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Kill the boss and get epic loot.
It may not seem much now but probably with BGH out of the way it can be very intimidating. I guess you'd want to play this alongside silences or Harrison/ooze, although the weapons aren't that amazing (the opponent has to play them aswell):
Gladiator's Longbow
Coghammer
Sword of Justice
Cogmaster's Wrench
Poisoned Blade
Charged Hammer
Doomhammer
Gorehowl
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Special Thanks to JamieFTW1505, Layrit, Asylum_Rhapsody, nurgling13, Knetog, and the many, many more who helped me in endless reviews for Bard. I am always so dependent on feedback and constructive criticism, and it makes me so happy to be in a community that is willing to help me with that.
Welcome back to...
The purpose of Bard's classic set is to define its most basic playstyle and show what sets it off from other classes. This boils down to three main points:
To read more about Bard themes, check out my Phase 2 Submission.
Our returning Hero is virtuoso Lindsey Starling, with her Hero Power, Acoustics:
Lindsey Starling & Acoustics Explained
"A picture is worth a thousand words, but a song is worth a million."
-Lindsey Starling
A legendary Musician who is said to have defeated a dragon with nothing but a violin, Lindsey preaches peace and unity to the world through music. No matter where we come from, we still feel the same joy and the same sadness. No matter how different we think we are, a song can show us that our emotions are the same. She travels the world as a wandering hero, teaching all she meets of her philosophy. Already, hundreds of other bards from every corner of the globe have joined her cause, thus forming the Starling Orchestra. They have taken up her goal of a world where people put their differences aside and live in harmony, a goal that they believe can be achieved through music.
Her Hero Power, Acoustics, gives her a minor board control tool while also allowing her to recover in the later game. Many classes with Hero Powers that give them 1 Attack suffer from the fact that they end up taking far too much damage from each attack. Druid has some mitigation of this, but Rogue has none. By using the Melody mechanic, this hero power allows you to choose between a weaker version of Rogue's hero power for damage or a weaker version of Warrior's hero power for recovery each time you use it, once again showing how the Melody mechanic lets you make interesting choices.
Melody Mechanic Explained
While they do fight valiantly for what they believe is right, bards are generally more peaceful people who would rather play an enticing melody than engage in direct combat. As such, the Bard class's unique keyword is Melody, which gives a character an ability that they can use instead of attacking.
Melody effects are activated by pressing the melody button that appears when attacking with a minion. Playing a melody has all the same conditions as attacking, and should be thought of as "a different way to attack."
While the conditions for using a Melody are the same attacking, the actual effect is closer to a battlecry or spell.
The technicalities may sound intimidating, but the Melody mechanic is actually very simple. Here it is, put concisely:
In this infographic is a spoiler that shows how Melody works:
Card used:
These 5 cards showcase the major themes of Bard.
Masterpieces:
As to the debate over legendary spell tokens... Based on the "Lore", these two songs are on par with the WoW concept of Legendary. They are The Conductor's absolute strongest abilities and can/should only be used in the most difficult of battles.
It is true that all spell tokens have no rarity. However, all weapon tokens except for Ashbringer have no rarity, but Ashbringer became an exception because it is such a legendary weapon in WoW lore. It makes logical sense that these spells would be given the same kind of exception, since they are such legendary songs.
Explanations:
Every drawing starts with a point, every musician starts with a debut.
The Melody mechanic suffers from the fact that it is always slow, since minions can't play their melodies on the turn that they are played and few if any melody minions will have Charge. This card offers a solution to that issue, and opens up the Melody bard decktype into something viable. This card on its own may be hard to justify a deck slot for, but potent melody effects and some more support in GvG should allow debut to see a lot of play.
It's also worth noticing that this card can also function as a 1-turn humility to kill an enemy minion, or something to turn a friendly minion into a 1-damage charge. This reflects how Bards are extremely versatile.
Anyone can be a singer once they've had enough to drink.
This card showcases two things: A token-summoning card as well as a nuanced melody. This card is pretty weak on its own, but may become the staple of a combo debut/limelight/melody deck, since having two is exponentially better than having one.
Note that this minion is supposed to be a murloc, but we can't make murlocs due to competition rules. Murloc Bard will be a thing, someday, I promise.
A force as strong as Passion cannot be directed. It guides itself.
In the previous set, we saw the card Song of Fortitude. In case it wasn't obvious, there are many cards in Bard named by "Song of..." which are all effects that scale with the number of minions you control. They are collectively referenced as "Songs" and have various cards that synergize with them.
Song of Passion serves as Bard's burst damage with a full board. Comparing it to Bloodlust:
Cons: It doesn't always go face. :(
Pros: It doesn't always go face! :D
Bard is a control class, so it's fitting that their finisher also serves as a way to clear the board.
The heavens themselves are at her beck and call.
The perfect example of what a melody effect should look like. Part of the time, being able to trade with a 5/7 minion is an absolute necessity. However, if you've cleared your opponent's board, as a Bard player you would rather draw two cards than just attack face. This is exactly how a melody effects should work, where there is always some sort of choice to make on whether to attack or use the melody, rather than one option or the other always being superior.
"A performance can only last for so long... but its echoes will continue into eternity." - The Conductor
Lore: The Conductor
This mysterious child, known only as The Conductor, grew up in an unfortunate town ravaged by warfare. Their small village had become the battleground of two massive nations. Day after day, armies clashed in their streets and spilled blood on their soil for a war that had long since lost its meaning. They could not speak out against it, for they had no voice, nor could they run from it, for they had nowhere to go.
But the child had a voice. He would not take sadness for granted. He wanted to rise up, to lead his village, to bring a peaceful end to the empty conflict. He urged for confrontation, spoke to rally support - but his cries fell on deaf ears. What did a child know? Words were futile.
One day, two legions, larger than any precedent, came rolling over the hilltops. Soldiers flooded the streets. The fighting quickly spilled into homes and stores. Any respect that the warriors had for the civilians or their town, was completely gone. The child was shouting - at the soldiers, at the townspeople, at the world. But his pleas were drowned out by screams. A gallop rounded the corner and came charging down the ally he was hiding in. He knew at once that the rider would make no effort to avoid him. The end had come.
Suddenly, a force unlike any other split the sky. Reality itself seemed to hold its breath - everything stopped. A pulsating force shook the child, from his body to his soul.
Words cannot describe the music that poured into the air. Joy, sadness, passion, all flowed and intermixed. The devastation of the citizens, the emptiness of the soldiers, the music showed them to all.
There was no need to negotiate a treaty, the Starling Orchestra simply ended the war. Soldiers returned to their cities and protested the military. Efforts were made to assist the towns that had been torn apart by the violence. The Orchestra members would be immortalized as heroes of the village, and the townspeople thanked them endlessly. But the child had more to give than thanks - he would give them his life.
For he had found a force that was stronger than words. Even in his youth, he could be a leader, and make his voice heard. With Music, he could change the world.
The Conductor is a natural born leader who travels the world with the Starling Orchestra as one of the highest ranked members, serving as, of course, the orchestra's conductor.
In case it wasn't clear from the card, the buffs from Divine Symphony and Heavenly Harmony are PERMANENT. It's like you have a stormwind champion on your board that doesn't stop until you go face, since the effect applies to both current and future minions that are played.
This card answers the earlier question of "What does it mean to be a Bard?" With this card, you pay for a very significant advantage in trades, but as a result you can't attack your opponent's face. This complements Bard's playstyle of taking control of the board until your opponent is out of steam, then either letting them concede or finishing them with cards that scale with the number of minions you control.
This also has an interesting interaction when played on turn 1, since you can choose which Masterpiece to play on turn 2, turning it into either a 2/2 or a 1/3 based on how you want to trade.
This spoiler contains the remaining 10 cards in Bard's classic set.
Explanations:
Her talent is undeniable, but her methods are questionable...
Kindlewood Violinist is officially the only melody effect that deals damage. It's an extremely powerful two-drop, which functions as a shielded mini-bot against 2-health or lower minions, or a regular bloodfen raptor against any others. The choice you make in using this melody is "Do I need to trade into something with 3+ health, or can I kill a weak minion?"
This card has often been called out for its balance. Admittedly, it is strong, but your opponent has to knowingly play into it for it to really harm you. It gets removed by any standard 2 mana removal, and is also just a regular 2 mana 3/2 versus anything with more than 2 Health.
"When the time comes, you will know. Seize the Limelight, and change the world." -Lindsey Starling
Seeing as how Battlecry and Deathrattle both have a double-trigger legendary, it would be fitting to give Bard a double melody trigger effect. But it would be boring to just slap it onto another legendary, so instead it appears in this feign-death-esque card. In case the wording is unclear, it gives you a one-turn only double trigger for your melodies when they get activated (closer to brann and rivendare than feign death).
This card does have some crazy combo potentials, but due to the nature of Melody effects being positive for you rather than harmful to your enemy, they usually have a way to deal with it. Even the craziest of Melody effects aren't game-breaking with this, so it could see play in Debut/Melody bard as a balanced yet powerful combo card.
All it takes to change the world is a little bit of inspiration.
Composer is the card that single-handedly streamlines songs from being clunky and a loss of tempo into a cornerstone of Bard. This minion, in combination with the more potent songs like Song of Fortitude and Song of Passion is an extremely devastating combo that truly defines how Bard decks play as opposed to other midrange or token decks. Because of Composer, songs fit well into many Bard decks.
This description has made it sound OP, and I can't deny that it is fairly strong. It does give huge amounts of value, but this is simply one of those Bard cards that is strong so that it can define the class. From playtesting experience, the board impact is strong, but not so strong that it's impossible for my opponent to come back.
Explanations:
Compassion creates Loyalty. Cruelty only creates servitude.
Bard has many minions that are powerful if they can stay alive for more than one turn and snowball, as a result of the Melody mechanic. Song of loyalty allows you to protect a powerful minion if you have board dominance, but still allows for counterplay since the minion you buff is more vulnerable to BGH and is a better justification for silence.
The drumbeat is like a heartbeat - it keeps us alive.
The first of Bard's Melody weapons! Note that most if not all of Bard's weapons will have Melody effects. This is because Melodies have interesting interactions with weapons (they cost 1 durability but can be used immediately) and make thematic sense from the viewpoint of equipping instruments and playing them.
This drum showcases a more aggressive theme in Bard. While Bard is mainly a control class, it would be narrow-minded to not give it any way to play aggro. This card is a rare sight in that it gives a strictly damage-based buff. The choice you make in using the melody is "Do I need to hit something for 3 damage, or do I have enough minions so that the melody is more valuable than 3 damage?"
The shriek of this flute is the last thing they'll hear.
In case the card text did not make it obvious, the minion is silenced while it is in your opponent's hand. This means that it is now just a vanilla minion, it won't activate its battlecry on being played and it will remain silenced when it re-enters the field. If your opponent then returned it to their hand normally, it would be un-silenced, though. The card would look like this in their hand:
High Note is Bard's second and likely last hard removal spell in combination with Low Note. Notice that neither of these spells actually kill the minion itself - Low note gets rid of a minion's stats, and High Note gets rid of its effects. This one is very powerful, and replaying the silenced minion is almost always a bad play and probably wouldn't roll around until the topdecking phase, so most of the time this works like a slightly weaker Hex.
Explanations:
Every life is worth saving.
This card can both be used as a mechanism to trade without hurting your own minions or preserving your board into the next turn. Since Bard should usually have a board that they can benefit with divine shield, and Bard has a lot of spells that synergize with controlling many minions, both of these effects should see usage.
In case the text is ambiguous, this card gives all friendly minions divine shield that they then lose next turn.
A performance isn't good until a guitar gets smashed.
Another Melody weapon for Bard, but this one behaves differently from War Drum. The drum is a more typical melody weapon, where you choose between an attack and a buff. This weapon serves as a two-in-one value card that gives you versatility in removal. You have three choices: 4 mana, draw 2 cards if you're in a tight spot, attacking for 4 once and then drawing a card, or a 4 mana 4/2 weapon. Each effect is slightly weaker than it would be alone, but that's the price of versatility. This has been one of my favorite cards in playtesting, and I can assure you that all 3 options are very useful.
Legend tells of a wandering, horn-playing spirit that preserved peace in the world. After joining the Starling Orchestra, this lutist took up both its name and its cause.
A super potent healing card that demolishes aggro and provides the healing that control/debut Bard needs to be a viable deck. Showcases exactly how Bard should play, where you receive a stronger heal by also healing the enemy hero.
Explanations:
He has the looks, she has the talent.
Star of the Show serves as Bard's big, expensive Melody minion for maximum value with Debut. Whereas most Melody cards involve a choice based on the situation, this one is more of a cycle: If it has 4 attack, play the melody to become an 8/8. If it has 8 attack, then attack and trade with your backup singers. Then, repeat.
This spoiler contains the 10 Cards in Bard's basic set, to give you more context for the classic set.
Explanations:
Her alluring dance gathers the spirits.
While designing Bard, there was a card in the basic set that happened to synergize really well with Wisp. So well, to the point where I really wanted Wisp in Bard to be viable. Unfortunately, wisp just doesn't do enough to warrant a card slot. So, a card that generates wisps would both fit into Bard's 1 mana minion slot and allow wisp to see play! When this design came around, it was impossible to refuse.
You might not want to immediately play the wisps you get from this card. Bard has a lot of cards that synergize with how many minions you currently have on the field, and since wisp costs 0 mana, you can drop them all right before you play those cards to significantly increase their output.
Since Wisp is technically a common card and not basic, here is a basic version of it generated uniquely by this card (Nerubians do the same thing by the way, in nerubian egg vs beneath the grounds):
He wanders from town to town, collecting instruments wherever he goes.
Has been nerfed from +1/+1 to +1 Attack.
At first glance this card may be confusing, especially since Bard doesn't have any basic weapons. But remember, your hero power generates a 1-durability weapon. To activate this card's effect, you could use your hero power on turn 2 but not use your weapon, and then play this for a really solid turn 3, kind of like a mini-handlock play.
This card functions as an all around sturdy 3-drop, both with or without its effect.
A sonic blast so powerful that even its echoes can pack a wallop.
The main thing that Bard was lacking before this card was designed was the fact that once you lost tempo or board control, there was no way to get it back. This card fixes just that, allowing you to thin your opponent's board while starting to rebuild your own.
Echoes are simply 1/1s:
Explanations:
Twice as much speed means twice as many options.
This card is an example of Bard cards that produce insane versatility through very simple effects. Its efficient mana cost allows to to be used to trade more effectively. It also is a card that could give Bard its finisher, possibly in combination with Leeroy Jenkins. When minions start getting Melody in the classic set, this card allows you to use a Melody twice in a turn, or use any combination of 1 Attack and 1 Melody.
This is also the type of card that can be very worrying in terms of overly large OTK combos with large chargeminions or attack buffs. However, since I've already been staying away from Attack buffs just because it goes against Bard flavor in general, I won't have to go out of the way to keep this card in check.
The sound from this giant's horn will stop anything in its tracks.
This card functions as Bard's "Hard" removal. It allows you to use your tokens to take down larger minions without killing those tokens in the process. It also allows you to simply ignore a minion for a turn and just use your minions' melody effects, rather than forcing your minions to remove a threat immediately and thus taking away their opportunity to use their melodies.
Only music can give what words cannot.
The first of the Bard's "Songs". Songs are cards in bard, identified with a card name in the format of "Song of...". All of them have some sort of synergy with controlling many minions. This one being the most central and the most simple, it belongs in the basic set.
This card is a simple reflection of how Bards tend to buff their minions in defensive ways rather than being aSavage Roar / Bloodlust clone.
Explanations:
Both in music and in battle, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Choir is actually an exception for Bard in that it is a direct damage spell. All classes need some sort of generic removal, and so this is how Bard will have it, only potent if you have a good board. While this card can function as some serious burn in an aggressive token deck, it's not too hard for any Bard deck to get at least 1 or 2 minions, so this card should be a core card in any deck.
Rule number one of Lindsey's Bards: "Every action I take is to promote peace and harmony."
A good midgame multi-card draw for Bard that fits better in control decks, but can be used pretty much anywhere. It's simple and gets the job done, just like a basic card should.
In a world of violence and destruction, music is our only respite.
What sets Bard apart from the token-style gameplays of Druid or Shaman is that it uses minions for control rather than outright aggro. This card is what links flooding the board with defensive gameplay, and allows you to both heal your hero and develop your board in the same turn.
Explanation:
The Starling Orchestra contains talent from every corner of the globe.
Orchestra is a one-of-everything token generator. It summons these exact four minions every time, so you always know what you're getting:
Serves as a big late-game minion for Bard, split into several smaller ones to synergize with its spells. It may seem super slow, but thanks to the fact that one of them has Charge it can actually be surprisingly helpful in some
This concludes Bard's classic set. If you enjoyed these cards, or you are excited for Bard's future, please leave a vote!
As we move from the expert set to GvG, we leave behind classical music and enter the age of modern music and dubstep!
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We all want Overload to work in favor of Shamans. This is my attempt at making Overload better.
Makes your mana curve a lot smoother, and allows you to control the board.
6
Plagued Gargoyl: (Artist: wreckonning)
The idea is based on its ability Stoneskin (couldnt exactly make it as is explained in comments, but i think this is as close as possible) ;-) So i give u the ultimate anti agro card! :D taunt it and profit! :D ok not so easy to pull that off in time, but can be cool no ?:)
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Morning, ladies and gents! Here's my submission for the week...
Imgur Link: http://imgur.com/nwnKOwv
Link to WoWWiki Page: http://wowwiki.wikia.com/wiki/Kolkar_Marauder
FLAVOUR TEXT
Summon: You distract them! I'll secure the kill!
Attack: Hit and run!
Effect Triggers: Ahah! An opening!
Death: Kolkar... Avenge me...
The idea of Kolkar Marauder is to promote Taunt Warrior, an archetype that has gained support in the Grand Tournament, but in a manner insufficient for it to be competitively viable. Kolkar Marauder is designed to allow for favourable trades and ease of board control, something which complements the slower style inherent in Taunt Warrior. Think of it as the control variant of Knife Juggler, albeit with a little more punch.
Thanks for reading, and good luck to all the other competitors!
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"Everything can be solved with a bearhug."
Hoping that this is balanced enough, it's a mimic of the underused Axe Flinger, but it gives druids more options to gain Mana Crystals faster.. made it 2-atk to fall in the range of Shadow Word: Pain/Cabal Shadow Priest, Stampeding Kodo, also, 5hp to be in the range of Kill Command, Fireball, out of Flamestrike and so on.. also, it's a low cost legendary, and I love low-cost legendaries, and I hope you'll love this one too!
EDIT: Added flavor text, fixed wording, a cleaner artwork
EDITv2: Additional note, if you reach 10 mana, then trigger Broll's effect, you WON'T gain Excess Mana, thus it won't grant you free cards.. the card's effect is meant to help with the mana crystals, not with the card draw
7
"Da spirits be restless"
Possible Hero Power Blessings in the spoiler:
In the basic set you'll see how the Shadow Hunter calls upon the spirits, using blessings, curses, and his strength to obtain victory.
The Darkspear never die. A shadow hunter ability from WC3 renamed to Chain Heal. It keeps you high health minons in the battle, and can also stabilize your Hero's Health.
Call upon da spirits to weaken your foes. Curse of Ogoun let's you clear the board if you have minions or a weapon, or at least stall for a turn against aggressive decks. Shadow Hunters will not have direct board clears like Consecration or Flamestrike.
The Horde Warchief isn't afraid to take up arms. Like Hunters and Shamans, Shadow Hunters will have few weapons. Most will be for minions or utility. Clears early boards at the cost of Health.
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Welcome to my phase two submission. HERE is my phase 1 submission, if you want to see that. It has an explanation of the hero power, class mechanic, and other themes of this class.
The basic set that I'm submitting this week has a heavy focus on Ice. This is one of the four major themes of Lich: Cold, Shadow, Death, and Scheming. That's not to say the other three won't get any time in the spotlight for the basic set, just less than Cold for the moment.
Why is Cold getting the spotlight? Well, it's mostly because the other 3 aspects depend more on Scheme and Deathrattle, which aren't allowed in the basic set. Also, cold will probably be the most distinctive feature of Lich overall and as such a basic set focused on Ice gives an appropriate introduction to that.
Well, without further ado...
[Hero: Lady Deathwhisper]
[Hero Powers: Empower and Darkchill Blast]
<=>
In case it wasn't clear, this card functions like a mega-cleave. It Freezes 5 random different minions, and thus requires that there be 5 minions in play for this to be played. This is how the card is balanced, not restricted by it's mana cost but restricted by needing minions on the board. However, because of its low mana cost, it's very easy to combo with the other cards should you be able to pull it off. This exemplifies how Lich's Freeze effects differ from the mage: Lich is much more random and much more likely to effect their own minions, in return for awesome synergy like Shatter.
Within the Ice section of spells, Shatter reigns king as the ultimate card. Most of your Freezes will rotate around synergizing with this card. The mana cost of any card that Freezes ALL minions or Freezes all enemy minions has been appropriately pushed upwards such that we don't just have another Equality + Consecrate. Note that with many of the Shatter combos, your own minions will die. This is sometimes a sacrifice, but more often than not they'll have helpful deathrattles or other synergies.
The main card draw engine for Lich, especially in the basic set. Signifying the limitless knowledge that comes with endless life, you pay one mana whenever you cast this card in order to be able to use it perpetually throughout the game. Liches will have many "Shuffle cards into your deck" spells, and combined with the scheme mechanic, they need a way to be able to plow through potentially useless cards on a turn-to-turn basis in the late game.
Whereas Frigid Desolation represents the Low-end Shatter synergy, this is as good as it gets. For a 9-mana two card combo, you can silence and destroy all enemy minions. The card was costed at 6 specifically so that the mana cost could be driven all the way up to 9 mana. The only other card you can play here assuming you haven't reduced the cost of these spells is probably something like Soul Harvest.
Ah, Lich Slap. This card isn't the most "ultra-efficient, auto-include 2" like some other cards are. This card has some uses, like tagging on a tiny bit of extra value for AoE ice combos, or serving as a cheap trigger for single-target ice combos (which will become clear in the next set). It's a 0 mana Freeze with the downside that it gives the water elemental effect to whatever it hits. While this usually means that you get a drawback when you use it on an enemy minion, there are some cases that you can use it on your own minions, as you will see below.
Lich joins the "1 mana 1/3" club. This is an excellent card for what I'll call "Tempo Freezing", which is using minor freeze cards (like Lich Slap and other upcoming cards) to freeze just a few minions to stop your opponent rather than trying to fully halt their board or shatter it. It's great when your opponent has a 3-mana minion frozen for this to kill, rather than something you try to save to kill a bunch of minions. It combos doubly well with Lich Slap: Lich Slap the enemy minion and hit it with this. Although this card gets frozen, it's immediate hard removal. Or, if you're up to the risk, you can actually Lich Slap this minion, and then it will indeed become "destroy any minion damaged by this minion."
=> 
With this card, we begin to transition out of the Ice focus for this week. Within the 4 themes of Lich, Ice easily synergizes with the themes of Death and Planning. Likewise, Shadow cards will also synergize easily with Death and Planning. However, if you look at Ice and Shadow, you'll find that they're as different as black and white (literally). Does this mean that you can't make a deck that has both Ice and Shadow? No! It just means that you'll have to use "connecter" cards, like this one right here. It takes your ice cards, and converts them into shadow synergy. It will be a staple in Malygos Lich, as well as an interesting card for new players to use in any of their Lich decks.
The second planning card! A two mana on-demand Thaurissan for your spells. A great card for helping you build your combos, especially in an Ice set, which has so many combos. Not only does it make some of the later game combos playable early (Frigid Desolation -> Permafrost goes from 4 mana to 2 mana!) but it also draws a card, which helps you a little bit in drawing into those combos if you don't have them. Note that you draw a card before the spell cost reduction, so if you've schemed enough to see that the next card of your deck is a spell, you get some extra value. I personally think this card is a little overcosted, but honestly the fact that you can play it on turn 2 instead of waiting till turn 6 is worth something in and of itself.
The death card for this week. A nice card to throw in after a Shatter combo, especially if it was one of the combos that killed your own minions too. It's easy to combo especially if you've Devious Planned it, and serves as one of the win conditions for super control / fatigue Lich. Watch as your opponent's Rags and Dr. Booms return from the dead on your side, while they're in the topdeck phase!
And finally, the representative pure shadow card for this week. This is the kind of super simple card you'd expect from the basic set. Sure, you could say it's "Boring" because the effect is so simple, but it's charm really comes from the impact this card has. 7 damage to a minion for 4 mana, while balanced, feels like a lot. Combined with a solid animation, this card could feel epic to play as you completely erase a minion from existence with RAW POWER.
To see why this card is balanced, check out the spoiler below this one.
How in the world is 4 mana: Deal 7 damage to a minion BALANCED?
You might look at this card, and accuse it of being designed based on the premise that Shadow Bolt sucks (which is not okay), or say that I'm balancing based on fireball (which is purposefully OP, and as such other cards shouldn't be compared to it), or that regardless It's just OP. But allow me to explain...
As I was looking at cards like Savagery and Shield Slam, I wondered how they could possibly be balanced. I mean, shield slam can easily get to deal 10 or even 20 damage, for 1 mana. I mean sure, it requires setup, but still... if you balance minion damage off of Shadow Bolt, there's not that big of a difference between minion damage and regular damage... so how the heck is 1 Mana: Deal 20 damage to a minion even the slightest bit reasonable?
What I realized is that, unlike pure damage cards (which cap out at around a 29 mana value (29 Mana: Deal 30 damage is technically balanced), since if you increased the damage then it wouldn't matter (unless against a warrior) since the most value you can get is 30 damage, which is worth 29 mana) minion damage caps out at a slightly less than 5 mana value, no matter how high you set the damage. This is because of the card Assassinate, and the common notion that "Destroy a minion" is worth 5 mana on its own. That means you could make a card like:
And, it's actually slightly underpowered! This is because it gives the slight disadvantages of not being able to break divine shield and triggering enemy "whenever this minion is damaged" effects.
Anyway, back to Annihilate. Clearly, not breaking divine shield and triggering effects is not enough of a drawback to justify a card like Holy Moly! to cost only 4 mana. As such, the value we have to choose for damage shouldn't kill every minion in the game. That's why I chose 7, because while it kills most minions, the fairly large category of 8 and 12 health minions escapes this card. I think that a drawback like that is enough to justify a 4 mana cost. Even if it is a little strong, remember that this card isn't a damaging card, it's just a different way of going about hard removal. And this is a game where "execute" is considered balanced...
Enjoy!
On a side note, I'm actually really hyped about Lich development, and I'm sure you guys are probably excited for your classes too. I was thinking of breaking out my LackeyCCG plugin, anyone interested in some playtesting? Please PM me or post in the discussion thread.
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"His favorite hobby is Bird-watching. We have no idea why."
I love the transform effect in the Druid class, and this allows you to buff small minions, or nerf powerful minions but give them stealth to guarantee trades next turn. This could be very powerful, but could also cost a lot board presence, so strategic positioning is necessary part of using this card. Also Beast Druid is a thing right? Right?
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Unique Keyword: Ritual - Activates the next time a minion is played or summoned.
Play Style and Mechanics: The Talonpriest class focuses on minion cost reduction or easier Ritual activates, cheap removal, and supporting the beast race. Generally this class would play a high tempo or possibly aggro style of deck with the ability to play reduced minions or swarm the board. Note: The basic set will equip the Talonpriest with some simple but necessary cards including card draw, removal, and minion reduction however future sets will make valuable use of the Ritual keyword and the Spirits of Arakkoa themselves.
Sethekk Prophet: This is the first and only Arakkoan minion without the ritual keyword. However he fits the base set well with his ability to produce a free Spirit of Arakkoa which will combo well with other cards in the set.
Summoning Ritual: This card is essentially a lesser innervate that only works on minions, essentially you can use it like a coin to play a minion a turn ahead of curve. However this card really shines when you spend an entire turn early only playing this card and then playing a 6 cost on turn 3.
Arcane Shock: This is some very strong early board removal, however because it can only target minions it lacks versatility in the later game when you're looking for lethal.
Raise Spirits: Very similar to Muster for battle but with slightly more potential. You summon three of your hero power tokens and reduced the next minion play in hopes that you'll be able to activate their ritual.
Shadowfury: This card is the AOE removal for this class, it's initial value is underwhelming but it scales very well. It also offers powerful combinations when paired with Raise Spirits or Sethekk Prophet.
Black Winds: This is some pretty standard card draw, it's cheaper than sprint but you can run the risk of losing something that you need. You specifically discard after you draw so that their is some risk involved.
Terokkar's Call: Very strong card that will allow you to draw a beast and possibly play it in the same turn. It can be useful if you don't have a minion in your hand to activate a ritual on board and overall it plays to both the reduction and beast mechanics.
Skettis Warpstalker: The purpose of this beast is to have a strong class specific beast. It avoids aoe that deals two damage and goes well with Terokkar's Call which would allow you to play it for free.
Silver-Winged Kaliri: This sitcky minion also fits the reduction and beast styles of play. The purpose was to have a Sorcerer's Apprentice but for the purposes of the Talonpriest.
Talonsworn Curse: This is pretty much the cheapest hard removal in the game, however it doesn't actually remove something until the end of your turn. Offensively you won't be able to get around that giant taunt for lethal, but defensively you can get rid of Doomguard for very little. Additionally it works like Polymorph or Hex where your opponent will receive compensation in the form of a 1/2 token.
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Naxxramas
Goblins Vs. Gnomes
Blackrock Mountain
The Grand Tournament
<Coming Eventually>
Thanks
Thank you to everyone who voted for Twilight's Hammer, it has been lots of fun making the class and been a great learning experience for myself
Thanks to Asylum_Raphsody and DialM4Murloc for running the competition, you guys have done a great job with it and i hope we see you two running more competitions similar to this one in the future!
Thanks to all the other competitors, there were some really amazing class ideas that popped up from the competition, and i know many of you're guys ideas have got me thinking more about potential card mechanics, also thanks to those of you who helped me with cards balancing / concepts on the discussion threads, your help was invaluable.
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(See ALL of the Class Design Competition finalists
and vote for your favorite by clicking HERE!)
The Twilight's Hammer
Lore
The Twilight's Hammer clan see all of creation as a scar left on the pure emptiness of the void. This has lead the clan to seeking out the destruction of Azeroth by any means neccessary, and as such, the clan have allied themselves with the forces of the Old Gods and the Elemental Lords.
Hero
General Vezax leads the Twilights hammer forces in Northrend on behalf of his master Yogg-Saron. He exudes saronite vapors that inhibit the abilities of spell casters and his very presence fills even the bravest Heroes with despair.
Hero Power
Base
Upgraded
Despair acts as a way to make the game harder for your opponent and particulalry punishes opponents who use combos that require very precise mana costs or just decks that use high cost cards. This allows Vezax to "Ramp up" in a sort of way, either to catch back up to his opponent or gaining a quickly snowballing advantage.
Display Cards
Basic Set
Curse of Flesh Token:
Expert Set
Firesworn Ascendant:
Ascendant Council Tokens:
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Hey, decided to jump in with my ideas for the mechanics.
Overall style: Combo/control. Much like the 'tide', the theme looks at the players building up their resources before unleashing everything in a big finale. An additional focus should be on the importance of drawing cards and having card advantage.
Keyword Mechanic: Swell: When you play a card, do this.
Mostly present on minions, swell encourages combo-plays.
Worded mechanic: Ebb and Flow: minions and spells gain or lose bonuses based on how many cards you have in hand.
This can either be used to encourage using more of your cards very quickly or to stockpile them and take a slower approach.
Let me know what you think. Disclaimer: examples may not be balanced.
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Hey great idea, I'll get it started then:
Timewalk: If you did not play any cards last turn, do this.
Next keyword: Honor
1
Hey, can i get some thoughts on the balance of this;
Is it too strong at 1 mana even with the 'Enemy Hero' condition?
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1
Here's what I've been working on. (Rotface and Festergut from Icecrown Citadel in WoW)
I figured that requiring the other minion to take damage (particularly with both being 7 drops) could reasonably net ~2 mana worth of effect. Hopefully that isn't too much.
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Araj the Summoner from Andorhal in the Western Plaguelands
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Hey guys, the Expansion cards are up!
Thanks everyone for the support and criticisms, I've been busy making the cards + Life stuff so i unfortunately haven't had a chance to reply to any of your posts. Its 3am here in Australia at the moment, so I'll get some sleep now and I'll address peoples concerns etc. after =D
Thanks again!