As of this writing, Blizzard announced some major balance changes coming our way. Let’s take a close look at them:
[Innervate]—Now reads: Gain 1 Mana Crystal this turn only. (Down from 2)
[Fiery War Axe]—Now costs 3 mana. (Up from 2)
[Hex]—Now costs 4 mana. (Up from 3)
[Murloc Warleader]—Now reads: Your other Murlocs have +2 Attack. (Down from +2 Attack, +1
Health)
[Spreading Plague]—Now costs 6 mana. (Up from 5)
These are a combination of some of the changes that I expected, and a lot of changes I would never have guessed, but am pleasantly surprised to see. Let’s break them down.
Innervate
First, there’s [Innervate]. This is a much bigger blow to all Druid decks than it seems, as the burst available to them simply isn’t there anymore without using a valuable card slot or finding a way of replacing itself (think [Counterfeit Coin] and [Gadgetzan Auctioneer]). This will put Jade decks more in line with other midrange/value decks, without completely neutering the other ramp capabilities ([Wild Growth] is still powerful, as is [Mire Keeper]).
This also gives [Ultimate Infestation] a huge blow, without actually changing the card. I’ve said a number of times publicly, on my broadcast, and elsewhere, that [Ultimate Infestation] isn’t the actual problem, despite being massively powerful. The card being cast on turn nine or ten is very strong, but on par. The card being cast on turn seven, however, is absolutely backbreaking. This goes back to the age old rule when nerfing or banning something: Take out the enabler, rather than the enabled.
Let’s imagine a world where [Ultimate Infestation] is nerfed to the ground. Druid players would just replace it with a similarly busted card, and continue its ways. [Jade Idol] couldn’t really be hit without rendering it useless; and if they did, we’d just be playing against generic midrange Druid with the capability of still Infesting you on turn seven, which gives no other reason for other midrange decks to exist. [Jade Idol], and to a greater extent, Jade Druid, is still a very, very powerful deck, probably still tier one, but I think that’s alright. Taking away the early burst that the deck was capable of leaves a whole ton of room for hyper aggressive decks to run them over before they can properly set up, and for other control decks to have some breathing room to pivot or keep initiative.
Spreading Plague
The nerf to [Spreading Plague] further reinforces the aggro portion of the previous point. I initially suggested that this card be brought up to seven mana, but combined with the [Innervate] nerf, six is completely reasonable. Druid, especially non-Jade midrange versions, can no longer burst, meaning they have to play fair just like the Priest and Mage decks of the world. Yes, they can still [Wild Growth] and push one out on turn five, but most other decks have answers about a turn early—[Shadow Word: Horror], [Frost Nova] plus [Doomsayer], [Brawl], etc.—so it lines up.
This was pretty straightforward, and giving aggressive decks that already had avenues to beat this card (as difficult as it may have been) an extra turn or two to dispatch their opponent is great for the [Bittertide Hydra]s and [Arcanite Reaper]s hanging out at the top of their curve. Expect more Pirate Warrior and Aggro Druid making their way to the top of the metagame.
Fiery War Axe
Speaking of Warrior, the [Fiery War Axe] nerf is one that’s a pretty long time coming, since probably Old Gods. There really wasn’t another way of nerfing it either. I’m not exactly sure if I buy the intuitive conflict they gave with bringing the power down to two, but even if that were the case, it likely still would be pretty busted. Bringing it up to three mana will still make it very playable, especially in decks like Pirate Warrior. Weapons are incredibly valuable to have on aggressive Warrior decks at all times, and the greater challenge will be finding cards to fill the curve on two.
Control Warrior decks take a far greater hit, as this was their only tool when it came to stabilizing aggressive starts. Now, things get awkward with this and, say, [Acolyte of Pain], and something needs to be filled in or have their role changed. Is Slam going to forego the card draw more often in order to deal with early threats now? [Doomsayer] has already pulled a lot of weight and may have to work overtime. Time will tell.
Hex
[Hex] was an incredibly strange one when I first saw it, but their reasoning makes a lot of sense. The power level of the card wasn’t a big deal, but they just wanted to give Shaman a slight timing adjustment when it came to how they dealt with larger minions. Regardless of how heavily the card is being played now, adjustments like this are fine to me, as long as it lines up with what their vision of the class should be (even if I don’t necessarily agree with that adjustment or vision). Shamans that are interested in this card will still play it, but [Thing from Below] may be slightly worse, which isn’t the end of the world.
Murloc Warleader
Last, there’s [Murloc Warleader]. The loss of the health buff is a huge deal, as Murlocs are way more susceptible to silence effects, sweepers, and actual combat math. This will hurt Murloc Paladin in a moderate way, but it will still be played. This may make the deck take a more aggressive slant in the end, which may make decks like Highlander Priest slightly worse, especially when decks like Aggro Druid will still be powerful, but this is a welcome change that will keep the rest of the format more in line with each other.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with these changes. I’m often critical of the team that works on balancing Hearthstone, but I think this will wind up being fine. Yes, the specific Jade cards didn’t get hit, but I don’t think they needed to be. If they’re given an inherent weakness (aggro), as well as something slower decks can use to have a shot ([Skulking Geist], [Ice Block] strategies), then it would be way more effective to the format as a whole, rather than blowing things up the moment the community complains about something. There’s always going to be a best deck, but if the best decks goes from being oppressive, to still-very-strong, then that’s fine with me.
I think the biggest winners of these changes in the short term are Big Priest and Raza Priest, any Mage deck, and Aggro Druid. Pirate Warrior and Murloc Paladin will be up in the air, though I expect them to remain the same. Any non-Jade midrange Druid will hurt pretty badly, and Rogue will get hit the hardest due to many of the decks that Rogue was bad against will likely be played more, Mage specifically.
This is a great shakeup that I hope pans out, and I’m excited to actually have a shot at taking
down Jade Druid now.
Anthony has been competing in games for the better part of his adult life and is dedicated to improving his game, improving his community, improving himself as a person, and most importantly having fun and enjoying himself while doing so. You can check out his stream to find out which video game is the latest to catch his attention.