Weighing the PTR Changes
Hello, fellow mortals!
In a break from my usual posts, I wanted to share some thoughts on the balance changes making their way to the PTR.
To quote IMBryn from Discord, today's PTR balance changes included:
spicy new designs for some underutilized DO cards.
Spicy is an understatement, and as I'm perusing various reactions to these changes I noticed some important domain interactions have been overlooked that are worth highlighting.
As such, much of my focus in this post will be on the relational changes certain match-ups are likely to experience if these changes survive the PTR.
Understanding my shorthand: [Cost] Strength/Health — Card text
Neutral
Creatures
[BUFF] Covetous Cutthroat ➝ 4/4
A simple change, but the current baseline for 4-cost creatures is 4/5 (Wetlands Ogre). Covetous Cutthroat is now a strictly better creature if your opponent has any relic equipped, but playable if you need a creature in a pinch. I expect to see this becoming filler for Zoo decks and a staple for cheaper Guild Deception decks.
With so many Talisman relics shifting to 3 durability, you're looking at a 7/7 creature available to all decks for only 4 mana. I believe this buff will end up being overly strong in the current relic-heavy meta, and I could see this settling on just providing +X Strength instead of +X/+X.
[BUFF] Phalanx Lieutenant ➝ 5/3
As much as others have pointed at Armor 2 being the issue, it's not: 3 Health is. Previously, removal like Blight Bomb and Piercing Bolt could handle this, but now most cheaper forms of removal won't get the job done (Hunting Trap being one exception). If Phalanx Lieutenant survives a round, domains like Light and War have multiple options for boosting his stats, something that then makes Armor 2 a problem.
Honestly, armor needs an overhaul as a mechanic, and I'd argue the best option is decrease a creature's total armor by 1 whenever it's attacked.
Death
Relics / Spells
[NERF] Blight Bomb ➝ Destroy a Creature with <3 Health.
This nerf is so much more than a simple limit in scope. It completely changes the early-game in matchups against all other domains by making certain creatures less risky to deploy. Here are commonly targeted turn one/two deploys that would gain viability against (Board Wipe) Death after this change:
- Death: Writhing Spirit, Void Banshee, Fickle Cambion
- Deception: Patient Pickpocket, Switch Duelist, Jinxblade Duelist, Ludia's Dedicant, Shady Merchant, Vault Vagabond
- Light: Olympian Guard, Parthene Shieldmate, Watchful Hound
- Magic: Academy Familiar, Street Conjuror, Vortimer, Miraculous Familiar
- Nature: Black Jaguar, Underbrush Boar, Celestial Stag, Managarmr, Ornery Goat
- War: Bladecaster, Battle Artisan, Nokkvi Pillager, Thunder Caller
- Neutral: Pyreshell Beetle, Tough Townsfolk, Trial Spirit, Dart Maniac, Shield Maiden, Battle Aurochs, Bronze Gate, Viking Outrider
Essentially, any creature with 3+ health would be safe(r) to play against Death.
[NERF] Just a Nibble ➝ Deal 1 to friendly Creature, Heal for 5.
A simple nerf; no other commentary is needed.
Plague Talisman ➝ [2] 0/3 — Ability: Give a Creature "Deal 2 to both Gods at EoT", -1 Durability.
At first glance this appears irrelevant compared to what Death already has, but it introduces an option for punishing opponents using creatures that can't attack (a.k.a. Control decks). Unless your opponent can kill their own creatures, this can quickly stack up to a very short game timer Death is well-equipped to out-heal.
Deception
Relics / Spells
Twisting Talisman ➝ [2] 0/2 — Ability: Swap a Creature's Strength/Health, -1 Durability.
If played turn one/two, this is a potential counter to Blind Martyr, Marsh Walker, Patient Pickpocket, Pyramid Warden, or any other health heavy 1/2-cost creatures common in the meta. This assumes you have a secondary damage source like Vanguard Axewoman or Orfeo's God power ready to go.
Deception really only has Makeshift Shiv competing in this mana range, and running one or more of each could provide more flexible early removal options. I'll be watching to see if players prefer this more for early aggression or removal on the PTR.
[BUFF] Counterfeit ➝ Destroy opponent's Relic and Equip a Copy, else Draw 1.
This is instantly the best form of relic removal available in the game if it makes it through the PTR unscathed. It provides card advantage that can cause massive swings in tempo for matchups like Nature or War. Just envision the damage Deception could do with Enduring Shield or Moonlight Charm, for example!
[NERF] Ring of the Siren ➝ 0/3 — Give a Creature +2 Order.
While yes, you can now use this to lock down one of your opponent's creatures, Deception loses the ability to trigger creatures like Gorgon Gargoyle or Shackled Acolyte before your opponent can act. I don't believe this synergy was overly powerful, but I also don't see how +2 Order will be useful on enemy creatures over other forms of removal that carry additional benefits.
Light
Creatures / Relics
Glaring Talisman ➝ [2] 0/3 — Give +3 Order to attacking Creature, -1 Durability.
This change introduces two interesting options for Light:
- Slowing down the early-game when facing fast Aggro such as Nature/War.
- Increasing the viability of Divine Judgment.
The question is, what does a Light deck sacrifice to make room for this? Order Light decks will likely love this change, but I'm not yet convinced it'll turn many heads once players learn how to game the mechanic. For example, a creature doesn't actually need to deal damage to be affected, and the attacking player can choose their attack order. Inquisitor Informant and Watchful Hound feel like better options, especially if Blight Bomb's nerf sticks.
[BUFF] Righteous Apparition ➝ Backline, Ability: Give an enemy Creature +2 Order.
As weird as it sounds, this change is a buff because it allows you to attack the targeted creature on your next turn. With +3 Order, the affected creature would be untargetable on your next turn and your opponent could take advantage of this. Simply put, this change provides the controlling player more options for how they want to deal with the creature once Order falls off.
[BUFF] Anubian Redeemer ➝ 4/6
The baseline for 5-cost creatures is 5/6, so playing this creature before killing off one of your own guarantees a strictly better version of Helios Battlesworn at 5/7. Even better, its stats can continue to scale if your opponent doesn't deal with it immediately. A subtle buff, but one that helps redeem this Anubian as a sub for decks running Helios Battlesworn.
Magic
Creatures / Relics
Enchanted Chariot ➝ [4] 3/3 — Roar: Draw a Structure from your Deck.
As many have already pointed out, this change allows Magic to fish for a powerful structure like Monolith of Storms. If you chose to only include one Structure other than the Chariots, they'd act as duplicates of the Structure. A Spell Boost deck, for example, would only need 2x Enchanted Chariot and Monolith of Storms to reliably create a spell-based win condition.
On the flip side, Structure Magic decks lose a source of early-game pressure that may need to be plugged with some other form of pseudo-removal.
Lightning Talisman ➝ 0/3 — When your God is damaged, Deal 2 to strongest enemy Creature, Deal 1 to weakest enemy Creature, -1 Durability.
The fact that this triggers off any damage received means War, especially, would need to rethink spamming Slayer whenever they have mana to burn. Further, for only 3 mana, you could deal up to 9 damage across your opponent's creatures as early as the next turn. This all amounts to efficiently targeted reactive damage for half the cost of The Hunt. The trade-off is your opponent gets to choose when to trigger it.
[BUFF] Crystal Watcher ➝ [3]
The important part of this change is that on turn two, you could deploy this to have 5 mana on turn three when going second. You'd need to open with Sip of Elixir to achieve the same thing if going first. This could be used to cast more mana ramp like Crystallax or drop a thematic Structure such Monolith of Storms or Snowstorm Spire. Even an early Guild Enforcer could set Magic up for a strong mid-game that quickly transitions into your late-game creatures multiple turns sooner than other decks.
Spells
[BUFF] Clear Mind ➝ Foresee 2
Until this spell provides something other than just Foresee, it won't be played. This is because Magic has multiple sources of Foresee that provide secondary effects such as Heka's Enchantress (1/2 with Foresee 2), Shadow Scryer (1/1 with Protected/Ward and SoT Foresee 1), or Seeing Stone (Foresee 1, Draw 1).
If you run this spell, casting it results in immediate card advantage for your opponent.
Ghost Form ➝ Give a Creature +2 Order, Draw 1.
This feels like a stall intended to help Magic fish for specific counters. That stalling can either be used to lock down an enemy creature or protect your own from attacks. Personally, I feel like the mana is better spent elsewhere, as Magic has strong enough direct removal to simply run more of it rather than go fishing for it.
Safeguard Incantation ➝ Draw 1, Give Protected/Ward to your God.
Time-Bomb is a creature that would directly benefit from this change, and I've personally witnessed several Aggro Magic decks push Protected/Warded creatures out with Spell Boost support for an Aggro/Control hybrid playstyle. This feels well-suited to a more aggressive Magic deck despite the defensive keywords.
Nature
Creatures
[NERF] Finnian Fruitbearer ➝ 2/2
This is a double nerf, as it keeps his health within Blight Bomb's threat range. Multiple removal spells also become threats (Auric Rush, Piercing Bolt, Form of Power, etc.), and Vanguard Axewoman would be capable of trading 1:1.
[NERF] Giant Pangolin ➝ Armor 1
The most important aspect of this nerf is Archangel Bruiser can now trade without needing additional support. Given the fierce competition between Nature and War for most popular domain, this is a serious blow for that match-up. 5 effective health is also vulnerable to certain removal like Nightmare (if Sleeping) and Wyrmbreath.
Relics / Spells
Blazing Talisman ➝ [2] 0/1 — Give attacking Creature +1 Burn, Give friendly Creatures +1 Regen when a Creature with Burn dies.
This brings Wild Regen decks back to the table, but it does so at the cost of occupying your relic slot. Nature has a number of useful relics popular in the current meta that push this to the back of the line, so I'd argue this isn't enough. 0/1 is incredibly vulnerable to relic removal, and 0 Strength limits your options. I don't think this change will be enough to see increased use.
[NERF] Moonlight Charm ➝ 0/3 — Ability: Give strongest friendly Creature +2/+2, -1 Durability.
For me, the biggest impact this will have is the turn after Marsh Walker hits the board. It will no longer be possible to achieve a 3/6 Marsh Walker at the end of turn two, as Nature will have to wait a turn before being able to use the ability. Some may argue this is actually a buff due to the removal of Frenzied as a requirement, but I view this as an overall nerf due to the loss of early game pressure.
My worst experience with this has to be:
- T1 Marsh Walker
- T2 Moonlight Charm
- T3 Sip from the Spring > Guerilla Training
The Marsh Walker was double digits by the time I had any kind of removal capable of putting a dent in it.
[NERF] Sudden Bloom ➝ +4/+4
A simple nerf; no other commentary is needed.
War
Creatures
[BUFF] Inspiring Skald ➝ Roar: If Frenzied, Give strongest Creature in Hand Twin Strike.
Carefully deploying creatures to allow Archangel Bruiser to receive Twin Strike has won me many games, but that particular combo is likely dead with her nerf. That aside, this change makes it easier to justify deploying so long as you have a decent creature for Twin Strike to target.
Given how bonkers some of the Viking changes look for the CSR, this could be extremely potent when all the dust has settled. Giving Twin Strike to Blitz creatures could become a regular thing if this survives the PTR.
[NERF] Warmonger Smith ➝ +1 Relic Strength
Much like the nerf to Blight Bomb, this is most felt on Leviathan Hunter or Valka's Captain which both provide a 1-Strength relic capable of knocking 3/4 Health creatures off the board with the previous Strength boost. This also further enables the use of lower-health creatures in the early-game by other domains.
[NERF] Oddi, Valka's Herald ➝ loses Protected
A simple nerf, but one that will definitely impact War's early-game.
[NERF] Archangel Bruiser ➝ 5/2
My takeaway, here, is she'd no longer be able to survive attacking most creatures. Having 1 Health left after knocking one or more creatures off the board forced the opponent to spend resources finishing off Archangel Bruiser. Now, she's most likely going to land 1:1 trades unless her health is boosted with spells like Call to Arms.
[BUFF] Caged Berserker ➝ [4]
If raised to a 5/5 or better by turn four, Caged Berserker will be strictly better than the baseline for 4-cost creatures. The stats don't have to stop at 5/5 meaning he could make a comeback for Zoo decks. The one downside is you'll have to allow him to clog up your hand during mulligans.
Relics / Spells
Enraging Talisman ➝ [2] 0/2 — Ability: Deal 1 to ALL Creatures, Give them +1 Strength, -1 Durability.
I see this as a form of removal that helps apply early pressure for War, something they're already good at. The question is, how much more pressure does War really need, and is this more useful than Enduring Shield or Blade of Styx? I can see this seeing some using after the CSR hits, however, as Vikings will have lots of ways to pump their stats enough to mitigate the friendly fire.
[NERF] Sole Survivor ➝ +3 Strength
A simple nerf; no other commentary is needed.
Rolling Thunder ➝ Summon two 3/3 Thunder Callers, Draw strongest Viking from Deck if Frenzied, reduce its Cost by 1.
The most useful part of this change is the ability to skip several turns of mana unlocking if you run at least one 8/9-cost Viking. For now, that's Odin or Valka, but which you decide to use will depend on your deck type. Control War will probably prefer Valka for the AoE damage while Odin's lower cost better supports Aggro War better.
Let me know what you think about these changes in the comments, below, including how right or wrong you think I am ;)
Until next time,
~ Ent