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Hobgoblin Highlights the Best and Worst of Hearthstone Card Design

by - 9 years ago

hobgoblin

In a nutshell, Hobgoblin shows how in a single stroke of genius Blizzard can give renewed value to a wide array of underused cards. Admittedly terrible cards like Mogu’shan Warden actually become a possibility, what about Imp Master, Goldshire Footman, Stoneskin Gargoyle, Neru’bar Weblord, or even Dalaran Mage?

IMPmasternerubarwarlordstoneskingargoyle1Goldshire Footman

But there lays problem, what if you don’t draw your Hobgoblin? Or what if its quickly removed? You are stuck with a bunch of horrible cards that aren’t likely to win you many games.

If Hobgoblin is going to make it into a decent deck it will be because the deck already ran 1-Attack minions that were worth it on their own, maybe Echoing Oozes, Haunted Creepers, Void Walkers, Mistress of Pain, Northshire Clerics, Armorsmith, or any of the 1-Attack minions that actually see play. But is there a deck that both has enough of these minions and also has room to throw Hobgoblin in?

So we are left with an Epic Card that looks incredibly promising, and opens up a completely new deck archetype. But in the end, it isn’t good enough to actually make such a deck viable. And it isn’t likely to fit well in one of the existing successful decks. Sure, a Hobgoblin based deck could end up having moderate success if built-well but it will be helped a lot by the surprise factor.

The Hobgoblin proves once again that Blizzard has no shortage of creative guys with great ideas that promote interesting gameplay, but at the same time reminds us that they tend to forget a very basic truth.

“Winning feels better than losing”

Hobgoblin can be one of the most fun cards in the expansion, but if its not going to win me matches consistently, I don’t think I’ll be using it much.

So how can we fix it?

Well, I don’t think Hobgoblin itself is the problem. Instead, the problem is the lack of supporting cards that would make a 1-attack Minion Deck viable.

But what if you create cards that are strong enough on their own and also happen to synergize well with 1-Attack minions? What about 1-Attack Minion’s that could actually see play in other decks?


 

Hulking Labgoblin, Common Minion.

6 Mana cost – 5/7

Whenever you play a 1-Attack minion, it (Hulking Labgoblin) gains +1/+1.


 

Undermine Guard, Rare Minion.

4 Mana Cost –  4/4

Battlecry:  Give a friendly minion Taunt, if it is a 1-Attack minion, also give him +2 attack.


Kezan Slaver, Rare Minion.

3 Mana Cost – 1/4

Whenever this minion attacks, it gains +4 Attack this turn.


Heavy Mook, Epic Minion.

4 Mana Cost 1/6

Taunt, during your opponent’s turn, this minion has +3 attack.


 

 

But that’s not all, Inner Fire appears to be a good match for a 1-Attack minion deck, why not have a Priest Minion that has the inner fire effect as a battlecry? What about a paladin spell that gives a minion Divine shield and switches his attack and health until the end of the turn?

I really commend Blizzard’s dedication to making fun mechanics that change the way we look at cards, but I’d really love if they were also viable.

 

 

 

 

 

 


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JR Cook

JR has been writing for fan sites since 2000 and has been involved with Blizzard Exclusive fansites since 2003. JR was also a co-host for 6 years on the Hearthstone podcast Well Met! He helped co-found BlizzPro in 2013.


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