It's been a while, but I'm back with another installment of custom card fare. This one is exciting because it's both a new class and a new expansion to go with it! I've mostly done one or the other, but I'm gonna try my hand at pulling off the Demon Hunter/Death Knight experience of releasing both simultaneously. I originally started this project right after Voyage to the Sunken City, but lost motivation until now; since then, we've seen locations, Undead, dual minion types, and the Death Knight class added to the game - that's a lot of extra stuff to consider! This is a Work In Progress and everything you see is of the first-draft variety, so feedback is certainly welcome :) Without further ado, let's begin!
New Class: Time Pirate
Time Pirates are interlopers who herald from the future, gallivanting across time and space in search of adventure...and of course, treasure. Collecting dissenters from all along the time-line, their crew is made up of a large variety of species; as such, while they naturally include Pirates, they are in fact a true Menagerie of various minion types cobbled together. They utilize their high-tech gadgets and knowledge of time itself to outwit their opponents, always ready to make their escape. But when things get dicey, there's nothing more dangerous than a Time Pirate backed into a corner with nothing to lose, so be ready for anything!
Gameplay Summary
Captain Aldrax's gameplay is a twist on expected Pirate play-patterns: these aren't your run-of-the-mill scallywags. I will admit I have spent more time on the expansion and existing classes than on the Time Pirate itself, but this is a general run-down of what might be in the class:
- Slower Pirate archetypes - This isn't just "play Pirates, play weapons, go face". I want this to be a slower, more tactical version of the Pirate. You can be aggressive, certainly, but that's not all that will be available.
- Menagerie synergies - Elementals, Dragons, the occasional Beast; bringing together disparate groups is what makes a Time Pirate crew!
- Pillage keyword - As you can see below, "Pillage" provides a bonus of some kind if you already damaged the enemy hero that turn. With cheap triggers like the Hero Power, you can weave in strong, tempo-reclaiming plays.
- Gadgets to get out of situations - Time Pirates have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves, gathered from across time.
- Secrets? - Probably falls under the "gadget" scenario listed above.
- A second ramp class? - Future-tech should be more efficient in its energy usage, after all. Yeah, I know, Druid is fairly problematic in this regard, but maybe we can compete for the space while not destroying the game in the process >_>
Time Pirate Cards
As this is very much a Work In Progress, you won't find a lot here right now; that said, I'll be working on it as long as my motivation takes me lol. Check back for more updates!
New Expansion: Captains of the Rift
As the Time Pirates make themselves known to the people of present-day Azeroth, they unwittingly open up a huge time rift from within the Maelstrom. That brings with it monsters, mayhem, and all sorts of trouble from across Azeroth's time-line. The Time Pirate being about, well, time shenanigans, this is a golden opportunity to explore various characters from Warcraft's past, present, and future, and possibly all three at the same time! Here's a quick summary of what to expect:
- Creatures, characters, and objects from across time - Reoccurring villains, variations of the same character in different classes; when you're making an expansion about time manipulation, expect the irregular. We don't know how Chromie can keep up!
- Tribal support across the board - No class will go without some form of support for a minion type, and some might even be lesser-utilized combinations, like Mech Shaman and Dragon Demon Hunter.
- Legacy weapons - "Legacy" is a new evergreen keyword given to weapons/items that have been passed down over time and cannot be truly destroyed. It is essentially Kingsbane's everlasting effect, and the Rogue weapon would be updated to reflect this.
- Storm spells - The Maelstrom is creating pocket-storms of various sizes and types, which can grow stronger with the presence of more Mana. This keyword is very similar to Manathirst, except you *must* spend the additional Mana to play the card if you currently have it.
- Gold Nuggets - Gold is a gimmie for a Pirate, and Time Pirates are no exception...but don't count out those hoarding Dragons, either!
Cards for Captains of the Rift
As I noted above for the Time Pirate, this is a Work In Progress. As such, most classes currently do not have full sets just yet. I'm working on it, and will update as I can. In the mean time, I will include write ups for how I plan to proceed with each class (which can always change, of course, based on feedback or my own particular whims).
Death Knight
What To Expect: Undead-Pirates, quite possibly of the "spooky ghost" variety. Discarding Gold Nuggets to ward off downsides. Also, weapon synergies.
No cards currently :(
Demon Hunter
What To Expect: Bounty Hunters, Dragons, and Fel Chromie. "Bounties" are basically a cycle of Side-Quests for the Demon Hunter.
Druid
What To Expect: Arcane synergies, Naga, Undead, "The End of Time".
No cards currently :(
Hunter
What To Expect: Leviathans (Big Beasts), Daelin Proudmoore, benefitting from being outnumbered.
Mage
What To Expect: "The Daughter of the Sea", Elementals, Teleportation = Big Minions for the Mage?!
Paladin
What To Expect: "Time cops", Dragons, Chromie, resurrecting.
Priest
What To Expect: Sen'jin, balancing spell schools, more Nature spells to go with Whirlpool.
Rogue
What To Expect: Dragons, possibly Naga, hoarding Gold Nuggets, hand synergies.
Warlock
What To Expect: Fire archetype, putting souls into Mechs, the return of Mecha Jaraxxus?
No cards currently :(
Warrior
What To Expect: Fire archetype, Armor, airships, cannons, volcano Elementals.
Neutral
What To Expect: Support for Fire archetypes, Nature archetypes, Gold Nuggets, tribal minions, weapon synergies. I do not plan to do literally every Neutral card; only the ones that interest me enough to make. I'm not wasting my time creating what would amount to filler.
And that's all I've got for now. Thank you for giving it a look, and a double thank-you if you decide to leave me a comment :D It doesn't seem like much, but the backbone of the expansion is there; just need to spend the time to make it come to life. This is my most ambitious project to date, or at least it certainly seems that way, so getting some "early access" feedback would be especially welcome :)
