Mike Donais' recent comments about Mind Blast led to some discussion over whether direct face damage is actually part of the priest class identity. This seems to have changed over time so I thought I would look back through the original cards (i.e. the Basic and Classic sets) to see what has been dropped from each class' identity, and hence identify possible candidates for future changes.
Edit: to be clear, what follows is an analysis of how the approach to card design from a purely mechanical perspective has changed since Classic. The thematic identity of cards and classes is a separate, albeit related, issue, and I am not saying whether I think cards should be changed; in fact I am not sure I think any of them should.
Before going into this one needs to be conscious of what class identity actually is, and I categorise it into 3 different groups for each class:
- The core mechanics: what the class does and does well. Generally this is where you find overpowered cards because they are the ones giving you a reason to play this class.
- The support mechanics: what the class can do but not especially well compared to some other classes. This includes fairly generic things like taunt, which most classes have some of but don't have any direct synergies related to it.
- The absent mechanics: what the class cannot do without using neutrals or badly sub-par class cards. These are perhaps the most important as they really separate the classes from each other.
Even with these, how do we know where each mechanic lies for each class? It is not always as obvious as taunt in rogue (the class has never once had a taunt card). Generally if the class hasn't been given anything for a mechanic in a few years it is pretty safe to say it is no longer part of the class identity, UNLESS it was and still is a core mechanic in Standard in the sense that no other class does it as well. An example includes Sap, Vanish and Kidnapper, which have never been added to but equally haven't been lost to Wild or given to anyone other class.
Anyway, below is a list of Basic and Classic mechanics that were support mechanics initially but seem to have been dropped.
Damage in paladin
A particularly clean example is that of damage dealing spells in paladin. These are pretty central to most classes but paladin replaces them with de-buffs and minions or weapons to kill things. To date all spells that do damage in paladin were part of the Basic and Classic sets. All of them!
None of them are close to oppressive enough to be candidates for changes any time soon, but don't be too surprised if Consecration gets targeted one day for not being part of pally class identity.
AoE in druid and rogue
Area of effect damage is in a similar spot in druid and rogue. They have been given some extra tools (Dark Iron Skulker for rogue and Poison Seeds for druid) but they are only partial solutions and were added years ago with no sight of replacements since.
I would imagine only Vanish would have to worry much here.
Edit: The original Blade Flurry was a very powerful card that also happened to be an AoE in rogue. The change to a very weak card (at least until Kingsbane came along) a few years back, helped cement the class identity of having sub-par AoE.
Healing in druid
Nothing is in danger of being changed here, but it is interesting that the side of druid that restored health has been all but replaced by armour gain. For now it seems Healing Touch isn't even teaching new players about what it means to be a druid.
Hard removal in druid and shaman
(Wow, druid again. I suppose it did start out as the Jack of all trades.)
Here's the list of all destroy effects druid has ever had: Naturalize, Mulch, Poison Seeds. So yes, the devs were right that hard removal isn't a druid thing and were giving a valid reason for moving it to the Hall of Fame. There might be some hope for hard removal in the class though as poisonous seems to be a (minor) part of its identity these days.
The story for shaman is even more stark, with the only destroy effect you would use on opponents being attached to Ice Breaker. The reason for bringing shaman into this though is Hex, which aside from Ice Breaker is the only thing that effectively counts as a destroy effect. This goes some way to explaining the mana nerf it received a while back, in line with the explanation the devs gave.
Face damage in priest
Finally we come to the one that started the discussion: is Mind Blast part of priest identity? Certainly it was never a core mechanic so there is no chance of using the Sap argument to let it stay regardless of whether new cards add to it or not. It stands to reason that it could then fall out of the class' identity.
First, we have to acknowledge the mechanic of turning healing into damage, which was added to as recently as Rastakan's Rumble, is mechanically distinct from pure damage. That leaves Holy Smite, Holy Nova, Edit: Holy Fire, Shadowform, Shadowbomber, Spawn of Shadows and Shadowreaper Anduin (so many shadows...) as the cards with effects that can damage the opponent's face. The first 4 can be set aside since they were in Basic and Classic, while the next 2 were released more than 3 years ago. Only the DK is recent enough to argue Mind Blast's case, and had it been in any other recent set I would be happy to do so. The problem is KotFT, and the DKs in particular, was notorious for breaking class identity on the basis that they are death knights now, not warrior/rogue/priest/etc. So I cannot reasonably let the DK count.
All in all, it seems plausible Donais was being perfectly honest by saying face damage (and hence Mind Blast) is not part of priest identity.
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Tl;dr:
- On the blizz fan-boy side: the devs are not lying when they cite class identity as a reason to change cards, even if the card has been part of the class' arsenal from the very start.
- On the cynic's side: the devs have never said much about what their picture of each class' identity actually is or communicated when or why it has changed. Sets like KofFT only confuse matters and then give players reason to doubt justifications based on class identity.
1
Cool card, but too situational. If your opponent has 5 minions, it's dormant forever. If your opponent bounces a warden to their hand, it fails. If you can't destroy the wardens, it blocks up your board.
It's not the best idea to play with other minions because it clears ALL minions, meaning your opponent can purposely kill the wardens, clear the board, and single target down Magtheridon. Maeiv is incredible against it because the wardens don't come back.
Its like a worse Darkness, except at least the Candles blocked non Duplicate cards from working.
4
You mean a Priest minion is going to be problematic with a Druid minion?
2
It's hilarious to me that now Paladin has no class identity. A few years ago, Priest had nothing. Paladin healed better, Warlock had better combos, Rogue stole better, Mage had better spells and Paladin also had better buffs.
Paladins are supposed to be holy knights who smite down evil. To do so, they bring "Equality" to all and "Consecrate" wrong-doers. They create an even playing field and fight fair.
Paladins are also all about buffing allies and helping each other out, which is why Blessing of Kings, Might and Wisdom exist. They have a small sub theme of Holy Weapons and Blessed Allies which is where Truesilver Champion, Ashbringer and Paladin Murlocs come into play. Classes adopt additional themes over time, and Paladin just so happened to get Holy Murlocs.
Mechanically, though the reason Paladin has secrets is because there's no clean way to have an effect trigger on your opponent's turn. While Avenge doesn't make sense as a secret, it is thematically sound since your minion(s) have witnessed an ally fall and work to avenge their ally. They each make sense when explained, but it's difficult to surmise when they share the "Secret" keyword.
2
Leeroy Jenkins is one of the most powerful cards ever printed! A 5 mana fireball attached to a minion you can buff is really good. Classes are purposely designed in specific ways, like how Warlock is supposed to have little burst damage (which is why Doomguard was moved to HoF). Leeroy breaks that pattern and gives classes access to burn damage they shouldn't have. He's a finisher that can fit in almost every Aggro deck or Midrange deck. For reference, he used to cost 4 mana, but was nerfed, and is still sooooo good. Don't sleep on Leeroy
1
I love Priest. It's been my main class since the beginning. Priests best meta was Raza Priest, and that has been the 1 and only time Priest has been overpowered and warranted an adjustment. Priest could rarely contend with dedicated Control decks such as Control Warrior, and was too slow to not be Combo deck food.
Priest is especially designed to deal with Aggro and Midrange style decks. They have plentiful removal and AoE in order to combat board centric decks. It sounds to me like these are the kind of decks you are interested in if you feel this strongly against Priest. Apart from simply saying "Adapt", my best advice is to space your threats, as to play around AoE. Often times 3 minions is all you need to develop at a time. Play too many and Hysteria lines up very well. Run silence to counteract taunts. Don't play into Northshire Cleric or Wild Pyromancer.
Priest doesn't have a massive later game threat like N'zoth or Dr. Boom. Mass Ressurection can be frustrating, which is why you try to pressure face and make it awkward to play. The key is to develop/extend when they extend. This'll make playing board clears more difficult.
Hopefully these tips will make playing against Priest easier and less frustrating. But please, don't result to insults. There's just no need. At the end of the day, it's a game, and you shouldn't feel petty enough to insult others over this game.
Have a lovely day :)
3
I don't have just 1 card I wish they reverted, but a small list, ordered by most wanted to least:
Raza the Chained: Was my absolute favourite card ever printed. I played it back when it first came out and Highlander Priest was my favourite deck ever. I was proud that I played it before Shadowreaper had a chance to ruin it. I just wished it reduced the cost by 1 instead of setting it to 1. That way you could still try bouncing it.
Extra Arms: It boggles my mind how they finally started giving Priest a powerful identity (buffing minions), and then instantly reverted it. I just wish they would've buffed another card so Priest wasn't at a deficit in comparison to other Classes.
Call of the Wild: Despite still seeing play at 9 mana, it shouldn't have been nerfed in the first place. It was the first big late game card that Hunters actually played, and they made it even later game. It was the vocal few that nerfed the card and left the majority questioning the change.
Blade Flurry: I never played much Rogue, but they absolutely gutted the card. This was back when Blizzard balancing meant destroying cards completely (e.g Warsong Commander). At the very least it should've been 3 mana so Rogue could still have some form of AoE. Or it could've eventually joined Vanish in the HoF.
Keeper of the Grove: An example of how impactful stats can be. The 2 health changed the card from an auto pick, to a terrible option. Spellbreaker sees more play as a silence tech in Druid than their own silence tech card. Hilariously enough, Druid was still a powerhouse after losing Force of Nature and Ancient of Lore in the same patch. I just wished the cards didn't become completely irrelevant.
Master of Disguise: The change from permanent to temporary stealth took a lot away from its combo ability. I think a higher mana cost for permanent stealth would be cool, but I understand how restrictive the card is.
I'm sorry for the long post, but these are some of my top picks for reverts/reworks. :)
2
Nice post :)
2
Nat Pagle: Pat Nagle, someone on the HS team.
Harrison Jones: Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones.
Hemet Nesingwary: Ernest Hemingway.
2
Can't wait to play this in Quest Hunter lol. Turns out the raptors are really good at completing the quest
2
I only ever delete ALL my decks when a new expansion hits. Otherwise if a card is nerfed I'd disenchant it and delete it's deck(s). I like to get a fresh start every expansion :)