Hey, and welcome to a custom-made Hearthstone expansion.
Goblins vs. Gnomes was all about fast decks, Spare Parts, snowballing Mech decks, and the strong synergy between them. The Grand Tournament was all about your Hero Power, Inspire, and the Joust mechanic. Slower decks were favoured, and new archetypes were introduced.
And so, that left us with a challenge. Slow decks got a boost, as did fast, aggressive decks. What was there left to do?
Neutral to Exalted, a nod to the Reputation system in World of Warcraft, is all about defining classes and bringing forgotten playstyles back to the forefront, hopefully as playable options.
You'll find one hundred and forty-three cards in this expansion, with the breakdown as follows:
90 Class cards:
4 Class Commons.
3 Class Rares.
2 Class Epics.
1 Class Legendary.
53 Neutral cards:
21 Neutral Commons.
12 Neutral Rares.
9 Neutral Epics.
11 Neutral Legendaries.
And lastly, with each section, you will find a "notes" section, explaining anything out of the ordinary and how the cards in that section came to be.
Enjoy reading.
Neutral to Exalted is a collaborative effort created by McF4rtson, Zanywoop, and DoctorWhoops.
Ravenholdt is the old fashioned Rogue association, a league of gentlemen and ladies who thieve and assassinate, but seemingly for the winners- The factions. The syndicate, however, are not so friendly. They destabilize teh regions they take up residence in and work for the highest bidder.
At one point, Wrathion hung out at Ravenholdt. He even killed a few of them. But they totally deserved it.
Hi, I'm Zanywoop, co-collaborator on this and resident Lore Guy. We'll start with the class which gets regularly neglected in each new card update, Rogue!
Commons
Dev notes for Commons:
Dramatic Entrance: The first push towards stealth Rogue is a fairly simple buff, with a slight twist. See, you can play this a turn before the minion you want to be buffed, i.e. turn 2 into turn 3 play. This allows very strong minions with a good chance of survivability, at the cost of slight tempo. The Stealth buff from this is permanent mind- Beware of turn five Dramatic Entrances into turn 6 Emperor Thaurrisans.
Dagger of Accuracy: This is more of a fun one. Both my partners complained this was too strong, and it should have set uses. See, I wager this is more of a trade-off deal than anything else. Rogue is known, and pretty much designed for weapon synergy. Do you sacrifice that to become a mage? It's definitely a tech card, but hey, cards like Charged Hammer don't get love.
Syndicate Fatale: Ho ho, the first of many tempo cards. It's generally accepted that turn 4 is a highly pivotal moment in the game, in which a strong play can put you far ahead, and a weaker play can put you far behind. So what if your opponent couldn't use their heavy 4-drops? Now mind you, this isn't a Loatheb alike as much as it is a minor delay - And their spells are unaffected.
Ravenholdt Plotter: You can only jam so many cheap spells into your deck. There are only so many easy ways to proc your combos. And sometimes, you have to burn a combo card to activate one. Oof. The Ravenholdt Plotter (Statted against the Piloted Shredder to make it decent) is a very active way to refill your hand with combo-activator, and has a decent chance of killing 3-drops and severely denting aggro decks.
Rares
Dev notes for Rares:
Joint-Caser: Simple, efficient. Basic stats, decent effect. Why 2-mana? Well, it's a fairly good effect, and also because one of the best Combo cards in the game is SI:7 Agent. Again, it really is a simple effect for a decent tempo drop.
Cloak and Dagger: Darkbomb! Quick Shot! Frostbolt! Yeah, this is perhaps the stronger card for Stealth Rogue, to really push it. While Dramatic Entrance cannot effect anything on the field, Cloak and Dagger allows for clearing an enemy and hiding that minion that's down to one health. Mind you, this is more often than not strong mostly with tempo decks- while any minion gains a buff from stealth, usually you want a specific one for survivability.
Smoke Barrage: Now don't get me wrong, Blade Flurry is one of the more versatile and strong AoE's in the game. This is just a secondary option. Of course, much like Auchenai-Circle, this often hinges on either a lot of a stealth minions naturally, or a well played Conceal.
Epics
Dev notes for Epics:
Syndicate Hitman: Oh ho, the stories I can tell about fitting the card text on this baby. Let's face it- People don't play Assassinate, they don't play Sabotage, and they don't play Patient Assassin. Syndicate Hitman, however, he gets the job done. On combo, he has a Deadly Shot grafted onto him. So, even if he gets silenced, one down. I won't lie, the Windfury is one hundred percent superfluous, and was used to buff the text length. We got desperate. But the fact remains, he can easily, unless silenced, wreck shop very often and double trade. Tempo.
'Holdt Headhunter: Art and name out of the way first- This guy isn't actually going to be lopping off heads. He's a talent scout, a scalper... a Corporate headhunter. People of course don't play Gang Up, but this more than often takes high damage or highly powered battlecry minions. Gang up loses a lot of tempo from not having an immediate effect, but Headhunter puts a body down on the field and allows you to trade with impunity. Also, he will "borrow" any minion that kills him as well, so he can spell taunt to a decent degree.
Wrathion
Wrathion notes:
Wrathion Lore:If you know much about recent developments in World of Warcraft, you've probably heard of this guy. In Cataclysm, he Prince of Persia'd for a rogue legendary Dagger quest (As seen Above, the Fangs of the Father). In MoP, he ramped it up and ran a legendary cloak questline for ALL adventurers.... And then he basically started a war between Azeroth and Alternate Draenor.
But you probably know him because he's been constantly shipped with Anduin.
OFC, his affect is designed to emulate the whole turn-in aspect that legendary questlines have. Mirroring Questing Adventure in flavour design. There is no teleporting of Garrosh, but we had limited card text.
Wrathion Balance: Ha ha, this was fun to balance. Now, the token weapon is actually the only reason that this is at all reasonable; I attempted to provide a much stronger statted weapon as a disincentive to HP'ing, while assuring they aren't used to instantly rush face. Now, you CAN theoretically crack the fangs and go face... But that 2 mana is almost too pivotal to waste for buffing. Wrathion is a high priority target, and the buffs stop coming when Wrathion stops breathing.
Do stay tuned, we have 8 more classes to come! For the breakdown....
Classes designed by McF4rtson:
- Hunter (Joint with me), Priest, Warrior (And this one's FUN), and Warlock
Classes designed by DoctorWhoops:
- Druid and Mage
The other classes I covered:
-Hunter (joint with McF4rtson) and Pally (I tried to avoid Cancer)
And then we have Neutrals, which I was heavily invested in building. Cards will be coming out frequently, though some are still being tweaked and changed. Lore is being shifted, laughed at, and ultimately being refocused, so pics may shift, names may change... We won't do it with out fair warning, mind.
And lastly, Please do tell us what you think is good, and what isn't! Despite there having been three of us, we may have not thought of contingencies or perhaps you have a great idea (Or art... If you have Sporregar Art, please help me!), do not hesitate to get in touch!
Looks fun! I'm all for getting all of the WoW-y elements in Hearthstone. There are a few we still don't have, reputation, for example. Things like Transmorgify, Battlegrounds and Mounts are fun things, I'd like to see implemented. :D
I have one concern about Smoke Barrage: say u have 3 minions out, u attack with em, use Conceal, so they r protected from attacks and spells and then u cast Smoke Barrage for 1 mana to clear your opponents board. Seems quite strong, ofc is a bit underwhelming if u have to use it from empty board or without a stealthed minion, but on the average, it seems quite powerful. Mby reduce the cost just by (1) and not (2) ?
These are some pretty awesome ideas, and I think that most of these cards are actually pretty balanced - which often can't be said for fan creations. Some specific notes.
Dramatic Entrance - Seems like it could cost 1 mana. If you count stealth as one stat, you're basically paying two mana to give a minion +3 stats and that doesn't stack up compared to other buff cards.
Dagger of Accuracy - Could this not be a 1/3 or at least 1/2 weapon? I do like the idea though, in that it is a shadowform-esque spell, but with the flexibility of cancelling it out. However paying mana to get a "normal" hero ability is maybe not worth it? If this was say a 3 mana weapon which made your hero power deal 2 damage - then that would be cool.
Syndicate Fatale and Ravenholdt Plotter - Both cool, balanced cards.
Joint Caser - An awesome idea which enables some neat combos. Literally. Perhaps my favourite card here. It's just beautifully simple
Cloak and Dagger - Balanced.
Smoke Barrage - This one seems overpowered. It's too easy to use Conceal to reduce its cost by an insane amount. I would nerf its damage to 2 and then it becomes much more balanced.
Syndicate Hitman - Maybe slightly overpowered. You're paying 4 and a half mana (I tend to count combos as worth half a mana) for a Deadly Shot and then the Hitman himself. So you're kind of paying 1 and a half mana for a Emporer Cobra/Thrallmar Farseer Hybrid. That's very strong for that cost. Maybe get rid of the Windfury.
Holtd Headhunter - Maybe the stats are a little weak? I don't value shuffling things into your deck that highly, given how unreliable an effect it can be.
Wrathion - seems powerful but balanced. Maybe make him a 5/5 Stealth for flavour and synergy purposes.
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"I wouldn't anticipate seeing much of doctor boom" - Trump 2014
"I myself am not too hopeful about the Grim Patron deck" - Trump 2015
"(Secret Paladin) didn't work out and I don't think Mysterious Challenger will change that." - Trump 2015
"(Darkshire Councilman) takes a bit too long to get set up...bad" - Trump 2016
Haven't done one of these reviews in a while, so here we go...
Dramatic Entrance - Giving perma-stealth to something that gives you value every single turn (I'm looking at you, Gadgetzan Auctioneer) AND a +1/+1 so that it survives most AoEs is really overpowered in some specific cases. There are very few minions in the game that can actually abuse this (see Hogger, Auctioneer), but they still exist. You cast this on turn 5, then you play Gadgetzan Auctioneer on turn 6 and it becomes a 5/5 with stealth - at that point, if your opponent doesn't have a way to clear it right away, how are you supposed to lose? The stealth should either be until your next turn, or you can keep it but make it so that it only works on minions that cost (5) or less.
Dagger of Accuracy - Interesting concept, but the stats are extremely weak. You're temporarily replacing your hero power with a Fireblast - they both cost the same in terms of their value, but there are currently no cards in the Rogue's arsenal that can really benefit from something like this. It changes the whole dynamic of your class and doesn't bring enough power to the table the turn it comes into play. Compare this to Glaivezooka, for instance - it's a 2/2 weapon that can trade with two 3/2's AND it immediately gives a friendly minion +1 Attack - your card is a 4-drop that does almost nothing, and I fail to see why you thought it would be so overpowered. Should be a 2/2 if you want to keep the effect, or a 2-mana Shadowform-like spell that changes your Hero Power permanently.
Syndicate Fatale - I actually really like it - It's simple, balanced and effective. Rogues need a way to stop the early pressure and this card really helps with that, without being too annoying for your opponents to deal with.
Ravenholdt Plotter - Should be a 3/4. The card text basically says "whenever this kills a minion, draw a card" - and Backstab is considered one of the best Rogue cards out there since it does so much for the class it belongs to. Drawing a card is worth 1.5 mana (1 mana with the class discount), since you don't get it immediately and you can get more than 1 card out, a 4-mana 3/4 with this ability is perfectly fine. Also, everyone knows that Piloted Shredder is overpowered and needs to be nerfed, Blizzard is just too lazy to do anything about it.
Joint-Caser - Don't see anything wrong with this card. The effect is roughly 0.5 mana (as it should be on most 2-drops), it's very specific and it doesn't have an immediate impact on the board when it comes into play. It does pair really well with Syndicate Fatale, but not to the point where it's over the top and can't be dealt with.
Cloak and Dagger - Same problem as Dramatic Entrance - the stealth should only last until your next turn. A really cheap standalone card that gives perma-stealth to something should not be in the game as long as Gadgetzan Auctioneer exists, or it should be paired with another ability that costs 3 or more (something like Master of Disguise - you play it more for the body that the effect itself). A 2-mana 3-damage removal is already somewhat decent for Rogues, so other than making the stealth not permanent I don't see a huge problem with this card.
Smoke Barrage - Dealing 3 damage to all enemy minions is worth roughly 5.5 mana - considering you need a very specific requirement to reduce its cost, I'd say it's balanced. Except... Conceal exists. This + Conceal is extremely devastating if you have 3 or more minions on board - and that's what makes this card really scary and potentially broken. If Conceal didn't exist then this would be fine, but because it does I don't really see how you can make this card balanced except for changing the prerequisite and/or drastically increasing its mana cost.
Syndicate Hitman - Windfury on a small minion like that is worth 0.5 mana, the ability to destroy anything that is damaged by it is worth about 1 - 3.5 total, or 3 mana if you add the class discount. And a 3 mana 2/3 with windfury that destroys any minion damaged by it is already really, really good - what makes this card obscene is the combo part. Deadly Shot costs 3 mana, if you had to combo it to get the effect then 2 mana would be reasonable. You're combining two very powerful cards into a single one - even though it doesn't work on minions that have Divine Shield, this should cost at least 5 mana, if not 6.
'Holdt Headhunter - This is a really bad card. You're trading your minions away (similar to Cult Master), but instead of drawing cards right away, you're adding a copy of the minion that killed your stuff into your deck. And at that point, if you want to capitalize on your tokens, why not just run Cult Master instead? Or an Azure Drake? This should either be a 3/6 or even a 4/6 - right now I don't see the point of this card.
Wrathion - Should cost at least 7. A vanilla 5-mana 5/6 is already considered good enough. Stormforged Axe doesn't see play because Blizzard valued it at 3 mana, but because you can't attack the enemy's face with Fangs of the Father and you get a really nice body with it I'd value the weapon at 2 mana. That's 7 mana worth of stats, since this is a class-specific legendary 6 mana would be perfectly fine. Giving your weapon +1 Attack whenever you play a card is worth 1 mana at the very least, which adds up to 7 in total. Not to mention that you can override it with Assassin's Blade if Wrathion survives, and then Preparation + Tinker's Sharpsword Oil + Deadly Poison to get a massive 11/5 weapon on turn 7. And what if your opponent doesn't have Harrison Jones? Well, then you win the game right then and there.
That about sums it up. You should definitely put a little more time into balancing your next batch of cards - you're not too far off, but you're definitely getting there.
i really love this! but in my opinion 'Holdt Headhunter would be really really weak even at 4 mana, not even talking about 5. Other than that (and the unnecessary Windfury on that other epic) its a really good start for your expansion and im really looking forward to seeing more :D
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Some of my creations are below, sorted from new to old
The Aldor a group of priests and paladins, or anchorites and vindicators, that serve the Light. The Aldor are the arch-nemesis of the Scryers, but have grouped together at one point to fight off a common enemy. The Aldo are all draenei. They live to serve the Naaru and to rebuild Shattrath City.
Their leader is High Priestess Ishanah.
I'm McF4rtson, the last member of this trio. I have the most experience in class cards, so I worked on more classes than the other two members and took care of any image editing problems.
Commons
Common cards explained:
Sha'tar Anchorite is a very simple 1-mana card, perhaps a staple in the Silence Priest. It's a cheaper Ironbeak Owl, true, but a 1/2 has less impact on the board and it is a class minion, nor does it have any racial tag. I do, however, expect to see it played alongside Ironbeak Owl anyways.
Purify, your main combo-starter, other than Silence. Silence your Ancient Watcher, Fel Reaver, whatever. It is meant to be another spell-based Silence option for this archetype.
Naaru Handmaiden is a card not part of the Silence archetype. It's a 2-drop meant for any sort of Priest, though it could very well be put in a silence priest, as it is unaffected by silence. Priest has no good 2-drop. Shadowboxer is for Mech decks and is much harder to get value out of than Knife Juggler and Shrinkmeister is a combo card.
Power Word: Mojo is one heck of a buff. It could become a key card in combos and would be insane with Auchenai Soulpriest. In fact, there very well could be a Miracle Priest, where you find a Soulpriest, Mojo, then a couple of Flash Heals and Mind Blasts. Therefore, this costs a hefty 3 mana, despite having no stats boosts whatsoever. (And yes. If you place this thing on Prophet Velen... you quadruple your healing.)
Rares
Rare cards explained:
Leap of Faith is an actual in-game ability and it has nothing to do with leaping with faith. It is a Priest ability that forces an ally to move. For example, your friend is about to get sat on by, say, Deathwing. You use Leap of Faith, pull the poor sucker out, and continue. In a way, this is represented in Hearthstone. You silence a friendly minion, that is, you're messing around with your allied minion, then you lightly buff him.
Soulbound Construct is a powerful 3-drop, based on The Beast, an alternative to Dark Cultist. Though it may seem strong, keep in mind this is a turn 3 Chillwind Yeti with a downside. Druids can easily do a turn 2 Yeti. The point of this card is to give an option other than Dancing Blades, which, let's face it, is so bad bad that I'd never run it, even in a silence Priest deck. In the actual game, these constructs are suits of armor with the soul of Draenei inside them.
Nether Priestess. This card *screams* Wailing Soul or the new Purify. I think this card is quite self explanatory and will find a home in any Silence Priest deck.
Epics
Epic cards explained:
Shadow Word: Anguish is a powerful "removal" for priests. Though they still have that weakness of 4-Attack minions (Blizz doesn't want to change this fact, and good on them. It is an integral part of Priest, so I will not change it either), they have an option against problematic minions now. Though it may no be used over Shadow Word: Death, this new card can be a massive tempo swing against cards like Sylvanas Windrunner, Savannah Highmane, or anything with a scary Deathrattle. Balanced against Polymorph.
Aldor Quartermaster is a mid-late game win condition for Silence Priests. Based off of the Paladin's Quartermaster, this guy guarantees at least one buff, bringing his stat total to 4/8, slightly below average. Most likely, though, you will have at least one or two minions that can be buffed.
The Legendary
The Legendary card explained:
High Priestess Ishanah, a big 7-mana killer. On par with Dr. Boom in terms of value. She's simple enough, yet devastating. She has her weakness, though, mainly her stats. She is both a Big Game Hunter and a Fireball target. This card is self-explanatory, not much else to say.
Classes left:
Warrior
Warlock
Mage
Hunter
Shaman
Paladin
I hope you've enjoyed the Priest class cards. I had a lot of fun reviving the Silence Priest and making Wailing Soul playable again. :P
I enjoy all of these concepts, however, I believe that adding even more silencing tools to the game, even if just to one class, would be incredibly unhealthy. Silence is simply not a fun mechanic- it invalidates the fun factor of hundreds of cards. Remember that Masqurade tavern brawl? It was fun until it became a silence competition. There is a reason that Blizzard hasn't added any new silences since classic, because they understand how dull they'd make the game.
However, I think the silencing negative effects from your OWN minions is a great idea!
dramatic entrance- really like the concept of casting this with a big minion.
Dagger of accuracy- an awesome idea, but i think it could be more powerful, like 1 mana or a 1/3.
Syndicate Fatale: awesome
Ravenholdt Plotter: again, really cool
Joint-Caser: cool card, but i think something with the wording is wierd (maybe because there isnt an effect like this in the game yet)
Cloak and Dagger: awesome, would be a top tier card.
Smoke Barrage: its great, but im not sure if i will play Stealth rouge because of a removal card.
Syndicate Hitman: love the use of Poison here, but the Windfury dosent fit.
'Holdt Headhunter: This one is really really really weak! No one would ever play this even at 4 mana. The main reason Gang Up is great in meal is the ability to shuffle copies of coldlight orcales or healbots. Suffling the Leper Gnome that killed your healbot may very well be a hinder of your game plan.
Wrathion: Awesome.
Wrath of Nature: I love this card
Druid of the Fleet: Again, a simple great idea
Moonglade Caster: Good and balanced. I agree with your opinion of Spell Damage.
Teachings of the Wild: Love this too.
Call of the Wild: Very good, but it kind of lacks the simple feeling of your other cards and the hearthstone design.
Druid of the Talon: Great card and idea.
Grizzly Gladiator: very cool, but it seems kind of too weak for ranked play.
Treantkeeper: Seems way too powerful compared to Druid of the claw (Which is a good card). I would up the mana cost to 6.
Ancient of Wonders: I love this card and any card that makes bad cards playable.
Hamuul Runetotem: Love this design <3
Sha'tar Anchorite : great and fits Priest.
Purify: A great and simple card.
Naaru Handmaiden: a card with good stats for its cost and draws you a very powerful card. Seems like an auto include and a way too powerful card in my opinion. This card is even not moving you closer to fatigue which is one of Priest's main problems. I will remove 1 stat from her or make her 3 mana. Also, i think the correct wording is without the word 'copy'.
Power Word: Mojo: seems kind of weak balance wise, but it could lead to some wild combos. I will also change it's rarity- its too crazy for a common imo.
Leap of Faith: A good card, but the name feels really paladiny
Soulbound Construct: Very powerful but i like it
Nether Priestess: An awesome idea! Wailing Soul OP
Shadow Word: Anguish: Great and really fun with cabal and shrinkmeister
Aldor Quartermaster: Seems good, but i will give this guy 1 more Health.
High Priestess Ishanah: She isnt that much better than Geddon that doesnt see play. I will make her a 7/7 to push her but she is still really cool
Overall I love this expansion and the clear and clean designs. You guys are doing a really awesome job! Keep going!
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Some of my creations are below, sorted from new to old
Ya know Yuva, you're not far off, you're not far off on Redeemed Zealot... And me and Bub (McF4rtson) chatted it over, Paladin will be the next drop.
Some responses:
Rogue: It's become fairly obvious people liked the tempo stuff (Joint-caser, Fatale) more than they liked the Stealth mechanics. I do agree, looking over them now, stealth unil the start of your next turn would be better and I may in fact go back and change them. I saw a good suggestion (Ryolth's post) for a fix to Smoke Barrage, the whole 6-1 per stealth mana concept, and I actually think I'd go for that. Now... The epics situation...
Syndicate Hitman: Syndicate hitman was always supposed to be a 1/4 with the combo battlecry... the issue is card text length. Anyone who's pulled their hair out on hearthcards long enough can tell you the pains of trying to fit all your text into four lines (The most that looks nice), while not having the bottom line overlap the attack and health symbols.It would fit back when it did damage to a random enemy, but not an enemy minion. Windfury was the effect with the least effect. Please, if someone can figure the card text out, do go ahead.
'Holdt Headhunter: Well, I liked it XD. I think it's fair to say this was the worst card we'd dropped this whole expac. It was designed to steal strong minions, but it's obviously a massive tempo drop... Worse than Gang Up. One good suggestion I heard (I don't think it was on the post here, sorry I forgot who it was) was to have him put enemy minions who damage the Headhunter into your hand, and I may go for that.
The other two classes are of course not mine, but I will try to defend our use of the silence mechanic. I didn't see something like Purify as a new card, but as actually a replacement for Mass Dispel with a better effect for your side. Obviously Blizzard wanted priests to have that huge silence, but it will not be seeing play, bar Tavern Brawl, so I'm not too worried about Purify. Anchorite...? I don't even think it'll see play, and it does, it's a replacement for the other silence that doesn't see play, Silence. But I understand the fear of too much shut-down, I just think these cards are overrides for cards that never saw play.
Also, I do thank you guys for all the feedback, especially the harsh kind. Everybody here has explained why they dislike some cards, and that really helps us understand our mistakes and fix them either here or in later endeavors. Kudos, guys.
--- Zany
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Overview
Hey, and welcome to a custom-made Hearthstone expansion.
Goblins vs. Gnomes was all about fast decks, Spare Parts, snowballing Mech decks, and the strong synergy between them. The Grand Tournament was all about your Hero Power, Inspire, and the Joust mechanic. Slower decks were favoured, and new archetypes were introduced.
And so, that left us with a challenge. Slow decks got a boost, as did fast, aggressive decks. What was there left to do?
Neutral to Exalted, a nod to the Reputation system in World of Warcraft, is all about defining classes and bringing forgotten playstyles back to the forefront, hopefully as playable options.
You'll find one hundred and forty-three cards in this expansion, with the breakdown as follows:
And lastly, with each section, you will find a "notes" section, explaining anything out of the ordinary and how the cards in that section came to be.
Enjoy reading.
Neutral to Exalted is a collaborative effort created by McF4rtson, Zanywoop, and DoctorWhoops.
Rogue: Tempo/Stealth Rogue
Faction: Ravenholdt Manor and The Syndicate
Flavour:
Ravenholdt is the old fashioned Rogue association, a league of gentlemen and ladies who thieve and assassinate, but seemingly for the winners- The factions. The syndicate, however, are not so friendly. They destabilize teh regions they take up residence in and work for the highest bidder.
At one point, Wrathion hung out at Ravenholdt. He even killed a few of them. But they totally deserved it.
Hi, I'm Zanywoop, co-collaborator on this and resident Lore Guy. We'll start with the class which gets regularly neglected in each new card update, Rogue!
Commons
Dev notes for Commons:
Dramatic Entrance: The first push towards stealth Rogue is a fairly simple buff, with a slight twist. See, you can play this a turn before the minion you want to be buffed, i.e. turn 2 into turn 3 play. This allows very strong minions with a good chance of survivability, at the cost of slight tempo. The Stealth buff from this is permanent mind- Beware of turn five Dramatic Entrances into turn 6 Emperor Thaurrisans.
Dagger of Accuracy: This is more of a fun one. Both my partners complained this was too strong, and it should have set uses. See, I wager this is more of a trade-off deal than anything else. Rogue is known, and pretty much designed for weapon synergy. Do you sacrifice that to become a mage? It's definitely a tech card, but hey, cards like Charged Hammer don't get love.
Syndicate Fatale: Ho ho, the first of many tempo cards. It's generally accepted that turn 4 is a highly pivotal moment in the game, in which a strong play can put you far ahead, and a weaker play can put you far behind. So what if your opponent couldn't use their heavy 4-drops? Now mind you, this isn't a Loatheb alike as much as it is a minor delay - And their spells are unaffected.
Ravenholdt Plotter: You can only jam so many cheap spells into your deck. There are only so many easy ways to proc your combos. And sometimes, you have to burn a combo card to activate one. Oof. The Ravenholdt Plotter (Statted against the Piloted Shredder to make it decent) is a very active way to refill your hand with combo-activator, and has a decent chance of killing 3-drops and severely denting aggro decks.
Rares
Dev notes for Rares:
Joint-Caser: Simple, efficient. Basic stats, decent effect. Why 2-mana? Well, it's a fairly good effect, and also because one of the best Combo cards in the game is SI:7 Agent. Again, it really is a simple effect for a decent tempo drop.
Cloak and Dagger: Darkbomb! Quick Shot! Frostbolt! Yeah, this is perhaps the stronger card for Stealth Rogue, to really push it. While Dramatic Entrance cannot effect anything on the field, Cloak and Dagger allows for clearing an enemy and hiding that minion that's down to one health. Mind you, this is more often than not strong mostly with tempo decks- while any minion gains a buff from stealth, usually you want a specific one for survivability.
Smoke Barrage: Now don't get me wrong, Blade Flurry is one of the more versatile and strong AoE's in the game. This is just a secondary option. Of course, much like Auchenai-Circle, this often hinges on either a lot of a stealth minions naturally, or a well played Conceal.
Epics
Dev notes for Epics:
Syndicate Hitman: Oh ho, the stories I can tell about fitting the card text on this baby. Let's face it- People don't play Assassinate, they don't play Sabotage, and they don't play Patient Assassin. Syndicate Hitman, however, he gets the job done. On combo, he has a Deadly Shot grafted onto him. So, even if he gets silenced, one down. I won't lie, the Windfury is one hundred percent superfluous, and was used to buff the text length. We got desperate. But the fact remains, he can easily, unless silenced, wreck shop very often and double trade. Tempo.
'Holdt Headhunter: Art and name out of the way first- This guy isn't actually going to be lopping off heads. He's a talent scout, a scalper... a Corporate headhunter. People of course don't play Gang Up, but this more than often takes high damage or highly powered battlecry minions. Gang up loses a lot of tempo from not having an immediate effect, but Headhunter puts a body down on the field and allows you to trade with impunity. Also, he will "borrow" any minion that kills him as well, so he can spell taunt to a decent degree.
Wrathion
Wrathion notes:
Wrathion Lore:If you know much about recent developments in World of Warcraft, you've probably heard of this guy. In Cataclysm, he Prince of Persia'd for a rogue legendary Dagger quest (As seen Above, the Fangs of the Father). In MoP, he ramped it up and ran a legendary cloak questline for ALL adventurers.... And then he basically started a war between Azeroth and Alternate Draenor.
But you probably know him because he's been constantly shipped with Anduin.
OFC, his affect is designed to emulate the whole turn-in aspect that legendary questlines have. Mirroring Questing Adventure in flavour design. There is no teleporting of Garrosh, but we had limited card text.
Wrathion Balance: Ha ha, this was fun to balance. Now, the token weapon is actually the only reason that this is at all reasonable; I attempted to provide a much stronger statted weapon as a disincentive to HP'ing, while assuring they aren't used to instantly rush face. Now, you CAN theoretically crack the fangs and go face... But that 2 mana is almost too pivotal to waste for buffing. Wrathion is a high priority target, and the buffs stop coming when Wrathion stops breathing.
Do stay tuned, we have 8 more classes to come! For the breakdown....
Classes designed by McF4rtson:
- Hunter (Joint with me), Priest, Warrior (And this one's FUN), and Warlock
Classes designed by DoctorWhoops:
- Druid and Mage
The other classes I covered:
-Hunter (joint with McF4rtson) and Pally (I tried to avoid Cancer)
And then we have Neutrals, which I was heavily invested in building. Cards will be coming out frequently, though some are still being tweaked and changed. Lore is being shifted, laughed at, and ultimately being refocused, so pics may shift, names may change... We won't do it with out fair warning, mind.
And lastly, Please do tell us what you think is good, and what isn't! Despite there having been three of us, we may have not thought of contingencies or perhaps you have a great idea (Or art... If you have Sporregar Art, please help me!), do not hesitate to get in touch!
--- Zany
This is awesome. :>
I love, love, love the Joint-caser! What a fantastic idea. Also Dramatic Entrance, Cloak and Dagger, and Dagger of Accuracy look like so much fun!
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Great work with the rogue!
Looks fun! I'm all for getting all of the WoW-y elements in Hearthstone. There are a few we still don't have, reputation, for example. Things like Transmorgify, Battlegrounds and Mounts are fun things, I'd like to see implemented. :D
Good stuff ;-)
I have one concern about Smoke Barrage: say u have 3 minions out, u attack with em, use Conceal, so they r protected from attacks and spells and then u cast Smoke Barrage for 1 mana to clear your opponents board. Seems quite strong, ofc is a bit underwhelming if u have to use it from empty board or without a stealthed minion, but on the average, it seems quite powerful. Mby reduce the cost just by (1) and not (2) ?
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Looks great, and can't wait to see the rest!
Q: What did Avril Lavigne say when her Asian masseuse refused to give sexual favors?
A: "So much for my happy ending."
These are some pretty awesome ideas, and I think that most of these cards are actually pretty balanced - which often can't be said for fan creations. Some specific notes.
Haven't done one of these reviews in a while, so here we go...
Dramatic Entrance - Giving perma-stealth to something that gives you value every single turn (I'm looking at you, Gadgetzan Auctioneer) AND a +1/+1 so that it survives most AoEs is really overpowered in some specific cases. There are very few minions in the game that can actually abuse this (see Hogger, Auctioneer), but they still exist. You cast this on turn 5, then you play Gadgetzan Auctioneer on turn 6 and it becomes a 5/5 with stealth - at that point, if your opponent doesn't have a way to clear it right away, how are you supposed to lose? The stealth should either be until your next turn, or you can keep it but make it so that it only works on minions that cost (5) or less.
Dagger of Accuracy - Interesting concept, but the stats are extremely weak. You're temporarily replacing your hero power with a Fireblast - they both cost the same in terms of their value, but there are currently no cards in the Rogue's arsenal that can really benefit from something like this. It changes the whole dynamic of your class and doesn't bring enough power to the table the turn it comes into play. Compare this to Glaivezooka, for instance - it's a 2/2 weapon that can trade with two 3/2's AND it immediately gives a friendly minion +1 Attack - your card is a 4-drop that does almost nothing, and I fail to see why you thought it would be so overpowered. Should be a 2/2 if you want to keep the effect, or a 2-mana Shadowform-like spell that changes your Hero Power permanently.
Syndicate Fatale - I actually really like it - It's simple, balanced and effective. Rogues need a way to stop the early pressure and this card really helps with that, without being too annoying for your opponents to deal with.
Ravenholdt Plotter - Should be a 3/4. The card text basically says "whenever this kills a minion, draw a card" - and Backstab is considered one of the best Rogue cards out there since it does so much for the class it belongs to. Drawing a card is worth 1.5 mana (1 mana with the class discount), since you don't get it immediately and you can get more than 1 card out, a 4-mana 3/4 with this ability is perfectly fine. Also, everyone knows that Piloted Shredder is overpowered and needs to be nerfed, Blizzard is just too lazy to do anything about it.
Joint-Caser - Don't see anything wrong with this card. The effect is roughly 0.5 mana (as it should be on most 2-drops), it's very specific and it doesn't have an immediate impact on the board when it comes into play. It does pair really well with Syndicate Fatale, but not to the point where it's over the top and can't be dealt with.
Cloak and Dagger - Same problem as Dramatic Entrance - the stealth should only last until your next turn. A really cheap standalone card that gives perma-stealth to something should not be in the game as long as Gadgetzan Auctioneer exists, or it should be paired with another ability that costs 3 or more (something like Master of Disguise - you play it more for the body that the effect itself). A 2-mana 3-damage removal is already somewhat decent for Rogues, so other than making the stealth not permanent I don't see a huge problem with this card.
Smoke Barrage - Dealing 3 damage to all enemy minions is worth roughly 5.5 mana - considering you need a very specific requirement to reduce its cost, I'd say it's balanced. Except... Conceal exists. This + Conceal is extremely devastating if you have 3 or more minions on board - and that's what makes this card really scary and potentially broken. If Conceal didn't exist then this would be fine, but because it does I don't really see how you can make this card balanced except for changing the prerequisite and/or drastically increasing its mana cost.
Syndicate Hitman - Windfury on a small minion like that is worth 0.5 mana, the ability to destroy anything that is damaged by it is worth about 1 - 3.5 total, or 3 mana if you add the class discount. And a 3 mana 2/3 with windfury that destroys any minion damaged by it is already really, really good - what makes this card obscene is the combo part. Deadly Shot costs 3 mana, if you had to combo it to get the effect then 2 mana would be reasonable. You're combining two very powerful cards into a single one - even though it doesn't work on minions that have Divine Shield, this should cost at least 5 mana, if not 6.
'Holdt Headhunter - This is a really bad card. You're trading your minions away (similar to Cult Master), but instead of drawing cards right away, you're adding a copy of the minion that killed your stuff into your deck. And at that point, if you want to capitalize on your tokens, why not just run Cult Master instead? Or an Azure Drake? This should either be a 3/6 or even a 4/6 - right now I don't see the point of this card.
Wrathion - Should cost at least 7. A vanilla 5-mana 5/6 is already considered good enough. Stormforged Axe doesn't see play because Blizzard valued it at 3 mana, but because you can't attack the enemy's face with Fangs of the Father and you get a really nice body with it I'd value the weapon at 2 mana. That's 7 mana worth of stats, since this is a class-specific legendary 6 mana would be perfectly fine. Giving your weapon +1 Attack whenever you play a card is worth 1 mana at the very least, which adds up to 7 in total. Not to mention that you can override it with Assassin's Blade if Wrathion survives, and then Preparation + Tinker's Sharpsword Oil + Deadly Poison to get a massive 11/5 weapon on turn 7. And what if your opponent doesn't have Harrison Jones? Well, then you win the game right then and there.
That about sums it up. You should definitely put a little more time into balancing your next batch of cards - you're not too far off, but you're definitely getting there.
Here is an idwa for balancing smoke barrage. If you have a minion with Stealth, this costs 2 less.
awesome, i would love to see a stealth rogue archetype and these cards can make it work.
need take time to make new pic and signature using the new cards.
Syndicate fatale looks like katarina from league of legends. THat made my day. Also nice work
i really love this! but in my opinion 'Holdt Headhunter would be really really weak even at 4 mana, not even talking about 5. Other than that (and the unnecessary Windfury on that other epic) its a really good start for your expansion and im really looking forward to seeing more :D
Some of my creations are below, sorted from new to old
Myths of the Pantheon -A card a day (on a break right now) -Full Moon of Gilneas -A Tale of Fairies - Dalaran Expansion 2 - The Dark Forest - Dalaran Expansion 1 - Pirate Expansion 2 - Pirate Expansion 1 - Spring of Kimjau -Seige at Orgimmar - Journeys Abound
Priest will be up next, but don't forget to lay down a few words for Druid.
Priest: Silence Priest
Faction: Aldor
Flavour:
The Aldor a group of priests and paladins, or anchorites and vindicators, that serve the Light. The Aldor are the arch-nemesis of the Scryers, but have grouped together at one point to fight off a common enemy. The Aldo are all draenei. They live to serve the Naaru and to rebuild Shattrath City.
Their leader is High Priestess Ishanah.
I'm McF4rtson, the last member of this trio. I have the most experience in class cards, so I worked on more classes than the other two members and took care of any image editing problems.
Commons
Common cards explained:
Sha'tar Anchorite is a very simple 1-mana card, perhaps a staple in the Silence Priest. It's a cheaper Ironbeak Owl, true, but a 1/2 has less impact on the board and it is a class minion, nor does it have any racial tag. I do, however, expect to see it played alongside Ironbeak Owl anyways.
Purify, your main combo-starter, other than Silence. Silence your Ancient Watcher, Fel Reaver, whatever. It is meant to be another spell-based Silence option for this archetype.
Naaru Handmaiden is a card not part of the Silence archetype. It's a 2-drop meant for any sort of Priest, though it could very well be put in a silence priest, as it is unaffected by silence. Priest has no good 2-drop. Shadowboxer is for Mech decks and is much harder to get value out of than Knife Juggler and Shrinkmeister is a combo card.
Rares
Rare cards explained:
Leap of Faith is an actual in-game ability and it has nothing to do with leaping with faith. It is a Priest ability that forces an ally to move. For example, your friend is about to get sat on by, say, Deathwing. You use Leap of Faith, pull the poor sucker out, and continue. In a way, this is represented in Hearthstone. You silence a friendly minion, that is, you're messing around with your allied minion, then you lightly buff him.
Soulbound Construct is a powerful 3-drop, based on The Beast, an alternative to Dark Cultist. Though it may seem strong, keep in mind this is a turn 3 Chillwind Yeti with a downside. Druids can easily do a turn 2 Yeti. The point of this card is to give an option other than Dancing Blades, which, let's face it, is so bad bad that I'd never run it, even in a silence Priest deck. In the actual game, these constructs are suits of armor with the soul of Draenei inside them.
Nether Priestess. This card *screams* Wailing Soul or the new Purify. I think this card is quite self explanatory and will find a home in any Silence Priest deck.
Epics
Epic cards explained:
Shadow Word: Anguish is a powerful "removal" for priests. Though they still have that weakness of 4-Attack minions (Blizz doesn't want to change this fact, and good on them. It is an integral part of Priest, so I will not change it either), they have an option against problematic minions now. Though it may no be used over Shadow Word: Death, this new card can be a massive tempo swing against cards like Sylvanas Windrunner, Savannah Highmane, or anything with a scary Deathrattle. Balanced against Polymorph.
Aldor Quartermaster is a mid-late game win condition for Silence Priests. Based off of the Paladin's Quartermaster, this guy guarantees at least one buff, bringing his stat total to 4/8, slightly below average. Most likely, though, you will have at least one or two minions that can be buffed.
The Legendary
The Legendary card explained:
High Priestess Ishanah, a big 7-mana killer. On par with Dr. Boom in terms of value. She's simple enough, yet devastating. She has her weakness, though, mainly her stats. She is both a Big Game Hunter and a Fireball target. This card is self-explanatory, not much else to say.
Classes left:
I hope you've enjoyed the Priest class cards. I had a lot of fun reviving the Silence Priest and making Wailing Soul playable again. :P
I enjoy all of these concepts, however, I believe that adding even more silencing tools to the game, even if just to one class, would be incredibly unhealthy. Silence is simply not a fun mechanic- it invalidates the fun factor of hundreds of cards. Remember that Masqurade tavern brawl? It was fun until it became a silence competition. There is a reason that Blizzard hasn't added any new silences since classic, because they understand how dull they'd make the game.
However, I think the silencing negative effects from your OWN minions is a great idea!
my review so far-
dramatic entrance- really like the concept of casting this with a big minion.
Dagger of accuracy- an awesome idea, but i think it could be more powerful, like 1 mana or a 1/3.
Syndicate Fatale: awesome
Ravenholdt Plotter: again, really cool
Joint-Caser: cool card, but i think something with the wording is wierd (maybe because there isnt an effect like this in the game yet)
Cloak and Dagger: awesome, would be a top tier card.
Smoke Barrage: its great, but im not sure if i will play Stealth rouge because of a removal card.
Syndicate Hitman: love the use of Poison here, but the Windfury dosent fit.
'Holdt Headhunter: This one is really really really weak! No one would ever play this even at 4 mana. The main reason Gang Up is great in meal is the ability to shuffle copies of coldlight orcales or healbots. Suffling the Leper Gnome that killed your healbot may very well be a hinder of your game plan.
Wrathion: Awesome.
Wrath of Nature: I love this card
Druid of the Fleet: Again, a simple great idea
Moonglade Caster: Good and balanced. I agree with your opinion of Spell Damage.
Teachings of the Wild: Love this too.
Call of the Wild: Very good, but it kind of lacks the simple feeling of your other cards and the hearthstone design.
Druid of the Talon: Great card and idea.
Grizzly Gladiator: very cool, but it seems kind of too weak for ranked play.
Treantkeeper: Seems way too powerful compared to Druid of the claw (Which is a good card). I would up the mana cost to 6.
Ancient of Wonders: I love this card and any card that makes bad cards playable.
Hamuul Runetotem: Love this design <3
Sha'tar Anchorite : great and fits Priest.
Purify: A great and simple card.
Naaru Handmaiden: a card with good stats for its cost and draws you a very powerful card. Seems like an auto include and a way too powerful card in my opinion. This card is even not moving you closer to fatigue which is one of Priest's main problems. I will remove 1 stat from her or make her 3 mana. Also, i think the correct wording is without the word 'copy'.
Leap of Faith: A good card, but the name feels really paladiny
Soulbound Construct: Very powerful but i like it
Nether Priestess: An awesome idea! Wailing Soul OP
Shadow Word: Anguish: Great and really fun with cabal and shrinkmeister
Aldor Quartermaster: Seems good, but i will give this guy 1 more Health.
High Priestess Ishanah: She isnt that much better than Geddon that doesnt see play. I will make her a 7/7 to push her but she is still really cool
Overall I love this expansion and the clear and clean designs. You guys are doing a really awesome job! Keep going!
Some of my creations are below, sorted from new to old
Myths of the Pantheon -A card a day (on a break right now) -Full Moon of Gilneas -A Tale of Fairies - Dalaran Expansion 2 - The Dark Forest - Dalaran Expansion 1 - Pirate Expansion 2 - Pirate Expansion 1 - Spring of Kimjau -Seige at Orgimmar - Journeys Abound
Zealot- Deathrattle: Suffle it in your deck with divine shield.
backfire- When your opponent plays a minion deal damage to that minion and the enemy hero equal to the minion's cost.
Some of my creations are below, sorted from new to old
Myths of the Pantheon -A card a day (on a break right now) -Full Moon of Gilneas -A Tale of Fairies - Dalaran Expansion 2 - The Dark Forest - Dalaran Expansion 1 - Pirate Expansion 2 - Pirate Expansion 1 - Spring of Kimjau -Seige at Orgimmar - Journeys Abound
Ya know Yuva, you're not far off, you're not far off on Redeemed Zealot... And me and Bub (McF4rtson) chatted it over, Paladin will be the next drop.
Some responses:
Rogue: It's become fairly obvious people liked the tempo stuff (Joint-caser, Fatale) more than they liked the Stealth mechanics. I do agree, looking over them now, stealth unil the start of your next turn would be better and I may in fact go back and change them. I saw a good suggestion (Ryolth's post) for a fix to Smoke Barrage, the whole 6-1 per stealth mana concept, and I actually think I'd go for that. Now... The epics situation...
Syndicate Hitman: Syndicate hitman was always supposed to be a 1/4 with the combo battlecry... the issue is card text length. Anyone who's pulled their hair out on hearthcards long enough can tell you the pains of trying to fit all your text into four lines (The most that looks nice), while not having the bottom line overlap the attack and health symbols.It would fit back when it did damage to a random enemy, but not an enemy minion. Windfury was the effect with the least effect. Please, if someone can figure the card text out, do go ahead.
'Holdt Headhunter: Well, I liked it XD. I think it's fair to say this was the worst card we'd dropped this whole expac. It was designed to steal strong minions, but it's obviously a massive tempo drop... Worse than Gang Up. One good suggestion I heard (I don't think it was on the post here, sorry I forgot who it was) was to have him put enemy minions who damage the Headhunter into your hand, and I may go for that.
The other two classes are of course not mine, but I will try to defend our use of the silence mechanic. I didn't see something like Purify as a new card, but as actually a replacement for Mass Dispel with a better effect for your side. Obviously Blizzard wanted priests to have that huge silence, but it will not be seeing play, bar Tavern Brawl, so I'm not too worried about Purify. Anchorite...? I don't even think it'll see play, and it does, it's a replacement for the other silence that doesn't see play, Silence. But I understand the fear of too much shut-down, I just think these cards are overrides for cards that never saw play.
Also, I do thank you guys for all the feedback, especially the harsh kind. Everybody here has explained why they dislike some cards, and that really helps us understand our mistakes and fix them either here or in later endeavors. Kudos, guys.
--- Zany