This is the Submission Topic. The Discussion Topic is
here
.
The following 21 competitors have made it through to Phase II
(Ignore the
terrible
It's actually not that bad layout, I was in a rush -Shadows)
Linkblade91 watched in frustration as Linkblade98 suddenly disappeared from existence. The temporal loop had been growing. Despite Chromie’s best efforts to keep the future Linkblades intact and existent, the Infinite Dragonflight continued to
Chronoshot
them. A little gnome spontaneously slipped into existence startling the annoyed Linkblade.
“CHROMIE, I SWAARFF… You’re not her... You are?”
The gnome, wearing a strange monocle and constantly fiddling with a dozen whirling gears, blatantly ignored the question and started typing on Linkblade91’s computer.
Hi there! Toki here! Heehee, this is so awesome. I’m glad you made it here to Phase II, unlike a few fellow Hearthpwners who seem to run into the aforementioned paradoxes. Anyway, Chromie promised me a new Emboldener 3000 if I helped set the first expansion of this missing year in place. Well, not the entirety of the expansion, just a portion of it. Some things still need to be left to the will of
Steins;Gate
rng. We’ll only need a card of each rarity from each class and six neutrals… and we wouldn’t mind a few more to spice things up. Thanks!
GENERAL RULES
Even if you're already a veteran of our competitions here on the Fan Creation Forum, you should read the general rules before you get started. This competition does introduce new rules, like image limitations and formatting requirements.
* The Submission Topic is for submissions only.
If you want to discuss your entry, another entry, ask questions about the competition rules or process, or anything else, 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.
* You are allowed only one submission
, consisting of the materials specified by each competition phase. These materials must, of course, be of your own creation. If you'd like, you may collaborate with another user on a single submission, but this must be specified during Phase I.
* You may make only minor edits to your entry once you have submitted 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 delete any posts you make in this topic.
No, not even if you post here by mistake or accidentally double-post or something. Deleted posts screw with the system we use to help us calculate up-vote scores, so don't do that. If you to post here by mistake or accidentally double-post or something, simply edit your post to just say "REMOVED" and leave it at that.
* You may not create your own topics on this forum for competition-related material.
If everybody goes off and creates their own topics for specific discussion of their entries, this board will be flooded with nothing but, and so competition material must remain restricted to official competition topics. If you want to enter the competition with an expansion that you already have a topic about on this forum, then your topic will be locked in the interest of fairness to the other competitors. Not deleted, just locked, and it can be unlocked after your entry gets knocked out of the competition. Also, we realize that most people don't read these rules. So, if you've actually read these, feel good about yourself. You also may not reference or link to your topic in official competition topics.
A Note on Group Submissions: if you team up with other people to submit an entry, you must enclose that information in your submission and
none
of you may upvote that entry.
That would be considered an unfair advantage and we will treat it as vote-manipulation. You are technically voting for yourself, and that is not allowed. Failing to tell us you're in a group is also against the rules, as we'll have no choice but to assume that you withheld the information to ghost-vote your group's submission.
* You must host your card somewhere other than Hearthcards.
We encourage you to
create
your entry material using
Hearthcards.net
, but please remember that, although HearthCards is awesome, it has a limited server space and will purge cards after a few days, and nobody wants your cards disappearing part-way through the competition. After you create it, save and upload it to
Imgur
,
Photobucket
, or some other similar site. 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 animated cards, nor may you include any images in your post other than the requested submission materials, like banners or borders.
We get it, everybody wants their entry to stand out, but our pages are going to be heavy enough as it is without everybody heading their submissions with animated banners.
* You must insert your images into your post using this icon on the bar above the post text editor:
. Just click that button and put in the URL of your image. We realize that it's also possible to upload and attach images to your post. Don't do that, though. We know from experience that, because those images are much smaller and require more work to view, entries that enter their images that way just don't do as well, so this is for your own good.
* Format your entry concisely by sizing your cards appropriately and placing them beside one another rather than in a column or completely separate.
The first example below is acceptable while the second is not. Entries that unnecessarily inflate the size of the submission topic and make it more difficult to get through
will
be disqualified. How should you size your cards? Well...
Adjust cards to a width of
250
, and you should be able to get
three
in a row!
Adjust cards to a width of
180
, and you should be able to get
four
in a row! (wow!)
Adjust cards to a width of
150
, and you should be able to get
five
in a row! (no way!)
Wow! What a bunch of interesting stuff that will be in the next expansion!
Good thing I left some of it in a cool spoiler so it doesn't clutter the page!
Wait, what are you doing?
Seriously, please don't.
This is painful. Why are you doing this?
You are a monster.
* "Troll" entries will be disqualified.
Fun and even humorous entries are perfectly allowed (this is Hearthstone after all), but if you're worried that your entry may be misinterpreted as a troll entry, contact a moderator before you submit.
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.
Congrats! After a long and dangerous journey, you've successfully avoided time paradoxes to continue your journey to fixing the timeline. At least most of you did. If you found yourself
Sap
ped,
Eviscerate
d,
Chronoshot
, in the
Twisting Nether
,
DOOM!
ed, Counterspelled, or otherwise nonexistent, you're probably too temporally damaged to sue us anyway.
In this Phase, you will each construct your year's
First Expansion
. Here are the requirements for your Year Creation Competition Phase II Entry.
THE FIRST EXPANSION
You must have the following.
1
Common card,
1
Rare card,
1
Epic card, and
1
Legendary card from each class with your set's watermark.
Dual class cards can be counted towards either of its classes, so long as there are a total of 1 of each rarity for each class.
No cards can go beyond Legendary rarity. We don't want megawhalep2w rulers in the meta.
6
cards that are Neutral with your set's watermark. (We suggest having at least one of each rarity)
3
Wildcards. This can be a collectable card of any rarity or class!
Really looking to showcase a particular archetype? Are there super-duper important cards that just
need
to be seen? Want three more Shaman cards simply because you can? Whatever works for you.
TEN (10) EXAMPLE CARDS
-
You will show off ten (10) cards. For this phase, there is no restriction on what rarities must be shown, so choose your absolute best! The other cards must be included behind a spoiler(s). Please make sure the cards are
smaller than 250x400
to keep them reasonably sized.
KEYWORDS -
With every new expansion, there are bound to be a ton of keywords to keep things interesting. Post and explain them!
STORY -
Tell us a little bit about what's going on in this expansion. Are you telling the tale of glorious adventurers in a mysterious temple? The clash between rulers in an forgotten world? Or even just a little murloc happily sitting in a pond? We don't know until you tell us! Feel free to add some interesting story behind the cards you make!
CARD EXPLANATIONS -
Well, we want to see what reasons you have for making your cards. Talk about them and what possible uses they have.
NO SINGLE-PLAYER CONTENT
Just to reiterate: do not bring up Single Player Content. Chromie managed to salvage content from each expansion, so you don't have to! Don't go out of your way to make any, as it is simply not allowed.
NO
REUSING SUBMISSIONS FROM PRIOR COMPETITIONS
If you made it to this point you presumably followed the rules, but just to be sure: don't copy-paste content you submitted from prior Big Comps. Chromie's looking for fresh ideas, people!
COMPETITION SCHEDULE AND PROCESS
How long do you have to work on your submission? How will advancement to Phase II of the competition be determined? The answers to these questions and more can be found below...
PHASE IV: Third Expansion
Submission: TBD
Finale: TBD
NOTE: All stages of the competition begin and end at 21:00 UTC.
ALSO NOTE: This timetable
is
subject to change at any time, even after the competition begins, if it seems like too many folks are struggling.
* During Submission stages, Submission Topics will be unlocked and (remaining) participants may submit their entries. During Phases I-II, you may also use this time to go ahead and up-vote submissions that you like.
* During Up-Voting stages for Phases I-II, Submission Topics will be locked. Use this time to up-vote submissions that you like. Note that advancement during these Phases depends entirely on up-votes.
* During Polling stages for Phases III-IV, Submission Topics will be locked, and all eligible remaining participants will have their submission material included in a separate Poll Topic to determine advancement. Phases III-IV include two Poll Topics because I anticipate we will have enough participants remaining that we will not be able to fit everybody in one Poll Topic. Note that up-votes in the Submission Topics are irrelevant to advancement during these Phases.
How will eliminations be done, and how many competitors will advance from each phase to the next?
I'm glad you asked! We will be taking a equal proportion of competitors from each Phase of the competition to the next, and we will be ending with exactly four finalists. That being the case and their being five total eliminations before the final round, that proportion can be found by solving for x:
[# of valid Phase I entries] * x^3 = 4
The higher the number of valid Phase I entries, the lower that proportion becomes. Just so you have an idea, the proportion hits 50% when we hit 128 entries, which is likely, but it only hits 33.3% when we hit 972 entries, which is less likely.
As mentioned above, advancement to Phases II and III will be determined by up-votes only. However, these up-votes are weighted using a formula identical to the process used by our Weekly Card Design Competitions:
(
ab
) / (
c
) =
x
(Where
a
is the total number of up-votes that your submission received,
b
is the total number of valid submissions on the same page as your submission,
c
is the total number of up-votes on valid submissions on the same page as your submission, and
x
is your submission's final weighted up-vote score.)
Why bother with this formula rather than just taking each submissions up-votes directly?
Because earlier pages simply get a lot more views that later pages do, and we do not want rushed, early submissions to have an advantage over later submissions that took more time to get their entries just right. The formula basically measures which submissions stood out the most, with the necessary assumption that each page is about equal in overall submission quality.
The bottom line is that, although entries on the earlier pages of the Submission Topic are much more visible and thus receive many more up-votes than entries on later pages, you don't actually have to rush to get your entry in as soon as possible, because the up-votes end up being weighted by what page your entry ends up on in order to determine its final score.
As mentioned above, advancement to Phases IV, V, and VI will be determined by polls. These polls will be multi-choice, meaning that voters can vote for every entry that they like. Whenever we have to split a Phase's poll into two to make it more manageable for voters, advancement will be determined by looking at each years final percentage scores, not by looking at the direct number of votes they received, since we can't guarantee that the same number of voters will vote each day. Poll results will always be hidden until the poll has concluded, and for polls split in two, this does also mean that the results of the first poll will not be revealed until the second poll has concluded as well.
The winner of Phase IV, and thus the entire competition, will be determined by a poll much like the ones before, except that it will be single-choice, requiring voters to pick their single year, and will have a much longer polling phase than usual to give us plenty of opportunity for promotion and such.
In the event of a tie
during Phases I-IV for the last possible advancing position, all entries involved in the tie will be allowed to advance; the more the merrier, I say. We will absolutely not have more than four finalists, however, and so in the event of a tie during Phase V, the three Fan Creation Forum moderators (that is, Cogito_Ergo_Sum, ShadowsOfSense, and PupleMD) will vote to break the tie. In the event of a tie during Phase VI to determine the competition's winner, the title will simply be shared unless both finalists request and agree to a tie-breaking round.
But wait, there's more!
During Phases I-IV of the Competition, each Fan Creation Forum moderator (ShadowsOfSense, PupleMD, Phoenixfeather, ThisOtherGuyTox, Otovent, linkblade91) will have a
Wild Card
, which we may (though are
not
required to) use to advance to the next Phase any one entry that we feel was initially overlooked or under-appreciated, regardless of its performance with voters. No entry may be awarded a Wild Card more than once, and it should also go without saying that, while some moderators are allowed to participate in the competitions, they are never allowed to benefit from Wild Cards. Wild Cards are our way of spicing things up a bit, but please don't ask to be given one or be upset if you aren't given one. These are just supposed to be fun.
Are you curious what will be required for future phases of the competition? The challenges will remain a
secret
, but I'm happy to tell you the general submission requirements.
Just kidding. There are no challenges this time around :D
PHASE II: Mini-Expansion 1
In this Phase, you will each construct your year's
First Expansion
. Here are the requirements for your Year Creation Competition Phase II Entry.
THE FIRST EXPANSION
You must have the following.
1
Common card,
1
Rare card,
1
Epic card, and
1
Legendary card from each class with your set's watermark.
6
cards that are Neutral with your set's watermark. (We suggest having at least one of each rarity)
3
Wildcards. This can be from a collectable card of any rarity or class!
EXPLANATIONS
Tell us a little bit about what's going on in this expansion. Are you telling the tale of glorious adventurers in a mysterious temple? or the clash between rulers in an forgotten world? or even just a little murloc happily sitting in a pond? We don't know until you tell us! Feel free to add some interesting story behind the cards you make!
PHASE III: Mini-Expansion 2
I
In this Phase, you will each construct your year's
Second Expansion
. Here are the requirements for your Year Creation Competition Phase II Entry.
THE SECOND EXPANSION
You must have the following.
1
Common card,
1
Rare card,
1
Epic card, and
1
Legendary card from each class with your set's watermark.
6
cards that are Neutral with your set's watermark. (We suggest having at least one of each rarity)
3
Wildcards. This can be from a collectable card of any rarity or class!
EXPLANATIONS
Tell us a little bit about what's going on in this expansion. Are you telling the tale of glorious adventurers in a mysterious temple? or the clash between rulers in an forgotten world? or even just a little murloc happily sitting in a pond? We don't know until you tell us! Feel free to add some interesting story behind the cards you make!
PHASE IV: Mini-Expansion 3
In this Phase, you will each construct your year's
Third Expansion
. Here are the requirements for your Year Creation Competition Phase II Entry.
FINALE TOPIC
There will be no Submission Topic for the competition Finale. Instead, you will create your own Finalist Topics. All that you have to do is create a normal topic here on the Fan Creation Forum and title it as such:
[Class Competition Finalist] Year of the APPLESAUCE
(Replace APPLESAUCE with your own year's name, of course.)
Then, bring it to our attention, and we'll link to it from this topic. That's it. How you format and present your final product is entirely up to you. You've put in a lot of work to come this far, so you've earned the right to show us your completed original expansions however you think is best.
THE THIRD EXPANSION
You must have the following.
1
Common card,
1
Rare card,
1
Epic card, and
1
Legendary card from each class with your set's watermark.
6
cards that are Neutral with your set's watermark. (We suggest having at least one of each rarity)
3
Wildcards. This can be from a collectable card of any rarity or class!
EXPLANATIONS
Tell us a little bit about what's going on in this expansion. Are you telling the tale of glorious adventurers in a mysterious temple? or the clash between rulers in an forgotten world? or even just a little murloc happily sitting in a pond? We don't know until you tell us! Feel free to add some interesting story behind the cards you make!
EXAMPLE CARDS
These don't need to be part of your Finale Topic, but by the end of the Submission Phase, you should send
ShadowsOfSense
9
example cards (Three from each expansion preferably), preferably via PM, to be included in the Final Poll Topic. The Final Poll topic will look very similar to
this one
from our first CCC, except that no token cards will be included.
REWARDS
In addition to truly epic bragging rights,
ALL
finalists 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 8 competition themed around their winning year! (Probably... We're not entirely sure how to format that...)
ARCHIVES
Want to see how things went during our Expansion Competition to get a glimmer of what could happend? Want to see what the different Winners and Submitters from each phase came up with? Then check out the links below!
Please excuse my lack of artistic ability. I was too embarrassed to ask Vilegloom for more stuff...
The first expansion is “Tomb of Asara” (ToA), which details the shattered kingdom of a hidden realm. Long ago, the supposed heroes were insufficient in stopping the demonic onslaught. The benevolent gods who once ruled have fallen. Demons and corrupted deities rule against an oppressed people. Civilians are merely slaves waiting to be used. Even in this hopeless world, bitter slivers of resistance remain in the hopes of liberating the doomed people
Tomb of Asara - Story 1
The Heroes of Asara have lost. The gods have fallen. This gives a small introduction to
Lev, the Last Hero
,
Nyx, Deathbringer
, and
Eris the Discordant
.
Restless
Surely they couldn’t all be dead. We were the Heroes. We were the hope. We were the ones meant to protect the world. And yet, we failed. We were the names chanted upon day and night. We were said to be invincible. We were the brothers and sisters, sworn in oath to save the realm. We were the chosen ones… Kedar… Apathiea… Twelve… Ezra and Ezekiel… Ceres, the beautiful heiromancer… The hopeful Seer-Queen Nicneven who believed in us even as she fell to Etena… The strongest among us, the King who was proclaimed stronger than all, had lost. All of them were dead... or worse, turned. In a worse fate still were the great gods. Elektor slain by Nyx... Roshnar chained by the Spindlewights... Arke imprisoned by Ikari, unable to die, yet unable to live. Everything had gone horribly wrong… And yet, I lived. When the Heroes made their final stand, I fled and cowardly hid in the shadows of humanity. I was weak. I am still weak. I’ve done nothing. I am nothing. But it’s time to make nothing… possible something. Maybe I can make a difference. Maybe take a few demons out with me. Maybe I can avenge one of them.
My name is Lev Rashe. Champion of Arke. Last of the Heroes of Asara. And it’s time I fight.
Lifeless
Nyx, ruler of Asara, the dark god, and deathbringer enjoyed his breakfast. It was the usual. Innocent souls with a side of orange juice. Delicious. How many years had it been since he came into power? Fifteen? Sixteen? There had be resistance at first. Some of the so-called Heroes had survived, but most were quickly convinced on joining his side. Kedar was a devastating pyromancer and Apatheia was quite the strategist. Powerful enemies. Better Allies.
You mean better slaves.
Slaves. It was merely a necessity. Nyx stood and gazed out of his palace. The city-state around him had transformed wonderfully. Obsidian pillars placed by the obedient humans now donned the temples where marble once stood. Demons were no longer persecuted for their difference. In essence, Nyx had freed the people…
by enslaving another.
There was always a small voice that spoke treasonously. Nyx had heard it ever since that day. It was always there, whispering, begging. It was unfortunate. To bring to power one meant the fall of another. It was simply nature, and Nyx’s forces had won. There was nothing more to it.
You were a monster.
The Heroes of Asara were honorable opponents. Nyx was an honorable god. He had made sure to know each and every one of them and could still recall each of their names. He’d even kindly offered them each a choice. Join or die. It was unfortunate that so few had wished for life. He’d even kept repeating the offer for the ones who’d surrendered. Nothing could be done, Nyx tried to convince himself. Nothing could be done.
Oh really?
It was excruciating. A part of Nyx almost wished that he hadn’t won. That he hadn’t been forced to kill the one he loved. That the Heroes of Asara didn’t have to become annihilated in a final stand. That one day he’ll wake up to find that everything was a dream.
But gods don’t dream
.
With that thought. Nyx wept.
Pointless
Eris looked at the trapped goddess. It was pitiful. Silly, really. They thought they could rule everything… and look at them now. Wrath celebrated. Greed danced. Sloth… slept, as usual. Eris had won. They had won.
She never talked anymore. At first, it was all threats and curses. Now, she seemed more… malleable. Her previous seventy-four escape attempts had all failed. It had been five years since the last one. Eris walked over to Arke, the former goddess of Light. Her once-pristine wings were smudged with ash and dirt and long runic binding bound her every movement. Sharp obsidian knives pinned her to the hellstone-infused wall. She seemed devoid of life.
“Hey Arke, how’s it going?” Eris asked, casually.
There was no reply. Not really surprising. They’d all known what had happened in the final battle. The Heroes… could they really be called heroes? In actuality, a good number of them still lived. Most had resisted her “conditioning”, but Eris had a few successes. She hadn’t succeeded with any of the immortal gods though. Not that anyone really had the power to control them.
“Arkey, Arkey… You’ve haven’t said anything for days now.” Eris tried again, “Anyway, I hear that one of the Heroes is still out there. Luis… Lenny? Whatshisname?”
“No.”
The sound came as barely a whisper. Eris was almost sure she’d imagined it.
“Oh yes! Lev. Lev Rashe, I believe.” Eris recalled. Unlike Nyx, she didn’t have the time to memorize the names of silly self-proclaimed Heroes.
“No. Please.”
Once again, Eris wasn’t entirely sure if it was her hearing was functioning properly. Was it the wind? Was one of her aspects playing a joke?
“Perhaps, you’ll be able to see him in a few days. Dead of course.”
“NO!”
The sound suddenly exploded forth from Arke’s defeated frame. The entire prison trembled. Eris was blasted backwards, landing unceremoniously a few meters away. The obsidian binding tore away, leaving heavy gashes of blood. Golden blood trickled, covering the goddess in a shining mess. Dark runes fizzled and strained as Arke forcefully tore them apart. As Arke writhed, Eris stood up, surprise fading, and rightened herself, once again confident. Dozens of demon guards had burst into the chamber. Hundreds more waited outside.
“Arkey, Arkey… You know you can’t escape. The Lev fool couldn’t possibly be that important,” Eris laughed merrily.
It was true. Arke couldn’t escape. She was much too weak. Her power had been drained for years. Even if by some ridiculous chance she defeated Eris, there was no possibility of facing the thousands of demons around her… nor Tyrant Ikari who’d defeated her once already. Arke had already lost, a long time ago too. None of her actions now would make a difference. She was stupid. She should have saved her strength for another time. A time with even a glimmer of hope that she knew would never come. Defeated, she slumped and let the demons bind her once more.
Elsewhere, Lev died, completely overwhelmed.
Tomb of Asara - Story 2
This covers the second part of the Tomb of Asara story. It features
Apatheia the Guile
,
Worldfire Kedar
, and a new arrival whom will take us to the next expansion.
Mindless
Apatheia the Guile, the former Hero of Arasa, stood over the body of her former comrade. Or at least what was left of it. Lev had been shredded. Limbs and blood were strewn everywhere across the gates. He hadn’t even made it onto castle grounds. And Lev was by no means weak. His greatest strength lied in his supposed invincibility. Spells seemed to have no effect. No amount of damage ever left a wound. He’d even survived the height of Kedar’s pyromancy. But even invincibility had it’s limits. No magic could protect one from everything. A luck strike was all it took. A lucky strike that Apatheia had dealt.
She knew she should have felt sad. She’d known Lev ever since they were children. At one point, they’d been close. Maybe it was the jealousy of Lev falling for Twelve so many years ago. Maybe it was Eris’s corrupting magic that controlled her. Maybe it was because Lev had fled while the rest of them had fought… until they could no longer. But Apatheia didn’t feel sad. If anything, she was happy. Happy that a friend died? Happy that Lev was gone? Happy? Why? Apatheia wasn’t sure.
Suddenly, for a moment, Eris’s control disappeared. Apatheia felt as if she suddenly awoke from a dream. Why were there disgusting demons everywhere around her? Why was she casting so much of the forbidden magics? What was that voice… Arke’s voice? Arke lives? Why was Lev dead at her feet? Dread rose and horror lept. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Lev. Lev! Not Lev…
As quickly as the feeling came, the feeling passed. Apatheia once again felt… nothing. The stupid hero before her had killed a surprisingly large number of demons, and strong ones too. It would be an annoyance to replace them. Nothing crippling, just an annoyance. One would be surprised by the amount of frustrating paperwork involved with acquiring demons. How annoying. Annoying… Annoying… Apatheia kicked the body away before demanding a lesser demon to clean the mess. It had been an intriguing day, but nobody important died. Nothing of importance happened. She’d simply done her job.
Hopeless
The Archmage Kedar panicked as he heard Arke’s voice. Arke, who he thought had died so many years ago. Despite the desperateness in her voice, hope bloomed. It had been so many years since he’d heard of any such news. Apatheia had clearly turned against them. It had taken a lot of convincing before Kedar proved he was the same. Doing so had directly caused the death of at least two other Heroes. He’d been forced to kill hundreds more. His body was now converted mostly to metal parts, driven by some unholy fire. All this so he could have time to plot. All this so he could become powerful. All this so he could one day beat back the darkness. But one day was not today.
Arke was undoubtedly already lost. He’d witnessed the fall of a dozen more gods and heroes alike. At least mortals could easily die. Kedar wanted to cry, knowing he couldn’t. For one, any demon could report him for any sign of weakness. But then, Eris would
discover
him countering her mental wards and have him killed. Also, he’d become physically incapable of generating tears. It was one of the benefits of controlling such a mostly metal body meant he no longer needed to eat. Or drink. Or breathe… or live. Kedar often thought about killing himself. He’d learned to cast “Fiery Armageddon” from Nyx himself. It would be strong enough. Unfortunately, it would likely get him killed as well. Ending himself along with most of the city with his devastating magic may take out a few important demons, but unfortunately, another would simply just take their place. Also, more innocents would die. There was no simple victory. If he wanted to truly bring back the old powers, he would have to do more. Much more.
Kedar sat in his room in the palace as a small battle concluded outside. A lone human had charged towards the castle - by himself. And killed almost a hundred. Incredibly impressive. Kedar wasn’t entirely sure if he himself could produce such a feat. Could it be one of the Heroes? Did Ezekiel or… Oh. The deserter had decided he would make something of himself. The idiot. Lev Rashe. Rashful as always. Despite his stupidity in inability to cooperate with others, his assistance could have pushed plans forward at least another three years. Maybe Kedar could convince Nyx that Lev could turn. Frustrated, Kedar went back to plotting, knowing full well he’d likely never succeed. And prayed.
Boundless?
In a small workshop in Gilneas, a single light flickered over a mechanism of spinning gears. Dust choked a room whose owner had clearly given up keeping orderly. Flashes of pulsing light and unstable magic spun from various half-finished innovations. In the center of it all, a gnome stood back, furiously glaring of her invention, clearly frustrated.
Everything should obviously have worked. The klinkotrismics were set. The plusario beam had been tuned perfectly. Not a single flaw laid within the perfectly drawn out design. And yet, it continuously refused to activate. How could she not make a simple teleporter?
The gnome flipped a switch. Nothing happened. She flicked it a few more times and then violently smacked the side for good measure. The machine began to vibrate. The gnome’s eyes lit up in hope, just as the machine stopped. Then, as if to frustrate the gnome further, the entire machine cracked in half.
Well, there’s one last thing I guess I could try thought the gnome. She stood up and walked over to the wall behind her, where an unnecessarily large hammer stood.
“Sorry Invention 3V3R5TR0M, it was nice knowing you,” the gnome said to the dusty air.
With a great heave, the gnome brought the hammer down to crush the mechanism. As the hammer made contact, a strange reaction suddenly occurred. Two volatile components, never meant to be mixed, combined. The gnome watched, unable to act, as the gears started spinning, faster. And faster. And...
“Oh Sh-” the gnome cursed, but was cut off as the machine exploded.
Nearby, a few Ginean citizens watched, utterly confused, as the local tinkerer’s shop suddenly disappeared from existence.
The gnome suddenly found herself staring face-first into a cushion of red. She looked up. All around, a disgustingly magnificent castle gleamed. Pillars of obsidians etched with runic carvings were hung with what seemed to magical candles. The ceiling was a sheet of grey and black obsidians painting the image of a winged man. She had landed, painfully, in the center of a throne room.The gnome checked herself. All her clothing was intact. Her tinkering monocle was still held in place upon her head. Unfortunately, her misguided teleporter had refused to travel with her. She looked up around, seeing a strange man covered in metal and glowing with fire. He looked… evil.
“Who are you? I didn’t think any goddesses were this short.”
The voice was surprisingly calm despite the clear hit of annoyance. The gnome was momentarily shocked by the greeting.
“Hello! I’m Toki!”
“Shh, there are some very bad people that could be listening”
“Y’know, the time-tinkerer gnome, savior of Gilneas, and all that.”
“Hmmm”, the metallic man thought for a moment. A second later, he continued, “You could be useful. I hope your a fighter or I’ll have to kill you.”
“Umm… Yeah. I saved Gilneas from the Witchwood.”
“Witchwhat?”
“Just some shuddering baddies wocking all over.”
“Forget I asked.”
“You are?”
“My name is Kedar. Worldfire Kedar. And I need your help.”
Keywords
Soulcast Explanation
This set introduces the keyword
Soulcast
. The idea is that the demons on Asara are carelessly spending the life of others in their conquest for powers. It can cause an additional effect if your hero has a certain life total.
Usually, this is a range of health, for example, the Hero card
Nyx, Deathbringer
triggers an additional effect if you have between 0-15 Health.
Other times, it will only trigger if you have more than a certain life total. One example of this is the card
Power Word: Absolution
.
Other times, it will only happen if you have a very specific Health total. There is currently only one example of this:
Fiery Armageddon
.
Soulcast
is technically a set-exclusive keyword (despite reappearing in a later set). As a result, cards like
Hooked Reaver
and
Mortal Strike
will not be changed.
TAKE THAT BLIZZ! Anyway, all the cards with this ability will be changed.
Previous cards with this ability will be changed to contain the keyword Elusive.
This is an
EVERGREEN
keyword.
Some examples of some cards with
Elusive
in this set is below.
Even though
Elusive
isn't a very common keyword, it's been so consistent in its appearance throughout the expansions that I believe it deserves recognition!
Example Cards
Let's start with three cards mentioned in the first story above. (The one that you guys read, correct?)
Lev ran away while the other Heroes of Asara fought and died. Nobody likes him because of that.
This card is made to promote a new archetype, Lev Paladin. You use buffs such as
Blessing of Might
and
Blessing of Kings
to increase Lev's Attack. Use cards like
Consecration
and
Silence
s to bypass taunts. You can even use minions to instantly trigger their Deathrattles or put up small Taunts to protect yourself from damage.
"Nyx has at least fourteen demons working at all times to come up with new dramatic entrances."
Nyx is the sole ruling god of Asara after defeating all others. He also really likes breakfast.
This card promotes the Control Warlock archetype as well as providing large amounts of incentive to play sacrificable minions. Cards like
Gatekeeper
and
Illidan Stormrage
provide cheap fodder to sacrifice.
"Sloth keeps telling Wrath to shut up and let him sleep."
This card will be given to all players for logging in after Tomb of Asara's release.
Eris is what you can call a really mean birch tree. I mean nobody likes her. Everyone, including Nyx hates her. Why? Because she enjoys watching Twilight. Ugh.
Anyway, you don't seem to be able to receive much needed dust from this annoying demon. What you will be getting to do is give your opponent a powerful Sin card. Each of these holds a powerful effect that could change the course of the game.
Example cards, Part 2
A few more cards that are kinda just awesome.
"Apatheia was once one of the great heroes. Then she declared that black was the new pink."
Apatheia, a former Hero of Arasa, is heavily bound by Eris's mind magic at all times. As a result, she's mostly emotionless. This card
supports the idea of having all neutral cards in a deck. By granting them elusive, they are much more difficult for single removal, and still susceptible to AoE. This is suggested for an aggro or midrange deck.
If you think this is horribly overpowered... well, we've already prepared the perfect counter. Behold... the Devious Inquisition!
"Also known as the consequences of stealing Kedar's food."
Fiery Armageddon is a spell cast by "Worldfire" Kedar. It is able to wipe out an entire city if cast properly. Unfortunately, it has a tendency to get the user killed.
This spell is normally impossible to cast. It requires the use of a catalyst such as
Sorcerer's Apprentice
,
Force of Will
, or
Worldfire Kedar
. To receive maximum benefit from it, your hero must be at exactly 1 Health, which is really difficult to achieve. Even with
Ice Block
s (which is only in wild) the existence of this card will discourage your opponent from setting your health to exactly 1.
"If you look really closely, you'll see a storm. And in that storm is an orb. And in that orb is another storm"
Toki accidently made one of these after hitting something really hard with a hammer. Afterward, Kedar helped to make another more "stable" version.
Since cards like
Hagatha the Witch
and
Witch's Cauldron
often give you spells you can't really do anything with,
The Everstorm Orb
turns it into something random.
I mean you won't have to even worry about
Overload
anymore. What could possibly go wrong?
The Remaining Cards
Every single class in this expansion features a certain archetype or concept that I'm attempting to promote.
Warrior (Control Warrior)
This mostly prepares for the next set.
Tyrant Ikari
increases the effectiveness of whirlwind against enemy minions.
Warcry
and
Bloodlinked Blade
show synergy for when your hero is at 12 or less health. Note that
Warcry
can still be cast when at less than 12 Health, it just doesn't gain any armor.
"Soon, Ikari realized that being a demon wasn't as fun as the advertisements claimed."
"The preferred weapon of Linkblade93"
"
Can't hurt common penguins. Kills heroes in a second. Hearthstone logic."
"AHHHHH ZABEENNYYYYAAAA"
Shaman (RNGesus Shaman)
Shaman kinda just does it's own thing as usual. It's there... has a whole ton of awesome cards... and yeah.
Duskfire Totem
combined with
Vile Spellfin
s offers a potential OTK.
Gale
is just some meaningless wind... until your Totems start being really annoying.
"If you look really closely, you'll see a storm. And in that storm is an orb. And in that orb is another storm"
"I'll huff and I'll puff and do absolutely nothing!"
"REEEEEEEEE - Every Eight-Year-Old Totem"
Rogue (Nightblood Rogue)
I don't really have a concept for this rogue, so I threw in a win condition. It's a lot like
Kingsbane
in effect. You just build a really strong weapon. Unlike
Kingsbane
, this weapon is extremely susceptible to weapon destruction.
Seek
is a really nice draw spell.
Deceit's Assassin
continues the "give the next minion you play" cycle and
Senseless Shadows
is a homage to
ShadowsOfSense
.
"It's original wielder was fortunately quite squeamish to blood. Otherwise, everyone would be very dead right now"
"Seek and ye shall find... unless you're looking for your car keys"
"She just really really moody all the time."
"Xinstiiapmesesnesfoswodahsih"
Paladin (Lev Paladin/ Sacrifice Paladin)
Paladin represents two forms of sacrifice.
Tyrant Etena
'absorbs' your own minions as 'food' to grow. It should be pretty self explanatory.
Etenan Blackwatch
follows the cycle of giving the next minion you play a bonus effect.
Ruinous Blade
can act both as a more expensive
Consecration
or allow you to prepay for it.
Lev, the Last Hero
is pretty much the only non-evil character in the set (well technically,
Kedar
is secretly good too. Guys... read the story) It's a super complex card. You always start the game with this card, and the idea is that you load this with a whole ton of enchantment cards. You can even include temporary
taunt
minions or minions with strong
Deathrattle
effects to have them trigger quickly.
"Etena actually didn't want to be a demon. His big brother Ikari dragged him into the business"
"He kinda just watches... nobody is stupid enough to attack anyway."
The main goal of this expansion for hunter is to validity hand is empty hunter.
Downpour Drake
helps remove pesky spells that you can't find targets from your hand to help allow a devastating
Seiryu
to refill your hand.
"Dragon rangers! Assemble!"
"Doesn't actually like rain that much."
"Hunters hunt and Warriors war. But do Druids... Dru?"
"Asks for sick days 367 days a year."
Druid (Wisp Druid)
Wisp Druid is something that I've wanted to have for a long time.
Spindlewight
grants a whole ton of wisps... and the cost of incredibly weak future card draw.
Wispering Hymn
helps remove pesky 0-cost cards from your deck and
Spindleseeker
buffs them. Note that it can buff 0-card minions on the board, in your hand, or even in your deck!
"He likes whispering to the wisps. They kind of just ignore him though."
"Sorry. We'll fire him for real this time"
"Why can't watermelons grow on trees? Why can't wisps be 3/3 minions?"
"In times like this, don't worry about the moral issues."
Warlock (Sacrifice Control Warlock)
Warlock just symbolizes the epitome of evil.
Endless Void
makes you virtually invincible from
Fatigue
.
Nyx
himself is featured as a powerful, board-clearing hero card.
Rise From the Grave
, combined with a
Voidlord
or
Gatekeeper
can generate powerful value.
"Endless means it goes on for a really long time."
"After awakening, the zombies feasted on flesh. The necromancer prefered funnel cake."
"He kinda just goes around stealing gates and keeping them. Don't worry, he's banned from Ravnica already"
"Sacrificing Imps for Imps since 1984."
"Nyx has at least fourteen demons working at all times to come up with new dramatic entrances."
Mage (Fiery Armageddon OTK Mage)
Force of Will
or
Worldfire Kedar
are both possible ways to trigger
Fiery Armageddon
. Of course, you'll have to be very careful if you want the full 100 damage.
Unstable Acolyte
is the set's
Magma Rager
meme card and
Deceiving Intellect
is just an annoying
secret
that your opponent will want to play around... but can't.
"Kedar thinks of himself as a exquisite pyrotechnic. A severely misunderstood one."
"Also known as the consequences of stealing Kedar's food."
"Jace feigned interest."
"Wait no, don't touch me there."
"This isn't an
Arcane Intellect
and you're totally wasting your turn trying to play around it."
Priest (Shadow Word Priest)
The big
combo
here is
Darkweaver Nihil
and
Shadow Word: Void
. You can clear the board for only 6 mana (and a 4/6 body!).
Power Word:
Absolution
also demonstrates an alternate usage of
Soulcast
.
"It's not a stage mom, it's a lifestyle!"
"Because Psychic Scream at 7 and Twisting Nether at 8 wasn't bad enough."
"Has a normal length nose that doesn't grow when she lies."
"I grant you absolution.
You just killed him!
I said I grant absolution so everything's good now."
Neutral (Neutral-Only Neutral)
The goal of the neutral set is push two things. Neutral only, and
combo
/anti
combo
pieces. Oh, and Eris is just there because she can be, as much as we dislike it. Devious inquisition is a hard counter to
Apatheia
and
Harbinger of Death
brings forth a powerful legendary such as
Nyx, Deathbringer
(or backfires and triggers
Eris the Discordant
's sin)
"Sloth keeps telling Wrath to shut up and let him sleep."
"Apatheia was once one of the great heroes. Then she declared that black was the new pink."
"Who's the weird grim reaper guy you're talking about? I'm not him."
"NOBODY EXPECTS THE DEVIOUS INQUISITION!"
"Remember. Two. Plus. Two. Is. Five."
"
▲▼▲▼◄►◄►
"
Card Cycles
◇ "Negate-Your-Own-Stuff" Cycle ◇
Tyrant Etena
is one of the two "Tyrant" legionaries in this expansion. It kills your own minions (through hero power, played, or otherwise summoned) to give itself more power.
Nightblood
does something similar, but with weapons. Although they both seem very strong, and borderline broken, both are susceptible to minion removal or weapon removal.
Also, they told me to have ten example cards, but I only prepared six... so here are two more! (
Tyrant Etena
and
Nightblood
are new inclusions.
Everstorm Orb
is an example card above.)
◇ More Cycles ◇
◇ "Buff the next minion played" Cycle. ◇
◇ Downfall Cycle ◇
Notable Combos
◇ Darkweaver Nihil + Shadow Word: Void ◇
These two are powerful tools to help out the Control Priest archetype.
Shadow Word: Void
is a powerful board clear like
Psychic Scream
(and probably a stronger effect for Priest than
Twisting Nether
). The fact that it is a Shadow Word allows it to synergize with
Darkweaver Nihil
.
Here are the last two example cards... Seriously, why did we raise it to 10? I had trouble finding six good cards in this set!
◇ More Combos◇
(or a bunch of things)
Thanks to Vilegloom for making this Year of the Phoenix Symbol
In The Burdens of Shaohao animated video series, Emperor Shaohao gained enlightenment and saved Pandaria from The Great Sundering by overcoming the Sha - manifestations of negative emotions - that burdened his soul and held him back. The Trials Within Us tells nine separate tales of defeating one's personal demons and tackling adversity.
Each class has a Trial card, a new type of card that plays like a reverse-Quest: you are granted an immediate and lasting benefit, but a heavy Burden is placed upon you. That Burden takes the form of an on-going penalty or a rule you must follow. These Trials reference various events across Warcraft's timeline, including the orcs taking Mannoroth's Blood-curse within themselves and Kael'thas' journey to sate the Blood Elves' addiction to magic.
Trial cards do not cost mana, because they are played automatically at the start of the game. They take up space in your deck initially, but they cannot be drawn or generated and they remove themselves from your deck upon activation, after the mulligan.
A reminder for the Burden takes the form of a purple gem, just like the orange gem for Quests. They have unique names, art, and card text, but they are not something that can be held in your hand like a token.
Each class is also represented by a specific Sha - Hatred, Arrogance, Doubt, etc. - and the archetypes the Trials inspire are reflective of them and what it might require of you as a person to overcome that negative quality. By mastering your personal demons, you can benefit in ways that would have crippled you otherwise.
Here are my main 10 examples; six Trials + their Burdens and four regular cards:
Trials:
The corresponding Burdens:
Other Cards:
If you'd like to know more about each of the classes, their stories and their gameplay archetypes are described below, along with additional notes as necessary. Just as a reminder, I rotated Divine Favor, Preparation, and Gadgetzan Auctioneer to the Hall of Fame; I did not replace them with anything.
-------------------------------------------------
Druid/Fear: A dark force seeks to consume the Emerald Dream from within. When a mortal has become corrupted by the Nightmare, there is no return: only death will set them free.
Enhanced Hero damage and a permanent +1 Attack on your turn, but forced to attack each turn (unless Frozen). Focused on buffing the hero, clearing a path for the player's attacks. and sustaining oneself without Armor.
Intended Archetype: "Feral" Mid-Range Druid.
Story Legendary: Xavius, Nightmare Lord
Notes: Rather than outright denying the Druid the ability to gain Armor, the Tormented Soul Burden says that Armor has no effect instead. This allows cards like Nightmare Fuel and Ironwood Golem to continue functioning, even if the Armor cannot protect you.
-------------------------------------------------
Hunter/Hatred: Her desire for vengeance pushes Alleria beyond the Dark Portal. She will come to know a thousand years of war, in the Twisting Nether.
Steamwheedle Sniper + some life gain, but hounded by constant Voidlings. Focused on clearing with the Hero Power and generating momentum from multi-shot abilities.
Intended Archetype: "Sniper" Control Hunter.
Story Legendary: Alleria of the Void (Alleria Windrunner)
Tokens + Notes:
Alleria of the Void is the first of my Wildcards. She is phrased that way to avoid confusion regarding cards like Dinomancy and Deathstalker Rexxar. I only want her to function with the two sniper-based Hero Powers: it's more thematically appropriate and plays into the intended archetype. She doesn't need Beasts when her bow will do!
-------------------------------------------------
Mage/Gluttony: Dependent on the power of the Sunwell for centuries, the "Blood Elves" are addicted to magic. What lengths will they go to sate their appetite?
Your Passive Hero Power makes it such that your spells function like Dragon's Breath or Solemn Vigil, allowing you to reap the rewards of friendly deaths via combos. An attempt to make "OTK Mage" more fair.
Intended Archetype: Deathrattle Combo Mage.
Story Legendary: Kael'thas Sunstrider
Tokens +Notes:
While the class doesn't have many Deathrattles, one has to imagine there are other Mage Deathrattle minions in the set; I just can't show you them. A little faith is required in these things, you know? There's more to this than just the four cards I'm allowed to present.
As for the subject of "OTK" Mage's return, an infinite Fireball chain with Archmage Antonidasis still theoretically doable but it requires four friendly minions to die on the same turn you play him. Something like Onyxia or Splitting Festeroot could set up the tokens, but you still need a way to remove them; if you cannot trade them away, you'll have to do it yourself (which eats up more mana). Removing the Freeze and Ice Block techniques means the combo will be more difficult to pull off reliably; however, the deck wouldn't be fully reliant on the combo to win, either, because it's running more minions. Together this should reduce the frustrating nature of Combo /OTK Mage, meaning the archetype as a whole should be more stable and fair.
I don't want this to be like the Quest Mage of old, and hopefully that shows.
-------------------------------------------------
Paladin/Despair: Enslaved by the Iron Horde, their leader lost, her people betrayed; Yrel will take it upon herself to lead the draenei into the Light. One could lose hope walking such a lonely road...
Bonus stats + Keywords, but you can only ever have one minion. Focused on outlasting the opponent behind high-value Taunt walls, healing, and defense.
Intended Archetype: 1-vs-Many Control Paladin/Healadin.
Story Legendary: Yrel, Light of Hope
Notes: The "other minions" spoken of in the Burden are destroyed the moment they come into existence on your side of the battlefield. You yourself are not allowed to play a second minion while one is already on the table, so there can be no abuse of cards like Sylvanas Windrunner. The only way these extra minions could possibly have an effect is if your opponent gives you a minion that triggers something as it is being killed.
-------------------------------------------------
Priest/Arrogance: "I consume the essence of the weak and foolish," the blade whispers in your mind. "You're not weak...are you?" Only the mad would dare wield such an artifact.
Immediate Mind Shatter but it reciprocates damage back at the player. Constant, dramatic juggling of their Health: the Priest must find a balance between healing and damage...or go all-in.
Intended Archetype: Shadow Face Priest.
Story Legendary: Xal'atath, (Blade) of the Black Empire
Notes: Xal'atath, of the Black Empire is the second of my Wildcards. Its official name is unfortunately too long to fit on the card; the name's already super-long as it is.
-------------------------------------------------
Rogue/Zeal: The Defias Brotherhood want what they're owed...but ambition will be their undoing. Revolutions demand attention, and that's exactly they'll get.
Gain free copies of the Coin over time, but so can the opponent if not careful. New ways to generate and interact with the Coin, along with new board control elements.
Intended Archetype: Coin Control Rogue.
Story Legendary: Vanessa VanCleef
Tokens + Notes:
Vanessa VanCleef is my third/final Wildcard.
Because you'll be generating extra Coins, playing Vanessa + the Bomb in the same turn is theoretically doable. Think Insanity Bomb is inappropriate for the Rogue? I counter that notion with Betrayal and Sudden Betrayal, so there :P
Coin-Flipper's effect does not benefit from Spell Damage, because you're not using them as magical damage spells. You're just...throwin' them.
To echo my sentiment in the Mage notes, there are surely more ways to generate Coins and interact with them in the set. I just don't have the room to show you them; you'll have to take my word for it.
-------------------------------------------------
Shaman/Doubt: Doubt can paralyze the mind and Freeze the body, prior failures haunting one's thoughts like apparitions. How does one escape such a prison?
Your army is cheaper, but doubt slows you down in the form of Freeze. Focused on uniting a defensive force that can provide value without having to attack right away (Taunt, Deathrattles, auras, etc.).
Notes: Besieged by Doubt is unique, as the only non-minion member of the Sha cycle (the art only fits in the spell window lel). The transformed minions become a collectible Neutral card, described below.
-------------------------------------------------
Warlock/Violence: Binding his soul to the Burning Legion, Gul'dan will know power and blood as Darkness Incarnate. The Legion is infinite; their tolerance for failure is not.
Your minions are better as long as there enough cards in your hand, but each card you draw wears on your body. Pushes "Handlock" in a new direction that doesn't necessarily rely on Molten Giants or Mountain Giants.
Intended Archetype: Mid-Range Handlock.
Story Legendary: Kil'jaeden, Lord of Flame
Tokens + Notes:
Why not just give Cruel Gargoyle Windfury? 'Cause it technically does something different. While Windfury is more versatile - it allows you to attack two different enemies - Cruel Gargoyle does not have to attack again, possibly saving it from a lethal trade. Still a solid buff target, either-way.
-------------------------------------------------
Warrior/Anger: In pursuit of strength, the orcs submit themselves to Mannoroth's Blood-curse. However, rage is a double-edged sword; will the fire consume them as well?
Minions have bonus Attack but your forces take damage periodically. Focused on chunking the enemy's Health with an army of strong, expendable minions...just not in a traditional Aggro sense.
Intended Archetype: Mid-Range Attack Warrior.
Story Legendary: Mannoroth, the Destructor
Notes: Heart of Rage is like Bloodlust for the Warrior. Rather than handing out +3 Attack evenly across all friendly minions, Heart of Rage can fluctuate depending on how damaged the Warrior's army is. It could only give at most +2 Attack on someone like Tauren Warrior...but it could give up to + 11 Attack on a 4/1 Ysera! This encourages players to run high-Health minions, rather than relying on a traditional Aggro or Token mindset.
-------------------------------------------------
Neutral
Haunting Remnant is a collectible token of Besieged by Doubt, much like Spikeridged Steed's Stegodon.
Shadow Clone is a Neutral removal card making a straight-forward exchange: their destruction for a new 4/4.
Sha of Pride is a tech card against the influx of healing effects, and the tenth/final Sha.
Spirit of Redemption is the ultimate gambit: if you can prove you can survive at 1 Health, you are fully healed.
-------------------------------------------------
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, especially if you read the whole thing! :)
Title art and Year icon courtesy of Vilegloom; I am very appreciative <3
Edit: Very light editing, just some punctuation and the like; no actual content changes.
Behold, foolish interlopers! I am commanding this mortal to spread the will of the Scourge throughout the interwebs, encouraging you to seek out me, Archlich Kel'Thuzad! Now coming to you as the tenth class of Hearthstone!
I am a finalist in this Class Creation Competition, so if you could give it a look I would be greatly appreciative <3
The First Expansion of the Year of the Gryphon Phase 1 link here .
From the beaches of Kul'Tiras and Darkmoon Faire, to the docks of Booty Bay and the whirling Maelstrom, Azerothians are going on summer break! Dancing Druids, Sunbathing Paladins, and Hoarding Warlocks are peculiar sights for tourists on their tour of these Azerothian islands. But while tourists are here for only a few weeks, the Pirates of the Great Seas are much more familiar with these oceans. Hunters, Rogues, and Warriors take advantage of the summer months by fulfilling contracts, stealing and collecting bounties, and raiding resorts!
Greetings from the Great Seas explores new archetypes for each class, with powerful Treasures that encourage those archetypes or support certain others. Mage focuses on the Proudmoore family's connection to the sea, and with it the frightening monsters of the deep; Beast Mage (trust me, it's just as odd as you would think). Druid focuses on minion positioning and 'choreography', as Malfurion and Lunara just can't help but celebrate midsummer by dancing. Warriors set sail on the high seas and board ships, rushing their opponents and prevailing by any means.
THE STORY (read at own peril)
Dear fellow agents of D.E.H.T.A (Druids for the Ethical and Humane Treatment of Animals),
Our expedition (perhaps vacation, given our previous posting in Northrend) around the Great Seas has begun. For Murky to mature properly and become a beneficent leader for the Swamprock Tribe, he needs to get to know the world around him. My sincere gratitude to Archdruid Lathorius for stepping in and assuming leadership (and donning the appropriate costume) of the Winterfin tribe in my absence. What follows is our Travel Log. We’re sending a copy of it to you from our final destination at Tanaris Beach Hotel and Resort.
Travel Log Week 1: From Darkmoon to the Seas beyond Kul'Tiras Day 1
Our first stop was the Darkmoon Faire. A little song and dance before we get to the serious adventuring!
We stepped through the portal without much incident, and we got to the festivities! Murky had a lot of fun on the dance floor, even though I had to get involved when he started biting the other guests. We went to a fortune teller, who was a gnoll of all things! She told us to ‘strike first at the sigil of silver’, whatever that means. We had the good fortune to encounter Mooncaller Galandria, who provided us with some much needed tips on how to get around on the Great Seas, as well as recommending a ship to take—E’lora’s Spear.
We wrapped up our stint in at the Faire a couple of days later, and chartered a ship at the docks. We went off of Galandria’s recommendation, and the ship is run by an enigmatic night elf. It’s a gigantic ship, the timbers are old and thick, but it’s apparently a passenger vessel as well as a merchant vessel. We're setting a course to Kul'Tiras, and we should be there in around 5 days!
P.S. Murky wanted to say a few words. Here's what he says;
Day 5 We arrived in Kul’Tiras this afternoon. We received a warm welcome from the locals and we dined in at Yogg’s Pint and Dine. They served the best calamari! We checked into the Salty Dog in at 7:40, and lay in for the night.
Day 6 Today we’re going to the Sea Priest church so Murky can get some lessons on how to be a virtuous leader. I’m writing this before breakfast and I’ll write up our experiences when the day is done.
...
By Azeroth, I’ve had the shock of my life. Lord Stormsong, the leader of the Sea Priests, took us up to the chapel on Kraken Peak. It was eerily beautiful; the vaulted marble arches were decorated with malachite tentacles, and the walls were carved in relief depicting images of unfathomable sea monsters. His fellow Sea Priests roamed the pews and went from one end of the church to the next. The furthest end was open to the air - a grand shrine of sorts, and a long and perilous bridge hewn of rock stretched to the peak on the other side of the channel through which Kul’Tiran ships sailed. The ceiling was the mountain above, with great holes carved into it to let in light. While this place was strange, it was beautiful, and perfectly normal... That is, until a mysterious whisper penetrated and echoed around the halls of the church. It was almost as if the inanimate tentacles arched squirmed into life, and the air seemed to dampen and smell of rot and evil. The Sea Priests, all but Lord Stormsong, began to sprout awful Eldritch tentacles and started speaking in tongues! It was all I could do just to keep myself from fainting. Murky was panicking as well, and even I couldn’t make out what he was saying. The atmosphere was decidedly hostile as the many-limbed former clerics approached us with evil intent. I thought we were done for. Just then, I heard the twang of a bow, the sound so melodic I almost forgot our situation. A glowing blue arrow pierced through the middle of one of these monsters, who I would later be acquainted with as K’thir. The shots came from behind us, at the church’s observation deck over the harbour. Before I could react, three more arrows rang out and stopped three more K’thir dead. I span around and was confronted with the most beautiful night elf I’d ever seen — and what’s more, it was the famous Shandris Feathermoon! I couldn’t believe this legendary huntress had come to our aid, so serendipitously on time! But there was hardly time for me to take in her radiance, as I spun around to find Murky held hostage by the now semi-tentacled Lord Stormsong himself. He held a sinister blade to Murky’s scaly and slimey neck. I froze. As did Ms. Feathermoon. The villainous bishop launched into a long monologue, the details of which I simply cannot recall. Anyway, after he’d finished, the Huntress, like a bolt of lightning, pulled taut her bow and launched a thunderous arrow right at the heretic’s head, striking true and causing him to immediately release my perpetually moist pupil. But just when I thought the battle was over, sickening dark magic began to erupt from Stormsong’s lifeless body, channeling into the corpses of his compatriots. They rose again in the most surreal manner, their eyes filled with shadow magic. I was stunned. How could we defeat an army of the dead? I apparently wasn’t remembering our experiences in Icecrown too well, but I was caught up in the moment.
I turned to the legendary hunter by my side, who seemed to tower above me. “What do we do?” I asked, my voice quivering. “Not a lot.” She replied, matter-of-factly. She pulled an arrow from her quiver different from the rest, red-tipped and inscribed with the words ‘FOR PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS’. She aimed and fired, missing all of the zombies! But before the arrow had travelled more than a few feet past the undead K’thir, it exploded into a thousand more, piercing all the members of Stormsong’s corpse army. They each blew up in gruesome fashion. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. However, only Ms. Feathermoon was untouched by the projectile gore... We had to take a bath in the inn afterwards. Shaken, we all walked back down to the town, the Huntress as silent as a stone. When we arrived, I asked her why she had saved us. “Only a contract. Work’s sparse in these months”, she explained. “Stormsong had a bounty on his head, and I can see why.”
“But how did you get there at the exact time we were in most danger?”
She smiled slightly. “I’d been staking him out for a while. I was going to make a move tomorrow, but I have a soft spot for helpless ‘Murlocs’.” As we reached the inn, she waved a goodbye and disappeared into the night.
We slept dreamlessly.
Day 7 It was time to depart from Kul’Tiras and head towards our next port of harbour, Booty Bay. We boarded E’lora’s Spear and set sail, with the winds behind us. It was a motley crew, and very large. I estimated there must be 500 non-passengers on deck, and they encompassed most races—humans, forsaken, trolls, orcs, humans, gnomes, dwarves, elves, even drakonids and gnolls. But I decided to find out more about our captain.
“So Captain, how long will it be until we reach Kalimdor?”
She stared straight ahead to sea, hands gripping the steering wheel resolutely. “That’s Admiral to you.” She stated, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.
“Oh. Sorry, Admiral. When will we arrive?”
She grew more frustrated, turning towards me with an air of contempt. “Do you know that’s what everyone asks? I’m interrupted every minute by an ungrateful passenger demanding to know if we’re there yet. Of course we’re not. I’ll tell you one thing. There’s no land between here and Kalimdor. When you see a tree, we’ll be there.” She turned away, as if she was determined to ignore me.
I walked away, discouraged. I hadn’t the faintest idea how long it would be before we made it across the Seas, and I’d also made a poor impression on the Admiral. This was going to be an awkward trip.
The night was turbulent, and I felt a little seasick. Murky was used to coastal waters, and was a little disturbed. “Mrrgrgrlygrl...” He said.
“It’s okay, Murky. This trip is a test of your resolve, and you should consider this as part of that. You were brave against those tentacle freaks. You should be proud.”
Murky seemed conflicted. “Mrglmr... mmmmmrgmglrm. Rrrglm lllmg, Mrmrmrmrglglllllllrrrrr!” After this latter sentence, Murky grinned, showing off his razor-sharp teeth, and promptly flopped into his hammock, snoring loudly. I sighed and tried to get to sleep.
Week 2: The Maelstrom Seas & Dangerous Encounters Day 8 We seemed to be in the same place we were yesterday. I knew that the ship was moving, that the sails were full of wind. But everything else was the same. The sea was calm and infinite, the clouds encircled us as if they were stretched over an upside-down bowl that spanned the sky. The sun beat down remorselessly, with the faint red scar of the portal to Argus still visible in the blue sky next to it. You could smell the salt in the air.
“Alright, clean up that mess, deckhand!” Admiral E’lora was shouting down to her crew from the steering wheel, gesturing to a barrel of grain that had spilled. This was a transport ship as well as a passenger ship. An uneventful day, Murky and I continued to be shunned by the Admiral and the crew, as most of the passengers were. We were essentially cargo to them, and any attempt to forge a friendship was futile. We spent the next 3 days like this.
Day 12 I awoke to the crash of thunder. Stepping out onto the deck, I saw waves fifteen feet high, the sky darkened by clouds almost to the pitch of night, and the fiercest lightning I’ve ever seen. I looked immediately to the Admiral, who stood stoically, twisting the wheel sharply and gripping it hard. We were on the fringe of the storm, but we felt the gale taking us further in. Murky whimpered and I ran up to the top deck as if I were one of the crew. I shouted over the gust, “What in Tyr’s name are we doing in the damn Maelstrom??”
E’lora shouted back, her voice unwavering, “This is our route!”
“What?? Why? You didn’t tell us this!!”
“You would’ve jumped overboard if I told you! Now stop worrying and get below decks!”
I took her advice. I had no idea what I would do otherwise, and if we were to jump now, we would be done for. Through the portholes I saw alternately under the water and above to the jagged rocks around the Maelstrom. All of a sudden, I heard the Admiral shout at full volume to her crew: “FLIP THE DECKS!”
Everything started to happen. Switches I didn’t even notice existed started to be flipped by the crew below decks, and I heard cranks and levers activate, gears and chains groaning to life. A low pitched horn sounded off like the call of a Zangar Whale, sending a chill down my spine and rippling through the water. I peaked out and saw the masts of the ship lowering right below decks: Each was hollow and made in sections that fit within one another. The main deck of the ship completely flipped, section by section, to reveal great transparent panels stacked one on top of the other. I saw E’lora pull the steering wheel back toward her with all her might, and the roar of two mighty engines caught me off guard. The panels immediately filled with steam and unfurled, connecting to each other in such a way that they formed a protective seal all around the top of the ship. I was sent flying backwards into my hammock by the sudden acceleration, and two massive turbines appeared out of either side of the ship... and we started to sink.
I was beside myself, as was Murky. “MRGLGLLMRRRR!!!” He bellowed at me, and began to cry inconsolably. I gave him a hug and reassured him as the vessel shuddered, the power of the engines propelling the craft down into the abyssal waters around the Maelstrom. This was the craziest thing I’d ever seen, next to the tentacle monsters in the church.
We were still breathing air. By now, we were completely submerged, the thunder was muffled, and the winds were now the current. I decided to come above decks.
“Impressed?” E’lora looked down to me from the bridge, flashing a wry smile, without any hint of disdain.
“Wha-what is this??”
“This ship is built for above and below water transport. We have to make deliveries to submarine destinations every now and then, so it’s necessary to have a ship like this.” She gestured with her hands to the steam-filled canopy above her, the water above obscured by the mysterious mist.
Still dumbfounded, I stared around for what seemed like an hour. The masts and sails were gone, and the canopy seemed to stretch about as far above the deck as the keel was below. Eventually I came up with a question. “Well, how are you going to see where you’re going now?”
“Oh! Thank you for reminding me. I almost forgot.” The Admiral cranked a lever next to her and the steam was quickly pumped out of the transparent canopy, revealing a massive squid-like creature with a single glowing eye not even half a mile away from us, approaching quickly with a beak filled, impossibly, with fire.
Her eyes widened. “Glad you reminded me.” She whistled then, and more than a hundred crew flooded onto the deck, rushing to the fore of the ship-turned-submarine. They heaved on massive ropes and chains, pulling up to reveal a thick metal spear. It clicked into place and the whole boat shuddered, the point was as thick as the masts of the ship and about half as long. The point was barbed like a harpoon, designed to ram and pierce. The plan was to meet this creature head on, apparently.
She called to the crew below decks, and the engines made a second massive boom as the turbines spun faster, creating a kind of underwater sonic boom. We seemed to accelerate to ludicrous speed as two monsters, one manmade and the other natural, charged towards each other. Just before the point of E’lora’s Spear contacted the monster’s bulb, the behemoth diverted its course and latched all five of its arms onto the port side of our ship, pulling us with its massive weight. E’lora spun the wheel sharply to starboard. The creature could not match the power of the ship’s engines, and so was pulled along the Admiral’s new course. We were headed towards one of the jagged rocks that surrounded the Maelstrom. The seabed was strewn with shards of Elementium, a reminder of the cataclysmic events that once took place here.
“All hands on deck!” E’lora waved to a particularly burly and out of place Bronze Drakonid, who looked to be the first mate on board the ship. “Korisz!” she shouted. The dragon nodded towards her, and headed straight towards the creature, armed with an inscribed poleaxe. By some use of magic, he passed through the barrier of the ship’s canopy and out into the hostile sea, his talons gripping the side of the ship. The massive creature seemed to take some notice of him and released one of its tentacles to take a swipe at him. I watched the two spar, transfixed by the size difference and by the nimbleness of Korisz. As the cyclopean cephalopod swung its tentacles through the water, it caused the ship to rock slightly. E’lora remained calm, and manoeuvred straight towards the rock. We were as far away from it now as we were from the beast when we first encountered it. Closing the distance, I saw the struggle between the abyssal and the drakonid turn decidedly in the monster’s favour. It had swiped the poleaxe out of his hand and seemed to have lacerated his fighting arm, leaving him practically helpless. The leviathan reared up, exposing its beak. Even from the safe confines of the ship, I could feel the intense heat. Korisz was about to be engulfed in undersea flame, and we were about to smash against an undersea cliff.
It all happened in a flash. The first mate looked behind himself to face the cliff, and seemed to rewind through time. He re-enacted his side of the fight backwards, getting his weapon back and even healing his arm. He came right back into the ship the way he went out. As soon as Korisz was back inside, and before the flaming behemoth realized it had been tricked, E’lora swung the wheel hard starboard, the engines of the ship screeching with the effort. The ship diverted its course immediately so that it barely missed the rock. The abyssal creature however was not so lucky. It hit the rock with all the force that the ship carried with it, and was torn off the side of the ship. We didn’t look behind to see what remained of it.
“All clear! Damage assessment!” The Admiral commanded, and crew members rushed all over the ship, going below decks and peering through the portholes to see the damage. The hull was scorched black and torn in places, but the damage was not enough to cause a leak. An atmosphere of relief settled over the ship, and E’lora relaxed noticeably, her hands having turned white with how tightly she had gripped the wheel. She gestured, and the crew lowered the great spear back into the ship.
“Busy day. It’ll be a day before we reach Vashj’ir.” She sighed, almost propping herself up on the wheel.
“Vashj’ir?” I asked.
“Just a short stop. Then we’re on our way to Booty Bay.”
Day 13 We made it to Vashj’ir, and the local naga were surprisingly passive. Evidently E’lora had made friends here and we were not seen as a threat. We came to a dry-dock that joined onto a large air-filled dome, sporting a bustling trading village. I disembarked with Murky and left to the nearest restaurant. We were starving, and starving for good food. There was just enough time to have a bite before the Spear had resupplied.
We stumbled into the first place we found. ‘Mrrrrglmrr Diner’ the sign read, slightly waterlogged despite being protected from the sea. It was a grimy joint—dimly lit and divided into a bar, gambling lounge, and restaurant, none of which were particularly clean. We sat at a chipped wooden table and looked at the menu. I was a little bemused. The first item on the menu was ‘MRRGG: Mrgglggrrrr, mrmlllrryyg, mmmrl yllg mrrrlmmmmmmg.’ It turned out all of the menu items were in Murloc. The waiter was a Murloc, and as were all the other patrons. For now, I was fooling them all, but I was careful not to get too comfortable, as there were some shady sorts at the back that looked like they could be armed.
I asked Murky to order for me, and he pointed excitedly at the third item on the menu. The waiter came to take our order, or at least that’s what I assumed he was doing. Murky pointed at the third item, then at me, then himself. The waiter expressed his assent with a short ‘MRRG’ and plodded towards the kitchen. About 10 minutes later, he returned. For Murky, a delicious-looking braised Emperor Salmon with a caviar accompaniment. For me, the same… except the fish was rotting, and the eggs were spoiled. I looked up at the waiter, incredulous. He appeared to smile wickedly before turning right on his heels and heading to the next table. I couldn’t eat this! What kind of service is this, and how is this place still in business? Murky devoured his entire meal almost instantly, without any table manners (as befits any Murloc). Once Murky had finished, I stood up and led him by the hand towards the kitchen hurriedly. I was going to confront the chef with his bad cooking, and even if I wasn’t going to show him my true nature, I was still a master of Murloc combat, if it came to it.
We sped past the shady figures at the back of the diner and into the dimly lit kitchen. I was startled when I didn’t see anyone there. The back of the kitchen was in shadow, and there was hardly any food near the front of it, although there was an overwhelming stench. After a few seconds of silence, I heard a splashing sound from the back.
‘Mrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmglllllllrlllllllll…” A deep voice proclaimed from the darkness.
I must confess I felt a little intimidated by this, even if it was coming from a Murloc. Then, a torch was lit and before I could discern what had just been illuminated, I saw a rotten sturgeon rocketing straight towards me. I ducked and it hit the wall behind me with a squelch. I then saw the perpetrator. It was none other than Captain Cookie! Sitting in his pot at the back of the kitchen, he was the chef of this diner! The infamous pirate wielded his stirring rod in one hand, and grasped a number of food items in various states of freshness or decay, presumably the fresh ones having just been added to the pot. He gurgled a startling war cry, “Mrgrlglrglrlglrglrl mrrrrrlrlrlrlrlrrrrrrggggggg!!” before throwing his handful of fish, vegetables, and meat towards us. Neither of us could dodge all of it, and the rank air was enough to make me gag. I was almost incapacitated by the sight and smell of the stuff being flung at me. It must’ve been a pathetic sight.
Murky, on the other hand, was perfectly fine. He caught bits of fresh salmon, catfish, and potatoes out of the air, quickly eating them, all the while running towards Cookie. Astonishingly, he climbed straight up the pot and grabbed the stirring rod right out of Cookie’s hand!
“MRRRGLGLLRRRRR!” bellowed Cookie.
“MRGLRRRYYGRRRRRRRR!” Murky replied.
They struggled for a few seconds, before Murky gave Cookie a swift bonk on the head with his own kitchen utensil and clambered out of the pot back to me. He gestured towards the exit, “Mrrgl!” I followed, pinching my nose. I was aware of angry Murlocs behind me as we ran out of the diner and into the cobbled streets of the domed market, and we ran towards E’lora’s Spear. We were just in time for departure, and the gangways were released just as we made it on board, a platoon of assorted Murlocs screaming what I could only think were obscenities at us.
“Haven’t made friends in the village?” Admiral E’lora inquired, clearly amused.
I unzipped my mask for a moment, making sure to keep myself facing away from Murky. “You could say that.”
E’lora was clearly surprised to see a fellow night elf, especially one donning a Murloc costume. She laughed heartily. “Well, you should get some rest! We’re on our way to Kalimdor now... and we’ll be there in only 3 days.” She winked, referring back to her refusal to give an estimate on our trip’s length. We went below decks, and to bed. I slept on an empty stomach.
Day 15 We were only one day from land, and I was looking forward to landing in Booty Bay. We had reverted back to an above-water ship and unfurled our sails to catch the wind. On the horizon was nothing but sea. It stayed a normal day at sea for quite a while, until the lookout in the crow’s nest, a Riverpaw gnoll, called down to the Admiral;
“PIRATES!”
A black-bannered ship was just on the horizon, heading straight for us and fast. E’lora called for the spear to be raised and for the cannons to be manned. We prepared for conflict. Instead of coming straight at us, the ship came alongside us with its own cannons. It wasn’t as large as ours, nor as well-armed, but it was quicker and had a ferocious crew. The Admiral asked Korisz to take the wheel as she strode over to starboard to confront the pirates.
“Who’s in charge over there?”
A small commotion came over the crowded decks of the pirate ship, and its crew members were gruffly pushed aside as a figure came to face E’lora. “Aye, that’d be me.” An orc, taller than the rest of the crew yet hunched over slightly, wearing a long tattered scarlet waistcoat and sporting a white shirt stained with ale and blood. A parrot on his shoulder looked quizzically at anything that moved. His hat, a sterotypical pirate’s hat, was slightly askew, with one end missing as if it had been cut off. His heavy boots clanked on the wood, raking up splinters as they dragged from one plank to the next. He raised out his left arm to reveal a rusting hook for a hand, pointing in the general direction of the Spear.
“If it ain’t Admiral E’lora Starbeam! How’ve ye bin keepin?”
“Grommak, this won’t end well for you. Not this time.”
“Well!” The pirate said, laughing heartily. “No time fer small talk, then?”
E’lora was silent and betrayed nothing with her expression. “Right then. I guess I’ll say what I’m here for anyway, just so we’re clear an’ all. It be simple. Yer ship is our business, and we mean to take it.” He contorted his lips into an insincere grin, exposing a golden tooth.
E’lora was unimpressed, and tapped her foot in impatience. “So you say. But are you really in a position to do that?” She nodded her head to below decks, where row upon row of cannon pointed directly at the pirates. Grommak’s smile quickly disappeared, replaced by a menacing frown. “Arr, so ye’ be doin’ this the hard way, hmm?”
“There was never going to be an easy way.” E’lora quipped. Both captains turned on their heels and made their way back to their respective bridges, as if they had made some unspoken agreement. The pirate steered hard away from The Spear, and we steered hard away from them. We only went a short distance before we stopped and turned to face the privateers once more.
And then came the second approach. We sped towards each other, the pirates seemingly undeterred by the metallic blade that stuck proudly out of our vessel. We collided with their ship at ramming speed, the spear tearing a hole straight through their bow, almost sawing their boat in half. But the frenzied pirates were undaunted. This was their plan. The collision had forced the two ships together, and they began to board us. They were armed to the teeth and were clearly not in the mood to negotiate. A battle ensued, and it was all hands on deck. Including Murky and I. Murky took out the stirring rod he had taken from Captain Cookie, and I unzipped from my Murloc costume, quickly shifting into Panther form. Strangely, Murky didn’t seem bothered by my change in appearance. Perhaps he had matured enough to see through my disguise and still treat me as a Murloc. I wouldn’t take the chance after this. We fought long and hard, Murky fought fast, as if possessed by some spirit. His new stirring rod seemed to be giving him some powers beyond his normal fighting skills. I fought the more vicious pirates while protecting Murky from harm. The battle seemed to be going in slow-motion, as we tried to help the rest of the crew as best we could.
...
Eventually, we prevailed. The ship was battered and bruised, and so were the crew. But our enemies were defeated, most captured and some overboard. What’s more, we had Hookhand.
As he was brought to Admiral E’lora, bound with rope, he coughed out a little blood. “Aye, suppose ye’ll be rid of me presently. Gruesome like, I wager.”
“Oh no,” replied the Admiral, “You’ll fetch a pretty penny in the Bay. You’ve made a lot of enemies in these waters.”
We brought them down to the brig, and tore ourselves free from their ruined ship. We corrected our course and set sail for Booty Bay once more.
Week 3: Booty Bay and Tanaris Day 16
We pulled into Booty Bay. The jungle was vast and vivid green, massive vines hanging between ancient trees that stretched up above the rest of the canopy. You could hear the bustle from miles away, the dockyards busy with shipbuilders and engineers, the shops full of pushy salesmen. The inns were welcoming yet seedy, and the auction house was gilt in so much gold that it glowed like the sun. Gangs roamed the cobbles streets by the docks, but their intentions weren’t sinister—this was neutral territory.
E’lora’s Spear was in a sorry state after her previous encounters. The port side of the hull was scorched almost to a crisp, and large hunks of wood had been torn out of it by the tentacles once attached to it. The bow was splintered from the pirate encounter, and parts of the main deck had been heavily marked by armed struggle—swords and axes missing their mark. For that reason, the Admiral steered us directly to the shipyard for repairs.
We disembarked onto a long, broad dock, obviously made from the thickest trees in the jungle. Murky and I went down with E’lora to greet the goblin shipmaster waiting for us.
As we approached, his arms flew open as if to embrace us in the air, smiling broadly and exclaiming, “Heyheyhey E’lora! Long time no see! Looks like you been beat up a load. You’re looking to get her repaired I bet!”
“We did get into a couple of minor scrapes, Grizzlowe. But I’m sure you’re up to the job.”
“You betcha! It’s never free though, darling. I’d say this’ll cost you about twice as much as last time.”
E’lora’s ear twitched slightly. “I’m aware. Here you go.” She pulled a weighty bag of doubloons from her inside coat pocket and dropped it into Grizzlowe’s waiting palm. “I expect to have some upgrades done as well. I don’t want to be exposed when we’re in trouble next.” The goblin’s smile widened and he winked knowingly. “Gladly!” He ran off towards the ship, calling his engineers over to assess the damage.
E’lora called for Hookhand to be brought onto land, along with what was left of his crew. With her own crew as an entourage, E’lora began to lead them towards the main town. “Are you turning them in?” I asked. “Not exactly. There isn’t exactly a police force in Booty Bay,” she looked back to the captured Pirates. “No, we’re going to give them to Garvey’s Gang.”
Hookhand’s eyes widened, but he refused to say anything in response.
“You’re giving them to a crime gang??”
“Mrglglmrrrr?”
“They’re all gangs here in the Bay. One of them’s gotta take him. Besides, they’ve got the biggest bounty on them.”
We walked the rest of the way in silence. We passed by Wanted posters for Hookhand and various other of his crew plastered all over town notice boards, and passers-by gawked at the spectacle. We eventually came to a tall house that leaned out over the water as if it might fall over at any moment. Old timbers, white stained panels, overgrown with ivy, thatched roof, rotting window shades, and a thick metal door. E’lora knocked on the door three times fast. A face peered out from a slit in the door, to confirm whether we were allowed to enter. The moment it spied Grommak Hookhand, it disappeared and the door swung upon so fast that it hit the wall. Inside was a large hearth and various rascal-types laughing and drinking around the fire. There must’ve been 50 of them in all, presumably more upstairs. They all seemed to be laughing at the jokes of one person, in the middle of the group. When the door hit the wall, he looked up, first at E’lora, and then Hookhand. He blushed and laughed like a madman.
“Hahaha! Well if it ain’t my two best friends in the whole Great Seas! Great te see yah, Admiral! And even better te see you, Grommak.” He was jocular, but there were sinister undertones as he greeted the pirate.
“Garvey.” Replied the Admiral, straight-faced. “Time to collect, I think.”
“Oh my stars, I should think so! We’ve been ratcheting up the bounty on this one for quite some time. A little interesting you brought him in now... instead of last time.” His eyes narrowed and E’lora tensed up, her hands in her pockets.
“You know perfectly well there was no way I was going to catch him.”
“Ah well, then again, I wasn’t there, was I?” Garvey raised an eyebrow and the whole room became tense, the air heavy. E’lora’s crew and the Garvey Gang were sizing each other up. I had a sinking feeling, like there was some sinister force at work. Just then, I caught a glimpse of something shiny in Garvey’s breast pocket. It was a silver and gold locket, with a rectangular amethyst set in it. It depicted the Dark Portal. I thought back to the fortune teller in Darkmoon. Strike first at the sigil of silver. I finally knew what she meant. I was standing next to one of our crew, who had their pistol very obviously exposed. As I had put my murloc disguise back on after the struggle on the ship, almost everyone was ignoring me. With a surge of adrenaline I ripped the Flintlock out of its holster, aimed right at the locket, and fired. It shattered, and Garvey stumbled back, winded by the bullet ricocheting off his bauble.
Everyone turned towards me. What did I just do?
I expected a gunfight. Instead, the air was quiet, and a purple mist came from the shards of the locket.
“Yer a clever one. Nice disguise. I suppose I better tell you all that the Garvey Gang has partnered with... The Ex-Legion.” Garvey smirked and stepped backwards. The hearth behind him melted away and the room seemed to expand to its full size, at least four times as large. Succubi, Felguards, Doomguards, and Imps lined the walls, leaning up against bookcases or luxuriating on plush furniture. This place was half an illusion, a hideout for the demons left behind by Legionfall. “We’ve got a good relationship, us and the demons over there. We put out bounties on their behalf, and they give us some extra muscle. Their Imps hold the cash for us.”
This was a pretty shocking development. As if it wasn’t enough to be having a standoff with a gang, the gang turned out to be in league with demonic powers. I had a strong feeling that I’d done the right thing, however—the locket had some power, and I had destroyed it, revealing just what we were up against. E’lora was surprised at my independence, and seemed a little annoyed with my insubordination, but she didn’t dare betray that to Garvey.
“I think this situation has escalated to the point where a simple transaction is out of the question. Would you agree?” E’lora asked Garvey, and her implication was understood. Garvey smiled slightly, “Oh I counted on it, darlin’.”
E’lora pulled her hand out of her coat. I expected a gun to be drawn, but instead I saw a peculiar button of goblin design. “I knew you would, ‘darling’.” The Admiral pressed hard on the button, and the familiar horn of E’lora’s Spear sounded immediately. All of our crew stepped back towards the entrance as a tremendous salvo of cannons went off. Then, nothing. The gang and the demons froze, baffled and fearful. I imagined I heard a faint whistling—then I wasn’t imagining it. It was getting louder very quickly, until it was almost deafening.
At least 20 cannonballs shattered through the sea-facing wall of the house, aimed straight for the demons and criminals. It was a gruesome sight, but it was over in a flash. The Spear had been outfitted with long range guns and was docked with perfect line of sight to the Garvey Gang HQ. Now the former HQ of the former Garvey Gang.
“Did you plan this?” I asked incredulously.
“Almost. You could say it was insurance. Although I knew I had to use it when you discovered the demons. They’re fel-blooded bastards, they’ve got no sense for negotiating. I have to say, I owe you one.”
“What now?” I gestured to the prisoners, who had witnessed the whole scene in terror, never having seen a demon before.
“Well, we’ll collect our bounty, as we were due...” The crew spread out around the house, looking for where the Imps would’ve stashed the gang’s cash. “Then we’ll take them to the Trade Princes. They’ll pay us the same.”
I thought to myself how smart a plan this was, even with the risks involved. By using Hookhand as bait, E’lora had simultaneously taken out a crime gang, doubled her money, and ended a pirate’s career. I said as much.
“Well, I would’ve given him to Garvey. He just got too greedy.” She replied.
We walked first to the auction house, led up past the trading floor towards the Trade Prince’s quarters by bodyguards. We had no trouble this time, Hookhand still resolving to not say a word. We then walked back toward the ship, E’lora’s entourage loaded with bags of gold coins. Grizzlowe was there to greet us. “Ya liked it? I had her fitted with four state of the art gatling cannons! Of course, you need to fire all of them at once otherwise the ship will capsize, but still, it’s great value!”
“And the damage?” E’lora asked, knowing the answer.
“All buffed out, and we’ve fitted her will plate armor 3 inches thick! Patented not to weigh too much, of course of course.”
E’lora was pleased. “You know I always appreciate the job you do, Grizzlowe. I’ll see you next time I’m in Booty Bay.”
“Hope it’s as explosive as this time!”
“Well, we’ll see.” She winked at Grizzlowe as we all got back onto the ship and pulled up anchor. Untying the massive ropes, we waved a final goodbye to Grizzlowe, and set on our way down the coast to Tanaris—our final destination.
I had some quality time with Murky to discuss our exploits and what he had to learn from them. “I want you to take note of those we’ve met on this trip. Ms. Feathermoon, Admiral E’lora, First Mate Korisz, and Salvager Grizzlowe. They’ve all been obliging and most have been incredibly brave in the face of adversity. What’s more, your bravery against Captain Cookie and the pirates shows how much of a leader you really are. You’ve really proven yourself.”
I was satisfied by his answer. He had definitely matured a lot since we set out to Darkmoon. I was now confident he would be able to lead the Swamprock tribe away from its cruel reputation.
Exhausted by the day, we both flopped into our hammocks and fell asleep immediately.
Day 16 This the final day of our adventure. Once we’re in Tanaris, we’ll stay for another week or two to sightsee before taking the D.E.H.T.A portal back to basecamp.
We landed at the main dock in Tanaris and the final lot of passengers began to disembark. I only now grasped how many were on board—close to 500 civilians. And we’d been attacked by sea monsters, and boarded by pirates while they were still on board! It was time for us to leave to, and so I prepared to say my goodbyes to the Admiral.
“We’re uhhh... leaving now.” I said sheepishly.
“I gathered.” She didn’t really leave me much to go on.
“Listen, it’s been... very instructive for my young pupil here, and I’ll be honest, it’s been fun for me.”
“Really? Well it’s just another trip for me. Maybe you should consider joining the crew.” She came closer, and unzipped the top of my disguise as Murky was pestering the other passengers.
“You know,” She said, staring straight into my eyes, “There are a lot of animal rights abuses going on where I make port. I don’t have an expert on board to help me figure out what to do.” She leaned forward until we were only a few inches apart. “As long as you can ditch the costume for most of the day, I’d love to have you on board.”
She produced a finely made card from her pocket and grabbed my hand to put it in.
“This is my business card. Think over my proposal, and get back to me when you’ve made your decision. Don’t be too long, though.” She smiled warmly, closing my fingers over the card she’d given me and then walking to the other side of the deck to direct the crew.
Murky and I walked down to Tanaris Beach Hotel and Resort, having left the vessel we’d been bound to for more than 2 weeks. We checked in and went up to our room. It had an amazing view of the Seas we had just been sailing, and I recalled everything that had happened to us. It was certainly a trip I would never forget. We stared out to the Seas and began to relax in the sun. I could’ve stayed like that for days. And I did.
Treasure cards are cards with very powerful effects that are placed at the very bottom of your deck whenever they enter it. That means you know what's at the bottom of your deck and what you're going to draw before fatigue sets in. Whenever a Treasure enters your deck, a 'Beach Time' token is also shuffled in. Your opponent can then tell from the start of the game how many Treasures your deck has in it.
Further Explanation
Whenever a Treasure enters your deck (at the start of the game, when you generate a treasure and put it in your deck), a Beach Time spell gets shuffled into your deck. This is to prevent the problems that a '29 card deck' would otherwise cause, as knowing where a specific card is in your deck would normally make your draws more certain. As Beach Times get shuffled at the start of the game, you can get them in your starting hand or mulligan. As a consequence, your opponent will be able to determine how many Treasures are in your deck just from looking at your deck size at the beginning of the game! Multiple Treasures order themselves from lowest cost 'on top' of the stack to highest cost at the very bottom. Tied costs are arranged alphabetically (A-Z) although that isn't really a problem for this number of cards. This mechanic will not persist to other expansions.
Salvager Grizzlowe is a gifted shipbuilder that works at the docks of Booty Bay; he also thinks that the Bay's Clam Chowder is the best anywhere! By using his Hero Power, you can create your own hero card in the form of a ship. You can choose a 4, 7, or 10-Cost vessel; Schooner, Frigate, and Gunship respectively. You then get to choose 2 battlecries and a hero power that are tuned to the mana cost of the card through an interface like Kazakus . With 8 options each for Battlecries and Hero Powers for each kind of ship (48 total options!!), you get 2,024 possible combinations for each vessel. You can fire Cannons at your opponent, clear the board with AOE or establish board control with Pirates! You could give your Pirates Rush for the rest of the game, or give a minion +4/+4 each turn. The possibilities are overwhelming, and Grizzlowe's value is exponential: If he survives until you can use his Hero Power again, you can get another Ship!
Holidays & Fun in the Sun! Holiday cards are a cycle of Rare spells with an 'On your next turn' effect. You have to pack your bags and buy tickets before you take a vacation, so that means you have to pay a little in advance! Holidays are only active on your turn and last until the end of that turn. While you're on holiday, you might as well get some Vitamin D. Be careful to put on your sunscreen though, or you'll get burnt! There are 5 Holidays on showcase: Darkmoon, Booty Bay, Tanaris, Kul'Tiras, and Maelstrom .
Opposition research, eldritch monster style.
Anduin's gone on sabbatical to the island of Kul'Tiras, where Sea Priests turned monsters steal your opponent's thoughts. This card lets you anticipate your opponent's next draws and what they might play to counter your cards, while also taking you further from fatigue.
It might seem like a nice hotel town, but when you pass by the Theft-o-matic 3000 in the lobby your opinion might change slightly.
Always looking for the next contract, Hunters want to draw on an empty hand, expanding on a mechanic introduced in Blackrock Mountain. This card can help you reload in a similar manner to Stargazer Luna .
"I'll do your back. You do mine."
With Divine Shield as sunscreen and healing as a suntan, the Paladin archetype for this expansion revolves around the sun! But who knows how best to keep your tan? The Bronze Dragons.
Treasures! Hidden Treasures sunken to the bottom of your deck, these cards can be weak on their own, but with the right support can be extremely powerful. And while there's a problem with drawing the last card in your deck... There's something that can be done about that. There are 5 Treasures on showcase; Shimmering Riches ; Gallandria, Mooncaller ; Ultimate Arcana ; Light of K'ure ; and Gul'dan's Locket . Every hero gets a Treasure, whether it be a weapon, spell, or minion. Then they get an additional legendary minion.
An amazing damage spell, but it's certainly not as easy to set up for an OTK and definitely isn't as guaranteed as the Time Warp combo . Spell Damage +1 on this gives you a total of 30 damage—but you'll be hard pressed to get that Spell Damage on the same turn.
The radical solution to not drawing Treasures— flip your entire deck ! The bottom is now the top, all the cards keep their order but you draw cards in reverse, Treasures first ! There is a downside however; your cards are also flipped. Your opponent sees what cards you draw ! In the story, E'lora is arguably the hero, aiding the protagonists on their journey to Tanaris.
Pirates at Midrange & Above—oh, and Dual Tribes! People hate aggro decks. I do too. Pirates have been stained with the brush of 'this is always aggro', in no small part thanks to the oppressive influence of the many-eyed Patches the Pirate . Have no fear. No scary charge Pirates or overly-early game ones. Instead, high-cost and midrange Rush Pirates emphasize board control...and Treasures.
Brought this beauty up from Sailgrave. Yours for only 4 mana, no catch! Totally authentic.
The only Treasure Tutor other than Admiral E'lora, this card makes it possible to fetch your Treasure and use the remaining cards in your hand and deck to enable its synergies, rather than holding all your enablers until you hit fatigue.
Avast, me hearties! Another vessel be needing our 'help'!
WANTED! Tons of value and support for a new archetype - Coin Rogue. With the rotation of Gadgetzan Auctioneer and the fact that Rogue is getting cards that make using the Coins better than forcing them into a miracle deck, this might be an autoinclude in a Coin Rogue deck to maintain removal options turn after turn.
He'll REALLY get on it, not like a certain Imp he knows.
This Piratey Demon has above average stats, but in the early game is still a real disadvantage.
Full List of Cards Here's the rest of the cards. There are notes on synergies included below the cards in the spoilers! These cards tie up the whole set. One particular card you should check out is Salvager Grizzlowe right in the neutral cards spoiler. Hall of Fame Divine Favor | Kidnapper (replaced by WANTED! ) | Gadgetzan Auctioneer
Neutral
Barnacled Dweller is a simple removal card that mirrors half a Sea Giant and still focuses on minions in the battlefield. Arms Collector discovers cards like Deadly Poison , Acidic Swamp Ooze , Envenom Weapon , Bloodsail Corsair , and Captain Greenskin . Expert Explorer synergizes well with Treasures, shuffling copies of them or the other cards in your hand, back into your deck to last you longer through fatigue. As a neutral Dead Man's Hand , this couldn't be a Battlecry , Deathrattle , or end of turn effect as your opponent wouldn't be able to stop you and thus every class would become infinite Warrior. Zzz. Shimmering Riches is the perfect example of a neutral treasure. While it's a powerful effect, it can be underwhelming in the late game, unless you have a specific way of drawing minions from your deck ( Witchwood Piper , anyone?), or need extra mana on a turn.
Really small versions of the images if you don't want to click the link but have a magnifying glass handy
Druid Minion positioning: Manipulate the board to make it easier to remove minions or make your own stronger. Force your opponent to think more about what they play and where they play it.
The Druids of Azeroth are coming together for a midsummer holiday, and their chosen destination is Darkmoon Island! For what else other than Darkmoon Faire ! These Druids are constantly having dance parties in Darkmoon, so it's important to get your steps right. For this expansion, minion positioning and ordering is the Druid's chief concern, and for that reason, is your opponent's concern as well!
Crash the Party is on a similar power level to Deadly Shot , but can be played around by your opponent placing weaker minions further away from the middle of the board. Darkmoon Holiday : Everyone's having a big dance! You've got to get your steps right, so every minion gets a partner with the same effect. Here's what it looks like in case you can't visualize it. This can help you get past your opponent's Taunt minions to get to their other minions! Destroying the left-most minion changes the dance. Party Prowler works similarly to Flobbidinous Floop , except it has the effect a Secret might—your opponent has to choose their moves wisely, attacking with a weak minion before they end their turn. Galandria, Mooncaller works like chess—with an even number of minions, there are two minions in the middle; with an odd number, there's only one. Choose your positioning wisely! Galandria is best played against a weak enemy board, which makes her to some degree a 'win more' card, but also a way to get pseudo removal for big threats. Keep in mind this affects your opponent's middle-most minions as well, so you'll need to choose what you remove before you play Galandria. In the story, Galandria recommends the protagonists take E'lora's Spear as the vessel to cross the seas with.
Hunter Empty Hand Hunter: Play cards and draw on an empty hand to cycle through your deck without gaining card advantage.
When vacation season rolls around, the hunt doesn't end. In fact, it just gets a location change. Going from job to job around the islands that make up Azeroth's Great Sea, Rexxar or Alleria go globetrotting to such locations as Zandalar, Booty Bay, and Darnassus to look for work... as bounty hunters. Empty your hand out and then take the next job!
Contract Archer : the encapsulation of a River Crocolisk that found solace with Quick Shot . The exception being that he uses a bow instead of a gun, so he's not quite as deadly. Booty Bay Holiday : The best place to trade in all sorts of legitimate goods, Booty Bay... and the best place to look for not-so-legitimate contracts! Piercing Shots : The most exciting combo with this is Explosive Trap , as it sets up a two-card (activation dependent) board clear. Hunter doesn't exactly have those. Combos well with cards like Explosive Shot or a number of cheaper options that damage more than 1 enemy (almost all will have rotated by this expansion, but there will be more opportunities for it in the expansions following this). Shandris Feathermoon uses this to destroy Stormsong's undead army. Shandris Feathermoon : You can enable your empty hand-synergies by playing Booty Bay Holiday the turn before Shandris (or playing 2 of them), and then hopefully chaining it so you can get lots of synergy goodness from it. Still, she's a 6 mana 7/7 on an empty hand... Would suck if she got silenced when you do have cards though. In the story, Feathermoon comes to the aid of King Mrgl-Mrgl and Murky.
Mage Odd Spell support, Big Spells, Beast Mage: Treasure provides Spell Damage synergy, while a new Beast Mage archetype focuses on odd-cost cards and improving aspects of your hero, I.e. your hero power.
Jaina's heritage means she's got the sea in her veins. While she's been conjuring Water Elementals in the past, she's looking for something a little bit more exciting for her vacation. So she's gotten into training and controlling gigantic sea monsters.
Abyssal Subjugator is the beefy Fallen Hero that you always wanted. Your opponent will really want to deal with this fast before they get burst down too quick. In the story, the protagonists encounter this and must defeat it. Ocean Incantation : The main Mage theme in this expansion is BEASTS! To that end, there are a number of Beast-related cards here, but notice the costs... they're all odd! Fits with Black Cat . Sea Monsters discovers from all classes because it turns out Mage doesn't have all that many beasts!
Paladin Divine Shield , Health Restoration, Dragons: Treasure ties together the Divine Shield/restore Health archetype with Lifesteal synergies and Divine Shield synergies, paired with weapon buffs. Makes Kangor and The Glass Knight more viable.
Paladins like Uther and Arthas are working on their tan. Fun in the sun! Restore your health when you get a tan! Protect yourself with a divine shield sunscreen! And if you're feeling lazy, who better to consult on a tacky fake tan than the bronze dragons?
Tan-aris Holiday : It takes time to get a tan! Turns out the result is quite similar to getting some Ancestral Healing . The final destination of the story. Bronze Scallywag : Think of this card in reference to the two to the right of it. Justice By Sunlight offers a lot of ways to buff Light of K'ure after you've equipped it. If you have your Bronze Scallywag in hand, you won't get some of the benefits of his passive trigger by virtue of the cost of the spell (you won't get extra attack from restoring health through lifesteal). But by holding it, you instead give your weapon the sudden buff from giving all those minions divine shield . This is a scary combination, and while it requires some setup could encourage Dragon Control Paladin with recently printed cards like Cathedral Gargoyle . In the story, Korisz is the named equivalent of this card.
Priest Deathrattle , Lifesteal, Deck 'Theft': Focusing in damage dealing spells rather than spells you cast on your own minions. Deathrattles that don’t explicitly support Quest Priest but have other interesting effects. Looking at your opponents deck by copying it for a turn and drawing as many cards as you can from it.
Anduin's gone on sabbatical to work with the Sea Priests of Kul'Tiras. Little does he know, they're a bit flayed in the head.
Call of the Deep and Kul'Tiras Holiday synergize to produce a Devour Mind type effect with the side effect that you also get to draw a lot more fun cards, and gather information about what your opponent's next draws will be and how to play around them. You can also use Call of the Deep in a deck that contains mostly neutral cards—however priest has a lot of very powerful class cards so finding which ones to throw out in place of neutrals could be very tough. K'thir Corruptor is a sad story of a Sea Priest who listened too closely to the whispers of madness. Damaging spells in Priest aren't the most common, but it includes AOE and cards like Mind Blast or Holy Smite , which could be combined with this to get a very dangerous growing threat. Lord Stormsong is the chief of the Stormsong family that runs part of Kul'Tiras. Unfortunately, he too has been corrupted by eldritch powers and wants to bring corpses up from the depths of the sea. His confrontation with Feathermoon and the story protagonists leads to his demise.
Rogue Coin Rogue: Rather than using Coins for combos or miracle, cards provide more incentive to spend coins via other cards.
Valeera's the ultimate fun-ruiner. She just wants to freeboot and steal from everybody all the time. Never takes a break! Not even for the summer months.
Bag of Doubloons introduces the Coin Rogue archetype. Portside Pilferer keeps thief Rogue alive, but no further synergies are introduced for it in this expansion. Time to Collect encourages you to keep your coins in your hand rather than spending them for combos, but there's no denying that coins are powerful enough on their own! Cap'n Garvey says another vessel needs your help!... to be boarded and looted. With the Year of the Gryphon, WANTED! is rotating into standard and Kidnapper is rotating out, so say hello to more coins and more minion removal. Not just that, Gadgetzan Auctioneer is being rotated out so you don't get to complain too much about this.
Shaman Overload , Randomly distributed buffs: Generally helping the Overload shaman archetype, while synergising with cards like Electra Stormsurge and spell damage. Buffs thrown like Mad Hatter but in a more controlled manner.
Thrall's idea of a holiday involves lots of water, lightning, and fish.
Captain Cookie's Recipes :
Vash'jir Totem is a simple card that does something shamans like, and will often be instantly removed. Maelstrom 'Holiday' activates on each Overload instance, not for each crystal overloaded. Think Unbound Elemental . Cookie's Stirring Rod is a little like Silver Sword , but with a little Captain Cookie twist. Keep in mind this ISN'T a Mad Hatter effect, so you won't get as much value out of it with fewer than 3 minions. Murky takes this as his own weapon in the story. Seafloor Wanderer has the second effect for some interesting reasons. That's what makes it epic. Electra Stormsurge , spell damage , 'whenever you cast a spell' effects all synergize with this card. Captain Cookie causes chaos! Bad Food! revives Volcano , while Good Food! acts as its counterpart. While you don't know what your opponent gets, they don't know what you get either. Considering making it "At the end of each turn, give a Cookie's Recipe spell to the current player." This would make the card have more interesting play-around as your opponent would not be so willing to remove it, otherwise they don't get the continued benefit from it and you do. Murky and King Mrgl-Mrgl encounter Captain Cookie in Vashj'ir.
Warlock Mana Crystal Destruction, Self-Damage: High risk high reward plays with mana. Summoning 6/6s with a similar overall cost as Jaraxxus.
Gul'dan's Gold (Mana Crystals) is a precious commodity and he doesn't want it getting stolen by Pirates! So he destroys his Crystals himself (deposits them in BLB, Burning Legion Bank) so he can send his assailants to the Shadow Realm. Gul'dan doesn't take vacation. He works overtime.
Gul'dan's Locket Token:
Homuncularrr has a downside that outweighs Flame Imp significantly. By playing it on turn 1, you permanently set yourself back behind your opponent. However, it ends up close in value to Happy Ghoul when played on turn 10. One of the demons in league with the Garvey Gang. Evil Investment has the same downsides, but on a much larger scale. You can play this on turn 1 and still have only the same setback as the previous card, but with a greater overall value. Demons without the mana to play them aren't worth much though—this is a better late game investment; one where you need cards on an empty hand. Seeping Nether : This is the kind of cheap board clear that supports this archetype—you exchange a lack of mana for a removal of enemy threats. Gul'dan's Locket is a big value generator with your hero power and in fatigue, but is susceptible to weapon removal. This is a real reason for cards like Arms Collector . Cap'n Garvey is in possession of this in the story. Shimmering Riches is almost an autoinclude in a deck that uses Evil Investment and Seeping Nether; combined with Witchwood Piper , and the sacrifice of 1-drops (and potentially any other 2-drops) allows you to negate your mana disadvantage and reload your tray while also buffing your board.
Warrior Midrange to Control Pirates, Weapons: Midrange Warrior that isn’t as degenerate as aggro nor as repetitive as control: Weapons used similarly to Deadly Arsenal to greater effect.
Garrosh isn't in the mood for sunbathing or partying. He wants to RAID and do some ROUGH AND TUMBLE on the HIGH SEAS!
Sunker Mariner : 12 or less Health again! A pretty bad 3 drop on its own, this card excels in the late game as a 4/8 Rush for 3. Value! Brashtide Lookout : This is the sort of card that supports a board-control oriented Rush / Pirate hybrid deck. Test Your Might! : A pseudo-windfury effect that can be used as a buff, and as removal. Gromakk Hookhand : A pretty simple effect that is very scary. As a deathrattle , however, it's quite slow.
Thanks for reading and considering my cards. :) Art credits : Matt Dixon, Kaiz0, Albert Bruun, Marc Escachx, Ivan Fomin, Matt Demino, Dariia Kasimova, Dzikawa, Ishmael Hoover, Kjeld Pedersen, Denis Pospelov, Mark Stewart, Konstantin Turovec, Jakub Kasper, Alexey Aparin, Zhang Ben, Elie Gomez, AJ Nazzaro, Patrik Björkstrom, Dominik Mayer, Firat Solhan, Olga Starodubtseva, Tomasz Jancarz, Lorenzo Lanfranconi, Yusuf Artun, Ana Roma, Matt Covatta, Jordan Kerbow, Baldi Konijn, Jim Nelson, Jaemin Kim, Philip Wang, Angelina Chernyak, Philip Tan, Victor Maury... and some others I forgot! Sorry! Feedback : Many thanks to maxlot, linkblade91, CheeseETC, and the CustomHearthstone Discord server for invaluable insights on these cards.
Da Restless Spirits celebrates Death, Life and all things in-between as all the trolls of the land gather to celebrate the gods. But like always rivalry will form and in the expansion this is shown though each of the class and there signature Loa God.
But First, MAGIC
A Further Explanation
Each turn (including the turn you play it) a minion/weapon with Invoke will add a spell to your add until the end of turn. This spell has base cost equal to the amount written on the card.
You only a cards Invoke effect once a turn (including the turn you
summon
it).
If a Invoke minion is Silenced or removed from the board, the Invoke spell disappears immediately.
The Invoke card is added to your hand after you draw a card at the start of your turn.
If you have no room in your hand, the Invoke card won't be added. If later in your turn you now have a free hand slot, the Invoke spell will be added.
There is no limit on the amount of Invoke spells that can be played on one turn as long as they are from different minions.
Card like Mam'Thot's Chosen that name a minion in there Invoke spell: The spell only affects the minion that added it to your hand, not all minion which share it's name.
The Classes
Hunter: The Servants of Hethiss
Hunters have embrace a more sinister form of Hunting embracing the power of poisons. Hethiss is there finisher, a powerful 9 cost card that resurrects all the victims of your deadly toxin's. They are only 3/3 copies to make the power level a bit more consistent.
When Trolls need some more game to hunt, they call upon the spirits to
summon
more dangerous monsters for them. Hethiss likes to
summon
Poisonous minions.
It's not all toxin and poison for the Trolls, the Skullsplitter tribe prefers to use the trap they have set to ambush and unleash a storm of arrows on there opponents, reflected in Skullsplitter Stalker.
Bloodvine is the most traditional ingredient for most Troll poison, and it is also a common food trolls like to feed to there Beast to give them a different kind of bite.
Mage: Followers of Hir'eek
Hir'eek loves
Spell Damage
, so much that whenever a
Spell Damage
minion dies, he gains
Spell Damage
to enact his revenge.
Spell Damage
hasn't seen synergy for a long time and I would love to see it for Mage, so that is what Hir'eek is here for.
Mage's take on
Nobel Sacrifice
uses the power of Hir'eek to
summon
a copy of a friendly minion as the new target, confusing a ruining your opponents plans.
A mix of both
Deathrattle
and
Spell Damage
, Hir'eek Disciple shares the power of magic onto it's ally's. With a powerful statline, she is able to be a must have in any spell have or Hir'eek deck.
Likely the most power card in the set, this magic wielder picks up where Coldlight Oracle left off. Being the cheapest
Spell Damage
minion in the game, Gurubashi Sorcerer is a powerful early game minion which can combine with cheap spells for powerful outcomes.
Shaman: Akil'darah's Army
The followers of Akil'darah's love spells, and the great eagle himself blesses them with the power of returning spells. Ancestors Guidance is a card to help Shaman get some more interesting card draw options then there current selection.
The 10-Cost eagle from your nightmares, Akil'darah does not mess around rushing into battle and clearing your board with
Windfury
. He then uses his power to bring back your most powerful spells ready to cast again. Great finisher and even better if you build a deck with only great spells to bring back.
The only weapon with Invoke so far, Aurastone Hammer takes from Mjolnir returning to your all the time. Theoretically a weapon that can last forever as it's durability is reset when it comes back to your hand.
Trolls take there death ceremonies seriously and sometimes it's because death isn't the end. A powerful control Shaman card, Resurgence is perfect for giving your finisher cards a second chance.
Finally a little something for Elemental Shaman, this giant invokes the power of Akil'darah to return a spell to your hand. It's
Taunt
also makes it a useful anti-aggro card for the mid game.
Warlock: Children of Shadra
Being the second ever "Destroy the enemy hero" this might seem like a scary scary card. And that's what Shadra want's. Just don't think to hard about how nearly impossible this card is to use consider you can't play any cards to trigger it's effect. Effect way Handlock might work something out.
Shadra loves cards, she loves you holding cards and she loves your opponent holding cards. A powerful mill effect, Curse of Shadra taints your opponent in the hopes they will overdraw a few cards.
Shadra loves her children and spreads them deep into your deck. A great card for decks with few minions especially if you have some way to draw them out. May look slow at first but it could be a 8/8 for 2 mana at best.
At least one discard minion is needed for every set, but this one is a bit different. This medium reaches into the spirit realm pulls out your favourite minion and discards it. Jokes on him if your favourite minion is
Silverware Golem
.
Rogue: Cult of Shirvallah
The Cult of Shirvallah hides in the Shadow and waits to unleash hell. Bringing
stealth
back to the scene Rogue is back to embracing it's core values. Pact Assassin invoke the power of Shirvallah to take down it's targets. Another piece of hard removal for Rogue.
A finisher card for Rogue, Shirvallah calls from the Shadows to empower your
Stealth
minions, as long as you have a small army ready.
The ceremony mask of the trolls, Mask of Shirvallah normally gives a minion +1/+1, which on it's own isn't bad for Rogue who love cheap spells. But if the Mask is placed on a Troll in the Shadows, they gain the power of Poison to take down powerful enemies.
It is not uncommon for there gatherings to turn into all out brawls and when it comes to brawls, rogues do not hold back. Unleashing a powerful strike and drawing you a card, Relentless is a multi-tool of a card.
Druid: Alliance Under Torga
Torga is the most peaceful of Loa gods only wanting his disciples to be safe under his might shell. Many Trolls call of his blessing them and their allies the power to withstand powerful attacks. Blessing of Torga is an anti-aggro spell aimed to let Druid survive the early game and combined with Torga himself, outvalue the late game.
A very value centric god, Torga is power the turn he is played lets you send you
Taunt
minions into Battle with no fear of Death. He also has powerful stats himself letting you send him battle and if you grant him
Taunt
, he can be Immune to.
Not all Druid love Torga's peaceful way opting to drain the power of minions using a field of thorns. While in the early game this card is just ok, if you set it up, you can gain more mana then you spent, now that's what I call value.
The Calvary is here, on ferocious battle raptors. But once there rider dies, most raptors tend to run on into the hills. That's unless they have a friend around, then they sick the battle out. A Beast Druid card, Bloodfen Calvary give a strong mid-range card to Druid in a
Piloted Shredder
kinda way.
Priest: Blessings from Tharon'ja
Now you may be thinking, what on earth is this. Why is there a Vanilla class minion. You may think I just forgot to give this minion text but that's exactly what Tharon'ja wants you to think. Tharon'ja loves minions with no text and his Acolyte's are no exception. Not this minion does have higher cost-stats ratio than most Vanilla cards, this is because it is a class card.
Tharon'ja is calling all
River Croclisk
's,
Faceless Behemoth
and Rager's (not you
Shadow Rager
). All the cards that have never seen play due to there lack of Keyword's or abilities. Tharon'ja asks his Priest followers to hold these minions in there hand until he dies, which is when he summons them all for free.
Some Troll's aren't about the caster life, some Trolls just hate competition. Void Doctor prefers to be the only Spell Caster in the party and if you don't have any spells in your deck, he will unleash his ultimate move.
Leave it to Trolls to find a way to make mass murders have an upside. Zandalari Ghostcaller using the spirit realm, pulls and minions who have died recently back into the material plane. While it is hard to pull off, this card could be a game changer for Control Priest giving them their
Reno Jackson
in time of need. It also is amazing anti board clear card.
A new Power Word for Priest, this is a very simple spell letting priest get back to their healing/buffing form. Great for early game of aggro decks.
Paladin: Champions of Mam'toth
Mam'toth is huge, there is no doubting Mam'toth is the largest Loa God there is, but it is when Paladin's are on there last leg that he thrives. Once in the presence of the wounded or fatigued, Mam'toth will double in size to a huge 8/18.
Mam'toth's followers call on it's power in order to double there own strength. Mam'Toth's Chosen is a Buff Paladin/Midrange Paladin card, almost acting as a finisher if the time is right. It can snowball out of control if given enough time, constantly doubling in power.
A second Lifesteal card, Fires of Justice lives up to the name. Unleashing holy light from the spirit realm, and getting more powerful, the more minions it affects. Put this againest a Zoo deck, and your potentially looking at a 12-24 heal for 7 mana.
Blazing with the fury of the gods, the Sun Eater baths in the death of minions. Getting temporally empowered, Sun Eater is a great card for Aggro and Anti-Aggro decks alike.
Warrior: Guide of Jani
Jani may be the smallest of all the Loa gods, she and her followers do not care. They use there small size to salvage from the scraps of battle to get equipment to gain the upper hand. Jani's Blade Collector turns your useless weapons into free buffs; snowballing into a massive armed force to be reckoned with.
Jani is a special kinda God,being the most hands on and person. She looks though all the weapons you have through out this game and randomly throws them back at you. This is the first Weapon
Deathrattle
synergy card but also can be powerful just giving you your
Woecleaver
or
Gorehowl
back.
Trolls love combat, and if they die in combat it's even better. Zul'Drak Punisher is so willing to die in combat that if you let him, he will grant you his blessing onto your blade, ready to enact his revenge from the grave. This card is kinda hard to activate with it's high health, but it's good stats and weapon buff potential is worth it.
Sometimes you have to put everything aside and just pick up a massive axe.
Neutral Minions
Legendary Minions
The legendary minions in Da Restless Spirits are leaders of the many tribes or cults that make up the gathering. They call all the shots.
Bwonsamdi, the Loa god of Death in the flesh. There is nothing he loves more than scarifice and is if you let him, he will kill your entire hand. While this card may seem very bad,
Deathrattle
minions and death synergy minion might get a kick out of a heap of minions dying at once.
Hakkar is very powerful and therefore, is very hard to call upon successfully.
But this difficult summoning process is worth the wait as a 15/15 minion is on the otherside ready to destroy you opponent at any moment.
If there is one thing Hex Lord Malacrass hates, it's boring. While he is down for the whole, be zen and pray to the gods, he and his followers use this power to try out all different kinds of magic, hate playing all these Mage spell, swap them for Rogue strikes or Priest enchantments.
The Followers
These are either followers of the gods or creations of the gods, I'll let you work these minions out.
Summary
Hope you enjoy the first set from Year of the Cat and big thank you for taking the time to read some of it. Tried to keep it as small and concise as possible and if there is any feedback you think I should for the future let me know.
A collaboration between Shatterstar1998 and Demonxz95, we present to you...
The first expansion of the
Year of the Dragon
But first, a reminder of our Hall of Fame choice and new keywords:
Hall of Fame:
Our choices might surprise you, but we have our reasons.
Mindgames is a very high-rolly, very weak card that all in all just poorly designed, create a lot of frustration for either you or the opponent no matter the result and has no business being in the Classic set. Lightbomb will rotate back into Standard to replace it, with the bonus is that the card removes the need for Priest to have a board clear printed in every set and made the class impossible to play around in the Wild format.
Alarm-o-Bot is pretty much the same exact deal. Very weak and high-rolly, and creates an awkward minion to pull from a random effect. Either it ends up being completely useless and you could've gotten anything else instead, or it high-rolls a game for you by cheating out your biggest threat. As a card to put into your deck, it just creates meme decks that fail at even being meme decks. Bone Drake will rotate into the Classic set to replace it as Dragons are a theme of our year and will improve the Dragon synergy of the sets. Speaking of Dragons though...
Nozdormu is the final card to rotate to the Hall of Fame. It's another weak card, but it makes for some interesting moments when summoned by a random effect. Unfortunately, it's existence also produces a number of bugs that force players to skip their turns and catches unattentive and new players (the main buyer of the Classic set) off-guard. Not to worry though, because Murozond will be making an appearance in the Caverns of Time set. Nozdormu will be replaced by Chillmaw because of her Dragon synergy as well as being a high skill cap card for both the player and the opponent.
Of course, a friendly reminder that cards aren't only rotated out because of power-level reasons, look at Ice Lance or Coldlight Oracle for instance. Similarly, Master of Disguise was nerfed even though it wasn't playable anywhere, but the nerf was necessary to open up design space. Fun fact: Animated Armor was intended to be a Neutral card, but was moved to Mage (literally the worst possible class for the card) because of pre-nerf Master of Disguise .
Keywords:
Legacy effects can be fulfilled and activated multiple times per turn.
Cards with Elusive and Legacy effect in the other sets will have their wording modified to include these keywords. For example:
The Legacy keyword will be one of the major focus this expansion. The Elusive keyword will present, but not as a major focus.
Legacy is a flexible keyword that is designed to fit in many types of decks. Our example Legacy cards are testaments to that:
Choose One token:
Echidna, Mother of Monsters is a flexible card that can fit in a lot of aggressive or midrange decks that allow them to either recover from a board clear (which we will have a lot in this expansion) or to stock up on Nightmare Amalgam to maintain their hand size. She is also an example of the Neutral set focusing more on Aggressive and Mid-range cards while the class cards in this expansions will focus on control and combo playstyle.
In contrast, Arthur, Wise King is a heavily control-focused card. His effects couple with a cheap board clear can keep the board clear for multiple turns, allow the Paladin player to stall out the game.
Maiden of Harvest is a different example of the Legacy effect and show how it can be used as an insane combo piece. Her effect can either ramp up the mana curve of the Druid very quickly or act as another Gadgetzan Auctioneer .
The journey to fix the timestream has begun! Chromie and our adventurer are thrusted into the past of Azeroth in order to fix it. (Nozdormu from the Hall of Fame neither confirm nor denied any rumor of his involvement.) Before their departure, Nozdormu warned Chromie and the adventurer about the Story that he heard about the past that she must make ensure happened in order for the timeline to be stable.
Stories are powerful Legendary spells. All of them have powerful Start of Game effects as well as a separate, weaker effect when played. Each class will have a Story that will tied to the theme of their set. They are heavily build-around cards that demand a specific playstyle or cards to be effective. As per tradition of the recent expansions, each players will receive a random Story when you first log in:
Slumber of Azeroth and The Great Flood are two examples of the Story spells this expansion. While the other Stories won't necessary be that Control-oriented, these two are a pretty good example of these spells since they required clever deck building to take advantage of their extremely powerful reward or consistently have time to finish the Story in the first place. Note that the Hunter Story only requires you to summon a Beast, meaning that Beasts like Savannah Highmane's Hyena still count.
The rest of the showcase cards show the theme and mechanic of the direction of their class in this expansion:
With a big amount of their recovery mechanic rotate out, late-game Warlock will need help to regain their health total. Blood of Baba Yaga is a powerful lifegain mechanic that allow Warlock to mitigate the effect of their cards that require to sacrifice their health total.
Mage will return to their root as a Freeze -oriented class expansion. The Snow Queen is a powerful Legendary minion that synergize incredibly well with the Mage core set as well as the its expansion cards.
Since the nerf to Fiery War Axe , Warrior has never been the same. Mjolnir is seeking to fill in that hole. Despite being very powerful at first glance, this weapon need a lot of smart deck building and mana manipulation since its attack requirement (having Armor) will very likely be removed after the attack or be manipulated by your opponent by simply ping off your Armor.
Token:
Note that this token does NOT interact with the other dormant cards like the Story tokens or The Darkness .
Rogue will return to their root as a spell-focused, cycle heavy this expansion. Treasure Finder is a very efficient draw engine that allow them to turn their Coins (which they will be getting A LOT for their card set) into powerful card draw.
With their power of the Light, Priest will focusing on the Power of Love this expansion. This strong belief in Love reward them with multiple efficient stall tools as well as powerful combo pieces like Poisoned Apple. This card is very useful to ensure your important minions like Prophet Velen or just simply a high Health minion to for an Inner Fire to survive until you draw all of your combo pieces. For those who are worry about this very powerful combo card, there is a Neutral counterplay below:
Lovelorn Prince function as a disruptive card against the Priest Poisoned Apple by producing the same token that allow your deck to be favored without completely nullify the combo entirely (think less like Skulking Geist against Jade Idol and more like Cobalt Scalebane against Dragonfire Potion ).
The rest of the set:
(How each class is connected to the main storyline of tracking down the timeline will be included at the end with their entire set.)
Warlock
Story tokens:
Warlock's Storyline:
However, Murozond will not make their quest easy. He made a pact with the evil witch Baba Yaga in order to stop them from restoring history for a mutual purpose: to stop history from restored, and that means saving Baba Yaga and her evil followers from being put on trial and executed for their crime all the while give Murozond complete control over the timeline.
Unaware of the nasty witch, Chromie and our adventurer encounter a Druid named Demeter crying. In the original timeline, she is happy and openminded that her Druid daughter Persepholes married a Warlock and become more in tune with the spirit world of Wisp and together the two took part in the witch trial as witnesses. However, in this timeline, Baba Yaga sow her with doubt and fear, causing Demeter to break down and wiped out a big portion of nature. It took a long time for Chromie and adventurer to comfort her and give her hope for her daughter's future.
Mage
The Snow Queen is another wild card.
Story tokens:
After you play Strength, Beauty and Intelligence, Snow White, Dwarven Princess is added to your hand.
Other tokens:
(created by Sinister Snowman)
Mage's Storyline:
Continue their journey, Chromie and the adventurer came across a snowy area in the middle of summer! In that snowy kingdom they found a dwarf beaten half to dead. After healing her back to stable condition. they learn that her name is Snow White, the famous princess of the kingdom that came back to life after eating a poisoned apple, and was on her journey to defeat the evil Death Knight called the Snow Queen who cursed her kingdom with an eternal winter. In the original timeline, she fought bravely with her army and restored summer back to her kingdom. However, Baba Yaga interfered by attacking and wiped out her army before she can make it to the Snow Queen's castle. Chromie and the adventurer accompany her to the castle. The three of them fought an exhausted battle and they managed to defeat the Snow Queen. However, as they were taking a moment to celebrate their victory, the Snow Queen used her dying breath to shoot out a frost blast toward Chromie! Snow White pushed her out of they way and was frozen solid! However, the tears shred from Chromie and the adventurer was enough to nullify the Snow Queen's magic and bring her back to life.
Paladin
Arthur, Wise King is our third Wild card.
Story tokens:
Arthur, Wise King as well as the Young King Arthur tokens from Merlin's Time Portal will activate Sword in the Stone and will not be damaged by Excalibur.
Paladin's Storyline:
Departing Snow White, Chromie and the adventurer came across one of the earliest human kingdom called Camelot. However, what they come into the castle gate, what they see is absolutely horrifying: Instead of the buzzling city, ruled by a fair and just king Arthur who was the leader of the Baba Yaga's witch trial, they found a bunch of children roaming the street crying and destroying everything in the kingdom! Baba Yaga has borrowed Murozond's power and turned everyone in Camelot into children! It took Chromie and our adventurer one day to find the leader of the city king Arthur and Archmage Merlin, a week to find out a way to turn them back to normal and a whole month for everyone in Camelot to follow suit.
Hunter
Story tokens:
Other tokens:
(created by Three Little Pigs)
Hunter's Storyline:
After cleaning out the last of the vomit from the Camelot adult-turned-children, Chromie and the adventurer was caught off guard by Baba Yaga and her army. The two was whisked away the power Baba Yaga borrowed from Murozond and were dropped right into a middle of a big flood caused by the collapsed of Kalimdor with the intend to kill them. Chromie turned into her dragon form and carried the adventurers for days without food because the flood combined with the mana from the Sunwell drown out every single living creatures. Just as she is about to collapse, a giant ark steered by their direction and caught her fall. After nursing both back to full health, the owner of the ark introduced himself: His name is Noah, and his gift of prophecy has allowed him to become one of the deadliest Hunter ever lived because he can see every future move of his hunt, led to his escape from Kalimdor right before it drown (after building the ark to store Kalimdor's wildlife). His vision is what led him to the location of Chromie and the adventurer.
Shaman
Story tokens:
Shaman's Storyline:
Just as Noah finished explaining, a giant hand shot through the roof of his ark and grab both Chromie and the adventurer! It turned out to be Earthmother Azeroth herself! The shattering of Kalimdor led to a flood that nearly killed almost all her children has almost led to her awakening in the original timeline, but the presence of three people from a different time is the final straw that caused her to awaken to protect her children! After hours of plead and explanation from Chromie and the adventurer as well as Noah vouching for them, Azeroth let the two of them go with the promise that they never return to this time period again.
Warrior
Story tokens:
Warrior's Storyline:
After being released by Azeroth, Chromie sense a disturbance from a far corner of Azeroth. After opening a portal there, they discover the reason why: One of the disciples of Baba Yaga is wielding the Mjolnir - the weapon that was used to struck them down during the Witch Trial! Seeing that the original wielder of the weapon Thorem is knocked unconscious and the rest of the Titans is busy fighting off Baba Yaga's Witches and the Infinite Dragonflight. The adventurer distract Baba Yaga's disciple while Chromie sneak behind and struck her unconscious, regain control of the Mjolnir and throw the hammer to Thorem, who joined the fight with the other Titans.
Rogue
Story tokens:
Rogue's Storyline:
However, not all is rosy in their quest to return the timeline. One of the worst acts the duo has to do is ensuring the kingdom Arabia's - a place with untold riches and gold, total annihilation since it is brought up as key evidence against the Witches in the witch trial. This time around, Baba Yaga and her disciples have decided to corrupt the kingdom from the inside out and turned people under their thrall. After rescuing everyone from Baba Yaga's thrall, the witches fled the city and set up a bomb to blow it up. However, just as the adventurer is about to disarm the bomb, Chromie teleport them out of the way so the bomb can go off and ensure the kingdom's total annihilation so the timeline doesn't get interfered with.
Priest
Story tokens:
Other tokens:
(Created by Cinderella)
(Created by Cursed Spindle and Poisoned Apple)
Note that the True Love's Kiss spell does NOT interact with the other dormant cards like the Story tokens or The Darkness
Priest's Storyline:
After a huge argument between the adventurer and Chromie about her action (in which the adventurer call her heartless while Chromie insists that their duty is to protect the timeline, not to save lives), the adventurer angrily storms off to a corner. When Chromie is about to go their corner and apologize, it turned out that the adventurer's doubt has allowed Baba Yaga to take a hold of them and caused them to attack Chromie. Chromie, not wanting to hurt her only ally, run away. After the adventurer chased her portals after portals, she finally came across an idea to help them snap out of it. She opened the portal to Snow White kingdom! After a battle by the Princess, she finally made a last ditch attempt to reach out to the adventurer: She pulled out a half-bitten apple from her pocket and told a shocking revelation: Shortly after awaken from the curse inflicted upon her, Snow White willingly tried to bite the rest of the apple herself!
After executing her evil stepmother, Snow White thought that she is no better than her stepmother for killing and that she doesn't deserve love from her people and fiance, and chose to endure the curse her stepmother planned for her. But her fiance stopped her, threw the apple to the ground and told her that he loves her, and that will never change. Snow White said that she knows it is hard to move on from do the right thing, but all we can do is to live with the consequences. This brought the adventurer out of thrall of Baba Yaga and broke down crying.
Note that this token does NOT interact with the other dormant cards like the Story tokens or The Darkness
The Neutral cards's Storyline:
After the talk from Snow White, the adventurer and Chromie bid her goodbye to continue their journey. They helped many people from Baba Yaga's disciples and ensure that the witch trial went off according to plan, annihilate the evil witch and her forces forever. This caused the timeline to right itself and severely weaken the Infinite Dragonflight.
FAQ:
When does A Marriage of Life and Death put the Blessings on top of your deck? Because it is a Start of Game effect, the spells put in the Blessings after the Mulligan.
How does Legacy effect activate on spells with Legacy? Since in Hearthstone, spells play their effect first before actually casting them, Legacy will count the spell as an activation if it fits the requirement. Therefore, Voyage of Sinbad and Wrath of Zeus will count themselves for their own Legacy effect (for the first activation).
How does Persepholes interact with Fandral Staghelm ? If you control Fandral and play Persepholes, both effect will be casted on your opponent's turn simultaneously. Also, it should be mentioned that Persepholes's effect function like other Choose One cards - if the timer runs out on your opponent's turn, one Choose One option will be randomly chosen.
Does the "go dormant" mechanic of Priest work? It work similar to how The Darkness work. The minion is revived based on its base stats (meaning that any buff will be silenced) and it does not counted as killing a minion (so Deathrattle or effects like Cult Master can't be activated)
How does Echidna, Mother of Monsters and Nightmare Amalgam interact with the Shaman story? When they died, the Story will randomly tick off a progress tribe.
How can you keep track the progress of the Shaman and Hunter Story? You can check which tribe/Beasts that has been progressed by hovering over the Azeroth, Sleeping and the Great Ark token, like how you can check which minion that The Caverns Below has the most progress on.
A big thank for everyone who gave their opinion in the Discussion topic and Vilegloom for making the Year of the Dragon and the Once Upon A Time Azeroth banner.
Welcome to the first expansion of the year of the Wendigo! Hunters of Azeroth!
"On the island of Blodanna there are two things on the wanted list, your head, and your loot, latter may vary on type, it has been proven the prize of the exotic creatures on the place, and all types of Hunters, Spellcasters and Warrior-ishes are coming down to this brutal island, in every step you'll find blood, we just... hope that isn't yours. Be confident on yourself at most, don't you fall on the dirty tricks!
Like this free golden pack I'm gonna give you right now, shiny!
"
Keyword Spotted!
On what we loot is what we do, getting stuff from others, however, stiff and still you must be, as there are quite a lot of people around here trying to ambush you! Or either, for your own good, literally. This keyword is located on cards like
The Boogeymonster
or
Darius Crowley
, both Legendary, a good amount of HoA cards will have this keyword, not as a main theme, but more developed.
Big Time, Big Trouble
As far as I'm aware, do not feed the troll, but you got no toll. Whatever, you get the point, the more you feed a beast, the stronger it becomes and the more you lose, even the bit of barnacle will make a difference. Beasts will eat ya, Giant Thingies will crush ya, and People will loot ya, so just don't stand there and quickly do something about it!
Landing on your toes, comes their weapon ahoy. Yes, Pirates want all that loot too, and they'll do anything about it. This card was showcased in phase I, and still is for now,
Remains Collector
has a solid effect, but difficult to get an effect out of it, since remember that most Warrior Weapons cost (3) or greater, so you either attack that thing you want or wait until you get more value.
Ancient of Chompers
has a really good statline for it's cost, but it's effect is what it makes him worth it, as long as your opponent plays a lot of minions, this effect will be problematic for them, its not easily triggerable against other decks, as 1 ping of damage doesn't matters in those decks, however, still a 5/7 for 6, with a good AoE that Druids really need.
Skitterer Matriarch
is one of the big Skinny Legs for the little guys, as it will constantly grow various types of abilities as long as they constantly eat. The first time it's Consume effect triggers, it will gain Poisonous, then Lifesteal and so on, until the only one left is
Stealth
, which will trigger now on. Again, similar kind of Ancient of Chompers, however it is not that effective against big minions which this fails miserabily at the start with 3 Attack.
Improvise, Adapt, Overkill
Adapting your current strategies is also a good way to survive, adding a twist to your already perfect and predictable skills will surprise anybody else, be sure to be synchronized though, they tend to strike relentlessly anyways.
Anticipated Strike
gives a twist on an already used Keyword, which turns it completely the opposite, instead of doing good playing more cards, it makes it worse, it deals less damage if this isn't your first card, but if it is, then it's a more versatile
Backstab
, however, it can also be played as "Do nothing", which
does something
on other decks.
Bait Trap
is not very new in here, just a Bear Trap but your opponent has to use something to get through it, unlike
Counterspell
, the spell gets returned to their hand, which gives them anoher chance to play it later (or now)
Lycanlo
c transforms until the end of your turn? But why I'd use this instead of a 2 mana 3/4? Remember
Charge
/Rush? Well, on it's own, it can
transform
into them if lucky, but it also can
transform
into strong effect cards, which is an archetype seen in this expansion. While still in Primal phase, this Murloc has no rabies.
Killin Time, Come on Grab your Gear, we're going to very, distant streaks, in Blodee-Anne Island, the bath will never end it's Killin Time!
At anytime, you'll gear will be of utility, or your magic, or, whatever. No time to explain your skillls, just good luck! *kicks you out of the flying boat*
Mistress P.Amalia
has researched the power of healing herbs and other unwanted methods from other living things, now she has a laboratory where she tries to develop a cure for diseases. Even though it's a
Circle of Healing
on a stick, you can make her effect shine on a full board and restoring your Hero to full health, of course, the states of the minions may vary.
It's night, and one or two of you must guard around for unwanted company, if it's a lonely group, more courage for a few guy, but as more fault lands on you, the less you reach to develop. Like a different variation, this board buff IS really effective on Zoo, but controlling less minions (or even just 3) makes it already worth it for 4 mana.
Bones of unwanted creatures, hum, that belong in a museum! But Bone Magic already exists, so, why not tougher? A
Volcanic Potion
with a double-sided effect, it may affect you more than to your opponent, in the right occasion however, it's a bit more effective.
Trasadamus
is mysterious, and no one that has seen him has survived, no one has an image of him, except on this card, look, they really interpreted the horror well. Trasadamus is the meta-changer, as you won't be able to use the power, BUT, you'll start with a 2/2 already on board, make a few trades, sure, but then you'll have to depend on your own pals to survive, if you need to be convenient, and be able to squeeze the crystals of your turn, this is not your card, however if you want to be sure you start strong and still, you may put this card, like, a good value start game but as time passes, your options are beign reduced.
Trasadamus Token:
The rest of the cards is down below, notes and clarifications will be on their own class.
Druid
Token:
Hunter
Notes:
Rainbow Whelp
effect is covering your opponent's cards, he can't see the art, effect, stats and cost, but he will still be able to see if it is targeted or be able to play it, it only affects current cards and, unless your opponent has a good memory, this is just a 2/1.
Empereor Thundra
works like this, you play a minion, you return one of their minions, your opponent plays a minion, they return one of your minions, may go infinite until ET is returned or destroyed.
And yes, I know it's
Empereor Tundra
but it's 2:30 AM in the morning >_<
Mage
Paladin
Priest
Rogue
Shaman
Token:
Notes:
Sharpeye Renegade
effect will count as an attack if it kills a minion, so no more attacks until next turn or you add
Windfury
to this.
Totem Giant
targeting effects will reduce avaidable targets depending on the effect, since they'll target a single character.
Lycanloc
is my 2st Wild Card. And clarification, it will NOT preserve buffs nor stats, it will
transform
back into a 3/2 when your turn ends.
Warlock
Tokens:
Notes:
Nightwinx
won't be affected by ANY kind of spell, AoE, transformation, buffs and any other kind of absurd spell the team may have in mind.
Swampbuckler
is my 2nd Wild Card
Warrior
Notes:
Rummager Naizama Consume effect means that if you had an equipped weapon and attacked with it, you may attack with the 2/2 weapon, or else you equip a NEW weapon and you may attack twice this turn, it has quite a lot of options.
Neutral
Notes:
Merathia
will
summon
the minion she destroyed as YOUR minion with full Health
Trasadamus
is my 3rd and last Wild Card
Hope you do well in the competition guys!
Thanks for everyone who gave me feedback! Really appreciated!
Here
's a link to my Phase I submission as a refresher. I've never played World of Warcraft, so I do apologise if anything is inconsistent with the Warcraft universe!
Introduction
‘Tell me about the past, Father. Tell me what it was like before.’
‘I’ve already told you many times.’
‘I want to hear it again. Please, Father.’
The father hesitates for a moment, and then proceeds.
‘The world used to be so beautiful. The sky was so clear that one could see many lands afar unhindered. The forests were so lush that they cast glorious shadows under the brilliant sun. The lakes were so taintless that they served as nature’s mirror. But now, no man dares to wander in the icy realms alone… lest he wishes to breathe his last.’
Themes
I introduced two central themes for this expansion in Phase I:
Hibernate
Freeze
Hibernate
Not much removal is being introduced in this expansion, making midrange
Hibernate
minions strong and difficult to deal with from behind. Several of the classes are receiving
Hibernate
-related cards in an attempt to promote
Hibernate
archetypes.
I've tried to design
Hibernate
to not be a boring a mechanic where you just sit and wait, but rather a versatile mechanic. With
Alpine Brute
for example, you could either have the 3 direct attack damage, or
Hibernate
instead if the 3 random damage is not a problem (mini-Ragnaros?). I've also tried avoiding wait-more win-more cards (cough cough
Cavern Dreamer
).
Freeze
I decided not to continue with
Freeze
Shaman as Shaman already has a pool of
Freeze
-related cards in the Wild set, so I've attempted to push for a
Freeze
Priest and a
Freeze
Warrior archetype. The
Freeze
mechanic suits these classes well as they have strong control cards.
Priest and Warrior will have different approaches to
Freeze
. Warrior will use
Freeze
to efficiently destroy minions -
Frostguard
can follow
Dun Morogh Dwarf
to destroy an enemy minion played on turn 4.
Freeze
Priest is centred around freezing friendly characters to gain value -
Icy Breath
curves well into
Austral Phoenix
.
A couple of example Legendary cards:
Tokens:
Lazlo Grindwidget
is a useful counter to
Hibernate
minions and to the continuously prevalent
Deathrattle
minions.
Ariiya Sunblood
is a card that can support all but the weapon-centred Rogue decks (e.g. Malygos, Miracle, Value). Recall that
Shadow Reflection
is the card that
Valeera the Hollow
's Hero Power provides, so I thought it would be a nice touch.
The Cards
For each class, I've attempted to either push for a particular archetype, or support some of the cards that were introduced in The Witchwood but did not end up seeing much play.
Druid
Tokens:
Hand Druid didn't work out as well as expected, so I've attempted to support it with
Warmer Waters
and
The Horse Wisperer
. (Yes,
The Horse Wisperer
will unfortunately mill a card on some occasions.)
Warmer Waters
could get you another copy of
Mountain Giant
or
Twilight Drake
.
Winterland Companion
is reminiscent of
Stonehill Defender
, and could also work in Hand Druid since it does not decrease hand size when played.
Hunter
I imagine a world where a Beast-based Tempo Hunter is good deck.
Newt's Blood
and
Hydra's Blood
are reminiscent of
Shadow Word: Pain
and
Shadow Word: Death
, and provide efficient removal for a Tempo Hunter (and Spell Hunter, which will rotate to Wild).
Mage
Tokens (kind of?):
Mistress of Snow
is intended to work with
Vex Crow
, so that immediate value can be gained from
Vex Crow
(no unplayable
Sacrificial Pact
pls). Although I suspect
Hydross the Unstable
will be irritating to play against, who doesn't love Water Elementals? Right, guys? Right?
Paladin
These cards could create a 1-Cost Paladin archetype that makes good use of
Prince Liam
.
Khione's Champion
also works well with the number of
Silver Hand Recruits
you can
summon
using
Convoke
.
Priest
Pushing for Freeze Priest as shown earlier. (Also is that Priest Jaraxxus?)
Rogue
Tokens:
Mistwraith
didn't see much play so I'm pushing for an Echo Rogue archetype.
Winterland Owl
could support
Phantom Militia
or
Walnut Sprite
since two of those copies for 4 mana is a strong play.
Steel Breeze
is a versatile weapon card that can work as a slightly weak 3/2 for 3 mana, a strong 5/3 for 6 mana, or 7/4 for 9 mana (28 damage to face?).
Winterland Owl
can also reduce these costs of course.
Shaman
The Shaman Hero Power isn't great, so hopefully the ability to buff Totems will increase the strength of the Hero Power and make Totem Shaman great (again?).
Draenei Totemcaller
curves well into a turn 2 Hero Power, which then curves well into
Elemental Crescent
.
Elemental Crescent
also works brilliantly played on the turn before
Stratos the Nebulous
.
Bloodlust
could then be used as a finisher.
Warlock
Tokens
:
For Warlock, I'm taking two directions. One is Blood Witch Warlock, where a turn 4
Blood Witch
curves perfectly into a strong turn 5
Frostfire Companion
. Even without
Blood Witch
,
Frostfire Companion
is a well-statted minion to play independently on turn 7 with the Hero Power.
Duskbat
would also fit into this deck.
The other direction is Imp Warlock, which centres around
Ghun
. Cards which produce 1/1 minions such as
Fiendish Circle
(which was thought to be a bad card) and
Duskbat
will be powerful in such a deck, along with the newly introduced
Nether Disruptor
. The
Ghun
restriction prevents you from throwing a lot of 1/1 minions which would be far too powerful in a zoo-like deck (e.g.
Argent Squire
,
Abusive Sergeant
), and prevents the use of strong cards like
Tar Creeper
and
Stonehill Defender
in Wild.
Warrior
Pushing for
Freeze
Warrior as shown earlier. While
Shattering Strike
is an inherently good area of effect card, I really wanted
Blackhowl Gunspire
to see more play, so this could make for some great turn 10 combos. Also
Bouncing Blade
nostalgia.
Neutral
Furious Yeti
is designed to compensate for the lack of attack of
Hibernate
minions.
Fenrir
shows how
Hibernate
is a versatile mechanic - would you prefer the direct attack damage or the area of effect damage?
Conclusion
‘Tell me about the past, Father. Tell me what it was like before.’
‘I’ve already told you many times.’
‘I want to hear it again. Please, Father.’
The father hesitates for a moment, and then proceeds.
‘The world used to be so cold. There was no green as far as the eye could see. Few creatures could endure the bitterness of the chilling gusts. We’re fortunate now… death used to accompany all but the strongest of adventurers.’
I hope you enjoyed browsing this expansion and maybe I'll see you in the next phase!
"Come one, come all to the city of gold, where games, entertainment, and opportunity await you all. You might fold... you might fail... you definitely WON'T cheat, but when those cards align... well, we'll have a Jackpot in Zuldazar!!!
Jackpots not guaranteed.
" - Casino Prince Gallywix
In an expedition for the League of Explorers you and the acclaimed treasure hunter Reno Jackson went on, you managed to find the golden city of Zuldazar! A lost city with plenty of ancient relics and golden heirlooms to
discover
! (According to Reno) Though once you manage to find this coveted city, you soon
discover
that it was a little less "lost" than you had anticipated. As a matter of fact, you find that a famous trade prince had completely reinvented the city to becoming a lucrative casino! Not wanting to leave empty handed, you and Reno make the executive decision to er... "research" the casino further. Will you win big? Will you go broke? Find out in the Year of the Pegasus's first expansion: Jackpot in Zuldazar!
Know When to Hold 'Em
You can't expect to get the most out of your cards in a casino by just playing them all willy-nilly. You've got to play them with a little bit more finesse than that. We're gonna show this off with this new keyword:
For these
Jackpot
cards, if you have a certain amount of mana remaining after playing the card, you will get an additional benefit out of it. This gives a layer of tactics, asking players whether they would rather play cards on curve, or wait till the
Jackpot
condition can be met for the bonus effect. Smart players will know when to hold 'em and when to
fold
play 'em. Let's take a peek at some of these
Jackpot
cards you can expect to see in this set:
Winning Slots
- A relatively weak buffing effect on the front side, though if played when you have exactly ten mana, you can activate it's
Jackpot
effect and give three different minions a +2/+3 buff for the low low cost of 3 mana. Gives token paladin decks the flexibility of playing this as a slightly weaker buff in the early game, or a powerful late game finisher if the game goes on long enough.
Earth Shattering Dice
- A 1 mana removal spell akin to
Lesser Jasper Spellstone
with a bit more randomness attached to it, though if you manage to play with its
Jackpot
condition met, then the random part goes away and it becomes a clean 6 damage removal spell for 1 mana. The dice is a powerful removal spell for any sort of control oriented Shaman deck.
Strongarm Bouncer
-
Jackpot
is a mechanic that can be seen on many minions in the set as well as spells. The Bouncer gets cheaper whenever you attack with a minion (No matter where it is) making it a potentially cheap card for many aggressive decks similar to
Corridor Creeper
. And if you manage to bring the cost of this card down to (0), you could play it as a 0 mana 3/3, or if you've got the patience, you could wait till turn 10 to play it as a 0 mana 7/7 (Similar to
Kun the Forgotten King
). Lot of potential with either mode.
Let the Games Begin!
Now that you're caught up on how the
Jackpot
mechanic works, let's get a tour of some of the activities and patrons you can expect to run into while in this casino:
Sleight of Hand
- A powerful spell that can turn the most recent card added to your hand into whatever card you might need. For free! Could be extremely strong in any kind of Miracle Priest deck running cards like
Dragon Soul
and
Lyra the Sunshard
. Don't let Gallywix catch you with cards up your sleeve though, he hates it when people cheat in his casino!
Gambling Addict
- Kind of a reverse version of
Ivory Knight
. This card can net you important spells and helps you tempo out your opponent by casting removal spells and board clears virtually for free. Be careful about your health total though! Also has synergy with many cards that care about self damaging like
Lesser Amethyst Spellstone
, as well as some cards you may see later in this set as well.
Five Star Service
- A powerful card in any sort of mill or fatigue strategy that can force your opponent to draw a large number of cards. It requires a great degree of setup, as it doesn't do anything by itself. But combined with cards like
Nourish
and
Coldlight Oracle
the number of cards your opponent will draw can build up extremely quickly. In this set we are trying to create a Druid archetype I like to call "Service Druid" that allows both players to draw a lot of cards, so you may see some more support for this card later.
Casino Bigwigs
And finally before we leave the casino, we would like to give credit to many of the important people working at our casino to make it the success it is. Here are but a few of the many notable people that help our casino function:
Gallywix Casino Prince
- The creator and owner of the Zuldazar Casino, Gallywix is a great card that can net you a huge number of coins as long as you build your deck around it. Along with the other Rogue cards in the set, this expansion is trying to push a "Big Miracle Rogue" archetype using minions to add the cheap spells like the Coin to your hand while making room in your deck for bigger, more impactful spells.
Grand Magician Sonia
- The most popular entertainer at the Casino, Sonia's stats are pretty expensive for her mana cost, but she has a powerful ability to back it up, she can essentially
Polymorph
any other minion that dares attack, making combat very difficult for any opponents without a way to remove her.
Moroes Floor
Manager
-
Moroes
has agreed to take a break from being a butler and assist with the management of the casino instead. He is another strong piece in the "Service Druid" archetype that can stop you from Fatiguing and make sure you stay healthy once you and your opponent draw out your decks, helping you win the Fatigue race.
And with that, you now know everything you have to know about the Zuldazar Casino. So below we are gonna showcase the rest of the cards currently made for this set for your viewing pleasure. I hope your stay here is fun and profitable (but not TOO profitable). Hopefully we'll see you again during the Year of the Pegasus's second expansion: Tour de Azeroth, so until then, I'll be seeing you.
... Oh! Before you go enjoy the casino, I think it might be wise for you to find your friend you came in with. I... think he needs your help.
Reno the Risktaker
- Reno just couldn't resist. With him you can make an extremely risky move of setting your health to 1 for the huge benefit of 5 whole cards. A powerful, albeit extremely dangerous move that has potential in a multitude of decks. Whether you use it in an aggro deck in an attempt to find lethal in the late game, or use it in a control warrior deck, where your health total doesn't matter, cause you have enough armor to back it up, this card has a potential spot in a large variety of decks. So then the real question remains: will the risk pay off?
Rest of the Set
Rogue
Notes:
Shrewd Investor- This is my first Wildcard.
Paladin
Notes:
Silias the Golden - This card is worded in a particular way to say "Other friendly minions with different names" to stop issues with
Faceless Manipulator
and other copy effects.
Hunter
Tokens
Priest
Notes:
Mindmaster Serena - The spells are cast twice on the same target as before. If that target no longer exists, than the second cast will no longer occur.
Mage
Notes:
Grand Magician Sonia - Whenever a minion is transformed into a bird it keeps attacking the same target that is was before.
Tokens
Druid
Warlock
Notes:
Curse of Wealth - The damage dealt to your hero is dealt all at once, not one at a time. The wording is to stay consistent with
Ferocious Howl
. You do take double damage from
spell damage
.
Blair the Accursed measures the damage your hero took up to the point that Blair dies. Any damage taken afterward won't be counted.
Shaman
Notes:
Zul the Prophet - Only reduces the cost of cards that are drawn, not cards that are generated or put into your hand without drawing.
Warrior
Notes:
Obsolete Droid - This is my second Wildcard.
Security Bot - If you have less than 3 armor when this minion attacks, no armor will be spent and this minion will gain no attack. Also the attack gain occurs before the actual combat occurs. (So it will get the +3 attack before damaging the enemy minion)
Makeshift Hammer - Same rules as Security Bot, see above. This is my third Wildcard.
God King Rastakhan - Can't gain
taunt
because taunted immune minions would probably be very difficult to beat.
Neutral
Notes:
Goblin Assassin - If you target the effect on a friendly minion, it will give your opponent a coin when it dies. (Could be useful in mill decks maybe?)
Reno the Risktaker - It sets your health to 1, but your max health total stays the same. (So you could heal yourself back up.)
There's an old Tauren saying: "Only by looking at the infinite calm of the Great Sea you can know who you really are". It's not as calm as they say, however!
Countless dangers lie in the bottom of this huge mass of salty water: enormous beasts whose weird aspect is only matched by their ferocity, sunken temples with ancient curses waiting to be awaken, fearsome nagas plotting to get their revenge and, well... there are murlocs too.
And remeber: the deeper they are, the harder they bite...
When you Dive , your Hero will be covered in bubbles until the start of your next turn. How can you do that? Well, some cards in this expansion are awesome divers, so you might need to ask them for help if you want to activate these effects...
As fearsome as Queen Azshar a is, Diving is worth nothing by itself. However, it is incredibly usefull in order to power-up the most deadly creatures of the ocean...
The ocean is huge and Diving fauna is not the only interesting thing you can find there. Hunters , for instance, discovered that another type of creature that can be as helpful as Beasts to take down their prey...
And as effective Murloc irrationality can be, Priest found some allies of extreme intelligence and magic capabilities. I am of course, talking about the Naga Sirens, who are specialliced in illusions and mind bending.
As we can see, the sea is a indicator of the biologic diversity that lives in Azeroth, altough it can also be a witness of its history. Many ancient ruins lie in the bottom of the Great Sea, like the sunken Lost Citadel . This ancient civilization built marvelous mechs thanks to the Arcanium, a mineral that generates an infinite amount of arcane energy. One day, however, a huge Arcanium fragment that powered the whole citadel became sentient and destroyed the entire civilization...
Another of this ruins is the Tomb of Sargeras , built by the Night Elves 10,000 years ago to confine the creator of the Burning Legion. Many ancient horrors are enclosed in this ominous temple, which you can only control by making great sacrifices.
We have seen a lot of dangers that exist in the Depths of the Great Seas , altough its surface is not much safer. If your ship carries precious loot, it will be boarded by one of the many Pirate bands that sails them.
FULL CARD LIST
Druid - Underwater Fauna
Card
About This Card
"All he needs is a hug. I promise."
Simple Dive -consuming minion that can be really powerfull if you manage to activate it in the early game. Because of that, it has great synergy with the neutral Intrepid Diver . It can fit nicely in every Druid deck that features Dive , both the aggro and control-oriented.
"This lady has 'Fin' in her name and is not a Murloc? Whaaat?"
Druid's Dive activator that can also be useful if you don't draw any of your Dive -consumers. Both effects have awesome synergy, as Elusive can help to protect the on-going Dive effect. Right now you can only trigger both with Fandral Staghelm , but in my next expansion, there will be another card to enable this.
"Coatls are aquatic snakes that can also fly. So, they are the reptile equivalent of ducks."
Its combination of high Spell Damage and low Mana cost can enable degenerated combos. However, it requires you to be Diving , which usually needs you to spend Mana if you want to activate it consistently.
"Eat ship, motherkraken!"
Levantus has a really powerful on-going effect, altough you have to be at least at turn 8 to activate it right away (or to use Mana cheats, of course). This card fits the Druid theme of tricky removal, along with other cards such as Naturalize or Recycle .
Hunter - Murlocs and Beasts
Card
About This Card
"Ok, fishie, shake your fin!"
If you have a couple Beasts, she allows you to use your Hero Power for free, which can help Hunter to become the aggro king once again. Keep in mind that if you activated Furl, the Feral Murloc , this card reduces the Mana cost of your HP just by itself.
"The Coldlight clan are the Murlocs that live in the deepest parts of the ocean. Even deeper than, well, the Deepfin."
This card is pretty similar to Menagerie Warden , although it's cheaper and its effect is delayed. It works very well with Furl, the Feral Murloc , as both cards combined can copy some valuable Murlocs such as Murloc Warleader .
"This is what happens when you try to make a crossover of The Lion King and The Little Mermaid."
Classic pseudo card-draw for Hunter that requires you to have a big board. If you combine this card with Furl, the Feral Murloc , any Murloc that dies will give you two cards: a Murloc and a Beast.
"Sir Finley's polar opposite."
Furl, the Feral Murloc allows you to create a full Murloc deck in Hunter, while still being able to activate all Beast synergy spells the class has. You might even add some aggro Beasts to the mix, such as Scavenging Hyena . As it has been illustrated above, this card has awesome synergy with all other Hunter cards of the set.
Mage - The Lost Citadel
Card
About This Card
"The first rule of the Lost Citadel is: don't trust anything. Specially those weird iron statues that are everyehere."
Mage features a ton of cheap spell synergy in this expansion. The first of these cards is the Arcane Sentinel , which allows you to tempo-out a medium-sized Taunt if you cast a lot of spells in your turn. It can be useful both in the early game (because tempo is really good in early stages) and in the late-game (after playing the huge amount of spells that Arcanium, Infinite Mana grants you).
"This card does not obey the rules of thermodynamics."
This card is a cheap spell that generates more cheap spells. The tokens have the cantrip effect because they would be a dead draw in the late game otherwise. It has really good synergy with the other Mage cards of the set.
"Mana crystals go in the blue bin."
Pretty useful effect that ensures that you never run out of spells. However, you must be careful, as overusing it can be detrimental. It's a great set-up for Arcanium, Infinite Mana .
"He was just a huge Mana crystal that powered the whole Citadel, until he became sentient and, you know, slaughtered all his masters."
Win condition for a cheap spell Mage, that allows to do many things with the spells he gets you. You might get lethal with the burst he generates, or you can clear the board and play some defensive Secrets.
Paladin - Noble Sea Creatures
Card
About This Card
"Winner of the 'Best Daddy in the Expansion' award."
This minion can prove to be really sticky if you manage to attack with it having Divine Shield and then Dive to gain it back.
"He finds a pearl every single time he dives. All other Murlocs wonder how he does that."
Really dangerous card if you have a lot of minions and Prayer of the Seas is active. It can target itself, so this combo works even if this is your only Murloc (altough you become really weak to single-target removal).
"You can learn it in the closest Church of Neptulon."
It's an awesome activator for all other Paladin cards of the set. However, it requires you to have a big board, so you might want to have other ways to Dive in order to gain consistency.
"He thinks he's very compassive, but is actually a huge classist. He only rescues legendary minions."
Appart from being a reference to a kids song, this card can generate a lot of value, altough it's quite difficult to pull it off (unless you have a board buffed by Prayer of the Seas when you play him, but that's not going to be a common case, I think)
Priest - The Naga Sirens
Card
About This Card
"She can pull anything from her hat. From a rabbit to a tiny Ragnaros."
"Naga sirens can be found in the underwater city of Nazjatar and over ambulances."
Potion of Madness on a stick for 1 more mana. It is also more RNG-dependant.
"Be water, my friend."
A shifting card similar to Shifter Zerus or Molten Blade , but it transforms every time your opponent casts a spell and it's not random. Its effect can be a bit circumstancial, as the opponent might not use any spell that benefit you. It can also copy really valuable stuff in certain matchups.
"She used to be a beautiful Night Elf, but after smoking mana crystals for 10,000 years, her hair are snakes. Remember kids: say no to arcane magic."
Entomb effect on a good body for the mana cost. She is better used when you want to pick up a powerful minion. (In order to make her effect match the character, whenever it is triggered, the affected minion will sink in a puddle)
Rogue - Greedy Buccaneers
Card
About This Card
"Feed the fish, landlubber!"
Rogue cards of Depths of the Great Sea are Control oriented Pirates that revolve around having big weapons and having a lot of Pirates in hand. This obviously fits the second criteria. Altough it looks similar to Assassinate on surface, its cost-reduction can provide good tempo if you have a big hand.
"Seagull soup AGAIN?"
In order to build a Control deck, Rogues need some form of healing, which they currently lack. This card provides that, altough it is dependant on having a high-attack weapon. It's a bit similar to Leeching Poison , but this card can benefit from not attacking.
"He's lacks an eye and is always drinking rum. Strangely enough, his accuracy is amazing."
Just as Crew Cook provides the healing Rogue lacks, this cards does the same for Area Damage. I made it dependant on durability because attack can be buffed by many Rogue cards, which would make this card dangerous.
"Most pirates only think about gold, killing and drinking rum, but Prix is different. She thinks about gold, killing, drinking rum AND tinkering cool stuff."
Master Gunner Prix brings together both Rogue sub-themes in this expansion. She is the win condition of Control Pirate, altough a fairly slow one, as playing a lot of weapons in the same turn is pointless.
Shaman - The Tide Seers
Card
About This Card
"How to distinguish them from Water Elementals? Flood Conjurers get salty when they lose."
Shaman has some conditional Battlecries that can generate a lot of tempo if you are Diving . Flood Conjurer is a simple, yet effective implementation of that mantra. If you are Diving , it's a slightly smaller Firelands Portal for 2 less Mana (and Primordial Glyph proved how effective that can be).
"From the tides! Death will rise! Mrglglgl!"
A simple spell, similar to Volcanic Potion , but with the benefit of Diving . It's the only Dive card that can't trigger several times, although it has a lot of synergy with Deepfin Ritualist .
"It's unusual, but some murlocs just prefer to be left alone."
Acceptable value if you trigger one of the effects, and really insane if you manage to trigger both. It's obviously tailored to go with Power of the Tides if you can wipe the board. It can also be good with Shrlgl the Tide Seer , as it's pretty likely to find an empty board during the three Dive turns that she generates.
"Predicting the tides is not so difficult, to be honest."
Most Dive cards require you to spend Mana in order to activate their effect consistently, which is obviously not good for tempo. With Shrlgl the Tide Seer , you will be able to Dive for free during three turns, which is a great way to enable Flood Conjurer , Deepfin Ritualist and the neutrals Guardian of the Tides and Abyssal Monstrosity .
Warlock - The Tomb of Sargeras
Card
About This Card
"Considering how expensive gas is these days, feeding your car engine with your soul is the better option."
Warlock's theme in this expansion is triggering effects depending on how many friendly minions died this game. This creates an strange archetype: a Control deck that benefits from filling your board with small tokens. The first of this cards is the Engine of Souls , a big Taunt if you manage to sacrifice enough minions before you play it. It can serve as a good Silence and removal-bait, which is a good preparation for the Avatar of Sargeras .
"Most Stormreavers died while Gul'dan tried to reach the Tomb of Sargeras. Such a good leader."
This card can generate a lot of bodies if the condition is met. It is really weak to AoE, but even in that case, it would help you to activate other "Sacrifice effects".
"Insert Monty Python reference here."
This card is similar to Vilespine Slayer , as it's a removal that doesn't lose tempo nor cards in hand. It requires less setup, than the Rogue plant, as once it reached certain number, it will one shot almost every minion. Therefore, it is one mana more expensive.
"Sargeras was the creator of the fearsome Burning Legion. Now he's just one of those blue guys that live in Pandora."
Win condition of this archetype, but also a huge gamble. Sargeras the Mad Titan is a 10/10/10 with Elusive and Taunt , which is impressive both on attack and defense, and his only weakness are Silence minions. Avatar of Sargeras itself is also vulnerable to transform removal, so it's better if you can bait those with Engine of Souls . Also, altough it's a big Demon, I think it's not broken with Recruit-like effects, because it's only good in the really late game.
As some of these effects require you to keep track of how many minions died, the card text would change during the battle in order to avoid the user's effort. Here are some examples:
So, the text presented in upper spoiler would only be displayed in the Collection browser. During battles, it would look like in this spoiler.
Warrior - The Mighty Myrmidons
Card
About This Card
"Don't confuse it with Trident Myrmidon. That's a chewing gum flavour."
Solid weapon for 4 Mana, as it's 3 Durability can let you clear many minions. It's one of the friendliest Dive activators, as you can make use of it right away and can also trigger several times.
"It's hammer time!"
An effective removal tool for Dive Warrior. It is comparable to Vilespine Slayer : it has a harder requirement, but has better stats and can repeat its effect. The damaged condition is a double edged sword, as it makes harder to trigger the effect but also lets you pick your target.
"Nagas tamed Dragon Turtles before Pandaren made it mainsteam."
A neat survivavility tool that can grow to huge amounts of Health by comboing it with more cards. The most obvious and simple way to make it work is combining it with Queen Azshara .
"He's the second most important Royal Guard, after a guy named Shellk. They don't get along very well."
Win condition for Dive Warrior, that is kind of a Baron Geddon on steroids. He's designed to be hard to counter without removal, as he continuously clears your opponent's board and also puts some face pressure on it. It's also worth noting that he doesn't damage your board, so you can combo him with Hammerhead Bloodseeker (which can help to clear even the biggest minions) and with Dragon Turtle (which protects Royal Guard Essok ).
Neutral
Card
About This Card
"He was the bravest diver of his promotion. Which means he'll probably get eaten soon."
A very solid way to activate cheap Dive consumers in the early game, such as Druid's Seerspine Puffer. As Dire Mole proved, a 1/1/3 is very sticky even without additional effects.
"When you can't remember where you buried your treasure."
I wanted to put a weapon Discover , because I think there aren't in the game. The requirement is there so that it's not broken in classes that only have access to K&C legendary weapons. She has really good synergy with Rogue cards of this expansion.
"Don't go to the light!"
The classic oversized minion. It can work well in any Dive deck except Paladin, as that class is more about having a big Dive turn, rather that activating it consistently. It fits best in Shaman, as it's good tempo.
"A good member in Dive decks and Japanese recipes."
This card is basically a huge Mana investment in order to gain permanent Dive (except against heavy AoE cards). It can be used in control-oriented Dive classes, which are Druid and specially Warrior.
"His original name was Murloc Babysitter, but Guardian of the Tides sounds much cooler."
Can help to gain tempo when you have many Murlocs in a Dive deck, so it fits naturally in Paladin and Shaman. Really good follow-up for Shrlgl the Tide Seer .
"He takes Pirate kids that don't go to bed in time."
A way to gain additional Dive effects if you don't have enough in your deck, with a solid statline. It's obviously RNG dependant, as some Dive cards are really bad in certain situations (for instance, Intrepid Diver is really bad in turn 4+). He cannot pull Queen Azshara , as she cannot Dive at all if you get her in the middle of a game (also, it doesn't make sense to have a naga kidnapping his queen).
"The father of all Deepfin murlocs. As you can see, he has been to a lot of family dinners."
This card gives murloc decks the last chance to do something in the mid-game, just in case your early game missed. However, your deck must have a lot of Murlocs if you want it to do something.
"Her addiction to magic lead her people to become horrible fish monsters. They still follow her, somehow."
The Queen of all nagas provides a reliable (altough inefficient) way to activate your Dive consumers, from the beginning of the game. She compensates this by having awful stats.
"The reason of Jaina's daddy issues."
Admiral Proudmoore generates a lot of value if you let it go wild. And even if you deal with the Admiral right away, you will still need to kill the Battleship , as it also has high health and does also generate a lot of value.
This little gnome is a great obstacle when it comes to designing Mage spells. For instance, it doesn't allow something like a Mage Echo spell. Also, she can create Exodia combos too easily in combination with Archmage Antonidas , which is not interactive. For this reason, we decided to move her to the Hall of Fame.
It will be replaced by Snowchugger , which is also a common 2-cost Mage minion that we feel is pretty balanced. It will also help to the return of Mech Mage, which will need a lot of support to be viable, as this the expansions of this year will be of reduced size.
Miracle Rogue has been around from the beginning of Hearthstone, due to the fact that it has a lot of core cards in the Classic and Basic set, such as Backstab , Gadgetzan Auctioneer , Eviscerate or Edwin VanCleef . Preparation is another card on this list that is especially problematic, as it does not only draw a card if paired with Gadgetzan Auctioneer , but also nets you a maximum of 3 mana, which is nuts even by Druid standard.
This card will be replaced by Lotus Assassin . While this card differs a lot in terms of card type and mana cost, it helps establish Stealth as a core theme for Rogue, which hasn't a lot of support currently.
Innervate has been a problematic card since the begining of Hearthstone, and one of the major reasons that Druid didn't get good high-cost cards. For this reason, when Ultimate Infestation was released, Innervate got nerfed to half its effect and became The Coin . We want to restore this card to its former glory, but without causing trouble. Thus, we've decided to move it to the Hall of Fame maintaining its previous effect.
It will get replaced by Living Roots , another cheap common spell which focuses on flexiblity as one of the core aspects of the Druid class.
NOTE: If you have trouble visualizing this because the images don't load, try looking at it from my profile instead.
SCRAMBLE FOR SHATTRATH
Year of the Scorpion's first expansion
Draenor. Decades ago, this world was ravaged. A power-hungry orc named Gul'dan made a pact with the Burning Legion to create the Horde. The Horde decimated this once-verdant world, transforming it into the barren wasteland we now call Outland. However, in this ocean of despair, one beacon of hope still shines for its inhabitants: Shattrath. But the city is disputed between rival factions, each of which wants to gain power over the luminous city...
Shattrath was the hub city for players during Burning Crusade , an expansion that was also notable for the introduction of Jewelcrafting. The city of Shattrath, led by A'dal and the Sha'tar, is the theater of dark machinations emanating from three factions...
The noble Aldor , servants of the Naa'rus and masters of healing ;
The clever Scryers , former allies of Kael'thas and masters of destructive spells ;
... And the cunning Consortium , an organisation of Ethereals and experts in skirmish attacks ;
UNLIKE GADGETZAN GANGS, FACTION MINIONS CAN BE USED BY ALL CLASSES, HOWEVER YOU CAN ONLY USE ONE FACTION PER DECK (i.e. you can't have two minions from two different factions in your deck). You are considered part of a faction when you have at least 1 card of that faction in your starting deck .
ALDOR Minion heal
The Aldor are an ancient order of draenei priests who revere the naaru and assist the Sha'tar in their battle against Illidan and the Burning Legion. They are found primarily in Shattrath City and Shadowmoon Valley. Though they have suffered much at the hands of the blood elves who later became the Scryers, they have put aside open warfare for the sake of the Sha'tar. The Aldor's most holy temple lies on the Aldor Rise, overlooking the city from the west. [Source: Wowpedia]
SCRYERS Spel damage
The Scryers are blood elves who reside in Shattrath City led by Voren'thal the Seer. The group broke away from Prince Kael'thas and offered to assist the Naaru at Shattrath City. They are at odds with the Aldor, and compete with them for power within Shattrath and the Naaru's favor. [Source: Wowpedia]
CONSORTIUM Hero attack
Led by Nexus-Prince Haramad, the Consortium is a loosely affiliated cartel of ethereal smugglers, traders, and thieves that have come to Outland to benefit from its riches. Their main base of operations and biggest settlement is the Stormspire, but they can be found at Midrealm Post, Aeris Landing, within the Mana-Tombs of Auchindoun, and various other places. (Source: wowpedia)
Each faction has its leader, as well as its own type of Ring . Rings are a new special type of cards, like heroes.
This is the Submission Topic. The Discussion Topic is here .
The following 21 competitors have made it through to Phase II
(Ignore the
terribleIt's actually not that bad layout, I was in a rush -Shadows)Linkblade91 watched in frustration as Linkblade98 suddenly disappeared from existence. The temporal loop had been growing. Despite Chromie’s best efforts to keep the future Linkblades intact and existent, the Infinite Dragonflight continued to Chronoshot them. A little gnome spontaneously slipped into existence startling the annoyed Linkblade.
“CHROMIE, I SWAARFF… You’re not her... You are?”
The gnome, wearing a strange monocle and constantly fiddling with a dozen whirling gears, blatantly ignored the question and started typing on Linkblade91’s computer.
Hi there! Toki here! Heehee, this is so awesome. I’m glad you made it here to Phase II, unlike a few fellow Hearthpwners who seem to run into the aforementioned paradoxes. Anyway, Chromie promised me a new Emboldener 3000 if I helped set the first expansion of this missing year in place. Well, not the entirety of the expansion, just a portion of it. Some things still need to be left to the will of
Steins;Gaterng. We’ll only need a card of each rarity from each class and six neutrals… and we wouldn’t mind a few more to spice things up. Thanks!GENERAL RULES
Even if you're already a veteran of our competitions here on the Fan Creation Forum, you should read the general rules before you get started. This competition does introduce new rules, like image limitations and formatting requirements.
* The Submission Topic is for submissions only. If you want to discuss your entry, another entry, ask questions about the competition rules or process, or anything else, 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.
* You are allowed only one submission , consisting of the materials specified by each competition phase. These materials must, of course, be of your own creation. If you'd like, you may collaborate with another user on a single submission, but this must be specified during Phase I.
* You may make only minor edits to your entry once you have submitted 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 delete any posts you make in this topic. No, not even if you post here by mistake or accidentally double-post or something. Deleted posts screw with the system we use to help us calculate up-vote scores, so don't do that. If you to post here by mistake or accidentally double-post or something, simply edit your post to just say "REMOVED" and leave it at that.
* You may not create your own topics on this forum for competition-related material. If everybody goes off and creates their own topics for specific discussion of their entries, this board will be flooded with nothing but, and so competition material must remain restricted to official competition topics. If you want to enter the competition with an expansion that you already have a topic about on this forum, then your topic will be locked in the interest of fairness to the other competitors. Not deleted, just locked, and it can be unlocked after your entry gets knocked out of the competition. Also, we realize that most people don't read these rules. So, if you've actually read these, feel good about yourself. You also may not reference or link to your topic in official competition topics.
A Note on Group Submissions: if you team up with other people to submit an entry, you must enclose that information in your submission and none of you may upvote that entry. That would be considered an unfair advantage and we will treat it as vote-manipulation. You are technically voting for yourself, and that is not allowed. Failing to tell us you're in a group is also against the rules, as we'll have no choice but to assume that you withheld the information to ghost-vote your group's submission.
* You must host your card somewhere other than Hearthcards. We encourage you to create your entry material using Hearthcards.net , but please remember that, although HearthCards is awesome, it has a limited server space and will purge cards after a few days, and nobody wants your cards disappearing part-way through the competition. After you create it, save and upload it to Imgur , Photobucket , or some other similar site. 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.
. Just click that button and put in the URL of your image. We realize that it's also possible to upload and attach images to your post. Don't do that, though. We know from experience that, because those images are much smaller and require more work to view, entries that enter their images that way just don't do as well, so this is for your own good.
* You may not submit any Gold cards or animated cards, nor may you include any images in your post other than the requested submission materials, like banners or borders. We get it, everybody wants their entry to stand out, but our pages are going to be heavy enough as it is without everybody heading their submissions with animated banners.
* You must insert your images into your post using this icon on the bar above the post text editor:
* Format your entry concisely by sizing your cards appropriately and placing them beside one another rather than in a column or completely separate. The first example below is acceptable while the second is not. Entries that unnecessarily inflate the size of the submission topic and make it more difficult to get through will be disqualified. How should you size your cards? Well...
Hey, look! It's the Year of the Applesauce!
Open the Waygate : Look at how nice this is.
Frost Lich Jaina : All neat, organized, and concise.
Aluneth : What a great post.
Wow! What a bunch of interesting stuff that will be in the next expansion!
Good thing I left some of it in a cool spoiler so it doesn't clutter the page!
Wait, what are you doing?
Seriously, please don't.
This is painful. Why are you doing this?
You are a monster.
* "Troll" entries will be disqualified. Fun and even humorous entries are perfectly allowed (this is Hearthstone after all), but if you're worried that your entry may be misinterpreted as a troll entry, contact a moderator before you submit.
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 II: Mini-Expansion 1
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Congrats! After a long and dangerous journey, you've successfully avoided time paradoxes to continue your journey to fixing the timeline. At least most of you did. If you found yourself Sap ped, Eviscerate d, Chronoshot , in the Twisting Nether , DOOM! ed, Counterspelled, or otherwise nonexistent, you're probably too temporally damaged to sue us anyway.
In this Phase, you will each construct your year's First Expansion . Here are the requirements for your Year Creation Competition Phase II Entry.
You must have the following.
COMPETITION SCHEDULE AND PROCESS
How long do you have to work on your submission? How will advancement to Phase II of the competition be determined? The answers to these questions and more can be found below...
PHASE I: Year Introduction
Submission: 28/June - 10/July
Up-Voting: 10/July - 11/July
PHASE II: First Expansion
Submission: 11/July - 31/July
Up-Voting: 31/July - 1/August
PHASE III: Second Expansion
Submission: TBD
Poll #1: TBD
Poll #2: TBD
PHASE IV: Third Expansion
Submission: TBD
Finale: TBD
NOTE: All stages of the competition begin and end at 21:00 UTC.
ALSO NOTE: This timetable is subject to change at any time, even after the competition begins, if it seems like too many folks are struggling.
* During Submission stages, Submission Topics will be unlocked and (remaining) participants may submit their entries. During Phases I-II, you may also use this time to go ahead and up-vote submissions that you like.
* During Up-Voting stages for Phases I-II, Submission Topics will be locked. Use this time to up-vote submissions that you like. Note that advancement during these Phases depends entirely on up-votes.
* During Polling stages for Phases III-IV, Submission Topics will be locked, and all eligible remaining participants will have their submission material included in a separate Poll Topic to determine advancement. Phases III-IV include two Poll Topics because I anticipate we will have enough participants remaining that we will not be able to fit everybody in one Poll Topic. Note that up-votes in the Submission Topics are irrelevant to advancement during these Phases.
How will eliminations be done, and how many competitors will advance from each phase to the next?
I'm glad you asked! We will be taking a equal proportion of competitors from each Phase of the competition to the next, and we will be ending with exactly four finalists. That being the case and their being five total eliminations before the final round, that proportion can be found by solving for x:
[# of valid Phase I entries] * x^3 = 4
The higher the number of valid Phase I entries, the lower that proportion becomes. Just so you have an idea, the proportion hits 50% when we hit 128 entries, which is likely, but it only hits 33.3% when we hit 972 entries, which is less likely.
As mentioned above, advancement to Phases II and III will be determined by up-votes only. However, these up-votes are weighted using a formula identical to the process used by our Weekly Card Design Competitions:
( ab ) / ( c ) = x
(Where a is the total number of up-votes that your submission received, b is the total number of valid submissions on the same page as your submission, c is the total number of up-votes on valid submissions on the same page as your submission, and x is your submission's final weighted up-vote score.)
Why bother with this formula rather than just taking each submissions up-votes directly? Because earlier pages simply get a lot more views that later pages do, and we do not want rushed, early submissions to have an advantage over later submissions that took more time to get their entries just right. The formula basically measures which submissions stood out the most, with the necessary assumption that each page is about equal in overall submission quality.
The bottom line is that, although entries on the earlier pages of the Submission Topic are much more visible and thus receive many more up-votes than entries on later pages, you don't actually have to rush to get your entry in as soon as possible, because the up-votes end up being weighted by what page your entry ends up on in order to determine its final score.
As mentioned above, advancement to Phases IV, V, and VI will be determined by polls. These polls will be multi-choice, meaning that voters can vote for every entry that they like. Whenever we have to split a Phase's poll into two to make it more manageable for voters, advancement will be determined by looking at each years final percentage scores, not by looking at the direct number of votes they received, since we can't guarantee that the same number of voters will vote each day. Poll results will always be hidden until the poll has concluded, and for polls split in two, this does also mean that the results of the first poll will not be revealed until the second poll has concluded as well.
The winner of Phase IV, and thus the entire competition, will be determined by a poll much like the ones before, except that it will be single-choice, requiring voters to pick their single year, and will have a much longer polling phase than usual to give us plenty of opportunity for promotion and such.
In the event of a tie during Phases I-IV for the last possible advancing position, all entries involved in the tie will be allowed to advance; the more the merrier, I say. We will absolutely not have more than four finalists, however, and so in the event of a tie during Phase V, the three Fan Creation Forum moderators (that is, Cogito_Ergo_Sum, ShadowsOfSense, and PupleMD) will vote to break the tie. In the event of a tie during Phase VI to determine the competition's winner, the title will simply be shared unless both finalists request and agree to a tie-breaking round.
But wait, there's more! During Phases I-IV of the Competition, each Fan Creation Forum moderator (ShadowsOfSense, PupleMD, Phoenixfeather, ThisOtherGuyTox, Otovent, linkblade91) will have a Wild Card , which we may (though are not required to) use to advance to the next Phase any one entry that we feel was initially overlooked or under-appreciated, regardless of its performance with voters. No entry may be awarded a Wild Card more than once, and it should also go without saying that, while some moderators are allowed to participate in the competitions, they are never allowed to benefit from Wild Cards. Wild Cards are our way of spicing things up a bit, but please don't ask to be given one or be upset if you aren't given one. These are just supposed to be fun.
Are you curious what will be required for future phases of the competition? The challenges will remain a secret , but I'm happy to tell you the general submission requirements.
Just kidding. There are no challenges this time around :D
PHASE II: Mini-Expansion 1
In this Phase, you will each construct your year's First Expansion . Here are the requirements for your Year Creation Competition Phase II Entry.
You must have the following.
Tell us a little bit about what's going on in this expansion. Are you telling the tale of glorious adventurers in a mysterious temple? or the clash between rulers in an forgotten world? or even just a little murloc happily sitting in a pond? We don't know until you tell us! Feel free to add some interesting story behind the cards you make!
PHASE III: Mini-Expansion 2
I
In this Phase, you will each construct your year's Second Expansion . Here are the requirements for your Year Creation Competition Phase II Entry.
You must have the following.
Tell us a little bit about what's going on in this expansion. Are you telling the tale of glorious adventurers in a mysterious temple? or the clash between rulers in an forgotten world? or even just a little murloc happily sitting in a pond? We don't know until you tell us! Feel free to add some interesting story behind the cards you make!
PHASE IV: Mini-Expansion 3
In this Phase, you will each construct your year's Third Expansion . Here are the requirements for your Year Creation Competition Phase II Entry.
There will be no Submission Topic for the competition Finale. Instead, you will create your own Finalist Topics. All that you have to do is create a normal topic here on the Fan Creation Forum and title it as such:
[Class Competition Finalist] Year of the APPLESAUCE
(Replace APPLESAUCE with your own year's name, of course.)
Then, bring it to our attention, and we'll link to it from this topic. That's it. How you format and present your final product is entirely up to you. You've put in a lot of work to come this far, so you've earned the right to show us your completed original expansions however you think is best.
You must have the following.
Tell us a little bit about what's going on in this expansion. Are you telling the tale of glorious adventurers in a mysterious temple? or the clash between rulers in an forgotten world? or even just a little murloc happily sitting in a pond? We don't know until you tell us! Feel free to add some interesting story behind the cards you make!
These don't need to be part of your Finale Topic, but by the end of the Submission Phase, you should send ShadowsOfSense 9 example cards (Three from each expansion preferably), preferably via PM, to be included in the Final Poll Topic. The Final Poll topic will look very similar to this one from our first CCC, except that no token cards will be included.
REWARDS
In addition to truly epic bragging rights, ALL finalists 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 8 competition themed around their winning year! (Probably... We're not entirely sure how to format that...)
ARCHIVES
Want to see how things went during our Expansion Competition to get a glimmer of what could happend? Want to see what the different Winners and Submitters from each phase came up with? Then check out the links below!
Phase I
Submission Topic
Phase II
Submission Topic
Phase III
Submission Topic
Poll 1
Poll 2
Phase IV
Submission Topic
Poll
Phase V
Finale Poll
Good Luck and V2F0Y2ggT3V0IGZvciBQYXJhZG94ZXMh
Wished to be pink.
Then did.
Then fired myself.
Then did again.
Y ear of the P hoenix by N i
xPlease excuse my lack of artistic ability. I was too embarrassed to ask Vilegloom for more stuff...
The first expansion is “Tomb of Asara” (ToA), which details the shattered kingdom of a hidden realm. Long ago, the supposed heroes were insufficient in stopping the demonic onslaught. The benevolent gods who once ruled have fallen. Demons and corrupted deities rule against an oppressed people. Civilians are merely slaves waiting to be used. Even in this hopeless world, bitter slivers of resistance remain in the hopes of liberating the doomed people
Let's start with three cards mentioned in the first story above. (The one that you guys read, correct?)
"Kedar… Apatheia… Twelve… Ezra ... Ezekiel… Ceres... Nicneven... Gil... Elektor... Roshnar... Arke... I'm sorry."
Lev ran away while the other Heroes of Asara fought and died. Nobody likes him because of that.
This card is made to promote a new archetype, Lev Paladin. You use buffs such as Blessing of Might and Blessing of Kings to increase Lev's Attack. Use cards like Consecration and Silence s to bypass taunts. You can even use minions to instantly trigger their Deathrattles or put up small Taunts to protect yourself from damage.
"Nyx has at least fourteen demons working at all times to come up with new dramatic entrances."
Nyx is the sole ruling god of Asara after defeating all others. He also really likes breakfast.
This card promotes the Control Warlock archetype as well as providing large amounts of incentive to play sacrificable minions. Cards like Gatekeeper and Illidan Stormrage provide cheap fodder to sacrifice.
"Sloth keeps telling Wrath to shut up and let him sleep."
This card will be given to all players for logging in after Tomb of Asara's release.
Eris is what you can call a really mean birch tree. I mean nobody likes her. Everyone, including Nyx hates her. Why? Because she enjoys watching Twilight. Ugh.
Anyway, you don't seem to be able to receive much needed dust from this annoying demon. What you will be getting to do is give your opponent a powerful Sin card. Each of these holds a powerful effect that could change the course of the game.
A few more cards that are kinda just awesome.
"Apatheia was once one of the great heroes. Then she declared that black was the new pink."
Apatheia, a former Hero of Arasa, is heavily bound by Eris's mind magic at all times. As a result, she's mostly emotionless. This card supports the idea of having all neutral cards in a deck. By granting them elusive, they are much more difficult for single removal, and still susceptible to AoE. This is suggested for an aggro or midrange deck.
If you think this is horribly overpowered... well, we've already prepared the perfect counter. Behold... the Devious Inquisition!
"Also known as the consequences of stealing Kedar's food."
Fiery Armageddon is a spell cast by "Worldfire" Kedar. It is able to wipe out an entire city if cast properly. Unfortunately, it has a tendency to get the user killed.
This spell is normally impossible to cast. It requires the use of a catalyst such as Sorcerer's Apprentice , Force of Will , or Worldfire Kedar . To receive maximum benefit from it, your hero must be at exactly 1 Health, which is really difficult to achieve. Even with Ice Block s (which is only in wild) the existence of this card will discourage your opponent from setting your health to exactly 1.
"If you look really closely, you'll see a storm. And in that storm is an orb. And in that orb is another storm"
Toki accidently made one of these after hitting something really hard with a hammer. Afterward, Kedar helped to make another more "stable" version.
Since cards like Hagatha the Witch and Witch's Cauldron often give you spells you can't really do anything with, The Everstorm Orb turns it into something random.
I mean you won't have to even worry about Overload anymore. What could possibly go wrong?
Every single class in this expansion features a certain archetype or concept that I'm attempting to promote.
Warrior (Control Warrior)
Shaman (RNGesus Shaman)
Rogue (Nightblood Rogue)
Paladin (Lev Paladin/ Sacrifice Paladin)
Hunter (Dragon/Hand Hunter)
Druid (Wisp Druid)
Warlock (Sacrifice Control Warlock)
Mage (Fiery Armageddon OTK Mage)
Priest (Shadow Word Priest)
"I grant you absolution. You just killed him! I said I grant absolution so everything's good now."
Neutral (Neutral-Only Neutral)
"Sloth keeps telling Wrath to shut up and let him sleep."
◇ "Negate-Your-Own-Stuff" Cycle ◇
Tyrant Etena is one of the two "Tyrant" legionaries in this expansion. It kills your own minions (through hero power, played, or otherwise summoned) to give itself more power. Nightblood does something similar, but with weapons. Although they both seem very strong, and borderline broken, both are susceptible to minion removal or weapon removal.
Also, they told me to have ten example cards, but I only prepared six... so here are two more! ( Tyrant Etena and Nightblood are new inclusions. Everstorm Orb is an example card above.)
◇ More Cycles ◇
◇ "Buff the next minion played" Cycle. ◇
◇ Downfall Cycle ◇
◇ Darkweaver Nihil + Shadow Word: Void ◇
These two are powerful tools to help out the Control Priest archetype. Shadow Word: Void is a powerful board clear like Psychic Scream (and probably a stronger effect for Priest than Twisting Nether ). The fact that it is a Shadow Word allows it to synergize with Darkweaver Nihil .
Here are the last two example cards... Seriously, why did we raise it to 10? I had trouble finding six good cards in this set!
◇ More Combos◇
Thanks to Vilegloom for making this Year of the Phoenix Symbol
Year of the Phoenix - Expansion 1 - Complete
Wished to be pink.
Then did.
Then fired myself.
Then did again.
Year of the Kodo Expansion #1:
In The Burdens of Shaohao animated video series, Emperor Shaohao gained enlightenment and saved Pandaria from The Great Sundering by overcoming the Sha - manifestations of negative emotions - that burdened his soul and held him back. The Trials Within Us tells nine separate tales of defeating one's personal demons and tackling adversity.
Each class has a Trial card, a new type of card that plays like a reverse-Quest: you are granted an immediate and lasting benefit, but a heavy Burden is placed upon you. That Burden takes the form of an on-going penalty or a rule you must follow. These Trials reference various events across Warcraft's timeline, including the orcs taking Mannoroth's Blood-curse within themselves and Kael'thas' journey to sate the Blood Elves' addiction to magic.
Each class is also represented by a specific Sha - Hatred, Arrogance, Doubt, etc. - and the archetypes the Trials inspire are reflective of them and what it might require of you as a person to overcome that negative quality. By mastering your personal demons, you can benefit in ways that would have crippled you otherwise.
Here are my main 10 examples; six Trials + their Burdens and four regular cards:
Trials:
The corresponding Burdens:
Other Cards:
If you'd like to know more about each of the classes, their stories and their gameplay archetypes are described below, along with additional notes as necessary. Just as a reminder, I rotated Divine Favor, Preparation, and Gadgetzan Auctioneer to the Hall of Fame; I did not replace them with anything.
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Druid/Fear: A dark force seeks to consume the Emerald Dream from within. When a mortal has become corrupted by the Nightmare, there is no return: only death will set them free.
Notes: Rather than outright denying the Druid the ability to gain Armor, the Tormented Soul Burden says that Armor has no effect instead. This allows cards like Nightmare Fuel and Ironwood Golem to continue functioning, even if the Armor cannot protect you.
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Hunter/Hatred: Her desire for vengeance pushes Alleria beyond the Dark Portal. She will come to know a thousand years of war, in the Twisting Nether.
Tokens + Notes:
Alleria of the Void is the first of my Wildcards. She is phrased that way to avoid confusion regarding cards like Dinomancy and Deathstalker Rexxar. I only want her to function with the two sniper-based Hero Powers: it's more thematically appropriate and plays into the intended archetype. She doesn't need Beasts when her bow will do!
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Mage/Gluttony: Dependent on the power of the Sunwell for centuries, the "Blood Elves" are addicted to magic. What lengths will they go to sate their appetite?
Tokens +Notes:
While the class doesn't have many Deathrattles, one has to imagine there are other Mage Deathrattle minions in the set; I just can't show you them. A little faith is required in these things, you know? There's more to this than just the four cards I'm allowed to present.
As for the subject of "OTK" Mage's return, an infinite Fireball chain with Archmage Antonidas is still theoretically doable but it requires four friendly minions to die on the same turn you play him. Something like Onyxia or Splitting Festeroot could set up the tokens, but you still need a way to remove them; if you cannot trade them away, you'll have to do it yourself (which eats up more mana). Removing the Freeze and Ice Block techniques means the combo will be more difficult to pull off reliably; however, the deck wouldn't be fully reliant on the combo to win, either, because it's running more minions. Together this should reduce the frustrating nature of Combo /OTK Mage, meaning the archetype as a whole should be more stable and fair.
I don't want this to be like the Quest Mage of old, and hopefully that shows.
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Paladin/Despair: Enslaved by the Iron Horde, their leader lost, her people betrayed; Yrel will take it upon herself to lead the draenei into the Light. One could lose hope walking such a lonely road...
Notes: The "other minions" spoken of in the Burden are destroyed the moment they come into existence on your side of the battlefield. You yourself are not allowed to play a second minion while one is already on the table, so there can be no abuse of cards like Sylvanas Windrunner. The only way these extra minions could possibly have an effect is if your opponent gives you a minion that triggers something as it is being killed.
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Priest/Arrogance: "I consume the essence of the weak and foolish," the blade whispers in your mind. "You're not weak...are you?" Only the mad would dare wield such an artifact.
Notes: Xal'atath, of the Black Empire is the second of my Wildcards. Its official name is unfortunately too long to fit on the card; the name's already super-long as it is.
-------------------------------------------------
Rogue/Zeal: The Defias Brotherhood want what they're owed...but ambition will be their undoing. Revolutions demand attention, and that's exactly they'll get.
Tokens + Notes:
Vanessa VanCleef is my third/final Wildcard.
Because you'll be generating extra Coins, playing Vanessa + the Bomb in the same turn is theoretically doable. Think Insanity Bomb is inappropriate for the Rogue? I counter that notion with Betrayal and Sudden Betrayal, so there :P
Coin-Flipper's effect does not benefit from Spell Damage, because you're not using them as magical damage spells. You're just...throwin' them.
To echo my sentiment in the Mage notes, there are surely more ways to generate Coins and interact with them in the set. I just don't have the room to show you them; you'll have to take my word for it.
-------------------------------------------------
Shaman/Doubt: Doubt can paralyze the mind and Freeze the body, prior failures haunting one's thoughts like apparitions. How does one escape such a prison?
Notes: Besieged by Doubt is unique, as the only non-minion member of the Sha cycle (the art only fits in the spell window lel). The transformed minions become a collectible Neutral card, described below.
-------------------------------------------------
Warlock/Violence: Binding his soul to the Burning Legion, Gul'dan will know power and blood as Darkness Incarnate. The Legion is infinite; their tolerance for failure is not.
Tokens + Notes:
Why not just give Cruel Gargoyle Windfury? 'Cause it technically does something different. While Windfury is more versatile - it allows you to attack two different enemies - Cruel Gargoyle does not have to attack again, possibly saving it from a lethal trade. Still a solid buff target, either-way.
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Warrior/Anger: In pursuit of strength, the orcs submit themselves to Mannoroth's Blood-curse. However, rage is a double-edged sword; will the fire consume them as well?
Notes: Heart of Rage is like Bloodlust for the Warrior. Rather than handing out +3 Attack evenly across all friendly minions, Heart of Rage can fluctuate depending on how damaged the Warrior's army is. It could only give at most +2 Attack on someone like Tauren Warrior...but it could give up to + 11 Attack on a 4/1 Ysera! This encourages players to run high-Health minions, rather than relying on a traditional Aggro or Token mindset.
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Neutral
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Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, especially if you read the whole thing! :)
Behold, foolish interlopers! I am commanding this mortal to spread the will of the Scourge throughout the interwebs, encouraging you to seek out me, Archlich Kel'Thuzad! Now coming to you as the tenth class of Hearthstone!
I am a finalist in this Class Creation Competition, so if you could give it a look I would be greatly appreciative <3
The First Expansion of the Year of the Gryphon
Phase 1 link here .
From the beaches of Kul'Tiras and Darkmoon Faire, to the docks of Booty Bay and the whirling Maelstrom, Azerothians are going on summer break! Dancing Druids, Sunbathing Paladins, and Hoarding Warlocks are peculiar sights for tourists on their tour of these Azerothian islands. But while tourists are here for only a few weeks, the Pirates of the Great Seas are much more familiar with these oceans. Hunters, Rogues, and Warriors take advantage of the summer months by fulfilling contracts, stealing and collecting bounties, and raiding resorts!
Greetings from the Great Seas explores new archetypes for each class, with powerful Treasures that encourage those archetypes or support certain others. Mage focuses on the Proudmoore family's connection to the sea, and with it the frightening monsters of the deep; Beast Mage (trust me, it's just as odd as you would think). Druid focuses on minion positioning and 'choreography', as Malfurion and Lunara just can't help but celebrate midsummer by dancing. Warriors set sail on the high seas and board ships, rushing their opponents and prevailing by any means.
THE STORY (read at own peril)
Dear fellow agents of D.E.H.T.A (Druids for the Ethical and Humane Treatment of Animals),
Our expedition (perhaps vacation, given our previous posting in Northrend) around the Great Seas has begun. For Murky to mature properly and become a beneficent leader for the Swamprock Tribe, he needs to get to know the world around him. My sincere gratitude to Archdruid Lathorius for stepping in and assuming leadership (and donning the appropriate costume) of the Winterfin tribe in my absence. What follows is our Travel Log. We’re sending a copy of it to you from our final destination at Tanaris Beach Hotel and Resort.
Travel Log
Week 1: From Darkmoon to the Seas beyond Kul'Tiras
Day 1
Our first stop was the Darkmoon Faire. A little song and dance before we get to the serious adventuring!
We stepped through the portal without much incident, and we got to the festivities! Murky had a lot of fun on the dance floor, even though I had to get involved when he started biting the other guests. We went to a fortune teller, who was a gnoll of all things! She told us to ‘strike first at the sigil of silver’, whatever that means. We had the good fortune to encounter Mooncaller Galandria, who provided us with some much needed tips on how to get around on the Great Seas, as well as recommending a ship to take—E’lora’s Spear.
We wrapped up our stint in at the Faire a couple of days later, and chartered a ship at the docks. We went off of Galandria’s recommendation, and the ship is run by an enigmatic night elf. It’s a gigantic ship, the timbers are old and thick, but it’s apparently a passenger vessel as well as a merchant vessel. We're setting a course to Kul'Tiras, and we should be there in around 5 days!
P.S. Murky wanted to say a few words. Here's what he says;
Mrgglglbrlg rmrmgllg mrggggm. Mrrglglgy, mgllglgl mrrrrrrglgrmgrglm... Mmmrglglrglbm!
Mrggr Grmgy,
Mrbgly
Day 5
We arrived in Kul’Tiras this afternoon. We received a warm welcome from the locals and we dined in at Yogg’s Pint and Dine. They served the best calamari! We checked into the Salty Dog in at 7:40, and lay in for the night.
Day 6
Today we’re going to the Sea Priest church so Murky can get some lessons on how to be a virtuous leader. I’m writing this before breakfast and I’ll write up our experiences when the day is done.
...
By Azeroth, I’ve had the shock of my life. Lord Stormsong, the leader of the Sea Priests, took us up to the chapel on Kraken Peak. It was eerily beautiful; the vaulted marble arches were decorated with malachite tentacles, and the walls were carved in relief depicting images of unfathomable sea monsters. His fellow Sea Priests roamed the pews and went from one end of the church to the next. The furthest end was open to the air - a grand shrine of sorts, and a long and perilous bridge hewn of rock stretched to the peak on the other side of the channel through which Kul’Tiran ships sailed.
The ceiling was the mountain above, with great holes carved into it to let in light. While this place was strange, it was beautiful, and perfectly normal... That is, until a mysterious whisper penetrated and echoed around the halls of the church. It was almost as if the inanimate tentacles arched squirmed into life, and the air seemed to dampen and smell of rot and evil. The Sea Priests, all but Lord Stormsong, began to sprout awful Eldritch tentacles and started speaking in tongues! It was all I could do just to keep myself from fainting. Murky was panicking as well, and even I couldn’t make out what he was saying.
The atmosphere was decidedly hostile as the many-limbed former clerics approached us with evil intent. I thought we were done for. Just then, I heard the twang of a bow, the sound so melodic I almost forgot our situation. A glowing blue arrow pierced through the middle of one of these monsters, who I would later be acquainted with as K’thir. The shots came from behind us, at the church’s observation deck over the harbour. Before I could react, three more arrows rang out and stopped three more K’thir dead.
I span around and was confronted with the most beautiful night elf I’d ever seen — and what’s more, it was the famous Shandris Feathermoon! I couldn’t believe this legendary huntress had come to our aid, so serendipitously on time! But there was hardly time for me to take in her radiance, as I spun around to find Murky held hostage by the now semi-tentacled Lord Stormsong himself. He held a sinister blade to Murky’s scaly and slimey neck. I froze. As did Ms. Feathermoon. The villainous bishop launched into a long monologue, the details of which I simply cannot recall. Anyway, after he’d finished, the Huntress, like a bolt of lightning, pulled taut her bow and launched a thunderous arrow right at the heretic’s head, striking true and causing him to immediately release my perpetually moist pupil. But just when I thought the battle was over, sickening dark magic began to erupt from Stormsong’s lifeless body, channeling into the corpses of his compatriots. They rose again in the most surreal manner, their eyes filled with shadow magic. I was stunned. How could we defeat an army of the dead? I apparently wasn’t remembering our experiences in Icecrown too well, but I was caught up in the moment.
I turned to the legendary hunter by my side, who seemed to tower above me. “What do we do?” I asked, my voice quivering.
“Not a lot.” She replied, matter-of-factly.
She pulled an arrow from her quiver different from the rest, red-tipped and inscribed with the words ‘FOR PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS’. She aimed and fired, missing all of the zombies! But before the arrow had travelled more than a few feet past the undead K’thir, it exploded into a thousand more, piercing all the members of Stormsong’s corpse army. They each blew up in gruesome fashion. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. However, only Ms. Feathermoon was untouched by the projectile gore... We had to take a bath in the inn afterwards. Shaken, we all walked back down to the town, the Huntress as silent as a stone. When we arrived, I asked her why she had saved us. “Only a contract. Work’s sparse in these months”, she explained. “Stormsong had a bounty on his head, and I can see why.”
“But how did you get there at the exact time we were in most danger?”
She smiled slightly. “I’d been staking him out for a while. I was going to make a move tomorrow, but I have a soft spot for helpless ‘Murlocs’.” As we reached the inn, she waved a goodbye and disappeared into the night.
We slept dreamlessly.
Day 7
It was time to depart from Kul’Tiras and head towards our next port of harbour, Booty Bay. We boarded E’lora’s Spear and set sail, with the winds behind us. It was a motley crew, and very large. I estimated there must be 500 non-passengers on deck, and they encompassed most races—humans, forsaken, trolls, orcs, humans, gnomes, dwarves, elves, even drakonids and gnolls. But I decided to find out more about our captain.
“So Captain, how long will it be until we reach Kalimdor?”
She stared straight ahead to sea, hands gripping the steering wheel resolutely. “That’s Admiral to you.” She stated, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.
“Oh. Sorry, Admiral. When will we arrive?”
She grew more frustrated, turning towards me with an air of contempt. “Do you know that’s what everyone asks? I’m interrupted every minute by an ungrateful passenger demanding to know if we’re there yet. Of course we’re not. I’ll tell you one thing. There’s no land between here and Kalimdor. When you see a tree, we’ll be there.” She turned away, as if she was determined to ignore me.
I walked away, discouraged. I hadn’t the faintest idea how long it would be before we made it across the Seas, and I’d also made a poor impression on the Admiral. This was going to be an awkward trip.
The night was turbulent, and I felt a little seasick. Murky was used to coastal waters, and was a little disturbed. “Mrrgrgrlygrl...” He said.
“It’s okay, Murky. This trip is a test of your resolve, and you should consider this as part of that. You were brave against those tentacle freaks. You should be proud.”
Murky seemed conflicted. “Mrglmr... mmmmmrgmglrm. Rrrglm lllmg, Mrmrmrmrglglllllllrrrrr!” After this latter sentence, Murky grinned, showing off his razor-sharp teeth, and promptly flopped into his hammock, snoring loudly. I sighed and tried to get to sleep.
Week 2: The Maelstrom Seas & Dangerous Encounters
Day 8
We seemed to be in the same place we were yesterday. I knew that the ship was moving, that the sails were full of wind. But everything else was the same. The sea was calm and infinite, the clouds encircled us as if they were stretched over an upside-down bowl that spanned the sky. The sun beat down remorselessly, with the faint red scar of the portal to Argus still visible in the blue sky next to it. You could smell the salt in the air.
“Alright, clean up that mess, deckhand!” Admiral E’lora was shouting down to her crew from the steering wheel, gesturing to a barrel of grain that had spilled. This was a transport ship as well as a passenger ship. An uneventful day, Murky and I continued to be shunned by the Admiral and the crew, as most of the passengers were. We were essentially cargo to them, and any attempt to forge a friendship was futile. We spent the next 3 days like this.
Day 12
I awoke to the crash of thunder. Stepping out onto the deck, I saw waves fifteen feet high, the sky darkened by clouds almost to the pitch of night, and the fiercest lightning I’ve ever seen. I looked immediately to the Admiral, who stood stoically, twisting the wheel sharply and gripping it hard. We were on the fringe of the storm, but we felt the gale taking us further in. Murky whimpered and I ran up to the top deck as if I were one of the crew. I shouted over the gust, “What in Tyr’s name are we doing in the damn Maelstrom??”
E’lora shouted back, her voice unwavering, “This is our route!”
“What?? Why? You didn’t tell us this!!”
“You would’ve jumped overboard if I told you! Now stop worrying and get below decks!”
I took her advice. I had no idea what I would do otherwise, and if we were to jump now, we would be done for. Through the portholes I saw alternately under the water and above to the jagged rocks around the Maelstrom. All of a sudden, I heard the Admiral shout at full volume to her crew: “FLIP THE DECKS!”
Everything started to happen. Switches I didn’t even notice existed started to be flipped by the crew below decks, and I heard cranks and levers activate, gears and chains groaning to life. A low pitched horn sounded off like the call of a Zangar Whale, sending a chill down my spine and rippling through the water. I peaked out and saw the masts of the ship lowering right below decks: Each was hollow and made in sections that fit within one another. The main deck of the ship completely flipped, section by section, to reveal great transparent panels stacked one on top of the other. I saw E’lora pull the steering wheel back toward her with all her might, and the roar of two mighty engines caught me off guard. The panels immediately filled with steam and unfurled, connecting to each other in such a way that they formed a protective seal all around the top of the ship. I was sent flying backwards into my hammock by the sudden acceleration, and two massive turbines appeared out of either side of the ship... and we started to sink.
I was beside myself, as was Murky. “MRGLGLLMRRRR!!!” He bellowed at me, and began to cry inconsolably. I gave him a hug and reassured him as the vessel shuddered, the power of the engines propelling the craft down into the abyssal waters around the Maelstrom. This was the craziest thing I’d ever seen, next to the tentacle monsters in the church.
We were still breathing air. By now, we were completely submerged, the thunder was muffled, and the winds were now the current. I decided to come above decks.
“Impressed?” E’lora looked down to me from the bridge, flashing a wry smile, without any hint of disdain.
“Wha-what is this??”
“This ship is built for above and below water transport. We have to make deliveries to submarine destinations every now and then, so it’s necessary to have a ship like this.” She gestured with her hands to the steam-filled canopy above her, the water above obscured by the mysterious mist.
Still dumbfounded, I stared around for what seemed like an hour. The masts and sails were gone, and the canopy seemed to stretch about as far above the deck as the keel was below. Eventually I came up with a question. “Well, how are you going to see where you’re going now?”
“Oh! Thank you for reminding me. I almost forgot.” The Admiral cranked a lever next to her and the steam was quickly pumped out of the transparent canopy, revealing a massive squid-like creature with a single glowing eye not even half a mile away from us, approaching quickly with a beak filled, impossibly, with fire.
Her eyes widened. “Glad you reminded me.” She whistled then, and more than a hundred crew flooded onto the deck, rushing to the fore of the ship-turned-submarine. They heaved on massive ropes and chains, pulling up to reveal a thick metal spear. It clicked into place and the whole boat shuddered, the point was as thick as the masts of the ship and about half as long. The point was barbed like a harpoon, designed to ram and pierce. The plan was to meet this creature head on, apparently.
She called to the crew below decks, and the engines made a second massive boom as the turbines spun faster, creating a kind of underwater sonic boom. We seemed to accelerate to ludicrous speed as two monsters, one manmade and the other natural, charged towards each other. Just before the point of E’lora’s Spear contacted the monster’s bulb, the behemoth diverted its course and latched all five of its arms onto the port side of our ship, pulling us with its massive weight. E’lora spun the wheel sharply to starboard. The creature could not match the power of the ship’s engines, and so was pulled along the Admiral’s new course. We were headed towards one of the jagged rocks that surrounded the Maelstrom. The seabed was strewn with shards of Elementium, a reminder of the cataclysmic events that once took place here.
“All hands on deck!” E’lora waved to a particularly burly and out of place Bronze Drakonid, who looked to be the first mate on board the ship. “Korisz!” she shouted. The dragon nodded towards her, and headed straight towards the creature, armed with an inscribed poleaxe. By some use of magic, he passed through the barrier of the ship’s canopy and out into the hostile sea, his talons gripping the side of the ship. The massive creature seemed to take some notice of him and released one of its tentacles to take a swipe at him. I watched the two spar, transfixed by the size difference and by the nimbleness of Korisz. As the cyclopean cephalopod swung its tentacles through the water, it caused the ship to rock slightly. E’lora remained calm, and manoeuvred straight towards the rock. We were as far away from it now as we were from the beast when we first encountered it. Closing the distance, I saw the struggle between the abyssal and the drakonid turn decidedly in the monster’s favour. It had swiped the poleaxe out of his hand and seemed to have lacerated his fighting arm, leaving him practically helpless. The leviathan reared up, exposing its beak. Even from the safe confines of the ship, I could feel the intense heat. Korisz was about to be engulfed in undersea flame, and we were about to smash against an undersea cliff.
It all happened in a flash. The first mate looked behind himself to face the cliff, and seemed to rewind through time. He re-enacted his side of the fight backwards, getting his weapon back and even healing his arm. He came right back into the ship the way he went out. As soon as Korisz was back inside, and before the flaming behemoth realized it had been tricked, E’lora swung the wheel hard starboard, the engines of the ship screeching with the effort. The ship diverted its course immediately so that it barely missed the rock. The abyssal creature however was not so lucky. It hit the rock with all the force that the ship carried with it, and was torn off the side of the ship. We didn’t look behind to see what remained of it.
“All clear! Damage assessment!” The Admiral commanded, and crew members rushed all over the ship, going below decks and peering through the portholes to see the damage. The hull was scorched black and torn in places, but the damage was not enough to cause a leak. An atmosphere of relief settled over the ship, and E’lora relaxed noticeably, her hands having turned white with how tightly she had gripped the wheel. She gestured, and the crew lowered the great spear back into the ship.
“Busy day. It’ll be a day before we reach Vashj’ir.” She sighed, almost propping herself up on the wheel.
“Vashj’ir?” I asked.
“Just a short stop. Then we’re on our way to Booty Bay.”
Day 13
We made it to Vashj’ir, and the local naga were surprisingly passive. Evidently E’lora had made friends here and we were not seen as a threat. We came to a dry-dock that joined onto a large air-filled dome, sporting a bustling trading village. I disembarked with Murky and left to the nearest restaurant. We were starving, and starving for good food. There was just enough time to have a bite before the Spear had resupplied.
We stumbled into the first place we found. ‘Mrrrrglmrr Diner’ the sign read, slightly waterlogged despite being protected from the sea. It was a grimy joint—dimly lit and divided into a bar, gambling lounge, and restaurant, none of which were particularly clean. We sat at a chipped wooden table and looked at the menu. I was a little bemused. The first item on the menu was ‘MRRGG: Mrgglggrrrr, mrmlllrryyg, mmmrl yllg mrrrlmmmmmmg.’ It turned out all of the menu items were in Murloc. The waiter was a Murloc, and as were all the other patrons. For now, I was fooling them all, but I was careful not to get too comfortable, as there were some shady sorts at the back that looked like they could be armed.
I asked Murky to order for me, and he pointed excitedly at the third item on the menu. The waiter came to take our order, or at least that’s what I assumed he was doing. Murky pointed at the third item, then at me, then himself. The waiter expressed his assent with a short ‘MRRG’ and plodded towards the kitchen. About 10 minutes later, he returned. For Murky, a delicious-looking braised Emperor Salmon with a caviar accompaniment. For me, the same… except the fish was rotting, and the eggs were spoiled. I looked up at the waiter, incredulous. He appeared to smile wickedly before turning right on his heels and heading to the next table. I couldn’t eat this! What kind of service is this, and how is this place still in business? Murky devoured his entire meal almost instantly, without any table manners (as befits any Murloc). Once Murky had finished, I stood up and led him by the hand towards the kitchen hurriedly. I was going to confront the chef with his bad cooking, and even if I wasn’t going to show him my true nature, I was still a master of Murloc combat, if it came to it.
We sped past the shady figures at the back of the diner and into the dimly lit kitchen. I was startled when I didn’t see anyone there. The back of the kitchen was in shadow, and there was hardly any food near the front of it, although there was an overwhelming stench. After a few seconds of silence, I heard a splashing sound from the back.
‘Mrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmglllllllrlllllllll…” A deep voice proclaimed from the darkness.
I must confess I felt a little intimidated by this, even if it was coming from a Murloc. Then, a torch was lit and before I could discern what had just been illuminated, I saw a rotten sturgeon rocketing straight towards me. I ducked and it hit the wall behind me with a squelch.
I then saw the perpetrator. It was none other than Captain Cookie! Sitting in his pot at the back of the kitchen, he was the chef of this diner! The infamous pirate wielded his stirring rod in one hand, and grasped a number of food items in various states of freshness or decay, presumably the fresh ones having just been added to the pot. He gurgled a startling war cry, “Mrgrlglrglrlglrglrl mrrrrrlrlrlrlrlrrrrrrggggggg!!” before throwing his handful of fish, vegetables, and meat towards us. Neither of us could dodge all of it, and the rank air was enough to make me gag. I was almost incapacitated by the sight and smell of the stuff being flung at me. It must’ve been a pathetic sight.
Murky, on the other hand, was perfectly fine. He caught bits of fresh salmon, catfish, and potatoes out of the air, quickly eating them, all the while running towards Cookie. Astonishingly, he climbed straight up the pot and grabbed the stirring rod right out of Cookie’s hand!
“MRRRGLGLLRRRRR!” bellowed Cookie.
“MRGLRRRYYGRRRRRRRR!” Murky replied.
They struggled for a few seconds, before Murky gave Cookie a swift bonk on the head with his own kitchen utensil and clambered out of the pot back to me. He gestured towards the exit, “Mrrgl!” I followed, pinching my nose. I was aware of angry Murlocs behind me as we ran out of the diner and into the cobbled streets of the domed market, and we ran towards E’lora’s Spear. We were just in time for departure, and the gangways were released just as we made it on board, a platoon of assorted Murlocs screaming what I could only think were obscenities at us.
“Haven’t made friends in the village?” Admiral E’lora inquired, clearly amused.
I unzipped my mask for a moment, making sure to keep myself facing away from Murky. “You could say that.”
E’lora was clearly surprised to see a fellow night elf, especially one donning a Murloc costume. She laughed heartily. “Well, you should get some rest! We’re on our way to Kalimdor now... and we’ll be there in only 3 days.” She winked, referring back to her refusal to give an estimate on our trip’s length. We went below decks, and to bed. I slept on an empty stomach.
Day 15
We were only one day from land, and I was looking forward to landing in Booty Bay. We had reverted back to an above-water ship and unfurled our sails to catch the wind. On the horizon was nothing but sea. It stayed a normal day at sea for quite a while, until the lookout in the crow’s nest, a Riverpaw gnoll, called down to the Admiral;
“PIRATES!”
A black-bannered ship was just on the horizon, heading straight for us and fast. E’lora called for the spear to be raised and for the cannons to be manned. We prepared for conflict.
Instead of coming straight at us, the ship came alongside us with its own cannons. It wasn’t as large as ours, nor as well-armed, but it was quicker and had a ferocious crew. The Admiral asked Korisz to take the wheel as she strode over to starboard to confront the pirates.
“Who’s in charge over there?”
A small commotion came over the crowded decks of the pirate ship, and its crew members were gruffly pushed aside as a figure came to face E’lora. “Aye, that’d be me.” An orc, taller than the rest of the crew yet hunched over slightly, wearing a long tattered scarlet waistcoat and sporting a white shirt stained with ale and blood. A parrot on his shoulder looked quizzically at anything that moved. His hat, a sterotypical pirate’s hat, was slightly askew, with one end missing as if it had been cut off. His heavy boots clanked on the wood, raking up splinters as they dragged from one plank to the next. He raised out his left arm to reveal a rusting hook for a hand, pointing in the general direction of the Spear.
“If it ain’t Admiral E’lora Starbeam! How’ve ye bin keepin?”
“Grommak, this won’t end well for you. Not this time.”
“Well!” The pirate said, laughing heartily. “No time fer small talk, then?”
E’lora was silent and betrayed nothing with her expression.
“Right then. I guess I’ll say what I’m here for anyway, just so we’re clear an’ all. It be simple. Yer ship is our business, and we mean to take it.” He contorted his lips into an insincere grin, exposing a golden tooth.
E’lora was unimpressed, and tapped her foot in impatience. “So you say. But are you really in a position to do that?” She nodded her head to below decks, where row upon row of cannon pointed directly at the pirates.
Grommak’s smile quickly disappeared, replaced by a menacing frown. “Arr, so ye’ be doin’ this the hard way, hmm?”
“There was never going to be an easy way.” E’lora quipped.
Both captains turned on their heels and made their way back to their respective bridges, as if they had made some unspoken agreement. The pirate steered hard away from The Spear, and we steered hard away from them. We only went a short distance before we stopped and turned to face the privateers once more.
And then came the second approach. We sped towards each other, the pirates seemingly undeterred by the metallic blade that stuck proudly out of our vessel. We collided with their ship at ramming speed, the spear tearing a hole straight through their bow, almost sawing their boat in half. But the frenzied pirates were undaunted. This was their plan. The collision had forced the two ships together, and they began to board us. They were armed to the teeth and were clearly not in the mood to negotiate. A battle ensued, and it was all hands on deck. Including Murky and I. Murky took out the stirring rod he had taken from Captain Cookie, and I unzipped from my Murloc costume, quickly shifting into Panther form. Strangely, Murky didn’t seem bothered by my change in appearance. Perhaps he had matured enough to see through my disguise and still treat me as a Murloc. I wouldn’t take the chance after this. We fought long and hard, Murky fought fast, as if possessed by some spirit. His new stirring rod seemed to be giving him some powers beyond his normal fighting skills. I fought the more vicious pirates while protecting Murky from harm. The battle seemed to be going in slow-motion, as we tried to help the rest of the crew as best we could.
...
Eventually, we prevailed. The ship was battered and bruised, and so were the crew. But our enemies were defeated, most captured and some overboard. What’s more, we had Hookhand.
As he was brought to Admiral E’lora, bound with rope, he coughed out a little blood. “Aye, suppose ye’ll be rid of me presently. Gruesome like, I wager.”
“Oh no,” replied the Admiral, “You’ll fetch a pretty penny in the Bay. You’ve made a lot of enemies in these waters.”
We brought them down to the brig, and tore ourselves free from their ruined ship. We corrected our course and set sail for Booty Bay once more.
Week 3: Booty Bay and Tanaris
Day 16
We pulled into Booty Bay. The jungle was vast and vivid green, massive vines hanging between ancient trees that stretched up above the rest of the canopy. You could hear the bustle from miles away, the dockyards busy with shipbuilders and engineers, the shops full of pushy salesmen. The inns were welcoming yet seedy, and the auction house was gilt in so much gold that it glowed like the sun. Gangs roamed the cobbles streets by the docks, but their intentions weren’t sinister—this was neutral territory.
E’lora’s Spear was in a sorry state after her previous encounters. The port side of the hull was scorched almost to a crisp, and large hunks of wood had been torn out of it by the tentacles once attached to it. The bow was splintered from the pirate encounter, and parts of the main deck had been heavily marked by armed struggle—swords and axes missing their mark. For that reason, the Admiral steered us directly to the shipyard for repairs.
We disembarked onto a long, broad dock, obviously made from the thickest trees in the jungle. Murky and I went down with E’lora to greet the goblin shipmaster waiting for us.
As we approached, his arms flew open as if to embrace us in the air, smiling broadly and exclaiming, “Heyheyhey E’lora! Long time no see! Looks like you been beat up a load. You’re looking to get her repaired I bet!”
“We did get into a couple of minor scrapes, Grizzlowe. But I’m sure you’re up to the job.”
“You betcha! It’s never free though, darling. I’d say this’ll cost you about twice as much as last time.”
E’lora’s ear twitched slightly. “I’m aware. Here you go.” She pulled a weighty bag of doubloons from her inside coat pocket and dropped it into Grizzlowe’s waiting palm. “I expect to have some upgrades done as well. I don’t want to be exposed when we’re in trouble next.” The goblin’s smile widened and he winked knowingly. “Gladly!” He ran off towards the ship, calling his engineers over to assess the damage.
E’lora called for Hookhand to be brought onto land, along with what was left of his crew. With her own crew as an entourage, E’lora began to lead them towards the main town. “Are you turning them in?” I asked. “Not exactly. There isn’t exactly a police force in Booty Bay,” she looked back to the captured Pirates. “No, we’re going to give them to Garvey’s Gang.”
Hookhand’s eyes widened, but he refused to say anything in response.
“You’re giving them to a crime gang??”
“Mrglglmrrrr?”
“They’re all gangs here in the Bay. One of them’s gotta take him. Besides, they’ve got the biggest bounty on them.”
We walked the rest of the way in silence. We passed by Wanted posters for Hookhand and various other of his crew plastered all over town notice boards, and passers-by gawked at the spectacle. We eventually came to a tall house that leaned out over the water as if it might fall over at any moment. Old timbers, white stained panels, overgrown with ivy, thatched roof, rotting window shades, and a thick metal door. E’lora knocked on the door three times fast. A face peered out from a slit in the door, to confirm whether we were allowed to enter. The moment it spied Grommak Hookhand, it disappeared and the door swung upon so fast that it hit the wall. Inside was a large hearth and various rascal-types laughing and drinking around the fire. There must’ve been 50 of them in all, presumably more upstairs. They all seemed to be laughing at the jokes of one person, in the middle of the group. When the door hit the wall, he looked up, first at E’lora, and then Hookhand. He blushed and laughed like a madman.
“Hahaha! Well if it ain’t my two best friends in the whole Great Seas! Great te see yah, Admiral! And even better te see you, Grommak.” He was jocular, but there were sinister undertones as he greeted the pirate.
“Garvey.” Replied the Admiral, straight-faced. “Time to collect, I think.”
“Oh my stars, I should think so! We’ve been ratcheting up the bounty on this one for quite some time. A little interesting you brought him in now... instead of last time.” His eyes narrowed and E’lora tensed up, her hands in her pockets.
“You know perfectly well there was no way I was going to catch him.”
“Ah well, then again, I wasn’t there, was I?” Garvey raised an eyebrow and the whole room became tense, the air heavy. E’lora’s crew and the Garvey Gang were sizing each other up. I had a sinking feeling, like there was some sinister force at work. Just then, I caught a glimpse of something shiny in Garvey’s breast pocket. It was a silver and gold locket, with a rectangular amethyst set in it. It depicted the Dark Portal. I thought back to the fortune teller in Darkmoon. Strike first at the sigil of silver. I finally knew what she meant. I was standing next to one of our crew, who had their pistol very obviously exposed. As I had put my murloc disguise back on after the struggle on the ship, almost everyone was ignoring me.
With a surge of adrenaline I ripped the Flintlock out of its holster, aimed right at the locket, and fired. It shattered, and Garvey stumbled back, winded by the bullet ricocheting off his bauble.
Everyone turned towards me. What did I just do?
I expected a gunfight. Instead, the air was quiet, and a purple mist came from the shards of the locket.
“Yer a clever one. Nice disguise. I suppose I better tell you all that the Garvey Gang has partnered with... The Ex-Legion.” Garvey smirked and stepped backwards. The hearth behind him melted away and the room seemed to expand to its full size, at least four times as large. Succubi, Felguards, Doomguards, and Imps lined the walls, leaning up against bookcases or luxuriating on plush furniture. This place was half an illusion, a hideout for the demons left behind by Legionfall. “We’ve got a good relationship, us and the demons over there. We put out bounties on their behalf, and they give us some extra muscle. Their Imps hold the cash for us.”
This was a pretty shocking development. As if it wasn’t enough to be having a standoff with a gang, the gang turned out to be in league with demonic powers. I had a strong feeling that I’d done the right thing, however—the locket had some power, and I had destroyed it, revealing just what we were up against. E’lora was surprised at my independence, and seemed a little annoyed with my insubordination, but she didn’t dare betray that to Garvey.
“I think this situation has escalated to the point where a simple transaction is out of the question. Would you agree?” E’lora asked Garvey, and her implication was understood. Garvey smiled slightly, “Oh I counted on it, darlin’.”
E’lora pulled her hand out of her coat. I expected a gun to be drawn, but instead I saw a peculiar button of goblin design. “I knew you would, ‘darling’.” The Admiral pressed hard on the button, and the familiar horn of E’lora’s Spear sounded immediately. All of our crew stepped back towards the entrance as a tremendous salvo of cannons went off. Then, nothing. The gang and the demons froze, baffled and fearful. I imagined I heard a faint whistling—then I wasn’t imagining it. It was getting louder very quickly, until it was almost deafening.
At least 20 cannonballs shattered through the sea-facing wall of the house, aimed straight for the demons and criminals. It was a gruesome sight, but it was over in a flash. The Spear had been outfitted with long range guns and was docked with perfect line of sight to the Garvey Gang HQ. Now the former HQ of the former Garvey Gang.
“Did you plan this?” I asked incredulously.
“Almost. You could say it was insurance. Although I knew I had to use it when you discovered the demons. They’re fel-blooded bastards, they’ve got no sense for negotiating. I have to say, I owe you one.”
“What now?” I gestured to the prisoners, who had witnessed the whole scene in terror, never having seen a demon before.
“Well, we’ll collect our bounty, as we were due...” The crew spread out around the house, looking for where the Imps would’ve stashed the gang’s cash. “Then we’ll take them to the Trade Princes. They’ll pay us the same.”
I thought to myself how smart a plan this was, even with the risks involved. By using Hookhand as bait, E’lora had simultaneously taken out a crime gang, doubled her money, and ended a pirate’s career. I said as much.
“Well, I would’ve given him to Garvey. He just got too greedy.” She replied.
We walked first to the auction house, led up past the trading floor towards the Trade Prince’s quarters by bodyguards. We had no trouble this time, Hookhand still resolving to not say a word. We then walked back toward the ship, E’lora’s entourage loaded with bags of gold coins. Grizzlowe was there to greet us. “Ya liked it? I had her fitted with four state of the art gatling cannons! Of course, you need to fire all of them at once otherwise the ship will capsize, but still, it’s great value!”
“And the damage?” E’lora asked, knowing the answer.
“All buffed out, and we’ve fitted her will plate armor 3 inches thick! Patented not to weigh too much, of course of course.”
E’lora was pleased. “You know I always appreciate the job you do, Grizzlowe. I’ll see you next time I’m in Booty Bay.”
“Hope it’s as explosive as this time!”
“Well, we’ll see.” She winked at Grizzlowe as we all got back onto the ship and pulled up anchor. Untying the massive ropes, we waved a final goodbye to Grizzlowe, and set on our way down the coast to Tanaris—our final destination.
I had some quality time with Murky to discuss our exploits and what he had to learn from them. “I want you to take note of those we’ve met on this trip. Ms. Feathermoon, Admiral E’lora, First Mate Korisz, and Salvager Grizzlowe. They’ve all been obliging and most have been incredibly brave in the face of adversity. What’s more, your bravery against Captain Cookie and the pirates shows how much of a leader you really are. You’ve really proven yourself.”
“Mrrrrgggggglllllrrrgllrggmg. Grmgggglll ggllllgmmmmmm mgmml mgmrmrrrlllllggg mgmggglgm mrrglglllllllllymmmgl. Glllllmmmmr mlllgggm mmgggggml gmgmrmllgllllgllrllyl gmrmmgl mgmrllll gmglrrlllrm glgrrrrm gggmlgggggg gmrmrrrlrlll ggmlmrg!”
I was satisfied by his answer. He had definitely matured a lot since we set out to Darkmoon. I was now confident he would be able to lead the Swamprock tribe away from its cruel reputation.
Exhausted by the day, we both flopped into our hammocks and fell asleep immediately.
Day 16
This the final day of our adventure. Once we’re in Tanaris, we’ll stay for another week or two to sightsee before taking the D.E.H.T.A portal back to basecamp.
We landed at the main dock in Tanaris and the final lot of passengers began to disembark. I only now grasped how many were on board—close to 500 civilians. And we’d been attacked by sea monsters, and boarded by pirates while they were still on board! It was time for us to leave to, and so I prepared to say my goodbyes to the Admiral.
“We’re uhhh... leaving now.” I said sheepishly.
“I gathered.” She didn’t really leave me much to go on.
“Listen, it’s been... very instructive for my young pupil here, and I’ll be honest, it’s been fun for me.”
“Really? Well it’s just another trip for me. Maybe you should consider joining the crew.” She came closer, and unzipped the top of my disguise as Murky was pestering the other passengers.
“You know,” She said, staring straight into my eyes, “There are a lot of animal rights abuses going on where I make port. I don’t have an expert on board to help me figure out what to do.” She leaned forward until we were only a few inches apart. “As long as you can ditch the costume for most of the day, I’d love to have you on board.”
She produced a finely made card from her pocket and grabbed my hand to put it in.
“This is my business card. Think over my proposal, and get back to me when you’ve made your decision. Don’t be too long, though.” She smiled warmly, closing my fingers over the card she’d given me and then walking to the other side of the deck to direct the crew.
Murky and I walked down to Tanaris Beach Hotel and Resort, having left the vessel we’d been bound to for more than 2 weeks. We checked in and went up to our room. It had an amazing view of the Seas we had just been sailing, and I recalled everything that had happened to us. It was certainly a trip I would never forget. We stared out to the Seas and began to relax in the sun. I could’ve stayed like that for days. And I did.
End of King Mrgl-Mrgl and Murky’s Travel Log
P.S from Murky
Mrrglgl mrgymmg, mgrgggmggggglllll, mgmgmgllgllrllrllll mglrlgrr mmmmmmrlg mgrgl. Mmrmgmllrrggggg!!
Mechanics
Holidays & Fun in the Sun!
Holiday cards are a cycle of Rare spells with an 'On your next turn' effect. You have to pack your bags and buy tickets before you take a vacation, so that means you have to pay a little in advance! Holidays are only active on your turn and last until the end of that turn. While you're on holiday, you might as well get some Vitamin D. Be careful to put on your sunscreen though, or you'll get burnt!
There are 5 Holidays on showcase: Darkmoon, Booty Bay, Tanaris, Kul'Tiras, and Maelstrom .
Treasures!
Hidden Treasures sunken to the bottom of your deck, these cards can be weak on their own, but with the right support can be extremely powerful. And while there's a problem with drawing the last card in your deck... There's something that can be done about that.
There are 5 Treasures on showcase; Shimmering Riches ; Gallandria, Mooncaller ; Ultimate Arcana ; Light of K'ure ; and Gul'dan's Locket . Every hero gets a Treasure, whether it be a weapon, spell, or minion. Then they get an additional legendary minion.
Pirates at Midrange & Above—oh, and Dual Tribes!
People hate aggro decks. I do too. Pirates have been stained with the brush of 'this is always aggro', in no small part thanks to the oppressive influence of the many-eyed Patches the Pirate . Have no fear. No scary charge Pirates or overly-early game ones. Instead, high-cost and midrange Rush Pirates emphasize board control...and Treasures.
Full List of Cards
Here's the rest of the cards. There are notes on synergies included below the cards in the spoilers! These cards tie up the whole set. One particular card you should check out is Salvager Grizzlowe right in the neutral cards spoiler.
Hall of Fame
Divine Favor | Kidnapper (replaced by WANTED! ) | Gadgetzan Auctioneer
Thanks for reading and considering my cards. :)
Art credits : Matt Dixon, Kaiz0, Albert Bruun, Marc Escachx, Ivan Fomin, Matt Demino, Dariia Kasimova, Dzikawa, Ishmael Hoover, Kjeld Pedersen, Denis Pospelov, Mark Stewart, Konstantin Turovec, Jakub Kasper, Alexey Aparin, Zhang Ben, Elie Gomez, AJ Nazzaro, Patrik Björkstrom, Dominik Mayer, Firat Solhan, Olga Starodubtseva, Tomasz Jancarz, Lorenzo Lanfranconi, Yusuf Artun, Ana Roma, Matt Covatta, Jordan Kerbow, Baldi Konijn, Jim Nelson, Jaemin Kim, Philip Wang, Angelina Chernyak, Philip Tan, Victor Maury... and some others I forgot! Sorry!
Feedback : Many thanks to maxlot, linkblade91, CheeseETC, and the CustomHearthstone Discord server for invaluable insights on these cards.
please consider voting for my custom class in the fan creations competition :]
• TRIALS IN AUCHINDOUN - A Custom Hearthstone Adventure (4th Wing!) • New and Interesting Hearthstone Mechanics (by me!) •








Da Restless Spirits celebrates Death, Life and all things in-between as all the trolls of the land gather to celebrate the gods. But like always rivalry will form and in the expansion this is shown though each of the class and there signature Loa God.
But First, MAGIC
A Further Explanation
Each turn (including the turn you play it) a minion/weapon with Invoke will add a spell to your add until the end of turn. This spell has base cost equal to the amount written on the card.
FAQ
The Classes
Hunter: The Servants of Hethiss
Hunters have embrace a more sinister form of Hunting embracing the power of poisons. Hethiss is there finisher, a powerful 9 cost card that resurrects all the victims of your deadly toxin's. They are only 3/3 copies to make the power level a bit more consistent.
When Trolls need some more game to hunt, they call upon the spirits to summon more dangerous monsters for them. Hethiss likes to summon Poisonous minions.
It's not all toxin and poison for the Trolls, the Skullsplitter tribe prefers to use the trap they have set to ambush and unleash a storm of arrows on there opponents, reflected in Skullsplitter Stalker.
Bloodvine is the most traditional ingredient for most Troll poison, and it is also a common food trolls like to feed to there Beast to give them a different kind of bite.
Mage: Followers of Hir'eek
Hir'eek loves Spell Damage , so much that whenever a Spell Damage minion dies, he gains Spell Damage to enact his revenge. Spell Damage hasn't seen synergy for a long time and I would love to see it for Mage, so that is what Hir'eek is here for.
Mage's take on Nobel Sacrifice uses the power of Hir'eek to summon a copy of a friendly minion as the new target, confusing a ruining your opponents plans.
A mix of both Deathrattle and Spell Damage , Hir'eek Disciple shares the power of magic onto it's ally's. With a powerful statline, she is able to be a must have in any spell have or Hir'eek deck.
Likely the most power card in the set, this magic wielder picks up where Coldlight Oracle left off. Being the cheapest Spell Damage minion in the game, Gurubashi Sorcerer is a powerful early game minion which can combine with cheap spells for powerful outcomes.
Shaman: Akil'darah's Army
The followers of Akil'darah's love spells, and the great eagle himself blesses them with the power of returning spells. Ancestors Guidance is a card to help Shaman get some more interesting card draw options then there current selection.
The 10-Cost eagle from your nightmares, Akil'darah does not mess around rushing into battle and clearing your board with Windfury . He then uses his power to bring back your most powerful spells ready to cast again. Great finisher and even better if you build a deck with only great spells to bring back.
The only weapon with Invoke so far, Aurastone Hammer takes from Mjolnir returning to your all the time. Theoretically a weapon that can last forever as it's durability is reset when it comes back to your hand.
Trolls take there death ceremonies seriously and sometimes it's because death isn't the end. A powerful control Shaman card, Resurgence is perfect for giving your finisher cards a second chance.
Finally a little something for Elemental Shaman, this giant invokes the power of Akil'darah to return a spell to your hand. It's Taunt also makes it a useful anti-aggro card for the mid game.
Warlock: Children of Shadra
Being the second ever "Destroy the enemy hero" this might seem like a scary scary card. And that's what Shadra want's. Just don't think to hard about how nearly impossible this card is to use consider you can't play any cards to trigger it's effect. Effect way Handlock might work something out.
Shadra loves cards, she loves you holding cards and she loves your opponent holding cards. A powerful mill effect, Curse of Shadra taints your opponent in the hopes they will overdraw a few cards.
Shadra loves her children and spreads them deep into your deck. A great card for decks with few minions especially if you have some way to draw them out. May look slow at first but it could be a 8/8 for 2 mana at best.
At least one discard minion is needed for every set, but this one is a bit different. This medium reaches into the spirit realm pulls out your favourite minion and discards it. Jokes on him if your favourite minion is Silverware Golem .
Rogue: Cult of Shirvallah
The Cult of Shirvallah hides in the Shadow and waits to unleash hell. Bringing stealth back to the scene Rogue is back to embracing it's core values. Pact Assassin invoke the power of Shirvallah to take down it's targets. Another piece of hard removal for Rogue.
A finisher card for Rogue, Shirvallah calls from the Shadows to empower your Stealth minions, as long as you have a small army ready.
The ceremony mask of the trolls, Mask of Shirvallah normally gives a minion +1/+1, which on it's own isn't bad for Rogue who love cheap spells. But if the Mask is placed on a Troll in the Shadows, they gain the power of Poison to take down powerful enemies.
It is not uncommon for there gatherings to turn into all out brawls and when it comes to brawls, rogues do not hold back. Unleashing a powerful strike and drawing you a card, Relentless is a multi-tool of a card.
Druid: Alliance Under Torga
Torga is the most peaceful of Loa gods only wanting his disciples to be safe under his might shell. Many Trolls call of his blessing them and their allies the power to withstand powerful attacks. Blessing of Torga is an anti-aggro spell aimed to let Druid survive the early game and combined with Torga himself, outvalue the late game.
A very value centric god, Torga is power the turn he is played lets you send you Taunt minions into Battle with no fear of Death. He also has powerful stats himself letting you send him battle and if you grant him Taunt , he can be Immune to.
Not all Druid love Torga's peaceful way opting to drain the power of minions using a field of thorns. While in the early game this card is just ok, if you set it up, you can gain more mana then you spent, now that's what I call value.
The Calvary is here, on ferocious battle raptors. But once there rider dies, most raptors tend to run on into the hills. That's unless they have a friend around, then they sick the battle out. A Beast Druid card, Bloodfen Calvary give a strong mid-range card to Druid in a Piloted Shredder kinda way.
Priest: Blessings from Tharon'ja
Now you may be thinking, what on earth is this. Why is there a Vanilla class minion. You may think I just forgot to give this minion text but that's exactly what Tharon'ja wants you to think. Tharon'ja loves minions with no text and his Acolyte's are no exception. Not this minion does have higher cost-stats ratio than most Vanilla cards, this is because it is a class card.
Tharon'ja is calling all River Croclisk 's, Faceless Behemoth and Rager's (not you Shadow Rager ). All the cards that have never seen play due to there lack of Keyword's or abilities. Tharon'ja asks his Priest followers to hold these minions in there hand until he dies, which is when he summons them all for free.
Some Troll's aren't about the caster life, some Trolls just hate competition. Void Doctor prefers to be the only Spell Caster in the party and if you don't have any spells in your deck, he will unleash his ultimate move.
Leave it to Trolls to find a way to make mass murders have an upside. Zandalari Ghostcaller using the spirit realm, pulls and minions who have died recently back into the material plane. While it is hard to pull off, this card could be a game changer for Control Priest giving them their Reno Jackson in time of need. It also is amazing anti board clear card.
A new Power Word for Priest, this is a very simple spell letting priest get back to their healing/buffing form. Great for early game of aggro decks.
Paladin: Champions of Mam'toth
Mam'toth is huge, there is no doubting Mam'toth is the largest Loa God there is, but it is when Paladin's are on there last leg that he thrives. Once in the presence of the wounded or fatigued, Mam'toth will double in size to a huge 8/18.
Mam'toth's followers call on it's power in order to double there own strength. Mam'Toth's Chosen is a Buff Paladin/Midrange Paladin card, almost acting as a finisher if the time is right. It can snowball out of control if given enough time, constantly doubling in power.
A second Lifesteal card, Fires of Justice lives up to the name. Unleashing holy light from the spirit realm, and getting more powerful, the more minions it affects. Put this againest a Zoo deck, and your potentially looking at a 12-24 heal for 7 mana.
Blazing with the fury of the gods, the Sun Eater baths in the death of minions. Getting temporally empowered, Sun Eater is a great card for Aggro and Anti-Aggro decks alike.
Warrior: Guide of Jani
Jani may be the smallest of all the Loa gods, she and her followers do not care. They use there small size to salvage from the scraps of battle to get equipment to gain the upper hand. Jani's Blade Collector turns your useless weapons into free buffs; snowballing into a massive armed force to be reckoned with.
Jani is a special kinda God,being the most hands on and person. She looks though all the weapons you have through out this game and randomly throws them back at you. This is the first Weapon Deathrattle synergy card but also can be powerful just giving you your Woecleaver or Gorehowl back.
Trolls love combat, and if they die in combat it's even better. Zul'Drak Punisher is so willing to die in combat that if you let him, he will grant you his blessing onto your blade, ready to enact his revenge from the grave. This card is kinda hard to activate with it's high health, but it's good stats and weapon buff potential is worth it.
Sometimes you have to put everything aside and just pick up a massive axe.
Neutral Minions
Legendary Minions
The legendary minions in Da Restless Spirits are leaders of the many tribes or cults that make up the gathering. They call all the shots.
Bwonsamdi, the Loa god of Death in the flesh. There is nothing he loves more than scarifice and is if you let him, he will kill your entire hand. While this card may seem very bad, Deathrattle minions and death synergy minion might get a kick out of a heap of minions dying at once.
Hakkar is very powerful and therefore, is very hard to call upon successfully.
To summon him, you must burn him, that means either overdrawing him or having him burned by Keening Banshee , Fel Reaver or Gnomeferatu .
But this difficult summoning process is worth the wait as a 15/15 minion is on the otherside ready to destroy you opponent at any moment.
If there is one thing Hex Lord Malacrass hates, it's boring. While he is down for the whole, be zen and pray to the gods, he and his followers use this power to try out all different kinds of magic, hate playing all these Mage spell, swap them for Rogue strikes or Priest enchantments.
The Followers
These are either followers of the gods or creations of the gods, I'll let you work these minions out.
Summary
Hope you enjoy the first set from Year of the Cat and big thank you for taking the time to read some of it. Tried to keep it as small and concise as possible and if there is any feedback you think I should for the future let me know.
AND NOW...
A collaboration between Shatterstar1998 and Demonxz95, we present to you...
The first expansion of the
Year of the Dragon
But first, a reminder of our Hall of Fame choice and new keywords:
Hall of Fame:
Our choices might surprise you, but we have our reasons.
Of course, a friendly reminder that cards aren't only rotated out because of power-level reasons, look at Ice Lance or Coldlight Oracle for instance. Similarly, Master of Disguise was nerfed even though it wasn't playable anywhere, but the nerf was necessary to open up design space. Fun fact: Animated Armor was intended to be a Neutral card, but was moved to Mage (literally the worst possible class for the card) because of pre-nerf Master of Disguise .
Keywords:
The Legacy keyword will be one of the major focus this expansion. The Elusive keyword will present, but not as a major focus.
Legacy is a flexible keyword that is designed to fit in many types of decks. Our example Legacy cards are testaments to that:
Choose One token:
The journey to fix the timestream has begun! Chromie and our adventurer are thrusted into the past of Azeroth in order to fix it. (Nozdormu from the Hall of Fame neither confirm nor denied any rumor of his involvement.) Before their departure, Nozdormu warned Chromie and the adventurer about the Story that he heard about the past that she must make ensure happened in order for the timeline to be stable.
Stories are powerful Legendary spells. All of them have powerful Start of Game effects as well as a separate, weaker effect when played. Each class will have a Story that will tied to the theme of their set. They are heavily build-around cards that demand a specific playstyle or cards to be effective. As per tradition of the recent expansions, each players will receive a random Story when you first log in:
The rest of the showcase cards show the theme and mechanic of the direction of their class in this expansion:
Token:
Lovelorn Prince function as a disruptive card against the Priest Poisoned Apple by producing the same token that allow your deck to be favored without completely nullify the combo entirely (think less like Skulking Geist against Jade Idol and more like Cobalt Scalebane against Dragonfire Potion ).
The rest of the set:
(How each class is connected to the main storyline of tracking down the timeline will be included at the end with their entire set.)
Warlock
Story tokens:
Warlock's Storyline:
However, Murozond will not make their quest easy. He made a pact with the evil witch Baba Yaga in order to stop them from restoring history for a mutual purpose: to stop history from restored, and that means saving Baba Yaga and her evil followers from being put on trial and executed for their crime all the while give Murozond complete control over the timeline.
Druid
Wisp
Story tokens:
Persepholes is our first Wild card.
Other tokens:
Druid's Storyline:
Unaware of the nasty witch, Chromie and our adventurer encounter a Druid named Demeter crying. In the original timeline, she is happy and openminded that her Druid daughter Persepholes married a Warlock and become more in tune with the spirit world of Wisp and together the two took part in the witch trial as witnesses. However, in this timeline, Baba Yaga sow her with doubt and fear, causing Demeter to break down and wiped out a big portion of nature. It took a long time for Chromie and adventurer to comfort her and give her hope for her daughter's future.
Mage
The Snow Queen is another wild card.
Story tokens:
After you play Strength, Beauty and Intelligence, Snow White, Dwarven Princess is added to your hand.
Other tokens:
Mage's Storyline:
Continue their journey, Chromie and the adventurer came across a snowy area in the middle of summer! In that snowy kingdom they found a dwarf beaten half to dead. After healing her back to stable condition. they learn that her name is Snow White, the famous princess of the kingdom that came back to life after eating a poisoned apple, and was on her journey to defeat the evil Death Knight called the Snow Queen who cursed her kingdom with an eternal winter. In the original timeline, she fought bravely with her army and restored summer back to her kingdom. However, Baba Yaga interfered by attacking and wiped out her army before she can make it to the Snow Queen's castle. Chromie and the adventurer accompany her to the castle. The three of them fought an exhausted battle and they managed to defeat the Snow Queen. However, as they were taking a moment to celebrate their victory, the Snow Queen used her dying breath to shoot out a frost blast toward Chromie! Snow White pushed her out of they way and was frozen solid! However, the tears shred from Chromie and the adventurer was enough to nullify the Snow Queen's magic and bring her back to life.
Paladin
Arthur, Wise King is our third Wild card.
Story tokens:
Arthur, Wise King as well as the Young King Arthur tokens from Merlin's Time Portal will activate Sword in the Stone and will not be damaged by Excalibur.
Paladin's Storyline:
Departing Snow White, Chromie and the adventurer came across one of the earliest human kingdom called Camelot. However, what they come into the castle gate, what they see is absolutely horrifying: Instead of the buzzling city, ruled by a fair and just king Arthur who was the leader of the Baba Yaga's witch trial, they found a bunch of children roaming the street crying and destroying everything in the kingdom! Baba Yaga has borrowed Murozond's power and turned everyone in Camelot into children! It took Chromie and our adventurer one day to find the leader of the city king Arthur and Archmage Merlin, a week to find out a way to turn them back to normal and a whole month for everyone in Camelot to follow suit.
Hunter
Story tokens:
Other tokens:
Hunter's Storyline:
After cleaning out the last of the vomit from the Camelot adult-turned-children, Chromie and the adventurer was caught off guard by Baba Yaga and her army. The two was whisked away the power Baba Yaga borrowed from Murozond and were dropped right into a middle of a big flood caused by the collapsed of Kalimdor with the intend to kill them. Chromie turned into her dragon form and carried the adventurers for days without food because the flood combined with the mana from the Sunwell drown out every single living creatures. Just as she is about to collapse, a giant ark steered by their direction and caught her fall. After nursing both back to full health, the owner of the ark introduced himself: His name is Noah, and his gift of prophecy has allowed him to become one of the deadliest Hunter ever lived because he can see every future move of his hunt, led to his escape from Kalimdor right before it drown (after building the ark to store Kalimdor's wildlife). His vision is what led him to the location of Chromie and the adventurer.
Shaman
Story tokens:
Shaman's Storyline:
Just as Noah finished explaining, a giant hand shot through the roof of his ark and grab both Chromie and the adventurer! It turned out to be Earthmother Azeroth herself! The shattering of Kalimdor led to a flood that nearly killed almost all her children has almost led to her awakening in the original timeline, but the presence of three people from a different time is the final straw that caused her to awaken to protect her children! After hours of plead and explanation from Chromie and the adventurer as well as Noah vouching for them, Azeroth let the two of them go with the promise that they never return to this time period again.
Warrior
Story tokens:
Warrior's Storyline:
After being released by Azeroth, Chromie sense a disturbance from a far corner of Azeroth. After opening a portal there, they discover the reason why: One of the disciples of Baba Yaga is wielding the Mjolnir - the weapon that was used to struck them down during the Witch Trial! Seeing that the original wielder of the weapon Thorem is knocked unconscious and the rest of the Titans is busy fighting off Baba Yaga's Witches and the Infinite Dragonflight. The adventurer distract Baba Yaga's disciple while Chromie sneak behind and struck her unconscious, regain control of the Mjolnir and throw the hammer to Thorem, who joined the fight with the other Titans.
Rogue
Story tokens:
Rogue's Storyline:
However, not all is rosy in their quest to return the timeline. One of the worst acts the duo has to do is ensuring the kingdom Arabia's - a place with untold riches and gold, total annihilation since it is brought up as key evidence against the Witches in the witch trial. This time around, Baba Yaga and her disciples have decided to corrupt the kingdom from the inside out and turned people under their thrall. After rescuing everyone from Baba Yaga's thrall, the witches fled the city and set up a bomb to blow it up. However, just as the adventurer is about to disarm the bomb, Chromie teleport them out of the way so the bomb can go off and ensure the kingdom's total annihilation so the timeline doesn't get interfered with.
Priest
Story tokens:
Other tokens:
Priest's Storyline:
After a huge argument between the adventurer and Chromie about her action (in which the adventurer call her heartless while Chromie insists that their duty is to protect the timeline, not to save lives), the adventurer angrily storms off to a corner. When Chromie is about to go their corner and apologize, it turned out that the adventurer's doubt has allowed Baba Yaga to take a hold of them and caused them to attack Chromie. Chromie, not wanting to hurt her only ally, run away. After the adventurer chased her portals after portals, she finally came across an idea to help them snap out of it. She opened the portal to Snow White kingdom! After a battle by the Princess, she finally made a last ditch attempt to reach out to the adventurer: She pulled out a half-bitten apple from her pocket and told a shocking revelation: Shortly after awaken from the curse inflicted upon her, Snow White willingly tried to bite the rest of the apple herself!
After executing her evil stepmother, Snow White thought that she is no better than her stepmother for killing and that she doesn't deserve love from her people and fiance, and chose to endure the curse her stepmother planned for her. But her fiance stopped her, threw the apple to the ground and told her that he loves her, and that will never change. Snow White said that she knows it is hard to move on from do the right thing, but all we can do is to live with the consequences. This brought the adventurer out of thrall of Baba Yaga and broke down crying.
Neutral
Nightmare Amalgam
Token :
The Neutral cards's Storyline:
After the talk from Snow White, the adventurer and Chromie bid her goodbye to continue their journey. They helped many people from Baba Yaga's disciples and ensure that the witch trial went off according to plan, annihilate the evil witch and her forces forever. This caused the timeline to right itself and severely weaken the Infinite Dragonflight.
FAQ:
A big thank for everyone who gave their opinion in the Discussion topic and Vilegloom for making the Year of the Dragon and the Once Upon A Time Azeroth banner.
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:
Link to my Phase I Submission
Welcome to the first expansion of the year of the Wendigo! Hunters of Azeroth!
"On the island of Blodanna there are two things on the wanted list, your head, and your loot, latter may vary on type, it has been proven the prize of the exotic creatures on the place, and all types of Hunters, Spellcasters and Warrior-ishes are coming down to this brutal island, in every step you'll find blood, we just... hope that isn't yours. Be confident on yourself at most, don't you fall on the dirty tricks!
Like this free golden pack I'm gonna give you right now, shiny!"Keyword Spotted!
On what we loot is what we do, getting stuff from others, however, stiff and still you must be, as there are quite a lot of people around here trying to ambush you! Or either, for your own good, literally. This keyword is located on cards like The Boogeymonster or Darius Crowley , both Legendary, a good amount of HoA cards will have this keyword, not as a main theme, but more developed.
Big Time, Big Trouble
As far as I'm aware, do not feed the troll, but you got no toll. Whatever, you get the point, the more you feed a beast, the stronger it becomes and the more you lose, even the bit of barnacle will make a difference. Beasts will eat ya, Giant Thingies will crush ya, and People will loot ya, so just don't stand there and quickly do something about it!
Improvise, Adapt, Overkill
Adapting your current strategies is also a good way to survive, adding a twist to your already perfect and predictable skills will surprise anybody else, be sure to be synchronized though, they tend to strike relentlessly anyways.
Killin Time, Come on Grab your Gear, we're going to very, distant streaks, in Blodee-Anne Island, the bath will never end it's Killin Time!
At anytime, you'll gear will be of utility, or your magic, or, whatever. No time to explain your skillls, just good luck! *kicks you out of the flying boat*
Trasadamus Token:
The rest of the cards is down below, notes and clarifications will be on their own class.
Druid
Token:
Hunter
Notes:
Mage
Paladin
Priest
Rogue
Shaman
Token:
Notes:
Warlock
Tokens:
Notes:
Warrior
Notes:
Neutral
Notes:
Hope you do well in the competition guys!
Thanks for everyone who gave me feedback! Really appreciated!
The joke is you.

YEAR OF THE SERPENT
Expansion #1: An Eternal Winter
Here 's a link to my Phase I submission as a refresher. I've never played World of Warcraft, so I do apologise if anything is inconsistent with the Warcraft universe!
Introduction
‘Tell me about the past, Father. Tell me what it was like before.’
‘I’ve already told you many times.’
‘I want to hear it again. Please, Father.’
The father hesitates for a moment, and then proceeds.
‘The world used to be so beautiful. The sky was so clear that one could see many lands afar unhindered. The forests were so lush that they cast glorious shadows under the brilliant sun. The lakes were so taintless that they served as nature’s mirror. But now, no man dares to wander in the icy realms alone… lest he wishes to breathe his last.’
Themes
I introduced two central themes for this expansion in Phase I:
Conclusion
‘Tell me about the past, Father. Tell me what it was like before.’
‘I’ve already told you many times.’
‘I want to hear it again. Please, Father.’
The father hesitates for a moment, and then proceeds.
‘The world used to be so cold. There was no green as far as the eye could see. Few creatures could endure the bitterness of the chilling gusts. We’re fortunate now… death used to accompany all but the strongest of adventurers.’
I hope you enjoyed browsing this expansion and maybe I'll see you in the next phase!
Year of the Serpent

"Come one, come all to the city of gold, where games, entertainment, and opportunity await you all. You might fold... you might fail... you definitely WON'T cheat, but when those cards align... well, we'll have a Jackpot in Zuldazar!!! Jackpots not guaranteed. " - Casino Prince Gallywix
In an expedition for the League of Explorers you and the acclaimed treasure hunter Reno Jackson went on, you managed to find the golden city of Zuldazar! A lost city with plenty of ancient relics and golden heirlooms to discover ! (According to Reno) Though once you manage to find this coveted city, you soon discover that it was a little less "lost" than you had anticipated. As a matter of fact, you find that a famous trade prince had completely reinvented the city to becoming a lucrative casino! Not wanting to leave empty handed, you and Reno make the executive decision to er... "research" the casino further. Will you win big? Will you go broke? Find out in the Year of the Pegasus's first expansion: Jackpot in Zuldazar!
Know When to Hold 'Em
You can't expect to get the most out of your cards in a casino by just playing them all willy-nilly. You've got to play them with a little bit more finesse than that. We're gonna show this off with this new keyword:
For these Jackpot cards, if you have a certain amount of mana remaining after playing the card, you will get an additional benefit out of it. This gives a layer of tactics, asking players whether they would rather play cards on curve, or wait till the Jackpot condition can be met for the bonus effect. Smart players will know when to hold 'em and when to
foldplay 'em. Let's take a peek at some of these Jackpot cards you can expect to see in this set:Winning Slots - A relatively weak buffing effect on the front side, though if played when you have exactly ten mana, you can activate it's Jackpot effect and give three different minions a +2/+3 buff for the low low cost of 3 mana. Gives token paladin decks the flexibility of playing this as a slightly weaker buff in the early game, or a powerful late game finisher if the game goes on long enough.
Earth Shattering Dice - A 1 mana removal spell akin to Lesser Jasper Spellstone with a bit more randomness attached to it, though if you manage to play with its Jackpot condition met, then the random part goes away and it becomes a clean 6 damage removal spell for 1 mana. The dice is a powerful removal spell for any sort of control oriented Shaman deck.
Strongarm Bouncer - Jackpot is a mechanic that can be seen on many minions in the set as well as spells. The Bouncer gets cheaper whenever you attack with a minion (No matter where it is) making it a potentially cheap card for many aggressive decks similar to Corridor Creeper . And if you manage to bring the cost of this card down to (0), you could play it as a 0 mana 3/3, or if you've got the patience, you could wait till turn 10 to play it as a 0 mana 7/7 (Similar to Kun the Forgotten King ). Lot of potential with either mode.
Let the Games Begin!
Now that you're caught up on how the Jackpot mechanic works, let's get a tour of some of the activities and patrons you can expect to run into while in this casino:
Sleight of Hand - A powerful spell that can turn the most recent card added to your hand into whatever card you might need. For free! Could be extremely strong in any kind of Miracle Priest deck running cards like Dragon Soul and Lyra the Sunshard . Don't let Gallywix catch you with cards up your sleeve though, he hates it when people cheat in his casino!
Gambling Addict - Kind of a reverse version of Ivory Knight . This card can net you important spells and helps you tempo out your opponent by casting removal spells and board clears virtually for free. Be careful about your health total though! Also has synergy with many cards that care about self damaging like Lesser Amethyst Spellstone , as well as some cards you may see later in this set as well.
Five Star Service - A powerful card in any sort of mill or fatigue strategy that can force your opponent to draw a large number of cards. It requires a great degree of setup, as it doesn't do anything by itself. But combined with cards like Nourish and Coldlight Oracle the number of cards your opponent will draw can build up extremely quickly. In this set we are trying to create a Druid archetype I like to call "Service Druid" that allows both players to draw a lot of cards, so you may see some more support for this card later.
Casino Bigwigs
And finally before we leave the casino, we would like to give credit to many of the important people working at our casino to make it the success it is. Here are but a few of the many notable people that help our casino function:
Gallywix Casino Prince - The creator and owner of the Zuldazar Casino, Gallywix is a great card that can net you a huge number of coins as long as you build your deck around it. Along with the other Rogue cards in the set, this expansion is trying to push a "Big Miracle Rogue" archetype using minions to add the cheap spells like the Coin to your hand while making room in your deck for bigger, more impactful spells.
Grand Magician Sonia - The most popular entertainer at the Casino, Sonia's stats are pretty expensive for her mana cost, but she has a powerful ability to back it up, she can essentially Polymorph any other minion that dares attack, making combat very difficult for any opponents without a way to remove her.
Moroes Floor Manager - Moroes has agreed to take a break from being a butler and assist with the management of the casino instead. He is another strong piece in the "Service Druid" archetype that can stop you from Fatiguing and make sure you stay healthy once you and your opponent draw out your decks, helping you win the Fatigue race.
And with that, you now know everything you have to know about the Zuldazar Casino. So below we are gonna showcase the rest of the cards currently made for this set for your viewing pleasure. I hope your stay here is fun and profitable (but not TOO profitable). Hopefully we'll see you again during the Year of the Pegasus's second expansion: Tour de Azeroth, so until then, I'll be seeing you.
... Oh! Before you go enjoy the casino, I think it might be wise for you to find your friend you came in with. I... think he needs your help.
Reno the Risktaker - Reno just couldn't resist. With him you can make an extremely risky move of setting your health to 1 for the huge benefit of 5 whole cards. A powerful, albeit extremely dangerous move that has potential in a multitude of decks. Whether you use it in an aggro deck in an attempt to find lethal in the late game, or use it in a control warrior deck, where your health total doesn't matter, cause you have enough armor to back it up, this card has a potential spot in a large variety of decks. So then the real question remains: will the risk pay off?
Rest of the Set
Rogue
Notes:
Shrewd Investor- This is my first Wildcard.
Paladin
Notes:
Silias the Golden - This card is worded in a particular way to say "Other friendly minions with different names" to stop issues with Faceless Manipulator and other copy effects.
Hunter
Tokens
Priest
Notes:
Mindmaster Serena - The spells are cast twice on the same target as before. If that target no longer exists, than the second cast will no longer occur.
Mage
Notes:
Grand Magician Sonia - Whenever a minion is transformed into a bird it keeps attacking the same target that is was before.
Tokens
Druid
Warlock
Notes:
Curse of Wealth - The damage dealt to your hero is dealt all at once, not one at a time. The wording is to stay consistent with Ferocious Howl . You do take double damage from spell damage .
Blair the Accursed measures the damage your hero took up to the point that Blair dies. Any damage taken afterward won't be counted.
Shaman
Notes:
Zul the Prophet - Only reduces the cost of cards that are drawn, not cards that are generated or put into your hand without drawing.
Warrior
Notes:
Obsolete Droid - This is my second Wildcard.
Security Bot - If you have less than 3 armor when this minion attacks, no armor will be spent and this minion will gain no attack. Also the attack gain occurs before the actual combat occurs. (So it will get the +3 attack before damaging the enemy minion)
Makeshift Hammer - Same rules as Security Bot, see above. This is my third Wildcard.
God King Rastakhan - Can't gain taunt because taunted immune minions would probably be very difficult to beat.
Neutral
Notes:
Goblin Assassin - If you target the effect on a friendly minion, it will give your opponent a coin when it dies. (Could be useful in mill decks maybe?)
Reno the Risktaker - It sets your health to 1, but your max health total stays the same. (So you could heal yourself back up.)
The Year of the Tortoise presents...
There's an old Tauren saying: "Only by looking at the infinite calm of the Great Sea you can know who you really are". It's not as calm as they say, however!
Countless dangers lie in the bottom of this huge mass of salty water: enormous beasts whose weird aspect is only matched by their ferocity, sunken temples with ancient curses waiting to be awaken, fearsome nagas plotting to get their revenge and, well... there are murlocs too.
And remeber: the deeper they are, the harder they bite...
When you Dive , your Hero will be covered in bubbles until the start of your next turn. How can you do that?
Well, some cards in this expansion are awesome divers, so you might need to ask them for help if you want to activate these effects...
As fearsome as Queen Azshar a is, Diving is worth nothing by itself.
However, it is incredibly usefull in order to power-up the most deadly creatures of the ocean...
The ocean is huge and Diving fauna is not the only interesting thing you can find there.
Hunters , for instance, discovered that another type of creature that can be as helpful as Beasts to take down their prey...
And as effective Murloc irrationality can be, Priest found some allies of extreme intelligence and magic capabilities.
I am of course, talking about the Naga Sirens, who are specialliced in illusions and mind bending.
As we can see, the sea is a indicator of the biologic diversity that lives in Azeroth, altough it can also be a witness of its history.
Many ancient ruins lie in the bottom of the Great Sea, like the sunken Lost Citadel .
This ancient civilization built marvelous mechs thanks to the Arcanium, a mineral that generates an infinite amount of arcane energy.
One day, however, a huge Arcanium fragment that powered the whole citadel became sentient and destroyed the entire civilization...
Another of this ruins is the Tomb of Sargeras , built by the Night Elves 10,000 years ago to confine the creator of the Burning Legion.
Many ancient horrors are enclosed in this ominous temple, which you can only control by making great sacrifices.
We have seen a lot of dangers that exist in the Depths of the Great Seas , altough its surface is not much safer.
If your ship carries precious loot, it will be boarded by one of the many Pirate bands that sails them.
FULL CARD LIST
Druid - Underwater Fauna
"All he needs is a hug. I promise."
Simple Dive -consuming minion that can be really powerfull if you manage to activate it in the early game. Because of that, it has great synergy with the neutral Intrepid Diver .
It can fit nicely in every Druid deck that features Dive , both the aggro and control-oriented.
"This lady has 'Fin' in her name and is not a Murloc? Whaaat?"
Druid's Dive activator that can also be useful if you don't draw any of your Dive -consumers.
Both effects have awesome synergy, as Elusive can help to protect the on-going Dive effect. Right now you can only trigger both with Fandral Staghelm , but in my next expansion, there will be another card to enable this.
"Coatls are aquatic snakes that can also fly. So, they are the reptile equivalent of ducks."
Its combination of high Spell Damage and low Mana cost can enable degenerated combos. However, it requires you to be Diving , which usually needs you to spend Mana if you want to activate it consistently.
"Eat ship, motherkraken!"
Levantus has a really powerful on-going effect, altough you have to be at least at turn 8 to activate it right away (or to use Mana cheats, of course).
This card fits the Druid theme of tricky removal, along with other cards such as Naturalize or Recycle .
Hunter - Murlocs and Beasts
"Ok, fishie, shake your fin!"
If you have a couple Beasts, she allows you to use your Hero Power for free, which can help Hunter to become the aggro king once again.
Keep in mind that if you activated Furl, the Feral Murloc , this card reduces the Mana cost of your HP just by itself.
"The Coldlight clan are the Murlocs that live in the deepest parts of the ocean. Even deeper than, well, the Deepfin."
This card is pretty similar to Menagerie Warden , although it's cheaper and its effect is delayed.
It works very well with Furl, the Feral Murloc , as both cards combined can copy some valuable Murlocs such as Murloc Warleader .
"This is what happens when you try to make a crossover of The Lion King and The Little Mermaid."
Classic pseudo card-draw for Hunter that requires you to have a big board.
If you combine this card with Furl, the Feral Murloc , any Murloc that dies will give you two cards: a Murloc and a Beast.
"Sir Finley's polar opposite."
Furl, the Feral Murloc allows you to create a full Murloc deck in Hunter, while still being able to activate all Beast synergy spells the class has. You might even add some aggro Beasts to the mix, such as Scavenging Hyena .
As it has been illustrated above, this card has awesome synergy with all other Hunter cards of the set.
Mage - The Lost Citadel
"The first rule of the Lost Citadel is: don't trust anything. Specially those weird iron statues that are everyehere."
Mage features a ton of cheap spell synergy in this expansion. The first of these cards is the Arcane Sentinel , which allows you to tempo-out a medium-sized Taunt if you cast a lot of spells in your turn.
It can be useful both in the early game (because tempo is really good in early stages) and in the late-game (after playing the huge amount of spells that Arcanium, Infinite Mana grants you).
"This card does not obey the rules of thermodynamics."
This card is a cheap spell that generates more cheap spells. The tokens have the cantrip effect because they would be a dead draw in the late game otherwise.
It has really good synergy with the other Mage cards of the set.
"Mana crystals go in the blue bin."
Pretty useful effect that ensures that you never run out of spells. However, you must be careful, as overusing it can be detrimental.
It's a great set-up for Arcanium, Infinite Mana .
"He was just a huge Mana crystal that powered the whole Citadel, until he became sentient and, you know, slaughtered all his masters."
Win condition for a cheap spell Mage, that allows to do many things with the spells he gets you. You might get lethal with the burst he generates, or you can clear the board and play some defensive Secrets.
Paladin - Noble Sea Creatures
"Winner of the 'Best Daddy in the Expansion' award."
This minion can prove to be really sticky if you manage to attack with it having Divine Shield and then Dive to gain it back.
"He finds a pearl every single time he dives. All other Murlocs wonder how he does that."
Really dangerous card if you have a lot of minions and Prayer of the Seas is active. It can target itself, so this combo works even if this is your only Murloc (altough you become really weak to single-target removal).
"You can learn it in the closest Church of Neptulon."
It's an awesome activator for all other Paladin cards of the set. However, it requires you to have a big board, so you might want to have other ways to Dive in order to gain consistency.
"He thinks he's very compassive, but is actually a huge classist. He only rescues legendary minions."
Appart from being a reference to a kids song, this card can generate a lot of value, altough it's quite difficult to pull it off (unless you have a board buffed by Prayer of the Seas when you play him, but that's not going to be a common case, I think)
Priest - The Naga Sirens
"She can pull anything from her hat. From a rabbit to a tiny Ragnaros."
As the flavour text suggests, this card can be nuts when the opponent has minions with big on-goin effects or Deathrattles, such as The Lich King , Ragnaros the Firelord or Sylvanas Windrunner .
"Naga sirens can be found in the underwater city of Nazjatar and over ambulances."
Potion of Madness on a stick for 1 more mana. It is also more RNG-dependant.
"Be water, my friend."
A shifting card similar to Shifter Zerus or Molten Blade , but it transforms every time your opponent casts a spell and it's not random.
Its effect can be a bit circumstancial, as the opponent might not use any spell that benefit you. It can also copy really valuable stuff in certain matchups.
"She used to be a beautiful Night Elf, but after smoking mana crystals for 10,000 years, her hair are snakes. Remember kids: say no to arcane magic."
Entomb effect on a good body for the mana cost. She is better used when you want to pick up a powerful minion.
(In order to make her effect match the character, whenever it is triggered, the affected minion will sink in a puddle)
Rogue - Greedy Buccaneers
"Feed the fish, landlubber!"
Rogue cards of Depths of the Great Sea are Control oriented Pirates that revolve around having big weapons and having a lot of Pirates in hand. This obviously fits the second criteria.
Altough it looks similar to Assassinate on surface, its cost-reduction can provide good tempo if you have a big hand.
"Seagull soup AGAIN?"
In order to build a Control deck, Rogues need some form of healing, which they currently lack. This card provides that, altough it is dependant on having a high-attack weapon.
It's a bit similar to Leeching Poison , but this card can benefit from not attacking.
"He's lacks an eye and is always drinking rum. Strangely enough, his accuracy is amazing."
Just as Crew Cook provides the healing Rogue lacks, this cards does the same for Area Damage. I made it dependant on durability because attack can be buffed by many Rogue cards, which would make this card dangerous.
"Most pirates only think about gold, killing and drinking rum, but Prix is different. She thinks about gold, killing, drinking rum AND tinkering cool stuff."
Master Gunner Prix brings together both Rogue sub-themes in this expansion.
She is the win condition of Control Pirate, altough a fairly slow one, as playing a lot of weapons in the same turn is pointless.
Shaman - The Tide Seers
"How to distinguish them from Water Elementals? Flood Conjurers get salty when they lose."
Shaman has some conditional Battlecries that can generate a lot of tempo if you are Diving .
Flood Conjurer is a simple, yet effective implementation of that mantra. If you are Diving , it's a slightly smaller Firelands Portal for 2 less Mana (and Primordial Glyph proved how effective that can be).
"From the tides! Death will rise! Mrglglgl!"
A simple spell, similar to Volcanic Potion , but with the benefit of Diving .
It's the only Dive card that can't trigger several times, although it has a lot of synergy with Deepfin Ritualist .
"It's unusual, but some murlocs just prefer to be left alone."
Acceptable value if you trigger one of the effects, and really insane if you manage to trigger both. It's obviously tailored to go with Power of the Tides if you can wipe the board. It can also be good with Shrlgl the Tide Seer , as it's pretty likely to find an empty board during the three Dive turns that she generates.
"Predicting the tides is not so difficult, to be honest."
Most Dive cards require you to spend Mana in order to activate their effect consistently, which is obviously not good for tempo.
With Shrlgl the Tide Seer , you will be able to Dive for free during three turns, which is a great way to enable Flood Conjurer , Deepfin Ritualist and the neutrals Guardian of the Tides and Abyssal Monstrosity .
Warlock - The Tomb of Sargeras
"Considering how expensive gas is these days, feeding your car engine with your soul is the better option."
Warlock's theme in this expansion is triggering effects depending on how many friendly minions died this game. This creates an strange archetype: a Control deck that benefits from filling your board with small tokens.
The first of this cards is the Engine of Souls , a big Taunt if you manage to sacrifice enough minions before you play it.
It can serve as a good Silence and removal-bait, which is a good preparation for the Avatar of Sargeras .
"Most Stormreavers died while Gul'dan tried to reach the Tomb of Sargeras. Such a good leader."
This card can generate a lot of bodies if the condition is met. It is really weak to AoE, but even in that case, it would help you to activate other "Sacrifice effects".
"Insert Monty Python reference here."
This card is similar to Vilespine Slayer , as it's a removal that doesn't lose tempo nor cards in hand. It requires less setup, than the Rogue plant, as once it reached certain number, it will one shot almost every minion. Therefore, it is one mana more expensive.
"Sargeras was the creator of the fearsome Burning Legion. Now he's just one of those blue guys that live in Pandora."
Win condition of this archetype, but also a huge gamble.
Sargeras the Mad Titan is a 10/10/10 with Elusive and Taunt , which is impressive both on attack and defense, and his only weakness are Silence minions. Avatar of Sargeras itself is also vulnerable to transform removal, so it's better if you can bait those with Engine of Souls .
Also, altough it's a big Demon, I think it's not broken with Recruit-like effects, because it's only good in the really late game.
As some of these effects require you to keep track of how many minions died, the card text would change during the battle in order to avoid the user's effort. Here are some examples:
So, the text presented in upper spoiler would only be displayed in the Collection browser. During battles, it would look like in this spoiler.
Warrior - The Mighty Myrmidons
"Don't confuse it with Trident Myrmidon. That's a chewing gum flavour."
Solid weapon for 4 Mana, as it's 3 Durability can let you clear many minions.
It's one of the friendliest Dive activators, as you can make use of it right away and can also trigger several times.
"It's hammer time!"
An effective removal tool for Dive Warrior.
It is comparable to Vilespine Slayer : it has a harder requirement, but has better stats and can repeat its effect. The damaged condition is a double edged sword, as it makes harder to trigger the effect but also lets you pick your target.
"Nagas tamed Dragon Turtles before Pandaren made it mainsteam."
A neat survivavility tool that can grow to huge amounts of Health by comboing it with more cards.
The most obvious and simple way to make it work is combining it with Queen Azshara .
"He's the second most important Royal Guard, after a guy named Shellk. They don't get along very well."
Win condition for Dive Warrior, that is kind of a Baron Geddon on steroids. He's designed to be hard to counter without removal, as he continuously clears your opponent's board and also puts some face pressure on it.
It's also worth noting that he doesn't damage your board, so you can combo him with Hammerhead Bloodseeker (which can help to clear even the biggest minions) and with Dragon Turtle (which protects Royal Guard Essok ).
Neutral
"He was the bravest diver of his promotion. Which means he'll probably get eaten soon."
A very solid way to activate cheap Dive consumers in the early game, such as Druid's Seerspine Puffer. As Dire Mole proved, a 1/1/3 is very sticky even without additional effects.
"When you can't remember where you buried your treasure."
I wanted to put a weapon Discover , because I think there aren't in the game. The requirement is there so that it's not broken in classes that only have access to K&C legendary weapons.
She has really good synergy with Rogue cards of this expansion.
"Don't go to the light!"
The classic oversized minion. It can work well in any Dive deck except Paladin, as that class is more about having a big Dive turn, rather that activating it consistently.
It fits best in Shaman, as it's good tempo.
"A good member in Dive decks and Japanese recipes."
This card is basically a huge Mana investment in order to gain permanent Dive (except against heavy AoE cards).
It can be used in control-oriented Dive classes, which are Druid and specially Warrior.
"His original name was Murloc Babysitter, but Guardian of the Tides sounds much cooler."
Can help to gain tempo when you have many Murlocs in a Dive deck, so it fits naturally in Paladin and Shaman.
Really good follow-up for Shrlgl the Tide Seer .
"He takes Pirate kids that don't go to bed in time."
A way to gain additional Dive effects if you don't have enough in your deck, with a solid statline. It's obviously RNG dependant, as some Dive cards are really bad in certain situations (for instance, Intrepid Diver is really bad in turn 4+).
He cannot pull Queen Azshara , as she cannot Dive at all if you get her in the middle of a game (also, it doesn't make sense to have a naga kidnapping his queen).
"The father of all Deepfin murlocs. As you can see, he has been to a lot of family dinners."
This card gives murloc decks the last chance to do something in the mid-game, just in case your early game missed.
However, your deck must have a lot of Murlocs if you want it to do something.
"Her addiction to magic lead her people to become horrible fish monsters. They still follow her, somehow."
The Queen of all nagas provides a reliable (altough inefficient) way to activate your Dive consumers, from the beginning of the game. She compensates this by having awful stats.
"The reason of Jaina's daddy issues."
Admiral Proudmoore generates a lot of value if you let it go wild. And even if you deal with the Admiral right away, you will still need to kill the Battleship , as it also has high health and does also generate a lot of value.
Hall of Fame (friendly reminder)
Sorcerer's Apprentice gets replaced by Snowchugger
This little gnome is a great obstacle when it comes to designing Mage spells. For instance, it doesn't allow something like a Mage Echo spell. Also, she can create Exodia combos too easily in combination with Archmage Antonidas , which is not interactive. For this reason, we decided to move her to the Hall of Fame.
It will be replaced by Snowchugger , which is also a common 2-cost Mage minion that we feel is pretty balanced. It will also help to the return of Mech Mage, which will need a lot of support to be viable, as this the expansions of this year will be of reduced size.
Preparation gets replaced by Lotus Assassin
Miracle Rogue has been around from the beginning of Hearthstone, due to the fact that it has a lot of core cards in the Classic and Basic set, such as Backstab , Gadgetzan Auctioneer , Eviscerate or Edwin VanCleef . Preparation is another card on this list that is especially problematic, as it does not only draw a card if paired with Gadgetzan Auctioneer , but also nets you a maximum of 3 mana, which is nuts even by Druid standard.
This card will be replaced by Lotus Assassin . While this card differs a lot in terms of card type and mana cost, it helps establish Stealth as a core theme for Rogue, which hasn't a lot of support currently.
Innervate reverts its nerf and gets replaced by Living Roots
Innervate has been a problematic card since the begining of Hearthstone, and one of the major reasons that Druid didn't get good high-cost cards. For this reason, when Ultimate Infestation was released, Innervate got nerfed to half its effect and became The Coin . We want to restore this card to its former glory, but without causing trouble. Thus, we've decided to move it to the Hall of Fame maintaining its previous effect.
It will get replaced by Living Roots , another cheap common spell which focuses on flexiblity as one of the core aspects of the Druid class.
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