Blizzard is realizing that stat reversal is worth 1 mana. (i.e. a 4/5 is worth more than a 5/4). In this case, I think they might make Booty Bay Bodyguard a 4/5 with Taunt. Still, the power creep is annoying. Also Ice Rager's power creep is annoying - Magma Rager should do something, like "Deathrattle: Deal 1 damage to a random enemy"...
You people seriously want to see a one line patch note saying they lowered to cost of BBB by 1 rather than seeing a new card? I'm pretty sure everyone would go absolutely apeshit if that happened. You think if GvG would've been fun if were just a list of patch notes?
- Half of the existing cards are now labeled as Mechs!
- Ironfur grizly now has +1 health but loses taunt
- Earthen Ring Farseer now costs 5 mana and heals for 8 but can only target the Hero
- War Golem is now a legendary and spawns 2 boombots!
That would've been boring as shit. So yeah, I like the new versions of BBB and Magma Rager. And it's not like anyone is actually going to use them anyway.
The war golem example is almost comparable but Boom is a legendary and weak to rend with only 1 deck slot and not as often picked in arena because it's completely different in rarity. These new cards are the same rarity and objectively better in every way. Earthen ring still sees play in rogue and is way different than heal bot. Heal bot may be over all better for hand lock and self healing but for priest or blade master decks, or decks that need lots of healign earthen ring is still good. Its a 3 mana 3/3 vs a 5 mana 3/3 so playign a raw far seer is still competative. Spider tank example is closer but priest got a 3/4 earleir any ways, the difference between a taunt and non taunt has been the same way too, yeti and taz dingo is taunt vs 1 attack. They are vastly different cards too even if comparable, if so even more different because the beast tag actually means something now (appears form web spinner, hound master, bear trap uses it now! and rare case hemmit among other beast synnergy). In arena earthen ring is better than heal bot, iron fur is generally worse than spider tank but could be better if you play druid/hunter or need a taunt badly.
Also people would still be excited, probably more excited since they still get new things to play with without having to buy or get packs to use them, this is of course for pure power creep such as magma rager or booty bay, not in cases you mentioned earlier which aren't even close to power creep (well war golem boom is close). It's still new to you, I mean other games like mobas don't just create new items that cost the same or give more stats for the same exact cost while neglecting the old items, it makes no sense to even have the redundant items in the game. As a learning tool it makes no sense either, there's no debate or comparison, you do simple math and see right away one is better.
Really other than being objectively worthless to make a clone card, and insulting to devalue cards we have now, all it does is inflate the card pool with more filler. It effects arena, card generation and might make you buy more packs when the common slots for cards are the same trash.
I can understand relevant power creeps on cards actually played. But booty bay bodyguard was really only played if it was the best choice in an arena pick. In constructed I feel like a new player would want to pick Sen'jin Shieldmasta over it every time.
Maybe BBB will be given a humanoid tag or something in the next expansion to make up for this, who knows. Seriously though, you were paying 1 more for taunt instead of beast on a lost tallstrider, the card was straight garbage and this increases the future design space for blizzard. By saying no card can be strictly better than a 5/4 taunt for 5, you were basically limiting what could be made.
Which is a great case for them to revisit BBB, not release this, IMO.
They honestly must rework BBB and Magma Rayray after releasing these cards---or Blizzards card designer starts to feel very improffessional and uncreative.
They should make BBB a pirate and a 4/5 taunt. Make Magma rager a 2/5.
I mean, I don't really know why Blizzard has decided to basically never buff old unused cards, but this is basically identical to buffing BBB and Magma Rager. They're common cards so will be nearly free.
One thing they could do instead is to "retire" crap cards that got creeped. Meaning some (or all) of the following:
- You no longer get the card from packs, you get something else. But you can still craft it if you have masochistic tendencies
- You can no longer get the card in arena
- Card is removed as a potential target for some random effects, like "add a random minion to your hand" or "summon a random X cost minion"
Also, someone made a good point about how allowing this to happen keeps the design space open.
Back when i played MTG, at events, some people would immediately sort out the crap cards when opening packs and just leave them on the table for anyone else to pick up. At the end of the day there would still be cards lying around to be thrown away by the cleanup crew. That made me sad because trees actually had to die for it, and some of the best inks and printing presses were used to create the crap.
Every CCG has crap cards, at least this one is digital so no trees have to die. Card buffs just open a massive can of worms and expose the game to risks of very bad and very public design screwups. There already is a risk of such screwups, in the form of releasing cards that are too strong, requiring nerfs and temporarily messing up the meta. Buffing a card, and making it too strong, requiring a nerf, is a catastrophe that can be avoided by never buffing cards. The risk of releasing unexpectedly overpowered cards or unexpectedly powerful synergies cannot be avoided, the risk of screwing up a buff can be eliminated.
Please also notice how this card shows us which strategy blizzard is going for, in an ABUNDANTLY CLEAR way. For me, this is exactly what i expected to happen sooner or later, for some of you it is troubling because it UNDENIABLY SHOWS that card buffs are NOT in the design space they have chosen, taking away your illusions about the possibility of card buffs. You can feel sad about this, i am not, because i believed this to be the best strategy in the long run and have been saying so ever since naxx got released.
Bad cards will be ignored. No mercy, no love for bad cards. Deal with it. Better designs and other choices make them bad in the first place, and new designs will supersede them.
All of this has absolutely no bearing on examples like this card. There is no logic, present in your post or otherwise, beyond design laziness (and greed, though I hate to throw that one around) to rerelease an existing HS card in a strictly superior form. Buffing BBB to 4 mana would run the risk of those catastrophic meta screwups but releasing this card would not? Doesn't make sense. If this set had been 130 cards and had 2 footnotes, Magma Rager +1 health, BBB -1 mana, it'd be the same exact meta outcome without introducing bloat.
Seems optimal to me, again, unless you're interested in inflating the quantity of cards included in TGT with these lackluster additions.
I like the idea of making Booty Bay Bodyguard a pirate to compensate.
Blizzard is realizing that stat reversal is worth 1 mana. (i.e. a 4/5 is worth more than a 5/4). In this case, I think they might make Booty Bay Bodyguard a 4/5 with Taunt. Still, the power creep is annoying. Also Ice Rager's power creep is annoying - Magma Rager should do something, like "Deathrattle: Deal 1 damage to a random enemy"...
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!) •
Booty Bay Bodyguard is kill.
the problem is,that its WAY too good in general imo.
its like tall strider with taunt.
it has a vanilla stat line,but with an effect.
"you can't escape me"*
*or my mech mage.
The war golem example is almost comparable but Boom is a legendary and weak to rend with only 1 deck slot and not as often picked in arena because it's completely different in rarity. These new cards are the same rarity and objectively better in every way. Earthen ring still sees play in rogue and is way different than heal bot. Heal bot may be over all better for hand lock and self healing but for priest or blade master decks, or decks that need lots of healign earthen ring is still good. Its a 3 mana 3/3 vs a 5 mana 3/3 so playign a raw far seer is still competative. Spider tank example is closer but priest got a 3/4 earleir any ways, the difference between a taunt and non taunt has been the same way too, yeti and taz dingo is taunt vs 1 attack. They are vastly different cards too even if comparable, if so even more different because the beast tag actually means something now (appears form web spinner, hound master, bear trap uses it now! and rare case hemmit among other beast synnergy). In arena earthen ring is better than heal bot, iron fur is generally worse than spider tank but could be better if you play druid/hunter or need a taunt badly.
Also people would still be excited, probably more excited since they still get new things to play with without having to buy or get packs to use them, this is of course for pure power creep such as magma rager or booty bay, not in cases you mentioned earlier which aren't even close to power creep (well war golem boom is close). It's still new to you, I mean other games like mobas don't just create new items that cost the same or give more stats for the same exact cost while neglecting the old items, it makes no sense to even have the redundant items in the game. As a learning tool it makes no sense either, there's no debate or comparison, you do simple math and see right away one is better.
Really other than being objectively worthless to make a clone card, and insulting to devalue cards we have now, all it does is inflate the card pool with more filler. It effects arena, card generation and might make you buy more packs when the common slots for cards are the same trash.
VS
I can understand relevant power creeps on cards actually played. But booty bay bodyguard was really only played if it was the best choice in an arena pick. In constructed I feel like a new player would want to pick Sen'jin Shieldmasta over it every time.
You know what's funny? Booty Bay Bodyguard at 4 mana is still a pretty bad card.
People are shouting about power creep, but would you honestly even run this over senjin?
LOL
Which is a great case for them to revisit BBB, not release this, IMO.
Well, RIP Booty Bay Bodyguard. Or at least he is in a deep coma.
Maybe BBB will get a tag or some Inspire action. Someday. Someday.
and how does that figure into anything? Other stupid card games balance by rarity, hearthstone mostly doesn't.
Your saying RIP Booty Bay Bodyguard like that some how wasn't the case before...Booty Bay Bodyguard has always been RIP.
They should make BBB a pirate and a 4/5 taunt. Make Magma rager a 2/5.
This.
12 wins in ArenA with: Mage and Paladin, first time legend with Rogue
I mean, I don't really know why Blizzard has decided to basically never buff old unused cards, but this is basically identical to buffing BBB and Magma Rager. They're common cards so will be nearly free.
oooo blizzard so greedy, i cant believe i have to spend 20 whole dust on this insane powercreep Kappa
All of this has absolutely no bearing on examples like this card. There is no logic, present in your post or otherwise, beyond design laziness (and greed, though I hate to throw that one around) to rerelease an existing HS card in a strictly superior form. Buffing BBB to 4 mana would run the risk of those catastrophic meta screwups but releasing this card would not? Doesn't make sense. If this set had been 130 cards and had 2 footnotes, Magma Rager +1 health, BBB -1 mana, it'd be the same exact meta outcome without introducing bloat.
Seems optimal to me, again, unless you're interested in inflating the quantity of cards included in TGT with these lackluster additions.
well EVERY card cant have an effect.
it would limit design space for future expansions.
"you can't escape me"*
*or my mech mage.
power creep is fine since the game is f2p and you can get all cards in the game without spending any money.