Hey everyone,
So the recent balance update announced by the Gods Unchained team was so big that the balancing phase had to be extended to make sure that there are not any game plans or any cards left so over powered that it might break in the game in the future.
Which I very much respect and appreciate out of our team because giving the DO a bit more time and making sure that everything is a bit least well balanced is better than hurrying up and leaving any cards that might ruin the game somehow in the long run.
Now these balanced changes might open a room for many new gameplay strategies one of them being the OTK with the Stormfield showcased by in his last video and many more unknown decks that might be discovered in the future.
So in this post I will be giving my opinion about these balance updates and saying how I think they might effect the game and the current meta. So let's first of all have a look at the buffed cards:
Buffed Cards
Overseer of Vitality
Change stats from 5/5 to 6/6
Being a 7 mana card, I think this card needed this buff because we only used to get good value out of it when we had a flooded board now with this buff it can also be a bit stronger for the 7 mana spot, but still most effective in zombie decks I would say
Chieftain of Impluse
Change text from: “Blitz. After a friendly creature enters the board, give it blitz and +2 strength.”
to
“Blitz. After you summon a creature, give it godblitz and +2 strength.”
Godblitz is often need more in aggro decks unlike control ones; so being a 7 mana card I do not know if it is godblitz that it needs. And on top of that, let's say that the card was dropped at 7 mana, it is so tough to survive to the next round with the current meta so it is hard to get any value out of it except in very few situations.
Lips are Sealed
Change text from “Give order +5 to each creature with strength 4 or more.”
to
”Give order +4 to each creature with strength 3 or more.”
I think this buff should put this card as very valid option for to the order light deck and it also might give light a certain option for a comeback in case the enemy board was flooded. I am not saying that his will put light at the top of the meta of course, but I can see a couple of plays being done with this card now.
Skeletal Hoplite
Change health from 1 to 2.
Now this gives this card a bit more chance of survival which might make it an option for decks that it can be buffed in like HP buff light for example.
Tartessian Minotaur
Reduce from 5 to 4 mana.
As you would expect, this card will be very good now but of course only in an Olympian deck. This might bring a bit more options for Olympian gameplay which will remain to be seen.
Dead Sentry
Change strength from 3 to 4.
I think this card now is very good for the 4 mana spot. A frontline with 4/4 and blessed for 4 mana is very strong in my opinion and I think it will have its spot in many decks.
Echoing Fury
Change text from “Blessed. Give twin strike to one of your creatures.”
to
”Blessed. Give +1 strength and twin strike to one of your creatures.”
The +1 strength might make this card a bit more viable in both control or aggro war decks, however it will not make it over powered which I think is a good buff.
City Planner
Reduce mana cost from 8 to 7.
Reduce stats from 8/8 to 7/7.
“Guild” tag added.
I think this might make this card a decent card for the 7 mana spot. Since it summons 2 frontlines, this can help assure more that you will get a hit with it unless the opponent used a spell it. Still not the best card though.
Helm Hustler
Change text from: “Backline. Ability: This creature takes 1 armor from an enemy creature, then deals this creature’s armor as damage to it.”
to
”Backline. Roar & Ability: Steal an enemy creature’s armor and add it to this creature, then deal this creature’s armor as damage to that enemy.”
Although this buff is nice especially after not applying the Armor 2.0, It is somewhat rare to encounter that high of an armor that can make this card so much value so I would say it very situational for this card to shine unless very high armor became meta somehow. But a good card for some late game armors.
Shimmerscales
Change text from: “Backline. Flank.”
to
”Backline. Hidden.”
A good addition to hidden deception maybe? Definitely a must try if you can assure to get those 5 damage in a maybe even more this can make a huge difference!
Ring of the Siren
Increase durability from 3 to 4.
I actually hold a shadow copy of this card, however I never saw it used before so I have no idea how this +1 durability might make this card more valuable. Maybe in order deception?
Cards Nerfs
Now let us talk about the huge nerfs!
Brazen Moose
Change strength from 6 to 5.
I think this nerf might ruin this card in many situations like taking out a guild enforcer, it now can not do it with one hit, but it also might help in other situation like a hunting trap is not enough by itself to take it out. Definitely does not put this card in the bad cards spot though
All-seeing Spire
Cut order from 10 to 5
Now this might put this card in a bit of an awkward spot, however in case it was not removed you will surely still get good value out of it!
Orcish Elite
Reduce health from 6 to 5.
Now I think with this nerf, this card is intended to stick to clearing board, and not live another day to be seen. Which I think it is still valuable but not as threatening as it used to be.
The hollow
Change health from 4 to 3.
Change text from: “Backline. Ward. After a friendly creature loses order, add a random Guild creature to your hand. Ability: Pick one — Give a friendly creature +2, +3 or +4 order.”
to
”Backline. Ward. After a friendly creature’s order reaches 0, add a random Guild creature to your hand. Ability: Give a friendly creature +2 order.”
Now that is a well needed nerf IMO, with the ward on it, and being a backline, this card was so tough to kill and it generates so much value. Now with this nerf it might be a bit easier to kill, however I think it will still be used and gotten so much value from so this is not a killer nerf I would say.
Radiant Dawn
Change text from: “Your creatures gain +1/+2 and lose sleep.”
to
”Your creatures gain +1/+1 and lose sleep.”
Now although I am sad to see this since I hold a diamond copy of this card, I would say that this card in specific needed this nerf. Although I do think that it is still a very good spell for 3 mana. However, they still need to bring more gameplay into light in the future in other ways and get it more into the meta without being so expensive to play!
Monolith of Storms
Reduce strength from 5 to 4.
Change text from: “Order 10. After you play a spell, give +2 strength to this creature. Ability: Deal damage to an enemy character equal to this creature’s strength, then set this creature’s strength to 0.”
to
“Order 5. After you play a spell, give +2 strength to this creature. Ability: Deal damage to an enemy character equal to this creature’s strength, then set this creature’s strength to 0.”
Even with this nerf, this card will always be so valuable for tempo decks, and although the order and the strength were cut out a bit, surviving for 5 order only can get the job done anyways in my opinion.
Falling Stars
Change text from “Give your opponent’s strongest creature burn +6. Summon three 1/2 Badgers with confused. Your creatures gain +1 strength.”
to
“Give your opponent’s strongest creature burn +6. Summon three 1/2 Badgers with confused and give them +1 strength.”
Even with this nerd, this card will always be as valuable as it is because it is not the +1 strength for other creature is what made it so good, it is the burn and the ability to get 3 small creature ahead on board after taking out a strong one for the opponent. So definitely still a very good card and a nice nerf that might avoid it being so OP in the future!
Now as for the card changes that were applied, they might bring up so much new playstyles into the game which will remain to be seen in the future, which I will surely be testing and seeing how they perform and sharing the results with everyone!
Conclusion
We can all see that the development team is putting so much effort into the game which I respect a lot. Hopefully, these balance changes can avoid some cards being so broken in the long term and can help the game stay a bit more balanced.
Now as for the future, I would suggest adding or changing stuff in a way that the meta might shift a little bit to bring new taste into the game which makes it a bit more exciting and brings even more usefulness to more cards.
So I can not wait to see how this balance update will effect the current meta and how our wonderful team will maintain and bring more stuff into the game! So this was my opinion about the updated buffs and nerfs and see you on the next one!
Mad Love, Peace out <3
Source
GU official website: https://blog.godsunchained.com/2022/02/22/balance-update-23-feb-2022/