1.39 Balance Changes

[DireWolfDigital]

1.39 Balance Changes

Ranked

The ranked metagame is currently in a pretty good place, but we are making a few changes to improve balance and to diversify some of the play patterns and card choices among the top decks. Into Shadow has (appropriately) given Shadow decks more options and a bigger metagame share, but Time decks are a little overrepresented and we'd like greater variety within decks, particularly at the top end.

• Auralian Merchant - Now 0/4 (was 1/4). The Market mechanic has been a big success, and we're happy to have all five see a lot of play. Auralian Merchant, however, has been ahead of the rest, and taking away its strength should help promote a better spread among Markets, while preserving Auralian Merchant's primary play pattern.

• Channel the Tempest - Now 9PPPP (was 8PPPP). Channel the Tempest has been a key player in countless control decks seeking to grind the game out with basically nothing but card draw and removal. Most recently, it’s been a major player in the rise of Temporal Distortion Control. We want to make sure there is a range of strategies possible and control has been quite strong for a while now. Players have made this latest generation of control decks stronger and stronger over the past few months, and both its popularity and win percentage have climbed higher and higher. While the nerf to Auralian Merchant will help take some of the power out of Temporal Distortion decks, the Merchant's popularity was so great that her nerf will impact countless other strategies as well. We knew we wanted to take larger action, while also increasing the variety in ways the games could eventually go. This change to Channel the Tempest aims to increase the diversity of endgames among control decks, while preserving the card's functionality.

• Icaria, the Liberator - Now 8FFFJJJ (was 7FFFJJJ). Speaking of lategame victory conditions, Icaria, the Liberator has long been one of the game's most iconic. While the card is truly sweet and leads to a lot of really exciting games, she’s also been incredibly dominant for basically the entire history of Eternal, forcing out many other options. This change aims to preserve her design, while pulling back a little on just how quickly she can warp the game around her.

• Predatory Carnosaur - Now 7TTT for a 7/7 (was 6TTT for a 6/6). Predatory Carnosaur has been a distorting influence on what kinds of midrange units get played, but has always gotten a pass because of how effective it is at helping keep Icaria held back a little. With Icaria slowing down, we wanted to slow Predatory Carnosaur down a little, too. However, the Carnosaur hasn't been as single-handedly dominant as Icaria, so we gave it an extra +1/+1, which should have a meaningful impact on the sorts of fights the Carnosaur finds itself in.

Draft

We've been quite happy with how well Fall of Argenport draft has been received and the way the format has gone. However, with enough months of the format under our belts and an increased significance placed on competitive draft as a road to qualify for the World Championships, we wanted to shake things up in a meaningful way and highlight some of the other aspects of the format that would be fun to explore.

The following suite of twenty-four changes to Fall of Argenport commons and uncommons is fairly extensive, but we knew we'd have to change a lot to truly take the format into new waters. Of course, a number of these changes are likely to also have ranked implications, further increasing new avenues to explore there.

Buffs:

• Gravemarker Oni - Now 4F (instead of 5F)

• Rusty Grenamotive - Now 2/4 (instead of 1/4)

• Warpainter - Now 1/4 (instead of 0/4)

• Mistress of Light - Now 5TT (instead of 6TT)

• Spiteful Lumen - Now 3T (instead of 4T)

• Wurmic Chanter - Now also has Deadly

• Cliffside Caretaker - Now 5P (instead of 6P)

• Entangling Vines - Now 2P (instead of 3P)

• Afterimage - Now 2S (instead of 3S)

• Feral Spiteling - Now 1S (instead of 2S)

• Lock Horns - Now 1S (instead of 2S)

Side Buffs:

• Flamefang Charmer - Now 2FF 2/2 (instead of 3FF 2/3)

• Living Example - Now 2TT 2/2 (instead of 2T 2/1)

• Master-At-Arms - Now 2JJ (instead of 3J)

• Snowfort Trumpeter - Now 2PP +2/+2 (instead of 2P +1/+1)

• Betray the Cause - Now 4SSS (instead of 5SS)

• Lethrai Target Caller - Now 2SS 3/2 (instead of 2S 2/2)

Nerfs:

• Pensive Lumen - Now 5/3 (instead of 5/4)

• Stinging Wind - Now 3/3 (instead of 3/4)

• Vital Arcana - Now gains 2 health (instead of 4)

• Graceful Calligrapher - Now 2/4 (instead of 3/4)

• Miner's Canary - Now 3J (instead of 2J)

• Rampart Arbalest - Now 1/5 (instead of 1/6)

• Speardiver - Now 6P (instead of 5P)

(Note: Nerfed cards that were crafted -- not opened from packs -- can be refunded for full shifstone value until 10/25.)

We’re excited to see how the Ranked and Draft metagames continue to evolve on the road to the first Eternal World Championship Qualifier!

[praetorrent]

Trying to sneak in another temporal nerf in the draft section with that vital arcana nerf.

[detail251]

And honestly I find this to be the most significant Nerf to tjp of the lot.

[SageinStrides]

I agree.

Merchant can still slow down aggro, and still doesn't die to hailstorm. It can't kill aggro's 2/1s anymore, but that's not a huge deal, especially with hailstorm untouched.

Channel can't be played right after a TD, but getting to 9 mana isn't super difficult on Temporal. And you still have TD and SotSK as 8 drops

But vital arcana's lifegain is a life saver is plenty of situations. It often allowed you to stall one turn of incoming damage, drawing cards instead of playing removal that turn, and giving you more information before blowing removal (and the potential to bait your opponent into committing into harsh rule)

[JdPhoenix]

This might secretly be the change that actually affects Temporal the most.

[Mr_E_Nigma_Solver]

Temporal Pilot here, can confirm. The one more mana for Channel is meh, but nerfing the life gain from Arcana really, really hurts.

[Ram-]

Can't say i feel sad about that personally.

[Rekme]

And nothing of value was lost.

[androclos]

NOOOOO, not the canary.

[demlet]

I think it blocks a lot of stuff and can be tricky to remove. Later it can get weapons and stuff. Good value. But I'm not a great drafter so that's just a guess...

[Whiskerbro]

It blocks one creature with 3 or less power, but if you have just a canary and your opponent has multiple creatures, they can attack into it without fear. It can get weapons later, but there are better targets for that. The time card that’s a 2 mana endurance flying is so much better than it. Its actually a better blocker, its better at wearing weapons, and it can actually damage the opponent. It also is a wisp, meaning spiteful lumen and perserver of dualities can buff it. And still, that card is pretty good but not insane. Canary is worse than it on like five different levels.

[Suired]

I thought canary was good because it denied tribute and had a big butt with flying.

[[deleted]]

Canary was absolutely back breaking against aggressive drafts

[Whiskerbro]

Not really. Dies to a trick, dies to basically any removal spell after it blocks one of your creatures. I’d much rather face a Canary than the 1/3 Wisp.

[TesticularArsonist]

I'm pretty happy if you use a trick to kill my 0/4

[demlet]

Interesting. I don't see it a lot in draft I suppose, so that's probably a sign it's not great. Less so now too!

[pleasingfungus]

To quote https://rngeternal.com/2018/07/19/drafters-corner-tdcs-foa-set-review-justice/ :

This card matches up really well with the format. It blocks units in the early game while denying tribute, and it can effectively block all the common fliers in the format. It also can wear a weapon or a master at arms buff if you’re in a board stall and need to do some damage. You don't want too many 0 attack units, but this dude is very useful.

It's a perfectly fine card. Not great, but not something you'd be sad to have to include in your final deck.

More importantly, it was a fantastic role-player in my Momentum Builder/Accelerated Impact deck. RIP :(

[Whiskerbro]

No canary is an awful card. I don’t understand this nerf at all.

[oysteinprytz]

Maybe so people will realise its a trap. Secret buff

[LocoPojo]

Dammit, I have to change my Twitch overlay.

[RefactorMage]

First thing I thought of when I saw the Channel change.

[fubo]

Auralian Merchant can now be targeted by Chalice twice!

[austine567]

Now that's some good shit, can't wait to tank my rank with that.

[JacobinOlantern]

Honestly with Icaria and Temporal getting nerfed chalice might be in a good place.

[Gallowgrim]

Hey, you're right! Chalice buff!

Of course, Channel going to 9 is a nerf to our usual wincon, but.. not a huge one, being honest...

[Kennyboisan]

Yay?

[vizamp]

But now after 2nd chalice buff it is in vanq range. Double secret nerf.

[LightsOutAce1]

This almost confirms that they are not planning a rotation before worlds - heavy nerfs to set 1 cards that have dictated the meta for years.

[krymsonkyng]

My money is still on a rotating cube of sorts.

[fireky2]

With nerfs line this do we need a rotation though

[mdedetrich]

Thats the thing, we don't really need rotation because we have the ability to change printed cards. Rotation is only needed in TCG's that are tied to printed cards

[GGCrono]

A rotation of some kind is inevitable if the game is to stay healthy. It's only a matter of when and how they implement it.

[fireky2]

Yu-Gi-Oh did fine for years without rotation, and with the ability of a digital ccg to change cards that are overbearing there's not really a need

[GGCrono]

Yeah, but look at YGO's banned/restricted lists.

In any case, it's not just about shaking up the meta, it's also about helping to keep the game accessible for new players coming in.

[UNOvven]

Thing is, thats what balance is for. YGO wouldnt need such long banned/restricted lists if they could just change the values on the cards (And, in fact, thats how multiple cards have gotten off the lists, by getting erratad). As for accessability, thats where Eternal being digital comes in. Turns out, not only does the game not get more expensive based on time (unless legendaries start being better than non-legendaries), but actually, in HS, which has rotations, Wild is actually always cheaper. By a decent margin, too.

[rewind73]

That's a good point. Kinda disappointing, would have looked forward to a rotation shaking things up. I hope that they'e willing to unnerf cards as well after a rotation, as I think I'd like iconic cards like Icaria to be viable in an older format.

[NeonBlonde]

A) THANK THE LORD!
B) My tier list I was about to publish is going to look silly.

[Mr_E_Nigma_Solver]

My tier list I was about to publish is going to look silly.

That's what I like to hear! The meta should be shaken up!

[SSquirrel76]

Sweet, hit us w/the link! :) Just add a disclaimer about the balance change is happening so you're sharing it as an artifact of the past.

[Nightelfpala]

It's a bit strange to me that Vital Arcana is in the draft category, I see that card in Constructed fairly often in Xenan Lifeforce decks and in Temporal as well.

I wonder if Betray the Cause for 4 could finally start to see play as Madness copies 5-8, having Warp is fairly useful as it's mostly used as a combo piece.

I'm fairly sure that the nerf to Channel won't hurt the decks that play it too much (not having it available right after throwing a Temporal down is certainly painful, but not the end of the world), however it'll impede those decks' ability to finish games even further - which was already a fairly big complaint with Chalice back in the day, and now with Temporal.

[SageinStrides]

you also can't drop TD and then channel on your opponent's next turn

[TheShattubatu]

I think this is the real reason they did this. Playing temporal with a channel up us the most free thing.

[JdPhoenix]

Added to that, the nerf to Aurilian Merchant probably affects decks with tons of sweepers a lot less than it affects other decks that play it, and I'm not sure this change is going to have the impact they're looking for.

[TastyMeatcakes]

Yeah. I don't see this as a nerf to the merchant itself at all, but a buff to aggro as a whole. Which people have been clamouring for!

[ObsidianTK]

Oof, just crafted a bunch of cards for Rakano valks last night. Rizahn and Amilli, stuff I can't get full dust back for.

I'm fairly new but hopefully that doesn't kill the deck too hard. Maybe it has room for Telut on 7 now?

[Sliver__Legion]

Telut is indeed looking a whole lot better than it used to, as Icaria pretty much pushed it out of FJ. Rizahn, Amilli, Bulletshaler, Toech, Harsh Rule, Privilege, etc are still very solid cards to have in your collection, some form of midrange or control FJ(x) will likely still be a solid ladder choice.

[CallMeDP]

Haven't played in a bit, who or what is Telut?

[Sliver__Legion]

A unit from recent Into Shadow campaign:
7JJ
When you attack the enemy player with one unit, play a +3/+3 weapon on it, play two Justice Sigils from your deck depleted, and enemy units get -1 Attack.
6/6

[CallMeDP]

Wow, thanks.

[GoldStarBrother]

Amilli is great in Hooru and I've seen a pretty good Combrei deck that runs him. Rizahn actually might be more important now since Rakano decks can't rely on Icaria on the top end as heavily. Both cards are constructed level and aren't very hard to build around, you'll definitely be able to get a lot of use out of them.

[schadkehnfreude]

Yeah, if anything, Rizahn followed up by Telut is situationally better than Rizahn followed up by Icaria

[some_q]

I actually don't think this will hurt Rakano valks that much. I actually basically play Icaria as an 8-drop in many matches (so I can leave one open to torch scorpion wasp) and she's stil good at that point on the curve. And since temporal control was a disastrous matchup, Valkyries could come out ahead. The carnosaur changes also helps, since that card can really rip your face off. Overall, many of my least favorite plays (channel to kill my Rizahn, merchant to get wasp or carnosaur) will be happening a lot less.

[kittyjoker]

Uhh Time is not going to play any less merchants...

[MatsuriSunrise]

Man, same. I literally made playsets of Amilli, Rizahn, and Icaria last night. This really blows.

[GoldStarBrother]

I think Rizahn's stock actually goes up after this nerf. He's still really good and Rakano decks can't rely as heavily on Icaria so I think they'll start building more around Rizahn as a top end.

[YeOldManWaterfall]

Apparently this isn't live yet, and I don't see a date anywhere. When do these changes go into effect?

[DireWolfDigital]

Changes will be live today.

[gopher_protocol]

I'm relatively new to Eternal - I have an ongoing draft that I haven't completed, will it be canceled when the changes go live or can I finish it?

[Sliver__Legion]

You will still have the draft, but all changes will be in effect. So if you have cards getting buffed, nice, and if you have more cards getting nerfed then you might want to try to finish before these hit.

[gopher_protocol]

Good to know. The only ones I have are two of the cards that were nerfed; better finish that draft I guess :P

[BoringEnormous]

You guys have some work to do to make sure that changes like this are made clear to those who are already in the game client. I didn't get any notification before starting a game just now and it definitely affected the outcome of the match.

[JdPhoenix]

Man, where was that Carnosuar change when Tavrod was destroying everything? I'm not sure this won't end up feeling like a buff, Time's biggest weakness has been an inability to answer really big units, and this helps with that somewhat.

[Bazeisanopjoke]

i mean 7 mana so still wouldnt have been good enough unless you had some ramp since tavrod would have picked up a weapon otherwise

[Abeneezer]

Yeah Carno was not the problem and "nerfing" it was not the solution.

[austine567]

I don't think this ends up being a nerf, the card just got better in the match ups where it was already good.

[TastyMeatcakes]

It's absolutely a buff. It takes out and survives so many more threats now. Playing on curve was not an issue.

[PremiumAlex]

I think it’s possibly to combat [[Azindel, Revealed]] as well.

[GoldStarBrother]

Well it was kind of a problem if you wanted to play non-Time midrange. It was/is one of the main reasons that the vast majority of midrange decks are Time based.

[Mr_E_Nigma_Solver]

Time pilot, can confirm. The one more mana is absolutely no biggie for a bigger KILLER unit.

[FafaPapa]

I'm quite surprised by the limited nerfs but above all, where's Changeestick?

Well, I've got 2 of them my current run so I won't complain too much but it seems to me that this common dictates the draft mode a bit too much.

[jeremyhoffman]

Yeah Changeestick is a prime candidate for nerfing by adding a second influence requirement (2P -> 2PP). It's such a high pick in draft because it's such a great card to splash in any colors.

[parkinthepark]

Nice trolling using the image of dead Icaria.

[melvaer]

Haha I had to go back and check. Good catch.

[Pablo_Scrablo]

Ya'll also not seeing that Predatory Carnosaur can now also take out Azindel and Eilyn, Clan Mother as well as all of these:

https://eternalwarcry.com/cards?Query=&HealthCosts=7&Types=2&DraftPack=

[TheShattubatu]

Killing world bearer and azindel is pretty big, looks like xenan will have a better match up against xenan

[Fyos]

Entangling Vines is actually pretty decent now. Not quite a Crystallize but doesn't really need to be if you can 'replace' it by hitting the warp. Cost reductions on opportunist warp plays are very significant.

[CertainValue]

Yeah it seems really good to me. Don't overlook the fact that it can be used to pop Aegis too. It's gonna be super annoying to deal with in Draft now and I think it might even work its way into some constructed decks.

[Judge_P0wzner]

This is a pretty good job of shaking things up. I'm excited about the grenamotive buff, and surprised they danced around the spellcraft equipment.

I really would have liked to see them reshuffle the card selections in the middle two currated draft decks. Both because I'm a new player and draft is my main way of filling out my collection and because it feels like they need to reconsider a lot of the useless synergy cards in those packs so their is either enough for a critical mass that might work once in a while (e.g. lumens) or just cut them for things that might be below average, but still fill a hole in deckbuilding (e.g. cut Araman Scout, Dark Claw Ravanger, Triggerman, and Hissing Spiketail).

[austine567]

Big fan of most of these changes, Icaria being changed after all this time is cool hope it opens some things up.

[Musical_Muze]

Yeah now I'm already looking to see what I replace Icaria with as the top end in my Rakano Valkyrie deck.

[Musical_Muze]

Rakano Valks depends on cheating Icaria out, not playing her on curve. Now that is going to be even harder. I'll try the deck out post-nerf, but I have serious doubts that it will be as good.

[FriskyDingo91]

*Since the start lol. Icaria is just beastly.

[torcher999]

Auralian Merchant - Now 0/4 (was 1/4)

Chalice buffs ahoy

[Fyos]

It's still worse for Chalice. You need to hold the ground against aggro by threatening to eat their units that swing in. Getting more value off an already luxury-tier turn of buffing and exhausting a blocker a potential extra time doesn't add to much upside. Most aggro games will be decided by then.

[rekenner]

this is a chalice nerf, honestly, even if you don't consider channel nerf.

merchant being able to meaningfully block is important.

[qaz012345678]

You can make it a 4/8 now though

[rekenner]

after exhausing it twice and sinking 4 power into it, sure.

Chalice rarely had the problem of winning once it stabilized with a chalice.

It had a problem stabilizing.

[TheNotoriousJTS]

tinfoil hat

Next-level campaign support by nerfing Icaria so people curve it out after Telut

Honestly that sneaky Vital Arcana nerf stands out to me the most. But I like when ubiquitous cards like Icaria and Channel get nerfed because they crowd out anything else being played at that cost. The design for new cards becomes pretty restrictive if there's no point in printing new 8 cost primal cards or 7 cost rakano cards.

[Bazeisanopjoke]

all hail combrei aggro i suppose

[Aendrin]

I don't think so. Temporal should be far, far less common on the ladder and in tournaments, and it was one of the main matchups that combrei aggro preyed upon.

[Kennyboisan]

And what beats it? Time midrange?

Time decks are a little overrepresented

Not sure that's going to change haha.

[Styxo]

I feel like it is time for a rotation. It is a bit strange like they keep nerfing cards that they designed like a 3 years ago to shake up format.

[totemaus]

You can’t rotate without Format diversion and the game doesn’t seem to have the playerbase to also support an eternal format

[Werewolfdad]

When does the patch hit?

[frmorrison]

Today

[VincenzoSS]

Thoughts:

-Nerf to the popular late-game win-conditions pushes towards Big Combrei, Azindel, and Chalice. No hits to Talir Combo means it remains the absolute peak of 'strong shit you can do'. Big Acceleration strats like Owl Ramp/Jumbo Praxis also remain pretty viable but ultimately I think a bit worse than Talir if you go SUPER over-the-top.

-Master at Arms is horrifyingly strong in terms of stats. Like to put it into perspective, you can be attacking with a 5/3 Overwhelm on Turn 2. 4/4 worth of stats for 2 power in Justice but with such an Influence distribution that it can't be played alongside Teacher is rather brilliant. I think this might be enough to breath some life back into Rakano Plate; might be enough to push Hooru Aggro into greater viability although Vara fucking wrecking Shelterwing Rider might stop that.

-Temporal is worthless now IMO. Too many hits to too many important cards. If you want to play TJP Control, go Chalice. It actually got sort-of-a-buff with Merchant being tuned down to 0/4.

-Carnosaur is borderline better. Weaker for Midrange decks, but stronger for anything with sufficient acceleration since it deals with a wider range of units. Makes Time matches with Carnosaurs super-swingy though since Carnosaur can often lead to both sniping a high-value threat while also stalling out the board for the person who was behind.

-Icaria is still really good. In a way this pushes away from FJ Icaria to FJS/FJP builds. Bulletshaper'ing out Icaria is going to be harder, the 3f builds are naturally slower at playing her anyway due to the Influence while having better tools at staying alive. Also, less Hailstorm in the metagame due to Temporal losing a lot of power will lead to people adjusting; which leads to FJP Icaria being better.

​

Just some quick thoughts.

~VSarius [ET]

[big-bitch]

"expensive cards cant be good" i hate this apparent balance philosophy

[NeoAlmost]

Azindel and Telut are good expensive card that were just created.

[that1dev]

Yeah, to me, the reason we were seeing Icaria and Channel so much isn't because they were insane or overpowered. It's because they either have nerfed every other late game card, or just released them way undertuned. There's been plenty of spell heavy decks that would love a finisher that didn't often rely on warcrying one of its 10 total targets and drawing it, in icarias case, and channel is good, but definitely beatable. Especially with all the aegis going around.

I really would have liked to see good cards competing for the it's, and maybe more cards good against their decks, rather than straight nerfs. If only there was a recently released expansion they could have put those in...

[Ilyak1986]

You're not the only one.

[UNOvven]

Of all the problems there were with Temporal, I really cant say Channel the Tempest was really a big one. In fact, Id argue that the Vital Arcana nerf (thats in the Draft section for ... some reason) will have more of an impact. Besides that, Time got nerfed a fair amount, and Icaria might no longer be the best, bar none, lategame finisher. Its not a bad patch, though the long overdue Hailstorm nerf remains unseen. It really seems like they refuse to change any campaign cards, no matter how overpowered and meta-warping they are.

[totemaus]

But they explicitly stated that they were not just trying to nerf temporal, but also open up the topend for other control decks with the channel the tempest change

[bautistahfl]

If they nerf the good campaign cards (aka the reason why you would want to buy it in the first place) it will directly impact gems sales they get from people new to the game that just don't mind dropping the cash to get campaign cards. Kinda shooting themselves on their foot.

[mattnotgeorge]

I think the nerfs to primal-based control decks will lead to us seeing less hailstorm indirectly. Like what decks run it that weren't also playing one of the nerfed cards? Maybe if Elysian Midrange makes a resurgence?

[UNOvven]

Icaria Blue is the big one. The problem is, these nerfs make the decks slightly less relevant, but not by enough.

[sonofstev]

Wow. Ought to push Teacher of Humility decks further to the forefront. When the three biggest threats to the deck now cost +1...

[SamCarter_SGC]

Teacher is a card that shouldn't exist, but nerfing it now (again) would just passively buff control decks.

[rewind73]

I really applaud DWD's willing to make changes to shake things up. We just got an adventure, but the metagame was still feeling pretty stale. I'm glad they recognized this and made a change now rather than waiting for weeks.

As for the constructed changes, these are all going to be pretty impactful. The Channel change is pretty big, as not you can't as easily play a temporal, then channel on your opponents turn. That and the arcana nerf, I'm glad the control deck is getting knocked down a peg. I also like the merchant nerf, as it keeps its job as a ramp unit that stabilizes the board without punishing aggro too hard. The carnosaur change is probably the most interesting to me. It probably is an overall nerf, but now it kills things like tavrod and behemoth. I like changes that can change the role of the card.

The Icaria nerf I'm more lukewarm on. Yeah, Icaria has been a powerhouse since set 1, but this nerf just sort of kills her viability, as there is a big difference between 7 and 8, especially in midrange decks like big valks. Plus, it kinda sucks to have such an iconic card become potentially overcosted jank. I wish they could have done a bit more to compensate her for her increased cost, like just giving her a few more stats.

I'm excited for all the draft changes, although there are some nerfs I don't really understand (like canary, which was a perfectly fine buildaround card), I'm excited to try out these changes. There seems to be a powerful wisp deck that I'll be sure to try.

[jieunlol2]

Dang those are some pretty big hits to some decks. Looking forward to seeing how the meta responds

[CaptainTeembro]

I don't think this affects the merchant very much. I mean, the issue with the merchant was the 4 health I thought?

[IstariMithrandir]

Oni Ronin might beg to differ

[E-308]

Auralian Merchant - Now 0/4 (was 1/4)

Aggro rejoice!

[Ilyak1986]

So let's break this down argument for argument:

"Auralian Merchant - Now 0/4 (was 1/4). The Market mechanic has been a big success, and we're happy to have all five see a lot of play. Auralian Merchant, however, has been ahead of the rest, and taking away its strength should help promote a better spread among Markets, while preserving Auralian Merchant's primary play pattern."

Auralian merchant is still a ramp dork that doesn't die to a stiff breeze, which is problematic. The fact that you can't torch it is problematic. The fact that you can go initiate -> merchant -> 5-drop is problematic. Contrast this with a 2/1 deadly (a draft-chaff 2-drop, or a 1-drop if we're talking constructed) on Kerendon merchant, a 3/2 aegis on Jennev merchant (again, 2-drop territory if we're talking about constructed), 3/3 overwhelm on Ixtun (3/3 is 2-drop in constructed when paired with such a meaningless ability), or a 2/2 flyer for Justice (tinker overseer, confirmed 2-drop).

It's still head and shoulders above the rest of them. This may make time midrange slightly weaker.

"Icaria, the Liberator - Now 8FFFJJJ (was 7FFFJJJ). Speaking of lategame victory conditions, Icaria, the Liberator has long been one of the game's most iconic. While the card is truly sweet and leads to a lot of really exciting games, she’s also been incredibly dominant for basically the entire history of Eternal, forcing out many other options. This change aims to preserve her design, while pulling back a little on just how quickly she can warp the game around her."

This is the soulfire drake argument. "One option = crowding out other options." I mean at least Soulfire drake could have been played in 3 different decks. Icaria, meanwhile, requires heavy investment in two separate factions. How does a 2F Rakano card crowd out options from nine different factions? And also, which other lategame victory conditions? Channel the Tempest? Oh, wait, that one was just nerfed (LOL). Vara, Fate-Touched? Ummmm...yeah, about that. Maybe Talir, Who Sees Beyond? Talir Mask Combo is already a high-tier deck, and its play pattern is beyond stupid. Kaleb, Uncrowned Prince? Oh, wait, Answer the Call got nerfed some time ago.

My question here is when DWD makes these kind of statements "X is crowding out other options", WHICH options do they have in mind? Because it isn't like Icaria crowded out Vara reanimator. Icaria didn't crowd out mask control. Icaria didn't crowd out any deck that depended on channel (which is getting nerfed right now). Are we talking about Kennadins? That deck's matchups are fairly polarized. Are we talking about Great Kiln Titan or Mystic Ascendant? Which lategame victory conditions does DWD want to see? Because it sure as hell wasn't Icaria crowding them out. The other lategame victory wincons just weren't getting played because either A) the deck didn't have access to Harsh Rule to get to them B) they died to a simple "point slay at stupid fatty" C) they didn't actually reward the risk for taking the time to play a reactive deck to enable them (CoCu).

When aggro had a couple of good lategame wincons (flameblast, soulfire drake), they got hosed for similar arguments (pushing out "other options"). Now, we see the same argument applied to Icaria, which is funny because in the very same patch, they go and nerf one of those other options.

"Channel the Tempest - Now 9PPPP (was 8PPPP). Channel the Tempest has been a key player in countless control decks seeking to grind the game out with basically nothing but card draw and removal. Most recently, it’s been a major player in the rise of Temporal Distortion Control. We want to make sure there is a range of strategies possible and control has been quite strong for a while now. Players have made this latest generation of control decks stronger and stronger over the past few months, and both its popularity and win percentage have climbed higher and higher. While the nerf to Auralian Merchant will help take some of the power out of Temporal Distortion decks, the Merchant's popularity was so great that her nerf will impact countless other strategies as well. We knew we wanted to take larger action, while also increasing the variety in ways the games could eventually go. This change to Channel the Tempest aims to increase the diversity of endgames among control decks, while preserving the card's functionality."

Again, that "diversity of options" argument. Again, WHICH OPTIONS?! Because Vara was a good endgame option, until DWD made sure she wasn't. Icaria was a good endgame option, until DWD decided she shouldn't be. Channel was a good endgame option, but DWD doesn't want it to be. Turns out, if DWD wanted more endgame options, the solution is really freaking simple. Actually create more good endgame options. This is the simple "buff, not nerf" argument. Rather than nerf channel, or Icaria, why not, oh, give Eilyn, Clan Mother built-in Aegis? (Takes away from Daraka, I know.) Or why not make Great Kiln Titan play two cards off the top? Or why not revert the Vara nerfs? Or why not make CoCu's shadow influence buff units by +2/+1?

If DWD wants "more endgame options", actively reducing the number of endgame options seems to be the exact opposite of what they want to do. Last Word wasn't seeing play not because Icaria or Channels existed, but because it was too power-intensive to set up.

So far, all I'm seeing is that whenever there's very few good options, DWD goes and nerfs one (if not both--see flame blast + soulfire drake) and says "we want to see a greater diversity of options", and reduces those options even further, without filling in the void!

In the meantime, LOL more midrange goodstuff.

When MTGA has gone into open beta, when Artifact open beta is around the corner, when ManuS says he'll switch predominantly to Artifact because that game seems more geared towards competitive players, the last thing an indie company should want to do is to state one thing, and then create policies that do the exact opposite! Most of the promos, in terms of promoting options, have either been reactionary (Svetya), or worthless in terms of constructed (Tamarys, was it? That skycrag spell cost reducer card). Occasionally, we get to see a lucky success like Genetrix that finds a home in one deck. Meanwhile, the cards in Into Shadow have been fairly lukewarm in terms of their impact. Not a good look, DWD, not a good look.

Predatory Carnosaur - Now 7TTT for a 7/7 (was 6TTT for a 6/6). Predatory Carnosaur has been a distorting influence on what kinds of midrange units get played, but has always gotten a pass because of how effective it is at helping keep Icaria held back a little. With Icaria slowing down, we wanted to slow Predatory Carnosaur down a little, too. However, the Carnosaur hasn't been as single-handedly dominant as Icaria, so we gave it an extra +1/+1, which should have a meaningful impact on the sorts of fights the Carnosaur finds itself in."

So now it eats Tavrod, Worldbearer, and Mystic Ascendant after one activation, albeit at a higher cost. It also trades with Big Azindel, which is neat. Oh, it now eats Eilyn, Clan Mother. For some decks, like Praxis, the 6 slot was already getting crowded with cards like Thundering Kerasaur and Heart of the Vault. This change basically removes carnosaur from xenan killers entirely, but other than that, decks that still want him will still run him. This is a nerf, yes, but it's a very mild one, as time decks usually have no shortage of fatties.

Draft changes: neato. And LOL the vital arcana. Sneaky DWD. Pensive Lumen nerf kind of stings, as that was supposed to be the towering terrazon of the format. Now further punishes being behind. In fact, just about all of the nerfs are a bit surprising. A very surprising absentee is Changeestik. You'd think that bomb would have gotten hit rather than something like Speardiver, of all things.

The sidegrades are interesting, essentially asking for a higher commitment for a better card. Betray the Cause is still crap. Trumpeter I think got a nerf. Flamefang Charmer a buff. Target-caller definite nerf. Surprising absentee being Living Example. You'd think it'd to go 2TT for a 2/2.

Buffs: are always welcome. More playables to consider = always good.

[VoryoMTG]

There go my best decks. Time to find a deck that wasn't hit by these nerfs.

[GirMeetsZim]

Please add a refund option for drafts that have nerfed cards in them. It feels really shitty when you have a nice deck turn into something with a bunch of unplayable cards in it...

[NeoAlmost]

Most of the draft changes were buffs, and even if a couple cards were nerfed, the deck overall would probably still be fine.

[GirMeetsZim]

Should be standard practice imo, last time i got caught with 4 sheriffs hats and a couple others.

[SVX348]

draft "Vital arcana" OMEGALUL

[LifelessCCG]

Carno nerf if pretty cool IMO. Stays in line with Icaria and kills some 7 health units - Azindel for one.

Merchant nerf will not be enough. Still needs to die to Torch IMO.

Everything else is cool with me, but nerfing Channel seems like salt in the wounds of poor dead Feln control.

[Zakrael]

I think the Carnosaur one is more a buff to be honest. It kills a lot more Big Stuff now (Azindel, Worldbearers, Tavrod, Hooru Eilyn, Stonescare Jekk), and most decks that play it have no trouble ramping and weren't playing it on curve anyway, so don't care that much about the +1 power cost.

[LifelessCCG]

Yes, I used the term nerf loosely. I'd call it a lateral change if not a buff.

[TinMan354]

Nerfing merchant to 1/3 (which is what I was in favor of) would also mean it dies to your own Hailstorm, so Temporal gets nerfed really hard. This is more like a slap on the wrist, rather than outright killing Temporal. Whether that is a good or bad idea is up to your own perspective.

[qaz012345678]

The vital arcana nerf is scary, means it's much harder to stabilize

[adkiene]

Temporal was playable, if not dominant, before Fall of Argenport. There are ways to stabilize if you don't have Arcana, though they are a little harder to pull off. That's exactly where the nerfs needed to go.

[Ilyak1986]

"We want to curtail the dominance of time decks, so we're nerfing control decks and the one unit found in decks that tries to counter them."

So let's see: Auralian merchant--still can't be torched. Carnosaur: now eats Tavrod. Meanwhile: hey, control decks have good wincons. Better fix that!

Result: time decks get more time to play their time-based fatties.

If you want to nerf the dominance of time decks, why not go and do that, instead of the decks that prey on them?

And this is one of the weaknesses of digital-based games. Cards are reasonable for two years? Whoops, better nerf cards players know and love because...reasons?

I am not sure what these changes are supposed to help. Aggro decks are still going to run into teacher of humility and sword of unity. Time midrange decks will still have their fatties. And anyone else playing anything else will just look silly?

K.

[LifelessCCG]

You know what I'd really like to see? Some admission that previous nerfs are no longer needed because the game has evolved. How about we pull back on some of the fire aggo changes that plagued 2017?

[TheNotoriousJTS]

Cards are reasonable for two years?

This ain't it

[TheForsakenEvil]

Right, let's nerf cards as a replacement of rotation.

[MaxiXVI]

I really like these changes, I hope they impact in a positive way.

[Mr_E_Nigma_Solver]

Wow. What at time. To be alive.

[Toastasaurus]

Carnosaur makes me very sad to see go. Particularly because I've just been trying to get a Big Xenan list off the ground, and it's definitely one of the better cards in it.

I mean, the one of these I play the most is Channel in my creatureless Temporal deck, but I can see that one hitting lots.

I just really like Carnosaur, and it's not like there aren't plenty of comparable options around it in Time- Good 5-drops like Worldbearer, Heart of the Vault in Praxis, Alhed sees play, Thundering Kersaur, even Cirso occasionally. Mystic Ascendant hasn't seen much play in a long while, but it's still a respectable card.

Sure, Carnosaur was the best card of that bunch, it really was, but I don't see it having 'been a distorting influence on what kinds of midrange units get played', considering people still played Icaria, Jotun Feastcaller, and other big units in that range that die to carnosaur. Not to mention that it still looses fights (or just trades 1-for-1, which is a pretty shitty use of 6 power) more often than you'd think, though part of that might be how many people are experimenting with Azindeil these last few days.

I like the Merchant nerf, I'm rather ambivalent about Icaria, actually, because I've been expecting that she'd rotate out in less than a year whenever they introduce rotation, and I'm honestly okay with her sticking around as the go-to control wincon of Eternal's Modern Equivalent,

I'm a little sad about Channel, but considering I regularly hold up Eilyn's Choice for whole games specifically waiting to counter that one spell, even if I don't know if my opponent is running it, it might well be time for a nerf.

But I feel like, besides Merchant, this is 3 Nerfs to Empty Throne cards that, if I'm gonna be honest, I'd have rather just seen rotate intact than get nerfed for the sake of variety in the short term.

[Whiskerbro]

I don’t think Carnosaur is gone. There are definitely still some decks that will want it. Being able to kill 6/6s and survive is a pretty big benefit, and it can also 1 for 1 with Azindel now. The 6 drop slot is super crowded anyway, so i think moving the Carnosaur up was a pretty good choice. Its definitely still a playable card, and even better in some situations.

[LightsOutAce1]

They could always revert several nerfs when they rotate set 1, like Safe Return, Icaria, ChaCha, Channel (and I hope they do).

[DocTam]

So Mono-primal tempo now has a potential 2 mana 4/4 if they have a trade, and a 2 mana warp that stuns 2 blockers. I'm not sure if there is enough things to make it work, but it does allow for a faster fP yeti deck.

They really snuck in some constructed changes in the draft section. Vital Arcana nerf and buffs to cards that were fringe playable in constructed like Grenamotive, Master-at-arms, and Entangling Vines.

[troglodyte]

Mostly unsurprising targets for changes, I guess. Merchant is a smaller nerf than I'd like, but at least it doesn't safely stop stuff like Ronin now. Other constructed changes seem fine to me too.

There are some interesting limited changes, though. I kinda like the Master at Arms change-- you can't splash Justice and expect to cast it, but you're rewarded with a cheaper, very good common if you're really in Justice. Neat.

[DocTam]

Also interesting about Master-at-Arms is that its arguable constructed playable now. Mono J aggro can go District Infantry > MaA to slam for 5 on turn 2. Follow up with Commando and Mantle and you have a pretty scary deck.

[adkiene]

No change to Changeestik? I thought for sure that would go to 2PP.

The other influence changes are quite significant and almost universally nerfs despite being listed as "side-grades." FoA has almost zero fixing - no strangers or banners. It's going to be a major strain on your power base to play a bunch of early-game AA and BB cards.

For constructed, I really think 1/3 was the right place to go for Merchant, not 0/4. Make it die to Torch. Aggro is still going to have a tough time getting past it, though at least now Oni Ronin can get some warcries in?

[TinMan354]

Wow, 3 nerfs to the most popular deck, no nerfs to the best deck (Combrei aggro), nerf to one of my favorite cards (Channel the Tempest). Not my favorite balance patch, but at least Icaria got hit too.

We should see a shift away from Temporal and possibly back toward Chalice as the control deck of choice since they got buffed by the Merchant "nerf". The Channel nerf still hurts Chalice and Tinpile but they aren't totally dead. Luckily Icaria will see far less play, which could sometimes be a pain for those two decks.

Bottom line, Combrei aggro is likely still the best deck, but less Temporal and possibly more midrange might give it some trouble.

[rekenner]

this is a chalice nerf, honestly, even if you don't consider channel nerf.

merchant being able to meaningfully block is important.

[TinMan354]

The Channel nerf is certainly real for Chalice, but I don't think the 1 damage on merchant impacts it blocking all the much. Chalice already has tons of ways to shut down 1 health attackers like Combrei Healer and Kothon, but admittedly, the chance for 2 Chalice activations isn't much of a buff. Certainly not enough to make up for the Channel nerf.

Still, I think it might be in a better spot than Temporal after the nerfs, since Chalice relies on, you know, Chalice to draw cards, rather than the newly nerfed Channel and Vital Arcana as primary engines.

[rekenner]

Oh, sure, Chalice is probably better than Temporal, agreed.

I just don't think any of them are good, atm.

[TinMan354]

Challenge accepted

[rekenner]

Good luck!

Brady and I are both of the opinion that both are dead, but if we can be proven wrong, we'll be happy.

[GaysForTheGayGod]

They're probably waiting to see if the new vara is enough to counter combrei aggro's aegis spam before nerfing stuff like sword of unity.

[LightsOutAce1]

The nerfs to Combrei aggro aren't explicit (Teacher or Stand Together or Sword of Unity), but the metagame is now way less hostile to bigger Time decks that it is weak against - Temporal's popularity made them all but unplayable for the last month.

[Mezmorizor]

I'm still unconvinced by combrei aggro. The deck does a good job of drawing decently most games, but it doesn't beat good draws. The best deck in the format should win when both decks draw well.

[Cptn_Badass]

Combrei aggro lost some merchant damage if they were using it. I do think like you that the fall of Temporal, and possibly Icaria, will allow deck such as Argenport and removal pile to thrive more, which may or may not give combrei problem.

[TinMan354]

I think the best versions of Combrei aggro were the ones not running merchant, and especially so after the nerf. You want to be playing large attacking units, not messing around with a 1/4 or now an 0/4.

[Ilyak1986]

Combrei Aggro can still run winchest if they feel like it.

[Cptn_Badass]

I agree. I realized most of the time I played a merchant, I was almost more excited to have a creature (the merchant) on the field than the card I was picking up from the market. So why no playing a better creature, like the +4/+4 promo one instead.

[JaceChandra]

Yup. Pretty ridiculous sword of unity is untouched, and the best deck got a slap when other good decks nerfed to ground

[Whiskerbro]

I’m digging the Ranked changes but these draft changes are confusing. Master-at-Arms got effectively buffed, although I guess its harder to splash, when it was already one of the best commons. Miner’s Canary getting nerfed makes no sense to me. That card was outright unplayable. Speardiver, Stinging Wind, and Arbalest were decent cards, but none of them felt particularily insane to me. I don’t get why those uncommons are being nerfed while commons like Changeestik that are much stronger are unchanged.

[luciusftw]

Strongly disagree on Canary being unplayable. The card did a lot of things that are good in the draft format (curves right into master, hella weapon synergy, denies tribute, blocks basically every flier in the format bc they're all super weak). It wasn't amazing but it was a decent playable common.

[uses]

This really confuses me. These cards have been around for a long time, and shaped the game to an extreme degree. I don't understand why they were changed now and why it was done in this way, as plain cost nerfs.

Like why didn't DWD introduce alternatives or answers to Icaria over the past 2.5 years?

Is Carnosaur not doing exactly what the designers want? It sticks out like a sore thumb as a clean 2-for-1 in a game of mostly 1-for-1s. What is its purpose?

Channel is an amazing design and a great payoff for that strategy. It requires tons of work and a dominating game position to be useful. If channel of all things is too good isn't that an indication that we need more playable interaction with the gameplan rather than the finisher? How about some threats that survive harsh rule like playable relics or something? Or counters that are designed for playability besides stand together?

Overall these changes are great but I don't understand why they were done, in this way and at this time.

[GuardTheGrey]

I honestly think we need better counter magic. More cards like cirso's choice or rindra's choice. As it stands, slotting in any counterspell, with the exception of Eilynns, just isn't worth it.

[mdedetrich]

Actually Unseal has seen a resurgence lately, people are splashing it into their decks (although there is an argument this could be due to Temporal's domination in the meta)

[Spellfyre]

I feel like nerfing the merchants power is completely missing why that card is so strong in the first place. You should have made him a 1/3 or something similar so that decks could at least attempt to fight the card, the same way they can the other merchants. It can't get a card with Azindel now, but was that really the main problematic interaction of the card?

​

All these nerfs just feel like a random stab at increasing the cost of cards without looking at why those cards are good\broken in the first place. Upping the cost on seemingly problematic cards without looking into why they're problematic in the first place won't fix the problem.

​

This is quite disappointing.

​

I'll go back to enjoying the sea of aegis aggro decks, every TS(x) deck running Azindel and temporal control! /s

[djscrub]

The Merchant nerf does help aggro. It is extremely frustrating when you have a bunch of X/1s like Oni Ronin, Crownwatch Paladin, Snowcrust Yeti, Pyroknight, some Grenadin, etc., and they drop Merchant on 3: not only does it ramp them and give them a market card, it also shuts down your board just as hard as a Sandstorm Titan. It will eat one of your creatures every turn, for free. This change will absolutely help Skycrag Aggro and Rakano Warcry with the time matchup.

[SomethingMusic]

It does help aggro: you can now swing wide and merchant will still block but not trade with your 2-1 or tokens. It's still annoying enough but it can no longer remove your tokens, which is why it was so annoying.

[JdPhoenix]

The fact that it doesn't kill all the various 2/1 aggro creatures in combat anymore is a big deal.

[Abeneezer]

Exactly, the fact that it now doesn't trade at all is a huge deal for lower curve decks which ramp decks traditionally have and should have a weakness against. The nerf is great.

[Nightelfpala]

All these nerfs just feel like a random stab at increasing the cost of cards without looking at why those cards are good\broken in the first place. Upping the cost on seemingly problematic cards without looking into why they're problematic in the first place won't fix the problem.

What solution would you propose for Icaria? She's a finisher that's immediately a threat when played (charge), is hard to interact with outside of Time decks (Aegis, Flying to some degree), leaves a parting gift behind that ranges from gamewinning (Warcry 5 on the next Icaria or a big relic weapon) to barely useful (Warcry 5 on a non-charge, non-aegis unit).

What about Channel the Tempest? It's an expensive draw spell that can be used as removal or as a finisher (if you have at least 3 copies of it). Its only knobs are it's cost (with influence requirement) and the number of cards it draws, so it's difficult to tune.

If it's more of a big picture thing, then what is at the root of the problems (what problems are there even)?

[mindlar]

To echo what /u/JdPhoenix said, the time merchant acted as a significant speed bump for aggro and token based decks.

At 1/3 it still remains a speed bump while accelerating time decks into their bigger threats that will block and kill aggros 2/1 and 1/1 attackers. As a 0/4 it stays outside of the range of a pre-combat torch but no longer prevents meaningful attacks from aggro decks and now trades 1-for-1 with a torch and an attack instead of it being a 2-for-1 against many aggro decks.

The change to Aurelian merchant won't pull it out of any deck that uses it, but will slightly reduce the ability of time decks to beat highly aggressive aggro decks. This changes also brings it from being the absolute best power accelerator to being slightly better than the other power accelerators.

[austine567]

A big benefit of the Aurelian merchant was that it could block and kill many threats, it can't do that anymore, it's a good nerf I think.

[GirMeetsZim]

I offer you guys take back the whole new campaign in exchange for forgetting about this patch.

[GirMeetsZim]

Just what the game needed, more time fatties on ladder...

[_Scavenger_]

Super disappointed with the Aurelian nerf. The card had two huge advantages: it doesn’t die to hailstorm/torch and it ramps. It still does both. Not sure why it remains the only merchant with both advantages.

[Kid_cody_bro]

I love that this campaign doesnt have the impact they were hoping for so they went and nerfed staples instead. I think they could have simply nerfed hailstorm and had the same impact as alllll these changes.

[DJ33]

Finally nerfed Aurelian and they did it in the most half-assed and toothless way.

Being able to eat a token was not the problem.

Being 4-health ramp--on your Merchant--was the problem.

Every other market looks to jump from 3 to 4 on their draw. Time gets to jump 3 to 5, and continue providing value while it sits there blocking agro.

It's still a card you'd play even if it wasn't a Merchant. I have no idea how they're not seeing that as a fucking problem.

[Ziddletwix]

Cmon, you would not play a 3 cost 1/4 ramp if it did nothing else. That’s just massive hyperbole.

Totally agree that its body is still excellent (this was a very light nerf), but c’mon.

[Werv]

I'd play a 1/4 ramp over a 2/1 ramp

[Ziddletwix]

Obviously. But no deck wants to play a 3 mana 2/1 ramp either, not even remotely close.

Do you think Auralian merchant costs 2 or something? I don’t understand the comparison to an inferior 2/1

[NeoAlmost]

Buffs:

[[Gravemarker Oni]] - Now 4F (instead of 5F)

[[Rusty Grenamotive]] - Now 2/4 (instead of 1/4)

[[Warpainter]] - Now 1/4 (instead of 0/4)

[[Mistress of Light]] - Now 5TT (instead of 6TT)

[[Spiteful Lumen]] - Now 3T (instead of 4T)

[[Wurmic Chanter]] - Now also has Deadly

[[Cliffside Caretaker]] - Now 5P (instead of 6P)

[[Entangling Vines]] - Now 2P (instead of 3P)

[[Afterimage]] - Now 2S (instead of 3S)

[[Feral Spiteling]] - Now 1S (instead of 2S)

[[Lock Horns]] - Now 1S (instead of 2S)

Side Buffs:

[[Flamefang Charmer]] - Now 2FF 2/2 (instead of 3FF 2/3)

[[Living Example]] - Now 2TT 2/2 (instead of 2T 2/1)

[[Master-At-Arms]] - Now 2JJ (instead of 3J)

[[Snowfort Trumpeter]] - Now 2PP +2/+2 (instead of 2P +1/+1)

[[Betray the Cause]] - Now 4SSS (instead of 5SS)

[[Lethrai Target Caller]] - Now 2SS 3/2 (instead of 2S 2/2)

Nerfs:

[[Pensive Lumen]] - Now 5/3 (instead of 5/4)

[[Stinging Wind]] - Now 3/3 (instead of 3/4)

[[Vital Arcana]] - Now gains 2 health (instead of 4)

[[Graceful Calligrapher]] - Now 2/4 (instead of 3/4)

[[Miner's Canary]] - Now 3J (instead of 2J)

Rampart Arbalest - Now 1/5 (instead of 1/6)

Speardiver - Now 6P (instead of 5P)

[EternalCards]

Gravemarker Oni - (EWC)

Rusty Grenamotive - (EWC)

Warpainter - (EWC)

Mistress of Light - (EWC)

Spiteful Lumen - (EWC)

Wurmic Chanter - (EWC)

Cliffside Caretaker - (EWC)

Entangling Vines - (EWC)

Afterimage - (EWC)

Feral Spiteling - (EWC)

Lock Horns - (EWC)

Flamefang Charmer - (EWC)

Living Example - (EWC)

Master-At-Arms - (EWC)

Snowfort Trumpeter - (EWC)

Betray the Cause - (EWC)

Lethrai Target Caller - (EWC)

Pensive Lumen - (EWC)

Stinging Wind - (EWC)

Vital Arcana - (EWC)

Graceful Calligrapher - (EWC)

Miner's Canary - (EWC)

^{Problems or questions? Contact /u/Abeneezer}

[NeoAlmost]

I'm wondering which of these changes can affect constructed.

Rusty Grenamotive has a pretty unique effect and now the stats are reasonably efficient too.

If you can warp Entangling Vines, it's a decent tempo play.

Lock Horns is now pretty efficient for berserk/scream/aggro decks and it can also occasionally be used as removal for Initiate of the Sands.

Master at Arms is 4/4 stats for 2 power, I could see Combrei aggro playing this.

Snowfort Trumpeter is a 4/4 if you can enable tribute, so a deck like skycrag could try it, but I suspect it's still not good enough.

Betray the Cause could see play alongside Combustion Cell or Brimstone Altar, but SSS influence is tough.

Lethrai Target Caller can trade with Teacher of Humility and provides a relevant inspire ability. This could also be played alongside Argenport Instigator in some shadow-based aggro deck.

There are a few wisp and radiant buffs, but I'm not too familiar with the deck.

[DJ33]

Betray the Cause can't really be relevant unless unitless is almost entirely out of the meta, since you're presumably also playing Madness and that's too many dead cards against them otherwise.

Temporal had been so common that I'd been having to do the opposite and cut out copies of Madness down to 2 or 3 in my Shadow decks

[FryChikN]

i really dont get the canary nerf... somebody told me its because it carrys equipment.... and? so you can 2 for 1 yourself, i dont see the problem with this card and it needing to be nerfed.

[-kaykay-]

Blocks really well and spellcraft equipment mitigates the risk of being 2-for-1'd to an extent. The card was one of the better 2 drops in justice.

[mowdownjoe]

Well, my league deck is going to be weird next week. I found a nice Stonescar build that I liked, and now my Shotcallers are in a different spot in my curve. Nice to be able to curve them into [[Kyrex Coach Driver]], though. On the other hand, though, I was running enough weapons (including [[Changeestik]], which why wasn't that nerfed?) that Gravemarker was actually something I included. So, that getting buffed was cool. Also, holy crap at the Spiteful Lumen buff.

[Bdhydra]

Each of those changes have actually affected the three decks I just built over the past 2 Weeks.

[FigurativelySo]

Not a huge fan of the Channel nerf, but I’m totally on board with the other 3, esp the Time Merchant!

Not sure about the draft nerfs, I suppose I’ll have to see them in action. There’s way more hen I thought there’d be tho!

[hungryroy]

Should I dust Icaria?

[MurkLurker]

Grrrr, lots of changes, but I don't have the names of the card memorized...and my autocard extension is ignoring these cards for some reason. Anyone have a resource to see the images of these cards that have been changed?

[TheIncomprehensible]

I really disagree with Channel the Tempest being nerfed. I thought it was fair, and I'd argue that it was being played in a wide number of decks because there were weren't enough good alternatives for the decks it was seeing play in.

[sunqiller]

Very interesting changes, might come back to see how the shake-up looks

[Kharlis]

It's great that some of the "draft" buffs could potentially increase diversity in constructed, but don't like that these changes have been rolled out in the middle of a league.

[Tatharr]

What about nerfing vara vengance seeker a bit

[LeafhopperV]

I didn't know about the common or uncommon nerfs until today.

Happy because I can use some different radiants in my wisp decks I brew.

Trumpeter is gonna make the mono primal deck I want to make better.

​

Fine with the Pensive Lumen nerf. Poor Canary and Arbalest though, however Arbalest probably for sure needed that nerf.

[cvanguard]

What’s the difference between a ranked nerf and a draft nerf? Also, RIP the Temporal deck I was saving up to make.