You know it’s going to be a great week when the Hearthstone nerfs come around. Following the Seoul major, we all knew it was time for a change. The Mage and Warrior class were far too powerful for far too long. And the update dropping next Monday, Aug 26, will shake up the meta a lot.
The expected balance changes
Of the five cards changed this patch, three probably should have happened a long time ago. First up on the chopping block is Conjurer’s Calling. Changed from 3 to 4 mana, it will still see a lot of play. The card is far too strong in its current iteration, what with cards such as the Giants existing. The developers stated that they hope the increase in mana cost will make it more difficult to use both parts of the Twinspell effect in a single turn, making the card less oppressive later in the game. For those unfamiliar with Twinspell, the effect puts a copy of the spell used back into the user’s hand.
Next up, what might be the most disliked card in Hearthstone: Dr. Boom, Mad Genius. A hero card, Dr. Boom, Mad Genius was probably the single most oppressive card Hearthstone has ever seen in its five-year history. At 7 mana, this card decides outcomes of entire games in control against control matches. Increasing the cost of the card from 7 to 9 mana will delay the strength of the card and stop the user from immediately obtaining a usable hero power on the turn the hero card is used.
Then there is Luna’s Pocket Galaxy, the Hearthstone card that shouldn’t have been buffed and broke the competitive scene. This single card allowed Mage to become the single best deck in the entire game for a very long time, winning the game for the player who drew this card first in the mirror-matchup. While the community overall was positive towards the developers’ choice to buff older Hearthstone cards, they clearly went about it the wrong way. Luna’s Pocket Galaxy will return to the old state of 7 mana, where it will once more never see any play.
The nerf to Combo Priest
I’ll be honest. This one I did not see coming, at all. Combo Priest has been a favorite of many since the early days of Hearthstone. One of the new inclusions in Combo Priest is Extra Arms. This patch sees Extra Arms’ mana increased from 2 to 3, which is a huge nerf to the card. The dev blog mentions tools added in the Saviors of Uldum expansion as the reason for this change.
The last card that will be hit with the nerf bat come next patch is actually Barnes. The wild community has been asking for this card to be changed for years, and it’s finally here. The cost of Barnes has been increased from 4 to 5 mana.
For more Hearthstone, be sure to check out the new Explorer’s Bundle and what it includes.
