This is the logic behind the nerf of several staple Hearthstone cards. Blizzard’s development team explained that a handful of basic cards were being played too much, crowding out the use of newer expansion cards. Because daddy’s got to make sales, after all.
“Cards in the basic set serve several purposes in the game, so we would rather make balance adjustments to them instead of moving them to the Hall of Fame, like we have done for cards in the classic set,” the studio wrote.
Among those who are getting smacked around by an epic nerfhammer are Innervate, Hex, Fiery War Axe, and Murloc Warleader. Each of those either saw an increase in the cost of its mana requirement or had its benefits reduced.
Source: Hearthstone. Cheers, Pepperzine.