4/2022 Banlist & Balance Updates
/No new cards will be added to the banlist at this time. The following cards remain banned in their respective formats for all Reborn Circuit events, ladders, and leagues:
Classic:
Contemporary:
Reborn Balance Updates
We want to ensure players’ game and deckbuilding experience continues to be interactive, competitive, diverse, and fun. So in addition to bans, this month we have taken a look at Block 8 Reborn sets and identified some potentially problematic cards, cards with incorrect or confusing rules text and interactions, as well as cards that just didn’t quite hit the mark for constructed play. As hard as we tried, we didn’t get everything 100% correct in our sets. (Special thanks to everyone who has helped us with errors, typos, and feedback!) Unfortunately, due to the Dev team’s limited size and facilities, we haven’t been able to do nearly as much play-testing as we would like, and so some overtuned (and undertuned) cards made it through to release.
Since the release of our first set in May 2019, Reborn Circuit tournaments have been an invaluable source of playtesting data and insight, and we have witnessed incredibly effective and polished card combinations and strategies surface. We’ve learned a lot about how the cards exist and live in the wild, which cards and classes players have gravitated to so far, as well as which cards or classes or strategies that were conspicuously absent or underrepresented. It’s absolutely thrilling to see so many players digging in and exploring new cards and leveraging them to great effect in established formats and metagames.
As our primary method of organized play at this time is hosted online, we can easily make changes and update cards in Untap, Tabletop Simulator and card databases to ensure the correct changed card is depicted and used. So rather than ban or otherwise limit overtuned Reborn cards, I’d rather listen to the pitch, move the tuning slide a little sharp, a little flat, just so, until it sings.
Balance changes will be few and far between, and as the Reborn Development team grows and gains more experience creating cards and sets, hopefully these post-release changes will be less necessary in the future. Any additions will be announced together during our twice yearly Banlist updates, and only Reborn cards will be changed in this way.
Thank you for playing and for reading, let us know what you think about these changes on discord, and see you on the Battlefield!
—Nathan / Jolly
The following Balance changes are effective for all Reborn events beginning April 22, 2022.
Nerfed Card Changes
Chi-Ji, the Red Crane: added "other" to its healing trigger, as originally intended.
Kil'ruk the Windreaver: Reworked powers, Kil’ruk now becomes an Item instead of becoming Invincible.
Thrall of Vanity: Revealed cards now go to deck bottoms after being revealed.
Luckydo: Changed activation power to Basic speed.
Tihan, Scepter of the Sleeping Emperor: Journey power reworked, cost reduction now happens once per turn and only when heroes are dealt damage. Changed strike cost from 2 to 3.
Shado-Pan Monastery: Changed activation power to Basic speed.
Insanity: Removed target resource option.
Softpaw's Last Resort: Changed cost from 2 to 3.
Amani'shi Warbringer: Changed power to only affect Monsters.
Drakkari Frostweaver: Changed power to only affect Monsters.
The Darkspear Rebellion: Changed to Basic speed. Added "To minimum of 3" to cost reduction modifier.
Tigers Peak: Changed to Basic speed.
Rules Fix Changes
Jina-Kang, Kindness of Chi-ji: Changed activation trigger to heal "X damage" instead of "all damage" from a target ally, to work with the first power, and to avoid a possible ruling where "all damage" healed from an ally becomes 1 million or more.
Replica Shado-Pan Helmet: The art has been replaced with an authentic replica. Never buying gear from those Grummles again!
Garrosh, Avatar of Y'shaarj: Removed resource cost restriction of Orc or Sha ally.
Ragegobbler: Reworked payment power and language to function properly (can't target cards as a cost), and more in line with Death Knight class identity.
Nazgrim's Gutripper: Reworked confusing language, removed combat damage quality for poison trigger.
Kor'kron Juggernaut: Changed to Monster from Neutral.
Cascade: Renamed from “Echo of Light,” Reworked language, overall unchanged.
Stephen the Strange: Added reminder rules text to clarify reveal effect.
Zandalari Skyscreamer: Added Zandalari to type line.
Buffed Card Changes
Trap Mastery: Changed from Basic to Instant.
Sunwalker Dezco: Changed ATK from 3 to 6.
Stormstriker Euna: Fixed typo referring to Euna instead of the exhausted ally to reference ATK.
Brewmaster Chen Stormstout: Changed cost from 6 to 5. Removed payment cost of combat removal power. Added “Chen heals 2 damage from himself.” to Li Li power trigger.
Lorewalker Cho: Added Inner Peace, as originally intended.
Blood Tap: Changed cost from 3 to 1, added a static -1/-1 to the attach effect.
Frozen Veins: Reworked powers language to be more similar to previous DK diseases.
Berserking Bear Form: Changed from Basic to Instant.
Moira Thaurissan: Changed power to copy all keywords from a removed ally instead of only one.
Varian Wrynn, Tyrant's Fall: Now counts friendly [A] hero races.
Vol'jin, Warchief of the Horde: Now counts friendly [H] hero races.
Gaze of Arrogance: Cost changed from 7 to 6, reworked effect to trigger on each player's turn.
Rikkal's Bloody Scalpel: Changed cost from 3 to 2.
Forgotten Growth: Now makes a Treant first before checking number of allies.
Massacre Greatsword: Changed ATK and STRIKE from 0 to 2.
Reaping Strike: Can target heroes for damage.
Anansi, Trap Trickster: Changed “Allies removed” to “cards removed.”
Mana Bomb: Lowered cost from 6 to 5.
Templar's Verdict: Changed cost from 3 to 2, added "or attacked.”
Totemic Furor: Changed cost from 3 to 2. Can now target heroes.
Forgotten Armory: Added "allies" to graveyard cost check for equipment.
Seasoned Solder: Added "Pay (1) less to strike with weapons this turn" as a choice.
Titanic Strike: Added "Titanic ally" to cards that can be revealed.
Historian Helena: Can now target heroes.
Plundersquad Bigshot: Changed ATK from 2 to 3.
Sha of Violence: Added "damage" as alternate to corruption counters.
Spawn of Durumu: Reworked first power, no longer discarded as a cost. Health changed from 6 to 7.
Lifebane Bracers: Reworked and simplified power.
Kil'ruk's furious Blade: Changed cost from 4 to 3, Changed ATK from 0 to 1, added Dual Wield.
The Purge of Dalaran: Changed completion cost from 6 to 5.
Tracking the Thieves: Changed completion cost from 4 to 3.
Echoes of Thunder Changes (Effective 11/2021)
Eternal Presence: Changed power to target any player's graveyard.
Forgotten Tomb: Changed cost and number of cards put into graveyard from 3 to 2.
Forgotten Secrets: Changed cost from 3 to 2.
Forgotten Ritual: Changed cost from 3 to 2.
Anima Golem: Changed from opposing "ally" to "card."
Hateful Sunreaver Corruptor: added "for each sha you control.”
Inching Gastropod: Health changed from 4 to 5
Insane Ghylaine: added "for each sha you control.”
Misthunter: added "for each sha you control.”
Theramore Despairer: added "for each sha you control.”
Unearthed Hatred: Changed from opposing "ally" to "card."
Doomed Crown of Lei Shen: Changed weapon tokens from 3/1 and 6/4 to 3/0 and 6/3.
Siegecrafter's Forge Hammer: Changed from Uncommon to Common.
Starshatter: Added Hunter, changed from Uncommon to Common.
Wu Lai, Bladed Fan of the Consorts: added "with attachments and counters" to removal power.
