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Patch 10.2 Major Balance Changes

by - 6 years ago

This morning, Blizzard announced major balance changes to come with the next patch. The patch will patch Patches (heh), Bonemare, Corridor Creeper, and Raza to make all of them less powerful. Patches will no longer be in charge (loses Charge keyword), Bonemare will cost 1 more, Creeper will be nerfed down to 2 attack, and Raza will make hero powers cost 1 instead of 0.

Edit: Game Designer Mike Donais has confirmed that Patches has been given a new voiceline to properly indicate his lack of Charge.

These changes are a little bit of a surprise because most players thought Patches and Raza would be allowed to quietly rotate into Wild, Creeper was hit harder than most people expected, and Bonemare was an admittedly very powerful card, but one that was not tossed around in a lot of nerf discussions.

It should also be noted that all these nerfs also seem to hit aggressive decks harder than control decks, as nothing in the near-ubiquitously-banned-in-HCT Warlock lists was touched.  Perhaps this is an acceptable (or desired) change in light of the recently-announced ladder changes that will shift ladder emphasis from quantity of games to quality of games, starting in March 2018.

Check out the official announcement, with short explanations for all the changes, and then let us know what you think in the comments below.

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment (Blue Tracker / Official Post)

In the upcoming 10.2 update, we will be making balance changes to the following cards:

Bonemare – Now costs 8 mana. (Up from 7)

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Bonemare has been quite strong in both constructed and Arena. It has a big, immediate impact on the board, and since it’s neutral, it’s been finding its way into a wide variety of decks.

Increasing its mana cost by 1 will give opponents more time to utilize powerful late-game cards to counteract Bonemare’s effect on the board.

Corridor Creeper – Now has 2 Attack. (Down from 5)

enUS_CorridorCreeper_HS_Body_LW_600x316.png

Due to the way that Corridor Creeper’s mana cost reduction works, it can cause big swings based on whether or not it happens to be in-hand at the start of the game.

Since it’s a very strong neutral card, Corridor Creeper has been played by a lot of classes. By lowering its attack, we reduce the overall swing potential and power level of the card, but still allow players who draw it early to benefit from having a low-cost minion to play when the game state is ideal.

Patches the Pirate – No longer has Charge.

enUS_Patchesthepirate_HS_Body_LW_600x316.png

As we move closer to the new Hearthstone Year, we had some concerns about allowing Patches to remain in his current state after moving out of Standard. Patches’ strength has caused almost every class to add some Pirates just to benefit from him, and his early game power forces control decks to include a good answer to him. This change should give Wild players more flexibility when building their decks.

Removing Charge will lower his power level, ensuring he shows up in fewer decks and allowing opposing players some additional time to respond to Patches, making him less “in charge” of the early game.

Raza the Chained – Now reads: Battlecry: If your deck has no duplicates, your Hero Power costs (1) this game.

enUS_Razathechained_HS_Body_LW_600x316.png

In a similar vein to Patches the Pirate, we had some concerns about allowing Raza to remain in his current state forever. Raza is currently an important combo piece along with Shadowreaper Anduin, and can lead to games that rely heavily on drawing him by turn 5. Adjusting his Battlecry will lower his overall power level when combined with Shadowreaper Anduin in Standard, and keep his power level reasonable in Wild as we prepare for the new Hearthstone Year.

Once these card changes are live with Update 10.2 next month, players will be able to disenchant the changed cards for their full Arcane Dust value for two weeks. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you in the tavern!


Nicholas Weiss

Is a lawyer by day and a cardslinger by night. He's decent at both. He's been playing Hearthstone since open beta and writing about it for a few years now.


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