hearthstone New cards, game mechanics, and info about the upcoming set from the "What's Next" panel
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By Stan
Blizzard posted changes to game mechanics that will be implemented with with the Boomsday Project 12.0 patch.
Highlights
Ghostly Charger will no longer have the Beast tag. Ixlid, Fungal Lord is losing the Elemental tag. Shifter Zerus, Molten Blade, and Shifting Scroll will no longer keep any enchantments when they transform. Voodoo Doll's curse will be broken if you transform the minion that's already been cursed by Voodoo Doll. The transformed (formerly cursed) minion will not be killed when Voodoo Doll dies. Shadowboxer will be updated to deal 1 damage to a random enemy, whenever a minion is healed. Players will be able to disenchant the card for its full Arcane Dust value for two weeks after 12.0 goes live. Blizzard (Source)
Dr. Boom’s bringing more than just mayhem to the Netherstorm. The 12.0 update will also come with several rule changes to Hearthstone’s gameplay. Read on to learn about another minion Type update, the copy a card rule change and the transform rule change.
More Minion Type Changes
There was a ton of feedback following the last minion Type update we posted, and after reviewing all of it, we realized that there were a couple more minions that needed changing. Here are our decisions following the full review of your feedback.
Ghostly Charger
We made a decision that, at least by default, spectral/undead/ghost/spirit versions of animals are not considered Beasts in Hearthstone. There are quite a lot of these sort of cards, most of which are already not Beasts, and changing them would have extensive balance implications.
Ghostly Charger is one of those cards. Clearly a ghost in both its name and art, its Beast tag has also not been relevant in any significantly used interaction. As a result, we’re planning to remove the Beast tag in a future update.
In the much rarer case of spectral/undead/ghost/spirit versions of Dragons, Murlocs, Pirates, and Elementals, they will still remain their Type. There aren’t a whole lot of these cards, but there are a few, and they’re already consistently their type. Examples of these are Ghost Light Angler, Cursed Castaway, Bone Drake.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord
World of Warcraft uses a looser definition of Elemental than what we decided to standardize on for Hearthstone. In Hearthstone, an elemental is something that has been brought to life by being inhabited by an elemental spirit, but is otherwise not alive. These are easy to recognize: a Fire Elemental looks like a living creature made out of fire; A Water Elemental looks like a living creature made out of water.
One of the biggest outliers to this definition are plant creatures. There are a ton of minions in Hearthstone that are some sort of plant. We’ve decided that these do not count as Elementals in Hearthstone. Examples of these include The Voraxx, Fen Creeper, Biteweed, Vilespine Slayer, Rotten Applebaum.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord, is by this definition, a plant creature. Although we’re committed to consistency, there are also other criteria that we consider when changing card Types. One of them is how often a card’s current Type matters when it comes to interacting with other cards. Ixlid’s Elemental tag is not significantly used in current decks, so we’ve decided to remove it in a future update.
We also looked at the following minions but decided against making any changes. We’ve included our thought process as to how we came to our decisions with these cards.
Kindly Grandmother
Kindly Grandmother/Big Bad Wolf looks like a Worgen (which are not considered Beasts) but is actually some other sort of wolf-like creature that is a Beast. The Beast tag is also extremely relevant to its gameplay, and defines most of the card’s intended usage. With this in mind, we will not be changing Kindly Grandmother’s/Big Bad Wolf’s Type. In the future, we’ll be more careful to make the art clear when it comes to Worgen or similar races.
Arcane Giant & Arcane Golem
On top of Elementals and plant creatures, there’s another category of things that have been brought to life via magical animation. These are creatures like War Golem, Arcane Giant, and Avian Watcher—which are not Elementals.
Arcane Giant, Arcane Golem, and The Curator are all examples of another sort of creature collectively referred to as Arcane Golems. These mechanical constructs utilize arcane energy as a power source, with The Curator being a Mech Type as part of his character in the One Night in Karazhan Adventure. This is actually subtly different from something like War Golem, which is carved from stone and then magically animated. While the “golem” definition refers to something that has been magically animated and is therefore neither a Mech nor Elemental, both Arcane Giant and Arcane Golem’s card art don’t clearly show them to be one or the other. Since the correct type for these creatures is so unclear, we will be leaving them unchanged for now, but would love to hear what you think.
Bogshaper
Bogshaper seems to be the same type of creature as Ixlid or Fen Creeper, and that would logically lead to removal of its Elemental tag. However, as mentioned above, we look at more than just the fantasy of a card when determining if it needs a Type change. While Bogshaper’s fantasy criteria checkbox is filled, it’s currently heavily utilized in the meta, and features in many decks, including that of the 2018 Summer Champion, Bunnyhoppor.
We are holding off on changing Bogshaper's Type for now, but would love to hear what the community thinks we should do in this case. We’re also considering making this sort of change when a card rotates to Wild.
Copy A Card Rule Change
Card copies currently only retain enchantments when both the original card and its copy are in play—think Molten Reflection. In Update 12.0, this rule will be updated to match the one regarding enchantments being retained when a card transitions zones.
Zones in Hearthstone are defined as areas where cards are hosted: your deck, your hand, in play, and in the graveyard. In Hearthstone, there is a general forward-moving flow through zones. Whenever a card moves forward in that flow (Deck -> Hand, Hand -> Play, Deck -> Play), it retains enchantments. If a card moves backwards in zones (Play -> Hand, Hand -> Deck, Play -> Deck, Play/Hand/Deck -> Graveyard and Graveyard -> Play/Hand/Deck), it loses enchantments.
With this update, card copies will retain enchantments in the following scenarios.
Cards that are resurrected currently do not and will continue not to retain any enchantments, unless specifically stated otherwise. If you copy a card from a deck to a deck, the copy retains enchantments. (eg. Archbishop Benedictus) If you copy a card from a hand to a hand, the copy retains enchantments. (eg. Mind Vision) If you copy a card from play to play, the copy retains enchantments. (eg. Molten Reflection) If you copy a card from a deck to a hand, the copy retains enchantments. (eg. Thoughtsteal) If you copy a card from a deck to play, the copy retains enchantments. (eg. Mindgames) If you copy a card from hand to play, the copy retains enchantments. (eg. Kobold Illusionist) Transform Rule Change
When transformed, a Hearthstone card typically loses all of its enchantment. Most cards in game already obey this rule. However, there are four cards that we are changing to keep in line with the rule, as part of this consistency pass.
Shifter Zerus, Molten Blade, and Shifting Scroll all transform in your hand at the start of every turn. Following the 12.0 update, they will no longer keep any enchantments when they transform. This includes things like hand buffs and Emperor Thaurissan mana-cost discounts.
The impact on Voodoo Doll is a little different with the update. If you transform the minion that’s already been cursed by Voodoo Doll, the curse will be broken, and the transformed (and formerly cursed) minion will not be killed when Voodoo Doll dies. Silencing the cursed minion will also break the curse, in addition to silencing the Voodoo Doll.
Shadowboxer Update
Since the creation of the Lifesteal keyword, Shadowboxer has been a high risk card, in that it can trigger off of itself and deal up to 30 damage in one turn if you ever give it Lifesteal. Because of this, we have changed it to: Whenever a minion is healed, deal 1 damage to a random enemy.
Once Shadowboxer's card change is live with Update 12.0, players will be able to disenchant it for its full Arcane Dust value for two weeks.
These are all the changes that you’ll see come into effect with Update 12.0, in line with our commitment to consistency within the game. Let us know what you think in the comments below, or via Facebook and Twitter!
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By Aleco
Will these three new Treant cards see play in the meta? Or will they come up short like the hand-size cards from The Witchwood?
Three new Treant-themed cards were revealed today by PCGamer:
First up we have Dendrologist. The floor on this card is solid, as a 2 Mana 2/3 is passable in a pinch. The ceiling on Dendrologist is higher than you might think, as his Battlecry is quite strong. Druid might have more high-quality spells than any other class in the game (Wild Growth, Nourish, Ultimate Infestation, Branching Paths, Naturalize, and Savage Roar to name a few), which leads me to believe that Dendrologist will be a powerhouse if Druid gets sufficient Treant support in this expansion.
3 Mana for 4/4 worth of stats is already a great deal on its own, and the added Treant synergy puts this card over the top. The fact that this card creates two bodies makes it even better in aggro decks that look to go wide and finish with cards like Fungalmancer. This is a very reasonable card to curve into on turn 3, and it hints that the Treant deck will likely be quite aggressive.
Finally we get Mulchmuncher, a big fat Mech with Rush and a dangerously tempting Mana reduction effect. We know from experience with Corridor Creeper and Giant cards how strong it can be to play big Minions for low amounts of Mana, but it won't be that easy to reduce Mulchmuncher's cost. If the Mana Treants from Living Mana count as Treants for this card, then I can easily see Mulchmuncher as finisher in an aggressive Treant decks.
Will these new Treant cards turn Force of Nature and Witchwood Apple into playable cards? Or do you think the Treant cards will fall flat like the hand-size cards from The Witchwood? Let us know in the comment section, and be sure to check out our Boomsday Hub for more spoilers from the upcoming expansion.
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By Aleco
The latest Hearthside Chat with Peter Whalen revealed Supercollider, Flobbidinous Floop, and Whizbang the Wonderful from The Boomsday Project.
In the latest Hearthside Chat, Senior Game Designer Peter Whalen explained some of the themes (science) and inspirations (more science) for The Boomsday Project. In doing so, he spoiled three new incredibly exciting cards. If you're interested in watching the video (which is just 4:59 seconds long), you can do so right here:
Card Reveals
This card gets an "A" for flavor, as I don't think its possible to come up with a better design for a card called "Supercollider" in a science-themed set.
This Warrior weapon has the potential to be a 2 or 3 for 1, as it can set up trades quite easily if you attack your opponent's largest minion with it. However, attacking your opponent's largest minion means you will also be dealing plenty of face damage to yourself, making high amounts of armor gain a requirement for putting this card in your deck. For that reason, Supercollider plays excellently with Baku the Mooneater, and I expect it to see play in Odd Warrior decks.
Next up is another card with an excellent name, Flobbidinous Floop. This guy provides a Faceless Manipulator-style effect for Druid decks for just 4 Mana, which will almost certainly make him a combo piece in a variety of Druid decks. Between Innervate, Twig of the World Tree, and Biology Project, there will almost certainly a few new OTKs with Flobbidinous Floop. He can also be used in Big Druid decks one turn after playing a huge minion, such as Ysera, Hadronox, or The Lich King, to become a 3/4 copy of a card with a powerful effect. Expect to see plenty of Flobbidinious Floop in the new meta!
Next we get Whizbang the Wonderful, which is one of the most unique and exciting cards in the history of Hearthstone. What does he do? Let me show you:
Whizbang the Wonderful replaces your entire deck. He replaces your hero, and he names your new deck "Whizbang is Wonderful". When you enter a game with this deck, you will be randomly handed 1 of 18 recent deck recipes by Blizzard at the start of the game.
Will Whizbang be competitively viable? Almost certainly not, but I think that question is almost entirely missing the point. By adding Whizbang to the game, Blizzard has offered new players a way to access 18 different for just 1600 dust! Though its unlikely these 18 premade decks will be 100% meta optimal, they will almost certainly be viable enough for newer players to climb the earlier ranks while playing a wide variety of decks and learning new cards. This is the closest thing that Blizzard will probably ever do to selling pre-constructed decks (something that many other cards games do), which in my eyes is a major step forward. Will tryhards be disappointed when they open Whizbang? Probably. But not every Legendary minion needs to be a home run for the hardcore audience. Whizbang is the new player's best friend, and will surely add much more joy to the game of Hearthstone than he takes away.
What do you think about today's spoilers? Will Supercollider see play? Can you find any new OTKs with Flobbidinous Floop? And are you as excited about Whizbang the Wonderful as I am? Let us know in the comments what you think about these new cards, and be sure to check out our Boomsday Hub for more spoilers from the upcoming expansion.
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By Aleco
A callback to Annoy-o-Tron, this new Mech card could be a serious player in the meta.
Episode 2 of "Enter Boom Labs" has revealed another new Magnetic card from The Boomsday Project, called Annoy-o-Module:
A callback to Annoy-o-Tron, this guy gains Magnetic and 1/2 worth of stats for just 2 Mana! The stats and keywords this card instantly adds to another Mech seem quite strong when you compare it to Blessing of Kings, which adds 2 more Attack to a minion but does not add Divine Shield and Taunt. This card isn't awful when played on it's own, and it plays well in a deck with Corpsetaker. Annoy-o-Module checks enough for boxes for me, and I full expect it to see play in the upcoming meta.
Episode 2 of "Enter Boom Labs" is short but sweet, and you can watch the full video right here:
Do you think Annoy-o-Module impact the game as much as Annoy-o-Tron did? Let us know in the comment section, and be sure to check out our Boomsday Hub for more spoilers from the upcoming expansion.
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By Aleco
Use Mini-Rag to destroy enemy minions and level up your"Wow!" emote in this week's Tavern Brawl.
In celebration of The Midsummer Fire Festival, this week's Tavern Brawl is all about Ragnaros, Lightlord. Well, Mini-Rag to be more specific:
A 2/3 Ragnaros with Immune will start the game on one side of the board. At the end of each turn, Mini-Rag will deal 1 damage to a random target on the other side of the board for each Attack he has, then swap to the other side of the board. Each time he kills an enemy minion he will gain 1 Attack, growing in power as the game progresses.
Due to the sudden pressure that Mini-Rag applies to both players, I highly recommend playing an Aggro deck. I used Odd Rogue in my first game to take down an Odd Hunter. You could also play an anti-aggro deck to try and counter all the aggro decks running around, but be sure to play some self-healing such as Branching Paths or Healing Rain.
The Tavern Brawl will track how many minion kills that Mini-Rag racks up. After 8, 30, and 60 Minion kills, you will level up the fireworks in your "Wow!" emote. This is a returning Tavern Brawl from last year's festival, and your running total of Mini-Rag kills from last year's festival carries over to this year. Happy hunting!
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