Both the reveal season and the first weeks of the Onyxia's Lair Mini-Set have been quite turbulent: while everyone's happy that new cards got added into the game, a remarkable part of the community lamented the fact that most of the 35 new cards (which you can see here in case you missed some) seem to have a rather low power level compared to other mini-sets and, in general, to the meta they were printed in.

In fact, people have been comparing them to today's best decks and pointing out that very few of them are able to stand a chance against, let's say, The Demon Seed Handlock.

At the very end of the Onyxia's Lair reveal season, Hearthstone Game Designer Cora "Songbird" Georgiou, who worked quite a bit on this mini-set, decided to answer the community and share her thoughts on the matter. Here are a few important points:

  • Team 5 made a real effort in the last few months to reduce the power level and representation of combo/OTK in the meta.
  • With the rotation and the new cards of next year, we'll see an effort to incentivize board-based gameplay.
  • A lot of the Onyxia's Lair mini set is designed with the future in mind, and not necessarily just slotting cards into existing decks.

Read on to see everything Cora had to say. It looks like we're in for a fun new year once the rotation hits towards the end of March or early April.

Quote From Songbird

I'm seeing some comments about cards in the Onyxia's Lair mini set basically boiling down to "these cards can't compete with OTK decks," and I'd like to share my thoughts.

We've made a real effort in the last few months to reduce the power level and representation of combo/OTK in the meta. Measuring every card reveal based on whether it can compete vs. a Questlock deck is totally reasonable, but the landscape will continue to change.

With the Core set rotation and the release of the first expansion of the new year, I think you'll see an effort to incentivize board based gameplay. It's something that I've personally been keeping in mind when designing cards for this upcoming year.

Basically, we want as much variety as we can have in a standard cycle. This year combo/OTK flourished, and so we will continue to create decks and balance the meta so other strategies have a chance to flourish as well.

A lot of the Onyxia's Lair mini set is designed with the future in mind, and not necessarily just slotting cards into existing decks. Some things certainly would fit the landscape for right now, but we like to think ahead as well.

So yeah. TLDR: I'm excited for what we've cooked up for this year, and I think you will be too. Hope you're enjoying the Onyxia's Lair card reveals. :)


What are your first thoughts on the Onyxia's Lair Mini-Set? Let us know in the comments below!