Hello everybody and welcome to another Fan Community Spotlight. This week, we're looking at an expansion, only this time it's not fully custom but instead a remastering of an existing set. This is a modernized take on Rastakhan's Rumble by KingKuba.

Many Hearthstone players are aware that Rastakhan's Rumble is often considered to be one of the worst sets in the game. Even if you don't have first-hand experience with the set, you may have seen someone bring this up in passing. While the set isn't entirely without any impactful cards, the average power level of the set, low number of meta-relevant cards and overall low impact on the game for its time in Standard often marks it by the playerbase as one of, if not the absolute, weakest expansion in the entire game. Its set mechanic, Overkill, is similarly considered to be one of the least impactful and worst mechanics in the game. This unfortunately doesn't just extend to the cards, but its single-player mode, Rumble Run, is also similarly considered a low-point for its style of game mode and is generally seen as weaker than other single-player content modes from other expansions.

This reputation has however lead KingKuba to try to envision the set for modern-day Hearthstone with cards remade and rebalanced. Not only do many of the set's existing cards seen a fresh new interpretation, but there are also some new cards in there as well in the form of 10 cards for Demon Hunter which didn't exist in the game at the time of the set's original release. Demon Hunter is also added to Rumble Run with this remake.

So who's ready to RUMBLE!!! We've got KingKuba on the microphone to get us pumped up.


What inspired you to remaster this set and what did you want to do to modernize it?

KingKuba: "First off, hello readers! I encourage you to tell us what do you think about these changes in the comments below. Leave your feedback!

There are multiple things that got me into remastering Rastakhan's Rumble. One of the most underpowered expansions of all time, yet - one of my favourite sets in terms of great flavour and iconic characters. And that awesome cinematic trailer! Mechanics, too - Overkill was Honoarble Kill done wrong, Spirits were Objectives done wrong. Overall, a giant waste that deserved more justice. That's what inspired me to redo this expansion."


How do you fit Demon Hunter into a set that was made before it was introduced into the game?

KingKuba: "I must say it did fit quite well, both with set cards and Rumble Run; thematically and mechanically. I used an awesome spirit fanart by Olga Zuievych to create Spirit of the Leopard, and then made Har'koa, the Leopard - that's when Har'koa's Leopards joined the rumble. Mah'jin is another Demon Hunter Legendary in this set. He's an absolute outcast who doesn't care much about his own team, but likes to worship demons. He's an original character.

Regarding the mechanics, it was a bit challenging to do something else than what RR's Druid did, but I think I managed to do that while keeping that hero-attacking identity. Cards mostly focus on generating Attack for your hero and striking with weapons. There's also a little package for big Demon decks. Leopard Strike and Arena Invader are good examples for each of these strategies. They're both Overkill cards, by the way!

The most fun I had with adding DH to Rastakhan's Rumble was Rumble Run, where I made Demon Hunter Rikkar photoshop and all of these crazy Shrines and teammates. Seeing it just makes me want to try it out!"


What classes ended up faring the best or worst overall?

KingKuba: "Excluding Demon Hunter - Druid, Hunter and Mage feel most impactful to me. These are strong effects made even stronger, to the point they can really compete with current Hearthstone. Buffed Ironhide Direhorn with Rush and 5 Mana Jan'alai, the Dragonhawk, especially. Those are pretty scary!

Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warrior and Warlock feel like they're in the middle - playable, but nothing too exciting (Maybe except new Surrender to Madness or Void Contract be scared of those, too).

The worst class I think would be Shaman, unfortunately. Shaman's cards were all over the place this expansion and those cards are good on their own with various strong decks, yet weak when put together. Wartbringer and Rain of Toads were the only obvious changes. Now that I think about it - Krag'wa, the Frog should cost 5 Mana, lol. But even with that change, it wouldn't be too strong in a vaccum."


Are there any other cards you wish to point out for any reason?

KingKuba: "Sure! Let's show the readers some of the most interesting and crazy changes for each class!

Druid - Mark of the Loa. Went from +2/+4 or 3/2 Raptors to +3/+5 or 3/3 Raptors. Better Blessing of Kings or 4 Mana 6/6! Great Arena card, but is it good enough for the ladder?

Hunter - Revenge of the Wild. Went from 2 Mana to 1 Mana. Trade the board and get a new one! What about resummoning The Rat King? I believe this could start to see some play!

Mage - [Hearthstone Card (Jan'alai the Dragonhawk) Not Found]. Gonna bring this card here again. It's 2 mana cheaper! Hero Power Mage can get really aggresive now!

Paladin - Immortal Prelate. Going from a 1/3 to a 1/5. Not the strongest card in the world, but now at least you have better chances of buffing it. Don't let your memes be dreams!

Priest - Princess Talanji. Now summons copies of generated minions in your hand instead of summoning the cards themselves. One of my favourite changes. As simple as that, but can be an N'Zoth level threat with all the great card generation options for Priest.

Rogue - Gurubashi Hypemon. Going from a 7 Mana 5/7 to a 4 Mana 4/4 Pirate. How wasn't this minion a Pirate before? Now has some Turn 5 crazy highroll potential with that Discover option as well!

Shaman - Rain of Toads. From 6 Mana Overload (3) to 4 Mana Overload (2). I NEVER understood why they made it so expensive.

Warlock - Spirit of the Bat. Now gives all minions in hand +1/+1 instead of just one after a friendly minion dies. I'd say it's still a pretty niche choice, but could lead to overwhelming results... sometimes.

Warrior - Akali, the Rhino. From 5/5 to a 9/9! Now that's a solid 8 Mana minion!

Neutral cards got some significant buffs, too. Here I'd like to point out worst of the worst made better - Helpless Hatchling, Dozing Marksman, Ornery Tortoise, Arena Treasure Chest, Sightless Ranger, Serpent Ward, Arena Patron, Gurubashi Offering and Griftah. Gurubashi Chicken is the only one I didn't hit, it was just too good of a joke, haha."


Do you have anything behind the scenes you want to share with us? Can we possibly expect more set remasters later?

KingKuba: "I'll just say that I've made other set remasters before (Maybe we'll go through them in another interview soon?), so it's possible I'll do some more. No promises though."


Do you have anything else you want to share with us?

KingKuba: "Check out the full remaster update HERE. You can also read another interview HERE from over a year ago, where I showcased Escape from Elwynn, my custom expansion. Other than that, thank you for taking your time to read this and have a great day!"


There's the bell and that signifies that this round is over, but the action has just started. As KingKuba said, the entire remaster can be seen by clicking the link right above this one. Let us know what you think about this remaster in the comments and I'll see you all next time.

Speaking of next time, be prepared for something extremely special when that time comes. It's something you won't want to miss.