Original Post — Direct link

I'm still not bored of doing these. I really like the fact the meta is shifting and becoming more diverse. New viable appeared, such as Wall Breakers cycle, and some underused cards (mainly Bomb Tower) finally found some use. I just want to share my suggestions on how to balance certain cards. As always, share your thoughts

TL;DR Looking at Wall Breakers, Goblin Hut, Guards etc.

Buffs

Fire Spirits - troop count 3 -> 4, damage -3.5% (cards affected by the change: Furnace)

I find this card very fun to use and think it'd be viable if it had a bit more diversity. This change would allow to split them 2:2, allowing to pressure both Princess Towers evenly or forcing the opponent to commit on them rushing at one tower for significant damage. In return, they lose a bit of damage (still enough to fully counter Flying Machine)

Witch - initial attack speed 0.35s faster

Not so long ago, we all played a game called Witch Royale (how good it's back to normal now). Since the nerfs, Witch remains at the bottom 5 cards in terms of win rates in GC's and top ladder. Her initial attack speed is an issue for a lot of players, just like with Zappies. Making her first attacks faster will pull her a bit closer to viability and her original form

Guards - hitpoints +15% (90 -> 103)

This change is smaller than it looks, and is only to change one thing - Arrows killing them. They used to be spell-proof, which made them a unique swarm card. Now it's limited due to Arrows being meta. As Arrows deal 101 damage per wave at Tournament Standard, this leaves them with a sliver of health to defend building-targetting units for example without nerfing Arrows directly

Nerfs

Valkyrie - hitpoints -3% (1654 -> 1615)

This card has been meta since October, even after the huge falls in use of Elixir Golem and Witch. This tiny HP reduction will make it equal with Prince, allowing to kill her a little quicker

Wall Breakers - impact explosion speed 0.2s -> 0.4s

The nerf Wall Breakers received in November was sizeable, yet they are second strongest win condition in the game. This small impact-explosion delay will make them a little less punishing, still allowing both to connect to the tower and helping offset Miner's usage

Reworks

Elite Barbarians - hitpoints +8% (970 -> 1055), damage +21% (301 -> 366), hit speed 1.7s -> 1.9s, initial attack speed 0.35s faster, sight range 5.5 tiles -> 7 tiles, mass +50% (4 -> 6), movement speed Very Fast -> Fast; overall change: positive

That's a lot of changes to take in and something different than I proposed before. This set of changes changes a couple of things:

  • Turns Elite Barbarians to primarly defensive/counterpush units - giving them a specific role
  • Allows a single Elite Barbarian to 2-shot Hunter, Royal Hog and Witch (beneficial for the card as a whole, which would obliterate these units right after deploying); 3-shot Executioner, Lumberjack, Miner, Royal Ghost, Ice Golem or another Elite Barbarian
  • Makes them easier to kite and push other units with, allowing for more counterplay and neat tricks

Goblin Hut - spawns two spear goblins and one goblin at a time, spawn speed 4.5s -> 10s; overall change: positive

Though the card can be as annoying as Furnace if the buffs to it go overboard, it's been weak for a long time and is a buff candidate. Spawning both types of goblins at once would provide a good combination of melee & ranged units for defense and be more threatening on offense, especially if paired with another unit(s)

External link →
about 4 years ago - /u/Supercell-Seth - Direct link

You know, the hardest part about reworking EBarbs is that EB players just love them the way they are. Every time we survey EBarb players about reducing their Speed in exchange for stats, the response is universally "I like them because they are fast and people can't react to them in time". Unlike players of other weak cards, who understand there may be a trade-off to be overall better, EBarb players seem pretty locked onto the Speed as a must-keep part of the card.