Yangzera's Review of the 4.10 Balance Changes

What’s up everyone, Yangzera here to talk about the upcoming 4.10 patch notes. This is the patch in which the World Qualifier Runeterra Open will be played, and we have some very interesting stuff coming up. A few near hits, good changes and some areas lacking touch but overall I’d say it was a good patch. Let’s get to it, shall we?

All images are a courtesy of the LoRReport twitter.

Nerfs

Balen the Benevolent

Balen’s nerf is warranted if you consider Riot’s vision for cards that have “everywhere” buffs not triggering on themselves, except if you’re talking about other copies of it. To me, personally, Balen was(and probably still is) literally better release Poppy, but for formidables, so I think it’s a welcomed change.

Innovative Blacksmith

As I mentioned in the card’s review when it first got released, both Ionian Hookmaster and Wandering Shepherd eventually saw nerfs to their statlines which were very in line with Innovative Blacksmith, so it’s no wonder the card was very, very strong. This won’t kill her, but will definitely impact the decks that really relied on the powerlevel of the card early on in the game.

Warden of the Tribes

It comes as no surprise that Warden of the Tribes got nerfed. There were several ways of nerfing the card, and the team chose a simple revert to its pre-buff state. It’s a light change that will definitely impact its decks, but won’t take it out of the meta. Since overall power level is going down instead of up, there is a chance Warden can still come online in time to close out a game.

Samira

I still need to see level 2 Samira in-game to tell if this kills her or not. If we can’t have multiple Flairs in hand anymore, the poor girl got murdered. If we can have multiple Flairs in hand, then she’s much worse, but not unplayable.

Wildfire

This change is warranted, but I’d like to see it in the next patch and right now a nerf to Rejuvenating Breeze instead. It feels like you just can’t play Wildfire anymore in standard, but just like Warden of the Tribes, power level actually went down, so you might have enough time to kill the opponent.

Exalted Cloudwinder

This is a correct nerf and I’d like to see a tiny bit more to Janna Nilah, but I can accept the way the deck is right now because there are ways to beat it and it looks like they’re getting stronger this patch. Maybe I’m coping here but I believe Janna decks can get hit by the environment around them very easily.

Sting Officer

I saw people saying this change was a buff. It definitely is not a buff, but it’s not a big nerf either. Sting officer, especially on Yuumi decks will put you in a slower clock now, probably one round slower. I can’t tell if this is enough to effectively impact these decks, but it is a step in the right direction.

Runaway Scraptrap and Hextech Handler

Good. Heimer Jayce gets absolutely murdered with this change and I’m glad it’s happening since it’s been around for way too long. Nerfing only Scraptrap wouldn’t really fix a lot of issues with the most aggressive HJ hands, and only hitting Hextech Handler would leave a problem with Scraptrap as a Piltover card, and it would still make Jayce Lux really strong come eternal season.

Swindle

This nerf came a little bit out of the blue and I only see it affecting Samira Fizz decks currently. I don’t mind it, but it really is out of place.

Valley of Imitation

I’d like to see a structural change to this card so it would transform itself into the unit before the unit actually enters play, to avoid “double buffing” scenarios – which in my opinion are the problem with the cards’ interactions – but it would also kill some flavor, so a mana cost increase does delay the deck’s power turns out and is very welcomed since Valley into Nakotak is a pain to deal with.

Beguiling Crobra

Cobra combo is finally dead. It will still hold meme value as you can play the second cobra, but its interaction with Valley of Imitation was killed. It also nerfs other summon interactions, but those weren’t being used before anyway.

Watchful Idol

It’s still a pretty good card, since a 1 mana 2/2 that starts the tentacle going on Illaoi decks is still decent – people are still willing to pay 2 mana for Answered Prayer, so Watchful Idol is still a decent card, it’s just less of a pain to deal with “the Illaoi curve” now.

Pyke

I don’t know if Pyke is the correct choice for a Lurk nerf, if one was even needed. Nevertheless, I can’t deny that lurk’s been popping off recently. If that’s a byproduct of the meta, then the deck is done for. It also sucks for non-lurk decks that use pyke, which weren’t popular, but existed. Still, I don’t think this is a bad change per se.

Buffs

Omen Hawk

Omen hawk now shits on Acorn, the Hextechnician, Teemo, Zoe and Vastayan Disciple. This is a very welcomed buff to anti-elusive tools that don’t feel bad and create engaging games. Any change towards that direction is a very good change.

Wings of the Cryophoenix

This is a pretty good change, and fixes a lot of problems that previous Karma Sett decks with freljord had, but the Coin is not burst speed anymore, so this change comes a little bit late. I don’t think this card is better then say Stormbringer, so I don’t expect it to see play, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.

The Tuskraider

I don’t think you’ll start playing The Tuskraider with Sigil of the Storms but if you actually do, then this buff is pretty good. Otherwise, it’s a direct nerf to Clash of Giants.

Wrath of the Freljord

Now this card feels like it’s playable in the main deck. A “play: Frostbite” has both offensive and defensive uses, so I’m interested to see how this card impacts Volibear builds.

Berserker Ursine

Maybe it would make the card much better if its statline was simply flipped to a 3/5  instead of a 5/3, but the extra point of health is the most important thing, and it’s very welcomed.

Flamecaller Caprine

This is the change I’d like to see to Berserker ursine, but I also love seeing it in the Flamecaller Caprine. Ranger-Knight Defector shows us that 3 health plus tough is already super hard to deal with. Caprine will tax units very easily when it starts forging itself.

Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin

Atakhan is now The Rekindler on steroids, since it’s a win condition on itself and can also revive any ally, not only champions. You could make an argument to slot him into Noxus Freljord builds that want to ramp into titanic units now.

Savage Reckoner

This unit is now decent. It’s not good, but it’s not bad either. This change is relevant for Clash of Giants, since it’s a decent pull off it, but I don’t think it’s enough to be used in the main deck.

Noble Rebel

This is an interesting change. We don’t know if this is what Sion needs, but a challenger unit is really missing since the Twinblade Revenant nerf. I don’t think this will make the cut for Sion in Eternal, but in current standard you have a consideration for it.

Lord Eldred

Lord Eldred basically gained “The Scargrounds”’ text, and I’m here for it. This is a very interesting win condition now, and even better then it was before to pull off of Clash of Giants.

The Clockhand

This just makes the card come from Clash of Giants. It’s not played in Thralls for its statline, but for the effect. There aren’t many good Countdown landmarks in standard to summon with this, but some of them can just be game winning on their own.

Exhaust

Exhaust becomes a combat trick now. It’s a bit better if you’re playing it defensively and gives Shurima access to an extra Spellshield popper if you ever need it. It’s a toss up between Exhaust and Scrying Sands, but these cards are used for their secondary purpose, so you’ll know which one you want to have when in deck building.

Singular Will

I saw some people saying this card was a better The Ruination now and it clearly shows they haven’t played the card yet. Getting a mana discount is very nice, since you can play it on round 6 now, but you still have the problem of needing an ally on board to play it. If your selected ally is removed, the spell will still go off, but needing something on board to be able to play this is a real cost that should be considered.

Ahri

Ahri’s quest completing earlier is definitely a response to Homecoming rotating out of standard, but her problem still is being a 2-health unit. This band-aid solution doesn’t fix Ahri, but at least she’s not the worst thing in the world anymore.

Children of the Forest

This change was probably made with the cases when you generate it mid game in mind. It’s a playable card now, and you still only want to generate it. Seraphine Ionia decks will stick to one of each Retreat and Tag Out!, saving Children of the Forest for random generators like Seraphine herself and Sputtering Songspinner. Karma decks are already on triple Tag Out!, and I don’t think there’s room for a fourth recall.

The Zaun Diva

Much like The Clock Hand, she will only show up in Clash of Giants now due to the new statline. That’s a direct nerf to the spell since her effect is a play effect and you really don’t want the vanilla body to come out of it.

Consult the Heavens

This card needs testing to know if it’s actually decent or not. My bet is that it’s only going to be relevant on Eternal decks like Soraka Tahm Kench, and not really good in Standard.

Generous Gemcrafter

I think this change is very good and helps the gemcrafter actually block when you really need her to. I’d like to see the same change in Valhir's Prophet.

Brash Gambler

This. No further comment.

Megatusk

As much as I don’t think this is a super big change, Megatusk being able to block more safely before you go Deep is a nice thing for Deep’s curve – you’re not obligated to slam Maokai every single time anymore.

The King’s Court

I find it amazing that Legends of Runeterra created its own meme of “boats draw champions”. Now Jack’s boat draws Jack. And before we start the talk about boats and submarines, just remember that the Demacian King Jarvan III is also a boat. Even though he’s a human. But he’s also a boat. A human boat.

Mad Ol’ Babs

Babs now keeps her base statline but gains a mana gem back. This is relevant for Coin plays, which further grow her. I don’t think this is enough to make her see relevant play, but it’s a very nice QoL change.

Mako and Bull

I really like this change and think they should have been this way from the beginning. Now cloning plays feel much better, as you can for example Iterative Improvement one of them into the other and have the chain happen earlier. This is more relevant for Condense plays, but there is now an extra incentive to try this strategy out.

Liminal Guardian

+1 attack feels very nice for Liminal Guardian as long as its health stays the same. Generally you don’t want to play Nine Lives in the main deck, and this improves the cases where it’s generated.

Yordle Explorer

As long as the health isn’t going into what he’s buffing, I’m fine with explorer having a bit more health as a backrow engine.

Shark Trainer

This is now a much better hit off of Bandle City Mayor, and doesn’t punish you for curving out and saving mana for tricks anymore. Very good change for a card that sees play in Bandle City through being a very good card to generate.

Haunted Tomb

I haven’t figured out what you want to revive with this yet, but there’s maybe some play with the card. Costing less unit mana may enable a few plays but we have yet to figure out.

Harrowing Return

This is a lot like Haunted Tomb, but you can definitely work around it. Granting the unit fearsome on top of mass reducing attack can lead to some good finishers, whereas Haunted Tomb will only revive a plain copy of said ally.

Teemo

Teemo’s change is mostly related to The Path of Champions and The Howling Abyss when we get back to Eternal. It makes generating a level 2 Teemo feel much better since it’s not a vanilla 2/2 anymore.

Kayn’s Shadowstep

Perhaps the biggest change of the patch, Kayn gains an easy way to level up the same round as he comes down on the board. Not only it’s pretty easy to have double Kayn in hand due to its origin, his champion spell is incredibly broken since you can cast it first before attacking, as the Quick Attack lingers and will make him level up on the second strike before being struck back, like Katarina would. Great change that will definitely make him see play.

Portal Pioneer

I even mentioned on my review of the explorer cards that this little fella would make good use of the Yordle tag and it’s finally got it. It’s not a night and day difference, but it is a welcomed change nonetheless.

Called Shot

People were really worried about this change especially since it’s a card you can slot into Janna Nilah which went pretty much untouched this patch, but I’m here to say it’s not super duper relevant of a change anyway. You are mostly gaining one action turn when casting this, and it’s not like you will combo it to play the Parallel Convergence instantly. Sure, there are some cases where you can Called Shot into a lucky Slipstream and get the Convergence in one action, but it’s not nearly as impactful as people might think it is especially because the Focus speed nature prevents you from using this in the middle of the spell stack.