Since this gives you mage minions only, the odds of getting something good would be in your favour. That said, I don't think that it will be used in decks outside casino mage, which would be a meme, but I would love to try this out.
The only hero, that will see play in standard. Druids doesn't have to build a highlander deck, in order to benefit from Elise the Enlightened. Instead, they will run a lot of draw and cycle their cards, until there are no duplicates left. Afterwards people can pull off all sorts of combos you can think of. The only thing hindering them would be managing to survive that long.
In wild Elise might be even more popular, because druids possess good stalling tools (spellstones, Poison Seeds, Spreading Plague) and can cycle faster thanks to UI.
It reminds me of Tyrantus for being a boring legendary and just an expensive pile of stats. In some cases it's going to be better than the druid card - it can take 4 hits before it finally dies - but this doesn't make it a good card. I'm not interested in either running it in my decks, nor opening it from packs.
Sadly I doubt it will work and expect "board is full of Mogu Cultists" to translate into "control 7 Mogu Cultists" in the code. Personally I don't see the distinction between a space being occupied by a dormant minion and an active one.
Yeah, don't worry. I also expect to be disappointed when the expansion hits. I am aware, that checking whether there are 6 other cultists on the board sounds more logical and is easier to implement than what I am suggesting above. But at the same time, I think there is something true in my assumptions. Whenever I take a look at Reliquary Seeker, I always wonder why she behaves so weird. She shouldn't get buffed, when there are dormant creatures on the board, because those aren't really minions per se. Those are just some entities, which are marked as permanents. A new card-type in my eyes, which isn't a minion and it can't be removed with destruction spells (Twisting Nether), but it occupies a board slot, it removes itself from the board and it leaves a copy of the original minion behind, when you meet its requirements. And that's why I think, that Reliquary Seeker's code actually checks whether minions occupy all possible occupiable slots.
But again, I don't insist, that my speculation is true. Blizzard isn't consistent with its card decriptions and they have shown that time and time again - Ogre Brute, Mogor's Champion vs Mosh'Ogg Announcer.
Nevertheless, it is good to see someone else taking a story-driven approach to deck guides. In this case it gives you a great out if it doesn't work, where you could write the alternate ending: Malfurion 'activates' the Mogu Cultist and nothing happens....
Yeah, ty for appreciating it. I also love making such deck guides, because people can dive into a fantasy world and feel like they are experiencing the events first hand. Anywho, I know what to say, if the combo whiffs.
If they aren't aware of the combo, they will eventually notice it, once people start playing this deck. But imho if this would be the case, then there's no reason to change this interaction NOW. The current dormant creatures in the game are The Darkness, Lucentbark and Sherazin, Corpse Flower and they are either very expensive or very weak. Not to mention, the set-up, which you have to make, takes a lot of time and is easily counterable (e.g. with Plague of Murlocs, Plague of Death). I don't consider setting up a Mogu Cultist with a bunch of permanents turn to be broken, even if it's not intended, because multiplying the aforementioned legendaries isn't easier than just going for Ra himself. And in druid's case, the class can perform faster OTK strategies in wild thanks to Aviana and Kun the Forgotten King.
So yeah, I really hope the combo works as I want it to and the devs let us have fun. The last thing I want is to spread false hype.
I had a similar thought about Bazaar Burglary in Wild, but if you think about it, despite the recent support to Burglary, the setup is just as slow as that of Kingsbane, while not having the same incremental burst. And that also makes the deck worse than Odd Rogue and fending off against Aggro, as things might grow out of control before you are ready.
I still hope i drop the Quest, so i can test myself, but i don't really see it in Wild meta.
I think the following would be right - this quest alongside Worthy Expedition would either enforce current miracle jade druid (feat. Arcane Giants, Gadgetzan Auctioneer obviously) or would create a slow swarm deck, that benefits from both choose one effects occurring (Cenarius, Power of the Wild, Mark of the Loa...). I am not sure whether the latter archtype would be playable in either format (especially in wild), but it's worth testing. I thought about this being included in standard heal druid, but there aren't that many good Choose one cards to benefit from.
- Unseal the Vault. This would probably enable some mid-range decks with an OTK or a TTK set-up. I am not a combo player and I can't evaluate such cards properly, so I suspect my ratings would be far from the truth. I think that the requirement isn't easy to fulfil (unlike the other quests), but the hero power allows you to kill your opponent with Unleash the Hounds (if you have 5 or more of them) and 2x Timber Wolf/1xBlackwald Pixie/[Hearthstone Card (garisson commander) Not Found]. There could be some Tundra Rhino, Scarlet Webweaver shenanigans as well, but I can't really say how viable or consistent those would be. However I can't deny the fact, that hunter sacrifices their turn 1 for a late-game reward and the current popular decks tend to end the game fast (mech hunter). For now I'm rating this card 2.5/5 for both formats.
Raid the Sky Temple - Normally adding a spell to your hand is better than a 1-damage ping. But since the spell will be a random one and you might not always get the perfect answer, I think the card is very underwhelming. I'm rating it 2/5 in both formats (2 because casino mage will be fun to play).
Making Mummies. I rate this quest 2/5 in standard and 2.5/5 in wild (and I'm feeling somewhat generous).
Most of them are really weak and their inclusion in the quest deck doesn't seem logical, because, judging by its look, it only enables greedy mid-range or control decks. I would want to make a 2/2 copy of big deathrattles (Mechanical Whelp, Tirion Fordring) and that could be a good strategy, if it wasn't for the fact, that I have to run 5 mediocre reborn cards and hope I draw them relatively fast:
Bone Wraith and Murmy are the only good ones worth playing. The others are either very expensive (Khartut Defender, Colossus of the Moon), weak (Micro Mummy, Wasteland Assassin, Khartut Defender) or just bad (Generous Mummy, Wrapped Golem). But let's assume, that SOU gives paladin more good reborn minions to choose from. The question now becomes whether their number would be big enough, in order for us to make the deck consistent and find room for the aforementioned big deathrattles. And even if we do manage to make the decklist somewhat consistent, is the pay-off that good? In wild, paladin could build a control N'zoth quest deck, but it would be overshadowed by the odd and Anyfin archtypes and it would be extremely vulnerable to Big Priest. In standard, I believe, building the well-known handbuff magnetic deck would prove to be more beneficial.
I will end this post with a quote from linkblade91:
I'm not a fan of the Quest being locked into this particular expansion, when the others are more open-minded like the old Quests. We have no indication that Reborn will continue beyond Saviors of Uldum - it seems quite unlikely, at any rate - so Making Mummies will be forever reliant on whatever Reborn minions we acquire in the here and now.
Because let's face it. With few exceptions (Discover, Lifesteal, Rush), we don't see new keywords popping up again for a second time - Inspire, Adapt, Recruit, Echo (I want to believe, that SN1P-SN4P was an exception, because people were confused about Witch's Brew), Magnetic, Overkill, Twinspell.
Activate the Obelisk. Easy to fulfil with a good reward. The other legendary (High Priest Amet) also supports the decks, that the quest would most likely enforce - zoo priest and Inner Fire priest. I'm rating this spell 4/5 in standard. In wild though things are a bit tricky (due to the aggressive meta) and even though priest has plenty of support there, I will stick to my guns and rate it 3/5 there. Zoo priest isn't viable and I think the infamous tier 1 IF priest would prefer a faster gameplan, but I could be wrong.
Bazaar Burglary. Easy to fulfil with a good reward. It makes the current standard thief package really strong and has nice synergies with the current Hooktusk deck:
That's why I'm rating this card 4.5/5 in standard. In wild I'm not really sure. RavenSunHS convinced me, that the quest reward doesn't compete with the existing popular archtypes, so only due to the good thieving package I am going to give the quest 2/5 there.
I had a similar thought about Bazaar Burglary in Wild, but if you think about it, despite the recent support to Burglary, the setup is just as slow as that of Kingsbane, while not having the same incremental burst. And that also makes the deck worse than Odd Rogue and fending off against Aggro, as things might grow out of control before you are ready.
Corrupt the Waters - Fairly easy-to-complete requirement and a busted HP. In wild I'm looking forward to build a jade deck, I have seen others making their OTK Shudderwocks, C'Thunwocks and Yogg-meme Shudderwocks better. That's why I'm rating this card 4/5 in wild. In standard I don't know if there is enough support, but I will rate it 3/5 for now.
Supreme Archaeology. ... Right now the quest reward might not be good enough, but it's worth noting, that this opens a lot of combo possibilities. If you play Glinda Crowskin, then shuffle her with Baleful Banker, you can draw her with the HP and abuse the echo mechanic. In wild though, if you reach fatigue, you are better off pulling the good ol' Mecha'thun combo. So I'm giving this card 2/5 in standard and 1.5/5 in wild.
Hack the System. I'm optmistic about this card. I think, that in wild warriors are going to build a mid-range rush deck and it would be able to compete rather nicely. In standard I am not really sure, if this would beat control/bomb warriors and their OP mech support. I am rating this card 3.5/5 in wild and 2/5 in standard.
What happens if we use this when one deck is empty ?
I guess it steals the top card to add it to your deck if yours is empty or gives your top card to add it to your opponent's deck if your opponent's deck is empty.
I hope interaction is like this.
I am most certain, that it will work that way. King Togwaggle switches bost players' decks, even though one of them (e.g. druid) might have drawn all of their cards beforehand.
I like it. It can be fetched with Ancient Mysteries and enable some Cyclone synergies.
Since this gives you mage minions only, the odds of getting something good would be in your favour. That said, I don't think that it will be used in decks outside casino mage, which would be a meme, but I would love to try this out.
Other people: 2x Pyroblasts.
Me: B*tches, please. 2x Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron.
Nice flavour.
Very interesting design. Can't wait to include it in my Renolock, Mage, Hunter and Reno Factory Rogue.
The only hero, that will see play in standard. Druids doesn't have to build a highlander deck, in order to benefit from Elise the Enlightened. Instead, they will run a lot of draw and cycle their cards, until there are no duplicates left. Afterwards people can pull off all sorts of combos you can think of. The only thing hindering them would be managing to survive that long.
In wild Elise might be even more popular, because druids possess good stalling tools (spellstones, Poison Seeds, Spreading Plague) and can cycle faster thanks to UI.
The only neutral healing in this set. Control Warlock is going to have a rough time next expansion.
It reminds me of Tyrantus for being a boring legendary and just an expensive pile of stats. In some cases it's going to be better than the druid card - it can take 4 hits before it finally dies - but this doesn't make it a good card. I'm not interested in either running it in my decks, nor opening it from packs.
A redesign of Rumbletusk Shaker, if you think about it.
Yeah, don't worry. I also expect to be disappointed when the expansion hits. I am aware, that checking whether there are 6 other cultists on the board sounds more logical and is easier to implement than what I am suggesting above. But at the same time, I think there is something true in my assumptions. Whenever I take a look at Reliquary Seeker, I always wonder why she behaves so weird. She shouldn't get buffed, when there are dormant creatures on the board, because those aren't really minions per se. Those are just some entities, which are marked as permanents. A new card-type in my eyes, which isn't a minion and it can't be removed with destruction spells (Twisting Nether), but it occupies a board slot, it removes itself from the board and it leaves a copy of the original minion behind, when you meet its requirements. And that's why I think, that Reliquary Seeker's code actually checks whether minions occupy all possible occupiable slots.
But again, I don't insist, that my speculation is true. Blizzard isn't consistent with its card decriptions and they have shown that time and time again - Ogre Brute, Mogor's Champion vs Mosh'Ogg Announcer.
Yeah, ty for appreciating it. I also love making such deck guides, because people can dive into a fantasy world and feel like they are experiencing the events first hand. Anywho, I know what to say, if the combo whiffs.
Malfurion: Come forth, Highkeeper Ra!
*But nobody came.
Malfurion: ....
ALL ALL ALL WILL WILL WILL BURN! BURN! BURN!
Garrosh: Huh! Huh! Huh! Huh!
Great news. Gratz.
Micro Mummy ruins the value of your Kangor's Endless Army. The 1-health reborn token that is.
Nice deck and guide. GJ.
If they aren't aware of the combo, they will eventually notice it, once people start playing this deck. But imho if this would be the case, then there's no reason to change this interaction NOW. The current dormant creatures in the game are The Darkness, Lucentbark and Sherazin, Corpse Flower and they are either very expensive or very weak. Not to mention, the set-up, which you have to make, takes a lot of time and is easily counterable (e.g. with Plague of Murlocs, Plague of Death). I don't consider setting up a Mogu Cultist with a bunch of permanents turn to be broken, even if it's not intended, because multiplying the aforementioned legendaries isn't easier than just going for Ra himself. And in druid's case, the class can perform faster OTK strategies in wild thanks to Aviana and Kun the Forgotten King.
So yeah, I really hope the combo works as I want it to and the devs let us have fun. The last thing I want is to spread false hype.
Glad you liked it. :)
I must admit, that I love the creativity and the flavour in his design. I would be glad to open him from a pack.
You are right.
Since I wanted to share my thoughts on the new cards, here's what I can say:
- Untapped Potential. I rate this card 3/5 in standard and 3.5/5 in wild.
- Unseal the Vault. This would probably enable some mid-range decks with an OTK or a TTK set-up. I am not a combo player and I can't evaluate such cards properly, so I suspect my ratings would be far from the truth. I think that the requirement isn't easy to fulfil (unlike the other quests), but the hero power allows you to kill your opponent with Unleash the Hounds (if you have 5 or more of them) and 2x Timber Wolf/1xBlackwald Pixie/[Hearthstone Card (garisson commander) Not Found]. There could be some Tundra Rhino, Scarlet Webweaver shenanigans as well, but I can't really say how viable or consistent those would be. However I can't deny the fact, that hunter sacrifices their turn 1 for a late-game reward and the current popular decks tend to end the game fast (mech hunter). For now I'm rating this card 2.5/5 for both formats.
Raid the Sky Temple - Normally adding a spell to your hand is better than a 1-damage ping. But since the spell will be a random one and you might not always get the perfect answer, I think the card is very underwhelming. I'm rating it 2/5 in both formats (2 because casino mage will be fun to play).
Making Mummies. I rate this quest 2/5 in standard and 2.5/5 in wild (and I'm feeling somewhat generous).
Activate the Obelisk. Easy to fulfil with a good reward. The other legendary (High Priest Amet) also supports the decks, that the quest would most likely enforce - zoo priest and Inner Fire priest. I'm rating this spell 4/5 in standard. In wild though things are a bit tricky (due to the aggressive meta) and even though priest has plenty of support there, I will stick to my guns and rate it 3/5 there. Zoo priest isn't viable and I think the infamous tier 1 IF priest would prefer a faster gameplan, but I could be wrong.
Bazaar Burglary. Easy to fulfil with a good reward. It makes the current standard thief package really strong and has nice synergies with the current Hooktusk deck:
https://hsreplay.net/archetypes/301/hooktusk-rogue
That's why I'm rating this card 4.5/5 in standard. In wild I'm not really sure. RavenSunHS convinced me, that the quest reward doesn't compete with the existing popular archtypes, so only due to the good thieving package I am going to give the quest 2/5 there.
Corrupt the Waters - Fairly easy-to-complete requirement and a busted HP. In wild I'm looking forward to build a jade deck, I have seen others making their OTK Shudderwocks, C'Thunwocks and Yogg-meme Shudderwocks better. That's why I'm rating this card 4/5 in wild. In standard I don't know if there is enough support, but I will rate it 3/5 for now.
Supreme Archaeology. ... Right now the quest reward might not be good enough, but it's worth noting, that this opens a lot of combo possibilities. If you play Glinda Crowskin, then shuffle her with Baleful Banker, you can draw her with the HP and abuse the echo mechanic. In wild though, if you reach fatigue, you are better off pulling the good ol' Mecha'thun combo. So I'm giving this card 2/5 in standard and 1.5/5 in wild.
Hack the System. I'm optmistic about this card. I think, that in wild warriors are going to build a mid-range rush deck and it would be able to compete rather nicely. In standard I am not really sure, if this would beat control/bomb warriors and their OP mech support. I am rating this card 3.5/5 in wild and 2/5 in standard.
I am most certain, that it will work that way. King Togwaggle switches bost players' decks, even though one of them (e.g. druid) might have drawn all of their cards beforehand.