A Custom Fix for the Priest's Basic and Classic Sets
Hello! Recently, over on our Discord we had a discussion about the Priest class, and how its Basic and Classic sets just kind of suck. It's even been mentioned by the Devs before that 'fixing' the Priest class may involve an overhaul of t…
Hello!
Recently, over on our Discord we had a discussion about the Priest class, and how its Basic and Classic sets just kind of suck. It's even been mentioned by the Devs before that 'fixing' the Priest class may involve an overhaul of their Basic and Classic sets, rather than just some balance tweaks.
This is my take on that overhaul.
I wasn't sure how to format this at first, but I think I'll tackle this in three parts: first, I'll show you the cards that I'll be removing completely from the Basic and Classic sets, with reasoning; second, I'll show off my revised Basic set and walk you through the changes; third, I'll show you my revised Classic set, also walking you through the changes.
For some card replacements, I created entirely new cards; some cards have instead been plucked from previous expansions.
Part 1: Those We Left Behind
Now, a lot of people are going to look at that list and scream "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" - which, first of all, rude, and second of all, fair. There's a lot of tried and true Priest cards on that list, many of which people don't really complain about. I'll go through them one by one.
Radiance - This is a bad card. An aggressively bad card. Priests do not need this aggressively bad card. They need a better card.
Northshire Cleric - The Cleric is a strong, strong card. It's one of the last unnerfed powerful 1-drops from the early days of Hearthstone. I don't want to take this card away from Wild players by nerfing it, which is what I would do were I to keep it. I'm introducing a different kind of draw card that plays more into the style of gameplay I want to encourage from Priest - a style of gameplay that I fear would allow an unnerfed Cleric to be too strong.
Mind Vision - I'm replacing this with a different card that I think can be expanded upon better. This is a fairly bad card - and to be honest, so is the replacement - but that's ok. I just want a different bad card in its place.
Holy Smite - Not a fan of positioning Priest as a spell-burst combo class. Play with that in Wild; this Priest is doing something different.
Divine Spirit - Haha this would be kind of nuts with some of the stuff I'm giving them. As one half of one of the most tired combos in the game, this card can go.
Holy Nova - This is a bad board clear. They deserve a better one, and they don't need this one sitting there looking ass.
Inner Fire - Oh hey, the other half of the combo! This card can also leave, thank you. Attack buffing is not something I think Priest should have - I'd rather they just get minions with some more Attack than rely on cards like this.
Lightspawn - It just doesn't really fit the theme much anymore. I could honestly have kept it, and it was touch and go for a while, but in the end I decided to include more changes.
Lightwell - Bad card, didn't want it in my set, simple as that.
Auchenai Soulpriest - I don't like that this is a permanent shift as long as she remains on the board. I've replaced it with a different card which grants the effect for a turn, so the combo with Circle of Healing remains, but I just prefer it not be on a body like this.
Shadowform - It's just a bad card. I'm sorry. I want it to work too, but I'm not buffing it or putting synergy for it in Basic or Classic, so it can leave.
Mindgames - Bad, weird card. We have plenty of representation of their thieving abilities, we can do better than this.
Prophet Velen - Hot take: I removed a bunch of the direct face damaging cards (and Blizzard already started this by chucking Mind Blast) so the original point of Velen is kind of lost in this new redesign. Tear up Wild with your combo decks, but he's not needed here anymore.
Part 2: Back to Basics
While you look at that, I suppose I should explain my vision for the Priest Class. I imagine a Priest Class who is the king of the board - they have big minions which they can beef up or protect, which they then use to knock out your minions and slowly chip away at your health. They can also get tricksy, stealing or outright destroying their enemy's minions. This is not a class of waiting to draw into your combo pieces - it's a class of outliving and outlasting the opponent, of answering their threats and whittling them down.
Now, some card explanations!
Holy Alignment - Oh look! A replacement for Holy Smite! This one doesn't do face damage, but offers the versatility of healing a friendly minion by a small amount if that is needed to help a favourable trade.
Power Word: Shield - Strong card, follows what I want from the class. I see this as an absolute win.
Battle Medic - A Vanilla 2/4 for (2)? Blasphemy! This is the sort of card I think Priest can safely have when they're not hampered by silly things like Divine Spirit or Inner Fire. Is this strictly better than Nat, the Darkfisher? Yes. Do I care? No.
Meeting of Minds - Remember that Mind Vision replacement I talked about? Uh… here. I don't think this is particularly good, but it shows a mechanical idea - of gaining knowledge from the opponent directly, of choosing cards to take - that I'd quite like to see more of.
Shadow Word: Pain - Good card. Solid stay.
Prosper in Peace - It's Reverse Battle Rage! Priest needed some more card draw since I denied them Northshire Cleric, and this feels appropriate for what I want their gameplan to be. Stay healthy, get wealthy!
Shadow Word: Death - Good card. Solid stay.
Power Word: Barrier - Ah, a new(ish) mechanic! Being able to reduce the damage dealt to their minions (and even themselves) feels very appropriately Priest. In some cases, it might simply work like a single-turn Immunity for the characters that it covers, which is why this is costed so conservatively - it could save a large board for you to swing with.
Soul Survivor - Another reliable minion that Priest can get when not hampered by the dreaded combo. This is actually weaker than Ancient of War, but I think given the class tools available to Priest, and of course the rarity difference, the difference in mana costs is appropriate.
Mind Control - It's Mind Control. It's iconic. It's not always very good, but it sets the stage for similar effects.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Balance changes - Meeting of Minds increased to (3), from (2); Prosper in Peace increased to (5), from (3); Power Word: Barrier decreased to (6), from (7), and now only affects friendly minions instead of characters.
Part 3: Classical Conditioning
Circle of Healing - A strong card by itself which also has combo potential. Works well with the plan to overwhelm on board by sheer bulk.
Silence - Strong tech card on occasion. Leads into later silence-related gameplay well.
Penance - Our first borrowed card. This is a simple, strong piece of minion control that I think would be well-suited to the Classic set. Not much more to say, beyond mentioning that I think including things like Lifesteal or Discover in the Classic set is fine - we already have Poisonous.
Thoughtsteal - Is it good? Not really. Does it represent a mechanic I like and would enjoy seeing more of in future expansions? Absolutely. Not every card needs to be a 10/10 hit.
Darkshire Alchemist - Strong single target heal. Again, it can be comboed to deal damage, but in general it just works with my outlasting gameplay I want to encourage.
Temple Enforcer - Simple health buff. Not too strong, but reliable and emblematic of something I want to see.
Barrier Priest - An expansion on the Barrier concept. Can be used to potentially save a single minion for a turn; to defend your hero in a pinch; or to hide behind a Taunt in the hopes of no targeted removal. I even let it target enemy characters for some sort of nonsense - make 'em overdraw a ton with their Acolyte of Pain or something =P
Mass Dispel - Solid area silence. Little bit of additional draw. Nothing fancy, but a solid card.
Shadow Madness - An expansion on the stealing concept that works quite nicely, I feel. Didn't see a need to remove it, but not one I'm particularly attached to either.
Mass Hysteria - The replacement for Holy Nova, so that Priest doesn't need to keep getting strong board clear after strong board clear. Plays well with the idea that you would have high Health minions. I changed the art because it felt quite expansion-specific, but really it doesn't need it.
Holy Fire - Technically a small buff here, but I figured if we were adding Penance we may as well. A little bit of reach or some more minion damage, as needed.
Embrace the Shadow - Combo time! This feels much better as a Classic card than Auchenai Soulpriest to me. It's more obviously a combo piece, rather than a weird inbetween, and its lower cost allows you more flexibility in how you play afterwards.
Holy Guardian - Strong Health gaining target, like a reverse Holy Champion. As I said, I prefer Health buffs than Attack buffs in Priest, which is why I made this card instead of just taking Champion in. Could maybe use a numbers tweak, but the overall design is one I'm pleased with.
Cabal Shadow Priest - More stealing, more fun! Solid card with an interesting effect to get players excited to pull of a weird play with it.
Alonsus Faol - I thought long and hard about the Legendary to include in the Classic set. It needed to be something that was 'game-ending' - something that represented a power-spike when it entered, rather than a combo piece or simple good card. I almost went with Catrina Muerte, to give Resurrect some representation in basically its most balanced card, but the flavour isn't quite right. No other existing cards felt right, so I had to make one up; using a prominent lore character, we get an extremely strong heal which can allow you to wipe a board favourably and then remain completely healthy afterwards. Not your traditional game-ender, but then, Priest isn't trying to win in a traditional way.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Balance changes - Barrier Priest can now only target minions instead of characters.
