Hearthstone Classic Nerfs Analysis

With the upcoming expansion of Hearthstone the developers are definitely pulling out all the stops to "keep the game fresh" and improve the longevity of the game by removing some cards from the standard play, and also change some classic cards that are included in standard, but throttle the design team in their current state.

Blizzard took plenty of consideration into each of the changes you see below, including internal testing and a large amount of community feedback, as well as using their simple design principle: "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."

Druid Cards

Most hearthstone players know the main issue with most druid decks, they pretty much have to auto-include Force of Nature / Savage Roar, their strength is unparalleled and it's almost idiotic not to include it in any druid deck you make. Along with this combo druid is known to have some extremely strong cards, so much so that many of their newer cards are blatantly ignored. Seemed like Blizzard noticed and is changing some cards to remedy this issue. Ancient of Lore

One of the major druid late-game powerhouses, Ancient of Lore lays out a strong body and draws two cards most of the time, as well as giving flexibility of saving you from aggro decks. If you consider that drawing a card can be thought of most of the time being worth 1.5 mana, this card gives you pretty much 8 mana worth of stats, not including the extra stats for the flexibility of being able to heal yourself. Blizzard's change definitely makes the card make a bit more sense, making the overall card more balanced and making the choices something you can really think about more.

Force of Nature

Here it is, the change everyone was really wondering about for druid. Force of Nature was the card you never wanted to see and have made plenty of people insta-concede if they heard the following combo card Savage Roar. The newer version removes charge and lowers the mana cost by 1, really changing the use of the card. Now I'm not so sure this card will be used often, but I do think 6/6 stats for 5 mana is worth something, possibly being strong in a token deck depending on any tools that may be added in Whispers of the Old Gods.

Keeper of the Grove

Similar to how Ancient of Lore has flexibility, Keeper of the Grove has similar flexibility, allowing you to get rid of a strong effect, or deal two direct damage. Honestly this change was off my radar, I never considered Keeper of the Grove to be too strong, I do agree that out of all 4 cost cards, Keeper of the Grove is a top contender. I think class cards should generally be stronger than others, but I can't complain about blizzard having other players give more thought on their minions in druid decks.

Silence and Removal

The following cards will have silencing and removal in mind. Throughout the years, many hearthstone cards have seen such constant play, that many card are viewed to be weak because so many counters were getting rid of them too effectively. Inexpensive removal of a threat can sometimes swing a game so much you can immediately expect to lose, and really keeps some fun cards from being designed. Personally I'd love to play some more of the dragons, like Nozdormu or Nefarian, though because of the amount of cheap removal, it just isn't a smart play right now.

Ironbeak Owl

Ironbeak Owl is a very consistently played source of silence in many decks, for good reason. To keep the cost of silence and removals to be less efficient overall, the choice has been made to increase it's mana cost to 3. I'm not sure if it'll still be played, but to be fair, in some decks the beast tag can be pretty strong in itself. Big Game Hunter

Speaking of cards that limit design, Big Game Hunter has been the culprit of the cut of may 7+ mana cost cards in almost every deck. Pretty much a staple of removal in almost every type of deck, Big Game Hunter efficiently removed a large threat, and left a decent body on the board to deal with any smaller threats that still lingered. Blizzard's choice to increase the mana cost to 5 is not surprising. I feel like it's mana cost will still be low enough for this card to see play, allowing you get rid of a threat and play a solid 5 mana minion to back it up.

Hunters Mark

To keep in line with the removal mana increase, hunters mark's mana cost is being increased to 1 mana. Simple change, will most likely still see play in midrange/control hunter decks.

Blade Flurry

One of my favorite changes coming is the upcoming nerf to Blade Flurry. For 2 mana, Blade Flurry could allow rogues to clear the board and perform large amounts of burst damage with counterplay limited to playing deathrattle minions. I'm not so sure if getting rid of the damage to all enemies is correct, I believe that change alone will drastically lower it's amount of play.

Powerful Neutral Minions

Some neutral minions currently are so strong, they overtake class cards and a hard to imagine being replaced in their current mana class. To solve this problem Blizzard is changing the minions below to be strong choices so include in certain decks, but not an auto-include in the mana slot.

Knife Juggler

One of the most powerful 2 drops in the game, Knife Juggler combines with many token cards like Unleash the Hounds, Violet Teacher, and Muster for Battle to unleash a decent body with random (though I suspect some hunters I faced learned to control it) damage. The drop in attack power really doesn't phase me, I believe this card will still widely be played given there are cards to combo with it.

Leper Gnome

Another card that I feel like will still be played is Leper Gnome. Most of the time this card was played just for free damage in aggro decks, and I don't see the drop in attack keeping it back, though it may not be able to trade with many other minions, I think it's primary purpose will keep it seeing play.

Arcane Golem

Most of the time through this article I've been pretty accepting of these changes, but I feel like this change will completely kill this card. Cards with downsides for increased stats need to really be interesting to see play, and I feel that ramping your opponents mana pool is too strong for this card to be played. Honestly I don't even think I'd play it even if the stats were increased to 5/5.

Molten Giant

Molten Giant has always been a somewhat risky play, though most of the time these days playing it for 0 mana and having a way to heal up immediately is just too easy. Changing its mana cost to 25 will increase the risk, but I believe the previously mentioned combo will still be done and the identity of the card is still intact. I don't see this card being removed from play, but some decks may choose other threats instead.

Master of Disguise

Possibly the highest contender for limiting design is Master of Disguise. Cool effects like Mal'ganis, or Animated Armor could never be made for rogue because well, it would make rogue's nearly invincible. This change won't keep the card from seeing play, now that Piloted Shredder is moving out, Master of Disguise can be a solid choice when building a deck. It's a nice change and makes way for exciting new designs for rogue cards.

Thank you for reading my analysis, it was a pleasure and if you enjoyed this, I'll be sure to write more about hearthstone in the future. Please be sure to like our facebook page for updates on other content including Reviews, DIYs, Podcasts soon, and more!

#Hearthstone #Analysis