The Custom Class Competition is back for its sixth iteration! We welcome any newcomers as well as old hands who've run through this grueling gauntlet of card creation before.
The good news is, said gauntlet is much smaller this time around. With the release of Demon Hunter, Blizzard has shown us how they release a custom class midway in the game's lifespan. Therefore, we will simulate this as close as possible. Take the time to read the rules or procedures below.
This is the Submission Thread! Submit your final work here!
This is a posting tutorial for the website imgur.com. If you use another website, the process will be similar.
It is recommended you use hearthcards.net to create your cards. Save the generated card to your device.
Upload the image to imgur.com. You do not need an account.
After your image is uploaded, many links will be generated. Find the "Direct link". It will have a .jpg or .png at the end of the link. Copy the link.
On your hearthpwn post, find the "Insert/edit image" button:
Paste the direct link. This is recommended but not mandatory: You may choose to make the image smaller by changing the image dimensions.
Overview
All contestants will create one custom class, following the layout of Demon Hunter.
There will be a total of 45 cards, down from 65+ cards from previous competitions.
All contestants will select a past expansion to simulate their class releasing, like how Demon Hunter was released during Ashes of Outland.
The contest will run for 4 weeks.
Week One: 10 Basic cards.
Week Two: 10 "Initiate" cards.
Week Three: The other 10 "Initiate" cards.
Week Four: 15 expansion cards.
"Initiate" means the supplemental 20 cards Blizzard printed for Demon Hunter. Yours do not have to be named Initiate set.
Like the previous contest, barring a large number of contestants, all participants will move forward with each passing week, the victor being the one who gets the most total votes.
Challenge
Since some contestants may have decided to get a head-start on creating cards, I have decided to implement just one challenge, and it is a challenge that should have already been met:
At least one card (minion, spell, or weapon) can only have a single line, or less, of text.
You must adhere to the following rules or risk disqualification:
Unless otherwise stated, you are allowed three cards to showcase. All other cards must be hidden in a spoiler.
You may include flavour texts. For the showcase cards, their texts do not need to be spoilered.
You may include a single banner at the top of your submission post. It may not be overly fancy. This is entirely subjective and the moderators have the right to remove a banner they feel is too fancy and, therefore, gives an inherent advantage over other posts.
Golden cards are not allowed, nor are huge images that feature your cards with a background.
If you choose to include other images other than a banner, they must be hidden behind a spoiler.
F.A.Q.
What expansions can I choose from?
You may select from any expansion except Mean Streets of Gadgetzan. This is due to the nature of tri-class cards.
Uh oh spaghettios, class cycles.
As I briefly touched upon in a reply in the preliminary thread, when the fourth week rolls around and you have to choose an expansion to slot your class into, you must have at least one all-class cycle.All-class, in this context, means both a cycle shared between all 9 classes, and a cycle that the League of EVIL classes or Explorers classes share.
While, at first, it seems to make sense that your custom class should adhere to all all-class cycles in a given expansion, Demon Hunter did not have a Prime legendary. However, it is recommended that you include all all-class cycles in your custom class. Some all-class cycles hinge on other cycles within the expansion. Use common sense when choosing which cycles to use and to not use. (ex. You do not have a Loa, but instead choose to have a Loa shrine)
To clarify, here are the all-class cycles you may choose from:
GvG: A class mech.
TGT: There is no theme shared between all classes.
WOTOG: There is no theme shared between all classes.
RR: Legendary Loa, thematically supporting legendary minion, Loa Spirit card with a 0/3 statline
RoS: EITHER One Lackey generation card + One Scheme spell OR Two Twinspells
Furthermore, each of the EVIL members have a "callback" to the expansions they were first introduced in. However, you do not need to do this as your custom class is being introduced and has nothing to callback.
SoU: EITHER A Plague spell OR A singleton legendary, a Quest that changes your Hero Power as a reward.
DoD: EITHER Galakrond + a Galakrond support card OR a Dragon Explorer minion + Two Sidequests, a Legendary Dragon.
AoO: There is no theme shared between all classes.
9/10 classes have a Prime legendary, 9/10 classes have a Dormant minion.
What about card cycles not shared between all nine classes, like Omega cards, or Aspirant cards?
You may pick and choose from those.
What about Hero Cards like Hagatha, Dr. Boom?
After much thought, I have decided to, for now, disallow Hero Cards in your expansion set unless it is a Galakrond hero. While I am aware Warlock came with Jaraxxus in their Classic set, I feel as though a new class receiving a massive power spike in the form of a Hero Card while other classes did not in that expansion will create an even worse problem DH did upon arrival.
Can I rename the "Initiate" set to whatever I want?
Yes.
What watermarks do I use?
For the "Initiate" set, you can use whatever watermark you think makes the most sense.
Do I have to follow the rarity distribution of the Demon Hunter Initiate set?
Yes.
You may not introduce a Legendary spell or Hero in the Initiate set as there are none in the current Demon Hunter example we've been given.
Do I need to adhere to Warcraft lore?
The short answer: no.
The long answer: Try your best to do so. Even if your Hero is not a character found in Warcraft, you can still achieve a general feel of Warcraftiness by using in-game place names and references. Put in the work and use some elbow grease. Do your research on WoWwiki.
Demon Hunter introduced new keywords into the Basic Set. What keywords can I now use?
I have decided to interpret this precedent as strictly as possible. As only Rush and Lifesteal were added, no other keywords besides these two are allowed to be added to the list of Basic set keywords.
The list of keywords allowed in the Basic set now includes: Battlecry, Taunt, Spell Damage, Divine Shield, Freeze, Windfury, Poisonous, Rush, and Lifesteal.
Demon Hunter introduced a 1-mana Hero Power. Can we have non-2 mana Hero Powers?
Yes. Again, this precedent is taken as strictly as possible. You may have either a 1 or a 2 mana Hero Power, nothing else.
Maybe more?
Competition Process
Week One: June 7th - June 14th. There will then be a pause between the 14th and the commencement of Week Two, in order to set up a final voting period for Week One.
How the final voting period will be structured depends on the number of entries:
A small number of entries: Decided by a poll, votes are cumulative. No one is eliminated.
A medium number of entries: Decided by upvotes. Only the bottom-scoring few are eliminated.
A large number of entries: Decided by upvotes. A set percentage of entries will be cut. (For example, bottom 30% of entries)
It's my first time taking part, but I have been making my custom cards on reddit pretty regularly for some time now, so I figured I would give it a try here.
The Blood Mage
Short comment on the hero: I wanted to use Lana'thel, who was generally known as "The Blood Queen", but I didn't do it for a few reasons. Firstly, she is now dead in WoW lore. Secondly, she has already appeared in Hearthstone as a Knights of the Frozen Throne card for Warlock. Moreover, (the most stupid reason) her name is too long. Most of the heroes have short names, so when the innkeeper introduces them before the fight, it sounds cool. Now, Thal'ena (Lana'thel's daughter) has a shorter name, so I decided to use her instead.
The Basic Set
Explanation on some cards: 1. "Blood Essence" is an independent card, not just a token generated from "Vampyr's Kiss". 2. "Dark Ritual" is meant to work in a way, that you have to firstly kill your minion, and only then - an enemy minion. If you have an empty board, you can't use "Dark Ritual".
Hello, people. I am about to introduce to you: The Witch
The Witch class is focused around controlling the board and summoning familiars to help you take down the enemy. The new keyword found in the Witch class will be Blood Pact.
My first time taking part as well, and I bring you the ever creative Monk!
Class Identity:
The class focuses on control tools, heals, hero attacking, and minion bouncing. They also have some dragons, and a new keyword coming with future sets, Chi, to enhance some of their cards with bonus effects when played later in the game at the cost of additional Mana.
Showcase Cards
Remaining Basic Cards
Token
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Rastakhan's Rumble has some good art, lemme tell you... Also I'm a Class Design Finalist! Check out the Monk here!
Introducing the Illusionistclass, featuring Myranda the Hag!
There are several themes to the illusionist class:
-A Hero Power that helps to control the randomness of other cards, or to avoid effects completely
-Making your opponent see things that aren't there
-A new keyword called "Morph", which condenses the phrase "At the start of your turn, destroy this minion and..." into a single word. Doomsayer, for example, would essentially be "Morph: Destroy ALL minions."
Additional Information:
The main difference between a Morph card and a Dormant card is that Morph cards are live the moment they are played, and your opponent has the chance to deal with it before its effect triggers. Just like a Dormant card, Morph cards cannot attack the turn their effect triggers (unless it has Rush/Charge), making it slow but powerful.
There are also different ways to use the Levitate hero power. A simple way would be to lift an enemy Taunt minion that is in the way. Another way would be to lift one of your minions so it won't get hit by an effect from one of your cards (i.e. Barron Geddon or Mad Bomber). A third way is to lift an enemy minion to help control a random effect (i.e. Ragnaros the Firelord). Two important notes, all other end-of-turn effects trigger before the minion is returned to the board. Also, if you use it on an enemy minion, it is returned to the board at the end of your turn and can still attack/function like normal on your opponent's turn.
All in all it's a slow class; just like any good Illusionist trick, it requires time to set it up. But the class has a variety of cards that interact with the hero power (making single-target removal easier), strong-statted early game minions (often with a negative effect attached to it; great risk often comes with great reward), and plenty of tricks up it's sleeve!
SHOWCASE CARDS
TOKENS:
Remaining Basic Set:
Remaining Token:
Hope you like it!
Notes: Illegal entry: Uses keywords not allowed in the Basic Set.
First of all - English is not my native language (:
Now about the hero himself. Initially, I wanted to make a hero in the lore of the game, but due to the lack of suitable art for any warcraft blood mages, I made a fictional hero, but close to the lore of the game. They are not blood elves and have nothing to do with Kael'thas. These are users of real blood magic (google it if necessary).
Primordial magic in her hand and fierce companions by her side, the Saurok sorceress Siarsilis Wildfire comes out of the jungle ! The Primalist class brings the strength to owerwhelm your opponents with tribal synergies and the power of the elements.
Hero Power Tokens :
The Primalist can rely on their Hero Power to always have a minion on board. You will randomly get a different one with each use, offering you a wide range of tribes to synergize with.
Showcase Cards :
Swarming strategies looking to fill the board with minions of various tribes and improve their power over the course of the game are at home with the Primalist. Defensive abilities are also part of their kit, allowing them to protect their brood or come back from a bad position.
Remaining Basic Set :
Tokens :
Edit: Butterfly Effect now deal damage to one neighbour only.
I hope you enjoyed my class' design and flavor. I'm thrilled to keep working on the Primalist over the next few weeks and see the competition develop. Have a good day !
"Hey kid, have someone ever told you about true power? It's not light or sheer force or whatever those stupid priests, warriors and other dimwits told you! Money's where power is at! Money fluctuates like magic and is unstable as the elements, but if you plan your moves ahead you should be fine! Of course, we have an army of merchants to help you arrive to the top easily, an if you're more of taking your opponents economy slowly, we know a few guys that can help you dish damage constantly. Remember also that health is a resource, you should use it well! If you follow all my tips you'll be number 1 in no time! However, arriving there is only the first step. Once your pockets are full, then the fun begins! Unleash the big guys and glee as they destroy the competition, all while protecting all your properties with taunts and spells!"
Showcase cards:
Other cards from the basic set:
Flavour texts:
Small Seller: He just needs more visibility.
Grim Extorsionist: Turns out Coldlight Oracle would've been a good debt collector.
Amortization: That healing may come in handy.
Market Guard: Silverback Patriarch's powercreeps are priceless.
Leeching Banker: Not all bankers are bad. Some are just goblins.
Strongbox Guard: Yet your safe combination is 1234.
Gold-fueled construct: Yes it may be expensive, but it's a brand robot!
Risky Purchases: That's why you shouldn't craft anything when a new expansion releases.
Extortion Income: What? You thought this was a completely legal business? How naive.
Contingency Plan: For when the full yolo fails.
Hope you like my basic set! Also here's the keyword I'll us for the initiate set, it's like an inverse Overload:
Mastering the dark arts with her spectacular skill, Zivvy Slumbertoe is one of the few mighty sorcerers that can handle the powerful magic of the void. You bet, she is your best ally and your worst enemy, untill...she suddendly falls asleep! That's right, this little, skillfull gnome has just one big problem: she is narcoleptic! But don't let your guard down, as hers powers can still harm you: being a sleepwalker, Zivvy can fight even when she is asleep. And the void within her is waiting to set loose...
Hero Power Explanation:
As you can imagine, Zivvy cannot stay awake for long and as soon as the Hero Power is used this drowsy little gnome goes to sleep! Differently from the others, her Hero Power does not refresh normally since - well - Zivvy is sleeping. However, your opponent can always awake you making some noise, simply playing a card.
What's the point of the Hero Power you're asking? Well, being a sleepwalker Zivvy can fight even when she is asleep. Better to say, when dreaming Zivvy has access to a set of skills that enhances her combat style and empower her spells. This is particularly useful when playing cards with the Sleepwalker's specific Keyword, that is Nightmare.
Back when Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion came out, I was really disappointed as a big fan of the Warcraft franchise and an avid Hearthstone player that Blizzard decided not to implement an additional class. In my book the KotFT content never did the Death Knight player fantasy justice - so much potential was wasted back then. UI/UX limitations were always an issue with this I suppose (among other reasons). Now with the recent Demon Hunter announcement, I am wondering if the game's fundamental design space was opened up for even more character classes down the line. I sure hope so. I mean, when a new class was to be introduced, it made sense to pursue the Demon Hunter since the Death Knight player fantasy was sort of already explored. Anyhow, I decided to take matters into my own hands for now and designed a set of my own, a full-fledged Death Knight class. This is more of a starting point for further iterative work, an early draft if you will. All of the cards seen here would require a lot of playtesting if they were to be ever implemented into the game. Designing this set to keep it in line with the current Death Knight related content implemented was quite a challenge. I didn't want to reuse any cards, be it text or art nor to render them less meaningful in any way, shape, or form (even the ones from older/rotated out sets).
I tried to push boundaries with the designs, some cards are bound to be potentially game breaking - that is fine, I'd rather experiment and do something new and interesting, even if the entire set is scrapped after playtesting - an interesting gameplay aspect might emerge that can be further explored.
The permanent effect of Unholy Presence might prove to be problematic and as a result, will probably have to be further iterated upon into something like ‘Deal 1 damage to your hero and give it +2 Attack until the next time it attacks.‘ (2 mana). Still, I really want to prototype the initial 'bonkers' one and perhaps the playtesting sessions will give birth to something different and equally interesting.
Blood Presence probably needs an additional effect like 'If not used, restore 1 Health to your hero.'.
Notes: Illegal entry: Violates the fancy images rule and the 2 or 1-mana Hero Power rule.
Stay a while and listen. This is the story of Cornelia Inkheart. May I say, she was not the greatest warrior, nor she could conjure powerful magic with her hands... all she had was her books, her fellow companions... and the ability to bring her writing to life. She didn't know this yet, but as soon as Harth Stonebrew called her, she was about to be known as:
THE NARRATOR
This lady has dedicated her life to store ancient books and scrolls, thus getting to use such knowledge in the most varied ways. Legends say, books themselves can turn into living things under the correct uses of magic. And thus Cornelia's library is often populated with stewards that protect the very knowledge that gave them birth:
For ages it was known there was some power in the written words. This is but a sample of the power of a true virtuous story teller, and guardian of knowledge:
Pandaren Loremaster: Pandaren have recognized from early times the power of the written word. Loremasters have consecrated themselves to the task of recovering hidden knowledge, and mostly, of filling the many gaps existing in their history. But this power may also be used to punish the aggressors who threaten them, if magic fills the air, they can become a force to be reckoned, specially by aggressive decks.
The End: A Narrator's power is barely known, but is something to be feared. Many unexpecting foes met their demise when a powerful enough narrator could write about it in a specially vivid and evocating way. Yet, such writing requires time, and thus this spell can't be used for hasty situations, like getting through taunt minions.
Codex Guardian: A big library needs a lot of people working to keep it clean, clear of bugs, and safe from thieves and brutes. The Codex Guardian's has devoted her life to keep some of the most powerful secrets in the library from wrong hands, although in time, she'll call for help, proving to be very convincing. In a deck strong on minions, Codex Guardian is guaranteed to protect your hero from many attacks, specially thanks to the Book Keepers. Also works as shield for other minions, altough later on you could see yourself giving taunt to a minion you don't want to be attacked.
Sometimes a hero is not enough. Sometimes even a hero is not what we want, we prefer to play a villain! So why not combine the two desires, by playing two bad guys at once?
The Sisters is a very special class, combining the abilities of the Great Warlock Alythess and her sister, Lady Sacrolash, a powerful warrior. Their heroic powers not only give powers, but also allow them to change between the two sisters. This is the flavor of the class: you should not focus on one sister, but dance between them, and know how to take advantage of each other's abilities, especially with the keyword Sisters' Choice, which has a different effect depending on the sister leading the fight.
Being two, we could say that the sisters have no weakness, but they unfortunately have some : both being fighters, they do not particularly like to delegate their tasks to minions, and have no buffs to grant them . They also do not have a spell allowing them to do great damage to the opposing hero; Sacrolash uses her weapons to strike, and Alythess just destroy the minions with her powerful spells.
Showcase cards
Remaining Basic Set
Token
And of course, good luck for all other participants !
"Good news, everyone! I think I perfected a plague that will destroy all life on Azeroth!" - Professor Putricide
The Scientist
"Mad" for not being remembered in the scientists' expansion, the greatest mind of the Scourge hails for vengeance. The Scientist class will count with the power of science to take down the opponent's plans.
As for the class identity, it will consist mostly of card generation, AoE damage, poisonous and freezing minions, many random effects (we may never know the outcome of an experience, right?) and synergy with spells and the Concoctions, new mechanic of the Scientist's Hero Power. Upcoming sets will also feature deathrattles and secrets. It won't have good card draw, however, due to the card generation, and overall the gameplay is more reactive than offensive.
Concoctions are 1 mana spells that do something simple, slightly better than a regular Hero Power. This feature was inspired by Shaman's totems and the Spare parts:
The Demigod loathes lesser unworthy beings. killing minions in creative ways is her specialty. She wants flashy finales and won’t hit face unless it looks really epic.
The Demigod loves a fair fight. Being a Demigod with near Godlike powers, she doesn’t mind playing with a handicap.
The Demigod lives life to the fullest. Good, bad and lucky things happen all the time, so expect plenty of 50/50s.
Unique things: The Demigod starts at 30 health, but can heal up to 40.
Unique keywords: Sure why not, but one phase of this competition at a time.
Blood magic is a vile thing, to use your own life force to create powerful spells. Who can survive this deadly cost, igniting their own veins to defeat their enemies? The reptilians of course, with their incredible regenerative nature.
Bloodburner
Class Overview:
Self Damage focused
Powerful spells with drawbacks most of the time
Powerful Hero power and many Hero Power synergies
Dragons!
Is introduced during Rastakhan's Rumble
The Bloodburner is a fire and blood centered class, able to control the entire game but living on the edge due to many self damage effects. The class benefits often from being at low health which empowers a few cards. Health matters, both your own and the minions'. Just like priest plays with attack values, the Bloodburner plays with Health values. The Hero Power is the strongest asset besides your health pool, as many cards empower it and amplify it in some way. Because blood magic is so volatile most spells will harm you while the minions will protect you, either by being big taunts, healing or lessening the health costs of your magic.
Heroes of Azeroth every day must face countless dangers and all types of enemies: World-destroying demons, unspeakable eldritch horrors, undying abominations and very hungry seagulls, how would anyone last a day doing such an ungrateful job? The answer is simple: Power.
Adventurers draw power from the most various sources, some rely on ther physical strength, others use the power of mind to cast powerful spells, but there are some who decide to use the dangerous powers of the Shadow.
The Shadow, or Void, is the opposite of the Light, is one of the most fundamental forces of the universe, represents corruption, madness and despair, and it's the thing Void Lords, the creators of the Old Gods are made of.
Void grants many destructive powers, allowing the users to absorb the lifeforce of their foes to become almost immortal, push their opponents to madness and make them fight each other without raising an arm (metaphorically), or just boosting their offensive power to destroy everything on their path.
Some Adventurers mix this devastating force with the strength of themselves and their arms to deliver crushing blows and support their melee capabilities. This type of adventurers is called...
The Shadow Fighter
The Shadow Fighter represented by the Shadow Hunter and Warchief Vol'jin, is a class which specializes with the use of Shadow Magic combined with physical strength to wreak havoc upon the enemies. Its Hero Power, Shadow Fury, deals relatively heavy damage, but, as shadow as a force is very difficult to control, choosing a target is impossible and targeted, precision strikes are out of the question.
This class specializes on: Dealing Damage, both through burst and continued sources, Gaining resources through sacriice of Health or cards, Gaining health through draining effects, and can win by storming the enemy with strong and aggressive minions, or by gaining board control using efficient removal and staying alive by leeching the enemies' life.
The weak spots of the class instead are: No card generation and few defensive tools other than life draining effects.
The cards I've decided to showcase are: Devilish Voidcaster, Shadow Strike and Mass Drain.
Devilish Voidcaster represents the Early gane oriented part of the class and is a minion that sacrifices value to give a board presence which can value-trade or destroy a more expensive minion and showcases the remove from deck mechanic which will appear again in the Initiate Set. Shadow Strike is a spell that, while not being a weapon itself, showcases the idea of a melee fighter who delivers powerful strikes in expense of its own Health, and can be used both as an aggressive burst and as efficient removal. Mass Drain showcases both the Affliction part of the class (fun fact: Affliction Warlock uses, indeed, Shadow Magic.), gives an idea of a fighter who gains life by taking it from others, and its late game survival part by being a little control tool that acts also as an heal.
Other cards:
Tokens:
Other Cards Explainations:
Essence Steal: A Premium removal for control-oriented decks that also shows the healing aspect of the card. It's strictly better than Siphon Soul, but that's OK considering that Warlock cards are often strictly worse than other classes' cards because of their Hero Power (See Unstable Felbolt compared to Holy Smite, or Unwilling Sacrifice compared to Deadly Shot). Voidbound Fighter: A minon that, while being able to trade effectively with almost all 1-drops and many 2-drops, makes you pay for it by dealing you more damage more she survives, making you decide between spending more health or sacrificing a good minion. Shadowmoon Brawler: A decently stated minion that allows to gain board board control while also being not very hard to remove. Shadow Halberd: A weapon which allows you to deal burst damage if the board is clear, or to gain the board by potentially removing multiple minions in a turn. Dissolve: A spell that allows you to rapidly eliminate small minions or to efficiently remove bigger pieces, and introduces DOT mechanics in the class, and effectively, in the entire game. Soul Devourer: A card that by giving your spells and minions Lifesteal Can be used both in Aggro/Tempo to regain the health paid for other cards, or in Control for extra sustain. Also fits the criteria for the Challenge (At least one card (minion, spell, or weapon) can only have a single line, or less, of text.) Darkness Rift: Removes a small minion and summons a token, a good early-game swing, can be used as a little burn in a pinch.
Flavor Texts:
Devilish Voidcaster: To feed a Void Creature you must give them at least one card at lunch and one at dinner, and remember, they LOVE legendaries. -How to train your minion Vol. 3 Shadow Strike: When your Shadow union thinks your job is underpaid. Mass Drain: Some call this spell an horror of nature that evil wizards use to cheat death. Others call this "taxes". Essence Steal: If you steal the essence of a War Golem, don't you just grab some weird rocks? Voidbound Fighter: No matter what happens, don't call her a goth EVER! Shadowmoon Brawler: As Shadow became his new source of power, he doesn't believe in horoscopes anymore. Shadow Halberd: Can also serve as an emergency toothpick. Dissolve: Dauril Cloudsong used this spell at Azeroth's most important Hide-and-Seek competition and hasn't been found yet for 300 years. Soul Devourer: He may be a twisted entity that eats life essence for a living, but it's educated enough to leave you the leftovers. Darkness Rift: Void shades aren't very polite: they never knock before entering.
I hope you like this new class, and i wish good luck to all the other participants! To next week (hopefully)!
The Shrine Maidens are the ceremonial protectors of sacred places of worships. They do not seek to fight, but will defend their people and honor their ancestors at any cost. Through their worship, they are able to convene with the dead, and know their way around many rituals that guide their prowess in fighting. Through tradition, they are masters of wielding flames, manipulating them to scorch foes as well as empower their allies aura.
Shrine Maidens have access to much card draw, but are not interested in playing fast. They deny their opponent's options with specific conditions and from there are able to benefit more from their symmetrical effects. The class supports both sides having a smaller board, with randomly applied buffs on their side, and punishes for wide boards on the enemy's side. With card draw and being able to play their pace, the class likes to set up scenarios for strong and flashy turns.
Some example cards:
Groundskeeper provides healing to both players keeping the game going. It also allows your discretion with the hero power to have some control on its ability.
Though your Hero Power grants your opponent options, cards like Fate's Edict deny their plays and can force sub-optimal plays. It also depends on your own play order, which could also allow for combo set ups.
Combustion is great burst, which is optimized by having a small board to mitigate the random effect. It works like Arcane Missiles, only instead of damaging enemies, it gives +1 Attack to your minions 10 times.
With the rise of technology in the world of Azeroth, tinkers are becoming common among almost all factions and races. A rarer breed, however, are the geniuses among the tinkers who focus their intelligence on a particular type of technology and can lead impossibly ambitious projects that turn fantasy into reality. Some engineer's fantasize about great works of infrastructure or useful devices. Spanner Brassgrip had the kind of explosively charged fantasies that got him kicked out of Gnomeregan for, in his words, "being too fun." He took the exile in stride as now he and his like minded goblin and gnomish engineers have more time to indulge in their greatest works.
Unique Keywords: Surge
Core Keywords: Spell Damage, Immune while attacking
Scholars are the students, the teachers and the intellectuals of Azeroth, studying every day to enhance their magic, to craft revolutionnary potions and, most of all, to gain knowledge.
Knowledge Crystals are the new mechanic associated with the Scholar Class and are essentially a second mana type ressource that the class can use. Scholars can gain Knowledge Crystals through their hero power, or through several class cards (some of which will be revealed in the future). Unlike regular Mana Crystals, Knowledge Crystals are not gained at the start of each turn, and are not lost at the end of the turn. Knowledge Crystals can be acquired and stacked through different effects and will stay until they are used.
The main way to use Knowledge Crystals is through the Scholar's exclusive keyword: Study.
A card with Study will use up a certain number of your Knowledge Crystals to trigger an additionnal effect. Cards with this keyword will be unveiled when the classic set is released!
Class Identity
The Scholar's strength is card draw, heal and getting value with random spells. It will be limited when it comes to AOE and will be disadvantaged as far as direct damage and single targer removal goes. Furthermore, it has access to freeze cards.
Scholar decks will consist of two main archetypes. A control freeze deck that relies on big spells to keep control of the board and an aggressive token deck that creates small minions and buffs them to quickly win the game.
Now onto the cards!
Showcase cards
These three cards show the main strengths of the class. Scholars can heal themselves while setting up a powerful turn later on with Ancien Alchemist, they can make use of their knowledge crystals with Class Time! and they can finish off minions while keeping card advantage with Calculated Expansion.
The Custom Class Competition is back for its sixth iteration! We welcome any newcomers as well as old hands who've run through this grueling gauntlet of card creation before.
The good news is, said gauntlet is much smaller this time around. With the release of Demon Hunter, Blizzard has shown us how they release a custom class midway in the game's lifespan. Therefore, we will simulate this as close as possible. Take the time to read the rules or procedures below.
This is the Submission Thread! Submit your final work here!
Do NOT ask for feedback here.
Here is the Discussion Thread.
Posting Tutorial
Overview
Challenge
Submission Format
F.A.Q.
Competition Process
It's my first time taking part, but I have been making my custom cards on reddit pretty regularly for some time now, so I figured I would give it a try here.
The Blood Mage
Short comment on the hero: I wanted to use Lana'thel, who was generally known as "The Blood Queen", but I didn't do it for a few reasons. Firstly, she is now dead in WoW lore. Secondly, she has already appeared in Hearthstone as a Knights of the Frozen Throne card for Warlock. Moreover, (the most stupid reason) her name is too long. Most of the heroes have short names, so when the innkeeper introduces them before the fight, it sounds cool. Now, Thal'ena (Lana'thel's daughter) has a shorter name, so I decided to use her instead.
The Basic Set
Explanation on some cards:
1. "Blood Essence" is an independent card, not just a token generated from "Vampyr's Kiss".
2. "Dark Ritual" is meant to work in a way, that you have to firstly kill your minion, and only then - an enemy minion. If you have an empty board, you can't use "Dark Ritual".
Hello, people. I am about to introduce to you: The Witch
The Witch class is focused around controlling the board and summoning familiars to help you take down the enemy. The new keyword found in the Witch class will be Blood Pact.
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My first time taking part as well, and I bring you the ever creative Monk!
Class Identity:
The class focuses on control tools, heals, hero attacking, and minion bouncing. They also have some dragons, and a new keyword coming with future sets, Chi, to enhance some of their cards with bonus effects when played later in the game at the cost of additional Mana.
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Rastakhan's Rumble has some good art, lemme tell you... Also I'm a Class Design Finalist! Check out the Monk here!
Introducing the Illusionist class, featuring Myranda the Hag!
There are several themes to the illusionist class:
-A Hero Power that helps to control the randomness of other cards, or to avoid effects completely
-Making your opponent see things that aren't there
-A new keyword called "Morph", which condenses the phrase "At the start of your turn, destroy this minion and..." into a single word. Doomsayer, for example, would essentially be "Morph: Destroy ALL minions."
Additional Information:
The main difference between a Morph card and a Dormant card is that Morph cards are live the moment they are played, and your opponent has the chance to deal with it before its effect triggers. Just like a Dormant card, Morph cards cannot attack the turn their effect triggers (unless it has Rush/Charge), making it slow but powerful.
There are also different ways to use the Levitate hero power. A simple way would be to lift an enemy Taunt minion that is in the way. Another way would be to lift one of your minions so it won't get hit by an effect from one of your cards (i.e. Barron Geddon or Mad Bomber). A third way is to lift an enemy minion to help control a random effect (i.e. Ragnaros the Firelord). Two important notes, all other end-of-turn effects trigger before the minion is returned to the board. Also, if you use it on an enemy minion, it is returned to the board at the end of your turn and can still attack/function like normal on your opponent's turn.
All in all it's a slow class; just like any good Illusionist trick, it requires time to set it up. But the class has a variety of cards that interact with the hero power (making single-target removal easier), strong-statted early game minions (often with a negative effect attached to it; great risk often comes with great reward), and plenty of tricks up it's sleeve!
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Hope you like it!
First of all - English is not my native language (:
Now about the hero himself. Initially, I wanted to make a hero in the lore of the game, but due to the lack of suitable art for any warcraft blood mages, I made a fictional hero, but close to the lore of the game. They are not blood elves and have nothing to do with Kael'thas. These are users of real blood magic (google it if necessary).
Bloodmage
Basic Cards
The Primalist
Primordial magic in her hand and fierce companions by her side, the Saurok sorceress Siarsilis Wildfire comes out of the jungle ! The Primalist class brings the strength to owerwhelm your opponents with tribal synergies and the power of the elements.
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The Primalist can rely on their Hero Power to always have a minion on board. You will randomly get a different one with each use, offering you a wide range of tribes to synergize with.
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Swarming strategies looking to fill the board with minions of various tribes and improve their power over the course of the game are at home with the Primalist. Defensive abilities are also part of their kit, allowing them to protect their brood or come back from a bad position.
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Edit: Butterfly Effect now deal damage to one neighbour only.
I hope you enjoyed my class' design and flavor. I'm thrilled to keep working on the Primalist over the next few weeks and see the competition develop. Have a good day !
The merchant
Hero Power coin:
"Hey kid, have someone ever told you about true power? It's not light or sheer force or whatever those stupid priests, warriors and other dimwits told you! Money's where power is at! Money fluctuates like magic and is unstable as the elements, but if you plan your moves ahead you should be fine! Of course, we have an army of merchants to help you arrive to the top easily, an if you're more of taking your opponents economy slowly, we know a few guys that can help you dish damage constantly. Remember also that health is a resource, you should use it well! If you follow all my tips you'll be number 1 in no time! However, arriving there is only the first step. Once your pockets are full, then the fun begins! Unleash the big guys and glee as they destroy the competition, all while protecting all your properties with taunts and spells!"
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Other cards from the basic set:
Flavour texts:
Small Seller: He just needs more visibility.
Grim Extorsionist: Turns out Coldlight Oracle would've been a good debt collector.
Amortization: That healing may come in handy.
Market Guard: Silverback Patriarch's powercreeps are priceless.
Leeching Banker: Not all bankers are bad. Some are just goblins.
Strongbox Guard: Yet your safe combination is 1234.
Gold-fueled construct: Yes it may be expensive, but it's a brand robot!
Risky Purchases: That's why you shouldn't craft anything when a new expansion releases.
Extortion Income: What? You thought this was a completely legal business? How naive.
Contingency Plan: For when the full yolo fails.
Hope you like my basic set! Also here's the keyword I'll us for the initiate set, it's like an inverse Overload:
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
The Sleepwalker
Mastering the dark arts with her spectacular skill, Zivvy Slumbertoe is one of the few mighty sorcerers that can handle the powerful magic of the void. You bet, she is your best ally and your worst enemy, untill...she suddendly falls asleep! That's right, this little, skillfull gnome has just one big problem: she is narcoleptic! But don't let your guard down, as hers powers can still harm you: being a sleepwalker, Zivvy can fight even when she is asleep.
And the void within her is waiting to set loose...
Hero Power Explanation:
As you can imagine, Zivvy cannot stay awake for long and as soon as the Hero Power is used this drowsy little gnome goes to sleep! Differently from the others, her Hero Power does not refresh normally since - well - Zivvy is sleeping. However, your opponent can always awake you making some noise, simply playing a card.
What's the point of the Hero Power you're asking? Well, being a sleepwalker Zivvy can fight even when she is asleep. Better to say, when dreaming Zivvy has access to a set of skills that enhances her combat style and empower her spells. This is particularly useful when playing cards with the Sleepwalker's specific Keyword, that is Nightmare.
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Death Knight
Back when Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion came out, I was really disappointed as a big fan of the Warcraft franchise and an avid Hearthstone player that Blizzard decided not to implement an additional class. In my book the KotFT content never did the Death Knight player fantasy justice - so much potential was wasted back then. UI/UX limitations were always an issue with this I suppose (among other reasons). Now with the recent Demon Hunter announcement, I am wondering if the game's fundamental design space was opened up for even more character classes down the line. I sure hope so. I mean, when a new class was to be introduced, it made sense to pursue the Demon Hunter since the Death Knight player fantasy was sort of already explored. Anyhow, I decided to take matters into my own hands for now and designed a set of my own, a full-fledged Death Knight class. This is more of a starting point for further iterative work, an early draft if you will. All of the cards seen here would require a lot of playtesting if they were to be ever implemented into the game. Designing this set to keep it in line with the current Death Knight related content implemented was quite a challenge. I didn't want to reuse any cards, be it text or art nor to render them less meaningful in any way, shape, or form (even the ones from older/rotated out sets).
I tried to push boundaries with the designs, some cards are bound to be potentially game breaking - that is fine, I'd rather experiment and do something new and interesting, even if the entire set is scrapped after playtesting - an interesting gameplay aspect might emerge that can be further explored.
The permanent effect of Unholy Presence might prove to be problematic and as a result, will probably have to be further iterated upon into something like ‘Deal 1 damage to your hero and give it +2 Attack until the next time it attacks.‘ (2 mana). Still, I really want to prototype the initial 'bonkers' one and perhaps the playtesting sessions will give birth to something different and equally interesting.
Blood Presence probably needs an additional effect like 'If not used, restore 1 Health to your hero.'.
Introducing the Death Knight: A new Hearthstone class!
Devizz's LEGEND Aggro DH, 70% Win Ratio
Stay a while and listen. This is the story of Cornelia Inkheart. May I say, she was not the greatest warrior, nor she could conjure powerful magic with her hands... all she had was her books, her fellow companions... and the ability to bring her writing to life. She didn't know this yet, but as soon as Harth Stonebrew called her, she was about to be known as:
THE NARRATOR
This lady has dedicated her life to store ancient books and scrolls, thus getting to use such knowledge in the most varied ways. Legends say, books themselves can turn into living things under the correct uses of magic. And thus Cornelia's library is often populated with stewards that protect the very knowledge that gave them birth:
For ages it was known there was some power in the written words. This is but a sample of the power of a true virtuous story teller, and guardian of knowledge:
Pandaren Loremaster: Pandaren have recognized from early times the power of the written word. Loremasters have consecrated themselves to the task of recovering hidden knowledge, and mostly, of filling the many gaps existing in their history. But this power may also be used to punish the aggressors who threaten them, if magic fills the air, they can become a force to be reckoned, specially by aggressive decks.
The End: A Narrator's power is barely known, but is something to be feared. Many unexpecting foes met their demise when a powerful enough narrator could write about it in a specially vivid and evocating way. Yet, such writing requires time, and thus this spell can't be used for hasty situations, like getting through taunt minions.
Codex Guardian: A big library needs a lot of people working to keep it clean, clear of bugs, and safe from thieves and brutes. The Codex Guardian's has devoted her life to keep some of the most powerful secrets in the library from wrong hands, although in time, she'll call for help, proving to be very convincing. In a deck strong on minions, Codex Guardian is guaranteed to protect your hero from many attacks, specially thanks to the Book Keepers. Also works as shield for other minions, altough later on you could see yourself giving taunt to a minion you don't want to be attacked.
EDIT: Fixed a typo
Good luck, everyone!
Click to see my Hearthstone projects:
The Sisters
Sometimes a hero is not enough. Sometimes even a hero is not what we want, we prefer to play a villain! So why not combine the two desires, by playing two bad guys at once?
The Sisters is a very special class, combining the abilities of the Great Warlock Alythess and her sister, Lady Sacrolash, a powerful warrior. Their heroic powers not only give powers, but also allow them to change between the two sisters. This is the flavor of the class: you should not focus on one sister, but dance between them, and know how to take advantage of each other's abilities, especially with the keyword Sisters' Choice, which has a different effect depending on the sister leading the fight.
Being two, we could say that the sisters have no weakness, but they unfortunately have some : both being fighters, they do not particularly like to delegate their tasks to minions, and have no buffs to grant them . They also do not have a spell allowing them to do great damage to the opposing hero; Sacrolash uses her weapons to strike, and Alythess just destroy the minions with her powerful spells.
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And of course, good luck for all other participants !
My Fan-Class : The King
"Good news, everyone! I think I perfected a plague that will destroy all life on Azeroth!" - Professor Putricide
The Scientist
"Mad" for not being remembered in the scientists' expansion, the greatest mind of the Scourge hails for vengeance. The Scientist class will count with the power of science to take down the opponent's plans.
As for the class identity, it will consist mostly of card generation, AoE damage, poisonous and freezing minions, many random effects (we may never know the outcome of an experience, right?) and synergy with spells and the Concoctions, new mechanic of the Scientist's Hero Power. Upcoming sets will also feature deathrattles and secrets. It won't have good card draw, however, due to the card generation, and overall the gameplay is more reactive than offensive.
Concoctions are 1 mana spells that do something simple, slightly better than a regular Hero Power. This feature was inspired by Shaman's totems and the Spare parts:
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The Demigod loathes lesser unworthy beings. killing minions in creative ways is her specialty. She wants flashy finales and won’t hit face unless it looks really epic.
The Demigod loves a fair fight. Being a Demigod with near Godlike powers, she doesn’t mind playing with a handicap.
The Demigod lives life to the fullest. Good, bad and lucky things happen all the time, so expect plenty of 50/50s.
Unique things: The Demigod starts at 30 health, but can heal up to 40.
Unique keywords: Sure why not, but one phase of this competition at a time.
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Single sad token
Blood magic is a vile thing, to use your own life force to create powerful spells. Who can survive this deadly cost, igniting their own veins to defeat their enemies? The reptilians of course, with their incredible regenerative nature.
Bloodburner
Class Overview:
The Bloodburner is a fire and blood centered class, able to control the entire game but living on the edge due to many self damage effects. The class benefits often from being at low health which empowers a few cards. Health matters, both your own and the minions'. Just like priest plays with attack values, the Bloodburner plays with Health values. The Hero Power is the strongest asset besides your health pool, as many cards empower it and amplify it in some way. Because blood magic is so volatile most spells will harm you while the minions will protect you, either by being big taunts, healing or lessening the health costs of your magic.
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Heroes of Azeroth every day must face countless dangers and all types of enemies: World-destroying demons, unspeakable eldritch horrors, undying abominations and very hungry seagulls, how would anyone last a day doing such an ungrateful job? The answer is simple: Power.
Adventurers draw power from the most various sources, some rely on ther physical strength, others use the power of mind to cast powerful spells, but there are some who decide to use the dangerous powers of the Shadow.
The Shadow, or Void, is the opposite of the Light, is one of the most fundamental forces of the universe, represents corruption, madness and despair, and it's the thing Void Lords, the creators of the Old Gods are made of.
Void grants many destructive powers, allowing the users to absorb the lifeforce of their foes to become almost immortal, push their opponents to madness and make them fight each other without raising an arm (metaphorically), or just boosting their offensive power to destroy everything on their path.
Some Adventurers mix this devastating force with the strength of themselves and their arms to deliver crushing blows and support their melee capabilities.
This type of adventurers is called...
The Shadow Fighter
The Shadow Fighter represented by the Shadow Hunter and Warchief Vol'jin, is a class which specializes with the use of Shadow Magic combined with physical strength to wreak havoc upon the enemies. Its Hero Power, Shadow Fury, deals relatively heavy damage, but, as shadow as a force is very difficult to control, choosing a target is impossible and targeted, precision strikes are out of the question.
This class specializes on: Dealing Damage, both through burst and continued sources, Gaining resources through sacriice of Health or cards, Gaining health through draining effects, and can win by storming the enemy with strong and aggressive minions, or by gaining board control using efficient removal and staying alive by leeching the enemies' life.
The weak spots of the class instead are: No card generation and few defensive tools other than life draining effects.
The cards I've decided to showcase are: Devilish Voidcaster, Shadow Strike and Mass Drain.
Devilish Voidcaster represents the Early gane oriented part of the class and is a minion that sacrifices value to give a board presence which can value-trade or destroy a more expensive minion and showcases the remove from deck mechanic which will appear again in the Initiate Set.
Shadow Strike is a spell that, while not being a weapon itself, showcases the idea of a melee fighter who delivers powerful strikes in expense of its own Health, and can be used both as an aggressive burst and as efficient removal.
Mass Drain showcases both the Affliction part of the class (fun fact: Affliction Warlock uses, indeed, Shadow Magic.), gives an idea of a fighter who gains life by taking it from others, and its late game survival part by being a little control tool that acts also as an heal.
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Other Cards Explainations:
Essence Steal: A Premium removal for control-oriented decks that also shows the healing aspect of the card. It's strictly better than Siphon Soul, but that's OK considering that Warlock cards are often strictly worse than other classes' cards because of their Hero Power (See Unstable Felbolt compared to Holy Smite, or Unwilling Sacrifice compared to Deadly Shot).
Voidbound Fighter: A minon that, while being able to trade effectively with almost all 1-drops and many 2-drops, makes you pay for it by dealing you more damage more she survives, making you decide between spending more health or sacrificing a good minion.
Shadowmoon Brawler: A decently stated minion that allows to gain board board control while also being not very hard to remove.
Shadow Halberd: A weapon which allows you to deal burst damage if the board is clear, or to gain the board by potentially removing multiple minions in a turn.
Dissolve: A spell that allows you to rapidly eliminate small minions or to efficiently remove bigger pieces, and introduces DOT mechanics in the class, and effectively, in the entire game.
Soul Devourer: A card that by giving your spells and minions Lifesteal Can be used both in Aggro/Tempo to regain the health paid for other cards, or in Control for extra sustain. Also fits the criteria for the Challenge (At least one card (minion, spell, or weapon) can only have a single line, or less, of text.)
Darkness Rift: Removes a small minion and summons a token, a good early-game swing, can be used as a little burn in a pinch.
Flavor Texts:
Shadow Strike: When your Shadow union thinks your job is underpaid.
Mass Drain: Some call this spell an horror of nature that evil wizards use to cheat death. Others call this "taxes".
Essence Steal: If you steal the essence of a War Golem, don't you just grab some weird rocks?
Voidbound Fighter: No matter what happens, don't call her a goth EVER!
Shadowmoon Brawler: As Shadow became his new source of power, he doesn't believe in horoscopes anymore.
Shadow Halberd: Can also serve as an emergency toothpick.
Dissolve: Dauril Cloudsong used this spell at Azeroth's most important Hide-and-Seek competition and hasn't been found yet for 300 years.
Soul Devourer: He may be a twisted entity that eats life essence for a living, but it's educated enough to leave you the leftovers.
Darkness Rift: Void shades aren't very polite: they never knock before entering.
I hope you like this new class, and i wish good luck to all the other participants! To next week (hopefully)!
The Shrine Maiden!
The Shrine Maidens are the ceremonial protectors of sacred places of worships. They do not seek to fight, but will defend their people and honor their ancestors at any cost. Through their worship, they are able to convene with the dead, and know their way around many rituals that guide their prowess in fighting. Through tradition, they are masters of wielding flames, manipulating them to scorch foes as well as empower their allies aura.
Shrine Maidens have access to much card draw, but are not interested in playing fast. They deny their opponent's options with specific conditions and from there are able to benefit more from their symmetrical effects. The class supports both sides having a smaller board, with randomly applied buffs on their side, and punishes for wide boards on the enemy's side. With card draw and being able to play their pace, the class likes to set up scenarios for strong and flashy turns.
Some example cards:
Groundskeeper provides healing to both players keeping the game going. It also allows your discretion with the hero power to have some control on its ability.
Though your Hero Power grants your opponent options, cards like Fate's Edict deny their plays and can force sub-optimal plays. It also depends on your own play order, which could also allow for combo set ups.
Combustion is great burst, which is optimized by having a small board to mitigate the random effect. It works like Arcane Missiles, only instead of damaging enemies, it gives +1 Attack to your minions 10 times.
The rest of the basic set!
Class Details:
With the rise of technology in the world of Azeroth, tinkers are becoming common among almost all factions and races. A rarer breed, however, are the geniuses among the tinkers who focus their intelligence on a particular type of technology and can lead impossibly ambitious projects that turn fantasy into reality. Some engineer's fantasize about great works of infrastructure or useful devices. Spanner Brassgrip had the kind of explosively charged fantasies that got him kicked out of Gnomeregan for, in his words, "being too fun." He took the exile in stride as now he and his like minded goblin and gnomish engineers have more time to indulge in their greatest works.
Unique Keywords: Surge
Core Keywords: Spell Damage, Immune while attacking
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Mech Mook tokens:
The Scholar
Class mechanics
Scholars are the students, the teachers and the intellectuals of Azeroth, studying every day to enhance their magic, to craft revolutionnary potions and, most of all, to gain knowledge.
Knowledge Crystals are the new mechanic associated with the Scholar Class and are essentially a second mana type ressource that the class can use. Scholars can gain Knowledge Crystals through their hero power, or through several class cards (some of which will be revealed in the future). Unlike regular Mana Crystals, Knowledge Crystals are not gained at the start of each turn, and are not lost at the end of the turn. Knowledge Crystals can be acquired and stacked through different effects and will stay until they are used.
The main way to use Knowledge Crystals is through the Scholar's exclusive keyword: Study.
A card with Study will use up a certain number of your Knowledge Crystals to trigger an additionnal effect. Cards with this keyword will be unveiled when the classic set is released!
Class Identity
The Scholar's strength is card draw, heal and getting value with random spells. It will be limited when it comes to AOE and will be disadvantaged as far as direct damage and single targer removal goes. Furthermore, it has access to freeze cards.
Scholar decks will consist of two main archetypes. A control freeze deck that relies on big spells to keep control of the board and an aggressive token deck that creates small minions and buffs them to quickly win the game.
Now onto the cards!
Showcase cards
These three cards show the main strengths of the class. Scholars can heal themselves while setting up a powerful turn later on with Ancien Alchemist, they can make use of their knowledge crystals with Class Time! and they can finish off minions while keeping card advantage with Calculated Expansion.
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