Hi. I'm a huge fan of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series/Game of Thrones, and over the past few months I have been developing basic/classic sets for each of the nine major houses in that series. Now I want to share them with the community, releasing one every other week. Fans please enjoy, critics please comment, and any and all suggested feedback is welcome and wanted. Below is the heroe, hero power, ten basic cards, six commos, five rares, three epics, and one legendary for set with all explanations, balancing, and flavor in spoilers.
Without further ado let me introduce the first of the nine heroes; Jon Snow who represents Stark.
Hero and Hero Power
Jon Snow - While Jon Snow might seem the most obvious pick for a Stark hero, Ned Stark, Arya Stark, and Robb Stark also would have made good heroes. Arya was eliminated for, in my opinion, not representing the North as much as the other three. Jon, despite not technically being a Stark, edged out the other two with his ability to include wildlings and Night's Watch members in addition to Northern troops.
Frostbite - As the Starks rule the North in Westeros, the class is based around freezing characters. While freezing a character may seem weak on its own, it becomes very strong when combined with other cards in the Stark arsenal. Freezing a character can be used to delay them by a turn, activate cards such as Longclaw or Stalactite Strike, or evade damage from Winter is Coming.
Legendary Card
King Robb Stark- Flavor - Robb Stark, the King in the North, is perhaps the most politically powerful Northman in recent history. He is the king over two of the eight kingdoms of Westeros, while proving himself a prodigy as a battle commander, winning every battle he has fought. His enemies call him the Young Wolf and believe he turns into a direwolf in battle and eats men alive. This card capitalizes on the fear that Robb and his direwolf Grey Wind spark in his enemies, dealing damage to all frozen characters. While not being a particularly exciting card, Robb is a solid card that can be used to gain or maintain board presence when combined with the Starks many ways to freeze enemies. Summon- Attack- Death- "Mother..."
Epic Cards
Winter is Coming - The AoE for the Stark class named after the famous House Words. While seemingly similar to Hellfire, your hero power and class cards allow your to manipulate which characters are frozen or not, allowing you to save a few characters from being damaged if you have the mana for it. It is a very cheap 4 mana AoE, but its hitting all targets should counterbalance it.
Lord Eddard Stark - The former Warden of the North and Lord Paramount of Winterfell, Ned Stark is a man of honor above all else. His card therefore acts as a super-taunt, protecting characters on either side of him even further especially if they are taunts. While this ability is sometimes useful, the card really shines in being a very resilent Taunt with high attack. Summon: "Winter is Coming" Attack: "I Sentence you to die" Death: "Now it Ends"
Roose Bolton - It seems odd that Roose Bolton is a Stark card, but he is one of Winterfell's most powerful bannermen and the current Warden of the North, so he made the cut. Although I don't think Jon Snow would enjoy playing him in any decks. Roose is the leech lord, leeching himself every day to look young and suck all emotion out of him. The leeches are represented by him dealing damage to your hero to restore himself to full health. As he recovers his own health at the start of your turns, he is a very solid 3-drop and should be considered for any Stark deck that values tempo. Summon: "I am not a man to be undone." Attack: "My regards." Death: "Leech me."
Rare Cards
A Dream of Spring- A Dream of Spring is the title of the last book in the series set to be released in the year 3000. It represents the hope in the darkest of times, the darkest of winters. For the Starks it is a draw mechanic to capitilize off a bunch of characters being frozen. This card was very difficult to balance due to how powerful it can potentially get, similar to battle rage. As Jon Snow has the power to freeze a minion for 2 mana, the worst this card can be is a 6-mana cycle, which is awful. If 2 characters are already frozen, the card becomes okay drawing 2 for 4 mana or 3 for 6 mana. When the card really shines is when Jon has board presence and said board presence is either frozen or can freeze the enemy minions. As Stark cards have very limited drawing potential, I would expect this card to be run at least once in every deck.
Weirwood Sight- Weirwoods are grown all throughout the Seven Kingdoms and are potentially grown from the bodies of greenseers, which then become the Old Gods that the northmen pray to. Greenseers such as Bran can use this weirwood network to see what is happening past, present, or future around any living weirwood. Therefore this card allows the player to scry what is in store for them in the upcoming three draws, and if the cards aren't wanted, they can be moved to the bottom of the deck. While this does create a card disadvantage, the card costs no mana and can easily be combined with the above A Dream of Spring.
Jeor Mormont - The previous Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and Jon's teacher. Being one of the more experienced members of the Night's Watch and one of the few non-rangers to realize that the Wall was not built to keep Wildlings out, he is well-equipped to handle the cold and all that it brings. His mastery of frost leads to his cards ability to destroy any frozen minion. This 6-mana creature acts at worst as an 8-mana hard removal. The solid body combined with the removal makes Jeor Mormont an invaluable card in all Stark decks. Summon-"We are the watchers on the Walls" Attack- "For the Watch" Death- "And now my Watch has ended.
Spearwife Osha- Osha is a Wildling woman who Robb captured and made into a servent at Winterfell after she tried to capture Bran. Over time she proved herself a loyal Stark soldier and stayed by the two boys along with Hodor as their protector. Osha is a charge minion who freezes whomever she damages similar to a Water Elemental. Her use lies in her ability to freeze any target your want and create board presence, yet her high cost counterbalances these positives.
Ygritte - Ygritte was Jon's friend and lover when he was traveling as a spy amongst the wildlings and her existence humanized the wildlings for Jon and made it near impossible for him to betray them. Ygritte freezes Jon Snow when she comes onto the field, forcing him to check both his moves and his ruthless methods. As an archer she also ignores Taunt. While being above the statline, Ygritte's high attack makes her vulnerable to many forms of removal, most commonly Big Game Hunter. Summon- "You know nothing, Jon Snow" Attack- "You're mine." Death- "You know nothing...Jon Snow..."
Common Cards
Ice- Ice is the Valyrian Steel sword of House Stark formerly wielded by Eddard Stark. While it doesn't actually have anything to do with the North and freezing, Ice's name and heritage lend its ability to freeze credence. Upon breaking the weapon, the opponent is equipped with a 2/2 Widow's Wail to represent Ice's literal breakdown into Widow's Wail and Oathkeeper.
Warg - All the Stark children have the ability to Warg, specifically into their direwolves. Bran in particular is a powerful enough warg that he can take over the minds of humans. Therefore warg allows Jon to attack with the strength of an allied minion. While this may seem underwhelming, Jon has 2 weapons to combine warg with; Ice and Longclaw. Longclaw deals double damage to frozen enemies and if Longclaw is equipped the Warg attack boost will also deal double damage to frozen enemies. This combination allows Warg to become an insane burst for the Stark hero such that I would not be opposed to nerfing this card to 5 mana.
Wolf Strike-Pretty self-explanatory. Really good for topdeck wars but mediocre in normal play.
A Storm of Swords/Season 3 spoilers below.
The North Remembers- The North Remembers is a slogan adopted by many Stark loyalists after the Red Wedding. The North Remembers the Starks and it won't easily accept foreigners invading their home. This nationalistic slogan is a buffing tool to buff loyal northmen. Please, whatever you do, don't use it on Roose Bolton. The art is of a desecrated Robb because of the Red Wedding's significance in the words.
Samwell Tarly- Samwell Tarly is no warrior, but he does have his use in knowledge, which manifests itself in two ways in this card. He has read many books in the Night's Watch library and his knowledge allows the Stark soldiers to freeze the enemies that they encounter. Like most ongoing effects, the allied minions lose their ability to freeze opponents after Samwell's death. A staple card that is also one of the few draws in the deck. Also I know Samwell is technically a Reachman, but if he's not loyal to Jon who is.
Northern Chieftain- If anyone is immune to the cold, it's Big Bucket Well. Summon: "Let me bathe in your blood." Attack: "For Ned's girls." Death: "I die in peace."
Basic Cards
Longclaw- Longclaw is the sword that Lord Commander Mormont bequeathed onto Jon Snow and since then has become his signiture weapon. A Valyrian Steel sword, its legacy has become one with him. Although at first it might seem weak compared to Fiery War Axe, I believe it is the most powerful card that the Stark has. As a 3-mana weapon, it has the potential to deal 6 damage to target minions in the early game. And in the late game it can be combined with Warg and powerful minions to burst down the opponent's health.
Frost Sweep- A very self-explanatory card. Similar to Cleave, there must be at least 2 enemies for this card to even be played.
Stalactite Strike- Similar to Longclaw, a powerful spell to control the board.
Summon Pack- Summon pack summons the five direwolves of the Stark children in order of birth. So first Grey Wind is summoned, then Lady, then Nymeria, then Summer, then Shaggydog. The tokens are shown below in the tokens section. In total this gives you five beast type minions, a total of 2 health of taunt, 1 spell damage, a total of 2 attack in charge, and a 4/2 water elemental-esque minion. It is an extremely powerful card to play on an empty board as it immediately solidifies your presence. The downside, however, is the lack of much immediate effect for 6 mana (unless comboed with knife juggler) and that all the tokens have 2 health and so can be taken down by the meagerest of AoEs. And yes it does make sense that Grey Wind is the strongest.
Kill the Boy- "Kill the Boy Jon Snow, and let the man be born" is the advice that Maester Aemon gives to Jon Snow after he is elected as Lord Commander, and it is the same advice he gave to his brother King Aegon V Targaryen before his coronation. They were both young men brimming with potential who were thrust into leadership, so Aemon basically tells them to grow up. Jon takes this as becoming more ruthless for the better of humanity and makes hard decisions that could lead to his downfall. Therefore this card has an additional cost of freezing your hero, making it a difficult card to simply play. The art shows Jon standing victorious but his lover Ygritte dead, both resulting from a difficult decision that he made for the better of the Watch.
Lone Wolf- Ned tells Arya that when the cold winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives. Therefore you get healed if you have a pack :)
Bran Stark- The youngest of the Stark protagonists, a boy crippled from a "climbing accident" and a very powerful warg and greenseer. As Bran excels as a warg, upon entering the battlefield he wargs a friendly minion allowing them to attack again. It's important to note that Bran cannot give a minion charge through his ability. I thought about it and thematically it would make sense, but it would make the card too powerful. In addition to his battlecry he gives an additional spell damage.
Sansa Stark- Sansa is the eldest Stark daughter and had her dreams of Southern honor and royalty crushed by Joffrey and Cersei. Now she trusts few and is honest with fewer, preferring to use courtesy as her armor. As a card, Sansa uses her alias Alayne Stone as a shield to protect her and her allies from harm.
Arya Stark- Arya is the younger Stark daughter and after the death of her father grew up in the ravaging war in the Riverlands between her brother and Lord Tywin Lannister. After experiencing the smallfolk's dilemmas firsthand and figuring out how to survive, she has become a hardened killer at the age of nine and is slowly learning the ways of cynics and assassins. Arya as a card naturally has stealth due to her hiding for the majority of the war with few discovering her identity. Her ability to give adjacent minions +1 attack is one she shares with Nymeria and is due to her pack-like mentality. Summon: "Fear cuts deeper than swords." Attack: "Die stupid" Death: "Valar Morghulis"
Ghost- Ghost is Jon's direwolf and the only direwolf that appears as a card. Ghost is albino and silent, allowing it to remain in stealth.
Cooll concept. Try to change the Commons/rares/epics names to group names instead of individual names (e.g. Lord eddard stark change to lone warrior???). Just a suggestion
What the class and hero is missing is the ability of your opponent to use your own minions to kill you when you are close to victory. Similar to the betrayal of the night watch.
@GongGonYOLO -Thanks so much! And Yes I was considering having generic names instead of character names, but to me the most fun part of this project is imagining how important story characters would be as cards. I might go back in the future and change the specific characters to legendaries, but then I'd feel that I would have to change one of a kind items such as Longclaw and Ice to legendaries as well. What would your names be for the other characters?
@Vonrith - I'm glad you enjoyed it :) What;s your favorite? And yeah Rodrik or Jory or Luwin could probably have found their way into the set, but as much as I tried to leave out the Wildlings and Night's Watch they found their way in. Jeor Mormont I can justify as he, similarly to Jon, used to be a Northerner before taking the Black so if Jon counts as a Northerner so does he. Ygritte....is definitely not a northern civillian lol.
@INeed3Quid - Thanks very much and I did not photoshop it. There are a lot of amazing artists who draw many fanmade pieeces available online. My trick was to search terms like "JonSnow art" or "Arya Stark concept". I'm glad you like the artwork, I tried to be very picky in terms of it :)
@ZforZendetta - Thanks ! Which was your favvorite design? And don't worry, Catelyn Tully will appear late r;)
@tomnov - Yes she should. I couldn't find good artwork with her with dark hair though :(. Apparently no one wants to draw Alayne. And why would I make Hodor a non-legendary. He is Hodor after all.
@CorneBerg - Lol nice thought. That would be pretty funny.
I like it, but I think Jon Snow shouldn't be the hero. Robb should. It doesn't matter if he's dead, Jon Snow is basically the Lord Commander. He fits a neutral legendary, since he takes no part on the game of thrones.
I like it, but I think Jon Snow shouldn't be the hero. Robb should. It doesn't matter if he's dead, Jon Snow is basically the Lord Commander. He fits a neutral legendary, since he takes no part on the game of thrones.
Thanks for the support! And yeah you raise a very valid point that Robb would make a very good Stark hero. And you're right that death does not matter. There were two reasons that I chose Jon over Robb. 1.) Selfishly Jon allowed me to include Wildlings and Night's Watch members in the class and as I don't plan to make a Night's Watch class it let me transform some favorites into cards. 2.) Jon is far more steeped in Ice than Robb is and the hero power wouldn't have made sense with Robb. With the initial Stark hero power, which summoned a random direwolf, Robb would have been a good pick.
That Roose Bolton effect is so fucking funny :D But I think it should have a better body. It's Roose fuckin' Bolton afterall. At least a 3/4 imo.
Thanks, yeah it's a pretty cool effect. It's a 3/3 for 3 for balance reasons and if power equated to stats than all the badass figures would be 8-10 mana, but the low cost cards like Bloodmage Thalnos and Loatheb are often more useful, therefore I decided to balance Roose at 3 mana. Had I known about the Darkbane and Lightbane legendaries, I probably would have made him a 3/4.
Interesting concepts, but I think his hero ability is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY OP. You can literally lock their strongest minion out of the game for the low cost of 2 mana/turn. That is absurd. You've also got a few other cards that are really OP too like Samwell Tarlly: that dude is crazy. A 3/4 cantrip for 5 is already pretty legit, see Gnomish Inventor as a reference, but to give ALL other minions you control Water Elemental / Snowchugger power is brutal.
Also, for Bran, in terms of rules text it might just be better to say "Battlecry: Give another minion Windfury until the end of the turn."
You clearly play MTG given how often you use the word "Target" in the cards. Hard habit to break :)
Interesting concepts, but I think his hero ability is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY OP. You can literally lock their strongest minion out of the game for the low cost of 2 mana/turn. That is absurd. You've also got a few other cards that are really OP too like Samwell Tarlly: that dude is crazy. A 3/4 cantrip for 5 is already pretty legit, see Gnomish Inventor as a reference, but to give ALL other minions you control Water Elemental / Snowchugger power is brutal.
Also, for Bran, in terms of rules text it might just be better to say "Battlecry: Give another minion Windfury until the end of the turn."
You clearly play MTG given how often you use the word "Target" in the cards. Hard habit to break :)
I agree with the hero power thing, it would be insanly broken. Freeze is a very powerful mechanic, and having the ability to use it since the start of the game, any turn you want without spending any card is totally wrong (except turn 1 if you go first). Current basic hero powers are very weak in comparison to it. Maybe he could change it for other less powerful as the basic one, and then have it as an upgrade (or several) from a spell (like Shadowform) or minion in very late game?.
Interesting concepts, but I think his hero ability is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY OP. You can literally lock their strongest minion out of the game for the low cost of 2 mana/turn. That is absurd. You've also got a few other cards that are really OP too like Samwell Tarlly: that dude is crazy. A 3/4 cantrip for 5 is already pretty legit, see Gnomish Inventor as a reference, but to give ALL other minions you control Water Elemental / Snowchugger power is brutal.
Also, for Bran, in terms of rules text it might just be better to say "Battlecry: Give another minion Windfury until the end of the turn."
You clearly play MTG given how often you use the word "Target" in the cards. Hard habit to break :)
It's funny I don't play MTG, but because the cards are purely theoretical and no one would be able to test them, I like to be as clear as possible :) Your Bran point is good, and I guess the Charge part of his effect would be way too overpowered. As to whether or not Samwell Tarly is overpowered, I don't think he is. He is a class Gnomish Inventor for 1 more attack and 1 more mana, which is pretty horrible, so his effect has to be worth approximately 1 mana. Giving all your minions the Freeze effect would be worth approximately that considering class cards that get this effect, Water Elemental and Snowchugger have statlines equaling the statlines of the strongest vanilla minions for those mana costs. Therefore the effect is worth very little on one minion, and to have it on more minions requires a board. Having a board makes many cards borderline OP, and Samwell without a board is a very subpar card.
As for the hero power, most people I talked to before I posted said that it was a lot weaker than current hero powers, and without the synergy of the Stark cards I would agree with them. There are few moves that are as adept at neutralizing one threat as a 2-mana freeze, but there are few comparisons to the Warlock's 2 mana draw for card advantage, the Hunters 2-mana 2-direct damage for rush, or the mage's 2-mana ping for destroying weaker minions. Each has its advantages and its disadvantages. The Stark hero power is very awful against aggro, and while it can neutralize one threat a turn it does nothing to that threat, nothing to the board, and nothing for survivability. And while most hero powers can do something on an empty board, all this can do is freeze the enemy hero. I'd rate it awful for early game, great for midgame, and mediocre for late game (above Mage, Druid and Rogue but below Paladin, Warrior, Priest, and Warlock). That's just my opinion though, and I can see how you could view it as overpowered. Without testing, either of us could be right, which I'm fine with because the theoretical arguing is the most fun of all to me :)
You should check out a couple of my other heroes in my signature. If you're interested in cool hero powers, I'd recommend Tully(6th), Baratheon(5th), Targaryen(9th), and Baelish(4th) in that order. Thanks so much for your comments and when I edit everything/make an expansion I'll definitely make sure to change Bran and maybe take a look at Samwell.
Interesting concepts, but I think his hero ability is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY OP. You can literally lock their strongest minion out of the game for the low cost of 2 mana/turn. That is absurd. You've also got a few other cards that are really OP too like Samwell Tarlly: that dude is crazy. A 3/4 cantrip for 5 is already pretty legit, see Gnomish Inventor as a reference, but to give ALL other minions you control Water Elemental / Snowchugger power is brutal.
Also, for Bran, in terms of rules text it might just be better to say "Battlecry: Give another minion Windfury until the end of the turn."
You clearly play MTG given how often you use the word "Target" in the cards. Hard habit to break :)
I agree with the hero power thing, it would be insanly broken. Freeze is a very powerful mechanic, and having the ability to use it since the start of the game, any turn you want without spending any card is totally wrong (except turn 1 if you go first). Current basic hero powers are very weak in comparison to it. Maybe he could change it for other less powerful as the basic one, and then have it as an upgrade (or several) from a spell (like Shadowform) or minion in very late game?.
Thanks for the comment! Check out my reply to ScaryKoolaid. I would argue that Shadowforms 2 damage ping would be a lot more powerful than a freeze hero power, and here's why. Hero Powers are based around a 2-mana 0-card function, which is approximately the same as a 0-mana 1-card function. Moonfire is the same as Mage ping. Wisp [/card] and [card]Novice Engineer is the same as Paladin dude. Dealing 2 mana is the same as a couple 1-mana cards (Holy Smite and Arcane Shot) while Freeze is the same as a 1-mana Spare Part, which have been valued as a little less than the 0-mana 1-card cards. As Freeze is one of the better cards it can be valued as equal to or greater than a 2-mana 0-card function, but definitely nowhere near 1-mana 1-card such as deal 2 damage.
Interesting concepts, but I think his hero ability is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY OP. You can literally lock their strongest minion out of the game for the low cost of 2 mana/turn. That is absurd. You've also got a few other cards that are really OP too like Samwell Tarlly: that dude is crazy. A 3/4 cantrip for 5 is already pretty legit, see Gnomish Inventor as a reference, but to give ALL other minions you control Water Elemental / Snowchugger power is brutal.
Also, for Bran, in terms of rules text it might just be better to say "Battlecry: Give another minion Windfury until the end of the turn."
You clearly play MTG given how often you use the word "Target" in the cards. Hard habit to break :)
I agree with the hero power thing, it would be insanly broken. Freeze is a very powerful mechanic, and having the ability to use it since the start of the game, any turn you want without spending any card is totally wrong (except turn 1 if you go first). Current basic hero powers are very weak in comparison to it. Maybe he could change it for other less powerful as the basic one, and then have it as an upgrade (or several) from a spell (like Shadowform) or minion in very late game?.
Thanks for the comment! Check out my reply to ScaryKoolaid. I would argue that Shadowforms 2 damage ping would be a lot more powerful than a freeze hero power, and here's why. Hero Powers are based around a 2-mana 0-card function, which is approximately the same as a 0-mana 1-card function. Moonfire is the same as Mage ping. Wisp [/card] and [card]Novice Engineer is the same as Paladin dude. Dealing 2 mana is the same as a couple 1-mana cards (Holy Smite and Arcane Shot) while Freeze is the same as a 1-mana Spare Part, which have been valued as a little less than the 0-mana 1-card cards. As Freeze is one of the better cards it can be valued as equal to or greater than a 2-mana 0-card function, but definitely nowhere near 1-mana 1-card such as deal 2 damage.
I knew you were going to say something about the spare parts thing, I should have commented about them on my previous post... :P. First, the freeze spare part is probably the most powerful of them all. Second, cards (even spare parts) and hero powers are two different things, difficult to compare, because of one big factor: cards are limited while hero powers are not. And an unlimited freeze ability is way more powerful than dealing one or two damage in the long run. Think about this, in the late game, in a control match, wich is a better thing? dealing one or two damage (if upgraded) to a big opponent minion with 5 to 8 attack (think about Sylvanas Windrunner or a Molten Giant), or freezing it?, the obvious answer most of the time is freezing it, why? because you are preventing all its damage, wich is like gaining 5-8 armor for only two mana if the opponent was going to hit face or saving a minion already on the board from beign wiped out (if you are playing aggro that is even better)... and that is HUGE for a basic hero power. The same happens if you are playing against midrange, you freeze a Piloted Shredder, what did you do? well you gained 4 armor or healed 4 life for two mana with a basic hero power or saved a minion from usually being destroyed. And that is fair compared to the priest or warrior hero power? I don't think so...
Also, the only counter to this (if you target a minion) is silence, one of the most powerful and valuable abilities out there...
Interesting concepts, but I think his hero ability is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY OP. You can literally lock their strongest minion out of the game for the low cost of 2 mana/turn. That is absurd. You've also got a few other cards that are really OP too like Samwell Tarlly: that dude is crazy. A 3/4 cantrip for 5 is already pretty legit, see Gnomish Inventor as a reference, but to give ALL other minions you control Water Elemental / Snowchugger power is brutal.
Also, for Bran, in terms of rules text it might just be better to say "Battlecry: Give another minion Windfury until the end of the turn."
You clearly play MTG given how often you use the word "Target" in the cards. Hard habit to break :)
I agree with the hero power thing, it would be insanly broken. Freeze is a very powerful mechanic, and having the ability to use it since the start of the game, any turn you want without spending any card is totally wrong (except turn 1 if you go first). Current basic hero powers are very weak in comparison to it. Maybe he could change it for other less powerful as the basic one, and then have it as an upgrade (or several) from a spell (like Shadowform) or minion in very late game?.
Thanks for the comment! Check out my reply to ScaryKoolaid. I would argue that Shadowforms 2 damage ping would be a lot more powerful than a freeze hero power, and here's why. Hero Powers are based around a 2-mana 0-card function, which is approximately the same as a 0-mana 1-card function. Moonfire is the same as Mage ping. Wisp [/card] and [card]Novice Engineer is the same as Paladin dude. Dealing 2 mana is the same as a couple 1-mana cards (Holy Smite and Arcane Shot) while Freeze is the same as a 1-mana Spare Part, which have been valued as a little less than the 0-mana 1-card cards. As Freeze is one of the better cards it can be valued as equal to or greater than a 2-mana 0-card function, but definitely nowhere near 1-mana 1-card such as deal 2 damage.
I knew you were going to say something about the spare parts thing, I should have commented something about it on my previous post... :P. The thing is cards (even spare parts) and hero powers are two different things, difficult to compare, because of one big factor: cards are limited while hero powers are not. And an unlimited freeze ability is way more powerful than dealing one or two damage in the long run. Think about this, in the late game, in a control match, wich is a better thing? dealing one or two damage (if upgraded) to a big opponent minion with 5 to 8 attack (think about Sylvanas Windrunner or a Molten Giant), or freezing it?, the obvious answer most of the time is freezing it, why? because you are preventing all its damage, wich is like gaining 5-8 armor for only two mana if the opponent was going to hit face or saving a minion already on the board from beign wiped out (if you are playing aggro that is even better)... and that is HUGE for a basic hero power. The same happens if you are playing against midrange, you freeze a Piloted Shredder, what did you do? well you gained 4 armor or healed 4 life for two mana with a basic hero power or saved a minion from usually being destroyed. And that is fair compared to the priest or warrior hero power? I don't think so...
Also, the only counter to this (if you target a minion) is silence, one of the most powerful and valuable abilities out there...
:P
You're completely right that in the long run freeze is more powerful than ping. The counterargument though is that in the short run, pings and especially 2-damage pings are a lot more powerful. I would say that the freeze mechanic is most powerful in midgame (turns 4-8). And I would say that while in the long run, single target freeze is more powerful than ping, card draw and token summoning is more powerful. So yes it is a powerful hero power, but IMO, I don't think it is the most powerful or overpowered. Just very different than the hero powers we have now and especially good against large minions.
And speaking of silence one of my heroes may or may not have that as his hero power :D
Also I don't think you can say that freezing a molten giant is the same as gaining 8 armor/health. That's like saying Sludge belcher makes your hero gain 7 armor in addition to being a 3/5 body. The gaining of armor/health is independent of all other moves the opponent might make and is therefore valued differently than preventing the same damage dealt of armor/health.
About the cost that Blizzard gives to the freezing ability on his cards, the best examples for making a comparison are the next ones (because the effect is immediate, they can target only one minion and all of them are "real" cards, not like spare parts...): Frostbolt (the cost is free here), Frost Shock (around 0.5 mana, or just 1 if you compare it to Moonfire), Ice Lance (it cost 1 mana if you don't combo it), and Frost Elemental, a good arena card (around 1.5 mana). As you can see, it ranges from 0 to 1.5 mana, obviously usually more than just 0.
Also I don't think you can say that freezing a molten giant is the same as gaining 8 armor/health. That's like saying Sludge belcher makes your hero gain 7 armor in addition to being a 3/5 body. The gaining of armor/health is independent of all other moves the opponent might make and is therefore valued differently than preventing the same damage dealt of armor/health.
I said than that is the same as gaining 8 armor/health OR usually protecting a minion on the board from beign destroyed (you prevent trading, one of the most important things in the game), both of them (face damage or trading) are usually the only thing the opponent can do with a minion (except for things like Shadowflame). Also, while it would not be exactly the same as gaining exactly 8 armor or health, it is still very, very huge compared to a ping from a mage hero power or a simple 1/1 token. You can also argue that paladin tokens can be buffed or have sinergy with cards like Knife Juggler, but your hero power has a lot of sinergy with all the cards you made too, so the point is invalid.
And seriously, now that I think more about it, if your opponent plays minions without divine shield and with more than 1 health in the early game, freezing them could be a better option than just a ping that is not going to prevent trading or damage to the face.
Hi. I'm a huge fan of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series/Game of Thrones, and over the past few months I have been developing basic/classic sets for each of the nine major houses in that series. Now I want to share them with the community, releasing one every other week. Fans please enjoy, critics please comment, and any and all suggested feedback is welcome and wanted. Below is the heroe, hero power, ten basic cards, six commos, five rares, three epics, and one legendary for set with all explanations, balancing, and flavor in spoilers.
Without further ado let me introduce the first of the nine heroes; Jon Snow who represents Stark.
Hero and Hero Power
Jon Snow - While Jon Snow might seem the most obvious pick for a Stark hero, Ned Stark, Arya Stark, and Robb Stark also would have made good heroes. Arya was eliminated for, in my opinion, not representing the North as much as the other three. Jon, despite not technically being a Stark, edged out the other two with his ability to include wildlings and Night's Watch members in addition to Northern troops.
Frostbite - As the Starks rule the North in Westeros, the class is based around freezing characters. While freezing a character may seem weak on its own, it becomes very strong when combined with other cards in the Stark arsenal. Freezing a character can be used to delay them by a turn, activate cards such as Longclaw or Stalactite Strike, or evade damage from Winter is Coming.
Legendary Card
King Robb Stark-
Flavor - Robb Stark, the King in the North, is perhaps the most politically powerful Northman in recent history. He is the king over two of the eight kingdoms of Westeros, while proving himself a prodigy as a battle commander, winning every battle he has fought. His enemies call him the Young Wolf and believe he turns into a direwolf in battle and eats men alive. This card capitalizes on the fear that Robb and his direwolf Grey Wind spark in his enemies, dealing damage to all frozen characters. While not being a particularly exciting card, Robb is a solid card that can be used to gain or maintain board presence when combined with the Starks many ways to freeze enemies.
Summon-
Attack-
Death- "Mother..."
Epic Cards
Winter is Coming - The AoE for the Stark class named after the famous House Words. While seemingly similar to Hellfire, your hero power and class cards allow your to manipulate which characters are frozen or not, allowing you to save a few characters from being damaged if you have the mana for it. It is a very cheap 4 mana AoE, but its hitting all targets should counterbalance it.
Lord Eddard Stark - The former Warden of the North and Lord Paramount of Winterfell, Ned Stark is a man of honor above all else. His card therefore acts as a super-taunt, protecting characters on either side of him even further especially if they are taunts. While this ability is sometimes useful, the card really shines in being a very resilent Taunt with high attack.
Summon: "Winter is Coming"
Attack: "I Sentence you to die"
Death: "Now it Ends"
Roose Bolton - It seems odd that Roose Bolton is a Stark card, but he is one of Winterfell's most powerful bannermen and the current Warden of the North, so he made the cut. Although I don't think Jon Snow would enjoy playing him in any decks. Roose is the leech lord, leeching himself every day to look young and suck all emotion out of him. The leeches are represented by him dealing damage to your hero to restore himself to full health. As he recovers his own health at the start of your turns, he is a very solid 3-drop and should be considered for any Stark deck that values tempo.
Summon: "I am not a man to be undone."
Attack: "My regards."
Death: "Leech me."
Rare Cards
A Dream of Spring- A Dream of Spring is the title of the last book in the series set to be released in the year 3000. It represents the hope in the darkest of times, the darkest of winters. For the Starks it is a draw mechanic to capitilize off a bunch of characters being frozen. This card was very difficult to balance due to how powerful it can potentially get, similar to battle rage. As Jon Snow has the power to freeze a minion for 2 mana, the worst this card can be is a 6-mana cycle, which is awful. If 2 characters are already frozen, the card becomes okay drawing 2 for 4 mana or 3 for 6 mana. When the card really shines is when Jon has board presence and said board presence is either frozen or can freeze the enemy minions. As Stark cards have very limited drawing potential, I would expect this card to be run at least once in every deck.
Weirwood Sight- Weirwoods are grown all throughout the Seven Kingdoms and are potentially grown from the bodies of greenseers, which then become the Old Gods that the northmen pray to. Greenseers such as Bran can use this weirwood network to see what is happening past, present, or future around any living weirwood. Therefore this card allows the player to scry what is in store for them in the upcoming three draws, and if the cards aren't wanted, they can be moved to the bottom of the deck. While this does create a card disadvantage, the card costs no mana and can easily be combined with the above A Dream of Spring.
Jeor Mormont - The previous Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and Jon's teacher. Being one of the more experienced members of the Night's Watch and one of the few non-rangers to realize that the Wall was not built to keep Wildlings out, he is well-equipped to handle the cold and all that it brings. His mastery of frost leads to his cards ability to destroy any frozen minion. This 6-mana creature acts at worst as an 8-mana hard removal. The solid body combined with the removal makes Jeor Mormont an invaluable card in all Stark decks.
Summon- "We are the watchers on the Walls"
Attack- "For the Watch"
Death- "And now my Watch has ended.
Spearwife Osha- Osha is a Wildling woman who Robb captured and made into a servent at Winterfell after she tried to capture Bran. Over time she proved herself a loyal Stark soldier and stayed by the two boys along with Hodor as their protector. Osha is a charge minion who freezes whomever she damages similar to a Water Elemental. Her use lies in her ability to freeze any target your want and create board presence, yet her high cost counterbalances these positives.
Ygritte - Ygritte was Jon's friend and lover when he was traveling as a spy amongst the wildlings and her existence humanized the wildlings for Jon and made it near impossible for him to betray them. Ygritte freezes Jon Snow when she comes onto the field, forcing him to check both his moves and his ruthless methods. As an archer she also ignores Taunt. While being above the statline, Ygritte's high attack makes her vulnerable to many forms of removal, most commonly Big Game Hunter.
Summon- "You know nothing, Jon Snow"
Attack- "You're mine."
Death- "You know nothing...Jon Snow..."
Common Cards
Ice- Ice is the Valyrian Steel sword of House Stark formerly wielded by Eddard Stark. While it doesn't actually have anything to do with the North and freezing, Ice's name and heritage lend its ability to freeze credence. Upon breaking the weapon, the opponent is equipped with a 2/2 Widow's Wail to represent Ice's literal breakdown into Widow's Wail and Oathkeeper.
Warg - All the Stark children have the ability to Warg, specifically into their direwolves. Bran in particular is a powerful enough warg that he can take over the minds of humans. Therefore warg allows Jon to attack with the strength of an allied minion. While this may seem underwhelming, Jon has 2 weapons to combine warg with; Ice and Longclaw. Longclaw deals double damage to frozen enemies and if Longclaw is equipped the Warg attack boost will also deal double damage to frozen enemies. This combination allows Warg to become an insane burst for the Stark hero such that I would not be opposed to nerfing this card to 5 mana.
Wolf Strike-Pretty self-explanatory. Really good for topdeck wars but mediocre in normal play.
A Storm of Swords/Season 3 spoilers below.
The North Remembers- The North Remembers is a slogan adopted by many Stark loyalists after the Red Wedding. The North Remembers the Starks and it won't easily accept foreigners invading their home. This nationalistic slogan is a buffing tool to buff loyal northmen. Please, whatever you do, don't use it on Roose Bolton. The art is of a desecrated Robb because of the Red Wedding's significance in the words.
Samwell Tarly- Samwell Tarly is no warrior, but he does have his use in knowledge, which manifests itself in two ways in this card. He has read many books in the Night's Watch library and his knowledge allows the Stark soldiers to freeze the enemies that they encounter. Like most ongoing effects, the allied minions lose their ability to freeze opponents after Samwell's death. A staple card that is also one of the few draws in the deck. Also I know Samwell is technically a Reachman, but if he's not loyal to Jon who is.
Northern Chieftain- If anyone is immune to the cold, it's Big Bucket Well.
Summon: "Let me bathe in your blood."
Attack: "For Ned's girls."
Death: "I die in peace."
Basic Cards
Longclaw- Longclaw is the sword that Lord Commander Mormont bequeathed onto Jon Snow and since then has become his signiture weapon. A Valyrian Steel sword, its legacy has become one with him. Although at first it might seem weak compared to Fiery War Axe, I believe it is the most powerful card that the Stark has. As a 3-mana weapon, it has the potential to deal 6 damage to target minions in the early game. And in the late game it can be combined with Warg and powerful minions to burst down the opponent's health.
Frost Sweep- A very self-explanatory card. Similar to Cleave, there must be at least 2 enemies for this card to even be played.
Stalactite Strike- Similar to Longclaw, a powerful spell to control the board.
Summon Pack- Summon pack summons the five direwolves of the Stark children in order of birth. So first Grey Wind is summoned, then Lady, then Nymeria, then Summer, then Shaggydog. The tokens are shown below in the tokens section. In total this gives you five beast type minions, a total of 2 health of taunt, 1 spell damage, a total of 2 attack in charge, and a 4/2 water elemental-esque minion. It is an extremely powerful card to play on an empty board as it immediately solidifies your presence. The downside, however, is the lack of much immediate effect for 6 mana (unless comboed with knife juggler) and that all the tokens have 2 health and so can be taken down by the meagerest of AoEs. And yes it does make sense that Grey Wind is the strongest.
Kill the Boy- "Kill the Boy Jon Snow, and let the man be born" is the advice that Maester Aemon gives to Jon Snow after he is elected as Lord Commander, and it is the same advice he gave to his brother King Aegon V Targaryen before his coronation. They were both young men brimming with potential who were thrust into leadership, so Aemon basically tells them to grow up. Jon takes this as becoming more ruthless for the better of humanity and makes hard decisions that could lead to his downfall. Therefore this card has an additional cost of freezing your hero, making it a difficult card to simply play. The art shows Jon standing victorious but his lover Ygritte dead, both resulting from a difficult decision that he made for the better of the Watch.
Lone Wolf- Ned tells Arya that when the cold winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives. Therefore you get healed if you have a pack :)
Bran Stark- The youngest of the Stark protagonists, a boy crippled from a "climbing accident" and a very powerful warg and greenseer. As Bran excels as a warg, upon entering the battlefield he wargs a friendly minion allowing them to attack again. It's important to note that Bran cannot give a minion charge through his ability. I thought about it and thematically it would make sense, but it would make the card too powerful. In addition to his battlecry he gives an additional spell damage.
Sansa Stark- Sansa is the eldest Stark daughter and had her dreams of Southern honor and royalty crushed by Joffrey and Cersei. Now she trusts few and is honest with fewer, preferring to use courtesy as her armor. As a card, Sansa uses her alias Alayne Stone as a shield to protect her and her allies from harm.
Arya Stark- Arya is the younger Stark daughter and after the death of her father grew up in the ravaging war in the Riverlands between her brother and Lord Tywin Lannister. After experiencing the smallfolk's dilemmas firsthand and figuring out how to survive, she has become a hardened killer at the age of nine and is slowly learning the ways of cynics and assassins. Arya as a card naturally has stealth due to her hiding for the majority of the war with few discovering her identity. Her ability to give adjacent minions +1 attack is one she shares with Nymeria and is due to her pack-like mentality.
Summon: "Fear cuts deeper than swords."
Attack: "Die stupid"
Death: "Valar Morghulis"
Ghost- Ghost is Jon's direwolf and the only direwolf that appears as a card. Ghost is albino and silent, allowing it to remain in stealth.
Tokens
Grey Wind/Summer/Shaggydog/Nymeria/Alayne Stone/Widow's Wail- Self-explained
Lady- Lady only lasted a month or two before she was killed. The card, therefore, is homage to her timely death.
And there you have it the Stark class centered around freezing other characters and capitilizing on their terror. Enjoy :)
Cooll concept. Try to change the Commons/rares/epics names to group names instead of individual names (e.g. Lord eddard stark change to lone warrior???). Just a suggestion
I enjoyed reading this. So, no Wildlings and Night's Watch then? You could replace some of the Wildlings and Night Watch with Rodrik or Mikey.
2 things:
1. I thought it read "Fan -made Class: Shark". I was horribly disappointed.
2. I don't read or watch game of thrones but from what I've picked up shouldn't the hero power be something like: "2: Be murdered"?
shouldn't Alayne Stone have dark hair?
and where the f**k is Hodor?!?!?!
What the class and hero is missing is the ability of your opponent to use your own minions to kill you when you are close to victory. Similar to the betrayal of the night watch.
Jon Snow is a traitor and a bastard. I see no Stark.
I can see u put a lot of effort into this, but givin unique names to other then Legendary cards is not a best idea ;-)
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@GongGonYOLO -Thanks so much! And Yes I was considering having generic names instead of character names, but to me the most fun part of this project is imagining how important story characters would be as cards. I might go back in the future and change the specific characters to legendaries, but then I'd feel that I would have to change one of a kind items such as Longclaw and Ice to legendaries as well. What would your names be for the other characters?
@Vonrith - I'm glad you enjoyed it :) What;s your favorite? And yeah Rodrik or Jory or Luwin could probably have found their way into the set, but as much as I tried to leave out the Wildlings and Night's Watch they found their way in. Jeor Mormont I can justify as he, similarly to Jon, used to be a Northerner before taking the Black so if Jon counts as a Northerner so does he. Ygritte....is definitely not a northern civillian lol.
@INeed3Quid - Thanks very much and I did not photoshop it. There are a lot of amazing artists who draw many fanmade pieeces available online. My trick was to search terms like "JonSnow art" or "Arya Stark concept". I'm glad you like the artwork, I tried to be very picky in terms of it :)
@ZforZendetta - Thanks ! Which was your favvorite design? And don't worry, Catelyn Tully will appear late r;)
@tomnov - Yes she should. I couldn't find good artwork with her with dark hair though :(. Apparently no one wants to draw Alayne. And why would I make Hodor a non-legendary. He is Hodor after all.
@CorneBerg - Lol nice thought. That would be pretty funny.
I like it, but I think Jon Snow shouldn't be the hero. Robb should. It doesn't matter if he's dead, Jon Snow is basically the Lord Commander. He fits a neutral legendary, since he takes no part on the game of thrones.
Great concept, really like the effects and artwork on the cards!
That Roose Bolton effect is so fucking funny :D But I think it should have a better body. It's Roose fuckin' Bolton afterall. At least a 3/4 imo.
Thanks for the support! And yeah you raise a very valid point that Robb would make a very good Stark hero. And you're right that death does not matter. There were two reasons that I chose Jon over Robb. 1.) Selfishly Jon allowed me to include Wildlings and Night's Watch members in the class and as I don't plan to make a Night's Watch class it let me transform some favorites into cards. 2.) Jon is far more steeped in Ice than Robb is and the hero power wouldn't have made sense with Robb. With the initial Stark hero power, which summoned a random direwolf, Robb would have been a good pick.
Thanks so much for the support! It took me a while to make the cards and find the art. Check out the others in my signature if you're interested.
Thanks, yeah it's a pretty cool effect. It's a 3/3 for 3 for balance reasons and if power equated to stats than all the badass figures would be 8-10 mana, but the low cost cards like Bloodmage Thalnos and Loatheb are often more useful, therefore I decided to balance Roose at 3 mana. Had I known about the Darkbane and Lightbane legendaries, I probably would have made him a 3/4.
Interesting concepts, but I think his hero ability is WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY OP. You can literally lock their strongest minion out of the game for the low cost of 2 mana/turn. That is absurd. You've also got a few other cards that are really OP too like Samwell Tarlly: that dude is crazy. A 3/4 cantrip for 5 is already pretty legit, see Gnomish Inventor as a reference, but to give ALL other minions you control Water Elemental / Snowchugger power is brutal.
Also, for Bran, in terms of rules text it might just be better to say "Battlecry: Give another minion Windfury until the end of the turn."
You clearly play MTG given how often you use the word "Target" in the cards. Hard habit to break :)
Balancing busted cards version 1.0.
I agree with the hero power thing, it would be insanly broken. Freeze is a very powerful mechanic, and having the ability to use it since the start of the game, any turn you want without spending any card is totally wrong (except turn 1 if you go first). Current basic hero powers are very weak in comparison to it. Maybe he could change it for other less powerful as the basic one, and then have it as an upgrade (or several) from a spell (like Shadowform) or minion in very late game?.
It's funny I don't play MTG, but because the cards are purely theoretical and no one would be able to test them, I like to be as clear as possible :) Your Bran point is good, and I guess the Charge part of his effect would be way too overpowered. As to whether or not Samwell Tarly is overpowered, I don't think he is. He is a class Gnomish Inventor for 1 more attack and 1 more mana, which is pretty horrible, so his effect has to be worth approximately 1 mana. Giving all your minions the Freeze effect would be worth approximately that considering class cards that get this effect, Water Elemental and Snowchugger have statlines equaling the statlines of the strongest vanilla minions for those mana costs. Therefore the effect is worth very little on one minion, and to have it on more minions requires a board. Having a board makes many cards borderline OP, and Samwell without a board is a very subpar card.
As for the hero power, most people I talked to before I posted said that it was a lot weaker than current hero powers, and without the synergy of the Stark cards I would agree with them. There are few moves that are as adept at neutralizing one threat as a 2-mana freeze, but there are few comparisons to the Warlock's 2 mana draw for card advantage, the Hunters 2-mana 2-direct damage for rush, or the mage's 2-mana ping for destroying weaker minions. Each has its advantages and its disadvantages. The Stark hero power is very awful against aggro, and while it can neutralize one threat a turn it does nothing to that threat, nothing to the board, and nothing for survivability. And while most hero powers can do something on an empty board, all this can do is freeze the enemy hero. I'd rate it awful for early game, great for midgame, and mediocre for late game (above Mage, Druid and Rogue but below Paladin, Warrior, Priest, and Warlock). That's just my opinion though, and I can see how you could view it as overpowered. Without testing, either of us could be right, which I'm fine with because the theoretical arguing is the most fun of all to me :)
You should check out a couple of my other heroes in my signature. If you're interested in cool hero powers, I'd recommend Tully(6th), Baratheon(5th), Targaryen(9th), and Baelish(4th) in that order. Thanks so much for your comments and when I edit everything/make an expansion I'll definitely make sure to change Bran and maybe take a look at Samwell.
Thanks for the comment! Check out my reply to ScaryKoolaid. I would argue that Shadowforms 2 damage ping would be a lot more powerful than a freeze hero power, and here's why. Hero Powers are based around a 2-mana 0-card function, which is approximately the same as a 0-mana 1-card function. Moonfire is the same as Mage ping. Wisp [/card] and [card]Novice Engineer is the same as Paladin dude. Dealing 2 mana is the same as a couple 1-mana cards (Holy Smite and Arcane Shot) while Freeze is the same as a 1-mana Spare Part, which have been valued as a little less than the 0-mana 1-card cards. As Freeze is one of the better cards it can be valued as equal to or greater than a 2-mana 0-card function, but definitely nowhere near 1-mana 1-card such as deal 2 damage.
I knew you were going to say something about the spare parts thing, I should have commented about them on my previous post... :P. First, the freeze spare part is probably the most powerful of them all. Second, cards (even spare parts) and hero powers are two different things, difficult to compare, because of one big factor: cards are limited while hero powers are not. And an unlimited freeze ability is way more powerful than dealing one or two damage in the long run. Think about this, in the late game, in a control match, wich is a better thing? dealing one or two damage (if upgraded) to a big opponent minion with 5 to 8 attack (think about Sylvanas Windrunner or a Molten Giant), or freezing it?, the obvious answer most of the time is freezing it, why? because you are preventing all its damage, wich is like gaining 5-8 armor for only two mana if the opponent was going to hit face or saving a minion already on the board from beign wiped out (if you are playing aggro that is even better)... and that is HUGE for a basic hero power. The same happens if you are playing against midrange, you freeze a Piloted Shredder, what did you do? well you gained 4 armor or healed 4 life for two mana with a basic hero power or saved a minion from usually being destroyed. And that is fair compared to the priest or warrior hero power? I don't think so...
Also, the only counter to this (if you target a minion) is silence, one of the most powerful and valuable abilities out there...
:P
You're completely right that in the long run freeze is more powerful than ping. The counterargument though is that in the short run, pings and especially 2-damage pings are a lot more powerful. I would say that the freeze mechanic is most powerful in midgame (turns 4-8). And I would say that while in the long run, single target freeze is more powerful than ping, card draw and token summoning is more powerful. So yes it is a powerful hero power, but IMO, I don't think it is the most powerful or overpowered. Just very different than the hero powers we have now and especially good against large minions.
And speaking of silence one of my heroes may or may not have that as his hero power :D
Also I don't think you can say that freezing a molten giant is the same as gaining 8 armor/health. That's like saying Sludge belcher makes your hero gain 7 armor in addition to being a 3/5 body. The gaining of armor/health is independent of all other moves the opponent might make and is therefore valued differently than preventing the same damage dealt of armor/health.
I forgot to mention this on my previous post:
About the cost that Blizzard gives to the freezing ability on his cards, the best examples for making a comparison are the next ones (because the effect is immediate, they can target only one minion and all of them are "real" cards, not like spare parts...): Frostbolt (the cost is free here), Frost Shock (around 0.5 mana, or just 1 if you compare it to Moonfire), Ice Lance (it cost 1 mana if you don't combo it), and Frost Elemental, a good arena card (around 1.5 mana). As you can see, it ranges from 0 to 1.5 mana, obviously usually more than just 0.
I said than that is the same as gaining 8 armor/health OR usually protecting a minion on the board from beign destroyed (you prevent trading, one of the most important things in the game), both of them (face damage or trading) are usually the only thing the opponent can do with a minion (except for things like Shadowflame). Also, while it would not be exactly the same as gaining exactly 8 armor or health, it is still very, very huge compared to a ping from a mage hero power or a simple 1/1 token. You can also argue that paladin tokens can be buffed or have sinergy with cards like Knife Juggler, but your hero power has a lot of sinergy with all the cards you made too, so the point is invalid.
And seriously, now that I think more about it, if your opponent plays minions without divine shield and with more than 1 health in the early game, freezing them could be a better option than just a ping that is not going to prevent trading or damage to the face.