The Chronicler is a class based on harnessing your memories and the power of the places you have visited or studied, summoning beasts of alien worlds or making your opponent feel what an eruption is like. Roaming through Azeroth and beyond, these explorers and scribes have witnessed or read about nearly everything, but their thirst for knowledge and adventure lingers on. Their power is clearly shown by Lorewalker Shuchun in this short story, The Blank Scroll . Citing Ziya, a goblin rogue: "Shuchun was a Lorewalker, a trade that Ziya barely understood. Lorewalkers told stories. They searched for artifacts from Pandaria's long past. And, if Shuchun was any example, they talked with their mouths full and smiled a lot.". This is applicable in a general sense to pandaren lorewalkers, dwarf historians, gnome bookmasters, elven scholars and all other different types of chroniclers.
Strengths: high statted minions are one of the most obvious strengths of the Chronicler. High health, resilient and hard to remove minions are a staple. It also has many resources and abilities to draw or pseudo-tutor cards, providing consistency. Its board clears are relatively cheap, and the Recall keyword allows a big degree of flexibility in many cases.
Weaknesses: this class will have very few tools to gain a board back when playing more aggressive decks. It will also struggle to remove big minions. It also has no means of easily creating tokens, so minions must be preserved in order to use its buffs. Board clears will be symmetrical. Burst damage will be scarce.
Themes: the Chronicler will be spell-heavy in all of its archetypes. Minions that synergize with spells cast will be a recurrent theme, in different ways from Mages'. Taunt minions will also appear, and high-health minions in general. Discover will become a very important weapon in its arsenal after Un'goro. The approach to board centric or aggressive archetypes will be focused on single, strong minions, not board flooding. Stories will be high costed spells with evocative names that try to represent folk tales of Azeroth.
Tokens
This Hero Power functions in a very similar way to the Shaman Hero Power. This means that, when you use it, a Scroll that you don't already have is added to your hand. So, the probabilities of getting the Scroll you want improve every time you use it without casting the others. However, you can't have more than one of each, so once yo have all four you must cast one before being able to use the Hero Power again. This is exactly how the Shaman Hero Power works. Improving your Hero Power makes it so that you choose which Scroll you add to your hand, and you can now have duplicates. Once again, this behaviour is exactly the same as Shaman's improved Hero Power.
Keyword - Recall
The Chronicler's keyword, Recall, represents their command over memories and stories, and shows their ability to remember and reproduce events they have experienced, heard or read about. This keyword allows the power of some cards to be split between themselves and the next Hero Power. Most of them will only have an small extra punch, while a small amount of Recall cards will be much more focused on the Recall effect, being an effective tempo loss when cast but allowing you to choose more precisely when to unleash their full effect.
Example Cards
These are some of the most characteristic cards of the Chronicler's basic set. This class will have problems dealing with big, single targets, and its board clears won't mix very well with the more aggressive archetypes. There will be no Consecration s or Maelstrom Portal s. Their strength lies with big, resilient minions, board control and the capability of grinding opponents out with the right deck. Later expansions might bring with them some combo capabilities too.
Novice Lorewalker is the first of many minions that will synergize with casting or having spells. The early game minion of choice for all board-centric Chronicler decks, it can't snowball like pre-nerf Mana Wyrm , or provide as much value as Northshire Cleric , but it helps establish early board control and is a resilient target for buffs.
Speaking of buffs! Invigorate is a mediocre buff by itself. However, the healing aspect combined with the high health minions the Chronicler has allows it to make great value trades and continue with the upper hand.
Meticulous Research is an important piece of card draw for slower Chronicler archetypes. Even though it is a bit overcosted compared to Arcane Intellect , for example, can act as a powerful tutor in the right deck. It also provides a perfect curve if played turn 4. However, it is a big loss of tempo and can't guarantee a follow up until turn 9, so some decks won't be able to play it. The Basic set already includes powerful 5 mana cards and a 6 mana spell, so there will always be options to include in your deck with this card.
Stay Awhile and Listen is the closest the Chronicler will have to hard removal. It is reminiscent of Sap , but unlike it this can only be used in a reactive way. Minion based decks don't synergize with it, but it is very powerful in the hands of a slower deck with minimal board presence.
Di Chen and the Desert is the first story in the Chronicler's arsenal. These costly spells are based on stories, tales and fables of the different cultures of Azeroth. In this case, the story of Di Chen tells how he refused to surrender when battling every grain of sand of the desert, and is stuck fighting to this day. This card summons some of the infinite Sand Warriors he faces, and advises the opponent to surrender.
Tokens
Remaining Cards
Contemplation is another simple example of the precise and predictable card draw the Chronicler will use. In this case, it also shows the spell heavy nature of this class, using the simplest of synergies.
Inspiring Tale is a different take on Power Word: Shield . A cycle card that provides some defense, it is a candidate for the last spots of the Control or Combo Chronicler archetypes.
Derision is a simple piece of removal, a bit underpowered compared to things like Frostbolt but it serves its purpose. This shows the absence of direct face damage of this class and its clunky way of dealing with opposing mid-sized minions.
Uldum Guardian is a big, sturdy minion, that provides a strong midgame and a great target for the array of buffs and beneficial spells the Chronicler has. Unlike Druid, the Chronicler won't approach its board-centric archetypes through flood and tokens, and will instead use midrange minions and single target buffs.
Winterspring's Bite is an example of the kind of board clears the Chronicler has. This class has some difficulty removing targets directly, and keeping its own minions out of danger... weather knows no sides! Practically all board clears will be symmetrical but powerful.
Hey guys! I'm just about done with my entry, so I wanted some feedback. I'm still missing one card, so ideas are welcome too! Hope you like it.
THE CHRONICLER
The Chronicler is a class based on harnessing your memories and the power of the places you have visited or studied, summoning beasts of alien worlds or making your opponent feel what an eruption is like. Roaming through Azeroth and beyond, these explorers and scribes have witnessed or read about nearly everything, but their thirst for knowledge and adventure lingers on. Their power is clearly shown by Lorewalker Shuchun in this short story, The Blank Scroll. Citing Ziya, a goblin rogue: "Shuchun was a Lorewalker, a trade that Ziya barely understood. Lorewalkers told stories. They searched for artifacts from Pandaria's long past. And, if Shuchun was any example, they talked with their mouths full and smiled a lot.". This is applicable in a general sense to pandaren lorewalkers, dwarf historians, gnome bookmasters, elven scholars and all other different types of chroniclers.
Tokens
Keyword - Recall
The Chronicler's keyword, Recall, represents their command over memories and stories, and shows their ability to remember and reproduce events they have experienced, heard or read about. This keyword allows the power of some cards to be split between themselves and the next Hero Power. Most of them will only have an small extra punch, while a small amount of Recall cards will be much more focused on the Recall effect, being an effective tempo loss when cast but allowing you to choose more precisely when to unleash their full effect.
Example Cards
These are some of the most characteristic cards of the Chronicler's basic set. This class will have problems dealing with big, single targets, and its board clears won't mix very well with the more aggressive archetypes. There will be no Consecrations or Maelstrom Portals. Their strength lies with big, resilient minions, board control and the capability of grinding opponents out with the right deck. Later expansions might bring with them some combo capabilities too.
Novice Lorewalker is the first of many minions that will synergize with casting or having spells. The early game minion of choice for all board-centric Chronicler decks, it can't snowball like pre-nerf Mana Wyrm, or provide as much value as Northshire Cleric, but it helps establish early board control and is a resilient target for buffs.
Speaking of buffs! Invigorate is a mediocre buff by itself. However, the healing aspect combined with the high health minions the Chronicler has allows it to make great value trades and continue with the upper hand.
Enounce shows a different side of the Chronicler. It's a spell that mixes up all the different basic Scrolls into one simple enunciation. Well, it doesn't draw a card, but that is in exchange for having so much effects in one card. To get to the point, it acts as a small removal that provides a body and some defense in the form of healing.
Meticulous Research is an important piece of card draw for slower Chronicler archetypes. Even though it is a bit overcosted compared to Arcane Intellect, for example, can act as a powerful tutor in the right deck. It also provides a perfect curve if played turn 4. However, it is a big loss of tempo and can't allow a follow up until turn 9, so many decks won't be able to play it.
Winterspring's Bite is an example of the kind of board clears the Chronicler has. This class has some difficulty removing targets directly, and keeping its own minions out of danger... weather knows no sides! Practically all board clears will be symmetrical but powerful.
Tokens
Remaining Cards
Contemplation is another simple example of the precise and predictable card draw the Chronicler will use. In this case, it also shows the spell heavy nature of this class, using the simplest of synergies.
Inspiring Tale is a different take on Power Word: Shield. A cycle card that provides some defense, it is a candidate for the last spots of the Control Chronicler archetypes.
? dsafbl
Uldum Guardian is a big, sturdy minion, that provides a strong midgame and a great target for the array of buffs and beneficial spells the Chronicler has. Unlike Druid, the Chronicler won't approach its board-centric archetypes through flood and tokens, and will instead use midrange minions and single target buffs.
Di Chen and the Desert is the first story in the Chronicler's arsenal. This costly spells are based on stories, tales and fables of the different cultures of Azeroth. In this case, the story of Di Chen tells how he refused to surrender when battling every grain of sand of the desert, and is stuck fighting to this day. This card summons some of the infinite Sand Warriors he faces, and advises the opponent to surrender.
About your class, I like the flavour. It's very original and the tutor theme really fits it. There are a couple things I would change:
Replace Enounce by something else. Such a mix of effects doesn't feel like a Basic card. It will be fine as a Classic Rare or Epic.
In the showcase, I'd replace Winterspring's Bite by Di Chen and the Desert. WsB doesn't have anything especial.
Your class should probably have some sort of hard removal, even if it's not its natural strength. Every class has hard removal, except Druid and Warlock.
Thanks for the kind words! I'm very flavor-driven when doing this kind of things, so I'm glad you like it. I understand what you say about Enounce, I liked it because it fused the scrolls, but it's alright. I'm not sure about my showcases yet, so thank you for the input. It's true that Winterspring's Bite isn't that interesting.
I think the blue looks nice, but you are right in-that there are already two blue classes in-game. If you would feel more comfortable in the purple, then go for it. Some additional feedback:
Invigorate does not qualify as being your third card with three or more lines of text: we are allowing the italicized explanation text to be an exception to this rule. If you wanted another card with more text, you could do so.
I agree with Wailor in-that Enounce probably has too much going for on a Basic card.
Meticulous Research does not feel like a Basic card to me. If you want it in Vanilla Hearthstone then I could see it as a Classic card, but such a specific tutor feels too niche for what should be a generalized set of starting cards. To properly appease its existence, you would need to constantly make 5- and 6-cost cards it could combo with. If "many decks won't be able to play it", its position in the Basic set is questionable.
I think you could stand to have a third damage card, even if it's not anything super powerful or special. It's fine if you don't plan to have a lot of damage spells floating around in future sets, but something to fall back on is appreciated. Multiple Basic sets have three damage cards, including the minion-focused classes like Hunter and Druid.
Ok, I may change the color, but I'm not sure yet. I'm very picky with these kinds of things hehe. About Invigorate, that's great. I wasn't sure but I didn't need it yet at least, so I wasn't too worried. Like I said, I agree Enounce might have to wait for Classic. I'm taking a look at Meticulous Research, but I like it so much! I may leave it for Classic too.
Taking your suggestions into account and after a bit of brainstorming (and Noah's imput) I've made some more cards. They are hidden in the following spoiler. Which ones do you like the most? They will substitute Enounce and the empty slot I still have. I'm considering what to do with Meticulous Research because it's true it doesn't look basic either.
Ok, this is the first version of my submission post.
I made an extra section to explain the Potion spell tag, which I'm not sure it's legal or a good idea. Both because I'm creating a section that isn't in the template and because I'm modifying a bunch of existing cards, even if it has no gameplay impact.
I also tried to do a little roleplay like linkblade91 did, but I'm not sure it's alright.
THE ALCHEMIST
It's not magic, but it's not science either: alchemy is an ancient discipline that studies the mutating nature of matter and energy. Whether it is by combining several ingredients into a potion with surprising effects or by transmutting metals of any kind, Alchemists always have what we need.
Keyword
Transmute is a keyword that can "transform" a useless card into a more useful one. Both the shuffled and the drawn cards might have to meet a certain criteria, which makes it more predictable.
Potion tag
The Alchemist introduces a new tribe tag for spells: Potions.
Of course, there already are many spells in the game that feature Potions, which would also be labeled as such for thematic purposes. Keep in mind this would have no gameplay impact whatsoever, since none of the other classes has Potion synergy.
With this change, the Kabal Chemist would also have a slightly different text (which is better than the current one, since it makes clear Potion of Heroism is excluded from her card pool).
Complete list of old cards that would be considered Potions:
Arcane Elixir: Many Potions provide buffs for your minions, but unlike the boring stat buffs provided by Paladin and Priest, we Alchemists prefer more unexpected effects. This one in particular is a combo-oriented card, so its 0-cost is a big deal.
Liquid Fire: Of course, not all Potions are buffs! Some of them can deal a chunk of damage when thrown at our enemies. Just imagine what would happen if they drank it!
Experimental Setup: You know what I love the most about being an Alchemist? That we always have what we need, thanks to our many tutor effects. Most of them are provided by Transmute effects, but we also have traditional tutored draw.
Escape From Lab: Science is always in need of test subjects who are willing to give their body for our cruel... I mean, totally justified experiments. However, most people are so selfish that they would rather not, so we have to craft our own subjects. And the loyal Homunculi are perfect for... What do you mean they escaped?
For Science!: Of course, not everything is perfect in the world of Alchemy: the government never invests on R&D and our AoE effects are quite clunky. However, they are really strong with the right support. In the case of For Science!, it can be quite destructive with Arcane Elixir, and can also be used with Escape From Lab to draw A LOT of cards.
Remaining Cards
Potion of Corpulence. Another example of a buff Potion. More or less, half of the Potions will be buffs, while the rest will have different effects.
Healing Spray. An ancient technique known by alchemists since 2004.
Potion Researcher. This fellow is the only Potion synergy card in the Basic set. Combine him with Potion of Corpulence and you have a 3 mana 3/6 with Taunt!
Golden Touch. Ancient alchemists obsessed with turning lead into gold, when they could've simply turned PEOPLE into gold. Although it looks similar to Polymorph and Hex, it triggers Deathrattle and on-death effects.
Clumsy Assistant. Argh, she always drops the jars with the Homunculi! If she didn't put so many bodies on the board, I'd fire her.
First of all, even though it is not the way I'd have done it, I think your classification of Potions and the addition of the tag is solid. It adds a lot of flavor, even though it might turn some people off that you "changed" so many existing cards. I like your cards, they feel basic enough while painting a good picture of your class. Just by looking at them I can already see a buffing theme, a token style deck and that your class has strong single target removal but a bit worse board clears. My favorite card is For Science!. Maybe there is space for a more complex card, though, Escape from Lab and Clumsy Assistant fill the same niche, so maybe I'd move one of them to Classic. I like the spell more, personally. Apart from that, your balance is on point and I like where the class is going, I hope I get to see the different archetypes expanded in future sets. Regarding your showcase, I'd try to fit Golden Touch in it if powerful removal will be a theme with your class. Maybe Potion Researcher too. I'd definitely put Liquid Fire away, it is very simple and not very interesting. Good job with the class!
Here's a mock-up submission. It's not my final, but pretty close. Would appreciate feedback of any kind! I tried to keep the cards fairly safe and basic, in an effort to showcase the class's core themes and mechanics.
The Chronomancer
The Chronomancer class deals with time. Typically this presents itself as tempo or other board-based advantage, but I wanted to play around in the actual time design space we've had with cards such as Nozdormu. Speaking of, the class also has access to Dragons and Dragon-matters themes due to WoW lore's Bronze Dragonflight dealing with time. The class cares about the time in your turn and also the status of the rope burning. The class also has some access to Freeze and Windfury as means of representing manipulation of time. Chronomancers lack in the removal department, having access to bounce (return to hand) effects but failing in permanently removing minions. Due to the Dragons in the class, Chronomancers are able to deal damage, but at inefficient costs and at lesser quantities.
The Chronomancer Hero Power works similarly to The Monster Hunt's Toki Time Tinkerer's Hero Power; instead of returning to the start of the turn, you return to just before your last action. For this, action is defined as something you had voluntary control of, i.e. playing a card, making an attack, using a hero power, etc. When you've used the Hero Power, it becomes used for the turn. Going back doesn't refresh your hero power, though it can be refreshed with other effects as most hero powers. With this, Chronomancer's are able to navigate RNG a little better, and so they have some RNG splashed throughout their cards. Time may flow, but nothing is certain.
Example Cards
Bronze Whelp: One of the smaller dragons Chronomancer's can call forth, Bronze Whelp showcases the class's ability to gain advantage out of time itself. While the rope is burning, Bronze Whelp costs 0. Effectively, this is a slightly stronger Wisp. It may not find too much competitive play, but it does well at introducing the presence of Dragons and the importance of time to the class.
Rewind: Rewind is likely Chronomancer's most iconic spell, simply bouncing a minion back to the hand. This is the sort of removal Chronomancer's excel at. Permanent removal is difficult and damage (such as Dragonflame below) isn't very efficient.
Freezetime: Chronomancer's aren't well versed in the elemental magics, but with the help of some wordplay, they can stop everything from moving. Some time spells are hard to concentrate toward a target, so you'll see a lot of Chronomancer spells affecting ALL characters.
Fastforward: The flipside to Rewind, Fastforward can get a minion onto the board sooner. It's difficult to balance such an effect for all past and present neutral cards, and as such I've limited this ability to class minions, which can be much more manageable to balance. If you don't like what you dump out, use your hero power and try again!
Breaktime: There's been a pattern of spells with the naming convention of "X" + "time". Breaktime is a bit of a pun as playing this card will result in you taking a break from casting spells with the steep cost. This spell is inspired by Crackle's random nature. Don't like how many you drew or what you drew? Press that button and go back!
Remaining Cards
Lucky Pocket Watch: This card doesn't do much, sure. Though, it introduces the theme of turn-length tampering in a basic manner. This will be expounded upon with the Classic set. Also important is that Chronomancers don't get too many weapons with attack, more so just timepieces with supplemental abilities.
Doubletime: It's temporary Windfury for any character! Really just a flavor card. Chronomancers aren't huge on physical combat, but maybe your Dragons will take a liking to them.
Clairvoyance: Simple filter spell. Tracking without the FeelsBadMan. Plan your actions with knowledge of your draw for the following turn, like a true Chronomancer.
Timekeeper: The product of Sorcerer's Apprentice and Pint-Sized Summoner combined. One of the ways to have time manifest through gameplay is cost reduction. Reducing spells can be a little strong, so just the first one should do you good.
Dragonflame: Ah yes, the Dragons can deal damage. 6 mana for 6 damage is a much more disappointing Fireball but I feel it is necessary to have a class have things it can't do well.
Well there we have it. Thanks for reading through!
Uhh, ok. So, I have a fundamental problem with your class: I hate cards and mechanics that mess with turn timers and duration. I even think your Hero Power is out of place because most of the time it won't do anything and makes Secrets pretty meaningless against your class. I don't know if this problem is fixable, but yeah, not a fan of the Hero Power at all. The problem is that your other cards are pretty neat! If I ignore Bronze Whelp and Lucky Pocket Watch, you have some interesting ideas and cool mechanics. I'd argue that Breaktime and Dragonflame could cost (1) less, but I guess you balanced Breaktime around your Hero Power. Doubletime might be a bit problematic in the future, because mixed with Leeroy Jenkins it provides a lot of burst. Fastforward is another card you have to look out for, try to take it into account when designing big minions. To conclude, I like your designs, but your Hero Power and timer-tampering is taking away a lot from your class IMHO.
So I think I'm almost ready to submit. Here's how my post is looking. Any feedback is appreciated!
THE BATTLEMAGE
Battlemages are sort of a fusion between warrior and mage. They use magic to create weapons, armor, and to wreak havoc in melee combat. My particular version of battlemage slowly conjures powerful yet fragile energy weapons. Weapon combat fills the battlemage with fury, empowering their spells and minions, much like how an enraged warrior's abilities become more deadly.
Main themes: "Can't attack the turn it's equipped" on weapons, 1 durability weapons, effects that change depending on the target (not shown in basic), buffing your minion's health, small but frequent armor gain. Strengths: Versatile (has a large variety of tools at their disposal), can setup for very high power turns, excels against decks with lots of minions such as zoo decks. Weaknesses: Obvious with weapons (conjuring a weapon takes time ya know?), weapon removal, struggles to fully utilize cards against decks with few minions, takes a lot of damage triggering spellfury and has no big heals or armor gain.
Keyword: Spellfury
Spellfury changes the effect (such as a Battlecry) it's printed after on the card, usually upgrading it. It activates if your hero has done X or more damage to minions by attacking this turn. So if your hero did 5 damage, Spellfury (1) and Spellfury (5) would activate but Spellfury (8) wouldn't.It can be tricky to master as damaging minions to buff your Spellfury can lead to you not needing the upgraded effect. Due to not being able to trigger Spellfury going face, cards that summon minions for your opponent are valuable to this class. Saronite Taskmaster and Marin the Fox are good examples. Note that class keywords do not appear on basic cards.
Example Cards
Cauterize: Solid removal if your willing to take some damage. You do get less value with a better weapon so don't overdo it. You can only kill them so much after all... (unfortunately) Enchant Weapon: Fury: Your angry, your swords angry, your enemies minions are dead. It's a good time! This is an example of the classes cards that are only effective against minions, and the "Enchant Weapon:" card type that will appear occasionally. Reinvigorate: After a hard days work, taking time to relax can do wonders. However it does seem to be less effective while the enemies minions are trying to murder you. I'm frankly shocked. Summoned Battleaxe: The perfect card to show off the class at a glance. It may seem somewhat weak but it's a cheap way to trigger big spellfury cards and it has excellent synergy with weapon durability buffs (which the class has in classic). Fire Tornado: The classes signature aoe. It's quite powerful, and an example of the classes armor gain which is often a small amount added onto another effect.
Remaining Cards
Flame Bowman: Another example of the classes cards that are only effective against minions. Icecrafter: She has solid stats, and you can definitely get your monies worth out of her using windfury (which the class can get from a couple of classic cards). Frozen Fist: Having no weapon equipped is another minor card theme so this gets players used to thinking about it early.A fairly strong card as early when it's best you likely wont have a weapon. Conjure: Barriers: The class is great at conjuring armor, shields, etc, so the classe's minions are often well protected with high health! The class's weapons are a bit too complex for the average warrior to use so attack buffs aren't common. Spellspeed: Using magic induced speed, you can strike down multiple foes before they have time to react! This card is paralytically good against big boards (less chance of 'losing' a hit to face), and with spell damage.
I applaud your new take on the keyword and Hero Power. They are both more balanced and easy to understand now, and look very promising! I'm not really sold on the idea of 1-Durability weapons, but we'll see. You've laid down very clearly the characteristics of your class and that's very welcome, I'd try to distinguish yourself a bit more from Warrior though. Most of your cards could be printed for that class. Reinvigorate is really cool, and pushes the design in a different direction. Conjure: Barriers is interesting too, but I think you should provide a bit more support for it to make it more fitting. That would also help differentiate yourself from Warrior. Maybe switching out Flame Bowman for a token-generating card? Something like that. Frozen Fist is probably my favorite card, but I'd argue it should do something even when you do have a weapon. Maybe something like "Deal 3 damage to a minion. If you have a weapon equipped, Freeze your hero." or "Deal 1 damage to a minion. If you have no weapon equipped, deal 3 instead.".
I like the flavour of the class and I think is well balanced but I don't understand how the Uldum Guardian fit in the "lore" of the class.
Anyway if the Memory is gonna be a current token in your deck you should take advantage of them...maybe dealing an amount o f damages for each memory on the board, or maybe targeting all target except memories (like the winterspring bite could be "deal 3 damage to all minion except memories").
Based on that why don't u make a card that summon a stronger version of the memory " Summon a 4/4 memory" ? or to fill up the board with them ?
Thanks for the feedback! Uldum is an ancient land, only discovered after the Cataclysm and filled with a strange culture and lots of mysteries. Uldum Guardian is one of the tol'vir, and I thought of it as those kind of things you would hear exist, but are not sure are real or not. Most minions of the Chronicler that don't have a scholar or adventurer theme, like Novice Lorewalker, will have this semi-mythical vibe. In Un'goro, for example, the Chronicler will be fascinated by the different dinosaurs and fossils found there. I'm currently planning on the Memory staying as a one-off minion, but your ideas are certainly interesting. I'll consider them!
I'd love it if any others would take a look at my entry, the Chronicler. You can find it in page 11! I'm also considering changing my border to a purple one, because there are already two blues in hearthstone, Mage and Shaman. What do you think?
Hey guys! I'm just about done with my entry, so I wanted some feedback. I'm still missing one card, so ideas are welcome too! Hope you like it.
THE CHRONICLER
The Chronicler is a class based on harnessing your memories and the power of the places you have visited or studied, summoning beasts of alien worlds or making your opponent feel what an eruption is like. Roaming through Azeroth and beyond, these explorers and scribes have witnessed or read about nearly everything, but their thirst for knowledge and adventure lingers on. Their power is clearly shown by Lorewalker Shuchun in this short story, The Blank Scroll. Citing Ziya, a goblin rogue: "Shuchun was a Lorewalker, a trade that Ziya barely understood. Lorewalkers told stories. They searched for artifacts from Pandaria's long past. And, if Shuchun was any example, they talked with their mouths full and smiled a lot.". This is applicable in a general sense to pandaren lorewalkers, dwarf historians, gnome bookmasters, elven scholars and all other different types of chroniclers.
Tokens
Keyword - Recall
The Chronicler's keyword, Recall, represents their command over memories and stories, and shows their ability to remember and reproduce events they have experienced, heard or read about. This keyword allows the power of some cards to be split between themselves and the next Hero Power. Most of them will only have an small extra punch, while a small amount of Recall cards will be much more focused on the Recall effect, being an effective tempo loss when cast but allowing you to choose more precisely when to unleash their full effect.
Example Cards
These are some of the most characteristic cards of the Chronicler's basic set. This class will have problems dealing with big, single targets, and its board clears won't mix very well with the more aggressive archetypes. There will be no Consecrations or Maelstrom Portals. Their strength lies with big, resilient minions, board control and the capability of grinding opponents out with the right deck. Later expansions might bring with them some combo capabilities too.
Novice Lorewalker is the first of many minions that will synergize with casting or having spells. The early game minion of choice for all board-centric Chronicler decks, it can't snowball like pre-nerf Mana Wyrm, or provide as much value as Northshire Cleric, but it helps establish early board control and is a resilient target for buffs.
Speaking of buffs! Invigorate is a mediocre buff by itself. However, the healing aspect combined with the high health minions the Chronicler has allows it to make great value trades and continue with the upper hand.
Enounce shows a different side of the Chronicler. It's a spell that mixes up all the different basic Scrolls into one simple enunciation. Well, it doesn't draw a card, but that is in exchange for having so much effects in one card. To get to the point, it acts as a small removal that provides a body and some defense in the form of healing.
Meticulous Research is an important piece of card draw for slower Chronicler archetypes. Even though it is a bit overcosted compared to Arcane Intellect, for example, can act as a powerful tutor in the right deck. It also provides a perfect curve if played turn 4. However, it is a big loss of tempo and can't allow a follow up until turn 9, so many decks won't be able to play it.
Winterspring's Bite is an example of the kind of board clears the Chronicler has. This class has some difficulty removing targets directly, and keeping its own minions out of danger... weather knows no sides! Practically all board clears will be symmetrical but powerful.
Tokens
Remaining Cards
Contemplation is another simple example of the precise and predictable card draw the Chronicler will use. In this case, it also shows the spell heavy nature of this class, using the simplest of synergies.
Inspiring Tale is a different take on Power Word: Shield. A cycle card that provides some defense, it is a candidate for the last spots of the Control Chronicler archetypes.
? dsafbl
Uldum Guardian is a big, sturdy minion, that provides a strong midgame and a great target for the array of buffs and beneficial spells the Chronicler has. Unlike Druid, the Chronicler won't approach its board-centric archetypes through flood and tokens, and will instead use midrange minions and single target buffs.
Di Chen and the Desert is the first story in the Chronicler's arsenal. This costly spells are based on stories, tales and fables of the different cultures of Azeroth. In this case, the story of Di Chen tells how he refused to surrender when battling every grain of sand of the desert, and is stuck fighting to this day. This card summons some of the infinite Sand Warriors he faces, and advises the opponent to surrender.
The class is looking pretty sweet so far so I don't have much feedback to give. One thing that kinda feels off is Detonate Mana. Unless it's an actual wow spell the name doesn't really feel too fitting. Also Rise Again is fine, but keep it in mind when designing future cards as people can pull off some crazy stuff with it using Malygos and what not. As for the KT roleplay, I honestly have no idea haha. It's kinda cool and sets your submission out from the rest, but it also adds more text and people already have tones of text to read so it may put a few people off reading it. I personally think you should keep it for this phase but in future with more complex cards, it might be tricky to make work.
Thanks :)
A couple of people now have remarked on Detonate Mana's name, and it bums me out to think that I might have to rename the card. "Detonate Mana" is the name of one of his boss-abilities, but it's hard to bring that up "in character". As for Rise Again...that's another one that has generated problems. I plan to roll it back to the lowest power level, leaving the space for better revives later.
Resummon...anything. Find a body, and bring it back to life; the (B)asics of necromancy.
I want to pop in to say that yours is currently my favorite class and your set is great. I would keep Detonate Mana as is, it is a cool design and an existing spell, so I think it fits nicely. Apart from that, I liked the old Rise Again better. It is powerful, yes, but I think that you could up the mana to 4 and keep it. That way its control is costed in the same way as Eternal Servitude. The new one is just Resurrect, and a lot more boring. Just try not to do too many low cost burn spells just in case and you'll be fine. Good job on your class overall! It has come a long way from having a lot of reprints and such.
Yeah, I expressed myself badly. What I was trying to say was that he only ever transformed when Malacrass bound the spirits to him. Before that happened, he was only an axe thrower, and there are no records of him ever showing any supernatural or magical ability.
One could actually argue he is a Druid, since he acquired his shapeshifting abilities (Zul Aman raid).
It's just impossible to label every character within one class.
Nah, Zul'jin never shapeshifted. Malacrass bound some loa spirits to Zul'jin so that other troll warriors could use their power, but he never used other forms. I'd argue he's more warrior than anything else. Hunter and rogue also fit him, but he's very berserker-ish.
Basic Set now finished. Hot-Headed Instructor is finished and Touch of Ice is now added (yes, I know it's a slightly better Frost Shock, but I don't think that's a bad thing). Violent Slash also has slightly different wording to indicate the effect is chosen, and against some people's wishes, I've decided to keep it at 3 mana.
As for showcase cards, my current thought is:
Cryoball
Horde Hatchet
Ember Seeker
Violent Slash
Phalanx
I really like your cards. I was skeptical of your class at first because I thought it would be too similar to either mage or warrior, but carved up a good place for yourself in the design space. Im personally very fond of Loot. It's got loads of flavor, it's simple, it's powerful. I'd say Violent Slash is ok as a 3 mana spell too. However, I think Hot-Headed Instructor may be too powerful. This kind of cards usually have mana cost equal to their total stats or 1 stat over, see Defender of Argus (total of 4/5 for 4, with taunt) or Fungalmancer (total of 6/6 for 5, more minion dependant). Your card is a total of 4/3 stats for 2, which I think is too much. With proper token generating tools it can snowball very early on. I'd drop at least one stat, or make it a 2/2 for 3. It's too much right now, even if it isn't easy to have two minions just in turn one.
Based on previous Comments Here is my full new set:
Ariel The Angel
Theme: Effects that trigger on next turn, advantage against tribes/enhancement, healing, weapons
Tokens:
I have a couple of problems with your set. I like how you distinguished yourself from the priest and the paladin, however, I'm not feeling a cohesive theme. The couple of "hate cards", a design I hate, is problematic. Cleansing Sword is basically only good when facing early game focused tribe decks, mainly Pirates, Beasts and Murlocs. It can dominate these games completely, getting key minions like Dire Mole, Murloc Warleader or Southsea Captain really easily, while being pretty bad against any other deck. This is polarising design, and bad for the game IMO. Cleanse is very niche, and overcosted. In this case it hates on buffs, but will never be included in a deck when Angelic Stomp exists. Angelic Stomp and Ball of Lightning are very extreme RNG designs, capable of swinging entire games by themselves or fizzling and sucking.The Stomp may be fine, but I'd try to change the Ball. The other cards look fine, but Angelic Alter should be Altar I guess and Holy Wrath already exists, so you should change the name. It may be too complex for the basic set too. Dancing Elf is very weak and could use a severe bump in stats. Sorry if I seem harsh, but I'm trying to help :)
Solar Eclipse: Ancient time has the belief that Solar Eclipses will cause bad luck happens to people who looks at them. With the Basic set filled with random effect, new players of this class will be grateful for this card. An introduction for the class's main flavor of control random effects as well as foreshadowing the Gaze mechanic in the Classic set. This card can also serve in more advanced decks as a combo piece since it allows you to preserve the Gaze effects already on the character.
Astral Intellect: An example of the class's extremely powerful but also high variant random effects. Most of the other cards will not as swingy as this effect, but this card is also the most powerful when assisted by Gaze or Solar Eclipse. Of course, you can also use this card offensively in control or combo match ups to mill important cards from your opponent or get them to fatigue faster. An example of the great disruption mechanic this class have.
Astral Touch: An example of the decent removal this class have. While the token doesn't immediately impact the board like Polymorph or Hex token, you will likely want to take care of it since the healing it provide can hit your opponent's face or minions.
Starcaller: A minion that served many purpose: A very sticky and threatening 4 drop, a token spawning machine that allow to you spawn atleast 1-2 Astral Spirits that will most likely heal her back when she hit another minion, a great source of healing or a card will force your opponent to play inefficiently because they will likely not want you to create and the buff up the Spirits. She also another example of the great disruption mechanic the class have.
Supernova: An example of the less than stellar board clear the class will have. The utility of healing and board presence provide by it is nice but you will either wipe out everything else on your board, leave some minions your opponent survive, both or, worse, died before reaching 7 mana.
Token:
Remaining Cards
Fiery Comet: An example of the great burst damage this class will have. It low cost allows it to combo with Malygos with a little bit of set up like with another Gaze or Solar Eclipse. Or can use as a removal.
Blessing of the Stars: A card that foreshadow that kind of buffs that this class will receive. Most of their buffs will focus on keeping their minions alive on the board and provide extra utility, not bursting down their opponent.
Celestial Bow: A card that support this class's playstyle of spawning tokens as well as how it will use its weapon: Most of their weapons will be used for tempo or supporting their other cards similar to Paladin and Shaman rather than being a main focus like Rogue or Warrior.
Astral Wrath: A card that showcase the weakness of the class has in term of AoE. The damage is extremely weak for its cost. The draw is a little utility.
Knight of the Eclipse: A card that support more mid-range Astromancers deck. The statline is excellent for its cost and if you give him Taunt by cards like Sunfury Protector and hide him behind a bunch of Astral Spirits, he will protect them while they will heal back the damage he took. He is also an example of the disruption mechanic this class naturally has in its card set and how cards with Gaze effects will be given vanilla efficient stat to cost ratio since his effect is basically non-factor if you and your opponent don't have random effects. Or can even be beneficial to the Deadly Shot your opponent cast.
I've seen a couple typos in your cards. Astral Intellect should say "A random player draws 3 cards", and Starcaller shold say "After your opponent summons a minion, ...". Otherwise, I really like how your cards are coming along, the class has a strong theme (it remindds me of my own Starcaller) and the balance is alright! I'd say Astral Intellect should cost 3 though. It is a very versatile tool, you can use it to draw yourself a lot of cards, you can disrupt a controlling opponent by making them overdraw and lose the fatigue battle and in general it's a very strong card coupled with Gaze. Remember Nourish costs 6 now, Sprint costs 7 and Arcane Intellect costs 3 (!). Even if it is random, the fact your class can target it makes it so you can't drop the cost so much. I like your other cards just like they are though!
Dumping my current cards for some feedback. Ran out of time, will give feedback tomorrow. Everyone's sets are looking good so far!
Welcome to Blasthammer's Garage! Allow me to introduce myself. Bork Blasthammer, Tinker extraordinaire! Here I- eh? What's a Tinker? Wait, seriously? Then why are you in... ahem. Well, you came to the right place! Let me show you what we Tinkers can do!
We Tinkers are crafty thinkers that make all kinds of wonderful toys. Weapons, mechs, missiles, bombs, anything you could want... and quite a few you don't! We're constantly wracking our brains for the newest ideas, filling our workshops with Scrapbots from all the leftover parts and half-baked plans.
Hey! Digging your class a lot. I like your elegant take on ye olde Fiery War Axe, Chainsword is powerful and cool. Just two things. First, I think Scrap Armor is too complex for the basic set. Remember things like Blessing of Kings had to establish what buffs meant, and even though Soulfire is a basic card, yours is a conditional discard. This may be a bit too complex. The other thing is that Brass Bodyguard could use an extra stat here or there. Turning it into a 5/7 is fine I think.
I don't really understand why you guys have to impose these restrictions and think most submissions looked like this anyway. Restricitons on aesthetics is really bs to me. With the card restrictions you make it hard that the basic set is in any way more complex than already existing ones. I think this is exactly the problem of Hearthstone. It is super simple and doesn't evolve, just plays arround with game-mechanics. I had a pretty different goal participating here. This is the text I wrote in phase 1 so you maybe get what I was aiming for.
"Design Philosophy
I designed this class with the idea in mind that it does not necessarily have to fit perfectly to the existing classes and the game as is, but would exist in a Hearthstone that may be slightly more complex. Felt this gives me more space to experiment and is also more interesting for you, the reader, to maybe be a little inspired and stretch the design space of Hearthstone cards. I feel like this counts already for most card designers here, but thought writing it down doesn't hurt."
I don't want to cut down heavily, not even on the basic set of the Dreamer class. It loses it's purpose and I wanted to include a lot of fluff and art and feel discouraged about that now, so I think I'm out unless I can change to a different class. Would like to participate since it's fun but think the class is better kept in it's own thread then.
Well, I guess your design objectives don't align with this competition then. The main objective is to create a class that could be incorporated seamlessly into the current game. I think your class is fine, I liked it, but maybe you have to change a bit your philosophies to stay in the competition. And I mean, these restrictions aren't even complexity-related. Text length and presentation are very agnostic things that I'm sure you could work around. As Mike Rosewater, MtG designer, once said, "Restrictions breed creativity." There are lots of ways of creating design space while staying within Hearthstone's confines, and this is just the Basic set, the most simple and, well, basic of them all. Keep the lengthy cards for future sets!
My class has changed quite a bit since Phase I, mostly because my main focus was the keyword Transmute, which can't appear on Basic cards. I also added the Potion tribe tag to certain spells.
First of all, we have Potions. Half of them are buffs and the other half have other effects. This trend will more or less prevail through all sets.
Arcane Elixir is a combo oriented card, which can allow you to do a lot of damage if you manage to keep something on the board. I'm thinking about making it 1 Mana.
Potion of Corpulence gives you some protection. Nothing to explain here.
Healing Spray is an ability the Alchemist had in Warcraft 3. I balanced it around Healing Rain, but maybe it's too good compared to Holy Light.
Liquid Fire is an example of a Potion which you have to use on your opponent. It's strictly better than Shadow Bolt, but Warlock damaging spells are generally bad. The name also comes from Warcraft 3 :P
Potion Researcher is the only Potion synergy card in the basic set. Not really sold on it, as it doesn't seem like a Basic card.
Clumsy Assistant features 1/1 tokens called Homunculus. There will be several cards with this effects, which will be good targets for Potions and other effects.
Escape from Lab is pretty self-explanatory. Might change it to 6 Mana, so that it's usable with For Science!
Experimental Setup is targeted draw, which Alchemist has a lot, although mostly in the form of Transmute effects.
Golden Touch is similar to Polymorph and Hex, but keep in mind it targets Deathrattles. It was originally 3 mana and gave two coins, but that was three lines, so I had to change it.
For Science! is an example of Alchemist's AoE, which is clunky and has weird effects. It has good synergy with Arcane Elixir and Homunculus cards in general.
Hey Weilor, why don't you use a tag like Elixir or Flask instead of potion? That way you are sure to have no problems with the Kabal cards. I guess it is not very important because Mean Streets is deep in Wild at the moment and we can ignore it more or less, but just a suggestion :P
Next time y'all do this, can people just use one of the 9 already designed hero powers if they wish. There are so many classes that would be better off with an existing copy of one of the hero powers already on show. Without serious hoops to jump through, you can only do basic stat boosts or a simple weapon. Some examples do that, and some ignore that entirely. And some class designs don't fit either of those parameters, so people create more than 2 mana hero powers or they are weirdly designed.
The battle-mage(Demonx95), for example. Would be better off if the hero power didn't move minions and it just had Fireblast as the hero power.
Having a delayed card draw attached to a minion is a little bit convoluted Cogito_ergo_sum, and yours is just one. It's not even the worst offender from all the classes, and it's not even the only class with a delayed card draw. The Magician from cL4wzHS also does this, and has the same problem. You'd both be better off if you could just have warlocks hero power and designed basic/class card(s) to fit the niche your hero powers staggered draw backs provide.
Also, stuff like the Researcher from aaro54, The Chronicler from Hurien, The pint sized Witch from Ragnador, etc. basically gets around the 2 mana restriction of hero powers by designing a token or group of tokens that costs 1 mana to use.
I get this is for fun for the people who get involved and at the end of the day that's all it's about. But, I guess I just have a serious disconnect to part of this community. Lots of things aren't super appealing to me this go around, aesthetically or basic design wise. Personally speaking I can only back a few. I guess maybe my standards are too high, or I dunno.
The Witch(Thezzy), The Archeologist(Pircival). The Lich(Linkblade 91). Lowering my 'WOW aesthetic compliant' standards I gave The Bug(SunnoxPL) a pass, too.
I couldn't come up with anything so clearly I also couldn't do better myself. I just think of the hundreds of people who have competed in the past. Not plagiarizing while trying to carve out your own thing is hard to do, it's a rough task and this time illness, coupled with my own lack of creativity led me to avoid this competition from a competitors process.
'We want to breed new creativity with this competition.' Lich/Necromancer, Alchemist, Bard, Tinker/Engineer. (You can probably throw battle-mage and/or some witchdoctor variant in there too.) If you really wanted to 'breed creativity' you'd stop equally common ideas. Otherwise, remove the monk, demon hunter, death knight restriction. Seems rather arbitrary to me from my perspective. I see those other classes just as often, if not more so across the hearthstone community since everyone seems to want to restrict those 3 classes. I probably should've complained about this sooner, or before the competition even started in the feedback thread, but it just didn't occur to me until now that this is a problem. I don't see a problem with people coming up with new ideas for those classes, I don't think we need that restriction for future class competitions.
Biggerbossman who just posted his submission while I was writing this. Not only is your class poorly balanced, I think it's offensive to Japanese mythos and culture, while also demeaning suicide and the victims there-of. 'There's nothing a good old shot of Seppuku can't solve.' YIKES. I'm sure it wasn't your intent, but that is not a good look there, bud.
Hey Wishmaster333 I'm sorry you feel that way. In my opinion, there isn't that much you can do with Hero Powers, so you either go with the tried and true (Deal 2 random damage, buffs, simple weapon), you create a bunch of tokens (like I did) or you go really out there, which can be really hit or miss. However, I still prefer this approach rather than copying an existing HP, just because it just doesn't fit the game that two classes would share such a fundamental piece. That's my opinion at least.
Regarding the "more than 2 mana HP approach", I don't really understand what's the problem if it is handled correctly. Adding an extra card to your hand is basically the same as the Warlock Hero Power, and the balance here comes from the fact that the card added is not as good as a card from your deck. In fact, I'd say this kind of HPs are more fitting to Hearthstone as a whole than Warlock's HP, which is rendered useless either by your life total or your deck size at one point or another. No other Hero Power has that kind of implications. Card creating HPs (minion ones more so, because of spell shenanigans) don't break any rule and work in the same places and same ways as other existing HPs. There's a lot more to them than just a 3 mana HP. In my case, I mixed this concept with the Shaman HP, trying to add a limit and proper balancing to the spells created by it.
Now, I'm totally with you on the Demon Hunter, Monk and Death Knight. I think it's high time we allow them again, because at this point we have more iterations on the Tinker and the Alchemist than any of them.
Got home from shopping a little while ago and took a second to write out my submission, but I've gotten it done now. Good luck to everyone else submitting now, except you Hurien how dare you take my #21 spot? I'll never forgive you. Never.
(okay but seriously though hope you do well)
Hahahaha to be honest I was waiting for the 20th post, but it was stuck on 18 in the first page. Then I just said "oh fuck it" and started writing my entry. It was pure luck that by the time I finished it was just on 20! Sorry for taking the spot :P Good luck to you and all others too!
The Chronicler is a class based on harnessing your memories and the power of the places you have visited or studied, summoning beasts of alien worlds or making your opponent feel what an eruption is like. Roaming through Azeroth and beyond, these explorers and scribes have witnessed or read about nearly everything, but their thirst for knowledge and adventure lingers on.
Karnik, one of the most important members of the Explorer's League, is also in charge of keeping the Great Library of Ironforge in order. However, he is no ordinary archivist. As adventurous as any other member of the Guild, he has travelled the world, personally adding dozens or hundreds of new entries to the library. With a basic knowledge of arcane magic, he has travelled through Outland and Azeroth, catalloguing each new landmark or race he encounters. He then uses this knowledge in battle if needed, making enemies shiver with Winterspring's blizzards or drown in Vashj'ir depths. He has even caught a glimpse of the Shadowlands, a realm usually for the dead... or worse.
Hero Power tokens
This Hero Power functions in a very similar way to the Shaman Hero Power. This means that, when you use it, a Scroll that you don't already have is added to your hand. So, the probabilities of getting the Scroll you want improve every time you use it without casting the others. However, you can't have more than one of each, so once yo have all four you must cast one before being able to use the Hero Power again. This is exactly how the Shaman Hero Power works. Improving your Hero Power makes it so that you choose which Scroll you add to your hand, and you can now have duplicates. Once again, this behaviour is exactly the same as Shaman's improved Hero Power.
Some cards will interact with your Scrolls in different ways. Some minions add an specific Scroll to your hand, others transform them. These are just some of the many things a Chronicler can do with their archives.
Preview
Westfall Settler
is an example of a simple
Recall
minion. If you play it on curve you are likely to lose its effect, but if planned correctly it can heal you without you doing anything special. In dire situations it could also be played directly for the heal, making it a {3} mana 1/2 that heals you for 3 and gives you a Scroll.
On the other end of the spectrum,
Nether Storm
is a really powerful spell, with most of its weight in its
Recall
effect. The powers of the Nether tamper with all magic, silencing all minions. But that is the calm before the storm. A storm you can recreate when you check your narration of the event.
Algalon the Observer
shows another of the Chronicler's abilities: using the Scrolls from the Hero Power to empower other cards. In this case,
Algalon
will use your knowledge to destroy your enemies.
Prophecy
is an example of the Chronicler's draw engines. Its methodical and studious nature makes them very precise, making you play around their predictable outcome. This card acts as a potent refuel for the more aggro or tempo archetypes of the Chronicler, at the cost of considerable tempo.
But the Chronicler doesn't just study. Their field work is well represented by the Discover keyword. Thus, there will be a decent amount of synergy with Discover cards in some expansions.
Check Your Sources
is an example of this, equivalent to
I Know a Guy
or
Blazing Invocation
I hope you like what I've shown you of the Chronicler, because there is a lot more in store. Discovering ancient secrets in Un'goro, fading away next to the Frozen Throne, exploring the Catacombs in search of a legendary tome, searching for the root of the Witchwood's problem, studying the timestreams using Dr. Boom's funds and finally, joining Torga's champion in the Gurubashi Arena.
1
He's challenging you to try your deck against him using Ike's lists. It looks a bit clunky tbh.
2
THE CHRONICLER
The Chronicler is a class based on harnessing your memories and the power of the places you have visited or studied, summoning beasts of alien worlds or making your opponent feel what an eruption is like. Roaming through Azeroth and beyond, these explorers and scribes have witnessed or read about nearly everything, but their thirst for knowledge and adventure lingers on. Their power is clearly shown by Lorewalker Shuchun in this short story, The Blank Scroll . Citing Ziya, a goblin rogue: "Shuchun was a Lorewalker, a trade that Ziya barely understood. Lorewalkers told stories. They searched for artifacts from Pandaria's long past. And, if Shuchun was any example, they talked with their mouths full and smiled a lot.". This is applicable in a general sense to pandaren lorewalkers, dwarf historians, gnome bookmasters, elven scholars and all other different types of chroniclers.
Tokens
This Hero Power functions in a very similar way to the Shaman Hero Power. This means that, when you use it, a Scroll that you don't already have is added to your hand. So, the probabilities of getting the Scroll you want improve every time you use it without casting the others. However, you can't have more than one of each, so once yo have all four you must cast one before being able to use the Hero Power again. This is exactly how the Shaman Hero Power works. Improving your Hero Power makes it so that you choose which Scroll you add to your hand, and you can now have duplicates. Once again, this behaviour is exactly the same as Shaman's improved Hero Power.
Keyword - Recall
The Chronicler's keyword, Recall, represents their command over memories and stories, and shows their ability to remember and reproduce events they have experienced, heard or read about. This keyword allows the power of some cards to be split between themselves and the next Hero Power. Most of them will only have an small extra punch, while a small amount of Recall cards will be much more focused on the Recall effect, being an effective tempo loss when cast but allowing you to choose more precisely when to unleash their full effect.
Example Cards
These are some of the most characteristic cards of the Chronicler's basic set. This class will have problems dealing with big, single targets, and its board clears won't mix very well with the more aggressive archetypes. There will be no Consecration s or Maelstrom Portal s. Their strength lies with big, resilient minions, board control and the capability of grinding opponents out with the right deck. Later expansions might bring with them some combo capabilities too.
Tokens
Remaining Cards
Previous Phase
If you want to check other cards and a bit more of Karnik's background, check my Phase I post here!
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Thanks for the feedback guys!
I'm happy you like it! I guess no criticism is a good sign :P Thanks for the ideas too, I like them.
Thanks for the kind words! I'm very flavor-driven when doing this kind of things, so I'm glad you like it. I understand what you say about Enounce, I liked it because it fused the scrolls, but it's alright. I'm not sure about my showcases yet, so thank you for the input. It's true that Winterspring's Bite isn't that interesting.
Ok, I may change the color, but I'm not sure yet. I'm very picky with these kinds of things hehe. About Invigorate, that's great. I wasn't sure but I didn't need it yet at least, so I wasn't too worried. Like I said, I agree Enounce might have to wait for Classic. I'm taking a look at Meticulous Research, but I like it so much! I may leave it for Classic too.
Taking your suggestions into account and after a bit of brainstorming (and Noah's imput) I've made some more cards. They are hidden in the following spoiler. Which ones do you like the most? They will substitute Enounce and the empty slot I still have. I'm considering what to do with Meticulous Research because it's true it doesn't look basic either.
0
Feedback!
@Wailor's Alchemist
First of all, even though it is not the way I'd have done it, I think your classification of Potions and the addition of the tag is solid. It adds a lot of flavor, even though it might turn some people off that you "changed" so many existing cards. I like your cards, they feel basic enough while painting a good picture of your class. Just by looking at them I can already see a buffing theme, a token style deck and that your class has strong single target removal but a bit worse board clears. My favorite card is For Science!. Maybe there is space for a more complex card, though, Escape from Lab and Clumsy Assistant fill the same niche, so maybe I'd move one of them to Classic. I like the spell more, personally. Apart from that, your balance is on point and I like where the class is going, I hope I get to see the different archetypes expanded in future sets. Regarding your showcase, I'd try to fit Golden Touch in it if powerful removal will be a theme with your class. Maybe Potion Researcher too. I'd definitely put Liquid Fire away, it is very simple and not very interesting. Good job with the class!
@MJM_'s Chronomancer
Uhh, ok. So, I have a fundamental problem with your class: I hate cards and mechanics that mess with turn timers and duration. I even think your Hero Power is out of place because most of the time it won't do anything and makes Secrets pretty meaningless against your class. I don't know if this problem is fixable, but yeah, not a fan of the Hero Power at all. The problem is that your other cards are pretty neat! If I ignore Bronze Whelp and Lucky Pocket Watch, you have some interesting ideas and cool mechanics. I'd argue that Breaktime and Dragonflame could cost (1) less, but I guess you balanced Breaktime around your Hero Power. Doubletime might be a bit problematic in the future, because mixed with Leeroy Jenkins it provides a lot of burst. Fastforward is another card you have to look out for, try to take it into account when designing big minions. To conclude, I like your designs, but your Hero Power and timer-tampering is taking away a lot from your class IMHO.
@Turkeybag's Battlemage
I applaud your new take on the keyword and Hero Power. They are both more balanced and easy to understand now, and look very promising! I'm not really sold on the idea of 1-Durability weapons, but we'll see. You've laid down very clearly the characteristics of your class and that's very welcome, I'd try to distinguish yourself a bit more from Warrior though. Most of your cards could be printed for that class. Reinvigorate is really cool, and pushes the design in a different direction. Conjure: Barriers is interesting too, but I think you should provide a bit more support for it to make it more fitting. That would also help differentiate yourself from Warrior. Maybe switching out Flame Bowman for a token-generating card? Something like that. Frozen Fist is probably my favorite card, but I'd argue it should do something even when you do have a weapon. Maybe something like "Deal 3 damage to a minion. If you have a weapon equipped, Freeze your hero." or "Deal 1 damage to a minion. If you have no weapon equipped, deal 3 instead.".
Thanks for the feedback! Uldum is an ancient land, only discovered after the Cataclysm and filled with a strange culture and lots of mysteries. Uldum Guardian is one of the tol'vir, and I thought of it as those kind of things you would hear exist, but are not sure are real or not. Most minions of the Chronicler that don't have a scholar or adventurer theme, like Novice Lorewalker, will have this semi-mythical vibe. In Un'goro, for example, the Chronicler will be fascinated by the different dinosaurs and fossils found there. I'm currently planning on the Memory staying as a one-off minion, but your ideas are certainly interesting. I'll consider them!
I'd love it if any others would take a look at my entry, the Chronicler. You can find it in page 11! I'm also considering changing my border to a purple one, because there are already two blues in hearthstone, Mage and Shaman. What do you think?
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Hey guys! I'm just about done with my entry, so I wanted some feedback. I'm still missing one card, so ideas are welcome too! Hope you like it.
THE CHRONICLER
The Chronicler is a class based on harnessing your memories and the power of the places you have visited or studied, summoning beasts of alien worlds or making your opponent feel what an eruption is like. Roaming through Azeroth and beyond, these explorers and scribes have witnessed or read about nearly everything, but their thirst for knowledge and adventure lingers on. Their power is clearly shown by Lorewalker Shuchun in this short story, The Blank Scroll. Citing Ziya, a goblin rogue: "Shuchun was a Lorewalker, a trade that Ziya barely understood. Lorewalkers told stories. They searched for artifacts from Pandaria's long past. And, if Shuchun was any example, they talked with their mouths full and smiled a lot.". This is applicable in a general sense to pandaren lorewalkers, dwarf historians, gnome bookmasters, elven scholars and all other different types of chroniclers.
Tokens
Keyword - Recall
The Chronicler's keyword, Recall, represents their command over memories and stories, and shows their ability to remember and reproduce events they have experienced, heard or read about. This keyword allows the power of some cards to be split between themselves and the next Hero Power. Most of them will only have an small extra punch, while a small amount of Recall cards will be much more focused on the Recall effect, being an effective tempo loss when cast but allowing you to choose more precisely when to unleash their full effect.
Example Cards
These are some of the most characteristic cards of the Chronicler's basic set. This class will have problems dealing with big, single targets, and its board clears won't mix very well with the more aggressive archetypes. There will be no Consecrations or Maelstrom Portals. Their strength lies with big, resilient minions, board control and the capability of grinding opponents out with the right deck. Later expansions might bring with them some combo capabilities too.
Tokens
Remaining Cards
Previous Phase
If you want to check other cards and a bit more of Karnik's background, check my Phase I post here!
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I want to pop in to say that yours is currently my favorite class and your set is great. I would keep Detonate Mana as is, it is a cool design and an existing spell, so I think it fits nicely. Apart from that, I liked the old Rise Again better. It is powerful, yes, but I think that you could up the mana to 4 and keep it. That way its control is costed in the same way as Eternal Servitude. The new one is just Resurrect, and a lot more boring. Just try not to do too many low cost burn spells just in case and you'll be fine. Good job on your class overall! It has come a long way from having a lot of reprints and such.
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Yeah, I expressed myself badly. What I was trying to say was that he only ever transformed when Malacrass bound the spirits to him. Before that happened, he was only an axe thrower, and there are no records of him ever showing any supernatural or magical ability.
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Nah, Zul'jin never shapeshifted. Malacrass bound some loa spirits to Zul'jin so that other troll warriors could use their power, but he never used other forms. I'd argue he's more warrior than anything else. Hunter and rogue also fit him, but he's very berserker-ish.
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I think some of these people are finishing the Knights of the Frozen Throne set right about now :P
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Some reviews!
@Demonxz95
I really like your cards. I was skeptical of your class at first because I thought it would be too similar to either mage or warrior, but carved up a good place for yourself in the design space. Im personally very fond of Loot. It's got loads of flavor, it's simple, it's powerful. I'd say Violent Slash is ok as a 3 mana spell too. However, I think Hot-Headed Instructor may be too powerful. This kind of cards usually have mana cost equal to their total stats or 1 stat over, see Defender of Argus (total of 4/5 for 4, with taunt) or Fungalmancer (total of 6/6 for 5, more minion dependant). Your card is a total of 4/3 stats for 2, which I think is too much. With proper token generating tools it can snowball very early on. I'd drop at least one stat, or make it a 2/2 for 3. It's too much right now, even if it isn't easy to have two minions just in turn one.
@Omergu
I have a couple of problems with your set. I like how you distinguished yourself from the priest and the paladin, however, I'm not feeling a cohesive theme. The couple of "hate cards", a design I hate, is problematic. Cleansing Sword is basically only good when facing early game focused tribe decks, mainly Pirates, Beasts and Murlocs. It can dominate these games completely, getting key minions like Dire Mole, Murloc Warleader or Southsea Captain really easily, while being pretty bad against any other deck. This is polarising design, and bad for the game IMO. Cleanse is very niche, and overcosted. In this case it hates on buffs, but will never be included in a deck when Angelic Stomp exists. Angelic Stomp and Ball of Lightning are very extreme RNG designs, capable of swinging entire games by themselves or fizzling and sucking.The Stomp may be fine, but I'd try to change the Ball. The other cards look fine, but Angelic Alter should be Altar I guess and Holy Wrath already exists, so you should change the name. It may be too complex for the basic set too. Dancing Elf is very weak and could use a severe bump in stats. Sorry if I seem harsh, but I'm trying to help :)
@Shatterstar1998
I've seen a couple typos in your cards. Astral Intellect should say "A random player draws 3 cards", and Starcaller shold say "After your opponent summons a minion, ...". Otherwise, I really like how your cards are coming along, the class has a strong theme (it remindds me of my own Starcaller) and the balance is alright! I'd say Astral Intellect should cost 3 though. It is a very versatile tool, you can use it to draw yourself a lot of cards, you can disrupt a controlling opponent by making them overdraw and lose the fatigue battle and in general it's a very strong card coupled with Gaze. Remember Nourish costs 6 now, Sprint costs 7 and Arcane Intellect costs 3 (!). Even if it is random, the fact your class can target it makes it so you can't drop the cost so much. I like your other cards just like they are though!
@thepowrofcheese
Hey! Digging your class a lot. I like your elegant take on ye olde Fiery War Axe, Chainsword is powerful and cool. Just two things. First, I think Scrap Armor is too complex for the basic set. Remember things like Blessing of Kings had to establish what buffs meant, and even though Soulfire is a basic card, yours is a conditional discard. This may be a bit too complex. The other thing is that Brass Bodyguard could use an extra stat here or there. Turning it into a 5/7 is fine I think.
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Well, I guess your design objectives don't align with this competition then. The main objective is to create a class that could be incorporated seamlessly into the current game. I think your class is fine, I liked it, but maybe you have to change a bit your philosophies to stay in the competition. And I mean, these restrictions aren't even complexity-related. Text length and presentation are very agnostic things that I'm sure you could work around. As Mike Rosewater, MtG designer, once said, "Restrictions breed creativity." There are lots of ways of creating design space while staying within Hearthstone's confines, and this is just the Basic set, the most simple and, well, basic of them all. Keep the lengthy cards for future sets!
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Hey Weilor, why don't you use a tag like Elixir or Flask instead of potion? That way you are sure to have no problems with the Kabal cards. I guess it is not very important because Mean Streets is deep in Wild at the moment and we can ignore it more or less, but just a suggestion :P
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Hey Wishmaster333 I'm sorry you feel that way. In my opinion, there isn't that much you can do with Hero Powers, so you either go with the tried and true (Deal 2 random damage, buffs, simple weapon), you create a bunch of tokens (like I did) or you go really out there, which can be really hit or miss. However, I still prefer this approach rather than copying an existing HP, just because it just doesn't fit the game that two classes would share such a fundamental piece. That's my opinion at least.
Regarding the "more than 2 mana HP approach", I don't really understand what's the problem if it is handled correctly. Adding an extra card to your hand is basically the same as the Warlock Hero Power, and the balance here comes from the fact that the card added is not as good as a card from your deck. In fact, I'd say this kind of HPs are more fitting to Hearthstone as a whole than Warlock's HP, which is rendered useless either by your life total or your deck size at one point or another. No other Hero Power has that kind of implications. Card creating HPs (minion ones more so, because of spell shenanigans) don't break any rule and work in the same places and same ways as other existing HPs. There's a lot more to them than just a 3 mana HP. In my case, I mixed this concept with the Shaman HP, trying to add a limit and proper balancing to the spells created by it.
Now, I'm totally with you on the Demon Hunter, Monk and Death Knight. I think it's high time we allow them again, because at this point we have more iterations on the Tinker and the Alchemist than any of them.
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Hahahaha to be honest I was waiting for the 20th post, but it was stuck on 18 in the first page. Then I just said "oh fuck it" and started writing my entry. It was pure luck that by the time I finished it was just on 20! Sorry for taking the spot :P Good luck to you and all others too!
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The Chronicler
The Chronicler is a class based on harnessing your memories and the power of the places you have visited or studied, summoning beasts of alien worlds or making your opponent feel what an eruption is like. Roaming through Azeroth and beyond, these explorers and scribes have witnessed or read about nearly everything, but their thirst for knowledge and adventure lingers on.
Karnik, one of the most important members of the Explorer's League, is also in charge of keeping the Great Library of Ironforge in order. However, he is no ordinary archivist. As adventurous as any other member of the Guild, he has travelled the world, personally adding dozens or hundreds of new entries to the library. With a basic knowledge of arcane magic, he has travelled through Outland and Azeroth, catalloguing each new landmark or race he encounters. He then uses this knowledge in battle if needed, making enemies shiver with Winterspring's blizzards or drown in Vashj'ir depths. He has even caught a glimpse of the Shadowlands, a realm usually for the dead... or worse.
Hero Power tokens
This Hero Power functions in a very similar way to the Shaman Hero Power. This means that, when you use it, a Scroll that you don't already have is added to your hand. So, the probabilities of getting the Scroll you want improve every time you use it without casting the others. However, you can't have more than one of each, so once yo have all four you must cast one before being able to use the Hero Power again. This is exactly how the Shaman Hero Power works. Improving your Hero Power makes it so that you choose which Scroll you add to your hand, and you can now have duplicates. Once again, this behaviour is exactly the same as Shaman's improved Hero Power.
Some cards will interact with your Scrolls in different ways. Some minions add an specific Scroll to your hand, others transform them. These are just some of the many things a Chronicler can do with their archives.
Preview
I hope you like what I've shown you of the Chronicler, because there is a lot more in store. Discovering ancient secrets in Un'goro, fading away next to the Frozen Throne, exploring the Catacombs in search of a legendary tome, searching for the root of the Witchwood's problem, studying the timestreams using Dr. Boom's funds and finally, joining Torga's champion in the Gurubashi Arena.