As RealGear reported earlier, Blizzard announced that the Hearthstone Druid Class is getting a nerf and promised to unveil more information this week. Well, it seems the developer kept its promise and published a post announcing the upcoming balance changes to several Hearthstone cards.
Contrary to all expectations, no changes are to be imposed on the Ultimate Infestation or the Jade Idol. However, the Druid class will be hit hard. Blizzard has decided to nerf the Innervate and the Spreading Plague. A few powerful cards from classic set – namely the Shaman’s Hex and Warrior’s Fiery War Axe will be altered as well. In the blog post, Blizzard announced the following changes:
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)
The developer justified its decision with the following argument: “After careful consideration, we chose to make changes to three Basic class cards: Innervate, Fiery War Axe, and Hex.” Developer’s note also reads: “While they can be regarded as staples in those classes’ card repertoires, too many Basic and Classic cards played in individual decks means less fun when new expansions are released.”
Blizzard shared that the team has considered different ideas for nerfs for the three Basic cards but at the end, it settled for the above-mentioned ones.
As for the Murloc Warleader, the developer explained that the team opted for a nerf as they did not want to move cards to the Hall of Fame too often.
Blizzard also revealed details about the other problem children – the Ultimate Infestation and the Ice Block and said that for the time being, they will remain as they are. In point of fact, the Ice Block will most probably stick around until the first expansion release of 2018, as Blizzard moves cards to the Hall of Fame at the beginning of the Hearthstone year.
Nevertheless, Hearthstone fans have already expressed their gratitude to the team for remedying the “Druid” situation, although the nerfs are not exactly what some players might have expected.
