Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Hearthstone is nerfing some of its oldest cards

What the hex.

Some of Hearthstone's oldest, most-used cards will be nerfed in a new patch due in the near future.

Fiery War Axe is a great turn two weapon - but will now be raised to three mana cost.

Update 9.1 will raise the mana cost (by one) of the Warrior's stalwart Fiery War Axe weapon and the Shaman's powerful Hex spell.

Druid spell Innervate will now only grant one extra mana crystal when played, while neutral minion Murloc Warleader will no longer buff the health of other murlocs as well as their attack.

These cards have been part of Hearthstone since the game's launch - and their longstanding nature is part of the reason why they have been tweaked and not retired, as others have.

New card Spreading Plague, a Druid spell, has also been hit - and its mana raised.

Hearthstone developer Blizzard has published a thoughtful blog post which goes into detail on all of the changes:

"While they can be regarded as staples in those classes' card repertoires, too many Basic and Classic cards played in individual decks means less fun when new expansions are released," Blizzard wrote.

"Cards in the Basic set serve several purposes in the game, so we would rather make balance adjustments to them instead of moving them to the Hall of Fame, like we have done for cards in the Classic set. We are also trying to limit Hall of Fame changes to the start of each Hearthstone Year, which is why Murloc Warleader - a Classic card - is receiving a balance change instead."