Class Creation Competition Phase II - FINAL POLL
Poll: Which Classes would you like to see move on to Phase III?
Log in with your Curse username to vote in this poll.
Which Classes would you like to see move on to Phase III? - Multiple Choice
- "Merchant" by carminacore 18.2% of Users - 52 votes
- "Pirate" by PupleMD 18.9% of Users - 54 votes
- "Lich" by DKPaladinMDL 14.4% of Users - 41 votes
- "Trade Prince" by Vonrith 9.1% of Users - 26 votes
- "Wizard" by Lord_HS 8.8% of Users - 25 votes
- "Archivist" by ShadowsOfSense 8.8% of Users - 25 votes
- "Necromancer" by Zukuu 15.8% of Users - 45 votes
- "Shadow Hunter" by Theseus_HS 8.4% of Users - 24 votes
- "Shadow Hunter" by Biscutbeck 5.6% of Users - 16 votes
- "Tinker" by Squiddylicious 12.3% of Users - 35 votes
- "Blastmaster" by Ythiel 7% of Users - 20 votes
- "Talonpriest" by Zadikiel 11.6% of Users - 33 votes
- "Trickster" by iSinti 7.4% of Users - 21 votes
- "Warden" by Kingslayer 12.6% of Users - 36 votes
- "Lich" by YushyBushy 13.3% of Users - 38 votes
- "Prophet" by GrantWangkai 5.6% of Users - 16 votes
- "Witch Doctor" by TrussHS 11.9% of Users - 34 votes
- "Twilight's Hammer" by Arkasaur 7.4% of Users - 21 votes
- "Cat" by Ashero86 9.8% of Users - 28 votes
- "Warden" by DonnieMcKarlo 13.3% of Users - 38 votes
- "Demon Hunter" by McF4artson 12.6% of Users - 36 votes
- "Lorewalker" by OBoily 13.3% of Users - 38 votes
- "Berserker" by nekromanton 8.1% of Users - 23 votes
- "Apothecary" by Turnspit 14.4% of Users - 41 votes
- "Witch Doctor" by Shanksyo 6% of Users - 17 votes
- "Tuskarr Fisherman" by menethil45 7.4% of Users - 21 votes
- "Illusionist" by MardyVain 8.8% of Users - 25 votes
- "Demon Hunter" by Ethenil 8.4% of Users - 24 votes
- "Prophet" by Radius112 5.6% of Users - 16 votes
- "Apothecary" by Elmo1191 8.1% of Users - 23 votes
- "Mariner" by Jhamel 6% of Users - 17 votes
- "Warchief" by Crlyago 9.8% of Users - 28 votes
- "Shadow Hunter" by Melioro 7.4% of Users - 21 votes
- "Mindbender" by Hoax91 9.8% of Users - 28 votes
Ended Jul 8, 2015
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I am aware of the problem However, I have had issues before where I could not see certain images on the site that others were still able to see, so I didn't want to be hasty in taking action about it before I could confirm the issue with other mods. I have now confirmed that it is indeed a universal problem, though, so unfortunately I have no choice but to disqualify the entry for not meeting the Phase II entry requirements: Their submission simply does not have a 10-card Basic Set to show us. =/
This is exactly why I warned folks about only using Hearthcards and not uploading their images to imgur or something.
Just a reminder:
`
I am sorry that someone's cards were deleted. But as of now one day is about 5k+ of cards, it's just too much.
HearthCards.net // HearthCards Twitter (Best Card of the Day)!
Goodnight sweet cat prince.
I am a servant of the world. And if I'm a servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best.
Yeah, I thought the cat was really clever and an interesting spin on a hearthstone class. The problem is, way too many voters let that get to their head, and are only voting for "interesting concept" rather than "well-designed class".
Evidently not entirely. Check out the numbers next to teach topic title on the forum of how many people are viewing a topic, and compare this topic to the Phase II Submission Topic a little ways down (now unstickied). Since the Poll Topic has gone up, the number of viewers of the Submission topic has been consistently about half the number of viewers of the Poll Topic, not optimal obviously but definitely not bad either. More, I believe, than we could have hoped with no preview cards at all here, having folks only make their judgement about what they wanted to check out based on Hero Portrait art or character familiarity.
The Phase I Submission Topic that began the competition included process outlines for future phases of the competition. For Phases II-IV, it listed that there would be a Poll Phase following the Submission Phase, which I thought implied a clear distinct from how Phase I's Up-Voting Phase was determined. The Phase II Submission Topic I though was even more clear, specifying under its process details that up-votes would be irrelevant and that Phase II would end with a Poll Topic separate from the Submission Topic. I apologize if we were not clear enough.
The funny thing is, people are still voting for cat even after the images are gone / it got dq'd.
Looks to me like you're in about third place now. =)
And right after you are the Tinker and Lorewalker classes, who also each have one example card that's impossible to understand without checking out their submission posts.
It's not 100% decided, but my thinking right now is the top-10 most voted, and then our Wild Cards for a total of 12 or so. We want to wait to see how the poll actually ends up turnout-wise before we settle on a specific number, though.
Ok, so as promised I will get underway on doing the review on the finalists. I will also clarify that at the time of doing this review, the top 10 are favorited to advance. Reviews are in line with the poll order and I will add the current place as of the time of the review. I might add wild card speculations. Keep in mind, I have a subjective opinion and this does not necessarily reflect the quality of the entries, merely my thoughts on them. Without further ado, here goes:
Donnie's Phase II Finalists Review
carminacore's Merchant Jeeve Stobes #2 - No advance pay today. Although the new keyword couldn't have been shown off, we see another fancy direction this class is going in, messing up your opponent's plays. This highly interactive class setup is very enticing and makes it immediately likeable. Most of the cards displayed are basic enough but seem very powerful indeed. And in the very end, you can be swimming in coins making you a badass oligarch indeed. Brilliant.
PupleMD's Pirate Duke Falrevere #1 - To Davy Jones locker with you. A great addition to the existing pirate set filling some gaps, but mostly just generating a healthy pool of cards to choose from for the raiding savages. The cards seem mostly in line with the pirate archetype and make a lot of sense. The weapons seem fairly acceptable, but what I like most of all is the very fitting art so far. As far as card design for a basic set goes, bullseye.
DKPaladinMDL's Lich Lady Deathwhisper #5-7 - What's a little frost among friends. Well, it's the lich class in this iteration. The basic set shows us alot of cold menacing arcanery aswell as a bit of shadowy trickery. As far as flavour goes this is superb, however I feel the basic set tries to be a little too combo-ey to really establish the cards as strong on a standalone basis. As an adventure encounter this concept would work out fabulously, where great emphasis is set on the hero power, but in a regular environment I feel this class currently stands as a bit unrealistic. That should not be the deciding criteria however and I think there is still potential in that direction.
Vonrith's Trade Prince Steamwheedle #13-15 - It's about damn time. Is what you think when trying to mangle the disaster of a deck you'll be making with this class. Opportunity is the theme and getting the right cards at the right time is what you want to do. The minions attract the most attention in this concept - well designed and make you want to try them out. The spells however seem a bit too unappealing, being focused on the mana cost of cards, which is not a very spread out mechanic so far. Regardless, the minions should in fact be the core of this concept and so far it's done well in that respect. I believe this might very well be a wild card contender should it not make the cut in the poll.
Lord_HS' Wizard Rhonin Redhair #13-15 - I shoot from here so I don't have to feel the stench of your burnt remains. Yeah, we're going long range weaponry and spellslinging in this class. I am actually amazed that not a single Blood mage entry survived the first phase, but here we have Rhonin showing how it's done right. Massive spellpower minions and alot of spells show a truly burn capable class that could very well walk besides freeze mage in that respect. The class design weakness? Perhaps a very singular approach in regards to the playstyle. One will see.
ShadowsOfSense's Archivist Arcanist Doan #20-22 - Just. Don't. Tear it. ... Nevermind. Yup, it's all about books, ink and the power of written speech in this class that tries to be a mage and rogue in one. Featuring alot of draw and combo potential, I can see how this design favors people who are interested in a playstyle similar to these 2 classes. That being said, I do believe that it does offer alot of diversity and I think it captures a very nice attribute, namely 'finite'. That's how every single one of these cards feel - they serve a purpose. SOS is definately wildcarding himself here it seems XD
Zukuu's Necromancer Ner'Zhul #3 - I played the crap out of undead's in wcIII and man, I hated orc(not representative of my own experiences). The emphasis here is very much on old goodies we adored from our former rts days. These critters along with a wide array of unit abilities have been given a hearthstone overhaul. For the most part I believe it's quite successful, and then it's the cards like carrion swarm which 'prevent' healing that kind of push it into a bit of the unknown. Overall the undead theme is coming across nicely and it's definately a strong contender.
Theseus_HS' Shadow Hunter Vol'jin #24-25 - I got da juju's moon. A class that above all else loves the board. The minion centric style is apparent starting from the hero power all the way to the spells and minions. A superb arena class if one might say so. Having said that most of the cards seem borderline boring to play with, which is great from a design perspective, because I'm a guy who hates to play with the board intensely, so you got me.
Biscutbeck's Shadow Hunter Vol'jin #31 - I got dis. A concept that is not very consistent and hard to figure out. From what I can tell it's strength is it's diversity. The lack of emphasis might have been the reason this submission was the last to get a vote. From what I can tell, it's similarily minion centric but not so much with stat buffs but rather heals and giving effects to your minions. This iteration is fair enough and will have it's share of supporters.
Squiddylicious' Tinker Rezlak #5-7 - I don't even know how I got here. Chaos is the main drive of this concept and it further emphasises it with the crazy wording and effects that are all over the place. A highly tempo driven class which favours the unknown as such would be a nightmare to play against while every match would turn into a tribute to rngesus. I don't dislike the concept very much, but I am also not a fan, since I believe this sort of collection is easier to construct without a specific goal in mind, which others have done the opposite splendidly. Still the appeal is strong in this one, especially with the unfortunately for now unavailable keyword.
Ythiel's Blastmaster Ziz Fizziks #24-25 - Just stand right there. While I miss all of these rockets. Absolutely fun and hazardous, you are basically playing bomber hearthstone. The absolutely suicidal nature of this class is like the rush you get after running a marathon, you will never do it again, but somehow you want to. The cards showcased just scream 'lemme at em' and it feels like there is no regard to regular hearthstone values like trades or planning a few steps ahead. Just let it rip! Funtastic.
Zadikiel's Talonpriest Ishaal #12 - Say hello to my little friend. Somewhat resembles the shaman class but with alot more possible input from the neutral set. It's very possibly a zooey type of class but with powerful spells to back it up. That's what I dislike about it I guess - it lacks essence. A perfect enhancement class to alot of existing decktypes yet missing some of its own distinguishable features the only one really standing out being the spirits summoned by their hero power which show some synergy with the other class cards.
iSinti's Trickster Liv #28 - Your bet? Well here we have a very dubious and groundshaking contestant that offers us a minigame in an actual game. This is largely emphasised by the stall minions largely prevalent in the class which are not really impressive in their own right, but can handle the board sufficiently for you to milk value out of your hero power, assembling various combinations that lead to your victory. The patient and fateful will be rewarded and the others, well, they will try something else.
Kingslayer's Warden Maiev Shadowsong #9-10 - Hardly a challenge. Making your opponent's minions miserable and ineffective is the name of the game for this class. Starting from abundant permanent attack reduction and finishing with massive abuse through spells and weapon smacks to the face. The class shows a very consistent line of elitist minions while weakening the opponents and then there's some weapons apparently, not much is known of those, but probably fun stuff incoming.
YushiBushy's Lich Kel'Thuzad #9-10 - Would you prefer chill or terror? Giving us another glimpse of the duality effects of a class' hero power. The class is constantly shifting in it's options and rewards planning. What it suffers from is the clear plainness of a couple of individual cards though and the overly passive playstyle that corresponds to the cards powerlevels is favour of freeze abundance that the class is littered with. It's going to be a tough race between the 2 lich concepts.
GrantWangkai's Prophet Baritime High Prophet #33 - I foresee your ... you are going to lose! Somewhat of a shallow entry that convinced with solid cards so far. Lack of interaction in the discussion topic and fine tuning is probably consequential to the downfall of this particular gem. While individually the cards seem fine in the whole context of the class they are very uninspiring with the word damaged splattered all over every one of them. This makes for a lack of creativity which is fatal to this contribution.
TrussHS' Witch Doctor Rastakhan #8 - Zis won't hurt your soul, only ze body. A spelltastic class which meticulously and stubbornly covers most areas where necessary. While seemingly low impact, these little things add up enough to severily hamper your opponents plans. At the same time, I don't see a line other than control for the class and would like to see more minion input to further ascertain this point, luckily this seems to be a driving force for this submission.
Arkasaur's Twilight's Hammer General Vezax #26-27 - What, you wanted to do this, oh, I'm so very sorry. A disruptive class that thrives on denying the turns of the enemy while creating a board state that becomes nearly impossible to conquer. While I myself am very appreciative of this kind of style, the majority of the community seems to be in favour of this idea being possibly too meddling. Even in this case, the amount of disruption displayed so far in my opinion was light enough for this not to be an issue, as the concept is well put together, but the submission is clearly struggling.
DonnieMcKarlo's Warden Maiev Shadowsong #4 - Thought you had me that time, didn't you. A class that endorses fighting with every fibre of your being. Sporting beneficial effects for killing enemy minions as well as damage management abilities and a wide variety of weapons to choose from, this hero is a real battle machine. Hopefully I've captured the flavour well enough and I will further work in this direction, thank you so much for all the support so far. Glorious.
McF4rtson's Demon Hunter Illidan Stormrage #13 - Let me show you some of this hatred. Yes, you are going to wish you hadn't queued up against this class, because all of your options are limited once you step on to the field against this fella. It's similar to the twilight's hammer conceptually but the execution seems better in the sense that plays are not entirely excluded but must be thought about more carefully. This adds a very nice layer of interactiveness but I find the complexity to be a bit pushy for a basic set.
Oboily's Lorewalker Cho #5-7 - Stay a while and listen. And then you wish you didn't. We all know the annoyance of mill decks, and the class is clearly pushing its concept in that direction. It does so in a very mannered way however and it does push a little bit of control aswell. Thanks to the hero power the class can be very diverse and it has further examples that exemplify that. I am not sure entirely about the thorough balancing of the class, but it sparks some appeal for sure. Cuddly.
Nekromanton's Berserker Gorn #19 - Crash, Smash, Destroyyyy. A very aggressively themed class that touches a lot of aspects in the game and mostly well, aggressively. Seems slightly inconsistent though and pushes for some wild mechanics which I'm not completely okay with. The top end cards design wise make this a contender for me however.
Turnspit's Apothecary Putress #11 - Hey, can you try this for me? It's completely safe. Uh, yeah, this vile and disgusting class has debuffs as it's main feature, and even if it plans to buff it's own allies, it seems it doesn't come with side effects. A completely loveable flavour and consistent in it's design, more so even with it's introduced keyword of which we'll hopefully see more in the next phase.
Shanksyo's Witch Doctor Sen'jin #29-30 - You don't mess with da VOoDOo. Seems well representative of blizzard witch doctor lore, but it seems almost too random entirely, not only the hexes but the spells in general don't show much coherency. The phase I entry definately showed more promise and it seems it stopped short halfway.
Menethil45's Tuskarr Fisherman Elder Clearwater #16-17 I caught a big boot this time! Tuskarr are such friendly chumps, all they care about is fishing and keeping a good and healthy lifestyle. Somehow this very irrepresentative style of battling was successfully converted into a class featuring a lot of health buffs and cards. The design throughout is very consistent, they key concept is love towards your minions and keeping them healthy and ready to protect their comrades. Adorable. Possible wild card contender due to murloc similarity?!
MardyVain's Illusionist Jandice Barov #16-17 - I will make you see things you hoped you'd never see. This concept is very interesting in the form that it gets stronger based on the strength of the enemy. Similar to priest but more proportionate I would say. The cards are very varying in their effects, but share similar purposes and I deem that a major success. I can also see a variety of playstyles associated with this concept.
Ethenil's Demon Hunter Illidan Stormrage #20-22 - These demons can be useful sometimes I suppose. Awkwardly it seems the creator went with a demon synergistic line of design where they serve the purpose of revitalising the hero. It somewhat works, I suppose, with the hero being the main striking force while his pets give him relief and relaxation as he spanks them across their demony hides. Yeah, I can see that. Aside from that some awkward effects in the cards which is not the good kind of awkward in this case.
Radius112's Prophet Skeram #32 - I see what you are doing and I am not going to do anything about it. There is no concurrent theme that comes across while viewing the set which just makes the hero power somewhat weak, as well as the cards - unimpressive. They have some standalone potency, but in the general context they disappoint severely. We seek a different prophet I think.
Elmos1191's Apothecary Faranell #20-22 - I think this stench is not foul enough, better add some more rotten flesh. A class whose main focus lies in attrition warfare. The beefy minions in conjunction with it's spells and hero power fight a war of infection of which they are clearly in the advantage. Health is the key and the ability to manipulate it. I feel that it's too strong in an open environment however as the class cards have an overwhelming advantage against the field. Icky.
Jhamel's Mariner Hrothgar #29-30 - You got something to say to me, well, you have to talk to my bro about it(in reference to the shroud ability). A nice controlly type of concept with a bit of an awkward spell here and there. Sadly I have to say that the art chosen for the cards is really, really poor and the concept suffers on this basic level. Balance wise it wasn't ideal but could have been tuned to acceptable levels, this is again a somewhat incurred demise from lack of interaction with the community.
Crlyago's Warchief Blackhand #14 - We are Iron. Very synergistic cards that emphasise the chosen word warchief. I was very impressed with the basic set over, in my opinion, a rather weak entry in phase I mostly because I thought the keyword was very unnecessary. Luckily, the basic set didn't suffer that much and overall demonstrates some real fierceness and thrives on a vivid battlefield. Roar.
Melioro's Shadow Hunter Vol'jin #26 - With ma blessing, you no need to fear deth mon. A very minion centric concept that revels in having a board due to abundance in buffs as well as synergies that stem from this. That being said, the individual cards have little to no appeal for their very basic nature which was kind of the whole point of this phase. Yet in comparison to the other entries, many have succeeded in giving their cards that little extra flair that this submission is lacking.
Hoax91's Mindbender Herald Volazj #13-15 - You get a card, you get a card, everyone gets a card. A class that employs the symetry in it's hero power to render a marginal amount of the extra cards the opponent gets useless. In line with the milling style and employs it in a fair enough way. That being said, mill is not fun to play against and isn't a widely accepted archetype. Also, there is slightly too much emphasis on 'the when you draw this' line for my liking.
Nice work. Greatly appreciated. :)
R.I.P Cat class, you will be missed
Wow, these reviews are awesome!
Thanks for your input. I agree with pretty much everything said here: The flavor is awesome (thankyouverymuch), but it's a bit too combo-ey. As I said, Ice cards are supposed to be combo-based and weaker used alone. However, this is only ice cards, and those looking for a much more solid single-card value playstyle will find that in the shadow spells that are to come. Lich is supposed to present this duality between ice control and shadow control as such: One is more rewarding, requiring combos, the other is just damage on top of damage.
Plus, this is why Scheme is the Lich's mechanic, so that it can more reliably find its combos than another class would.
Hence, "the teasing three". Lets say Blizzard would want to show of their classes' in the way of this phase, they would probably succeed with each of their classes because all of their classes are interesting in some way. Some of the classes in Phase 2 aren't and are therefor struggling. Some others probably chose the wrong "teasing three" and are struggling becuse of that. To have this many submission the way we have presented them is probably the most fair and best way. Some people won't like it but according to me all worthy submissions is in the top 21 except one which to me is a success. I'm not saying 21 entries will advance to the next Phase, but it at least shows that the good submissions are up there in the top.
The thing is, this is supposed to be a fun and innovative competition. Therefor the most imaginative classes are doing well and the more basic classes are doing worse (some exceptions). I think that is good.
"Hence, "the teasing three". Lets say Blizzard would want to show of their classes' in the way of this phase, they would probably succeed with each of their classes because all of their classes are interesting in some way. Some of the classes in Phase 2 aren't and are therefor struggling. Some others probably chose the wrong "teasing three" and are struggling becuse of that. To have this many submission the way we have presented them is probably the most fair and best way. Some people won't like it but according to me all worthy submissions is in the top 21 except one which to me is a success. I'm not saying 21 entries will advance to the next Phase, but it at least shows that the good submissions are up there in the top."
If you can't lure people in to check out your class with your three teasers, well then you probably shouldn't advance to the final. Take Asylum's rogue post for example. If Rogue wasn't a class already, wouldn't you check that out? I for one would!
Wow man thanks for the great feedback. I'd love to give a glimpse of more duality cards but since these were basic ones i could not do that. You are right this class is constantly shifting or you can prioritise frost that is more lock-control-hard removal like or shadow which is fragmented damage. As for the card plainness I agree that I made some cards in the basic set very simple. But if you look at other classes most of their class basic cards are also that. Simple. I wanted to go into more complexity with the cards that are part of the expert set.
Again thank you for the feedback.
I am a servant of the world. And if I'm a servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best.
Thank you very much for bothering doing the review! I appreciate it the most. I think that the Wizard can play either like Rogue or like a tempo deck. I'm sad I wasn't able to persuade the voters :') Hoping for that wild card now.
My custom classes : /// / My Card Factory!
My reply wasn't meant to sound sore. The format is different than I expected and had I realized that I would have made different choices. That's fine. I wish the moderators would've made clear that there would be a new voting topic without the creator's original post and without showcasing the Hero Power. I feel like a big part of my Hero Class is my Hero Power. And yes, I would definitely check out Asylum's rogue post to see the first Class whose Hero Power can equip a Weapon, which is a completely unique mechanic. But probably not for the 3 very solid, but very basic cards he added. Just saying.
I simply do not believe everyone takes the time to check everything worthwhile out. Once again, that's fine. I don't expect that of people, especially not people just dropping by, because I for one am definitely not that kind of person either. Just saying, had I realized that sooner, I would've made different choices.
I get the feeling you feel like you need to defend yourself a lot, but really, we appreciate all the effort you guys put into it and I still feel like this competition was a really great and fun idea. I enjoyed creating cards in the context of something larger and seeing everything people came up with. I get you guys aren't out there to figure out how to create an unfair voting format and made some choices which would be hard to predict the outcome of, since it's the first time and all.
However, with so many people criticizing the Phase II submission format you might want to consider changing things next time during this step of the competition. It's cool. It's not to say we hate everything about what you guys are doing, on the contrary. Besides, if my cards were doing a bit better I might not have taken the trouble to post anything, you know how those things go.
This post got a bit longer than I intended, but I get critique can always sound harsh even though it is meant to be constructive. Definitely written up critique lacks the nuances of real life interaction.
Thinking back on it, I probably would have gone with Backstab in place of Fan of Knives, but I maintain that Deadly Poison and Sap were solid, unique choice examples. XD
You have to remember, my proposal was assuming the Rogue class didn't exist, in which case the only weapon attack bonuses in the game would be Upgrade! and Captain Greenskin, so Deadly Poison wouldn't appear nearly as "boring" as it does. And in a world where the Rogue class didn't exist, the only cards in the game that return a card to a players hand would be a couple of Brewmasters (and I think one Ysera dream card?), in which case Sap would be extremely unique and innovative.
What are you talking about, as far as I can tell you are currently bumping for 10th place. Don't lose hope. As for the poll - is it over? Can I do my advancement dance? If my math is correct i'm sharing 5th place with 2 others.
Yes, the poll is over, and these are the top 10:
"Pirate" by PupleMD
"Merchant" by carminacore
"Necromancer" by Zukuu
"Apothecary" by Turnspit
"Lich" by DKPaladinMDL
"Lich" by YushyBushy
"Lorewalker" by OBoily
"Warden" by DonnieMcKarlo
"Demon Hunter" by McF4artson
"Warden" by Kingslayer
I've already created the Phase III topics, but I was really hoping to go ahead and include the Wild Cards on the list over there, and I can't seem to get a hold of Murloc at the moment to see if he finally settled on his choice. The Phase III topics will go up in thirty minutes at most regardless, though.
Well then, gratz to all those who got to phase III then.
I am a servant of the world. And if I'm a servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best.