March 2026 - Balance Dev Blog
Hello friends!
The March release is almost upon us, with Homefront – Early War planned to land on the 10th. Usually we have a small balance patch in these releases and this one is no exception. Overall we feel that the current game meta is in a decent place, of course some decks are performing better than others, but we have a nice variety of top performing decks, from aggressive decks like Brewsters and various flavors of Jaggro to slower decks like Soviet value and assortment of German based control. A step below we find solid decks like Navy Burn and Soup. In short, there are no huge red flags – there are no cards or decks that are notable outliers performance wise.
It is always good to shake up things a little bit though, so we are making a few strategic changes. Some might argue that more should be done, but we must always be cautious with nerfs. Heavy nerfs may result in a fun new environment for some veteran players to explore, but they also cause grief for many of our newer players having to scrap their hard-earned decks and start from scratch again. So we are stepping cautiously with what we are changing.
A portion of the changes this time around are also tied to the upcoming changes to the rotation system. While we will dive into the details of these changes after the March release, the short version is that as part of the change to the new rotation system, we are expanding the pool of cards that will not leave the active pool (currently these consist of all the cards in the starter and level 12 decks). This is to make sure that each nation (including the minor nations) has a solid core selection of cards available to them in the future. It is important that these cards are neither too strong nor too weak, so we are taking the opportunity now to tweak a few of them with the upcoming changes to the rotation system happening later this year in mind.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at what is changing, starting as always with the nerfs:
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[h2]Nerfs[/h2]
[h3]CROSSFIRE[/h3]
One would have to be severely cross-eyed to have missed the impact of Crossfire since its inauguration in Blood & Iron. We’ve seen thousands of players getting so cross at having their board wiped that they fired an angry message in our direction. It is the best anti-aggro tool on the market, so its cost going from 4 to 5 is bound to have a big impact on the viability of many aggressive strategies. Perhaps this nerf means the card will now be crossed off all meta deck lists, but if that happens, it is just a cross we have to bear. We hope this journey across cross-related puns has you fired up.
[h3]99th KHOLM[/h3]
Kholm has been the go-to aggro unit for the past few months. This is mainly due to being able to trump the ubiquitous 15th Cavalry Regiment and Panzer 35t units. Well, now that no longer applies, so expect the Kholm stock to crash heavily. The unit still has a decent body for its cost, but the early game of aggro is a game of inches and small margins, and the loss of a single defense will be sorely felt. While we weep the loss of this iconic unit, we should also rejoice on behalf of all the small units that now finally have breathing room again.
[h3]PB2Y CORONADO[/h3]
The Brewster decks are among the best in the game at the moment, and the Coronado has been a crown jewel in many of them. It can attack from many angles and is amazingly resilient. Despite its strong performance, we did not feel it needed a heavy nerf. The Coronado keeps its most important ability - spawning a Brewster when drawn - so it is still very much viable. The main difference now that it costs 4 kredits to deploy is that it is less likely to be used for an explosive burst in the mid-game.
[h3]CYCLONE DIVISION[/h3]
The Cyclone Division cycled out of meta relevance months ago, so what is it doing in the nerf section? Well, it comes down to what was mentioned above regarding the changes to the rotation system. Cards that are going to be a permanent part of the active pool cannot be too oppressive, and in the right environment and with the right support, the Cyclone can be quite the menace. So we are pre-emptively nerfing its stats to 7/7 (Veteran side as well).
[h3]Ki-61-I-TEI[/h3]
Old: Destruction: Deal 3 damage to the enemy HQ, give yours +3 defense.
New: Destruction: Deal 2 damage to the enemy HQ, give yours +2 defense.
The final card seeing a nerf is the Ki-61-I-TEI. One of the best cards to come out of Homefront, the vacuum left by the Shiden being reserved ages ago, has finally been filled. Filled a bit too well if anything; the destruction effect on top of the big blitz fighter stats created a bit too much inevitability, so we are tuning the destruction effect down slightly.
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[h2]Buffs[/h2]
[h3]MOSQUITO B Mk IV[/h3]
Britain is the least played major nation, though they have improved a bit over the last year. Still, the only really viable British decks are variations on Buffs. We feel there is room to push slower British strategies a bit, hence this improvement to the Mosquito bomber. The fighter variant stays the same, but the bomber variant packing a bigger punch certainly makes it more attractive.
[h3]FLAMMPANZER[/h3]
The ol’ Flammpanzer used to be the bane of aggressive decks back in the day, even after eating a nerf. Its best days have long since passed, but we want to rekindle the old flame. Now that it has an attack of 4, it can also fit into the 4-attack matters strategy, making it a lot more useful in general. Let’s see if people are burning to run this old favorite again.
[h3]152mm HOWITZER GUN[/h3]
This is another change specifically being made because this card is to become part of the permanent pool. It has never seen much play, but it does touch upon several strategies the Soviets have employed from time to time, namely artillery and self-damage. The more aggressive stats the unit now has certainly make it a more attractive proposition the next time these archetypes rear their heads.
[h3]JUNGLE WARFARE[/h3]
At 5k we rarely saw any rumble in the jungle with this card, but a 20% discount makes rumbling a lot more enticing. The power level is certainly there in the right setup, and with the destruction support in Homefront and Early War, Jungle Warfare may certainly be on the menu.
[h3]114th INFANTRY REGIMENT[/h3]
Speaking of destruction effects, for destruction-based decks, the 114th Infantry Regiment has always been the elephant missing from the room. Now that it has a bigger backside, it has a better chance of staying in the room for longer to wreak its destructive power.
[h3]BANZAI[/h3]
Old: Destroy all ground units with 4 attack or less. End your turn.
New: Destroy all units with 4 attack or less. End your turn.
Players have been very shy in charging into battles with Banzai as part of their repertoire, but the card has still been on the verge of playability for the longest time. We want to give it a gentle nudge forward so that it will enter the danger zone more often, and a reduction in cost and broadening the scope of what it can affect should do the trick.
[h3]FRENCH 75[/h3]
Old: If the enemy controls the frontline, this unit can only attack units there.
New: The first unit you deploy each turn gets +1+1.
French cards have had a good success rate in finding their way into meta-relevant decks. French 75 is not one of them. While it has decent stats for an artillery, its debilitating ability has no fit with existing French strategies, not to mention removing the whole raison d’être for artillery. The new version fits better into what France is about, and while it hits less hard now, it also has better staying power.
That is all for this balance patch. Look out for the full patch notes coming along with the release on the 10th of March. It is likely we will have another balance patch between now and the summer expansion, where we will continue to massage cards in preparation for the rotation changes happening this year. Of course we will also continue to monitor the meta as well, with special attention on cards that are impacting it heavily, such as Buffs and 106th Infantry Regiment, to name a couple. Depending on how things develop over the next few weeks, we may drop the ax on some of those cards, though it is too soon to tell. In the meantime, enjoy all that is coming with the March release and we will see you on the battlefield, commanders!
