The last time we’ve heard about that patch was when Alec Dawson said that it’s still coming… around 2 weeks ago. But Blizzard has finally broke the silence and we’ve got a date! Patch 21.3 is coming next Tuesday, September 21.
Between the short official tweet, Alec’s teaser and the information we’ve gathered earlier, we actually know quite a lot about the update. According to Alec, we’ll get 5 nerfs (Warlock, Shaman, Demon Hunter), 1 redesign (Priest), 1 ban (Warlock), as well as 7 buffs (Hunter, Mage, Warrior). And that’s in Constructed alone! Given that they’ve showcased Selective Breeder under the Tweet, it’s quite likely that it’s one of the buffed cards. Looking at the current Battlegrounds meta, I also expect a lot of changes on that side. Since it’s a “full number” patch it’s probably going to be a bigger update – it’s a 21.3 and not e.g. 21.2.2, the latter being more common for small balance updates. We’ll have an article with our predictions for the patch tomorrow, so stay tuned!
They will also “answer some popular questions about Mercenaries”. That’s a good thing because, from a PR standpoint, the showcase was a disaster. It only brought more questions than answers and a huge focus on monetization (talking about Mercenaries Packs all the time, advertising multiple pre-orders for a mode that isn’t out yet) left a sour taste in many players’ mouths. After looking closer at the format, it doesn’t seem as complex as the stream might have suggested and might be really fun (here’s our guide) + the mode’s monetization might not be that terrible and full-on “gacha” (here’s our analysis), but Blizzard has failed to communicate those points clearly. Let’s hope that they do address those points and market the new game mode better.
5 Nerfs (Warlock, Shaman, DH)
1 Redesign (Priest)
1 Ban (Warlock)
7 Buffs (Hunter, Mage, Warrior)Nerfs looking to slow things down further. Buffs looking at recent archetypes that didn’t hit as well as we want, mix of light + medium changes. https://t.co/2yBftXgV3a
— Alec Dawson (@GW_Alec) September 16, 2021
Using banning method again are we? So Wild isn’t exactly Wild anymore where “all” the cards can be used. Ironic. Well, that’s Hearthstone.
Instead of changing the fatique mechanic, they go for ban.
Instead of changing something difficult for the better future, they always pick the laziest solution.
Eh, do other card games not have ban lists for their respective wild modes? The only other one I’ve played is MTG and it has a ban list a mile long.
Magic can’t change their cards once printed to fix things though.
MTG is also an IRL card game at the premise. When a card gets banned IRL you still have the card and can play it with friends. When a card gets banned in a digital only card game, you can do nothing with it, it’s like it doesn’t exist.
Banning card is not really a solution, because in the future, similar cards will present the same problem. And when that happen, they’ll ban card again.
I’m not gonna complain if they ban cards when the problem is the card itself. But the real problem with Demon Seed is the ability to apply infinite fatique damage to enemy. Fatique should always be a risk to players when they emptied their hands.
Why no druid nerf, Oracle of elune with the Razorbane Battleguard is so broken, should nerf that instead of Brutes…
That’s a good point, the deck is very strong indeed. And assuming that Questline Shaman gets nerfed, it might become even better, because that’s the worst matchup. Of course if it’s such a big patch things might shift around and it might turn out that another counter pops out, but it will be pretty scarry.
5 nerf: shaman probably perpetual, DH Brute, warlock giants again, raise dead maybe (leave the damage augment the cost to 2) and another card, i don’t think is quest because must be the banned card for wild.
1 priest: Illucia make her work like Azalina the neutral legendary of witchwood (and raise the cost since it cost 7) and fire whoever invented this card;
7 buff: No idea, and for mage buff minion ONLY, and for next set/expansion give a “start of the game” legendary that work only if your deck is full of minion.
Paladin and mage class needs rework. Warlock has excess healing & removal. Stupid people here just complain about one Illucia
So long and good riddance Illucia.