Hearthpwn

A while ago I was toying with the idea of high-value 1-drops with drawbacks. Here's what I came up with. (note: these cards are probably not balanced in the slightest, they're just fun ideas. The art is also not mine.)

When your Hero Power is Locked, you can't use it. When it's Unlocked, you can start using it again. I considered a few statlines for this card, such as 5/3, but I felt 3/4 was the best.

You knew one of these kinds of cards would be here. Dealing damage to your hero is the most rudimentary of drawbacks. The Imp Lord is initially stronger than Flame Imp, but as it stays on the field (which it will) it deals more and more damage to your face. Did somebody say Molten Giant?

Yay RNG. Big body extremely early on, but it's likely that the spell your opponent gets will dispatch this guy. Alternatively, you could give a Priest Savagery. Only gives collectible spells, so no Ysera Awakens or anything like that.

Paladin minions:

 

My personal favorite of this set. This has the potential to give you a huge tempo swing or outright lose you the game. On one hand, this guy could summon Bolvar Fordragon. On the other, it could just as easily summon Tirion and you instantly lose. What's notable is that if your opponent gets Cobalt Guardian and then plays a Mech, then you just gave your opponent a free Cobalt Guardian on  turn 1. The high variance of this card means that it frequently decides games on turn 1, for better or for worse.

This might not fit in with this theme due to not having a drawback and not really being a 1-drop. But hey, it's technically 1-mana and it absolutely crushes Hungry Dragon. When your opponent is topdecking this is an Ironbark Protector for 1 mana. Against aggro, this card is overpowered. Against control, it's nearly useless. Probably the best of these cards overall, and it definitely power creeps Ironbark, but it's a fun anti-aggro card nonetheless.

Those are my ideas for super-strong 1-mana cards. Let us banish Hungry Dragon to the depths of even greater obscurity!