Along with the release of the next Hearthstone expansion, Whispers of the Old Gods, on April 26, Blizzard will be launching sweeping changes to the digital trading card game's Play mode.
In addition to the Wild format, which is the Play mode currently available where all cards are allowed to be used in decks, Blizzard will be launching the Standard format. In this new format, only cards from the Basic and Classic sets and those from expansions released in the previous and current calendar year will be allowed.
In preparation for the Year of the Kraken, the inaugural Standard year, Blizzard will be making changes to several cards from the Basic and Classic sets as part of its goal to make Hearthstone dynamic, fresh and fun.
Here is a rundown of all the cards that will be nerfed on April 26 upon the release of Hearthstone Patch 5.0:
Druid Cards
According to Blizzard, the most popular builds for Druid decks share a good amount of cards between them, resulting in limited creativity in creating Druid decks. While there will remain signature cards among all classes, Blizzard's review found these cards too good that Druid players always use them.
| Name | Original Version | Change | New Version |
| Ancient of Lore | 7-cost 5/5 minion with Battlecry ability to draw 2 cards or restore 5 health | Reduced the number of cards drawn | 7-cost 5/5 minion with Battlecry ability to draw 1 card or restore 5 health |
| Force of Nature | 6-cost Druid spell that summons three 2/2 Treants with Charge that die at the end of the turn | Reduced cost, removed the charge ability and makes summoned Treants permanent | 5-cost spell that summons three 2/2 Treants |
| Keeper of the Grove | 4-cost 2/4 minion that deals 2 damage or silences a minion | Reduced stats | 4-cost 2/2 minion that deals 2 damage or silences a minion |
Silence And Removal
Some silence and removal spells are said to be too widely played, attached to minions with efficient stats or are just too powerful. Removal will remain an integral part of the game, but Blizzard is looking to make playing big minions more rewarding.
| Name | Original Version | Change | New Version |
| Ironbeak Owl | 2-cost 2/1 minion with Battlecry ability to silence a minion | Increased cost | 3-cost 2/1 minion with Battlecry ability to silence a minion |
| Big Game Hunter | 3-cost 4/2 minion with Battlecry ability to destroy a minion with attack of 7 or more | Increased cost | 5-cost 4/2 minion with Battlecry ability to destroy a minion with attack of 7 or more |
| Hunter's Mark | 0-cost Hunter spell that changes a minion's health to 1 | Increased cost | 1-cost Hunter spell that changes a minion's health to 1 |
| Blade Flurry | 2-cost Rogue spell that destroys the player's equipped weapon and deals damage to all enemies equal to the weapon's attack | Increased cost and changed damage to only affect enemy minions | 4-cost Rogue spell that destroys the player's equipped weapon and deals damage to all enemy minions equal to the weapon's attack |
Neutral Minions
Blizzard believes that neutral cards that are too strong and widely played will limit deck building decisions, while also making it difficult to create new cards that are in line with them in terms of power level.
| Name | Original Version | Change | New Version |
| Knife Juggler | 2-cost 3/2 minion that deals 1 damage to a random enemy for every minion summoned | Reduced stats | 2-cost 2/2 minion that deals 1 damage to a random enemy for every minion summoned |
| Leper Gnome | 1-cost 2/1 minion with Deathrattle ability to deal 2 damage to the enemy hero | Reduced stats | 1-cost 1/1 minion with Deathrattle ability to deal 2 damage to the enemy hero |
| Arcane Golem | 3-cost 4/2 minion with Charge and Battlecry ability to give the opponent a mana crystal | Improved stats but removed Charge ability | 3-cost 4/4 minion with Battlecry ability to give the opponent a mana crystal |
| Molten Giant | 20-cost 8/8 minion that has its cost reduced for each damage that the hero has taken | Increased cost | 25-cost 8/8 minion that has its cost reduced for each damage that the hero has taken |
| Master of Disguise | 4-cost 4/4 minion with Battlecry ability to give a friendly minion Stealth | Changed Battlecry ability to not provide permanent Stealth | 4-cost 4/4 minion with Battlecry ability to give a friendly minion Stealth until the player's next turn |
With the changes, the decks that were most affected are Combo Druid, which utilizes the Force of Nature and Savage Roar combo to win games out of nowhere, and Face Hunter, which utilizes Knife Juggler, Leper Gnome and Arcane Golem to great effect.
The nerf on Blade Flurry has also been met with disappointment, as players on the Hearthstone subreddit believe that the combination of a cost increase and having it affect only minions was too much. Perhaps a great Rogue weapon is coming to a future expansion that necessitated the nerf?
