Fan Card Design Hub: Discussion (+Card Design Contest Discussion)

[eudaimonia]

Update 1: Completed some much-needed topic upkeep, reorganized topic post.

Introduction

Hello all, and welcome to the Discussion Hub! I’ve created this topic as a companion space for the Submission Hub and Card Design Contests. To that end, I have once again designed a set of general guidelines to maximize the organization, readability, and overall operational quality. Please give them a thorough read before posting. Thank you!

General Guidelines for Discussion Hub (Updated 10/31)

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[details=Primer]

• Please read these carefully.

• If you have any issues with adhering to these guidelines (technical or otherwise), then please do not hesitate to contact me via PM. I am more than happy to help out or discuss alternatives.

• Lastly, all of these are subject to change, and any major changes will be required to pass by community vote![/details]

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The following content is NOT allowed in this topic:

[details=Final Drafts.]

• We have an entirely separate topic for submissions: the Submission Hub.
• This separation facilitates greater readability for both content.
• However, please feel free to share ideas or ask for feedback (e.g. wording, power level, cost) here before posting to the Submission Hub or Card Design Contest.[/details]

Memes, lore, or any other content not pertaining to the Submission Hub or Card Design Contest.

• There are plenty of other topics for that. Please use those instead.

[details=Brief, rude, and/or unhelpful comments.]

• I will uphold a zero-tolerance policy for trolling behavior.
• Some examples:
• “That’s my favorite design by far.” (While supportive, this doesn’t encourage discussion; comments like these are best left to PMs or a simple “Like”).
• “This card is so obviously OP, wow” (This kind of comment doesn’t help anyone, and needlessly takes up space; if you disagree with a design, then you need to give reasons for your beliefs).[/details]

Reporting plagiarism.

• If the report concerns a contest submission in the Card Design Contest, then please contact me or any jury member serving for that month.
• If the report concerns a design submission in the Submission Hub, then please contact me.

Critiquing Principles:

[details=Be balanced.]

• Essentially, be sure to maintain a balance between positive and negative feedback.
• Build-up rather than break-down.[/details]

[details=Be helpful and thorough.]

• This is a space to learn and grow in card design; do not assume anyone’s level of design or game experience.
• Again, if you take issue with a costing/statline/ability, then please explain your reasoning calmly and thoroughly (otherwise, we lose out on your perspective and an understanding of where you’re coming from).[/details]

Posting & Formatting Principles:

No double-posting.

• The edit and quote functions are there for a reason.

I would appreciate it if you use the "Hide Details" function for lengthier responses/critiques, but it is not required.

Conclusion

Okay, no more guidelines, I promise! Ultimately, the goal here is to have fun and maintain a constructive, friendly, low-stakes space to share and discuss designs and ideas. Again, if you have any issues with these guidelines (or the Hubs in general), don’t hesitate to get in touch via PM. Thank you, and let the discussion commence!

[oranos]

phayze, i have some issues with a few of your artifacts[details=mistsilver blade is overpowered]this still doesn’t want to hide. compared to the mistwalking spell that teleports your general 2 spaces for 2 mana, having an artifact that not only does that EVERY TURN but also increases attack is just too much. a general that gets 2 extra move slots, immunity to provoke, and attack bonus is too much for 3 mana. it would have to be at least a 6 mana artifact. maybe change it to teleport 1 space?[/details]

sunsteel bulwark is weird

you may as well remove the provoke because anything that heals your general 4 hp per turn is going to be a priority target. when i think of a bulwark, i think armor and shields. how about adding a 2 damage mitigation like arclyte, but bumping it up to 6 mana (and maybe reduce healing down to 2)

infested pike is a bit weak

compared to a 2 mana spectral blade that instead of generating creep, can heal 2 damage, it is weaker and more expensive. its basically 2 mana extra for +1 damage compared to general punch + cassyva’s BBS. how about making it a counterpart to horn of the forsaken and drop it to 1 mana and remove the attack buff and maybe the death requirement. is it too strong without the death requirement?

starseer's spiritstone was made for vaath

who is the most aggro general? vaath. who has the awesome BBS? vaath. who is more than happy to play a 5/5 makantor for 5 mana? everyone. while it does have starhorn synergy, and vaath will probably smash the artifact within 1 turn, it is more likely to make dance of dreams viable than starhorn’s BBS. honestly this should be at least 5 mana for an effect like that. or just cut out the “use your generals BBS twice” effect. I mean can you imagine what would happen if somebody got it from grincher? rite of the undervault… 4/3 2 mana tigers BEFORE kara BBS… heavens eclipse(it doesnt specify minions were the only ones with the reduced cost) and much, much more.

chronomancer's tome is ridiculous

its oseryx+time maelstrom - any way to stop it(other than rust crawler which i think would just activate it anyway) at only 4 mana. it needs a counter measure other than “win in 3 turns”. i think that giving you 2 artifacts from your deck is already enough without anything else, i mean imagine being smacked, then having to deal with a reactivated general with 2 hexblades ready to end you. its potentially 11 mana of value in exchange for 3 turns and 4 mana. its a countdown timer to victory for vetruvians. just getting 2 artifacts is more than fair.

i think everything else on phayze’s list is balanced (if songhai can get ranged, vetruvian can have celerity). as for thefirstgokun…

the Hwacha Asura, is far more powerful than its creator gives it credit for.

with its ability it has a degraded celerity with the ability to double counter attack. anyone who has succesfully played grailmaster knows ranged+celerity = OP. the effect says whenever it deals damage, but its ability deals damage, leading to infinite damage. i think it needs to be worded as “when it attacks” instead of “deals damage” to prevent board clears when your opponent tries to kill it.

[details=The underflame beast has weird stats for a dying wish minion] for a minion you called an abyssian makantor it is way too bulky. i would suggest changing it to a 1/2 to make it slightly better than saberspine
[/details]

Fae Warlord is crazy

think for a second, if this was put in songhai, then inner focused, then proceeds to DECIMATE the board, filling his hand in the process. without even taking damage. its sword of mechazor+sojourner+saphire seer for 5 mana. this needs to be at least 6, if not 7 mana. you could make it have 1 health to justify the forcefield or even just remove a keyword

mask collector...

its ability could use a bit of rewording. instead of “artifacts cannot be destroyed” how about “artifacts are not destructable while this minion is on the board”. i realize this buffs it, but i think it adds more clarity and can interact with the “destructible” tag artifacts have. on a side note, mask collector seems like a songhai unit since all of their artifacts are masks(pre-shim’zar)

Gluttonous Fiend isn't that good

for the same reason that starhorn’s BBS is bad, giving your opponent draws is a bad idea, especially since mill decks aren’t really a thing in duelyst (its just too easy to dump your hand). if you changed it to just you drawing cards, it would be awesome(OP). if you changed it to burning enemy cards you could still have a mill deck. but with a potential of 8 cards affected, its just too much. if it did burn cards, you would have to heavily nerf its stats.

i think everything else on his list, if not entirely balanced is interesting and has great artwork.

[attheedge]

why oh why does the first “hide details” tab i put on every post not do its job?

Do you have a blank line (how is it called in English?) between your first sentence and the “hide details” function?

[oranos]

I have tried adding and removing spaces, lines, and words and nothing has changed it. When I look at the preview before posting, it looks fine. But after actually posting it the first one doesn’t hide any details at all

[phayze]

I’ve edited my post based on the feedback you provided. Take a look if you’d like.

[thefirstgokun]

@attheedge I only have one gripe with your submissions: [details=Hidden Ecstasy is stupid broken.]Only working on SongHai minions is not a drawback, considering it makes Gorehorn and Scarlet Viper stupid strong (even played out of hand thanks to Inner Focus). It also doubles the damage from Saberspine Seal and Killing Edge, AND it breaks Bladeseeker. All in all way too strong.[/details]

The rest of your submissions are good (I particularly like Elyx Protector, although I feel it would be a good fit for a Lyonar class minion).

@phayze A few things:

Icescorn Crystal is too weak.

You know how everyone compares Spectral Blade to the Staff of Y’kir? Icescorn is even WORSE than Y’kir because its a CONDITIONAL +2 for 2 mana. Lower the mana cost to 1 and it’s at least situationally better.

Ancient Chrysalis is too weak.

The value it supplies is nowhere near worth the mana cost. In fact, Bastion is almost always better at 2 less mana. It would be far more balanced at 2 mana.

Other than that, your set of cards seems fairly balanced and interesting. I’m looking forward to your next set

@oranos First off, sorry for stealing your formatting Secondly, sorry your details tabs aren’t working. Thirdly, here’s my critiques:

Aestari Berserker is bad.

All other Warmasters supply something to their keyword minions without being so conditional. A 5 Mana 4/3 body is also extremely weak, so it won’t stick on the board long enough to use it’s ability. This one is just plain bad.

Grandmaster SanZen is broken.

Oh god. Just… wow. 2 words: Shadow Waltz. Koan of Horns isn’t even a problem when you’re essentially giving SongHai a pseudo-Kara combo. And I love it. This is a really cool Legendary Warmaster. 10/10, we Winterblade now boys.

[details=Gatekeeper is horrendous.] Due to the nature of Summon Dervish this does nothing the turn you play it. Raise its stats to 4/8 and it STILL wouldn’t be good. My suggestion: “Give all friendly minions with Summon Dervish +4/+4. Friendly Structures may move and counterattack.” This would put it in line with Winter’s Wake, a similar endgame card for an unviable archetype

Crystal Dervishes does sound cool though, but on such an expensive card it is ESSENTIAL that you gain immediate value from it. Crystal Dervishes would work on a 4 cost Obelysk.

One more idea for Gatekeeper: “At the end of your turn, put a random Summon Dervish minion in your action bar.” One weakness of Obelysks is that you run out of them very quickly since they’re so easy to clear. [/details]

And for the rest of the Warmasters:

Stormwind and Saberspine are both in line with the current Warmasters. Bloodmoon Zealot is in line with the rest of Abyssian’s deathwatch minions. Healing Sage is a bit wordy, but good. Bannerlord and Blastmaster deserve better statlines for their cost. Mystic Huntress is strong, but that’s not a problem in and of itself.

Now on to the Abyssian cards:

Abyssal Spores is crazy strong.

Shadow Nova makes 4 Creep for 4 mana. Abyssal Spores can make around 2-10 Creep for 3 mana. This card makes Abyssian swarms about ten times more lethal (thanks to the new Legendary artifact), and it forces your enemy to contribute to their slow demise. 4-5 mana would make this far more balanced, albeit less potent in general situations.

Creep Vine is ALSO crazy strong.

Once again, this card makes 2-10 Creep for 3 mana. Even easier to maximize potential since you don’t need to build a swarm, it builds it FOR you. Broken with Bloodmoon Priestess and forces removal.

[details=Nameless Gravestone is broken.] JEEEESUS CHRIST! That Deathwatch effect is straight up disgusting. It makes your swarm stupid difficult to clear, gives the swarm crazy value when clearing enemy minions and can end the game all at once. The most hilarious thing about it is that it gives Mechaz0r provoke.

My advice: Remove the Deathwatch. The ability is overkill as hell and generates massive value for cheap. Besides, Provoke on wraithlings is an amazing tool for controlling an area. [/details]

Dark Elixir and Chains of Shadow are well costed for their effects. Bloodmoon Festival is just… kind of useless actually Anarchy is stupid but whatever, that’s what it’s designed to be.

Finally, the Neutral cards:

Insidious Parasite is undercosted for its effect.

Considering the fact that it neutralizes any minion you choose and can be abused with Demonic Lure and Hearthsister, the continuous value this thing provides is just disgusting. It is, however, an amazingly unique effect. Bump the cost up to 3 and it might be worth how easy it is to abuse (for BOTH players). The faction that breaks this minion is undoubtedly Swarm Abyssian.

Risky Dice is ridiculous.

Admittedly, this is a good counter to Kara. However, this also breaks Replace decks MASSIVELY. Wings of Paradise can go from 3/3 to 15/3 for 1 mana thanks to this card (and it can be played multiple times per turn!!!) White Widow deals 12 damage to the enemy formation. As a Neutral spell, this is interesting, but I don’t think this can ever be allowed to exist.

Mindfog Illusionist is useless.

The way it’s worded right now, you can replace a Fog Beast and then draw another card and a new Fog Beast. That means this card gives your opponent one extra card per turn at the cost of their replace. The synergy with High Hand and such is not worth this massive loss in tempo. It would be better if the Fog Beast simply couldn’t be replaced, or dealt damage to the user when replaced.

Mindscorcher is evil, and I like that, but it needs slightly better stats. Crystalline Ice is stupid broken in conjunction with Gravity Well and Bonechill Barrier: Player 2 Turn 1 Gravity Well -> Crystalline Ice gives 4 additional mana so you can drop 8 mana worth of minions next turn.

That’s all for your post Oranos, and thanks for your suggestions to my submissions. If you can, check out the rest of my submissions (I edited my post a lot, I hope I didn’t break a rule).

@eudaimonia And finally, here is my critique for your submissions…

…

Wow, literally every one of your cards is straight up gold. I can’t find a single thing wrong with any of them. Each one is just so inspired and intuitive! Amazing work, man!

[eudaimonia]

There’ve been some astoundingly high-quality submissions so far, so I thought I’d do a round-up of my favorites for this first week!

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Week 1 Highlights (i.e. I achingly wish CPG would release these)

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Elyx Protector (by attheedge)

• This card is so excellently balanced between a strong Windstopper-esque ability and it’s cost/statline. I could easily see this played in a multitude of decks (Lyonar especially). I also really appreciate your use of the Nearby modifier, which overall encourages more engaging positioning for the player and more interactivity for the opponent (with cards like Daemonic Lure and Repulsor Hound). Again, fantastic design.

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Mindspike Mantle (by Phayze)

• Viable Starhorn support packaged as an interactive, non-Attack based artifact that still supports Starhorn’s faster playstyle (but can still support control). Name, cost, and ability are all brilliant. I love this card. Also, I appreciate your decision on 2 damage, as 1 would be weak and 3+ would be perhaps too much. Very balanced, very playable.
• Nitpick: I would adjust the wording to: Whenever your opponent draws a card, deal 2 damage to the enemy General.

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Sarcophagus (by Phayze)

• It’s a simple design, but there’s an almost paradoxical complexity in simple designs. I love the decision to push the stats in favor of mobility. While this minion clearly exerts board control, it only does so in a localized manner (due to the mobility). I’d be thrilled to see this minion as an early board-controller for Structure Vet or Sajj.
• (Radical) Suggestion: Given cards like Chaos Elemental, Snow Rippler, and Silverguard Knight; I think it may be reasonable to push this minion’s stats even further to (4/5) or (3/6). While it’s difficult for me to fully gauge the impact of reduced movement, I instinctively think that that’s enough of a drawback to warrant said push.

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Infested Pike (by Phayze)

• This is a wonderful synergy artifact for Cassyva that excellent design symmetry with Spectral Blade. In fact, I think I’d bump the attack to +2 to emphasize that symmetry. Additionally, I think +2 Attack would be fine given the fact that the ability can sometimes be redundant with Cassyva’s BBS.
• Nitpick: Super subjective, but the name seems somewhat clunky; maybe something like Contagion / Abyssal Blade.

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Snowbank Hunter (by thefirstgokun)

• Another simple, yet exquisite design. I love your intention here, as I really do think this would heighten the inherent tension in Vanar’s Infiltrate mechanic (i.e. do I stay on my side and get Snowchaser’d ad infinitum, or do I flee to their side and get Avalanched / Snowbank Hunter’d). Fantastic playability throughout, and very well balanced.

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Jormungandr (by thefirstgokun and/or Zoochz?)

• Fantastic design that fully embodies the power level I’d expect from an 8-mana minion (perhaps this is even too good). This kind of design would genuinely make me dread Vanar’s turn 8, or just late-game in general (as this could allow for vast tempo swings). Also, I love that the ability builds off of Hailstone Prison (in-faction resonance is always nice). Lastly, the artwork (and for that matter, all of your artwork) is simply phenomenal. It truly appears to be an actual card, which makes me want it all the more haha.

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[thefirstgokun]

@vim has presented his ideas, so I thought I’d do my review of his cards as well Let’s begin!

Iyah’s Compulsion is golden. I would never change a single thing about it. This card gives Sajj such a huge boost I might even call it busted at 1 Mana. A rundown of just a few effects that can be abused by this: Aurora Tears, Falcius, Sajj’s BBS, GOD DAMN NIMBUS Fantastic work on this one.

Iyah’s Replication and Translation are both excellent cards as well. The first pushes Obelysks to the maximum while allowing the opponent a turn of counterplay (sort of the Vetruvian equivalent of Chrysalis Burst). The latter pushes Dying Wish synergy in a way that Corpse Combustion probably never will.

Both are situational but well designed cards. The only criticism I have: change the wording on Replication to “Minions with Summon Dervish summon this minion with Rush instead” just to clarify dispelled Obelysks cannot function.

The Songhai cards are slightly less amazing, but still pretty good. Evening Lotus is a good blend of Structures and the inherent mechanics of the faction into a niche value card. Twilight Lily also ties into the faction themes of positional shenanigans. I will have to point out that minions cannot attack if they have 0 Attack, so Moonlit Blossom is entirely useless unless it has at least 1 Attack. This one seems a little overloaded as a dual buff/removal minion, but I suppose it’s decently balanced.

Midnight Chorus is the one flop in this group. It does nothing the turn you play it: essentially a 6 Mana 5/5 vanilla body. The next turn, if you backstab with it, it ALSO does nothing: it sacrifices its Attack in order to summon two more 5/5s that in turn ALSO do nothing. That’s a whole turn wasted on a card that is objectively worse than every other card, and a second turn partially wasted maneuvering that card to Backstab something. In a SongHai deck, at the 6 Mana mark, that’s just too many resources for 3 5/5 bodies. You’re better off playing anything else in this scenario, unless your opponent is REALLY bad and somehow can’t create a stupid strong board state over those multiple turns of lenience you gave him. Overall, cool concept, but it just doesn’t work.

But still, you had some awesome ideas! Great work and welcome to the Fan Card Design Hub!

[vim]

Thank you for both the thorough critique and the welcome!

I definitely agree with your points on the Songhai cards; I really wanted to mess around with more than plain integers in between those Backstab parentheses, and I might’ve forgot that the rest of the card exists

I love, love the idea of a minion doing 0 backstab damage for a huge payout in other forms and there must be a Songhai-friendly way that’s basically Backstab->Death’s Door. Also, all the minions weren’t meant to be structures, just more like utility Entanglers++.

Thanks again!

[eudaimonia]

To start, while I am thrilled to see the Monthly Contest taking off (already 60+ submissions!), I’ve noticed more than half of the submissions have glaring balance issues, grammatical errors, and/or overly-complex designs. As such, while the jury decides on how best to address this issue, I’d like for this Discussion Hub to double as a space to discuss contest submissions. My hope is that those with concerns about the power-level/wording/etc. can come and get feedback here before disqualifying or compromising their contest submission.

Now, here’s my Week 2 round-up of favorite designs from the Submission Hub:

Week 2 Highlights

Lok (by @thefirstgokun)

• This is the battlepet CPG should have designed for Vanar. It provides ample support for Wall Vanar, creates design symmetry with Pax, and is very well-balanced. Excellent design!

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Seersword (by @thefirstgokun)

• Honestly, this card is pushed, but I love it (name, effect, everything)! If any General is going to get some love, it should be Starhorn. My only concern is that, if we’re being diligent designers, then we have to consider the fact that Vaath would have access to this as well. From a balance standpoint, that strikes me as pretty not okay, haha. So, onto my suggestion…
• (Radical) Suggestion: Bump the mana cost up to 6-mana (I know, I know, hear me out) and include this modifier: Costs 0 if your opponent has drawn a card this turn. That way, we effectively bar Vaath from using this outside of comboing with Blazehound at 9 mana (or, now that I think of it, as an uber-punish for Sojourner), and we give Starhorn a fantastic support artifact to boost his BBS.

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Sunhawk (by @thefirstgokun)

• You essentially said it yourself, but it bears repeating: simple designs are simply refreshing. This design really exemplifies the Zeal mechanic and gives a new twist. Well-balanced!
• Suggestion: I might encourage a more enticing statline, say (3/1) so as to more greatly reward Lyonar in the event that the opponent does not have one of many answers (e.g. Bloodtear, Skorn, Bone Swarm, etc.).

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Survivor’s Guilt (by @oranos)

• Holy flavor jack-pot, Batman! This design is phenomenal. It’s such an interesting take on Deathwatch, and acts as perfectly reasonable removal support for Lilithe. I might even suggest dropping the cost to 2-mana, given the conditionality of a board presence capable of sufficient triggering.

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Primal Instinct (by @oranos)

• Again with the flavor! Simple yet effective ability. It’s difficult for me to assess the value of this card, as 1-mana territory is always tricky to navigate. With Taygette, this card could result in some fairly devastating board interactions. Overall, excellent design.

[oranos]

contest discussion
the ones that caught my attention

Heart of the Saberspine

i know saberspines are technically in songhai territory, but with all the kineticats running around + the whole vanar transform aspects heart of saberspine should totally be a vanar card.

Shatter

love the idea, but i think it would be better if it was “destroy a stunned minion” and drop the cost to 2 or 3 mana. its already hard to get more than 1 minion stunned and it could damage your own minions or general if you are hit by your own avalanche. plus vanar already has the 3 damage AOE frostburn, it doesnt really need another.

soul warden

awesome card for when you are vomitting your hand after several lurking fears. could be worded better like this “Opening Gambit: give every friendly minion with dying wish replicate”. snowchaser terminology FTW.

darkspine spitter

i considered making a card like this in the fan card design submissions thread, but then realized that if the enemy has a bloodmoon preistess it could turn into an infinite loop. i think it would be more interesting if it had 0 attack and spawned shadow creep under the enemies it attacks.( 0 attack minions CAN in fact attack). it could make cass creep decks run shadow reflection.

Genocide

Seems like an abyssian card with super synergy with soul grimwar rather than a lyonar card

Mindspike Mantle

make starhorn great aga- for once

Aspect of the ice

love the idea, but when compared to grandmaster Z’ir (5/12) it seems a bit strong(17 stats vs 19-23). while z’ir has the strength/vulnerability of also being a seperate minion. comparing the difference of 3 health and a potential -1/+3 attack. and when compared to bounded lifeforce which makes your general have 20 stats, compared to 19/23 stats. it seems like it either needs to be bumped up to 8 mana or remove the infiltrate keyword

[bolthero]

How balanced is Sunforge Duelyst

[minerium]

It may be a bit too weak. What happens when the target is killed ? Your minion can’t attack anymore ?

[attheedge]

The contest started three days ago, so here are my personal top 3 at the moment:

Mindspike Mantle

This artifact is so simple but so effective, and it seems really balanced to me.

Inspiring Matriarch

This minion has an interesting effect and the edited version seems to be really balanced as well.

Bloodfly

I really like the idea behind this minion, although it is slightly overpowered in my opinion.

But there is a bunch of other cards that I love too…

[bolthero]

It’ll be able to attack any minion. It just has to kill the minion its challenged

[phayze]

Yeaahhhh! I have a chance!

[thefirstgokun]

Regarding your suggestions for Starhorn, allow me to try and out-radical your idea:

Seersword, 2 Mana Artifact, When you equip this artifact gain +3 Attack for each card your opponent has drawn this turn.

Has the same effect of being inconsistent in a non-Starhorn deck while giving Starhorn some nice damage on the field. Or, another idea in the same vein:

Seersword, 5 Mana Artifact, Your General gains +4 Attack. Costs 3 less for each card your opponent has drawn this turn.

More consistent in regular decks, objectively better in Starhorn. Alright, these aren’t very balanced numbers, but I’m just throwing the ideas out there

One more idea that just came to me:

Burning Rancore, Magmar Minion, 5 Mana (8/8), At the start of your turn your opponent draws two cards.

Maybe it isn’t enough of a drawback to warrant the 8/8 body (I want the design synergy with Second Sun and Hamon ).

[eudaimonia]

Haha, I just realized that my initial suggestion was completely off. Vaath could combo it at just 3-mana with that design (I have no idea why I thought it’d require 9). In my defense, that post was pre-caffeine…

So, the problem persists. While I like both of your obscenely-radical suggestions, they still fall prey to Blazehound (and I really prefer the original effect). Given the current cardpool, I can’t come-up with anything beyond tying it directly to casting Starhorn’s BBS (e.g. Costs 0 if you’ve cast Seeking Eye this turn.). Quite the tricky dilemma, but I simply love your design.

In regards to Burning Rancore, I think it’s fantastic (love the symmetry with Hamon and Second Sun). It’s another angle for Starhorn-support that I hadn’t considered until I saw @buyingcoats submission in the Monthly Contest thread. I think there’s a lot of untapped potential in those types of designs. I’m actually tinkering with some Hailstone Prison effects for Starhorn, as I think that type of card would fit beautifully with that playstyle.

[thefirstgokun]

Oh, if we’re reviewing some the contest cards then I want to showcase my favorites too

Illuminator

Illuminator by @buyingcoats
Magmar, Minion
1 Mana (2/3)
Opening Gambit: Your OPPONENT draws 2 cards.

I love this card too much. This is the support Starhorn and Vindicator need, nay, what they DESERVE! Seems overstatted for the cost, but imo it balances out with the double card draw while leaving room for burning cards.

Ancestral Sage

Ancestral Sage by @archer4
Songhai Minion (Arcanyst)
3 Mana (3/3)
Your minion summonings count as spell casts.

A really cool concept for Arcanyst decks. Like all good synergy cards, this is a half decent body on its own and a powerful tool with any Arcanyst. I’m so amused by all the decks that come to mind with this.

Suntide Angel

Suntide Angel by @rubsmon
Lyonar, Minion
4 mana/ 3/5
Flying
At the end of each turn restore 1 health to nearby friendly minions and generals

An easy card to pass by because of the admittedly lacking name (sounds WAY too much like Suntide Maiden) but this concept is an awesome tool for Healyonar (basically a viable Lux Ignis). Also, angels with Flying

Solidify

Solidify by @seththeseal
Vetruvian, Spell
2 mana
Transform a friendly Dervish into a Windstorm Obelysk. Draw a card.

A really simple but interesting concept. With Zirix BBS it’s basically a Windstorm that doesn’t cost a card. With a Wind Dervish or Dunecaster it’s slightly better, but I just like the idea of it.

Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon by @karsticles Songhai Spell
8 Mana
Summon three 3/3 Dragon Spirits anywhere on the board.

Dragon Spirit
Songhai Structure
3 Mana 3/3
Ranged. May not move. When an enemy moves, this minion attacks.

Yet another card that shows how awesome an 8 Mana spell SHOULD be (looks pointedly at Flaming Stampede). The more I think about this, the more sense it makes (ranged synergy + Reva Eventide representing the Zodiac dragon, movement triggered effects). MAKE THIS REAL!

Shadow Lion

Shadow Lion by @noelkit
Abyss Battle Pet
4 mana (2/2)
Frenzy
Opening Gambit : Gain +1/+1 For each of your shadow creep , Can place this minon on Shadowcreep without nearly General

I love the concept so much, but it’s a bit overloaded. However, the Frenzy and Shadow Creep Airdrop effect are 10/10 excellente. I’d love it to have better base stats at the expense of the Abyssal Juggernaut effect, mostly because I want to see this in the game THAT MUCH

Communal Lifeforce

Communal Lifeforce by @agentcamp
Magmar, Artifact
2 Mana
Friendly minions grow whenever your general takes damage.

What a cool idea Honestly, this could make Grow minions somewhat viable or at least more interactive, Kolossus and Grimrock especially.

And of course my design, but whatever

[codevermillion]

Favorite card by far so far is argblaze’s Architect’s Whim:

Architect’s Whim
Vetruvian Spell
0 Mana
Return a friendly obelisk to your action bar. Draw a card.

I’d probably give it a 1 or 2 mana cost since you are getting a draw, and the fact that as it’s written you don’t HAVE to have an Obelysk, same as WoS.
It’s more or less the same idea, giving utility to a used/despelled Obelysk, potentially more powerful, since it can completely revive an Obleysk if you cast it again but definitely slower.
Also note, while not really cost effective always, it can be used to pseudo heal an Obelysk, or put a Soulburn Obelysk in hand.
If we ever saw a new Obelysk that was worth using I could see this card easily seeing play.
Yes, it’ll be clunky to get its full effect if you’re opponent isn’t managing to deal with your Obelysks, but at the point you’ve probably got a solid enough board state to replace this.

All in all, given my love for Vetruvian I’d certainly love to try this card and felt like ranting about it xD