Ahead of the release of the Whispers of the Old Gods Expansion Blizzard announced on its website that some cards will be getting nerfed.

It took much careful consideration to arrive here, but we believe that—between our own analysis and reading plenty of community feedback—we’ve identified the right cards to change.

For those unfamiliar, nerfing is when a card or item is changed in some way to make it less powerful or effective, you see it a lot in CCGs and MMOs.

The reasons for the change is that when new cards are added Blizzard wants them to actually have an impact to the game, as well as shake up the usual deck design. Blizzard also offered reasons why each card was getting changed. Here is the full list of changes.

Ancients of Lore – Decreased “draw a card” to 1.

Reason: So that players feel that there are cards that can compete with it.

Force of Nature – Mana cost decreased  5. Effect Change: summon three 2/2 Treants

Reason: Removes powerful Force of Nature/Savage Roar combo, giving player a chance to deal with the threat.

Keeper Of the Grove – Health decreased 2.

Reason: Adding a card with silence to a deck should require some decision making, so its stats were changed.

Ironbeak Owl – Mana cost increased to 3.

Reason: Ironbeak Owl was a cheap source for silence in a deck, this makes it more costly.

Big Game Hunter – Mana cost increased to 5.

Reason: It was an inexpensive way to remove an enemy that was bundled with a minion.

Hunter’s Mark – Mana cost increased to 1.

Reason: It was an important card that was too efficient for zero mana.

Blade Furry – Mana cost increased to 4. Effect Change: samage now only affects enemy minions.

Reason: It can both clear the board and deal heavy damage, it also an obstacle to adding better cards to a rouge deck.

Knife Juggler – Attack decreased to 2.

Reason: It was too powerful for a cheap minion and changing its attack moves the card into a more specialized role.

Leper Gnome – Attack decreased to 1.

Reason: Leper Gnome was found in almost every aggressive deck. Changing its attack makes other 1-mana minions more compelling.

Arcane Golem – Health increased to 4. Effect Change: charge removed.

Reason: The changes were made to address issues with “one turn kill”  combo decks and the irrelevant drawback with the card.

Molten Giant – Mana cost increased to 25.

Reason: It was too easy to play Molten Giant for free.

Master of Disguise – Effect Change: stealth only lasts until next turn.

Reason: The permanent stealth effect was a design obstacle and removing it opened up more options for future cards.

With all the new cards coming to Hearthstone it looks that Blizzard is trying to encourage player to add them to their decks.

Recently Blizzard made a deal with Apple and the World Wildlife Foundation to sell Khadgar as an iOS exclusive hero for a limited time with all proceeds going to the WWF.

Hearthstone‘s Whispers of the Old Gods Expansion will be out on April 26th for all versions of the game. Right now players can per-purchase a fifty pack bundle from the new expansion and get an exclusive card back.