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Hearthstone: Balance patch update 12.3 sees Giggling Inventor and Mana Wyrm hit with crippling nerfs

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Hearthstone: Balance patch update 12.3 sees Giggling Inventor and Mana Wyrm hit with crippling nerfs

Giggling Inventor loses its laugh; Mana Wyrm becomes Mana Mana Wyrm.

The age of Giggling Inventors being an auto-include in every deck is over; and Mana Wyrm, one of the Mage class’ most powerful cards (from the Classic set) finally sees its mana-cost upped.

Per the official Hearthstone site:

 

Giggling Inventor – Will cost 7 mana. (Up from 5)

Change: 6 mana -> 7 mana

Giggling Inventor is one of the most powerful and popular cards we’ve ever created. There’s virtually no downside to including it in a deck, and because it’s neutral, it’s played in almost every deck. We think it’s important to take risks when making powerful cards, especially when it comes to neutral taunts, given the role they can play in encouraging minion interactions and making games more interesting. However, Giggling Inventor has stepped beyond its intended role, and we don’t feel that it should be as effective as it currently is.

We initially tested this card at (6) mana in both the current Standard format as well as with cards that will be released in the future. Ultimately, we felt that its power level was still higher than is appropriate for a Neutral card with no build-around requirements. At (7) mana, we expect Giggling Inventor will find its way into fewer decks in general–and be much less effective in Quest Rogue–while it might remain situationally playable within specific deck archetypes, such as Evolve Shaman.

Mana Wyrm – Will cost 2 mana. (Up from 1)

Change: 1 mana -> 2 mana

Over time, we’ve been moving away from powerful, early-game 1-drops like Mana Wyrm. It can often feel like the outcome of a game is decided by whether Mana Wyrm was played on turn one, and if it could be removed quickly by an opponent. Mana Wyrm has also steered us away from making powerful low-cost Mage spells. We’d like Mana Wyrm to remain an option for decks it synergizes with, while preventing it from being a huge turn one threat.

At (2) mana, it will be easier to deal with Mana Wyrm the turn it’s played, and it will be harder to buff it with cheap spells early in the match. We still expect it to remain an option in decks that have a heavy focus on cheap spells, but it should be a less appealing option in decks that aren’t built with that focus in mind.

Aviana – Will cost 10 mana. (Up from 9)

Change: 9 mana -> 10 mana

Changing Aviana to (10) mana means it will no longer be possible to play Aviana and Kun the Forgotten King on the same turn without some additional help from cards like Innervate or The Coin. It also means Juicy Psychmelon will no longer draw both Aviana and Kun. This should make the combos Aviana and Kun produce less consistent, while still allowing decks that use the combos to exist for the players that enjoy playing them.

Conspicuously absent from the upcoming nerf list? Druid’s Spreading Plague, which many players have found to be more oppressive than any of the preceding three cards. Do you think the Team 5 balance team made the right choices with these nerfs?

Patch 12.3 goes live on October 18th.

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