I jumped the gun on this, submitting this for 1.04.
However, given that I can't imagine it doing better second time around, I've had this idea. (Tell the truth, I love the artwork, credit to Matt Cavotta, and wanted to make a card with it)
As for feedback:
Linkblade91: The lore fan in me says go with Lothraxion, just because the Sha, strictly speaking, aren't demons. As for the two presented, I prefer the minion only one, giving a powerful control tool to a class that has lost its way a bit when it comes to control, rather than replacing Shirvallah with another 0TK tool to be abused. I do really like it though. (I'd go with the art placement from the first though)
Hereharahere: Interesting. Question is, who takes damage? If it's the Hero, then getting a Mind Control on an early giant (admittedly less of a problem with Mountain Giant rotating), for 8 face damage is a huge tempo swing, with little drawback. If it's this minion, likewise. If it's the minion being taken control of, then it's less of a problem. I also have no idea if Neutral should be capitalised. Overall, I feel that this kind of effect (permanent minion stealing) should be reserved for more expensive cards. Kabal Shadow Priest has a cap of 2 Attack, while this can steal a Deathwing for 2 less mana. IMO, it's a good idea, and I like the idea of limiting an effect to class/non class cards, but the wording needs clarification, and I feel this should be more expensive.
DemonXZ95: The only issue I have here is the Stealth. If this was 5/5, without stealth, it would be a lot easier to answer, and it's harder to repeat the effect than a lot of similar cards. As it is, you basically ask the question "Do you have an untargeted board clear that deals 4 damage? I think this would be problematic in it's current form, just because it demands a Flamestrike/Brawl/Twisting Nether to answer, or, given that getting 4 or 5 copies is a reasonable expectation, you can kiss over half your health goodbye. It may be ok, and I'll take another look tomorrow when I'm more awake, but as it is, I have concerns.
I quite like the fact that the finalist represent a wide variety of expansions, with only Rastakhans and WoToG getting two cards in, and no expansion getting more than that. Anyway, good luck to the finalists!
Revised mine based on feedback. I'm contemplating Taunt or Rush as an additional, but ideally (although outside of the scope of this competition), the totem would give the Hero Windfury, allowing this to become much more of a threat.
As for feedback:
meisterz39 - Felboar - I love it. It fits a DH theme, with multiple rush minions charging out, which in turn would super charge the Felboar. Cost and balance are good as well.
h0lysatan - Illidari Tracker - Outcast is considered the DH keyword, just like Combo for Rogue. Therefore, I think it's reasonable to assume any set would use this.The flavour could fit Witchwood. As for balance, this feels very strong on curve. Unless you are facing a hyper aggressive deck, this will likely come out as a 3/6 or 4/6 at worse, which is level with Militia Commander, but without the draw back of losing attack at the end of the turn. I would suggest a health reduction.
DescentofdragonsOP - Illidari rallying blade - So many issues. Capitals are needed for Rallying, Blade, Fill and Illidari. Watermark should be I'm assuming, Kobolds and Catacombs. Balance wise, this is Ashbringer stats, with that casts The Forest's Aid. Twice. And gives them Rush. So, assuming the weapon stats alone are 5 mana (Arcanite Reaper) and The Forest's Aid is 8 mana a piece, this is 21 mana for 8. Without counting the Rush element. I would scale this back to a 4/2 with the battlecry OR deathrattle.
Nirast - Illidari Defender - I'm a sucker for Inspire, so this I have a definite bias to this card. With a 2 mana HP I would worry this was underpowered, but because DH gets a 1 mana HP, I think this works quite well. I like it, but it might lack a little flash.
Xarkkal - Fiery Brand - My main concern with this is the permanent attack debuff. Adding this on a cheap Twinspell card means you can functionally remove a board spot (or more) for your opponent, instantly hamstringing them for the rest of the game. It's up to you if you want to retain that aspect, or just double down on the double damage, making it take double damage from all sources.
Wailor - Spirit of the Snake - Good solid Spirit card. Ties in with the base ability of DH, maybe lacks a little excitement.
Opthalmology Project - I really dislike this mechanic. I think it would be mechanically clunky in HS, and therefore I just dislike this card. Sorry.
Whisperer of the Depths - This is my favourite. It's a good tie in, linked C'thun with the Demon Hunter flavour and abilities. It's also nice to see a design that buffs C'thun's attack alone, which only Rogue got.
Linkblade 91 - I like the C'thun love! Personally, I prefer the 4 mana Twilight Reaver. Hero attacking seems to be the main theme of DH, much like Healing is for Priest, or Armor for warrior, so having it tie in works. Triple Spin, unless I'm mistaken would be the only spell that buffs C'Thun? Which makes it stand out and feel weird. I feel the 6 mana Twilight Reaver could be limiting from a design standpoint, giving them that hefty an attack with one card. It still works, and no cards have been released so far that would directly conflict, so it's fine, I just prefer the 4 mana one. Balance feels fine.
Dermostatic - I have concerns with this for a few reasons. Firstly, I feel so much of the Demon Hunter identity is built around that Hero Power, and the ability to attack. This power improves their attack, but removes the ability to do so without a weapon. An increased attack, lifesteal, or a passive attack score would work better. The battlecry also feels incredibly weak compared to most of the DK's.
As for my idea, I decided to look at what Loa they might use in Rastakhan's Rumble. After looking at a few unused ones, such as Bethekk and Paku I decided on Mam'toth. I decided to make it based on the Hero attacking as it seems to be such an integral part of the class.
I'm leaning towards bad card. Aggro decks won't run this, why would they lose 9 damage to face in order to summon it? Control decks might, thinking of Warlock in particular to combo with Hellfire, but I would anticipate Token strategies to rise as a counter if it ever became problematic.
Coupled with the fact that if you can transform one of the tokens, you remove a board slot for your opponent, I can't see this being played past the first few weeks.
I like this, if only because of how much it punishes the various different Rez/Big Priests that like to rely on big taunts to overrun the board and shut down the game.
Even from a Wild, meme based viewpoint, I don't see where this fits. Both Hunter and Rogue can abuse the deathrattle, but it's not really more valuable than doing so with Devilsaur Egg, or for Rogue, Waxadred. Mage and Shaman could value the tag, but there are better 5 mana elementals. Shaman could also abuse the deathrattle. Warlock could...use it as a Shadowflame target I guess? 9 mana clear the board and ask questions about removing the egg? Druid, Warrior, Paladin and Priest have no use I can think of for it.
If the Egg was a deathrattle, it would be playable, at very least as a second Waxadred style card for a Rogue DR deck, but in it's current form? It's just bad.
Almost missed my own competition! Loving what's come up so far, I'll offer feedback for the cards I don't think have been submitted yet:
Kansas - Angry Waters - As Demon has already pointed out, it needs the tribe tag, and ideally a different watermark (While I don't judge to much into them, a lot of people dislike Classic marks, and Rush only came in from Witchwood. I'd say Uldum for it personally. Other than that, It's a very techy card. Pirates are normally either the full deck, or rarely feature. While these kinds of cards have appeared before, Skulking Geist and Eater of Secrets are prime examples that exist purely to counter a problem, they're a little polarizing. I would suggest flattening the stats to a 6/4, as a 7 Attack rush for 5 mana feels a bit much.
Iskar - Totemental - It's a fun idea, if not perhaps too good play-wise. The one concern I have here is applying Magnetic to a non-Mech minion. Would it magnetize to Mechs, or Totems? Other than that, I like it.
Thepowrofcheese - Murkfin Elder - I like it. Murlocs have had minimal interaction with totems before with Primalfin Totem, so you could put this in a Murloc deck with the aim of cheating that out alongside, or else use it to pull a free Mana Tide totem and avoid some of the tempo loss that card generally causes.
Seeping Rot, is probably the most basic form of effect for this comp, but I haven't seen anything like it. I balanced it against Crushing Walls, although it might be a little strong in a more control focused class.
Xavathras is a bit more interesting, essentially the flavour behind it is a trickster, who uses adjacent minions as human shields, disguising them as himself, allowing him to "reveal" himself once the disguise is killed. Not sure about balancing though...
I think Seeping Rot should just say "destroy adjacent minions" and not "all adjacent minions".
This is a very minor thing, but I feel like Xavathras should transform a minion instead of destroying it and resummoning himself. I don't know why, but I just feel like that would be more natural.
I think Xavathras is better because it is far more interesting and unique and far more likely to make it to the finals.
I've made the suggested change. I wanted it to reflect the adjacent minion dying, which would suit the flavour more, but I realised there's a very....iffy result if you target Xav with something like Shadows of Death, or play multiple copies followed by N'Zoth. Essentially you would have a chain reaction that would last for ages, while not really having much effect.
While Odd Druid was supported in the expansion with Gloom Stag, it never really took off. However, with a few cards from the last year, I've cobbled together a semi-functional deck that plays like a fairly basic midrange deck. Helpless Hatchling and Knight of the Wild allow you to play cards on even turns, while, on the rare occasion Gonk survives a turn, Gloop Sprayer and the reward from Secure the Deck can unleash some impressive burst.
First off, feedback! I've picked out any that I haven't seen submitted. If you feel like I missed you, let me know. (As always, take with a healthy pinch of salt. I'm a terrible judge)
Show Spoiler
BasilAnguis - Glass Elemental - I would certainly limit the effect to enemy minions, as in it's current form it can give the enemy Hero taunt, and I'm not sure that's a good idea. Otherwise, I like it. I always liked the ability to give enemy minions taunt with Sparring Partner. I would also reduce the stats slightly, or make it a 4 cost for balancing purposes.
Dermostatic - Akali's Chosen - I like it. Good removal versus token decks, but not great against decks playing big curve minions. Only suggestion would be to consider a low cost, and reduce stats accordingly, so it can fill that role better.
MurlocAggroB - Warp Fiend - Interesting, and I have no idea of how to rate it. I feel more often than not, it would result in a net negative effect, as it's big enough that if you swapped a negative minion, such as Keening Banshee over, they could just trade it and avoid the effect. It would work with something like Bomb Squad I guess? I think it's fine, but it's a really hard one to call.
As for mine, I've had a couple of ideas:
Seeping Rot, is probably the most basic form of effect for this comp, but I haven't seen anything like it. I balanced it against Crushing Walls, although it might be a little strong in a more control focused class.
Xavathras is a bit more interesting, essentially the flavour behind it is a trickster, who uses adjacent minions as human shields, disguising them as himself, allowing him to "reveal" himself once the disguise is killed. Not sure about balancing though...
I jumped the gun on this, submitting this for 1.04.
However, given that I can't imagine it doing better second time around, I've had this idea. (Tell the truth, I love the artwork, credit to Matt Cavotta, and wanted to make a card with it)
As for feedback:
Linkblade91: The lore fan in me says go with Lothraxion, just because the Sha, strictly speaking, aren't demons. As for the two presented, I prefer the minion only one, giving a powerful control tool to a class that has lost its way a bit when it comes to control, rather than replacing Shirvallah with another 0TK tool to be abused. I do really like it though. (I'd go with the art placement from the first though)
Hereharahere: Interesting. Question is, who takes damage? If it's the Hero, then getting a Mind Control on an early giant (admittedly less of a problem with Mountain Giant rotating), for 8 face damage is a huge tempo swing, with little drawback. If it's this minion, likewise. If it's the minion being taken control of, then it's less of a problem. I also have no idea if Neutral should be capitalised. Overall, I feel that this kind of effect (permanent minion stealing) should be reserved for more expensive cards. Kabal Shadow Priest has a cap of 2 Attack, while this can steal a Deathwing for 2 less mana. IMO, it's a good idea, and I like the idea of limiting an effect to class/non class cards, but the wording needs clarification, and I feel this should be more expensive.
DemonXZ95: The only issue I have here is the Stealth. If this was 5/5, without stealth, it would be a lot easier to answer, and it's harder to repeat the effect than a lot of similar cards. As it is, you basically ask the question "Do you have an untargeted board clear that deals 4 damage? I think this would be problematic in it's current form, just because it demands a Flamestrike/Brawl/Twisting Nether to answer, or, given that getting 4 or 5 copies is a reasonable expectation, you can kiss over half your health goodbye. It may be ok, and I'll take another look tomorrow when I'm more awake, but as it is, I have concerns.
Congrats to MattU!
Interesting to see if this (along with others from the set) can breath some life into the Hunter Gadgetzan set.
More likely going to be used to set up various, inconsistent 0TKs, but oh well.
If this had dealt extra damage at 7 mana or above, I could see it being played. As it is, Kael'thas and Auctioneer food.
I quite like the fact that the finalist represent a wide variety of expansions, with only Rastakhans and WoToG getting two cards in, and no expansion getting more than that. Anyway, good luck to the finalists!
Thanks for the feature!
Personally, apart from Libram of Wisdom, I don't see the value of the Librams in this deck. Personally, I would make the following changes:
-2 Libram of Justice
-2 Libram of Hope
-2 Aldor Truthseeker
- 2 Lightforged Crusader
-1 Spirit of the Tiger
+2 Crystology
+1 Spikeridged Steed
+2 [Hearthstone Card (Sound the Bells) Not Found]
+ 2 [Hearthstone Card (Djinni of Zephrs) Not Found]
+ 2 Primalfin Champion
Revised mine based on feedback. I'm contemplating Taunt or Rush as an additional, but ideally (although outside of the scope of this competition), the totem would give the Hero Windfury, allowing this to become much more of a threat.
As for feedback:
meisterz39 - Felboar - I love it. It fits a DH theme, with multiple rush minions charging out, which in turn would super charge the Felboar. Cost and balance are good as well.
h0lysatan - Illidari Tracker - Outcast is considered the DH keyword, just like Combo for Rogue. Therefore, I think it's reasonable to assume any set would use this.The flavour could fit Witchwood. As for balance, this feels very strong on curve. Unless you are facing a hyper aggressive deck, this will likely come out as a 3/6 or 4/6 at worse, which is level with Militia Commander, but without the draw back of losing attack at the end of the turn. I would suggest a health reduction.
DescentofdragonsOP - Illidari rallying blade - So many issues. Capitals are needed for Rallying, Blade, Fill and Illidari. Watermark should be I'm assuming, Kobolds and Catacombs. Balance wise, this is Ashbringer stats, with that casts The Forest's Aid. Twice. And gives them Rush. So, assuming the weapon stats alone are 5 mana (Arcanite Reaper) and The Forest's Aid is 8 mana a piece, this is 21 mana for 8. Without counting the Rush element. I would scale this back to a 4/2 with the battlecry OR deathrattle.
Nirast - Illidari Defender - I'm a sucker for Inspire, so this I have a definite bias to this card. With a 2 mana HP I would worry this was underpowered, but because DH gets a 1 mana HP, I think this works quite well. I like it, but it might lack a little flash.
Xarkkal - Fiery Brand - My main concern with this is the permanent attack debuff. Adding this on a cheap Twinspell card means you can functionally remove a board spot (or more) for your opponent, instantly hamstringing them for the rest of the game. It's up to you if you want to retain that aspect, or just double down on the double damage, making it take double damage from all sources.
Wailor - Spirit of the Snake - Good solid Spirit card. Ties in with the base ability of DH, maybe lacks a little excitement.
Opthalmology Project - I really dislike this mechanic. I think it would be mechanically clunky in HS, and therefore I just dislike this card. Sorry.
Whisperer of the Depths - This is my favourite. It's a good tie in, linked C'thun with the Demon Hunter flavour and abilities. It's also nice to see a design that buffs C'thun's attack alone, which only Rogue got.
Feedback -
Linkblade 91 - I like the C'thun love! Personally, I prefer the 4 mana Twilight Reaver. Hero attacking seems to be the main theme of DH, much like Healing is for Priest, or Armor for warrior, so having it tie in works. Triple Spin, unless I'm mistaken would be the only spell that buffs C'Thun? Which makes it stand out and feel weird. I feel the 6 mana Twilight Reaver could be limiting from a design standpoint, giving them that hefty an attack with one card. It still works, and no cards have been released so far that would directly conflict, so it's fine, I just prefer the 4 mana one. Balance feels fine.
Dermostatic - I have concerns with this for a few reasons. Firstly, I feel so much of the Demon Hunter identity is built around that Hero Power, and the ability to attack. This power improves their attack, but removes the ability to do so without a weapon. An increased attack, lifesteal, or a passive attack score would work better. The battlecry also feels incredibly weak compared to most of the DK's.
As for my idea, I decided to look at what Loa they might use in Rastakhan's Rumble. After looking at a few unused ones, such as Bethekk and Paku I decided on Mam'toth. I decided to make it based on the Hero attacking as it seems to be such an integral part of the class.
Except Shadow Word: Death, Execute (assuming you can deal 1 damage) Deadly Shot, Hex, Polymorph, Subdue, Sap and Plague of Flames assuming you have a cheap minion.
Druid is the only one that can't deal with this going active on turn 5.
I'm leaning towards bad card. Aggro decks won't run this, why would they lose 9 damage to face in order to summon it? Control decks might, thinking of Warlock in particular to combo with Hellfire, but I would anticipate Token strategies to rise as a counter if it ever became problematic.
Coupled with the fact that if you can transform one of the tokens, you remove a board slot for your opponent, I can't see this being played past the first few weeks.
I like this, if only because of how much it punishes the various different Rez/Big Priests that like to rely on big taunts to overrun the board and shut down the game.
I'm going to make a Wild deck that fills the hand with random crap and then turns it into buffed demons.
It's going to be awful.
Even from a Wild, meme based viewpoint, I don't see where this fits. Both Hunter and Rogue can abuse the deathrattle, but it's not really more valuable than doing so with Devilsaur Egg, or for Rogue, Waxadred. Mage and Shaman could value the tag, but there are better 5 mana elementals. Shaman could also abuse the deathrattle. Warlock could...use it as a Shadowflame target I guess? 9 mana clear the board and ask questions about removing the egg? Druid, Warrior, Paladin and Priest have no use I can think of for it.
If the Egg was a deathrattle, it would be playable, at very least as a second Waxadred style card for a Rogue DR deck, but in it's current form? It's just bad.
In standard, Ramkahen Wildtamer + Hunting Party followed by this gives the TTK, providing no taunts. 4x8 or 4x10 with Quest complete.
Almost missed my own competition! Loving what's come up so far, I'll offer feedback for the cards I don't think have been submitted yet:
Kansas - Angry Waters - As Demon has already pointed out, it needs the tribe tag, and ideally a different watermark (While I don't judge to much into them, a lot of people dislike Classic marks, and Rush only came in from Witchwood. I'd say Uldum for it personally. Other than that, It's a very techy card. Pirates are normally either the full deck, or rarely feature. While these kinds of cards have appeared before, Skulking Geist and Eater of Secrets are prime examples that exist purely to counter a problem, they're a little polarizing. I would suggest flattening the stats to a 6/4, as a 7 Attack rush for 5 mana feels a bit much.
Iskar - Totemental - It's a fun idea, if not perhaps too good play-wise. The one concern I have here is applying Magnetic to a non-Mech minion. Would it magnetize to Mechs, or Totems? Other than that, I like it.
Thepowrofcheese - Murkfin Elder - I like it. Murlocs have had minimal interaction with totems before with Primalfin Totem, so you could put this in a Murloc deck with the aim of cheating that out alongside, or else use it to pull a free Mana Tide totem and avoid some of the tempo loss that card generally causes.
I'm currently on:
Hunter - 1002
Rogue - 872
Druid - 867
Paladin - 778
Mage - 741
Priest - 640
Shaman - 532
Warlock - 524
Warrior - 287
Currently focusing on getting Rogue to 1k so I can go all pirate.
I've made the suggested change. I wanted it to reflect the adjacent minion dying, which would suit the flavour more, but I realised there's a very....iffy result if you target Xav with something like Shadows of Death, or play multiple copies followed by N'Zoth. Essentially you would have a chain reaction that would last for ages, while not really having much effect.
Well, it looks like this died on launch.
I didn't really want to post a second in a row, but I will, and if there's no further interest, I'll let it die.
While Odd Druid was supported in the expansion with Gloom Stag, it never really took off. However, with a few cards from the last year, I've cobbled together a semi-functional deck that plays like a fairly basic midrange deck. Helpless Hatchling and Knight of the Wild allow you to play cards on even turns, while, on the rare occasion Gonk survives a turn, Gloop Sprayer and the reward from Secure the Deck can unleash some impressive burst.
First off, feedback! I've picked out any that I haven't seen submitted. If you feel like I missed you, let me know. (As always, take with a healthy pinch of salt. I'm a terrible judge)
Dermostatic - Akali's Chosen - I like it. Good removal versus token decks, but not great against decks playing big curve minions. Only suggestion would be to consider a low cost, and reduce stats accordingly, so it can fill that role better.
MurlocAggroB - Warp Fiend - Interesting, and I have no idea of how to rate it. I feel more often than not, it would result in a net negative effect, as it's big enough that if you swapped a negative minion, such as Keening Banshee over, they could just trade it and avoid the effect. It would work with something like Bomb Squad I guess? I think it's fine, but it's a really hard one to call.
As for mine, I've had a couple of ideas:
Seeping Rot, is probably the most basic form of effect for this comp, but I haven't seen anything like it. I balanced it against Crushing Walls, although it might be a little strong in a more control focused class.
Xavathras is a bit more interesting, essentially the flavour behind it is a trickster, who uses adjacent minions as human shields, disguising them as himself, allowing him to "reveal" himself once the disguise is killed. Not sure about balancing though...