I put "Strategem Options" instead of just "Strategem," because there are cards with the Strategem keyword, but don't actually give you another effect, such as my Classic Legendary. I think the wording on the card is clear enough so that it should only affect the card itself, not the strategem cost.
I'll probably increase the cost of For the Emperor to 5, instead of 3. My argument is that when added together, the stats (on an empty board) at best would amount to 0/14 with Taunt. However, it is weak to AoE spells, but I guess that's evened out with AoE buffs and minion number synergy (which I do have). The Sea Giant synergy isn't something that I considered.
How would you change the Magos? Originally I had it as "Battlecry: Transform a minion into a random 3-Cost minion." I just wanted more Spare Part synergy because of the expansion theme. Now I realize its stats might be a bit high for the effect, considering Gazlowe's cost/stat distribution. Although in the Magos' case you don't get a chance to actually use the Spare Parts.
I think instead of flipping the stats on the Legendary, I might just make it a 6 mana 5/5, which is even with Sylvanas.
I put "Strategem Options" instead of just "Strategem," because there are cards with the Strategem keyword, but don't actually give you another effect, such as my Classic Legendary. I think the wording on the card is clear enough so that it should only affect the card itself, not the strategem cost.
I'll probably increase the cost of For the Emperor to 5, instead of 3. My argument is that when added together, the stats (on an empty board) at best would amount to 0/14 with Taunt. However, it is weak to AoE spells, but I guess that's evened out with AoE buffs and minion number synergy (which I do have). The Sea Giant synergy isn't something that I considered.
How would you change the Magos? Originally I had it as "Battlecry: Transform a minion into a random 3-Cost minion." I just wanted more Spare Part synergy because of the expansion theme. Now I realize its stats might be a bit high for the effect, considering Gazlowe's cost/stat distribution. Although in the Magos' case you don't get a chance to actually use the Spare Parts.
I think instead of flipping the stats on the Legendary, I might just make it a 6 mana 5/5, which is even with Sylvanas.
Transform all the Spare Parts in your hand into 1-Cost minions? Seems fitting. BTW, I just saw your card Summary Excecution, you can effectively, from an empty board, summon 7 guys (Knife Juggler anyone?), you use the Excecution, get 6 2/2 with Taunt for 5 mana. You should lower the amount of tokens drastically.
Again, I'd like to give thanks to everyone who has helped me so much in the making of this class. It has been a lot of work, but my design skills have grown significantly from the experience. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported Bard thus far and brought me to this stage. Hopefully, we can make it into the final phase as well!
Welcome to the New Age
In the Basic and Classic set, we've seen Bards as players of flutes, violins, and guitars committed to promoting peace. The GvG set brings sweeping changes to this existing order, and with new technology comes new ideals.
The GvG set is focused on flushing out Bard's themes beyond just control. We'll see the addition of deck types like Zoo Bard and Mech Bard, which play at least somewhat more aggressively than Bard previously did. This does not mean that the theme of peace is gone, it just means that it is not being emphasized quite as much in previous sets. After all, a class that only did one thing would be pretty boring.
Flavor wise, the classic set focused on classical music, and with the GvG set, the focus shifts to modern music. Rock, Dubstep, and all that good stuff.
Our returning Hero is virtuoso Lindsey Starling, with her Hero Power, Acoustics:
Lindsey Starling & Acoustics Explained
"A picture is worth a thousand words, but a song is worth a million." -Lindsey Starling
A legendary Musician who is said to have defeated a dragon with nothing but a violin, Lindsey preaches peace and unity to the world through music. No matter where we come from, we still feel the same joy and the same sadness. No matter how different we think we are, a song can show us that our emotions are the same. She travels the world as a wandering hero, teaching all she meets of her philosophy. Already, hundreds of other bards from every corner of the globe have joined her cause, thus forming the Starling Orchestra. They have taken up her goal of a world where people put their differences aside and live in harmony, a goal that they believe can be achieved through music.
Her Hero Power, Acoustics, gives her a minor board control tool while also allowing her to recover in the later game. Many classes with Hero Powers that give them 1 Attack suffer from the fact that they end up taking far too much damage from each attack. Druid has some mitigation of this, but Rogue has none. By using the Melody mechanic, this hero power allows you to choose between a weaker version of Rogue's hero power for damage or a weaker version of Warrior's hero power for recovery each time you use it, once again showing how the Melody mechanic lets you make interesting choices.
Melody Mechanic Explained
While they do fight valiantly for what they believe is right, bards are generally more peaceful people who would rather play an enticing melody than engage in direct combat. As such, the Bard class's unique keyword is Melody, which gives a character an ability that they can use instead of attacking.
Melody effects are activated by pressing the melody button that appears when attacking with a minion. Playing a melody has all the same conditions as attacking, and should be thought of as "a different way to attack."
A minion can't use its melody if it already attacked that turn, and can't attack if it already used its melody that turn
Minions cannot play their melodies on the turn they are played
Minions CAN play their melodies on the turn they are played if they have charge
Minions cannot play their melodies if they are Frozen or have "Can't Attack"
Minions can play their melodies TWICE in a turn if they have windfury (or attack twice, or use 1 melody and 1 attack in any combination)
Weapons can have melody effects, which cost 1 durability to use
While the conditions for using a Melody are the same attacking, the actual effect is closer to a battlecry or spell.
Melodies can be targeted regardless of Taunt
Not all melodies need to be targeted
You cannot play a melody if there is no valid target for it (the button won't appear)
Melodies are unaffected by "50% chance to attack the wrong enemy"
These 4 cards gives you a taste of Bard's Naxx, GvG, and BRM sets.
Red Dragon:
Explanations:
Cellobot
They gave a jukebox arms and legs, and this was the result.
This is the card that will turn Mech Bard into a formidable force. The Mech tribe is based on flooding the board, meaning that Songs, which synergize with a full board, are especially effective in combination. Cellobot allows Mech Bard access to songs without having to waste valuable deck slots on them.
Dirgesinger
No, he does not play Death Metal.
Once again, we have a card that helps bard in a bunch of ways.
Firstly, it opens up a deathrattle/zoo deck type, since this card works extremely well with cards like Nerubian Egg and Haunted Creeper.
Secondly, it synergizes with the general Bard theme of flooding the board and having tokens.
Thirdly, it works well with Melody minions in a way similar to Debut, allowing their melodies to be used only at the cost of 1 damage.
Halfling Bard
When he says he can turn into a dragon, DO NOT ask him to prove it.
In case the art looks familiar, it is the art from War Drum in the classic set. This card's art pretty much has to be this picture, so War Drum's has been changed accordingly (see the "all cards" section later).
Bard is not exactly the type of class that would have Dragon synergy, so I won't try to shove it in. Instead, it will get its dose of dragons through a generic big body.
Anyway, this card is the final piece of the puzzle for Melody/Debut bard to become a thing. This minion is a 7/7 on turn 4 with Debut, which sounds strong, but I think is just within the bounds of acceptability. It's a very simple yet effective card, and that's why it earns its spot in the example cards.
Otto Tune
"Every sound is a song waiting to happen. Every person is a musician waiting to be born." -Otto Tune
Lore: Otto Tune
Otto Tune is a self-aware robot who serves as DJ for the Starling Orchestra. His unison of man and machine, the new and the old, has earned him legendary status among the orchestra. However, his origins weren't nearly as glorious.
C6 was one of the first of the first Von, a humanoid machine with emotions and a mind of its own. Humans did not meet such a technological breakthrough with enthusiasm. Instead, they were terrified of these new machines, filled with images of an AI takeover and an end to humanity.
But the Von, especially C6, wanted no such thing. They simply wanted to live the lives that they had been given, to be seen just as alive as anything else. The more the Von tried to enter society, the more they were kept out of it, to the point that gangs would roam the streets to dismantle them.
What was once a peaceful intention began to escalate into a violent conflict. Von began to strike back at their attackers, which only brought on larger gangs. It was a no-win scenario: each action taken by one side would only bring a larger one from the other. C6 saw this, and realized that harmony would never be achieved unless he intervened. But the humans would not listen to him, and the Von only thought of him as a traitor.
With civilization hanging in the balance, the Von and the humans met army-to-army for a final confrontation. It was clear that the humans wouldn't stop until every last Von was dead, and that the Von wouldn't give up until they had firmly established themselves in the world. As the hordes of fighters rushed towards each other, and C6 looked for something, anything, that would save his city. He dove through his memory banks: mountains of data, thousands of calculations, but it was all worthless. Neither friend nor foe trusted him. What could he say that would change their minds?
Nothing.
And with that, he found is answer. He had seen the phrase before: "Words were futile." He queried his database: "Starling Orchestra." Speakers set to the maximum, he leaped between the two sides and unleashed the power of music.
Somehow, it worked. If a Von could appreciate music, surely, it must be more than a death machine. The Von saw that C6 was willing to risk his life to help them - maybe he wasn't a traitor.
As the Orchestra's music usually does, his performance helped to smooth out the conflict. There was no permanent solution, but he had forever changed the relationship between man and machine. However, he wasn't done changing the world. If just a recording could save thousands of lives, than surely a live performance would save millions. He knew down to his core what he had to do - seek out the Starling Orchestra.
Otto Tune is a minion with the single most powerful Melody effect, and he is the embodiment of Bard's unique mechanic.
There is really not much to say about this card: It's simple and effective. Debut has obvious synergy here, and this would likely serve as the big threat in Debut decks.
Mechanics-wise, it is important to note that if a minion's mana cost would exceed 10 through the transformation, it transforms into a 10-cost minion. This is to avoid ambiguities with 11 mana, 13 mana, etc minions that don't exist.
Remaining Cards
This spoiler contains the remaining 7 cards across the 3 sets in this phase.
GVG
Explanations:
Magic Mic
Magic or not, the crowd goes wild whenever someone sings into it.
As I said during Phase III, Debut is an extremely interesting card, but probably won't be good enough to occupy a deck slot. Magic Mic solves that problem, introducing Bard's third Melody weapon as a way for Debut to see play.
Most of the time, you'll probably want to use both attacks to get Debut spells, but it can also serve has removal for a scary Knife Juggler in a desperate situation.
Electric Guitarist
He knows how to play in two different ways: Loud, and Louder.
As people should know if they've read about how Melody works, it has a very interesting interaction with Windfury, allowing for four different combinations of using an attack and playing a melody each turn. As such, it made sense for there to be a minion that had windfury for itself to show that interaction without requiring a combo from Double Time. Designed based on Questing Adventurer, this card can become quite crazy if it is left alive unchecked, but is relatively easy to remove if it isn't capitalized on immediately.
Rockstar
Her performances are incredible. After all, she learned from the best.
It's nice to sometimes have class cards that take a break from the crazy combo-heavy jam-packed with synergy minions. This card is a simple yet interesting turn 3 + 4 play that ties well into this set's modern musical themes.
Explanations:
White Noise
The sounds you hear the most are the ones you notice least.
For a class based on summoning tokens, Bard has had some pretty inefficient summoners up to this point. White noise is admittedly quite strong, but this is intentional. If tokens are going to have a chance of being successful, there needs to be at least one super-solid card that helps them out, and this fits the bill. Plus, nerfs can always be done if it gets out of hand.
Drop the Bass
Sometimes, what sounds like music to one is just noise to everyone else.
Like most other classes, Bard has more than one AoE card. While reverberate is better for aggressive or midrange decks trying to win tempo back, this one fits better in control decks wishing to clear the board but keep their powerful minions untouched.
Song of Imagination
The biggest mistake you can make is to confine yourself to reality.
No, Songs do not stop with the classic set, more will keep coming. As of right now, Bard will have 8 songs total, which means 3 more that you have yet to see.
GvG is where we were introduced to the idea of referencing and transforming minions based on their cost, and this card is the AoE counterpart to Otto Tune. This card serves as a higher-cost but higher-power alternative to Song of Fortitude, and should create some crazy games with Cellobot.
BRM
Explanations:
Chant
No matter how true your message is, it won't be heard if you're the only one saying it.
Remember how these 3 sets are a break from Bard's themes of "no damage allowed"? Well, here's another example. Aside from Choir, Bard has absolutely no removal, so if it wants any chance of doing well in a real game, it will need a least a little. The fact that it can recycle itself given you have a full board allows Bard to get decent removal even though has so few spells that can do so.
In case you're concerned about this being an "infinite value" card, and see it as OP compared to headcrack, let me justify it. Firstly, this card is always bad value, since it's a 3 mana darkbomb. More importantly, your condition for recycling it actually has counterplay, since your opponent can clear your board to prevent you from getting it back. If this card was unstoppable, then it would be broken, but it has counterplay, so it should be fine.
Previous Cards
If you want more context to evaluate the Bard class and see explanations for past cards, here are my Phase 1-3 submissions:
Here I'll put every single Bard card so far. There will be no explanations and tokens will be pushed to the bottom to avoid clutter.
Basic Set
Classic Set
Tokens (in order of appearance)
Whew! You've reached the end of this post. I hope you've had as much fun reading as I've had designing. If you enjoyed this concept, a vote would be appreciated!
I put "Strategem Options" instead of just "Strategem," because there are cards with the Strategem keyword, but don't actually give you another effect, such as my Classic Legendary. I think the wording on the card is clear enough so that it should only affect the card itself, not the strategem cost.
I'll probably increase the cost of For the Emperor to 5, instead of 3. My argument is that when added together, the stats (on an empty board) at best would amount to 0/14 with Taunt. However, it is weak to AoE spells, but I guess that's evened out with AoE buffs and minion number synergy (which I do have). The Sea Giant synergy isn't something that I considered.
How would you change the Magos? Originally I had it as "Battlecry: Transform a minion into a random 3-Cost minion." I just wanted more Spare Part synergy because of the expansion theme. Now I realize its stats might be a bit high for the effect, considering Gazlowe's cost/stat distribution. Although in the Magos' case you don't get a chance to actually use the Spare Parts.
I think instead of flipping the stats on the Legendary, I might just make it a 6 mana 5/5, which is even with Sylvanas.
Transform all the Spare Parts in your hand into 1-Cost minions? Seems fitting. BTW, I just saw your card Summary Excecution, you can effectively, from an empty board, summon 7 guys (Knife Juggler anyone?), you use the Excecution, get 6 2/2 with Taunt for 5 mana. You should lower the amount of tokens drastically.
@Gomelus
Hey man, thanks once again for taking the time to review my cards. Just so you know I did not decide to reduce the number of tokens, but instead increase the cost of For the Emperor! I think the rarity justifies the effect, and I think at 5 Mana it's still very, very powerful for combo plays with Knife Juggler and a few of my other cards, but it should keep it out of the range of hyper aggression. If anything, I think if the card would be included in any deck, the card will play a central role, rather than an auto-include in every kind of Commissar deck. I will go further into my reasoning on my post in a bit, and if people still think it's overpowered, or if I wake up from some nightmare warning me to nerf the card further, then I will act accordingly.
And I did choose to sort of go back to my OG idea on the Magos. I decided to make it transform a minion into a random 3-cost minion. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm ignoring all of your advice, since I sincerely take all criticism and comments to heart. I realized that it was a bit too much like Gazlowe with the Spare Part synergy. Ironically I instead made it a more reliable Tinkmaster Overspark, and hopefully I won't get too flamed for doing that.
On a separate note, I really like your class. I'm a bit jealous that your class theme seems to flow so well despite the different expansion sets. I particularly like the gain 15 armor for a turn + heal yourself equal to your armor combo. Good luck on this round!
Just wanna say that I feel pretty blessed to be competing with all these creative individuals. I've been really enjoying this competition thus far, and I really look forward to seeing everyone's complete sets.
Hey man, thanks once again for taking the time to review my cards. Just so you know I did not decide to reduce the number of tokens, but instead increase the cost of For the Emperor! I think the rarity justifies the effect, and I think at 5 Mana it's still very, very powerful for combo plays with Knife Juggler and a few of my other cards, but it should keep it out of the range of hyper aggression. If anything, I think if the card would be included in any deck, the card will play a central role, rather than an auto-include in every kind of Commissar deck. I will go further into my reasoning on my post in a bit, and if people still think it's overpowered, or if I wake up from some nightmare warning me to nerf the card further, then I will act accordingly.
And I did choose to sort of go back to my OG idea on the Magos. I decided to make it transform a minion into a random 3-cost minion. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm ignoring all of your advice, since I sincerely take all criticism and comments to heart. I realized that it was a bit too much like Gazlowe with the Spare Part synergy. Ironically I instead made it a more reliable Tinkmaster Overspark, and hopefully I won't get too flamed for doing that.
On a separate note, I really like your class. I'm a bit jealous that your class theme seems to flow so well despite the different expansion sets. I particularly like the gain 15 armor for a turn + heal yourself equal to your armor combo. Good luck on this round!
Dude, don't worry about the advices, I just say what I would do, but in the end, it doesn't even matter... erh, I mean, in the end, it's your class and we probably have different point of views. Don't sweat it. Thanks for the words BTW :p, but don't be jealous, I think everyone that made it this far is entitled to some bragging rights. If you think about it, we're the top 12 of 170+ entries.
I realize you're right about this, and I'm trying to rework Rockstar today. So far, I havethe flamewaker - esque effect of "Whenever you activate a Melody, deal 3 damage to a random enemy." What do you think of that, and how does that effect compare to flamewaker's?
I realize you're right about this, and I'm trying to rework Rockstar today. So far, I havethe flamewaker - esque effect of "Whenever you activate a Melody, deal 3 damage to a random enemy." What do you think of that, and how does that effect compare to flamewaker's?
Are you asking me? Because the notification said you replied to a comment of mine but I see none lol. That would be extremely strong IMO, maybe go back to the idea of adding a Power Chord to your hand?
An effect such as this is incredibly dangerous, as it motivates to non-interactive scenarios. If it is too good not to attack with your minions the board is easily locked up, forming something akin to a cannon line. Keep this in mind.
Personally i'd go with 'Add a power chord to your hand whenever you activate a melody', keeping the modern music feel. The problem with this is that if you play it on turn with a melody already on the board, it gives you complete board control, and the effect quickly snowballs since your opponent can't keep a minion on the board
Are you asking me? Because the notification said you replied to a comment of mine but I see none lol. That would be extremely strong IMO, maybe go back to the idea of adding a Power Chord to your hand?
I was thinking about this and nerfed it to 4 mana 2/5 deal 2 damage to a random enemy whenever a melody effect is activated. Is this better, or should I just stick with what I currently have?
Seeing as the hour of reckoning draws near, I thought I'd go for one last round of thoughts on a few cards I've had to make some adjustments to:
Neuralyzer's been re-balanced not to totally screw tempo decks while still appreciably stalling aggo. Alpha Draconian I finally decided on mechanics for, and in addition to being the first minion with two types, it's also the first "If you're holding a Dragon" card to provide an aura effect rather than be based on an instantaneous battlecry or deathrattle. And finally, Nessie now returns to the top of your deck after being revealed. Nessie's been quite difficult and controversial to figure out. Something about me just likes it as a 7/7, and I decided I liked returning to top of deck because it fits with the beast's thematic aspect of always being just beneath the murky surface. So basically, it's just the cost for that I'm having some trouble getting quite right. I think it's balanced well enough at 4??
Seeing as the hour of reckoning draws near, I thought I'd go for one last round of thoughts on a few cards I've had to make some adjustments to:
Neuralyzer's been re-balanced not to totally screw tempo decks while still appreciably stalling aggo. Alpha Draconian I finally decided on mechanics for, and in addition to being the first minion with two types, it's also the first "If you're holding a Dragon" card to provide an aura effect rather than be based on an instantaneous battlecry or deathrattle. And finally, Nessie now returns to the top of your deck after being revealed. Nessie's been quite difficult and controversial to figure out. Something about me just likes it as a 7/7, and I decided I liked returning to top of deck because it fits with the beast's thematic aspect of always being just beneath the murky surface. So basically, it's just the cost for that I'm having some trouble getting quite right. I think it's balanced well enough at 4??
I like what you decided on for Nessie. Going on top of your deck means it keeps sacrificing your card draws to get it back in your hand. I think that is an appropriate downside. I don't really like the Aura effect for the holding a Dragon thing. I think holding a Dragon effects are balanced around one-time battlecries. I think this would be balanced if it was a battlecry that gave itself "can't be targeted by spells or hero powers" if you were holding a dragon.
Hey guys, I just finished formatting the previous phases fully into my submission so that you can see my class in it's entirety up to this point. Check it out to see a fully comprehensive view of my class.
Seeing as the hour of reckoning draws near, I thought I'd go for one last round of thoughts on a few cards I've had to make some adjustments to:
Neuralyzer's been re-balanced not to totally screw tempo decks while still appreciably stalling aggo. Alpha Draconian I finally decided on mechanics for, and in addition to being the first minion with two types, it's also the first "If you're holding a Dragon" card to provide an aura effect rather than be based on an instantaneous battlecry or deathrattle. And finally, Nessie now returns to the top of your deck after being revealed. Nessie's been quite difficult and controversial to figure out. Something about me just likes it as a 7/7, and I decided I liked returning to top of deck because it fits with the beast's thematic aspect of always being just beneath the murky surface. So basically, it's just the cost for that I'm having some trouble getting quite right. I think it's balanced well enough at 4??
Hey, i dont follow this contest as much as i would like to, but iv noticed this post. What is the point of Nessie? As u have it worded, u cant attack with it (since it loses stealth on attack and attack should not finish, since the ability will kick in), u cant even taunt it. Is it supposd to be just beefy RNG target or what?:O
Nessie can attack just fine. I changed the wording from "When" to "After" to make that more clear. The consequences of the game action that caused her to lose Stealth proceed and conclude before she activates, same as how Wild Pyromancer waits until after the consequences of the cast spell conclude before triggering its effect.
Nessie can attack just fine. I changed the wording from "When" to "After" to make that more clear. The consequences of the game action that caused her to lose Stealth proceed and conclude before she activates, same as how Wild Pyromancer waits until after the consequences of the cast spell conclude before triggering its effect.
I dont think the Pyro trigger is the same as this. I see it more like a Misdirection/freezing trap trigger, where u dont even have to be able to finish attack, there is a mid-step before where Nessie's ability would resolve and she would not attack. I dont know if i can explain it properly as to how i think it would (or should?) work within the game mechanics.
Mby u could reword it to something like "Stealth. After an attack, return it to the top of your deck." it would also be minor buff vs other random events where i would lose stealth (like if this became the target of misdirection etc). But mby u dont want that, i dont know.
My votes go to Bard and Geomancer for sheer badassery (love Lindsey Starling as hero!), and really well designed classes. Not to throw *poop* at people, but I don't feel Robot or Pokemon Trainer deserve to be on this list at all. Poorly created and overcomplicated. Good effort to everyone though!
I put "Strategem Options" instead of just "Strategem," because there are cards with the Strategem keyword, but don't actually give you another effect, such as my Classic Legendary. I think the wording on the card is clear enough so that it should only affect the card itself, not the strategem cost.
I'll probably increase the cost of For the Emperor to 5, instead of 3. My argument is that when added together, the stats (on an empty board) at best would amount to 0/14 with Taunt. However, it is weak to AoE spells, but I guess that's evened out with AoE buffs and minion number synergy (which I do have). The Sea Giant synergy isn't something that I considered.
How would you change the Magos? Originally I had it as "Battlecry: Transform a minion into a random 3-Cost minion." I just wanted more Spare Part synergy because of the expansion theme. Now I realize its stats might be a bit high for the effect, considering Gazlowe's cost/stat distribution. Although in the Magos' case you don't get a chance to actually use the Spare Parts.
I think instead of flipping the stats on the Legendary, I might just make it a 6 mana 5/5, which is even with Sylvanas.
Siras Terra, the Geomancer
As per usual, rough draft submission time:
Welcome to the New Age
In the Basic and Classic set, we've seen Bards as players of flutes, violins, and guitars committed to promoting peace. The GvG set brings sweeping changes to this existing order, and with new technology comes new ideals.
The GvG set is focused on flushing out Bard's themes beyond just control. We'll see the addition of deck types like Zoo Bard and Mech Bard, which play at least somewhat more aggressively than Bard previously did. This does not mean that the theme of peace is gone, it just means that it is not being emphasized quite as much in previous sets. After all, a class that only did one thing would be pretty boring.
Flavor wise, the classic set focused on classical music, and with the GvG set, the focus shifts to modern music. Rock, Dubstep, and all that good stuff.
Our returning Hero is virtuoso Lindsey Starling, with her Hero Power, Acoustics:
Lindsey Starling & Acoustics Explained
"A picture is worth a thousand words, but a song is worth a million."
-Lindsey Starling
A legendary Musician who is said to have defeated a dragon with nothing but a violin, Lindsey preaches peace and unity to the world through music. No matter where we come from, we still feel the same joy and the same sadness. No matter how different we think we are, a song can show us that our emotions are the same. She travels the world as a wandering hero, teaching all she meets of her philosophy. Already, hundreds of other bards from every corner of the globe have joined her cause, thus forming the Starling Orchestra. They have taken up her goal of a world where people put their differences aside and live in harmony, a goal that they believe can be achieved through music.
Her Hero Power, Acoustics, gives her a minor board control tool while also allowing her to recover in the later game. Many classes with Hero Powers that give them 1 Attack suffer from the fact that they end up taking far too much damage from each attack. Druid has some mitigation of this, but Rogue has none. By using the Melody mechanic, this hero power allows you to choose between a weaker version of Rogue's hero power for damage or a weaker version of Warrior's hero power for recovery each time you use it, once again showing how the Melody mechanic lets you make interesting choices.
Melody Mechanic Explained
While they do fight valiantly for what they believe is right, bards are generally more peaceful people who would rather play an enticing melody than engage in direct combat. As such, the Bard class's unique keyword is Melody, which gives a character an ability that they can use instead of attacking.
Melody effects are activated by pressing the melody button that appears when attacking with a minion. Playing a melody has all the same conditions as attacking, and should be thought of as "a different way to attack."
While the conditions for using a Melody are the same attacking, the actual effect is closer to a battlecry or spell.
The technicalities may sound intimidating, but the Melody mechanic is actually very simple. Here it is, put concisely:
In this spoiler is an infographic that shows how Melody works:
Card used:
Example Cards
These 4 cards gives you a taste of Bard's Naxx, GvG, and BRM sets.
Red Dragon:
Explanations:
Cellobot
They gave a jukebox arms and legs, and this was the result.
This is the card that will turn Mech Bard into a formidable force. The Mech tribe is based on flooding the board, meaning that Songs, which synergize with a full board, are especially effective in combination. Cellobot allows Mech Bard access to songs without having to waste valuable deck slots on them.Dirgesinger
No, he does not play Death Metal.
Once again, we have a card that helps bard in a bunch of ways.
Firstly, it opens up a deathrattle/zoo deck type, since this card works extremely well with cards like Nerubian Egg and Haunted Creeper.
Secondly, it synergizes with the general Bard theme of flooding the board and having tokens.
Thirdly, it works well with Melody minions in a way similar to Debut, allowing their melodies to be used only at the cost of 1 damage.
Halfling Bard
When he says he can turn into a dragon, DO NOT ask him to prove it.
In case the art looks familiar, it is the art from War Drum in the classic set. This card's art pretty much has to be this picture, so War Drum's has been changed accordingly (see the "all cards" section later).
Bard is not exactly the type of class that would have Dragon synergy, so I won't try to shove it in. Instead, it will get its dose of dragons through a generic big body.
Anyway, this card is the final piece of the puzzle for Melody/Debut bard to become a thing. This minion is a 7/7 on turn 4 with Debut, which sounds strong, but I think is just within the bounds of acceptability. It's a very simple yet effective card, and that's why it earns its spot in the example cards.
Otto Tune
"Every sound is a song waiting to happen. Every person is a musician waiting to be born." -Otto Tune
Lore: Otto Tune
Otto Tune is a self-aware robot who serves as DJ for the Starling Orchestra. His unison of man and machine, the new and the old, has earned him legendary status among the orchestra. However, his origins weren't nearly as glorious.
C6 was one of the first of the first Von, a humanoid machine with emotions and a mind of its own. Humans did not meet such a technological breakthrough with enthusiasm. Instead, they were terrified of these new machines, filled with images of an AI takeover and an end to humanity.
But the Von, especially C6, wanted no such thing. They simply wanted to live the lives that they had been given, to be seen just as alive as anything else. The more the Von tried to enter society, the more they were kept out of it, to the point that gangs would roam the streets to dismantle them.
What was once a peaceful intention began to escalate into a violent conflict. Von began to strike back at their attackers, which only brought on larger gangs. It was a no-win scenario: each action taken by one side would only bring a larger one from the other. C6 saw this, and realized that harmony would never be achieved unless he intervened. But the humans would not listen to him, and the Von only thought of him as a traitor.
With civilization hanging in the balance, the Von and the humans met army-to-army for a final confrontation. It was clear that the humans wouldn't stop until every last Von was dead, and that the Von wouldn't give up until they had firmly established themselves in the world. As the hordes of fighters rushed towards each other, and C6 looked for something, anything, that would save his city. He dove through his memory banks: mountains of data, thousands of calculations, but it was all worthless. Neither friend nor foe trusted him. What could he say that would change their minds?
Nothing.
And with that, he found is answer. He had seen the phrase before: "Words were futile." He queried his database: "Starling Orchestra." Speakers set to the maximum, he leaped between the two sides and unleashed the power of music.
Somehow, it worked. If a Von could appreciate music, surely, it must be more than a death machine. The Von saw that C6 was willing to risk his life to help them - maybe he wasn't a traitor.
As the Orchestra's music usually does, his performance helped to smooth out the conflict. There was no permanent solution, but he had forever changed the relationship between man and machine. However, he wasn't done changing the world. If just a recording could save thousands of lives, than surely a live performance would save millions. He knew down to his core what he had to do - seek out the Starling Orchestra.
Otto Tune is a minion with the single most powerful Melody effect, and he is the embodiment of Bard's unique mechanic.
There is really not much to say about this card: It's simple and effective. Debut has obvious synergy here, and this would likely serve as the big threat in Debut decks.
Mechanics-wise, it is important to note that if a minion's mana cost would exceed 10 through the transformation, it transforms into a 10-cost minion. This is to avoid ambiguities with 11 mana, 13 mana, etc minions that don't exist.
Remaining Cards
This spoiler contains the remaining 7 cards across the 3 sets in this phase.
GVG
Explanations:
Magic Mic
Magic or not, the crowd goes wild whenever someone sings into it.
As I said during Phase III, Debut is an extremely interesting card, but probably won't be good enough to occupy a deck slot. Magic Mic solves that problem, introducing Bard's third Melody weapon as a way for Debut to see play.
Most of the time, you'll probably want to use both attacks to get Debut spells, but it can also serve has removal for a scary Knife Juggler in a desperate situation.
Electric Guitarist
He knows how to play in two different ways: Loud, and Louder.
Rockstar
Her performances are incredible. After all, she learned from the best.
Explanations:
White Noise
The sounds you hear the most are the ones you notice least.
For a class based on summoning tokens, Bard has had some pretty inefficient summoners up to this point. White noise is admittedly quite strong, but this is intentional. If tokens are going to have a chance of being successful, there needs to be at least one super-solid card that helps them out, and this fits the bill. Plus, nerfs can always be done if it gets out of hand.
Drop the Bass
Sometimes, what sounds like music to one is just noise to everyone else.
Like most other classes, Bard has more than one AoE card. While reverberate is better for aggressive or midrange decks trying to win tempo back, this one fits better in control decks wishing to clear the board but keep their powerful minions untouched.
Song of Imagination
The biggest mistake you can make is to confine yourself to reality.
GvG is where we were introduced to the idea of referencing and transforming minions based on their cost, and this card is the AoE counterpart to Otto Tune. This card serves as a higher-cost but higher-power alternative to Song of Fortitude, and should create some crazy games with Cellobot.
BRM
Explanations:
Chant
No matter how true your message is, it won't be heard if you're the only one saying it.
Remember how these 3 sets are a break from Bard's themes of "no damage allowed"? Well, here's another example. Aside from Choir, Bard has absolutely no removal, so if it wants any chance of doing well in a real game, it will need a least a little. The fact that it can recycle itself given you have a full board allows Bard to get decent removal even though has so few spells that can do so.
In case you're concerned about this being an "infinite value" card, and see it as OP compared to headcrack, let me justify it. Firstly, this card is always bad value, since it's a 3 mana darkbomb. More importantly, your condition for recycling it actually has counterplay, since your opponent can clear your board to prevent you from getting it back. If this card was unstoppable, then it would be broken, but it has counterplay, so it should be fine.
Previous Cards
If you want more context to evaluate the Bard class and see explanations for past cards, here are my Phase 1-3 submissions:
Phase I | Phase II | Phase III
Here I'll put every single Bard card so far. There will be no explanations and tokens will be pushed to the bottom to avoid clutter.
Basic Set
Classic Set
Tokens (in order of appearance)
Whew! You've reached the end of this post. I hope you've had as much fun reading as I've had designing. If you enjoyed this concept, a vote would be appreciated!
Just wanna say that I feel pretty blessed to be competing with all these creative individuals. I've been really enjoying this competition thus far, and I really look forward to seeing everyone's complete sets.
Siras Terra, the Geomancer
I realize you're right about this, and I'm trying to rework Rockstar today. So far, I havethe flamewaker - esque effect of "Whenever you activate a Melody, deal 3 damage to a random enemy." What do you think of that, and how does that effect compare to flamewaker's?
Siras Terra, the Geomancer
REMINDER: THERE ARE LESS THAN 24 HOURS LEFT TO SUBMIT YOUR PHASE IV SETS! =)
Seeing as the hour of reckoning draws near, I thought I'd go for one last round of thoughts on a few cards I've had to make some adjustments to:
Neuralyzer's been re-balanced not to totally screw tempo decks while still appreciably stalling aggo.
Alpha Draconian I finally decided on mechanics for, and in addition to being the first minion with two types, it's also the first "If you're holding a Dragon" card to provide an aura effect rather than be based on an instantaneous battlecry or deathrattle.
And finally, Nessie now returns to the top of your deck after being revealed. Nessie's been quite difficult and controversial to figure out. Something about me just likes it as a 7/7, and I decided I liked returning to top of deck because it fits with the beast's thematic aspect of always being just beneath the murky surface. So basically, it's just the cost for that I'm having some trouble getting quite right. I think it's balanced well enough at 4??
Come Play Make the Keyword!!!
Check out my Worgen Class in the Class Competition
Hey guys, I just finished formatting the previous phases fully into my submission so that you can see my class in it's entirety up to this point. Check it out to see a fully comprehensive view of my class.
Check here for my new cards!Pokemon HS class!All the Pokemon as HS cards!
Only an hour and a half left to get in those final edits, folks! =D
- Click Here To Join Us On Discord! -
Nessie can attack just fine. I changed the wording from "When" to "After" to make that more clear. The consequences of the game action that caused her to lose Stealth proceed and conclude before she activates, same as how Wild Pyromancer waits until after the consequences of the cast spell conclude before triggering its effect.
- Click Here To Join Us On Discord! -
My votes go to Bard and Geomancer for sheer badassery (love Lindsey Starling as hero!), and really well designed classes. Not to throw *poop* at people, but I don't feel Robot or Pokemon Trainer deserve to be on this list at all. Poorly created and overcomplicated. Good effort to everyone though!
Check here for my new cards!Pokemon HS class!All the Pokemon as HS cards!