Here is my opinion and reasoning on every card getting a balance change in the upcoming update. (WARNING: This is LONG, do not continue if you don’t care about other people’s opinions, don’t have time, or want to nerf Wizard!)
Buffs:
Monk: I personally think this change is pretty good, it’s a nice compensation for the prior elixir change and an alternative to the 4 elixir card, 2 elixir ability thing people have been suggesting.
Firecracker: I disagree with this change because the Firecracker will just be even more annoying by potentially getting a hit on the tower after getting logged or zapped (before crossing the bridge). This is a free 300 or so damage. Instead, I would make it attack only 0.2 seconds quicker on the first attack. It’s still a much needed buff, but it isn’t too much to make it even more annoying then it can already be.
Archers: I disagree with this change as well because they already have fairly high DPS and this buff will make them seriously outclass other cards of the same nature like Firecracker. Instead, I would make them attack only 0.1 seconds faster. This is still a buff, but not quite enough to make them seriously outclass any other cards. Instead, they will become another reliable option to consider for anti air in other decks that don’t include just Xbow.
Knight: Now this is where no one will agree with me, I don’t think Knight needs this 6% health buff at all. The Knight is already a well used card, spanning multiple successful decks such as Xbow, Mortar, and Logbait. Even with Valk outclassing it easily, I would advocate for a Valk nerf instead of a Knight buff. Keep the Knight good stats for the cost and not great stats for the cost.
Goblin Giant: Yes, just yes. Underused? Check. Outclassed? Check. Fairly unsuccessful? Check. Great buff!
Nerfs:
Rocket: I really love this very specific, but much needed change due to the extreme amount of rocket cycle present in the meta during this season. From Miner cycle decks to Logbait and Xbow, everywhere you look at least one version of every popular meta deck (besides Graveyard and RG) has Rocket in there almost solely for spell cycling until you win. This change will take away some of that power will give other big spells like Poison and Lightning a chance to be in these cycle decks more often (other than Miner with Poison) and will make Rocket a much more fair and balanced card overall. It might also encourage these players to use Rocket what it was really supposed to do, take out giant pushes and gain a giant positive elixir trade because of it.
Tornado: This change is easily the most mediocre and confusing change on this list in my opinion. We all know Tornado has been extremely great for over 2 years now since that old rework and a 6% damage nerf won’t really do anything to stop it. It might even be a buff since you can now have a maxed Tornado that can also activate king tower with Graveyard, giving you a huge advantage for that matchup. Instead, I would propose making the pull strength weaker or giving it a smaller radius. Maybe make it so you can only activate king tower if the Hog Rider gets a hit first or cause the synergy with Golden Knight to weaken because of a smaller radius.
Archer Queen: I actually think this change is pretty good. Reducing the first attack time will not only technically reduce the Queen’s DPS, (which is always a plus) but also make it so dropping a mini tank on top of her safer since the mini tank’s health will deplete slower, causing her to be countered easier. This could also help with the times where she just barely survives a Fireball Zap and gets 1 hit on the tower right before dying. So all and all, good change.
Phoenix: I think this is a really good change for the Phoenix. The Phoenix has remained extremely amazing even after 3 nerfs and continues to find heavy success and use rates throughout all archetypes. Even cycle in some cases. This is very unhealthy for the game and that’s why I think making the reborn Phoenix’s health and damage 20% less is a great change. With this change decks like Elixir Golem/Golem Phoenix will be more manageable and lead to large pushes that don’t seem as impossible to overcome regardless of the style of deck you are running. After this nerf I think it will start to finally begin the process of settling into a fairly balanced state and start to become an alternative to the Mega Minion instead of directly and seriously outclassing it in every way possible.
Those were my opinions on every new balance change for season 44. If you agree, cool. If you don’t, cool. As long as we all work together, we can make balance changes that will truly become E P I C.