Patch 20.2.2 not only brought us a beefy round of nerfs, but we also received 10 buffs!
As the community has suggested multiple times in the past, buffs are the perfect way to improve one player’s already existing collection without forcing him to spend more resources, which is definitely a great feeling, especially when you thought a given archetype would’ve been fun or good on ladder, only for it to turn out to be underwhelming.
We wholeheartedly approve Team 5’s decision and we hope to see more decisions like this in the future, in case the meta will deserve so. Good job!
Now, let’s break down each change and try to imagine how much of an impact they’ll have on the future meta.
Spoiler: By the surprise of no one, Shaman is on this list. In fact, Thrall received not 1, not 2, but 3 buffs! Will they be enough for the class to emerge from the garbage can? Let’s try to understand it here below.
Razorboar
Now has 3 Attack (up from 2).
Deathrattle Demon Hunter was one of the brand new archetypes pushed with Forged in the Barrens. However, the high density of Paladin in the first weeks of the new expansion really made it hard for Illidan to actually leave a mark in this meta. While this deck features a value bomb like Death Speaker Blackthorn, we’ve never really got the chance to experiment its potential.
However, now that First Day of School and Crabrider will force Uther to slow down, Demon Hunter will finally be able to arise from its tier 3 status.
Dark Inquisitor Xanesh
The discount effect now applies to both Corrupt and Corrupted cards.
More than a buff, this really tastes like a bug hotfix, since it was very strange and counterintuitive for Xanesh to not work with already Corrupted cards.
Corrupt Priest is currently nowhere to be found in the current meta, but we think that this change will bring many people to dust off their Fairground Fools, Auspicious Spirits and Horrendous Growths to give them one more chance.
Lilypad Lurker
Stats increased by +1/+1 (from 4/5 to 5/6).
A card that was already recognized as very good by itself, given that the Hex effect attached to it is normally worth 4 mana, so Lilypad Lurker was basically a 1 mana 4/5. However, this was not enough of a reward to push Elemental Shaman, a very promising deck that wasn’t able to leave a mark in the meta due to other Shaman’s problems.
If I were to buff this card, I would’ve probably given it Taunt, since it does give me the "guardian" vibe; on the other hand, I am sure that Team 5 made this change with more game knowledge at disposal and especially based on what will come in the upcoming mini-set (even though we don’t have any dates, we suspect we’ll get there in less than a month).
Tidal Surge
The mana cost of Tidal Surge is now 3 mana (down from 4).
Finally. This card had no reason to be at 4 mana in a world where Penance and Drain Soul exist.
There isn’t much to say about this change, other than that it was past due and now Shaman has access to an early source of life gain and therefore can start thinking about going to the distance with a Control archetype.
Unbound Elemental
Now has 3 Attack (up from 2).
Unbound Elemental represents both Shaman’s Overload and Elemental themes, so it makes sense for it to receive an Attack buff that put it in line with other 3-drops like Firebrand, Northwatch Commander, and Mankrik.
With this change, Unbound Elemental’s damage output will increase, making it a reasonable inclusion in a list that will be able to exploit both its sides.
Deck of Chaos
The mana cost of Deck of Chaos is now 5 mana (down from 6).
Oh boy, here it comes. We appreciate the fact that with this patch Team 5 wanted to give Warlock different viable archetypes outside of Tickatus Control Warlock and that the cost reduction is just by 1 mana. However, we clearly have in mind what happened back in the day with Luna's Pocket Galaxy, and we’re a bit afraid that it will happen again.
To be fair though, what Warlock lacks is a tutor effect that will increase the consistency of drawing and playing Deck of Chaos on curve, which is something Control Mage had at the time through Tortollan Pilgrim. While this change may hint at possible support coming in the next sets, we appreciate the effort of improving a card that has seen absolutely no play since it was printed 5 months ago.
Fiendish Circle
The mana cost of Fiendish Circle is now 3 mana (down from 4).
Even when it was released back in the day in The Witchwood, this card didn’t really see much play. 4 mana for 4 1/1s wasn’t really great and to be fair, it isn’t today either.
However, reducing Fiendish Circle’s cost to 3 mana not only allows us to break the vanilla rule and play more stats than we should for their cost, but it also opens up interesting scenarios with cards like Ritual of Doom.
Not a card that will carry a new Warlock archetype on its own shoulders, but definitely one to keep your eyes on and, possibly, experiment with.
Shieldmaiden
The mana cost of Shieldmaiden is now 5 mana (down from 6).
Let’s be honest: compared to other lists from the past, current Control Warrior’s ability to gain Armor is embarrassing: while the class still has access to Shield Slam, with the rotation it lost Shield Block (the go-to activator) and the broken Risky Skipper-Armorsmith combo. Now, the only armor gaining effects worth running are Rancor and Armor Vendor (a neutral!).
While 6 mana Shieldmaiden was very good back in the day, it appears that 7 years of age made her too slow for modern Hearthstone. Reducing her cost to 5 mana will make her an unconditional Emberscale Drake, which is certainly not a tier 0 card but at the very least a good starting point. Control Warriors, you may want to try her out.
Whirling Combatant
Now has 3 Attack (up from 2).
A little love for Frenzy Warrior, an archetype that also received a signature Legendary in Overlord Saurfang but that is yet to find success on ladder, mainly due to its limits and the fact that there are better alternatives to queue with.
Now that Whirling Combatant has vanilla stats, you’ll be much more interested in running it since the opponents will have to think twice about ignoring it; 3 Attack on a 6 Health body is much more threatening than just 2. I saw some people suggesting to give it Taunt, but I guess that change would’ve made it too much of a great anti-aggro tool, being a 6 Health wall with a double Whirlwind effect attached to it.
N'Zoth, God of the Deep
The mana cost of N'Zoth, God of the Deep is now 9 mana (down from 10).
The first thing that came to my mind when I was this change is that It breaks the "10 mana Old Gods" rule, which triggers me beyond any valid reason; on the other hand, N'Zoth, God of the Deep is also my favorite "new" Old God, so I’m very happy to see some love for him.
Definitely the least played Old God, especially because it needs a lot of support to be viable (you want to resurrect at least 4 minions for N'Zoth to be good, and you have to build a deck with multiple tribes to make it possible) and the current Standard pool doesn’t synergize very well with his effect. However, now that it will come down sooner, N'Zoth, God of the Deep will definitely have more chances to appear in the meta. Really looking forward to forcing N’Zoth into every class that runs more than two minion tribes.
What do you think about these changes? Are there any other cards you would’ve liked to see buffed? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments
Deck of Chaos was actually pretty cool during the Year of the Phoenix. I even went to the lengths of crafting Zzeraku the Warped for it. What really really hurts this deck is the loss of Plot Twist. Finding DoC isn't easy and sometimes you get stuck with all your high cost, low attack minions in hand. The card has great potential, it only needs a tutor or another draw engine like Plot Twist. Everything else is adjustable, especially as long as the Scholomance cards are around to autopilot your early game and allow you to play DoC without straight out losing the game.
Here's my list from before rotation for what it's worth.
Most of these buffs feel useless, but I'll hold off on making any judgements until the meta is set. That said, the nerfs don't really make me hopeful that things will change; Paladin will probably remain strong, might just shift to a more midrange build with the Crabrider and First Day of School nerfs.
The only interesting buffs for me are N'zoth, Deck of Chaos, Lilypad Lurker, and Tidal Surge. The rest feel pointless because the devs just adjusted their stats, which won't really do anything.
The N'zoth buff opens up some interesting possibilities. You can play it and give your minions rush with Animated Broomstick. You can also run this in Demon Hunter with Illidari Inquisitor for a massive late-game bomb that could fill your board AND damage your opponent's face.
The only buff here worth mentioning would be Nzoth and Deck of Chaos. Everything else here is either too weak, or serves little purpose.
Xanesh's 'buff'in particular is really just a slap in the face. Poorly stated, can't be realistically tutored and there's only 1 of her. I mean, you can easily make her a 4/6 and she still wouldn't be riding her worm to the dizzying heights of tier 2, so why the hell not? Besides, it would be nice to be able to play corrupt priest for a change, and actually do something proactive.
it's weird how some of these buffs feel like downright apologies.
Like, Unbound Elemental, Tidal Surge, Shieldmaiden and Fiendish Circle literally just got adjusted to be at the standard powerlevel of regular cards of the same cost (Circle and Surge being the most egregious offenders). It's not so much buffs as it is fixing what shouuld have been in the first place.
Same goes for Xanesh. Card is still completely pointless in Priest, but at least now it functions like you would expect it to.
I have played with Deck of Chaos and I have to agree with Avalon. The card itself is insanely fun, but you only have one copy and cycling through your deck usually means drawing all your minions.
The N'zoth buff just confuses me to no end.
There is no point in playing N'zoth early because he's supposed to be the big win condition. There is also no 1-mana card that synergizes with him in any capacity (at least none that I know of) so that's not a factore either.
All this does is trigger everyone's OCD for no reason.
Not mine considering The Ancient One is my favorite Old God
I had a nice Even Warlock deck with N'Zoth that I'll have to overhaul now.
N'Zoth wasn't meta, but he was played in Clown decks to activate Clown. Feels like a nerf to Clown decks. Clown move Blizzard, clown move.
The two big ones I can think of off the bat are Animated Broomstick and Hero power for DH so that Illidari Inquisitor can go face.
the illidari thing could actually be relevant in the future if Deathrattle Demonhunter gets a few more tribal minions.
You already have Quillboars and Beasts in there. Add an elemental or a Pirate and suddenly things are looking pretty alright as a lategame finisher.
Deathrattle DH sometimes also runs fishy flyer so it also already has 4/6 tribes needed. Maybe Deathrattle DH will begin to run circus amalgam?
I think that's too much commitment.
I think the ideal way is to run Felsteel Executioner for the (sometimes) Elemental and the Flyers and then you essentially get between 3 and 4 minions back from N'zoth, one of which will smash face for 8, which should be enough to close out games.
Only problem I see is that it might be too slow, but then again, we still have 2 more expansions and any tribal deathrattles (or just generally good cards) could make this a viable gameplan
As someone who played a decent amount of Deathrattle DH in any possible form, playing Felsteel Executioner in its non-Corrupted form is an enormous wasted of damage: we're talking about a 3 mana deal 12 damage over three turns in a deck that runs many 4+ drops and that synergyzes very well with Illidari Inquisitor, which is absolutely broken.
Oh obviously, but in some situations you can't wait to corrupt the thing and just have to jam it for tempo, in which case it has additional value with N'zoth.
Realistically your N'zoth would summon 3 small minions and an Inquisitor, but every once in a while you get an extra 4/3.
Mood
I don't mean to nit-pick, but I really, really hate it when people say they have OCD when really they just mean they are bothered by small details or like to wash their hands a lot.
OCD is a mental disorder not a personality quirk. Can we please stop with all of the "oh I have 5 gold and it's triggering my OCD" nonsense. Being bother by little things doesn't mean you have OCD and I wish people would stop acting like it does.
Again, sorry if I sound like I am making a big deal out of nothing. But this seriously bothers me.
Well no, you're totally right about it.
YourPrivateNightmare was just joking and I got along with it, but what you say is correct.
I am sorry if that bothered you: will try to be better from now on!
I think you meant to have Fiendish Circle linked here instead of Fiendish Rites, just a small thing I noticed.
Great write-up otherwise!
Yeah, definitely a whoopsie by my side: sometimes cards have such similar names that nailing them each time can become difficult.
Thanks for pointing it out: it is now fixed ;)