These balance changes aim at all the right cards, but several of these changes don’t address the actual problems these cards face.
Evolution Knight’s damage output is virtually irrelevant to how the card functions, the reason this card is too strong is because of his massive HP pool and damage resistance and he will remain at the top of the game until that tankiness is reduced.
Little Prince is a solid change but more needs to be done. Currently LP is a jack of all trades, master of everything. He’s a 3 elixir card that survives fireball (eat your heart out ice wiz) and puts out massive damage especially when staying stationary. His 3 elixir ability summons damage and knockback greater than a Log and spawns a unit equivalent to a knight in front to tank for what should be a fragile card. This laundry list of amazing abilities will continue to keep little prince broken post patch. This card needs to die to fireball, or have it’s ability nerfed heavily either by reducing the stats of the guardian or by taking away the massive knockback.
Royal Recruits are one of the better nerfs, but I still find one of their primary issues is how quickly they can charge. 1.5 tiles before charge is borderline unstoppable in some cases, and I think nerfing it to 2.5 or even just 2 tiles would help address this cards overwhelming offensive prowess.
Goblin Giant is a good change. It was only on the cusp of nerf worthy and I think a 3% reduction is completely fair. It will keep the card strong but not as overwhelming anymore.
Evolution Bomber may genuinely gain from the nerf. Reducing its range means it will activate king tower less if at all post nerf. This one is one we’ll have to wait and see on, because if it’s still easy to hit the tower with 2 bomb bounces this card will still be ridiculous. I think a better nerf would be adding a condition that one bomb cannot deal damage to the same target twice, but if this nerf accomplishes that in its own way then I’ll be happy.
Evolution Ice spirit might be a decent change? The problem is the effect of freezing something for a little longer is no where near as strong as the effects of other cheap evolutions like skeletons or bats. I would honestly say that this card could place 4 or even 5 freezing pulses on a target and still be balanced.
Evolution Valkyrie is a great change. This card was dying way too quick, especially since it pulls threats towards itself. I’m hoping +15% hp will be enough to make this card more viable.
Magic Archer is another great change. This card got absolutely butchered about a year or so ago when it’s first hit speed got nerfed. This buff won’t bring it back to its former speed but makes it usable enough to hopefully compete with cards like evolution firecracker and bomber.
Pekka range buff seems good, but I don’t know if it addresses the problems this card has. My understanding is that this card is a massively threatening, but easily distracted damage sponge. It’s 7 elixir cost makes me think it should be used to counter push, but Pekka doesn’t do enough to defend to make it actually worth playing. This range buff I think will help it, but a hit speed or damage buff may also be necessary before this card sees serious play.
Golden Knight desperately needs help right now, his unreliable 11 second dash definitely makes him the worst champion in the game. This new 7 second dash will make him much stronger, you can use 2 dashes almost every time you play him now, but I think a better change would be giving his old dash sight range back to improve its reliability.
Monk buff is good, he’s also one of the worst champions in the game. Increased health will be good for him but I don’t think it’ll be enough for him to see play over other champs like Mighty Miner or Skeleton King if you’re looking for a tanky champion.
Goblin Drill will hopefully be a good change. It seems to make it both stronger as a chip damage tool with the faster goblin spawn, and stronger if left completely uncountered since it’s increased duration may spawn another goblin. However this is counter balanced by reducing the drill’s hp, meaning it will be dealt with by your opponent faster than before. Overall a very interesting change, and I’m excited to play more Goblin Drill again after the patch.
Overall only 4 - 5 of these changes will actually make a difference to how these cards affect the current meta. While they have their marks set on the right cards, a good majority of these changes don’t actually get to the root of the issues these cards have. Not to mention some of the cards left out by this patch like bomb tower, evolution skeletons and bats, graveyard, and bowler. Let’s hope next patch actually deals with all of these cards in ways that affect the game.