New heroes for Hearthstone - or class skins - are they worth it?

It comes down to the same thing in the end, but doesn't the first one sound way more epic?  Blizzard apparently thought so too, as I have yet to find anywhere in the Blizzard press release referring to the "fresh face" for each class as new skins.  I'm sure it didn't hurt their decision that it's far easier to pitch a 10 dollar price tag for a new hero than it is for what essentially amounts to a shiny new portrait.  So far new representatives for the Warrior (Magni Bronzebeard), Hunter (Alleria Windrunner) and Mage (Medivh) classes have been unveiled.  

One of Magni's new emotes.

I realize I may be sounding overly negative, especially considering I may very well pay the asked for price (along with many other players) once the product launches anyways, but this was my initial reaction upon reading the announcement.  Before I get into examining Blizzard's latest business model I should probably explain that yes, I have paid the relatively high prices for skins in Heroes of the Storm and probably will continue to do so (albeit on sale) and no, I don't think this is the same thing.

The same logic holds - if you like the way your character plays but not how it looks, you purchase a new appearance.  A game like Heroes allows for far greater scope to display aesthetic changes such as new animation and particle effects.  A new Hearthstone hero has fewer options in this regard - hero emotes, shiny portrait, new animations for hero powers as well as for the game's beginning/ending is about all there is.  These, in addition to a new card back, don't really add up to 10 bucks (hell, it's even a questionable value for a skin in Heroes but I'm choosing not to think about that).

Magni brings a new animation for the "Armor Up!" hero power.

On the other hand, many players, especially those coming from World of Warcraft, have never been pleased with the character chosen to represent an entire class (I'm looking at you, Garrosh).  In my case, while I don't particularly dislike Rexxar, when Alleria was revealed I found myself taking a renewed interest in setting up a Hunter deck.  

The full image for Alleria's portrait in Hearthstone.

Those of you who would prefer a darker take on the Mage class can try Medivh, a big time villain who tried to betray Azeroth to the Burning Legion (demon army of doom).  I'd also fall into this category but then if I chose to replace Rexxar I would have to spend 20 dollars for two portrait changes...  

The full image for Medivh's portrait in Hearthstone.

Most of the comments in reaction to the new heroes have been ones asking why they couldn't come with new class (and character) specific cards, or at least a new hero power.  However, with Hearthstone's competitive scene, any additions like that would play hell with game balance, not to mention become that much closer to being actually "pay to win".  Already they have come dangerously close to this with the (admittedly very fun) single player adventure expansions that you have to purchase if you want the special cards that come with them.   

Even if they didn't cost real money, if the meta shifted in favor of a specific class hero power, players would be forced to save up and spend gold to purchase said hero if they wanted to remain competitive.  This is already the case with specific cards and arcane dust, but at least that mechanic is supposed to be in lieu of trading cards (give up your extraneous cards for one you want).  Adding a similar situation with gold would be less than ideal.  

In the end, if Blizzard was going to provide the option to use new heroes without simply making them free or unlockable, this was the only way to do it.  Though if they're going to insist on this price, I can only hope a new hero skin comes with something damn impressive we don't know about yet.