Hey Ya'll - long time lurker. The slow drip Naxx card feed has finally made me jump on the card improvement bandwagon. I love lists and thinking through improvements to existing cards, which is what this huge post is all about. If that's not your bag then no worries. If you have your own suggestions or think i'm totally off base, post it up. Since lists like this often need an e-peen disclaimer, i've been playing since the official launch (no Beta experience) and have made it to Rank 6-5 each season. I average about 6-8 wins in Arena and have each class to at least level 35. Other than Arena i've never spent any money so I only have 3 legendaries (Prophet Velen, King Krush, Rag). Anyway, i'm not amazing but i'm not bad and besides this list is just for fun. I do think some of the SIMPLE suggestions are sound. Do you agree? Read and find out! (For the sake of sanity i put all the class suggestions in their own spoiler)
PALADIN: Possibly the class with the most broken cards are the Paladins (with Warlock coming in a CLOSE second). The other strange thing is how little class synergy Paladins have. Think of Shamans with their overload mechanic and how many cards play around and with that. Or hunters and their beast synergy - or Druids with their 'pick one' mechanic - or Mages that have secret synergies AND spell synergies (mana wyrm, sorcerer's apprentice etc.) - or warriors with shield AND weapon synergies. And then there is the Paladin. I think why the Sword of Justice is so awesome is that it actually synergizes with your default Hero Power. Even the Aldor Peacekeeper, generally regarded as a great card, doesn't synergize with your hero power - maybe if it were reversed so their health was dropped to one then we'd be talkin'. Anyway, /rant - that'll just set the baseline as we talk about some of the worst offenders, such as:
Blessed Champion Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: Almost universally regarded as one of the worst cards period. Absolutely !@#$e synergy with your hero power (wow - double a 1 attack minion) and for 5 cost, if you play this turn five you will lose the game almost undoubtedly. So how to fix: Make it Blessed Champions - All minions gain +2/+1. I realize this is similar to the original incarnation of unleash the hounds, but at 5 mana spreading the benefit to multiple minions is a MUST.
Holy Wrath Good, Bad or Fun: BAD How to make it better: This is one of my least favorite cards because it seems so simple to fix - have the card draw happen first so you can decide where to target the damage. The RNG element is still there thus necessitating the 5 mana cost, but good lord this one is so much just a worse version of mindgames.
Eye for an Eye Good, Bad or Fun: BAD How to make it better: Most of the paladin secrets get a bad rap, but for 1 mana and a little strategizing (along with the new Pally secret coming our way) most all of them can see some increased value. But not this one. Again, the fix is simple - instead of deal that much damage to the enemy hero, do that much damage to the attacking MINION. Bam, problem solved.
Redemption Good, Bad or Fun: Will be good Why: I've got a Deathrattle + Divine shield deck all planned out in my head and I can't wait to run two of these secrets when the time comes.
Repentance Good, Bad or Fun: BAD How to make it better: Again, frustratingly simple to fix - like almost all other secrets, if the resolve of the secret will have no effect, it shouldn't proc. AKA if they drop a Wolf Rider, the secret doesn't trigger because he's already at 1 health. See? Simple.
Humility Good, Bad or Fun: bad How to make it better: A truly lazy card considering Aldor does the same thing but with a warm body to back it up. Seriously for synergy it should be drop a minions health to 1 - but for whatever reason Blizzard already gave that to hunters for 0 mana :/. So how about at least throw in Draw A Card and call it a day. OR - how about change a WEAPON'S attack to 1? Isn't it time we had some other options against weapons than just Oozes? (so sorry! Forgot about the pirate dude!)
Blessing of Might Good, Bad or Fun: Good Why: Just wanted to illustrate here how bad Blessed Champion is. Two of these things, for 2 mana, is 99% guaranteed to DOUBLE OR BETTER a minions attack. Just sayin'.
Light's Justice Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: OK - here you have the worst weapon in the game by far. Why not give it synergy? Every time you summon a silver hand recruit it gains +1 attack and loses +1 durability.
PRIEST: Some of the most fun decks (Randuin) and some of the best players - Trump/Amaz love Priest. So this part will probably be less about how to fix broken cards but more making a case for a few generally disliked ones. Such as:
Prophet Velen Good, Bad or Fun: Fun How to make better: Look, Prophet Velen like all late game legendaries is very hit and miss - but if you have a dream PV can probably help it come true if you get lucky and play smart. Personally I think making him like Ysera - 4/12 or 4/10 even would help him be stickier which is what cards like this are all about.
Mindgames Good, Bad or Fun: Fun How to make better: You don't. With such a huge swing in the RNG of course this is the ultimate fingers-crossed card but in most games i've played and most games I've watched, the result is usually something pretty good (Especially when playing folks with much better decks than you - one reason why I think Priest is super underrated for ladder climbing above your ability).
Shadowform Good, Bad or Fun: Good Why it's actually good: Most know this by now but you can play the 2nd shadowform card even after you've used your hero power once thus allowing you to do 5 damage on a single turn from hero power alone. I've seen some really cool decks build around this mechanic (Dragon Priest Yeah!) - you just have to commit to it.
Holy Fire Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: Simple, allow spell power to affect healing as well. I realize this is a huge ask but to have a card that can only have one side of it buffed is strange, especially with it's reverse synchronicity with Auchenai Soulpriest.
Lightwell Good, Bad or Fun: Good Why it's actually good: Sorry, this might not see any play at a high competitive level, but these things go in my 'Speed your way to rank 15 at least deck' before getting swapped for more sophisticated cards. And for a HUGE swath of the player base that's A-OK.
Mass Dispel Good, Bad or Fun: Will be good why it's actually good: Expect priest decks to go godly the moment Naxx hits as silence is the only real way to combat deathrattles (save for sheeps and frogs).
Silence Good, Bad or Fun: Will be good why it's actually good: See mass dispel - with Naxx, priests now have yet another form of removal - the removal of a future minion (or comparable 'bad-thing').
Temple Enforcer Good, Bad or Fun: Just Ok How to make it better: Temple Enforcer just doesn't have enough bang for its buck considering it's a class card (which is the most common complaint about class cards - by their nature they should be better, or at least more interesting, than the neutrals). Compare Temple Enforcer, for instance, to Defender of Argus. He gives TWO minions +1/+1 AND taunt. For only 4 mana. So a total of 2 health and 2 attack and taunt for only 4 hits of the blue stuff. How to fix TE? Simple, treat him like argus only instead give adjacent minions +3 health - that way it's situational to a degree, but given the right circumstances at least he's now comparable in value to Guardian of Kings.
Why not mention Inner Fire or Divine Spirit? Because any card that has a super cheap cost and the potential for huge payoff (and class synergy) isn't worth complaining about. Sure, priests aren't rogues, but these cards aren't any less or more broken than theirs.
MAGES:
Just an example of how much synergy matters. There are no truly bad mage cards. Add in the fact that so many neutrals have +1 spell power and you can make almost any mage card work. So i've got nothing to say about them - a very solid class.
ROGUES: Rogues are constantly at the top of the ladder so people bent out of shape when you mention fixing them at all, but do they have some broken cards. Lets get into it shall we:
Kidnapper Good, Bad or Fun: BADDDDD How to make it better: We all agree this is the worst class card right? But what if it added an actual ransom to this kidnapping? Combo: Return a minion to its owner's hand - it now costs 2 more mana. Or 1 more mana, what the heck anything to give this guy something more useful. I'm not even opposed to keeping the combo effect in play.
Patient Assassin Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: I get that this is a late game card - which means YOU have to be Patient, not him. But the fact it almost dies from the impact of falling onto the board, he just needs some more health. Give him 1/3 and call it a day.
Vanish Good, Bad or Fun: Good WHAT?: Ok, i know i'll get flak for this, but this is the best underrated card for Rogues. No one, and i mean no one, ever expects this baby and if you plan for it, it can be your 1 card miracle. I've won so many games putting down a Gadgetzan and had the enemy start pulling out the big guns anticipating an onslaught (taunts are a Rogues worst friend) and then this bad boy goes down and POOF - especially if you've shadow stepped a few (now 0 cost) cards on turns prior. Like many rogue decks, it depends on a miracle play, but a new miracle play is about due and Vanish is a good a start as any. (and to be really mean, play a few saps the next turn as well. i've had like 5 rage-quits from that sequence alone)
Sinister Strike Good, Bad or Fun: Bad? Leave it alone: I've heard so often about how bad this card is, but with an ancient mage you suddenly have a mindblast for half the cost. I dunno, 1 mana for three face damage isn't broken enough to warrant a fix.
HUNTERS: Hunters are solid for pretty much the exact same as Mages - synergies that can manifest in a number of interesting combos and a near endless list of neutrals that synergize effortlessly. Not to mention that are no truly 'bad' hunter cards. Sure, Arcane Shot is pretty boring, and Multi-Shot is a bit anti-synergistic to the class that depends on many minions on the board - but if you're a hunter and feel like you've got some flat out broken cards, let's hear it. Plus - i'm just waiting to finally see someone use Bestial Wrath…i'm convinced this card has some major potential that most people just aren't seeing.
DRUIDS: Druids are one of those classes with some class cards that are so good - Nourish, Ancient of Lore, Ancient of War, IronBark Protector, Swipe - that it seems sort of lame to complain about the few that are broke…the problem is some of them are indeed very broken and probably wouldn't take much to fix. For instance:
Savagery Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: I like the idea of this one, but the fleeting nature of your heros damage output makes it way too risky to put in a deck. Simple fix: Make it 0 mana OR make it so you can can target an enemy hero. Limiting it to just minions seems unnecessarily specific.
Naturalize Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: Giving your opponent 2 cards (and you none), especially late game when worthwhile targets are coming out and your only Druidic hope is having better draw than the other guy is tantamount to suicide. Here is my simple proposed fix: opponent draws 2 2/2 Treant cards that cost 2 mana each. It'd keep with the theme, and at least you'd know what you're giving up for a cheap removal.
Soul of the Forest Good, Bad or Fun: Fun and it will be good Why? This card is going to get real interesting with Poison Seeds and other deathrattle decks, so keep an eye on this bad boy.
Healing Touch Good, Bad or Fun: Good Why? High level players hate pure heal cards, as do I, but honestly low level play and when you don't have all the other bells and whistles, having a late game card to burn for 3 mana to give your hero more durability when doing damage with a Claw or Savage Roar isn't such a terrible thing.
WARRIOR: Warriors are a tough class to judge their cards - either a particular card is good for a specific deck or it's not - there's less wiggle room i've found with Warriors than say Hunters. That said they are a solid class that has at least decent synergy around 2 aspects, ARMOR and DAMAGED MINIONS. There are however a few main offenders as far as class cards that see very little use:
Battle Rage Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: So Battle Rage makes sense on paper - and Warriors desperately need card draw - the problem is how infrequently damaged friendly minions stay on a board for any length of time. I've used this card probably 30 times and it never ever got me more than 2 cards, and most often did nothing as it sat in my deck waiting desperately for a damaged lineup that never happened. Simple fix: Draw a card for each damaged minion (not just friendly). At least then there'd be much more synergy with other class cards and even a similar function to Frothing Berserker. EDIT: Ok, this is OP, admittedly. So any suggestions how to give Warriors more card draw without tweaking this one too much?
Charge Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: Warsong is so much better - it lasts longer and has such better synergy with so many minions. This card post nerf just has one glaring problem - any creature you'd want to give charge to now effectively costs 3 more mana - just so you can now barrel it into something bigger and trade up. But unless you're trading up to a card that is 4 mana or more expensive, then that is a bad trade. There's just no place or excuse for this card. How to fix it: Make it 0 cost (ok ok...1 cost) - Damage a friendly minion by 3 and give it charge. Then you have the dream of giving big minions charge, but you have to make them squishier to get it. Seems fair.
WARLOCK: Ok, finally we come to Warlock. Similar to Rogue, these guys consistently make it to the top of the ladder - so why complain right? Well, the problem is Warlocks success comes almost universally from their hero power and almost never from their class cards. So while Warlock Murloc decks can be fatal, its sad to see so many class cards coming up worse than worthless. While i'd say paladin has more broken cards, Warlock has the MOST broken cards for sure. So here we go:
Bane of Doom Good, Bad or Fun: Bad but Fun How to make it better: I actually love playing with this card in my fun decks (i have a Randuin Wrynn style deck for Warlocks called Ran'Dan) but the fact it has such a random set list of potential demons really holds this card back. Simple fix: Open up the demon list to all class specific demons (save for Lord Jaraxxus). The 5 cost plus the kill condition is a hefty price and the allure of pulling in a Pit Lord without the battlecry would be pretty dope. Speaking of which:
Pit Lord Good, Bad or Fun: BAD. How to make it better: Pit Lord - the worst minion of all time. Unavoidable battlecry (at least the discard demons can be played around), inverse synergy with your hero power, all for what amounts to a +1/+1 Yeti (which simply can't NOT be polymorphed because mages are jerks and love getting a free almost fireballs worth of damage out of the deal). Simple fix: Make it a deathrattle. It doesn't salvage it completely, but at least you could silence it, or get some value out of it if played at the right time - AND it mitigates the failure of a hex or sheep response.
Felguard Good, Bad or Fun: BAD. How to make it better: I used to consider Felguard the worst minion - after all, you play him on turn 3 and you've effectively given the opponent SEVEN MANA CRYSTALS (over the course of the next 7 turns to 10 mana - Felguard is the gift to your opponent that keeps on giving!). BUT - play him late game and the Battlecry becomes less troublesome. Play Bane of Doom and you may summon him. So it's not the worst minion afterall. But it is currently unusable. Simple Fix: Either make it a deathrattle like Pit Lord, OR even better, just make it a class specific Venture Co. - all demons (or minions if yer nasty) cost 1 extra mana. In effect it's the same - sort of - until it dies. Seems fair.
Sense Demons Good, Bad or Fun: Good What? This one sadly has inverse synergy with demons - the more you have, the worse this card is. But man, if you've got Illidan and Jaraxxus and that's about it in your deck, this thing will bring incredible pain to your opponent. Especially with Void Caller - the Alarm O Bot of the Warlocks - Sense Demons in a limited Demon deck will see some great plays.
Sacrificial Pact Killing even a Blood Imp for 5 health is crazy. Simple Fix: Make this the Shadow Flame of health. Destroy a demon and give it's health to all friendly characters. I dunno.
Ok, i know that was long but if you're reading this apology it means that you made it. So add in your 2 cents - of course it's always a longshot, especially in Hearthstone, that cards that are underperforming will ever see a buff (nerfs are the name of the game). But who cares, lists are fun.
Any other SIMPLE suggestions? I realize i didn't even follow my own rules, but overall there's much more likelyhood that a card with be fixed if the suggestion is a) reasonably in line with the original intent and b)a minor tweak with minor downshot and much greater benefit.
TL;DR - Every 'Bad' class card has a SIMPLE fix. Let's hear your ideas.
Battle rage - they actually had it the way you said and it was op so they nerfed it. It was the greatest two weeks though rofl
Charge - I think it use to be zero cost or maybe 1 cost and they found out that was op so they had to nerf it (people were making otk with it).
Savagary - they actualy nerfed this card as well, it use to do your hero's attack to all enemy creatures.
Naturlize - it's not terrible but it's not good atm, it was actually used back in the day when ysera was played a lot. Think about it, would you rather them have a ysera on the field or 2 cards that aren't as good. Like I said it's not currently good.
Holy fire - it's a great card, the healing not being buff is fine it's just like holy nova the healing side doesn't get buffed.
I want to see where the demons for warlocks will go. I mean they are starting to dig a bigger hole for warlocks using demons and eventually some of these cards that seem useless for them will become playable (not saying anytime soon though). I'm still curious lol
But yea, there are a lot of bad cards lol but any little tweak can make them op (just take battle rage for instance).
I think it would be really cool if kidnapper added the card to your hand , which in essence means you actually kidnapped an opponents minion to play for yourself :) not sure if this would be a little on the broke side, otherwise just buff his stats a little make him a tiger with a built in sap+brew
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If you train hard not only will you be hard , you will be hard to beat
I think it would be really cool if kidnapper added the card to your hand , which in essence means you actually kidnapped an opponents minion to play for yourself :) not sure if this would be a little on the broke side, otherwise just buff his stats a little make him a tiger with a built in sap+brew
rofl this would be amazing, but don't give them any ideas
I like time you put into this thread man, I really can agree on some of the changes or at least agree that the cards could use a change. One class I can not really agree on you with is Priest. Priest is a class that is super inconsistent and expensive in term of card cost for class cards. On Prophet Velen I agree with your changes but I would never make him a 4/12 but I do think a stat change would help him out a lot.
Mindgames: This is a card that yeah it’s a nice mechanic and you can get super lucky with it from time to time but you forget that it is really inconsistent. Its has a really high cost and it sucks against rush decks because you can spend 4 mana for a 1 mana 1/3 minion. In a class that is already inconsistent and that lacks good early game choices your 3 and 4 drops have to pull there wait and trade really well on board.
Shadow Form: The reason this card gets no love is because of the cost of the card. It cost 3 mana and if I play it on turn 3 I can not make use of the ability until the next turn which may not be the best use of mana or provide me a way out of my current situation. Priest hero power gets better the later the game goes so not having access to this card early game is can really hurt you if you are not in control of the board. We also as priest do not have many other direct heals that we can use if we are in Shadow Form and nor can we get out of Shadow Form. It really is a bad card because it really only works out if you are already winning and can take the lose of tempo. Plus turn 3 we are likely in need of bodies on the board.
Holy Fire: This is necessary to run in priest decks the way the meta and class are now. The problem most people have with the card is its cost because sometimes that is the only move you can really do because of the excessive mana cost. Priest would likely not use spell power in a way that we would need to change Holy Fire in the way that you suggested.
Lightwell: This card is bad. We lack early game choice as priest that we can really make use of. We are also inconsistent and rely on a good draw and combos to line up. This card is a 2 mana 0/5 which if played on turn 2 will likely eat up a little dmg and slow you down. If you make the case to play it mid game or late game you fall into the problem of if you are losing this card would make you lost more because it does not clear anything or effect the enemies board and if you are winning then you will be winning more. I really think this is a arena value card because its hard to deal with in that environment. If you want to make this card better with a simple change then allow its effects to activate at the end of you turns rather than at the beginning.
By broken you mean insanely OP right? Or broken as they don't work? Broken, in my world, means it is insanely OP. Warlocks demons suck. In WoW, there is no drawback to summoning demons, so why in HS is there? Doesn't make sense to me. The void caller is a terrible card and will never see play in competitive decks until they do a Burning Legion xpac. I don't see many cards that need changes atm. We can speculate all day, and theory craft, which is fun to some, not really to me, but Blizz usually waits until the community is about to explode with hate before anything is changed. Well that is how it has been recently. Sadly, I believe Leeroy will recieve the next nerf, because of all the new casual players complaining about being in the kill zone (10-15 health) and getting burst down, which is a strat in every deck, scrubs just seem to have more problems with miracle rogue I guess? Nice list tho, was a fun good read.
One complaint: No Chaman!?!? Although I do think that Shaman has some of the best all around class cards and synergies with very few exceptions Totemic Might, much strong! Frost Shock is kind of silly when you also have Earth Shock. Dust Devil can either crush or put you behind. And we cannot forget about Far Sight! A card that I have seen win a game (Turn 4 Ragnaros with coin) or be utterly useless (Free Argent Squire yay!)
Great review! I suggest you tag the cards in the post, makes it easier to reference the cards you're discussing.
My suggestion to fix Battle Rage would be to change it to all damaged minions and increase the cost to 3/4 or cap the cards drawn. Divine Favor is a 3 mana conditional draw as well (although it's rare) and can get you an absurd amount of cards when used at the right time, or just be a dead card.
Bestial Wrath is sick in Arena, totally meh in constructed because of how dead a card it can be (and how hunter wants more combos or control options)
I don't think Holy Fire is too bad, also your suggestion makes the reverse synchronicity with Soulpriest even worse. I think if you made both parts target-able that could make it interesting (and over powered). I also don't agree with your buff on Temple Enforcer. That would be way too strong in some situations. Maybe just making it give +0/4 would be better, or +0/2 to adjacent minions. +0/3 to two minions would give the card 18 stat points for 6 mana. That's way too far above the curve. Prophet Velen could use a health buff, but if you put his health even at 10 he should have 2-3 attack at most. If he can stick around he can win you games almost immediately with multiple combos... Holy Fire!! 20 life swings!! (especially with Auchenai and this would give another aspect of the upcoming Zombie Chow combos, Velen on board, Chow + Auchenai, kill chow and you hit for 10). You would have to remove some of his on board power if you make him stickier. As his ability is one of the better ones (just on a bad manacost/stat minion).
Patient Assassin is all right. It's just AOE is so common and the mana slot it's in is somewhat vital. It suffers more from a combination of the stats and manacost than just the stats. I also think that if it was buffed statistically it might be superb.
Sacrificial Pact is just so meh. Can win you a game when someone plays Jaraxxus, but why even have this interaction?? It's so random. I always hated this card due to how limited it is. I hope they just rework it entirely.
PS - Some of these cards are superior in arena, so judging them within a standard only environment may not be the way to go (or the way the designers were intending). Just a thought.
Again, great write up looking forward to some more discussion on this topic!
Savagery I am hesitant to fiddle with this card. Right now it is horrible value - but if something like Worshiper ever becomes a general use card instead of being AI unique, the card will adjust itself. Of course, we can't count on that happening. If I were to adjust it within the current play environment, I would switch it from one target minion to two random enemy minions.
Naturalize This is a card in search of a deck. In spite of all the bellyaching, it is still the single cheapest removal card in the game. Unfortunately, there aren't many cards worth removing in this manner until the late game, when your opponent will have enough mana to play whatever cards you give them. It may be slightly better now that Deathlord exists. If I were to adjust it, I'd split the difference between this card and Assasinate, making it cost 3-mana but only giving your opponent 1 card.
Soul of the Forest Soul of the Forest really isn't that horrible. Like all AoE effects, it was priced on the assumption that it will have 4 targets. The only real problem is that Savage Roar is both a better and a cheaper play under the same circumstances. If the summoned Treants had either Charge or Taunt, I think people's opinion of the card would change greatly.
Healing Touch The real issue here is that Blizzard has a formula that makes larger healing effects less mana efficient than smaller healing effects. If Healing Touch had the same cost per point of healing as say the Earthen Ring Farseer, it would cost somewhere between 1 and 2 mana and would generally be generally viewed as having outstanding value.
HUNTER
Bestial Wrath This card is basically built for a Hunter Zoo deck. The only real problem is that agro hunters tend to go faceroll rather than board control. If you don't care about board control, Bestial Wrath does nothing for you. So how would you change this? More cheap beasts with 2 or 3 health.
MAGE
Kirin Tor Mage This minion was always solid. However, the odds of converting on the ability (or at least of getting any real value by converting on the ability) have always been slim. However, every new Mage secret makes this minion stronger, so it probably doesn't need to be adjusted.
Ethereal Arcanist All things considered, playing a mage secret represented a not-insignificant tempo loss making it difficult to get the full value from this minion. Once Mad Scientist becomes available, I think that will change. Instead of 2-cards that could negate the tempo-loss, the mage will have 4 cards capable of negating the tempo loss. Nothing needs to be done to this minion at this time.
PALADIN
Blessed Champion Blizzard clearly thought this was going to be the Paladin's answer to Bloodlust, that's the only reason I can think of to justify the high cost. Just one problem - it has nowhere near the damage potential of Bloodlust. If you use Blizzard's assumption that AoE = 4 targets, Bloodlust represents a (conditional) 12 damage burst. There is exactly 1 minion with 12 attack, and since he is Deathwing, combos are out of the question. Of course, Blessed Champion is also a persistent effect which normally justifies doubling the cost or halving the effect when - so that means Blizzard expects this spell to be cast on a 6-attack minion, in which case I think they're using the wrong pricing model. Permanent stat bonuses usually cost 1 mana for 2 stat points - so I would adjust the cost down to 3 - or maybe 4 (to cut down on Leeroy & Blessing of Might abuse).
Holy Wrath I agree with the OP. It's bad enough not knowing how much damage you're getting for your 5 (well, okay 4... you still get to keep the card) mana - but to also run the risk of overkill or underkill makes it hard to ever get any real use out of Holy Wrath. If necessary, instate a 10 damage cap.
Eye for an Eye Again I agree with the OP. Either that or scale the damage upward. Maybe it does 2x the damage received to the enemy hero. 2 damage for 1 mana is still okay value.
Redemption I think this card is going to balance itself back out, especially with all the new Deathrattle effects.
Repentance I agree with the OP. A secret can have minimal effect, but it should never have no-effect. Repentance should only proc against minions with 2+ health.
Humility It isn't just that Aldor Peacekeeper has the same ability - it's that the Peacekeeper is actually more mana efficient about it. When you play Humility, the effect costs you 1 mana. When you play the minion it only costs 1/2 mana. Rather than changing the effect, I'd reduce the cost of this card to 0.
Light's Justice This card isn't actually all that bad - it just requires one of two things. 1) A reliable way to reduce a minion's health to 1 (like making the proposed modification to Repentance) OR 2) Some way to buff the attack before T5 (when Spiteful Smith and Captain Greenskin become available)
PRIEST
I'll be honest, I don't play priest all that often - so my thoughts here should probably be taken with a grain of salt:
Prophet Velen The weird thing about Velen is that he is basically designed to be a 2-turn kill. One turn you play him, and the next turn you do 30 damage with Mind Blast and Holy Fire. It puts him in a bit of an odd position as far as Blizzard is concerned. Making him cheaper just increases his utility for 1 or 2-turn burst kills. Making him stickier does the same... and so does introducing more damage spells. In other words, any normal measure to improve Velen flies directly in the face of Blizzards "no OTK" philosophy.
So here's what I would do. Instead of having Velen double damage & healing - I would have him reduce the cost of damage spells, healing spells, and the hero power by 2. Now he is guaranteed to have same-turn utility, but because of the limited arsenal of damaging spells available to Priests, he is far less likely to produce burst kills.
Mindgames The card is neat, the card is fun, and the card should also be a cantrip. This would also bring the card more in line with Deathlord - which gives your opponent a free random minion without shrinking their hand size.
Shadowform First off, Double Shadowform only does 3 damage, not 5. But honestly, that's just a quibble. One instance of this spell is still enough to turn the Priest into a Superhunter. The challenge is building a deck that can take the tempo loss if you get the card early, but can hold its own if you don't get the card until later. I think we stand a very real chance of seeing this card gain popularity this week when people start trying out variations on the Naxx rush-Priest.
Holy Fire I have no problem with this card. That said, I would still be happy if there was something analogous to spellpower for healing effects. (Who knows, make it a neutral card and it might even fix Healing Touch at the same time).
Mass Dispel Here I disagree with the OP. Naxx has not (yet) made Mass Dispell particularly good. Most of the deathrattle effects that have been released are so wee that they're not worth spending a card to deal with. Then again, that might change this week when the Undertaker gets more people trying out all deathrattle decks. Either way, I think the card is currently overpriced. Blizzard used their usual formula of cost for 1 target (1 mana) x 4 targets (AoE) assumption, forgetting that you are almost never going to face a board full of enchanted and card-text minions. I would probably drop the cost to 3.
Silence Silence basically suffers from the same problem as Naturalize. By the time you start facing minions that you actually want to use it against, you will no longer need the extreme mana efficiency that it represents. I would get around this by allowing it to target any played card - including weapons or secrets. Congratulations, your Sword of Justice is now just an overpriced Light's Justice. Have fun with that.
There is, of course, the option of using Silence on a friendly minion (like an Ancient Watcher) - but I honestly think Wailing Soul is going to become the more popular card for plays like that. Of course, there is one place where Silence gets great value and Wailing Soul does not... if you run the Venture Co. Mercenary.
Temple Enforcer The main problem with the Temple Enforcer is that he seems to be designed to feed the Inner Fire gimmick - thing is, by T6 you've either won by the gimmick, or are facing minons so beefy that they can probably take out whatever you buff. Even so, there's always a chance that something will happen to make the gimmick a late-game strategy. I would probably leave him alone for now, though I think the OP's proposal would also work.
ROGUE
Kidnapper I'm on board with the "put the card in your hand" approach. That said, I like the OPs idea of increasing the cost of the minion after it has been returned to your opponent's hand. However, as much as I like the +2 mana cost idea it does effectively turn the effect into a kill against most late-game Legendaries, so I think it would need to cap out at +1 (where it only "kills" Deathwing).
Patient Assassin This card is tied with Naturalize for being the cheapest universal kill effect in the game. Unlike Naturalize, it doesn't give away cards which means it needs to be vulnerable. 1/1 is fine - a 1/3 would need to cost at least 2 mana.
The problem with this card is that it usually gives tempo to your opponent. However, it works well in weapon centered decks and is still one of the best options for mill/card burn - so I probably wouldn't mess with it.
Sinister Strike Spellsword Rogue isn't as popular as Miracle, but it's still a viable deck type. I would not mess with this card.
SHAMAN
Totemic Might Ah yes, the combo card that exists for the sole purpose of ensuring that your totems can survive until Bloodlust. I have a feeling that this card will get stronger because Blizzard will eventually introduce more Totems. If I were to rebuild it for the current environment, I would increase the cost to 2 or 3 and change the effect so that it doubles the stats and effects of every totem in play.
Frost Shock Definitely weaker than Earth Shock right now - but I bet it will be very popular next week to deal with a certain skeletal dragon. Within PvP I think it's going to depend a lot on which direction the meta goes. While everyone runs around with text-effect minions, Earth Shock is better. Should it the meta switch to vanilla minions, Frost Shock will start gaining popularity. For just this reason, I think it can be left as is - it's insurance against future changes in meta.
Dust Devil is a gamble, pure and simple. If he lives, you're in great shape. If he dies you've just taken a significant tempo loss. The main problem is that he is not sticky at all. To make this card viable the Shaman would need some way to give him health (or divine shield) for little to no mana. Changing him to a 2/2 would make a huge difference, but it might also make the little guy too strong.
Far Sight This card seems more like a deck-building challenge than anything else. My guess is that you'd want it in something that looked like a cross between Miracle Rogue and Ramp Druid (cheap spells, expensive minions, and a couple of Gadgetzans). That said, this thread is about tweaks. If I wanted to tweak this card to make it more reliable, I'd turn it into Tracking with a 1 mana discount on the selected card.
The "problem" with Battle Rage isn't with the card itself, but rather with how we tend to look at it. It costs 2 mana and seems to have a huge amount of synergy potential, so it is typically viewed as an under-performing Starving Buzzard/Unleash the Hounds combo - but it's not. It's an over-performing Arcane Intellect.
Incidentally, if you are having a hard time pulling off Battle Rage combos, you might want to consider running Commanding Shout as well as Whirlwind.
Charge There is honestly nothing wrong with this card - it simply fills a different niche from the Warsong Commander. If you want to run Yetis, Ogres, and Harpies - Charge is better. If you favor Worgens, Berserkers, and Pirates then the Commander is better. The Warsong Commander requires you to tailor your deck to fit it. Charge is finishing support that can go into any deck.
Phew - this take a lot of time to write out. Priests & Shaman added 8/11. Warrior added 8/12. I will edit in Warlock later.
Triskaidekaphilia, all your suggestions are spot on. I know blizzard 'said' that they weren't going to change any more cards (don't tell that to Eaglehorn Bow) - but some changes, like Repentance proc'ing on 1 health minions is more of a serious, legitimate flaw than an simple annoyance. lets hope something happens one day with existing cards after the dust on Naxx settles.
Best cure for Savagery would be giving Druids weapons. Which might happen some time in the future, I'd be surprised if weapons were kept restricted to four classes forever.
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Hey Ya'll - long time lurker. The slow drip Naxx card feed has finally made me jump on the card improvement bandwagon. I love lists and thinking through improvements to existing cards, which is what this huge post is all about. If that's not your bag then no worries. If you have your own suggestions or think i'm totally off base, post it up. Since lists like this often need an e-peen disclaimer, i've been playing since the official launch (no Beta experience) and have made it to Rank 6-5 each season. I average about 6-8 wins in Arena and have each class to at least level 35. Other than Arena i've never spent any money so I only have 3 legendaries (Prophet Velen, King Krush, Rag). Anyway, i'm not amazing but i'm not bad and besides this list is just for fun. I do think some of the SIMPLE suggestions are sound. Do you agree? Read and find out! (For the sake of sanity i put all the class suggestions in their own spoiler)
PALADIN: Possibly the class with the most broken cards are the Paladins (with Warlock coming in a CLOSE second). The other strange thing is how little class synergy Paladins have. Think of Shamans with their overload mechanic and how many cards play around and with that. Or hunters and their beast synergy - or Druids with their 'pick one' mechanic - or Mages that have secret synergies AND spell synergies (mana wyrm, sorcerer's apprentice etc.) - or warriors with shield AND weapon synergies. And then there is the Paladin. I think why the Sword of Justice is so awesome is that it actually synergizes with your default Hero Power. Even the Aldor Peacekeeper, generally regarded as a great card, doesn't synergize with your hero power - maybe if it were reversed so their health was dropped to one then we'd be talkin'. Anyway, /rant - that'll just set the baseline as we talk about some of the worst offenders, such as:
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: Almost universally regarded as one of the worst cards period. Absolutely !@#$e synergy with your hero power (wow - double a 1 attack minion) and for 5 cost, if you play this turn five you will lose the game almost undoubtedly. So how to fix: Make it Blessed Champions - All minions gain +2/+1. I realize this is similar to the original incarnation of unleash the hounds, but at 5 mana spreading the benefit to multiple minions is a MUST.
Holy Wrath
Good, Bad or Fun: BAD How to make it better: This is one of my least favorite cards because it seems so simple to fix - have the card draw happen first so you can decide where to target the damage. The RNG element is still there thus necessitating the 5 mana cost, but good lord this one is so much just a worse version of mindgames.
Eye for an Eye
Good, Bad or Fun: BAD How to make it better: Most of the paladin secrets get a bad rap, but for 1 mana and a little strategizing (along with the new Pally secret coming our way) most all of them can see some increased value. But not this one. Again, the fix is simple - instead of deal that much damage to the enemy hero, do that much damage to the attacking MINION. Bam, problem solved.
Redemption
Good, Bad or Fun: Will be good Why: I've got a Deathrattle + Divine shield deck all planned out in my head and I can't wait to run two of these secrets when the time comes.
Repentance
Good, Bad or Fun: BAD How to make it better: Again, frustratingly simple to fix - like almost all other secrets, if the resolve of the secret will have no effect, it shouldn't proc. AKA if they drop a Wolf Rider, the secret doesn't trigger because he's already at 1 health. See? Simple.
Humility
Good, Bad or Fun: bad How to make it better: A truly lazy card considering Aldor does the same thing but with a warm body to back it up. Seriously for synergy it should be drop a minions health to 1 - but for whatever reason Blizzard already gave that to hunters for 0 mana :/. So how about at least throw in Draw A Card and call it a day. OR - how about change a WEAPON'S attack to 1? Isn't it time we had some other options against weapons than just Oozes? (so sorry! Forgot about the pirate dude!)
Blessing of Might
Good, Bad or Fun: Good Why: Just wanted to illustrate here how bad Blessed Champion is. Two of these things, for 2 mana, is 99% guaranteed to DOUBLE OR BETTER a minions attack. Just sayin'.
Light's Justice
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: OK - here you have the worst weapon in the game by far. Why not give it synergy? Every time you summon a silver hand recruit it gains +1 attack and loses +1 durability.
PRIEST: Some of the most fun decks (Randuin) and some of the best players - Trump/Amaz love Priest. So this part will probably be less about how to fix broken cards but more making a case for a few generally disliked ones. Such as:
Good, Bad or Fun: Fun How to make better: Look, Prophet Velen like all late game legendaries is very hit and miss - but if you have a dream PV can probably help it come true if you get lucky and play smart. Personally I think making him like Ysera - 4/12 or 4/10 even would help him be stickier which is what cards like this are all about.
Mindgames
Good, Bad or Fun: Fun How to make better: You don't. With such a huge swing in the RNG of course this is the ultimate fingers-crossed card but in most games i've played and most games I've watched, the result is usually something pretty good (Especially when playing folks with much better decks than you - one reason why I think Priest is super underrated for ladder climbing above your ability).
Shadowform
Good, Bad or Fun: Good Why it's actually good: Most know this by now but you can play the 2nd shadowform card even after you've used your hero power once thus allowing you to do 5 damage on a single turn from hero power alone. I've seen some really cool decks build around this mechanic (Dragon Priest Yeah!) - you just have to commit to it.
Holy Fire
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: Simple, allow spell power to affect healing as well. I realize this is a huge ask but to have a card that can only have one side of it buffed is strange, especially with it's reverse synchronicity with Auchenai Soulpriest.
Lightwell
Good, Bad or Fun: Good Why it's actually good: Sorry, this might not see any play at a high competitive level, but these things go in my 'Speed your way to rank 15 at least deck' before getting swapped for more sophisticated cards. And for a HUGE swath of the player base that's A-OK.
Mass Dispel
Good, Bad or Fun: Will be good why it's actually good: Expect priest decks to go godly the moment Naxx hits as silence is the only real way to combat deathrattles (save for sheeps and frogs).
Silence
Good, Bad or Fun: Will be good why it's actually good: See mass dispel - with Naxx, priests now have yet another form of removal - the removal of a future minion (or comparable 'bad-thing').
Temple Enforcer
Good, Bad or Fun: Just Ok How to make it better: Temple Enforcer just doesn't have enough bang for its buck considering it's a class card (which is the most common complaint about class cards - by their nature they should be better, or at least more interesting, than the neutrals). Compare Temple Enforcer, for instance, to Defender of Argus. He gives TWO minions +1/+1 AND taunt. For only 4 mana. So a total of 2 health and 2 attack and taunt for only 4 hits of the blue stuff. How to fix TE? Simple, treat him like argus only instead give adjacent minions +3 health - that way it's situational to a degree, but given the right circumstances at least he's now comparable in value to Guardian of Kings.
Why not mention Inner Fire or Divine Spirit? Because any card that has a super cheap cost and the potential for huge payoff (and class synergy) isn't worth complaining about. Sure, priests aren't rogues, but these cards aren't any less or more broken than theirs.
MAGES:
Just an example of how much synergy matters. There are no truly bad mage cards. Add in the fact that so many neutrals have +1 spell power and you can make almost any mage card work. So i've got nothing to say about them - a very solid class.
ROGUES: Rogues are constantly at the top of the ladder so people bent out of shape when you mention fixing them at all, but do they have some broken cards. Lets get into it shall we:
Good, Bad or Fun: BADDDDD How to make it better: We all agree this is the worst class card right? But what if it added an actual ransom to this kidnapping? Combo: Return a minion to its owner's hand - it now costs 2 more mana. Or 1 more mana, what the heck anything to give this guy something more useful. I'm not even opposed to keeping the combo effect in play.
Patient Assassin
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: I get that this is a late game card - which means YOU have to be Patient, not him. But the fact it almost dies from the impact of falling onto the board, he just needs some more health. Give him 1/3 and call it a day.
Vanish
Good, Bad or Fun: Good WHAT?: Ok, i know i'll get flak for this, but this is the best underrated card for Rogues. No one, and i mean no one, ever expects this baby and if you plan for it, it can be your 1 card miracle. I've won so many games putting down a Gadgetzan and had the enemy start pulling out the big guns anticipating an onslaught (taunts are a Rogues worst friend) and then this bad boy goes down and POOF - especially if you've shadow stepped a few (now 0 cost) cards on turns prior. Like many rogue decks, it depends on a miracle play, but a new miracle play is about due and Vanish is a good a start as any. (and to be really mean, play a few saps the next turn as well. i've had like 5 rage-quits from that sequence alone)
Sinister Strike
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad? Leave it alone: I've heard so often about how bad this card is, but with an ancient mage you suddenly have a mindblast for half the cost. I dunno, 1 mana for three face damage isn't broken enough to warrant a fix.
HUNTERS: Hunters are solid for pretty much the exact same as Mages - synergies that can manifest in a number of interesting combos and a near endless list of neutrals that synergize effortlessly. Not to mention that are no truly 'bad' hunter cards. Sure, Arcane Shot is pretty boring, and Multi-Shot is a bit anti-synergistic to the class that depends on many minions on the board - but if you're a hunter and feel like you've got some flat out broken cards, let's hear it. Plus - i'm just waiting to finally see someone use Bestial Wrath…i'm convinced this card has some major potential that most people just aren't seeing.
DRUIDS: Druids are one of those classes with some class cards that are so good - Nourish, Ancient of Lore, Ancient of War, IronBark Protector, Swipe - that it seems sort of lame to complain about the few that are broke…the problem is some of them are indeed very broken and probably wouldn't take much to fix. For instance:
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: I like the idea of this one, but the fleeting nature of your heros damage output makes it way too risky to put in a deck. Simple fix: Make it 0 mana OR make it so you can can target an enemy hero. Limiting it to just minions seems unnecessarily specific.
Naturalize
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: Giving your opponent 2 cards (and you none), especially late game when worthwhile targets are coming out and your only Druidic hope is having better draw than the other guy is tantamount to suicide. Here is my simple proposed fix: opponent draws 2 2/2 Treant cards that cost 2 mana each. It'd keep with the theme, and at least you'd know what you're giving up for a cheap removal.
Soul of the Forest
Good, Bad or Fun: Fun and it will be good Why? This card is going to get real interesting with Poison Seeds and other deathrattle decks, so keep an eye on this bad boy.
Healing Touch
Good, Bad or Fun: Good Why? High level players hate pure heal cards, as do I, but honestly low level play and when you don't have all the other bells and whistles, having a late game card to burn for 3 mana to give your hero more durability when doing damage with a Claw or Savage Roar isn't such a terrible thing.
WARRIOR: Warriors are a tough class to judge their cards - either a particular card is good for a specific deck or it's not - there's less wiggle room i've found with Warriors than say Hunters. That said they are a solid class that has at least decent synergy around 2 aspects, ARMOR and DAMAGED MINIONS. There are however a few main offenders as far as class cards that see very little use:
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: So Battle Rage makes sense on paper - and Warriors desperately need card draw - the problem is how infrequently damaged friendly minions stay on a board for any length of time. I've used this card probably 30 times and it never ever got me more than 2 cards, and most often did nothing as it sat in my deck waiting desperately for a damaged lineup that never happened. Simple fix: Draw a card for each damaged minion (not just friendly). At least then there'd be much more synergy with other class cards and even a similar function to Frothing Berserker. EDIT: Ok, this is OP, admittedly. So any suggestions how to give Warriors more card draw without tweaking this one too much?
Charge
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad How to make it better: Warsong is so much better - it lasts longer and has such better synergy with so many minions. This card post nerf just has one glaring problem - any creature you'd want to give charge to now effectively costs 3 more mana - just so you can now barrel it into something bigger and trade up. But unless you're trading up to a card that is 4 mana or more expensive, then that is a bad trade. There's just no place or excuse for this card. How to fix it: Make it 0 cost (ok ok...1 cost) - Damage a friendly minion by 3 and give it charge. Then you have the dream of giving big minions charge, but you have to make them squishier to get it. Seems fair.
WARLOCK: Ok, finally we come to Warlock. Similar to Rogue, these guys consistently make it to the top of the ladder - so why complain right? Well, the problem is Warlocks success comes almost universally from their hero power and almost never from their class cards. So while Warlock Murloc decks can be fatal, its sad to see so many class cards coming up worse than worthless. While i'd say paladin has more broken cards, Warlock has the MOST broken cards for sure. So here we go:
Good, Bad or Fun: Bad but Fun How to make it better: I actually love playing with this card in my fun decks (i have a Randuin Wrynn style deck for Warlocks called Ran'Dan) but the fact it has such a random set list of potential demons really holds this card back. Simple fix: Open up the demon list to all class specific demons (save for Lord Jaraxxus). The 5 cost plus the kill condition is a hefty price and the allure of pulling in a Pit Lord without the battlecry would be pretty dope. Speaking of which:
Pit Lord
Good, Bad or Fun: BAD. How to make it better: Pit Lord - the worst minion of all time. Unavoidable battlecry (at least the discard demons can be played around), inverse synergy with your hero power, all for what amounts to a +1/+1 Yeti (which simply can't NOT be polymorphed because mages are jerks and love getting a free almost fireballs worth of damage out of the deal). Simple fix: Make it a deathrattle. It doesn't salvage it completely, but at least you could silence it, or get some value out of it if played at the right time - AND it mitigates the failure of a hex or sheep response.
Felguard
Good, Bad or Fun: BAD. How to make it better: I used to consider Felguard the worst minion - after all, you play him on turn 3 and you've effectively given the opponent SEVEN MANA CRYSTALS (over the course of the next 7 turns to 10 mana - Felguard is the gift to your opponent that keeps on giving!). BUT - play him late game and the Battlecry becomes less troublesome. Play Bane of Doom and you may summon him. So it's not the worst minion afterall. But it is currently unusable. Simple Fix: Either make it a deathrattle like Pit Lord, OR even better, just make it a class specific Venture Co. - all demons (or minions if yer nasty) cost 1 extra mana. In effect it's the same - sort of - until it dies. Seems fair.
Sense Demons
Good, Bad or Fun: Good What? This one sadly has inverse synergy with demons - the more you have, the worse this card is. But man, if you've got Illidan and Jaraxxus and that's about it in your deck, this thing will bring incredible pain to your opponent. Especially with Void Caller - the Alarm O Bot of the Warlocks - Sense Demons in a limited Demon deck will see some great plays.
Sacrificial Pact
Killing even a Blood Imp for 5 health is crazy. Simple Fix: Make this the Shadow Flame of health. Destroy a demon and give it's health to all friendly characters. I dunno.
Ok, i know that was long but if you're reading this apology it means that you made it. So add in your 2 cents - of course it's always a longshot, especially in Hearthstone, that cards that are underperforming will ever see a buff (nerfs are the name of the game). But who cares, lists are fun.
Any other SIMPLE suggestions? I realize i didn't even follow my own rules, but overall there's much more likelyhood that a card with be fixed if the suggestion is a) reasonably in line with the original intent and b)a minor tweak with minor downshot and much greater benefit.
TL;DR - Every 'Bad' class card has a SIMPLE fix. Let's hear your ideas.
Very nice read, good work.
Battle rage - they actually had it the way you said and it was op so they nerfed it. It was the greatest two weeks though rofl
Charge - I think it use to be zero cost or maybe 1 cost and they found out that was op so they had to nerf it (people were making otk with it).
Savagary - they actualy nerfed this card as well, it use to do your hero's attack to all enemy creatures.
Naturlize - it's not terrible but it's not good atm, it was actually used back in the day when ysera was played a lot. Think about it, would you rather them have a ysera on the field or 2 cards that aren't as good. Like I said it's not currently good.
Holy fire - it's a great card, the healing not being buff is fine it's just like holy nova the healing side doesn't get buffed.
I want to see where the demons for warlocks will go. I mean they are starting to dig a bigger hole for warlocks using demons and eventually some of these cards that seem useless for them will become playable (not saying anytime soon though). I'm still curious lol
But yea, there are a lot of bad cards lol but any little tweak can make them op (just take battle rage for instance).
I think it would be really cool if kidnapper added the card to your hand , which in essence means you actually kidnapped an opponents minion to play for yourself :) not sure if this would be a little on the broke side, otherwise just buff his stats a little make him a tiger with a built in sap+brew
If you train hard not only will you be hard , you will be hard to beat
rofl this would be amazing, but don't give them any ideas
I like time you put into this thread man, I really can agree on some of the changes or at least agree that the cards could use a change. One class I can not really agree on you with is Priest. Priest is a class that is super inconsistent and expensive in term of card cost for class cards. On Prophet Velen I agree with your changes but I would never make him a 4/12 but I do think a stat change would help him out a lot.
Mindgames: This is a card that yeah it’s a nice mechanic and you can get super lucky with it from time to time but you forget that it is really inconsistent. Its has a really high cost and it sucks against rush decks because you can spend 4 mana for a 1 mana 1/3 minion. In a class that is already inconsistent and that lacks good early game choices your 3 and 4 drops have to pull there wait and trade really well on board.
Shadow Form: The reason this card gets no love is because of the cost of the card. It cost 3 mana and if I play it on turn 3 I can not make use of the ability until the next turn which may not be the best use of mana or provide me a way out of my current situation. Priest hero power gets better the later the game goes so not having access to this card early game is can really hurt you if you are not in control of the board. We also as priest do not have many other direct heals that we can use if we are in Shadow Form and nor can we get out of Shadow Form. It really is a bad card because it really only works out if you are already winning and can take the lose of tempo. Plus turn 3 we are likely in need of bodies on the board.
Holy Fire: This is necessary to run in priest decks the way the meta and class are now. The problem most people have with the card is its cost because sometimes that is the only move you can really do because of the excessive mana cost. Priest would likely not use spell power in a way that we would need to change Holy Fire in the way that you suggested.
Lightwell: This card is bad. We lack early game choice as priest that we can really make use of. We are also inconsistent and rely on a good draw and combos to line up. This card is a 2 mana 0/5 which if played on turn 2 will likely eat up a little dmg and slow you down. If you make the case to play it mid game or late game you fall into the problem of if you are losing this card would make you lost more because it does not clear anything or effect the enemies board and if you are winning then you will be winning more. I really think this is a arena value card because its hard to deal with in that environment. If you want to make this card better with a simple change then allow its effects to activate at the end of you turns rather than at the beginning.
By broken you mean insanely OP right? Or broken as they don't work? Broken, in my world, means it is insanely OP. Warlocks demons suck. In WoW, there is no drawback to summoning demons, so why in HS is there? Doesn't make sense to me. The void caller is a terrible card and will never see play in competitive decks until they do a Burning Legion xpac. I don't see many cards that need changes atm. We can speculate all day, and theory craft, which is fun to some, not really to me, but Blizz usually waits until the community is about to explode with hate before anything is changed. Well that is how it has been recently. Sadly, I believe Leeroy will recieve the next nerf, because of all the new casual players complaining about being in the kill zone (10-15 health) and getting burst down, which is a strat in every deck, scrubs just seem to have more problems with miracle rogue I guess? Nice list tho, was a fun good read.
One complaint: No Chaman!?!? Although I do think that Shaman has some of the best all around class cards and synergies with very few exceptions
Totemic Might, much strong!
Frost Shock is kind of silly when you also have Earth Shock.
Dust Devil can either crush or put you behind.
And we cannot forget about Far Sight! A card that I have seen win a game (Turn 4 Ragnaros with coin) or be utterly useless (Free Argent Squire yay!)
Great review! I suggest you tag the cards in the post, makes it easier to reference the cards you're discussing.
My suggestion to fix Battle Rage would be to change it to all damaged minions and increase the cost to 3/4 or cap the cards drawn.
Divine Favor is a 3 mana conditional draw as well (although it's rare) and can get you an absurd amount of cards when used at the right time, or just be a dead card.
Bestial Wrath is sick in Arena, totally meh in constructed because of how dead a card it can be (and how hunter wants more combos or control options)
I don't think Holy Fire is too bad, also your suggestion makes the reverse synchronicity with Soulpriest even worse. I think if you made both parts target-able that could make it interesting (and over powered).
I also don't agree with your buff on Temple Enforcer. That would be way too strong in some situations. Maybe just making it give +0/4 would be better, or +0/2 to adjacent minions. +0/3 to two minions would give the card 18 stat points for 6 mana. That's way too far above the curve.
Prophet Velen could use a health buff, but if you put his health even at 10 he should have 2-3 attack at most. If he can stick around he can win you games almost immediately with multiple combos... Holy Fire!! 20 life swings!! (especially with Auchenai and this would give another aspect of the upcoming Zombie Chow combos, Velen on board, Chow + Auchenai, kill chow and you hit for 10). You would have to remove some of his on board power if you make him stickier. As his ability is one of the better ones (just on a bad manacost/stat minion).
Patient Assassin is all right. It's just AOE is so common and the mana slot it's in is somewhat vital. It suffers more from a combination of the stats and manacost than just the stats. I also think that if it was buffed statistically it might be superb.
Sacrificial Pact is just so meh. Can win you a game when someone plays Jaraxxus, but why even have this interaction?? It's so random. I always hated this card due to how limited it is. I hope they just rework it entirely.
PS - Some of these cards are superior in arena, so judging them within a standard only environment may not be the way to go (or the way the designers were intending). Just a thought.
Again, great write up looking forward to some more discussion on this topic!
Here's my take:
DRUID:
Savagery
I am hesitant to fiddle with this card. Right now it is horrible value - but if something like Worshiper ever becomes a general use card instead of being AI unique, the card will adjust itself. Of course, we can't count on that happening. If I were to adjust it within the current play environment, I would switch it from one target minion to two random enemy minions.
Naturalize
This is a card in search of a deck. In spite of all the bellyaching, it is still the single cheapest removal card in the game. Unfortunately, there aren't many cards worth removing in this manner until the late game, when your opponent will have enough mana to play whatever cards you give them. It may be slightly better now that Deathlord exists. If I were to adjust it, I'd split the difference between this card and Assasinate, making it cost 3-mana but only giving your opponent 1 card.
Soul of the Forest
Soul of the Forest really isn't that horrible. Like all AoE effects, it was priced on the assumption that it will have 4 targets. The only real problem is that Savage Roar is both a better and a cheaper play under the same circumstances. If the summoned Treants had either Charge or Taunt, I think people's opinion of the card would change greatly.
Healing Touch
The real issue here is that Blizzard has a formula that makes larger healing effects less mana efficient than smaller healing effects. If Healing Touch had the same cost per point of healing as say the Earthen Ring Farseer, it would cost somewhere between 1 and 2 mana and would generally be generally viewed as having outstanding value.
HUNTER
Bestial Wrath
This card is basically built for a Hunter Zoo deck. The only real problem is that agro hunters tend to go faceroll rather than board control. If you don't care about board control, Bestial Wrath does nothing for you. So how would you change this? More cheap beasts with 2 or 3 health.
MAGE
Kirin Tor Mage
This minion was always solid. However, the odds of converting on the ability (or at least of getting any real value by converting on the ability) have always been slim. However, every new Mage secret makes this minion stronger, so it probably doesn't need to be adjusted.
Ethereal Arcanist
All things considered, playing a mage secret represented a not-insignificant tempo loss making it difficult to get the full value from this minion. Once Mad Scientist becomes available, I think that will change. Instead of 2-cards that could negate the tempo-loss, the mage will have 4 cards capable of negating the tempo loss. Nothing needs to be done to this minion at this time.
PALADIN
Blessed Champion
Blizzard clearly thought this was going to be the Paladin's answer to Bloodlust, that's the only reason I can think of to justify the high cost. Just one problem - it has nowhere near the damage potential of Bloodlust. If you use Blizzard's assumption that AoE = 4 targets, Bloodlust represents a (conditional) 12 damage burst. There is exactly 1 minion with 12 attack, and since he is Deathwing, combos are out of the question. Of course, Blessed Champion is also a persistent effect which normally justifies doubling the cost or halving the effect when - so that means Blizzard expects this spell to be cast on a 6-attack minion, in which case I think they're using the wrong pricing model. Permanent stat bonuses usually cost 1 mana for 2 stat points - so I would adjust the cost down to 3 - or maybe 4 (to cut down on Leeroy & Blessing of Might abuse).
Holy Wrath
I agree with the OP. It's bad enough not knowing how much damage you're getting for your 5 (well, okay 4... you still get to keep the card) mana - but to also run the risk of overkill or underkill makes it hard to ever get any real use out of Holy Wrath. If necessary, instate a 10 damage cap.
Eye for an Eye
Again I agree with the OP. Either that or scale the damage upward. Maybe it does 2x the damage received to the enemy hero. 2 damage for 1 mana is still okay value.
Redemption
I think this card is going to balance itself back out, especially with all the new Deathrattle effects.
Repentance
I agree with the OP. A secret can have minimal effect, but it should never have no-effect. Repentance should only proc against minions with 2+ health.
Humility
It isn't just that Aldor Peacekeeper has the same ability - it's that the Peacekeeper is actually more mana efficient about it. When you play Humility, the effect costs you 1 mana. When you play the minion it only costs 1/2 mana. Rather than changing the effect, I'd reduce the cost of this card to 0.
Light's Justice
This card isn't actually all that bad - it just requires one of two things. 1) A reliable way to reduce a minion's health to 1 (like making the proposed modification to Repentance) OR 2) Some way to buff the attack before T5 (when Spiteful Smith and Captain Greenskin become available)
PRIEST
I'll be honest, I don't play priest all that often - so my thoughts here should probably be taken with a grain of salt:
Prophet Velen
The weird thing about Velen is that he is basically designed to be a 2-turn kill. One turn you play him, and the next turn you do 30 damage with Mind Blast and Holy Fire. It puts him in a bit of an odd position as far as Blizzard is concerned. Making him cheaper just increases his utility for 1 or 2-turn burst kills. Making him stickier does the same... and so does introducing more damage spells. In other words, any normal measure to improve Velen flies directly in the face of Blizzards "no OTK" philosophy.
So here's what I would do. Instead of having Velen double damage & healing - I would have him reduce the cost of damage spells, healing spells, and the hero power by 2. Now he is guaranteed to have same-turn utility, but because of the limited arsenal of damaging spells available to Priests, he is far less likely to produce burst kills.
Mindgames
The card is neat, the card is fun, and the card should also be a cantrip. This would also bring the card more in line with Deathlord - which gives your opponent a free random minion without shrinking their hand size.
Shadowform
First off, Double Shadowform only does 3 damage, not 5. But honestly, that's just a quibble. One instance of this spell is still enough to turn the Priest into a Superhunter. The challenge is building a deck that can take the tempo loss if you get the card early, but can hold its own if you don't get the card until later. I think we stand a very real chance of seeing this card gain popularity this week when people start trying out variations on the Naxx rush-Priest.
Holy Fire
I have no problem with this card. That said, I would still be happy if there was something analogous to spellpower for healing effects. (Who knows, make it a neutral card and it might even fix Healing Touch at the same time).
Lightwell
I agree with the OP
Mass Dispel
Here I disagree with the OP. Naxx has not (yet) made Mass Dispell particularly good. Most of the deathrattle effects that have been released are so wee that they're not worth spending a card to deal with. Then again, that might change this week when the Undertaker gets more people trying out all deathrattle decks. Either way, I think the card is currently overpriced. Blizzard used their usual formula of cost for 1 target (1 mana) x 4 targets (AoE) assumption, forgetting that you are almost never going to face a board full of enchanted and card-text minions. I would probably drop the cost to 3.
Silence
Silence basically suffers from the same problem as Naturalize. By the time you start facing minions that you actually want to use it against, you will no longer need the extreme mana efficiency that it represents. I would get around this by allowing it to target any played card - including weapons or secrets. Congratulations, your Sword of Justice is now just an overpriced Light's Justice. Have fun with that.
There is, of course, the option of using Silence on a friendly minion (like an Ancient Watcher) - but I honestly think Wailing Soul is going to become the more popular card for plays like that. Of course, there is one place where Silence gets great value and Wailing Soul does not... if you run the Venture Co. Mercenary.
Temple Enforcer
The main problem with the Temple Enforcer is that he seems to be designed to feed the Inner Fire gimmick - thing is, by T6 you've either won by the gimmick, or are facing minons so beefy that they can probably take out whatever you buff. Even so, there's always a chance that something will happen to make the gimmick a late-game strategy. I would probably leave him alone for now, though I think the OP's proposal would also work.
ROGUE
Kidnapper
I'm on board with the "put the card in your hand" approach. That said, I like the OPs idea of increasing the cost of the minion after it has been returned to your opponent's hand. However, as much as I like the +2 mana cost idea it does effectively turn the effect into a kill against most late-game Legendaries, so I think it would need to cap out at +1 (where it only "kills" Deathwing).
Patient Assassin
This card is tied with Naturalize for being the cheapest universal kill effect in the game. Unlike Naturalize, it doesn't give away cards which means it needs to be vulnerable. 1/1 is fine - a 1/3 would need to cost at least 2 mana.
Vanish
The problem with this card is that it usually gives tempo to your opponent. However, it works well in weapon centered decks and is still one of the best options for mill/card burn - so I probably wouldn't mess with it.
Sinister Strike
Spellsword Rogue isn't as popular as Miracle, but it's still a viable deck type. I would not mess with this card.
SHAMAN
Totemic Might
Ah yes, the combo card that exists for the sole purpose of ensuring that your totems can survive until Bloodlust. I have a feeling that this card will get stronger because Blizzard will eventually introduce more Totems. If I were to rebuild it for the current environment, I would increase the cost to 2 or 3 and change the effect so that it doubles the stats and effects of every totem in play.
Frost Shock
Definitely weaker than Earth Shock right now - but I bet it will be very popular next week to deal with a certain skeletal dragon. Within PvP I think it's going to depend a lot on which direction the meta goes. While everyone runs around with text-effect minions, Earth Shock is better. Should it the meta switch to vanilla minions, Frost Shock will start gaining popularity. For just this reason, I think it can be left as is - it's insurance against future changes in meta.
Dust Devil
Dust Devil is a gamble, pure and simple. If he lives, you're in great shape. If he dies you've just taken a significant tempo loss. The main problem is that he is not sticky at all. To make this card viable the Shaman would need some way to give him health (or divine shield) for little to no mana. Changing him to a 2/2 would make a huge difference, but it might also make the little guy too strong.
Far Sight
This card seems more like a deck-building challenge than anything else. My guess is that you'd want it in something that looked like a cross between Miracle Rogue and Ramp Druid (cheap spells, expensive minions, and a couple of Gadgetzans). That said, this thread is about tweaks. If I wanted to tweak this card to make it more reliable, I'd turn it into Tracking with a 1 mana discount on the selected card.
WARRIOR
Battle Rage
The "problem" with Battle Rage isn't with the card itself, but rather with how we tend to look at it. It costs 2 mana and seems to have a huge amount of synergy potential, so it is typically viewed as an under-performing Starving Buzzard/Unleash the Hounds combo - but it's not. It's an over-performing Arcane Intellect.
Incidentally, if you are having a hard time pulling off Battle Rage combos, you might want to consider running Commanding Shout as well as Whirlwind.
Charge
There is honestly nothing wrong with this card - it simply fills a different niche from the Warsong Commander. If you want to run Yetis, Ogres, and Harpies - Charge is better. If you favor Worgens, Berserkers, and Pirates then the Commander is better. The Warsong Commander requires you to tailor your deck to fit it. Charge is finishing support that can go into any deck.
Phew - this take a lot of time to write out. Priests & Shaman added 8/11. Warrior added 8/12. I will edit in Warlock later.
Triskaidekaphilia, all your suggestions are spot on. I know blizzard 'said' that they weren't going to change any more cards (don't tell that to Eaglehorn Bow) - but some changes, like Repentance proc'ing on 1 health minions is more of a serious, legitimate flaw than an simple annoyance. lets hope something happens one day with existing cards after the dust on Naxx settles.
Best cure for Savagery would be giving Druids weapons. Which might happen some time in the future, I'd be surprised if weapons were kept restricted to four classes forever.