Hearthpwn

The cards in this cycle are based off of the characters from the Wizard of Oz encounter in Karazhan: Roar, Strawman, and Tinhead (The Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man). In addition to all being Neutral minions, and being 5 mana 3/5's with a keyword, they all have the ability to become stronger when they overcome their insecurities and realize their true potential. The cowardly Roar realizes his true strength and courage by coming out of hiding and taking out an enemy. The simple Strawman realizes his true genius by casting a bunch of spells. And the stoic Tinhead realizes he has a heart by protecting his allies from harm, and standing firm.

Tokens

 Edit: Fixed a typo with the White Elephant card, and reduced the size of the cards.

I wish you all good luck. I had seen people citing this as a tough competition, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Enjoy.

the idea here was to fix handbuff, whose main drawback is that you have to fill your deck with minions to get full use of the mechanic, but then you have to short yourself on spells. these minions are meant to fill in some of the utilities that you might otherwise lack for lack of spells. my thinking in costing them was to make so that they are "fair value" after one +1/+1 buff (and obviously become broken as you buff more and more). so Grimy Grifter after one buff is Duskboar+Arcane Intellect, Grimy Grenadier after one buff is Arcane Explosion+Murloc Raider, and Grimy Grappler after one buff is, roughly, Iron Hide+Bloodfen Raptor. (this is my first time ever participating so sorry if this has already been done!)

oh and for Grimy Grenadier, the rule is that if its Attack is odd, it deals damage to each minion equal to half, rounded up or down, determined randomly. so if its attack is five, its battlecry is equivalent to Lightning Storm.

My entry is part of my expansion in the ongoing Custom expansion competition. The joining theme is Envoys from major cities travelling to a celebration in Shattrah. Mechanically, all of them have a different take on the Discover mechanic.

Darnassian Envoy helps Druid cheat out big minions early, potentially even curving into a 7 drop on turn 5.

Stormwind Envoy continues the Handbuff mechanic from MSoG, by allowing you to add Divine Shield to a minion before you play it.

Undercity Envoy continues Rogues Deathrattle theme, allowing you to get a surprise Deathrattle effect as a Battlecry.

Edit: resizing.

Each of these spells sends you deeper down the rapid hole.

The 'Rapid-cycle' brings you a miniature toolbox of spells that interact with and cycle into each other - can't get any more literal than that, right? Each one might not be all that amazing on its own but when combined they can offer great utility and reliable deck-thinning. So let's come up with the most useful combination for your favourite Mage deck!