Hearthpwn

So the way I am interpreting this is we can create a weapons for a class that already has traditional weapons as long as it has a unique/interesting effect other than just turning your health into efficient removal/tempo?

EDIT: Ah, I see now the rules specifically say Mage, Warlock, Priest, Druid, or Neutral weapon.

Person above beat me to it by a few minutes but here is my take on the Wisp combo.  I thought Charge was more of a Warrior thing.

Combo: Wisps of the Old Gods (6) + Savage Roar (2) + Power of the Wild (1) + Detonate! (1).  Requires hits on all 4 from Emperor Thaurissan.

28 Damage from Wisps + Hero Attack for 2 Damage = 30 Damage.  I know this will not work if the enemy has any minions on the board but it is "capable" of dealing 30 damage to the enemy hero and is more balanced this way.

In the most recent designer insights with Ben Brode he stated that Purify will NOT appear in Arena.

Hearthstone is my favorite game and Arena is my favorite game mode.  I was honestly very skeptical and concerned about the designer's plans for Hearthstone when they released this card.  I didn't feel they understood the game or their player base.  But now, with this announcement Blizzard has proven that they listen to the wants of the players and are willing to fix mistakes.  Somehow, they have turned around all of the bad publicity and come out with even better PR than before with this simple change.  Removing Purify from Arena is a great fix because the other Priest cards are actually very useful.  Hearthstone is now my favorite game once again!  Still, there is a lot to learn from Purify and Blizzard's decision to remove it from Arena.

It is important to have other cards that support cards with new effects.  Purify is actually a very interesting card all things considered, the problem is that it has no cards to support it right now (the only 2 good targets being the ancient watcher and eerie statue).  It would have been better to release Purify in a larger expansion, along with several minions with downsides that could have benefitted from the card, then people would have been more optimistic about the card.  The reason for most mechanics failing in Hearthstone is the lack of multiple ways to support them, redundancy is sometimes necessary to make a deck consistent.  Blizzard seems to have learned this concept given that this expansion is actually all about enforcing old mechanics that "failed."  Karazhan has greatly pushed the discard theme for Warlocks, added new tools to Shaman for a Spell Damage deck, made Beast Druids finally viable, and preemptively added multiple cards to support Curator decks (Beast-Murloc-Dragon-Mech decks) .  Which is why it was so strange to see them release Purify in the same expansion without adding any new synergies.  Ben Brode has acknowledged that the timing on Purify was off in his video and I am confident they will not release as many out-of-place cards in the future.

This decision shows that Blizzard is flexible when thinking about balance in Arena.  Blizzard is now free to design some very interesting cards for constructed play without worrying about them disrupting Arena.  Ben Brode stated in a question about Firelands Portal that Arena balance is complicated and they will need to come up with new ways to balance Arena beyond just using card rarity, such as new algorithms to determine card offerings.  I personally hope that Blizzard will eventually implement algorithms that help maintain each class's identity in Arena despite the ever expanding card pool.  Arena will not be very interesting if the best strategy becomes not to play around anything, every class needs to be unique and somewhat "predictable".  There are certain cards that define a class and I don't think it is good to see them fade into obscurity.  I am talking about cards like Flamestrike for Mages, Fiery War Axe for Warriors, Mind Control, Fire Elemental, Swipe, Kill Command, Equality, and Hellfire.  These cards are staples of many constructed decks every time a new expansion is released and the Classic set will always stay in constructed.  I think it is good for these cards to stick around in Arena as well.  Perhaps if Blizzard adjusts their algorithms they could increase the offering rates of cards from the classic set?  Maybe they could pick and choose which cards get higher or lower offering rates individually?  Maybe cards like Purify or the next Bolster could be added to Arena but with a lower offering rate for random Arena fun?  Whatever Blizzard decides, I am more confident after hearing this announcement that they will carefully consider their decision and accept feedback from players.

What do you guys think about Blizzard's decision on Purify?  Was it a mistake to release it during this expansion?  Are you confident about Arena balance in the future?  What do you think Blizzard should do about Arena?  I would like to hear your thoughts.

GLHF

Could Purify not have been "Silence a minion.  IF it's a friendly minion, draw a card."  ?

Too bad Resurrect was a rare already because Onyx Bishop would have made a great common card to bring Priests back into the fold.  :(

I know we already have the general discussion thread for Firelands Portal, but I wanted a thread to discuss Arena balance in general right now and moving forward in the context of this card.  I also wanted to bring some more attention to some of the analysis prominent streamers and other sites have given to Firelands Portal.  Do you think Blizzard has a good handle on arena balancing?  Or are there things you would like to see done differently?

Here are some references you may find interesting:
Lightforge Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaSFq1mkE0I  (You can skip to 5:55 where they talk about Firelands Portal)
Kripparian Rant: https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/4vigzc/the_firelands_portal_rant/
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/4vi18d/after_the_reveal_of_firelands_portal_its_safe_to/

In summary many believe that this card is "INSANE", in terms of Arena.  This is because removal is premium and hard to come by, 2 for 1s at this stage can be huge game swings, and it is a common card which means with the weighted drafting bonus for new expansions it might appear about 2-3 times every draft.  Mage has always been a top tier class in Arena and has continuously gotten very powerful cards in the last few expansions such as Ethereal Conjurer and Faceless Summoner.  Meanwhile classes like Priest are virtually unplayable in Arena (and constructed).  Did Mage really need more powerful cards in Arena?  Would it have been better to give a card like this to Priest or one of the other struggling classes?  If this card had to be a Mage card for thematic reasons, why is it a common instead of a rare?  

Another major concern right now is that Arena is becoming an environment in which you play around nothing because there is no way to predict what cards your opponent might have anymore, this will only get worse as the card pool expands.  For example, on turn 7 you can not play around Flamestrike anymore by dropping one large minion because a Mage is just as likely to have Firelands Portal.  In addition, there are less and less spells in Arena each expansion which makes it harder for most classes to interact with the board if you don't already have board control.  Both of these facts take away from the strategy and decision making aspect of Arena and lead to a very one-dimensional strategy of simply playing minions on curve.

In my personal opinion I think it would have made a lot more sense to make "Babbling Book" a common instead.  Balance aside, both cards are about the same in terms of complexity and Babbling Book might be even better as a common because it lets new players in Arena experiment with different Mage spells and learn the game.  To combat the problems of the expanding cardpool in Arena, my solution would be to maintain an additional weight for cards from the classic set and maybe even a slightly greater weight for spells.  This would hopefully add more predictability and strategy back into Arena without removing the random, spontaneous, and fun aspect.  I'm not sure that implementing a "Standard" Arena mode would fix all problems, it may just create more and it limits the randomness of Arena.  A little bit of randomness is good for the game, it is just starting to get a little out of control.

So what do all of you think about Firelands Portal and the direction Arena is heading?  Please share your thoughts, I would really like to hear what you have to say.

Flavor Text: "Never heard of him?  Well that's why he's so envious of the other 7 Sha."
Art: http://higeki-chan.deviantart.com/art/Sha-413698502

SUMMON: I know your darkest desires...
ATTACK: Take what is yours!
DEATH: <gasping>

This card is at home in decks with a ton of big minions like Y'Shaarj decks, as it is more likely the random effect will hit something useful.  If you reduce a 10 or 9 cost card and draw it you could play it on turn 5 or 6.

The effect can have little to no impact though since you may never draw the card that is reduced or it may reduce something worthless.  It is also not as good as Thaurissan at enabling deliberate combos.

Here have TWO pirates!

More ways for non-weapon classes to get a weapon and spread the pirate love. <3

"I take your... Gorehowl."  (Art: http://rlanghi.deviantart.com/art/Gaarhblin-The-Pirate-Goblin-500255469)

Balanced you think?  Not as good as average 3 drops, so it is bad against non-weapon classes.  Made mainly to counter Doomhammer and Gorehowl.  Also, imagine Trolden when your opponent gives you a Cursed Blade lol.

"Remember, the pointy end goes through the other person."   (Art: http://sidxartxa.deviantart.com/art/Pirate-103923209)

Just 1 more damage than Argent Horserider or Disciple of C'thun, but costs health.  Tons of synergy though.

Next: A card that permanently changes the game.  (e.g. Justicar Trueheart or the Battle of the Builds Tavern Brawl)