The Diamond Drek’Thar card already had Hearthstone fans slightly irritated when they found out its price point was $25. Now, the card was purchasable for in-game gold but the cost of buying it without using real money was equivalent to buying 30 packs of Hearthstone cards. Some fans found this ridiculous while others thought it was a good thing for people to save gold for it if they wanted. Now, Blizzard is looking to nerf the card, making the Diamond version of it seem even more overpriced.
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Previously, Drek’Thar could summon two cards from a player’s deck and place them onto the battlefield. This made it one of the stronger Shaman cards to come out of Fractured in Alterac Valley. Now though, the card can only summon one minion, rendering it much less useful to players. However, Blizzard is not leaving those who have bought a Diamond Drek’Thar feeling as though they’ve been robbed.
The publisher is giving owners of the Drek’Thar Diamond card 3,000 gold when they next log in to Hearthstone. This is the full in-game cost of Drek’Thar, essentially giving a full refund for those who bought it. Owners of Diamond Drek’Thar will also get to keep the card alongside the refund, meaning that should Drek’Thar return to the meta their Diamond card is still useable. Moreover, players can turn their Drek’Thar into dust to create new cards if they feel like the Diamond card is truly unplayable now.
Nerfs have been part of Hearthstone’s history since it was in its alpha stage. Blizzard has consistently made changes to Hearthstone cards that dominated the meta, such as the Old God Yogg-Saron back in 2016. More recently, Hearthstone’s nerfs have become more common as Blizzard releases more consistent patches for the game. Often, these nerfs will change the existing meta to remove its strongest decks and cards, allowing space for a new meta to form.
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