To Phase III! Another round is over, and now we have whittled down all the original entries to just 20 competitors. If your name is on the list below, you have advanced another step closer to being crowned the Expansion Creation Champion! (NOTE: If your name does not appear on this list, you MAY NOT submit.)
Unlike our Weekly Card Design Competitions, this Expansion Creation Competition will be conducted over multiple Phases, each of which will have their own unique processes and submission requirements. Each Phase will conclude with our eliminating at least half of the competitors until only three or four finalists remain for Phase V.
Phase III Submission and Early Voting (Starts NOW! Ends 20:00 UTC 25/07/2017) During this Phase, the Submission Topic is made available for your submissions. You may also, of course, feel free to give early up-votes to any submissions that you like!
Phase III Final Poll (Starts 20:00 UTC 25/07/2017, Ends 20:00 UTC 27/07/2017) During this Phase, the Submission Topic will be locked, so no more entries may be submitted, and all 20 entries will be sorted into a final poll. From this point on, upvotes in the Submission Topic do not matter. The only thing they'll determine is where in the final poll your post appears.
See below for a general overview of the future competition phases:
Phase IV: The exact same as the last phase except with three classes that you have not done yet.
Phase V: You're remaining classes are now presented, along with the rest of your expansion in your own topic. Each round (aside from the first) requires you to make 21 cards, so this final will showcase all 84 of your creations.
General Competition Rules
These are general competition rules that apply to all Phases of this competition and that many of you will already be familiar with if you've competed in our Weekly Card Design Competitions. Even if you're a veteran of our competitions, though, I recommend that you review the rules thoroughly just to be sure:
First, these are the rules about Posting:
You are allowed to submit only one entry.
You are allowed to post in this Submission Topic only once, only to submit your one entry.
You may not delete ANY posts you make in this Submission Topic, not even accidental ones you may make over your one allowed, such as by double-posting or by accidentally posting something here that you meant for the Discussion Topic. If you do accidentally post more than once, inform any of the Fan Creation Forum moderators via PM, and we will handle it.
Speaking of the Discussion Topic, that is where any discussion of this competition should go. This thread is for submissions only. If you want to discuss your card or ask questions about the competition rules or process, you can find a link to the Discussion Topic at the top of this thread. Plenty of folks there will be happy to help you out.
Once you have submitted your one entry, you are allowed to make only minor changes to it. Minor changes are things like correcting typos or making balance changes that do not alter the spirit of your entry as determined by we the moderators. If you want to make any changes and have any doubts as to their legality, ask us first.
You may not create any topics on our forum for any competition entry. All competition material and discussion is restricted to the designated competition topics. This is to prevent the board from being flooded with competition topics. Nobody wants that.
These are the rules about your Entry:
We encourage you to create your entry material using Hearthcards.net, but please remember that, although HearthCards is awesome, you MUST host your card somewhere other than Hearthcards. Save it and upload it toImgur, Photobucket, or some other similar site. HearthCards has a limited server space and will purge cards after a few days, and nobody wants your cards disappearing part-way through the finals. We understand that there are some HearthCards memberships that will allow you to save your card there for longer (and you should totally get one of those just for general fan creation purposes, by the way), but we don't know who has those memberships and we can't tell from the URLs.
You may not submit any Gold cards or any animated cards. (It's just a cheap attention grab tactic that makes it unnecessarily difficult to determine what class your card is for.)
Your entry must be a card of your own creation. We've been doing this for a while, so if you blatantly rip off somebody else's idea, we will know.
Fun and even humorous entries are perfectly allowed, but "troll" entries will be disqualified. If you're worried that your card may be misinterpreted as a troll card, contact a moderator before you submit.
TIP: Though not a rule exactly, we highly recommend that you insert your images using this icon on the bar above the post text editor: . Just click that button and put in the URL of your image. Cards that are uploaded and attached to your post are not disallowed, but in our experience they will not do nearly as well, so this is for your own benefit more than anything.
Finally, know that manipulating votes in any way is strictly forbidden. Any violators will receive an official warning, and will be banned from this and all future HearthPwn Card Design Competitions.
PHASE III - Class Cards
This phase is your first chance to show how each class will put it's own spin on your class mechanics. Your post will include:
A Quick Reminder of Your Set Mechanics - Just make sure we're up to speed with how your keywords work. 1 or 2 lines is fine for this (in addition to any tooltips), but any more explanation or balance should be behind a spoiler
Seven (7) Class Cards From Three (3) Classes - Once again, you will be making 21 cards. For each class you will make One (1) Legendary, One (1) Epic , Two (2) Rares, and Three (3) Commons. Which three classes you choose to present is up to you.
Six (6) Example Class Cards - You will show off six (6) cards, two (2) of each class. The other 15 cards must be included behind a spoiler
Formatting - Once again, your example cards can be no bigger than 250 x 345. Any tokens must be included in a spoiler, so as to prevent the topic from getting too cluttered. Tooltips are allowable as well, just keep them reasonably sized.
You may have, in the open for this phase, your six (6) example cards, a reasonably sized banner, and any keyword boxes. Any other graphics - dialogue boxes, additional token cards, whatever - may be included behind spoilers, along with your neutral cards if you wish to include them.
If you've gotten this far, you should have a pretty good handle on this, but if you have any questions just shoot one of the mods a message.
Some Quick Tips:
Classes often have a specific identity in expansions. It's a good idea to figure out which of your mechanics best fit with certain classes. What's more, your classes can have completely new mechanics not seen elsewhere in the set.
Unlike the class competitions, remember that your expansion should have several different mechanics at play. A narrow mechanical theme will leave you with little to work with in later phases, or make your later classes look very similar to one another. (Journey to Un'goro had Quests, Adapt, and new class mechanics for each class).
Rewards
In addition to truly epic bragging rights, ALL competitors that make it to the Phase V of the competition will receive a special Forum Title and Avatar Border, similar to those given to winners of our forum's Weekly Card Design Competitions, as shown below:
Furthermore, the winning contestant will have a Season 6 competition themed around their winning expansion!
Q&A
Q: My submission didn't move on. Am I not allowed to participate any more for the rest of the competition? A: Of course you are! This many cards is going to be difficult to manage, so the contestants that move on will need all of the help and input they can get to get their Adventures just right. If you get knocked out of the competition, head over to the Discussion topic and support your favorite competitor that moved on!
Q: What if I already created an expansion and it already has its own topic on this forum? A: That's a tricky situation! But in the interest of fairness to all competitors, if you do decide to enter that into this competition, your topic will be locked. Not deleted, just locked, and it will be unlocked after the competition is over or after it gets knocked out. It would be weird of us to stop you from referencing or linking to that topic, but please don't abuse the privilege.
If anybody has any other question, please feel free to ask us over in the Discussion topic. Otherwise, get those creative juices flowing, and I'll look forward to your submissions.
After the invasion of the old world of Draenor, the heroes of Azeroth left the world in ruins. Tension between the orcs and the remaining inhabitants still waged, forcing the orcs to isolate themselves. Atleast until they met Entrepreneur Longshot. The goblin marketings genius teamed up with the beaten orcs, to transform the world of Draenor to an exotic tourist magnet. This however diden't go through unnoticed, and a group of secret operatives formed the group of A.F.E(Allied Forces of Equality). To insure the freedom and wellbeing of the inhabitants of Draenor. Will you choose to stay by and watch things settle themselves? Will you help Landro develop Draenor? Or will you join the A.F.E and cover the safety of the folks? The choice is yours.
This time around we follow the organisation A.F.E(Allied Forces of Equality) and their leader Mr U.N.Known. The organisation consists of the fercious Rogues, who prefers to to take the conflict to hand, and fight Landros forces personally, the Hunters, who focuses on protecting and releasing the endangered wildlife of Draenor and the Paladins, who work is secrets to obtain the information needed to sabotage Landros arrangements.
The Keywords
Some minds have a hard time picking a side, and chooses to rely on your judgement on what to do, empowering your Hero Power, so you can make the choice for them.
The Cards
The Leader of the A.F.E. Ulric, declares himself the ultimate free dom fighter, ready to help any innocent in need. His methods might be dirty and shady . But so far he seems to be the only person that Landro has failed to bribe . . .
The brave vindicators of Karabor demands victory to be had, and their longevity and determination proves that they will go to any length for it.
A friendly companion who empties a targets pockets , while Its partner distracts it.
The Cobra produces some of the most lethal poison, and the A.F.E utilizes this to ensure no target survives . . .
This mighty Beast of Gorgrund were enslaved, and forced to work as carriers and as a living weapon. Until the A.F.E freed it. The beasts now lingers for a chance to settle with their former captors .
The Hunters of the A.F.E vows to release every single captive beast, and grant them their deserved primal freedom .
Remaining Paladin Cards
Remaining Rogue Cards
Remaining Hunter Cards
Violas token
The Common Cards
Q/A
Q: Can Empower stack. Can you have several different Empower effects on the same Hero Power? A: Yes you can indeed have several Empower effects on the same use of the Hero Power. So if you want to go full meme mode. You can make a 30 Empower card deck. And have a Hero Power at the end of it, that does litterally everything at once..
The Arcane Art Assembly of Azeroth is the annual forum through which researchers of arcane arts and sciences present their discoveries and achievements to scholars all over Azeroth. The chair of the Arcane Art Assembly of Azeroth this year is the mighty Millhouse Manastorm.
Chair Millhouse (NEW MECHANIC):
The role Chair Millhouse plays in this expansion is similar to that of C'Thun in WOG. The card is given to players for free, and if you want to build a deck around it, you need several other cards that refer to Chair Millhouse by name.
Further Introduction:
Chair Millhouse hosts the whole conference with the assistance of other assembly staff. Whenever someone calls for help, Millhouse arrives at no time.
The speakers at the assembly are all elites in the field of arcane arts and sciences. Their experiments and predictions are accurate and precise, often down to the exact digit they desire.
Researchers specializing in other subjects, such as medical science and zoology, also come to the assembly, willing to conduct some interdisciplinary surveys with the attendees.
People who're not part of the academic circle are allowed in the assembly as well. These outsiders come here just to meet the most intelligent people of Azeroth and make friends.
The assembly welcomes anyone who's interested in arcane arts and sciences. Come and join us in the academic discussions at the Arcane Art Assembly of Azeroth!
Neutral
Chair Millhouse related cards:
Chair Millhouse
Cards that summon Millhouse
Cards that benefit from Millhouse shuffling into your deck
(For a more detailed list of Millhouse related cards, including CLASS CARDS, see Imgur Album)
Other neutral cards:
FAQ and balance concerns:
Q: Does playing Millificent Manastorm when Chair Millhouse is on board grant you card draw?
A: Yes. If you play a minion, Chair Millhouse's effect triggers after the minion enters the battlefield and before its battlecry. Thus, not only Millificent Manastorm's effect triggers, all those "Battlecry: If Chair Millhouse is shuffled into your deck" effects also trigger if you play these minions when Millhouse is on board.
Q:Wannabe Giant seems OP. How is it balanced?
A: The pool of 8/8 minions is not as good as it seems. Minions like Molten Giant and Nozdormu are quite bad, and there are also many deck-dependent minions like Bittertide Hydra and Mountain Giant. Also, the power level of this card is similar to Tortollan Forager, which seldom sees play. Basically it's a card designed for new players.
Q:Core seems underpowered. What kind of decks could run it?
A: I suppose Core could be playable in some aggro decks if there are lots of control decks in the meta. Some control decks don't run small minions, and Core is quite good when your opponent only plays big minions.
Q: How does Puzzlemaster Lo work?
A: It literally hides every digit on both players' screen, including stats of minions, cost of cards, health of heroes, the amount of damage a spell deals, and even the time on the clock, the number of spectators, etc.
Q: What happens if I choose, say a damaged 7/1 minion, with Shaper of Minds?
A: You will end up with nothing to discover. Also, if you choose a 4/12 minion for instance, you'll be offered with only two choices (Ysera and Malygos).
Q:Doomsaver can technically be immune if 2 of them are on the battlefield. Is that intended?
A: Yes. Immune minions can still be removed by cards like Deadly Shot, Brawl, Twisting Nether, Doomsayer, etc. As you can see, Chair Millhouse is an Immune minion which is central to my expansion; I think the meta would evolve into one that requires people to take these kinds of Immune-proof removal cards.
Shaman
List of cards:
Notable synergies:
FAQ and balance concerns:
Q: Farseer Nobundo seems pretty OP. Imagine that 2 mana 7/7 for instance. How is it balanced?
A: 4 mana 7/7 doesn't see any play nowadays because shamans don't like its overload. I estimate that in the current meta the drawback of overload might be of same value with spending mana directly.
Q: Does Voodoo Researcher give windfury to Chair Millhouse permanently?
A: No. The windfury gets removed after Millhouse is shuffled into your deck.
A: Firstly, Menagerie Warden's battlecry triggers and you get a copy of Bethekk. Secondly, both Bethekks get +3/+3 because Menagerie Warden is a 5/5 minion.
Q: What happens if I play Fen Strider when I have 8 Armor?
A: The effect would not trigger because Druid doesn't have any 8-cost spell.
Hunter
List of cards:
Notable synergies:
FAQ and balance concerns:
Q:Arcane Strafe seems a bit OP comparing to Hellfire. How is it balanced?
A: First of all, warlock spells are often worse than spells from other classes (see Darkbomb and Quick Shot for instance). And in the case where you don't control any minion, Arcane Strafe is worse than Hellfire.
Q: Summoning a 5 mana minion for 2 mana only? What the hell are you doing with Dinner Time?
A: Firstly, Starving Buzzard is an overnerfed minion. It is worth about 4 mana only. Secondly, Starving Buzzard summoned in your opponent's turn is merely a 3/2 beast without an effect. Your opponent can remove it easily without giving you extra card draw. Thirdly, the secret itself is quite situational. I suppose only quest hunter might run this card.
Q: Wolf Pack would give hunter infinite resources. How could such things exist?
A:Deathstalker Rexxar also gives hunter infinite resources. And I'm making this card because I want Grimy Goons hunter to be a thing.
The Critters Carnival is an awesome event in which the greatest heroes of Azeroth can see the most exquisite creatures from all around the world! Spoopett, Carnival Master loves all types of creatures and wants everyone to see how incredible they are, that's why lots of Exhibits are organized during the Carnival. The most wonderful Beasts, Dragons and Murlocs are displayed on the Carnival, but they aren't the only ones being shown. Amazing Totem carving can be seen, and Goblins & Gnomes like to compete to see who can build the best Mechs. Of course, things don't usually calm down for the heroes of Azeroth. Some unexpected ruffians have found a way to get into the Carnival...
THE KEYWORD:
So, how does this mechanic work? Well, X is replaced with something, such as "Murloc" or "Secret". Let's suppose I play a Dragon with Dragon Exhibit, if I control no other dragon, the ability will activate. Unlike Battlecry, Exhibit triggers after the minion is played, so they can affect themselves. When you are holding an Exhibit card, it will have the Yellow Glow if the Exhibit can trigger.
THE CARDS:
Crystalclaw Boar has its claws sharpened by Mana, the more you ramp the stronger it gets!
Tiny Forest Wanderer is an adorable Mech that admires all creatures. It wants to protect them and rewards those who show it some lovely critters.
Rocktusk Sage this clever Shaman is an expert on the art of totem carving. But he is a bit grumpy, so he will only display his art if he knows he will have a good audience.
Stormborn Titan is an Elemental, an Overload card, it interacts with Totems! This card is the pinnacle of Shaman identity!
Armorsmith Hammer is oftentimes used to smith good armor, but such tool can be used as a weapon, and all this experience forging armor will not be wasted!
Maximus, Carnival Champion has won one of the many events taking place in the Carnival was an Arena Brawl! He is an expert on weapons and armor!
Q: What does count as gaining Mana, what is considered Mana gain to Crystalclaw Boar, Jadescale Drake , and Adamek, Awaken Guardian? A: Only actual Mana gain is considered. So casting Innervate or Wild Growth at 10 Mana would not increase Crystalclaw Boar's Attack, but using Nourish to get 3 Mana Crystals would.
Q: Does Tiny Forest Wanderer generates Excess Mana? A: No.
Q: Isn't the Exhibit mechanic a bit anti-synergetic? A: Yes! I want to see more decks mixing different types of minions than decks that choose one type to build around. Yet, some cards with Exhibit would still see play in decks with cards of the same type just because of how powerful they are. A card such as Southsea Spearman works better in decks without weapons, but it is also a Pirate, and many other Pirates benefit of weapons, so you might consider running it in a Pirate deck that runs weapons, as the other Pirates benefit of it.
Q: What types of Exhibit can be done? A: Beast, Demon, Dragon, Elemental, Mech, Murloc, Pirate, Secret, Totem, Quest and Weapon.
Q: How does Blazetail Mouse's Deathrattle work? A: Basically the enemy is in control of wheter this ability triggers or not. If I play an Elemental and then the enemy destroys Blazetail Mouse in the following turn, then the Blazetail Mouse can be revived.
Q: How many cards can have their cost reduced by Spoopett, Carnival Master? A: Up to three cards, a 2-Mana reduction to each minion type.
Q: How can I visualize Jadescale Drake and Stormborn Titan effects? A: Glad you've asked! Check the image below!
(special thanks to Livienna for making the banner)
While Hearthstone does have its more serious and darker moments, Hearthstone is in general, a lighthearted game that usually doesn't go too grim or too scary. Say goodbye to that, and welcome to the Invasion of the Void. Invasion of the Void is a much darker and grim card set than we usually see in HS, where you're see pure darkness around every corner. This expansion also introduces a mechanic in the game, Void Orbs.
Reminder of how the Void Orb mechanic works:
The Void Orb mechanic allows you to use Void Orbs as payment for additional effects with some cards.
Cards like Deathcaller, Spirit of Fear and Follower of Zivius will give you Void Orbs when you play them, where you will store them until you use them. Void Orbs are store beneath your Mana Crystals just Overload, and you are capped at 10 Void Orbs.
Other cards like Twilight Embracer, Dragon Knight and Zivius are what will allow you to actually use these Void Orbs to your advantage. When you play a card like this, you can choose how many Orbs you spend. A Discover-like interface will pop up giving you options of numbers up to the number of Void Orbs you have (including 0 if you don't wish to spend any). The more you spend, the larger the effect will be, but use your Void Orbs wisely because they don't regenerate after you use them. Once they're gone, you'll have to play more cards to build these back up again.
While this image isn't a perfect representation of how I planned it to work, it should at least give you a good grasp of how it works:
While we've already seen the Neutral Void Orb cards everyone can access, every class will also have their own ways of not only gaining, but using these Void Orbs as well. The Magician of Midnight will allow Mages to gain one of these orbs every time they cast a spell that deals damage in any form or capacity. Combo this with a bunch of cheap damage spells to quickly rack up those orbs and get that much closer to unleashing total annihilation among your enemies. Speaking of damage spells, not only will the Magician of Midnight give you orbs when you use them, he also bumps up the damage of the spells so you deal additional damage while you gain those orbs, killing 2 birds with one stone. Actually with Arcane Missiles, you can kill 4 birds with one stone.
Within Invasion of the Void, Mages gain access to one of the most powerful and possibly darkest magicians to ever grace the scene of Humanity, a force even Illidan Stormrage is not prepared for, the Legendary, evil dark mage known as Arithela comes to Hearthstone in the palm of Jaina's hand (or Medivh's or Khadgar's, but we don't care about those guys). Mages gain access to a new mechanic, benefiting them from casting unique spells they haven't cast yet that game. Upon casting 10 different spells, Arithela will call forth and allow you to summon The Dark One. Who is The Dark One you may ask. The Dark One is everyone's worst nightmare. Even the bravest of the brave and the strongest of the strong refuse to take on the infinitely daunting task of challenging The Dark One.
And now, you have the power to use them for yourself.
Full list of Mage cards:
Tokens
Priest
Priest has their own unique method of using these Void Orbs in the form of the Deadly Ritual spell. At a low, measly price of 1, Priest has the ability to spend any amount of Void Orbs they wish and conjure a minion for them from thin air. The more orbs used, the larger and scarier the minion will be to deal with. A ritual this deadly does not come without consequences though for it is not up to you what the outcome is, but it is up to the gods. SOMETHING WILL GET BROKEN!!!
It however is not only the Void Orbs that will cause massive chaos, but the Priest's Legendary dark necromancer, Vivifica Nekros also has that ability as well. Upon summoning, Vivifica will raise an army of your dead minions, filling your entire board with these. In addition to commanding your now undead army with you, she will also fight for you as well being a 5/5 herself. Priest has a number of different cards that will summon minions for you, used in conjunction with Vivifica, will mean death for your opponent.
Full list of Priest cards:
Rogue
There comes a time for every Rogue to sprint away from the scene. Void Orbs will give the Rogues that ability as well. The Mad Dash spell will have Rogues spend any even number of these Orbs from 0 to 10 to give them a burst of speed and rush through their deck quickly. Mad Dash can also easily be strung together and combo-ed with lots of other cards at the Rogue's disposal thanks to its 0 mana cost. Who needs to Sprint when you can have a Mad Dash?
As the sneaky, shadowy Rogue you are, you have the ability to call deadly assassins for help should you need it. Fyriand Elar will kill absolutely everything and everyone he wants to and will do it without a trace, and he can aid you in your task of victory by being able to kill any minion on the board and become stronger in the process, granting you a gigantic Stealth minion which your opponent will not be able to deal and can brutally, or even fatally, damage anything he touches. Fyriand is not your only ally on this mission though. Rogues here have their own entire Stealthy brotherhood ready to assassinate on sight.
After an invasion of the Burning Legion, leaders from both Alliance and Horde are now in the process of rebuilding this forsaken place into something more hospitable. Expect to see a lot of Draenei, Elves, Ogres, Orcs, Arakkoa, Plants, Elementals along with a few returning members of the Explorers League and their Horde friendnemy the Reliquary compete to discover this broken land.
Mechanic:
A big push for this expansion is decision making. Many of the mechanic reward planning ahead to get maximum value for the player with the most in-depth decision making skill
Keywords:
Study: To rebuild something, you first must understand it! The Study mechanic is introduced in this expansion as the Explorer's League and the Reliquary study the local creatures to have a better knowledge on how to understand them in order to rebuild this broken land. Study allows you more potency in your card in exchange for delay yourselves from playing them. In order for the player to keep track of the Study turn, the card will show the Study turn when you hover over it. When the X reached (0), the Study keyword will disappear and the effect will appear as normal. An example can be seen below:
Shaping: The creatures at the Outland along with the people who come to rebuild the place are highly unstable. All of them are capable to Shaping themselves or others into something else. Each turn the card is in your hand, their form becomes more unstable to the point of a certain time, they will transform into a different form. Similar but yet different in many ways to the Study mechanic, Shaping allows more flexibility in how to build your deck as minions with Shaping can be used both as their original form or their transformed form. The visual for this effect is similar to the Study keyword. However, because Hearthstone is at foremost designed to be simple and new players friendly, therefore any cards whose Shaping effect that named a specific card will be limited to three sources: Cards from the expansion itself, a new / established token like Ancient of Wonder or cards from the Classic and Expert set.
It should be noted that the countdown on Study and Shaping starts the turn AFTER your mulligan.
Another mechanic that will be introduced in this expansion is Side Quest: This mechanic is similar in many ways to the Quest: They present an objective for the players to complete. However, unlike Quests, they do NOT start in your opening hand. Most of the Side Quests are much easier to complete but their reward are also less game-winning and permanent. They cost 2 mana and can also be completed alongside your main Quest but, like Secret, you can only have 1 Side Quest with the same name at once. The good news is that they are Epic cards, which mean you can choose to include and complete two Side Quest in one game!
New Tribes! The Plant are now officially a Tribe for this expansion. A list of Plant that already existed in Hearthstone can be seen here. They will have synergy with each other whether as they on the field, summon another Plant and even have their own tutor effect!
The Showcase Cards:
Our dear Malfurion is united with one of his oldest friend, the son of Cenarius himself, Keeper Remulos to help fix this broken land. Remulos will help Malfurion hone and perfect his offensive skill in order to chase away the Demons lingering on the Outland and threatened to corrupt the creatures on it once again, as demonstrated by cards that synergize with Druid's Attack buff.
Rewards:
Being in such a confused and harsh world recently being purified from the Burning Legion, the creatures left in the Outland has to Adapt and survive. Survival of the Fittestis an example of the Druid theme this expansion: Cards focusing on Adapt, especially on the Plants.
With the Burning Legion gone, the Naaru A'dal and its people brings their power to heal this broken land. The being born of light and its followers introduce the theme of manipulative healing, their compassionate teaching will allow them to heal the enemy. But beware...
...For the brightest light cast the darkest shadow. The more chaotic Arakkoas like the Sethekk Talonpriest are resistant to change and will do anything to undermine the rebuilding effort. Sethekk Talonpriest signify the healing synergy introduced to Priest to compliment the manipulative healing theme.
With her Lasher being freed from the Burning Legion's influence, the forgotten queen of the Outland's Lasher Rosalina has returned! With her newfound freedom and power, Rosalina, Lasher Queen stumbled upon the Rogue adventurer and decided to contribute her power to rebuilding the Outland through turning those useless junks 1 or 0 drops into her servants which all have the power rival that of the SI:7 Agent. Her presence signify a big focus on the Rogue set this expansion to turn low value spells like those Razorpetals or Toxins to more useful resources.
Outland Coin:
When there is need, there's a good deal!Outland Auctioneer will give you the money and the resource to rebuilding the Outland, as long as you are willing to wait for the right moment that is. His coins in this land are not unlimited like the one in Gadgetzan you know! His presence signify a big theme to generate the Outland Coin for a big Rosalina or a Miracle turn.
The rest of the Rogue cards:
Side Quest Reward:
Q & A
Does this expansion come out with the same patch fix between the interaction between Auchenai Soulpriest / Embrace the Shadow effect for Lifesteal cards? Yes! This mean that Corrupting Shadow won't give the Priest player any stupid OTK.
Why is Rosalina's effect only needs to wait for 1 turn? She has no impact on the board the turn she is played outside of a 5 mana 4/5 Taunt body while requiring a huge amount of investment from the Rogue player, who already having difficulty staying alive. Any more waiting and she will be too weak.
Why is Cabal Apprentice has such drastically different effect from Cabal Shadow Priest? Well, she's just an apprentice, which mean she will hurt herself handling such powerful Shadow magic!
WOW! A'dal with Auchenai / Embrace the Shadow + Hero Power is 18 damage! Yes, but it's only 18 damage WITHOUT the enemy control a Taunt minion at 8-10 mana! It isn't even close to what Miracle Rogue did in its heyday or Freeze Mage shenanigan. Plus, you need atleast 13 Health in order to not die when executing this combo, which is easier said than done.
Why is Seed of Hallucination not a Plant? I don't want Rogue's card set is filled with anymore lackluster Plant since Razorpetal Lasher and Biteweed already existed. Plus, making it a Plant would make it too strong compare with Undercity Huckster.
How we keep track of how many Health restore by Gift of Rosalina? The number 1 on the card will change to how many Health restore by the effect, just like how spell affected by Spell Damage.
Forest Protector isn't a Plant because then she will be too hard to remove if you chain summoning her.
Rare:
Epic:
Legendary
Tae'thelan is the leader of the Reliquary, a Horde rival to the League of Explorer. Similar yet different in many ways, while the League focusing on creating more resources such as Elise adding cards, Brann and Finley drawing and Reno is healing, Tae'thelan can also create more resources but also capable of disrupt his enemy's play.
Token from Ancient Seed:
Thanks everyone in both the submission for taking the time to view and the discussion for their valuable opinion.
Thanks to everyone who helped me this round!!! I hope you're continuing to enjoy my expansion :D
Introducing...
An unusual warmth has settled over the wintery landscapes of Azeroth... from Northrend to Winterspring, snow is melting, flowers are blooming, and dormant beings are awakening. The rumors are true: SPRING IS COMING.
"The Great Thaw" expansion is all about the clash of Winter and Spring. We have Frostsabers, Ice Elementals, and Avalanches, as well as Forest Spirits, Flowery Glades, and Woodland Creatures. Similar to Goblins vs. Gnomes, this expansion is not set at a certain place or event, but instead is a general theme that permeates all over. Pushing for more control-style decks, this expansion includes the Sherazin Dormant mechanic, more board control spells/weapons, and three new keywords (really two):
About the Keywords
Elusive - This is simply the Faerie Dragon effect. I know Ben Brode said they don't intend to make this a keyword as it would be too confusing for new players, but hey this competition is just for fun and I want it :D
Chill -Chilled minions have a shimmering light blue mist surrounding their token. The Chill takes place at the end of each player's turn. This mechanic encourages trading; it's not often that a Chilled minion will last long enough on board to accumulate a ton of damage from the Chill effect.
Warm - Examples of this currently in the game are Nerubian Prophet and Shifter Zerus. Like these cards, your opponent will not see the trigger take place. I should note that most Warm effects encourage you to hold cards in your hand, however some are still stuck in winter, and will lose value as they Warm.
The sun icon tracks the number of turns a card has Warmed. In this example, Blossoming Nymph has been kept in hand for 3 turns and is buffed to 4 health. The icon doesn't appear on a card until the Warm count is at 1 or more.
Huge shoutout to ZardozSpeaks for helping me with this graphic!!!
Showcase Cards
'Biting Cold' card:
As a class that likes to lurk in the shadows, Rogues are shrinking away from the Great Thaw and retreating to the cold of winter. Frostbiting Daggerparalyzes Chilled minions where they stand, and also supports a mill-style of play (see the rest of the rogue set below for more milly goodness!). Anla, Winter's Shadow is an excellent board control engine, and supports a Chill rogue deck type (remember, there are more Chill enablers in the neutral set - again, see below!).
Meanwhile, Druids are in their prime as spring arrives. Spring Awakening is a control-oriented spell, buffing minions in hand as turns pass - and unlike Smuggler's Run, topdecking this with no minions in hand at least allows you to cycle. Father of the Forest is also a high-value card, since you can choose to add three high-cost, high-value Beasts to your hand. However, this is a versatile legendary that provides an aggressive line of play - the Discover mechanic and the single turn cost reduction allows you to choose low-cost Beasts for a strong single turn.
Finally, the Shamans of Azeroth have harnessed the elements of winter during the Great Thaw. A natural addition to Frost Shock, Avalanche is a useful tool for control and combo shamans to stall the game. Frosthold Axe is a handy weapon that basically functions as a 2/5 that gains value over time.
Additional Cards
Rogue
Druid
Shaman
The Entire Neutral Set!
Commons
Frost Whelpling is just learning his skills and can't control his Chilling frost breath (btw - see Frost Drake below for the grown-up version of this little guy!). This is also an example of the general push for control-style decks in this expansion... he's a strong 1-drop for decks that don't want to flood the board. Also, as the Elven Sharpshooter warms, her text would change in the way that text for spell damage does. So for example, after being in your hand for 2 turns, her battlecry text would read "Deal *3* damage to a minion."
Rares
Iceshard Elemental is an example of a minion that doesn't like to Warm in your hand. Play him as early as you can, or he'll melt altogether (if his health reaches 0, he can still be played - and would trigger things like Knife Juggler - but would die instantly).
Epics
The wording for Arboreal Giant was much debated, since the text could also read "Warm: Reduce the Cost of this card by (1)." However, I've chosen to keep it in line with the other giants, whose texts all begin with "Costs (1) less".
Legendaries
Mith'ra, Spirit of Spring and Lae'ra, Spirit of Winter are Sister Spirits that are said to be battling over control of Azeroth. Lae'ra's hold over Northrend and other snow-covered regions is waning, and Mith'ra has taken the opportunity to Warm the lands and Restore life. Lae'ra, meanwhile, is filled with vengeance and is taking it out on minions that can't handle her Chill. And the others, well... she'll justFreezethem where they stand. Also, I feel like I should address how these two cards interact xD The ruling is that Kalecgos cannot be made Elusive. This is one of those unspoken rules of Hearthstone, something DisguisedToast would make a video about upon release ;)
Tokens
In terms of flavor, the idea here is that the Murlocs make such a racket that they wake up the Leviathan, and the damage spells release the Dryad from her roots by cutting away at the vines. Hope you like!!
The Caverns of Time have started acting up, letting off bursts of mysterious energy, transforming the world around them and causing never-before-seen creatures and entities to slip through into the world, along with some forgotten members of other timelines.
While Nozdormu seems content to leave it be, saying it'll be fixed in 1 or 2 working days (he has experience, apparently), the rest of the world is eager to explore this destabilised zone. Join them to find what lurks in the Sands of Time, what creeps around the Forgotten Caves and what stumbles through the Lost Woods (no relation, pls don't sue).
For a reminder of Phase I, go back in time by clicking here. For a reminder of Phase II, go back in time by clicking here.In this Phase, we take a look at the first three classes for the Collapse of the Caverns - Paladin, Shaman and Warlock. In addition to the reintroduction of Dragon Synergy and the brand new keywords Echo and Revert (explained again in the spoiler below) each class has gotten mixed up in the timestream, and features a common card with a mechanic more familiar in a different class. For simplicity's sake, these are just the class alphabetically before - so Paladin -> Mage, Shaman -> Rogue and Warlock -> Shaman.
Echo is pretty self-explanatory - the counterpart to Reno decks, this mechanic encourages including duplicates to gain bonus effects, or even entirely different ones.
Revert is a little more complicated. When a transformation is removed, the minion returns to what it began as - Shifter Zerus becomes a 1/1 again, Druid of the Claw becomes an un-Taunted 4/4. We will presume this would be tracked correctly. Enchantments are those little pieces of text that show under a card when its been buffed or debuffed - the +1/+1 from Shattered Sun Cleric, the reduction to 1 Attack by Humility, they all have names and they would all be removed. I'm also going to include Silence as an Enchantment, because I want to, and I think this is a perfect way of introducing 'un-Silencing' without breaking things. This wouldn't restore Health, but if your minion's damaged Health was above its starting Health, then it'll Revert to full Health, because that's how it works when an Aura is removed or an effect Silenced. Get all that? It's much simpler in practice, I promise.
Paladin
The Paladins of the world flocked initially to the Caverns of Time to help aid those who were being affected by the Collapse, providing relief from the strange effects the wonky timeflow was having. However, they quickly become consumed with a new goal - upon uncovering an ancient relic believed to contain a divine power, they've been learning from and befriending many of the Dragons of the area, trying to unlock its secrets for themselves, so that they may better help those in need.
The oh-so-powerful artifact that has the Paladins all in a tizzy. This provides continual buffs so long as you have a Dragon friend as back-up to teach you how it works.
The Scales of Justice are an ancient breed, surfing the timestream and meting out punishment and praise where they see fit. The ancient Amulet belongs to them, and combos quite well with them as well, returning two copies of it to your hand next turn.
All Paladin Cards
Flavour Text
Chronolocked Amulet: The hardest family heirloom to pass down.
Divine Preacher: Cast off all your enchantments, for the Light says that's cheating.
Trapped in Time: Rose was here.
Giant Sand Wyrm: She's tired of reminding everyone that technically, she came first.
Regenerative Drake: You used to call me on my scale phone...
Scales of Justice: Seems a bit odd that he's the one getting all the benefits in this arrangement.
Benedict the Timesworn:Nozdormu, I've come to bargain!
Shaman
Though Time isn't a traditional element, the Shamans of the world were still thrown by the temporal anomalies popping up. Unlike the other beings of the world though, this apparent disaster actually strengthened their connection to the Elemental Planes, allowing them to contact more powerful beings and alter the flow of time with more precision than before.
Control over time has long evaded the Shamans in its full extent. Now they can truly empower their allies and cripple their enemies with precision.
Make sure you get your card ordering correct though - after all, timing is everything!
Splinter, Manalord managed to force himself through the barriers of time to offer his help. Unfortunately, his method of doing so brought him through in 37 different times at once, and put rather a strain on the mana reserves.
The more of him you ask for help, the more your mana suffers. Make sure you plan your plays accordingly!
All Shaman Cards
Flavour Text
Bottled Lightning: Warning: Contents may be shocking to some viewers.
Dune Devil: A sandstorm beyond your experience, beyond your imagination.
Passage of Time: Right past the Corridor of Seasons, before the Hallway of Dreams.
Timeshare Totem: You actually only get it for 2 Seasons every year, Kibler and Firebat have it the other 10.
Crumbling Elemental: An absolutely smashing guy, really put together.
Storm Front: The Elementals wanted to get their own back after TGT, y'know?
Splinter, Manalord: No, he isn't friends with the Tortollans, why do you keep asking?
Warlock
The Collapse has also been kind to the Warlocks. What was once lost forever is now far more easily returned, with the help of a few deals made with some of the shadier Dragons that have spilled from the tears in time. The Void now also offers visions of the future, allowing some plans to come to fruition earlier than they thought possible.
The first experiment with bringing the future to the present did not go particularly well for the Warlock attempting it, but they did eventually get a hold of the knowledge they were searching for.
I don't suppose his shambling corpse will be too enthused about the success, but still. Silver linings.
One of the first Dragons to help the Warlocks master their control, all he asked in return was a simple reanimation spell. The spell didn't work completely, and the cost is high every time he returns, but he doesn't care.
Seems to actually enjoy it a bit. Weird guy, that one. Watch out for his targeted Discards.
All Warlock Cards
Flavour Text
Drain Soul: Souls - Tastier than you'd like to admit!
Reckless Regeneration: Not for use on minions (3) mana and under. That's just a bad deal.
Reversal of Fate: Apparently Gul'dan's Skull can do all sorts of crap. It's a great paperweight too!
Degenerative Drake: Late night when you need my cards...
Faulty Time Capsule: They could have taken the skeleton out ages ago, they just think it looks cooler like that.
Relentless Skelegon: Schrödinger's Cat has nothing on this guy.
Void Prophet Arya: The Void knows all, and it says you suck.
Trolls. Voodoo. Blood Sacrifices. Canibalism. Death. Ancient Rituals. Dark Magic... All related to the powerful Loa, the gods workshiped by the trolls. Wild deities beyond good and evil. Etereal beings that can bless and curse their servitors. Are you one of those Servitors of the Loa?
The Loa
For Servitors of the Loa (SotL) I wanted the Loa to be my main legendary cards so I've created a full card cycle with one Loa for each class! The Loa are 9 mana (not 10 because they're weaker than The Old Gods) legendary class minions, they are Beast because they are God avatars of the wild animals. Mechanically they have an ability that they shared with your minions when they die via Deathrattle and also a Battlecry with the improved Hero Power (remember Justicar Trueheart?) of their own class. But who are this powerfull and wild deities?
Tortolla is the turtle demigod and, much like Malorne and Goldrinn, an Ancient guardian. He is the patron ancient to all creatures who move effortlessly between land and sea. He is one of the oldest of the Ancients, having been alive since the time of the Titans. Due to that, he speaks in an old language that has been long forgotten.
In Servitors of the Loa is the Taunt God.
Hethiss, the Snake, is one of the Primal Jungle Gods in the troll pantheon. Like the other Loa, Hethiss is held against his will. He is represented on Azeroth through a Champion of his choosing, a position currently held by High Priest Venoxis.
In Servitors of the Loa is the Poisonous God.
Halazzi is the lynx god of the Amani trolls. Is the only loa to not have adopted the name of his host. Instead, the host seemingly having adopted the loa's name (which might have been the case of the other Amani loa, as it would be an odd practice).
In Servitors of the Loa is the Elusive* God.
* Elusive = Can't be targeted by spells or hero Powers.
A Shaman sneak peek!
Hakkar the Soulflayer, Blood God of the Gurubashi trolls, is a malevolent and destructive creature that controls the Gurubashi Empire's fallen capital of Zul'Gurub. He is an actual deity, and Wild God, known in the troll pantheon as the Loa of Blood.
In Servitors of the Loa is the Windfury God.
More coming soon in Phase IV and Phase V (I hope)!
New Keyword: Voodoo
Voodoo is a dark and powerful form of magic practiced by the shadowhunters, hexxers, and witch doctors. The trolls' use of mojo in their voodoo magic has long been established. Drinking blood - our Hero's Health points - provides power, the darkest of voodoo. Shadowhunters are masters of voodoo magics who can use their spirit-powers to both heal their allies and place curses upon their hapless enemies.
Voodoo FAQ
The UI (user interface) when you play a card with Voodoo is like the Choose One cards UI. You pick one side and that's the effect you get. Some Voodoo add new effects and some replace the base effect (all ended in instead), you can see both examples under this lines (they're cards from Phase I).
Remember: you can die if you don't have enough Health and you activate the Voodoo side of the card!
I also used the non-official keyword Elusive. Elusive = Can't be targeted by spells or hero Powers. More information here.
Berserker Axe: I really wanted Enrage to be a thing in HS so I've designed this weapon and some Enrage minions for that. I was thinking about "All the minions count as damaged" for the Execute sinergy but it was a bit confuse.
Berserker Shieldbearer: I really like the combination of Voodoo and Enrage because gives you the tools for a lot of combinations with the same minion. in this case Taunt makes easier activate the Enrage.
Hethiss' Servitor: Posionous seems to be the new Rogue keyword so like the awesome Argent Protector this cards makes your small minions a big problem for your opponent!
Dark Magic Infusion: Rogue needs two things: more weapon related cards and healing, this card fixes those two things. Your 3 Attack dagger is the best friend of Luckydo Buccaneer and Ledgewalker Assassin (you can find it below with all the Rogue cards).
All Rogue Cards 🡳
Priest
SotL Themes: Shadowform and Silence.
Shadowlight Twins: I really want Shadowform decks to be something playable. The duallity of the Priest/Shadowpriest is pretty cool and I think the dark side fits perfectly with the Voodoo mechanic. The 'Deal 2 damage' activates the Shadowform!
Shadowlight Cleric: Another card for the Shadowform decks. Really interested in this kind of opposite effects, I really want to see somethink like this in HS.
Enchant: When you play a card with Enchant, it will immediately give the next minion you DRAW (not summon nor play) a little bonus! Careful though! You may not draw the Enchanted card, so build your deck wisely!
Stabilize: Since Battlecries occur WHEN minions are played (not after), Battlecries will occur even if you can't pay the Stabilize cost! Note that Elementals with Stabilize will trigger "If you played an Elemental last turn" effects EVEN if you didn't pay the Stabilize cost because you technically did play the Elemental!
Stabilize is all about playing with your mana expenditure in order to get the optimial result! Sometimes you need to force yourself to pay the Stabilize cost to get the minion's body, but sometimes you don't want to pay it in order to just get the Battlecry/Deathrattle effect for the cheapest cost in order to play other important cards as well. This can open up for a lot of skilled plays as the usual ordering of cards is largely tampered by creating the optimal result from Stabilize cards.
Note: Cards that summon random minions (e.g. Evolve and Devolve) cannot summon minions with Stabilize, similar to how Quests can't be produced randomly. This is for obvious balancing reasons, and Evolve Shaman is my guilty pleasure.
Flavour:
Enchant: Dalaran houses some of the most skilled sorcerers in Azeroth. Some of these guys specialize in Enchanting items and even people, making them stronger (and more stylish) than ever before!
Stabilize: While Enchanting minions are quite adept in their studies, some disciples of Dalaran are quite...inexperienced with handling spells. Sometimes, these foolish beings try to attempt the most powerful spells with little mana, and they end up injuring themselves after they fail to Stabilize their spells.
The Story So Far...
After arriving at Dalaran (Neutral Common Set), getting a taste of the magical island (Neutral Rare Set), and discovering the floating city's many wonders and Secrets (Neutral Epic Set), you have by chosen by Khadgar to look into the strange occurrences that have suddenly started appearing in Dalaran. What will you explore next?
Warlock's Themes
Discarding spells
Healing in unorthodox ways
Warlock's Lore
You begin to look into the rumors surrounding Vargoth, a mage and a member of the Council of Six. Apparently, sources tell you that he belongs to a secret society called the Empyrean Society. Rumors has it that they study forbidden Fel magic that can have great effects if sacrifices are made. One of the most surprising things you've heard is that Vargoth has been possessed by a demon! Vargoth isn't controlled by a Demon! That's impossible; that would never happen in Dalaran...well, okay it happened with Medivh, but come on. Lightning doesn't strike twice...but you decide to explore Vargoth's retreat just in case. And wouldn't you know it, there happens to be a secret passage behind the bookshelf...
One of Discolock main problems is that the randomness of the discard effect. Thus, I present to you, the Nightborne Healthstone! Utilizing the new keyword Stabilize, you can either use this card as a quick heal OR as a card to reduce the randomness of discard! After all, discarding minions is WORSE than discarding spells because minions give you board presence and more tempo than spells.
This creates a lose-lose situation for your opponent as they have to choose whether they want to devote their cards to kill it. If they destroy it, you get healed and your opponent wastes their resources to kill it! If they don't, either you can get some sweet value in Discardlock by discarding the cards you want OR you can have fun with Doomguard in Zoolock.
This is especially useful in this expansion's Warlock set as there are a lot of spells and minions that synergize with discarding spells.
Speaking of discard spells, here's one of them! Rain of Fire here reduces the chance of you discarding the cards you want to keep by multiplying in your hand whenever you discard this! This both synergizes with discard effects and helps to give you card advantage.
Most importantly, it allows you cast a TON of damaging spells to help you control the board and make you feel like a true Warlock spellslinger god. FEEL THE MIGHT OF THE EMPYREANS FOOL!
A nice little flavour tid-bit here is that almost ALL of my spells in my expansion reference an actual WoW spell. The only exception are the "Anthology" cards which Discover a spell you've cast this game and does something extra. This is supposed to represent the skills you have learned at Dalaran as it is a major educational centre for aspiring Mages.
All Warlock Cards
Some Quick Clarifications:
If you discard a spell with a "When you discard this" effect while you control Vargoth, Demon's Vessel, the spell's effect will trigger twice: once as if it was discarded (normal effect) and once as if it was played (Vargoth, Demon's Vessel's effect). For example, if you were to discard Rain of Fire while Vargoth, Demon's Vessel was on the battlefield, Rain of Fire would add 2 copies of it to your hand as normal AND Vargoth, Demon's Vessel would deal 2 damage to a random enemy minion.
If you discard a spell that can't target an enemy while you control Vargoth, Demon's Vessel, Vargoth will cast it on a random viable target (e.g. Shadowflame will be cast on a random friendly minion, Felfire Potion will just be cast, Demonfuse will do nothing if there are no Demons on the battlefield).
Paladin's Themes
Enchant/Buffing
Elementals
Paladin's Lore
The Sunreavers are the Horde faction within Dalaran; their main goal is to find the "Divine Bell" which is a sacred object with mystical powers. They have recently taken accepted Elementals into their community who have mastered manipulating the Light and using buff spells to their advantage. Some Sunreaver Paladins have learned the ways of the Light Elementals and have ascended to become humanoid Elementals called Ascendants (real original name there guys). However, it seems that Aethas Sunreaver has been seen in public less often. Those who have seen him claim that his armor was stained in blood and seemed to radiate some sort of Light energy. Curiously, there have also been reports of Ascendants missing...you wonder if Sunreaver has been siphoning the energy of these beings. Well, there's only one way to find out.
Naturally, with the theme of Enchanted Sunreavers and charming Paladins, Enchant and buffing is a big theme within the Paladin set. Sanctity Aura is a simple yet great Enchant buff that just shows you how strong the Sunreavers are. Not only will it fortify a minion, but it's a solid card to buff the next minion you draw in order to push a frequent stream of threats.
It's also worth mentioning that Enchant STACKS, so you can really have some fun triggering a bunch of Enchant cards at once and raise your next minions' might to an awe-inspiring degree!
With Handbuff Elemental Pally being a surprisingly good deck, Paladins have recieved some strong Elementals to compliment it. Take Son of the Light for example.
Without paying the Stabilize cost, this can be used as a small nice heal if you need it in a flash. You can amplify this effect with Handbuffs or Attack-raising Enchantments!
It's also noteworthy that this can be a cheap way (1 mana!) to trigger "If you played an Elemental last turn" effects.
However, when this bad boy hits the field (if you payed the Stabilize cost), that's when the real fun begins. Not only do you have a potent minion on the board, but you can raise this Ascendant's Attack with buff spells (as well as Enchant and Handbuffing of course) in order to restore a MASSIVE amount of Health to your hero. Try getting through THIS Aggro!
All Paladin Cards
Some Quick Clarifications:
The copy of the spell cast on Prism Phoenix WILL NOT trigger Prism Phoenix's effect. Otherwise, infinite shenanigans will occur.
Note that Paladin's Anthology says "TARGETING" spells. So, if you Discover a buff spell, well obviously the next minion you draw gets the buff. If you Discover a healing spell, then nothing happens to the next minion. However, if you Discover Lay on Hands, then you would draw 3 cards when you draw a minion. If you Discover a damaging spell, then the next minion you draw would lose Health. If that minion takes fatal damage from this, then it would be discarded.
Priest Themes
Shadow Priest (If your hero has less Health than the enemy's...)
Stealing/Toying with your opponent's cards
Light/Shadow Parallelism i.e. Restoring Health and Dealing the same amount of damage in one card.
Priest's Lore
The Kirin Tor has gained the attention of the Black Temple as it now floats over the Broken Shore. There have been stories of members of the Black Temple recruiting Kirin Tor ex-Mages, alchemists, and shadowy psychics. It is rumored that Alchemist Karlain was one of the recruited. Karlain is another member of the Council of Six and an expert Chemist who has sworn off succumbing to his rage, sadness, and emotions after accidentally killing his wife when she was attacked by his apprentice. He claims that he is now composed and that his rationality overpowers his feelings. Unfortunately, like the Shadow Priests, everything has a dark side...and Twists of Fate can occur at any time. You must confront Karlain at Eventide as he seems to be planning concocting some private "potions" there for some "guests" tonight. Hopefully, he will be as composed as he has ever been.
This Priest set is all about Shadowpriest and it's dark ways! That includes stealing cards and dishing out big damage!
Priest has received a lot of cards that restore a certain amount of Health AND deal that same amount of damage in represent the Light/Shadow parallelism. A minor theme in the Priest set are cards that do something dark if you risk your Health to be lower than your enemy's for ULTIMATE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION...ahem, excuse me. This can be particularly useful against aggressive decks that like to deal damage early, so PUNISH THE PUNY MORTALS WITH VENGEANCE...*cough* what is up with me today?!
A good example of both of these themes is Shadow Mend. Alone, it's just a heal card that can be utilized when it needs to for healing synergies. But when you have less Health than your hero, then it can become a strong damage dealing card to help you control the board or just finish your opponent.
The composed Karlain is no longer as he has devoted his efforts of fulfilling the age-old goal of every Alchemist (turning metal into gold, humans into sheep, water into holy water, and other transformations) into harnessing the mind-stealing powers of Shadow Priests! Now, Shadowchemist Karlain transforms HIMSELF into your opponent's worse nightmare: their own forces!
Seek revenge against that Meteor that Mage got out of Primordial Glyph or that Crystal Core and Sulfuras from those nasty Quests! Steal some key cards that would be perfect to use now or later like Hunter's magnificent minions or Shamans Devolve shenanigans! Or, ya know, just copy your opponent's 2-drop if you lack one.
All Priest Cards
Some Quick Clarifications:
If Twist of Fate Enchants an enemy minion with 3 or less Health, your opponent will discard it.
Clumsy Potionbrewer will damage herself and heal herself in the Battlecry process. So you will heal at least one character regardless of whether you payed the Stabilize cost or not.
Minions that take fatal damage from Clumsy Potionbrewer's "deal 2 damage to all minions" effect will get destroyed i.e. will not get healed back up to above zero Health by the "restore 2 Health to all minions" effect.
If Purloining Telepath is on the board and your opponent adds a card to their hand in any other fashion besides drawing (e.g. Discover, Babbling Book, Shadowstep), YOU get it instead.
If your opponent has a Purloining Telepath that adds a card to their hand while YOU have a Purloining Telepath, your Purloining Telepath will NOT steal that card. Otherwise, there would be an infinite loop like Lifesteal and Auchenai Soulpriest (which will be fixed).
Neutral Cards
Commons
Some Quick Clarifications:
This is the rule of how Freeze works: After a player ends their turn, un-Freeze all friendly characters that have NOT attacked that turn. What does this mean? That means that all minions that have attacked Frost Bomb and destroyed it WILL NOT unfreeze at the end of the attacker's turn ("un-Freeze all friendly characters that have NOT attacked that turn"). They will remain frozen until the end of that player's NEXT TURN. Cool, eh? Really chills the aggro decks.
Violet Gate Archmage's effect stacks with Stabilize. So, if you have a Fire Ascendantin your hand while Violet Gate Archmage is out, Fire Ascendant would cost 2 mana and have Stabilize: (5).
Rares
Some Quick Clarifications:
Sunreaver Bankerexists in case Mage gets a little too trigger happy with Ice Block due to the "Spells you've cast this game" theme
Sunreaver Duplicatormakes you draw a duplicate of the Enchanted card, not herself. (e.g. If she Enchants a Wisp, and you play the Wisp, you will draw another Wisp in your deck if you have one.)
Epics
Some Quick Clarifications:
The Guardssummoned by Sunreaver General will be summoned adjacent to Sunreaver General like the Boom Bots summoned adjacent to Dr. Boom
Legendaries
Some Quick Clarifications:
Vereesa Windrunner: You Discover a Paladin Secret, then a Hunter Secret, then a Mage Secret, and you put all 3 of them into the battlefield. And yes, she costs 6 mana like her sister, Sylvanas Windrunner.
Kael'thas Sunstrider: Also, he Enchants all of the spells YOU draw, not your opponent because Enchant is worded as "When played, give a bonus to the next card that you draw".Also, the copies of the spells will not have the Enchantment (i.e.Playing a copy of a spell (produced by Kael'thas's effect) will not give you another copy of that spell).
Rhonin, Theramore's Last: Basically, all minions can now use their Battlecries/Deathrattles FOR FREE. Stabilize effects will stack; so a 2-cost card with Stabilize: (3) will now have Stabilize: (5).
Khadgar, Supreme Archmage: Yes, Khadgar has Medivh, the Guardian's stats because Khadgar is Medivh's apprentice.
Warlock Empyrean Magician: And for his next trick, he'll cut you in half! No seriously. Run. Warlock's Anthology: A Wrinkle in the Void by Madeleine L'Demon. Dark Regeneration: You can never regenerate ginger hair. This is definitely the darkest regeneration. Nightborne Healthstone: Nightborne Healthstick and this will break your bones. Ritual of Summoning: To perform this, you need to chant the unholy words of Felizar, raise your hands in the air, shake them side to side, wear a strange mask, and stay still as I try to record you. Rain of Fire: INJUSTICE RAINS FROM ABOVE! Vargoth, Demon's Vessel: First, Medivh; now, him? Dalaran really needs to get some Demon Repellent. It would certainly be more useful than the Bat/Shark Repellent they just ordered.
Paladin Sanctity Aura: The Sunreavers built this Sanctity out of rock and roll. Divine Bell: The Sunreavers really like this relic's name! It has a nice ring to it. Prism Phoenix: Has a really colourful personality. Son of the Light: Child of Light. Beware the Night. Sunreaver Lightbringer: A quest to bring Light? Bring it on! Paladin's Anthology: King Arthas and His Knights of the Frozen Throne by Roger Lancing Gold Aethas Sunreaver: What the heck did the Sun ever do to him?
Priest Priest's Anthology: 50 Shadows of Grey by E. Light-hearted Names Twist of Fate: Days without a hero turning into a villain: 0 Shadow Mend: People make a big deal about being in this spell's blast, but in the Mend, nothing really matters. Clumsy Potionbrewer: Although she is a klutz, she started her successful career after her infamous first Volcanic Potion: Rhubarb Pie. Kirin Tor Shadow Priest: Always overshadows the competition. Purloining Telepath: This pun is Telepathetic. Shadowchemist Karlain: Tried to turn metal into gold. Turned himself into a golden hammer. Nailed it.
Neutral Commons Krasus's Landing Escort: Funny enough, he hates escort missions. Don't we all? Violet Hold Guard: Easily distracted by the sound of dropped coins, but is completely fine with intruders just out of line of sight. Crystalsong Drake: Him and Crystaldance Eminem once had the best rap battle to date. Underbelly Duelist: It's time to d-d-duel! Silver Covenant Librarian: She checks out the books AND the boys. Magus Commerce Dealer: How he managed to have Jaraxxus and Deathwing available for purchase is beyond me, but there's a 50% sale on the Twisting Nether so I'm not questioning it. Violet Gate Archmage: Opened a portal to the moon once in order to punish a guy who talked too much about space. She kind of regrets it, but she still Wants Him Gone. (He's probably Still Alive). Frost Bomb: Leaves those caught in the blast frozen in fear. And ice. Mostly ice.
Neutral Rares Kirin Tor Pedagogue: She always asks her students to find X in her numerology classes. It's obviously 10. Sunreaver Banker: You think you can hide Secret debts from her? Don't bank on it. Sunreaver Duplicator: Sunreaver Duplicator: Fire Ascendant: His personal profile: 3rd Degree Burns, 2nd Degree in Pyromancy, and 1st Degree MURDER. Water Revanant: Because drowning people is definitely the best way to save their life.
Neutral Epics Eventide Fountain: Ironically, Oddtide Fountain gives you Spell Damage +2. Tirisfal Sorcerer: Comes after the Tirispride Sorcerer. Silver Covenant General: "The best offense is a good defense." And by that, he means using the Guards as a meat shield. Kirin Tor Oracle: "You're going to die. That'll be 30 Gold."
Neutral Legendaries Vereesa Windrunner: As an expert huntress and leader of the Silver Covenant, she specializes in all sorts of traps. From magical Counterspells to exploding traps to...throwing a guy at the enemy and calling it a Noble Sacrifice? Kael'thas Sunstrider: Currently filing a public copyright strike against Zenyatta's balls. Wow, he's got balls. Rhonin, Theramore's Last: "Theramore is the bomb!" -Rhonin's poorest choice of words. Khadgar, Supreme Archmage: Unfortunately, the title of Supreme Sorcerer was already taken by someone who used to be a Doctor. He was kind of Strange.
Thrall once had a dream. In his dream, he saw the scene of Taretha being killed over and over. He tried to save her, but all his attempts turned out to be in vain. Jaina once had a dream. In her dream, she followed Arthas in the ravage at Stratholme. Later on, they went to Northend together, where she took hold of the Frostmourne and became the Lich Queen. Magni once had a dream. In his dream, his daughter's son was born. To his astonishment, the baby's father was Ragnaros.
NEW MECHANIC:
Shifting is a new kind of random effect. When you're holding a Shifting card, the random result will be shown in its card text; and the result changes after you play a card. In this way, the random effect becomes partially controllable to players.
Token is a mechanic that already exists in game, but it is not yet widely explored. The only existing card that utilizes the mechanic is Open the Waygate. Note that this mechanic is NOT limited to cards in your hand, but also applies to minions on board, such as Imp and Treant.
Everyone sleeps, and most of us dream. What is the most unforgettable dream of legends in Azeroth?
Prepare yourselves, the bells have tolled! Shelter your weak, your young and your old! Each of you shall pay the final sum! Cry for mercy, the reckoning has come!
There is a festival that occurs in the autumn months. It is a time of celebration, of costumed children and masked matrons passing out candy. When farmers light bonfires to celebrate the harvest. But as villages the world over gather together, the guards must stay vigilant. For with the waning daylight comes things that prowl and skitter and groan and howl. Rotten crops and corpses rise as the cursed Horseman rides. So gather around your family and toss an offering to the Wickerman, so that you may be safe during...
Hallow's End - A Custom Hearthstone Expansion
The Fear Keyword
It wouldn't be a proper Hallow's End without a heaping dose of terror! Fear is the set's new keyword that temporarily reduces a minion's Attack. Like Freeze, it expires at the end of the turn after which that minion could make an attack. So apply Fear to an enemy on your turn, it goes away at the end of your opponent's next turn. This effect can help slow down an aggressive opponent, or take the teeth out of a larger threat!
Who ya gonna call?
When there's something strange, and it don't look good, the poor townsfolk need someone to protect them. One such defender is the Hunter. Using their tamed pets and versatile traps, the Hunter can help keep the Horseman's monsters at bay.
Death beckons...
Many people fear Hallow's End and the darkness it brings. But the Forsaken embrace it. To them it is almost a religious holiday, a celebration of their freedom from the Scourge. Priests of the Undercity study to learn new powers over death. Some even try to tap the abilities of the dread Horseman himself.
A night of mischief and mayhem...
Of course, there are those who would take advantage of the fears of the populace. Stealing candy, trashing homes, slipping into costume... there are many Rogues who enjoy the more sinister side of holiday. Selfish ambition and trickery could get you far...if you play your cards right.
And when your reckless betrayals finally catch up to you... having a few Secrets up your sleeve could come in handy.
Hunter Cards
Priest Cards
Rogue Cards
Neutral Cards
Note: New cards: Southshore Defender and Witch Hunter.
Azsuna was once a gem of the Night Elf empire. Now, in the aftermath of the Great Sundering, much of it lies in ruins, a home for nothing more than a few vengeful Elven spirits, some Murlocs here and there, and hidden enclaves of Blue Dragons. But now, the haunted land is forced into conflict once again as powerful forces gather around it, searching for the same thing: One of the Pillars of Creation, the Tidestone of Golganneth.
Featuring: - The Naga and their Underwater Brethren - The Nightborne/Nightfallen - Remnants of the Blue Dragonflight - Murlocs (Don't we just love Murlocs?) - Demons - Demon Hunters - Undead Spirits - Explorers from the Reliquary And, of course, a small dose of the Old Gods and their corruption.
DISCLAIMER: Certain 'Creative Liberties' regarding the lore have been taken. Sorry.
This Phase: Secrets of the Kaldorei
In the past the Night Elf Kingdom, built around the immensely powerful magical Well of Eternity, ruled over almost the entirety of Azeroth. They named themselves the Kaldorei - the 'Children of the Stars', and created their empire on the great supercontinent of Kalimdor. Within the Kaldorei Empire, a ruling cast soon emerged: the (relatively) Fair-Skinned, magically adept Highborne.
In the empire's later years, the Queen of the Highborne - Queen Azshara, a mage with unmatched power - became subject to sinister whisperings from Sargeras, the lord of the Burning Legion. Tantalised by his promises of power, she struck a deal with him, and, with the full support of her Highborne people, began the construction of the portal around the Well of Eternity - one that would bring him, and his Burning Legion, into Azeroth, where they would cleanse it of all life.
Needless to say, people weren't very happy about this. And so, the War of the Ancients commenced, with Azshara's Highborne on one side and the Kaldorei Resistance (which included characters such as Tyrande Whisperwind, as well as Malfurion and Illidan Stormrage.)
During the battle, the Well of Eternity was destroyed, and the resulting explosion reshaped the entirety of Azeroth, blasting the supercontinent of Kalimdor into various smaller landmasses and leaving a swirling Maelstrom in its centre. The event became known as the Great Sundering.
During the Great Sundering, the great elven capital of Zin-Azshari, along with several other cities, were sent under the waves of the ocean, bringing Queen Azshara and her followers with it. Azshara attempted to use her spectre, Sharas'Dal, to protect her people, but even then her strength was not enough.
But, when all hope seemed to be lost, an ancient voice whispered in the minds of the Highborne. Their bodies twisted, growing swirling tentacles and taking on reptilian features. And thus, the Highborne became the Naga, serving a new master...
New Keywords:
Wither and Siphon are inspired by the ability of the Nightborne to absorb arcane energy and derive nourishment from it, and the fact that they begin to slowly wither away into mindless zombies the longer they are deprived from it.
Your minions are essentially 'Siphoning off' a tiny bit of your spell's powers. It's a scaling ability that is much more effective over a long game when you can cast more spells, draw more cards, and build up to larger effects. If you need to, you can also cash in earlier to get some more immediate impact.
Wither is another keyword of this expansion. It's a versatile keyword that can be used as a debuff on enemy minions, or a downside on your own ones to allow for powerful minions that slowly get weaker as the strength drains from their bodies.
New Mechanic - Mana Surge:
Destabilised by the events of the Great Sundering, bursts of Mana began to surge from the earth. Those that learn to harness them are capable of fashioning them into a powerful tool, but in incapable hands, these bursts of energy are nothing more than useless.
Mana Surges are a new mechanic introduced in this expansion, and are generated by a whole host of cards. It's a 0-Mana Spell that does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! But even then, it has a lot of uses. As a Spell and by extension a Card, it can be used to trigger on-play effects such as the Mana Wyrm and Violet Teacher. But if you want to use them as spells, that's perfectly possible as well - cards like the Nightborne Sculptor or the Naga Sorceress turn these seemingly useless cards into spells with their own effects.
Example Cards: Priest
Priest is all about Spells this time round, featuring powerful Siphon effects as well as strong spells. Based primarily off of the Highborne and the Naga, the class receives some strong Spells and cards primarily intended for a control/value based playstyle.
Radiant Blaze is a powerful late-game board-clear spell, being capable of clearing a single large minion, or many small ones, or a combination of both. It starts off as a single, slightly-weaker Flamecannon, but as you fuel the fire's Siphon effect, it grows exponentially stronger. After triggering Siphon twice, it's essentially a cheaper Greater Arcane Missiles.
Handmaiden Vashj is perhaps better known as Lady Vashj, the leader of Illidan Stormrage's Naga. But before she was a powerful Sea Witch, she was one of Queen Azshara's many handmaidens, bewitched, like many others, by her beauty and charisma.
When you cast enough spells while holding her, Vashj transforms, becoming one of the Naga, just like the rest of her people. In her new form, she loses her Spellcasting prowess in return for more raw power, and the magical bow Frostfathom. Using it, she is Immune whilst attacking, and also gains a powerful damaging end-of-turn effect.
Other Cards:
Azshara’s Dancer: A late-game heal-on-a-beatstick that can become more powerful over time. It can also be used with Auchenai-like effects to deal large amounts of damage.
Moonwell Tender: A combo-y card that can let you buff your Siphon cards to high heaven.
Flash Nova: An early-game board clear.
Tainted Priestess: A Mana Surge source. Can be healed to give you MORE.
Unholy Exchange: A ‘buff’ spell for Priest that could also be used as a debuff for enemies if you’re desperate. While priest isn’t the class that’s most well-known for its damaging spells, this card is still very powerful. In conjunction with the new Naga Sorceress, it can allow for huge burst combos using 0-mana 5-damage Mana Surges + some other spells. It can also synergise with cards like Spirit Lash or Flash Nova for board clears.
Example Cards: Warlock
Our good ol' Warlock is all about DEMONS (because screw discard)! With the new Wither mechanic, Warlock gets a whole new tool to play with when it comes to strong minions with downsides. Inspired mainly by the Burning Legion, Warlock gets a few tools for a Control-y build, as well as several powerful Demons/Demon synergy cards for a more midrange/value based playstyle.
DEMONS! Fel Infusion, as well as some of the other cards, allows a Demon-based deck to aim for a strategy other than being just another variation of a Zoolock. It gives a buff to ALL your demons, including the ones on the board, as well as the ones in your hand and deck, by infusing them with few energy. With two copies and in conjunction with cards like the Cursed Nightborne (see below), you can create an army of large, above-curve demons to overwhelm your opponent with.
When Sargeras, the leader of the burning legion, decided that his minions weren’t useful enough and that he needed to do the job himself, he was met with a problem - his titanic form was too large and too powerful to be manifested onto Azeroth. The solution? Use an Avatar, containing a small sliver of his power, instead.
The Avatar of Sargeras is a powerful example of the Wither mechanic. Wither always comes with a negative effect, but that doesn’t mean it can’t include other effects as well. The Avatar is a massive minion that decays with rapid speed - but while it does so, it repeatedly nukes the board in a pseudo-Doomsayer-like fashion. It’s possible for it to clear the board a total of three times before dying itself, giving you plenty of time to heal up/cast spells.
Other Cards:
Chained Pit Lord: A early-game Taunt Demon with a powerful body. It slowly decays over time as the chains cut into its flesh.
Corrupted Dreadsteed: Another early game card that can be used as a psuedo-removal tool or a powerful burst finisher. If you buff it, it doesn’t die!
Call of the Void: Warlock also gets some Siphon cards. Call of the Void allows you to create a huge board of demons for cards like Crystalweaver while also protecting your face.
Chaos Drain: A strong board clear spell combined with some life gain.
Cursed Nightborne: Another demon synergy card that allows your demon synergy cards to work on non-demons. It essentially functions like this: it gives all the minions in your hand, deck, and board the ‘Demon’ tribe, and also gives any minions you summon through other means the ‘Demon’ tribe as well.
Example Cards: Druid
For this expansion, Druid is getting very heavy focus on spells. Inspired mainly by the Kaldorei/Night Elves, Druid gets a whole bunch of Mana Surge generation and synergy. Some could be useful in a token Druid deck featuring Violet Teacher and the new cards Azshara's Siren/Nightborne Sculptor, whilst others could be used in a more combo/burst-y deck with cards like Malygos or Gadgetzan Auctioneer.
Moonwells are magical pools of water, from which the Kaldorei and others can draw energy and mana. In this case, Mana Surges.
It seems useless by itself, but as a constant resource of Mana Surges to trigger powerful synergies, your opponent can’t opt to ignore it for too long.
Archdruid Shalis is a very strong example of Mana Surge synergy, transforming the 'useless' spells into potentially game-changing Innervates, while also bringing some Spell Damage to the table.
She can be used in ramp decks to provide a way to dump multiple big threats in a single turn, or in Malygos/Miracle style decks for her INSANE combo potential.
Other Cards:
Kaldorei Trainee: An easy way to generate Mana Surges while putting a body into play.
Manabloom: Another way to generate Mana Surges. Synergises very well with Siphon/Spell-Based effects.
Nightmare Flare: A powerful spell that can be used for board control or burst damage.
Magic Crystal: A versatile form of card draw for spell based decks. You can replenish your hand if you’re running out of resources, or reduce the cost of a large hand for strong combo plays.
Nightborne Sculptor: A card for token decks - it allows you to flood the board in conjunction with Mana Surges and other cards like Azshara’s Siren.
Neutrals:
Commons:
Notes: -- If Twisted Nightborne gives an enemy minion Wither, it will trigger at the start of your ENEMY's turn. Same with the Nightborne Enchantress (see below).
Rares:
Notes: -- Naga Sorceress makes the Mana Surges deal 2 damage. -- Spectre of Restoration discards itself from your hand when its Health reaches 0.
Epics:
Legendaries:
Notes: -- Examiner Thae'thelan casts the spells with random targets. It's not written on the card because there's not enough space and we all know that's how it works anyways. -- Prince Farondis is worded the way he is for flavour reasons. Spirits aren't coming out of nowhere - your dead minions transform into them. -- Withering Spirits have -1 attack from their Wither so they lose any buffs you give to them.
Random Notes:
Mana Surges aren’t meant to be a build-around theme - they’re more like versatile resources meant to enhance other decks. You aren’t supposed to make a deck around generating and then giving uses to Mana Surges, since that just doesn’t work. Instead, you can put them in existing decks like Miracle Rogue or Tempo Mage or Malygos Druid in order to make them better. They’re sort of like Razorpetals or Spare Parts in that way.
Why isn’t the Avatar of Sargeras a Demon? Lore reasons, basically. Sargeras may be the leader of the Burning Legion (which is filled with Demons), but he isn’t actually a demon himself.
When you give Wither to an enemy minion, the Wither effect triggers at the start of your ENEMY’s turn, not yours.
Why do some Wither effects say ‘-X health’ and others say ‘deal X damage to this minion’? Essentially, the difference is that you can heal away damage but you can’t heal away direct Health debuffs. Similarly, direct Health debuffs can ‘damage’ immune characters, while straight-up damaging them can’t.
While gazing into the future, Nozdormu the Timelord has accidentally resurrected every dragon that has ever lived! In order to contain the catastrophe, Nozdormu has sealed away Azeroth's dragons and their most sacred sites into a sealed dimension called The Dragonspiral. From atop the great Wyrmrest Mountain, the five Dragon Aspects of Azeroth, Nozdormu, Alexstrasza, Ysera, Kalecgos and the reborn Neltharion seek to end the crisis, while deep in the boneyards of The Dragonblight, time anomalies like Malygos, Deathwing, Murozond, Galakrond and Sindragosa seek to escape this prison realm and conquer Azeroth.
The Dragonspiral Wars have begun! Join Wrathion the Black Prince as he guides you through the strife and chaos of this strange dimension.
THE DRAGONBLIGHT
The endless dragon boneyard known as the Dragonblight is a sacred site to dragonkind and contains vast power. Within the endless wilderness, Galakrond the Dragonfather hunts his children, devouring their bones and gaining power. Neltharaku the Worm, leader of the demonic Netherdrakes, scours the graveyard reanimating the bones long dead dragons by infusing them with raw energy from the Twisting Nether. But Neltharion, the Earth-Warder, father of the Black Dragonflight, he will become Deathwing, seeks to guard the bones of his fallen brothers, preventing Galakrond, Neltharaku and others from abusing the resting spirits.
KEYWORD SPOTLIGHT: Dragongrave
The Dragongrave is a communal graveyard for all dragons that are played durring the match. When a dragon is destroyed in the battlefield or discarded from the hand or deck, a portal graphic opens on the battlefield and the card is sucked into it. Just like your deck, you can't look at the Dragongrave durring the match, so a player must track what cards are in it. Some cards are able to destroy minions in the Dragongrave.
The Hunter, Shaman and Warlock classes all make use of the Dragongrave mechanic, drawing, activating and destroy the dragons within it.
The Dragongrave mechanic doesn't affect other similar ressurection abilities, like those of N'zoth the Corrupter or Onyx Priest. Such cards work identically to how they worked before.
THE CARDS:
HUNTER|GALAKROND PROTODRAGONS
The primordial Galakrond, father of all dragons, hungers for blood! He stalks through the Dragonblight, aided by Azeroth's most fearsome hunters, devouring his children!
Hunter cards in Dragonspiral feature dual-tribe protodragon Beast/Dragons. In addition to supporting midrange decks, Dragonspiral gives Control Hunters means of gaining armor and healing themselves through killing Dragons and other big minions.
SHAMAN|NELTHARION BLACK DRAGONS
Neltharion, keeper of the caverns and tombs of Azeroth, has been reborn! Though he knows his time is short, he has joined the other 4 Dragon Aspects to return his ressurected brethern to the grave.
Shaman cards in Dragonspiral make use of Silence effects, focussing on tempo plays meant to close out a match with dramatic effects.
WARLOCK|NELTHARAKU NETHERDRAGONS
The insidious Neltharaku seeks to twist and torment the spirits of long dead dragons!
Warlock cards in Dragonspiral give new, powerful tools for Discolocks and Control Warlocks, letting them find staying power and preventing them from running out of cards.
Azeroth. Draenor. At one point, the Outlands. Connecting them all, the Dark Portal, a gateway across time and space, a connecting point between worlds. But other worlds have their own "Dark Portals," their own Outrealms connecting many timelines and realities. And when a certain time and space hopping tavern run by a kindly dwarf suddenly started connecting disparate realities, it was only a matter of time before the Dark Portal connected a pathway through an otherworldly gate, to a nexus of heroes...
Refresher on Keywords: Swift and Rush
In this Nexus of Heroes, battles are settled between units and armies, rather than individual heroes. And in these battles, speed is king. Swift functions like First Strike in other card games like Magic: The Gathering, where, if a minion with Swift attacks or is attacked by something that has less Health than it has Attack, it can potentially come out of battle unscathed. Rush functions like the subset of Charge that Blizzard has brushed against with cards like Charged Devilsaur or the latest version of the Charge spell card. Minion based combat is where the developers have said the game is most fun, and this expansion looks to facilitate that.
Phase III Example Cards: Mage, Paladin, Rogue
Mages - Power and Finesse
The mages of this strange nexus of heroes have a lot to teach the champions of Azeroth. Study of the arcane arts allow the mages of this nexus a variety of Secret tactics that allow them to control the battlefield, as they set up the awesome Spell Damage to decimate armies and great beasts alike.
Paladins - Heroism and Valor
Camaraderie is what makes the armies of the nexus of heroes so potent. The bonds each soldier shares bolsters their strength to new levels, to where even the humblest Recruit can perform stunning feats of valor. This care for their comrades also comes in the form of divine magic, healing the wounded, reinvigorating their spirit.
Rogues - Craft and Coin
Fortune seekers and dashing rogues find their home and opportunity in both Azeroth and the nexus. For just a bit of Coin, these crafty thieves can Burgle any tool or weapon from right under their opponent's nose, and use their own strength against them. Why worry about your own power, when you can just redirect your foe's?
In summary, the themes of the three classes are: for Mage, Secrets and Spell Damage (particularly against Minions); for Paladin, Healing and Silver Hand Recruits; and for Rogues, making use of The Coin, and Burgle effects.
Mage Cards
Tokens Generated by Count on Sheep:
Paladin Cards
Rogue Cards
Neutral Cards from the previous Phase
Flavour Text from This Phase
Mage: Count on Sheep: The undead ghost sheep aren't actually helping me fall asleep... Empower Spell: When you need to pop your foot and just push that Fireball over the top. Witchy Scientist: What, you're going to leave the Magitech to the goblins and gnomes? Are you mad? Dragonblood Sorceress: Given the long-lived nature of dragons, she can even meet her great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. Greater Contingency: It's never Vaporize...but maybe that's what he wants me to think and it IS Vaporize! But if he knows that I know that...ah to heck with it, I'll just attack. Elthunder: "Fire cannot kill a dragon." *CRACK-BOOM!* "Fire has killed this dragon!" Princess Lilina the Limitless: POWER! UN! LIMITED! POWER!
Paladin: Battle Cleric: She kicks arse for the light! Noble General: "War was not won by dying for your country. It was won by getting the other poor sap to die for THEIR country." Restaurant Connoisseur: "I'm sorry, but this grilled squid gets my lowest rating ever: six thumbs up." Argent Mage Knight: "Let's come to terms, and embrace it. Concur, admit, concede, and face it: I'm cute." The Lady's Favour: "You're doing me a HUGE solid, helping me move my couch, miss." Divine Intervention: The Healer AFK's for FIVE SECONDS and LOOK what happens! Scarlet Princess Hinoka: "I can spam this Rally Attack skill all day."
Rogue: Classy Cat Burglar: Sure, she might abscond with your jewels, your silverware, your mistress, your gold, and your finest silk garments, BUT she's good enough to leave a well designed calling card. She's a professional. Fortune Teller: She'll read your future, and also give you great financial advice based on your current assets vs liabilities and equity. Whitewing Mercenary: Card name based synergy is fleeting, but the Coin....the Coin is forever. Just Act Natural: "Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave! Master Ninja: Whakka-cheeka-whakka-cheeka-whakka-cheeka-whakka-cheeka MASTER NINJA THEME SONG! Treasure Hunter: Those treasure maps have changed a lot of hands. We're lucky if there's even a thin dime remaining at the X. Niles, Prince of Thieves: Given his singing voice and style, he is also the "Prince" of Thieves.
Reminder: my entry for the Second phase can be found in the spoiler below.
Neutrals
His homeworld was bigger than he had imagined. Boom Jr. had set out looking for business opportunities, but ended up searching for inspiration, a new enterprise in his mind. To search for the most wondrous of places, the strangest of things and the most powerful of characters, and bring them back to Area 52, in miniature. Maybe some explosives could be added, too! He read through the history of the Aldor and the Scryers, the fall of Illidan and his Illidari. He searched for the orc that fought for two Hordes and lead an ogre clan, Lantresor of the Blade. He even travelled to the place where Doom Lord Kazzak, commander of the Burning Legion's Outland forces, had fallen. His travels made him friends, like the Netherwing or the Sha'tar, but enemies too. He also lost half an ear to a Warp Stalker once! But in the end, it was worth it. The danger, the discovery, it all flowed through his mind when he finally decided to return home... but not for long.
Reminder: my entry for the first phase can be found in the spoiler below.
Preview
Set in the remnants of a devastated Draenor, Outland, this expansion follows the adventures of expert businessman and engineer Boom Jr., who didn't follow in his father's footsteps and set out to explore and colonize this unhospitable world. He will meet the remnants of the Burning Legion, setting entire forests ablaze as they battle the few Illidari left to confront them. The enigmatic Netherwing will prove to be a reliable ally, along with the ethereals... if you can spare the coin. However, not everything is the same as it was when his father lived. The arcane energies that sweep through the floating isles have granted new abilities to their inhabitants, allowing some of them to shift through space and tear the fabric of the universe, unleashed in a moment's notice. Who will our young entrepreneur meet in his travels through Hellfire, Terokkar, Netherstorm... and beyond?
New mechanic: Unleash (X)
Arcane energies flowing from the Twisting Nether have imbued some of the beasts and humanoids of Outland, granting them the power to appear in a moment's notice when needed. Spells can also be cast through the tears in time and space, surprising enemies and allies alike. This new mechanic allows some cards to be played automatically on your opponent's turn when a friendly character is damaged, if you have some mana available. If you are holding more than one unleash card, the most expensive you can afford will be played first. If there is any mana remaining, the next more expensive card will be played, and so on. The mechanic's tooltip is shown below:
Demons
Outland is overflowing with demons, so a lot of them will appear in this expansion. Many more neutral demons, and class cards related to them for Warlock, Rogue and Warrior, will be released. Some of these minions will feature a brand new type of synergy, or, shall I say... anti-synergy? Demons generally despise other creatures, so texts like "Battlecry: Deal 2 damage to a friendly non-Demon minion" will not feel out of place on them, in exchange for more powerful effects or stats.
Dragons
The Netherwing bring new dragons to the table with exciting new synergies to explore. Magic-based as they are, these dragons will grant you Spell Power or more spells, rather than pure brawn, when holding other members of their species. No more Priest dragons, though maybe we will see some in the Mage's arsenal...
Arcane powers
The landscape is brimming with magic in Outland. So much so, that classes more traditionally focused on minions, like Hunters, will now get support for spell based strategies. Deterministic spell generation will feature heavily in this expansion, granting heroes new tools with which to battle each other
And much more to discover!
Example cards
New mechanic: Unleash (X)
Arcane energies flowing from the Twisting Nether have imbued some of the beasts and humanoids of Outland, granting them the power to appear in a moment's notice when needed. Spells can also be cast through the tears in time and space, surprising enemies and allies alike. This new mechanic allows some cards to be played automatically on your opponent's turn when a friendly character is damaged, if you have some mana available. If you are holding more than one unleash card, the most expensive you can afford will be played first. If there is any mana remaining, the next more expensive card will be played, and so on. The mechanic's tooltip is shown below:
Example cards:
No place in Outland is totally secure from the demons of the Burning Legion. As their numbers dwindled, they had to develop new tactics. Boom Jr. soon learned that no demon was truely alone, and that escaping a Doomguard is no easy task.
Conditional unleash makes its first new appearance. Some cards will only be able to unleash themselves if a condition is met, and more cards like this will appear in some class' sets.
Nagrand was still full of life. Roaming the plains, the stoic Elekk ignored the world crumbling around, forming tight packs that grazed together. There is nothing that a matriarch wouldn't do to protect the young or sick.
Positioning has never been this important! With a new trigger for abilities, some minions will gain benefits when standing between two allies. Be careful, though, if one of the adjacent minions dies the aura will fade!
The Netherwing Flight was as rare as powerful their magics. Their attunement to the arcane energies that swept the earth was unparalleled, and this dragons could harness it to protect their own. However, Boom Jr. discovered that simply by being nice - and not mentioning Zuluhed -, allies are easy to obtain.
There are Dragon synergies this expansion, but not as minion focused as in the pst. This time around, the nether dragons will benefit from spell damage or provides us with new spells. Unbridled Energy is a new neutral spell akin to Spare Parts, obtained from creatures touched by Outland's energies.
Unbridled Energy
Even though the reign of Illidan, the Betrayer had ended a long time ago, the schemes of Maiev and Akama hadn't erased the impact it had on the land and its denizens. Boom Jr. didn't enter the Black Temple despite its new owner being a lot more welcoming. It didn't feel right.
As the summit of every demon deck that tries to go for the long game, Illidan, Lord of Outland lends you his warglaives. As a demon hunter sworn to end the Burning Legion, his weapon gains strength for each demon that has died this game. This provides a demon deck with a finisher, while providing the opponent with time to react if they didn't die outright.
Warglaives of Azzinoth
As he travelled across the shattered remains of Draenor, Boom Jr. started to really appreciate the land where he was born. With new friends, allies and enemies, he returned to Area 52, in Netherstorm, and founded Boom's Workshop. He now trades regularly with goblins, ethereals and draenei, and even the small garrisons of Horde and Alliance soldiers that still remain here. However, his lust for discovery will return, and his miniatures and puppets will need more characters to be based on!
Commons
Unbridled Energy
Rares
Unbridled Energy
Epics
Unbridled Energy
Legendaries
Warglaives of Azzinoth
I hope you liked this first taste of what To Netherstorm and Beyond could become. See you, hopefully in the next phase, were we will take a look at those shiny new Dragons for mage, hunter's spell synergies and the new Demons for warlock!
New mechanic: Unleash (X)
Arcane energies flowing from the Twisting Nether have imbued some of the beasts and humanoids of Outland, granting them the power to appear in a moment's notice when needed. Spells can also be cast through the tears in time and space, surprising enemies and allies alike. This new mechanic allows some cards to be played automatically on your opponent's turn when a friendly character is damaged, if you have some mana available. If you are holding more than one unleash card, the most expensive you can afford will be played first. If there is any mana remaining, the next more expensive card will be played, and so on. The mechanic's tooltip is shown below:
Example cards:
Hunter
Unbridled Energy
Mage
Warlock
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Welcome, Fellow Card Creators!
To Phase III! Another round is over, and now we have whittled down all the original entries to just 20 competitors. If your name is on the list below, you have advanced another step closer to being crowned the Expansion Creation Champion!
(NOTE: If your name does not appear on this list, you MAY NOT submit.)
Wildcard: CecilHoshino
This is the Submission Topic. The Discussion Topic is here.
Competition Overview
Unlike our Weekly Card Design Competitions, this Expansion Creation Competition will be conducted over multiple Phases, each of which will have their own unique processes and submission requirements. Each Phase will conclude with our eliminating at least half of the competitors until only three or four finalists remain for Phase V.
During this Phase, the Submission Topic is made available for your submissions. You may also, of course, feel free to give early up-votes to any submissions that you like!
During this Phase, the Submission Topic will be locked, so no more entries may be submitted, and all 20 entries will be sorted into a final poll. From this point on, upvotes in the Submission Topic do not matter. The only thing they'll determine is where in the final poll your post appears.
See below for a general overview of the future competition phases:
Phase IV: The exact same as the last phase except with three classes that you have not done yet.
Phase V: You're remaining classes are now presented, along with the rest of your expansion in your own topic. Each round (aside from the first) requires you to make 21 cards, so this final will showcase all 84 of your creations.
General Competition Rules
These are general competition rules that apply to all Phases of this competition and that many of you will already be familiar with if you've competed in our Weekly Card Design Competitions. Even if you're a veteran of our competitions, though, I recommend that you review the rules thoroughly just to be sure:
First, these are the rules about Posting:
These are the rules about your Entry:
TIP: Though not a rule exactly, we highly recommend that you insert your images using this icon on the bar above the post text editor: . Just click that button and put in the URL of your image. Cards that are uploaded and attached to your post are not disallowed, but in our experience they will not do nearly as well, so this is for your own benefit more than anything.
Finally, know that manipulating votes in any way is strictly forbidden. Any violators will receive an official warning, and will be banned from this and all future HearthPwn Card Design Competitions.
PHASE III - Class Cards
This phase is your first chance to show how each class will put it's own spin on your class mechanics. Your post will include:
If you've gotten this far, you should have a pretty good handle on this, but if you have any questions just shoot one of the mods a message.
Some Quick Tips:
Rewards
In addition to truly epic bragging rights, ALL competitors that make it to the Phase V of the competition will receive a special Forum Title and Avatar Border, similar to those given to winners of our forum's Weekly Card Design Competitions, as shown below:
Furthermore, the winning contestant will have a Season 6 competition themed around their winning expansion!
Q&A
Q: My submission didn't move on. Am I not allowed to participate any more for the rest of the competition?
A: Of course you are! This many cards is going to be difficult to manage, so the contestants that move on will need all of the help and input they can get to get their Adventures just right. If you get knocked out of the competition, head over to the Discussion topic and support your favorite competitor that moved on!
Q: What if I already created an expansion and it already has its own topic on this forum?
A: That's a tricky situation! But in the interest of fairness to all competitors, if you do decide to enter that into this competition, your topic will be locked. Not deleted, just locked, and it will be unlocked after the competition is over or after it gets knocked out. It would be weird of us to stop you from referencing or linking to that topic, but please don't abuse the privilege.
If anybody has any other question, please feel free to ask us over in the Discussion topic. Otherwise, get those creative juices flowing, and I'll look forward to your submissions.
Oh, and one more thing:
Have fun! ^_^
The Destination Is Draenor!
Earlier on TDD:
After the invasion of the old world of Draenor, the heroes of Azeroth left the world in ruins. Tension between the orcs and the remaining inhabitants still waged, forcing the orcs to isolate themselves. Atleast until they met Entrepreneur Longshot. The goblin marketings genius teamed up with the beaten orcs, to transform the world of Draenor to an exotic tourist magnet. This however diden't go through unnoticed, and a group of secret operatives formed the group of A.F.E(Allied Forces of Equality). To insure the freedom and wellbeing of the inhabitants of Draenor. Will you choose to stay by and watch things settle themselves? Will you help Landro develop Draenor? Or will you join the A.F.E and cover the safety of the folks? The choice is yours.
This time around we follow the organisation A.F.E(Allied Forces of Equality) and their leader Mr U.N.Known. The organisation consists of the fercious Rogues, who prefers to to take the conflict to hand, and fight Landros forces personally, the Hunters, who focuses on protecting and releasing the endangered wildlife of Draenor and the Paladins, who work is secrets to obtain the information needed to sabotage Landros arrangements.
The Keywords
Some minds have a hard time picking a side, and chooses to rely on your judgement on what to do, empowering your Hero Power, so you can make the choice for them.
The Cards
The Leader of the A.F.E. Ulric, declares himself the ultimate free dom fighter, ready to help any innocent in need. His methods might be dirty and shady . But so far he seems to be the only person that Landro has failed to bribe . . .
The brave vindicators of Karabor demands victory to be had, and their longevity and determination proves that they will go to any length for it.
A friendly companion who empties a targets pockets , while Its partner distracts it.
This mighty Beast of Gorgrund were enslaved, and forced to work as carriers and as a living weapon. Until the A.F.E freed it. The beasts now lingers for a chance to settle with their former captors .
Remaining Paladin Cards
Remaining Rogue Cards
Remaining Hunter Cards
Violas token
The Common Cards
Q/A
Q: Can Empower stack. Can you have several different Empower effects on the same Hero Power? A: Yes you can indeed have several Empower effects on the same use of the Hero Power. So if you want to go full meme mode. You can make a 30 Empower card deck. And have a Hero Power at the end of it, that does litterally everything at once..
Q: Are you crazy?
A: That Seems to be the common opinion.
I want a new title, but Flux won't let me have one,
The Arcane Art Assembly of Azeroth is the annual forum through which researchers of arcane arts and sciences present their discoveries and achievements to scholars all over Azeroth. The chair of the Arcane Art Assembly of Azeroth this year is the mighty Millhouse Manastorm.
Chair Millhouse (NEW MECHANIC):
Further Introduction:
Neutral
Chair Millhouse related cards:
Chair Millhouse
Cards that summon Millhouse
Cards that benefit from Millhouse shuffling into your deck
(For a more detailed list of Millhouse related cards, including CLASS CARDS, see Imgur Album)
Other neutral cards:
FAQ and balance concerns:
Q: Does playing Millificent Manastorm when Chair Millhouse is on board grant you card draw?
A: Yes. If you play a minion, Chair Millhouse's effect triggers after the minion enters the battlefield and before its battlecry. Thus, not only Millificent Manastorm's effect triggers, all those "Battlecry: If Chair Millhouse is shuffled into your deck" effects also trigger if you play these minions when Millhouse is on board.
Q: Wannabe Giant seems OP. How is it balanced?
A: The pool of 8/8 minions is not as good as it seems. Minions like Molten Giant and Nozdormu are quite bad, and there are also many deck-dependent minions like Bittertide Hydra and Mountain Giant. Also, the power level of this card is similar to Tortollan Forager, which seldom sees play. Basically it's a card designed for new players.
Q: Core seems underpowered. What kind of decks could run it?
A: I suppose Core could be playable in some aggro decks if there are lots of control decks in the meta. Some control decks don't run small minions, and Core is quite good when your opponent only plays big minions.
Q: How does Puzzlemaster Lo work?
A: It literally hides every digit on both players' screen, including stats of minions, cost of cards, health of heroes, the amount of damage a spell deals, and even the time on the clock, the number of spectators, etc.
Q: What happens if I choose, say a damaged 7/1 minion, with Shaper of Minds?
A: You will end up with nothing to discover. Also, if you choose a 4/12 minion for instance, you'll be offered with only two choices (Ysera and Malygos).
Q: Doomsaver can technically be immune if 2 of them are on the battlefield. Is that intended?
A: Yes. Immune minions can still be removed by cards like Deadly Shot, Brawl, Twisting Nether, Doomsayer, etc. As you can see, Chair Millhouse is an Immune minion which is central to my expansion; I think the meta would evolve into one that requires people to take these kinds of Immune-proof removal cards.
Shaman
List of cards:
Notable synergies:
FAQ and balance concerns:
Q: Farseer Nobundo seems pretty OP. Imagine that 2 mana 7/7 for instance. How is it balanced?
A: 4 mana 7/7 doesn't see any play nowadays because shamans don't like its overload. I estimate that in the current meta the drawback of overload might be of same value with spending mana directly.
Q: Does Voodoo Researcher give windfury to Chair Millhouse permanently?
A: No. The windfury gets removed after Millhouse is shuffled into your deck.
Druid
List of cards:
Notable synergies:
FAQ and balance concerns:
Q: What happens if you play Menagerie Warden on Bethekk?
A: Firstly, Menagerie Warden's battlecry triggers and you get a copy of Bethekk. Secondly, both Bethekks get +3/+3 because Menagerie Warden is a 5/5 minion.
Q: What happens if I play Fen Strider when I have 8 Armor?
A: The effect would not trigger because Druid doesn't have any 8-cost spell.
Hunter
List of cards:
Notable synergies:
FAQ and balance concerns:
Q: Arcane Strafe seems a bit OP comparing to Hellfire. How is it balanced?
A: First of all, warlock spells are often worse than spells from other classes (see Darkbomb and Quick Shot for instance). And in the case where you don't control any minion, Arcane Strafe is worse than Hellfire.
Q: Summoning a 5 mana minion for 2 mana only? What the hell are you doing with Dinner Time?
A: Firstly, Starving Buzzard is an overnerfed minion. It is worth about 4 mana only. Secondly, Starving Buzzard summoned in your opponent's turn is merely a 3/2 beast without an effect. Your opponent can remove it easily without giving you extra card draw. Thirdly, the secret itself is quite situational. I suppose only quest hunter might run this card.
Q: Wolf Pack would give hunter infinite resources. How could such things exist?
A: Deathstalker Rexxar also gives hunter infinite resources. And I'm making this card because I want Grimy Goons hunter to be a thing.
THERE IS NO GAME.
Lore:
The Critters Carnival is an awesome event in which the greatest heroes of Azeroth can see the most exquisite creatures from all around the world! Spoopett, Carnival Master loves all types of creatures and wants everyone to see how incredible they are, that's why lots of Exhibits are organized during the Carnival. The most wonderful Beasts, Dragons and Murlocs are displayed on the Carnival, but they aren't the only ones being shown. Amazing Totem carving can be seen, and Goblins & Gnomes like to compete to see who can build the best Mechs. Of course, things don't usually calm down for the heroes of Azeroth. Some unexpected ruffians have found a way to get into the Carnival...
THE KEYWORD:
So, how does this mechanic work? Well, X is replaced with something, such as "Murloc" or "Secret". Let's suppose I play a Dragon with Dragon Exhibit, if I control no other dragon, the ability will activate. Unlike Battlecry, Exhibit triggers after the minion is played, so they can affect themselves. When you are holding an Exhibit card, it will have the Yellow Glow if the Exhibit can trigger.
THE CARDS:
DRUID:
TOKENS:
SHAMAN:
WARRIOR:
TOKENS:
NEUTRAL CARDS:
TOKENS:
Q & A:
A: Only actual Mana gain is considered. So casting Innervate or Wild Growth at 10 Mana would not increase Crystalclaw Boar's Attack, but using Nourish to get 3 Mana Crystals would.
A: No.
A: Yes! I want to see more decks mixing different types of minions than decks that choose one type to build around. Yet, some cards with Exhibit would still see play in decks with cards of the same type just because of how powerful they are. A card such as Southsea Spearman works better in decks without weapons, but it is also a Pirate, and many other Pirates benefit of weapons, so you might consider running it in a Pirate deck that runs weapons, as the other Pirates benefit of it.
A: Beast, Demon, Dragon, Elemental, Mech, Murloc, Pirate, Secret, Totem, Quest and Weapon.
A: Basically the enemy is in control of wheter this ability triggers or not. If I play an Elemental and then the enemy destroys Blazetail Mouse in the following turn, then the Blazetail Mouse can be revived.
A: Up to three cards, a 2-Mana reduction to each minion type.
A: Glad you've asked! Check the image below!
Edit: Fixed two cards with the wrong URL.
INVASION OF THE VOID
(special thanks to Livienna for making the banner)
While Hearthstone does have its more serious and darker moments, Hearthstone is in general, a lighthearted game that usually doesn't go too grim or too scary. Say goodbye to that, and welcome to the Invasion of the Void. Invasion of the Void is a much darker and grim card set than we usually see in HS, where you're see pure darkness around every corner. This expansion also introduces a mechanic in the game, Void Orbs.
Reminder of how the Void Orb mechanic works:
The Void Orb mechanic allows you to use Void Orbs as payment for additional effects with some cards.
Cards like Deathcaller, Spirit of Fear and Follower of Zivius will give you Void Orbs when you play them, where you will store them until you use them. Void Orbs are store beneath your Mana Crystals just Overload, and you are capped at 10 Void Orbs.
Other cards like Twilight Embracer, Dragon Knight and Zivius are what will allow you to actually use these Void Orbs to your advantage. When you play a card like this, you can choose how many Orbs you spend. A Discover-like interface will pop up giving you options of numbers up to the number of Void Orbs you have (including 0 if you don't wish to spend any). The more you spend, the larger the effect will be, but use your Void Orbs wisely because they don't regenerate after you use them. Once they're gone, you'll have to play more cards to build these back up again.
While this image isn't a perfect representation of how I planned it to work, it should at least give you a good grasp of how it works:
(special thanks to Cogito_Ergo_Sum for making the image)
Mage
While we've already seen the Neutral Void Orb cards everyone can access, every class will also have their own ways of not only gaining, but using these Void Orbs as well. The Magician of Midnight will allow Mages to gain one of these orbs every time they cast a spell that deals damage in any form or capacity. Combo this with a bunch of cheap damage spells to quickly rack up those orbs and get that much closer to unleashing total annihilation among your enemies. Speaking of damage spells, not only will the Magician of Midnight give you orbs when you use them, he also bumps up the damage of the spells so you deal additional damage while you gain those orbs, killing 2 birds with one stone. Actually with Arcane Missiles, you can kill 4 birds with one stone.
Within Invasion of the Void, Mages gain access to one of the most powerful and possibly darkest magicians to ever grace the scene of Humanity, a force even Illidan Stormrage is not prepared for, the Legendary, evil dark mage known as Arithela comes to Hearthstone in the palm of Jaina's hand (or Medivh's or Khadgar's, but we don't care about those guys). Mages gain access to a new mechanic, benefiting them from casting unique spells they haven't cast yet that game. Upon casting 10 different spells, Arithela will call forth and allow you to summon The Dark One. Who is The Dark One you may ask. The Dark One is everyone's worst nightmare. Even the bravest of the brave and the strongest of the strong refuse to take on the infinitely daunting task of challenging The Dark One.
And now, you have the power to use them for yourself.
Full list of Mage cards:
Tokens
Priest
Priest has their own unique method of using these Void Orbs in the form of the Deadly Ritual spell. At a low, measly price of 1, Priest has the ability to spend any amount of Void Orbs they wish and conjure a minion for them from thin air. The more orbs used, the larger and scarier the minion will be to deal with. A ritual this deadly does not come without consequences though for it is not up to you what the outcome is, but it is up to the gods. SOMETHING WILL GET BROKEN!!!
It however is not only the Void Orbs that will cause massive chaos, but the Priest's Legendary dark necromancer, Vivifica Nekros also has that ability as well. Upon summoning, Vivifica will raise an army of your dead minions, filling your entire board with these. In addition to commanding your now undead army with you, she will also fight for you as well being a 5/5 herself. Priest has a number of different cards that will summon minions for you, used in conjunction with Vivifica, will mean death for your opponent.
Full list of Priest cards:
Rogue
There comes a time for every Rogue to sprint away from the scene. Void Orbs will give the Rogues that ability as well. The Mad Dash spell will have Rogues spend any even number of these Orbs from 0 to 10 to give them a burst of speed and rush through their deck quickly. Mad Dash can also easily be strung together and combo-ed with lots of other cards at the Rogue's disposal thanks to its 0 mana cost. Who needs to Sprint when you can have a Mad Dash?
As the sneaky, shadowy Rogue you are, you have the ability to call deadly assassins for help should you need it. Fyriand Elar will kill absolutely everything and everyone he wants to and will do it without a trace, and he can aid you in your task of victory by being able to kill any minion on the board and become stronger in the process, granting you a gigantic Stealth minion which your opponent will not be able to deal and can brutally, or even fatally, damage anything he touches. Fyriand is not your only ally on this mission though. Rogues here have their own entire Stealthy brotherhood ready to assassinate on sight.
Full list of Rogue cards:
Tokens
Finicky Cloakfield
Full list of Neutral cards:
Void Orb cards:
Will give you Void Orbs upon playing.
Will let you spend Void Orbs for effects.
Other Neutral cards:
Click the image to go to my custom Time Traveler class.
Rebuilding the Outland - A Hearthstone expansion
Flavor
After an invasion of the Burning Legion, leaders from both Alliance and Horde are now in the process of rebuilding this forsaken place into something more hospitable. Expect to see a lot of Draenei, Elves, Ogres, Orcs, Arakkoa, Plants, Elementals along with a few returning members of the Explorers League and their Horde friendnemy the Reliquary compete to discover this broken land.
Mechanic:
A big push for this expansion is decision making. Many of the mechanic reward planning ahead to get maximum value for the player with the most in-depth decision making skill
Keywords:
The Showcase Cards:
Our dear Malfurion is united with one of his oldest friend, the son of Cenarius himself, Keeper Remulos to help fix this broken land. Remulos will help Malfurion hone and perfect his offensive skill in order to chase away the Demons lingering on the Outland and threatened to corrupt the creatures on it once again, as demonstrated by cards that synergize with Druid's Attack buff.
Rewards:
Being in such a confused and harsh world recently being purified from the Burning Legion, the creatures left in the Outland has to Adapt and survive. Survival of the Fittest is an example of the Druid theme this expansion: Cards focusing on Adapt, especially on the Plants.
Note: The reward use the same 2/2 Treants used on many Druid cards like Force of Nature or Soul of the Forest
The rest of the Druid cards:
Tokens:
With the Burning Legion gone, the Naaru A'dal and its people brings their power to heal this broken land. The being born of light and its followers introduce the theme of manipulative healing, their compassionate teaching will allow them to heal the enemy. But beware...
...For the brightest light cast the darkest shadow. The more chaotic Arakkoas like the Sethekk Talonpriest are resistant to change and will do anything to undermine the rebuilding effort. Sethekk Talonpriest signify the healing synergy introduced to Priest to compliment the manipulative healing theme.
The rest of the Priest cards:
Auchenai Soulpriest
Side Quest Reward:
Lasher Servant:
With her Lasher being freed from the Burning Legion's influence, the forgotten queen of the Outland's Lasher Rosalina has returned! With her newfound freedom and power, Rosalina, Lasher Queen stumbled upon the Rogue adventurer and decided to contribute her power to rebuilding the Outland through turning those useless junks 1 or 0 drops into her servants which all have the power rival that of the SI:7 Agent. Her presence signify a big focus on the Rogue set this expansion to turn low value spells like those Razorpetals or Toxins to more useful resources.
Outland Coin:
When there is need, there's a good deal! Outland Auctioneer will give you the money and the resource to rebuilding the Outland, as long as you are willing to wait for the right moment that is. His coins in this land are not unlimited like the one in Gadgetzan you know! His presence signify a big theme to generate the Outland Coin for a big Rosalina or a Miracle turn.
The rest of the Rogue cards:
Side Quest Reward:
Q & A
The Neutral set:
Commons:
Elven Archer
Forest Protector isn't a Plant because then she will be too hard to remove if you chain summoning her.
Rare:
Epic:
Legendary
Tae'thelan is the leader of the Reliquary, a Horde rival to the League of Explorer. Similar yet different in many ways, while the League focusing on creating more resources such as Elise adding cards, Brann and Finley drawing and Reno is healing, Tae'thelan can also create more resources but also capable of disrupt his enemy's play.
Token from Ancient Seed:
Thanks everyone in both the submission for taking the time to view and the discussion for their valuable opinion.
Click here to visit my Timestream Tracking Finalist Year of the Dragon in collaboration with Demonxz95
Class Creation Finalist: The Astromancer
Best cards vote by community:
Thanks to everyone who helped me this round!!! I hope you're continuing to enjoy my expansion :D
Introducing...
An unusual warmth has settled over the wintery landscapes of Azeroth... from Northrend to Winterspring, snow is melting, flowers are blooming, and dormant beings are awakening. The rumors are true: SPRING IS COMING.
"The Great Thaw" expansion is all about the clash of Winter and Spring. We have Frostsabers, Ice Elementals, and Avalanches, as well as Forest Spirits, Flowery Glades, and Woodland Creatures. Similar to Goblins vs. Gnomes, this expansion is not set at a certain place or event, but instead is a general theme that permeates all over. Pushing for more control-style decks, this expansion includes the Sherazin Dormant mechanic, more board control spells/weapons, and three new keywords (really two):
About the Keywords
Elusive - This is simply the Faerie Dragon effect. I know Ben Brode said they don't intend to make this a keyword as it would be too confusing for new players, but hey this competition is just for fun and I want it :D
Chill - Chilled minions have a shimmering light blue mist surrounding their token. The Chill takes place at the end of each player's turn. This mechanic encourages trading; it's not often that a Chilled minion will last long enough on board to accumulate a ton of damage from the Chill effect.
Warm - Examples of this currently in the game are Nerubian Prophet and Shifter Zerus. Like these cards, your opponent will not see the trigger take place. I should note that most Warm effects encourage you to hold cards in your hand, however some are still stuck in winter, and will lose value as they Warm.
Here's how Nerubian Prophet looks with the new keyword text:
The sun icon tracks the number of turns a card has Warmed. In this example, Blossoming Nymph has been kept in hand for 3 turns and is buffed to 4 health. The icon doesn't appear on a card until the Warm count is at 1 or more.
Huge shoutout to ZardozSpeaks for helping me with this graphic!!!
Showcase Cards
'Biting Cold' card:
As a class that likes to lurk in the shadows, Rogues are shrinking away from the Great Thaw and retreating to the cold of winter. Frostbiting Dagger paralyzes Chilled minions where they stand, and also supports a mill-style of play (see the rest of the rogue set below for more milly goodness!). Anla, Winter's Shadow is an excellent board control engine, and supports a Chill rogue deck type (remember, there are more Chill enablers in the neutral set - again, see below!).
Meanwhile, Druids are in their prime as spring arrives. Spring Awakening is a control-oriented spell, buffing minions in hand as turns pass - and unlike Smuggler's Run, topdecking this with no minions in hand at least allows you to cycle. Father of the Forest is also a high-value card, since you can choose to add three high-cost, high-value Beasts to your hand. However, this is a versatile legendary that provides an aggressive line of play - the Discover mechanic and the single turn cost reduction allows you to choose low-cost Beasts for a strong single turn.
Finally, the Shamans of Azeroth have harnessed the elements of winter during the Great Thaw. A natural addition to Frost Shock, Avalanche is a useful tool for control and combo shamans to stall the game. Frosthold Axe is a handy weapon that basically functions as a 2/5 that gains value over time.
Additional Cards
Rogue
Druid
Shaman
The Entire Neutral Set!
Commons
Frost Whelpling is just learning his skills and can't control his Chilling frost breath (btw - see Frost Drake below for the grown-up version of this little guy!). This is also an example of the general push for control-style decks in this expansion... he's a strong 1-drop for decks that don't want to flood the board. Also, as the Elven Sharpshooter warms, her text would change in the way that text for spell damage does. So for example, after being in your hand for 2 turns, her battlecry text would read "Deal *3* damage to a minion."
Rares
Iceshard Elemental is an example of a minion that doesn't like to Warm in your hand. Play him as early as you can, or he'll melt altogether (if his health reaches 0, he can still be played - and would trigger things like Knife Juggler - but would die instantly).
Epics
The wording for Arboreal Giant was much debated, since the text could also read "Warm: Reduce the Cost of this card by (1)." However, I've chosen to keep it in line with the other giants, whose texts all begin with "Costs (1) less".
Legendaries
Mith'ra, Spirit of Spring and Lae'ra, Spirit of Winter are Sister Spirits that are said to be battling over control of Azeroth. Lae'ra's hold over Northrend and other snow-covered regions is waning, and Mith'ra has taken the opportunity to Warm the lands and Restore life. Lae'ra, meanwhile, is filled with vengeance and is taking it out on minions that can't handle her Chill. And the others, well... she'll just Freeze them where they stand. Also, I feel like I should address how these two cards interact xD The ruling is that Kalecgos cannot be made Elusive. This is one of those unspoken rules of Hearthstone, something DisguisedToast would make a video about upon release ;)
Tokens
In terms of flavor, the idea here is that the Murlocs make such a racket that they wake up the Leviathan, and the damage spells release the Dryad from her roots by cutting away at the vines. Hope you like!!
"The Slayer" custom class
"The Great Thaw" expansion competition finalist
For a reminder of Phase II, go back in time by clicking here.
In this Phase, we take a look at the first three classes for the Collapse of the Caverns - Paladin, Shaman and Warlock. In addition to the reintroduction of Dragon Synergy and the brand new keywords Echo and Revert (explained again in the spoiler below) each class has gotten mixed up in the timestream, and features a common card with a mechanic more familiar in a different class. For simplicity's sake, these are just the class alphabetically before - so Paladin -> Mage, Shaman -> Rogue and Warlock -> Shaman.
Paladin
The Paladins of the world flocked initially to the Caverns of Time to help aid those who were being affected by the Collapse, providing relief from the strange effects the wonky timeflow was having. However, they quickly become consumed with a new goal - upon uncovering an ancient relic believed to contain a divine power, they've been learning from and befriending many of the Dragons of the area, trying to unlock its secrets for themselves, so that they may better help those in need.
The oh-so-powerful artifact that has the Paladins all in a tizzy. This provides continual buffs so long as you have a Dragon friend as back-up to teach you how it works.
The Scales of Justice are an ancient breed, surfing the timestream and meting out punishment and praise where they see fit. The ancient Amulet belongs to them, and combos quite well with them as well, returning two copies of it to your hand next turn.
All Paladin Cards
Flavour Text
Shaman
Though Time isn't a traditional element, the Shamans of the world were still thrown by the temporal anomalies popping up. Unlike the other beings of the world though, this apparent disaster actually strengthened their connection to the Elemental Planes, allowing them to contact more powerful beings and alter the flow of time with more precision than before.
Control over time has long evaded the Shamans in its full extent. Now they can truly empower their allies and cripple their enemies with precision.
Make sure you get your card ordering correct though - after all, timing is everything!
Splinter, Manalord managed to force himself through the barriers of time to offer his help. Unfortunately, his method of doing so brought him through in 37 different times at once, and put rather a strain on the mana reserves.
The more of him you ask for help, the more your mana suffers. Make sure you plan your plays accordingly!
All Shaman Cards
Flavour Text
Warlock
The Collapse has also been kind to the Warlocks. What was once lost forever is now far more easily returned, with the help of a few deals made with some of the shadier Dragons that have spilled from the tears in time. The Void now also offers visions of the future, allowing some plans to come to fruition earlier than they thought possible.
The first experiment with bringing the future to the present did not go particularly well for the Warlock attempting it, but they did eventually get a hold of the knowledge they were searching for.
I don't suppose his shambling corpse will be too enthused about the success, but still. Silver linings.
One of the first Dragons to help the Warlocks master their control, all he asked in return was a simple reanimation spell. The spell didn't work completely, and the cost is high every time he returns, but he doesn't care.
Seems to actually enjoy it a bit. Weird guy, that one. Watch out for his targeted Discards.
All Warlock Cards
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All Neutral Cards
You can find me here! Good luck everyone!
Servitors of the Loa
Trolls. Voodoo. Blood Sacrifices. Canibalism. Death. Ancient Rituals. Dark Magic... All related to the powerful Loa, the gods workshiped by the trolls. Wild deities beyond good and evil. Etereal beings that can bless and curse their servitors. Are you one of those Servitors of the Loa?
The Loa
For Servitors of the Loa (SotL) I wanted the Loa to be my main legendary cards so I've created a full card cycle with one Loa for each class! The Loa are 9 mana (not 10 because they're weaker than The Old Gods) legendary class minions, they are Beast because they are God avatars of the wild animals. Mechanically they have an ability that they shared with your minions when they die via Deathrattle and also a Battlecry with the improved Hero Power (remember Justicar Trueheart?) of their own class. But who are this powerfull and wild deities?
Tortolla is the turtle demigod and, much like Malorne and Goldrinn, an Ancient guardian. He is the patron ancient to all creatures who move effortlessly between land and sea. He is one of the oldest of the Ancients, having been alive since the time of the Titans. Due to that, he speaks in an old language that has been long forgotten.
In Servitors of the Loa is the Taunt God.
Hethiss, the Snake, is one of the Primal Jungle Gods in the troll pantheon. Like the other Loa, Hethiss is held against his will. He is represented on Azeroth through a Champion of his choosing, a position currently held by High Priest Venoxis.
In Servitors of the Loa is the Poisonous God.
Halazzi is the lynx god of the Amani trolls. Is the only loa to not have adopted the name of his host. Instead, the host seemingly having adopted the loa's name (which might have been the case of the other Amani loa, as it would be an odd practice).
In Servitors of the Loa is the Elusive* God.
* Elusive = Can't be targeted by spells or hero Powers.
A Shaman sneak peek!
Hakkar the Soulflayer, Blood God of the Gurubashi trolls, is a malevolent and destructive creature that controls the Gurubashi Empire's fallen capital of Zul'Gurub. He is an actual deity, and Wild God, known in the troll pantheon as the Loa of Blood.
In Servitors of the Loa is the Windfury God.
More coming soon in Phase IV and Phase V (I hope)!
New Keyword: Voodoo
Voodoo is a dark and powerful form of magic practiced by the shadowhunters, hexxers, and witch doctors. The trolls' use of mojo in their voodoo magic has long been established. Drinking blood - our Hero's Health points - provides power, the darkest of voodoo. Shadowhunters are masters of voodoo magics who can use their spirit-powers to both heal their allies and place curses upon their hapless enemies.
Voodoo FAQ
The UI (user interface) when you play a card with Voodoo is like the Choose One cards UI. You pick one side and that's the effect you get. Some Voodoo add new effects and some replace the base effect (all ended in instead), you can see both examples under this lines (they're cards from Phase I).
Remember: you can die if you don't have enough Health and you activate the Voodoo side of the card!
I also used the non-official keyword Elusive. Elusive = Can't be targeted by spells or hero Powers. More information here.
Warrior
SotL Themes: Damage (Enrage...) and Taunt.
All Warrior Cards 🡳
Rogue
SotL Themes: Poison and Weapons.
All Rogue Cards 🡳
Priest
SotL Themes: Shadowform and Silence.
All Priest Cards 🡳
Neutral Cards
Expansion Creation Competition
Special thanks to:
TrappedInLimbo - For the awesome Troll theme idea!
Cogito_Ergo_Sum
SnorlaxBR
Shatterstar1998
All the people who voted my Expansion!
I hope you liked my cards! \[T]/
Keywords (Details in Spoiler)
Mechanics:
Enchant: When you play a card with Enchant, it will immediately give the next minion you DRAW (not summon nor play) a little bonus! Careful though! You may not draw the Enchanted card, so build your deck wisely!
Stabilize: Since Battlecries occur WHEN minions are played (not after), Battlecries will occur even if you can't pay the Stabilize cost! Note that Elementals with Stabilize will trigger "If you played an Elemental last turn" effects EVEN if you didn't pay the Stabilize cost because you technically did play the Elemental!
Stabilize is all about playing with your mana expenditure in order to get the optimial result! Sometimes you need to force yourself to pay the Stabilize cost to get the minion's body, but sometimes you don't want to pay it in order to just get the Battlecry/Deathrattle effect for the cheapest cost in order to play other important cards as well. This can open up for a lot of skilled plays as the usual ordering of cards is largely tampered by creating the optimal result from Stabilize cards.
Note: Cards that summon random minions (e.g. Evolve and Devolve) cannot summon minions with Stabilize, similar to how Quests can't be produced randomly. This is for obvious balancing reasons, and Evolve Shaman is my guilty pleasure.
Flavour:
Enchant: Dalaran houses some of the most skilled sorcerers in Azeroth. Some of these guys specialize in Enchanting items and even people, making them stronger (and more stylish) than ever before!
Stabilize: While Enchanting minions are quite adept in their studies, some disciples of Dalaran are quite...inexperienced with handling spells. Sometimes, these foolish beings try to attempt the most powerful spells with little mana, and they end up injuring themselves after they fail to Stabilize their spells.
The Story So Far...
After arriving at Dalaran (Neutral Common Set), getting a taste of the magical island (Neutral Rare Set), and discovering the floating city's many wonders and Secrets (Neutral Epic Set), you have by chosen by Khadgar to look into the strange occurrences that have suddenly started appearing in Dalaran. What will you explore next?
Warlock's Themes
Warlock's Lore
You begin to look into the rumors surrounding Vargoth, a mage and a member of the Council of Six. Apparently, sources tell you that he belongs to a secret society called the Empyrean Society. Rumors has it that they study forbidden Fel magic that can have great effects if sacrifices are made. One of the most surprising things you've heard is that Vargoth has been possessed by a demon! Vargoth isn't controlled by a Demon! That's impossible; that would never happen in Dalaran...well, okay it happened with Medivh, but come on. Lightning doesn't strike twice...but you decide to explore Vargoth's retreat just in case. And wouldn't you know it, there happens to be a secret passage behind the bookshelf...
One of Discolock main problems is that the randomness of the discard effect. Thus, I present to you, the Nightborne Healthstone! Utilizing the new keyword Stabilize, you can either use this card as a quick heal OR as a card to reduce the randomness of discard! After all, discarding minions is WORSE than discarding spells because minions give you board presence and more tempo than spells.
This creates a lose-lose situation for your opponent as they have to choose whether they want to devote their cards to kill it. If they destroy it, you get healed and your opponent wastes their resources to kill it! If they don't, either you can get some sweet value in Discardlock by discarding the cards you want OR you can have fun with Doomguard in Zoolock.
This is especially useful in this expansion's Warlock set as there are a lot of spells and minions that synergize with discarding spells.
Speaking of discard spells, here's one of them! Rain of Fire here reduces the chance of you discarding the cards you want to keep by multiplying in your hand whenever you discard this! This both synergizes with discard effects and helps to give you card advantage.
Most importantly, it allows you cast a TON of damaging spells to help you control the board and make you feel like a true Warlock spellslinger god. FEEL THE MIGHT OF THE EMPYREANS FOOL!
A nice little flavour tid-bit here is that almost ALL of my spells in my expansion reference an actual WoW spell. The only exception are the "Anthology" cards which Discover a spell you've cast this game and does something extra. This is supposed to represent the skills you have learned at Dalaran as it is a major educational centre for aspiring Mages.
All Warlock Cards
Some Quick Clarifications:
Paladin's Themes
Paladin's Lore
The Sunreavers are the Horde faction within Dalaran; their main goal is to find the "Divine Bell" which is a sacred object with mystical powers. They have recently taken accepted Elementals into their community who have mastered manipulating the Light and using buff spells to their advantage. Some Sunreaver Paladins have learned the ways of the Light Elementals and have ascended to become humanoid Elementals called Ascendants (real original name there guys). However, it seems that Aethas Sunreaver has been seen in public less often. Those who have seen him claim that his armor was stained in blood and seemed to radiate some sort of Light energy. Curiously, there have also been reports of Ascendants missing...you wonder if Sunreaver has been siphoning the energy of these beings. Well, there's only one way to find out.
Naturally, with the theme of Enchanted Sunreavers and charming Paladins, Enchant and buffing is a big theme within the Paladin set. Sanctity Aura is a simple yet great Enchant buff that just shows you how strong the Sunreavers are. Not only will it fortify a minion, but it's a solid card to buff the next minion you draw in order to push a frequent stream of threats.
It's also worth mentioning that Enchant STACKS, so you can really have some fun triggering a bunch of Enchant cards at once and raise your next minions' might to an awe-inspiring degree!
With Handbuff Elemental Pally being a surprisingly good deck, Paladins have recieved some strong Elementals to compliment it. Take Son of the Light for example.
Without paying the Stabilize cost, this can be used as a small nice heal if you need it in a flash. You can amplify this effect with Handbuffs or Attack-raising Enchantments!
It's also noteworthy that this can be a cheap way (1 mana!) to trigger "If you played an Elemental last turn" effects.
However, when this bad boy hits the field (if you payed the Stabilize cost), that's when the real fun begins. Not only do you have a potent minion on the board, but you can raise this Ascendant's Attack with buff spells (as well as Enchant and Handbuffing of course) in order to restore a MASSIVE amount of Health to your hero. Try getting through THIS Aggro!
All Paladin Cards
Some Quick Clarifications:
Priest Themes
Priest's Lore
The Kirin Tor has gained the attention of the Black Temple as it now floats over the Broken Shore. There have been stories of members of the Black Temple recruiting Kirin Tor ex-Mages, alchemists, and shadowy psychics. It is rumored that Alchemist Karlain was one of the recruited. Karlain is another member of the Council of Six and an expert Chemist who has sworn off succumbing to his rage, sadness, and emotions after accidentally killing his wife when she was attacked by his apprentice. He claims that he is now composed and that his rationality overpowers his feelings. Unfortunately, like the Shadow Priests, everything has a dark side...and Twists of Fate can occur at any time. You must confront Karlain at Eventide as he seems to be planning concocting some private "potions" there for some "guests" tonight. Hopefully, he will be as composed as he has ever been.
This Priest set is all about Shadowpriest and it's dark ways! That includes stealing cards and dishing out big damage!
Priest has received a lot of cards that restore a certain amount of Health AND deal that same amount of damage in represent the Light/Shadow parallelism. A minor theme in the Priest set are cards that do something dark if you risk your Health to be lower than your enemy's for ULTIMATE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION...ahem, excuse me. This can be particularly useful against aggressive decks that like to deal damage early, so PUNISH THE PUNY MORTALS WITH VENGEANCE...*cough* what is up with me today?!
A good example of both of these themes is Shadow Mend. Alone, it's just a heal card that can be utilized when it needs to for healing synergies. But when you have less Health than your hero, then it can become a strong damage dealing card to help you control the board or just finish your opponent.
The composed Karlain is no longer as he has devoted his efforts of fulfilling the age-old goal of every Alchemist (turning metal into gold, humans into sheep, water into holy water, and other transformations) into harnessing the mind-stealing powers of Shadow Priests! Now, Shadowchemist Karlain transforms HIMSELF into your opponent's worse nightmare: their own forces!
Seek revenge against that Meteor that Mage got out of Primordial Glyph or that Crystal Core and Sulfuras from those nasty Quests! Steal some key cards that would be perfect to use now or later like Hunter's magnificent minions or Shamans Devolve shenanigans! Or, ya know, just copy your opponent's 2-drop if you lack one.
All Priest Cards
Some Quick Clarifications:
Neutral Cards
Commons
Some Quick Clarifications:
Rares
Some Quick Clarifications:
Epics
Some Quick Clarifications:
Legendaries
Some Quick Clarifications:
Tokens
Silver Covenant General's Token
Khadgar, Supreme Archmage's Tokens
Flavour Text:
Warlock
Empyrean Magician: And for his next trick, he'll cut you in half! No seriously. Run.
Warlock's Anthology: A Wrinkle in the Void by Madeleine L'Demon.
Dark Regeneration: You can never regenerate ginger hair. This is definitely the darkest regeneration.
Nightborne Healthstone: Nightborne Healthstick and this will break your bones.
Ritual of Summoning: To perform this, you need to chant the unholy words of Felizar, raise your hands in the air, shake them side to side, wear a strange mask, and stay still as I try to record you.
Rain of Fire: INJUSTICE RAINS FROM ABOVE!
Vargoth, Demon's Vessel: First, Medivh; now, him? Dalaran really needs to get some Demon Repellent. It would certainly be more useful than the Bat/Shark Repellent they just ordered.
Paladin
Sanctity Aura: The Sunreavers built this Sanctity out of rock and roll.
Divine Bell: The Sunreavers really like this relic's name! It has a nice ring to it.
Prism Phoenix: Has a really colourful personality.
Son of the Light: Child of Light. Beware the Night.
Sunreaver Lightbringer: A quest to bring Light? Bring it on!
Paladin's Anthology: King Arthas and His Knights of the Frozen Throne by Roger Lancing Gold
Aethas Sunreaver: What the heck did the Sun ever do to him?
Priest
Priest's Anthology: 50 Shadows of Grey by E. Light-hearted Names
Twist of Fate: Days without a hero turning into a villain: 0
Shadow Mend: People make a big deal about being in this spell's blast, but in the Mend, nothing really matters.
Clumsy Potionbrewer: Although she is a klutz, she started her successful career after her infamous first Volcanic Potion: Rhubarb Pie.
Kirin Tor Shadow Priest: Always overshadows the competition.
Purloining Telepath: This pun is Telepathetic.
Shadowchemist Karlain: Tried to turn metal into gold. Turned himself into a golden hammer. Nailed it.
Neutral Commons
Krasus's Landing Escort: Funny enough, he hates escort missions. Don't we all?
Violet Hold Guard: Easily distracted by the sound of dropped coins, but is completely fine with intruders just out of line of sight.
Crystalsong Drake: Him and Crystaldance Eminem once had the best rap battle to date.
Underbelly Duelist: It's time to d-d-duel!
Silver Covenant Librarian: She checks out the books AND the boys.
Magus Commerce Dealer: How he managed to have Jaraxxus and Deathwing available for purchase is beyond me, but there's a 50% sale on the Twisting Nether so I'm not questioning it.
Violet Gate Archmage: Opened a portal to the moon once in order to punish a guy who talked too much about space. She kind of regrets it, but she still Wants Him Gone. (He's probably Still Alive).
Frost Bomb: Leaves those caught in the blast frozen in fear. And ice. Mostly ice.
Neutral Rares
Kirin Tor Pedagogue: She always asks her students to find X in her numerology classes. It's obviously 10.
Sunreaver Banker: You think you can hide Secret debts from her? Don't bank on it.
Sunreaver Duplicator: Sunreaver Duplicator:
Fire Ascendant: His personal profile: 3rd Degree Burns, 2nd Degree in Pyromancy, and 1st Degree MURDER.
Water Revanant: Because drowning people is definitely the best way to save their life.
Neutral Epics
Eventide Fountain: Ironically, Oddtide Fountain gives you Spell Damage +2.
Tirisfal Sorcerer: Comes after the Tirispride Sorcerer.
Silver Covenant General: "The best offense is a good defense." And by that, he means using the Guards as a meat shield.
Kirin Tor Oracle: "You're going to die. That'll be 30 Gold."
Neutral Legendaries
Vereesa Windrunner: As an expert huntress and leader of the Silver Covenant, she specializes in all sorts of traps. From magical Counterspells to exploding traps to...throwing a guy at the enemy and calling it a Noble Sacrifice?
Kael'thas Sunstrider: Currently filing a public copyright strike against Zenyatta's balls. Wow, he's got balls.
Rhonin, Theramore's Last: "Theramore is the bomb!" -Rhonin's poorest choice of words.
Khadgar, Supreme Archmage: Unfortunately, the title of Supreme Sorcerer was already taken by someone who used to be a Doctor. He was kind of Strange.
A Special Thanks To...
Thrall once had a dream. In his dream, he saw the scene of Taretha being killed over and over. He tried to save her, but all his attempts turned out to be in vain.
Jaina once had a dream. In her dream, she followed Arthas in the ravage at Stratholme. Later on, they went to Northend together, where she took hold of the Frostmourne and became the Lich Queen.
Magni once had a dream. In his dream, his daughter's son was born. To his astonishment, the baby's father was Ragnaros.
NEW MECHANIC:
Other Cards
Warrior
Priest
Paladin
It's time for bed. Have a nice dream!
Lore
Prepare yourselves, the bells have tolled!
Shelter your weak, your young and your old!
Each of you shall pay the final sum!
Cry for mercy, the reckoning has come!
There is a festival that occurs in the autumn months. It is a time of celebration, of costumed children and masked matrons passing out candy. When farmers light bonfires to celebrate the harvest. But as villages the world over gather together, the guards must stay vigilant. For with the waning daylight comes things that prowl and skitter and groan and howl. Rotten crops and corpses rise as the cursed Horseman rides. So gather around your family and toss an offering to the Wickerman, so that you may be safe during...
Hallow's End - A Custom Hearthstone Expansion
The Fear Keyword
It wouldn't be a proper Hallow's End without a heaping dose of terror! Fear is the set's new keyword that temporarily reduces a minion's Attack. Like Freeze, it expires at the end of the turn after which that minion could make an attack. So apply Fear to an enemy on your turn, it goes away at the end of your opponent's next turn. This effect can help slow down an aggressive opponent, or take the teeth out of a larger threat!
Who ya gonna call?
When there's something strange, and it don't look good, the poor townsfolk need someone to protect them. One such defender is the Hunter. Using their tamed pets and versatile traps, the Hunter can help keep the Horseman's monsters at bay.
Death beckons...
Many people fear Hallow's End and the darkness it brings. But the Forsaken embrace it. To them it is almost a religious holiday, a celebration of their freedom from the Scourge. Priests of the Undercity study to learn new powers over death. Some even try to tap the abilities of the dread Horseman himself.A night of mischief and mayhem...
Of course, there are those who would take advantage of the fears of the populace. Stealing candy, trashing homes, slipping into costume... there are many Rogues who enjoy the more sinister side of holiday. Selfish ambition and trickery could get you far...if you play your cards right.
And when your reckless betrayals finally catch up to you... having a few Secrets up your sleeve could come in handy.
Hunter Cards
Priest Cards
Rogue Cards
Neutral Cards
Note: New cards: Southshore Defender and Witch Hunter.
Commons
Rares
Epics
Legendarys
Currently working on the Tinker! K&C and WW / JUG and KotFT / Classic / Basic / Introduction
My Previous Classes: Apothecary (unfinished) / Chronomancer / Death Knight (old)
My Previous Expansions: Hallow's End
General Lore:
Azsuna was once a gem of the Night Elf empire. Now, in the aftermath of the Great Sundering, much of it lies in ruins, a home for nothing more than a few vengeful Elven spirits, some Murlocs here and there, and hidden enclaves of Blue Dragons. But now, the haunted land is forced into conflict once again as powerful forces gather around it, searching for the same thing: One of the Pillars of Creation, the Tidestone of Golganneth.
Featuring:
- The Naga and their Underwater Brethren
- The Nightborne/Nightfallen
- Remnants of the Blue Dragonflight
- Murlocs (Don't we just love Murlocs?)
- Demons
- Demon Hunters
- Undead Spirits
- Explorers from the Reliquary
And, of course, a small dose of the Old Gods and their corruption.
DISCLAIMER: Certain 'Creative Liberties' regarding the lore have been taken. Sorry.
This Phase: Secrets of the Kaldorei
In the past the Night Elf Kingdom, built around the immensely powerful magical Well of Eternity, ruled over almost the entirety of Azeroth. They named themselves the Kaldorei - the 'Children of the Stars', and created their empire on the great supercontinent of Kalimdor. Within the Kaldorei Empire, a ruling cast soon emerged: the (relatively) Fair-Skinned, magically adept Highborne.
In the empire's later years, the Queen of the Highborne - Queen Azshara, a mage with unmatched power - became subject to sinister whisperings from Sargeras, the lord of the Burning Legion. Tantalised by his promises of power, she struck a deal with him, and, with the full support of her Highborne people, began the construction of the portal around the Well of Eternity - one that would bring him, and his Burning Legion, into Azeroth, where they would cleanse it of all life.
Needless to say, people weren't very happy about this. And so, the War of the Ancients commenced, with Azshara's Highborne on one side and the Kaldorei Resistance (which included characters such as Tyrande Whisperwind, as well as Malfurion and Illidan Stormrage.)
During the battle, the Well of Eternity was destroyed, and the resulting explosion reshaped the entirety of Azeroth, blasting the supercontinent of Kalimdor into various smaller landmasses and leaving a swirling Maelstrom in its centre. The event became known as the Great Sundering.
During the Great Sundering, the great elven capital of Zin-Azshari, along with several other cities, were sent under the waves of the ocean, bringing Queen Azshara and her followers with it. Azshara attempted to use her spectre, Sharas'Dal, to protect her people, but even then her strength was not enough.
But, when all hope seemed to be lost, an ancient voice whispered in the minds of the Highborne. Their bodies twisted, growing swirling tentacles and taking on reptilian features. And thus, the Highborne became the Naga, serving a new master...
New Keywords:
Wither and Siphon are inspired by the ability of the Nightborne to absorb arcane energy and derive nourishment from it, and the fact that they begin to slowly wither away into mindless zombies the longer they are deprived from it.
Your minions are essentially 'Siphoning off' a tiny bit of your spell's powers. It's a scaling ability that is much more effective over a long game when you can cast more spells, draw more cards, and build up to larger effects. If you need to, you can also cash in earlier to get some more immediate impact.
Wither is another keyword of this expansion. It's a versatile keyword that can be used as a debuff on enemy minions, or a downside on your own ones to allow for powerful minions that slowly get weaker as the strength drains from their bodies.
New Mechanic - Mana Surge:
Destabilised by the events of the Great Sundering, bursts of Mana began to surge from the earth. Those that learn to harness them are capable of fashioning them into a powerful tool, but in incapable hands, these bursts of energy are nothing more than useless.
Mana Surges are a new mechanic introduced in this expansion, and are generated by a whole host of cards. It's a 0-Mana Spell that does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! But even then, it has a lot of uses. As a Spell and by extension a Card, it can be used to trigger on-play effects such as the Mana Wyrm and Violet Teacher. But if you want to use them as spells, that's perfectly possible as well - cards like the Nightborne Sculptor or the Naga Sorceress turn these seemingly useless cards into spells with their own effects.
Example Cards: Priest
Priest is all about Spells this time round, featuring powerful Siphon effects as well as strong spells. Based primarily off of the Highborne and the Naga, the class receives some strong Spells and cards primarily intended for a control/value based playstyle.
Handmaiden Vashj is perhaps better known as Lady Vashj, the leader of Illidan Stormrage's Naga. But before she was a powerful Sea Witch, she was one of Queen Azshara's many handmaidens, bewitched, like many others, by her beauty and charisma.
When you cast enough spells while holding her, Vashj transforms, becoming one of the Naga, just like the rest of her people. In her new form, she loses her Spellcasting prowess in return for more raw power, and the magical bow Frostfathom. Using it, she is Immune whilst attacking, and also gains a powerful damaging end-of-turn effect.
Other Cards:
Azshara’s Dancer: A late-game heal-on-a-beatstick that can become more powerful over time. It can also be used with Auchenai-like effects to deal large amounts of damage.
Moonwell Tender: A combo-y card that can let you buff your Siphon cards to high heaven.
Flash Nova: An early-game board clear.
Tainted Priestess: A Mana Surge source. Can be healed to give you MORE.
Unholy Exchange: A ‘buff’ spell for Priest that could also be used as a debuff for enemies if you’re desperate. While priest isn’t the class that’s most well-known for its damaging spells, this card is still very powerful. In conjunction with the new Naga Sorceress, it can allow for huge burst combos using 0-mana 5-damage Mana Surges + some other spells. It can also synergise with cards like Spirit Lash or Flash Nova for board clears.
Example Cards: Warlock
Our good ol' Warlock is all about DEMONS
(because screw discard)! With the new Wither mechanic, Warlock gets a whole new tool to play with when it comes to strong minions with downsides. Inspired mainly by the Burning Legion, Warlock gets a few tools for a Control-y build, as well as several powerful Demons/Demon synergy cards for a more midrange/value based playstyle.DEMONS!
Fel Infusion, as well as some of the other cards, allows a Demon-based deck to aim for a strategy other than being just another variation of a Zoolock. It gives a buff to ALL your demons, including the ones on the board, as well as the ones in your hand and deck, by infusing them with few energy. With two copies and in conjunction with cards like the Cursed Nightborne (see below), you can create an army of large, above-curve demons to overwhelm your opponent with.
When Sargeras, the leader of the burning legion, decided that his minions weren’t useful enough and that he needed to do the job himself, he was met with a problem - his titanic form was too large and too powerful to be manifested onto Azeroth. The solution? Use an Avatar, containing a small sliver of his power, instead.
The Avatar of Sargeras is a powerful example of the Wither mechanic. Wither always comes with a negative effect, but that doesn’t mean it can’t include other effects as well. The Avatar is a massive minion that decays with rapid speed - but while it does so, it repeatedly nukes the board in a pseudo-Doomsayer-like fashion. It’s possible for it to clear the board a total of three times before dying itself, giving you plenty of time to heal up/cast spells.
Other Cards:
Chained Pit Lord: A early-game Taunt Demon with a powerful body. It slowly decays over time as the chains cut into its flesh.
Corrupted Dreadsteed: Another early game card that can be used as a psuedo-removal tool or a powerful burst finisher. If you buff it, it doesn’t die!
Call of the Void: Warlock also gets some Siphon cards. Call of the Void allows you to create a huge board of demons for cards like Crystalweaver while also protecting your face.
Chaos Drain: A strong board clear spell combined with some life gain.
Cursed Nightborne: Another demon synergy card that allows your demon synergy cards to work on non-demons. It essentially functions like this: it gives all the minions in your hand, deck, and board the ‘Demon’ tribe, and also gives any minions you summon through other means the ‘Demon’ tribe as well.
Example Cards: Druid
For this expansion, Druid is getting very heavy focus on spells. Inspired mainly by the Kaldorei/Night Elves, Druid gets a whole bunch of Mana Surge generation and synergy. Some could be useful in a token Druid deck featuring Violet Teacher and the new cards Azshara's Siren/Nightborne Sculptor, whilst others could be used in a more combo/burst-y deck with cards like Malygos or Gadgetzan Auctioneer.
Moonwells are magical pools of water, from which the Kaldorei and others can draw energy and mana. In this case, Mana Surges.
It seems useless by itself, but as a constant resource of Mana Surges to trigger powerful synergies, your opponent can’t opt to ignore it for too long.
Archdruid Shalis is a very strong example of Mana Surge synergy, transforming the 'useless' spells into potentially game-changing Innervates, while also bringing some Spell Damage to the table.
She can be used in ramp decks to provide a way to dump multiple big threats in a single turn, or in Malygos/Miracle style decks for her INSANE combo potential.
Other Cards:
Kaldorei Trainee: An easy way to generate Mana Surges while putting a body into play.
Manabloom: Another way to generate Mana Surges. Synergises very well with Siphon/Spell-Based effects.
Nightmare Flare: A powerful spell that can be used for board control or burst damage.
Magic Crystal: A versatile form of card draw for spell based decks. You can replenish your hand if you’re running out of resources, or reduce the cost of a large hand for strong combo plays.
Nightborne Sculptor: A card for token decks - it allows you to flood the board in conjunction with Mana Surges and other cards like Azshara’s Siren.
Neutrals:
Commons:
Notes:
-- If Twisted Nightborne gives an enemy minion Wither, it will trigger at the start of your ENEMY's turn. Same with the Nightborne Enchantress (see below).
Rares:
Notes:
-- Naga Sorceress makes the Mana Surges deal 2 damage.
-- Spectre of Restoration discards itself from your hand when its Health reaches 0.
Epics:
Legendaries:
Notes:
-- Examiner Thae'thelan casts the spells with random targets. It's not written on the card because there's not enough space and we all know that's how it works anyways.
-- Prince Farondis is worded the way he is for flavour reasons. Spirits aren't coming out of nowhere - your dead minions transform into them.
-- Withering Spirits have -1 attack from their Wither so they lose any buffs you give to them.
Random Notes:
-- Click Here For Phase 2 Post --
-- Click Here For Phase 1 Post --
Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this expansion :3
Why Rogue is my favourite class:
My submission for this week's card design competition.
THE STORY SO FAR
TIME PARADOX!!!!!
While gazing into the future, Nozdormu the Timelord has accidentally resurrected every dragon that has ever lived! In order to contain the catastrophe, Nozdormu has sealed away Azeroth's dragons and their most sacred sites into a sealed dimension called The Dragonspiral. From atop the great Wyrmrest Mountain, the five Dragon Aspects of Azeroth, Nozdormu, Alexstrasza, Ysera, Kalecgos and the reborn Neltharion seek to end the crisis, while deep in the boneyards of The Dragonblight, time anomalies like Malygos, Deathwing, Murozond, Galakrond and Sindragosa seek to escape this prison realm and conquer Azeroth.
The Dragonspiral Wars have begun! Join Wrathion the Black Prince as he guides you through the strife and chaos of this strange dimension.
THE DRAGONBLIGHT
The endless dragon boneyard known as the Dragonblight is a sacred site to dragonkind and contains vast power. Within the endless wilderness, Galakrond the Dragonfather hunts his children, devouring their bones and gaining power. Neltharaku the Worm, leader of the demonic Netherdrakes, scours the graveyard reanimating the bones long dead dragons by infusing them with raw energy from the Twisting Nether. But Neltharion, the Earth-Warder, father of the Black Dragonflight, he will become Deathwing, seeks to guard the bones of his fallen brothers, preventing Galakrond, Neltharaku and others from abusing the resting spirits.
KEYWORD SPOTLIGHT: Dragongrave
The Dragongrave is a communal graveyard for all dragons that are played durring the match. When a dragon is destroyed in the battlefield or discarded from the hand or deck, a portal graphic opens on the battlefield and the card is sucked into it. Just like your deck, you can't look at the Dragongrave durring the match, so a player must track what cards are in it. Some cards are able to destroy minions in the Dragongrave.
The Hunter, Shaman and Warlock classes all make use of the Dragongrave mechanic, drawing, activating and destroy the dragons within it.
The Dragongrave mechanic doesn't affect other similar ressurection abilities, like those of N'zoth the Corrupter or Onyx Priest. Such cards work identically to how they worked before.
THE CARDS:
HUNTER|GALAKROND
PROTODRAGONS
The primordial Galakrond, father of all dragons, hungers for blood! He stalks through the Dragonblight, aided by Azeroth's most fearsome hunters, devouring his children!
Hunter cards in Dragonspiral feature dual-tribe protodragon Beast/Dragons. In addition to supporting midrange decks, Dragonspiral gives Control Hunters means of gaining armor and healing themselves through killing Dragons and other big minions.
SHAMAN|NELTHARION
BLACK DRAGONS
Neltharion, keeper of the caverns and tombs of Azeroth, has been reborn! Though he knows his time is short, he has joined the other 4 Dragon Aspects to return his ressurected brethern to the grave.
Shaman cards in Dragonspiral make use of Silence effects, focussing on tempo plays meant to close out a match with dramatic effects.
WARLOCK|NELTHARAKU
NETHERDRAGONS
The insidious Neltharaku seeks to twist and torment the spirits of long dead dragons!
Warlock cards in Dragonspiral give new, powerful tools for Discolocks and Control Warlocks, letting them find staying power and preventing them from running out of cards.
HUNTER CARDS
SHAMAN CARDS
WARLOCK CARDS
Lore:
Azeroth. Draenor. At one point, the Outlands. Connecting them all, the Dark Portal, a gateway across time and space, a connecting point between worlds. But other worlds have their own "Dark Portals," their own Outrealms connecting many timelines and realities. And when a certain time and space hopping tavern run by a kindly dwarf suddenly started connecting disparate realities, it was only a matter of time before the Dark Portal connected a pathway through an otherworldly gate, to a nexus of heroes...
Refresher on Keywords: Swift and Rush
In this Nexus of Heroes, battles are settled between units and armies, rather than individual heroes. And in these battles, speed is king. Swift functions like First Strike in other card games like Magic: The Gathering, where, if a minion with Swift attacks or is attacked by something that has less Health than it has Attack, it can potentially come out of battle unscathed. Rush functions like the subset of Charge that Blizzard has brushed against with cards like Charged Devilsaur or the latest version of the Charge spell card. Minion based combat is where the developers have said the game is most fun, and this expansion looks to facilitate that.
Phase III Example Cards: Mage, Paladin, Rogue
Mages - Power and Finesse
The mages of this strange nexus of heroes have a lot to teach the champions of Azeroth. Study of the arcane arts allow the mages of this nexus a variety of Secret tactics that allow them to control the battlefield, as they set up the awesome Spell Damage to decimate armies and great beasts alike.
Paladins - Heroism and Valor
Camaraderie is what makes the armies of the nexus of heroes so potent. The bonds each soldier shares bolsters their strength to new levels, to where even the humblest Recruit can perform stunning feats of valor. This care for their comrades also comes in the form of divine magic, healing the wounded, reinvigorating their spirit.Rogues - Craft and Coin
Fortune seekers and dashing rogues find their home and opportunity in both Azeroth and the nexus. For just a bit of Coin, these crafty thieves can Burgle any tool or weapon from right under their opponent's nose, and use their own strength against them. Why worry about your own power, when you can just redirect your foe's?
In summary, the themes of the three classes are: for Mage, Secrets and Spell Damage (particularly against Minions); for Paladin, Healing and Silver Hand Recruits; and for Rogues, making use of The Coin, and Burgle effects.
Mage Cards
Tokens Generated by Count on Sheep:
Paladin Cards
Rogue Cards
Neutral Cards from the previous Phase
Flavour Text from This Phase
Mage:
Count on Sheep: The undead ghost sheep aren't actually helping me fall asleep...
Empower Spell: When you need to pop your foot and just push that Fireball over the top.
Witchy Scientist: What, you're going to leave the Magitech to the goblins and gnomes? Are you mad?
Dragonblood Sorceress: Given the long-lived nature of dragons, she can even meet her great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather.
Greater Contingency: It's never Vaporize...but maybe that's what he wants me to think and it IS Vaporize! But if he knows that I know that...ah to heck with it, I'll just attack.
Elthunder: "Fire cannot kill a dragon." *CRACK-BOOM!* "Fire has killed this dragon!"
Princess Lilina the Limitless: POWER! UN! LIMITED! POWER!
Paladin:
Battle Cleric: She kicks arse for the light!
Noble General: "War was not won by dying for your country. It was won by getting the other poor sap to die for THEIR country."
Restaurant Connoisseur: "I'm sorry, but this grilled squid gets my lowest rating ever: six thumbs up."
Argent Mage Knight: "Let's come to terms, and embrace it. Concur, admit, concede, and face it: I'm cute."
The Lady's Favour: "You're doing me a HUGE solid, helping me move my couch, miss."
Divine Intervention: The Healer AFK's for FIVE SECONDS and LOOK what happens!
Scarlet Princess Hinoka: "I can spam this Rally Attack skill all day."
Rogue:
Classy Cat Burglar: Sure, she might abscond with your jewels, your silverware, your mistress, your gold, and your finest silk garments, BUT she's good enough to leave a well designed calling card. She's a professional.
Fortune Teller: She'll read your future, and also give you great financial advice based on your current assets vs liabilities and equity.
Whitewing Mercenary: Card name based synergy is fleeting, but the Coin....the Coin is forever.
Just Act Natural: "Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave!
Master Ninja: Whakka-cheeka-whakka-cheeka-whakka-cheeka-whakka-cheeka MASTER NINJA THEME SONG!
Treasure Hunter: Those treasure maps have changed a lot of hands. We're lucky if there's even a thin dime remaining at the X.
Niles, Prince of Thieves: Given his singing voice and style, he is also the "Prince" of Thieves.
Not enough time...
Reminder: my entry for the Second phase can be found in the spoiler below.
Neutrals
His homeworld was bigger than he had imagined. Boom Jr. had set out looking for business opportunities, but ended up searching for inspiration, a new enterprise in his mind. To search for the most wondrous of places, the strangest of things and the most powerful of characters, and bring them back to Area 52, in miniature. Maybe some explosives could be added, too! He read through the history of the Aldor and the Scryers, the fall of Illidan and his Illidari. He searched for the orc that fought for two Hordes and lead an ogre clan, Lantresor of the Blade. He even travelled to the place where Doom Lord Kazzak, commander of the Burning Legion's Outland forces, had fallen. His travels made him friends, like the Netherwing or the Sha'tar, but enemies too. He also lost half an ear to a Warp Stalker once! But in the end, it was worth it. The danger, the discovery, it all flowed through his mind when he finally decided to return home... but not for long.
Reminder: my entry for the first phase can be found in the spoiler below.
Preview
Set in the remnants of a devastated Draenor, Outland, this expansion follows the adventures of expert businessman and engineer Boom Jr., who didn't follow in his father's footsteps and set out to explore and colonize this unhospitable world. He will meet the remnants of the Burning Legion, setting entire forests ablaze as they battle the few Illidari left to confront them. The enigmatic Netherwing will prove to be a reliable ally, along with the ethereals... if you can spare the coin. However, not everything is the same as it was when his father lived. The arcane energies that sweep through the floating isles have granted new abilities to their inhabitants, allowing some of them to shift through space and tear the fabric of the universe, unleashed in a moment's notice. Who will our young entrepreneur meet in his travels through Hellfire, Terokkar, Netherstorm... and beyond?
New mechanic: Unleash (X)
Arcane energies flowing from the Twisting Nether have imbued some of the beasts and humanoids of Outland, granting them the power to appear in a moment's notice when needed. Spells can also be cast through the tears in time and space, surprising enemies and allies alike. This new mechanic allows some cards to be played automatically on your opponent's turn when a friendly character is damaged, if you have some mana available. If you are holding more than one unleash card, the most expensive you can afford will be played first. If there is any mana remaining, the next more expensive card will be played, and so on. The mechanic's tooltip is shown below:
Demons
Outland is overflowing with demons, so a lot of them will appear in this expansion. Many more neutral demons, and class cards related to them for Warlock, Rogue and Warrior, will be released. Some of these minions will feature a brand new type of synergy, or, shall I say... anti-synergy? Demons generally despise other creatures, so texts like "Battlecry: Deal 2 damage to a friendly non-Demon minion" will not feel out of place on them, in exchange for more powerful effects or stats.
Dragons
The Netherwing bring new dragons to the table with exciting new synergies to explore. Magic-based as they are, these dragons will grant you Spell Power or more spells, rather than pure brawn, when holding other members of their species. No more Priest dragons, though maybe we will see some in the Mage's arsenal...
Arcane powers
The landscape is brimming with magic in Outland. So much so, that classes more traditionally focused on minions, like Hunters, will now get support for spell based strategies. Deterministic spell generation will feature heavily in this expansion, granting heroes new tools with which to battle each other
And much more to discover!
Example cards
New mechanic: Unleash (X)
Arcane energies flowing from the Twisting Nether have imbued some of the beasts and humanoids of Outland, granting them the power to appear in a moment's notice when needed. Spells can also be cast through the tears in time and space, surprising enemies and allies alike. This new mechanic allows some cards to be played automatically on your opponent's turn when a friendly character is damaged, if you have some mana available. If you are holding more than one unleash card, the most expensive you can afford will be played first. If there is any mana remaining, the next more expensive card will be played, and so on. The mechanic's tooltip is shown below:
Example cards:
No place in Outland is totally secure from the demons of the Burning Legion. As their numbers dwindled, they had to develop new tactics. Boom Jr. soon learned that no demon was truely alone, and that escaping a Doomguard is no easy task.
Conditional unleash makes its first new appearance. Some cards will only be able to unleash themselves if a condition is met, and more cards like this will appear in some class' sets.
Nagrand was still full of life. Roaming the plains, the stoic Elekk ignored the world crumbling around, forming tight packs that grazed together. There is nothing that a matriarch wouldn't do to protect the young or sick.
Positioning has never been this important! With a new trigger for abilities, some minions will gain benefits when standing between two allies. Be careful, though, if one of the adjacent minions dies the aura will fade!
The Netherwing Flight was as rare as powerful their magics. Their attunement to the arcane energies that swept the earth was unparalleled, and this dragons could harness it to protect their own. However, Boom Jr. discovered that simply by being nice - and not mentioning Zuluhed -, allies are easy to obtain.
There are Dragon synergies this expansion, but not as minion focused as in the pst. This time around, the nether dragons will benefit from spell damage or provides us with new spells. Unbridled Energy is a new neutral spell akin to Spare Parts, obtained from creatures touched by Outland's energies.
Unbridled Energy
Even though the reign of Illidan, the Betrayer had ended a long time ago, the schemes of Maiev and Akama hadn't erased the impact it had on the land and its denizens. Boom Jr. didn't enter the Black Temple despite its new owner being a lot more welcoming. It didn't feel right.
As the summit of every demon deck that tries to go for the long game, Illidan, Lord of Outland lends you his warglaives. As a demon hunter sworn to end the Burning Legion, his weapon gains strength for each demon that has died this game. This provides a demon deck with a finisher, while providing the opponent with time to react if they didn't die outright.
Warglaives of Azzinoth
Commons
Unbridled Energy
Rares
Unbridled Energy
Epics
Unbridled Energy
Legendaries
Warglaives of Azzinoth
I hope you liked this first taste of what To Netherstorm and Beyond could become. See you, hopefully in the next phase, were we will take a look at those shiny new Dragons for mage, hunter's spell synergies and the new Demons for warlock!
New mechanic: Unleash (X)
Arcane energies flowing from the Twisting Nether have imbued some of the beasts and humanoids of Outland, granting them the power to appear in a moment's notice when needed. Spells can also be cast through the tears in time and space, surprising enemies and allies alike. This new mechanic allows some cards to be played automatically on your opponent's turn when a friendly character is damaged, if you have some mana available. If you are holding more than one unleash card, the most expensive you can afford will be played first. If there is any mana remaining, the next more expensive card will be played, and so on. The mechanic's tooltip is shown below:
Example cards:
Hunter
Unbridled Energy
Mage
Warlock
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