Apart from Kibler's Jade Idol arguments - no one can convince me, that jade druid wasn't powerful because of this card; it was the reason why control decks failed to win against it before Skulking Geist - he covers druids' biggest strengths, which can be seen atm as well.
Ok, but what would you reduce it too? 3 damage? seems pretty bad? maybe 4??
Yes, that sounds good - either UI can`t hit face or doesn't draw you cards - the question is if you get a 5/5 minion and 5 damage that can't go face - should it stay at 10 Mana?
Honestly....I'd rather just take face damage than it be a Leeroy Jenkins with Trample (MTG term for what Explosive Runes does). The inability to contest the board with any minion that doesn't have at least 8 health (at 7 health it can simply be pinged off next turn) is silly. Or you need to run Eggs in a deck that shouldn't be running Eggs.
Yes, keep UI at 10 mana. It's similarly as powerful as a 10-mana Kazakus spell, but is far less flexible in that you can't get AOE or mass Polymorph from it.
Or just make Explosive work properly against Divine Shield minions, that is, the damage received is reduced to 0. Test for Explosive, here's an Argent Squire.
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I know I shouldn't have let my hopes up but I did and I'm really unhappy with these changes...
Yes,Giggling Inventor was everywhere but it wasn't broken in any Deck beside Quest Rogue so I would've been okay with making it cost 6 mana,and that's not because I think it was overpowered but just in an attempt of making it less prevalent on ladder.... Making it 7 mana though it's just outright killing the card and I'm not okay with that...
I hate Mana Wyrm,heavily dislike Tempo Mage and agree that games shouldn't be decided by whether or not someone drew a 1 drop but why did they need to nerf the card so harshly? Tempo Mage is nowhere near oppressive and making the card a 0/3 or 1/2 for 1 mana would've made it way more manageable without basically removing it from the game....
Aviana is the most reasonable nerf among the 3 but I still think she isn't the card that deserved to be axed... We're talking about about a 9 mana card that doesn't do shit on her own and needs at least another 3/4 cards to work,now do you really think Druid could afford to play such "obnoxious" (Sorry,I can't seem to think of better word) combos if it weren't for cards like Spreading Plague,Branching Paths and above all Juicy Psychmelon? I highly doubt that.... Pulling off a combo like that in another class would be extremely difficult but Druid it can do it consistently cause it has almost everything.... It has survivabilty,cycle and multiple ways of closing out games.... Druid's weakness,as stated by Donais himself,should be wide boards and single target removal and currently none of those is an issue for them.... How is that not worth of more changes other than Aviana's is beyond me....
Eks dee. At least we have Secretkeeper in Wild. Not as powerful but it'll be a good band-aid until mage is deemed good enough to get a Tunnel Trogg.
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Mana Wyrm was a problem, but it kept Tempo Mage alive as an competitive archetype. Now the whole archetype is heavily weakened by not having a decent 1-drop, some would even argue it was a murdery. The community's nerf proposition, 2 health instead of 3, is much better. It is still a nerf, but it is not a murder agains a deck that was around for a quite of time now.
Giggling Inventor was a problem too, even bigger if you ask me, though still not big enough to just wipe out the card out of existence. Honestly, what archetype will play it now? It's worse than all the other options avaliable. Community's reaction on this is also well done, increase its cost to 6, so it actually has a proper cost and can be used. Blizzard's words "at 7 mana this card may ocasionally see play" are outright ridiculous, you don't play Deathwing just because there is a chance your opponent's board is too big. You look for consistency.
Aviana was not a problem. I mean it allowed for combo decks for Druid to rise, but... what is the problem with them anyway? It's not like they touched Archmage Antonidas just because exodia popped out. The nerf was necessary for a healthy wild enviroment, because Combo Druid in any variations (though mostly Star Aligner version) was oppresive. Why? Juicy Psychmelon. If that's the case then why not admit your fault in playtesting this particular card? Why not just... remove Juicy Psychmelon? 4 mana draw 4 cards is awfully good in a class that can ramp very quickly. The downside of ramping is the lack of cards in your hand, since you are spending them to gain extra mana on the following turn. Blizzard already kept pushing Druid with their good card draw to negate that downside, but now it is ridiculous. The Druid has nothing to worry about in terms of ramping, not like in the past when you were praying to RNGesus for good topdecks (especially after Astral Communion). On top of that, Juicy Psychmelon allows for certain cards to be draw, and so it was only a matter of time before its abuse.
How it was Nerfed? Mana Wyrm's cost was increased from 1 to 2.
Why it was Nerfed? Mana Wyrm is one of those cards that is as good as the rest of the cards in your deck. For example, if you're playing a minion only deck, Mana Wyrm is likely to remain a 1/3 because you aren't playing any spells. So we know it requires other cards to be good. That being said, it doesn't take much to make Mana Wyrm a boss. Consider Mana Wyrm > Coin > Mana Wyrm. You've just established a 9 stat board for 2 mana, that will continue to grow unless answered. As a 1/3 for 1 mana, there are only a few classes equipped to deal with Mana Wyrm on turn 1 or 2, and even then, you would be required to have an exact answer. I've seen this card single-handedly decide games. You don't want to permit 1 drops that decide games on turn 1. The bottom line is that Mana Wyrm is just too good for 1 mana, and too snowbally to be allowed to exist in its current form.
Is it a good Nerf? Mana Wyrm was changed from a 1 mana 1/3 to a 2 mana 1/3. This inherently slows the card down, as it requires you to now have two mana, as opposed to one. Other possible nerfs discussed would be to reduce it to a 1 mana 1/2 (so that it would be on par with Undertaker stat-wise/effect-wise. The difference is that spells are more prevalent than deathrattles, and thus make it easier to trigger a Mana Wyrm as opposed to Undertaker. The only two reasons I could see making Mana Wyrm 2 mana instead of 1 mana are: (1.) They wanted to make the card strictly worse, thus making it less playable and opening space for new cards to be played; or (2.) They wanted to slow the card, rather than make it less powerful. A 1 mana 1/2 can still be played on turn 1 and you can still Mana Wyrm > Coin > Mana Wyrm for 7 stats on board with the potential to snowball. While it is easier to answer a 1/2 Mana Wyrm, it still has the potential to wreck you if you don't mulligan a response. I image they went with the 2 mana option because it reduces the chances that a player can still decide the game on turn 1. There are plenty more answers to a turn 2 Mana Wyrm as opposed to a turn 1 Mana Wyrm. Ultimately, the card needed to be changed. The two options presented have their own sets of pros and cons. I don't mind this nerf but I could understand some preferring the 1 mana 1/2 route over the 2 mana 1/3.
Giggling Inventor
How it was Nerfed? Giggling Inventor's cost was increased from 5 to 7.
Why was it Nerfed? There are two schools of thought on Giggling Inventor: (1.) it is a well-balanced card that does such a good job of slowing down aggro that it made its way into too many decks, taking away the 5 mana slot from other interesting contenders; or (2.) it is over-powered. I personally believe that Giggling Inventor is balanced. I initially thought it was a "meh" card when it was revealed but was proven wrong when testing the card. I think that it is in so many decks because it is good at what it does. That being said, there is one deck in particular that ruined it for everyone and that is Quest Rogue. The ability to make a board of 2 4/4s with Taunt and Divine Shield, as well as another 4/4 that, when bounced and replayed, can generate arguably TOO MUCH tempo is just too good. Quest Rogue is too interesting a deck concept to simply continue to nerf into the ground, so rather than nerf it a third time, Blizz decided to nerf Giggling. I get it! If a majority of players aren't satisfied with the card, shouldn't that be enough grounds to nerf it? Probably. Perhaps a better tempo-slowing 5-drop will be released to make up for the failures of Giggling Inventor (think more along the lines of Rotten Applebaum or Sludge Belcher).
Is it a good Nerf? The point I see a lot of people missing behind the cost increasing by 2 instead of 1 is that even/odd factor. Giggling Inventor can't simply be increased by 1 because then it becomes viable in Even Warlock (pretty scary when combined with Defile/stopping Aggro in its tracks), Even Shaman, or Even Paladin. I think it's safe to say that the card would still be powerful enough at 6 mana to justify playing it, while also having the added benefit of being included in Even lists. 7 mana may seem like overkill, which it may be. But, it was the safest nerf outside of changing the inherent function of the card itself (which is to summon 2 annoyotrons). I think it boils down to two camps here: (1.) don't nerf it; or, (2.) nerf it to 7. I don't believe there was any other way to nerf it. People complained, Blizzard responded, and now we have to live with our decisions. So here we are.
Aviana
How was it Nerfed? Aviana's cost was increased from 9 to 10.
Why was it Nerfed? Star Aligner Druid. This is the only card mentioned that is a Wild-Exclusive card. As someone who plays both Standard and Wild, I will try to explain why something needed to be done, and attempt to justify why this course of action was the best. Star Aligner Druid's win condition is as follows: On turn 10, play Aviana+Kun (classic combo giving you a 5/5, a 7/7, 10 refreshed mana crystals, and a mana reduction for all minions in hand to 1), play 7-health minion of your choice (Usually Medivh), then any number of Star Aligners + Brann and bounce effects to AK47 your opponent to death. You will likely be using Juicy Psychmelon to assemble your combo prior to turn 10. Playing against an opponent who has a guaranteed victory if they outlive you isn't fun, especially when the class is one of the best armor gain classes.
Was it a good Nerf? Now, a combo with so many moving parts requires some examination in order to make sure the proper piece is being hit and the least amount of residual damage is being done to the rest of the cards, decks, combos, metas, etc. So, we have: Avian, Kun, the Forgotten King, and Juicy Psychmelon as the primary offenders here. So which do we Nerf? Many players point to Psychmelon, which is partly due to the fact that it expedites the process of getting your combo pieces in hand by drawing you a 7-cost minion (Star Aligner), an 8-cost minion (Medivh), a 9-cost minion (Aviana), and a 10-cost minion (Kun, the Forgotten King). But how would you change Psychmelon? Increase it's cost? That wouldn't work because Druid has enough armor gain/stall tactics to be able to drop Psychmelon on any turn and just follow it up with the combo. You can't change the cost of the cards it draws you because that's inherent to the identity of the card. Any changes to the text would make it almost a completely different card entirely, which Blizzard tries to avoid (that's why a majority of changes we've seen recently involve the cost as opposed to the mechanics). Psychmelon is also simply the combo enabler. While many would argue that this is why the Melon needed the nerf (to preserve the combo, just make it harder to pull off), I would argue that Aviana getting hit was the right call. Aviana+Kun would have always been a combo available to Druid that would always to some degree allow for some stupid combos (but to be fair, Wild should have a higher threshold for power). Putting Aviana at 10 doesn't entirely ruin the AK (Aviana+Kun) combo, it now just requires you to have Avian+Innervate/Coin+Kun+whatever else you're trying to do with 20 mana and 1 cost minions. It does, however, ruin the Star Aligner combo because now Juicy Psychmelon will draw you either Avian or Kun, but not both. Something had to be done to this combo and it appears there were only three viable options: (1.) Nerf Kun, the Forgotten King; (2.) Nerf Juicy Psychmelon; or, (3.) Nerf Aviana. Option (1.) is the worst option because Kun is a choose one card that would require the choose 1 options to be re-balanced, as well as the fact that Kun is a 10 cost card and can't reasonably be increased (remember, Blizzard doesn't want to mess with card mechanics unless they absolutely have to [think, Shadowboxer]). Option (2.) won't have an impact unless the mechanics are changed (remember, mana cost means nothing because in its current form, Psychmelon can never be played on the same turn as the combo, unless you already have Aviana+Kun, in which case you'd only be fishing for Medivh and Star Aligner), which Blizzard, again, doesn't want to do. And lastly, there's option (3.) which can be achieved by simply affecting the mana cost. Given Blizzard's known nerf philosophy, it's safe to say that Aviana was the only viable option. Was this a good nerf? Well, it was the best possible way of handling the situation while still adhering to established design philosophies.
Fun Fact: AK47 = Aviana+Kun+4(Juicy Psychmelon cost)+7(Star Aligner cost/health)
The combo is not broken. A fact that is proven by the the meta-game pre boomsday. Organically drawing multiple combo pieces means it requires time. Tutor cards obliterate the time constraint that caused the decks to be dependant on player skill and managing hand size.
You say that enablers like Juicy Psychmelon are secondary concerns but the meta pre psychmelon proves you wrong.
As far as your comparison to Sonya Shadowdancer, last time I checked having her in hand and playing her doesn't give you lethal as consistently as psychmelon does.
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The combo is not broken. A fact that is proven by the the meta-game pre boomsday. Organically drawing multiple combo pieces means it requires time. Tutor cards obliterate the time constraint that caused the decks to be dependant on player skill and managing hand size.
You say that enablers like Juicy Psychmelon are secondary concerns but the meta pre psychmelon proves you wrong.
As far as your comparison to Sonya Shadowdancer, last time I checked having her in hand and playing her doesn't give you lethal as consistently as psychmelon does.
The combo is broken. In particular in an eternal format. Druid will continue to get more draw, more stall, and more removal because that's what happens in CCGs. Aviana was always going to be a problem at 9 mana.
The combo is not broken. A fact that is proven by the the meta-game pre boomsday. Organically drawing multiple combo pieces means it requires time. Tutor cards obliterate the time constraint that caused the decks to be dependant on player skill and managing hand size.
You say that enablers like Juicy Psychmelon are secondary concerns but the meta pre psychmelon proves you wrong.
As far as your comparison to Sonya Shadowdancer, last time I checked having her in hand and playing her doesn't give you lethal as consistently as psychmelon does.
Let's not forget that Druid has a lot of stall and armor gain. I've easily won AK47 matches without the Melon. Tbh, Melon should be viewed as a card that just intensifies the degeneracy of Aviana+Kun. It's also boring for Druid's premier combo to always be AK + whatever else you wanna do with 20 mana and a hand full of 1 mana big bois. Nostalgia prevents people making necessary changes. Not at all saying that is your reasoning, but I do think it informs a lot of player's opinions on the card (this is coming from someone who doesn't believe that Wild should exist purely for nostalgia purposes, and that a third Unbalanced game mode should be introduced that allows people to play with unbalanced versions of cards)
The giggling Inventor nerf was bullshit. It should have been moved to 6, not 7. Now it’s dead.
At 6 mana quest rogue can still abuse its effect and always have a board with vellera brew master keeping quest at a power lv too similar to the state it was at before.
You don't just ''add innervate'' to your deck. The point is that your entire combo is delayed, it requires an additional piece and you can't draw it anymore from Melon. Together it is a huge nerf.
But hey!
For the low low cost of 2+ spells the turn you play it, it's worth playing in standard! :P
Apart from Kibler's Jade Idol arguments - no one can convince me, that jade druid wasn't powerful because of this card; it was the reason why control decks failed to win against it before Skulking Geist - he covers druids' biggest strengths, which can be seen atm as well.
Or just make Explosive work properly against Divine Shield minions, that is, the damage received is reduced to 0. Test for Explosive, here's an Argent Squire.
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Can we add "I wish they nerfed spreading plague."
I know I shouldn't have let my hopes up but I did and I'm really unhappy with these changes...
Yes,Giggling Inventor was everywhere but it wasn't broken in any Deck beside Quest Rogue so I would've been okay with making it cost 6 mana,and that's not because I think it was overpowered but just in an attempt of making it less prevalent on ladder.... Making it 7 mana though it's just outright killing the card and I'm not okay with that...
I hate Mana Wyrm,heavily dislike Tempo Mage and agree that games shouldn't be decided by whether or not someone drew a 1 drop but why did they need to nerf the card so harshly? Tempo Mage is nowhere near oppressive and making the card a 0/3 or 1/2 for 1 mana would've made it way more manageable without basically removing it from the game....
Aviana is the most reasonable nerf among the 3 but I still think she isn't the card that deserved to be axed... We're talking about about a 9 mana card that doesn't do shit on her own and needs at least another 3/4 cards to work,now do you really think Druid could afford to play such "obnoxious" (Sorry,I can't seem to think of better word) combos if it weren't for cards like Spreading Plague,Branching Paths and above all Juicy Psychmelon? I highly doubt that.... Pulling off a combo like that in another class would be extremely difficult but Druid it can do it consistently cause it has almost everything.... It has survivabilty,cycle and multiple ways of closing out games.... Druid's weakness,as stated by Donais himself,should be wide boards and single target removal and currently none of those is an issue for them.... How is that not worth of more changes other than Aviana's is beyond me....
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Eks dee. At least we have Secretkeeper in Wild. Not as powerful but it'll be a good band-aid until mage is deemed good enough to get a Tunnel Trogg.
I disagree with all of these nerfs.
Mana Wyrm was a problem, but it kept Tempo Mage alive as an competitive archetype. Now the whole archetype is heavily weakened by not having a decent 1-drop, some would even argue it was a murdery. The community's nerf proposition, 2 health instead of 3, is much better. It is still a nerf, but it is not a murder agains a deck that was around for a quite of time now.
Giggling Inventor was a problem too, even bigger if you ask me, though still not big enough to just wipe out the card out of existence. Honestly, what archetype will play it now? It's worse than all the other options avaliable. Community's reaction on this is also well done, increase its cost to 6, so it actually has a proper cost and can be used. Blizzard's words "at 7 mana this card may ocasionally see play" are outright ridiculous, you don't play Deathwing just because there is a chance your opponent's board is too big. You look for consistency.
Aviana was not a problem. I mean it allowed for combo decks for Druid to rise, but... what is the problem with them anyway? It's not like they touched Archmage Antonidas just because exodia popped out. The nerf was necessary for a healthy wild enviroment, because Combo Druid in any variations (though mostly Star Aligner version) was oppresive. Why? Juicy Psychmelon. If that's the case then why not admit your fault in playtesting this particular card? Why not just... remove Juicy Psychmelon? 4 mana draw 4 cards is awfully good in a class that can ramp very quickly. The downside of ramping is the lack of cards in your hand, since you are spending them to gain extra mana on the following turn. Blizzard already kept pushing Druid with their good card draw to negate that downside, but now it is ridiculous. The Druid has nothing to worry about in terms of ramping, not like in the past when you were praying to RNGesus for good topdecks (especially after Astral Communion). On top of that, Juicy Psychmelon allows for certain cards to be draw, and so it was only a matter of time before its abuse.
Mana Wyrm
How it was Nerfed? Mana Wyrm's cost was increased from 1 to 2.
Why it was Nerfed? Mana Wyrm is one of those cards that is as good as the rest of the cards in your deck. For example, if you're playing a minion only deck, Mana Wyrm is likely to remain a 1/3 because you aren't playing any spells. So we know it requires other cards to be good. That being said, it doesn't take much to make Mana Wyrm a boss. Consider Mana Wyrm > Coin > Mana Wyrm. You've just established a 9 stat board for 2 mana, that will continue to grow unless answered. As a 1/3 for 1 mana, there are only a few classes equipped to deal with Mana Wyrm on turn 1 or 2, and even then, you would be required to have an exact answer. I've seen this card single-handedly decide games. You don't want to permit 1 drops that decide games on turn 1. The bottom line is that Mana Wyrm is just too good for 1 mana, and too snowbally to be allowed to exist in its current form.
Is it a good Nerf? Mana Wyrm was changed from a 1 mana 1/3 to a 2 mana 1/3. This inherently slows the card down, as it requires you to now have two mana, as opposed to one. Other possible nerfs discussed would be to reduce it to a 1 mana 1/2 (so that it would be on par with Undertaker stat-wise/effect-wise. The difference is that spells are more prevalent than deathrattles, and thus make it easier to trigger a Mana Wyrm as opposed to Undertaker. The only two reasons I could see making Mana Wyrm 2 mana instead of 1 mana are: (1.) They wanted to make the card strictly worse, thus making it less playable and opening space for new cards to be played; or (2.) They wanted to slow the card, rather than make it less powerful. A 1 mana 1/2 can still be played on turn 1 and you can still Mana Wyrm > Coin > Mana Wyrm for 7 stats on board with the potential to snowball. While it is easier to answer a 1/2 Mana Wyrm, it still has the potential to wreck you if you don't mulligan a response. I image they went with the 2 mana option because it reduces the chances that a player can still decide the game on turn 1. There are plenty more answers to a turn 2 Mana Wyrm as opposed to a turn 1 Mana Wyrm. Ultimately, the card needed to be changed. The two options presented have their own sets of pros and cons. I don't mind this nerf but I could understand some preferring the 1 mana 1/2 route over the 2 mana 1/3.
Giggling Inventor
How it was Nerfed? Giggling Inventor's cost was increased from 5 to 7.
Why was it Nerfed? There are two schools of thought on Giggling Inventor: (1.) it is a well-balanced card that does such a good job of slowing down aggro that it made its way into too many decks, taking away the 5 mana slot from other interesting contenders; or (2.) it is over-powered. I personally believe that Giggling Inventor is balanced. I initially thought it was a "meh" card when it was revealed but was proven wrong when testing the card. I think that it is in so many decks because it is good at what it does. That being said, there is one deck in particular that ruined it for everyone and that is Quest Rogue. The ability to make a board of 2 4/4s with Taunt and Divine Shield, as well as another 4/4 that, when bounced and replayed, can generate arguably TOO MUCH tempo is just too good. Quest Rogue is too interesting a deck concept to simply continue to nerf into the ground, so rather than nerf it a third time, Blizz decided to nerf Giggling. I get it! If a majority of players aren't satisfied with the card, shouldn't that be enough grounds to nerf it? Probably. Perhaps a better tempo-slowing 5-drop will be released to make up for the failures of Giggling Inventor (think more along the lines of Rotten Applebaum or Sludge Belcher).
Is it a good Nerf? The point I see a lot of people missing behind the cost increasing by 2 instead of 1 is that even/odd factor. Giggling Inventor can't simply be increased by 1 because then it becomes viable in Even Warlock (pretty scary when combined with Defile/stopping Aggro in its tracks), Even Shaman, or Even Paladin. I think it's safe to say that the card would still be powerful enough at 6 mana to justify playing it, while also having the added benefit of being included in Even lists. 7 mana may seem like overkill, which it may be. But, it was the safest nerf outside of changing the inherent function of the card itself (which is to summon 2 annoyotrons). I think it boils down to two camps here: (1.) don't nerf it; or, (2.) nerf it to 7. I don't believe there was any other way to nerf it. People complained, Blizzard responded, and now we have to live with our decisions. So here we are.
Aviana
How was it Nerfed? Aviana's cost was increased from 9 to 10.
Why was it Nerfed? Star Aligner Druid. This is the only card mentioned that is a Wild-Exclusive card. As someone who plays both Standard and Wild, I will try to explain why something needed to be done, and attempt to justify why this course of action was the best. Star Aligner Druid's win condition is as follows: On turn 10, play Aviana+Kun (classic combo giving you a 5/5, a 7/7, 10 refreshed mana crystals, and a mana reduction for all minions in hand to 1), play 7-health minion of your choice (Usually Medivh), then any number of Star Aligners + Brann and bounce effects to AK47 your opponent to death. You will likely be using Juicy Psychmelon to assemble your combo prior to turn 10. Playing against an opponent who has a guaranteed victory if they outlive you isn't fun, especially when the class is one of the best armor gain classes.
Was it a good Nerf? Now, a combo with so many moving parts requires some examination in order to make sure the proper piece is being hit and the least amount of residual damage is being done to the rest of the cards, decks, combos, metas, etc. So, we have: Avian, Kun, the Forgotten King, and Juicy Psychmelon as the primary offenders here. So which do we Nerf? Many players point to Psychmelon, which is partly due to the fact that it expedites the process of getting your combo pieces in hand by drawing you a 7-cost minion (Star Aligner), an 8-cost minion (Medivh), a 9-cost minion (Aviana), and a 10-cost minion (Kun, the Forgotten King). But how would you change Psychmelon? Increase it's cost? That wouldn't work because Druid has enough armor gain/stall tactics to be able to drop Psychmelon on any turn and just follow it up with the combo. You can't change the cost of the cards it draws you because that's inherent to the identity of the card. Any changes to the text would make it almost a completely different card entirely, which Blizzard tries to avoid (that's why a majority of changes we've seen recently involve the cost as opposed to the mechanics). Psychmelon is also simply the combo enabler. While many would argue that this is why the Melon needed the nerf (to preserve the combo, just make it harder to pull off), I would argue that Aviana getting hit was the right call. Aviana+Kun would have always been a combo available to Druid that would always to some degree allow for some stupid combos (but to be fair, Wild should have a higher threshold for power). Putting Aviana at 10 doesn't entirely ruin the AK (Aviana+Kun) combo, it now just requires you to have Avian+Innervate/Coin+Kun+whatever else you're trying to do with 20 mana and 1 cost minions. It does, however, ruin the Star Aligner combo because now Juicy Psychmelon will draw you either Avian or Kun, but not both. Something had to be done to this combo and it appears there were only three viable options: (1.) Nerf Kun, the Forgotten King; (2.) Nerf Juicy Psychmelon; or, (3.) Nerf Aviana. Option (1.) is the worst option because Kun is a choose one card that would require the choose 1 options to be re-balanced, as well as the fact that Kun is a 10 cost card and can't reasonably be increased (remember, Blizzard doesn't want to mess with card mechanics unless they absolutely have to [think, Shadowboxer]). Option (2.) won't have an impact unless the mechanics are changed (remember, mana cost means nothing because in its current form, Psychmelon can never be played on the same turn as the combo, unless you already have Aviana+Kun, in which case you'd only be fishing for Medivh and Star Aligner), which Blizzard, again, doesn't want to do. And lastly, there's option (3.) which can be achieved by simply affecting the mana cost. Given Blizzard's known nerf philosophy, it's safe to say that Aviana was the only viable option. Was this a good nerf? Well, it was the best possible way of handling the situation while still adhering to established design philosophies.
Fun Fact: AK47 = Aviana+Kun+4(Juicy Psychmelon cost)+7(Star Aligner cost/health)
"Melon is the problem, not Aviana" is the same argument as "Sonya is the problem, not the Rogue Quest."
If the ultimate result is busted, then it's busted. Enablers are secondary concerns.
Exactly this. I completely agree with the nerfs that are coming, but I would have liked to see some other nerfs to cards that deserve it as well.
The combo is not broken. A fact that is proven by the the meta-game pre boomsday. Organically drawing multiple combo pieces means it requires time. Tutor cards obliterate the time constraint that caused the decks to be dependant on player skill and managing hand size.
You say that enablers like Juicy Psychmelon are secondary concerns but the meta pre psychmelon proves you wrong.
As far as your comparison to Sonya Shadowdancer, last time I checked having her in hand and playing her doesn't give you lethal as consistently as psychmelon does.
I’m ok with the Mana Wyrm nerf, though I’d also be ok with it becoming a 1/2.
im ok with the Aviana nerf.
The giggling Inventor nerf was bullshit. It should have been moved to 6, not 7. Now it’s dead.
.
Or they could have changed it to 3 or 4 mana and it only summons 1 annoy-o-tron
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Agreed. Don't punish the interesting cards just because they make the degenerate ones better.
The nerf to giggling inventor was directed twords quest rogue thats why it got nerfed to 7 mana
The combo is broken. In particular in an eternal format. Druid will continue to get more draw, more stall, and more removal because that's what happens in CCGs. Aviana was always going to be a problem at 9 mana.
Let's not forget that Druid has a lot of stall and armor gain. I've easily won AK47 matches without the Melon. Tbh, Melon should be viewed as a card that just intensifies the degeneracy of Aviana+Kun. It's also boring for Druid's premier combo to always be AK + whatever else you wanna do with 20 mana and a hand full of 1 mana big bois. Nostalgia prevents people making necessary changes. Not at all saying that is your reasoning, but I do think it informs a lot of player's opinions on the card (this is coming from someone who doesn't believe that Wild should exist purely for nostalgia purposes, and that a third Unbalanced game mode should be introduced that allows people to play with unbalanced versions of cards)
At 6 mana quest rogue can still abuse its effect and always have a board with vellera brew master keeping quest at a power lv too similar to the state it was at before.
You don't just ''add innervate'' to your deck. The point is that your entire combo is delayed, it requires an additional piece and you can't draw it anymore from Melon. Together it is a huge nerf.
That deck and card have been problems since release. How about nerfing the caverns below into oblivion instead.
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