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Warlords of Draenor Beta - Build 18850
Update 11:57PM EDT: Added blue tweets.
Leeroy Jenkins & Starving Buzzard Changes Confirmed
Earlier this morning, some people noticed changes to Leeroy Jenkins and Starving Buzzard. These changes were quickly reverted on the server side but it seems that they were intended changes and will be going live on or around September 22nd.
Quote from ZeriyahBoth before and after the release of Curse of Naxxramas: A Hearthstone Adventure, we have been monitoring card balance as more Hearthstone games are played along with the new cards that have been added. After careful consideration we have decided to make balance changes to Leeroy Jenkins (Neutral) and Starving Buzzard(Hunter).
The following balance changes will be made in an upcoming patch:
- Leeroy Jenkins now costs 5 (up from 4)
- Starving Buzzard now costs 5 (up from 2) and now has 3 Attack and 2 Health (up from 2 Attack and 1 Health)
Leeroy Jenkins created a strategy that revolved around trying to defeat your opponent in one turn without requiring any cards on the board. Fighting for board control and battles between minions make an overall game of Hearthstone more fun and compelling, but taking 20+ damage in one turn is not particularly fun or interactive. This was occurring when Leeroy was used in combination with other cards like Power Overwhelming, Faceless Manipulator, Cold Blood, Shadowstep, and Unleash the Hounds, among others.
The amount of cards Starving Buzzard allowed Hunter players to draw ultimately ended up being too excessive for its low cost. This change will allow the Hunter’s opponent more time to react to both the Starving Buzzard and the cards drawn by its power.
Expert cards that are being changed can be disenchanted for their full cost for a limited time once this balance change goes live. The currently targeted date of this balance change is September 22nd.
After these balance changes go live on September 22nd, we will not be making additional card changes between September 22nd and the Hearthstone World Championship at BlizzCon.
We will continue to make balance changes to Hearthstone only when we feel they are completely necessary in order to increase the variety of cards seen at all levels of play and make Hearthstone a more fun and interactive game for everyone.
Blue Tweets
Twitter, and the rest of the Hearthstone community outlets have been on fire this evening with questions and various emotions. Below are some important tweets from the Hearthstone team on the nerfs.
Quote from Blizzard on TwitterI cant stop thinking how Buzzard nerf is just too much, I believe in your balance team but this seems like a overnerf.
It's possible. But if I had to choose a card to over-nerf, it'd be buzzard! :) (But we'll see, time will tell!)
Coupled with maybe Hunter's Mark from 0 to 1 mana cost.
Didn't want to change too much right now. It's important that game feels stable. - Ben Brode (Source)You say it's possible that the Buzzard nerf is overkill. Does that mean you'd be open to a buff later if the change kills hunters?
I don't think this will kill hunters :) - Ben Brode (Source)My thoughts on Buzzard nerf: Gadegetzan Auctioneer is a 4/4 for 5. Buzzard is 3/2 for 5. Similar abilities. Can't buzzard be 3 health @ 5mana?
We tested lots of numbers and this felt best :) - Ben Brode (Source)Buzzard, 2 or 3 mana, 2-1 "Whenever a beast dies, draw a card." - what's wrong with going this route?
Our balance team tried a lot of options - we feel pretty good about the one we settled on. Give it a try! - Ben Brode (Source)Can Leeroy be a 7/2 for 5 please I'm kinda gonna miss him
He's still around! - Ben Brode (Source)
You're right still good at 5 manaWhy no Flare nerf? i wanna play my secrets pally already.
Buzzard nerf is indirect flare nerf. You might see less Hunter, which means you run into flare less.
Also, less Hunters might mean less reason to run flare for remaining hunters, since less secrets to run into.
That said, we are still looking at Flare. It's possible we could see a change to it in the future, if it's still frustrating. - Ben Brode (Source)Buzzard should be 2/1 for 3 battlecry draw a card. Draw 2 if you have a beast in play
That's a pretty different card. We could make that card, too! It's very different, emotionally, though. - Ben Brode (Source)Just to clarify, we will get to disenchant these for full value after the changes, right?
Buzzard is basic and cannot be disenchanted. Leeroy can be disenchanted for full cost once the change goes live. - Zeriyah (Source)
SO glad I had saved my #2 Leeroy knowing full well this day will come :D
With this nerf, I think you'll see Hunter run Snake Trap + Starving Buzzard instead of Explosive Trap or Freezing Trap and you'll see this combo played in the late game.
The only reason why buzzard's draw power was insane is because of the huge amount of aggro-zoo decks around. Otherwise it's quite a useless card (unless you want to draw a card and almost lose your turn).
In any case, if it has to be nerfed, I think increasing the cost to 3 mana would have been enough... okey. 4 would be a sensitive nerf, even increasing its health, but 5 is way too much...
Wow. Buzzard is going to be one of the worst cards in the game now. RIP Huntards
While they're at it I think they need to nerf the Ancestral Spirit + Reincarnation combo, probably by raising the cost of Ancestral Spirit. After all, if a 4-5 that summons a 4-5 as a deathrattle costs two mana more than a plain 4-5, how is it fair that two mana extra can make something stronger than a 4-5 summon itself again? For ten mana that way you can make Ragnaros or Kel'Thuzad into a far better Cairne Bloodhoof, or get THREE copies of Sylvanas Windrunner which all steal a card. Considering that only four classes (Mage, Shaman, Priest, and Druid) get class cards with silence (and that Priests barely ever use Silence or Mass Dispel), that Ironbeak Owl is pretty much only used in Handlocks, and that Spellbreaker is virtually nonexistent, either the entire metagame is going to have to rely a lot more on silences or Shamans are going to be the next incredibly common class. And even with the nerf to Leeroy, Shamans still get a nine-mana combo for eighteen damage (Leeroy + Ancestral Spirit + Reincarnate): which is 60% easier to draw than the famous Shadowstep combo, since the two class cards can be used twice each in the deck.
Hunter nerfs were bound to happen after what happened in August season. However I think putting Buzzard on 5 mana is way too much. It goes from overpowered to completely unplayable. At 3 mana it would be balanced.
when unleash was changed from 2 to 3 hunters didnt exist for months
that wasnt a bad nerf that was completely fine. just as if they made buzzard a 3 mana 2/1, or hell a 3 mana 1/1 and hunters mark 1 mana and flare 2 mana i think the deck would still be playable and the hounds buzzard hunters mark would be a turn 7 play not a turn 5 play. the idea of a 5 mana 3/2 is completely asinine
This can't be a shock to anyone. The writing has been on the wall forever. Lots of sound and fury but what does it say about a player if they insists they can't win without OP cards?
So starve is now 5 mana, 3 attack and 2 health?
2 health is nothing that could easily be rid of in a single turn. Some examples of removal:
Bluegill warrior (2 attack, 1 health, charge)
Holy Smite (Deal 2 damage)
Backstab (Deal 2 damaged to an undamaged minion)
My whole point is that for 5 mana, it is too easily removable my the opposing side. This will totally destroy hunter decks.
The only thing that brings me hope is that they said they tested it.
I admit it. I was wrong. I cannot wait until Buzzard is nerfed. For the past 3 days 7/10 matches have been Huntard. Good riddance!
Too bad they decided to overnerf the Buzzard, rather than fixing it. Was the multiple draws abusive? Absolutely. Did it deserve a 3 mana nerf? No, the correct change would have been to change the nature of the card draw. Quite simply, cap the number of cards that you could draw in a turn (probably to just 1 per turn) but leave the Buzzard at 2 mana and 2/1.
Rogue: "Hey, look! I can pay 7 mana and draw four cards!" Hunter: "So?! I can pay 5 mana and draw three or four cards, gain a bunch of board control instantly and probably draw three or four cards next turn! You suck!"
I agree that both of these needed nerfs, but the buzzard is just insane. Even if they "tested lots of numbers," they probably get way more data within a couple days of live then with internal testing. Leeroy makes sense, just surprised it took this long. Although, it could probably have it power bumped by 1. Comparing a 4/6/2 to a 5/7/2, its "normal" damage goes up by 1, but its abusive cases still lose 6+ damage, basically losing at least a full body/cast of damage. We shall see.
I feel the meta should changed due to new deck ideas, new ways of playing older ways of play, new cards.....not Blizz's bat smashing the cards that are already it play. JMO.
Well fought. I concede.
I disagree on Leeroy's nerf for the sole reason that I just dusted my extra one days ago.. BibleThump
why would anyone in the WHOLE WORD DE a ragnaros to craft a preparation? that makes no sense at all
Finally i can have fun with this game again