Shadow Shard - The general idea behind Combo Pricing is that the card is a slight bit weak for price without the combo, but strong for price with the combo. A 2/3 weapon with Phase is already worth 4 mana all on it's own (yeah, you probably won't go for face with it the way a Hunter would, but you can still kill minions "protected" by a taunt). Add in Snipe and it's worth about 6 mana. If it's worth 4 w/o combo and 6 w/ combo, 5-mana is the place to price this card to begin with.
Sabotage - I like it. I like it a lot. It's an Assassinate with a limited target set and a non-mana cost. If it were unique (read Legendary) I'd say it was overpriced, but since you can run two of them, 3-mana is probably just right.
Shuriken of Negation - Overpriced. Silence is a 0 mana card (admittedly from out of class), and 2-damage is also typically only a 1/2 mana effect (though silence +1 damage is rated as a 1 mana effect, see Earth Shock). Based on the merits of the card alone, this is a 1-mana spell.
Unsuspecting Execution - Odd name for a card that is incredibly unlikely to kill anything. At 3 mana, I'd probably let it target any character.
Seal Fate - I know you priced this as Corruption + Freeze 1, but those two abilities have perfect synergy. It's really "Assassinate a non-Taunt (with options)," as such 4-mana is the better price.
Stab in the Dark - The price is about right, or perhaps a smidge low (considering how easy it is for the Rogue to generate kills) - I would consider moving the cost up to 4. That said, Rogue already has one massive card draw engine. Adding another more-or-less assures the primacy of Miracle style play. I agree with Blizzard that expansions should serve to challenge rather than reinforce the current meta.
Hooded Nightstalker - Appropriately priced, but also a horrid card. Only ever going to see play in agro decks, and even they are likely to think twice about paying 6-mana for a 2-mana body.
The Silent Blade - While Stealth is normally a freebie, it has only 3 weaknesses: AoE, Random Attack, and Taunt. 3-health is enough to dodge most random attacks (especially if there are other minions on the board), and Phase takes Taunt out of the equation. In other words, The Silent Blade is going to hit, and he's going to leave a body on the board. He should therefore cost at least 7 mana, and possibly more since he is an OTK threat (or at least a super huge unstoppable burst).
Spritwalker's Grace - Difficult to evaluate since there is nothing similar at the moment. 4 is a good place to start, but I would not be surprised if the card needs to be reduced to 3 or 2. It gives no board presence and may not even constrain your opponent's intended play. Mostly looks like it would be useful as anti-rush and anti-miracle, though I suppose it has some win-more potential if you have board control and a Hex in hand.
Stoneskin Totem - I do not like the idea of a 0-force minion with no ongoing effect. I would much prefer a 1-mana card that leaves no body behind.
Lightning Shield - Slightly overpriced, but then again Armor is not the Shaman's thing, so probably alright as is.
Totemic Focus - No. The shaman does not need more Bloodlusts, and certainly not unstoppable Bloodlusts. While not technically an OTK, the ability to go from 0-damage potential to 30 unstoppable damage as early as T6 is broken. (<- yes, I know this will almost never happen on T6, but it will remain a persistent threat from that point forward). If you must keep the ability, it is at least 4-mana, and possibly 5.
Mana Spring Totem - Overpriced, should be 3-mana; although if you keep Totemic Focus, I'm actually alright with Totems being overpriced.
Unleash the Elements - Technically balanced, but oh so very abusable, especially if Shaman gets more direct damage spells with overload.
Call of the Elements - Without Totemic Focus this strikes me as a bad idea, bordering on OP (especially since Mana Tide, Mana Spring, and Flametongue are all potentially summonable totems, and each of them is worth 3-mana on their own). With Totemic Focus it is definitely OP.
Earthmother - I agree with 6
Sentry Totem - 1 mana. It's a hero ability sized body with text that has no direct board effect.
Drek'Thar - I think he needs some close monitoring, but because he's a Legendary, 8 mana is probably alright.
Enslave Demon - I would up the cost to 3 mana (since other classes may get Demons at some point), and it would require that Warlocks never gain the ability to add "Demon" to another minion for less than 5 mana. Since I like the idea of Warlocks turning other minions into demons, I am opposed on a conceptual level, but not on a balance level.
Abyssal Champion - Minion that produces 8/9 in combined stats? 8-mana.
Curse of Weakness - I would argue that the first line: give all enemy minions -2/-2 is worth 8 mana all on its own. The kicker is worth another 4. In other words this card is too powerful to be playable.
Demonic Scourge - 1 mana body, plus a 4 mana ability and a second, related 4 mana ability =/= 5 mana. 7 mana is the lowest I would consider for this minion, 9 is where I think it should live.
Entropic Eye - 5 mana, and it's a good deal at 5 mana.
Fel Pact - Perfect.
Pact of Kil'Jaeden - Does "friendly card" mean Warlock cards, or any cards you chose to play? If the former it might be balanced (significant OTK testing required). If the later, is definitely OP (play a Gadgetzan Auctioneer for free, and then keep playing spells for free and replacing them with new spells from your deck).
Ritual Summoning - looks like it's being balanced off of Bane of Doom (with a little bit of a discount thrown in), probably going to be considered just as useless.
Shadowheart Staff - Interesting. As with Staff of Benevolence, I have a problem with a weapon that does not lose durability for its primary action, but at least this one has a cost for keeping it around. 5 still seems like the right price, or possibly 6. It grants an inexhaustable 2-mana ability and has an ongoing 1/2 mana cost. The weapon's stats are meh, worth somewhere between 1 and 2 mana - but that's not why people would use it.
Enrage - Significantly weaker than Rampage. 1 mana.
Cowering Roar - 5 mana minimum, 6 is probably better. It may not be as strong as Savage Roar when it comes to burst damage - but it's easily a match for Bloodlust when it comes to gaining control over the board.
Intimidating Berserker - 8 mana, and I actually think I'm being generous here. He's a Stormwind Knight with Windfury, 3 extra health, the ability to instant kill a minion at 1 health (irregardless of Divine Shield) without taking any damage, takes less damage from other minions if he does not get the instant kill, and can leave the minion crippled even if he does not eliminate it.
Warrior's Training - Roughly equivalent to Windfury (though I would argue better). 2-3 mana.
Pulverize - Maybe a touch weak for a spell (I'd rate it at 2.5 mana), but that's fairly standard for Warriors, so leave it as is.
Raving Shattered Hand Orc - Looks good at 5.
Spinning Fury - 6-mana. This is basically a burn spell in minion form. I can see why you might want to price it at less than the Scarlet Crusader, but unlike the Crusader, you can be reasonably certain that "both" attacks will trade in a reasonable direction.
Pride of the True Horde - 2 maybe 3 mana. Did you mean for these guys to have Charge? With Charge the 5-mana cost seems reasonable.
Warmaul Champion - If you kill a Proudmane, does only 1 hyena show up? What about Resurrections, do they count against he summon limit? Hero powers? I'd be happier if this was a limit on the number of minions that can be played from the hand. That would allow some minion based strategies to potentially regain board control. As for cost, there is no real equivalent to look at, but I would say that this is a stronger anti-summon control than Mana Wraith, which uses a 1/2 mana cost for it's ability, so the 1 mana cost employed here is probably the right place to start.
The Blademistress - If she's immune until the end of the turn, how will she ever get enraged to gain her Charge effect? As near as I can tell this is actually just a 7/3 with a lot of useless text. Until you sort that out she's 5 mana back bencher who can keep my Core Hound and Magma Rager company.
I won't touch the Death Knight - there is no hero ability nor cards to balance against.
Neutral Card Pricing
Ether Wraith - 4 mana is a good place to start, but definitely important to keep an eye on this one to see if 5 wouldn't make more sense.
Elekk Rider - I'm definitely not happy about Phase being on a Neutral, but the pricing on this one seems right.
Fel Cannon - I agree with 4 mana.
Hakkari Coiler - 5 mana is probably the right place to start, but will require watching.
Wrathtail Myrmidon - 6 mana is probably the right place to start.
Shattrath Longshot - 6 mana is probably the right place, but definitely important to keep an eye on this one.
Phase Hound - 5 mana (possibly 4, but if 4 watch closely)
Voracious Ravager - Possibly overpriced at 4 mana, keep an eye on it to see if it actually sees play.
Aether Ray - I would start this one at 5 mana. It has a good chance of a 2:1 trade with at least one of the kills chosen by the person who plays it.
Crystaline Earthshaker - Unlike the Giants, this ability isn't really conditional. It's a 6/6 for 6 that just gets cheaper as time goes along. Being able to get a 6/6 for 2 without having any conditions to meet seems just a tad too strong. Maybe make the base price 14? That way it's a 6/6 for 7 on T7 with a minimum price of 4.
Emerald Quartzcrusher - Also a weird one. Basically only summonable on T10 or later and takes up any mana you have remaining. Might actually be too expensive.
Miniature Gladiator - 4 mana minimum (and only because he's such a soft target) - I'd honestly prefer 5. This guy may look small, but if he gets the chance to attack, he'll be able to take out something huge.
Naga Warlord - since he's a neutral - this is probably the right price (it's about 1/2 a mana high).
Murloc Murderess - I'm going to assume this is a humor card since I really don't see Blizzard ever creating a neutral card that can on its own completely shut down a neutral strategy. If Murlocs start getting too strong (and that is a rather big if), I expect that we'll see a number of cards with smaller anti-murloc effects.
Hey everyone Check out the Second post on the first page I just added a ton of revisions that need looking over before I make a "patch" to the cards themselves, as well as some clarifications of some of the rules.
This was really fun to read and browse through. While I also feel a little tentative about the pricing, I love the creativity and effort you put into this!
Thanks!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
Demoralize - This is being changed to "When a character with Demoralize damages a minion, that Minion gains -1/-1." This is what I intended the effect to be anyways.
Thank you for this! I think it is a huge improvement in the Demoralize mechanic.
Rogue Pricing
Shadow Shard - The general idea behind Combo Pricing is that the card is a slight bit weak for price without the combo, but strong for price with the combo. A 2/3 weapon with Phase is already worth 4 mana all on it's own (yeah, you probably won't go for face with it the way a Hunter would, but you can still kill minions "protected" by a taunt). Add in Snipe and it's worth about 6 mana. If it's worth 4 w/o combo and 6 w/ combo, 5-mana is the place to price this card to begin with.
Sabotage - I like it. I like it a lot. It's an Assassinate with a limited target set and a non-mana cost. If it were unique (read Legendary) I'd say it was overpriced, but since you can run two of them, 3-mana is probably just right.
Shuriken of Negation - Overpriced. Silence is a 0 mana card (admittedly from out of class), and 2-damage is also typically only a 1/2 mana effect (though silence +1 damage is rated as a 1 mana effect, see Earth Shock). Based on the merits of the card alone, this is a 1-mana spell.
Unsuspecting Execution - Odd name for a card that is incredibly unlikely to kill anything. At 3 mana, I'd probably let it target any character.
Seal Fate - I know you priced this as Corruption + Freeze 1, but those two abilities have perfect synergy. It's really "Assassinate a non-Taunt (with options)," as such 4-mana is the better price.
Stab in the Dark - The price is about right, or perhaps a smidge low (considering how easy it is for the Rogue to generate kills) - I would consider moving the cost up to 4. That said, Rogue already has one massive card draw engine. Adding another more-or-less assures the primacy of Miracle style play. I agree with Blizzard that expansions should serve to challenge rather than reinforce the current meta.
Hooded Nightstalker - Appropriately priced, but also a horrid card. Only ever going to see play in agro decks, and even they are likely to think twice about paying 6-mana for a 2-mana body.
The Silent Blade - While Stealth is normally a freebie, it has only 3 weaknesses: AoE, Random Attack, and Taunt. 3-health is enough to dodge most random attacks (especially if there are other minions on the board), and Phase takes Taunt out of the equation. In other words, The Silent Blade is going to hit, and he's going to leave a body on the board. He should therefore cost at least 7 mana, and possibly more since he is an OTK threat (or at least a super huge unstoppable burst).
Shaman Pricing
Spritwalker's Grace - Difficult to evaluate since there is nothing similar at the moment. 4 is a good place to start, but I would not be surprised if the card needs to be reduced to 3 or 2. It gives no board presence and may not even constrain your opponent's intended play. Mostly looks like it would be useful as anti-rush and anti-miracle, though I suppose it has some win-more potential if you have board control and a Hex in hand.
Stoneskin Totem - I do not like the idea of a 0-force minion with no ongoing effect. I would much prefer a 1-mana card that leaves no body behind.
Lightning Shield - Slightly overpriced, but then again Armor is not the Shaman's thing, so probably alright as is.
Totemic Focus - No. The shaman does not need more Bloodlusts, and certainly not unstoppable Bloodlusts. While not technically an OTK, the ability to go from 0-damage potential to 30 unstoppable damage as early as T6 is broken. (<- yes, I know this will almost never happen on T6, but it will remain a persistent threat from that point forward). If you must keep the ability, it is at least 4-mana, and possibly 5.
Mana Spring Totem - Overpriced, should be 3-mana; although if you keep Totemic Focus, I'm actually alright with Totems being overpriced.
Unleash the Elements - Technically balanced, but oh so very abusable, especially if Shaman gets more direct damage spells with overload.
Call of the Elements - Without Totemic Focus this strikes me as a bad idea, bordering on OP (especially since Mana Tide, Mana Spring, and Flametongue are all potentially summonable totems, and each of them is worth 3-mana on their own). With Totemic Focus it is definitely OP.
Earthmother - I agree with 6
Sentry Totem - 1 mana. It's a hero ability sized body with text that has no direct board effect.
Drek'Thar - I think he needs some close monitoring, but because he's a Legendary, 8 mana is probably alright.
Warlock Pricing
Wither - 3 mana
Enslave Demon - I would up the cost to 3 mana (since other classes may get Demons at some point), and it would require that Warlocks never gain the ability to add "Demon" to another minion for less than 5 mana. Since I like the idea of Warlocks turning other minions into demons, I am opposed on a conceptual level, but not on a balance level.
Abyssal Champion - Minion that produces 8/9 in combined stats? 8-mana.
Curse of Weakness - I would argue that the first line: give all enemy minions -2/-2 is worth 8 mana all on its own. The kicker is worth another 4. In other words this card is too powerful to be playable.
Demonic Scourge - 1 mana body, plus a 4 mana ability and a second, related 4 mana ability =/= 5 mana. 7 mana is the lowest I would consider for this minion, 9 is where I think it should live.
Entropic Eye - 5 mana, and it's a good deal at 5 mana.
Fel Pact - Perfect.
Pact of Kil'Jaeden - Does "friendly card" mean Warlock cards, or any cards you chose to play? If the former it might be balanced (significant OTK testing required). If the later, is definitely OP (play a Gadgetzan Auctioneer for free, and then keep playing spells for free and replacing them with new spells from your deck).
Ritual Summoning - looks like it's being balanced off of Bane of Doom (with a little bit of a discount thrown in), probably going to be considered just as useless.
Shadowheart Staff - Interesting. As with Staff of Benevolence, I have a problem with a weapon that does not lose durability for its primary action, but at least this one has a cost for keeping it around. 5 still seems like the right price, or possibly 6. It grants an inexhaustable 2-mana ability and has an ongoing 1/2 mana cost. The weapon's stats are meh, worth somewhere between 1 and 2 mana - but that's not why people would use it.
Warrior Pricing
Enrage - Significantly weaker than Rampage. 1 mana.
Cowering Roar - 5 mana minimum, 6 is probably better. It may not be as strong as Savage Roar when it comes to burst damage - but it's easily a match for Bloodlust when it comes to gaining control over the board.
Intimidating Berserker - 8 mana, and I actually think I'm being generous here. He's a Stormwind Knight with Windfury, 3 extra health, the ability to instant kill a minion at 1 health (irregardless of Divine Shield) without taking any damage, takes less damage from other minions if he does not get the instant kill, and can leave the minion crippled even if he does not eliminate it.
Warrior's Training - Roughly equivalent to Windfury (though I would argue better). 2-3 mana.
Pulverize - Maybe a touch weak for a spell (I'd rate it at 2.5 mana), but that's fairly standard for Warriors, so leave it as is.
Raving Shattered Hand Orc - Looks good at 5.
Spinning Fury - 6-mana. This is basically a burn spell in minion form. I can see why you might want to price it at less than the Scarlet Crusader, but unlike the Crusader, you can be reasonably certain that "both" attacks will trade in a reasonable direction.
Pride of the True Horde - 2 maybe 3 mana. Did you mean for these guys to have Charge? With Charge the 5-mana cost seems reasonable.
Warmaul Champion - If you kill a Proudmane, does only 1 hyena show up? What about Resurrections, do they count against he summon limit? Hero powers? I'd be happier if this was a limit on the number of minions that can be played from the hand. That would allow some minion based strategies to potentially regain board control. As for cost, there is no real equivalent to look at, but I would say that this is a stronger anti-summon control than Mana Wraith, which uses a 1/2 mana cost for it's ability, so the 1 mana cost employed here is probably the right place to start.
The Blademistress - If she's immune until the end of the turn, how will she ever get enraged to gain her Charge effect? As near as I can tell this is actually just a 7/3 with a lot of useless text. Until you sort that out she's 5 mana back bencher who can keep my Core Hound and Magma Rager company.
Death Knight Pricing
I won't touch the Death Knight - there is no hero ability nor cards to balance against.
Neutral Card Pricing
Ether Wraith - 4 mana is a good place to start, but definitely important to keep an eye on this one to see if 5 wouldn't make more sense.
Elekk Rider - I'm definitely not happy about Phase being on a Neutral, but the pricing on this one seems right.
Fel Cannon - I agree with 4 mana.
Hakkari Coiler - 5 mana is probably the right place to start, but will require watching.
Wrathtail Myrmidon - 6 mana is probably the right place to start.
Shattrath Longshot - 6 mana is probably the right place, but definitely important to keep an eye on this one.
Phase Hound - 5 mana (possibly 4, but if 4 watch closely)
Voracious Ravager - Possibly overpriced at 4 mana, keep an eye on it to see if it actually sees play.
Aether Ray - I would start this one at 5 mana. It has a good chance of a 2:1 trade with at least one of the kills chosen by the person who plays it.
Crystaline Earthshaker - Unlike the Giants, this ability isn't really conditional. It's a 6/6 for 6 that just gets cheaper as time goes along. Being able to get a 6/6 for 2 without having any conditions to meet seems just a tad too strong. Maybe make the base price 14? That way it's a 6/6 for 7 on T7 with a minimum price of 4.
Emerald Quartzcrusher - Also a weird one. Basically only summonable on T10 or later and takes up any mana you have remaining. Might actually be too expensive.
Miniature Gladiator - 4 mana minimum (and only because he's such a soft target) - I'd honestly prefer 5. This guy may look small, but if he gets the chance to attack, he'll be able to take out something huge.
Naga Warlord - since he's a neutral - this is probably the right price (it's about 1/2 a mana high).
Murloc Murderess - I'm going to assume this is a humor card since I really don't see Blizzard ever creating a neutral card that can on its own completely shut down a neutral strategy. If Murlocs start getting too strong (and that is a rather big if), I expect that we'll see a number of cards with smaller anti-murloc effects.
Hey everyone Check out the Second post on the first page I just added a ton of revisions that need looking over before I make a "patch" to the cards themselves, as well as some clarifications of some of the rules.
This was really fun to read and browse through.
While I also feel a little tentative about the pricing, I love the creativity and effort you put into this!
Thanks!
Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
Thank you for this! I think it is a huge improvement in the Demoralize mechanic.
What's applied first, damage or the debuff?
With the new wording it goes damage > debuff.
With the old wording it went debuff > damage.
I just posted Waves of Nazjatar: A Hearthstone Adventure. Check it out, and coming soon the final revisions to the Innkeeper's Compendium.