Custom Cards
Prepared Explorer
One of the more unexplored mechanics in Paladin is the idea of healing based on the mana value of a card. Similar to Ivory Knight and Snack Run, Prepared Explorer produces value for the player by both drawing a card and restoring health. Prepared Explorer provides the Paladin class with some card draw and healing, the former being something that Paladin needs at the moment. The choice to have the card only draw a spell also provides some interesting deckbuilding decisions, giving the player the option to squeak out extra healing at the cost of some early game tempo spells. By adding this card to the Paladin arsenal, Paladins will stand a better chance against aggressive decks while also being able to draw more effectively in a midrange or control matchup, at the cost of some board tempo.
Art Credit: Tyson Murphy
Duels Hero Power Change: Arcane Studies
The current iteration of this Hero Power, Secret Studies, is powerful, but will only ever be chosen if the player wants to build a Secret Mage list, which has no associated signature treasure for the class. On top of that, limiting one of the three main class Hero Powers to one specific deck archetype narrows the focus of what players can do when building a deck without offering a strong deviation from traditional gameplay. Replacing Secret Studies with a more general draw tool that still supports secrets would help make it a more appealing choice and give players more options when picking a Hero Power at the start of a run.
Lingering Dragonfire
For Lingering Dragonfire, I wanted to lean into the power and devastation that dragon fire causes. Unlike other AOE cards in the game, this one sacrifices immediate impact for a permanent bonus. Cards that are scorched from the blaze will continue to take damage until they eventually succumb to their burns. While this card may not fit into any Mage archetype right now, thematically and flavor wise I feel like this card does an excellent job of showing the damage and long term impact that dragon fire can have, while fitting into the Mage identity nicely.
Art Credit: Andrew Hou
Duels Treasure Change: Amalgamate
Even at 0 mana, the current iteration of this treasure struggles to feel like it’s something that I actively want in my deck due to the lack of immediate impact/upside. In theory, this card would be a great fit in a Deathrattle deck, where a whole board of Deathrattles can trigger while simultaneously not sacrificing board presence. In practice, this card feels like a dead draw in almost all scenarios; killing your own board in exchange for a minion that dies to single target removal with conditional upside based on your board is far too weak. Altering Amalgamate into a card that creates a new minion with the effects (Rush, Deathrattle, Divine Shield, etc…) of all the destroyed cards would make make it go from a dead draw to potential win condition, while also fulfilling player's power fantasy while playing Duels.