Hearthstone is getting a fresh set of balance changes next week which targets 10 different cards, 8 of which are collectible.
The patch focuses on increasing the costs of some cards and for the most part, making it so cards that would reduce the cost of drawn or created cards to 0 to now only decrease to 1, lowering the power level of many popular decks quite a bit. Demon Hunters are getting hit again with the nerf stick for the fifth patch in a row.
Quote From Blizzard On July 14, we’ll be releasing a patch that includes balance updates for several cards in Standard. Craftable cards listed below will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks after the 17.6 patch goes live.
- Old: Battlecry: If your deck has no duplicates, add 2 other random Dragons to your hand. They cost (0). → New: Battlecry: If your deck has no duplicates, add 2 other random Dragons to your hand. They cost (1).
- Old: Draw a weapon. Give it +1/+1. → New: Draw a weapon. Give it +1 Durability.
- Old: Swap your Hero Power to “Deal 5 damage.” After 2 uses, swap it back. → New: Swap your Hero Power to “Deal 4 damage.” After 2 uses, swap it back.
- Old: 3 Attack, 5 Health → New: 3 Attack, 4 Health.
- Old: [Cost 5] → New: [Cost 6].
- Old: [Cost 6] → New: [Cost 7].
- Old: [Cost 2] → New: [Cost 3].
- Old: Battlecry: Draw 1 card. It costs (0). → New: Battlecry: Draw 1 card. It costs (1).
Galakrond, the Apocalypse (Rogue)
- Old: Battlecry: Draw 2 cards. It costs (0). → New: Battlecry: Draw 2 cards. They cost (1).
Galakrond, Azeroth's End (Rogue)
- Old: Battlecry: Draw 4 cards. It costs (0). → New: Battlecry: Draw 4 cards. They cost (1).
We have some Battlegrounds updates planned for the near future as well. Stay tuned!
Comments
I agree, but they'll just dump Baku and go for a more standard build.
The title is wrong. 8 cards will be nerfed not 10. And For 7 of them (except Galakrond) we will be getting dust refund.
I'm exited for my incoming 10700 dust :) I like these nerfs a lot. Having a dynamic meta, experimenting with different decks is very good for the health of the game. I hope to see them in the next expansion too :)
these are some brutal changes. Im excted to see the effects
Corsair Cache : draw Ancharrr, unnerf it.
Well done, you beat me to this punch line :D
Let's enjoy Odd DH while it lasts!
Laughs in hunter
This has to be the nail in the coffin for demon hunter, right? Surely it won't survive another wave of nerfs, right??
Most of these make sense to me. Slight nerf to druid and warrior to keep them in check and fixing the excessive 0 mana creep cards. Although I do wonder why they didn't just change Dragoncaster to "The next spell you cast costs 1 mana" instead of nerfing the card's mana cost. Doesn't seem very consistent with their other nerfs...
But highlander hunter is nerfed...
Hunter doesn't rely on Dragonqueen Alexstrasza much, especially when compared to the other decks that saw their relevant cards get nerfed.
Besides, hunter has more than one viable archetype.
Never said that there are no other archetypes... face hunter and Dragon hunter probably will be farming some people at least in the early meta after nerfs...
You're the one who insinuated that highlander hunter is the only viable hunter deck since that's the only one you mentioned in response to my post, but whatever.
Well I suppose I phrased it badly... I meant to say that at least one archetype of hunter is affected...
I agree with most of these nerfs.
Reducing the cost of cards to 0 is, as many people have pointed out for a long time, pretty dangerous. Though I do think that it would be nice if they reduced Dragonqueen Alexstrasza's mana cost to 8. That way you can still play both dragons on the same turn, but it has to happen one turn later. Alternatively they could have upped her to 10 mana and kept her ability as it is, but I don't think either of those things would solve the problem. She is just too powerful as a neutral highlander card. Though I am not sure if she is even worth playing now since you will only be able to play a single dragon on the same turn as her, and it will have to happen one turn later.
I am very happy about the Warglaives nerf. Both because I the card is very frustrating to play against, but also because now I can disenchant it and get some dust :).
I don't feel too strongly about any of the other nerfs since I don't play too much with or against those cards, but they all look pretty good.
Dragonqueen Alexstrasza - Basically dragonqueen on 9 is nonexistent anymore except the greediest of decks. Its still very powerful but it will change very little to those playing dragonqueen regularly. It doesn't change dragonqueen on 10 plays for example. What it does exactly is to nerf combo decks aiming at getting value from dragonqueen, which means that meme quest shaman deck (which isn't very good by the way) just lost its win condition. Quite a shame indeed.
Corsair Cache - The real reason to play this was always because it tutors weapons and for its durability buff. But it does have some implications. Since it effectively means that Ancharrr no longer hits for 3, its easier to set it so it doesn't just eat a 3 drop when its played on 3.
Metamorphosis - Still good, and the only true change here is its almost going to universally hit face and nothing else now. 4 damage barely kills anything in the 5 mana range.
Kayn Sunfury - Was good as a 3/5, will still be good as a 3/4. Cant say from my own experience what this change will end up doing.
Warglaives of Azzinoth - This one's the real bank buster. Changes to mana means its no longer in odd dhunter (a massive thing), and also means its useless as a clear tool now since its just one mana away from the better Flamereaper. Opens up a ton of space in the metagame where this on 5 basically ends swarm decks.
Dragoncaster - So that highroll big spell mage is dead. Highlander mage has more than enough space for a 7 mana dragoncaster, and I don't think they will stop using it because this got nerfed one mana away. What this means its no longer possible to curve manasaber into dragoncaster on 5.
Fungal Fortunes - I honestly think this card is no longer usable. Its too slow, and it also means you have to skip 2 turns to curve into Overgrowth (this on turn 3, and later overgrowth on 4, you're not doing anything else without an Innervate). This might be the biggest nerf on the list, just right below or on par with warglaives, and quite timely too. Spell/dragon druid has been quite cancerous for some time, and needs a knock down a peg or two.
Galakrond, the Nightmare - This is not the end. One costed cards are still busted, and rogues will still be drawing cards, which is the real reason for playing a fully invoked galakrond in the first place. Heistbaron Togwaggle untouched means the gameplan hasn't really change except you can almost never play galakrond on 7 ever again, which in reality, isn't really common anyway. It has that small effect that malygos galakrond rogue is now infinitely worst (but still not unplayable) so there's that.
Beneficiaries to this change? Priest is untouched, but that nerf to druid and dhunter might bring back hunter into the top. Swarm decks like murloc paladin might just be unchallenged now, and [Hearthstone Card (frozen shadowweaver) Not Found] may just be dropped as a mandatory inclusion. Will libram pally make a rise? No. Priest just saw 2 of its predators nerfed, and it eats paladins for breakfast. Control dhunter barely saw the light of day and might just be gone to oblivion before it even learns to walk. My prediction is dragon and highlander hunter on the top, followed by warrior. Priest continues to be annoying, murloc pally and totem shaman goes up, and dhunters to finally take stage as no.2 on the tier list until the next expansion.
Not a fan of the nerfs, except that change to Warglaives of Azzinoth. Fingers crossed we dont see more priests because of it.
Better (very) late than never
Dairyqueen alex was in every deck in the meta right now, so it's so surprise they nerfed it. I don't think they went far enough tbh.
About time Dragonqueen was nerfed.
Called it.
I'm really bummed about the nerf to Dragonqueen Alex. I'm really glad to not be seeing Warglaives as much in wild though!
Dragonqueen Alexstrasza nerf is very welcome. It was a card that was randomly deciding a win (or a loss) ... I remember a game where I was sure to win (enemy with 1 health and I had the board) and the mage got from Alexstrasza an Evasive Drakonid and a Twin Tyrant who killed two of my guys and made impossible to make last hit ...
From a Wild standpoint, I'm happy with most of these nerfs.
REALLY happy with DH and Warrior nerfs (hell! It took 'em quite some time to realize those cards needed a nerf heh?!). - this is probably the ultimate patch for DH and the class won't need any more nerfs for the time being.
LUDICRUOSLY happy about Metamorphosis, since I dropped the card in packs. Free dust yay!
Dragonqueen Alexstrasza is bittersweet, since the card was quite cool, and overall fairly balanced IMO, despite being capable of insane swings, but even if I own the card, I never play it, so I might even think of dusting it and call it a day in favor of new cards.
I'm just sad about Dragoncaster which won't fit Even Mage anymore. :(
PS: I didn't think they would nerf War/DH, so I have to take back my previous thoughts about the incoming nerf: it's actually quite good.
PPS: hopefully this is a first step towards a no (0)-discount hard-rule.