Hearthstone’s most recent expansion – Rastakhan’s Rumble – hit the game on December 4, introducing 135 new cards and a number of cool thematic, and mechanical, touches. Now, when a new set drops, players typically have at least a couple of months of play before any adjustments (aka nerfs) are made to cards. This time, however, Team 5 surprised the community with a lightning fast patch only two weeks later, addressing a host of older cards that were proving problematic, including nerfs to Nourish and Wild Growth – two cards that have been included in almost every Druid deck since Hearthstone was in beta.
The changes made a massive difference to the game, drastically reducing the power and popularity of Druid, while also bringing Odd Paladin down a notch and nuking Kingsbane Rogue and Shudderwock Shaman. Now that the dust has settled, and we’ve welcomed our new Hunter overlords, I caught up with Lead Final Designer Dean Ayala to chat about the timing of the changes and the subsequent health of the game.
Source: IGN.com Hearthstone: Discussing the Early Nerfs and the Rise of Hunter with Team 5