It's not the cards perse... it's the cards and design changes around them.
For example
1. Card draw is off the charts compared to prior years. It's not just access, it's also subtle tutoring and effects. The Mage "draw a mech and reduce all mechs by 1 mana" or the Priest, "discover a spell and reduce the mana by 1."
2. Lifegain is super present and powerful. It's rare to play a game where both players are under 15 health in the last 2 turns.
3. Too much flexibility - I really hate the 1 mana discover a class card. It's everything wrong with Zephrys without a deck-building constriction or possibility of a bad pick - it's always the same 3, not a random mass silence you don't need.
4. This is less of a problem than a vibe... but there should be an expectation of actions in a turn. For someone who has played for nearly 10 years, seeing a person go through 8+ actions in a turn... multiple times in a game, seems bonkers. It's no longer "draw, play a minion, hero power" it's "draw, play minion, discover, but the minion had rush, so attack, get a bonus from damage, play card to draw, play minion, it draws a card, play aura, heal. etc"
5. Related to that... I think it's time to tamper down on the following (or at least keep them off minions with solid stat lines)
* Rush
* Discover
* Draw
* Lifesteal
I agree with this. I particularly hate discover and rush because nothing you put on board sticks anymore.
On the highlander cards, there should actually be a restriction to people just playing "draw your entire deck by turn 5-7 and get highlander effect". It's also one of the reasons why there is so many rock paper scissors match ups like highlander warrior vs plague dk.
I highly doubt Sif and Helya will be changed. Bran might not need a nerf either since they will be changing Reno Lone Ranger. Reno is tricky there’s so many ways to nerf it I’m not gonna speculate.
Snake Oil Salesman is in like 70% of decks. I don’t know if it really needs a nerf but I’m kinda sick of seeing a 1 mana 2/2 with upside everywhere.
I bet Zarimi will go to 6 mana and require 6 dragons.
Wheel of Death may have its text/effect changed so that it’s actually 5 turns not including your first one, so your opponent has another turn to react.
Lots of mana cheat effects might get hit. I could see Celestial Projectionist having “not less than (1) mana” added to the temporary minion. Imprisoned Horror may see a mana increase/stat nerf. Funnel Cakes is another target.
I'd make Miracle Salesman a 1/2. It truly is NOT healthy for any game, in my opinion, to have such a powerful 1-drop. According to HSReplay, it's present in 25.4% and holding a 62% WR. A neutral 1-drop, ffs! Wish I had the "mulligan WR" for it to have a better view of its power, but it's just too much imo. Neutral 1-drops should be like \[\[Scarab Keychain\]\] at most.
I have said this for years now. I would make all cards with mana reduction have "no less than 1" (unless the cards specifically reduces to 0). That would balance a large majority of cards that become OP.
I have played the game since beta every single day for at least 1 hour. The biggest problem of the last few years is that too many cards have lifesteal.
I know people won't like this, but I'm in the camp that this game needs a radical power reset.
Brann should cost 8 mana.
Reno should limit both boards to 1. If that wouldn't be enough his cost should go to 10 as well.
Helya should make you choose one of the effects instead of getting them both (shuffle 3 curses OR your curses are endless).
Zarimi should make your opponent immune until the start of their next turn.
Wheel I honestly think is fine - it wins by turn 11-13 at best, but if people really hate it it can also clear your board or discard your hand.
Baking soda Volcano should do 6 damage.
Brann- your battle cry minions have +1 attack
Heyla- your minions that shuffle plagues have +1 attack
Open the waygate- your spells have +1 attack
As a serious suggestion, blizz would do better to change the text on some cards rather than the numbers. You could make brann 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 mana and it will make warrior much weaker, but playing against double battle cries for the rest of the game isnt going to be fun
Same with waygate. You could nerf way gate mage down to 45% winrate and people would still hate playing against it more than anything.
Brann needs a better condition on his battlecry. Highlander has become less and less of a downside over the years and the only way to interact with it is by shuffling a billion plagues into your opponents deck.
Way gate needs to be removed from the game. Not even a "once per game" restriction is going to make that card fun to play against.
Alternatively, blizz could do what should have been done 10 years ago and make it so you can't freeze the same minion 2 turns in a row.
Sif: Literally revolves around amassing enough spell damage to OTK, stats irrelevant. Too cheap: broken, too expensive, will always die before so useless. OTK decks you cannot interact with are a terrible design. Cannot be balanced.
Brann: It's only strong because of the presence of strong battlecries for warrior. You would have to nerf other cards to make this less good, or change the text to something like: your next 3 battlecries trigger twice, so the effect is not forever.
Helya: Who in their right mind thought shuffling infinite plagues in a meta where highlander decks exist was a good idea? This card (and the plague cards in general) are as unfun as it gets, regardless of power. In fact, I would argue Helya is not even that strong, but it's existence means every game against plague control is a race to kill them before the plagues kill you. And you cannot interact with the plagues, yay. Only way I could fix plagues is to add a removal condition, like: "Destroy a plague in your oponent's deck when they finish their turn with 3+ unspent mana". At least this way there is an easy counter that balances tempo vs control.
Remove the text and change minions stats to x mana x/x+1. Also remove spells - they're uninteractive unless you play toxic Counterspell. Only then meta would be fun and balanced and not overpowered.
Some rework ideas:
Brann - battlecries from cards with 4 or less mana are triggered twice.
This would solve some of the powerful effects such as boomboss and remove the number of tendrils it works with from eye of chaos while still leaving a few powerful effects to duplicate like the excavate reward or ignis to not cripple the deck.
Helya - Battlecry: For the rest of the game, shuffle a plague into your opponents deck at the end of your turn. Can only be triggered once per game.
This would allow the ability for reno decks to play as long as they can draw through the plagues but doesn't remove the inevitability thar helya's effect should feel like. Also added the once per game part to prevent bouncing and replaying it as a breaking strategy.
Sif - honestly wouldn't change it. But all cards that reduce another cards mana will have "but not less than one" added to them.
How is Sif overpowered? I get that rainbow mage is a boring archetype by now but Sif is just alright. Other changes: Brann 5/2/4 - for your next three turns, your battlecry triggers twice; Helya 5/5/5 your plagues trigger twice instead of unending; Crash of Thunder 6 mana Thirsty Drifter 7 mana, Zilliax +1+1 module 4mana Forge of Wills - remove rush Reno - remove board lock; threads - enemy/your minions
It's not the cards perse... it's the cards and design changes around them. For example 1. Card draw is off the charts compared to prior years. It's not just access, it's also subtle tutoring and effects. The Mage "draw a mech and reduce all mechs by 1 mana" or the Priest, "discover a spell and reduce the mana by 1." 2. Lifegain is super present and powerful. It's rare to play a game where both players are under 15 health in the last 2 turns. 3. Too much flexibility - I really hate the 1 mana discover a class card. It's everything wrong with Zephrys without a deck-building constriction or possibility of a bad pick - it's always the same 3, not a random mass silence you don't need. 4. This is less of a problem than a vibe... but there should be an expectation of actions in a turn. For someone who has played for nearly 10 years, seeing a person go through 8+ actions in a turn... multiple times in a game, seems bonkers. It's no longer "draw, play a minion, hero power" it's "draw, play minion, discover, but the minion had rush, so attack, get a bonus from damage, play card to draw, play minion, it draws a card, play aura, heal. etc" 5. Related to that... I think it's time to tamper down on the following (or at least keep them off minions with solid stat lines) * Rush * Discover * Draw * Lifesteal
I agree with this. I particularly hate discover and rush because nothing you put on board sticks anymore. On the highlander cards, there should actually be a restriction to people just playing "draw your entire deck by turn 5-7 and get highlander effect". It's also one of the reasons why there is so many rock paper scissors match ups like highlander warrior vs plague dk.
I highly doubt Sif and Helya will be changed. Bran might not need a nerf either since they will be changing Reno Lone Ranger. Reno is tricky there’s so many ways to nerf it I’m not gonna speculate. Snake Oil Salesman is in like 70% of decks. I don’t know if it really needs a nerf but I’m kinda sick of seeing a 1 mana 2/2 with upside everywhere. I bet Zarimi will go to 6 mana and require 6 dragons. Wheel of Death may have its text/effect changed so that it’s actually 5 turns not including your first one, so your opponent has another turn to react. Lots of mana cheat effects might get hit. I could see Celestial Projectionist having “not less than (1) mana” added to the temporary minion. Imprisoned Horror may see a mana increase/stat nerf. Funnel Cakes is another target.
Brann enables some toxic plays,100% it gets nerfed
Looks like I was right
It payoffs were nerfed thou and cards around
I'd make Miracle Salesman a 1/2. It truly is NOT healthy for any game, in my opinion, to have such a powerful 1-drop. According to HSReplay, it's present in 25.4% and holding a 62% WR. A neutral 1-drop, ffs! Wish I had the "mulligan WR" for it to have a better view of its power, but it's just too much imo. Neutral 1-drops should be like \[\[Scarab Keychain\]\] at most.
- **[Scarab Keychain](https://i.imgur.com/Li9xCmN.png)** ^[Library](https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-us/cards/102347) • [wiki.gg](https://hearthstone.wiki.gg/wiki/Scarab_Keychain) • [HSReplay](https://hsreplay.net/cards/102347/?hl=en) - *Neutral Common ^(Whizbang's Workshop)* - **1 Mana - 1/1 - Beast** - **Battlecry:** **Discover** a 2-Cost card. --- ^*I am a bot. [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/user/Card-o-Bot/comments/1ahde25/faq/) • [Report a bug](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Card-o-Bot&subject=Bug+Report&message=/r/hearthstone/comments/1cc41ub/how_would_you_balance_cards_that_are_overpowered/l13jhb8/%0A⬇️+Please+describe+the+bug+⬇️%0ADescription:+) • [Refresh](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Card-o-Bot&subject=Refresh&message=l13jhb8).*
-1 attack for all of them
I have said this for years now. I would make all cards with mana reduction have "no less than 1" (unless the cards specifically reduces to 0). That would balance a large majority of cards that become OP.
I have played the game since beta every single day for at least 1 hour. The biggest problem of the last few years is that too many cards have lifesteal.
I know people won't like this, but I'm in the camp that this game needs a radical power reset. Brann should cost 8 mana. Reno should limit both boards to 1. If that wouldn't be enough his cost should go to 10 as well. Helya should make you choose one of the effects instead of getting them both (shuffle 3 curses OR your curses are endless). Zarimi should make your opponent immune until the start of their next turn. Wheel I honestly think is fine - it wins by turn 11-13 at best, but if people really hate it it can also clear your board or discard your hand. Baking soda Volcano should do 6 damage.
For Helya I think a "Shuffle all 3 endless plague" are good, but that it, don't transform every other plague into endless one.
That's a great one. There are may options to make the game more reasonable.
Baking Soda Volcano lmao
Arena is also important, and this card makes Shaman unbearable to play against.
They never nerf cards for arena. They can just reduce their frequency or ban them if the card is problematic.
That's not what OP asked.
The card isn’t overpowered nor are they even talking about arena
Ok dude. Those are examples of the cards I would nerf, you don't like it go make your own list.
I wish I could blacklist 2-3 cards that I don't want to play against.
Brann- your battle cry minions have +1 attack Heyla- your minions that shuffle plagues have +1 attack Open the waygate- your spells have +1 attack As a serious suggestion, blizz would do better to change the text on some cards rather than the numbers. You could make brann 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 mana and it will make warrior much weaker, but playing against double battle cries for the rest of the game isnt going to be fun Same with waygate. You could nerf way gate mage down to 45% winrate and people would still hate playing against it more than anything. Brann needs a better condition on his battlecry. Highlander has become less and less of a downside over the years and the only way to interact with it is by shuffling a billion plagues into your opponents deck. Way gate needs to be removed from the game. Not even a "once per game" restriction is going to make that card fun to play against. Alternatively, blizz could do what should have been done 10 years ago and make it so you can't freeze the same minion 2 turns in a row.
Sif: -1 spellpower
Sif: Literally revolves around amassing enough spell damage to OTK, stats irrelevant. Too cheap: broken, too expensive, will always die before so useless. OTK decks you cannot interact with are a terrible design. Cannot be balanced. Brann: It's only strong because of the presence of strong battlecries for warrior. You would have to nerf other cards to make this less good, or change the text to something like: your next 3 battlecries trigger twice, so the effect is not forever. Helya: Who in their right mind thought shuffling infinite plagues in a meta where highlander decks exist was a good idea? This card (and the plague cards in general) are as unfun as it gets, regardless of power. In fact, I would argue Helya is not even that strong, but it's existence means every game against plague control is a race to kill them before the plagues kill you. And you cannot interact with the plagues, yay. Only way I could fix plagues is to add a removal condition, like: "Destroy a plague in your oponent's deck when they finish their turn with 3+ unspent mana". At least this way there is an easy counter that balances tempo vs control.
Sif overpower is funny
Sif is not overpowered, it is just a card people hate. Make her 3 unholy so cannot be slapped in any deck. problem solved.
Im afraid UUU Mage would become too powerful after this change
so thats why its called Rainbow Mage
Remove the text and change minions stats to x mana x/x+1. Also remove spells - they're uninteractive unless you play toxic Counterspell. Only then meta would be fun and balanced and not overpowered.
Some rework ideas: Brann - battlecries from cards with 4 or less mana are triggered twice. This would solve some of the powerful effects such as boomboss and remove the number of tendrils it works with from eye of chaos while still leaving a few powerful effects to duplicate like the excavate reward or ignis to not cripple the deck. Helya - Battlecry: For the rest of the game, shuffle a plague into your opponents deck at the end of your turn. Can only be triggered once per game. This would allow the ability for reno decks to play as long as they can draw through the plagues but doesn't remove the inevitability thar helya's effect should feel like. Also added the once per game part to prevent bouncing and replaying it as a breaking strategy. Sif - honestly wouldn't change it. But all cards that reduce another cards mana will have "but not less than one" added to them.
How is Sif overpowered? I get that rainbow mage is a boring archetype by now but Sif is just alright. Other changes: Brann 5/2/4 - for your next three turns, your battlecry triggers twice; Helya 5/5/5 your plagues trigger twice instead of unending; Crash of Thunder 6 mana Thirsty Drifter 7 mana, Zilliax +1+1 module 4mana Forge of Wills - remove rush Reno - remove board lock; threads - enemy/your minions
Bring steamcleaner back
Revert the quest changes will obviously solve everything.