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Hearthstone update 14.3 nerfs Preparation, Elysiana, others

The first big balance update for Hearthstone following its Rise of Shadows expansion is set to deploy later in the week, targeting a handful of Rogue pieces.

Ozzie Mejia

May 20, 2019 10:00 AM

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Hearthstone is currently shrouded by a cloud of evil, thanks to the release of the Rise of Shadows expansion and the start of the game's new Standard year. While much of the news of the past week has been about the game's new single-player adventure, The Dalaran Heist, Blizzard is aware that the current Ranked meta needs some fine tuning. With that in mind, the publisher has announced the latest batch of balance tweaks, which are set to take effect with Wednesday's 14.3 update.

The following cards are set to receive changes. Apologies to any Rogue players out there, because this may be bad news for you:

• EVIL Miscreant: Now has 4 Health. (Down from 5)
• Raiding Party: Now costs 4 mana. (Up from 3)
• Preparation: Now reads "The next spell you cast this turn costs (2) less." (Down from (3) less)
• Archivist Elysiana: Now costs 9 mana. (Up from 8)

The tempo Rogue will take a hit with this update. EVIL Miscreant won't be quite as durable, thanks to its health nerf, though it'll still serve its use with its Combo effect. Meanwhile, Raiding Party proved to be an efficient scourge with the additions of Hench-Clan Burglar and Waggle Pick. But regardless of what type of Rogue deck you play, Preparation's nerf could prove devastating. This change hits a card that's been around since the very beginning of Hearthstone and will fundamentally change Rogue play as everyone knows it. We'll dive more into this change with a full analysis later today.

The other big change involves Archivist Elysiana, which will see its cost increased to 9 to reduce the number of Return combos that bounce her back to the player's hand. This will affect Warrior decks, in particular, as that class has seen an increased use of this Legendary in order to outlast opponents in the Fatigue stage.

There's plenty to take away from these changes and Shacknews will indeed dive into what this all means shortly. Come back later today for a more thorough analysis on each card's change and what it means for the Hearthstone meta going forward. For more on this update, check out the Hearthstone website. For more on Hearthstone, be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Ben Thompson and Dean Ayala during Aptil's HCT World Championship.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?