Patch 18.0.2 - Balance Changes - Kael'thas, Illucia & Battlegrounds
Blizzard announced the first Balance changes for Scholomance Academy, including some Balance changes for Battlegrounds.
Tuesday Update: Patch now LIVE.
Quote from Alec DawsonMindrender Illucia was quite strong, stronger than what we want out of cards like Mindrender Illucia (Star Student Stelina, Glide, etc.). We expected players to continue to learn how to take advantage of her, especially in the early game.
Quote from Alec DawsonKael'thas Sunstrider created too many turns that didn't feel like they should be possible. This change is aimed at eliminating some of those non-games that could occur because of his ability.
Quote from BlizzardIn the coming days we’ll be releasing a balance patch that includes a slew of Battlegrounds updates, adjustments for two minions in Standard, and handful of bug fixes.
Standard Balance Updates
Kael’thas Sunstrider
- Old: Every third spell you cast each turn costs (0). → New: Every third spell you cast each turn costs (1).
Mindrender Illucia
- Old: [Cost 2] → New: [Cost 3]
Mindrender Illucia will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks after the 18.0.2 patch goes live.
Battlegrounds Minion Updates
- Gentle Megasaur has been removed from the Battlegrounds minion pool.
- Arcane Cannon has been removed from Battlegrounds minion pool.
Rabid Saurolisk
- Old: 3 Attack, 2 Health → New: 4 Attack, 2 Health
Rat Pack
- Old: [Tier 2] → New: [Tier 3]
Pack Leader
- Old: [Tier 3] → New: [Tier 2]
Monstrous Macaw
- Old: 3 Attack, 2 Health → New: 4 Attack, 3 Health
Primalfin Lookout
- Old: [Tier 5] → New: [Tier 4]
- Now only Discovers minions from your current Tavern Tier or below.
Nat Pagle, Extreme Angler
- Old: Overkill: Summon a 0/2 Treasure Chest. → New: After this attacks and kills a minion, add a random minion to your hand.
- Minions generated are from your Tavern Tier or below.
Mama Bear
- Old: [Tier 6] 5 Attack, 5 Health. Whenever you summon a Beast, give it +5/+5.→ New: [Tier 5] 4 Attack, 4 Health. Whenever you summon a Beast, give it +4/+4.
Goldrinn, the Great Wolf
- Old: Deathrattle: Give your Beasts +4/+4. → New: Deathrattle: Give your Beasts +5/+5.
Battlegrounds Hero Updates
- Lady Vashj has been removed from the Battlegrounds Hero pool.
Captain Eudora
- Buried Treasure
- Old: Dig for a Golden minion! (4 Digs left.) → New: Dig for a Golden minion! (5 Digs left.)
Reno Jackson
- Gonna Be Rich!
- Old: [Cost 2] → New: [Cost 0]
The Lich King
- Reborn Rites
- Old: [Cost 1] → New: [Cost 0]
Galakrond
- Galakrond’s Greed
- Now freezes the minion added to Bob’s Tavern.
Bugs Fixes & Game Improvements
- Fixed a visual bug with Archwitch Willow’s play animation.
- Fixed a bug where Southsea Strongarm was showing incorrect art.
- Fixed a bug where casting Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron with Rattlegore on board would cause the game to freeze.
- Fixed several technical bugs that would cause the game to crash.
The problem is that it is a self-included card in all aggro decks. Don't you know the HoF philosophy? If a card is very played and self-included in all the decks it deserves to go to the HoF. Also there are people who ask for a nerf for Sorcerer's Apprentice that sounds more stupid. It doesn't surprise me that you don't care about balance. Loatheb is fine because it is only one card in a whole deck of 30 cards, not 2 copies.
People like you create a toxic community
I expected more nerfs to the cards of this expansion because they can be a problem in the future like Voracious Reader, Cult Neophyte, Argent Braggart, Secret Passage, Potion of Illusion and Disciplinarian Gandling. Kael'thas Sunstrider continues to work for druid because it has cards to increase mana, it only kills the other classes that carry Kael'thas Sunstrider.
Mindrender Illucia is fine but not necessary, it has a very strong battlecry but only if you know how to use it very well.
Really? You think Cult Neophyte needs to be nerfed? Loatheb was no problem, so this is only to counter natural counterplays by your opponent.
Cult Neophyte?, that card is totally find. I dont see a reason to nerf it
The problem is that it is a self-included card in all aggro decks. Don't you know the HoF philosophy? If a card is very played and self-included in all the decks it deserves to go to the HoF. Also there are people who ask for a nerf for Sorcerer's Apprentice that sounds more stupid. It doesn't surprise me that you don't care about balance. Loatheb is fine because it is only one card in a whole deck of 30 cards, not 2 copies.
Cult Neophyte has one attack too many when he should have 2 attack for his battlecry
Hm, maybe, but, the effect is that small that i dont think a nerf is necesary, i mean, loatheb was a 5/5 and a legendary, yes, but the effect was 5 times higher,
I'm just saying that his attack needs a reduction for that effect. Even maybe one more mana.
I think the way they nerfed Kael'thas is dumb for the same reason that the way they nerfed rogue galakrond was dumb: it makes 0 cost spells cost 1. That's just a step too far.
My dude if you're using a 0 mana cost as your Kael'thas' third spell then you should really REALLY get your brain checked, jokes aside. Even now, would you use Innervate, Lightning Bloom, Bogbeam or any other 0 cost spell as the third Kael spell? No, right? So why would yo even use that as an argument? For real, get checked dude.
How long we will suffer from imbalanced Silverback Patriarch. It was too owerpowered from the beggining.
I propose such nerf: after your opponent plays a minion, Silverback throws banana (give +1/+1) to it.
At least, It will give a small chance for enemy minions to deal with the best taunt in Hearthstone history.
my buddy mains priest rn (since it's the only thing close to a normal control deck that has a positive win rate) and this is his exact experience. It's as much gamble as it is figuring out what's in the opponent's hand. This is to make the tilted rage babies feel better, the loudest ones that stream or post a lot on Twitter and forums when a card beats them. Think Jesse Alexander when he says "weapon removal is just bad" while he mains rogue with Self-Sharpening Sword.
Outside of this, I have no idea why it was nerfed. I think the hype for this card has hard carried this decision because the numbers I can see (no pro account on HSReplay) show this card to be incredibly good if you're in an incredibly specific matchup or - even more so - in an incredibly specific situation (one that you'd often win anyways out of merit of being priest vs a deck that can lose to Illucia).
I'll enjoy that dust refund, though.
Same, I don't think Illucia nerf is needed or even good. Illucia's main job was to fuck combo decks, she still does at 3 mana, main complaint against Illucia was that she is annoying when playing against her, she still will be annoying at 3 mana.
Im guessing its the "unfun" aspect of the card mostly, not exactly its power level. It's the first sort of Mindslaver for Hearthstone. Magic taught us a lot about things being unfun to the other player while being fun for the one in control - land destruction, random discard, endless cheap counterspells, uninteractable combos and of course stealing your opponents stuff (whole turns no less) are all things that have seen their cost raised, occurrence lowered or have disappeared altogether from the game.
I've just crafted mine a few days ago, and am planning on still feeling some of that addictive powerplaying your opponents deck / running him out of options to play his game, but i know better that this can be really unfun for the other side. While such strategies should be playable as a theorycraft they should not be too competitive. That way the player that likes unfun control can still feel it somehow and actually be greeted by appreciation because its such an uncommon appearance to work.
Yeah I think Blizzard has said as much through employee Twitter accounts, which I get to a point, but it seems like the few times it is truly unfun, it's also a VERY specific situation, so I think 3-mana is fine to help reduce the #feelsbadman for the few times it doesn't backfire.
I mean, ultimately that's why they nerfed Dr. Boom, Mad Genius. He wasn't any more broken than Pocket Galaxy, he just felt bad when he rolled the exact hero powers he needed (and rush felt a bit OP if you managed to own the board all match). Entirely beatable and in now way truly broken, but it made everyone feel terrible (which i think is largely due to people not wanting to face control at all, given the reactive nature of the archetype).
TL;DR = Feels matter, so the nerf makes sense if Blizzard wants to maintain player base size.
i dont understand the Mindrender nerf.
I finally put her out of my deck cause she was just a dead card in 90% of the matches.
On HS replay, she has the lowest winrates of all cards in Highlander Priest for example "when played".
She backfired so hard sometimes when my opponent draws a good card next turn from my deck. One time i gave my opponent lethal cause he drew my Zephrys into Windfury, lol.
i could manage to completely fuck over a Druid, but...thats it.
Cause is an high skill level card... And this is a game for kids. So you can put Hanar on turn 2 draw 5 cards with 1 mana, but not this cause kids cry and babies' crying is usually annoying.
I wish they would bring kael thas back down to 6 with a nerf that big.
wrong demon will be GOD mode now with no poison
Previously if you wanted to keep 1 minion that you upgraded so that you could upgrade it again next turn then you would have to freeze the whole board. Now with the upgraded card frozen you'll get a new fresh board the next turn rather than having to freeze it all just for 1 minion.