Upcoming Hearthstone Balance Changes - Wild Growth, Nourish, Level Up!, Saronite Chain Gang, Leeching Poison CHANGES ARE NOW LIVE
Five card changes are coming to Hearthstone on December 19th, which is... today!
- [Discuss this Change] Wild Growth now costs 3, up from 2.
- [Discuss this Change] Nourish now costs 6, up from 5.
- [Discuss this Change] Level Up! now costs 6, up from 5.
- [Discuss this Change] Saronite Chain Gang now summons another Saronite Chain Gang, instead of a copy of the minion.
- [Discuss this Change] Leeching Poison now costs 1, down from 2, and only gives Lifesteal for 1 turn.
Check out Blizzard's post below for more information on each of the changes.
Quote from BlizzardIn an update scheduled to arrive December 19 PST, the following cards will be changed.
Developer’s Note: This balance update is focused on improving the long-term health of both Standard and Wild. We've opted to make these changes earlier in the expansion cycle than we normally consider; we'd like to hear your feedback on the timing of this update, in addition to what you think of all the individual card changes.
Wild Growth – Will cost 3 mana. (Up from 2)
Nourish – Will cost 6 mana. (Up from 5)
Wild Growth and Nourish have been present in every mid-range, combo, and control Druid deck since their introduction in the Basic and Classic set. When cards from the Basic and Classic set are too powerful, they can have negative long-term effects on the game. Continuously playing against these cards can start to feel repetitive, and they can feel so mandatory that they stifle creative deckbuilding decisions. By increasing the mana cost of both cards by one, we expect them to be considerations in late-game control Druid decks, but more difficult to fit in strategies that don’t directly take advantage of ramping mana.
Level Up! – Will cost 6 mana. (Up from 5)
Odd Paladin has consistently been one of the most powerful and most played decks since its introduction in The Witchwood. By removing Level Up from Odd Paladin, we still expect it to be a competitive board control deck, just with more consistent damage output that should be easier to play around.
Saronite Chain Gang – Now reads: Taunt. Battlecry: Summon another Saronite Chain Gang.
Shudderwock brings an interesting combo to the table, but playing Shudderwock multiple times in a single game can be frustrating. Changing Saronite Chain Gang makes playing multiple Shudderwocks in a game much more difficult. Shudderwock should now exist as a powerful one-turn effect rather than constantly copying itself with Saronite Chain Gang’s Battlecry.
Leeching Poison – Will cost 1 mana. (Down from 2). Now reads: Give your weapon Lifesteal this turn.
We love the fantasy of building a powerful weapon over the course of a game with Kingsbane, but granting it a permanent Lifesteal effect with Leeching Poison resulted in an endgame with few weaknesses, as well as conflicting with our philosophy that Rogues should not have persistent self-healing effects. Making the Lifesteal effect only active for one turn should address some of the power level issues with Kingsbane Rogue’s late game.
Kiwii's Thoughts
Resident deck architect Kiwiinbacon had some thoughts on the nerfs.
My favorite are Kingsbane rogue mains tears... They think it's normal to deal 20 damage and heal for 20 every turn... Plus this guy who says Level up nerf is a (direct!) nerf to Baku, when Baku is a neutral card played by multiple classes...
You have to remember that odd paladin was the best f2p deck , maybe he didn't have a choice.
But Baku is still a good card anyway,it's just people that crafted Kingsbane recently that got rekt... which I like
Hello,
can you elaborate? I meant to say that it is unfortunate for players that their decks/other legendaries are nerfed because of nerfs of cards that are less rare
As I said, Baku is a neutral card played in a lot of other decks, so this nerf is just a slight (and an indirect) nerf to Baku as a standalone card. Secondly, if they nerf a card that makes an archetype cancerous, that can't be seen as a nerf to the whole archetype that may afterwards become healthier, if a bit weaker, but for the greater good.
People invest in cancerous decks, then complain when they get nerfed. Think ahead! Don't play cancer, and if you do, be prepared for the consequences.
my dream of making Val'anyr-based deck with some self copy minion is kinda broken because of that nerf. now the self copy card for it is only Doppelgangster and Echoing Ooze
Rummaging Kobold will also let you get a copy of Val'anyr.
This seems a bit rushed. Usually the nerfs are announced several days before they go live, preceded by an announcement that there are going to be nerfs, preceded by "we're looking at certain cards" hints. I didn't see this coming at all.
Strong is not the same as cancerous.
These are PERFECT! Love these nerfs! Especially Leeching and Saronites. Personally I have nothing against Odd Pally so I wouldn't nerf it, but whatever.
Why should they? Both Cards are still good and didn't change them
They wont.
Didn't see that coming.
If devs think that people will suddenly use their new shiny Rastakhan's Rumble cards, I'm afraid they will be disappointed. There are still lots of busted cards from KoFT and K&C that weren't nerfed.
Seeing the Kingsbane nerf is like finding out that Santa Claus is real. Playing against Kingsbane rogue is as interactive as watching someone else flip a coin. This nerf will make a huge difference.
That's not how the English language works. Complimenting one aspect of a post doesn't mean I condone or chastise all of the other aspects that a post might mention or not mention.
The saronite chain gang will still summon a saronite with the same buffs? For example, if I buff it with the spirit of the bat, arena fanatic or soul infusion, it will summon 2 buffed minions?
No, i guess it'll summon a 2/3 taunt, but we should just wait and test it
My favorite class is pretty much flushed down the toilet. So, "naturally", I'm upset. If you think Druid is "way too OP" and "always good" and if you are generally happy the class is receiving yet another severe nerf, please ignore this comment.
For introduction, a quick glance at the Druid Classic set:
Wrath: Nerfed. Originally could target heroes, still decent but currently ignored
Naturalize: Considered "bad" for years, but fits the current control/combo style
Mark of Nature: Bad card
Druid of the Claw: Outdated
Power of the Wild: Ok in token decks
Soul of the Forest: Considered "bad" for years, ok in some current token decks
Savagery: Nerfed. Used to cost 3 and target all enemy minions
Bite: Nerfed. Used to give you 6 attack
Nourish: Nerfed. Used to cost 5
Keeper of the Grove: Nerfed. Used to have 4 health
Starfall: Nerfed. Originally could target heroes as well. Rareley used
Ancient of Lore: Double nerfed. Originally restored 8 health, nerfed again to draw 1 card instead of 2
Force of Nature: Nerfed. Used to cost 6 to give you 3 Treants for one turn with Charge
Ancient of War. Outdated
Cenarius: Nerfed. Used to cost 8
I guess the "long-term health for Standard and Wild" includes Classic being nothing more than a dust collector. And Druid being largely unplayable. The class looked pretty bad with the rotation coming up anyway, but with this, it's Priest level bad. Either you do this on purpose, or you should really stop and think about what you want to do with the game, the Classic set, and the Druid class in particular. Because it looks like you just hate old cards for no other reason than "Standard needs to feel fresh" without giving a damn about class design, balancing and set quality.
Then why the hell do you even want them in the game anyway? Move it to Wild. What good is a set that is not allowed to have any consistently good cards in it? Why keep cards as a baseline in Standard, when every staple is considered a "threat"? What happened to the idea of Classic being a good set for new players? What happened to the idea of having Classic in Standard so you would not have to reprint fundamental tools every other year? What happened to the idea of Classic being class defining, providing basic archetypes? Ramping was a core mechanic for Druid, and in return, the class was weak at clearing the board and limited in dealing with big threats. Now, every single Ramp effect is nerfed, so what is Druid supposed to be good in?
You know what stifles creative deckbuilding even more? Not having alternatives. Only having a handful of playable cards and a lot of trash that was either nerfed or intentionally designed that way. Druids use Wild Growth and Nourish, because the late game strategies are good, and other strategies are weak.
Nobody would use Wild Growth or Nourish in a Zoo-type deck or something more Midrange-like. We even saw decks that did not use these cards at all, like Spiteful Druid and the Token Druid in JTU. And guess what, these decks were either nerfed (the irony) or became outdated, because other classes could consistently beat them. Nothing new came up in that direction since. Instead, you released more and more bad cards with no purpose, or cards that only support late game strategies, where these cards for late game strategies are vitally important.
Maybe there is a connection between not having many alternatives and using the remaining good cards too often. Before you nerf Swipe like everbody demands: Count the board clearing effects Druid got in the last 4 years, then count the burst spells, and you might understand why it's used in every deck. There is NO other card that does any one of these things. It's the same with Hunter using Kill Command in every deck.
And let's not forget that Nourish was hardly ever used until you nerfed Ancient of Lore. You took out one option, now you take out another. And Nourish was not even used for ramp until Ultimate Infestation came along. Surprisingly, drawing cards is massively important in a ramp deck. But now that UI is leaving, nothing's left. Super slow ramp and weak draw. You cut out the strengths, but leave the weaknesses untouched.
If there was any Druid deck that was not desgined to purposefully take advantage of ramping mana, you would maybe have a point. But you don't, since these decks don't exist. The closest perhaps is Token Druid, but even that is more of a combo deck, that needs the ramp to survive and stabilize faster to set up a strong board.
And ultimately, Druid is not even all that good as a control class. Yes, right now there's Spreading Plague, and Branching Paths, and Lesser Jasper Spellstone, and the DK, but all these cards rotate out. Then, you are left with a terrible early game, no board clears, and few tools to win the game by the end. So, where exactly are expensive ramp effects supposed to look attractive?
I might honestly be done with the game at this point. When I started out, I was looking forward to having all these great Classic cards that reminded me of Warcraft, and I was happy when they announced they would keep them all in Standard moving forward. And my most favorite class by far was Druid. Not because it was good, but because I liked the theme. I liked the idea of using cards like Innervate and Wild Growth to summon some big trees like Ironbark Protector (you know, basic decks and all...). And I really looked forward to crafting Ancient of Lore and Ancient of War, that would compensate you for using those spells. And I was really happy I had 2 Keeper of the Grove in some of my first few packs. And it just so happened that my first legendary ever was Cenarius...
And then, they nerfed one after another. Yes, Druid was never weak despite this. Honestly, I wasn't too fond of Jade Druid, or even the newer control versions. I mean, they are strong, but they are a bit too combo-heavy for my liking. I think Druid having 20+ armor is ridiculous and not what the class should be about.
But I guess that's over now. Not only are so many cards nerfed and rendered unplayable, but with this, the entire archetype, that core element of the Class, is just gone. And in return, I get Gonk, the Raptor... I guess I can still play Shaman, and thank goodness Shudderwock will end now, but it's not the same.
^ please someone force Team5 idiots to read this piece of information thx
Wow I didn't know so many cards had been nerfed - started playing just before keeper of the grove & ancient of lore (2nd time) bit it.
Good points man - not sure why the ramp 'theme' was kinda dropped for crazy armor gain either.
The classic and standard set is definitely proving to be a bit of an issue and I can't see an easy fix.
Maybe you can try token? Has always been my fav druid archetype, is prob still solid.