Nerfs incoming to five Hearthstone cards in February 5th balance update

Ask not for whom the nerf bat bonks; it bonks for thee. At least, it does if you’re one of the five Hearthstone cards that are getting a balance adjustment in the game’s upcoming update. When the balance patch hits on February 5th, Cold Blood will cost 2 mana (up from 1), Flametongue Totem will cost 3 mana (up from 2), Hunter’s Mark will cost 2 mana (up from 1), Emerald Spellstone will cost 6 mana (up from 5), and Equality’s mana cost will be doubled from 2 to 4.

You may notice that four of the five cards come from the Basic or Classic sets, and in fact, that’s a big part of the reason they’re being nerfed. According to the announcement post, Blizzard thinks these cards have “become so broadly effective — no matter what you’re facing — that they drive what deck styles are considered viable every expansion.” As such, these balance changes are intended to give players a bit more flexibility to make different types of decks that will still be able to compete in the current meta while still making sure that the nerfed cards are effective enough “to be chosen for decks that are focused on strategies that capitalize what [they] have to offer” without being “general-purpose ‘auto-includes.'” To read a bit more about the team’s philosophy behind these changes, you can check out the full post at the game’s official site.