Patch Notes - v0.10.00

Welcome to a new patch Spellslingers! This contains the largest number of balance changes EVER, introduces a new Planeswalker, and adjusts the rarities of some cards to provide a better new player experience. We are excited to share this update with you so let's dive right in with the newest kid on the block...

New Planeswalker: Ashiok!

Signature cards: 

Weave Nightmares and Shadowstag work great with cards like Isochron Scepter, Agony Warp, and the new Scour the Void. 

Planeswalker Changes

Nissa

Nissa's deckbuilding rule was making it too easy for her to counter any type of opposing strategy since Nissa could always just play all the best new cards. We've decreased the total number of cards she can splash, so she'll have to be more selective, but we've also given her the ability to play any land, which opens up tons of exciting new deckbuilding options! Also, Joraga Druid proved to be weaker than other signature cards, so we've lowered the mana cost.

Note: You'll probably need to go edit your old Nissa decks to be legal for play with her new rules. While you're at it, why not try out a new land?

• Worldwaker
• 10 cards of any colors > 6 cards of any colors and any land
• Joraga Druid
• 4 mana > 3 mana

Vraska

Vraska's best opening plays were a little too explosive, so we nerfed her Grub. Don't worry though because we also gave her some overall power back by buffing the Statue token, thus making Turn to Stone stronger. 

• Vraska's Grub
• Finale: Gain a mana coupon > Finale: Reduce the cost of a random creature in your hand by 1
• ​Statue
• 0/2 > 2/2 and can't attack

Jace

Jace needed some help surviving the early game, and was already plenty powerful in the late game, so we've adjusted Threads of Persuasion to help boost his win rate by making it a card that can help him stabilize against aggro decks. Jace is also one of the main beneficiaries of the nerfs to various aggressive Red and Black cards this patch.

• Threads of Persuasion
• 5 mana > 3 mana
• Shuffle an enemy creature into your deck and draw a card > Put an enemy creature on top of their deck

Nahiri

Nahiri has the highest win rate of any Planeswalker, and for that she wins the prize of getting some nerfs! Willful Smith takes the fall for Nahiri's crimes, and a couple of the other aggressive Red card nerfs will also help bring her down to the level of her fellow competitors.

• Starting Health Total
• 27 > 26
• Willful Smith
• 4/5 > 4/4
• Debut no longer makes "Forge from Stone" cost 0 for the turn.

Liliana

​Liliana's win rate was lower than we'd like, so we're giving her Goliath an extra power (which is kind of like 3 extra power), reducing the cost of Diehard Fan, and adjusting her starting health and Grave Ambition to give her more survivability. So, while her starting health is being reduced, over the course of an average match she will have more health now than before.

• Starting Health Total
• 29 > 26
• Grave Ambition
• Now heals Liliana for 1 when she returns a creature from a graveyard, in addition to giving that creature +1/+1
• Liliana's Goliath
• 3/3 > 4/3
• Diehard Fan
• 3 mana > 2 mana
• 3/2 > 2/3

Chandra

​Chandra's Flame Shot was too efficient at clearing out multiple blockers and could snowball her games without giving the opponent a chance to recover, so we've swapped the mana costs of it and her Flamecrafter. This, along with some other Red card nerfs, should make it easier to defend against her.

• Flame Shot
• 3 mana > 4 mana
• 3 damage to main target > 4 damage to main target
• Chandra's Firecrafter
• 4 mana > 3 mana
• 4/4 > 3/3

Card Design Changes

​We made several design changes to cards. Some cards will be more powerful, some less, and others will just be different. All these changes, as always, are meant to make the game more fun and balanced!

• Trostani - we wanted all her modes to be equally enticing so we switched them up a bit
• Nature's Might: Give all friendly creatures +1/+1 > Summon two 1/1 soldiers
• Nature's Vigor: Heals for 4 instead of 5
• Nature's Bounty: Gives an empty mana bond instead of a full one
• Skymaster Sphinx - is it Freaky Friday? Because this now does the opposite of what it did before! Beware Arcanis' army of sphinxes because they're now coming for YOUR deck
• Attack: Draw a card > Attack: Mill your opponent for 1
• Incapacitate - Black removal was too efficient at dealing with small creatures
• 2 mana > 3 mana
• Give an enemy creature -2/-2 > Halve an enemy creature's power and health, rounded down
• Old Graveyard - it's now better for control decks so try it out!
• Ability starts on turn 6 instead of turn 7, but now the zombies you get can block!
• Jolt of Inspiration - Ral really pushed us for this one
• Trap > Spell
• 3 mana > 4 mana
• Add three random spells to your hand
• Mana Short - no mana = no traps. that's just math
• Now disarms your opponent's traps when you cast it, in addition to stealing their unused mana
• Immolating Glare - now allows for more counterplay
• Now destroys the most powerful attacking creature after your opponent attacks, instead of after you're done blocking
• Poxbug Plague - less effective at sweeping the entire board but gains more utility against larger creatures
• Deal 3 damage to all creatures and players > Give all creatures -2/-2
• Arrester Lavinia - she's good now
• 4/4 > 3/4
• Ward > Armor, Sneak
• Step Over - now you don't feel as punished for blocking; you're still punished, just not as much
• No longer gives +2/+0 but the trample granted is now permanent
• Alhammarret - now more resilient to removal
• 4/6 > 3/4 and gains Ward
• Stadium Shaker - there was a bit too much direct damage coming out of Red
• 5 mana > 6 mana
• 6/3 > 6/4
• Debut: Deal 2 damage to an enemy > 3 damage to an enemy creature
• Second Sun's Dawn - for those games when you need the heal ASAP (aka one turn earlier)
• 7 mana > 6 mana
• No longer draws a card when cast
• Sacred Sanctum - we wanted you to be more excited about this land during the game, not only at the start!
• Heal yourself for 2 at the start of the game instead of 5
• Heal yourself for 2 every time it triggers instead of 1
• Lightning Helix - did we mention there was a bit too much direct damage coming out of Red?
• Can only damage creatures, not your opponent anymore
• Scour the Void - making this cheaper allows it to go into more decks while also increasing the variety of finishers Black decks use
• 8 mana > 5 mana
• Now adds 4 random cards from your opponent's graveyard to your hand, instead of every card
• Recruitment Center (renamed to Training Yard) - White was struggling with keeping up with other colors later in the game, so this should help
• Now gives the creatures you get +1/+1 instead of making them cost 0
• Refreshment Stand - starting each player with extra mana created matchups that were too polarizing
• New design: "At the start of each player's first turn, that player adds a random multicolored card to their hand."
• Sisters of Stone Death - now this card is beatable! shattering statues is hard work
• Statues are now 2/2 and can't attack

Card Number Changes

We made a lot of changes to mana costs, stats, and minor abilities in this build to improve color and Planeswalker balance. Red and Black aggressive cards specifically were winning more than the other colors, so you'll see a lot of our attention was focused there. But there are a lot of other cards that needed tweaking as well and we are committed to taking pro-active steps to improve the game!

• Celestial Protector
• 8 mana > 7 mana
• Scathing Glare
• 3 mana > 2 mana
• Vampiric Knight
• 2/3 > 2/4
• Lightning Catcher
• Finale: Deal 3 damage to your opponent > 2 damage
• Peafoul
• 5 mana > 4 mana
• 3/2 > 2/2
• Ragerunner
• 3/3 > 3/2
• Fallen Angel
• 4/3 > 4/4
• Debut: Destroy an enemy creature with power 4 or less > power 3 or less
• Takedown
• Destroy an enemy creature with power 4 or less > power 3 or less
• Watchwolf
• 4/4 > 3/4
• Ghitu Embermage
• 3/4 > 2/4
• Two-Headed Hellhound
• 1 mana > 2 mana
• 2/1 > 2/2
• Giant Growth
• 3 mana > 2 mana
• Captain of the Dead
• 4 mana > 5 mana
• 4/3 > 5/5
• Drain Blood
• 3 mana > 2 mana
• Drain an enemy creature for 3 > for 2
• Pinpoint Avenger
• 1/4 > 2/4
• Energy Extractor
• 6 mana > 7 mana
• Disorient
• 2 mana > 1 mana
• Befuddling Merfolk
• Debut: Give an enemy creature -2/-0 > -1/-0
• Team Captain
• 3/3 > 4/3
• Carnage Tyrant
• 8 mana > 7 mana
• 8/8 > 8/6
• Wavelash Viper
• 4 mana > 5 mana
• 3/5 > 4/4
• Force of the Wild
• On your turn, 3 of your mana gems don't refill > 2 mana gems of your mana gems
• Spasmodic Weird
• Debut: Gets +1/+0 or +0/+1 at random 12 times > 11 times
• Day of Judgment
• 6 mana > 7 mana
• Tolarian Academy
• 30% chance to miss mana > 20% chance to miss mana
• Shivan Dragon
• 6 mana > 7 mana
• 5/5 > 7/7
• Danitha Capashen
• 4/4 > 5/4
• Gorm the Great
• 5/6 > 6/5
• Angler Wurm
• 6/5 > 5/6
• Naga Rogue
• 4/4 > 3/5
• After this damages your opponent, mill them for 1 > mill them for 2
• Shimmering Komodo
• 5/6 > 6/6
• Hellrider
• 4/3 > 3/3
• Lorekeeper
• 1/3 > 2/1
• Wintergrip Mage
• 2/1 > 1/3
• Hoarding Dragon
• 7 mana > 5 mana
• 6/4 > 3/5
• Finale: Add two random artifacts to your hand > Add one random artifact
• Daggerclaw Lord
• 4/4 > 3/5
• Sinister Southpaw
• 4/4 > 4/3
• Azra Challenger
• 5/4 > 5/5
• Mausoleum Witch
• 2/3 > 2/2
• Boneclub Shambler
• 3/2 > 3/3
• Daughter of Runes
• 2 mana > 1 mana
• 2/2 > 1/2
• Dead-onator
• Finale: Deal 3 damage to yourself > 4 damage
• Kothophed
• Promise of Knowledge
• Deals you 2 damage > 3 damage
• Promise of Power
• Deals you 4 damage > 3 damage
• Promise of Victory
• Deals you 6 damage > 3 damage
• Akroma
• 10 mana > 9 mana
• Sparkling Unicorn
• 2 mana > 3 mana
• 2/4 > 3/3
• Omnath
• 2/8 > 3/7
• Grave Pharoah
• 9 mana > 8 mana
• 7/7 > 6/6
• Shadows of the Past
• 9 mana > 10 mana
• Soulsever Lich
• 10 mana > 9 mana

New Cards!

• Elvish Explorer and Gladecover Scout have been added to replace some other cards we removed. (mentioned below)

• Active Volcano completes the cycle of each color having a rare and epic land.

Removed Cards

​We've decided to remove Blank from the game. It only existed on two cards and we are more confident with the other tools that green has to deal with evasive creatures. If you owned these cards, you'll be compensated with crafting materials for having lost them.

• Peacebringer
• Blank Slate

Rarity Changes

We made a lot of rarity changes in this build to improve the experience for new players getting cards and building decks.

B = Core Set

C = Common

R = Rare

E = Epic

M = Mythic