Two Of Hearthstone's Most Popular Deck Archetypes Take A Beating In Tuesday's Patch

Hearthstone's Forged in the Barrens expansion launched two weeks ago and, as is usually the case when a new expansion hits a CCG, there are a few things that need, ahem, "adjusting." We don't call them "nerfs" around here, that's hateful language 'round these parts ...

Spell Mage and Secret Paladin have been all the rage since the expansion launched and two of the primary drivers of those prototypes are getting whacked. Deck of Lunacy sees its cost raised from two mana to four, as the card "very clearly crosses the power threshold we set for" a card that "lets you do wacky, over-the-top things at the cost of power." Sword of the Fallen's fall is a little gentler, losing one durability (from three to two), but that should still "reduce the overall value of the card and make those turns against 3-4 Secrets less common."

Other cards affected in the update include Jandice Barov, whose cost goes up by one (from five to six), while Hey Loser, I mean, Pen Flinger, can now only deal its damage to a minion. The two Watch Post cards introduced in the new set also take a one-point hit to health, making them a little easier to deal with in the early game.

In Battlegrounds, two heroes -- Wax Warband and Trash for Treasure -- return with adjusted powers, while seven cards see changes. In Duels mode, one card, one passive ability, and one hero power are also modified. You can see the whole list of changes for tomorrow's update on the Hearthstone site.