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.
It's a Winter Veil miracle! Although when I first read the Leeching Poison nerf "Now costs 1 mana, down from 2" I was quite annoyed for Blizz to buff Kingsbane but then noticed the "this turn" part.
"Fun and interactive" decks definitely take a hit today and I don't mind. Additionally, I have hoarded at least 7 regular and 1 golden Nourishes that should give me some sweet dust, not sure if I have any extra of the rest.
Hunter, Warlock and Priest the big winners from this nerfs.
YES!!!
Hell, It's about time.
Shudder will still live on in wild with doppelgangster.
I don't know if it is intentional but they didn't change Doppelgangster. So shudderwock will still go on in wild?
Dopplegangster is much weaker by itself then Saronite. So technically yeah, it still may work in wild. But it will not be THAT good at least.
Or maybe they just forgot. Its Blizzard after all. Aren't we used to it?
yes it will, and since Doppelgangster makes 2 copies, it might be a god platform to build a Reno Shudderwock deck on as you get the same copes you would from playing 2 chain gangs
It is not actually. Its not increasing your chance to get copy battlecry before Grumble triggers. Also its one of the most important parts of combo, so it appear to be at the bottom of your deck you rect. Also there literally no advantages in getting 2 copies instead of one. You will get 2 shadderwock in hand (if you get lucky), but it doesn't even matter since you only need one. Maybe its just increase your chance for next shudders tho, but its only if you won 50/50 first time (there also zola and new elemental, so chance a bit more then 50/50, but whatever. Deck still much less reliable)
I don't think I've seen Blizzard take a nerf bat to things so quickly. Basically announce and then pretty much immediately do it.
WOOOOO my Reno decks in wild now won't bothered by Kingsbane anymore. Meanwhile Valeera out there somewhere punching the air.
Wow ! Is that it ??? Am I dead ??? Am I in Heaven ???? Best news of the day so far.
Cherry on the cake for wild players like me would have been to secretely remove Barnes from the game, and this was the Ultimate move. But Hey, hope is life.
Too late for these nerfs. Why they waiting so long?
Omg no more Shudderwock, no more Kingsbane, no more odd paladin and a serious nerf to druid......
Am i dreaming? :O
Wow.
BEST NERFS EVER GJ BLIZZ FINALLY