To add something else, my Hunter set has also been balanced with my new Neutral set in mind, which is almost done, and which contains a lot of midrange beasts / beast synergy that may not be Highmane-tier in power level but aren’t trivial. In particular, it will contain Pack Leader from battlegrounds (at 3 mana). This has implications for Hunter
The main issue with the Book of Heroes is that the story is too condensed to be intelligible by someone who desn't know Warcraft lore. You don't sum up 15 years of WoW like this.
I stand behind my nerf to Tundra Rhino and Charge cards in general. Not just because it's dangerous, but also because TR is one of those situtational cards that completely sucks most of the time, but will inevitably become part of a broken combo given time. This is the exact opposite of what the basic set should be. However, giving beasts Rush is an effect Hunter always benefits from, not as a combo effect but as a tempo one, hence the cost reduction. However it's true that it's still weak so I'll buff it again to a 2/6 in the next iteration of this set.
Savannah Highmane is definitely too powerful to be in the Classic set. Back in the day we joked that Hunter was the only class that can have 2x the same legendary in its deck because SH has legendary-tier power level. I could nerf it but I prefer Infested Wolf instead to avoid unnecessary nerfs.
Pressure Plate is also a defensive secret (and a spell counter). I disagree about Wandering Monster because it's too strong and random. Bear Trap could have been an alternative, unfortunately it's only triggered after the attack so it's not a defensive secret.
I will change the cost of Unleash the Hounds to 2 but not for this reason. Looking at french vanilla minions (= minions with only keywords in their text) you can see that Rush is actually worth MORE than Taunt in terms of Cost.
I think Terrorscale is better simply because Princess Huhuran is a legendary and her effect is too restrictive to be a Classic legendary.
It is true that I designed my core sets around expansion card but I should, because expansions give us an idea of what card/effect can become broken when the right cards are printed. I also designed this set around my (WIP) neutral core sets which contains a lot of good midrange beasts.
I did not expect to start a feud for revamping core sets, but here we go. I'm glad my commitment is inspiring to push these ideas forward. That said, time to comment on your vision.
I didn't mean it as a feud. I put my own revamp on hold for a while and seeing you posting yours incited me to finish mine. For the last ones I have left, I will do a unique thread for both of my core sets including the neutrals, instead of doing one per class. Will answer suggestions later.
After Priest and Shaman, it is Hunter's turn to have its core sets revised. I have all classes ready. However, neoguli already dealt with Warlock, Druid, Rogue, Warrior, and Paladin. For the moment, I will focus on classes that weren't modified yet.
In terms of core set quality, Hunter is above average, although its sets aren't as good as Mage's or Rogue's. The main issue with Hunter's current set is its one-dimensionality. Up to 2017, Hunter was a one-dimensional class with an extremely linear gameplay. It had only one viable archetype (at best), oscillating between face and midrange.
After 2017, internal diversity increased: Egg, Cube, No-minion, Big, etc... Deathstalker Rexxar enabled late-game-oriented Hunter archetypes. Big Beast synergies enabled non-linear playstyles. One major constraint, as Blizz themselves noticed, is Hunter's lack of card draw. Lack of card draw intrinsically limits a class' design space. However Blizz developed workarounds such as card generation (Rhok'delar)or costly but powerful tutoring ([Hearthstone Card (Scavenger Ingenuity) Not Found], Ursatron) as opposed to general card draw, or "Recruit" mechanics.
Directions
General directions I follow for the core sets
Blizzard's official post on class identity is weird. It mixes class mechanics with strengths and weaknesses so most of the stuff doesn't make sense. The way I proceeded is completely different. I started by listing what should be the primary and secondary mechanics of the class, the strengths and weaknesses of the class as well as the archetypes available to it should follow from this list.
I say "core sets" a lot, but the Basic and Classic set are NOT interchangeable in their functions.
The Basic set is the spine of the class. It ensures the class' viability and establishes its primary mechanics.
Must be simple. Most cards must have 2 lines of text or less. Only simple keywords.
Versatile to support multiple playstyles
Minimal kit of everything a class needs to be viable (card draw; removal; direct damage; good standalone minions;...) even if not part of identity
Fine if slightly more OP than what you would expect from expansions
The Classic set is the limbs of the class. It ensures the class' internal diversity and estables its secondary mechanics.
Presents the more "complex" mechanics of the game (Deathrattle, etc...)
Because Classic packs are bought, there should be a sense of progression
Unlike the Basic set, Classic cards should be slightly below average to let room for expansions
About tribal synergies, each minion type has its own identity
Beasts
All size of minions
Good standalone value
Buff each other a lot
Each type of Beast has its subtheme (Bears=Taunt; Boars=Rush; Cats=Stealth; Wolves=buff other beasts; etc...)
Most common type of minions, as such their identity is less precise
Demons (Warlock & DH)
All size of minions
Powerful but with a drawback (taking damage; discard; ...)
Dragons
Medium to big minions
"If you're holding a Dragon"
Hand synergy
Lots of legendaries
4/12 statline as a signature
Elementals
All size of minions
"If you played an Elemental last turn"
Value generation
Battlecries
Mechs
Mechs were the focus of only 2 expansions (GvG and Boomsday) but they're otherwise a rare tribe and have no central identity!
Murlocs
Small minions
Board-wide buffs for other Murlocs
Relies on early-game snowballing. If allowed to stay on the board, they become nearly unstoppable
Pirates
Small to medium minions
Weapon synergy
Lots of direct damage
Totems (Shaman)
Small minions
0 attack with some exceptions
Powerful ongoing effects (aura/end of turn/whenever)
Tribal synergies are part of a class primary identity in only 3 cases
Beasts for Hunter
Totems for Shaman
Demons for Walocks and DHs
All other class-tribe associations are mostly a matter of coincidence as these tribes happen to fit in the class identity (eg pirates for Warrior/Rogue)
About which keywords I chose to keep in the core sets
Charge vs Rush - As you know, Charge is a dangerous keyword. This is why Rush was introduced...however there are a few cards that were meant to be finishers that wouldn't make sense without Rush. I will replace Charge with Rush on all core cards with Charge (and tweak stats accordingly) EXCEPT when Charge is on a legendary minion. There are 4 legendary minions with Charge in the classic set and they will keep Charge
Discover - Disover offers a choice between cards that are in standard. Due to how easy Discover can become skewed when the right cards are printed, there will be no Discover cards in my core sets.
Poisonous - There were originally no Poisonous cards in the Basic set before the introduction of [Hearthstone Card (Master Poisoner) Not Found]. I will therefore also have poisonous cards in my basic set
Lifesteal - There are currently no Lifesteal cards in the core sets. However the keyword is simple and I will therefore introduce some.
Hunter class identity
I tried not to steer away too much from what Blizzard defined for the class, although there are definitely some directions I disagree with and went against. I will signal it when it is the case.
PRIMARY MECHANICS
BEASTS (big and small): All classes have tribal synergies, but only in Hunter is this particular tribal synergy so central.
SMORC : Face is the place.
DEATHRATTLES : Through cards that trigger them.
SECONDARY MECHANICS
SECRETS - Hunter is a class with Secrets. Unlike Mage secrets (which are defensive) and Paladin secrets (which are situational), Hunter secrets are tempo-focused in nature, and helps you keep the lead on the board.
SUMMONING SPELLS : Hunter has a lot of them. This is what allows the class to have minionless archetypes.
TUTORING - Hunter has few "undiscriminated" card draw but has a lot of cards to tutor exactly the cards they need.
HANDBUFF - Alongside other "Grimy Goon" classes, Hunter has lots of handbuff. Hunter's handbuff tends to be focused on
PARTIAL REMOVALS - Hunter AOE removals tend to be very partial and position-hased. See Powershot.
Hunter is GOOD at
Direct damage : Through spells, charge minions, weapons, and of course Steady Shot. Face is the place.
Horizontal pressure : Mostly through summoning spells.
Vertical pressure : Big Beasts and ways to cheat and buff them.
Hunter is AVERAGE at
Tempo
Single-target removals
Board clears
Hunter is BAD at
Card draw : This is what keep the class in check. However, tutor cards (as opposed to generic card draw) is common.
Multi-target removals : Hunter has a few small and situational board clears ("shots"), but no big one.
Value generation (barring the anomalous data point that is Deathstalker Rexxar).
Deadly Shot(move to Classic from Basic) - The effect feels like a basic effect. It needs to be here.
Reload(custom) - Every class needs card draw to be viable. This doesn't mesh well with the "no card draw" identity of Blizzard. However, Reload strikes a compromise between the necessity of card draw and Hunter's class identity. By limiting the number of cards in your hand, Reload is effective without allowing Hunter to hoard cards like some other classes do.
Animal Companion(artwork changed; effect made more explicit) - The card is functionnaly unchanged, it still always summon Huffer, but a basic card like this needs to give new players and idea of what a "Beast companion" is. (Same reason why I don't like Shaman's HP btw).
Kill Command(artwork changed) - Like AC, I find this artwork much better. The current one is...weird. Especially since it pictures a bird but the animation clearly shows teeth.
Multi-Shot(damage increased by 1) - This will hopefully make it more polyvalent. At 4 damage, Multishot can clear a lot more stuff than before without being OP (I think).
Tundra Rhino(cost reduced to 4; gives Rush instead of Charge) - Honestly, it's a miracle that this card has been dodging nerfs and HoFing since the inception of the game given the broken combos it allows and the design space it screws up. In line with my policy of removing Charge from non-legendary cards, Thunda Rhino now only gives your beasts Rush. I also reduced its cost to (4) because it loses combo potential
Cobra Shot(from GVG 2014; cost reduced to 4) - The original 5-mana Cobra Shot was printed at a time when HS games were very linera and Face Hunter tyrannized the meta. Devs probably thought it wasn't a good idea to give FH further face damage hence the 5-mana cost. Today, however, the game is much more "non-linear" and FH has been matched in degeneracy by another kind of Hunter (that hunts Demons). It can now cost 4 and be balanced. Also put into the basic set because it's a basic effet.
Classic
Webspinner(from NAXX OUT 2014) - I strongly hesitated to put this into the Classic set due to how obiquitous it was back in the day. I still put it back because the effect really feels very "core" and the Hunter class has more internal diversity than it had in 2014 so it might not be as ubiquitous nowadays.
Scavenging Hyena(nerfed to +1/+1) - Hyena's snowball potential is waaay too good for this effect to remain core. It has been in every aggro/midrange archetypes of Hunter since the game's inception.
Unleash the Hounds(nerfed from Charge to Rush) - Follows my policy of cutting Charge of all non-legendary core cards.
[Hearthstone Card (Venomous Trap) Not Found] (from KFT 2017) - Replaces other secrets I feel weren't basic enough or too weird.
Eaglehorn Bow(stats swapped, art changed, "after" for more clarity) - At 3 attack for 3 mana, this weapon is way too good. It's also a powercreep to Fiery War Axe. At 2/3, it is still playable and of acceptable power level. Again art changed as well.
Terrorscale Stalker(from UNG 2017) - Deathrattles, and in particular DR triggers, have been establised as a Hunter archetype. Terrorscale is less risky than either Play Dead or Feign Death because of its high mana cost.
Bursting Shot(custom) - Replaces Explosive Shot which sucks. I wanted to give Hunter some form of board control for late-game oriented decks, while keeping the flavor of Shots only touching certain minions.
Abominable Bowman(from KFT 2017) - Although the card has never seen competitive play, it is a very good building brick for cool but non-degenerate Big Beast decks
Call of the Wild(from WOTOG 2016; re-nerfed to 9 mana) - Honestly CotW is such an obvious and basic effect that it can't possibly NOT be in the core set. CotW originally costed 8. It was nerfed to 9 mana because HS games were fair back in the day. They they rebuffed it to 8 mana because powercreep. However, Classic cards needs to be fair, which is why I'm reversing the cost AGAIN.
Tracking - Waaay too complicated for a basic card. Also goes against the rule of "no Discover in the core sets" (though it's not strictly a Discover).
Starving Buzzard - Unplayable since it was nerfed, unbalanceable effect because remember: Hunter card draw bad.
Hunter's Mark - This is a Paladin effect, not a Hunter effect.
Misdirection - Too random and situtational to be core.
Freezing Trap - The effect (1) is too OP (2) is weird for a card with "freezing" in its name (3) doesn't fit hunter (4) is frustrating when it affects a 9+cost minion.
You left Tundra Rhino as it is!? It's already a miracle this guy has never been nerfed. Rhino is waaay too dangerous to be a classic card. It has never been broken because hunter used to lack combo abilites, and because I guess Blizz designed their expansions around it, but still.
As an avid HS fan card maker, this is part of the numerous concepts I thought about but discarded because it would be too OP, only to see Blizz later adding it to the game. Same thing for Frazzled Freshman.
I didn't know that Even Shaman plays Totemic Might. The deck must be crazy OP then to support a card like this. I will play a few wild games to see this with my own eyes. If Totem Even Shaman is a thing, it could provide a model for my sets. Just less OP.
As for Murmuring Elemental, it's a risk I'm willing to take. So far, it hasn't been abused, and it's a good enabler for battlecry decks so it opens more design space than it closes imo. Rumbling Elemental, even buffed, doesn't feel as special.
@Este
My goal here was to boost totems by increasing their numbers and give them more synergy because that was supposed to be part of their identity. But I admit I can't playtest it so I don't know if that's enough. Apparently Totem Even Shaman is cancer in Wild which I didn't know, so totems can be good after all.
Mana Tide was played in the past, also card draw is a shaman weakness. I think it is fine as it is. Flametongue on the other hand is harder to fix because it's OP at 2 mana but sucks at 3 mana. I went with the weakest version because it's for the core sets. I will think about it.
I tried to give shaman early-game tools that are oriented towards defense rather than offense (Hammer of Sparks for instance) to avoid another 2016 midrange shaman.
However I stick to my decision to make Totemic Vigor. It's a very basic effect shaman should have, core cards aren't meant to be viable all the time, but if a token/totem shaman ever everges again, it will be happy to have this at its disposal. Also, giving totems attack and "can't attack" would make them more complicated and run counter to totem's flavor which ultimately are just sticks of wood. Perhaps I could buff them by reducing their cost or give them more health though.
For Overload, the risk when doing low-cost Overload minions is creating a curve of OP minions. Imagine you play Totem Golem on 2. It's very good. Then you play another Totem Golem on 3, which you can because you only have 1 mana overloaded. 3/4 on turn 3 is average. So just had an OP turn 2 because of overload, and because the second overload card compensates for the overloaded crystal you lost, you didn't really lost anything. If shaman is a snowball class, then it becomes unstoppable when its snowballing can't be stopped.
Gift of the Wild - A shame this card costs so much, but yeah as it is it's useless.
Now the changes I don't agree with
BEEEES!!! - Clearly too OP for a core set. It's a Shadow Bolt powercreep for a class that isn't supposed to be good at removal. It is ubiquitous in Druid right now which is a good sign it shouldn't be evergreen.
Savagery - I don't know if you're aware of that but your version of Savagery is what the card was in the alpha version of the game before it was nerfed (https://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Savagery) and if a card is nerfed during an alpha, that means it was REALLY OP. I know the current version is useless. Personnaly I've replaced it with [Hearthstone Card (Savage Strider) Not Found].
Keeper of the Grove - Silence should stay a Priest thing. I don't agree with KotG being a core card and even less so being even better than what it was before it was nerfed.
Ancient of War/Ancient of Lore - That change is super weird. I disapprove of it, though I agree those two cards need a buff.
Tree of Life - I don't know if it's a good idea to have such a card in the classic set. I can't think of any way to abuse it right now but my instinct tells me there are many ways it can be abused.
Soul of the Forest - I'm surprised you let this card in the basic set. Doesn't feel druid-y at all.
I fear that the biggest change that will happen this rotation is that...there won't be any. YotD's power level is so high compared to YotR's and all top meta decks keep their core cards (Galakrond Rogue, Dragon Hunter, all highlander decks,...)
The only major change, outside of the introduction of DH obviously, will be for Paladin. Uther will have to pray that Librams are viable because Paladin is the only class that received complete crap throughout 2019 and its only viable deck, Mech Paladin, will rotate out...
As for DH, its base power level is way too high. It will be tier 1 but not the top class. Warlock has a lot of control tools on top of Sac Pact so it will eat DHs for breakfast. Rogue's power level is currently so high that even DH with all of its OP cards is no match for it.
Shaman is below average in terms of core set quality. It's not as bad as Paladin, but still bad enough that the class has to rely on expansion cards to ensure its viability.
Shaman has historically been a "swing class", meaning it was often either completely broken (eg 2016 Midrange Shaman or 2019 Evolve Shaman) or completely sucks (eg from the very beginning of the game up to the moment Tunnel Trogg was released). This tends to happen to classes whose identity isn't well-defined, which is clearly the case of Shaman. Blizzard's class identity post about shaman was clearly misleading (card generation a shaman weakness?! Hagatha would have a word with you) and clearly not a good starting point.
This link suggests that a weakness shaman *should* have is no standalone early game minion. "When Shaman gets good early game, bad things happen". Snowballing minions may be fine, but plain OP stuff like Trogg into Totem Golem makes Shaman broken.
But shaman needs more. It needs a consistent class identity. Shaman is a jack-of-all-trades class. That some classes are more versatile than others isn't in itself a bad thing, except when it is too extreme. What could be Shaman's strengths and weaknesses?
There's one aspect that is supposed to be core of its identity yet is underexploited: Totems. The main characteristic of Totems is to have a powerful ongoing effect. A shaman relies on keeping them on the board to snowball.
Do note that I struggled with the "weak at card draw/generation" thing. At first I was going to go completely against it and give plenty of card generation to Shaman. I think that a class needs to have at least one of those two (card draw or card generation) in order to be interesting, otherwise it's going to be a one-dimensional aggro-to-midrange class like pre-2017 Hunter...
...at the end of the day, however, I couldn't fit card draw/generation anywhere, but I thought that value generation is not just about adding new cards to your hand like Rogue and Priest do; it's also about creating new stuff directly on board or good synergies... value ≠ card generation.
Directions
General directions I follow for the core sets
Blizzard's official post on class identity is weird. It mixes class mechanics with strengths and weaknesses so most of the stuff doesn't make sense. The way I proceeded is completely different. I started by listing what should be the primary and secondary mechanics of the class, the strengths and weaknesses of the class as well as the archetypes available to it should follow from this list.
I say "core sets" a lot, but the Basic and Classic set are NOT interchangeable in their functions.
The Basic set is the spine of the class. It ensures the class' viability and establishes its primary mechanics.
Must be simple. Most cards must have 2 lines of text or less. Only simple keywords.
Versatile to support multiple playstyles
Minimal kit of everything a class needs to be viable (card draw; removal; direct damage; good standalone minions;...) even if not part of identity
Fine if slightly more OP than what you would expect from expansions
The Classic set is the limbs of the class. It ensures the class' internal diversity and estables its secondary mechanics.
Presents the more "complex" mechanics of the game (Deathrattle, etc...)
Because Classic packs are bought, there should be a sense of progression
Unlike the Basic set, Classic cards should be slightly below average to let room for expansions
About tribal synergies, each minion type has its own identity
Beasts
All size of minions
Good standalone value
Buff each other a lot
Each type of Beast has its subtheme (Bears=Taunt; Boars=Rush; Cats=Stealth; Wolves=buff other beasts; etc...)
Most common type of minions, as such their identity is less precise
Demons (Warlock & DH)
All size of minions
Powerful but with a drawback (taking damage; discard; ...)
Dragons
Medium to big minions
"If you're holding a Dragon"
Hand synergy
Lots of legendaries
4/12 statline as a signature
Elementals
All size of minions
"If you played an Elemental last turn"
Value generation
Battlecries
Mechs
Mechs were the focus of only 2 expansions (GvG and Boomsday) but they're otherwise a rare tribe and have no central identity!
Murlocs
Small minions
Board-wide buffs for other Murlocs
Relies on early-game snowballing. If allowed to stay on the board, they become nearly unstoppable
Pirates
Small to medium minions
Weapon synergy
Lots of direct damage
Totems (Shaman)
Small minions
0 attack with some exceptions
Powerful ongoing effects (aura/end of turn/whenever)
Tribal synergies are part of a class primary identity in only 3 cases
Beasts for Hunter
Totems for Shaman
Demons for Walocks and DHs
All other class-tribe associations are mostly a matter of coincidence as these tribes happen to fit in the class identity (eg pirates for Warrior/Rogue)
About which keywords I chose to keep in the core sets
Charge vs Rush - As you know, Charge is a dangerous keyword. This is why Rush was introduced...however there are a few cards that were meant to be finishers that wouldn't make sense without Rush. I will replace Charge with Rush on all core cards with Charge (and tweak stats accordingly) EXCEPT when Charge is on a legendary minion. There are 4 legendary minions with Charge in the classic set and they will keep Charge
Discover - Disover offers a choice between cards that are in standard. Due to how easy Discover can become skewed when the right cards are printed, there will be no Discover cards in my core sets.
Poisonous - There were originally no Poisonous cards in the Basic set before the introduction of [Hearthstone Card (Master Poisoner) Not Found]. I will therefore also have poisonous cards in my basic set
Lifesteal - There are currently no Lifesteal cards in the core sets. However the keyword is simple and I will therefore introduce some.
Shaman class identity
TL;DR Shamans wins by keeping board control. The longer it keeps the board, the more powerful it becomes. Shaman is also the best at burst damage. On the flip side they struggle to recover a lost board.
I tried not to steer away too much from what Blizzard defined for the class, although there are definitely some directions I disagree with and went against. I will signal it when it is the case.
PRIMARY MECHANICS
Totems - Totems are (generally) 0-attack minions with a powerful ongoing effect. Shaman is rewarded by keeping its Totems alive and snowball into victory.
Overload - AKA "anti-ramp". Shaman can play cards that are OP for their costs. As per the official post, "they are able to overload their Mana Crystals with lightning, allowing them to ramp up for a burst of power faster than other classes. Shamans are thus rewarded for planning a few turns ahead by tuning their mana curve."
Snowballing - A generalization of the above theme. Shaman wins by keeping board control. The longer it has board control, the more likely it is to win.
SECONDARY MECHANICS
Burst Damage - Due in part to Overload & Windfury, Shaman is king to dish out high amount of damage in one turn - either from spells, weapons, or from minions - provided your opponent didn't disrupt your game plan! This one is tricky though. Putting too much burst damage in the class will not only make the class uninteractive, but will also restruct future design space because burst damage is additive. I hope I balanced this right by giving Shaman just the right amount of burst damage in its Classic set to define the class and not break the game.
Evolving - AKA the "transform minion into one that costs more" mechanic. This mechanic was introduced in WOTOG and has since received continuous support, with most expanions having at least 1 evolving card. This fits very well into Shaman's theme of leveraging board control.
Battlecries - Shaman has a lot of good battlecries and battlecry synergy. This theme is mostly represented by Elementals which also give Shaman some value generation. Also fits well with Evolving since Battlecry minions are generally weak for their cost.
Versatility - Although Shaman has an identity, it is also more versatile compared to other classes. Aggro, Midrange, Control, Combo, Shaman has the tools to do it all. A trait it shares with Druid.
Big minions/"vertical" pressure ("Reincarnate" cards or big overload minions)
Single-target removals (Transform & direct damage)
Value generation (through battlecries)
Surviving (it has some healing a some taunt minions)
Shaman is BAD at
Card draw
Tempo (Shaman struggles to go back on board when it loses board control completely)
The new core sets
The changes are, surprisingly to me, bigger than the changes I made for Priest.
Shaman new Basic set
Shaman new Classic set
COMMONS
RARES
EPICS
LEGENDARY
Justifications
Justifications
Basic
Healing Stream(CUSTOM!) - HS replaces the almost never used Ancestral Healing. AH isn't a badly designed card per se but it has nothing to do in the core set. In WoW Classic, shamans excel at AOE healing. In Hearthstone, Healing Rain already showcased this aspect. I bring this new card to the core set to give shaman a functional AOE heal, and enable healing synergies for shaman.
Whirling Ash(CUSTOM!) - Shaman needs a simple and effective WF minion in its core sets. I didn't use Whirling Zap-o-Matic because it is potentially OP and shaman isn't really a mech class.
Mana Tide Totem - Transferred from Classic to Basic. This is because every class needs card draw in its Basic set, and this is core enough to be it.
Totemic Vigor(CUSTOM!) - Well, that one is very straigtforward. It would enshrine Token Shaman as a generic playstyle of the Shaman class. I'm surprised it's not part of the existing basic set to be honest. I don't think the combo with Windshear Stormcaller is an issue given the power level of Wild.
Thunderstorm(CUSTOM!) - Shaman is an AoE class yet it doesn't have an AOE in its Classic set. Lightning Storm is also very bad as an aoe because it's random and clunky. In my new basic set Shaman already has 2 cards in the 6 mana which is why I made this cost (5). I know this looks somewhat OP compared to Flamestrike but I believe it is balanced because at this point of the game only swarm decks will suffer against this.
Bloodlust - I didn't make any change to the card, however I strongly hesitated to. Bloodlust is an iconic card for Shaman that correlates very well with what it does in WoW. Unfortunately it can quickly become broken when Shaman has a way to make its board stick. Which means it could become a win condition of its own like the now-retired DS/IF combo in Priest, and therefore limit design space. This is NOT good for a core card. However I let it there because the deckbuilding space (≠ design space) it opens up is great; it's only good if you manage to keep your board alive, and is therefore interactive unlike Fireball; and it's never been broken in its 6 years of existence...I wanted to nerf this to 6 mana just to be sure but I've been convinced not to.
Classic
Fishy Witch(CUSTOM!) - Yes, this is basically Witchy Lackey as a murloc. This card serves as a presentation of "evolve" as one of shaman's secondary identities. I originally planned to make this a 2-Cost 2/2 so that it can't be easily comboed with cost-reduction cards like Mutate is. However, making it a 2-Cost minion means you can curve it on turn 2 with a 1-Cost minion, and this would run counter to my "no good early-game minions" policy and would likely make it an auto-include everywhere. As a 1-Cost minion, it can't simply be vomited on turn 1 without any reflection. Fun fact: I started my custom revamp in late 2019. I originally planned to have Evolve as the, erm, evolve card. However by sheer coincidence Evolve came back to Standard as part of an event...and it instantly became absolute cancer with Desert Hare. So, yeah, Evolve shouldn't be evergreen.
Hammer of Sparks(CUSTOM!) - A replacement for Stormforged Axe. I chose to make a completely new card rather than change Stormforged Axe because SA's art is very ugly. I am aware that this card may appear problematic and run counter to my "no good aggro cards for Shaman" policy however this card is a weapon, not a minion. It can help you keep control of the board in the early game but its aggro potential is limited.
Lightning Bolt - It seems to be a general rule of CCGs that cards that deal 3 damage for 1 mana are very good, especially when they're called Lightning Bolt. LB was on the edge of being rotated out for this reason. A card that is both a mana-effective removal and mana-effective burst damage is dangerous, but I think it is too iconic to change, which is why I reduced Shaman's burst potential elsewhere (HoF Lava Burst; etc...). Besides, one OP card per set for each class evens out I'd say!
Tuskarr Totemic - Perfect for the core sets! Not too redundant with the Totemic Vigor I just created because this is a Battlecry minion, which means Battlecry synergies of course.
Earth Elemental(Rarity changed to Common; Attack increased to 8) - Rarity changed because it doesn't feel like an epic at all!
Rockbiter(Moved to Classic as a rare card; Name changed to simply "Rockbiter"; Effect only affects minions; gives Taunt; lasts on your opponent's turn) - Rockbiter is a card I've struggled with A LOT. I made at least 5 iterations of this shit. As it is today, RB is clearly unplayable, at 1 mana however it was clearly OP when combined with Doomhammer. DH (or Chieftain's Axe as I renamed it) is clearly an essential and flavorful part of Shaman so I wanted to change RB instead. This effect is the best alternative I could find. It can no longer target face but it gives Taunt and lasts for your opponent's turn. This effect is more in line with what it does in WoW and is still good when put on a Windfury minion.
Totemic Might(Cost increased to 1; Effect changed to +1/+1; Moved to Classic as a rare card) - Totem synergy and board buff, in line with Shaman's swarm synergies. Did you remember this card even existed. Now you do. With my changes, this card has perhaps some chance to see play one day.
Murmuring Elemental - Added here for the Battlecry synergy. I know this card is somewhat design-space limiting, but I think the *deckbuilding* space it opens up is bigger than the design space it limits.
Magma Totem(CUSTOM!) - A mini-ragnaros. IMO Shaman doesn't have enough Totems in its current Classic set. This one in particular is very potent when it survives. Fun fact: The artwork is a part of the artwork for Primal Fusion. It is not the first time that a single artwork is used for several cards. Murloc Raider, the "Murloc Scout" token, and Old Murk-Eye all come from the same artwork.
Elemental Destruction(Damage buffed to 5 mana without randomness) - I strongly hesitated to put this into Shaman's Classic set given the presence of Thunderstorm in the core set. However I needed a big overload card and I didn't have any idea other than this existing one. Its effect is a bit extreme, however it didn't see any play during the TGT era
Ancestral Totem(CUSTOM!) - Replaces Ancestral spirit a bit. Made it into a Totem because there aren't enough in Shaman's core sets.
Chieftain's Axe(replaces Doomhammer) - Now why did I choose to just rename Doomhammer ? Well that's because Doomhammer is an iconic legendary weapon like Ashbringer, so I thought it deserves better than simply be an epic card. Doomhammer as a card is therefore still up for grabs.
Al'Akir the Windlord - Al'akir is one of the 4 cards that will keep the Charge keyword in my revamps. See the "general directions" section for more infos.
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
These cards have a fundamentally unbalanced and unbalanceable effect (ie it can't be made balanced just by tweaking numbers).
On the contrary, these cards are just uninteresting and often straight up bad.
These cards are too widespread and limits novelty. They aren't interesting enough to just be nerfed.
On the contrary, these cards are too specific and narrow to be core cards.
These cards could be OK in another class but don't fit Shaman class identity.
These cards are fine and could have stayed. However there were better cards to fill their spots.
Shortlisted cards
Shorlisted cards
The following cards almost made it into my core sets, but didn't because there were no room left for them.
Darkspear Totemic(CUSTOM!) - More Totem support for the Classic set. The cost may look a bit high, however it has to be high due to design space issues. If one day an OP combo Totem is released it could become broken if this card is cheaper. Ultimately scrapped because I thought Totemic Might is enough Totem synergy, and I also wanted to keep a minimal quota of Overload cards to showcase the mechanic correctly. This ended up being replaced by Elemental Destruction
Discharge(CUSTOM!) - Always thought Shaman needed a card like that in its set. The card draw is just an excuse to make it cost 2 mana since it would be OP as less. Scrapped because IMO it kinda goes against the philosophy of Overload.
Totemic Cummunion(CUSTOM!) - Again, this heavily rewards keeping your Totems alive. Although Shaman isn't good at card draw, the very conditional nature of this card makes it OK I guess. Notice that it isn't limited to *friendly* Totems meaning that it also synergizes with *enemy* Totems. Scrapped because it's too OP with Totemic Vigor and, yeah, the shaman card draw thing.
Witch's Apprentice - Spell generation. As I said, I wanted to go against Blizz decision and give Shaman some spell generation. Ultimately scrapped due to lack of room.
Big Bad Voodoo - BBV replaces Ancestral Spirit. represents further support for the "evolve" shell as well as a foundation for the "Give minion Deathrattle" micro-theme of Shaman. Replaced with Ancestral Totem because I needed totems.
Vitality Totem - Combines Totem and healing. Was scrapped because I think Shaman should have its own identity when it comes to healing: effective AOE healing like it does in WoW, rather than just healing the hero.
Stone Sentinel - Felt like Shaman needed a bit of Elem synergy. But it already has lots of elementals and this card in particular is very weak.
Crackling Doom(Arena exclusive card) - I really wanted to put this one instead of Elemental Destruction at first, but I heard the pitchforks in the distance.
My custom Power Word: Fortitude is replaced by Power Infusion
My own original version of Power Infusion (see above) is replaced by a new Mindbender which has a different effect of the old one. That new Mindbender is a common card.
To add something else, my Hunter set has also been balanced with my new Neutral set in mind, which is almost done, and which contains a lot of midrange beasts / beast synergy that may not be Highmane-tier in power level but aren’t trivial. In particular, it will contain Pack Leader from battlegrounds (at 3 mana). This has implications for Hunter
The main issue with the Book of Heroes is that the story is too condensed to be intelligible by someone who desn't know Warcraft lore. You don't sum up 15 years of WoW like this.
As promised, I'm back.
Will modify it.
Yet another nerf to Jaina's cleavage.
I didn't mean it as a feud. I put my own revamp on hold for a while and seeing you posting yours incited me to finish mine. For the last ones I have left, I will do a unique thread for both of my core sets including the neutrals, instead of doing one per class. Will answer suggestions later.
HUNTER CORE SET REVAMP
Introduction
Neoguli's post kickstarted me to finish my own
After Priest and Shaman, it is Hunter's turn to have its core sets revised. I have all classes ready. However, neoguli already dealt with Warlock, Druid, Rogue, Warrior, and Paladin. For the moment, I will focus on classes that weren't modified yet.
In terms of core set quality, Hunter is above average, although its sets aren't as good as Mage's or Rogue's. The main issue with Hunter's current set is its one-dimensionality. Up to 2017, Hunter was a one-dimensional class with an extremely linear gameplay. It had only one viable archetype (at best), oscillating between face and midrange.
After 2017, internal diversity increased: Egg, Cube, No-minion, Big, etc... Deathstalker Rexxar enabled late-game-oriented Hunter archetypes. Big Beast synergies enabled non-linear playstyles. One major constraint, as Blizz themselves noticed, is Hunter's lack of card draw. Lack of card draw intrinsically limits a class' design space. However Blizz developed workarounds such as card generation (Rhok'delar)or costly but powerful tutoring ([Hearthstone Card (Scavenger Ingenuity) Not Found], Ursatron) as opposed to general card draw, or "Recruit" mechanics.
Directions
Blizzard's official post on class identity is weird. It mixes class mechanics with strengths and weaknesses so most of the stuff doesn't make sense. The way I proceeded is completely different. I started by listing what should be the primary and secondary mechanics of the class, the strengths and weaknesses of the class as well as the archetypes available to it should follow from this list.
I say "core sets" a lot, but the Basic and Classic set are NOT interchangeable in their functions.
About tribal synergies, each minion type has its own identity
Tribal synergies are part of a class primary identity in only 3 cases
All other class-tribe associations are mostly a matter of coincidence as these tribes happen to fit in the class identity (eg pirates for Warrior/Rogue)
About which keywords I chose to keep in the core sets
I tried not to steer away too much from what Blizzard defined for the class, although there are definitely some directions I disagree with and went against. I will signal it when it is the case.
The new core sets
COMMONS
RARES
EPICS
LEGENDARY
Justifications
Basic
Classic
Hall of Fame
Shortlisted cards
The following cards almost made it into my core sets, but didn't because there were no room left for them.
I like most of the changes but..
As an avid HS fan card maker, this is part of the numerous concepts I thought about but discarded because it would be too OP, only to see Blizz later adding it to the game. Same thing for Frazzled Freshman.
NAXX OUT
Technically scorpions are arachnids, not insects.
Got all 10. Thanks to everyone who PMed me.
Any clue for non-runeterra/LoL players ?
Can you confirm no webdev skills is required to complete everything and we don't need the dev tab?
EDIT: Found #5 hoping to find #3 lol
@Neoguli
I didn't know that Even Shaman plays Totemic Might. The deck must be crazy OP then to support a card like this. I will play a few wild games to see this with my own eyes. If Totem Even Shaman is a thing, it could provide a model for my sets. Just less OP.
As for Murmuring Elemental, it's a risk I'm willing to take. So far, it hasn't been abused, and it's a good enabler for battlecry decks so it opens more design space than it closes imo. Rumbling Elemental, even buffed, doesn't feel as special.
@Este
My goal here was to boost totems by increasing their numbers and give them more synergy because that was supposed to be part of their identity. But I admit I can't playtest it so I don't know if that's enough. Apparently Totem Even Shaman is cancer in Wild which I didn't know, so totems can be good after all.
Mana Tide was played in the past, also card draw is a shaman weakness. I think it is fine as it is. Flametongue on the other hand is harder to fix because it's OP at 2 mana but sucks at 3 mana. I went with the weakest version because it's for the core sets. I will think about it.
I tried to give shaman early-game tools that are oriented towards defense rather than offense (Hammer of Sparks for instance) to avoid another 2016 midrange shaman.
However I stick to my decision to make Totemic Vigor. It's a very basic effect shaman should have, core cards aren't meant to be viable all the time, but if a token/totem shaman ever everges again, it will be happy to have this at its disposal. Also, giving totems attack and "can't attack" would make them more complicated and run counter to totem's flavor which ultimately are just sticks of wood. Perhaps I could buff them by reducing their cost or give them more health though.
For Overload, the risk when doing low-cost Overload minions is creating a curve of OP minions. Imagine you play Totem Golem on 2. It's very good. Then you play another Totem Golem on 3, which you can because you only have 1 mana overloaded. 3/4 on turn 3 is average. So just had an OP turn 2 because of overload, and because the second overload card compensates for the overloaded crystal you lost, you didn't really lost anything. If shaman is a snowball class, then it becomes unstoppable when its snowballing can't be stopped.
Oh god what have I done
Now the changes I don't agree with
I fear that the biggest change that will happen this rotation is that...there won't be any. YotD's power level is so high compared to YotR's and all top meta decks keep their core cards (Galakrond Rogue, Dragon Hunter, all highlander decks,...)
The only major change, outside of the introduction of DH obviously, will be for Paladin. Uther will have to pray that Librams are viable because Paladin is the only class that received complete crap throughout 2019 and its only viable deck, Mech Paladin, will rotate out...
As for DH, its base power level is way too high. It will be tier 1 but not the top class. Warlock has a lot of control tools on top of Sac Pact so it will eat DHs for breakfast. Rogue's power level is currently so high that even DH with all of its OP cards is no match for it.
SHAMAN CORE SET REVAMP
Introduction
Shaman is below average in terms of core set quality. It's not as bad as Paladin, but still bad enough that the class has to rely on expansion cards to ensure its viability.
Shaman has historically been a "swing class", meaning it was often either completely broken (eg 2016 Midrange Shaman or 2019 Evolve Shaman) or completely sucks (eg from the very beginning of the game up to the moment Tunnel Trogg was released). This tends to happen to classes whose identity isn't well-defined, which is clearly the case of Shaman. Blizzard's class identity post about shaman was clearly misleading (card generation a shaman weakness?! Hagatha would have a word with you) and clearly not a good starting point.
This link suggests that a weakness shaman *should* have is no standalone early game minion. "When Shaman gets good early game, bad things happen". Snowballing minions may be fine, but plain OP stuff like Trogg into Totem Golem makes Shaman broken.
But shaman needs more. It needs a consistent class identity. Shaman is a jack-of-all-trades class. That some classes are more versatile than others isn't in itself a bad thing, except when it is too extreme. What could be Shaman's strengths and weaknesses?
There's one aspect that is supposed to be core of its identity yet is underexploited: Totems. The main characteristic of Totems is to have a powerful ongoing effect. A shaman relies on keeping them on the board to snowball.
Do note that I struggled with the "weak at card draw/generation" thing. At first I was going to go completely against it and give plenty of card generation to Shaman. I think that a class needs to have at least one of those two (card draw or card generation) in order to be interesting, otherwise it's going to be a one-dimensional aggro-to-midrange class like pre-2017 Hunter...
...at the end of the day, however, I couldn't fit card draw/generation anywhere, but I thought that value generation is not just about adding new cards to your hand like Rogue and Priest do; it's also about creating new stuff directly on board or good synergies... value ≠ card generation.
Directions
Blizzard's official post on class identity is weird. It mixes class mechanics with strengths and weaknesses so most of the stuff doesn't make sense. The way I proceeded is completely different. I started by listing what should be the primary and secondary mechanics of the class, the strengths and weaknesses of the class as well as the archetypes available to it should follow from this list.
I say "core sets" a lot, but the Basic and Classic set are NOT interchangeable in their functions.
About tribal synergies, each minion type has its own identity
Tribal synergies are part of a class primary identity in only 3 cases
All other class-tribe associations are mostly a matter of coincidence as these tribes happen to fit in the class identity (eg pirates for Warrior/Rogue)
About which keywords I chose to keep in the core sets
TL;DR Shamans wins by keeping board control. The longer it keeps the board, the more powerful it becomes. Shaman is also the best at burst damage. On the flip side they struggle to recover a lost board.
I tried not to steer away too much from what Blizzard defined for the class, although there are definitely some directions I disagree with and went against. I will signal it when it is the case.
The new core sets
The changes are, surprisingly to me, bigger than the changes I made for Priest.
COMMONS
RARES
EPICS
LEGENDARY
Justifications
Basic
Classic
I originally planned to make this a 2-Cost 2/2 so that it can't be easily comboed with cost-reduction cards like Mutate is. However, making it a 2-Cost minion means you can curve it on turn 2 with a 1-Cost minion, and this would run counter to my "no good early-game minions" policy and would likely make it an auto-include everywhere. As a 1-Cost minion, it can't simply be vomited on turn 1 without any reflection.
Fun fact: I started my custom revamp in late 2019. I originally planned to have Evolve as the, erm, evolve card. However by sheer coincidence Evolve came back to Standard as part of an event...and it instantly became absolute cancer with Desert Hare. So, yeah, Evolve shouldn't be evergreen.
LB was on the edge of being rotated out for this reason. A card that is both a mana-effective removal and mana-effective burst damage is dangerous, but I think it is too iconic to change, which is why I reduced Shaman's burst potential elsewhere (HoF Lava Burst; etc...). Besides, one OP card per set for each class evens out I'd say!
Hall of Fame
These cards have a fundamentally unbalanced and unbalanceable effect (ie it can't be made balanced just by tweaking numbers).
On the contrary, these cards are just uninteresting and often straight up bad.
These cards are too widespread and limits novelty. They aren't interesting enough to just be nerfed.
On the contrary, these cards are too specific and narrow to be core cards.
These cards could be OK in another class but don't fit Shaman class identity.
These cards are fine and could have stayed. However there were better cards to fill their spots.
Shortlisted cards
The following cards almost made it into my core sets, but didn't because there were no room left for them.
Update! I tried to combine Blizzard's official modifications with mine. I made the following replacements:
I disagree with Blizzard's decison to HoF Northshire Cleric so I kept my nerfed version.
Shaman revamp is coming Soon(TM)
Dammit why did I spend the night doing this instead of sleeping like normal people...
Overconfident Orc fits into the Silverback thing and its effect is arguably a reverse enrage too.
Calling it right now: this will cancerize ladder and will be nerfed in an emergency patch only a few days after release.