Patch notes
Alpha Patch 001
I'm cyberbabyangel and I'm thrilled to kick of the first of many chapters of Tales of Ember. First our first ever balance patch, we have twenty-five targeted constructed changes covering units, spells, and even a hero power, as well as the first batch of draft refinements to curb some overpowered boons and fix some unintended issues with events.
Some longstanding power outliers are getting cut back a bit, and a few cards that have never seen competitive play are getting new life! On top of that we're reworking Brock's hero power in a way that should hopefully be a nice balance between playable and healthy.
We'll be watching how it shakes out and we'll follow up if something ends up too strong or too weak. As always, please share your feedback in discord and let us know what you think!
Emberdance (Brock)
buffHero Power- Cost
was 1→0- Other
- Escalating cost
- Was
- Your hero gains +1 Attack this turn, plus 1 more for every two ally units.
- Now
- Your hero gains +1 Attack this turn, plus 1 more for every two ally units. Costs 1 more for each time you have used it this game.
Kind of a hard one to balance - at 0c 3 charges fox was an absolute menace, but at 1c 3 charges hes virtually unplayable. This is most likely a temporary fix to make him playable again pending a bigger rework, but our goal for this patch is to bring previously unplayable cards and heroes up to the level of the other decks
Archive Raider
buff- Was
- Summon: Dust ten cards from your deck and give your hero +10 health.
- Now
- Summon: Dust fifteen spells from your deck. Your hero gains +1 health for each one dusted.
We wanted to revive the spirit of the old Naka-Mask decks, however we recognize that it was a bit too strong and consistent before, so for now we will cap it to dusting 20 spells to be slightly less consistent but hopefully still playable
Boneyard Bandit
nerf- Health
was 3→2
Small nerf to an overstatted AGY unit
Chatterbox
nerf- Attachment
was Thornbound Sigil→No attachment
- Was
- The first time this unit gains Attack each turn, another random ally unit gains that much Attack.
- Now
- Whenever another unit gains Attack, this unit gains +1 Attack.
Finally nerfing the most broken 1-drop in the game, need I say more?
Code Cracker
nerf- Attachment
was Astral Sigil→No attachment
minor nerf targeting mai specifically to deny some of the benefit of vile vials from barrier
Hot Head
nerf- Power
was 2→1- Health
was 4→3
small nerf to a significant overperformer. My philosophy is that a 2drop should not be outputting 8+ damage (wither no less) just to remove it
Ironsworn Surgeon
nerf- Was
- Lifesteal Sunset: Add a Guild Hand to your hand, and all your Guild Hands gain Lifesteal.
- Now
- Lifesteal Death: Add a Guild Hand to your hand, and all your Guild Hands gain Lifesteal.
Nerfing a longtime overperformer. Medic can easily turn into an unanswerable value engine that runs away with the game, so now instead of being continuous value generation engine it’s a strong but answerable effect.
Nightshade
buff- Cost
was 6→4- Power
was 2→1- Health
was 6→3
Reducing the cost from 6 to 3 and also reducing (but in a sense buffing) the stats. Now this should be more in line with comparable 4 drops
Pallbearer
nerf- Was
- The first time one of your units dies each turn, draw your lowest-cost Dark card.
- Now
- The first time one of your units dies on your turn, draw your lowest-cost Dark card.
Much needed nerf to the best 3-drop in the game so that it now only triggers on your turn.
Patient Mentor
nerf- Health
was 5→4
Slight stat nerf to a major STR overperformer
Spitfire
nerf- Power
was 2→1
Slight nerf to an overperformer to be more in line with our expectations of a 1 drop.
Suspicious Sentry
buff- Was
- Guard Whenever another unit is summoned, on either side, attach Cyclone Brand to it.
- Now
- Guard Whenever an enemy unit is summoned, attach Cyclone Brand to it.
This has always been a potentially valuable but generally unplayable card, as it attaches silence to your own units. I think this unit will be quite strong now that it no longer has this downside
Trophy Hunter
rework- Health
was 6→4- Traits
was Dash→Dash, Shield
- Was
- Dash Slay: Add a base copy of the slain unit to your hand.
- Now
- Dash, Shield Slay: Add a base copy of the slain unit to your hand.
Minor buff to a seemingly powerful but difficult to balance unit by adding Shield and reducing the health by 1
Undertaker
buff- Cost
was 8→6- Power
was 5→4- Health
was 5→4
Reducing the cost of a unti with a strong but previously unplayable effect. Given that this is a significant reduction in cost, we will monitor this card closely
Vivisector
nerf- Health
was 4→3
Health reduced from 4 to 3.
Aftershock
nerf- Was
- Give a target ally unit Guard, then deal damage equal to its Power to all enemy units.
- Now
- Give a target ally unit Guard, then deal damage equal to its Power to all units.
Much needed nerf and reversion to previous form to a borderline broken removal spell
Fire Away
nerf- Was
- Cast six Singes at random enemy units. If the enemy has no units, add all six to your hand instead.
- Now
- Cast six Singes at random enemy units. Dust any extras.
Small nerf to a VERY strong card, effectively giving the user the ability to turn it into 12 direct hero damage if there are no units on the board, so we're removing that use case as that was not the intended use case (we feel)
Odd Lot
buff- Cost
was 4→3
Previous devs gave this an embarrasingly bad cost nerf, so we're happily reverting this
On a Roll
buff- Cost
was 3→2
Ive always wanted this card to be strong but its always fallen just a bit short of playable, so reducing the cost by 1 should put it strongly in contention
Perfect Storm
nerf- Was
- Deal 3 damage to all enemies, plus 1 more for each other Water spell you cast this turn.
- Now
- Deal 3 damage to all enemies, plus 1 more for each other Water spell you cast this turn. Dust this spell.
Dusts itself when played, so it cannot be returned or recast from the graveyard.
Pushing Daisies
buff- Was
- Draw and summon a unit with cost equal to your highest-cost dead unit. It gains Guard and a Sunburst Sigil.
- Now
- Draw and summon two units with cost equal to your highest-cost dead unit minus 2 and give them Guard.
Buffing an unplayable card to bring more fun support the gravedigger archetype that has lately been replaced by more midrange strategies
Sell Out
nerf- Was
- Play: Deal 2 damage to a target ally. Add two Bad Medicines to your hand. Slay: Add a third instead.
- Now
- Play: Deal 2 damage to a target ally. Add two Bad Medicines to your hand.
Removing the slay condition to evaluate the power of the card without it. Seems to be an incredibly strong ability and enabler for a variety of graveyard strategies and can give overwhelming card advantage for very little downside
Steel Resolve
buff- Was
- Give your hero Armor.
- Now
- Costs 1 less for each spell in your graveyard, or 20 less if your deck is empty. Give your hero Armor and Banner.
Another triumphant return to form, except this time we're enabling multiple ways of unlocking this card's potential so it's not locked into one deck archetpye.
Stormdrake's Descent
buff- Cost
was 10→8
- Was
- Draw and summon a unit. Deal damage equal to its Power to all enemy units.
- Now
- Summon the highest-Power unit from your hand and give it Dash.
Reverting this to its former glory, this previous rework to the card made a not even that good card into completely unplayable garbage, so consider this a repair job
Strength in Numbers
nerf- Was
- Play: Give your units +3/+3.
- Now
- Play: Give your units +3/+1.
Finally giving one of the strongest cards in the game a much needed nerf. We will potentially rework it in the future, but for now we will see if this nerf is appropriate
Ember Draft: Balance Update
This one is mostly about boons. Two of them were doing too much for free every turn, so they're gone, and seven new ones are joining the pool. We also reined in a few events and fixed some bugs.
Instant Replay
removedCopying a cheap spell every single turn was a free card's worth of value with no real cost, and spell decks that found it ran away with games.
Safe and Sound
removedA free shield every turn, with no cap, made some boards close to unkillable. It could also land on your hero and knock off an attachment you wanted to keep, which felt bad even for the player holding it.
Available at both boon picks
Close Call
newThe first time your hero drops to half health or less, draw two cards.
Fighting Words
newAfter you play your first spell each turn, your hero gets +1 power this turn.
Keep Watch
newEnd Turn: A random ally unit without Guard gains Guard until your next turn.
Second Helping
newAfter you play your second spell each turn, draw a card.
Available at the second boon pick only
Dirty Work
newThe first time each turn your hero kills a unit in combat, draw a card.
Table Scraps
newWhen the first ally unit dies each turn, a random ally unit gains +1/+1.
Three's Company
newAfter you play your third card in a turn, draw a card.
Fresh Coat
nerfNo longer repaints your whole deck. It now repaints up to 2 cards to an element of your choice, then gives a random card of that element -1 cost.
Painting everything in one click made the other Paint events pointless.
Pot Luck
buffNow gives the replacement card -1 cost.
It was the weakest of the swap events, and a random card should come with something for the risk.
Mark Down
nerfNo longer shows up at the first Bazaar.
With only 8 cards in your deck, "2 random spells" usually meant the only 2 spells you had.
Sleep On It
fixTaking Sleep On It twice in one run no longer gives you the second discount for free.
Final Cut
fixRunning out of time on the final cut will no longer auto-remove Deep Breath, Wind Up, or Pep Talk from your deck.
Bundle Up
fixBundle Up no longer lets you pick an element you have no spells for.
Tell us how it plays
Balance feedback goes straight to the team on Discord.
