Patch notes

29 points in patch. 2, which will be released later today, includes significant updates for Battlegrounds and Hearthstone.

News about Hearthstone.

Developer Comment: While we did hit a few power outliers, this patch is a little different from our typical balance patches in that it addresses the overall design direction of the game rather than specific power outliers. Currently, there are many cards that have the ability to take away player agency and increase the game’s power level above what we would like for a 4-set meta. Within this patch, we’ll examine a range of these meta-defining cards, from OTK-style cards to potent AoE effects that effectively negate the impact of your minions.

Part of what makes Hearthstone so great is that there will always be cool, dreamy cards. However, there are also cards in Hearthstone that are occasionally disproportionately more fun to play with than against. In particular, if these cards lead to metagames where player agency is diminished, we do not want these cards to comprise the most potent and common archetypes in the game.

This patch contains changes in a few different categories. The first are cards that, if played at the appropriate moment, have the ability to quickly end the game and can change the course of the entire match. Another subsection of this is No Duplicate cards. Although drawing your deck to avoid these cards’ drawbacks is an intriguing challenge in deck building, it has largely resulted in turbo-draw decks that are less interactive and do not adhere to the spirit of these cards.

Hard, uncapped board clears make up the second category. Although we have created and will continue to create AoE effects, minion-based strategies feel powerless because these specific instances are too effective at clearing the board.

Cards that belong in the third category should be slightly diluted because they are in their decks a bit too strong. To some obvious power and play experience outliers in that Mode, our Wild adjustments are analogous.

Lastly, we’re adding some buffs as well! A lot of the adjustments we’re making in this patch aim to make new cards or strategies from Whizbang’s Workshop weaker, but we also want to avoid simply returning to the meta that existed prior to the expansion. Consequently, we have determined which Whizbang’s Workshop archetypes are underperforming and believe that giving them a little more power will help them achieve our overall objectives for the format.

This is probably not going to be a one-time fix. After these updates take effect, we’ll monitor the game and keep working to make it more in line with our design ethos. See this week’s Developer Insights post on the subject for additional information about this overarching philosophy.

The following cards have been adjusted to be weaker:.

Reno, the Lone Ranger.

Former: [8 Mana].

[9 Mana] is new.

Developer Comment: As a further change to their conditional effect, all of the Showdown in the Badlands “No Duplicate” cards are being addressed below.

Zilliax Deluxe 3000 (Viral Module).

Old: 33%. Reborn, Poisonous, Elusive, and Stealth.

Novel: 1/4. Revived, Poisonous, and Elusive.

The gatekeeper of gaslighting.

Antiquated: [3 Mana].

[4 Mana] is new.

Snake Oil (Generated by Miracle Salesman and Snake Oil Seller).

Ancient: [0 Mana].

Novel: [1 Mana].

Wheel of Death!

The text remains unchanged, but the wheel now counts at the beginning of your turns rather than the conclusion.

Wills forgery.

Previous: [3 Mana].

Added: [4 Mana].

Horror Chained.

Ancient: 5 out of 5.

New: 4/4.

Zarimi, Timewinder.

Old: Battlecry: You get an extra turn once every game if you have summoned five more dragons.

Recently added battlecry: You will get an extra turn once every game if you have summoned eight more dragons.

Dreadful Webs.

Old: [One Mana].

[2 Mana] is new.

A sick Grimewalker.

[3 Mana] 2/4 is old.

New: 3/5 [4 Mana].

Decontaminate.

Old: [5 Mana] Deal all of your minions damage equal to your armor. Get 3 Armor before you Forge.

Brand-New: [6 Mana] Deal all minions damage equal to your armor. Forge: Start by gaining four armor points.

Fire Trial.

Ancient: [6 Mana].

[7 Mana] is new.

Tho’grun, Boomboss.

Previous: Battlecry: Shuffle 3 T. N. C. T. in your deck. Blow up a card in the opponent’s hand, deck, or board when it is removed.

Battlecry: Shuffle 3 T is new. N. I. T. in your rival’s deck. Blow up a card in their hand, deck, and board when it’s drawn.

Developer Remark: T. N. I. T. not able to blow up another T. N. S. T.

A lightning flash.

Aged: [2 Mana].

Fresh: [3 Mana].

Thunderclap.

Former: [5 Mana].

Added: [6 Mana].

Gym Jungle.

Three durability in the old.

Two new features are durability.

Time Warp: Unlock the Waygate’s Quest Bonus.

Old: Please take one more turn.

Novel: Take an additional turn. (Once for every game).

Glorious Gloop of Floop.

Ancient: You will only receive 1 Mana Crystal this turn if a minion dies.

New: Refresh a Mana Crystral whenever a minion perishes this turn.

Frostbite Cemetery.

Previous: [3 Mana].

[5 Mana] is new.

For two weeks after Patch 29.2, all of the aforementioned craftable cards, along with Miracle Salesman and Open the Waygate, will be eligible for a complete dust refund. 2.

The following cards are adjusted to be stronger:.

Gunslinger Kurtrus, Rheastrasza, Theldurin the Lost, Spirit of the Badlands, Elise Badlands Savior, Doctor Holli’dae, Deepminer Brann, Maruut Stonebinder, and Reno Lone Ranger are all examples of Showdown in the Badlands “No Duplicates” cards.

Old: Battlecry effect when you play a deck without any duplicates.

New: If there were no duplicates in your deck at the beginning of the game, you will receive the battlecry effect.

Manufacturing Error.

Aged: [6 Mana].

Added: [5 Mana].

Volleyball in the Sunset.

Ancient: [10 Mana].

Novel: [9 Mana].

Mes’adune the Broken.

Ancient: [6 Mana].

[5 Mana] is new.

Wooded Enchantments.

Previous: Call forth two 1/5 Beetles and use taunt. If you have spell damage, the cost is three less.

New: Use Taunt to summon two 2/5 Beetles. If you have spell damage, the cost is three less.

Zok Fogsnout.

Former: [7 Mana].

[6 Mana] is new.

Chia.

Old: 2/4.

New: 3/5.

Hagatha the Fabled.

Old: [5 Mana] 4/4.

New: [4 Mana] 4/3.

Aftershocks.

Old: [5 Mana] Deal 1 damage to all minions, three times. Costs (2) less if you cast a spell last turn.

New: [4 Mana] Trigger All Minions with 1 damage each time. (1) Less if a spell was cast during your previous turn.

Botface.

Previous: 3/9.

Updated: 4/12.

The Tyrannosaurus.

Previous: 7/6, Rush. Deal five damage to an enemy at random when you use deathrattle.

Novel: 7/7, Hurry. Deal seven damage to an enemy at random with Deathrattle.

Thief Goldbeard.

Former: [6 Mana].

[5 Mana] is new.

The Crystal Bay.

Old: This turn, the stats of the next minion you summon will be 4/4.

New: You can now summon a minion with a 5/5 stat line the next turn.

Crane Match.

Previous: [9 Mana].

Added: [8 Mana].

Spiral off the shelves.

Old: [4 Mana].

Fresh: [3 Mana].

Angel made of papercrafts.

Previous: [3 Mana] 2/5.

New: [2 Mana] 2/3.

Treasurer of Distributions.

Ancient: Grant +1 Attack to your summoned pirate.

New: Deal +1 Attack to this minion and the pirate you summon.

Wonderful Whizbang.

With the exception of Demon Hunter, Warlock, and Mage, all of Whizbang’s experimental decks have been modified to be more magnificent.

Updates for Battlegrounds.

Dev Comment: Well met! We’re so pleased that players have been enjoying the new Battlegrounds update as well as the new Duos mode! Overall, we are pretty happy with how both game modes are shaping up, but we wanted to help out some underperforming strategies. We went for a very wide approach this patch with a lot of smaller changes to smooth out the meta. We’ve also hit a few notable outliers, such as Greymane’s Champion, Rylak Metalhead, Gem Smuggler, Iridescent Skyblazer, and Orc-estra Conductor, to give other cards more room to shine. After making these modifications, we’ll keep an eye on the game and make more adjustments as needed. We hope you all have fun in the Tavern!

Hero Changes.

Guff Runetotem.

Old: [2 Gold] Give a friendly minion of each Tier +2/+2.

New: [1 Gold] Give a friendly minion of each Tier +2/+1.

Developer Comment: This will also reduce Guff’s armor from 20 to 10.

Card Pool Changes.

The cards listed below have been eliminated from their respective card pools:.

The Uninvited Visitor.

Dev Comment: What was it not understanding about “uninvited”?

Caller Thorn.

Sacred Gift.

In their respective card pools, the following cards have been added:.

Humming Bird.

prophet belonging to the boar.

Scarlet Skull.

Sister Deathwhisper.

Cloning Conch.

Card Changes.

Rylak Metalhead.

Old: 3/4. Taunt. Deathrattle: Trigger the Battlecries of adjacent minions.

Added: 5/3. Make fun of someone. Deathrattle: This summons the minion to your left’s battle cry.

Warden Goldshell.

Old: 3 / 4. Battlecry: Assign +1/+4 to your other Beasts.

Fresh: 2/4. Battlecry: Apply +2/+4 to your other Beasts.

Shining Skyblazer.

Old: [Tier 4] 2/5.

Novel: [Tier 5] 3/8.

The Lasher, Trigore.

Previous: [Tier 5] 6/2. Gain +2 Health permanently whenever another friendly beast is damaged.

New: [Tier 4] 8/3. Whenever another friendly Beast takes damage, gain +1 Health permanently.

Mechanized Gift Horse.

[Tier 5] is old.

Novel: [Level 4].

Spiked Savior.

Previous: 12/4. scoff. Deathrattle: Your minions will take 1 damage and gain 1 health.

Novel: 8/2. scoff. Born again. Deathrattle: Deal 1 damage to your minions and grant them +1 health.

Wrap God, Octosari.

Vintage: 5/6. Summon a 2/2 Tentacle to end the death struggle. (Whenever you summon a minion during combat, it gains +2/+2 permanently!).

Updated: 8/8. Summon an 8/8 Tentacle to end the death struggle. (When you summon a minion during combat, it gains +2/+2 permanently!).

The Great Wolf, Goldrinn.

Old: 3 out of 3. Deathrattle: Your beasts have +3/+3 for the remainder of this battle.

Novel: 4/4. Deathrattle: Your Beasts gain +4/+4 for the remainder of this battle.

Felblood fiery.

Previous: 4/3. Deathrattle: This game, the tavern’s minions have +3 Attack.

Added: 3/2. Deathrattle: This game, the Tavern’s minions have +2 Attack.

Backstage Safety.

Old: 4/4.

New: 4/5.

Wrath Weaver.

Old: 1/4.

New: 1/3.

Crafty Aranasi.

Old: 1/8.

New: 3/10.

False Implicator.

Old: 1/2.

New: 1/1.

Unfit Dragonling.

Old: 1/2.

New: 2/1.

Blazing Skyfin.

Old: 1/3.

New: 2/4.

Electric Synthesizer.

Former: [Tier 4] 4/3.

Novel: [Tier 3] 3/3.

The Deathscale of the Draconic.

Old: 6/3 [Tier 4].

Added: [Tier 5] 8/3.

Arcane Aspect Kalecgos.

2/10 for the old.

New: 4/12.

Molten Rock.

Old: 3/1.

New: 3/2.

Party Elemental.

Old: 3/2.

New: 4/2.

Shivering Hurricane.

Old: 3/1.

First: 4/1.

Wildfire Elemental.

Old: 8/4 [Tier 4].

Added: [Tier 3] 6/3.

Recycling Wraith.

Ancient: [Tier 3] 4/2.

Added: [Tier 4] 5/4.

Terrain Grease.

Previous: 4/5.

5/7 is new.

Zilliax (All Modules).

Old: 4/3.

New: 3/4.

Scrap Scraper.

Old: 6/5. Deathrattle: Select a Magnetic Mech at random.

Fresh: 5 out of 5. Battlecry and Deathrattle: Get a random Magnetic Mech.

Drone for utility use.

Ancient: 3 / 4. As you finish your turn, give each of your minions a +1/+1 Magnetization.

Fresh: 4/4. Give your minions +2/+1 for each Magnetization at the end of your turn.

Enhanced Worker.

Previous: 1/6.

Novel: 3/8.

Charging the Tzarina.

Former: 4/2. Almighty Defense. Give your minions with Divine Shield +3 Attack whenever you cast a Tavern spell.

Added: 5/3. Heavenly Defense. Give all of your minions with Divine Shield +2 Attack whenever you cast a Tavern spell.

A very famished winter finner.

Ancient: Argue. A minion in your hand gains +1/+1 whenever this takes damage.

Fresh: Jeer. Add +2/+1 to a minion in your hand whenever this takes damage.

Murgl II.

Old: 2/4. (3) Take revenge: Permanently give the board and minions in your hand +1/+1.

2/4 is new. Avenge (4): Permanently grant the board and minions in your hand +1/+1.

Counter for Bream.

Ancient: 6/6. Once you play a Murloc while holding this, you will receive +2/+2.

Novel: 5 out of 5. Gain +3/+2 while holding this in your hand after playing a Murloc.

Magma Loc.

Old: [Tier 5].

New: [Tier 4].

Primalfin Lookout.

Old: [Tier 4].

New: [Tier 5].

The gladiator.

Previous: 1/1.

3/3 is new.

a Deep Blue Crooner.

Previous: [Level 4] 2/2.

Added: [Tier 3] 4/4.

vivacious Shaker.

Old: 3/4 [Tier 3].

Novel: [Tier 4] 6/6.

Rebellious Shipwright.

Ancient: 2/4.

Fresh: 2 out of 5.

Time Cap’n Hooktail.

Ancient: 1/5. Add +1 Attack to all of your other minions whenever you cast a Tavern spell.

New: 2.5 out of 5. Get +1 Attack for your minions whenever you cast a Tavern spell.

Music Sneaker.

Ancient: 5/4. Get 1 Gold at the beginning of your turn. Repeat for each other Pirate.

New: 6/6. At the start of your turn, gain 2 Gold. If you control at least three Pirates, gain 2 more.

Gem Smuggler.

Old: [Tier 5] 4/3. Battlecry: Play 2 Blood Gems on all your other minions.

New: [Tier 4] 3/4. Battlecry: Play a Blood Gem on all your other minions.

Harmless Bonehead.

Old: 0/2.

New: 1/1.

Hateful Hag.

Old: 4/2.

New: 6/2.

Hungering Abomination.

Old: 3/4.

New: 6/7.

Moroes, Steward of Death.

Old: 5/2. revived. Give your Undead +2/+5 as a deathrattle.

Fresh: 4/2 Revisited. Apply +2/+4 to your Undead using Deathrattle.

Dancing Fire.

Ancient: 4/2.

Updated: 5/2.

Chimera with wings.

3/6 is old. Give a friendly minion of each type +2/+1 whenever this takes damage.

1/5 is new. Give a friendly minion of each kind +1/+1 for all time when this takes damage. three times during a fight. ).

Ensorcelled Fungus.

Old: Has +1/+2 for each Tavern spell you’ve cast this game (wherever this is).

Fresh: Contains +2/+2 for every Tavern spell you’ve used this game (regardless of where this is).

Treant is unforgiving.

Ancient: 2/12. Taunt. Whenever this takes damage, give your minions +1 Attack permanently.

New: 3/12. Taunt. Whenever this takes damage, give your minions +2 Attack permanently.

Nalaa the Redeemer.

Old: 5/7. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give a friendly minion of each type +2/+1.

New: 5/6. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give a friendly minion of each type +2/+2.

Greymane’s Champion.

Old: 6/5. After you play an even-Tiered card, give your other even-Tier minions +2/+2.

New: 6/6. After you play an even-Tiered card, give your even-Tier minions +1/+1.

Mooneater’s Champion.

Old: 7/8. After you play an odd-Tier card, give your other odd-Tier minions +1/+1.

New: 5/5. After you play an odd-Tier card, give your odd-Tier minions +1/+1.

Corrupted Cupcakes.

Old: [3 Gold].

New: [4 Gold].

Them Apples.

Old: Give minions in the Tavern +1/+3.

New: Give minions in the Tavern +1/+2.

Boon of Beetles.

Old: [Tier 3] When you have space during combat, summon a 3/3 Beetle. (3 left!).

New: [Tier 4] When you have space during combat, summon a 3/3 Beetle with Taunt. (4 left!).

Suspicious Stimulant.

Old: [Tier 3, 3 Gold].

New: [Tier 4, 4 Gold].

Scavenge for Parts.

Old: [4 Gold].

New: [2 Gold].

Cloning Conch.

Old: Hold a copy of a Murloc that isn’t golden.

Obtain a copy of it and a random Murloc.

Changing Cards (Only for Duos).

Passenger.

2/3 are old. Gain +2/+2 each turn for the first time your team passes.

2/2 is new. Gain +1/+2 for each turn that your team passes for the first time.

Geomancer with generosity.

Ancient: 2/1.

1/1 is new.

Orc-estra Conductor.

Old: 2/2. Cry of War: Grant a minion +2/+2. Enhance the future Orc-estra Conductors on your team.

Novel: 4/2. Battlecry: Dealt a minion +2/+1. (Enhanced for every Orc-estra Conductor your group has used in this match).

Magnanimoose.

Nothing changes in the text. Now, you can only call forth a single instance of every one of your partner’s goons.

Mud Prancer.

3/3 is the old. Get +3/+3 after this is passed.

New: 4/4. After this is Passed, gain +4/+4.

The Man’ari Messenger.

Ancient: 7/4. Battlecry: This game, minions in the taverns owned by your team have +2/+1.

Just: 8 out of 5. Battlecry: During this game, allies’ taverns have +1/+1 for minions.

Catch.

Old: Give your minions +3 Attack. (Upgrades by +3 Attack after this is Passed!).

New: Give your minions +2 Attack. (Upgrades by +2 Attack after this is Passed!).

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements.

[Battlegrounds] Recruitment Program will now be unable to triple in your hand before the recruit is passed to your teammate.

[Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where, if Millhouse Manastorm beat both your opponents, his Tavern Refresh cost of 2 Gold would also affect your teammate.

[Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Plunder Pal didn’t grant your teammate Gold.

[Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where using Suspicious Stimulant on a minion caused errors with Jandice Barov’s Hero Power.

[Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Felboar would consume a minion in the Tavern before the Tavern Spell takes effect.

[Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Magnetized enchantments on a Magnetic minion wouldn’t carry over if the minion was tripled.

[Battlegrounds] Sped up Mirror Monster’s visual effect.

[Achievements] Fixed a bug where Top Teamwork progressed based on solo games as well.

[Achievements] Fixed a bug where Floop de Loop progressed even when you weren’t the one playing with Floop.