It’s hard to step away from something that has been a big part of my life for the last 7 years, but resigning as a moderator has been on my mind for quite a while. It’s not an easy decision to make and it’s one that fills me with a lot of emotions, but I feel like there isn’t much more that I can offer to the community, especially in spite of issues of its growth, Blizzard, and personal responsibilities.

I am the Head Moderator of r/CustomHearthstone and I manage the subreddit, run events, and post the Top Cards of the Week. Over the years, I’ve fallen in love with Custom Hearthstone. I love how nice and fun the people are. I love how this is a place to talk about design and to share ideas. I’ve spent a lot of time resulting in hundreds of cards and lots of friends. I’ve applied to Blizzard many times and I’ve likely seen more Hearthstone cards than anyone else.

However, this journey hasn’t been a short nor easy one. I’ve finished university in this period, started a design career, and begun taking on adult responsibilities. Custom Hearthstone has been a great place for me to express my own creativity during this time, but I worry about the challenges it currently faces. Growth in the past year has been stagnating, with fewer new members and fewer posts. Perhaps it is because the community, or even Hearthstone itself, has already reached its peak. Regardless, it has become difficult for me to find the motivation to push changes for the subreddit, let alone to find the time in my increasingly busy schedule.

What makes this a bigger challenge is the lack of support and recognition that we get from Blizzard. In the beginning, Hearthstone staff would interact with the community by providing feedback for people’s designs. The Top Cards of the Week posts were regularly shared among staff. They even made posts to the subreddit asking for new hires and ideas for the game. It helped bring traffic, encouraged activity, and motivated people. I was so happy to see Ben Brode reply to my set years ago, but now, I couldn’t tell you the last time a dev made a meaningful comment on the subreddit, but it has been years.

It feels like Custom Hearthstone is constantly being overlooked and ignored, despite being one of the biggest Hearthstone communities in the world. We’ve repeatedly asked for prize support and card reveals only to be ignored. All while other communities and members get shout outs, perks, reveals, and talk directly with Blizzard. Meanwhile, I’m here using my own money and time to support the community how I can. Sometimes I wonder if this is all worth it.

Despite all this, I still love the Custom Hearthstone community and think it is filled with good people. I hope that it can thrive without me and that its creativity will continue on. I already miss so much about the community even if I’m not completely leaving it. I hope to still be a small part of the community and still be able to find time to post my own ideas. It’ll be a new chapter of my life though as I discover new responsibilities and interests, but I hope many of you find the same appreciation in design as I have.

It wouldn’t be a proper speech if I don’t thank some people. Thank you to u/Frostivus for being a big ball of ambition to talk to. Thank you to u/dnikko for running Hearthcards and making all of this so accessible. Thank you to Jeffrey Shih for making insightful videos about Custom Hearthstone. Thank you to the Custom Hearthstone Discord that have made this a wonderful experience. Maysick, Meep, Acid, DMR, Tox, Pirc, Dong, and so many Avid Designers have been incredible people with insightful perspectives. And thank you to members of Custom Hearthstone subreddit, especially u/RazorOfArtorias, u/quacak, and u/endi1122, for continuously contributing.

Good bye.