Welcome, one and all, to Quest Givers Anonymous, a Hearthpwn Custom Adventure Competition! This is the Discussion Thread, where you can bounce ideas off of each other. As usual, try to offer advice alongside asking for some. It will go a long way, especially in a contest of this size! If you were looking for the Submission Thread, head on over here.
You may also find it useful to ask a question or two on the Hearthpwn Discord. The mods are there and can try to answer any concerns you may have.
For those who have been playing Hearthstone for a bit longer, you may remember "Adventures", the singleplayer experience that preceded the Dungeon Run-based content we have now. Newer players may also recall the singleplayer content released alongside Knights of the Frozen Throne; that is an Adventure.
Quest Givers Anonymous gives you the opportunity to show off your card creation skills on a much larger scale. Over the next few months, contestants will:
Follow an outline based on the Blackrock Mountain adventure. Create two boss decks and a final boss deck for each wing. Each wing will take up a phase and each phase lasts 2 weeks. The fourth and fifth wings have 3 bosses and a final boss, instead.
A boss deck entails a mixture of cards found in-game, some custom-made cards, and, most importantly, the Boss' Hero Power.
Furthermore, Adventures have rewards! As such, for each boss, there will be card rewards for a player who defeats a boss.
Hopefully, this quick overview gives you an idea of what to expect going forward. Other more technical questions will be addressed in the FAQ section below.
We are on to Phase Two!
Now that you've settled in, it's time to throw a few curveballs at you.
There are two challenges this time around.
You are able to showcase four cards this round! The catch? You must either choose to showcase four of your reward cards, or two reward cards, a boss portrait and their corresponding Hero Power.
If you choose four reward cards, you may not showcase any legendaries.
If you choose a boss, their Hero Power, and two other cards, that boss' Hero Power cannot be passive.
The second challenge is more limiting in its nature. Your final boss of the second wing must have a Hero Power that is three lines or less, including the "Hero Power" or "Passive Hero Power" at the top.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly am I making?
You will be making an entire Adventure singleplayer expansion.
The number of bosses and card rewards are the same as Blackrock Mountain.
In Blackrock Mountain, there are:
For the Neutrals: 6 commons, 2 rares, no epics, and 5 legendaries. For class cards: one common and one rare for each class.
I have to follow the reward structure of Blackrock Mountain, but do I have to follow the exact order too? For example, Wing One has a neutral, a Rogue common, a Priest rare, etc. etc.
No. You can reward players with your cards in any order you want, so long as the class-neutral and rarity ratios stay the same, and you follow how each boss rewards one card per victory.
How do I present my creation?
You entire submission goes in the Submission Thread.
The Boss' portrait and Hero Power go in a spoiler. Boss decklists must be listed under the same spoiler. Use a separate spoiler for each deck. If your boss deck has any custom cards, they must also go in the same spoiler.
For each wing, you may present up to three cards outside of a spoiler. (Each wing will usually have either five or six cards.)
Furthermore, you are allowed a short paragraph introducing your Adventure, or continuing where you left off in future weeks.
In the past, due to a large number of entries, we'd have a public poll and a percentage of that phase would move on, while the rest were eliminated.
The public poll takes place in a separate voting thread, just like in a weekly competition.
Depending on the number of entries, we can continue to do that, or, if people prefer and there are fewer entries, votes will instead be accumulated throughout phases and no one is eliminated.
Am I allowed to work on future wings before a Phase starts?
Yes, but, there may be a challenge or an extra requirement thrown your way which might force you to redo some parts.
Am I allowed to work with someone else?
Yes. You may work with one other person provided they have a Hearthpwn account. You will need to inform the moderators before you team up.
Do I have to make heroic versions of each boss' Hero Power and deck?
No, but if you do, they need to be under a spoiler.
Some bosses have special mechanics, like starting with a card. How do I denote this?
Simply state that the boss does in its decklist spoiler.
Do I have to state which boss has a class challenge?
Yes.
Do I need to introduce a keyword?
No.
Do boss decks require at least one custom card?
No, you can have a boss deck with no custom cards at all.
Am I allowed to have additional fancy graphics in my submission?
You are allowed a single, simple banner. In the past, several talented individuals were able to dazzle voters with their artistic and photo manipulation skills. While the moderator teams wants everyone to compete to the best of their abilities, it was decided by the previous moderator team to not allow too many additional graphics. We will honour that decision. Whether a banner is allowed or not is up to the discretion of the moderator team. An example of an acceptable banner can be found here.
The exception to this rule are the dialogue boxes that pop up during Adventures and other singleplayer content. You may have a reasonable number of them, if you choose to add them in.
I have some ideas for extra things! How do I implement them?
"Bonus" or "secret" battles, sort of like the cow king: You can have bonus battles, but you may not break from the number of bosses you are supposed to do for that wing. For example, Wing One in Blackrock Mountain has 3 bosses. You may do two bosses and then one bonus battle, but not 3 bosses and an additional battle.
New heroes (like Arthas), card backs, etc.: You can add as many additional non-card rewards as you want. For the most part, these do not affect any technical aspects of this competition. These must be place under a spoiler, however, as having many of these would fall under having too many fancy graphics.
What are the real-life rewards?
You will earn the special silver card creator border and, as per tradition, you may accept an interview from the mod team that gets posted on the front page. Lastly, a small bundle of packs will be in order.
Competition Process
The Competition Process, as stated above, is slated to be one wing per two weeks with a voting period of 3 days, leaving a total of 11 days for card creation. Five wings will take a total of 10 weeks. This is a tentative estimate and the moderators will be continually monitoring the flow of the competition.
Phase One, Wing One: January 4th — January 16th Voting period: January 16th — January 18th
Phase Two, Wing Two: January 18th — January 30th Voting period: January 30th — February 1st
Phase Three, Wing Three: February 1st — February 13th Voting period: February 13th — February 15th
Phase Four, Wing Four: February 15th — February 27th Voting period: February 27th — February 29th
Phase Five, Wing Five: February 29th — March 12th Voting period: February 12th — March 14th
Discussion Topic Rules
As usual, we have a few basic rules. They're the same as the rules in a Weekly Competition, so most of you should have no problem here.
To make sure that everything runs smoothly, we need to reserve the Submission Topic for submissions only. Everything else goes here. What is everything else, you might ask?
Rules or Process. Do you have a question about the competition's process? Do you need clarification about one of the entry requirements? Are you not sure whether your entry adhered to the rules? Ask here!
Feedback or Ideas. Do you have some ideas you'd like to run by others before settling on one? Do you need help balancing or wording your entry? Do you need help finding art that will fit your card? Or do you just want feedback from the community on your entry? You're in the right place! Remember, although you are allowed to make minor tweaks to your entry after you've submitted it, you're only allowed one submission per week, so make sure that you've settled on your card for sure beforehand.
Discussion! Do you have thoughts on other people's entries? Are there directions you don't like that you're seeing too many people take? Or directions you'd like to see more people take? Would you like to help others and contribute to a greater community understanding of Hearthstone card design and balance? This is where you want to be!
All of that said, please refrain from the following:
Posting TONS of Ideas. Discussion topics become an absolute mess if everybody is posting a dozen different ideas. Please post not more than 3 distinct ideas at a time. Any more than that and we'll have to delete your post.
Advertising Your Entry. As a rule of thumb, please don't pop in here just to advertise your entry only to never be heard from again. This includes only asking short, generic questions like "Thoughts?" or "Do you think this is interesting?". Yes, getting feedback on your entry is one of the purposes of this topic, but we're not just here for other people to help you. We're here for you all to help each other.
Plagiarism. Many people post their ideas here before finalizing them in the submission topic. Directly plagiarizing those ideas to post in the submission topic yourself is absolutely not acceptable.
Hey everyone ! It's going to be a tough couple of week for me so let's get to the competition :
Emerald Dreams and Nightmares
"In the deepest forest lays a grove of emerald, a flourishing domain of ethereal peace. But the place has been cast in a gloomy slumber and there's no comming back for those who fall asleep. Hurry adventurers before the land despairs ! Come to follow your dreams and face your worse nightmares !"
This adventure is inspired by the Emerald Dream and Emerald Nightmare, as well as the events of the War Against the Nightmare. It will feature a new keyword : Phantasm which lets you add an extra copy of the card to your deck. Players would be given 3 copies of common/rare/epic cards with Phantasm and 2 copies of legendary cards with the keyword. The number of cards in a deck would still be 30 as Phantasm would only affect the number of copies of a card that can be added to a deck.
Wing 2: The Twisted Woods
As you step deeper into the forest, you find yourself surrounded by broken trees and the shadows of dangerous beasts. It seems like the corruption of the land has taken hold on nature itself.
Can you restore the forest's lost vitality ?
Showcase cards :
Boss 1 : Delilah
This dryad was a fierce defender of the forest but she has be taken over by a fantasy that clouds her mind.
Decklist
This deck should be all about bouncing minions so I imagine many Battlecries but I don't know yet what the strategy will be.
Rewards (class chalenge: Mage)
Boss 2 : Rottenbark
Treants are usualy mind their own buisness but this one wants to suck your life force !
Decklist
This is going to be a deck all about deathrattles, with cards like Rotten Applebaum. Still, I'm a bit concerned because I plan on doing an egg themed boss later on and I don't want this one to be too similar.
Rewards (class challenge: Shaman)
Boss 3 : Ursoc
The Bear god himself is now but a creature of the perverting force at work in the woods. Can you face the full might of the beast ?
Decklist
Some kind of Paladin/Warrior/Warlock self damage thing ? I think it'll come out well when I get the time to build it.
Rewards :
What do you think ? Might be a little rough but I like most of the cards and the bosses. I fear it's not cohesive enough tho.
Hey everyone ! It's going to be a tough couple of week for me so let's get to the competition :
Emerald Dreams and Nightmares
"In the deepest forest lays a grove of emerald, a flourishing domain of ethereal peace. But the place has been cast in a gloomy slumber and there's no comming back for those who fall asleep. Hurry adventurers before the land despairs ! Come to follow your dreams and face your worse nightmares !"
This adventure is inspired by the Emerald Dream and Emerald Nightmare, as well as the events of the War Against the Nightmare. It will feature a new keyword : Phantasm which lets you add an extra copy of the card to your deck. Players would be given 3 copies of common/rare/epic cards with Phantasm and 2 copies of legendary cards with the keyword. The number of cards in a deck would still be 30 as Phantasm would only affect the number of copies of a card that can be added to a deck.
Wing 2: The Twisted Woods
As you step deeper into the forest, you find yourself surrounded by broken trees and the shadows of dangerous beasts. It seems like the corruption of the land has taken hold on nature itself.
Can you restore the forest's lost vitality ?
Showcase cards :
Boss 1 : Delilah
This dryad was a fierce defender of the forest but she has be taken over by a fantasy that clouds her mind.
Decklist
This deck should be all about bouncing minions so I imagine many Battlecries but I don't know yet what the strategy will be.
Rewards (class chalenge: Mage)
Boss 2 : Rottenbark
Treants are usualy mind their own buisness but this one wants to suck your life force !
Decklist
This is going to be a deck all about deathrattles, with cards like Rotten Applebaum. Still, I'm a bit concerned because I plan on doing an egg themed boss later on and I don't want this one to be too similar.
Rewards (class challenge: Shaman)
Boss 3 : Sylendra the Sleepless
The Bear god himself is now but a creature of the perverting force at work in the woods. Can you face the full might of the beast ?
Decklist
Some kind of Paladin/Warrior/Warlock self damage thing ? I think it'll come out well when I get the time to build it.
Rewards :
What do you think ? Might be a little rough but I like most of the cards and the bosses. I fear it's not cohesive enough tho.
In general it looks good. I like Feral Shapeshifter and Cursed Wood Totem. However, I don't realy like Power Word: Dream. Actualy, I'm also not a fan of Power Fantasy from previous phase. Preventing minions from attacking can be realy strong, almost as strong like just destroying them. The exceptions are minions with Taunt, or effect good enough that you should clear them anyway. In all the other scenarios, it's even better than destroying a minion, because it lowers amount of minions your opponent can control. And, with Silence on Power Word: Dream, you can easily overcome all what it has worse than destroying a minion. So, I'd either remove Silence, or increase it's cost a bit.
Thanks @MrBurger for your feedback. While I agree that "can't attack" can often be close to being destroyed, their are many minions with ongoing effects that still work. When it comes to Power Word: Dream, I tried to work around that with the card Dream which bounces a minion back to it's owner's hand. This way, the opponent can pick up their minion and play it again if they want to. Maybe I should be very clear in my post that it's the card Dream specificaly and not just any Dream Card (I know it's confusing sorry).
Oh, that changes everything. Well, technically there's nothing wrong in it's text, but some people will probably miss that there's no "Card" in text, just like me. If I'd find another way to write the effect, I will let you know. For now I only had idea of putting "Dream" in quote, but not sure if that will solve problem.
"Tales of wonder, whispers the sea. Tales of plunder, robbery and thieves! Tales about pirates, burly and mean! And among them a Rogue engineer. Leading the Defias, the fearsome VanCleef! But as every reign of terror, condemned to fall. As with every failure, gold left behind. So who's the brave, who'll claim the treasure? Pirates from all nations, will raid Ironclad! But most of them are fated to fail, due to the path being a treacherous trail! Through the Vile Reef you must battle, the Stranglethorn Vale you must survive! And only then the dreaded Deadmines you'll finally find! But be careful, because dead man tell no tales... about the treasures of VanCleef."
Wing 2: Stranglethron Jungle
Greenskin finally managed to dock his ship into the Stranglethorn shores! But, don't think that your adventure is coming to an end! To arrive to the Deadmines, you'll need to cross the Stranglethorn Jungle, plagued with ferocious beasts and murlocs!
Just after arriving at the Stranglethorn shores, a giant crab attacks you! How are you suposed to beat him, the all mighty tech against aggro decks? Or more importantly, how has a giant crustacean arrived to Stranglethorn? And why does he know Paladin spells?
Entering the jungle you find two tribes of murlocs. But, what's more unsettling, it's the identity of one of the races... Deep Sea Murlocs?!? Whatever made those pests go outside the ocean must not be good! Get ready for a three-sided battle! (Nibbler will be in the battlefield like a tavern brawl boss, but you'll still be able to hit Gluggl. If you defeat Gluggl before the Deep Sea murloc, he'll substitute him like the King of Rats boss from Dalaran Heist). Also, Nibbler can't be killed by Poisonous minions nor hard removal spells.
You're reaching the Deadmines! But a giant white tiger is in your way! Worry not, because Hemet's own son is here to support you! Defeat the ferocious beast and Jr. will join your cause!
King Bangalash starts with a Panther of the Grove, but Hemet jr. gives you 2 resourceful shots!
Also, King Bangalash relinquished some power from local divinity, Shirvallah, the Loa! He starts with the following shrine:
Power Word: Dream: "Silence a minion and give it Can't Attack. Add Ysera's Dream to your opponent's hand." That might clear up what "Dream" is.
Cursed Wood Totem: Really weak. Even if you copy a powerful Totem, it ends up as a 0/5, as useless statline. Am I missing some combo potential here? Also, a typo.
Feral Shapeshifter: Hmmmm... I think it's ok, but a little weak. It's either a worse Devastate, or a 3/1 vanilla minion, which is a pretty bad statline.
I like Delilah's power a lot. Rottenbark, also good.
Haunted Ancient: Again, maybe "Ysera's Nightmare". Also this is really scary... That's 10 damage in hand.
Pincer Strike: Typo in card name. Hmmmmm... really hard to evaluate this card...
Panther of the Grove: Another very hard to evaluate card. I think, ultimately, it is too high-rolly and polarizing to see widespread play. It's nuts on turn 4 or even 5, but beyond that it is completely useless.
Resourceful Murloc: Very powerful card. Careful with this, Murloc Shaman was strong for a while, this might make it too strong. Also, Murloc as a tribe is capitalized.
I've been thinking about this Dream Cards issue and I think the best I can do is add the token next to the card. I don't want to change the wording because it's how named token spells are worded in the game. While I'm happy with the balance of Power Word: Dream, I might change Haunted Ancient to only add 1 Nightmare to hand. I don't want it to be too boring but since it's common, garanteeing 4 Nightmares in hand might be too good.
Cursed Wood Totem is hard to balance. It has more Health than most Totems (espacialy the basic ones) but it can be very weak if you have no Totem in play and their aren't that many good Totems to copy. Maybe a different statline would work better, something like 2 Mana 1/4...
Feral Shapeshifter is tricky because I want it to be a real removal option but also potential tempo. I think I change the text to "Attack a random damaged enemy character." (not sure if random is necessary) This way it can go face as well and doesn't backfire.
Okay, I'm gonna post my WIP. It's not much yet, so let me know what do you think:
Wing theme: The second wing in my adventure is going to be set in some orcish citadel, probably Warspear. Not sure if I should showcase Mag'har Orcs or regular ones, since my adventure takes place in this weird timeline somewhere in between Warlords of Draenor and the regular one.
Boss 1: Draka and Durotan
How does this fight work? It's kinda similar to George and Karl, but not quite. Draka and Durotan switch places each turn. Their hand and deck is shared, but their Hero Power and Health is different. Once you defeat one of them, the other will draw a bunch of cards, gain some Armor and get an upgraded Hero Power.
Rewards:
A Neutral minion when you defeat them.
A Shaman card for the class challenge. I know, they're both Warriors, but they're the parents of Thrall, one of the most powerful Shamans in the lore.
Boss 2: Orgrim Doomhammer
How does this fight work? Well, it's pretty straightforward. This guy will run a ton of weapon buffs in his deck, as well as some low cost minions to do something until he can use his Hero Power.
Rewards:
Blackrock Instructor is the regular reward. There is a running theme in my Adventure of "army spells", which summon a variable number tokens. So far, we've seen Hunting Pack in the previous wing, but there'll be two or three more.
Horde's Assassin is the Rogue challenge reward. Orgrim himself will run this minion in his deck.
Boss 3: Ner'zhul
How does this fight work? Ner'zhul will run an Overload Shaman deck. The main issue is that you'll be Overloaded as well.
Rewards:
A Warlock card as regular reward. Even if the Ner'zhul portrayed here is still a Shaman, he's often referred as the first Warlock.
Ner'zhul as the wing reward. His effect is based on the fact that he can foresee the future.
Okay so I'm going through my first draft and while I like the cards, I think the bosses are kinda boring... I know my first wing didn't get as much love as others and I think it's got something to do with my designs not being very creative. Now I get a chance to make something better and I want to give it my best shot. So let's go crazy !
Boss 1 : Delilah
This dryad was a fierce defender of the forest but she has be taken over by a fantasy that clouds her mind.
Decklist
STILL WIP. I want to give a big twist to this boss which will start with a permanent that affects the cost of cards. I need to figure it out.
Rewards (class chalenge: Mage)
Boss 2 : Rottenbark
Treants are usualy mind their own buisness but this one wants to suck your life force !
I changed Cursed Wood Totem's design into something that's a bit more interesting and gives it more potential. Also Rottenbark's HP makes more sense as a passive I think. A few changes that I mentioned in my last post where inputted. I like the layout overall ! Tell me what you think about all this.
Okay, so here's what I have for second wing so far.
Fungal Forest
"Ah, finally, the Fungal Forest! That's the shortest way to my home! It's one of most dangerous tracks, but what is life without a bit of risk!"-said Groag-"Also, I have you, so what could go wrong?"
First Boss: Groag
The point here is that Groag has eaten mushrooms, and you must save him. He has no deck, and doesn't draw cards. He will start with 5 copies of Glowing Mushroom at his side. If he dies, you will lose.
Rewards(Class Challenge: Priest)
Second Boss: Necrofibrus
He will play with Warlock deck containing some disruptive cards, and ones that destroy minions. I will also add either some Deathrattle/Sacrifice themed cards, or some self-damage/Health restoring ones, so he has way to destroy you.
Rewards (Class Challenge: Mage)
Third Boss: King Bolethal
He will play with Warrior deck, with small and medium minions and Warrior offensive spells. When he will be about to die, his deck, minions and hand are "drained' by Bolethal, and he will change into his raged form and get back his full health. He won't draw cards after that.
Rewards:
Fungal Servant:
So, that's everything I've made so far.
Now, let me look at other contestants entries:
@Klipce
All bosses look good enough. However I have question about Ursoc. Does his Hero Power refresh at the start of his turn too? If yes, wording is good, but if it's intended to refresh only when he takes damage, I'd change it to: "Refreshes only when you take damage.", or something like that
Power Word: Dream: Now, when I know how it works, I realy like this card.
Veil of Delusion: I wonder if that card isn't slightly too strong, comparing to Potion of Polymorph. But, I guess it's fine.
Cursed Wood Totem: I liked this when I saw it for the first time, and I like it now. I'm not sure which was more balanced, well it can gain some good effects, but there are only 5 collectible totems which have point here. And basic totems aren't realy good targets. So, it may be good how it is now.
Feral Shapeshifter: Not sure if it shouldn't be 2 Mana. I mean, it's now much better than cards like Sinister Strike, Kobold Sandtrooper, Leper Gnome or Shadowbomber. Well, those are not realy strong, but still your card is far stronger than them. And having enemy hero be damaged isn't realy hard. Also, it still has potential to be used as 3 damage removal.
@Wailor
Orgrim Doomhammer: Isn't his Hero Power a bit too strong? Especially considering weapon buffs? Of course I mean default one, Heroic has its own rules.
Not much more to say actually, looks fine so far.
@whatTheHeck
Most of cards look good. I realy like Resouceful cards in your adventure.
Pincer Strike: Yeah, I'm not quite a fan of cards affecting neutral ones in such direct ways. But, maybe some other people would like it more.
Panther of the Grove: Well, at one point it could turn out to help you, so it could be 5/4, but on the other point it's rather weak on 6 turn and further. Well, I realy like concept, but it looks to be not a card that can be balanced, no matter of stats you would gave it.
Hemet Nesingwar Jr.: Affecting history bar is also not a design i like. And, this could be "Destroy all minions played by your opponent last turn, and the effect would be similar. But, you can wait for feedback of other people, maybe I'm the only one who has some strange requirements.
Wow, I've been trying to structure my whole adventure in a way that the rewards fit each boss and it's extremely hard to do, especially considering the distribution of class challenges.
Well I finally made it, and I hope that I'm not too late to have some feedbacks ! And also, my congratulations MrBurger for your win on the First wing !
Celestial Coup d'Etat
"Above the Sky, in the country of the Angels, a great troubles are taking place. After the attack on Dalaran, the people above the skies are now scared of the earthlings, and some began to question the autority of the King Melkhiel. Negociations were inefficient, and an insurgency take a city and claim independance ! Even if the King is open to discussion, the rebels are violent, and determined to destroy the Kingdom of the Skies, and you must stop them !"
This adventure is centered on the Kingdom above the Skies, a realm above Azeroth, and usually not interested by the events on the ground. But with the recent and terrible changes under the cloud the two worlds are now a little closer and the King Melkhiel ask help from everywhere ! In this adventure, you will fight rebellious and violent people from azeroth, but also from the sky, and you will face some of the most powerful Flying person ! Fly is a new keyword (intimely linked to my fan class the King), allowing character to bypass Taunt and protect it from damage which are not directly targeting it.
Wing Two : The Maze of Streets
Now you have entered the city, you must find your way into it ! You need to go to the upper districts, but the path will not be easy, and the city is well guarded by the local Militia, be careful !
Boss 1 : The City's Guards
They are... Quite numerous indeed ! But if you are fast enough, surely you can defeat them all !
Here is the main problem. They have corrupted the Captain. If you defeat him, maybe he will join you, but that not sure... If he defeats you on the other hand... I don't want to think about it...
Careful, you have some typos. Check your fist boss' hero power and your flavour texts for each boss fight.
Hmmmm Scarlet Shield. I like this idea, but I'd prefer it to be cheaper. Possibly 2 mana 0/3. Domestic Griffin, a little strong for a 2-mana, but fine.
Spell-Proofed... hm. If there is a broken combo with this card, keep it at 2. Otherwise, I think it's fine at 1 mana. Mystical Bow, yeah, it's very similar to The Fist of Ra-Den. I'd advise you to completely change it.
Angel Vindicator is really really weak. For a 6 mana combo-intensive minion, this won't cut it. At the same time, if you make it too cheap, it's broken. I'd put this at 5 mana 4/6 without Taunt, so it is comparable to Djinni of Zephyrs. Eolon is fine, though there are only 5 neutral minions with this ability, so he is not a very good deck build-around. I advise you to push this synergy a bit more with other cards in future wings.
Your boss decks and hero powers look great. I especially like that 5/5 minion that replaces your hero.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Competition Process
The Competition Process, as stated above, is slated to be one wing per two weeks with a voting period of 3 days, leaving a total of 11 days for card creation. Five wings will take a total of 10 weeks. This is a tentative estimate and the moderators will be continually monitoring the flow of the competition.
Voting period: January 16th — January 18th
Voting period: January 30th — February 1st
Voting period: February 13th — February 15th
Voting period: February 27th — February 29th
Voting period: February 12th — March 14th
Discussion Topic Rules
As usual, we have a few basic rules. They're the same as the rules in a Weekly Competition, so most of you should have no problem here.
To make sure that everything runs smoothly, we need to reserve the Submission Topic for submissions only. Everything else goes here. What is everything else, you might ask?
All of that said, please refrain from the following:
Hmm???
Heh, I thuoght about a change for Hero Power of my last boss. At least these challenges helped me decide.
Hey everyone ! It's going to be a tough couple of week for me so let's get to the competition :
Emerald Dreams and Nightmares
"In the deepest forest lays a grove of emerald, a flourishing domain of ethereal peace. But the place has been cast in a gloomy slumber and there's no comming back for those who fall asleep. Hurry adventurers before the land despairs ! Come to follow your dreams and face your worse nightmares !"
This adventure is inspired by the Emerald Dream and Emerald Nightmare, as well as the events of the War Against the Nightmare. It will feature a new keyword : Phantasm which lets you add an extra copy of the card to your deck. Players would be given 3 copies of common/rare/epic cards with Phantasm and 2 copies of legendary cards with the keyword. The number of cards in a deck would still be 30 as Phantasm would only affect the number of copies of a card that can be added to a deck.
Showcase cards :
Boss 1 : Delilah
This dryad was a fierce defender of the forest but she has be taken over by a fantasy that clouds her mind.
Decklist
This deck should be all about bouncing minions so I imagine many Battlecries but I don't know yet what the strategy will be.
Rewards (class chalenge: Mage)
Boss 2 : Rottenbark
Treants are usualy mind their own buisness but this one wants to suck your life force !
Decklist
This is going to be a deck all about deathrattles, with cards like Rotten Applebaum. Still, I'm a bit concerned because I plan on doing an egg themed boss later on and I don't want this one to be too similar.
Rewards (class challenge: Shaman)
Boss 3 : Ursoc
The Bear god himself is now but a creature of the perverting force at work in the woods. Can you face the full might of the beast ?
Decklist
Some kind of Paladin/Warrior/Warlock self damage thing ? I think it'll come out well when I get the time to build it.
Rewards :
What do you think ? Might be a little rough but I like most of the cards and the bosses. I fear it's not cohesive enough tho.
In general it looks good. I like Feral Shapeshifter and Cursed Wood Totem. However, I don't realy like Power Word: Dream. Actualy, I'm also not a fan of Power Fantasy from previous phase. Preventing minions from attacking can be realy strong, almost as strong like just destroying them. The exceptions are minions with Taunt, or effect good enough that you should clear them anyway. In all the other scenarios, it's even better than destroying a minion, because it lowers amount of minions your opponent can control. And, with Silence on Power Word: Dream, you can easily overcome all what it has worse than destroying a minion. So, I'd either remove Silence, or increase it's cost a bit.
Thanks @MrBurger for your feedback. While I agree that "can't attack" can often be close to being destroyed, their are many minions with ongoing effects that still work. When it comes to Power Word: Dream, I tried to work around that with the card Dream which bounces a minion back to it's owner's hand. This way, the opponent can pick up their minion and play it again if they want to. Maybe I should be very clear in my post that it's the card Dream specificaly and not just any Dream Card (I know it's confusing sorry).
Oh, that changes everything. Well, technically there's nothing wrong in it's text, but some people will probably miss that there's no "Card" in text, just like me. If I'd find another way to write the effect, I will let you know. For now I only had idea of putting "Dream" in quote, but not sure if that will solve problem.
Hey, one little question...
Will we need to do four bosses in the two final wings?
I know it won't be applied until later rounds, but I'd like to know it in order to plan my wings better.
Yup. I think that was mentioned in the opening blurb, not the FAQ.
The Treasures of VanCleef
"Tales of wonder, whispers the sea. Tales of plunder, robbery and thieves! Tales about pirates, burly and mean! And among them a Rogue engineer. Leading the Defias, the fearsome VanCleef! But as every reign of terror, condemned to fall. As with every failure, gold left behind. So who's the brave, who'll claim the treasure? Pirates from all nations, will raid Ironclad! But most of them are fated to fail, due to the path being a treacherous trail! Through the Vile Reef you must battle, the Stranglethorn Vale you must survive! And only then the dreaded Deadmines you'll finally find! But be careful, because dead man tell no tales... about the treasures of VanCleef."
Showcase cards:
Boss 1: Crusty the Crustacean
Random crabs:
Hungry Crab
Golakka Crawler
SN1P-SN4P
Starving Crab
Light-Infused Crab
Just after arriving at the Stranglethorn shores, a giant crab attacks you! How are you suposed to beat him, the all mighty tech against aggro decks? Or more importantly, how has a giant crustacean arrived to Stranglethorn? And why does he know Paladin spells?
Decklist
Minions (16):
Spells (14):
Reward:
Boss 2: Gluggl... and Deep Sea Murlocs!?
Boss Spells:
Entering the jungle you find two tribes of murlocs. But, what's more unsettling, it's the identity of one of the races... Deep Sea Murlocs?!? Whatever made those pests go outside the ocean must not be good! Get ready for a three-sided battle! (Nibbler will be in the battlefield like a tavern brawl boss, but you'll still be able to hit Gluggl. If you defeat Gluggl before the Deep Sea murloc, he'll substitute him like the King of Rats boss from Dalaran Heist). Also, Nibbler can't be killed by Poisonous minions nor hard removal spells.
Decklist
Minions (28):
Spells (2):
Rewards (Class Challenge: Shaman):
Boss 3: King Bangalash
You're reaching the Deadmines! But a giant white tiger is in your way! Worry not, because Hemet's own son is here to support you! Defeat the ferocious beast and Jr. will join your cause!
King Bangalash starts with a Panther of the Grove, but Hemet jr. gives you 2 resourceful shots!
Also, King Bangalash relinquished some power from local divinity, Shirvallah, the Loa! He starts with the following shrine:
Decklist
Minions (25):
Spells (5):
Rewards (Class Challenge: Hunter):
Thoughts about the cards? Especially I'm not sure about hemet's and panther's effects.
Click here to see my custom pirate adventure, The Treasures of VanCleef! https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/fan-creations/240766-expansion-competition-the-treasures-of-vancleef
Here's some quick feedback from me.
Power Word: Dream: "Silence a minion and give it Can't Attack. Add Ysera's Dream to your opponent's hand." That might clear up what "Dream" is.
Cursed Wood Totem: Really weak. Even if you copy a powerful Totem, it ends up as a 0/5, as useless statline. Am I missing some combo potential here? Also, a typo.
Feral Shapeshifter: Hmmmm... I think it's ok, but a little weak. It's either a worse Devastate, or a 3/1 vanilla minion, which is a pretty bad statline.
I like Delilah's power a lot.
Rottenbark, also good.
Haunted Ancient: Again, maybe "Ysera's Nightmare". Also this is really scary... That's 10 damage in hand.
Ursoc's power, also good.
Pincer Strike: Typo in card name. Hmmmmm... really hard to evaluate this card...
Panther of the Grove: Another very hard to evaluate card. I think, ultimately, it is too high-rolly and polarizing to see widespread play. It's nuts on turn 4 or even 5, but beyond that it is completely useless.
Resourceful Murloc: Very powerful card. Careful with this, Murloc Shaman was strong for a while, this might make it too strong. Also, Murloc as a tribe is capitalized.
Hope to see your Boss powers soon.
Thank you @McF4rtson for your feedback !
I've been thinking about this Dream Cards issue and I think the best I can do is add the token next to the card. I don't want to change the wording because it's how named token spells are worded in the game. While I'm happy with the balance of Power Word: Dream, I might change Haunted Ancient to only add 1 Nightmare to hand. I don't want it to be too boring but since it's common, garanteeing 4 Nightmares in hand might be too good.
Cursed Wood Totem is hard to balance. It has more Health than most Totems (espacialy the basic ones) but it can be very weak if you have no Totem in play and their aren't that many good Totems to copy. Maybe a different statline would work better, something like 2 Mana 1/4...
Feral Shapeshifter is tricky because I want it to be a real removal option but also potential tempo. I think I change the text to "Attack a random damaged enemy character." (not sure if random is necessary) This way it can go face as well and doesn't backfire.
Okay, I'm gonna post my WIP. It's not much yet, so let me know what do you think:
Wing theme: The second wing in my adventure is going to be set in some orcish citadel, probably Warspear. Not sure if I should showcase Mag'har Orcs or regular ones, since my adventure takes place in this weird timeline somewhere in between Warlords of Draenor and the regular one.
Boss 1: Draka and Durotan
How does this fight work? It's kinda similar to George and Karl, but not quite. Draka and Durotan switch places each turn. Their hand and deck is shared, but their Hero Power and Health is different. Once you defeat one of them, the other will draw a bunch of cards, gain some Armor and get an upgraded Hero Power.
Rewards:
Boss 2: Orgrim Doomhammer
How does this fight work? Well, it's pretty straightforward. This guy will run a ton of weapon buffs in his deck, as well as some low cost minions to do something until he can use his Hero Power.
Rewards:
Boss 3: Ner'zhul
How does this fight work? Ner'zhul will run an Overload Shaman deck. The main issue is that you'll be Overloaded as well.
Rewards:
Okay so I'm going through my first draft and while I like the cards, I think the bosses are kinda boring... I know my first wing didn't get as much love as others and I think it's got something to do with my designs not being very creative. Now I get a chance to make something better and I want to give it my best shot. So let's go crazy !
Boss 1 : Delilah
This dryad was a fierce defender of the forest but she has be taken over by a fantasy that clouds her mind.
Decklist
STILL WIP. I want to give a big twist to this boss which will start with a permanent that affects the cost of cards. I need to figure it out.
Rewards (class chalenge: Mage)
Boss 2 : Rottenbark
Treants are usualy mind their own buisness but this one wants to suck your life force !
Decklist
Minions (21):
Spells (5) :
Weapons (2) :
Rewards (class challenge: Shaman)
Boss 3 : Ursoc
The Bear god himself is now but a creature of the perverting force at work in the woods. Can you face the full might of the beast ?
Decklist
Minions (10) :
Spells (19):
Weapons (1) :
Rewards :
I changed Cursed Wood Totem's design into something that's a bit more interesting and gives it more potential. Also Rottenbark's HP makes more sense as a passive I think. A few changes that I mentioned in my last post where inputted. I like the layout overall ! Tell me what you think about all this.
Okay, so here's what I have for second wing so far.
Fungal Forest
First Boss: Groag
The point here is that Groag has eaten mushrooms, and you must save him. He has no deck, and doesn't draw cards. He will start with 5 copies of Glowing Mushroom at his side. If he dies, you will lose.
Rewards(Class Challenge: Priest)
Second Boss: Necrofibrus
He will play with Warlock deck containing some disruptive cards, and ones that destroy minions. I will also add either some Deathrattle/Sacrifice themed cards, or some self-damage/Health restoring ones, so he has way to destroy you.
Rewards (Class Challenge: Mage)
Third Boss: King Bolethal
He will play with Warrior deck, with small and medium minions and Warrior offensive spells. When he will be about to die, his deck, minions and hand are "drained' by Bolethal, and he will change into his raged form and get back his full health. He won't draw cards after that.
Rewards:
Fungal Servant:
So, that's everything I've made so far.
Now, let me look at other contestants entries:
@Klipce
All bosses look good enough. However I have question about Ursoc. Does his Hero Power refresh at the start of his turn too? If yes, wording is good, but if it's intended to refresh only when he takes damage, I'd change it to: "Refreshes only when you take damage.", or something like that
Power Word: Dream: Now, when I know how it works, I realy like this card.
Veil of Delusion: I wonder if that card isn't slightly too strong, comparing to Potion of Polymorph. But, I guess it's fine.
Cursed Wood Totem: I liked this when I saw it for the first time, and I like it now. I'm not sure which was more balanced, well it can gain some good effects, but there are only 5 collectible totems which have point here. And basic totems aren't realy good targets. So, it may be good how it is now.
Feral Shapeshifter: Not sure if it shouldn't be 2 Mana. I mean, it's now much better than cards like Sinister Strike, Kobold Sandtrooper, Leper Gnome or Shadowbomber. Well, those are not realy strong, but still your card is far stronger than them. And having enemy hero be damaged isn't realy hard. Also, it still has potential to be used as 3 damage removal.
@Wailor
Orgrim Doomhammer: Isn't his Hero Power a bit too strong? Especially considering weapon buffs? Of course I mean default one, Heroic has its own rules.
Not much more to say actually, looks fine so far.
@whatTheHeck
Most of cards look good. I realy like Resouceful cards in your adventure.
Pincer Strike: Yeah, I'm not quite a fan of cards affecting neutral ones in such direct ways. But, maybe some other people would like it more.
Panther of the Grove: Well, at one point it could turn out to help you, so it could be 5/4, but on the other point it's rather weak on 6 turn and further. Well, I realy like concept, but it looks to be not a card that can be balanced, no matter of stats you would gave it.
Hemet Nesingwar Jr.: Affecting history bar is also not a design i like. And, this could be "Destroy all minions played by your opponent last turn, and the effect would be similar. But, you can wait for feedback of other people, maybe I'm the only one who has some strange requirements.
Wow, I've been trying to structure my whole adventure in a way that the rewards fit each boss and it's extremely hard to do, especially considering the distribution of class challenges.
Yeah, I also faced that problem, but i finally got it. That would be probably easier if I'd do that during first phase.
Well I finally made it, and I hope that I'm not too late to have some feedbacks ! And also, my congratulations MrBurger for your win on the First wing !
Celestial Coup d'Etat
"Above the Sky, in the country of the Angels, a great troubles are taking place. After the attack on Dalaran, the people above the skies are now scared of the earthlings, and some began to question the autority of the King Melkhiel. Negociations were inefficient, and an insurgency take a city and claim independance ! Even if the King is open to discussion, the rebels are violent, and determined to destroy the Kingdom of the Skies, and you must stop them !"
This adventure is centered on the Kingdom above the Skies, a realm above Azeroth, and usually not interested by the events on the ground. But with the recent and terrible changes under the cloud the two worlds are now a little closer and the King Melkhiel ask help from everywhere ! In this adventure, you will fight rebellious and violent people from azeroth, but also from the sky, and you will face some of the most powerful Flying person ! Fly is a new keyword (intimely linked to my fan class the King), allowing character to bypass Taunt and protect it from damage which are not directly targeting it.
Boss 1 : The City's Guards
They are... Quite numerous indeed ! But if you are fast enough, surely you can defeat them all !
Decklist :
Minions (15) :
Spells (13) :
Weapons (2) :
Truesilver Champion x2
Rewards : (Class Challenge : Druid)
Boss 2 : The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant loves magic, and loves protecting his men. And what he loves the most ? Combining the two options, of course !
Decklist :
Minions (18) :
Spells (12) :
Rewards : ( Class Challenge : Hunter)
Boss 3 : The Captain of the Guard
Here is the main problem. They have corrupted the Captain. If you defeat him, maybe he will join you, but that not sure... If he defeats you on the other hand... I don't want to think about it...
Decklist :
Spells (23) :
Weapons (7) :
Rewards :
My Fan-Class : The King
@Granduroi
Mystical Bow is very similar to The Fist of Ra-den. Maybe you should make some changes to it? Also, Spell-proofed might be 1 Mana.
Careful, you have some typos. Check your fist boss' hero power and your flavour texts for each boss fight.
Hmmmm Scarlet Shield. I like this idea, but I'd prefer it to be cheaper. Possibly 2 mana 0/3.
Domestic Griffin, a little strong for a 2-mana, but fine.
Spell-Proofed... hm. If there is a broken combo with this card, keep it at 2. Otherwise, I think it's fine at 1 mana.
Mystical Bow, yeah, it's very similar to The Fist of Ra-Den. I'd advise you to completely change it.
Angel Vindicator is really really weak. For a 6 mana combo-intensive minion, this won't cut it. At the same time, if you make it too cheap, it's broken. I'd put this at 5 mana 4/6 without Taunt, so it is comparable to Djinni of Zephyrs.
Eolon is fine, though there are only 5 neutral minions with this ability, so he is not a very good deck build-around. I advise you to push this synergy a bit more with other cards in future wings.
Your boss decks and hero powers look great. I especially like that 5/5 minion that replaces your hero.