17.6 Balance Update – Nerfs to Dragonqueen Alexstrasza, Corsair Cache, Metamorphosis, Kayn, Warglaives, Dragoncaster, Fungal Forntunes and Rogue’s Galakrond

Last week, we’ve published Iksar’s interview with Chinese website Yingdi, where he teased that another balance update is coming before next expansion. And now we’ve got more details about it. The patch will be released next Tuesday (July 14th). That’s also most likely when the pre-orders for next expansion will go live (as they require a patch), which also means that we should see the expansion’s announcement by then!

Here are the changes coming in the patch:

Dragonqueen Alexstrasza
  • Old: Battlecry: If your deck has no duplicates, add 2 other random Dragons to your hand. They cost (0). → New: Battlecry: If your deck has no duplicates, add 2 other random Dragons to your hand. They cost (1).
Corsair Cache
  • Old: Draw a weapon. Give it +1/+1. → New: Draw a weapon. Give it +1 Durability.
Metamorphosis
  • Old: Swap your Hero Power to “Deal 5 damage.” After 2 uses, swap it back. → New: Swap your Hero Power to “Deal 4 damage.” After 2 uses, swap it back.
Kayn Sunfury
  • Old: 3 Attack, 5 Health → New: 3 Attack, 4 Health.
Warglaives of Azzinoth
  • Old: [Cost 5] → New: [Cost 6].
Dragoncaster
  • Old: [Cost 6] → New: [Cost 7].
Fungal Fortunes
  • Old: [Cost 2] → New: [Cost 3].
Galakrond, the Nightmare
  • Old: Battlecry: Draw 1 card. It costs (0). → New: Battlecry: Draw 1 card. It costs (1).

(both upgrades also have the same change)

We’ll also get some Battlegrounds changes, which should get announced soon.

Stonekeep

A Hearthstone player and writer from Poland, Stonekeep has been in a love-hate relationship with Hearthstone since Closed Beta. Over that time, he has achieved many high Legend climbs and infinite Arena runs. He's the current admin of Hearthstone Top Decks.

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Leave a Reply

34 Comments

  1. Adrian091
    July 14, 2020 at 7:31 am

    That’s too much of a nerf for DH :((

  2. HakanBeal
    July 12, 2020 at 8:20 am

    hello community!
    I was thinking about dust the cards “DQA and other stuff” then it comes to my mind. What if they will bring new spells in next expansion like “for every 1-mana card play this turn…” and then I have been like “gosh!!” wait! it would not be a nerf at all but buff!!! guys what do you think about this idea?
    thanks.

  3. LuKeAA
    July 11, 2020 at 9:33 am

    From DemonHuntingStone to HuntardStone once again.

    Boring. Glad I’m no longer spending a single penny on this game.

  4. Jasonthedragon
    July 11, 2020 at 2:01 am

    Seriously this is NUTS! This is like the 4th or 5th nerf after a period of what ?? nearly 3 months ?? Man this is totally embarrassing and irritating. I think developers have totally lost it. The game was not like this the years before. Honestly after 5 years of playing the game competitively today I took the decision to close it once and for all. Hearthstone is just dying and this joke with almost every week nerfs just made me so angry. This game was never f2p friendly and will never be in the future. I admit that, but when you keep nerfing cards all the time, it is a matter of time that you will lose many of your players who wish a stable meta. And DH was just a joke and really hurt this game in terms of enjoyment and ”fairness”. Ben Brode I really miss you man.

    • Nihaoma
      July 13, 2020 at 6:52 am

      A stable meta where DH literally rules both standard and wild? Where I could queue into nothing but DH for 5 games or sometimes 10 in a row? Yeah dude not nerfing DH would probably piss off more players than otherwise.

  5. Nihaoma
    July 10, 2020 at 9:13 am

    IMO the devs behind DH should seriously be fired, along with the playtesting ppl. This fiasco is so embarrassing and detrimental to a game that is already declining in popularity because of other F2P friendly card games like Runeterra. It’s quite BS to me how blizzard has been pushing to slow the meta down ever since Patches warped the meta but all of a sudden they revert back to their old ways of printing busted aggro cards. DH would be much more acceptable if other classes had strong tempo/aggro options as well, but that’s not really the case outside of Warrior.

    • WangFeiYang
      July 13, 2020 at 3:16 am

      If they were fired, we won’t have ANY Hearthstone at all.

      • Nihaoma
        July 13, 2020 at 6:43 am

        Well Blizzard surely can hire some new ppl they got cash anyways. Ben Brode left HS as well but the game is still here, for better or worse.

  6. Nephilim99
    July 10, 2020 at 7:21 am

    #DefundDemonHunter

  7. SLima
    July 9, 2020 at 6:13 pm

    The nerfs are mostly fair. However, DQ Alex may actually be unplayable after this change. I played her many times since the card was released. She was very powerful but quite slow initially which was fine considering the meta was much slower at that time. After DH was released and the meta became focused on hyper aggression, her flaws became more apparent.

    The only thing that DQ Alex has going for herself is the swing potential. The ability to turn the tides in your favor pretty much instantly. That’s not healthy and that’s why she’s getting nerfed (again). Now, look at Zephrys. He is a versatile card that can be used in many different ways and that makes building a deck around him worthwhile. But that’s not the case for Alex. She is a rigid card that only offers a single powerful swing turn that can win the game or whiff hard and be a complete letdown. When you are behind, she can create a miracle and change the course of the game. But that’s the exception and not the rule. I have lost countless games trying to use her to recover from a bad position. There are too many dragons and the vast majority of them can’t save you in a losing situation.

    With this change her swing potential (the only worthwhile thing about her) is so much worse that she may just be a really bad card for your deck. You can only play one dragon alongside her and only one turn later. That’s a gigantic difference in power when compared to her current state. If she whiffs, you may just instantly lose the game now. And even if you get some good dragons, that’s probably not enough to save you anymore. So, you can only play her when you are ahead. That makes her a pure win more card. If the meta doesn’t slow down then she may be just too clunky to be played in any deck. Only the greediest and most defensive highlander decks can play her and even those may have less clunky options available. I may be exaggerating but i think she is just going to be awful and unplayable after the next patch.

  8. WIMPDRAGN
    July 9, 2020 at 2:28 pm

    Plague of Flames avoided another nerf???? Excuse me??

  9. Sand-12
    July 9, 2020 at 1:23 pm

    As much as I look forward to the day when I can dance on DQ Alextrasza’s grave, I’ll take a nerf to the mana discount. The other nerfs are nice as well.

  10. Itch
    July 9, 2020 at 1:22 pm

    So, we’re holding at 14/35 DH cards nerfed. Nearly half its cards in a single expansion.

    • WIMPDRAGN
      July 9, 2020 at 2:25 pm

      Honestly DH really hurt this game in terms of enjoyment unless you succumb and play it. Yes theres some decks that can beat it but it’s still an unenjoyable match. Only joy I ever get is the fact I beat a DH. Really shouldnt have happend imo if it was gunna need nerfed so much. Since this expansion I personally dropped how much I play standard and mostly play Arena and BG now because I’m tired if always going against it. I hate priest more but it doesnt feel the same way. But this is just my opinions

  11. JakeRed96
    July 9, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    Odd DH likes thoese nerfs

  12. Vincent
    July 9, 2020 at 12:17 pm

    Warglaives ouch 🙁

  13. Frijamabob
    July 9, 2020 at 11:05 am

    phew metamorphosis no mana changes..
    wild odd dh ftw !

    • Css09
      July 9, 2020 at 11:39 am

      Enjoy that Warglaives nerf!

    • WIMPDRAGN
      July 9, 2020 at 2:26 pm

      Yeah but you’re essentially just putting that card in your deck for 8 damage for 7 mana, that’s not amazing on its own, only good cuz it gets split into 2 targets and works like mage hero power

      • Spliff Master Herb
        July 12, 2020 at 12:39 am

        Warglaives was huge man:) would buff up your 3 drop pig dude up to 5 times in one turn which is a game winning play. I think blizzard really want people to just forget baku existed xD Most cards from a single deck nerfed ever

  14. Darksmilefrost
    July 9, 2020 at 11:04 am

    I can already see myself drawing backstabs/shadowsteps/preparations with galakrond and having that stink face on..

    • Css09
      July 9, 2020 at 11:52 am

      It’ll be the same look that your opponents had when you drew a 0 cost Dragonqueen, Kronx, and Edwin 🙂

  15. DrNoOne86
    July 9, 2020 at 10:53 am

    A tad strange that mage and rogue got hit harder than warrior and druid, but welcome changes overall.

    This wave of DH nerfs might finally be enough to dethrone it as #1 performing class. After the Twin Slice change (wouldn’t call it a nerf) slower decks like mage or priest stood a chance to stick some early game minions, only to have them effortlessly swept away by Glaives on t5. Giving those minions the chance to challenge the board or presure life total is a complete game changer. And reducing the burst potential of Meta doesn’t hurt either.

    • Zombie69
      July 9, 2020 at 7:06 pm

      Warrior got hit harder than Mage because Demon Hunter got 3 cards nerfed. Any nerf to Demon Hunter is an indirect nerf to Warrior, because having fewer Demon Hunters to feast on will negatively impact its winrate.

  16. Spectratr
    July 9, 2020 at 10:39 am

    decent nerfs. we should had get that demon hunter’s nerf at last patch but its okey. they designed overpowered demon hunter cuz of they need to our choosing that class somehow. after that they reached them purpose. and here is the middling demon hunter.

  17. P3triix
    July 9, 2020 at 10:29 am

    i just crafted ODD DH yesterday, now its time to get 3600 dust and make quest mage

    • Itch
      July 9, 2020 at 1:21 pm

      Or stop netdecking

      • WIMPDRAGN
        July 9, 2020 at 2:27 pm

        Whats netdecking

        • Itch
          July 9, 2020 at 10:17 pm

          I’m not sure if that’s sarcastic. Either way, to netdeck means to basically copy/paste a decklist off an online tier list instead of creating your own deck. The term originally comes from when ccgs were physical and weaker players often just copied off the internet (I think).

          • InnI
            July 10, 2020 at 5:22 am

            Why is that a problem? That’s why it’s a meta deck. They are always very similar. Look at Grandmasters. They have only minor changes in their decks. It doesn’t matter if you copy it. If you learn how to use the deck it doesn’t matter.

  18. Solojazz
    July 9, 2020 at 10:27 am

    I am liking all these changes! I appreciate the slight nudge nerfs they have been implementing recently.

  19. Peter
    July 9, 2020 at 10:07 am

    Maybe it’s time to admit they should have stopped power creeping this much

    • SeaChickens
      July 14, 2020 at 7:08 am

      Well 2 years ago they released much lower power level expansions in the Witchwood, Boomsday, and Rastakans Rumble and then people complained because the expansions had very few playable cards and the meta didnt change much even after new expansion releases so that didnt work either.