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!
still the powerlevel of doomhammer is insane. 16 dmg for 5(7) mana is insane and sets you on a clock, even if you have ungraded heropower with warrior or priest. with healbot rotating out, shaman will be the new druid (tempo plays, more burst, less carddraw)
16 dmg is just doomhammer (2*8=16). with 2x rockbiter you can add 12 dmg. you you can do 28 dmg with just 3 cards. ok it's not realistic but around 10 dmg with doomhammer or 16 with one combo is "average". even reno isnt sometimes good enough vs shaman, because you lose befor turn 6 or you have to use him to heal with 15-20 hp because you would lose otherwise and 10 hp more is just a doomhammer.
look at rogue, warlock, hunter, mage, druid... do you see any heal? they replaced healbot with a 4/4 do nothing vs a face deck... WOW. i want a control meta but i dont think we will see one :(
I'm really happy to see Druid cards and Blade Flurry nerfed.
they nerfed druid the worst way: the bad combo piece is still out there and they nerfed keeper, a strong but not broken card..
blade furry was one of the best aoe cards but you have to invest something into it. removing face dmg is a really nice way but the nerf to 4 mana is just unfair to the class
Did you seriously just say that?
how would have you nerfed it combo?
im happy with the fon(still playable in some decks), but savage roar is still too good if you compare it to bloodlust, should be 4 mana. keeper should be a 2/3 at least, i dont see why you should play it over owl or the new 2/1 deal 2 dmg.
the cheapest blade furry will be 6 mana: heropower and bf. wow, 6 mana for 1 dmg, and 1 dmg (and deal dmg to your face if you hit a minion). now you buff it with poision: 7 mana 3 dmg aoe and deal 3 dmg( and dmg to your face). mage got flamestrike, warlock can do so much more with shadowflame. also rogue still is missing a strong heal so they dont have to fear getting low on hp and some kind of carddraw that isnt prep sprint. they got teepot, for a class that needs flexability. what do you do if you draw into a 5 mana card without prep? heropower? great play
1. building a deck around 1 card doesnt work(ok reno jackson, but dont have to pick secific cards, just play a deck with a high variance and the effect super strong)
2. i know the intension of the nerf but "classcards should be better than neutrals" and keeper was strong but not over the top like doomhammer, knifejuggler(i think he is still broken) and roar.
1.there are WAY better 8 mana plays than silence+2 dmg and summon a 3/5 and a 2/2...
2.i wanted to say that keeper was an autoinclude because he got a pretty good effekt and a decent boody. now we have neutrals with a better body and im sure that the card is way to pricy to see any play because ether you play spellbender or just play a bigger creature like yeti.
look at all the choose cards: starfall is a damn good card... if it would be 4 mana. same for mark of the wild or dark wipserer. flexability is cool but shouldnt make the card more expensive
Blade Flurry, LOL.
Just, lol. Uses at least 1 Weapon Durability (if not more), destroys the remaining durability, and costs 4 mana. Like, seriously? Those requirements are stupidly high for a board clear that doesn't even hit face anymore.
All you had to do was make it hit minions only. Why did you have to double the mana cost making this akin to garbage like Kidnapper? Alternatively, GIVE ROGUES A DECENT BOARD CLEAR THAT DOESN'T HAVE SUCH RIDICULOUS REQUIREMENTS.
Seriously?
That's such bad patch imho. Killing old cards isn't the way to balance card game. Printing good cards that can compete with them is the way. Probably my position is bit conservative but i hate how blizzard handling balance in HS(by killing good cards and same way making players use worse cards instead)
Why is nerfing old cards not the right way? If some stick out (or synergise TOO well with new cards) and they want to reduce the power curve, why not nerf some cards?
Now, whether some of the nerfs (Blade Flurry, Ancient of Lore etc.) are a bit over the top is another matter, but there's nothing inherently wrong with nerfing, it's one of the big benefits of a digital TCG.
You would rather have them power creep? So in a few years I'm playing a 10/10 2 mana beast that deathrattle summons 3 3/3s............... If you want that great, but most don't and they are better off just altering cards that are overpowered.
I realy like most of the changes. I did a video where I talk about every card. Go check it out :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNeQUcEthvY
Gotta nerf´em all!!
some will but the problem with spellbreaker is it's to expensive, even though owl's stats are horrible you can still play a 7 drop with it, while you can only play a 6 drop with spellbreaker.
The important thing here is that you actually have to make an informed choice about which to put in your deck and why it's there.