0.40 Game Update - A Whole New Ward

Mortals, please formally welcome Game Update 0.40. With a game-shifting change to the ward mechanic, and a bunch of important fixes, we hope you’re happy to finally meet!

Updates:

Ward 2.0

It’s a big one, mighty mortals! Ward 2.0 is here, and ready for action. Let’s dive into what this looks like.

Ward 1.0

Cards with Ward are protected from one enemy spell or god power effect.

Ward 2.0

Blocks one instance of destroy, transform, sleep or non-attack damage from any opponent's source.

The major changes here are:

1. Ward no longer blocks all effects, it only negates a single instance of Destroy, Sleep, Transform and Non-Combat Damage.
2. These are the 4 most common and powerful effects for creature removal and were all blocked by the old ward.
3. Some card effects blocked by ward 1.0 are no longer blocked. 
4. Non-combat damage is damage from any source that is not creatures/gods trading damage in a fight. If you attack with a creature or a relic, that’s combat. If a spell initiates an attack, that’s combat!
5. Two other important interactions with Ward 2.0 are with overkill and deadly mechanics. These are both not currently blocked as we consider them combat effects. This particular decision isn’t set in stone, and we will continue to review the power of Ward 2.0 moving forward.
6. Ward now blocks these effects from all sources.
7. Yes, creatures are now blocked by ward. Yes, god powers. Yes, spells. Yes, god cards. Yes, relics. We’re looking forward to receiving feedback here.
8. Popping Ward
9. This means that the idea of popping ward is now totally different. Less god powers would be able to, which will completely change the power of some cards vs large warded creatures (Swashbuckler, I see you).
10. Interactions with cards that were designed to supersede ward should now be much clearer.

(For transparency, we've read through the feedback we received after the most recent PTR test event and will be monitoring Ward 2.0's implementation closely for any necessary tweaks).

Fixes: 

VFX Animations

• This update includes a few changes to the VFX animations, notably summoning sickness animations. Previously, in a match, every time a creature was destroyed, the next “blitz’ creature that was summoned had summoning sickness animation permanently. This has been resolved.

Sleepy Blitz

• We’ve all run into a “Blitz” creature in the past few weeks that appears to be dozing on the job. Well, not anymore! This visual issue has been resolved.

Not-so-Patient Pickpocket

• Patient pickpocket has two key issues that have been resolved with this update. The first, minor visual issues that meant a player would see their opponent losing a card from their hand when Patient Pickpocket’s Order was removed by the effect of another card. This is no longer the case. The second, players would experience Patient Pickpocket pulling a placeholder card when its Order was removed by the effect of another card, which is also no longer the case!

Pick and Mix

• Previously, there was an issue with ‘Delve and Pick One’ auto-selections which caused random and unintended interactions for players. This has been resolved and is now working as intended.

Mana Pips Made Easy

• We’ve fixed the finicky issues players have been encountering with mana pips. They should now be easier to click for all!

Connection Solves

• Have you ever run into the issue where a game might not start if yours or your opponents board and/or trinkets fail to load? Well, fear no more. This has been fixed in 0.40, so that the game will proceed even if these visual aspects fail to load.

That’s all for now, folks. See you in the Arena!

• Citadel Herald