In what will be remembered as an historic day for Hearthstone nerfs, Blizzard finally revealed the twelve classic set cards that will be nerfed in anticipation of the game’s upcoming Whispers of the Old Gods expansion and formatting changes.
Considering Blizzard has always been somewhat hesitant to lay down nerfs, this represents their largest attempt to restore balance to the Hearthstone world. While many of the cards on this nerf list represent troublemakers that Hearthstone veterans have long hoped would be brought to justice, there are also those cards which have perhaps been forever changed in a way that will hinder the game moving forward.
The Right
Force of Nature
In what just may be the most anticipated nerf of all-time, Force of Nature no longer grants charge to its summoned Treants. The trade-off is that the card now costs one less mana.
Force of Nature has long given Druid players the ability to do massive amounts of damage in a single turn, and this nerf effectively kills the many decks that revolved around that ability. The best thing about this nerf, though, is that it doesn’t completely make the card unplayable. While Force of Nature is certainly no longer a card to be feared, from a pure value perspective it is still playable in certain decks that emphasize putting as many minions on the board as possible.
Ironbeak Owl
Ironbeak Owl is an interesting nerf. While the card is not outright powerful on its own, its ability to shutdown many of the game’s strongest cards for a mere two mana makes it the perfect set-up for many devastating turns.
The card’s transition from two mana to three mana may not sound like a big deal at first, but it should prove to be enough of an increase to remove the “auto-include” status that Ironbeak Owl has had in aggressive decks for some time.
Hunter’s Mark
Even though many Hearthstone players weren’t outright calling for a Hunter’s Mark nerf, the decision to change this card’s mana cost from zero to one makes a lot of sense.
Hunter’s Mark was a fundamentally broken card that could effectively destroy a minion for zero mana. The fact it wasn’t played that much leading up to the nerf is more of a comment on the state of the class it’s in, rather than the balance of the card as it existed.
Leper Gnome
Since Hearthstone’s early days, Leper Gnome’s “I feel icky” battle cry has long meant that you are about to face an incredibly aggressive player who is going to try to end the game in the next few rounds. Leper Gnome’s almost guaranteed ability to deal two damage to the enemy hero made him a must-have in every aggro deck.
This nerf may not completely change that, but changing Leper Gnome’s attack from two to one does at least minimize the potential damage that aggressive decks are able to squeeze out of a turn one play.
Arcane Golem
Arcane Golem is another one of those cards that many people didn’t realize needed a nerf until it happened. This card has become the resident game finisher since the Leeroy Jenkins nerf, and allows for savvy players to do tremendous amounts of almost unstoppable damage.
While it’s true that this nerf does mean that Arcane Golem will likely never see play in competitive Hearthstone decks again, the removal of its charge ability does eliminate one of the last remaining sources of unfair burst damage in the game.
Molten Giant
I’m honestly still a little on the fence regarding Molten Giant’s change. Given that the ability to play Molten Giant on early turns was simply a side effect of the player losing massive amounts of health, most players felt the design wasn’t really that big of an issue.
Still, increasing the card cost by five mana does make sense. There are plenty of ways to maximize the value of Molten Giant in its current form without really suffering the intended penalty, and this nerf should help ensure the card still sees play without being quite as easy to abuse.
Big Game Hunter
Along with Force of Nature, this is the Hearthstone nerf that most players assumed was inevitable.
Opinions are going to vary on this one, but it is appreciated that Big Game Hunter was allowed to keep its powerful ability. The problem was never that Big Game Hunter could destroy larger minions, but rather that it was able to do so for a paltry mana investment. This rise in mana cost should help ensure that the card is able to serve its crucial role without feeling so abusive.
The Wrong
Ancient of Lore
Ancient of Lore has long been referred to as one of Hearthstone’s best designed cards. While certainly a powerful minion, it is able to perform necessary functions for its class without winning the game outright.
Its nerf doesn’t seem to be a reflection of the card’s power in and of itself so much as statement on the potential strength of the Druid class in Hearthstone’s upcoming new format. While Ancient of Lore isn’t completely unplayable now, this is certainly a case of Blizzard trying to fix what wasn’t broken.
Knife Juggler
Given Blizzard’s fondness for nerfing cards into oblivion, it’s shocking how easily Knife Juggler got off here.
While Knife Juggler’s once absurd attack power was certainly a problem, this simple drop in stats doesn’t address the real issue. Knife Juggler is still going to be used to help aggressive decks create big rounds and it’s doubtful any deck running it now will cease to do so because of this nerf.
Keeper of the Grove
My earlier comments on Ancient of Lore’s nerf could pretty much be copy and pasted here.
While Keeper of the Grove was certainly a strong card, it didn’t represent a game-changing threat on its own. The logic behind this change seems to be that Blizzard didn’t want Hearthstone players to have a silence card they put into their decks without hesitation, but the fact that so many players ran Keeper was a comment on its design quality, rather than its game winning ability.
Blade Flurry
In what has to be one of the most debilitating nerfs in Hearthstone history, Blade Flurry not only costs two more mana than it did before, but will no longer damage the enemy hero as well as minions.
While many felt that Blade Flurry was always an absurdly strong card, it was a strong card for a class that has very few other methods of winning. While Blizzard insists this nerf will allow them to design stronger Rogue cards down the road, for now it leaves Hearthstone’s weakest class even weaker than before.
Master of Disguise
This is, without a doubt, the most surprising Hearthstone nerf on the list. While Master of Disguise’s ability to grant a minion permanent stealth was always theoretically powerful, it almost never saw play outside of humorous YouTube highlights.
Blizzard insists this nerf was done in order to allow them to create cards that would potentially become broken when coupled with Master of Disguise, but it’s a shame they couldn’t have found a way to limit the potential of the card without removing the amusement its effect occasionally caused.
This post was originally written by Matthew Byrd.
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