Hearthstone’s big nerfs are live after a messy tournament

A little less than two weeks after announcing them, Hearthstone’s nerfs for powerful cards like Spreading Plague, Innervate, and Fiery War Axe are here. Why the wait? Well, Blizzard didn’t want to disrupt Hearthstone’s current meta before the 2017 HCT (Hearthstone Championship Tour) Americas Summer Playoffs, which took place this past weekend. Unfortunately, that competition had its own problems.

During the event, competitors had to deal with instances of disconnections and a laptop that froze (one that Blizzard provided) ending games prematurely. When that happens, you have to restart the game. So if you were winning, but your laptop froze and you then had to restart and lost the rematch, well … tough luck. That’s exactly what happened to Hearthstone pro Luker, who was competing at the event.