Hey mortals!
We’re here with another balance bundle, and this one is a doozy. The first thing we’ve addressed is the ‘masters’ cycle of cards, these are the Divine Order drops that sit around the 6–7 mana realm, all with the theme of being masters of their domains. Prior to this change, four out of six of these cards saw almost no play as they had very low win rates. We’ve taken the opportunity to bring these cards up to compete with the current state of the game.
Along with the fresh take for the six masters, some underutilized cards have been given some love, and Nature’s midrange options have been slightly nerfed.
Almost all of these changes are to Divine Order cards, with the exception of Orcish Elite from the Core set, who has copped a slight health nerf.
These changes are hitting PTR today for 24 hours for final testing, followed by a release to the Beta realm at some point on the 23rd February, 2022 PST (pending everything goes well).
We’ve also got a few bug fixes in this update too. Scroll down to the bottom see what’s going live.
Card changes
Sage of Renewal – Stats increased. Text changed.
- Change stats from 5/5 to 6/6
- Change text from “Regen +2. After a friendly creature enters the board, give it regen +2. After an enemy creature enters the board, give it confusion.”
to
”Regen +2. Roar: Refresh 4 mana and delve four mana worth of nature spells.”
Scholar of Power – Stats increased. Text changed.
- Change stats from 5/5 to 6/6.
- Change text from “Spell boost +2. After you summon a creature, give it spell boost +2. Roar: Give each friendly creature spell boost +2.”
to
”Spell boost +2. Roar: Reduce the cost of a spell in your hand by X, where X is your current spell boost.”
Professor of Murder – Mana cost increased. Stats increased. Text changed.
- Change mana cost from 6 to 7.
- Change stats from 5/3 to 6/6.
- Change text from “Hidden. After one of your creatures attacks, give it hidden for one turn. Roar: Give flank to your other creatures.”
to
”Hidden. When you summon a creature, give it hidden for one turn. Roar: Summon two 1/1 Rogue Skulkers with deadly and give them hidden.”
Stormfield – Mana cost reduced. Text changed.
- Change mana cost from 5 to 2.
- Change text from: “Deal 2 damage to each creature without order. Give spell boost +1 to each of your creatures.”
to
”Give spell boost +1 to each of your creatures.”
Mentor of Salvation – Stats increased. Text changed.
- Change stats from 5/5 to 6/6.
- Change text from “At the end of your turn, pull a random creature from your void into your hand, then give frontline to all your creatures.“
to
"Ward. Roar: Give your other creatures “Afterlife: Pull this card to your hand.”"
Thebian Elephant – Stats increased. Text changed.
- Change stats from 5/5 to 6/8.
- Change text from: “Backline. At the end of your turn, give +1/+1 to each of your creatures.”
to
”Overkill. After this creature attacks an enemy creature, gain +2 strength.”
Unproven Incantation – Text changed.
- Change text from: “Blessed. Deal 4 damage to a creature. If it survives, give it burn +1.”
to
”Blessed. Deal 4 damage to a creature. If it survives, deal 3 damage to the enemy god.”
Card buffs
Overseer of Vitality – Strength and health increased.
- Change stats from 5/5 to 6/6
Chieftain of Impulse – Text changed.
- 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.”
Lips are Sealed – Text changed.
- 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.”
Skeletal Hoplite – Health increased.
- Change health from 1 to 2.
Tartessian Minotaur – Mana cost reduced.
- Reduce from 5 to 4 mana.
Dead Sentry – Strength increased.
- Change strength from 3 to 4.
Echoing Fury – Text changed.
- 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.”
City Planner – Mana cost reduced. Stats reduced. Tribe added.
- Reduce mana cost from 8 to 7.
- Reduce stats from 8/8 to 7/7.
- “Guild” tag added.
Helm Hustler – Text changed.
- 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.”
Scylla, Carnival Ringleader – Text changed.
- Text-only fix: Change text from “Order 3. When this creature loses order, transform it into 5/5 Shimmerscales and give +5 burn to each other creature.”
to
”Order 3. When this creature’s order reaches 0, transform it into 5/5 Shimmerscales and give +5 burn to each other creature.”
Shimmerscales – Text changed.
- Change text from: “Backline. Flank.”
to
”Backline. Hidden.”
Ring of the Siren – Durability increased.
- Increase durability from 3 to 4.
Card nerfs
Brazen Moose – Strength reduced.
- Change strength from 6 to 5.
All-Seeing Spire – Order reduced.
- Cut order from 10 to 5
Orcish Elite – Health reduced.
- Reduce health from 6 to 5.
The Hollow – Health reduced. Text changed.
- 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.”
Radiant Dawn – Text changed.
- Change text from: “Your creatures gain +1/+2 and lose sleep.”
to
”Your creatures gain +1/+1 and lose sleep.”
Monolith of Storms – Strength reduced. Text changed.
- 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.”
Falling Star – Text changed.
- 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.”
Card text changes
The following cards have not had their utility changed, only their wording edited to be clearer to new players and to align with our Card Text Style Guide:
Shackled Acolyte
- Change text from “Order 3. When this creature loses order, give it +2/+2.”
to
”Order 3. When this creature’s order reaches 0, give it +2/+2.”
Inconspicuous Bush
- Change text from: “Order 3. When this creature loses order, add a random card from your opponent's domain to your hand.”
to
”Order 3. When this creature’s order reaches 0, add a random card from your opponent's domain to your hand.”
Gorgon Gargoyle
- Change text from: “Order 3. When this creature loses order, two different random enemy creatures go to sleep.”
to
”Order 3. When this creature’s order reaches 0, two different random enemy creatures go to sleep.”
Demolitions Expert
- Change text from: “Order 3. When this creature loses order, destroy a random enemy creature with frontline.”
to
”Order 3. When this creature’s order reaches 0, destroy a random enemy creature with frontline.”
Prison Escapee
- Change text from: “Order 3. When this creature loses order, summon another Prison Escapee.”
to
”Order 3. When this creature’s order reaches 0, summon another Prison Escapee.”
Patient Pickpocket
- Change text from: “Order 3. Flank. When this creature loses order, add a copy of a random card in your opponent's hand to your hand.”
to
”Order 3. Flank. When this creature’s order reaches 0, add a copy of a random card in your opponent's hand to your hand.”
Lantern-Bound Fae
- Change text from: “Order 3. After any creature you control loses order, pull this into your hand and reduce its cost by 1. Roar: Deal 3 damage.”
to
”Order 3. After any creature you control reaches order 0, pull this into your hand and reduce its cost by 1. Roar: Deal 3 damage.”
Bug fixes
Alongside the balance changes, we have a few bug changes too!
Underbrush Boar always attacks after a summon – If your Underbrush Boar was summoned to the board on your opponent’s turn (from the death of a Pyramid Warden, for example), the little scamp wasn’t attacking at the end of the turn as their card text suggests. This is now fixed, and they’ll now always run headfirst into the opponent at the end of the turn they are summoned like the mad little creature they are.
Leyline Djinn mana fix – If a spell card had its mana cost altered, Leyline Djinn’s cost would be reduced by the spell’s modified mana cost instead of the spell’s base mana cost. This was a bug that’s now fixed. From here-on, Leyline Djinn’s mana cost will always be reduced by the spell’s base mana cost.
Deadly favor: Players will no longer gain favor when a deadly creature attacks without destroying their opponent. This change won’t hit PTR, but will hit Beta a day ahead of the balance changes.
“Pick one” clean up: Pick ones have been following their own rules. Some cards action straight away, others action after an effect procs. This bugfix sets the rule for pick one effects so that their effects always activate first, and then any other effects will trigger afterwards.
For example:
- You have an Oni Spellsword on the board that has the text: “After you play a card, this creature gets +1 strength, and the friendly creature with lowest health gains ward."
- You then decide to play Odin, Endless War, which has the text: “Roar: Pick one — Give +5/+3 to a friendly creature, or give +3/+10 to a random creature in your hand.”
- You decide to pick option one.
- Odin’s pick one effect will activate first, buffing the friendly creature.
- Oni Spellsword’s effect will trigger second, gaining +1 strength, then giving ward to the creature that has the lowest health.
This order of operations will now happen across the board for all pick one effects, making way for a much more calculated and streamlined play.
There are a huge amount of cards affected by the change to ensure this order of operations is maintained. See below for the cards:
- Oni Spellsword
- Wilds Lifebonder
- Monolith of Storm
- Crush Construct
- That Which Ache
- Golem Excavator
- Shadow Prince
- Vortimer the Volatile
- Sothek
- Academy Familiar
- Lara Grim, Spellthief
- Eager Gryphon
- Engaged Enchanter
- Runic Familiar
- Archimea, Arithmancer
- Golden Golem
- Manathirst Golem
- Avatar of Magic
- Shadow Banisher
- Set Oshi
- Spelljam Shaman
- Rod of Rodents
- Lysander's Spear
- Pallas' Wand
- Selena's Bow
- Valka's Axe
- Neferu's Khopesh
- Orfeo's Mask
- Miraculous Familiar
- Celestial Stag
- Leyline Djinn
- Orfeo, Champion of Deception
