The sunset changes more than meets the eye

pemungkah

I was just contemplating the adjustments I’d need to make when some of the cards in my go-to deck rotate out anyway.

I do agree, there are a number of cards in that list I play a lot. Cryptex 100% is an “always play”. I don’t have a number of these but I do find some of them hard to play against.

I’m 100% FTP so I’m not losing out if there are changes; it just becomes a different game. Will I miss dropping Ghalta and wiping the opponent’s board AND putting two more creatures down but I’ll have had fun doing it for a while. (Remember all the Wizard Class loop decks? Fun to play, but not play against!)

FCLedZep

Nerving cards where most people win 99% of the games is ridiculous. Zero chase cards in the latest sets and Vanguards for me. This game needs more powerful cards!

FindingHeart8

I hope their "rebalancing" mostly only stops loops, not torpedoing good cards into oblivion. I remember seeing Rakdos on sale for a cash purchase not too long ago, nerfing him too much will shake the faith in players making purchases. Why spend real $$$ chasing a good card today that can be turned into something useless tomorrow?

Tolkne

Um... why rebalance? Better balance Ocelot! He's the one that creates a loop with Healer of the Pride—a constant conversion loop when Ocelot creates soldiers, and from there the loop becomes endless.

Everything else is fine. I'm used to it, and even though I'm creating new strategies, it's not even hard to remove Rakdos or Aegis against these cards. Even Ghalta, too.
You can stop the mass conversion; I play Winter Moon, and all the conversion goes to me, not my opponent.

But I'm against rebalancing, mainly MT and Titan Vanguard, because I need them to deal massive amounts of HP to the boss in Planar Chaos. Otherwise, the game could drag on for ages... and that's not profitable.

JTK421

But I'm against rebalancing, mainly MT and Titan Vanguard, because I need them to deal massive amounts of HP to the boss in Planar Chaos. Otherwise, the game could drag on for ages... and that's not profitable

You don’t need those two cards. I use the Case of the Locked Hothouse and Pride of the Hull Clade. It gets real big real fast, even if it doesn’t grow the whole team.

Tolkne

@JTK421 said:

But I'm against rebalancing, mainly MT and Titan Vanguard, because I need them to deal massive amounts of HP to the boss in Planar Chaos. Otherwise, the game could drag on for ages... and that's not profitable

You don’t need those two cards. I use the Case of the Locked Hothouse and Pride of the Hull Clade. It gets real big real fast, even if it doesn’t grow the whole team.

I have this card. But the problem is, these cards will be moving to Legacy in the future. And I can't imagine how to assemble something like that.

But it would be better if they reworked Planar Chaos to remove the converting cards from Grist and Kasmina!

Luciferion

@Magic:PQ Support Team said:
In the soft dim of Shadowmoor, things seldom stay unchanged. With the upcoming release of 7.6.1, which will come out next Tuesday, some cards will also undergo balancing changes. If you had an eye on these relics, it may be wise to watch the dusk settle before deciding.

The following cards will undergo a rebalancing with the release 7.6.1:

• Ocelot Pride
• Metastatic Evangel
• Titans' Vanguard
• Back in Town
• The Master of Keys
• Mystical Teachings
• Rakdos, Patron of Chaos
• Assimilation Aegis
• Requisition Raid
• Desert
• Demolition Field
• Tempt with Bunnies
• Tempt with Discovery
• Leyline of the Guildpact
• Cryptex
• Starseer Mentor
• Full Throttle
• Ashling, Flame Dancer
• Emperor of Bones
• Maha, Its Feathers Night
• Meathook Massacre II
• Realm-Scorcher Hellkite
• Worldsoul's Rage
• Scalding Viper
• Aetherize
• Fiery Annihilation
• Magmaquake
• Starwinder
• Nowhere to Run
• Calamitous Cave-In
• Galvanic Giant
• Draconic Roar
• Meltstrider's Gear
• Tidespout Tyrant
• Alibou, Ancient Witness
• Eumidian Wastewaker
• Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
• Sandstorm
• Blind Obedience
• Depthshaker Titan
• Planetary Annihilation
• Priest of the Crossing
• Borborygmos Enraged
• Demonfire

Details will be revealed in the 7.6.1 Release Notes. Until then, the gloom stirs with quiet hints and half-seen shapes. What changes do you sense on the horizon—and what fate do you think awaits the cat as the shadows shift? Share your thoughts below and let the whispers weave.

Buhahahah that's very bad news to pay-to-win players

Janosik

No change to Sharp-Eyed Rookie+Pinnacle Emissary?

https://forums.d3go.com/discussion/92360/lethal-standard-two-card-combo-at-rare-for-16-total-mana

TIMEWARP

Metastatic Evangel is probably because of stuff like this;

Machine

Wait, what? Are we going to play a brand new game?? I spent an entire evening opening packs and "wasting" resources just to get most of these cards, like Mystical Teachings, Requisition Raid and Demolition Field. And now they are getting the axe?! The only card I think needs actual nerfing is Ocelot. I lost to it, because it's a 2 card infinite combo you have 0 chance of interacting with.

Ecclesia

The True Cost of Nerfing: A F2P Player’s Critique on Game Economy
Following this major announcement, I feel compelled to share my critical view, difficult as it is since English is not my native language.

A Problem of Value and Monetization
First, I must state that while I appreciate some of Webcore’s recent efforts, this game operates on an economic model dangerously close to a Gacha/Gambling System.

The game actively pressures players to spend substantial amounts of money to open expensive packs that often fail to deliver desired cards, relying heavily on the frustrating cycle of “open an expensive pack and receive duplicates.” The exorbitant cost of the premium subscription (€33/month is unsustainable) and the massive time commitment required for events strengthen the feeling that this is a virtual casino, not a balanced game.

The currency needed to complete sets and stay competitive is wildly disproportionate. A Free-to-Play (F2P) player must invest hundreds of hours just to acquire a handful of the most effective and interesting cards.

The Damage of Nerfs: Devaluing Player Investment
Whether you are an "elite spender" or an F2P player who has spent a colossal amount of time grinding for cards like Mystical Teachings or Tempt with Discovery, you should NEVER be punished by having that investment devalued through a nerf.

Nerfing powerful cards is not an equitable solution because:

• It Punishes Effort: A nerf directly devalues the player's investment of time, resources, and/or money.

• It Worsens the Economic Gap: The real problem isn’t powerful cards, but the extreme economic disparity in the player base. Nerfing the few high-impact cards that F2P and low-spending players manage to obtain will only irreparably increase the gap with "whales" who possess near-complete collections thanks to massive spending.

If your goal is true rebalancing, you must address the enabling cards that trigger infinite loops and overpowered combos, not the core cards that players struggled to acquire. If a limit is necessary, introduce classic restrictions like “this action can only be repeated twice per turn,” and apply it to the common or complementary components of the combo.

The Solution is Economic, Not Card Balance
If you nerf these key cards, you will only inflict more damage upon a game that is already overly punitive in terms of time and required resources.

The true issue is not the strength of some cards, but the fact that the wealthiest players can spend hundreds of dollars/euros per month to acquire exclusive sets and thousands of packs, and then appear as opponents in competitive events.

The power level in the game should not be determined by the player’s wallet.

If you genuinely want to rebalance the game, you should start by reviewing your fundamental economy:

Affordable Subscription: Offer only one subscription at a truly accessible price (e.g., $4.99/€4.99), which would dramatically increase your subscriber base.

Long-Term Goal: The ultimate goal should be that after approximately one year of an affordable subscription, ALL players should have access to ALL cards in the Standard rotation.

This is how you truly balance the game: by reducing the economic disparity and valuing the players' time investment.

Timesink

ocelot should be nerfed year ago. rakdos and aegis worth attention too. but the rest is just ruin the game which already not in good shape with last 4 released weak sets. no combo cards. almost no tournaments playable ones. we all play around lci mkm pms etc. at current state game will be dead after next sets rotation.

and last one.
don't ever try to touch MT.
you know why

update: subscription cancelled. vip15 -> vip0.
hope it helps realise you doing something wrong last half of the year.
best wishes. really.

LarsDFranzen

Well, a lot of negativity around here, especially considering we dont even know what these changes are going to be.

I, for one, couldn't be more excited. I'm sick of having to use the same 20 cards from the same old sets for years. Some cards, mostly from MKM and OTJ, are too strong. They are everywhere. The last rotation barely changed anything in the meta because the strong cards didnt leave Standard. New sets dont matter this way. STA was the only relevant card we got in the last three sets. And releasing more op cards isnt the solution, it would just ensure the problem persists.

Yes, I use some of these cards everywhere. Yes, I paid for them. Yes, it's gonna hurt if they get changed. But having this stale meta continue for a year would hurt even more.

No, we need balancing, we need nerfs. Hit us, and hit us hard. Give us all a reason to build new decks and the shakeup the last rotation failed to bring.

Oh, and nerf Dragonhawk, too.

EDHdad

Any thought to beefing up some of the sucky cards or just Nerfing the good ones?

There's nothing wrong with Cryptex. It takes up 10% of the slots in your deck. It usually takes at least 2 swipes to get it on board. It does nothing the turn it comes out. It probably takes at least 2-3 turns after that to get your 10 mana back. It doesn't stack, so once there's one on board, it's usually a dead card in your hand. It can be destroyed by a 3-mana Demolish.

In paper Magic, it is essential to put mana sources into your deck. In most decks, at least 30% to 40% or more of your deck might be mana sources like lands and mana producing artifacts.

In this game, it isn't necessary at all to have any ramp in your deck. It wouldn't be optimal, but you could play the game with no gem converters at all.

When Wizards designs the game, they make a lot of lands because lands are essential to the paper game. In Puzzle Quest, lands are completely optional, and often unnecessary. Yet, Puzzle Quest makes tons of them because Wizards makes tons of them.

If you take away an artifact that converts 5 pips each turn, then players will just switch to lands that produce 4 pips. If the best lands in Standard only produce 3 pips, the players will play those lands. Or, if 2 pips, they'll play those or they'll play ones which have added utility, or they won't play them at all.

If you make Cryptex cost more, then eventually it doesn't make sense to put it into your deck. If you take away the ability to draw a card when it's destroyed, or the ability to investigate when you collect evidence, nobody will even notice because nobody puts Cryptex in a deck for those abilities.

It's the same with most of those other cards. Make a powerful card less powerful, and they'll play with the next most powerful card.

EDHdad

IMO, the standard shouldn't be "is this a powerful card" so much as "can I interact with it". Most cards can be destroyed with a common or uncommon which costs no more than 1 or 2 swipes. And there are an annoyingly large number of cards in standard which allow your opponent to gain control of your best creature.

Another standard might be "does this card turn the game into a durdle fest where I have to watch my opponent play for 7 minutes straight if they're playing them, or my games last for half an hour because I'm playing them. Ocelot fails on both counts so good riddance.

jtwood

It would be funny if they made some of the bangers even stronger

Marol

These balance changes are very welcome, as they refresh the game environment and help prevent stagnation.
I myself often relied on cards like Mystical Teachings as a means to win and to avoid the frustration of losing unfairly, but now it finally feels possible to break away from rigid, template-like deck construction.

Additionally, cards like Rakdos, which can activate powerful effects immediately even before the player’s own turn begins, should not exist without counterplay opportunities.
There must be room for opponents to react, otherwise the game becomes a contest of who pushes out a single overtuned card first, leaving no space for creative card interactions or meaningful deckbuilding.
(Yes, I understand that “goodstuff” builds exist even in regular MTG, but…)
With only 10 cards in a deck, a single excessively powerful card can warp the entire environment.

---

However, please understand that changes of this scale require adequate compensation.
If players spend money with certain card functions in mind, and those cards are changed into something unintended afterwards, then—like MTG Arena or Hearthstone—there should be a system for fair card conversion or refund.
Without such measures, it borders on deceptive practice, discourages spending, and threatens the sustainability of the game.
In fact, I personally plan to refrain from purchasing Collector Bundles for the time being.

Please listen sincerely to the voices of the players who have supported this game so far.

---

Kinesia

Change absolutely needed, although just from the title I was half expecting changes to all mana costs to be in line with the new Lorwyn creature costs where it's way close to Paper Magic mana costs!

But yeah, very curious about what will happen.

(Yes, those who remember me, I live.)

Machine

Aside from rebalancing these cards, what also stings me, maybe even more than announcing the major rebalance, is that we've been shouting to nerf Ocelot for over a year. NEVER received any kind of response. And it's not the first that players are reaching out with ZERO reaction from the devs. This happens over and over again. Ample examples on this forum. And I'm not even touching the fact that promises made by the community manager are not lived up to. This is a toxic way of managing the game, which almost makes me think they are intentionally driving us away from the game. It's not strange at all that lots of players are responding now!

wraszowixuXuxi

I'll miss Starseer Mentor. Only Standard thing like it that can go in Urza, but maybe already having it hasn't led me to look for alternatives. It's not the same though if the alt is a Mythic or MP, as at times we do face rarity restrictions for event objectives or for some to not go up a tier sooner than one is ready to. The latter of that makes it risky for when a player has a set few cards as what they have mastered, and might be another reason why they might not try out later set alternatives until they absolutely have to, as as we face it right now tier-ups are forever, regardless of if it happened to someone who joined recently, has been playing regularly, or someone who did it years ago and may have had a break where, if and when they get back, leaves them with maybe just Origins as their Standard playable cards.

Tangents, tangents. It could still be noted that in the current state of things, loops and other forms of massive damage are kinda needed by design when we have stuff like Planar Chaos, facing high-HP legacy PVE's and other maxed Planeswalkers with just Standard cards at our disposal, and when they have the top stuff as well. Stated somewhere though, some of what is on this list is included in some of those very opposing decks. Will it make some of those easier to be faced? Who actually knows for now, as it is balancing changes that could go up or down or just change things. Tempt with Discovery could fetch or draw first and then do its conversion, and that could really be painful. Remains to be seen though.

24 hours remain?