For the longest time, Demons have always been almost entirely exclusive to Warlocks - save for poor, poor Illidan. So, why not share the love says I! Love made out of pure evil. The Burning Legion may not be a huge expansion compared to other ones I cooked up, but it DOES do a few new things!
Demons! Demons everywhere! All classes will now get to partake in demonic activities, so bring out your best rusty ritual dagger, some old robes, and find yourself a random person to tie up and sacrifice!
Two new mechanics! Or rather, one and a half: Steal and FelEnergy.
The first "new" mechanic is Steal. Steal is simply shorthand for "Take Control." So a rework of Sylvanas would look something like this:
Reason for the change? One, it relays all the necessary information in a single word. Two, it allows you to expand the "take control" mechanic in new ways. Sylvanas may say "Steal a random enemy minion", but another card might say "Steal a random minion from your opponent's deck." The effect works more or less the same way. And thirdly, it allows for a little bit of flexibility. As an example, a card might say "Steal a minion from your opponent's hand and shuffle it into your deck." It's certainly a lot simpler than "Take control, THEN shuffle into deck." This single word also lets you fit additional effects onto a card without cluttering or complicating it.
The second mechanic, however, is entirely new. It's called Fel Energy and looks something like this...
The most obvious thing you'll notice is the green Mana Crystal! Minions with Fel Energy are summoned the same way as any other - the Rampaging Infernal here being a good example - just pay 5 mana to bring him out. Once he's out, though, is when you'll have to play the game carefully. Whenever you play a card, the Fel Energy cost (ergo mana cost) goes down by (1) - doesn't matter what kind of card, be it a spell, weapon or minion. When the cost reaches (0), the minion dies. So in a way, the higher their cost is, the better they are! Fel Energy is one mechanic where Emperor Thaurissan will do you no good! But as a trade-off, Fel Energy minions are quite powerful. This Rampaging Infernal here is a 6/6 for 5, and all it takes is your hero taking damage during your opponent's turn for him to lose Fel Energy, thus letting you play your cards more liberally. There aren't too many minions in this set with Fel Energy, but the effect is definitely pronounced when it shows up.
So with that, the actual cards! Just click on the link to be warped to the corresponding post. The list will be updated periodically as I put them up.
Ursoc may be expensive, but he's all value! Swipe is one of the Druid's signature spells, but lately they've been getting pulled out in favor of other cards. If you don't want to keep two Swipes in your deck, Ursoc is an excellent alternative - if you can find the right time to bring him out.
Demoralizing Roar! Our first example of Steal being used in new ways! Demoralizing Roar was actually a card that was present in the alpha build of Hearthstone, albeit with a completely different effect. I liked the art too much though, so I wanted to give it some love! Previously, this card made enemy minions weaker. Now, the ROAR! part scares your opponent so shitless they drop their weapon. Because, you know. BEAR!
Fel Energy is a cool idea, but one thing confused me. If your hero takes damage on your opponent's turn it loses it's fel energy? So therefore if you play this card for 5 mana and then play another minion, the infernal is now "Fel Energy 4", but if on your opponent's turn he hits you in the face, the internal no longer has fel energy?
I also have a question about Steal. Obviously the keyword makes sense on Sylvannas, but to be clear are you saying you could essentially replace the card text of Mindgames with "Steal an enemy minion"? If not, how would the spell "Steal an enemy minion from your opponent's deck" actually work?
Fel Energy is a cool idea, but one thing confused me. If your hero takes damage on your opponent's turn it loses it's fel energy? So therefore if you play this card for 5 mana and then play another minion, the infernal is now "Fel Energy 4", but if on your opponent's turn he hits you in the face, the internal no longer has fel energy?
I also have a question about Steal. Obviously the keyword makes sense on Sylvannas, but to be clear are you saying you could essentially replace the card text of Mindgames with "Steal an enemy minion"? If not, how would the spell "Steal an enemy minion from your opponent's deck" actually work?
Correct! See that it has Fury? That was a mechanic I introduced back in Fury of the Sunwell. It's similar to Enrage, but it triggers when your hero is hit, not the minion - and it only works during your opponent's turn, like Secrets. So, yes, even if the Fel Energy cost gets reduced to like 1, if your opponent hits you and triggers Fury, it loses it. In a way, it sort of silences itself. Hence its rarity as an epic. But, of course, there's an easy workaround - don't whack on the enemy hero until you can deal with it!
As for Steal, correct! And Mind Control would simply say "Steal an enemy minion." And it would for the most part work. Keep in mind, not all cards in Hearthstone say what they can actually do. Gelbin Mekkatorque simply says "Summon an AWESOME invention!" - not "summon one of these three mechs." Same with Elite Tauren Chieftain and Dr. Boom. In that context, I think Steal is simple and eloquent - it's exactly as it says on the tin. So yeah, Mindgames would work like you described it. If the stolen minion isn't being summoned through Steal, it'll say so - like "Steal a minion and place it in your hand."
El Pollo Grande! Oh man.....how can I explain that the Big Chicken isn't as bad as he seems? First off, he's got Dr. Boom-ish value. You summon a 3/3 for 3, with two 1/1's along for the ride. Now, Angry Chickens themselves aren't terribly practical - if it all. But trust me! There's a certain neutral card in this set that will make sense of it all. And I mean, worst case scenario? Free minions to feed to your Hyenas.
With Loatheb leaving, you're gonna need a new spell debilitating card. The Darkspear Hunter isn't anywhere near as impressive as Loatheb, but he IS more versatile, and his effect lingers beyond a mere Battlecry.
Cheetah Sprint! is very similar to Misdirection. With Misdirection, the enemy minion will attack a new random target. With this one however, the new target will be the result of your minion that's getting attacked. So let's say they attack your Ragnaros - a random enemy will take 8 damage. Maybe the attacker. Maybe something else. It may seem extremely powerful, but if there's one thing I learned is that there's no shortage of paranoia in Hunter matches. When there's a secret up there, everyone (or most everyone) plays things out very carefully. So, it's more likely that a wimpy Wisp will be triggering that specific secret.
Spore Bat is one of my top 5 cards in this whole set - if I say so myself! I've always wanted to use Loatheb's spores against human opponents, but the damn things are just too powerful. Hence, Spore Bat's Spore is a little more fair, and even avoidable.
So....tell me: Just how cool is Korialstrasz? :D He can transform at the tip of a hat, and his role on the board changes as such. When in dragon form, he does his red dragon thing by helping keep you alive. In night elf form, he boosts your spells. Now, two things of note: When Korialstrasz transforms into Krasus, he's no longer a Dragon. So cards that affect Dragons on the field won't touch him. And secondly, and most importantly, damage transfers over. If the Dragon form had 6 Health, then Krasus too will have 6 upon transforming. Now, this is a purely theory based balance choice of mine. There's a good chance that this damage transfer won't make him that useful - so, it's either that, or he heals when he transforms, but his cost goes up to 10.
Phase-Out may have a new word for some of you: Countdown. This is a rather old mechanic I made up a long time ago - back when I was really bad at this whole thing! That said, it was a mechanic I rather liked. At the end of each turn (your opponent's included), the Countdown ticks by one. When it reaches 0, the stated effect triggers. In this case, the minion loses its immunity - after your opponent's second turn, more specifically.
Wild Magic is a bit conflicting for me. For one, I hate lifting ideas that are already in the game! But....Nefarian really doesn't get much play. His cost is high, and he doesn't reduce the cost of the spells he provides, making him too uncomfortably RNG. So, I re-touched his signature skill as a new mage spell, to complement the Unstable Portal.
Toasty Gnome is horribly specific! But, ....it's also wise to at least keep one around. Frost Mages rely entirely on stalling your board of minions, so this ...well, toasty gnome could make the difference between life and death.
Reason for the change? One, it relays all the necessary information in a single word. Two, it allows you to expand the "take control" mechanic in new ways. Sylvanas may say "Steal a random enemy minion", but another card might say "Steal a random minion from your opponent's deck." The effect works more or less the same way. And thirdly, it allows for a little bit of flexibility. As an example, a card might say "Steal a minion from your opponent's hand and shuffle it into your deck." It's certainly a lot simpler than "Take control, THEN shuffle into deck." This single word also lets you fit additional effects onto a card without cluttering or complicating it.
"Take control" is also flavorful because Sylvanas after death was raised as a Banshee, an undead creature who can possess a physical body. So the representation here is that her body dies, she returns to Banshee form and takes control/possesses another body.
Also steal might be ok when talking about cards or little things but you don't really steal Ragnaros, like kidnap him? or Deathwing?
So does steal mean you take the card? Or just copy it? This question is specifically for deck scenarios. "Steal a card from your opponent's deck." Would mean just copying it or taking it away? If just copying it then I don't feel that "steal" adds anything other take reduces three words to one. But if steal means taking it away from your opponent then that would be OP as shiet!
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If you're happy and you know it... well that's good :)
So does steal mean you take the card? Or just copy it? This question is specifically for deck scenarios. "Steal a card from your opponent's deck." Would mean just copying it or taking it away? If just copying it then I don't feel that "steal" adds anything other take reduces three words to one. But if steal means taking it away from your opponent then that would be OP as shiet!
I know this sort of thing is for funsies but taking a card away from someone before they could play it is against Blizzard's design philosophy. It was some interview where they talked about not wanting any cards that directly cause your opponent to discard. They hesitantly allow the 'milling' mechanic, but are more than happy to do away with it if something caused it to be too powerful.
So does steal mean you take the card? Or just copy it? This question is specifically for deck scenarios. "Steal a card from your opponent's deck." Would mean just copying it or taking it away? If just copying it then I don't feel that "steal" adds anything other take reduces three words to one. But if steal means taking it away from your opponent then that would be OP as shiet!
It's a permanent steal. I take yours! It's one of the five CG staple mechanics (resource, exhaust, trade, steal and revive). No matter the game, they'll eventually cover all five bases. The "unavoidable mechanics" if you will. If Blizz really manages to never implement it, I'd be impressed. But as far as card mechanics go, it's as fair as any other. And besides lol, it's not like they're gonna send me a PM and ask me to use any of my cards for reals. :P This is just for fun! So, I don't see too big of a problem toying around with "taboo" ideas.
"Lingering" spells is also something they said they wouldn't like to add, but I toyed with that concept as well in the form of Location cards. Check this set out!
If you don't want a heal you need to either make the card incredibly complicated or bump it up to cost 10. I would suggest the latter. Always avoid needing off card explanations for special rules for a card. 10 mana is probably the way to go with it. It will still suffer the BGH weakness of any big cards, but you can't do much about that unless they change BGH.
Vindicator Maraad is a bit of a complicated card. You could say it's the one card I'm not entirely sure about. Yes, his effect is very powerful - giving you a free Sword of Justice practically every turn. That said, he also clutters your hand with them as well - and Paladin is one of the classes with better draw abilities - only behind warlock and druid, so this effect could end up being detrimental. And also, the Sword of Justice he equips does not immediately power up the Recruit you just summoned through your hero power. It's equipped after he comes out.
Thunderfury is another card I'm not sure about. It's very powerful, so I felt like I had to give it a high cost. That said....paladins don't exactly specialize in high cost weapons... And yes, it's got a very nice built in AOE, but technically speaking, a much cheaper warrior weapon has something similar. This one just has a little bit more durability.
Second Wind, on the other hand, I think is fine the way it is. It's not like Reno Jackson, where you have to completely construct a unique deck focused on abusing his power. That said, Paladin doesn't exactly have survival skills like some other classes (i.e. mage), and coupled with this card's high cost, it's a little tough to use. It's not guaranteed to pull you out, so much as draw out the inevitable. But, sometimes a little time is all you need.
Battlebrand is about the only thing that makes Thunderfury not seem so bad! But keep in mind, you're still spending 7 mana in one go.
If you don't want a heal you need to either make the card incredibly complicated or bump it up to cost 10. I would suggest the latter. Always avoid needing off card explanations for special rules for a card. 10 mana is probably the way to go with it. It will still suffer the BGH weakness of any big cards, but you can't do much about that unless they change BGH.
Hmm. Yeah, honestly, it doesn't seem too broken to have that effect, and be a 8/8 for 10. I mean, there's already way more powerful and OP cards out there.
Xi'ri is a very dangerous minion to use. He'll immediately change a minion's Health to 4 after their own effects play out. So playing Vol'jin after Xi'ri can be detrimental. All in all, this is a minion that's excellent if you have a lot of tiny, cheap minions. But in later stages, it could really hurt you. Make use of it's 10 Health, change it into Attack and go on the offensive once it does what it has to.
Priest secret!? What sorcery is this? This sorcery! With Warlords of Iron, I introduced Secrets into a Priest's arsenal. That said, they're a little bit different - they learn much more so towards control than the secrets of other classes.
Mojo Mixer feels like it should be higher in rarity due to its unique effect. Like a smaller Sideshow Spelleater. But of course, it doesn't steal your opponent's hero power - it just switches them up! When he dies, things go back to normal.
Maiev! She's really fun to use I think, and super versatile. While she can certainly be in-your-face aggressive, it's not what she was designed for. I like to think of her as more of a...surgical board control.
I wanted to give something different to Rogue. Something...troll-ish - more fitting for Priests. But also exemplary of rogues as a whole - so, this seemed neat! Rogues are supposed to be master saboteurs, and what better way than to sneak stuff into the deck? We've already done that once with the Nerubians.
Scryer Infiltrator doesn't trigger Secrets - she merely makes them visible.
The fact that Oil Rogue is going out with the rest of GvG is what makes Kunai Master somewhat feasible. That said, once he does his thing he's excess baggage at best.
Precision Strike works exactly how it sounds. Let's say you're facing a Warrior with 100 Armor, but 3 Health. Hit him with this, and you win. Pure and simple. For that reason, this card is also super specific so I don't imagine it getting too much love.
Baron Charr is the first real example of Fel Energy. His Inspire has the potential to, more or less, trivialize Overload. But the trade-off, if you start whipping out those Lava Shocks and he won't stick around too long. You playing 7 cards after summoning him kills him. He's good to play when you have a card disadvantage - milk him for all he's worth.
Don't like Randomonium? Well, too bad! Party Wild is more or less that.
Biorythm may come off as confusing in how it works. Let's say you control 3 Totems when you play the card. Biorythm still costs (0), but it will Overload by 3. If you control 7 Totems, you'll Overload by 7!
Sentry Totem would require a tiny UI tweak to work correctly. The card you opponent just drew will glow in his hand. Hover over it to see it. Now, Sentry Totem only lets you see the cards they draw. Anything they had before you played it won't be visible, and effects that dump cards into their hands (like Unstable Portal) don't count.
So....Malgalor. How the hell do you make use of a minion like that? Simple. Use him as a pick-me-up. Or tweak him! Silence him. Sacrificial Pact. Shadowflame. Void Terror. Whatever. That said, I'm thinking his cost should have been bumped to 5 since he definitely has abuse potential. The inspiration for this card was actually Azathoth from Call of Cthulhu.
Doom Commander is kind of neat! Whenever you play a card (or an opponent uses the effect on you) when you have to discard, Doom Commander will instead take 3 damage and you keep your cards! At 9 Health, though, he can only take 3 discards without any power-ups.
Jubei'thos makes use of Fel Energy a little bit differently than the rest! When you trigger his Inspire, the next minion you summon gets a nice +2/+2 power-up, but also the Fel Energy status - their ordinary blue mana crystal turns green, and all the disadvantages that come with that. Moreover, his buffs stack. When you summon him on Turn 10, you can trigger his Inspire before you end your turn. At the start of your next turn, activate it again and the next minion you summon gets +4/+4! And don't worry, Fel Energy doesn't "stack" or "double-up."
Garona is an extremely powerful minion that could become an aggro staple. Not only can she gain a potentially incredible Attack boost for a turn, she also draws cards for you! To balance it out, she has fairly squishy base stats for her cost. If you need a pick-up for your hand, go ahead and do some damage with her, but she obviously works best as a Grommash-esque finisher.
Mannoroth is similar to Jubei'thos is that he himself gives Fel Energy than possessing it. So, manage carefully. Unless you're planning a massive kamikaze killing spree, don't give his boost to, say, Silver Hand Recruits. Since playing a single card after the fact will kill them. And...I mean, really. It's Mannoroth's blood. You'd have to be an idiot to drink it. :X
What happens when you play a Battlecry minion with Akama on the board? Absolutely nothing. The same as a boring base minion with no abilities attached.
The Maker! I've toyed with hybridization before with a Shaman set, but this one is obviously geared more towards Warlocks. This allows for Warlocks to build a mech-dominated deck, yet still keep a few cards that make use of Demons around. Just for the record, his effect only affects the board - not hands or decks.
It's only natural that Xavius is Ysera's antithesis. Many of his "nightmare cards" are roundabouts of what she offers. That said, he's not quite as durable as she is. Regardless, he fits in quite snuggly in a deck that makes use of Ysera. But obviously, where as she's a Dragon, this guy gets his synergies with Demons.
Scrollkeeper Reshad! With Dr. Doom gone, you need to have a new "value card." And this guy fits the bill! Percy alone makes him worthwhile, but his unique interactions with Secrets gives him some considerably stronger staying power Dr. Boom lacked. But, that's also the big difference here - whereas Dr. Boom could literally be used in any deck, Reshad has to stick with classes and builds that make use of Secrets. And no, Mysterious Challenger doesn't trigger him - you yourself have to play them!
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For the longest time, Demons have always been almost entirely exclusive to Warlocks - save for poor, poor Illidan. So, why not share the love says I! Love made out of pure evil. The Burning Legion may not be a huge expansion compared to other ones I cooked up, but it DOES do a few new things!
The first "new" mechanic is Steal. Steal is simply shorthand for "Take Control." So a rework of Sylvanas would look something like this:
Reason for the change? One, it relays all the necessary information in a single word. Two, it allows you to expand the "take control" mechanic in new ways. Sylvanas may say "Steal a random enemy minion", but another card might say "Steal a random minion from your opponent's deck." The effect works more or less the same way. And thirdly, it allows for a little bit of flexibility. As an example, a card might say "Steal a minion from your opponent's hand and shuffle it into your deck." It's certainly a lot simpler than "Take control, THEN shuffle into deck." This single word also lets you fit additional effects onto a card without cluttering or complicating it.
The second mechanic, however, is entirely new. It's called Fel Energy and looks something like this...
The most obvious thing you'll notice is the green Mana Crystal! Minions with Fel Energy are summoned the same way as any other - the Rampaging Infernal here being a good example - just pay 5 mana to bring him out. Once he's out, though, is when you'll have to play the game carefully. Whenever you play a card, the Fel Energy cost (ergo mana cost) goes down by (1) - doesn't matter what kind of card, be it a spell, weapon or minion. When the cost reaches (0), the minion dies. So in a way, the higher their cost is, the better they are! Fel Energy is one mechanic where Emperor Thaurissan will do you no good! But as a trade-off, Fel Energy minions are quite powerful. This Rampaging Infernal here is a 6/6 for 5, and all it takes is your hero taking damage during your opponent's turn for him to lose Fel Energy, thus letting you play your cards more liberally. There aren't too many minions in this set with Fel Energy, but the effect is definitely pronounced when it shows up.
So with that, the actual cards! Just click on the link to be warped to the corresponding post. The list will be updated periodically as I put them up.
This helps!
DRUID
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
Fel Energy is a cool idea, but one thing confused me. If your hero takes damage on your opponent's turn it loses it's fel energy? So therefore if you play this card for 5 mana and then play another minion, the infernal is now "Fel Energy 4", but if on your opponent's turn he hits you in the face, the internal no longer has fel energy?
I also have a question about Steal. Obviously the keyword makes sense on Sylvannas, but to be clear are you saying you could essentially replace the card text of Mindgames with "Steal an enemy minion"? If not, how would the spell "Steal an enemy minion from your opponent's deck" actually work?
HUNTER
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
MAGE
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
Mage legendary is a bit OP'd. Everytime he transforms he heals himself...
"Take control" is also flavorful because Sylvanas after death was raised as a Banshee, an undead creature who can possess a physical body. So the representation here is that her body dies, she returns to Banshee form and takes control/possesses another body.
Also steal might be ok when talking about cards or little things but you don't really steal Ragnaros, like kidnap him? or Deathwing?
So does steal mean you take the card? Or just copy it? This question is specifically for deck scenarios. "Steal a card from your opponent's deck." Would mean just copying it or taking it away? If just copying it then I don't feel that "steal" adds anything other take reduces three words to one. But if steal means taking it away from your opponent then that would be OP as shiet!
If you're happy and you know it... well that's good :)
It's a permanent steal. I take yours! It's one of the five CG staple mechanics (resource, exhaust, trade, steal and revive). No matter the game, they'll eventually cover all five bases. The "unavoidable mechanics" if you will. If Blizz really manages to never implement it, I'd be impressed. But as far as card mechanics go, it's as fair as any other. And besides lol, it's not like they're gonna send me a PM and ask me to use any of my cards for reals. :P This is just for fun! So, I don't see too big of a problem toying around with "taboo" ideas.
If you don't want a heal you need to either make the card incredibly complicated or bump it up to cost 10. I would suggest the latter. Always avoid needing off card explanations for special rules for a card. 10 mana is probably the way to go with it. It will still suffer the BGH weakness of any big cards, but you can't do much about that unless they change BGH.
PALADIN
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
PRIEST
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
ROGUE
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
SHAMAN
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
WARLOCK
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
The last class set!
WARRIOR
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Common
Now onto the neutrals!
NEUTRAL - Legendaries
Legendaries
Xavius's Nightmare Cards
Percy!