My recent interview with Hearthstone's lead designer, Dean "Ixar" Ayala, was very interesting. However, there was quite a bit of pushback afterwards from players who argued that balanced does not necessarily = fun and that the best decks rely too heavily on "generative effects," or cards that randomly generate other cards. In the case of Mage, many other cards are.

Today, patch notes for some of the nerfs were sneaked out with the news that a Fall Reveal event will be held next week detailing the next content coming this year. The cards affected are some of the most RNG-intensive designs in the game's history.

The following changes will be implemented next week:

EvocationOld: [Cost 1] -> New: [Cost 2]

Astromancer Solarian Old: Solarian Prime [Cost 7] -> New: Solarian Prime [Cost 9]

I don't think there are any surprises in the targeted cards. Evocation is one of the most insane cards in Hearthstone history. Filling your hand with random spells that disappear at the end of the turn unless you cast them, combined with Sorcerer'sApprentice, Evocation allows mage players to "pop" turns like you wouldn't believe, reducing the cost of mana giants (these generated spells, since none of them start in your deck) and provides an important tool for whatever the board state requires. An important point to note with this nerf is that by reducing the mana cost to 2, Evocation will no longer be discovered by Wandmaker or Cobalt Spelkin.

The change to "Solian Elements" is also long overdue, as reflected in the fact that its cost is increased by two mana. The question here is how wide the "high roll" potential of this card is: Solarian Prime casts five completely random mage spells, but the important thing is that it tries to target the enemy whenever possible. If played on a particularly empty board, it can fail, but when played on a contested board, it tends to be incredibly powerful.

In fact, it is not uncommon for "Solaria Prime" to play more than 20 mana's worth of useful spells. These include Flamethrower, Freeze, Force of Creation, and even something as powerful as Yog Salon's Puzzle Box, which allows him to cast 10 more completely random spells. In short, "Solarian" is the kind of card that gives clown festivals a bad name.

After the announcement, Senior Game Designer Alec Dawson explained these nerfs on Twitter. (Along with the interventionist approach to balancing, this is another example of Team 5's more hands-on approach.) The full thread is worth a read. In particular, he hints that some of the less powerful classes (hello, shaman) are being considered with an eye toward future changes.

I hope these nerfs remove some frustration from what I otherwise maintain is a relatively healthy meta. For what it's worth, HSReplay.net's current class power rankings place mages right in the middle. As always, both cards will be eligible for a full refund of dust for two weeks after the balance patch. I have Golden versions of both cards (because I'm a monster), but I honestly don't see myself disenchanting either.