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So excited to be moving on to this first phase! I don't quite have the bosses completely figured out for my first Wing, but I do have something I can show you guys before I go to bed - the Wing rewards! I'll put them under a spoiler below, detailing when you get them and any extra information. I'd love to hear people's thoughts on their balance, as well as which ones are your favourites.
The New Mechanic - Experience
First Boss Rewards
Defence Matrix - An early game defensive minion that requires one full attack from a minion or hero to take it out, or whittling down by spells. Knowledge Totem - Again, a more defensive addition to Shaman's arsenal that might stick around because your opponent wants the advantage as well.
Second Boss Reward
Clockwork Librarian - I will add a further spoiler containing all the possible books tomorrow, but a brief description is that each class is receiving a 3 mana "Book" spell in this expansion, mostly themed to the class - eg the Hunter one involves interaction with Beasts.
Third Boss Rewards
Cry Havoc - Potentially interesting synergy with Warsong Commander and Protect the King!, which I think is balanced by the restricted attacking, preventing it from being used as part of an OTK. Drakonid Translator - I'm particularly proud of the theming on this one, and the balancing I think is quite good, because it does require you to at least have any minion in your hand for Dragon synergies to still occur. A 3-Drop Dragon is also something that is lacking which could be holding back some Dragon decks.
Final Boss Rewards
Grimoire Gremlin - Another interesting card. This effect is more to line up with the boss fight you will obtain it from, although who knows what synergies might occur in the future - Divine Favor already works marvelously with it. Book of the Storm - Shaman's book. Gives you a bunch more burn cards, and can also power up your Tunnel Trogg! Not quite sure of the balance on this one, the Overload might not be necessary. Book of the Divine - Paladin's book. Gives temporary immunity to all your minions so you can make favourable trades, but doesn't keep them around so you need to capitalise on it that turn. Is the penalty too harsh? Should it be at the end of your opponent's turn instead?
Class Challenge Rewards
Battle Medic - What's this, a Priest 2-Drop? Very vanilla, I know, but I feel like it is suitably powerful in Priest, and the stats are of a suitable level, especially for a class card. Seasoned Tactician - Another option for Bolster Warrior, perhaps, or maybe just a good Warrior Arena card. I think, again, that the stats available are reasonable given the condition required to get the Taunt out.
Don't feel obliged to comment on every card or anything, I just wanted them all laid out here so that I could have any glaring issues pointed out.
One thing I would add is that I've tried my best with these cards - and the cards I've designed over the whole set - to address issues in balance, both in Constructed and Arena. Rarities of cards are probably that way for a reason beyond their effect, but feel free to suggest changes to anything at all if you feel it would be more balanced. Thanks, and I hope everyone has fun with this!
So excited to be moving on to this first phase! I don't quite have the bosses completely figured out for my first Wing, but I do have something I can show you guys before I go to bed - the Wing rewards! I'll put them under a spoiler below, detailing when you get them and any extra information. I'd love to hear people's thoughts on their balance, as well as which ones are your favourites.
The New Mechanic - Experience
First Boss Rewards
Defence Matrix - An early game defensive minion that requires one full attack from a minion or hero to take it out, or whittling down by spells. Knowledge Totem - Again, a more defensive addition to Shaman's arsenal that might stick around because your opponent wants the advantage as well.
Second Boss Reward
Clockwork Librarian - I will add a further spoiler containing all the possible books tomorrow, but a brief description is that each class is receiving a 3 mana "Book" spell in this expansion, mostly themed to the class - eg the Hunter one involves interaction with Beasts.
Third Boss Rewards
Cry Havoc - Potentially interesting synergy with Warsong Commander and Protect the King!, which I think is balanced by the restricted attacking, preventing it from being used as part of an OTK. Drakonid Translator - I'm particularly proud of the theming on this one, and the balancing I think is quite good, because it does require you to at least have any minion in your hand for Dragon synergies to still occur. A 3-Drop Dragon is also something that is lacking which could be holding back some Dragon decks.
Final Boss Rewards
Grimoire Gremlin - Another interesting card. This effect is more to line up with the boss fight you will obtain it from, although who knows what synergies might occur in the future - Divine Favor already works marvelously with it. Book of the Storm - Shaman's book. Gives you a bunch more burn cards, and can also power up your Tunnel Trogg! Not quite sure of the balance on this one, the Overload might not be necessary. Book of the Divine - Paladin's book. Gives temporary immunity to all your minions so you can make favourable trades, but doesn't keep them around so you need to capitalise on it that turn. Is the penalty too harsh? Should it be at the end of your opponent's turn instead?
Class Challenge Rewards
Battle Medic - What's this, a Priest 2-Drop? Very vanilla, I know, but I feel like it is suitably powerful in Priest, and the stats are of a suitable level, especially for a class card. Seasoned Tactician - Another option for Bolster Warrior, perhaps, or maybe just a good Warrior Arena card. I think, again, that the stats available are reasonable given the condition required to get the Taunt out.
Don't feel obliged to comment on every card or anything, I just wanted them all laid out here so that I could have any glaring issues pointed out.
One thing I would add is that I've tried my best with these cards - and the cards I've designed over the whole set - to address issues in balance, both in Constructed and Arena. Rarities of cards are probably that way for a reason beyond their effect, but feel free to suggest changes to anything at all if you feel it would be more balanced. Thanks, and I hope everyone has fun with this!
Defence Matrix: could be a bit crazy in paladin or priest, but super vulnerable to silence, so mby thats ok?
Knowledge Totem: i get why it has such high hp, but it might be a bit too high? since with flametongue / rockbiter / etc. it can trade at least 2for1 or "heal" u for at least 6 hp, thats a lot of versatility for a 3 drop totem mby? hard to say :)
Clockwork Librarian: cant rly say much without seeing the Books first.
Cry havoc: interesting, but im not sure if it would be played over brawl? mby in Protect the King taunt warrior? anyway, i dont have problem with it in general :)
Drakonid Translator: i suppose its balanced, even tho i dont like very much these "trans-race abilities". One thing tho, i dont think it should be a dragon itself, more so since the pic is a demon isnt it?
Grimoire Gremlin: dunno :D it can be either just a big minion that will get removed right away or it can be something that can have semi-divine shield (immune with the right amount of cards) every turn, but it might be pretty hard to actually achieve the condition of being immune.
Book of the Storm: do u need to stress the "shaman" part? isnt discover mechanic by default restricted only for class + neutral cards? btw including all spells could be more interesting, even tho discovering only damaging spells would provide more control/burst i guess :)
Book of the Divine: honestly iv always had a bit of a problem evaluating the ability to give all friendly minions divine shield, yours is trying to be balanced by the fact, that they will not stick, so u need to use them as removals and u need to have a board to get them, but it could be pretty abused in agro pally with Blood Knight mby.
Battle medic: that seems a bit too cheap :D pretty much an ideal 2drop for priest that everyone would want :D but other than that its cool :)
Seasoned Tactician: damn this card would be pretty good in arena, especially if u could coin it on T1 and would go uncontested, might be gg right there :D other than that seems fine.
For the prologue, I'm planning on a PvE kind of thing. You have the boss, which is the cliff you have to scale to get onto the grasslands that are the first wing.
Your hero power is replaced with this one:
Your goal is to get to the top of the crumbling cliff. The boss will throw spells like rockslides (deal 3 damage to all enemies) and falling boulders (deal 6 damage) at you, as well as summoning creatures that dwell on the cliffs (i.e Fierce Monkey). He starts off on 1 mana, same as you. You can not progress unless you spend mana on your hero power, because every turn that passes you will be knocked back down by the cliff's hero power. You have to survive 10 turns, and then you will reach the top and gain access to these two cards:
For the prologue, I'm planning on a PvE kind of thing. You have the boss, which is the cliff you have to scale to get onto the grasslands that are the first wing.
Your hero power is replaced with this one:
Your goal is to get to the top of the crumbling cliff. The boss will throw spells like rockslides (deal 3 damage to all enemies) and falling boulders (deal 6 damage) at you, as well as summoning creatures that dwell on the cliffs (i.e Fierce Monkey). He starts off on 1 mana, same as you. You can not progress unless you spend mana on your hero power, because every turn that passes you will be knocked back down by the cliff's hero power. You have to survive 10 turns, and then you will reach the top and gain access to these two cards:
But if you get knocked back every turn, won't you just be stuck in the same place even if you use your Hero Power every turn? Or is it required to have cards like Garrison Commander?
For the prologue, I'm planning on a PvE kind of thing. You have the boss, which is the cliff you have to scale to get onto the grasslands that are the first wing.
Your hero power is replaced with this one:
Your goal is to get to the top of the crumbling cliff. The boss will throw spells like rockslides (deal 3 damage to all enemies) and falling boulders (deal 6 damage) at you, as well as summoning creatures that dwell on the cliffs (i.e Fierce Monkey). He starts off on 1 mana, same as you. You can not progress unless you spend mana on your hero power, because every turn that passes you will be knocked back down by the cliff's hero power. You have to survive 10 turns, and then you will reach the top and gain access to these two cards:
But if you get knocked back every turn, won't you just be stuck in the same place even if you use your Hero Power every turn? Or is it required to have cards like Garrison Commander?
I did call it 'turns away from the top', so with each passing turn, you climb a bit and slip a bit. You're never actually losing your progress (until the boss starts knocking you back down with its spells).
For the prologue, I'm planning on a PvE kind of thing. You have the boss, which is the cliff you have to scale to get onto the grasslands that are the first wing.
Your hero power is replaced with this one:
Your goal is to get to the top of the crumbling cliff. The boss will throw spells like rockslides (deal 3 damage to all enemies) and falling boulders (deal 6 damage) at you, as well as summoning creatures that dwell on the cliffs (i.e Fierce Monkey). He starts off on 1 mana, same as you. You can not progress unless you spend mana on your hero power, because every turn that passes you will be knocked back down by the cliff's hero power. You have to survive 10 turns, and then you will reach the top and gain access to these two cards:
But if you get knocked back every turn, won't you just be stuck in the same place even if you use your Hero Power every turn? Or is it required to have cards like Garrison Commander?
I did call it 'turns away from the top', so with each passing turn, you climb a bit and slip a bit. You're never actually losing your progress (until the boss starts knocking you back down with its spells).
Okay, so the wing isn't quite finished (I need to tidy up the third boss and create art for it), but it's pretty much done. Let me know what you think:
Wings: Stranglethorn Vale - Nagrand - Sholazar Basin - Valley of the Four Winds - Kodo Graveyard
Nesingwary’s Expedition follows Hemet Nesingwary throughout Azeroth and Outland as he hunts the most dangerous beasts around. The adventure moves through each of the four zones where Hemingwary has been found in World of Warcraft offering quests to hunt down the beasts there.
You start out in Stranglethorn Vale, which is where players first encountered Nesingwary in World of Warcraft. Stumbling upon his camp, you must first prove that you are a capable hunter before you are allowed to join his band of elite hunters. As an initial test, and an homage to the many gathering quests in World of Warcraft, you are first asked to collect 20 Panther Pelts. That is the first boss fight: “Collect 20 Pelts”. After completing this menial task, you are accepted into the group and you hunt larger game. You hunt down the great panther Bhagthera before seeking out lord of the Stranglethorn Jungle, King Bangalash. After bagging such an impressive kill, Nesingwary moves his camp to Nagrand, seeking ever greater beasts.
Fight 1 - Collect 20 Pelts
This fight is a parody of the collection quests in WoW, as well as the sometimes atrocious drop rates (e.g., killing 100 Murlocs to collect 5 Murloc Eyes). The fight is unconventional: there is no health for the “boss”, like in Temple Escape in LoE, and there is no enemy deck. At the start of the opponent’s turn, a 3/3 Panther will be summoned if they don’t already have one (on Heroic, these Panthers are 4/3 with Stealth). This represents “pulling” a new Panther in WoW to find another panther pelt.
Supposedly, each Panther you kill has a chance to drop a pelt, but it is actually scripted, and you will get a “Pelt” after you kill the fifth Panther (there is a counter for pelts). This is where you might be thinking you’re in for a long slog, but the fight actually changes here. On the next turn, the enemy summons 7 Panthers. The turn after that, a Venture Co. poacher appears, killing all the Panthers:
He then replaces the enemy hero as the new boss:
He starts with the same number of mana crystals as you have and an Auto-Skinner 7000 on the board. He draws three cards (he has an actual deck) and then adds a Coin to his hand for every Panther he killed when he spawned (so you may want to try to kill those 7 Panthers to prevent this). The fight then continues like a “normal” boss fight.
His Hero Power gives any player that kills a minion a Coin. On Heroic, naturally, only he gets a Coin. Verifonix’s deck revolves around using Coins: he has Combo cards and synergy with low-cost spells (e.g., Gadgetzan Auctioneer). His deck is also themed around goblins and their love of explosions. Here is his full deck list:
1x Acidic Swamp Ooze (Normal)
3x Bomb Lobber
2x Boom Squad
1x Bouncing Blade (Normal)
1x Darkbomb
2x Explosive Trap
3x Gadgetzan Auctioneer
2x Goblin Bazooka
2x Mercenary Air Force (Heroic)
2x Piloted Shredder
2x Poach
2x Skinning Knife
2x Sprint
1x Tinker’s Sharpsteel Oil
3x Venture Co. Assassin
3x Venture Co. Mercenary
The other two bosses in the wing are Bhag'thera, the Panther Queen, and King Bangalash, lord of the Stranglethorn jungle:
Fight 2: Bhag’thera
Nesingwary: “Okay, adventurer. It’s time for a real challenge! Bhag’thera is Queen of all Panthers here in Stranglethorn. She dwells in the shadows, moving quiet as a ghost. Many have hunted her, never to once lay upon the beast. You must have constant vigilance when seeking her, or death will come for you unseen. But that should be no problem for you. You must have killed hundreds of panthers already to get those 20 pelts!
This fight is the first real test for you as a Hunter. Bhag’thera is themed around Stealth. Her Hero Power allows her to give a minion Stealth every turn (on Heroic, she can give all her minions Stealth). This gives her a huge advantage for trading. Her deck is also themed around Rogue abilities, because of her affinity for Stealth and stalking prey, as well as Druid removal related to feral abilities. Here is her deck:
2x Ambush
2x Assassinate
1x Bestial Wrath (Heroic)
2x Bite
1x Call of the Wild (Heroic)
2x Claw
2x Conceal (Normal)
2x Crocolisk Ambusher
4x Jungle Panther
2x Lord of the Jungle
3x Power of the WIld
3x Stranglethorn Tiger
2x Summon the Brood
1x Swipe
2x Timber Wolf
1x Vanish
For Lord of the Jungle, Jungle Beasts are: Bloodfen Raptor, Captain’s Parrot, Fierce Monkey, Jungle Panther, Jungle Python, King Mukla, River Crocolisk, Silverback Patriarch, Stranglethorn Tiger
Fight 3: King Bangalash
Hero Power: Deal 2 damage to all damaged enemy minions.
Heroic: Deal 2 damage to all enemy characters. Damaged characters take double damage.
This is the culmination of your hunting campaign in Stranglethorn, going after the lord of the jungle, King Bangalash. After defeating this ferocious Beast, you are accepted as an elite Hunter by Nesingwary and his group. Additionally, after winning the fight, a mysterious glowing black claw is found on Bangalash’s body. Nesingwary dismisses it as a harmless oddity, but it will definitely be important later...
Deck:
2x Bestial Wrath
2x Bite
1x Call of the Wild (Heroic)
2x Claw
2x Crocolisk Ambusher
2x Dire Wolf Alpha
2x Jungle Panther
2x Jungle Python
2x Lord of the Jungle
2x Power of the WIld
2x Stranglethorn Tiger
2x Swipe
2x Whirlwind
Here are the cards you get from the first Wing:
You get Mechanical Squirrel by beating Collect 20 Pelts/”Surveyor” Verifonix, Jungle Python from Bhag’thera, and Engorged Boa from King Banglash. The card King Bangalash is for completing the wing. You get Poach from a class challenge against Collect 20 Pelts/”Surveyor” Verifonix. Skinning Knife is for a class challenge against Bhag’Thera.
Skinning Knife is my favorite design of this bunch. After a number of disappointments, I wanted to make a good weapon for Rogue. It’s cheap, with good synergy for weapon buffs, and it gives you Coins, which are awesome for Rogue.
The Prologue Boss is a battle against Silas Darkmoon's bodyguard: Burth. Burth is not a very advanced boss. He has a decently powerful Hero Power and uses a lot of ogres and some Warrior spells. Next up is Gelvas Grimegate, a souvenir vendor who summons 1-Cost minions for whoever plays a Coin. And his minions generate coins for both himself and the player. After that there's Sorgram, an original character who's the captain of a team of dragon riders. He has a bunch of Dragon Rider minions, and his Hero Power gives them various abilities (Taunt, Charge, +1 Attack and Stealth) as they change formations. Finally there's Sayge, one of the most infamous members of the Darkmoon Faire. As a fortuneteller, he makes good use of the new Countdown mechanic, among other things by telling fortunes for himself. After the battle however, he says that the roller coaster will play a big role in the close future. But Silas says that the roller coaster is closed, after a fatal accident one year ago.
(Also, Silas Darkmoon takes over the role of the Innkeeper for announcing the intro of the fights)
The Countdown Mechanic:
After you've played the card, a timer card appears at the start of your turn, counting down to the stated effect.
The monologue when you click on the adventure in the adventure select screen:
@MarioToast As I said to Mewdrops, is the Prologue necessary to the overall adventure? Does it bring a uniwue fight to the table? Because if it doesn0t, then just add one more fight to the first wing, or straight up don’t do it. That’s how I feel it. In this case, it really feels like any other fight, I don’t get why you make it a Prologue. About the other fights, I really, REALLY LIKE THEM. I mean, I LOVE THEM. And the flavour is off the charts. Damn fine job.
Falmebearded Captain: Way too over the top. A hard removal for any minion? Play a 5/6 for 8 mana and pay 8 health do destroy Tirion as a Druid? Yes, thanks. As a neutral, it’s too strong.
Greatsword of the Crown: Costs too little, according to me; it should be 7 mana, I think. Remember that Solemn Vigil costs (2) more than its real value. 4/3 is a 5 mana value weapon, so at least 7 mana.
Growth Cake: I’ve already talked about ita t its time. I like it.
Poison Cloud: Perfect. One problem: class epic. Adventures don’t reward class epics. Make it a rare.
Dragon Rider General: Really fine card, I really like it. Good job, even value wise – even though it’s just a rehash of the new Paladin minion from Karazhan.
Kite Flyer: Yes, This is how the keyword should be applied, good job.
Arcane Bomb: Fine by me. Good use, again, of the keyword. I like how you have a very clear idea about how to balance it and how it should work. Good – even though another removal for Mage?
Wild Shaman: No. Please, no more of these cards. No.
Blessed Strike: Feels a bit too clunky. It’s fine from a balance standpoint, buti t feels a bit clunky.
I felt like Silas would do this sort of thing, give people a free taste of what they can expect at the Darkmoon Faire in order to attract more customers.
Well, I made Dragon Rider General before the Karazhan cards were revealed.
Oh. Ok then, I'll go remake all the class epics I made and make them rare.
Should I give Flamebearded Captain smaller stats? Like a 5/4? He's certainly not very good against Molten Giant.
As for Wild Shaman, would it be better if instead she had "Whenever you play a card with Overload, add a random card with Overload to your hand"?
My opinion on the Captain is that it clashes with current class design. There are classes that have worse removal than others, and that's the way it is. Druids are a pretty obvious example. Giving an unconditional hard removal to every class that has a minion attached to it will create an effect similar to BGH: class removals will stop being used in favour of him. In my opinion, it needs some kind of condition to be met in order to function so that this doesn't happen. Furthermore, I'm not sure what is the relation between a pirate, assassination and paying with life. I'm not feeling it.
I wanted to ask for opinions regarding this wing's legendary. I mixed Reno Jackson with Prince Malchezaar, made it a dragon and came up with this:
It is really difficult to balance correctly a card like this, so I need some feedback. It might end up being redesigned, but I really like its current iteration. The concept of the card is that Neltharion was corrupted by the Old Gods into thinking that he should rule everything as lord of the dragons. Thus, if you have him as the only legendary, he will reward you by empowering your whole deck.
Okay, so I thought that I'd just make the cards first, then worry about making the bosses, although I do have the general outline of their fights in mind. I haven't gotten around to looking into the balance of these cards yet (just going by gut instinct) so this is more of my way of throwing some ideas out there. What do you think?
The first fight:
After some thought, I've decided to move my 'prologue' into the first wing, although this change might not be permanent, because I do feel that it is quite out of place amongst the other battles here. Anyways, here are the cards for the prologue, which is a climb up a crumbling cliff-face:
@MrGoodie94: Thanks for the feedback. I might make Faerie Cliff Ranger a 2/5 with that effect, or perhaps a 3/3 or something along those lines, perhaps I might slap Elusive on it but I don't really want to. I have buffed Rockfall to 6 mana.
Rockfall is a semi-boardclear, summoning 3 Rolling Boulders for your opponent. Do note that they will destroy each other if another boulder happens to be the 'minion to the left'. This will probably be your opponent's left and your right, due to how the boulder functions in the Escape battle.
Faerie Cliff Ranger is a way of looking into your opponent's hand to prepare for future plays and counterplays. I'm a little wary about being able to see the enemy's cards, so I probably gave it too much of a stat penalty. Obviously, it's a card for the more experienced players.
The Second Fight:
The Second fight takes place against the Elura, the captain of the Fairies' equivalent of the coast guard (you'll be seeing her again in the second wing). She commands hounds and wolves, which she will use against you. Puck, who's presence was supposed to have given you a free pass, had disappeared off somewhere. Once you defeat her, she will apologise for the misunderstanding and warn you that the twin spirits Fenrir and Cerberus are roaming about and acting somewhat distraught and cranky (guess who the next boss is?).
The Wolf-Tamer can be used as a sort of anti-hunter tech card (Anti-Druid maybe?). It's not too bad on its own (a 4 mana 4/4 with a tribal tag is still quite decent) either.
The Rabid Hound can be dropped as a 4/3 beast or comboed with something else to become a 4/2 beast with charge, or a pseudo-huffer or pseudo Kor'kron Elite.
The Third Fight:
The third fight takes place against two enemies - the Ice and Fire Spirits Fenrir and Cerberus, son and daughter of the wolf queen Kai'lu. They are treated as two separate heroes and will swap between each other every turn. They share the same deck, although Ice Spirit Fenrir will not cast the fire-related spells in the deck, and Fire Spirit Cerberus will not cast the ice-related ones. Once you beat their sibling, the remaining spirit will get mad, and bad things will happen to you. The rewards for this wing:
Fairly straightforward, I guess. There's nothing much to say about these cards. Dealing 1 damage to all enemy minions is worth approximately 1 mana (probably more), and so is Freezing something. I might nerf the fire wolf to a 3/3 or a 4/2, though, since dealing 1 damage to all enemies is quite strong, but I wanted the two of them to have the same stat-line.
The Fourth Fight:
The wolf queen Kai'Lu isn't pleased that you beat up her babies, and is out to get you. She'll drop all sorts of beasts on you, as well as powerful spell-cards. She also has a thing for Divine Shields. You could almost call her a wolf Paladin. Once you finally defeat her, you get these beauties:
Kai'Lu is like the beast version of Enhance-o-Mechano. She's extremely powerful if you can hit a large board of beasts with it, but is cost doesn't leave much room for playing a bunch of stuff beforehand. I should probably make her a 6 mana 3/6, though.
Kai'Lu's Radiance is a paladin card that can be comboed with Rallying Blade. I'm not sure how powerful this effect will be, so I may or may not change the cost later.
The Pack Leader shouldn't need much explanation. It's probably a bit on the strong side, and I might nerf its stats or mana cost in the future.
Class Challenges:
The Hunter and Shaman Class challenges are unlocked in this wing. It's pretty obvious who Shaman fights, and Hunter gets to duke it out with Elura, the second boss, again.
These two are both also pretty self-explanatory. The Faerie warwolf adds some Fairy synergy for hunter, and is a better Kor'kron Elite when it triggers.
Rage of the spirits is a kind of pseudo-blizzard for shamans, and will probably serve a similar purpose.
I think Neltharion looks fine too. The only problem I have is that the wording can imply it makes the enemy's dragons cost less too.
And two new versions of Flamebearded Captain:
Damn, now I have the opposite problem: I like them both; maybe lower the stats on the epic version. However, I think I like the first version more. Good job!
I really like them now. Mostly the first one, but both are pretty cool. That was the kind of condition I expect from a hard removal, unique but not terribly difficult to achieve.
This is my new wording on Neltharion:
I think it is clearer now, and after his effect he still costs 9 to play. What do you think of the effect and card itself, apart from balance? Is it cool enough? Do you think it would be used? Any critique is welcome!
I think Neltharion looks fine too. The only problem I have is that the wording can imply it makes the enemy's dragons cost less too.
And two new versions of Flamebearded Captain:
Damn, now I have the opposite problem: I like them both; maybe lower the stats on the epic version. However, I think I like the first version more. Good job!
I really like them now. Mostly the first one, but both are pretty cool. That was the kind of condition I expect from a hard removal, unique but not terribly difficult to achieve.
This is my new wording on Neltharion:
I think it is clearer now, and after his effect he still costs 9 to play. What do you think of the effect and card itself, apart from balance? Is it cool enough? Do you think it would be used? Any critique is welcome!
I honestly love the effect you are going for, but there is one big problem. You want your deck to contain legendary dragons, and this card doesn't let you do that. I think you should still shoot for the dragon reduction effect at the start of the game, but make it something other than not needing legendary minions.
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To make sure that everything runs smoothly, we need to reserve the Submission Topic for submissions only. Everything else goes here. What is everything else, you might ask?
All of that said, please refrain from the following:
So, without further ado, have fun and get creating!
Yay! I didn't win. :)
I wouldn't have mind getting to next round but it's not like money is at stake.
So excited to be moving on to this first phase! I don't quite have the bosses completely figured out for my first Wing, but I do have something I can show you guys before I go to bed - the Wing rewards! I'll put them under a spoiler below, detailing when you get them and any extra information. I'd love to hear people's thoughts on their balance, as well as which ones are your favourites.
The New Mechanic - Experience
First Boss Rewards
Defence Matrix - An early game defensive minion that requires one full attack from a minion or hero to take it out, or whittling down by spells.
Knowledge Totem - Again, a more defensive addition to Shaman's arsenal that might stick around because your opponent wants the advantage as well.
Second Boss Reward
Clockwork Librarian - I will add a further spoiler containing all the possible books tomorrow, but a brief description is that each class is receiving a 3 mana "Book" spell in this expansion, mostly themed to the class - eg the Hunter one involves interaction with Beasts.
Third Boss Rewards
Cry Havoc - Potentially interesting synergy with Warsong Commander and Protect the King!, which I think is balanced by the restricted attacking, preventing it from being used as part of an OTK.
Drakonid Translator - I'm particularly proud of the theming on this one, and the balancing I think is quite good, because it does require you to at least have any minion in your hand for Dragon synergies to still occur. A 3-Drop Dragon is also something that is lacking which could be holding back some Dragon decks.
Final Boss Rewards
Grimoire Gremlin - Another interesting card. This effect is more to line up with the boss fight you will obtain it from, although who knows what synergies might occur in the future - Divine Favor already works marvelously with it.
Book of the Storm - Shaman's book. Gives you a bunch more burn cards, and can also power up your Tunnel Trogg! Not quite sure of the balance on this one, the Overload might not be necessary.
Book of the Divine - Paladin's book. Gives temporary immunity to all your minions so you can make favourable trades, but doesn't keep them around so you need to capitalise on it that turn. Is the penalty too harsh? Should it be at the end of your opponent's turn instead?
Class Challenge Rewards
Battle Medic - What's this, a Priest 2-Drop? Very vanilla, I know, but I feel like it is suitably powerful in Priest, and the stats are of a suitable level, especially for a class card.
Seasoned Tactician - Another option for Bolster Warrior, perhaps, or maybe just a good Warrior Arena card. I think, again, that the stats available are reasonable given the condition required to get the Taunt out.
Don't feel obliged to comment on every card or anything, I just wanted them all laid out here so that I could have any glaring issues pointed out.
One thing I would add is that I've tried my best with these cards - and the cards I've designed over the whole set - to address issues in balance, both in Constructed and Arena. Rarities of cards are probably that way for a reason beyond their effect, but feel free to suggest changes to anything at all if you feel it would be more balanced. Thanks, and I hope everyone has fun with this!
You can find me here! Good luck everyone!
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Yay, I'm here!
For the prologue, I'm planning on a PvE kind of thing. You have the boss, which is the cliff you have to scale to get onto the grasslands that are the first wing.
Your hero power is replaced with this one:
Your goal is to get to the top of the crumbling cliff. The boss will throw spells like rockslides (deal 3 damage to all enemies) and falling boulders (deal 6 damage) at you, as well as summoning creatures that dwell on the cliffs (i.e Fierce Monkey). He starts off on 1 mana, same as you. You can not progress unless you spend mana on your hero power, because every turn that passes you will be knocked back down by the cliff's hero power. You have to survive 10 turns, and then you will reach the top and gain access to these two cards:
(Rolling Boulder)
What do you guys think of this?
Why Rogue is my favourite class:
My submission for this week's card design competition.
Why Rogue is my favourite class:
My submission for this week's card design competition.
Okay, so the wing isn't quite finished (I need to tidy up the third boss and create art for it), but it's pretty much done. Let me know what you think:
Wings: Stranglethorn Vale - Nagrand - Sholazar Basin - Valley of the Four Winds - Kodo Graveyard
Strangelethorn Vale Bosses: Collect 20 Pelts - Bhag'Thera - King Bangalash
Nesingwary’s Expedition follows Hemet Nesingwary throughout Azeroth and Outland as he hunts the most dangerous beasts around. The adventure moves through each of the four zones where Hemingwary has been found in World of Warcraft offering quests to hunt down the beasts there.
You start out in Stranglethorn Vale, which is where players first encountered Nesingwary in World of Warcraft. Stumbling upon his camp, you must first prove that you are a capable hunter before you are allowed to join his band of elite hunters. As an initial test, and an homage to the many gathering quests in World of Warcraft, you are first asked to collect 20 Panther Pelts. That is the first boss fight: “Collect 20 Pelts”. After completing this menial task, you are accepted into the group and you hunt larger game. You hunt down the great panther Bhagthera before seeking out lord of the Stranglethorn Jungle, King Bangalash. After bagging such an impressive kill, Nesingwary moves his camp to Nagrand, seeking ever greater beasts.
Fight 1 - Collect 20 Pelts
This fight is a parody of the collection quests in WoW, as well as the sometimes atrocious drop rates (e.g., killing 100 Murlocs to collect 5 Murloc Eyes). The fight is unconventional: there is no health for the “boss”, like in Temple Escape in LoE, and there is no enemy deck. At the start of the opponent’s turn, a 3/3 Panther will be summoned if they don’t already have one (on Heroic, these Panthers are 4/3 with Stealth). This represents “pulling” a new Panther in WoW to find another panther pelt.
Supposedly, each Panther you kill has a chance to drop a pelt, but it is actually scripted, and you will get a “Pelt” after you kill the fifth Panther (there is a counter for pelts). This is where you might be thinking you’re in for a long slog, but the fight actually changes here. On the next turn, the enemy summons 7 Panthers. The turn after that, a Venture Co. poacher appears, killing all the Panthers:
He then replaces the enemy hero as the new boss:
He starts with the same number of mana crystals as you have and an Auto-Skinner 7000 on the board. He draws three cards (he has an actual deck) and then adds a Coin to his hand for every Panther he killed when he spawned (so you may want to try to kill those 7 Panthers to prevent this). The fight then continues like a “normal” boss fight.
His Hero Power gives any player that kills a minion a Coin. On Heroic, naturally, only he gets a Coin. Verifonix’s deck revolves around using Coins: he has Combo cards and synergy with low-cost spells (e.g., Gadgetzan Auctioneer). His deck is also themed around goblins and their love of explosions. Here is his full deck list:
1x Acidic Swamp Ooze (Normal)
3x Bomb Lobber
2x Boom Squad
1x Bouncing Blade (Normal)
1x Darkbomb
2x Explosive Trap
3x Gadgetzan Auctioneer
2x Goblin Bazooka
2x Mercenary Air Force (Heroic)
2x Piloted Shredder
2x Poach
2x Skinning Knife
2x Sprint
1x Tinker’s Sharpsteel Oil
3x Venture Co. Assassin
3x Venture Co. Mercenary
The other two bosses in the wing are Bhag'thera, the Panther Queen, and King Bangalash, lord of the Stranglethorn jungle:
Fight 2: Bhag’thera
Nesingwary: “Okay, adventurer. It’s time for a real challenge! Bhag’thera is Queen of all Panthers here in Stranglethorn. She dwells in the shadows, moving quiet as a ghost. Many have hunted her, never to once lay upon the beast. You must have constant vigilance when seeking her, or death will come for you unseen. But that should be no problem for you. You must have killed hundreds of panthers already to get those 20 pelts!
This fight is the first real test for you as a Hunter. Bhag’thera is themed around Stealth. Her Hero Power allows her to give a minion Stealth every turn (on Heroic, she can give all her minions Stealth). This gives her a huge advantage for trading. Her deck is also themed around Rogue abilities, because of her affinity for Stealth and stalking prey, as well as Druid removal related to feral abilities. Here is her deck:
2x Ambush
2x Assassinate
1x Bestial Wrath (Heroic)
2x Bite
1x Call of the Wild (Heroic)
2x Claw
2x Conceal (Normal)
2x Crocolisk Ambusher
4x Jungle Panther
2x Lord of the Jungle
3x Power of the WIld
3x Stranglethorn Tiger
2x Summon the Brood
1x Swipe
2x Timber Wolf
1x Vanish
For Lord of the Jungle, Jungle Beasts are: Bloodfen Raptor, Captain’s Parrot, Fierce Monkey, Jungle Panther, Jungle Python, King Mukla, River Crocolisk, Silverback Patriarch, Stranglethorn Tiger
Fight 3: King Bangalash
Hero Power: Deal 2 damage to all damaged enemy minions.
Heroic: Deal 2 damage to all enemy characters. Damaged characters take double damage.
This is the culmination of your hunting campaign in Stranglethorn, going after the lord of the jungle, King Bangalash. After defeating this ferocious Beast, you are accepted as an elite Hunter by Nesingwary and his group. Additionally, after winning the fight, a mysterious glowing black claw is found on Bangalash’s body. Nesingwary dismisses it as a harmless oddity, but it will definitely be important later...
Deck:
2x Bestial Wrath
2x Bite
1x Call of the Wild (Heroic)
2x Claw
2x Crocolisk Ambusher
2x Dire Wolf Alpha
2x Jungle Panther
2x Jungle Python
2x Lord of the Jungle
2x Power of the WIld
2x Stranglethorn Tiger
2x Swipe
2x Whirlwind
Here are the cards you get from the first Wing:
You get Mechanical Squirrel by beating Collect 20 Pelts/”Surveyor” Verifonix, Jungle Python from Bhag’thera, and Engorged Boa from King Banglash. The card King Bangalash is for completing the wing. You get Poach from a class challenge against Collect 20 Pelts/”Surveyor” Verifonix. Skinning Knife is for a class challenge against Bhag’Thera.
Skinning Knife is my favorite design of this bunch. After a number of disappointments, I wanted to make a good weapon for Rogue. It’s cheap, with good synergy for weapon buffs, and it gives you Coins, which are awesome for Rogue.
Come Play Make the Keyword!!!
Check out my Worgen Class in the Class Competition
The Prologue Boss is a battle against Silas Darkmoon's bodyguard: Burth. Burth is not a very advanced boss. He has a decently powerful Hero Power and uses a lot of ogres and some Warrior spells. Next up is Gelvas Grimegate, a souvenir vendor who summons 1-Cost minions for whoever plays a Coin. And his minions generate coins for both himself and the player. After that there's Sorgram, an original character who's the captain of a team of dragon riders. He has a bunch of Dragon Rider minions, and his Hero Power gives them various abilities (Taunt, Charge, +1 Attack and Stealth) as they change formations. Finally there's Sayge, one of the most infamous members of the Darkmoon Faire. As a fortuneteller, he makes good use of the new Countdown mechanic, among other things by telling fortunes for himself. After the battle however, he says that the roller coaster will play a big role in the close future. But Silas says that the roller coaster is closed, after a fatal accident one year ago.
(Also, Silas Darkmoon takes over the role of the Innkeeper for announcing the intro of the fights)
The Countdown Mechanic:
After you've played the card, a timer card appears at the start of your turn, counting down to the stated effect.
The monologue when you click on the adventure in the adventure select screen:
(Then he gives you )
Prologue - Burth
Opening Remark:
Using Hero Power:
Emote Response:
Boss Cards:
Deck:
Death:
Victory:
(You now get )
Wing 1: The Entrance
Intro:
Boss 1: Gelvas Grimegate
Opening Remark:
Emote Response:
Boss Cards:
Playing Baboom!:
Playing Explosive Duckies:
Explosive Duckie explodes:
Deck:
Victory:
Rewards:
Class Challenge: Rogue.
Boss 2: Sorgram
Opening Remark:
Using Hero Power
Emote Response:
Boss Cards:
Deck:
Victory:
Rewards:
Boss 3: Sayge
Opening Remark:
Using Hero Power:
The Fortunes:
Emote Response:
Boss Cards:
Deck:
Victory:
Rewards:
Class Challenge: Paladin.
End of Wing 1:
And finally, Silas has some things to say whenever you die:
These are various references to video games:
Friday the 13th (NES game)
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Pro Wrestling (NES game)
Undertale
And these are respawn (and Recall) quotes from Overwatch characters.
Tracer (Recall)
Genji
Reinhardt
Lúcio
Hanzo
Reaper
Mei
I'm just gonna post this here, so that I won't lose it.
My opinion on the Captain is that it clashes with current class design. There are classes that have worse removal than others, and that's the way it is. Druids are a pretty obvious example. Giving an unconditional hard removal to every class that has a minion attached to it will create an effect similar to BGH: class removals will stop being used in favour of him. In my opinion, it needs some kind of condition to be met in order to function so that this doesn't happen. Furthermore, I'm not sure what is the relation between a pirate, assassination and paying with life. I'm not feeling it.
I wanted to ask for opinions regarding this wing's legendary. I mixed Reno Jackson with Prince Malchezaar, made it a dragon and came up with this:
It is really difficult to balance correctly a card like this, so I need some feedback. It might end up being redesigned, but I really like its current iteration. The concept of the card is that Neltharion was corrupted by the Old Gods into thinking that he should rule everything as lord of the dragons. Thus, if you have him as the only legendary, he will reward you by empowering your whole deck.
Ok, I made two new captains. Do either of these seem any better?
I think Neltharion looks fine too. The only problem I have is that the wording can imply it makes the enemy's dragons cost less too.
And two new versions of Flamebearded Captain:
Oh, dang. I didn't get through. And I had basically planned out the first part of my adventure just in case.
Guess I didn't place enough flair into my submission to convince people. Anyone out there kind enough to give me tips on how to get through next time?
And since the card creation competition is also almost done, anyone have any ideas on what/when the next challenge is going to be?
The next topic is already out. It came out yesterday
http://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/fan-creations/168341-weekly-card-design-competition-4-06-discussion
Okay, so I thought that I'd just make the cards first, then worry about making the bosses, although I do have the general outline of their fights in mind. I haven't gotten around to looking into the balance of these cards yet (just going by gut instinct) so this is more of my way of throwing some ideas out there. What do you think?
The first fight:
After some thought, I've decided to move my 'prologue' into the first wing, although this change might not be permanent, because I do feel that it is quite out of place amongst the other battles here. Anyways, here are the cards for the prologue, which is a climb up a crumbling cliff-face:
@MrGoodie94: Thanks for the feedback. I might make Faerie Cliff Ranger a 2/5 with that effect, or perhaps a 3/3 or something along those lines, perhaps I might slap Elusive on it but I don't really want to. I have buffed Rockfall to 6 mana.
Rockfall is a semi-boardclear, summoning 3 Rolling Boulders for your opponent. Do note that they will destroy each other if another boulder happens to be the 'minion to the left'. This will probably be your opponent's left and your right, due to how the boulder functions in the Escape battle.
Faerie Cliff Ranger is a way of looking into your opponent's hand to prepare for future plays and counterplays. I'm a little wary about being able to see the enemy's cards, so I probably gave it too much of a stat penalty. Obviously, it's a card for the more experienced players.
The Second Fight:
The Second fight takes place against the Elura, the captain of the Fairies' equivalent of the coast guard (you'll be seeing her again in the second wing). She commands hounds and wolves, which she will use against you. Puck, who's presence was supposed to have given you a free pass, had disappeared off somewhere. Once you defeat her, she will apologise for the misunderstanding and warn you that the twin spirits Fenrir and Cerberus are roaming about and acting somewhat distraught and cranky (
guess who the next boss is?).The Wolf-Tamer can be used as a sort of anti-hunter tech card (Anti-Druid maybe?). It's not too bad on its own (a 4 mana 4/4 with a tribal tag is still quite decent) either.
The Rabid Hound can be dropped as a 4/3 beast or comboed with something else to become a 4/2 beast with charge, or a pseudo-huffer or pseudo Kor'kron Elite.
The Third Fight:
The third fight takes place against two enemies - the Ice and Fire Spirits Fenrir and Cerberus, son and daughter of the wolf queen Kai'lu. They are treated as two separate heroes and will swap between each other every turn. They share the same deck, although Ice Spirit Fenrir will not cast the fire-related spells in the deck, and Fire Spirit Cerberus will not cast the ice-related ones. Once you beat their sibling, the remaining spirit will get mad, and bad things will happen to you. The rewards for this wing:
Fairly straightforward, I guess. There's nothing much to say about these cards. Dealing 1 damage to all enemy minions is worth approximately 1 mana (probably more), and so is Freezing something. I might nerf the fire wolf to a 3/3 or a 4/2, though, since dealing 1 damage to all enemies is quite strong, but I wanted the two of them to have the same stat-line.
The Fourth Fight:
The wolf queen Kai'Lu isn't pleased that you beat up her babies, and is out to get you. She'll drop all sorts of beasts on you, as well as powerful spell-cards. She also has a thing for Divine Shields. You could almost call her a wolf Paladin. Once you finally defeat her, you get these beauties:
(Dire Wolf Alpha)
Kai'Lu is like the beast version of Enhance-o-Mechano. She's extremely powerful if you can hit a large board of beasts with it, but is cost doesn't leave much room for playing a bunch of stuff beforehand. I should probably make her a 6 mana 3/6, though.
Kai'Lu's Radiance is a paladin card that can be comboed with Rallying Blade. I'm not sure how powerful this effect will be, so I may or may not change the cost later.
The Pack Leader shouldn't need much explanation. It's probably a bit on the strong side, and I might nerf its stats or mana cost in the future.
Class Challenges:
The Hunter and Shaman Class challenges are unlocked in this wing. It's pretty obvious who Shaman fights, and Hunter gets to duke it out with Elura, the second boss, again.
These two are both also pretty self-explanatory. The Faerie warwolf adds some Fairy synergy for hunter, and is a better Kor'kron Elite when it triggers.
Rage of the spirits is a kind of pseudo-blizzard for shamans, and will probably serve a similar purpose.
Why Rogue is my favourite class:
My submission for this week's card design competition.
The Phase II Submission Topic is now up! =D