"There are those who spend their lives poring over ancient tomes and texts, unlocking the power of magic, and there are those who spend their time perfecting the use of individual weapons, becoming masters without equal. The magus is at once a student of both philosophies, blending magical ability and martial prowess into something entirely unique, a discipline in which both spell and steel are used to devastating effect. As he grows in power, the magus unlocks powerful forms of arcana that allow him to merge his talents further, and at the pinnacle of his art, the magus becomes a blur of steel and magic, a force that few foes would dare to stand against. Magi spend much of their time traveling the world, learning whatever martial or arcane secrets they can find. They might spend months learning a new sword-fighting style from a master warrior, while simultaneously moonlighting in the local library, poring through tomes of ancient lore. Most who take this path dabble in all sorts of lore, picking up anything that might aid them in their search for perfection." source
In Warcraft lore the term "magus" is often used interchangeably with other magic-user terms i.e mage, wizard, sorcerer. There is no true distinction, but in Dungeon and Dragons those aforementioned terms make a huge difference. With that said, I didn't want to go with "battlemage" or "spellblade" as I'm just bored of those class names, quite frankly. Thus we have the Magus, taking inspiration from D&D while also falling in line with the magic of the Warcraft universe. I tend to get lost in the backstory and the design concepts, while perhaps not being as great at Hearthstone theorycrafting like a lot of y'all around here. I have a decent understanding of balance but hit me those crits though! Also, keep in mind that it's all subject to change. Card names, mechanics, stats, etc. I'd like to create something that blends in with Hearthstone and Warcraft, both conceptually and mechanically. If you're interested in the story, read the spoiler for a spot o' fan fic:
Centuries ago, the Kirin Tor sent an expeditionary group of mages, scholars and artisans into a remote section of the South Seas to investigate the strange weather phenomena in the area that were speculated to have been caused by a disturbance of arcane energy, likely via a nexus of ley lines believed to run beneath the sea there. Since the local weather made travel by air unfeasible, they elected to go by ship. From Stormwind they sailed south on a relatively peaceful voyage, but as they neared their destination things began to go awry. The waters formed into large waves that crashed against the ship, destabilizing and nearly capsizing it. Were it not for the actions of the mages, who weaved arcane and frost to protect the ship, the journey would have certainly ended there. Continuing through the increasingly stormy seas, the group believed themselves safe from the crashing waves and gale-force winds. It was not long before the volatile weather proved to be too much for even the mages of Dalaran to handle. Lightning struck the mast and set fire to the main sail, the winds grew to such strength that they began ripping the wood from the ship, and building sized waves rose against them. It was as if Neptulon himself was keen to sink this ship. In a last ditch effort, the mages conjured an arcane barrier to surround the entirety of the ship, which would protect them from the destruction around them, yet without the ship's sail they were still at the mercy of the tide. Attempting to conjure portals to escape, the mages found that whatever was causing the arcane disturbance was blocking the effects of teleportation magic. This made it impossible for anyone, or anything, to enter or leave the area, unless they were going to swim. The mages kept the barrier around the ship for as long as they could, staying up for days with no food or rest to channel their powerful protective magics. Their energy inevitably ran out, however, and as the barrier faltered the endless storm around them again ravaged the ship. Before the sea could finally claim its quarry, the clump of wood and metal that used to be a Alliance galleon suddenly ran aground. Having lost most of those they came with, a group of no more than 100 survivors climbed from the wreckage onto the beach of a remote island, which the storm seemed not to touch. Exploring further, the group found that they were on one of the islands of a small archipelago, completely encapsulated but unaffected by the endless storm. Attempts at summoning or teleporting still proved fruitless, and the group had no choice but to carve a place for themselves within this so called "Stormcage," a name befitting the prison they found themselves in. The previous leader of the expedition, human Archmage Aldoz, had perished like many others while attempting to protect the expedition, as he was thrown overboard when a wave suddenly struck the flank of the ship. Though this was a severe blow to their morale, the magi were Kirin Tor; they would not let this affect the mission. So while the remaining crew began work on a makeshift sanctuary, the scholars set out to explore the island. It seemed deserted, and there was no immediate evidence of activity on the other islands. This respite would end after only five days, however, when in the middle of the night their ramshackle settlement came under attack by trolls. Underestimating them, the mages assumed their arcane prowess would best their "primitive" attackers. It became apparent, however, that these trolls were not the run-of-the-mill savages they were perceived to be. Stronger, faster, more cunning; they were a fighting force that understood magic and knew how to counter it. Though powerful, the magi were unable to match the overwhelming force of might and magic laid down upon them, and as such they attempted to flee the attackers. Chased through the jungled island for days, the desperate remnants of the expedition would have to adapt or perish. Warmage Vona, the High Elven de facto leader of the group, would be the one responsible for this evolution. She began teaching the survivors her advanced knowledge of martial skills and battle magics, so that the they would be able to defend themselves against those that hunted them. She had a particular skill in forming weapons from raw mana, most often taking the shape of simple blades. Though more of the expedition would get captured, the group quickly became proficient in countering the trolls' offensive. Being a brilliant strategist, Vona bided her time and constantly stayed on the move, her followers in tow. Despite their capabilities, the group still lacked the equipment they needed to mount a successful counter offensive. Weapons, armor, medical supplies, most of these had been lost at sea or expended in the previous encounters with the trolls. Summoning anything from outside of Stormcage was impossible, and there were no readily available sources of metal from which to forge equipment. Weapon formation became increasingly more taxing on their mana reserves as they constantly needed to use them. Despite this dilemma, Vona seized the first opportunity she was met with. After some reconnaissance into the troll encampment one night, the humans found the source of the trolls' great power: the Loa. A powerful ancient loa of wind serpents once made its home on these islands, protecting itself and its young from outside threats by conjuring powerful storms to encircle his territory. The trolls worshipped this loa for many years, until one from within their tribe sought to claim its power. The trolls imprisoned the great wind serpent, intent on draining its energy for their own use. In response, the thousands of wind serpents sired by the loa attacked the trolls to free their patriarch, but this would only result in the deaths of nearly all of them as well as the loa himself, who in his final moments cursed the skies of his home, so that the storms surrounding it would never subside. Though the trolls had usurped the loa and now held great power, they were also trapped on the islands forever, as harnessing the power of the slain loa could not break the cursed storms. Furthermore, the loa's power required a vessel to be contained, otherwise its spirit would be free to wreak vengeful havoc on the trolls. To this end, the priests of the loa decided it must be the chieftain of the tribe, who had never desired for any of this to occur in the first place, to be the avatar of the fallen loa's power. After being pressured by his people, he reluctantly agreed, though in time he came to love the power he was given, and relied upon it to establish himself as a god-like figure to the rest of the tribe. He united the other smaller, disparate tribes around the rest of the islands, quickly wiping out any competitors with the fury of the storm. Fast forward hundreds of years, the same chieftain was still alive and ruling the islands with an iron fist; and he wasn't going to allow the human and elven scum from beyond the storm to live among his islands in peace. Theorizing that if the chieftain were slain the trolls would lose their power, Vona decided on a simple, yet nigh incredibly difficult strategy: Ambush and slay the chief. He hadn't been around for so long being a brute, the chieftain was cunning and this made him a difficult target. Even with his own great power he was never without his personal guards and a harem of loyal servants dedicated to ensuring his comfort and security. However, as with gods he was arrogant beyond comprehension. When his power and honor were challenged he would not stand down until his challengers were subservient or destroyed. This made it easy to lead him into a trap, where he was beset upon by Vona and some of her apprentice warmagi. The ensuing battle saw the chieftain slain, but at great cost. As the chieftain died, because there was nobody to contain the power of the loa's spirit, it broke free from the chief's corpse, causing a massive explosion of lightning-charged spirit energy that killed Vona and everyone else in the area. Upon learning of the news, the trolls mobilized immediately to try and capture the holdouts, but the many years spent relying on their chieftain's power made them weaker in its absence, and the magi were easily able to defend themselves from this final offensive. The trolls were pushed off the island and fled back to their own, and the expedition rejoiced on the beach as the conflict finally ended. The scholars continued research on the storm, hoping to find a way to escape from it, and in the meantime the settlement gradually transformed the island into a town. Conflicts with the trolls eventually started up again, but the island city of Stormcage was well prepared at this point, and the battles never got much worse than beach-bound skirmished. Over time the people of Stormcage would come to thrive here, all the while honing the unique style of battle magic taught to them by the hero Warmage Vona, who died so they could live. This style became known as the magus: A mage characterized by the orientation of their magic towards survival and warfare. Eventually the magi of Stormcage would find a way to break through the storm, which was in fact the same way they came in. They built boats of enchanted wood that would resist the crashing waves and ripping winds. They built lightning rods on the masts that kept lightning strikes from damaging their vessels. These rods were connected to conduits aboard the ships built to contain the rampant nature energy, which was then harnessed by the magi for various purposes. Through science and magic, and numerous failed attempts, the people of Stormcage finally reconnected to the rest of the world. The Kirin Tor was intrigued greatly by this development, having thought the expedition they sent many years ago had been lost. More of these specialized ships were commissioned and began sailing from Stormwind's harbor regularly, bringing all sorts of people to and from Stormcage for all sorts of reasons. Though the trolls always remained a threat, they could no longer hold a candle to the force the island city had become. This commerce between Stormcage and the outside world went on for nearly 300 years before ties were cut off due to the imminent threat of the Orcish invasion. Stormwind was sacked, the lightning rod vessels destroyed, which resulted in Stormcage becoming isolationist for the ensuing wars, protected from the chaos by the storm. Eventually, when the world became relatively peaceful once again, they slowly began to venture out again. They sailed to Stormwind, happy to find that it had recovered and even become the new hub of the Grand Alliance. Now, thanks to their current leader, Lord-Magus Ugo Steel-Eyes, Stormcage has become a staunch ally of the Alliance while still remaining mysterious to foreign adversaries. The way of the magus continues to spread throughout the cultures of Azeroth as well, breeding a new (Hearthstone) class of combatant in this wild world of war(craft).
Basic
Classic
Once again, I'm open to all of your criticism. Especially those who have designed complete classes already, I'd love to hear what those folks have to say. I'll continue making cards once I've complete any potential revisions to the previous sets. Coming soon...
You've made an interesting class concept here – a little lacking on the connection between 'attacking things' and 'casting mage-type spells' – and it has a lot of potential. However, I will point out some pretty busted combos with this class, that can be found in the early sets.
1. If you play Diffusion on its own, you immediately set the Attack of all minions to 0. This is a very powerful effect, as 0-attack minions can't do anything except exist unless they are buffed. If your opponent doesn't run buffs, they are likely to be stuck with the board they have and won't be able to use them to interact with your characters. It's dangerous to set a minion's Attack to 0, and so I think this effect could be tweaked to avoid that.
2. You do have a lot of 'give your hero attack' cards, somewhat diluting your design space. It goes beyond even Druid's number of attack cards, and sometimes feels tacked on to your other cards.
3. 2x Burning Hands without a weapon equipped is 2 mana for 10 attack. Not only is this on its own pretty broken, when paired with 2x Focus Beam it's 50 damage (if you attack afterwards). That's a 4 card combo for 8 mana. Even without Burning Hands, Infusion paired with a weapon will reliably deal an insane amount of damage.
4. Using 'ignores all minion effects' on a classic card is a little complicated for that set – the kinds of mechanics we see in KFT and RR about minion 'effects' (moreso enchantments) only started being explored in KFT and RR. If you look back at GvG and TGT for example – and even WotOG – you see Team 5 have a much smaller mechanical design space in mind. It's actually much more difficult to design cards for those wild sets than it is to design for the sets with more potential for complexity (e.g. MSoG, JTG, KFT, K&C, WW, RR, RoS).
5. I don't quite understand the subtheme of Freeze in GvG and TGT. You have no real synergies with the mechanic apart from "Can't be damaged by Frozen minions", which is in itself almost opposite the point of Freeze – the mechanic allows you to temporarily ignore minions, rather than to use the mechanic as a pseudo-immune effect for your own – and because it has no presence in the basic or classic set, you would have to reintroduce the mechanic on a rolling basis (much how Freeze Shaman in KFT was an extremely isolated synergy set that had no set up or follow up).
I will say that you have put a lot of effort in here, and that there's a lot of potential in the cards you've made. If you can refine the themes of the class beyond hero attack then you'll be on the right track.
You've made an interesting class concept here – a little lacking on the connection between 'attacking things' and 'casting mage-type spells' – and it has a lot of potential. However, I will point out some pretty busted combos with this class, that can be found in the early sets.
1. If you play Diffusion on its own, you immediately set the Attack of all minions to 0. This is a very powerful effect, as 0-attack minions can't do anything except exist unless they are buffed. If your opponent doesn't run buffs, they are likely to be stuck with the board they have and won't be able to use them to interact with your characters. It's dangerous to set a minion's Attack to 0, and so I think this effect could be tweaked to avoid that.
2. You do have a lot of 'give your hero attack' cards, somewhat diluting your design space. It goes beyond even Druid's number of attack cards, and sometimes feels tacked on to your other cards.
3. 2x Burning Hands without a weapon equipped is 2 mana for 10 attack. Not only is this on its own pretty broken, when paired with 2x Focus Beam it's 50 damage (if you attack afterwards). That's a 4 card combo for 8 mana. Even without Burning Hands, Infusion paired with a weapon will reliably deal an insane amount of damage.
4. Using 'ignores all minion effects' on a classic card is a little complicated for that set – the kinds of mechanics we see in KFT and RR about minion 'effects' (moreso enchantments) only started being explored in KFT and RR. If you look back at GvG and TGT for example – and even WotOG – you see Team 5 have a much smaller mechanical design space in mind. It's actually much more difficult to design cards for those wild sets than it is to design for the sets with more potential for complexity (e.g. MSoG, JTG, KFT, K&C, WW, RR, RoS).
5. I don't quite understand the subtheme of Freeze in GvG and TGT. You have no real synergies with the mechanic apart from "Can't be damaged by Frozen minions", which is in itself almost opposite the point of Freeze – the mechanic allows you to temporarily ignore minions, rather than to use the mechanic as a pseudo-immune effect for your own – and because it has no presence in the basic or classic set, you would have to reintroduce the mechanic on a rolling basis (much how Freeze Shaman in KFT was an extremely isolated synergy set that had no set up or follow up).
I will say that you have put a lot of effort in here, and that there's a lot of potential in the cards you've made. If you can refine the themes of the class beyond hero attack then you'll be on the right track.
Well said, Teknician, and thank you for the critique. I will rework Diffusion, Burning Hands, Infusion, Magus Missiles, and Focus Beam right away. Following that I'll work on refining the attack-spell synergy concept, cutting out the overabundance of 'Gain X Attack' and finally building more on the freeze synergy.
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"There are those who spend their lives poring over ancient tomes and texts, unlocking the power of magic, and there are those who spend their time perfecting the use of individual weapons, becoming masters without equal. The magus is at once a student of both philosophies, blending magical ability and martial prowess into something entirely unique, a discipline in which both spell and steel are used to devastating effect. As he grows in power, the magus unlocks powerful forms of arcana that allow him to merge his talents further, and at the pinnacle of his art, the magus becomes a blur of steel and magic, a force that few foes would dare to stand against. Magi spend much of their time traveling the world, learning whatever martial or arcane secrets they can find. They might spend months learning a new sword-fighting style from a master warrior, while simultaneously moonlighting in the local library, poring through tomes of ancient lore. Most who take this path dabble in all sorts of lore, picking up anything that might aid them in their search for perfection." source
In Warcraft lore the term "magus" is often used interchangeably with other magic-user terms i.e mage, wizard, sorcerer. There is no true distinction, but in Dungeon and Dragons those aforementioned terms make a huge difference. With that said, I didn't want to go with "battlemage" or "spellblade" as I'm just bored of those class names, quite frankly. Thus we have the Magus, taking inspiration from D&D while also falling in line with the magic of the Warcraft universe. I tend to get lost in the backstory and the design concepts, while perhaps not being as great at Hearthstone theorycrafting like a lot of y'all around here. I have a decent understanding of balance but hit me those crits though! Also, keep in mind that it's all subject to change. Card names, mechanics, stats, etc. I'd like to create something that blends in with Hearthstone and Warcraft, both conceptually and mechanically. If you're interested in the story, read the spoiler for a spot o' fan fic:
Centuries ago, the Kirin Tor sent an expeditionary group of mages, scholars and artisans into a remote section of the South Seas to investigate the strange weather phenomena in the area that were speculated to have been caused by a disturbance of arcane energy, likely via a nexus of ley lines believed to run beneath the sea there. Since the local weather made travel by air unfeasible, they elected to go by ship. From Stormwind they sailed south on a relatively peaceful voyage, but as they neared their destination things began to go awry. The waters formed into large waves that crashed against the ship, destabilizing and nearly capsizing it. Were it not for the actions of the mages, who weaved arcane and frost to protect the ship, the journey would have certainly ended there. Continuing through the increasingly stormy seas, the group believed themselves safe from the crashing waves and gale-force winds. It was not long before the volatile weather proved to be too much for even the mages of Dalaran to handle. Lightning struck the mast and set fire to the main sail, the winds grew to such strength that they began ripping the wood from the ship, and building sized waves rose against them. It was as if Neptulon himself was keen to sink this ship. In a last ditch effort, the mages conjured an arcane barrier to surround the entirety of the ship, which would protect them from the destruction around them, yet without the ship's sail they were still at the mercy of the tide. Attempting to conjure portals to escape, the mages found that whatever was causing the arcane disturbance was blocking the effects of teleportation magic. This made it impossible for anyone, or anything, to enter or leave the area, unless they were going to swim. The mages kept the barrier around the ship for as long as they could, staying up for days with no food or rest to channel their powerful protective magics. Their energy inevitably ran out, however, and as the barrier faltered the endless storm around them again ravaged the ship. Before the sea could finally claim its quarry, the clump of wood and metal that used to be a Alliance galleon suddenly ran aground. Having lost most of those they came with, a group of no more than 100 survivors climbed from the wreckage onto the beach of a remote island, which the storm seemed not to touch. Exploring further, the group found that they were on one of the islands of a small archipelago, completely encapsulated but unaffected by the endless storm. Attempts at summoning or teleporting still proved fruitless, and the group had no choice but to carve a place for themselves within this so called "Stormcage," a name befitting the prison they found themselves in. The previous leader of the expedition, human Archmage Aldoz, had perished like many others while attempting to protect the expedition, as he was thrown overboard when a wave suddenly struck the flank of the ship. Though this was a severe blow to their morale, the magi were Kirin Tor; they would not let this affect the mission. So while the remaining crew began work on a makeshift sanctuary, the scholars set out to explore the island. It seemed deserted, and there was no immediate evidence of activity on the other islands. This respite would end after only five days, however, when in the middle of the night their ramshackle settlement came under attack by trolls. Underestimating them, the mages assumed their arcane prowess would best their "primitive" attackers. It became apparent, however, that these trolls were not the run-of-the-mill savages they were perceived to be. Stronger, faster, more cunning; they were a fighting force that understood magic and knew how to counter it. Though powerful, the magi were unable to match the overwhelming force of might and magic laid down upon them, and as such they attempted to flee the attackers. Chased through the jungled island for days, the desperate remnants of the expedition would have to adapt or perish. Warmage Vona, the High Elven de facto leader of the group, would be the one responsible for this evolution. She began teaching the survivors her advanced knowledge of martial skills and battle magics, so that the they would be able to defend themselves against those that hunted them. She had a particular skill in forming weapons from raw mana, most often taking the shape of simple blades. Though more of the expedition would get captured, the group quickly became proficient in countering the trolls' offensive. Being a brilliant strategist, Vona bided her time and constantly stayed on the move, her followers in tow. Despite their capabilities, the group still lacked the equipment they needed to mount a successful counter offensive. Weapons, armor, medical supplies, most of these had been lost at sea or expended in the previous encounters with the trolls. Summoning anything from outside of Stormcage was impossible, and there were no readily available sources of metal from which to forge equipment. Weapon formation became increasingly more taxing on their mana reserves as they constantly needed to use them. Despite this dilemma, Vona seized the first opportunity she was met with. After some reconnaissance into the troll encampment one night, the humans found the source of the trolls' great power: the Loa. A powerful ancient loa of wind serpents once made its home on these islands, protecting itself and its young from outside threats by conjuring powerful storms to encircle his territory. The trolls worshipped this loa for many years, until one from within their tribe sought to claim its power. The trolls imprisoned the great wind serpent, intent on draining its energy for their own use. In response, the thousands of wind serpents sired by the loa attacked the trolls to free their patriarch, but this would only result in the deaths of nearly all of them as well as the loa himself, who in his final moments cursed the skies of his home, so that the storms surrounding it would never subside. Though the trolls had usurped the loa and now held great power, they were also trapped on the islands forever, as harnessing the power of the slain loa could not break the cursed storms. Furthermore, the loa's power required a vessel to be contained, otherwise its spirit would be free to wreak vengeful havoc on the trolls. To this end, the priests of the loa decided it must be the chieftain of the tribe, who had never desired for any of this to occur in the first place, to be the avatar of the fallen loa's power. After being pressured by his people, he reluctantly agreed, though in time he came to love the power he was given, and relied upon it to establish himself as a god-like figure to the rest of the tribe. He united the other smaller, disparate tribes around the rest of the islands, quickly wiping out any competitors with the fury of the storm. Fast forward hundreds of years, the same chieftain was still alive and ruling the islands with an iron fist; and he wasn't going to allow the human and elven scum from beyond the storm to live among his islands in peace. Theorizing that if the chieftain were slain the trolls would lose their power, Vona decided on a simple, yet nigh incredibly difficult strategy: Ambush and slay the chief. He hadn't been around for so long being a brute, the chieftain was cunning and this made him a difficult target. Even with his own great power he was never without his personal guards and a harem of loyal servants dedicated to ensuring his comfort and security. However, as with gods he was arrogant beyond comprehension. When his power and honor were challenged he would not stand down until his challengers were subservient or destroyed. This made it easy to lead him into a trap, where he was beset upon by Vona and some of her apprentice warmagi. The ensuing battle saw the chieftain slain, but at great cost. As the chieftain died, because there was nobody to contain the power of the loa's spirit, it broke free from the chief's corpse, causing a massive explosion of lightning-charged spirit energy that killed Vona and everyone else in the area. Upon learning of the news, the trolls mobilized immediately to try and capture the holdouts, but the many years spent relying on their chieftain's power made them weaker in its absence, and the magi were easily able to defend themselves from this final offensive. The trolls were pushed off the island and fled back to their own, and the expedition rejoiced on the beach as the conflict finally ended. The scholars continued research on the storm, hoping to find a way to escape from it, and in the meantime the settlement gradually transformed the island into a town. Conflicts with the trolls eventually started up again, but the island city of Stormcage was well prepared at this point, and the battles never got much worse than beach-bound skirmished. Over time the people of Stormcage would come to thrive here, all the while honing the unique style of battle magic taught to them by the hero Warmage Vona, who died so they could live. This style became known as the magus: A mage characterized by the orientation of their magic towards survival and warfare. Eventually the magi of Stormcage would find a way to break through the storm, which was in fact the same way they came in. They built boats of enchanted wood that would resist the crashing waves and ripping winds. They built lightning rods on the masts that kept lightning strikes from damaging their vessels. These rods were connected to conduits aboard the ships built to contain the rampant nature energy, which was then harnessed by the magi for various purposes. Through science and magic, and numerous failed attempts, the people of Stormcage finally reconnected to the rest of the world. The Kirin Tor was intrigued greatly by this development, having thought the expedition they sent many years ago had been lost. More of these specialized ships were commissioned and began sailing from Stormwind's harbor regularly, bringing all sorts of people to and from Stormcage for all sorts of reasons. Though the trolls always remained a threat, they could no longer hold a candle to the force the island city had become. This commerce between Stormcage and the outside world went on for nearly 300 years before ties were cut off due to the imminent threat of the Orcish invasion. Stormwind was sacked, the lightning rod vessels destroyed, which resulted in Stormcage becoming isolationist for the ensuing wars, protected from the chaos by the storm. Eventually, when the world became relatively peaceful once again, they slowly began to venture out again. They sailed to Stormwind, happy to find that it had recovered and even become the new hub of the Grand Alliance. Now, thanks to their current leader, Lord-Magus Ugo Steel-Eyes, Stormcage has become a staunch ally of the Alliance while still remaining mysterious to foreign adversaries. The way of the magus continues to spread throughout the cultures of Azeroth as well, breeding a new (Hearthstone) class of combatant in this wild world of war(craft).
Basic
Classic
Once again, I'm open to all of your criticism. Especially those who have designed complete classes already, I'd love to hear what those folks have to say. I'll continue making cards once I've complete any potential revisions to the previous sets. Coming soon...
You've made an interesting class concept here – a little lacking on the connection between 'attacking things' and 'casting mage-type spells' – and it has a lot of potential. However, I will point out some pretty busted combos with this class, that can be found in the early sets.
1. If you play Diffusion on its own, you immediately set the Attack of all minions to 0. This is a very powerful effect, as 0-attack minions can't do anything except exist unless they are buffed. If your opponent doesn't run buffs, they are likely to be stuck with the board they have and won't be able to use them to interact with your characters. It's dangerous to set a minion's Attack to 0, and so I think this effect could be tweaked to avoid that.
2. You do have a lot of 'give your hero attack' cards, somewhat diluting your design space. It goes beyond even Druid's number of attack cards, and sometimes feels tacked on to your other cards.
3. 2x Burning Hands without a weapon equipped is 2 mana for 10 attack. Not only is this on its own pretty broken, when paired with 2x Focus Beam it's 50 damage (if you attack afterwards). That's a 4 card combo for 8 mana. Even without Burning Hands, Infusion paired with a weapon will reliably deal an insane amount of damage.
4. Using 'ignores all minion effects' on a classic card is a little complicated for that set – the kinds of mechanics we see in KFT and RR about minion 'effects' (moreso enchantments) only started being explored in KFT and RR. If you look back at GvG and TGT for example – and even WotOG – you see Team 5 have a much smaller mechanical design space in mind. It's actually much more difficult to design cards for those wild sets than it is to design for the sets with more potential for complexity (e.g. MSoG, JTG, KFT, K&C, WW, RR, RoS).
5. I don't quite understand the subtheme of Freeze in GvG and TGT. You have no real synergies with the mechanic apart from "Can't be damaged by Frozen minions", which is in itself almost opposite the point of Freeze – the mechanic allows you to temporarily ignore minions, rather than to use the mechanic as a pseudo-immune effect for your own – and because it has no presence in the basic or classic set, you would have to reintroduce the mechanic on a rolling basis (much how Freeze Shaman in KFT was an extremely isolated synergy set that had no set up or follow up).
I will say that you have put a lot of effort in here, and that there's a lot of potential in the cards you've made. If you can refine the themes of the class beyond hero attack then you'll be on the right track.
please consider voting for my custom class in the fan creations competition :]
• TRIALS IN AUCHINDOUN - A Custom Hearthstone Adventure (4th Wing!) • New and Interesting Hearthstone Mechanics (by me!) •
Well said, Teknician, and thank you for the critique. I will rework Diffusion, Burning Hands, Infusion, Magus Missiles, and Focus Beam right away. Following that I'll work on refining the attack-spell synergy concept, cutting out the overabundance of 'Gain X Attack' and finally building more on the freeze synergy.