So, Hall of Fame is good. There's no denying that; it allows cards to be left alone for Wild without breaking standard for years to come, and the extra dust is always helpful to everyone. HoF keeps everyone happy, but it has a very real, very big problem:
Hall of Fame is dwindling the Classic set at a steady rate, it's already claimed at least 9 cards from the Classic set (not sure where Captain's Parrot, E.T.C., Gelbin Mekkatorque, or Old Murk-Eye fit in, I know two of them were collectable only through crafting their tribes and the other two were.... specially available?) and we all know that there are more cards on the chopping block (Gadgetzan Auctioneer is popular, Leeroy Jenkins might go with the Charge hate, and we all know it's only a matter of time before Blade Flurry goes the way of Molten Giant).
I would like to bring forth the argument that Tech cards should be filling in the gap those cards have left behind. Cards like Dragonslayer, Golakka Crawler, and similar cards that are in upcoming sets should be slotted into the Classic set, along with either Kezan Mystic or Eater of Secrets. There are several reasons for this;
1) This would allow new players to have easier access to cards to counter the meta. If they keep dying by secret/dragon/pirate/murloc, they can just craft the counter to the card. This helps the new players out tremendously if they can look through one set to see if there is a way to modify their deck to help them win, and the fact that players will be opening more Classic packs (due to tavern brawl if nothing else) means that they'll absolutely have access to these.
2) It benefits old players as it allows Blizzard to go H.A.M. on new cards, since any potentially problematic card already has it's counter baked into Classic. If everyone has access to Dragonslayer all the time, they can print more experimental dragons. I'll get into this more later.
3) They could standardize Tech cards. Honestly, Golakka Crawler and Hungry Crab should read "Deal (2 or 3) damage to target (Pirate or Murloc). If that minions dies, gain +x/+x". Again, more on this later.
Why is this important? Well..... I want to be frank; Tribes in Hearthstone leave a lot to be desired compared to other card games like Magic or Yu-gi-oh. Sure, there are always Best in Slot cards you'll put in to any deck, but in Hearthstone...... that's all there is. There's no deckbuilding choices when it comes to any of the Tribes, it's just "jam in the best stated cards with the best effects".
Imagine, if you will, that every Tribe had *two* specific conditions; Elementals had their current Chain, and then in addition to that they had "If you didn't play an elemental last turn, do X". This would actually allow you to play cards like Tol'vir Stoneshaper because you'd *want* to break the chain. Naturally, not playing Elementals the turn earlier is a lot easier than playing elementals last turn, so those cards would have to be balanced as though they were normal Battlecry minions (because for 90% of decks, that's what they are).
Imagine if Dragons had their "Dragon in hand" ability, along side a new "Dragon on the field" ability, now Dragonslayer and 7+ health Dragons actually matter. When building a Dragon deck, you can say "Ok, do I want to include Drakonid Operative, which has a powerful effect but dies to Dragonslayer, or do I want this other Dragon that has a lesser effect but more health to turn on my 'Dragon on the field' ability?" Suddenly deck building becomes that much more dynamic, which leads to more dynamic games; choices in deck construction makes for much more interesting choices in gameplay.
Which is also why Golakka Crawler and Hungry Crab should be changed to deal a set amount of damage, not out right destroy the enemy Pirate/Murloc. If Crawler dealt 3 damage to a pirate, now the pirate deck has to choose between Bloodsail Raider for the increased aggression, or a 2 mana 1/4 + effect pirate that's a safer bet for activating your pirate synergies. Again, more deckbuilding options, and the ability to counter play the counter play, leads to more dynamic games.
So, Hall of Fame is good. There's no denying that; it allows cards to be left alone for Wild without breaking standard for years to come, and the extra dust is always helpful to everyone. HoF keeps everyone happy, but it has a very real, very big problem:
Hall of Fame is dwindling the Classic set at a steady rate, it's already claimed at least 9 cards from the Classic set (not sure where Captain's Parrot, E.T.C., Gelbin Mekkatorque, or Old Murk-Eye fit in, I know two of them were collectable only through crafting their tribes and the other two were.... specially available?) and we all know that there are more cards on the chopping block (Gadgetzan Auctioneer is popular, Leeroy Jenkins might go with the Charge hate, and we all know it's only a matter of time before Blade Flurry goes the way of Molten Giant).
I would like to bring forth the argument that Tech cards should be filling in the gap those cards have left behind. Cards like Dragonslayer, Golakka Crawler, and similar cards that are in upcoming sets should be slotted into the Classic set, along with either Kezan Mystic or Eater of Secrets. There are several reasons for this;
1) This would allow new players to have easier access to cards to counter the meta. If they keep dying by secret/dragon/pirate/murloc, they can just craft the counter to the card. This helps the new players out tremendously if they can look through one set to see if there is a way to modify their deck to help them win, and the fact that players will be opening more Classic packs (due to tavern brawl if nothing else) means that they'll absolutely have access to these.
2) It benefits old players as it allows Blizzard to go H.A.M. on new cards, since any potentially problematic card already has it's counter baked into Classic. If everyone has access to Dragonslayer all the time, they can print more experimental dragons. I'll get into this more later.
3) They could standardize Tech cards. Honestly, Golakka Crawler and Hungry Crab should read "Deal (2 or 3) damage to target (Pirate or Murloc). If that minions dies, gain +x/+x". Again, more on this later.
Why is this important? Well..... I want to be frank; Tribes in Hearthstone leave a lot to be desired compared to other card games like Magic or Yu-gi-oh. Sure, there are always Best in Slot cards you'll put in to any deck, but in Hearthstone...... that's all there is. There's no deckbuilding choices when it comes to any of the Tribes, it's just "jam in the best stated cards with the best effects".
Imagine, if you will, that every Tribe had *two* specific conditions; Elementals had their current Chain, and then in addition to that they had "If you didn't play an elemental last turn, do X". This would actually allow you to play cards like Tol'vir Stoneshaper because you'd *want* to break the chain. Naturally, not playing Elementals the turn earlier is a lot easier than playing elementals last turn, so those cards would have to be balanced as though they were normal Battlecry minions (because for 90% of decks, that's what they are).
Imagine if Dragons had their "Dragon in hand" ability, along side a new "Dragon on the field" ability, now Dragonslayer and 7+ health Dragons actually matter. When building a Dragon deck, you can say "Ok, do I want to include Drakonid Operative, which has a powerful effect but dies to Dragonslayer, or do I want this other Dragon that has a lesser effect but more health to turn on my 'Dragon on the field' ability?" Suddenly deck building becomes that much more dynamic, which leads to more dynamic games; choices in deck construction makes for much more interesting choices in gameplay.
Which is also why Golakka Crawler and Hungry Crab should be changed to deal a set amount of damage, not out right destroy the enemy Pirate/Murloc. If Crawler dealt 3 damage to a pirate, now the pirate deck has to choose between Bloodsail Raider for the increased aggression, or a 2 mana 1/4 + effect pirate that's a safer bet for activating your pirate synergies. Again, more deckbuilding options, and the ability to counter play the counter play, leads to more dynamic games.
It sounds logical tho.
Nice