If you've spent the past few days like me, living on the underside of a rock, you may have missed a very important milestone in Hearthstone - Blizzard officially recognizing how broken Arena currently is. The good news doesn't end there, however, as Hearthstone's next patch is bringing with it a bunch of changes to finally curb the infestation of Mages and Rogues in Arena.
Rather than simply nerf Mage and Rogue, Blizzard has decided to handle this problem with an uncharacteristic amount of grace. A couple of good Mage and Rogue cards will be leaving the Arena format, while a whole ton of incredibly bad cards from other classes will be taking their leave as well, essentially giving the weaker classes a much better chance at drafting useful cards!
Here's the full list of cards leaving the Arena with the next patch:
Mage
• Forgotten Torch
• Snowchugger
• Faceless Summoner
Rogue
• Goblin Auto Barber
• Undercity Valiant
Paladin
• No changes
Shaman
• Vitality Totem
• Dust Devil
• Totemic Might
• Ancestral Healing
• Dunemaul Shaman
• Windspeaker
Warlock
• Anima Golem
• Sacrificial Pact
• Curse of Rafaam
• Sense Demons
• Void Crusher
• Reliquary Seeker
• Succubus
Druid
• Savagery
• Poison Seeds
• Soul of the Forest
• Mark of Nature
• Tree of Life
• Astral Communion
Warrior
• Warsong Commander
• Bolster
• Charge
• Bouncing Blade
• Axe Flinger
• Rampage
• Ogre Warmaul
Hunter
• Starving Buzzard
• Call Pet
• Timber Wolf
• Cobra Shot
• Lock and Load
• Dart Trap
• Snipe
Priest
• Mind Blast
• Shadowbomber
• Lightwell
• Power Word: Glory
• Confuse
• Convert
For the first time since beta I'm actually impressed with the Hearthstone balance team. These changes, while simple on the outset, are the best gift Arena players could've ever wished for. Not only are some of the most problematic cards going away, some of the "noob trap" cards such as Cobra Shot and Call Pet are being scrapped as well, basically ensuring new players get at least a decent deck out of the weaker classes.
Whether this patch will fix Arena or not, I have no idea, but its certainly a step in the right direction and a path I hope Blizzard continues to tread.