp, I was busy and completely missed the submission deadline for this comp. Thankfully I did catch the birthday one. Good luck to everyone who entered!
So, feedback has been mixed on my new design and seems some people like the old one more. I have re-tweaked both. Which do y'all prefer?
Gemina is now a 4/5. It was been pointed out that all copies effectively share a health pool as damaging one damages all of them. So, this is effectively a 6 mana 8/5, which is the same total as Boulderfist Ogre. Also, someone asked about how boardclears would work. I see them just functioning normally, as Gemina's effect would only adjust copies at the end of each damage phase. So, Hellfire would not immediately kill all copies, but one lucky Cinderstorm could.
Quanta is now a 5 mana 3/4 which only shuffles one copy. Having just two copies honestly fits the idea of quantum entanglement better, and limits the danger of it snowballing out of control.
In addition to this very good point, I think the minion's text should read, "Start of Game: If it's your birthday, shuffle a Golden Pouch into your opponent's deck."
When I first read it I was very confused as to what was actually going on. The way it is currently written is just untrue, as you are not literally shuffling gold into your opponent's deck, plus I suspect many players/contest voters would assume it meant 10 The Coins, as I did.
So there are clearly a lot of people confused about how my card would work (myself included), which probably means it is not a great design. I have taken the base idea in a new direction and created this new design:
The idea is that any buffs to the original on the board would also effect the copies, but also any hand or deck buffs that affect the copies would affect those on the board, or elsewhere, too.
Is this easier to understand? Is the cost okay? I figured there is no immediate benefit to the battlecry, but it shouldn't have straight vanilla stats or it would just be run by any old deck to resist fatigue.
EDIT: I realised just after posting this that all the copies would generate more copies. Do I increase the mana cost and make this a feature? If not, how should I alter the card text to prevent this?
Thanks for the feedback guys. I have a new iteration of my card, which I think is much more fair. Still very RNG-heavy, but you can manipulate it by playing it when you are behind on board.
"Band for hire. Genre: Loud. Alignment: Horde. Free mosh pit provided with every booking."
A little more feedback:
@CursedParrot
I agree with Wailor that having a minion summon the weapon seems unnecessary. The effect on the weapon is really cool, but I think you should either move the effect to the minion (you then don't need the durability loss limit as the minion can be removed more easily), or just make it a Legendary weapon. If you do the latter, I would recommend searching for a space-themed weapon in WoW lore, just to make it more appropriate as a weapon and more directly associated with the theme.
@Wailor
Space-Time Rip is really cool. I thought it was weak, but then I realised it can effect your minions. Casting it on something like Khartut Defender would be insane. Plus there's the added utility of dismissing an enemy minion to set up for a board clear, or just buy time. I love it!
Gravity Crash is a really neat idea. I love these kinds of out-there removal cards. I like the flexibility too. If you're behind you're probably just making two enemy minions attack each other, but if you do have your own high-attack minion, you can make it clear two things in one turn. Very cool!
I like the thematics of The Big Freeze, and symmetrical freezing is an interesting idea, but honestly it is a bit underwhelming compared to the other two.
Also, thank you for your feedback. I am glad that the flavour and true power does come across. And you almost got my name right haha; just got the middle "uo" the wrong way around ;)
That is a very good point that I honestly hadn't considered. It is technically an 8/4, as the health is effectively shared between them. In that case, I think making it a 5 mana 4/5 may indeed be fair. Or perhaps 6 mana 4/6.