Notice: Tomorrow's livestream will contain "some" new cards according to Hearthstone Game Designer IksarHS. (Source)
We will be fully covering tomorrow's livestream event which starts at 10 AM PDT. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates!
Keeping Hearthstone Fresh - Card Nerfs!
Blizzard has announced basic and classic card nerfs! Check them out below and read on for their reasoning behind them. Be sure to click on our Discuss this Nerf links below each card to talk about it on the forums and to let us know what you think about it.
All cards below will be disenchanted at full crafting cost once the changes go live. If you're planning on disenchanting 2 of each of these cards, you'll get up with 4360 arcane dust! Epics are worth 400 dust, rares are worth 100, and commons will be worth 40.
Protip: If you aren't planning on using any cards immediately in decks, disenchant them after the patch. You can hold onto that dust for a bit and recraft the card with no penalty.
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Discuss the Nerf
Announcement Blog
Quote from BlizzardAs the Year of the Kraken approaches, the time has come to reveal the results of our Basic and Classic card review. We focused on Basic and Classic cards because those sets will form the foundation of both formats for years to come. It took much careful consideration to arrive here, but we believe that—between our own analysis and reading plenty of community feedback—we’ve identified the right cards to change.
There’s a simple guiding principle that underlies each of the changes you’re about to see: New card releases should have an impact on Standard and enrich Wild, to make sure that Hearthstone is always as dynamic, fresh, and fun as it can be.
Read on for the details!
Druid Cards
The most popular Druid decks are consistently composed of the same big chunk of Druid cards. That puts a damper on deckbuilding creativity and has left the Druids feeling stagnant. We want to inject some life into Druid deckbuilding, so we’re adjusting some of the worst offenders.It’s important to point out that, in general, we like that Classes in Hearthstone have signature cards that appear in decks frequently, since they help give each Class its identity. We also still think it’s good for some signature Class cards to be in Druid decks, too. For example, Innervate and Wild Growth embody the Druid’s unique strength, so we’ve chosen not to adjust them.
Ancient of Lore
Drawing cards is powerful in Hearthstone, and Ancient of Lore easily found its way into nearly every popular Druid deck. We’d like Druid players to feel that other cards can compete with Ancient of Lore, so we’ve reduced the number of cards drawn from 2 to 1.Force of Nature
The new version of Force of Nature lowers its mana cost by 1, but removes Charge and makes the summoned Treants permanent—like the other Treants that Druids summon. This change also removes the powerful one-turn combo of Force of Nature and Savage Roar. Now, opponents will have a chance to deal with the threat that the Treants represent, and it won’t feel mandatory to always include the combo.Keeper of the Grove
Keeper of the Grove is a strong and versatile minion that combines Silence with solid stats, which made the decision to include it in every Druid deck virtually automatic. Whether or not to introduce a source of Silence to a deck should require some decision making, so Keeper of the Grove shouldn’t be a default choice for all Druid decks. Its stats have been changed from 2/4 to 2/2.Silence & Removal
Speaking of Keeper of the Grove, Silence and minion removal are potent effects in Hearthstone. Currently, some removal options are too widely played, are attached to minions with efficient stats, or are simply too powerful. While removal is an important part of Hearthstone, it also makes playing big, exciting minions less rewarding. We are adjusting some of these cards so that the decision to add them to your deck comes with a cost, especially if you don’t end up finding an ideal target for them. These changes should help make cards with high attack or cool effects more interesting too.Ironbeak Owl
Ironbeak Owl is a staple source for an inexpensive Silence in many decks. In line with our overall goal to make Silence effects more costly, Ironbeak Owl is moving from 2 to 3 mana.Big Game Hunter
Big Game Hunter represents an inexpensive source of removal that is packaged with a minion. It’s efficient enough that some Heroes with powerful Class-based removal cards choose to run the neutral Big Game Hunter. We’re increasing the cost of the card from 3 mana to 5 mana.Hunter’s Mark
Hunter’s Mark is an important option for Hunters, but it’s too efficient at 0 mana. We are increasing its cost to 1.Blade Flurry
Blade Flurry is a problem because it enables both board clear and heavy burst damage, and it’s also an obstacle to adding better cards for Rogues. To address these issues, the cost of Blade Flurry is moving from 2 to 4 mana, and it will now only affect minions, so that Rogues have to choose between removing threats or damaging the enemy Hero.Powerful Neutral Minions
Strong, widely-played neutral cards can stifle deck-building decisions and homogenize decks. These cards also make it more difficult to create new cards that can compete with them. We’re adjusting these neutral cards so that other cards can become compelling replacements, and open the door for more of a deck’s power to come from its Class identity.Knife Juggler
Knife Juggler should be a good choice in decks that play many cheap minions, but with 3 Attack, it is played almost universally. We’re reducing Knife Juggler’s Attack from 3 to 2, so this card will move into a more specialized role in the decks that include it, instead of always being among the best choices for a 2 mana-cost minion.Leper Gnome
Leper Gnome is powerful for its cost, finds its way into almost every aggressive deck, and requires no further deck building decisions to be effective. We’d like other 1 mana minions to be more compelling, so we’re reducing its Attack from 2 to 1.Arcane Golem
Charge is an ability we’ve learned to use sparingly. Arcane Golem has been a staple in many aggressive and ‘one turn kill’ combo decks, and its drawback is rarely relevant. We’re addressing both issues by removing Charge and increasing Arcane Golem’s Health, while leaving its drawback. Arcane Golem will now be a 3 mana 4/4 with Battlecry: Give your opponent a Mana Crystal.Molten Giant
Molten Giant is an interesting card, but it’s too easy for players to reduce its mana cost to 0. We’re increasing Molten Giant’s mana cost to 25 to increase the risks players must take to get a free Giant. The changes to Force of Nature and Arcane Golem will make dropping to low health somewhat less risky as well, which helped spur this change.Master of Disguise
The ability of Master of Disguise to grant permanent Stealth has been a design obstacle for a long time, so we are changing Master of Disguise to only grant Stealth until the next turn. This change opens up exciting options for future cards.
Thanks for reading along as we’ve explored the decisions that have shaped these cards. These changes will arrive as part of Hearthstone Patch 5.0. Then be sure to join us on April 26 for the arrival of Hearthstone’s newest expansion: Whispers of the Old Gods, the introduction of formats, and the beginning of the Year of the Kraken!
Druids will always remember this day: 4.20 Nerf it.
Just roll up the cards and nerf it!
Are these... all the class card and neutral card changes?? holy shit man... they didn't do anything but make a few cards unplayable. Some classes are completely untouched and some classes that didn't need to be touched got the TSA hand up ass treatment. crazy.
Wow. With that Blade Flurry nerf I think Blizzard actually managed to make a card that's worse than Poisoned Blade. Someone at Blizzard must really hate Rogue.
Well yeah, I think they should have just nerfed the effect (no face damage) not the cost also. MAAAYBE 3 mana still playable but 4.... damn..
10k+ dust from incoming nerfs ..... but ...... Blade Flurry? Really??? Now we are reduced to Doomsayer & Master of Disguise for our only board clear. Hopefully some decent weapon buffs are in WoG
It's still a board clear. I'm glad it doesn't do face damage also. But the 4 mana cost is indeed ridiculous.
New aoe for rogues incoming i hope
Alright let's see...
Force of Nature: Savage Roar was the broken card, not FoN.
Ancient of Lore: This card pretty much sucks now... 1 card isn't enough to justify it losing 3 mana worth of stats.
Keeper of the Grove: I dunno what to say. This card wasn't even broken in the first place so...
Ironbeak Owl: You couldn't have at least made it a 2/2 or something after increasing the cost? This card is pretty much straight up worse than Spellbreaker now (except in Hunter).
Big Game Hunter: Yet again, Blizzard listens to the whiny Timmy majority rather than making the right calls. Did not need this severe a nerf. And of course, blatant lies: "It’s efficient enough that some Heroes with powerful Class-based removal cards choose to run the neutral Big Game Hunter." Simply not true, Hex, Hunter's Mark, Shadow Word: Death, and Execute are all played over BGH (Control Warrior only runs BGH to have more than 4 removal cards).
Hunter's Mark: I could see it, 0 mana was pretty obnoxious but 1 mana won't make too much of a difference. Still wasn't much of a problem though, it usually appeared as only a 1-of in not every deck.
Blade Flurry: What. the. absolute. FUCK?! Non-raptor Rogue is completely and utterly dead. Thanks Blizzard, for turning a sophisticated class that took a lot of skill to play right into yet another dumb "play minions on curve" class. I just can't even comprehend. At least they left Preparation alone I guess...
Knife Juggler: Needed to be nerfed but this didn't really solve the actual problem with the card.
Leper Gnome: Bad card is bad. Would have rather seen it deal only 1 damage.
Arcane Golem: This is now one the most completely shit cards I've ever seen. It's not like the Power Overwhelming combo was super prevalent. Oh well, thanks for the 1600 dust from the 2 goldens I opened I guess?
Molten Giant: Don't know what to say. I guess it's more fair because you'll actually have to pay mana for it if you aren't in range of being suuuper dead. But then again, the card was only played because it was super unfair so I doubt it will be played at all in this new form.
Master of Disguise: I don't know how much of a problem this was because obviously I can't see the cards they had to not release because of it. But if it keeps the devs happy, hey, it's not like anybody played this card ever anyway.
When they nerf, they overnerf....
Keeper should have 1 more HP
Bladefury should either have increased cost or not damage face, not both...
Arcane Golem is just too weak....
Giant is nerfed in the wrong way, way he is annoying but maybe adding a minimum cost instead of making him cost 0 at 5 hp or cost 10 at 15 hp
Arcane golem was a stupid card. Even if the nerf might be a bit too much, I'm still glad I won't see it again in face hunters or Faceless combo decks.
One important question remains unanswered: Would you play the new Arcane Golem over Dancing Swords?
Standard + Late Game. But let's be real, were the swords ever played anyway?
And in Wild they don't lose anything. Freeze mage is the deck i hate most playing against. You should be happy about the scientist loss if you'll play standard. It's a huge impact.
Not sure how necessary the Ancient of Lore nerf was. At best it's a 7 mana Tuskarr Jouster that won the joust but only got 5 HP, or an over costed Azure Drake.
Druid didn't have any great card draw outside of the card; only Wrath, Nourish, Grove Tender and a Wild Growth at 10 mana come to mind, compared to Arcane Intellect, Ancestral Knowledge, Battle Rage, or Divine Favor, all the cards are between 2-3 mana and draw two cards (most of the time in Battle Rage's case), with the exception of divine favor that can draw 10 cards if your opponent is dumb and has 10 cards.
I'd always figured Ancient of Lore as a 4 mana 5/5 druid specific yeti with an Arcane Intellect or Flash Heal tacked on. It doesn't completely destroy Astral Communion druid, but does make it even harder to consider viable.
gg keep ruing game
im pretty much ok with all these nerfs aside from Master of Disguise. I know it got nerfed just based on potential to break the game with certain combos but no one was playing this card and it at least deserved some time to shine before getting hit in the face with the nerf bat. they could have at least lowered the mana cost since it only stealth's for a turn now.
Stuff like Scaled Nightmare or Ancient Harbinger can't be allowed to stay stealthed forever.
i know but i would have preferred the card got the chance to shine before nerfing it rather than just nerfing based on that potentialScaled Nightmare or Ancient Harbinger. Hell they could have given all the classes a board centric clear to even things out. oh well its a moot point now just gotta roll with the punches.
After all these nerfs and new formats what will we see on tournaments? Winners. Winners who could find the way for success through the changes.
Think about what decks will you play to be the winner. Don't think about the past decks and combos you won't play anymore. Think forward guys!
Thanks for reading!