Balancing Changes 7.6.1

Magic:PQ Support Team
Magic:PQ Support Team ADMINISTRATORS Posts: 3,684 Chairperson of the Boards
in MtGPQ General Discussion

With this release, we introduce many changes to cards. We aimed at bringing some of these cards down from ‘oppressive’ to ‘great’. Others could use a bit more shine, so we made them quicker or stronger. Finally, a few cards had the right idea, but their mechanics made them too furious too fast. In these cases, we used fixed (but large!) numbers to keep them strong without scaling.

Here’s a breakdown of these changes and their reasoning:

  • Ocelot Pride: “A lot of the balancing changes we will do this time have to do with limitations, and Ocelot Pride is a great example to show why we need cards to have these thresholds for activations. His trigger that cares for life gains can trigger new life gains when paired properly, effectively looping infinite tokens and life.”

    • Before: When you gain life during your turn: Create 3 Ajani’s Soldier Tokens.
    • After: When you gain life for the first time during your turn: Create 6 Ajani’s Soldier Tokens.

  • Metastatic Evangel: "We knew Metastatic Evangel was redundant in his effects. His effects trigger his own effects. At playtests, he seemed able to present a help for control builds in exchange for a creature slot. When he hit the live servers, he performed way stronger. This also made his other abilities increase in proportion. We are limiting his interactions with token creatures, while preserving the original idea: if he is still able to keep supports at bay with reasonable consistency, but without all the explosive power of interaction with multiple token creation and proliferate."

    • Before: When a creature enters the battlefield under your control: Proliferate. Then: Reinforce that creature.
    • After: When a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control: Proliferate. Then: Reinforce that creature.

  • Titans' Vanguard: "One of the other patterns we are starting to keep track of is exponentiable variables. Titans' Vanguard has this issue: his constant power-doubling trigger makes him a one-shot Eldrazi very quickly. We still want to see the power accumulating; just not that fast."

    • Before: Creatures you control get +X/+X. X is this creature's power.
    • After: Creatures you control get +5/+5.

  • Back in Town: "Another attribute of cards that are being targeted for a rebalance is cards with an infinite range on a variable. Although powerful cards are always nice to play with, sometimes a single card has the potential to end the game without time to be answered. Back in Town does that by using the cumulative value of the creature's power. It's possible to revive over a hundred power, and it will stack with everything that you still have on board. For that reason, we decided to put a limitation, keep the effect still strong on maintaining the board, but reducing the instantaneous damage range."

    • Before: Your opponent loses X life and you gain X life. X is the total power of creatures you control.
    • After: Your opponent loses X life, and you gain X life. X is the total power of creatures you control, up to 20.

  • The Master of Keys: "Master of Keys is another card that has an exponential effect: when the card starts to get multiples of itself stacked, which its effect helps to get it, it's swift to hit triple digits with it. His trigger will still fetch itself, just not as fast."

    • Before: When this creature enters the battlefield: Destroy the top 5 cards of your library. Then: Double this creature's power and toughness.
    • After: When this creature enters the battlefield: Destroy the top 5 cards of your library. Then: Reinforce this creature.

  • Mystical Teachings: "For this one, we need to tell a bit of paper magic history. When Snapcaster Mage was released in Innistrad, the card by itself changed the way people played the game. Every single instant and sorcery in the game now could be replayed. A lot of decks now have access to way more spells than before, and the meta drastically changed.

    Well, we recreated the same effect when reimagining Mystical Teachings in Magic the Gathering: Puzzle Quest and pumping it up to a Masterpiece level. Every single spell mana cost we made after releasing Mystical Teachings didn't matter anymore: it was possible just to tutor and give full mana to it. Both events, limited tutoring and full mana, when put together, create this effect: it reduces the need for other cards since they are best-in-slot. We are reducing its power to allow mana cost on spells to be relevant again."

    • Before: Mana Cost: 9 and “That card gains full mana.”
    • After: Mana Cost: 12 and “That card gains 15 mana.”

  • Rakdos, Patron of Chaos: “We are also tacking cards with extreme efficiency. Rakdos does it all: Creature removal. Support removal. Increasing power. Rakdos strangles long-term strategies, because it always removes something. Paired with a good removal suite, it becomes an efficient gameplay lock. We are reducing its power so the card doesn't solve everything in the match, but still can be part of a locking strategic plan.”

    • Before: At the end of your turn: Destroy a random opposing creature. If you can't: Destroy an opposing nonSimple support. This effect can affect Vanguard supports. Then: Reinforce this creature.
    • After: At the end of your turn: Destroy an opposing non Simple support. This effect can affect Vanguard supports. If you can't: Reinforce this creature.

  • Assimilation Aegis: “We received a while ago an interesting question through the tickets: "Why is the card design in Magic the Gathering: Puzzle Quest so different from the original cards? The short version of the answer is that MtG: PQ is a merging of two great franchises with a unique approach and not a direct translation of paper Magic.

    This doesn't stop us from attempting to recreate cards as close to the originals as possible, but there are times when their effects don't translate well. This card is an excellent example of how shocking the difference is when attempting to adapt from paper directly.

    The basic concept is there, assimilated: one of your opponent's creatures becomes your own through Aegis intervention. But paper Magic and MtG: PQ have enormous differences, and the design team needs to consider the impact on the actual game of such direct concept translation. But respecting that design too much sometimes creates cards like Assimilation Aegis: cards that adapt well but behave in the game's meta totally differently than expected. We knew through testing that Aegis was a strong control piece, and that allowed the player to use the opponent's battlefield against him. But what we saw happening during the following months is that Supports are (still) way too conveniently protected (more than we hoped to be with the increase in conversion effects and removals we introduced in the meta), which allowed for Aegis to shine way too bright as a permanent creature denial piece, which couldn't be easily solved. Even worse: Aegis basically was a "double free removal each turn" since you never need to care for the first slot creature the opponent has: it will be disabled anyway as long as Aegis is there and still presents a threat with the last slot every turn. It almost always required a 3-per-1 solution. Basically, it needed: a creature bait for Aegis; you need to survive the bait attacking you somehow without it being another creature that could be stolen by Aegis; and you need a good support removal to remove Aegis. The changes to Aegis are to make it more vulnerable and finite, while still trying to respect part of the adaptation.”

    • Before: Shield 3 and “While this Support is in play, the first creature your opponent controls is Disabled. At the beginning of the combat on your turn: Gain control of the last creature your opponent controls until end of turn. If it is Disabled, Enable it. Then: That creature gains Haste.”
    • After: Shield 1 and “At the beginning of your opponent's turn: The first creature your opponent controls is Disabled until the end of your next turn. At the beginning of your turn: Gain control of the first creature your opponent controls until end of turn. If it is Disabled, Enable it. Then: That creature gains Haste.”

  • Requisition Raid: “Requisition Raid is simply the best removal spell nowadays. For a cheap cost, you can clear the other side of the board. We're adjusting so it's not that easy to get a full wipe.”

    • Before: Mana Cost: 15 and “Spree 1 — Destroy all opposing supports. Spree 2 — Destroy all opposing creatures. Spree 3 — Creatures you control get +3 / +3 .”
    • After: Mana Cost: 20 and “Spree 1 — Destroy all opposing supports. Spree 3 — Destroy all opposing creatures. Spree 5 — Creatures you control get +3 / +3.”

  • Desert: “Another card that has constant one-sided multiple destruction available together with a card expected to be used against an archetype. We're keeping the sideboard part of the card, but reducing its capabilities to affect other opposing threats.”

    • Before: Mana Cost: 13 and “When the first opposing creature attacks: Deal X damage to each opposing creature. X is equal to your Loyalty. Then: Destroy an opposing Support card at random.”
    • After: Mana Cost: 10 and “When the first opposing creature attacks: Deal 5 damage to each opposing creature.”

  • Demolition Field: “When some effects stack too many times, they end up being problematic. We're reducing a bit the power of Demolition Field to wipe opposing supports and give mana at the same time per turn.”

    • Before: Activate 2 of Each Color
    • After: Activate 1 of Each Color

  • Tempt with Bunnies: “Another card that gets very fast in the hundreds with the right setup. We're bringing its power a bit closer to what bunnies look like. They still can go to hundreds, just not always and not alone.”

    • Before: Mana Cost: 14 and “Gift: Your opponent gains 5 Loyalty. Gain 10 life. Draw 2 cards. Create a Rabbit token. Then: Your Rabbit creatures gain +X/+X until end of turn. X is the amount of life you gained this turn. If you Give a Gift — Repeat this process.”
    • After: Mana Cost: 11 and “Gift: Your opponent gains 5 Loyalty. Gain 15 life. Draw 2 cards. Create a Rabbit token. Then: Your Rabbit creatures gain +5/+5 until end of turn. If you Give a Gift — Repeat this process.”

  • Tempt with Discovery: “The strongest conversion card, paired with Ghalta on green. It's time for other cards to shine, so we're reducing this card's power to make it less efficient and avoid it netting a full mana hand on almost all casts.”** **

    • Before: Convert 20 gems to Green.
    • After: Convert 12 gems to Green.

  • Leyline of the Guildpact: “This card's current Overflow effect is just too strong at generating mana at free value. It should be a bit more fair effect when the board doesn't convert a great deal to his side because the player had a lucky draw.”

    • Before: Overflow: Destroy all gems of your opponent's Planeswalker colors.
    • After: Overflow: Destroy a block of 6x6 gems.

  • Cryptex: “Cryptex is, today, the most played card in Magic the Gathering: Puzzle Quest, according to our analytics. When designing MKM, we desired to see more variety in deckbuilding, faster games and less challenging gameplays at events for our players; to make the game more inclusive, and we allowed to be more permissive with colorless or domain (five-colored) powerful cards for that very reason so the players would have access to better cards and more options of game actions if they had more mana available.

    It worked the opposite way. The hyper-focused conversion to your highest mana bonus is too strong at this level, and the main reason why this card is so popular is that we now see that it basically reduces your deckbuilding in one card, because there is no reason not to include a Cryptex. The card draw is just the icing on the cake when it's destroyed, allowing you to find a new Cryptex to keep the engine going. For that reason, we are reducing Cryptex's power drastically.”

    • Before: Mana Cost: 10, Shield 3, and “Convert 5 gems to one of the colors of your greatest mana bonuses.”
    • After: Mana Cost: 13, Shield 2, and “Convert 3 gems to one of the colors of your greatest mana bonuses.”

  • Starseer Mentor: “An Uncommon without a limiter to how much pain it could deliver. And it's easy to see it deliver great amounts paired with Lifelink and other lifegain sources. This little guy needs to be a bit more on the side of ‘little’”

    • Before: Mana Cost: 18 and “Your opponent loses life equal to the amount of life you gained this turn.”
    • After: Mana Cost: 13 and “Your opponent loses life equal to the amount of life you gained this turn, up to 10.”

  • Full Throttle: “The same reasons we had for Back in Town apply here. Speed is good, but not that fast.”

    • Before: X is the total power of creatures you control
    • After: X is the total power of creatures you control, up to 15.

“We also want to bring more options to the game, not only by nerfing powerful cards. We selected cards to receive improvements and help shift the meta. We hope this renews deckbuilding ideas and allows more diversity in the matches.”

  • Ashling, Flame Dancer

    • Before: When you cast a Spell card: Ignite 2 gems. Then: If there are 6 or more Ignited gems: Gain 8 mana. When you match one or more Ignited gems: Deal 2 damage to each opposing target. Then: Draw a card.
    • After: When you cast a Spell card: Ignite 3 gems. Then: If there are 4 or more Ignited gems: Gain 10 mana. When you match one or more Ignited gems: Deal 3 damage to each opposing target. Then: Draw a card.

  • Emperor of Bones

    • Before: This creature gets +2/+2. Then: Return the first Skeleton card from your graveyard to your hand.
    • After: This creature gets +5/+5. Then: Return the first card from your graveyard to your hand.

  • Maha, Its Feathers Night

    • Before: At the beginning of your turn: If your opponent controls a reinforced creature or a creature with base toughness 3 or less — All opposing creatures get -3/-3.
    • After: At the beginning of your turn: All opposing creatures get -3/-3.

  • Meathook Massacre II Mana Cost: 23 → 15

  • Realm-Scorcher Hellkite

    • Before: Convert 8 gems to red. When you match red gems: Deal 2 damage to the first opposing creature. If you can’t - Deal 2 damage to your opponent’s planeswalker.
    • After: Convert 12 gems to Red. When you match red gems: Deal 3 damage to the first opposing creature. If you can’t - Deal 3 damage to your opponent’s planeswalker.

  • Worldsoul's Rage Mana Cost: 12 → 8.

  • Scalding Viper

    • Before: When an opponent casts a card that costs 11 or less: Deal X damage to your opponent’s planeswalker. X is equal to 3 plus the number of this creature’s reinforcements.
    • After: When an opponent casts a card that costs 13 or less: Deal X damage to your opponent’s planeswalker. X is equal to 5 plus the number of this creature’s reinforcements.

  • Aetherize Mana Cost: 18 → 12.

  • Fiery Annihilation Mana Cost: 20 → 10.
  • Magmaquake Mana Cost: 8 → 4, Stored Mana Value: 10 → 15.
  • Starwinder Mana Cost: 18 → 14, Warp Cost: 10 → 8.

  • Nowhere to Run

    • Before: At the end of your turn: Each opposing creature loses Hexproof until the beginning of your next turn.
    • After: At the end of your turn: All opposing creatures lose Hexproof.

  • Calamitous Cave-In Mana Cost: 10 → 6.

  • Galvanic Giant

    • Before: When you cast a card with mana value 15 or greater: The opposing creature with the greatest power gains Stun Counter 1.
    • After: When you cast a card with mana value 12 or greater: The opposing creature with the greatest power gains Stun Counter 1.

  • Draconic Roar Mana Cost: 7 → 4.

  • Meltstrider's Gear

    • Before: Your first creature gets +2/+2 and gains Reach until end of turn.
    • After: Your first creature gets +2/+4 and gains Reach until the beginning of your next turn.

  • Tidespout Tyrant: Mana Cost: 21 → 15.

  • Alibou, Ancient Witness: Mana Cost: 20 → 14.
  • Eumidian Wastewaker: Mana Cost: 20 → 16.
  • Ruric Thar, the Unbowed: Mana Cost: 20 → 16.
  • Sandstorm: Mana Cost: 20 → 15.
  • Blind Obedience: Mana Cost: 18 → 13.
  • Depthshaker Titan: Mana Cost: 18 → 10.
  • Planetary Annihilation: Mana Cost: 18 → 12.
  • Priest of the Crossing: Mana Cost: 17 → 9.
  • Borborygmos Enraged: Mana Cost: 16 → 11.
  • Demonfire: Mana Cost: 15 → 6.

Now, we know nobody likes having their favorite cards changed, but we hope that with these, the metagame will be more enjoyable for everybody. Our team wants to hear from you: what do you think about these? And what other cards need some nerf or buff? Let us know in the comments down below!

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Comments

  • GoodVibez
    GoodVibez Posts: 15 Just Dropped In

    Thanks for absolutely ruining this game for me.

    Thanks for making me waste money on cards I would’ve never chased if this was the outcome.

    You guys are truly pieces of garbage and I hope to hell you all go bankrupt and this game fails.

  • Gideon
    Gideon Posts: 363 Mover and Shaker

    Looks like it’s time to bring back not another dime campaign. You’ve taken the fun out of the game.

  • ArielSira
    ArielSira Posts: 582 Critical Contributor

    Some adjustments I can fully understand (Ocelot) even cards I play a lot myself (Rakdos).

    The 1 shield on Aegis is rough as is the gimping of Tempt, but the one that hurts the most is Mystical Teachings. It was a key card to bring down big bosses within a few turns. I appreciate it very much that you added the explanations behind the changes.

  • ertaii
    ertaii Posts: 238 Tile Toppler

    That's a lot of changes... I think only Ocelot needed to be nerfed. The rest I don't like.

  • Tremayne
    Tremayne Posts: 1,772 Chairperson of the Boards

    Thank you for the thoughts behind your changes, that I like. Something had to change and I knew some of your changes would be (very) unpopular.

    However, I don’t understand your change to “requisition raid” (RR), because that card is effectively unchanged. The boon of having RR is board clearing and that effect remains even if I now just have to hit 20 mana and spree 3. My immediate test indicates same-same. White will most likely always play with this card until rotation.

  • wraszowixuXuxi
    wraszowixuXuxi Posts: 97 Match Maker

    Ever just a possibility to change the rarity of a card already in the game? Gonna miss Starseer

    Other than that, I'm mixed on Worldsoul's Rage. In a way it is cool to see it cheaper, but that very same thing faces an issue: it used to cost 12, and was of a few options in Ravnica Block events and others that ask to cast several spells that cast 12 or more. Lots of moving parts to the game, I know, though I may just have to get a feel of what else works in its place, like Slime against Humanity.

    Okay, maybe Req Raid could have just shifted up to 16 mana in the face of Mystical Teachings' change, where RR could still get to cast if one was running Hinata or some other instant cost reducer. Is the meta really gonna change so much that we don't /need/ to be able to get one at a moment's notice? We'll see, but worried that a number might not stick to do so as well

  • Tezzeret
    Tezzeret Posts: 238 Tile Toppler

    Hope you have an iron clad TOS contract.....

  • Tezzeret
    Tezzeret Posts: 238 Tile Toppler

    Found webcores burner account ^^

    Lol JK maynge.

  • Thésée
    Thésée Posts: 242 Tile Toppler

    I'm happy with these changes. I think they were needed to balance the game. I understand some are disappointed but some cards were really too powerful. I've heard newer players telling their disgust after being wrecked by Aegis or Mystical Teachings + Tempt
    I'm surprised Golden Wish or Voltstrider got through this unaffected.

  • Mainloop25
    Mainloop25 Posts: 1,982 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited 9 December 2025, 17:43

    Some of the cards were buffed even more than I expected to see

  • Mainloop25
    Mainloop25 Posts: 1,982 Chairperson of the Boards

    @Dominicus said:
    Cool, been looking for a reason to quit playing, thanks for the push.

    If this is your attitude, you were gonna quit soon anyway

  • Artemis07
    Artemis07 Posts: 5 Just Dropped In

    I understand you're in a tough position WC... You're never going to please everyone... I would understand adjusting mana costs of cards... Or rearranging the rarity level of a card.. but the downgrading of some of these cards we've chased (especially those of us who've paid a lot of money to chase such cards) hurts.

    I'm sure over time, well all get used to these changes and who knows, maybe this rebalancing will grow on me.

    The exclusive cards should definitely not be touched though! Not sure if any were included on that list... Just saying.

    I feel you have been active and trying to make this a better game for us all and I feel you've done better than previous developers... Keep an eye on the player trends and don't waste too much time on the F2P players as they're not helping the game or helping the devs out dinner on their tables!

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