Full list of potential balance changes for 3.91

[Veles]

In my previous post you can find list of CotC and DP cards that will be changed: http://www.shadowera.com/showthread....-2-cost-allies

As mentioned there those changes allow us to buff couple of newer cards.

Shattered Fates

Ascetic of Aldmor

Base attack increased to 1. Ability changed to: 0SE: Target opposing ally loses 1 base attack if its controller has resources greater than or equal to yours.

Midnight Sentinel

Base health increased to 2.

Zealous Mystic

Health increased to 4.

Avenger of the Fallen

Base attack increased to 1. Ability changed to: While there are at least 2 Templar allies in your graveyard, Avenger of the Fallen has +3 attack.

Lost Lands

Vigilant Wisp

Ability changed to: 2SE: Seek a Homunculus ally.

Sword Gobbler

Health increased to 4. Ability changed to: While you control a weapon, Sword Gobbler has +1 attack. When Sword Gobbler is summoned, you may exile target weapon in a graveyard; if you do, Sword Gobbler gains +2 base attack.

Feasterling

Ability changed to: 0: Feasterling has +2 attack until the end of the turn, and your hero takes 2 damage.

Kiruth Devotee

Ability changed to: 3: When target other ally is killed, it is returned to play under your control with no abilities and Undead alignment.

Wulven Traitor

Ability changed to: Ambush. While you control a non-Wulven hero, draw a card at the end of each turn you summoned another Wulven ally.

Wildfang, Wulven Renegade

Ability changed to: Ambush. While you control a non-Wulven hero, the first other Wulven ally you summon each turn costs you 1 less resource.

Darklight Apprentice

Ability changed to: 0SE: If another non-hero ability has been activated with shadow energy this turn, your hero gains +1 shadow energy.

Fuzam, Yari Bladedancer

Ability changed to: Defender. 0: Exhaust Fuzam: Target weapon you control has +X attack until the end of your turn, where X is Fuzam's attack.

Campaign

Layarian Sentinel

Base attack reduced to 1. Ability changed to: Defender. While defending, Layarian Sentinel does +1 combat damage and additional +2 combat damage while she is also the only ally you control.

Black Adder

Ability changed to: Ambush. When Black Adder enters combat with an ally, that ally is poisoned.

Treetop Spider

Ability changed to: Ambush. When Treetop Spider is summoned, while any opposing player has resources equal or greater than yours, it attacks target opposing ally.

In addition to these, following cards will be nerfed:

Sorcerer of Endia

Ability activation increased to 5SE.

Wulven Prophet

Ability changed to: When Wulven Prophet is summoned, you may seek an attachment and place it on top of your deck: if any opposing player has resources equal or greater than yours and you control no attachments, draw a card.

Unaxio Squire is high on the watch list but we think we should wait with pre-emptive nerf and see how he compares with other buffed 2 cost allies during testing.

Despair is a rarely played card, for which we believe could fill the role of ally removal some shadow decks are lacking.

Despair

Casting cost reduced to 0. Ability changed to: Target ally with cost X or less is killed, where X is the number of your unused resources: all your resources are used.

To try and fill the need for more flexible location removal following cards will be buffed:

Gloomwielder

Ability changed to: When Gloomwielder is summoned, the active location is exiled. While no opposing hero has more shadow energy than your hero, other Aldmor allies you control can't be targeted by summoned abilities by opposing players.

Gaderi: Braxno Citadel

Non-controller ability activation increased to 2SE.


And finally Logan Stonebreaker has been one of the weakest heroes for a long time so we will test a buff to his hero ability: 4SE: Your weapon gains +1 base attack. Until the end of your turn, when Logan deals combat damage to an ally, that ally is killed.

And beyond this version as far as existing cards go, following cards are still at the top of watch list for rebalancing: Nathanias, People's Champion, Kion the Magnificent, Black Market, Knight of the Crimson Dusk, Krugal Trapper, Dragon's Tooth, Dhalia Blackrose and Irum: Lighting Quarry .We will monitor how the new meta develops and act accordingly.

[mojorge]

Removal of Meek:
Vigilant Wisp, Kiruth Devotee, and Darklight Apprentice can finally lose meek with the buff to Brutalis. This is an attempt to move away from meek and possibly have it removed from the game entirely. Meek feels bad to play because you often have a useless ally on your field that can't do anything, and is anti-fun. Moreover, it isn't super thematic and seems to be on certain allies randomly. On the other hand, it has been a very useful "instant balance" tool, which is why so many allies randomly have it.

Buff of allies that seem safe and that I support
1. Midnight Sentinel is better for Dead Man's Breach decks that have practically disappeared, and possibly some mage and/or Lance combos.
2. Ascetic of Aldmor can now use its ability and also attack, which feels nicer. May be useful in a low-cost Elemental deck with Stardust Descender? EDIT:Nik just told me that this card is human only, so this would not work.
3. Vigilant Wisp is significantly stronger now, especially since it's attack is so easily buffed. On the other hand, Homu as a tribe is a bit weak, and can help counter Irum.
4. Zealous Mystic is something that I always felt was worse than the other 2cc attachment priest allies, and this can help put it on par with scholar and adventist.
5. Avenger of the Fallen would never get his ability off, because having 3 templar allies in grave is practically impossible. Once you do, it is already late game and you don't want to be playing 2cc allies anyway. That said, now it is more feasible to maybe try a human discard deck.
6. Sword Gobbler could be really strong with the extra health, but I think it is safe just because it buffs heroes that are already bad (namely Logan, Rothem, Ter Adun, Vess, and Praxix). I doubt it can be used in Darkclaw effectively, though that would be fun. I also don't think Baduruu wants this, because it synergizes better with cheap weapons.
7. Kiruth Devotee was always iffy, just because its ability is so expensive and you have to kill the target on the same turn as you use the ability, or else the opponent will just kill Devotee. Not having allies in the grave is very common on T2 so it effectively always had Meek. Without Meek, it can be interesting with ice synergies and possibly be a viable early 2cc drop.
8. Wulven Traitor/Renegade: I don't see why the changes are necessary, but it does clean up the card text.
9. Fuzam: I personally love defender. The way I see it, it is pseudo-stealth that protects your allies a little bit from FTA advantage. Squire into Aldon is less oppressive when your ally has defender, because now the opponent takes some retaliation damage. I think this is a good direction to move in, because SE battle mechanics have made it too easy recently to gain card advantage from high attack allies. I don't think this change will be broken, and if it is good, it buffs the already bad Shadow Warriors + Tala. Amber can't use this well, and only special Boris builds may get some utility out of it.
10. Layarian Sentinel: I think this card was the subject of an overreaction to Defender, something I actually am guilty of. When testing this card, I pointed out that it would be risky to release it with 3 attack and -2 combat damage with Higher Ground, because then you can kill 4 health allies with higher ground's ability. Lo and behold, Higher Ground is a completely irrelevant card still. The problem is that Defender is vulnerable to weapons and any kind of removal, as well as Ambush which the popular Hunters have plenty of.
11. Gloomwielder: The effect of Gloomwielder is too weak in my experience. It is still vulnerable to AOE and battle damage, and on 4 health it is just too easy to remove, allowing the opponent to play the abilities they wanted to anyway. Basically, now it is a 3/4 that removes a location, which makes it a decent tech card as it is card advantage vs. location decks, but pretty bad against non-location decks. I do wonder if it is somehow viable in a Void deck.
12. Gaderi Braxno Citadel: I already talked a bit about why I think Defender is overvalued, and this applies to this location too. Compare this to Irum, for example. For 2SE you get to exile this location, which is a much more fair trade than 1SE IMO. My only minor concern is that SE deprivation strategies with Priest of the Light and possibly Lyra Blackrose can prevent the opponent from ever getting rid of this card. Then again, Defender frankly isn't that hard to deal with. This card is also the only way to prevent the opponent from playing a location on their turn that I know of, making this possibly the most potent location tech as it is not reactive (unlike Sinkhole, which only gets value AFTER the opponent already used their location).
13. Black Adder/Treetop Spider: Wild allies suck across the board, and I support anything that makes them playable. Adder in particular seems pretty promising in Skervox, another underperforming hero.
14. Everything else not mentioned in the next few paragraphs are also completely fine IMO.

Iffy buffs that need to be discussed further OR watched carefully
1. Feasterling: It seems like a small buff, but we tested this before and it was super strong. People severely underestimate how crippling Sustain is. 1 health per turn is a huge cost that will often lose you the game if that ally gets disabled somehow. This is bad game design, but like meek, Sustain was an easy way to balance overpowered allies. We could easily regret this nerf because by being able to control when you take damage, the downsides are much lower.
2. Puwen (on other link): Crippling Blow and Covert Op make it much easier to get this ability off than one might think. A 3/3 for humans seems risky to me, especially when it buffs heroes like Amber that can really take advantage of this card it seems. On the other hand, it could be useful for Serena, a hero that needs some buffs.
3. Brutalis: Banebow is already pretty strong, and this card seems like a Banebow card to me. Any 2/4 is really good, and it is super easy to activate Brutalis by just using Death Mage Thaddeus or Krugal Braggart.

Honerable Mention: Blake Windrunner could be stronger than you'd think because of double attacking, cards like Javelin, and Desperate Tactics. On 3/1 it can be dangerous for some decks that cannot easily deal ping damage.

Opinions on Nerfs
1. Sorcerer of Endia: This card needs this nerf. Sorc is a card that instantly wins certain MU's, resulting in Vess being completely unplayed because it simply loses to Sorc. I get that it is a counter to Darkclaw, but that's why we also should nerf Prophet. Speaking of which,
2. Wulven Prophet: This card was way too strong when it got pushed through, and we actually knew this from testing because I won the test server pop up with Haste Fang, but unfortunately this wasn't even considered when making the buffs because the changes were already sent to Kyle before the pop up on the test server even happened (and even then, I think we had 6 players for the pop up. More participation on the test server is necessary to catch these balance issues!). For 2cc you get a superior effect to General of Unaxio, a 5cc ally that has always been problematic and gone through several changes too. While Haste Fang is a super fun deck to play, it is a bit cancerous so I do think this is for the better. People frequently focus on Darkclaw when talking about Prophet, but IMO while Darkclaw is a miserable hero to play against, the Lakmire Darkclaw is actually kind of inconsistent. When it gets what it needs it is unbeatable, but the problem is getting Lakmire + a wulven ally + a useful attachment + a weapon is super hard to do, even with all that draw power and searching.
3. Unaxio Squire: IMO, this card needs the nerf, and I like Nik's version where it has Meek unless you control another Templar ally. Everyone says it is a 2cc 2/4 with a drawback because you don't take retaliation damage, but that's super irrelevant 90% of the time. If I am going to kill an ally, I try my best to never take retaliation damage anyway, or take it on the hero. A well-built deck can do that with ease. In fact, Squire is a 2/4 with an upside because you can buff your other ally and kill something without taking retaliation damage. Or double the effect with Ythan. This card is way too strong for a 2cc, and stronger than some 3cc's in many situations even. If Ythan has Squire and Crusader on the field, I kill Squire first, whereas it is different if Squire has meek. Meek makes Squire much worse, because the opponent can just kill all the other allies and then you are left with a 2/4 that cannot do anything. While Meek is not ideal because it is frustrating to play, it solves the problem in this situation and may even be a bit thematic given that he is a Squire after all.

Miscellaneous
1. Despair: I really like this redesign because the original despair is pretty much unplayable. I have no idea how good this card will be, but I imagine it will not be broken because it is in theory an even trade in card advantage AND cc's spent. If it does hurt something it probably hurts Elementalis and other high performing heroes.
2. Logan: Logan is a terrible hero for many reasons, one of them being that he has no real "win condition." He controls the field pretty well and can deal with the opponent's board, but in the late game is is especially hard to deal that last bit of damage needed to win the game. He also auto-loses to any semi-solo or solo deck, because his ability becomes 4SE: +1 attack this turn. This change should make Logan better at that late game stage, making him a stronger control hero.

[jonmaciel]

it's a solid start. i would watch despair tho. i like the premise but i think it would be better served as a class ability.

[Wimbled]

Wimbled, [29.11.20 22:46]
[Forwarded from Wimbled]
Dirk Saber Health increased to 3. OK

Puwen Bloodhelm has +1 attack while any opposing player controls more allies than you. OK

Birgitte Skullborn Base attack increased to 1. NOT SURE IF WE WANT MORE 1CC DECKS. SO NO

When Blake Windrunner is summoned, your weapons have +1 attack until the end of your turn. OK

Katrin the Shieldmaiden Base attack increased to 1. NO MORE GOOD 2CCS FOR HUMANS

Brutalis While there is an opposing damaged ally in play, Brutalis has +1 attack. OK

When Fire Snake is killed, all opposing heroes take 1 fire damage. OK

Hellsteed Base attack increased to 1. NOT SURE IF WE WANT MORE 1CC DECKS. SO NO

Dark Flayer Health increased to 2. OK

Twilight Herald Health increased to 2. NOT SURE IF WE WANT MORE 1CC DECKS. SO NO

Ironhide Karash Health increased to 3. OK

Rotling Health increased to 2. OK

Twisted Familiar Health increased to 4. OK

Braxnorian Temptress Ability changed to: Defender. OK

Master Trapsetter
Ability changed to: Ambush. Master Trapsetter has +1 attack while you control 2 or more traps. 2: Until the end of your turn, the next trap you summon costs 3 less resources.
NO, THESE DECKS ARE ALREADY QUITE GOOD AND IT’S NOT A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE MORE T4/5 FACE WIN DECKS

Agent Rex
Health increased to 3. OK


Bonus changes would be adding elemental attack types to following allies to give them more flavor: OK

Wimbled, [29.11.20 22:46]
Ascetic of Aldmor Base attack increased to 1. Ability changed to: 0SE: Target opposing ally loses 1 base attack if its controller has resources greater than or equal to yours.
NOT SURE IF WE WANT MORE 1CC DECKS. SO NO

Midnight Sentinel Base health increased to 2. OK

Avenger of the Fallen Base attack increased to 1. Ability changed to: While there are at least 2 Templar allies in your graveyard, Avenger of the Fallen has +3 attack. NO NEED, THE TEMPLARS ARE STRONG ENOUGH ALREADY. DON’T MAKE THIS CARD STRONG TOO


Vigilant Wisp Ability changed to: 2SE: Seek a Homunculus ally. OK

Zealous Mystic Health increased to 4. NO!!! PRIESTS ALREADY HAVE SCHOLAR AND ADVENTIST AND THIS IS DECENT AS IT IS, I RUN IT IN ATTACHMENT JERI.

Sword Gobbler Health increased to 4. Ability changed to: While you control a weapon, Sword Gobbler has +1 attack. When Sword Gobbler is summoned, you may exile target weapon in a graveyard; if you do, Sword Gobbler gains +2 base attack. OK

Feasterling Ability changed to: 0: Feasterling has +2 attack until the end of the turn, and your hero takes 2 damage. OK

Kiruth Devotee Ability changed to: 3: When target other ally is killed, it is returned to play under your control with no abilities and Undead alignment. OK

Wulven Traitor Ability changed to: Ambush. While you control a non-Wulven hero, draw a card at the end of each turn you summoned another Wulven ally. OK

Wildfang, Wulven Renegade Ability changed to: Ambush. While you control a non-Wulven hero, the first other Wulven ally you summon each turn costs you 1 less resource. OK

Darklight Apprentice Ability changed to: 0SE: If another non-hero ability has been activated with shadow energy this turn, your hero gains +1 shadow energy. OK

Fuzam , Yari Bladedancer Ability changed to: Defender. 0: Exhaust Fuzam : Target weapon you control has +X attack until the end of your turn, where X is Fuzam 's attack. NO, DEFENDER FOR A 2CC WITH DECENT STATS AND USABLE BY HUMANS IS A BAD IDEA




Layarian Sentinel Base attack reduced to 1. Ability changed to: Defender. While defending, Layarian Sentinel does +1 combat damage and additional +2 combat damage while she is also the only ally you control. SO 4 DMG WHEN DEFENDING ON T2/T3 AFTER BF? A DEFINITE NO

Black Adder Ability changed to: Ambush. When Black Adder enters combat with an ally, that ally is poisoned. OK

Treetop Spider Ability changed to: Ambush. When Treetop Spider is summoned, while any opposing player has resources equal or greater than yours, it attacks target opposing ally. OK

In addition to these, following cards will be nerfed:

Sorcerer of Endia

Ability activation increased to 5SE. BAD IDEA, LIKE THIS IT’S USELESS AGAIN. MAKE ABI COST 1 MORE AND REDUCE THE HEALTH TO 5.

Wulven Prophet Ability changed to: When Wulven Prophet is summoned, you may seek an attachment and place it on top of your deck: if any opposing player has resources equal or greater than yours and you control no attachments, draw a card. OK BUT I THINK THAT YOU NEED TO CHANGE LAKMIRE TOO IF THE NERF IS SO SMALL HERE. MAKE LAKMIRE PLAYABLE ON T3.

Unaxio Squire is high on the watch list but we think we should wait with pre-emptive nerf and see how he compares with other buffed 2 cost allies during testing. OK


Despair Casting cost reduced to 0. Ability changed to: Target ally with cost X or less is killed, where X is the number of your unused resources: all your resources are used. DON’T BRING THIS KIND OF UNBALANCED STUFF WHEN THE UPDATES ARE SO RARE. THIS CARD IS AN AUTOINCLUDE X4 IN ALMOST ALL SHADOW DECKS AND IT WILL MAKE THE GAME COMPLETELY DIFFERENT


Gloomwielder

Ability changed to: When Gloomwielder is summoned, the active location is exiled. While no opposing hero has more shadow energy than your hero, other Aldmor allies you control can't be targeted by summoned abilities by opposing players. OK

Gaderi: Braxno Citadel

Non-controller ability activation increased to 2SE. A BAD IDEA, THIS CAN BE POTENTIALLY EXPLOITED. IT’S A RISK NOT WORTH TAKING

[Nijjis]

So the first thing that jumped out to me was I think the templar buffs could possibly be too much, considering they just had crusader, general, and squire buffed. I think the avenger buff is fine. The buff to mystic is what concerns me. Both getting buffed might be too much.. hard for me to predict.. but there have been problems in the past with that archetype, and I think it’s decently strong already with the buff to crusader.

I think layarian sentinel could use some clarification in the wording, is it +1 while defending, +2 if she’s the only ally you control? The wording makes it sound as if if it could be +3 if she’s the only ally you control.

I think the fuzzam buff should be fine as he’s a unique ally...

Overall I think most of the proposed changes are a net positive.. don’t really have any complaints.

[Veles]

I think layarian sentinel could use some clarification in the wording, is it +1 while defending, +2 if she’s the only ally you control? The wording makes it sound as if if it could be +3 if she’s the only ally you control.

I think the fuzzam buff should be fine as he’s a unique ally...

Intent is for her to have +3 when defending. With total of 4 attack, going second she should survive most attacks. But as soon as you play another ally she is the same as now. And she is really weak when attacking.

[Nijjis]

I’m going to go ahead and say it again now.. Templar might already be over-tuned, or is dangerously close to being IMO. With squire already being the default human 2cc ally, and crusader being a viable option for many decks, with another nudge or two I think templar will see at least a sizable (I predict large) spike in the meta share..

moment of acquiescence + crusader is massive tempo. Squire is a stud. Banner man now has the supporting cast around him to tap into his potential and has reached his final form. I think the archetype is probably tier one already. So far I know it works in priest and warrior. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it could also work in some form for lance and or hunter.

[Nijjis]

Bump. After about a month or so playing sosilo I think the archetype needs a nerf and you shouldn’t buff templar

[SEF Mango]

Bump. After about a month or so playing sosilo I think the archetype needs a nerf and you shouldn’t buff templar

Well, after watching a game of yours I would tend to agree. However, you are also the level of player that can build and pilot decks better than most players. People always flock to the easier decks to win with. Is Templar OP? Maybe it is but the complexity and experience to use it effectively keeps it under wraps.

[tolerance]

any news on the release date?