Hearthstone Battlegrounds Balance: Impatient Doomsayer, Leapfrogger and Shudderwock nerfed

The 21.3 Hearthstone Balance patch is a big one indeed. We have already covered the constructed nerfs and balance changes, so let’s dive into Hearthstone Battlegrounds. On August 31st, we witnessed a complete overhaul to Hearthstone’s auto battler, with almost 40 new minions, new heroes and the specific Keyword for the mode, Avenge.

As Alec Dawson, Hearthstone Lead Designer, teased, tomorrow we will be having a big balance update on Battlegrounds. The nerfs aim the current top dogs, Impatient Doomsayer and Leapperfrog, but those are not the only changes. Join me in the tavern to explore what the first Hearthstone Battlegrounds Balance patch after the revamp has to offer.

As everyone expected, beast compositions were just overpowered and too easy to assemble. That is one of the reasons for the Leapfrogger nerf: game-winning compositions shouldn’t be as consistent as beast were. This new mechanic of buffs jumping from minion to minion was well received, but it was way too good in combination with Monstrous Macaw or Baron Rivendare.

Tomorrow beast compositions will be much weaker since Leapfrogger will only give +1/+1 instead of the original +2/+2. In the same sense, the golden version also halves the buff granting +2/+2, down from +4/+4. This really hurts the mid-game power and late-game scalability of the composition. Furthermore, the support cards will also be affected since Macaw will not be able to trigger its own Deathrattle and the Reanimating Rattler will be moved to Tavern 5.

On top of this, Impatient Doomsayer, the most powerful minion in Battlegrounds will be toned down. After the Hearthstone Battlegrounds balance hits, Impatient Doomsayer will become a Tier 4 minion. Moreover, its Avenge ability will now require 4 minions to die instead of 3. I’m not sure if the end is coming for demon compositions, but at least this will not be a game-winning buy on turn 4.

Kathra’natir, the new Mal’ganis, will also be nerfed. The new stat-line for the minion will be 5 attack and 4 health, granting +2 attack to your other demons. The catch is that Kathra’natir will become a Tavern 3 minion. This might allow Wrath Weaver’s strategies to become viable again if you can prevent taking the early damage.

Other compositions were also affected by this Balance change. Whelp Smuggler will not be as effective scaler as it was for dragon compositions since it will only give +1 health to Dragons that gain attack. However, the minion will still be a good tempo option in early turns due to its updated stats, offering 5 heath points now.

Minions were not the only changes that this Hearthstone Battlegrounds Balance patch brought. The design team also targeted some of the best Heroes available. First of all, Shudderwock will now have to pay for its Hero Power. Despite this being a soft nerf to the high roll potential the hero offers when tokens are available, it at least puts a cost to it. The effect of this nerf is uncertain, but will it will require certain skills to balance the greedy gameplan the hero tends to have, with the tempo needed not to die in the early game.

Galewing was has been another powerhouse since its launch. The free leveling option of its Hero Power was definitely too good to be eternal. Now, the Hero Power will only reduce the next Tavern Tier Upgrade by 5 after the 5 turns have passed. This is a huge blow to its power level since now the return for the wait becomes half of what it used to be.

As a side note, Master Nguyen Power of the Storm Hero Power has also been balanced. Blizzard didn't share specifics, but the patch notes include that they have adjusted the odds of hero power offerings.

To compensate for low winrate compositions, this Hearthstone Battlegrounds Balance patch also brings buffs to some tribes. Pirates and Quilboars were once Battlegrounds’ kings when they were released, but they couldn’t keep up with other tribes after the revamp. Both tribes will now enjoy better stats on their mid-game minions to be able to stabilize while scaling.

Pirates will see buffs in Peggy Brittlebone, Goldgrubber and Salty Looter. On the other hand, Quilboars will see stats buffs on Prophet of the Boar, Roadboar, Bristleback Brute and Dynamic Duo. On top of that, Charlga will now also buff himself with his end-of-turn effect.

You can check all the details and read the full patch notes here. For more Hearthstone news and updates make sure you tune in to Esports.gg. I will go and ask Bob what he thinks about these changes, if you need me, I will be in the tavern.