As the state of the meta is getting a bit stale, with Tempo Rogue on top from basically the day of the expansion. Blizzard is going to end this with some balance changes, more specifically nerfs for some of the Rogue cards.

First on the list of nerf is:

EVIL Miscreant is the softest nerf Rogue is getting but it was needed. This card is such a powerful value generator with those lackeys that have been proven really strong, no matter which ones you get. The problem is that it was imagined as a card that will sacrifice tempo to get you some swings on later turns. It turns out that a 1/5 is a bit too good to call it a sacrifice, well maybe a small one but not enough to "compensate" for the upside. Making it 1/4 will at least tone down it a little bit while it will still remain a solid card. It's a good way to nerf a card and not actually destroying it.

Now this one was something everyone expected to come. A 3 mana spell that draws 3 cards is strong but on top of that it is drawing specific cards that also have synergies with each other is too damn strong. Making it 4 mana is fair, as this makes it not a "must card". That has another great effect on Rogue because there is now a place for decks to include other draw options (which Rogue has plenty) and for those that don't want to include those Pirate packages and still play some variants of Tempo style Rogue decks without getting crushed by the current one we see constantly on the ladder.

 

Now, this is really something. Preparation is known for its strength as it is played in almost 100% Rogue decks from the beginning of Hearthstone and that is simply what cards shouldn't be designed for as it actually limits players choices if they want to have "good" decks. Another nice thing about this nerf is that it opens so much space for the design team to make more interesting higher cost Rogue spells without fear of this card being overused. As developers pointed out with their decision that Preparation is often used with spells like Eviscerate and Sap, this interaction will remain unchanged and it will still be a useful tool to squeeze out more tempo but it won't be as oppressive as it used to be.

Just to show how popular and strong these cards were, I took a top 10 most used cards in Rogue and here we can also see that their win-rates are also incredible in a 52% range where we also see a Rogue legendary Edwin VanCleef.

This is the last change on the list and it is another reasonable decision. Played mostly in Warrior this card is well suited for that class to go for the long game, eventually out-valuing the opponent and winning in fatigue. The problem with it was that it could be played with Youthful Brewmaster or Baleful Banker to bounce it and after drawing those 10 cards played again, making it unfair in Control match-ups, almost unbeatable and mirror match-ups often were played out until the turn limit, making it an almost hour long game that finishes in a draw. As this is really boring and most of the time stressful experience making her 9 mana breaks that combo and gives the opponent a chance to remove her before that happens. Good change, healthy for the game.

Nerf list was a bit shorter this time but the nerfs are pretty much on point. Maybe they could've even make Preparation a Hall of Fame card but this isn't bad either. I hope Blizzard will continue with these more frequent changes to the game and shake up the meta here and there as they are doing for the past two expansions.

This patch will be rolled out already tomorrow, May 22nd.

What do you guys think about the nerfs? Well deserved, or too much? Either way, I would like to hear your opinions in the comments.

Thank you for reading?

, z3ll