LET'S MAKE WILD BETTER №1. Greetings travelers! Today I'm starting a new column in which I'll be showing you changes to Wild cards that would make the game in this format a little more enjoyable. Share your opinion in the comments, who knows, maybe Blizzard will see this and pay attention to Wild
My main goal is to slow down the format a bit, rethink toxic cards, and give older cards a chance to shine, even if it doesn't impact the meta. Wild isn't just for the fast meta decks; there are plenty of interesting strategies that need support to have any chance of competing.
When nerfing the cards, I tried to rethink them rather than kill them. While doing so, I kept the standard format as minimally affected as possible. I apologize for the image size. This is a test version of this column. If anyone has any ideas on how to make things more beautiful and user-friendly, please let me know. For now, there are only 14 cards + 1 (non-collectible)
Let's start from the beginning. I wanted to preserve Irebound-Brute's defensive function while toning down its offensive potential, as it sometimes comes out on turns 3-4, and the attack reduction should give it more time to respond, while still remaining an effective defense against aggression.
Sigil of Skydiving – unfairly left nerfed by the developers. This should help Pirate DH and Pirate Shaman compete with Discolock.
Confront-the-Tol'vir is already becoming a problem in Standard, and it's absurdly powerful in Wild. A change is unlikely, as it could significantly weaken the class in Standard right now. But later this year, when Standard sees a rise in one-mana cards, the developers will have to take notice. I wanted to keep the card playable for Odd Hunter, so I left it at an odd cost, but at 5 mana it will feel much more reasonable.
Zul'jin - poor Zul'jin. Looking at him and Confront-the-Tol'vir, I can't look at Zul'jin without tears. Look what they did to my boy. I changed the cost and armor to be closer to current playable hero cards in Wild, while changing the text to be similar to Confront-the-Tol'vir, allowing it to combo with direct damage cards.
Sword-of-the-Fallen - I initially considered bringing back its pre-nerf 1/3 for 2 mana. But then I remembered that some people play Odd Secret Paladin (yes, they exist). So I decided to make it a 2/3 for 3 mana, and also gave it the ability to play Secrets directly from hand. This makes it more convenient for board control and more comfortable in situations where Secrets are in your hand. However, it slowed it down slightly to compensate for its comfort and board control.
Crusader-Aura is inconsistent with its canon, and I wanted to fix it. I also wanted to change the most powerful aggro paladin card in history (yes, this card, not CtA or BtA, is the strongest in CtA paladin). In WoW canon, its text reads:
Mount movement speed increased by 20%.
[The duration of fear effects applied to you is reduced by 20%.]
Rush is the most appropriate keyword for this. I also made it convenient to use before BtA and CtA.
Prismatic-Beam - I think the developers shouldn't have reverted this spell back to its pre-nerf state. This card makes other Paladin clears too weak in comparison. Moreover, the full combo isn't available to either Odd or Even Paladins. I wanted to simultaneously nerf its absurd anti-aggro potential and bring it back to Even Paladins.
Swiftscale-Trickster—both currently the strongest Rogue decks are built around this card. I wanted to slow it down and bring it closer to the general Naga synergy, since the card was released in Sunken City. A Rogue with big spells is an interesting concept that will eventually see more support, but right now Swiftscale-Trickster in its current form is not something you want to queue up against
Quasar - I didn't want to kill this card, but rather remove the ability to kill on turns 3-5. This restriction should slow down the potential for a burst turn. At the same time, I wanted to make this card appealing to more greedy Rogue archetypes.
Party-Fiend - I believe this card is the main culprit behind the explosive start of current Discolock versions. While it's not the strongest card in the archetype, it's not the best card to build a strategy around spamming the board early. I've reverted the cost back to its nerfed state, but given it more stats so that Zoolock or Pain Warlock can utilize it.
I didn't include Battle at the End Time here because, in its current form, it's easier to ban it from Wild before it leaves Standard. It's currently unplayable in Standard, so it won't be nerfed. What to do with it after it rotates is a different story. For now, the best and most likely solution for Blizzard is to ban it from Wild, as they once did with Demon Seed.
Razorscale - I wanted to make CtA Paladin a deterrent to other decks like Quasar Rogue, while also making it a more viable tech card for control decks.
Elwynn-Boar is where I spent the most time. I tried to maintain the spirit of this card as a South Park reference, while making it harder to execute and less toxic for the opponent.
I intentionally made the weapons 10/100 in reference to their namesake. I think my version of Elwynn-Boar and Sword-of-a-Thousand-Truths better captures this legendary reference.
Both Kazakus were long overdue for a change. Even in Standard during the Razakus Priest era, Kazakus remained in the shadow of Reno and was never a viable High Power card for deckbuilding after Reno's departure to Wild. With the release of Mixologist, Kazakus simply lost all hope of being used in decks. I believe that at 3 mana, it balances perfectly with Mixologist, where you get +1 attack and more optionality in exchange for a deckbuilding requirement. However, I also considered buffing some of the effects of 5- and 10-mana potions. But for now, I've settled on that.
Kazakus, Golem-Shaper - a situation similar to its Kabal version. However, this one was sometimes overshadowed by other more valuable 4-mana legendary cards, even during the Standard Barrens era. For example, Paladins preferred Cariel Roame as the only 4-mana card in their decks. There are also opportunities to improve the Golems themselves, but for now I've focused only on changing the cost and deckbuilding requirements.
These are just a few of my ideas, and they mostly concern current meta decks. If you liked them, I'll make more of these fan theories about Wild card nerfs and buffs. Maybe one day the developers will listen. Wild isn't just about 20 meta turbo decks, but also thousands of cards that need a boost.
