14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard Entertainment has announced an incoming nerf to two of the most popular cards in Hearthstone, Leeroy Jenkins and Starving Buzzard.
The news comes from an official blue post on the Battle.net forums, stating that after careful consideration, the development team has decided to make a couple of balance changes in order to provide a better experience for Hearthstone players.
Leeroy Jenkins
One of the two cards hit by the nerfstick is Leeroy Jenkins, a popular neutral Legendary card used as a finisher in many decks. In addition to providing excellent value for mana, with 6 attack and 2 health and charge at a cost of only four, the card also enables some strategies that the design team apparently frowns upon.
Leeroy Jenkins allows Hearthstone players to win out of nowhere in a single turn, without any prior board presence. The team feels that fighting for board control and gradually gaining the upper hand is what makes the game more fun, but unexpectedly taking 20+ damage in a single turn limits a player's array of interaction.
The most common cards that helped Leeroy Jenkins grab the attention of the forces that take care of balance in the Hearthstone universe are Power Overwhelming, Faceless Manipulator, Cold Blood, Shadowstep and Unleash the Hounds, among others.
As such, the Legendary's mana cost will be slightly adjusted, going up to 5 mana, from its current cost of 4, which the team feels will help players deal with him better, while still allowing the numerous exciting interactions with it to take place.
Starving Buzzard
The second card on the nerfing menu is a Hunter staple, Starving Buzzard. At 2 mana for a body of 2 attack and 1 health, it might not grab your attention, were it not for its game-changing ability to draw you a card each time you summon a beast to the board.
The amount of cards that Hunters were able to draw off of Starving Buzzard ended being a tad excessive for its mana cost, and the developers feel that upping its cost to 5 mana will afford players more time to deal with the cards drawn by its power.
The increased mana cost also netted the Starving Buzzard a stat upgrade, and he will hit the field with 3 attack and 2 health.
The changes are scheduled to go live starting September 22, so make sure to take advantage of cheap and explosive card draws fueled by Unleash the Hounds and low-cost beasts and double Leeroy with Shadowstep and 28 damage in one-turn Handlock miracle draws while you still can.
Blizzard has also assured players that no more changes will take place from September 22 until the Hearthstone World Championship at Blizzcon.