Blizzard today released a blog post announcing upcoming Hearthstone changes and nerfs. The update is expected to go live on May 22, 2019. The cards changed in this patch target the oppressive Rogue deck that has been plaguing the ladder, as well as reduce the strength of Archivist Elysiana. These changes are far from perfect, but they are a step in the right direction.
Rogue nerfs
The first card changed this patch is EVIL Miscreant. EVIL Miscreant is currently the staple card of the Pirate Rogue deck. Pirate Rogue is by many considered to be the best deck on ladder, so these changes are welcome. While the reduction of health on EVIL Miscreant is unlikely to remove the card from the Rogue decks, the other Hearthstone changes might.
The second card changed with this update is Raiding Party, the card Pirate Rogue has been built around. The mana increase here is probably the biggest nerf of the entire patch, and likely the biggest we are going to see in a very long time. The increase of an entire point of mana on this card and the nerf to Preparation below could well be too much for the deck to survive.
Yes, Preparation. A card that has been controversial since the beginning of Hearthstone. Personally, I think the way they changed this card is the best they could have handled it. The timing, however, leaves me with a lot of questions. There were several metagames where Preparation was actually problematic, and it was left untouched for over five years. In this meta, however, I believe the earlier change to the card Raiding Party would have been more than enough to reduce the strength of Pirate Rogue.
Control Warrior changes
Last up is a change that left many confused after the initial announcement earlier today. Archivist Elysiana’s mana cost being increased to 9 creates some really strange situations. It’s mainly for the meta surrounding the Control Warrior mirrors happening frequently in tournaments right now. In the first situation, “bouncing effects” such as Youthful Brewmaster and Baleful Banker are not played anymore in Control Warrior. Great, the change now did effectively nothing besides reduce some late-game variance. In the second situation, where either of the “bouncer” cards is good enough to be included, the player with access to the coin at the start of the game has the potential to gain an incredible advantage.
How exactly this will all play out is something we will have to wait and see about. For more news surrounding Hearthstone, check out our coverage of the Dalaran Heist solo adventure.
