Hearthstone

Patch 32.2, launching April 29, brings Battlegrounds Season 10, fires up the Embers of the World Tree Mini-Set, and more!

Appeal to your Second Nature in Battlegrounds Season 10

On April 29, Battlegrounds Season 9 will end and Season 10 will begin. That means ratings will reset, Anomalies will leave the Tavern, the Battlegrounds Rewards Track will switch over, and a new Battlegrounds Season Pass will be available. All rewards that were earned on the Season 9 track, but not yet claimed, will be automatically claimed. You can learn more about the new Season, and the details of all three levels of the Rewards Track, in the Season 10 Announcement Blog.

Trinkets Return

Trinkets are back in Season 10, with an updated offering system that means type synergy Trinkets will be offered more often. The Trinket pool has also gotten a major shake-up, with over 100 new Trinkets being added alongside over 100 returning Trinkets! See the Card Library for the entire Trinket Pool, and see the Dev Insights post for more details about the offering system updates.

Two New Heroes

Forest Lord Cenarius (10 Armor)

• Wisdom of the Ancients [3 Gold]
• Increase your maximum Gold by 1.

Buttons (10 Armor, 7 Armor in Duos)

• Growing Collection [Passive]
• On Turn 8, choose a Greater Trinket to buy.

These new heroes will be offered in every Battlegrounds game for two weeks following their introduction in Patch 32.2. Since they will be in the initial hero offerings each game, you will not be able to Reroll into them during this period.

Hero Updates

Dinotamer Brann

• Battle Brand [Passive]
• After you buy 6 Battlecry minions, get Brann Bronzebeard. (Once per game.)

Shudderwock

• Now banned in Beast lobbies.

Jim Raynor

• Hero Power (Lift Off) now works with itself under the Cosmic Duality Anomaly and with the Battlecruiser Trinket.

E.T.C., Band Manager

• Golden Buddy (Talent Scout) now makes 2 Buddies Golden.

Onyxia

• Returned to the Hero Pool.

Teron Gorefiend

• No longer banned in Mech lobbies.

The Great Akazamzarak

• No longer banned in Mech lobbies.

Professor Putricide

• Relentless Sentry has been returned to the Build-an-Undead pool.

Rakanishu

• Lantern Light now works with cards that buff Tavern spells.

Queen Azshara and Aranna will be temporarily banned at the start of the Patch, due to a bug.

Seasonal Minion Refresh

• 79 minions have been removed from the minion pool, 19 previously removed minions have been returned to the minion pool, and 52 new minions have been added to the minion pool.
• 8 Tavern spells have been removed from the spell pool, 1 previously removed Tavern spell has been returned to the spell pool, and 4 new Tavern spells have been added to the spell pool.

See the Card Library for the complete directory of minion and Tavern spell pool updates.

Quality of Life Improvement: Updated Minion Frames

Battlegrounds minions have been given a refresh to make them easier to spot and understand, especially when quickly re-rolling through the Tavern. Now, each minion type will have one of the Hearthstone class card frames associated with it, as follows:

• Beasts – Hunter Frame
• Demons – Warlock Frame
• Dragons – Warrior Frame
• Elementals – Mage Frame
• Mechs – Paladin Frame
• Murlocs – Shaman Frame
• Naga – Demon Hunter Frame
• Pirates – Rogue Frame
• Quillboar – Druid Frame
• Undead – Death Knight Frame
• Typeless and All – Neutral Frame

Dual-Type minions will have Dual-Class card frames. These changes only apply to minions, not Tavern spells, Trinkets, or anything else that might associate to a minion or minion type.

Dev Comment: Previously, all Battlegrounds minions had the Neutral frame, except for exact copies of Hearthstone-Mode cards, which would have their corresponding Hearthstone frame in Battlegrounds for consistency between the two Modes. We think this change lets the cards in each Mode better serve the gameplay and player experience of that Mode.

Battlegrounds Preview Event

Tomorrow, April 25, don’t forget to watch your favorite content creators play the new Season live! Participating players will be streaming on their personal channels, so make sure you have notifications turned on. Time slots by region are:

• JP players: 2:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. (PDT)
• Americas and EMEA players: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (PDT)

Drops will be enabled category-wide on Twitch. Watch for a total of 2 hours to earn 4 Battlegrounds Tokens (2 total hours, 1 hour per drop).

Embers of the World Tree Mini-Set, coming May 13

Prepare your forces, an incendiary incursion is nearly upon us! The Into the Emerald Dream Mini-Set, Embers of the World Tree, unlocks on May 13. Keep an eye out for more information about the Mini-Set, coming soon!

In-Game Event: Embers of the World Tree

Sift through the ashes in the wake of the Mini-Set to keep your Dreams alive! From May 13 to June 3, complete event quests to earn XP on a special rewards track. Complete the entire rewards track to earn 6 Into the Emerald Dream Packs, 1 Year of the Pegasus Pack, 2 random Into the Emerald Dream Epic Cards, and the Ardenweald Huln Hunter Hero Skin.

Heroic Tavern Brawl Returns

Things are heating up! Heroic Tavern Brawl returns for the week of May 14-21. Pay an entry fee and compete in high-stakes games until reaching either 12 wins or 3 losses, with prizing based on how well you do.

Arena Update

When Patch 32.2 launches all ongoing Arena runs will end and there will be one last Arena season under the current system. The eligible sets for that season will be:

• Into the Emerald Dream (including the Embers of the World Tree Mini-Set, even before it releases, and the Fleeing Treant Arena-only card)
• Showdown in the Badlands
• Voyage to the Sunken City
• Forged in the Barrens
• Scholomance Academy
• Core

Loaner Decks Update

With Patch 32.2, the new/returning player loaner decks* will update to include cards from the Into the Emerald Dream expansion (the main set, not the Mini-Set). The loaner decks that will be available for this expansion cycle will be Death Knight, Druid, Mage, Paladin, Shaman, and Warlock.

* Returning players who have been away for 90 or more days are eligible for a free deck just for logging in. Returning players can claim these returning decks each time they are eligible. New players are eligible for their free deck after completing the tutorial and Apprentice Track.

Bug Fixes, Rules Updates, and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] The Dark Gift keyword is being adjusted so that Dark Gifts with keywords can’t be applied to minions that already have one or more of those keywords (previously, Dark Gifts were only blocked if fully redundant). Additionally, 0-Attack minions won’t be able to get the Sleepwalker Dark Gift (which gives Charge).
• [Hearthstone] Normal game rules are that a card moving backwards in a zone (such as from the board to hand, or hand to deck) loses its enchantments. Wallow the Wretched now has a specific exception to this rule: if Wallow the Wretched is moved from your hand to the top of your deck due to the Sweet Dreams Dark Gift, Wallow will now retain all its Dark Gift enchantments (but not other enchantments, and not any enchantments if it is moved backwards in a zone due to anything other than its own effect).
• [Hearthstone] Adjusted the evolve/devolve rules. The full rule is now: When evolving, if a minion costs 10 or less, it is capped at 10. When evolving, if a minion costs more than 10, it evolves into a random minion of its same cost (which could just be the same minion). When devolving, if a result is not available then the minion will continue devolving until a result is found (for instance, devolving a 15-cost minion would result in a 12-cost if there was a 12-cost minion in the pool, but no 13- or 14-cost minions).
• [Hearthstone] Starship Piece “when launched” effects will now always trigger in a random order.
• [Hearthstone] Effects that have the same resolution trigger will now always resolve in timestamp order. (This means Briarspawn Drake’s effect will now always trigger its own effect before the "return to deck" effect given to it by Cliff Dive).
• [Hearthstone] Replaced Flint Firearm with Astalor Bloodsworn in the Splendiferous Whizbang in the Deck of Legends (Hunter) Experimental Deck. Flint was firing blanks in Standard after Quickdraw rotated out of the format.
• [Hearthstone] Made Floppy Hydra less floppy (fixed a bug where it kept enchantments other than its own effect).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed an issue where the Druid Imbue counter would get cut off on some mobile devices.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Ohn’ahra’s effect would have no effect if your board was full and the top card of your deck was a minion or location.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Ohn’ahra’s effect would not maintain spell buffs provided by Incindius.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Exarch Akama’s effect didn’t work on minions with Rush.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Consume wouldn’t eat the location Durability when indirectly or automatically cast.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where automatically attacking minions (like Specimen Claw) wouldn’t work after Sleepy Resident’s effect.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Narain Soothfancy’s Fortunes would permanently transform into cards that transform in hand each turn.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Amphibian’s Spirit couldn’t be copied by effects like Death Growl.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where a Cosplay Contestant that turned into Ancient of Yore would give the opponent its Dormant effects.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Forging a Choose One card would reveal it to your opponent.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where moving a Titan from hand to deck would reveal the Titan abilities.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where the Druid Imbue Plant Golem arts were in the wrong order.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed various visual bugs related to history tiles.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Arcanotron, Activated could activate in the Shop.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Catacomb Crasher didn’t always trigger as intended.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Slippery Slider’s Spellcraft spell didn’t trigger Treasure-Seeker Elise’s effect.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Efficient Engineer didn’t work with Bountiful Bedrock.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where having two Rivendare Portraits tripled health, instead of quadrupling it.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where two Dalaran Cheese Wheels didn’t stack that cheese.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Kerrigan’s Zergs could get permanent Stealth or Taunt if Tripled into a Golden.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Pyramad’s Brick by Brick counted as being used when another Hero Power with a button was used as your second Hero Power.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Battlecruiser and Showy Cyclist’s Deathrattle effects weren’t copied by cards that inherited Deathrattles.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Crabby didn’t get the bonus from Aim Low! when it was picked as the secondary Hero Power.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Wandering Wight didn’t work with Pack Tactics.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Alkali, Rock Rhino didn’t properly copy generated Triple Rewards.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a visual issue where Sire Denathrius’s Quest counter disappears after one turn on certain mobile devices.
• [Battlegrounds Duos] Fixed a bug where Refreshing Anomaly’s effect, triggered by Rylak Metalhead, gave both players the free refresh.
• [Battlegrounds Duos] Fixed a bug where Tamsin’s Phylactery would trigger twice in one combat if your teammate defeated both enemies in the prior combat.
• [Solo Content] Fixed a bug where using the Throw Rocks hero power in Mine Cart Rush caused a crash.
• [Solo Content] Fixed an issue where recent card changes made Dawngrasp’s Book of Mercenaries impossible to complete.

Patch 32.0.3 brings balance changes to Hearthstone and Battlegrounds, and more!

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: These changes are a continuation of the changes we made in Patch 32.0 to remove unfun play patterns and give Into the Emerald Dream the best chance to shine. Many of these changes are to cards and strategies that are bad experiences to play against even if they’re not overly powerful. We’re also adjusting a few early power outliers—including buffs! We don’t normally do balance changes this early after an expansion, but we thought making a few changes now would best align our goals for the set with our patch schedule.

Hideous Husk

• Old: Your Leeches steal 2 more Health from their victims. Battlecry: Summon two 0/2 Leeches.
• New: Your Leeches steal 1 more Health from their victims. Battlecry: Summon two 0/2 Leeches.

Amphibian’s Spirit

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Murmur

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]

Food Fight

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Spawning Pool

• Old: [1 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Lift Off

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Chrono Boost

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Artanis

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Arkonite Defense Crystal

• Old: [4 Mana] 3/4
• New: [5 Mana] 4/5

Seaside Giant

• Old: [10 Mana] Costs (2) less for each time you’ve used a location this game.
• New: [9 Mana] Costs (1) less for each time you’ve used a location this game.

Travelmaster Dungar

• Old: [9 Mana]
• New: [10 Mana]

The Ceaseless Expanse

• Old: [100 Mana]
• New: [125 Mana]

The disenchantable cards listed above, plus Signature Gorgonzormu due to a bug fix, will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 32.0.3.

Resplendent Dreamweaver

• Old: 5/4. Battlecry: If you’ve Imbued your Hero Power twice, deal 5 damage to a minion.
• New: 4/4. Lifesteal. Battlecry: If you’ve Imbued your Hero Power twice, deal 4 damage to a minion.

Symbiosis

• Old: Discover a Choose One card from another class.
• New: Discover a Choose One card from another class. It costs (1) less.

Kaldorei Priestess

• Old: [4 Mana] 4/4
• New: [3 Mana] 3/3

Lunarwing Messenger

• Old: 3/1
• New: 3/2

Aspect’s Embrace

• Old: Restore 4 Health. Imbue your Hero Power.
• New: Restore 4 Health. Draw a card. Imbue your Hero Power.

Living Garden

• Old: 2/3
• New: 2/4

Battlegrounds Updates

Dev Comment: This is expected to be our last major balance adjustment to Battlegrounds before the next season. We’re overall happy with how Anomalies were received this season, and most of our adjustments to them this patch are focused on removing a few pain points with specific Anomalies. On the minion side, our aim this patch is to lower the power of Demons and Naga and buff Dragons and Mechs. We also decided to remove Captain Bonerender from the minion pool early, for sentiment reasons. Keep an eye out, we’ll be sharing news about the next Battlegrounds season soon!

Anomaly Pool Updates

• Prudence of Amitus has been removed from the Anomaly Pool.
• Secrets of Norgannon and Cosmic Duality now appear less often.
• Guff Runetotem has been banned from the Secrets of Norgannon Anomaly.
• Pyramad has been banned from the Match Fixing, Golden Friendship, Emergency Landing, and Pooled Resources Anomalies.
• Saloon’s Finest (Tier 5 Tavern Spell) has been banned from the Golganneth’s Tempest Anomaly.
• The following heroes have been banned from being the second hero power option with the Cosmic Duality Anomaly: Lord Jaraxxus, Overlord Saurfang, The Jailer, Professor Putricide, Ragnaros, Tavish Stormpike, Cariel Roame, Sindragosa, Millificent Manastorm, Vanndar Stormpike, Rokara, and Sylvanas Windrunner.

Anomaly Updates

Anomalous Evidence

• Old: At the start of your turn, choose from 2 new Quest Rewards.
• New: At the start of your turn, choose from 2 new Quest Rewards. (Unlocks on turn 4.)

Anomalous Wisdomball

• Old: You occasionally get helpful Refreshes! (Unlocks on turn 6.)
• New: You occasionally get helpful Refreshes! (Unlocks on turn 5.)

Scout’s Honor

• Old: Start with a Patient Scout in play.
• New: Start with a Golden Patient Scout in play.

Instant Warband

• Old: Start with 3 different Tier 1 minions in hand.
• New: Start with 3 different Tier 2 minions in hand.

Armor Updates

The following Hero now has less Armor:

• Queen Azshara: now 10 Armor, 7 Armor in Duos.

The following Heroes now have more Armor:

• Galakrond: now 16 Armor, 13 Armor in Duos.
• Galewing: now 8 Armor, 5 Armor in Duos.
• Xyrella: now 10 Armor in Duos.

Minion Pool Updates

• The following minions have been removed from the minion pool: Cyborg Drake, Captain Bonerender, and Pilgrimp.
• The following minions have been returned to the minion pool: Upbeat Frontdrake, Utility Drone, and Sanctum Rester.

Minion Updates

Lava Lurker

• Text-only update.

Stitched Salvager

• Old: 20/4. Start of Combat: Destroy the minion to the left of this. Deathrattle: Resummon an exact copy of it.
• New: 16/4. Start of Combat: Destroy the minion to the left. Deathrattle: Summon an exact copy of it. (Except Stitched Salvager).

Utility Drone

• Old: [Tier 4] 4/4. At the end of your turn, give your minions +2/+1 for each Magnetization they have.
• New: [Tier 6] 6/6. At the end of your turn, give your minions +3/+2 for each Magnetization they have.

The Boommobile

• Old: 12/12
• New: 20/20

Big Brother

• Old: 5/4. Taunt. After you cast a Tavern spell, minions in the Tavern have +1/+2 this turn.
• New: 4/4. Taunt. After you cast a Tavern spell, minions in the Tavern have +1/+1 this turn.

Fireworks Fanatic

• Old: 4/4. Whenever you get a minion you already have, give your minions +1/+1.
• New: 5/5. Whenever you get a minion you already have, give your minions +2/+2.

Tidemistress Athissa

• Old: 2/6. Whenever you cast a spell, give your Naga +1/+1.
• New: 6/7. Whenever you cast a spell, give 4 friendly Naga +1/+1.

Sanctum Rester

• Old: 5/5. Start of Combat: Give your other Dragons +8 Health.
• New: 2/5. Start of Combat: Give your Dragons +10 Attack.

Prized Promo-Drake

• Old: 3/3. Start of Combat: Give your other Dragons +3/+3.
• New: 2/2. Start of Combat: Give your Dragons +3/+3.

Mythrax the Unraveler

• Old: 2/1. At the end of your turn, gain +2/+1 for each different friendly minion type.
• New: 2/2. At the end of your turn, gain +2/+2 for each different friendly minion type.

Arena Updates

Arena draft rates have been adjusted so that the following cards appear less frequently:

• Spirit Gatherer
• Aspect’s Embrace
• Fleeing Treant (in Mage, Priest, and Shaman)
• Rite of Atrocity

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Shaladrassil could get activated by your opponent playing cards that cost more than it.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where the dragon in the Horrible Egg (from Clutch of Corruption) would change if the source dragon was transformed.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Doomkin’s stats weren’t reverted when its effect was reverted.
• [Hearthstone] Updated Merry Moonkin’s text and effect so that it gains all the Armor at once, instead of over multiple activations.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug with Shaladrassil’s history tile.
• [Collection] Fixed a bug where Signature Nightmare Lord Xavius couldn’t be disenchanted.
• [Collection] Fixed a bug where Signature Gorgonzormu disenchanted for the wrong dust amount when eligible for a full dust refund. Due to this miss during last refund window, Signature Gorgonzormu has been added to this patch’s refund period.

Patch 32.0, launching tomorrow, makes the final preparations for Hearthstone’s next expansion and the Year of the Raptor!

Step Into the Emerald Dream on March 25

Into the Emerald Dream, Hearthstone’s next expansion, launches on March 25! The new 145-card expansion includes the new Imbue and Dark Gift keywords, Legendary Wild Gods, and more! See all the new cards in the Card Library today. Don’t forget to grab your Pre-Purchase bundles before you wake up and they’re gone!

With the launch of Into the Emerald Dream comes a new Rewards Track, filled with dreamy goodies like XP boosts, cards, Gold, card packs, and more! Check out the Rewards Track Refresh blog for details. Then grab some tasty nappetizers to get the expansion started: a launch gift of five free packs!*

* 4 Year of the Pegasus Packs and 1 Into the Emerald Dream Pack. Free packs will be available to claim from the in-game Shop from March 25 to April 15.

Pre-Release Tavern Brawl and Community Days

The Into the Emerald Dream Pre-Release Tavern Brawl begins tomorrow, with Patch 32.0, and runs until expansion launch on March 25. Crack open your packs early, build a deck, and compete in a mini competition to win more Into the Emerald Dream prizes!

Everyone will get one free entry into the Pre-Release Tavern Brawl. Ater that, entries will cost 2 Tavern Tickets, 300 Gold, or 400 Runestones. In each run, you will lock in a deck and then play until you get 6 wins or 3 losses, and then get prizes based on how well you do.

The eligible card pool for the brawl will be:

• Core Set (before rotation)
• Event Set (before rotation)
• The Great Dark Beyond (without Heroes of StarCraft)
• Into the Emerald Dream

See what your favorite creators are dreaming up and earn more packs to use in the Pre-Release Tavern Brawl during an extended 5-day Community Days event! See the dedicated Community Activations blog for more information about the Pre-Release Tavern Brawl and Community Days.

Hearthstone Card Updates

Dev Comment: This patch includes our usual Wild update pass, where we make adjustments to cards about to enter Wild. But this year we’re also making changes to several cards that are staying in Standard. These changes are to cards that would be overly powerful or unfun in the new meta, so that we can jump right Into the Emerald Dream and get the Year of the Raptor off to a roaring start! The following updates will go live with Patch 32.0, on March 18.

Dreadhound Handler

• Old: 2/2
• New: 2/1

Infestor

• Old: 3/2. Deathrattle: Your Zerg minions have +1/+1 for the rest of the game.
• New: 4/2. Deathrattle: Your Zerg minions have +1 Attack for the rest of the game.

Hydration Station

• Old: [8 Mana]
• New: [10 Mana]

Alien Encounters

• Old: Summon two 2/5 Beasts with Taunt. Costs (1) less for each card you Discovered this game.
• New: Summon two 2/4 Beasts with Taunt. Costs (1) less for each card you Discovered this game.

Painter’s Virtue

• Old: Lifesteal. After your hero attacks, give minions in your hand +1/+1.
• New: After your hero attacks, give minions in your hand +1/+1.

Holy Glowsticks

• Old: Lifesteal. Deal 4 damage. Costs (1) if you’ve cast a Holy spell this turn.
• New: Lifesteal. Deal 4 damage to a minion. Costs (1) if you’ve cast a Holy spell this turn.

Timewinder Zarimi

• Old: Battlecry: Once per game, if you’ve summoned 8 other Dragons, take an extra turn.
• New: Battlecry: Once per game, if you’ve played 8 other Dragons, take an extra turn.

Raza the Resealed

• Old: Battlecry: For the rest of the game, your Hero Power refreshes whenever you play a card.
• New (reworked): Battlecry: Shuffle copies of 5 random friendly minions that died this game into your deck. They cost (0).

Orbital Halo

• Old: Give a minion +2/+1 and Divine Shield. Costs (0) if you played an adjacent card this turn.
• New: Give a minion +1/+1 and Divine Shield. Costs (0) if you played an adjacent card this turn.

Domino Effect

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Kerrigan, Queen of Blades

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Zergling

• Old: Battlecry: Summon a copy of this.
• New: Battlecry: Summon a 1/1 Zergling.

Jim Raynor

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Viking (Lift Off and Starport Token)

• Old: Starship Piece. When this is launched, gain 7 Armor.
• New: Starship Piece. When this is launched, gain 5 Armor.

Liberator (Lift Off and Starport Token)

• Old: Starship Piece. When this is launched, deal 2 damage to all enemies.
• New: Starship Piece. When this is launched, deal 2 damage to all enemy minions.

Raven (Lift Off and Starport Token)

• Old: Starship Piece. When this is launched, gain 3 random Bonus Effects.
• New: Starship Piece. When this is launched, gain 2 random Bonus Effects.

Banshee (Lift Off and Starport Token)

• Old: Starship Piece. When this is launched, deal 5 damage to a random enemy.
• New: Starship Piece. When this is launched, deal 3 damage to a random enemy.

The Ceaseless Expanse

• Old: 15/15
• New: 10/10

Incindius

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]

Bob the Bartender (Recruit a Minion option)

• Old: Put an enemy minion into your hand. Your opponent gets 3 Coins.
• New: Put a copy of an enemy minion into your hand. Your opponent gets 3 Coins.

Zilliax Deluxe 3000 (Virus Module)

• Old: 1/4. Elusive, Poisonous, Reborn
• New: 2/5. Elusive, Poisonous

Gorgonzormu

• Old: [3 Mana] 3/3
• New: [4 Mana] 4/4

Arkonite Defense Crystal

• Old: Taunt. Deathrattle: Gain 6 Armor. Starship Piece.
• New: Taunt. Deathrattle: Gain 4 Armor. Starship Piece.

The disenchantable cards above, plus Lift Off and Starport, will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 32.0.

Wild-Focused Updates

Reska, the Pit Boss

• Old: [25 Mana]
• New: [20 Mana]

Sickly Grimewalker

• Old: [4 Mana] 3/5
• New: [3 Mana] 2/4

Blindeye Sharpshooter

• Old: [4 Mana] 3/3
• New: [3 Mana] 1/3

Desert Nestmatron

• Old: 3/4
• New: 3/5

Splish-Splash Whelp

• Old: [3 Mana] 3/2
• New: [2 Mana] 2/1

Cactus Construct

• Old: Discover a 2-Cost minion. Summon a 1/1 copy of it.
• New: Discover a 2-Cost minion. Summon a 1/2 copy of it.

Doomkin

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Shattered Reflections

• Old: Choose a non-Titan minion. Add a copy of it to your deck and battlefield.
• New: Choose a minion. Add a copy of it to your hand, deck, and battlefield.

Starstrung Bow

• Old: 5/2
• New: 6/2

Saddle Up

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Awakening Tremors

• Old: Get three 3/1 Worms. They cost (1).
• New: Get three 4/1 Worms. They cost (1).

Inquisitive Creation

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Chaos Creation

• Old: Deal 5 damage. Summon a random 5-Cost minion. Destroy the bottom 5 cards of your deck.
• New: Deal 6 damage. Summon a random 6-Cost minion. Destroy the bottom 6 cards of your deck.

Showdown

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Keeper’s Strength

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Prismatic Beam

• Old: [8 Mana] Deal 3 damage to all enemy minions. Costs (1) less for each enemy minion.
• New: [7 Mana] Deal 3 damage to all enemies. Costs (1) less for each enemy minion.

Thirsty Drifter

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Injured Hauler

• Old: Overheal: Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions.
• New: Overheal: Deal 2 damage to all enemy minions.

Lab Constructor

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Shattershambler

• Old: The next Deathrattle minion you play immediately dies.
• New: The next Deathrattle minion you play costs (1) less and immediately dies.

Coppertail Snoop

• Old: 3/2
• New: 4/3

Flash of Lightning

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Crash of Thunder

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Staff of the Nine Frogs (generated by Doctor Holli'dae)

• Old: 1/9
• New: 2/9

Aftershocks

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

Forge of Wills

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Crescendo

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Sludge on Wheels

• Old: 2/4
• New: 2/5

Waste Remover

• Old: 5/7
• New: 7/7

Azerite Snake

• Old: Battlecry: Your hero steals 7 Health from the enemy hero.
• New: Battlecry: Your hero steals 10 Health from the enemy hero.

Movement of Pride (generated by Symphony of Sins)

• Old: Draw a minion. Reduce its Cost by (6).
• New: Draw your highest Cost minion. Reduce its Cost by (6).

Odyn, Prime Designate

• Old: [9 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Deepminer Brann

• Old: [8 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Battleworn Faceless

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Sanitize

• Old: [6 Mana] Deal damage equal to your Armor to all minions. Forge: Gain 4 Armor first.
• New: [4 Mana] Deal damage equal to your Armor to all minions. Forge: Gain 3 Armor first.

Craftsman’s Hammer

• Old: Whenever your hero attacks, gain 3 Armor.
• New: Whenever your hero attacks, gain 4 Armor.

Yogg-Saron, Unleashed

• Old: [10 Mana]
• New: [9 Mana]

Reno, Lone Ranger

• Old: [10 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Pozzik, Audio Engineer

• Old: 4/4
• New: 5/4

Molten Giant

• Old: [22 Mana]
• New: [20 Mana]

Celestial Projectionist

• Old: [3 Mana] 3/3
• New: [2 Mana] 3/2

Rowdy Fan

• Old: Battlecry: Choose a minion. It has +3 Attack while this is alive.
• New: Battlecry: Choose a minion. It has +4 Attack while this is alive.

Snake Oil (generated by Miracle Salesman and Snake Oil Seller)

• Old: [1 Mana]
• New: [0 Mana]

New Year Rotation and Core Set Update

When Into the Emerald Dream launches on March 25, the Year of the Raptor will begin! At that time, cards from the Year of the Wolf (Festival of Legends, TITANS, and Showdown in the Badlands) will rotate out of Standard. Updates to the Core Set and the Event Set card pools will also happen at that time. Core Set card text changes will take place with the patch, on March 18. See the Welcome to the Year of the Raptor blog for more details on the Core Set updates.

Year of the Raptor Board Added

The new Year of the Raptor game board will be added with the launch of Into the Emerald Dream and will appear more frequently than other boards this entire year. This one board represents all three expansions for the year and will update with each expansion launch.

In-Game Event: Release the Raptor!

The Release the Raptor in-game event, which started on March 4, will end on March 25. Wrap it up now before it’s gone! See the 31.6 Patch Notes for full details.

In-Game Event: Into the Emerald Dream

Live out your Dreams and Nightmares as you explore the Emerald Dream! From March 25-April 15, complete event quests to earn XP on the special rewards track. Each day, you will receive a new Dream daily quest; if you are daring, you can re-roll your Dream daily quest and receive one from the Nightmare! Daily quests representing the Nightmare are harder to complete, but grant more event XP.

Don’t lose sleep over your choices—however you complete the event track you will earn a slew of rewards to kick off the new Hearthstone year: 6 Into the Emerald Dream Packs, 3 Year of the Pegasus Packs, 3 The Great Dark Beyond Packs, 2 Perils in Paradise Packs, 1 Whizbang’s Workshop Pack, and the Woodland Valeera Rogue Hero Skin.

In-Game Event: Defend Amirdrassil!

The World Tree is under attack! From April 22-May 13, complete event quests across Modes to earn XP on the special rewards track. Complete the rewards track to earn: 3 Into the Emerald Dream Packs, 3 Tavern Tickets, 3 Battlegrounds Tokens, and 6 Signature Cards from Into the Emerald Dream (2 Twisted Treant, 2 Kaldorei Priestess, and 2 Lunarwing Messenger)!

New Shan Shui Signature Cards

Starting on April 15, you can get three dreamy new Signature cards featuring the iconic Chinese Shan Shui art style:

Shan Shui Signature Tyrande and Naralex, Herald of the Flights will be available in their own bundles, or in one combined mega bundle. Shan Shui The Curator will be available to claim for free in the in-game Shop!*

* Shan Shui Signature The Curator will be available to claim in the in-game Shop from April 15-May 13. After that free claim period, it may become available for sale in the Shop at a later time.

Battlegrounds Update

Captain Bonerender

• Old: [Tier 4] 5/5
• New: [Tier 5] 6/6

Arena Updates

When Patch 32.0 launches, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The Arena pool will be adjusted so that the following sets make up the card pool* this season:

• Into the Emerald Dream
• The Great Dark Beyond (plus the Arena-only card, Wayward Probe)
• Perils in Paradise
• Whizbang’s Workshop
• Core (note that the Core Set card list will update at expansion launch)
• Raptor Herald from the Event Set

There will also be an additional Arena-only card added this season: Fleeing Treant!

* Several low-performing cards from these sets were removed from the draft pool to make for a more compelling draft process.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [General] Fixed a bug causing missing text on Pixel devices.
• [Hearthstone] Cards that transform minions into ones that cost more (commonly called “Evolve” effects) are now capped at 10 mana. If the result would go over 10, then it results in a random 10-mana minion, instead.
• [Hearthstone] Using the last charge on a location that summons a minion will now clear the location away first and then summon the minion (meaning there will now be space for the minion if your board is full).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Planetary Navigator didn’t work with Murmur.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed bugs with The Ceaseless Expanse’s tracking not counting cards destroyed when overdrawn, or destroyed in hand or deck by Flik Skyshiv.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where cards that tracked cards played (such as Rat Trap) sometimes counted Countered cards and sometimes did not. Countered cards should not count towards this kind of tracking.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Liberator (the Starship Piece) stopped dealing its damage to functionally dead minions (relevant if the minion has an effect that is triggered each time it is damaged, like Acolyte of Pain).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Multi-Strike's extra attack wouldn’t carry over after a hero skin transformation (like Metamorphosis Illidan’s).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Chaotic Consumption wouldn’t be playable in certain edge situations.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where playing a multi-class StarCraft card in a Tourist deck triggered the Tourist animation.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where Signature Zergling, SCV, and Void Ray did not glow green when playable.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where launching a Starship could cause the End of Turn button to turn green when additional moves could still be made.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where minions couldn’t be sold on turn 1 while the Lay of the Land Anomaly was active.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Knockoff Wisdomball didn’t respect the Bob-blehead Trinket.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Catacomb Crasher’s effect was triggered when Tavern spells couldn’t spawn into a Tavern (like if the Tavern was fully frozen or when Tess Greymane’s hero power spawned a Tavern without a Tavern spell).
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Loyal Mobster wouldn’t activate Tough Tusk.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Blade of Ambition could fail to copy the minion with the highest stats in the Warband.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where the Golden Hammer Spellcraft Spell was castable on Professor Putricide’s creations.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Lurker retained its base stats upon being Goldenized via the Golden Hammer.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a visual bug where rerolling a hero would give you a new hero with the default hero skin, instead of a toggled favorite.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a visual bug where the rope burned during combat when the Match Fixing Anomaly was active.
• [Collection] All in-client deck recipes and loaner decks will be updated with the launch of Into the Emerald Dream, so that they only include Standard cards after set rotation.
• [Collection] Fixed a bug where Signature Prince Renathal could rarely drop from Packs.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where Quests and Tavern Brawl would show “0 days” in their tracking if less than one day remained.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed bugs where various hero skins lacked hero power animations, lacked their golden frame when the class was golden, or lacked the “Happy New Year” fireworks.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where transforming hero skins were temporarily untargetable during their transformations.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 31.6.2, launching today, includes the following updates and bug fixes.

Hearthstone Dev Comment

There are no Hearthstone-mode balance changes coming this patch. Instead, we’re doing a large balance update in Patch 32.0, including both our normal balance pass for cards rotating into Wild and a sizeable balance pass on cards staying in Standard.

Those changes will be made to give Into the Emerald Dream the best chance for success in a post-rotation environment, while letting Heroes of StarCraft and some older decks have a bit more time to shine in the current metagame until then. Delaying those changes lets us do what’s best for both metagames.

Here’s a preview of some of the things we’re looking at toning down:

• Terran and Zerg Heroes of StarCraft cards;
• Other older cards and decks that we expect will be too powerful after rotations;
• Powerful neutral Legendary cards with harsh play patterns (like Zilliax and Bob); and
• Raza the Resealed will be getting a major rework, due to its interaction with the Priest Imbue Hero Power

The full scope of the changes will be announced ahead of the 32.0 patch notes. Until then, keep jamming your favorite decks and enjoying reveal season. We’ll have a lot more information to share in a few weeks.

Battlegrounds Updates

Dev Comment: This patch we focused on fixing various unintended interactions and making a few power adjustments. Specifically, we adjusted down the power of Raynor, Elementals, and Naga, while increasing the power of Kerrigan, Beasts, Dragons, Murlocs, and Quilboar. We also shuffled the power around a bit in Undead and Demons to try to smooth out their play experience. We are still gathering feedback on which Anomalies are the most fun to play with, and we'll continue to adjust the Anomaly pool throughout the rest of the season.

General Update

• In Duos, the turn timer has been made longer from turn 8 onwards.

Hero Updates

Jim Raynor

• Hero power has been updated so that it is the Hero Power that gives the Upgrades, not the Battlecruiser (but if you don’t have the Battlecruiser, you won’t get the Upgrades added).
• Dev Comment: This is to prevent effects that would let players steal/copy multiple Battlecruisers for several Upgrades each turn.

Artanis

• Hero power now requires 14 cards instead of 16.
• Carrier now a 4/12, but Interceptors don’t attack immediately. Golden Carrier now summons one Golden Interceptor instead of two non-Golden Interceptors.

Kerrigan, Queen of Blades

• Now has less Armor: 14 in Battlegrounds, 12 in Duos.
• Starting hero power (Spawning Pool) costs one less.
• Second stage hero power (Evolution Chamber) costs one more.
• Once your hero power is at the final stage (Ultralisk Cavern), you can’t be offered Tier 1 morphs anymore.
• Mutalisk, Lurker, and Infestor were all upgraded.

Tae’thelan Bloodwatcher

• Buddy is now Tier 5.

Greybough

• Banned in Mech games.

The Great Akazamzarak

• Banned in Mech games.

Card Pool Updates

• Hunter of Gatherers and Choral Mrrrglr have been returned to the minion pool.
• Toxic Tumbleweed and Recruitment Program (Duos) have been removed from the Tavern Spell pool.
• Red Hand has been removed from the Quest Reward pool.
• Relentless Sentry has been removed from the Professor Putricide pool.
• Staff of the Scourge has been removed from the Trinket pool.

Minion Updates

Arm of the Empire

• Old: Whenever a friendly Taunt minion is attacked, give it +2 Attack permanently.
• New: Whenever a friendly Taunt minion is attacked, give it +3 Attack permanently.

Nalaa the Redeemer

• Old: 5/6. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give a friendly minion of each type +2/+2.
• New: 5/7. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give a friendly minion of each type +3/+2.

Slitherspear, Lord of Gains

• Old: 5/6. At the end of your turn, give your Naga +1/+1. (Improved by each different spell you’ve cast this turn!)
• New: 4/6. At the end of your turn, give your other Naga +1/+1. (Improved by each different spell you’ve cast this turn!)

Floating Watcher

• Old: [Tier 4]
• New: [Tier 3]

Batty Terrorguard

• Old: [Tier 5] 6/2
• New: [Tier 6] 8/4

Forest Rover

• Old: [Tier 3] 5/2
• New: [Tier 2] 3/2

Turquoise Skitterer

• Old: 2/5. Deathrattle: Your Beetles have +1/+1 this game. Summon a 2/2 Beetle.
• New: 2/4. Deathrattle: Your Beetles have +1/+2 this game. Summon a 2/2 Beetle.

Gentle Djinni

• Old: [Tier 5] 3/4
• New: [Tier 6] 4/5

Nether Drake

• Old: 4/12
• New: 2/6

Dozy Whelp

• Old: 0/3
• New: 0/4

Coast Guard

• Old: [Tier 6] 5/5. Battlecry: Refresh the Tavern with Pirates, then steal one.
• New: [Tier 5] 4/4. When you sell this, Refresh the Tavern with Pirates, then steal one.

Gemsplitter

• Old: 2/4. After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, get a Blood Gem.
• New: 2/1. Divine Shield. After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, get a Blood Gem.

Boar Gamer

• Old: At the end of every 2 turns, get a random Choose One card.
• New: Taunt. At the end of every 2 turns, get a random Choose One card.
• Dev Comment: This is a bug fix that's been taunting us since the last balance patch.

Pokey Thornmantle

• Old: [Tier 6] 6/7. At the start of your turn, Blood Gems give an extra +1/+2 this game.
• New: [Tier 5] 5/6. At the start of your turn, Blood Gems give an extra +1/+1 this game.

Implant Subject

• No text change, but a minion being Reborn now counts as a minion losing a Bonus Keyword.

Champion of the Primus

• Old: 3/9. Avenge (2): Your Undead have +1 Attack this game (wherever they are).
• New: 3/13. Avenge (3): Your Undead have +1 Attack this game (wherever they are).

Deadstomper

• Old: 4/11. After you summon a minion in combat, give your minions +3 Attack.
• New: 3/11. After you summon a minion in combat, give your minions +4 Attack.

Eternal Knight

• Old: 4/1
• New: 5/1

Anub’arak, Nerubian King

• Old: [Tier 4] 4/3
• New: [Tier 3] 3/2

Spell Updates

Eyes of the Earth Mother

• Old: [Tier 5, 6 Gold]
• New: [Tier 6, 4 Gold]

Anomaly Updates

• Secrets of Norgannon: Appears more frequently.
• Emergency Landing: Appears less frequently (but only at higher ranks).
• Golden Friendship, All Bottled Up, and Line in the Sand: Appear less frequently.
• Cosmic Duality: Appears less frequently; Artanis and Greybough are now banned from getting each others' hero powers.
• Scout’s Honor: Tess Greymane and Scabbs Cutterbutter added to banlist.
• Incubation Mutation: Kerrigan, Queen of Blades added to banlist.
• Treasure Hoard: Rock Master Voone added to banlist.
• Line in the Sand: E.T.C., Band Manager has been band... er, “banned”... added to the banlist.
• Light the Way: Millhouse Manastorm added to banlist.
• Nguyen’s Shifting Disks: Lord Barov’s hero power added to banlist.
• Golden Arena: Jim Raynor, Queen Azshara, and Gift of the Golden Kobold (Quest Reward) added to banlist.
• Golden Arrow: Galakrond added to banlist.
• Golganneth's Tempest: Jim Raynor and Artanis added to banlist.
• Instant Warband: Aranna Starseeker and Ini Stormcoil added to banlist.
• Mimiron’s Clockwork: E.T.C., Band Manager added to banlist.
• Planar Alignment: Chenvaala added to banlist.
• Prudence of Amitus: Alexstrasza added to banlist.
• Uncompensated Upset: Doctor Holli’dae and Snake Eyes added to banlist.
• All Bottled Up: A.F. Kay added to banlist.

Bug Fixes

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where the Hunter deck recipe decks were in the wrong order.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where the Factory Line Anomaly would stop working for the rest of the game if it failed once due to an empty board.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug with the Cosmic Duality Anomaly where it could rarely grant you your starting Hero Power a second time.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed various visual bugs with card tooltips not matching the card’s effects.
• [Collection] Removed bugged copies of Dragonqueen Alexstrasza and Dinotamer Brann, with Signature frames but regular art, that a small number of players got from packs. Removed cards will be replaced with random Wild Signature cards by a separate upcoming grant.
• [Shop] Fixed a bug where Malorne the Waywatcher had the wrong stats in the Pre-Purchase Mega Bundle image.

Patch 31.6, launching today, opens the portal to Hearthstone’s next expansion, Into the Emerald Dream, brings a massive mid-season shakeup to Battlegrounds, and more!

Pre-Purchase Into the Emerald Dream

Prepare to drift off Into the Emerald Dream on March 25! The Emerald Dream, the magical realm from which all Nature flows, is under attack. The Old Gods are spreading their corrupting influence and turning the Dream into a Nightmare! Imbue yourself with the power of the World Tree or Discover the Old Gods’ Dark Gifts, rallying dragons, druids, and Wild Gods to your side. The portal is open, it’s nearly time to step Into the Emerald Dream!

Into the Emerald Dream has 145 new collectible cards. You can learn more about all the dreams and nightmares in the Into the Emerald Dream Announcement Blog. Dreamy pre-purchase bundles are available now!

Pre-purchase

Log in and Get Ysera, Emerald Aspect for Free!

Log in to Hearthstone now to get the guardian of the Dream herself, the Ysera, Emerald Aspect Legendary card for free!* Merely adding her to your deck lets you dream bigger; playing her can make your dreams come true.

* Limit one per account. After Patch 32.4, Ysera, Emerald Aspect will be granted upon opening your first Into the Emerald Dream pack, instead of upon login.

Claim the Gift of Madness from the Shop

Head to the in-game Shop and claim your first Dark Gifts: 2 copies of the Common card, Creature of Madness, for free!* Discover the power of Old Gods’ corruption and give your opponents nightmares.

* Available in the in-game Shop until Patch 32.4. Available through packs and card grants with Patch 32.0 and available through all normal means with the launch of Into the Emerald Dream.

In-Game Event: Release the Raptor!

Sink your teeth into a new in-game event before we head Into the Emerald Dream and kick off the Year of the Raptor! From March 4 to March 25, complete event quests to earn XP on the special rewards track. Complete the rewards track to start your new Hearthstone year off right with: 2 Raptor Herald Epic minions,* 2 Golden Raptor Herald Epic minions, 2 Into the Emerald Dream Packs, 2 random The Great Dark Beyond Epic cards, 2 Golden Creature of Madness Common minions, 2 Tavern Tickets, and the Soulbringer Inge Death Knight Hero Skin.

* Raptor Herald will be added to the special Event set and will be playable immediately upon earning. Raptor Herald is scheduled to stay in Standard until the 2026 Standard rotation along with Champions of Azeroth, Bob the Bartender, and Avatar of Hearthstone (Harth Stonebrew and the 11 “Gift” cards are leaving in the upcoming 2025 Standard rotation).

Battlegrounds Updates

Dev Comment: This mid-season update is a big one! It brings StarCraft to Battlegrounds with new heroes and the rewards track cosmetics unlocks; it brings back and updates Anomalies; and it brings a much requested feature: combat speed-up! There’s so much to cover that we can’t even fit it all in the patch notes. So, jump into the Tavern and see it for yourself—all these changes are live now!

Anomalies Return!

Anomalies are back in Battlegrounds and, for the first time, in Duos! Anomalies are tavern-transforming effects that apply to all players from the start of each game. Adapt to the chaotic influence of the Old Gods to claim your crown!

Compared to last time they were in the Tavern, we removed several of the less popular Anomalies, adjusted some that are returning, and created 21 new Anomalies (4 of which are Duos-only).

The new Anomalies will be more likely to appear for the first two weeks of the patch. Secrets of Norgannon (Tavern Tier 7) has returned and also has an increased appearance rate. Here are all the Anomalies that will be in the pool:

The Heroes of StarCraft Come to Battlegrounds

Kerrigan, Queen of Blades (12 Armor)

• Spawning Pool [7 Gold]: Unlock Tier 2 Zerg. Costs (1) less each turn. Passive: Start the game with a 2/2 Larva.
• Evolution Chamber [7 Gold]: Unlock Tier 3 Zerg. Costs (1) less each turn. Passive: Your Larva can morph into a Tier 2 Zerg.
• Ultralisk Cavern [Passive]: Your Larva can morph into a Tier 3 Zerg.
  • Dev Comment: You will always be offered an option from your Zerg Tier.
• Larva: 2/2. At the start of each turn, choose a Zerg to morph into. It keeps stats and enchantments.
• Zergling [Tier 1]: 2/2. Start of Combat: Summon a copy of this minion. (Morphs each turn!)
• Roach [Tier 1]: 2/2. Taunt. At the end of your turn, gain Health equal to your Tier. (Morphs each turn!)
• Hydralisk [Tier 1]: 2/2. Windfury. Whenever this attacks, permanently gain Attack equal to your Tier. (Morphs each turn!)
• Baneling [Tier 2]: 2/2. Deathrattle: Deal damage equal to this minion’s Attack to a random enemy minion. (Morphs each turn!)
• Mutalisk [Tier 2]: 2/2. Whenever this attacks and kills a minion, gain +4/+4 permanently. (Morphs each turn!)
• Lurker [Tier 2]: 2/2. Stealth. Avenge (2): Gain +1/+1 permanently. (Morphs each turn!)
• Viper [Tier 3]: 2/2. Venomous. Immune while attacking. (Morphs each turn!)
• Infestor [Tier 3]: 2/2. After you play a minion, give your minions +1/+1. (Morphs each turn!)
• Ultralisk [Tier 3]: 2/2. Also damages adjacent minions. Start of Combat: Double this minion’s stats. (Morphs each turn!)

Jim Raynor (12 Armor)

• Lift Off [Passive]: Start with a 2/2 Battlecruiser that adds an Upgrade to the Tavern whenever it is Refreshed.
• Battlecruiser: 2/2, Mech. The Tavern offers an extra Battlecruiser Upgrade each time it is refreshed.
• Dev Comment: The Upgrades are a special pool of spells that upgrade your Battlecruiser with additional stats and effects. They have a range of Tavern Tiers and Costs, and can be bought from the Tavern, but they don’t count as Tavern Spells. You can get each Upgrade as many times as you want, except for four that you can only get once: Advanced Construction, Fortified Bunker, Missile Pod, Ultra-Capacitor. See the official Card Library for the full list of Upgrades.

Artanis (15 Armor)

• Warp Gate: At the start of the game, choose from 2 Protoss minions to get after you buy 16 cards.
• Colossus [Tier 5, Mech]: 6/12. Whenever this attacks, deal 1 damage to the target’s neighbors. (Upgrades when you spend Gold!)
• Carrier [Tier 5, Mech]: 12/4. Avenge (4): Summon a 3/3 Interceptor that attacks immediately. Then improve this permanently.
• Immortal [Tier 5, Mech]: 8/8. Start of Combat: Gain the stats of adjacent minions.
• Void Ray [Tier 5, Mech]: 7/1. Divine Shield. Whenever a friendly minion attacks, give it and this minion +5 Attack permanently.
• Mothership [Tier 5, Mech]: 6/8. Avenge (5): Get a random Protoss minion.
  • Dev Comment: This gives any of the other Artanis minions.

For two weeks following Patch 31.6 all three new Heroes will be in the initial hero offerings for every game, which also means they can’t be rerolled into during that period.

Minion Pool Changes

The following minions have been removed from the minion pool:

• Assistant Guard
• Bazaar Dealer
• Blazing Skyfin
• Briarback Bookie
• Corpse Recycler
• Critter Wrangler
• Ensorcelled Fungus
• Ghoul-acabra
• Hunter of Gatherers
• Inspiring Underdog
• Lightfang Enforcer
• Lil' Rag
• Mutated Lasher
• Resourceful Soldier
• Saloon Dancer
• Silver-Handed Recruit
• Sleeping Sea Glass
• Smoldering Gardener
• Tea Master Theotar
• Three Lil' Quilboar
• Volcanic Visitor
• Papa Bear (Tier 7)
• Recurring Nightmare (Tier 7)
• Granite Guardian (Tier 7)

The following minions have been returned to the minion pool:

• Cyborg Drake
• Deadstomper
• Shellemental
• Cave Hydra
• Floating Watcher
• Pilgrimp
• Low-Flier
• Lighter Fighter
• Bassgill
• Bream Counter
• Mrglin' Burglar
• Shell Whistler
• Gemsplitter
• Tough Tusk
• Geomagus Roogug
• Bristleback Knight
• Eternal Knight
• Eternal Summoner
• Tidemistress Athissa
• Mystic Sporebat
• Mythrax the Unraveler
• Fireworks Fanatic (Solo only)
• Nalaa the Redeemer
• Arm of the Empire
• Winged Chimera

New Minions

Technical Element [Tier 3, Elemental/Mech]

• 5/5. Magnetic. Can Magnetize to both Mechs and Elementals.

Captain Bonerender [Tier 4, Pirate/Undead]

• 5/5. After you summon a different minion in combat, summon an extra copy of it.
• Dev Comment: This doesn’t loop with itself.

Gentle Stag [Tier 3, Beast]

• 1/5. Whenever you summon a minion in combat, give your right-most minion +1/+1 permanently.

Bellowing Tyrant [Tier 7, Beast]

• 3/2. Taunt. Has +3/+2 for each Beast you’ve summoned this game (wherever this is).

Arcane Behemoth [Tier 7, Elemental]

• 4/8. Taunt. After you sell an Elemental, gain its stats.

Stitched Salvager [Tier 7, Undead]

• 20/4. Start of Combat: Destroy the minion to the left of this. Deathrattle: Resummon an exact copy of it.

Changed Minions

Tortollan Blue Shell [Tier 4]

• 3/6. If you lost your last combat, this minion sells for 5 Gold.

Mythrax the Unraveller [Tier 4]

• 4/2. At the end of your turn, gain +2/+1 for each different friendly minion type.

Shellemental [Tier 4, Elemental/Naga]

• 4/4. Spellcraft: Choose a minion in the Tavern. Give its stats to a random friendly minion until next turn.

Sprightly Scarab [Tier 3, Beast]

• 2/1. Choose One – Give a Beast +1/+1 and Reborn; or +8 Attack.

Mystic Sporebat [Tier 5, Beast]

• 8/1. Deathrattle: Get a random Tavern Spell.

Ichoron the Protector [Tier 4, Elemental]

• 3/1. Divine Shield. Whenever you play an Elemental, give it Divine Shield until next turn.
• Dev Comment: This is just switching from “after” to “whenever” timing.

Tidemistress Athissa [Tier 6, Naga]

• 2/6. Whenever you cast a spell, give your Naga +1/+1.

Spell Pool Changes

• Unmasked Identity and Boundless Potential have been removed from the Spell Pool.
• Sacred Gift has been returned to the Spell Pool (at Tier 7).

New Spells

Forest’s Bounty [Tier 4]

• [2 Gold] Choose One – Give a minion +7/+7; or Give your minions +2/+1.

Sharing is Caring [Tier 7]

• [2 Gold] Start of Combat: Your left-most minion gains stats equal to the nearest enemy minion’s.

Blade of Ambition [Tier 7]

• [6 Gold] Choose a minion. Set its Attack and Health to match the highest in your warband.

Hallowed Ritual [Tier 7]

• [5 Gold] Discover a Tier 7 minion.

Spell Changes

Fandral’s Fortune [Tier 6]

• [3 Gold] Discover a Choose One card. It has both effects combined.

Sacred Gift [Tier 7]

• [4 Gold] Give a minion Divine Shield.

General Updates

• StarCraft cosmetics online! The StarCraft-specific cosmetics on the second half of the Battlegrounds Rewards Track have now been unlocked to be earned and claimed.
• Combat speed up: Combat animations will now accelerate as the battle rages on (and then slow down towards the end, for a dramatic finish), to even out longer combat phases!
• Certain cards will now give a Consolation Coin when they have no target for their effect (e.g. Chef’s Choice).
• Invigorating Conch, Divine Armor, and Soul Pact have been removed from the Quest Reward pool.

Arena Update

When Patch 31.6 launches, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The Arena pool will be adjusted so that the following sets make up the card pool this season:

• Festival of Legends
• TITANS
• Showdown in the Badlands
• Whizbang’s Workshop
• Perils in Paradise
• The Great Dark Beyond
• AND Wayward Probe, Raptor Herald, and Creature of Madness

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [General] Updated recommended device specs: players using mobile devices with 4GB or less memory are advised to turn off the “High Quality Mode” option (within Settings -> Downloads). Note that this will disable all voicelines, including from hero skins.
• [Hearthstone] Changed the card name Brood Queen to Hive Queen, to better match the lore.
• [Hearthstone] Updated Aman’Thul’s text to reflect that it only Discovers class Legendaries.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where certain animations could cause crashes. Those animations were temporarily turned off while this bug was addressed and will be turned back on with this patch.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where multiple Carriers’ effects could trigger at the same time, resulting in the second one not summoning all their Interceptors even if the first one’s Interceptors are functionally dead.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where Starship launchpads wouldn’t glow if their launch cost was reduced.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where an Uluu, the Everdrifter with both Choose One effects combined couldn’t choose a target for a targeted effect.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug causing Screaming Banshee sometimes summoned a Die-Hard fan of the wrong stats.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where cards that stole a minion for a turn worked inconsistently when cast twice by cards like Sunsapper Lynessa or Solar Eclipse.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where summoning Rangari Scout with a Discover effect (like Eternal Servitude) would result in Scout immediately getting a copy of itself.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Xor’toth, Breaker of Stars could do too many instances of 5 damage when the Stars were copied in hand.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where specific spell school Spell Damage didn’t buff Spirit Claws.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Clutchmother Zavas kept the Temporary effect when drawn and discarded by The Soularium.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Fatespinner’s chosen Deathrattle wouldn’t activate if it was returned to hand and replayed.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Cutthroat Buccaneer could sometimes fail to grant its buff to a weapon already buffed by Swarthy Swordshiner.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where playing a Hero card after playing Shudderblock could cause the hero to appear in Shadowform.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Hero Power tooltips were sometimes not displaying properly.
• [Battlegrounds] Deaths will now resolve from Start of Combat Hero Power effects before Start of Combat minion effects trigger.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Rerolling a Hero could result in the wrong Armor value being displayed.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Tickatus’s Hero Power didn’t have hand space protection after the first activation.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Doubloon Grifter’s effect tracker would reset when she got directly goldenized by an effect.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Bob-blehead sometimes didn’t block Tier 1 and Tier 2 minions from appearing in the Shop.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Sire Denathrius with Ethereal Evidence would still get offered two Quest Rewards after swapping hero powers.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where repeated end of turn triggers could cause crashes in Duos.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Private Chef’s Spellcraft effect could cause a Triple before passing.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed bugs where ‘Loc Prince’s effect would work incorrectly with some stat-setting effects, like Magnanimoose and Transmuted Bramblewitch, and end-of-turn stat buffs.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where the Legend gem went missing in ranked rewards and end-of-season pop-ups.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where the Master Cloner Achievement didn’t track top 4 finishes correctly.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where the Astronomical! Achievement didn’t track first place finishes correctly.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug making Mythic Kerrigan’s defeat animation incomplete.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where some Game Board clickables stopped working.
• [General] Fixed various performance and connectivity bugs.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 31.4.2, launching today, includes the following updates and bug fixes.

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: The Heroes of StarCraft Mini-Set has brought lots of new and exciting decks across a variety of classes and all three factions. The response to the Mini-Set has been great, so we’re doing a light patch here, only hitting the most extreme play patterns. Nexus-Prince Zerg was a bridge too Shaffar and infinite Snapshots made Fizzle feel overexposed. These changes should help the meta continue developing on its own. Along the same lines, we did not want to use this patch window to make big buffs, but we did find one place where we could safely add a little power across the Protoss classes.

Nexus-Prince Shaffar

• Old: Spellburst: Give a minion in your hand +3/+3 and this Spellburst.
• New: Spellburst: Give a minion in your hand +3/+3 and this Spellburst (unless it already has these effects).
• No longer banned.

Photographer Fizzle

• Old: Battlecry: Take a Snapshot of your current hand and shuffle it into your deck.
• New: Both Photographer Fizzle’s Battlecry and the Snapshot token are now limited to once per game.
• Dev Comment: You can still play more than one Snapshot per game, but after the first one they won’t do anything. Or, you could say that they “fizzle.”

The disenchantable cards above will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 31.4.2.

Void Ray

• Old: 3/1
• New: 3/2

Battlegrounds Updates

Dev Comment: There are a lot of changes this patch, with the general goal of providing more options for play. We did this by lowering the power of some popular cards and strategies (like ‘Loc Prince, Ultraviolet Ascendant, and Beetles), while buffing some underrepresented archetypes (like Demons, Dragons, and Naga). We also brought back some old favorites to open up more synergies. We have more content on the way and are looking forward to sharing more soon. We’ll see you in the Tavern!

Card Pool Changes

• Outback Smolderer, Razorgore the Untamed, Arcane Cannoneer, and Murky have been removed from the minion pool.
• Slitherspear Lord of Gains, Salty Hog, Amber Guardian, Hawkstrider Herald, and Stormbringer have been returned to the minion pool (all with adjustments, see below).

Card Changes

Forest Rover

• Old: 4/2. Battlecry: Your Beetles have +2/+1 this game. Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Beetle.
• New: 5/2. Battlecry: Your Beetles have +1/+1 this game. Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Beetle.

Runed Progenitor

• Old: 2/7. Avenge (4): Your Beetles have +2/+2 this game. Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Beetle.
• New: 2/8. Avenge (3): Your Beetles have +2/+2 this game. Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Beetle.

Turquoise Skitterer

• Old: 2/4. Deathrattle: Your Beetles have +1/+2 this game. Summon a 2/2 Beetle.
• New: 2/5. Deathrattle: Your Beetles have +1/+1 this game. Summon a 2/2 Beetle.

Hawkstrider Herald

• Old: Start of Combat: Trigger all friendly Deathrattles.
• New: Start of Combat: Trigger your two left-most Deathrattles.

Archimonde

• Old: [Tier 4] 4/5. After your hero takes damage, rewind it and reduce the Cost of your next Tavern spell by (1) (but not less than 1).
• New: [Tier 5] 5/5. After your hero takes damage, rewind it and reduce the Cost of your next Tavern spell by (1).

Big Brother

• Old: [Tier 3] 4/3. Taunt. After you cast a Tavern spell, minions in the Tavern have +1/+1 this turn.
• New: [Tier 4] 5/4. Taunt. After you cast a Tavern spell, minions in the Tavern have +1/+2 this turn.

Tichondrius

• Old: 3/3. After your hero takes damage, give your Demons +1/+1.
• New: 3/6. After your hero takes damage, give your Demons +2/+1.

Nether Drake

• Old: [Tier 5]
• New: [Tier 4]

Amber Guardian

• Old: [Tier 4] 3/3. Start of Combat: Give another friendly Dragon +3/+3 and Divine Shield.
• New: [Tier 3] 3/2. Start of Combat: Give another friendly Dragon +2/+2 and Divine Shield.

Prized Promo-Drake

• Old: [Tier 5] 5/4. Start of Combat: Give your other Dragons +5/+4.
• New: [Tier 4] 3/3. Start of Combat: Give your other Dragons +3/+3.

Stormbringer

• Old: [Tier 4] 1/9
• New: [Tier 5] 1/14

Hunter of Gatherers

• Old: [Tier 4] 3/6. Whenever this gains Attack, give your minions +1 Health.
• New: [Tier 5] 3/5. Whenever this gains Attack, give your minions +2 Health.

Dune Dweller

• Old: When you sell this, Elementals in the Tavern get +1/+1 this game.
• New: Battlecry: Elementals in the Tavern have +1/+1 this game.

Meteorite Crasher

• Old: 2/4. After you sell an Elemental, gain +2/+2.
• New: 2/3. After you sell an Elemental, gain +3/+3.

Nomi, Kitchen Nightmare

• Old: After you play an Elemental, Elementals in the Tavern have +1/+1 this game.
• New: After you play an Elemental, Elementals in the Tavern have +2/+1 this game.

Ultraviolet Ascendant

• Old: 5/3. Start of Combat: Give your Elementals +2/+1. (Upgrades after you play an Elemental!)
• New: 6/3. Start of Combat: Give your other Elementals +2/+1. (Upgrades after you play an Elemental!)

Holo Rover

• Old: 3/5. Divine Shield. Whenever this attacks, get a random Magnetic Mech.
• New: 4/8. Whenever this attacks, get a random Magnetic Mech.

Marquee Ticker

• Old: 3/5
• New: 1/5

Bubble Gunner

• Old: 3/2
• New: 2/3

Fairy Gillmother

• Old: 2/5
• New: 1/5

King Bagurgle

• Old: Battlecry: Give your other Murlocs +3/+4.
• New: Battlecry: Give your other Murlocs +3/+3.

Young Murk-Eye

• Old: At the end of your turn, trigger the Battlecry of the minion to the left of this.
• New: At the end of your turn, trigger the Battlecry of an adjacent minion.
• Dev Comment: This is primarily a quality of life change.

‘Loc Prince

• Old: 2/2. Divine Shield. Whenever this gains stats, add +2/+2 to that amount (wherever this is).
• New: 2/1. Divine Shield. Whenever this gains stats, add +2/+1 to that amount (wherever this is).

Corrupted Myrmidon

• Old: [Tier 5] 4/4
• New: [Tier 4] 2/2

Slitherspear, Lord of Gains

• Old: 4/6. At the end of your turn, give your other Naga +1/+1. (Improved by each different spell you’ve cast this turn!)
• New: 5/6. At the end of your turn, give your Naga +1/+1. (Improved by each different spell you’ve cast this turn!)

Dual-Wield Corsair

• Old: 4/7
• New: 3/5

Rapscallion Recruiter

• Old: [Tier 5] 9/3. Deathrattle: Summon 3 Scallywags.
• New: [Tier 4] 6/2. Deathrattle: Summon 2 Scallywags.

Sky Pirate Flagbearer

• Old: [Tier 4] 4/4. Start of Combat: Give your other Pirates “Deathrattle: Summon a 1/1 Pirate. It attacks immediately.”
• New: [Tier 5] 5/5. Start of Combat: Give your other Pirates “Deathrattle: Summon a Scallywag.”
• Note: The Scallywags do not attack immediately.

Salty Hog

• Old: [Tier 6]
• New: [Tier 5]

Gritty Headhunter

• Old: 5/4
• New: 4/2

Boar Gamer

• Old: [Tier 4] 3/5. At the end of your turn, get a random Choose One card.
• New: [Tier 3] 2/4. At the end of every 2 turns, get a random Choose One card. (2 turns left!)

Thorned Trailblazer

• Old: [Tier 4] 5/6
• New: [Tier 3] 4/5

Fearless Foodie

• Old: [Tier 3] 2/4. Choose One - Your Blood Gems give an extra +1/+1 this game; or Get 3 Blood Gems.
• New: [Tier 4] 3/5. Choose One - Your Blood Gems give an extra +1/+1 this game; or Get 4 Blood Gems.

Pokey Thornmantle

• Old: 6/6. At the start of your turn, your Blood Gems give an extra +1/+1 this game.
• New: 6/7. At the start of your turn, your Blood Gems give an extra +1/+2 this game.

Ensorcelled Fungus

• Old: [Tier 5]
• New: [Tier 4]

Inspiring Underdog

• Old: 2/1. Battlecry: Give your minions from Tier 3 or lower +2/+1.
• New: 3/1. Battlecry: Give your minions from Tier 3 or lower +3/+1.

Arid Atrocity

• Old: 7/7. Deathrattle: Summon a 7/7 Golem. (Improved by each friendly minion type that died this combat!)
• New: 6/6. Deathrattle: Summon a 6/6 Golem. (Improved by each friendly minion type that died this combat!)

Menagerie Jug

• Old: Battlecry: Give 3 friendly minions of different types +2/+2.
• New: Battlecry: Give 3 friendly minions of different types +3/+3.

Magnanimoose

• Old: [Tier 4]
• New: [Tier 5]

Loyal Mobster

• Old: [Tier 5] 4/3
• New: [Tier 6] 6/5

Storm Splitter

• Old: [Tier 4]
• New: [Tier 5]

Arena Updates

We’re making some draft microadjustments to adjust relative power levels between the class:

• The following cards have been removed from the draft pool: Piranha Swarmer, Volatile Skeleton, Sinstone Totem, and Kerrigan Queen of Blades.
• The following cards will now appear less frequently in draft pools: Assimilating Blight, Horizon’s Edge, Tide Pools, Nightcloak Sanctum, Collateral Damage, and Patchwork Pals.
• The following cards will now appear more frequently in draft pools: High Templar, Dark Templar, Starship Schematic, Arkonite Defense Crystal, Lurker, Starport (in Warrior and Paladin), Lift Off (in Warrior and Paladin), Flash Sale, Salvage the Bunker, Mothership, Ultralisk Cavern, Felfire Thrusters, Bad Omen, Boom Wrench, Yamato Cannon, Carrier, Construct Pylons, Sha’tari Cloakfield, Astral Phaser, Starlight Reactor, Cosmic Phenomenon, and Immortal.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Progression] Fixed a bug where Nozdormu Day was skipped last month. Nozdormu has traveled the timeline and will be granting a replacement Nozdormu Day tomorrow, February 5! A Bronze Dragon is never late. He arrives precisely when he means to. Update: Whelp...
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where the Proxy Pylon event quest didn’t count Casual, Tavern Brawl, or friendly challenges.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Artanis’s Twin Blades Hero Power text didn’t dynamically update with its effect.
• [Battlegrounds] Updated Catacomb Crasher and Thundering Abominations animations when triggered multiple times at once, to avoid associated performance issues.

Patch 31.4, launching on January 21, pushes Hearthstone further than it’s ever gone with the Heroes of StarCraft Mini-Set, the new Mythic Kerrigan Hero Skin, a new Arena-only card, and more!

It’s About Time—Heroes of StarCraft is Here!

Explore the StarCraft universe with new cards across Zerg, Protoss, and Terran multi-class factions. Experience aggressive Zerg swarms, huge Protoss swing turns, the Terran Starship armada, and more!

Heroes of StarCraft is our biggest Mini-Set ever, with 49 all-new cards. Get them in The Great Dark Beyond packs or as a complete 94-card mini-set.* Get the normal version for $19.99 or 2500 Gold, or get the all-Golden version for $79.99 or 12,000 Gold. The all-Golden version also comes with a bonus Diamond copy of the Grunty Legendary minion! Individual factions from the Mini-Set are also available for $9.99 or 1200 Gold. You can see all the cards from the Heroes of StarCraft Mini-Set in the official Card Library.

* 4 Legendary cards, 1 Epic card (x2), 20 Rare card (x2), and 24 Common cards (x2).

Become the Queen of Blades

The Zerg swarm has infested Hearthstone! Now you can become their leader, Sarah Kerrigan, with Hearthstone’s next Mythic Hero skin. This quad-class skin can be used by all the Zerg classes—Death Knights, Demon Hunters, Hunters, and Warlocks—and includes new emotes, special animations for attacks, victory, and defeat, special board visuals, and more. Spread the infestation!

Hearthstone Card Update

Ethereal Oracle

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Dev Comment: Ethereal Oracle has been one of the strongest and most ubiquitous cards in the meta since the launch of The Great Dark Beyond. In hindsight, this is a card we probably should have addressed in the last balance patch. Unfortunately, the timing of that patch wasn't ideal because we try to avoid high-impact changes heading into an extended winter break where we wouldn’t be able to react to unforeseen problems that might arise. Instead, we’re adding the change into this major patch because we’re already expecting a meta shakeup with the mini-set, and we have our usual built-in balance window a few weeks from now for any necessary follow-up adjustments.

Disenchantable versions of Ethereal Oracle will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks after this change goes live with Patch 31.4.

In-Game Event: Heroes of StarCraft

Choose your faction and fight for glory! From January 21-February 11, pick one of three Event Tracks to complete for 13 packs (5 Perils in Paradise packs and 8 The Great Dark Beyond packs) and a faction-specific Hero Skin. Which campaign will you join?

Event Hero skins not earned through the event will be available in the in-game Shop after the event ends.

Arena Updates

When Patch 31.4 launches, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The Arena pool will be adjusted so that the following sets make up the card pool this season:

• Voyage to the Sunken City
• Murder at Castle Nathria
• Whizbang’s Workshop
• Perils in Paradise
• The Great Dark Beyond (including Heroes of StarCraft)

Additionally, a new Arena-only card will be added to the card pool to help you probe the depths of the meta:

Loaner Deck Updates

Loaner decks for new and returning players* are getting updated with the launch of Patch 31.4. These new decks are tuned to let you immediately jump onto the ladder and include cards as new as The Great Dark Beyond main set!

* Returning players who have been away for 90 or more days are eligible for a free deck just for logging in. Returning players can claim these returning decks each time they are eligible. New players are eligible for their free deck after completing the tutorial and Apprentice Track.

February Twist Update: Return to Un’Goro

On February 4, the Wonders XL format will end and the Wonderful Un’Goro format will begin. Wonderful Un’Goro is back to a 30-card format using the Wonders format, but with Journey to Un’Goro added. The following sets will make up the format:

• Legacy
• Curse of Naxxramas
• Goblins vs Gnomes
• Blackrock Mountain
• The Grand Tournament
• The League of Explorers
• Whispers of the Old Gods
• One Night in Karazhan
• Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
• Journey to Un’Goro
  • The Caverns Below is banned.
• Caverns of Time

The Wonderful Un’Goro format will end with the February season and then Twist will be on hiatus. We will have more information about future Twist seasons in a future update.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [General] Updated Unity version.
• [Hearthstone] Like Galakrond and C’Thun, you will not be able to randomly Discover or generate StarCraft faction cards unless you started the game with at least one card in your deck from that faction or you are actively the Hero for that faction.
• [Hearthstone] Some older cards have had their names updated (Banshee is now Wailing Banshee, Mothership is now Stormcoil Mothership, and Hallucination is now Spore Hallucination).
• [Hearthstone] Cards that draw an unfixed amount of cards will now check for player deaths between draws (meaning that if you draw a Plague from a card like Malygos the Spellweaver and your life goes to 0, you will now immediately lose, instead of continuing to draw and possibly gaining the life back). However, cards that draw a set amount (like Arcane Intellect) will finish their full effect before checking for deaths.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Spore Empress Moldara could be added to E.T.C.’s Band.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug with copying or repeating the Deathrattle of Velen, Leader of the Exiled with Xyrella, the Devout.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug were Screaming Banshee didn’t work with Airlock Breach.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Magnetic effects didn’t work properly with static board-wide stat increases (like Zilliax Deluxe 3000 or Stormwind Champion).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where launching a Starship could count as summoning twice for “when summoned” effects.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Lucky Comet could trigger Bounty Wrangler’s Quickdraw effect twice.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Exarch Maladar’s effect could use Corpses to pay for Forge or Tradeable costs.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Dreamboat’s buff effect counted minions summoned by his heal effect (like if you had a Mana Geode in play).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Galaxy’s Lens targeting an Elusive minion would switch the target to the enemy Hero.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Tess Greymane wouldn’t replay Spontaneous Combustion.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where you could launch your Starship with Bloodbloom.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Orbital Halo would get reduced to 0 when your opponent played cards.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where, for some reason, Bloodbound Imp didn’t get buffed by Kil’jaeden’s Portal.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where all the minions in Diamond Kil’jaeden’s Portal would come out Golden, even if they had a higher quality (Diamond or Signature) available.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed an issue where certain Legacy cards were not included in the eligible Twist Wonders card pools.
• [Battlegrounds] Reverber Drake and Echoing Roar will be temporarily banned at patch launch due to a bug that is scheduled to be fixed in an upcoming hotfix.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Knockoff Wisdomball would sometimes Refresh into an empty Tavern (not very helpful).
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Efficient Engineer couldn’t trigger an Echoing Roar on an Upbeat minion during its off turns (not very efficient).
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed various bugs with Karmic Chameleon sometimes not correctly copying (not very... Karmic?).
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Rylak Metalhead, Reverber Drake, and Persistent Poet didn’t work together.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Thundering Abomination’s buff overrode Butchering’s buff on Reborn minions, instead of them stacking.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Golden Private Chef wasn’t animated.
• [Collection] Players who missed getting Bob the Bartender from the event can now get the normal version by going to the pack opening screen with a regular The Great Dark Beyond pack and get the golden version with a Golden The Great Dark Beyond pack.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 31.2.2 is releasing today with the following updates:

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: This is our last round of changes before the holiday break, so we’re aiming to keep this patch smaller and lower risk. The mini-set is also coming in the not too distant future, and we expect it to do a good job of shaking things up in its own right. Our goal with this patch was to hit the biggest outliers (per usual, considering both play experience and balance).

The following cards are being adjusted to be weaker:

Sonya Waterdancer

• Old: After you play a 1-Cost card, get a copy of it that costs (0).
• New: After you play a 1-Cost minion, get a copy of it that costs (0).
• Dev Comment: We’ve seen this happen many times before—a rogue card or deck that isn’t overly powerful outside of very high level play, but which is a problem for top legend. Sonya has been a focal point in rogue for a while and the recent play patterns have leaned more into frustrating than fun. This change maintains the spirit of the card while removing a lot of its more potent combo potential.

Zilliax Deluxe 3000 (Pylon Module)

• Old: Your other minions have +1/+1.
• New: Your other minions have +1 Attack.
• Dev Comment: Congratulations, Zilliax is the most-nerfed card in history! (To be fair, it’s also a bunch of cards in one.) (But to be real, we might need to nerf it again at some point.) This change should still let Pylon Module remain a relevant piece for aggressive decks, but make it easier to get back into a game against an early Zilliax board.

Sigil of Skydiving

• Old: At the start of your next turn, summon three 1/1 Pirates with Charge.
• New: At the start of your next turn, summon two 1/1 Pirates with Charge.
• Dev Comment: Aggressive decks are getting toned down across the board with Zilliax, but Shaman is a particular stand out that we wanted to further adjust. This change tones down both its burst potential and its ability to build big boards early in the game (both of which Shaman is better at using this card to do than Demon Hunter is, even though it is a Demon Hunter card). We adjusted this card, instead of a Shaman-only card, because it’s the best individual target to accomplish our goals across a swath of Shaman decks.

Crystal Cluster

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]
• Dev Comment: Druid has received a variety of ways to ramp in recent sets, because that’s a core part of its class identity. But this card allows Druid to ramp to Travelmaster Dungar faster and more consistently than we’d like. We’re adjusting this card instead of Dungar directly because this is an overperforming card in the deck even outside of Dungar, and this change will have a slightly larger impact on the deck as a whole than increasing Dungar's mana to 10 would.

Darkglare

• Old: After your hero takes damage, refresh a Mana Crystal.
• New: Battlecry: If your hero took damage this turn, refresh 3 Mana Crystals.

The Demon Seed

• Old: 10 damage per Questline stage.
• New: 12 damage per Questline stage.
• Dev Comment: The Demon Seed has had its ups and downs in Wild since its release. Our balance philosophy for Wild is that we generally step in when a deck is too powerful, too strong, and too frustrating to play against. Questline Warlock is currently the most popular deck in the format and has one of the highest winrates—it has always been one of the most polarizing cards in the game. So we’re double tapping it here. Darkglare is the most egregious part of the deck, allowing for huge boards and consistent quest completion earlier than we’d like, so it is getting hit hardest. We’re also ramping up the Questline requirements to adjust the non-Darkglare versions of the deck.

The above disenchantable cards will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 31.2.2.

The following card is being adjusted to be stronger:

Talgath

• Old: [4 Mana] 4/4
• New: [3 Mana] 3/3
• Dev Comment: With the mini-set in the not too distant future, we weren’t looking to make many buffs this patch. However, Talgath has been an especially underwhelming card since launch and with Rogue getting hit in this patch, we thought this was a fine time to give it a bit of a boost as well.

Battlegrounds Updates

Dev Comment: We hope you are enjoying the new cards in the Tavern. Since this is the first balance patch of the season, we wanted to focus primarily on pulling down some of the early overperformers to make room for other strategies to shine. Specifically, we wanted to pull back the power of Quillboar and Dragons as a whole, plus some other individual card outliers. We also wanted to bump up Naga, Undead, Murlocs, Demons and Menagerie a little to help them compete.

We also adjusted some underperforming heroes in this patch. These are primarily high-confidence buffs that we know will improve their winrates without significant risk of unintended consequences. We’re evaluate how all these changes shake out after the new year and are expecting to make more changes once we have more time and data. Happy holidays and we’ll see you in the Tavern!

Hero Changes

The Jailer – Runic Empowerment

• Old: Give a minion +1/+1. Upgrades after seven friendly minions die.
• New: Give a minion +1/+1. Upgrades after five friendly minions die.

Ini Stormcoil – MechGyver

• Old: [Passive] After 10 friendly minions die, get a random mech.
• New: [Passive] After 9 friendly minions die, get a random mech.

Millificent Manastorm – Tinker

• Old: [Passive] Whenever you summon a Mech, give it +2 Attack.
• New: [Passive] Whenever you summon a Mech, give it +3 Attack.

Sindragosa – Stay Frosty

• Old: Freeze a card in the Tavern. Passive: At the end of your turn, Frozen minions get +2/+1.
• New: Freeze a card in the Tavern. Passive: At the end of your turn, Frozen minions get +2/+2.

Ragnaros – DIE, INSECTS!

• Old: [Passive] After you kill 20 enemy minions, get Sulfuras.
• New: [Passive] After you kill 16 enemy minions, get Sulfuras.

Queen Azshara – Azshara's Ambition

• Old: [Passive] When your warband reaches 25 total Attack, begin your Naga Conquest.
• New: [Passive] When your warband reaches 30 total Attack, begin your Naga Conquest.

Tavish Stormpike – Deadeye

• Old: Start of Combat: Deal 2 damage to your target. (Doubles every 3 turns!)
• New: Start of Combat: Deal 3 damage to your target. (Doubles every 3 turns!)

Sylvanas Windrunner – Reclaimed Souls

• Old: Give +2/+1 to your minions that died last combat.
• New: Give +3/+1 to your minions that died last combat.

Edwin VanCleef – Sharpen Blades

• Old: Give a minion +1/+1. Upgrades after you buy 3 cards.
• New: Give a minion +2/+2. Upgrades after you buy 5 cards.
• Dev Comment: Sharpen Blades now get +2/+2 sharper when they upgrade.

Armor Changes

The following heroes now have less Armor:

• Forest Warden Omu: 6 at higher ranks, 6 at lower ranks, 5 in Duos.
• Galewing: 6 at higher ranks, 6 at lower ranks, 2 in Duos.
• Silas Darkmoon: 8 at higher ranks, 8 at lower ranks, 5 in Duos.
• The Rat King: 8 at higher ranks, 8 at lower ranks, 5 in Duos.
• Elise Starseeker: 12 at higher ranks, 12 at lower ranks, 10 in Duos.
• Kurtrus Ashfallen: 10 at higher ranks, 10 at lower ranks, 7 in Duos.
• Galakrond: 14 at higher ranks, 14 at lower ranks, 11 in Duos.
• Guff Runetotem: 10 at higher ranks, 10 at lower ranks, 8 in Duos.
• Patches the Pirate: 14 at higher ranks, 5 at lower ranks, 11 in Duos.
• Heistbaron Togwaggle: 11 at higher ranks, 11 at lower ranks, 8 in Duos.
• Infinite Toki: 10 at higher ranks, 10 at lower ranks, 7 in Duos.
• Ambassador Faelin: 11 at higher ranks, 11 at lower ranks, 9 in Duos.
• Chenvaala: 10 at higher ranks, 7 at lower ranks, 7 in Duos.
• Captain Eudora: 10 at higher ranks, 10 at lower ranks, 7 in Duos.
• Rock Master Voone: 10 at higher ranks, 15 at lower ranks, 7 in Duos.
• Snake Eyes: 5 at higher ranks, 5 at lower ranks, 2 in Duos.
• Marin the Manager: 7 at higher ranks, 7 at lower ranks, 5 in Duos.

The following heroes now have more Armor:

• Mutanus the Devourer: 18 at higher ranks, 18 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Scabbs Cutterbutter: 13 at higher ranks, 13 at lower ranks, 10 in Duos.
• Vanndar Stormpike: 18 at higher ranks, 18 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Pyramad: 17 at higher ranks, 17 at lower ranks, 14 in Duos.
• George the Fallen: 20 at higher ranks, 20 at lower ranks, 18 in Duos.
• Lady Vashj: 16 at higher ranks, 16 at lower ranks, 13 in Duos.
• C’Thun: 18 at higher ranks, 7 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Rokara: 17 at higher ranks, 17 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Ini Stormcoil: 15 at higher ranks, 6 at lower ranks, 13 in Duos.
• Lich Baz’hial: 18 at higher ranks, 18 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Millificent Manastorm: 19 at higher ranks, 5 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Drek’Thar: 15 at higher ranks, 15 at lower ranks, 12 in Duos.
• Enhance-o Mechano: 18 at higher ranks, 18 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Y’Shaarj: 18 at higher ranks, 18 at lower ranks, 16 in Duos.
• Sneed: 20 at higher ranks, 20 at lower ranks, 17 in Duos.
• Onyxia: 20 at higher ranks, 20 at lower ranks, 18 in Duos.
• Bru’kan: 17 at higher ranks, 17 at lower ranks, 14 in Duos.
• Edwin VanCleef: 18 at higher ranks, 18 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Illidan Stormrage: 17 at higher ranks, 17 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Death Speaker Blackthorn: 14 at higher ranks, 14 at lower ranks, 11 in Duos.
• Overlord Saurfang: 18 at higher ranks, 18 at lower ranks, 15 in Duos.
• Aranna Starseeker: 15 at higher ranks, 15 at lower ranks, 12 in Duos.
• E.T.C., Band Manager: 10 at higher ranks, 10 at lower ranks, 7 in Duos.
• Exarch Othaar: 15 at higher ranks, 15 at lower ranks, 12 in Duos.
• Zerek, Master Cloner: 17 at higher ranks, 17 at lower ranks, 14 in Duos.

Card Pool Changes

• Briarback Bookie, Menagerie Jug, Sore Loser, Dozy Whelp, Party Elemental, and Bazaar Dealer have been returned to the minion pool.
• Bristling Buffoon and Upbeat Frontdrake were removed from the minion pool.

Card Changes

Implant Subject

• Old: 3/2. Stealth. Whenever a friendly minion loses a Bonus Keyword, gain +1/+1 permanently.
• New: 4/3. Stealth. Whenever a friendly minion loses a Bonus Keyword in combat, gain +1/+1 permanently.
• Dev Comment: This update is primarily intended as a bug fix. With this change, Implant Subject has been unbanned from the minion pool.

Hunter of Gatherers

• Old: [Tier 5] 4/6. Whenever this gains Attack, give your minions +2 Health.
• New: [Tier 4] 3/5. Whenever this gains Attack, give your minions +1 Health.

Prized Promo Drake

• Old: [Tier 4] Start of Combat: Give your other Dragons +3/+3.
• New: [Tier 5] Start of Combat: Give your other Dragons +5/+4.

Bountiful Bedrock

• Old: [Tier 2] 2/2.
• New: [Tier 3] 3/4.

Felemental

• Old: 3/1
• New: 3/3

Gem Rat

• Old: [Tier 3] 3/3
• New: [Tier 4] 4/4

Thaumaturgist

• Old: 3/3
• New: 2/2

Critter Wrangler

• Old: 3/6. Whenever you cast a spell on a minion, give it +3/+3.
• New: 4/6. Whenever you cast a spell on a minion, give it +2/+2.

Zesty Shaker

• Old: [Tier 4] 6/6
• New: [Tier 2] 3/4

Arcane Cannoneer

• Old: 5/6. Whenever this attacks, deal 1 damage to the target. (Improved by every 4 spells you’ve cast this game!)
• New: 2/6. Whenever this attacks, deal 2 damage to the target. (Improved by every 4 spells you’ve cast this game!)
• Dev Comment: Improves by 2 damage each time.

Sprightly Scarab

• Old: [Tier 3] 2/1. Choose One – Give a Beast +1/+1 and Reborn; or +3/+3 and Taunt.
• New: [Tier 4] 3/2. Choose One – Give a Beast +2/+2 and Reborn; or +5/+5 and Taunt.

Sly Raptor

• Old: [Tier 4] 1/3. Deathrattle: Summon a random Beast. Set its stats to 7/7.
• New: [Tier 3] 1/2. Deathrattle: Summon a random Beast. Set its stats to 5/5.

Karmic Chameleon

• Old: [Tier 4]
• New: [Tier 5]

Goldrinn, the Great Wolf

• Old: 3/3. Deathrattle: For the rest of this combat, your Beasts have +3/+3.
• New: 4/4. Deathrattle: For the rest of this combat, your Beasts have +4/+4.

Ghoul-acabra

• Old: 4/13. After a friendly Deathrattle minion dies, give your minions +2/+1 permanently.
• New: 4/11. After a friendly Deathrattle minion dies, give your minions +2/+2 permanently.

Champion of the Primus

• Old: 2/9. Avenge (3): Your Undead have +1 Attack this game (wherever they are).
• New: 3/9. Avenge (2): Your Undead have +1 Attack this game (wherever they are).

Holy Mecherel

• Old: [Tier 5] 6/4. After another friendly minion loses Divine Shield, gain Divine Shield.
• New: [Tier 6] 8/4. Divine Shield. After another friendly minion loses Divine Shield, gain Divine Shield.

Charging Czarina

• Old: 5/3. Divine Shield. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give your minions with Divine Shield +2 Attack.
• New: 6/3. Divine Shield. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give your minions with Divine Shield +3 Attack.

Holo Rover

• Old: 4/8
• New: 3/5

Big Brother

• Old: [Tier 4] 5/4
• New: [Tier 3] 4/3

Soul Rewinder

• Old: 3/1
• New: 4/1

Archimonde

• Old: [Tier 5] 6/7. After your hero takes damage, rewind it and reduce the Cost of your next Tavern spell by (1).
• New: [Tier 4] 4/5. After your hero takes damage, rewind it and reduce the Cost of your next Tavern spell by (1) (but not less than 1).
• Dev Comment: Spells can still be reduced to (0) by other cost reduction effects while Archimonde is in play.

Nether Construct

• Old: 5/5. Choose One – Minions in the Tavern have +5/+5 this game; or Consume all minions in the Tavern to gain their stats.
• New: 4/4. Choose One – Minions in the Tavern have +4/+4 this game; or Consume all minions in the Tavern to gain their stats.

Reckless Cliffdiver

• Old: 3/1
• New: 4/1

Mutated Lasher

• Old: 7/3. Deathrattle: For the rest of this combat, your odd-Tier minions have +2/+3.
• New: 9/3. Deathrattle: For the rest of this combat, your odd-Tier minions have +3/+3.

Saloon Dancer

• Old: 4/5. Taunt. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give two other friendly minions +4/+4.
• New: 5/5. Taunt. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give two other friendly minions +5/+5.

Young Murk Eye

• Old: 9/6. At the end of your turn, trigger the Battlecries of adjacent minions.
• New: 10/6. At the end of your turn, trigger the Battlecry of the minion to the left of this.

Hackerfin

• Old: 4/2. Battlecry: Give your other minions +2/+2 for each Bonus Keyword they have.
• New: 5/3. Battlecry: Give your other minions +3/+2 for each Bonus Keyword they have.

King Bagurgle

• Old: Battlecry: Give your other Murlocs +3/+3.
• New: Battlecry: Give your other Murlocs +3/+4.

Nightbane Ignited

• Old: 7/6. Taunt. Deathrattle: Give 2 random friendly minions this minion’s Attack.
• New: 8/6. Taunt. Deathrattle: Give 2 different friendly minions this minion’s Attack.
• Dev Comment: This change means that Nightbane's Deathrattle can no longer give Attack to itself or any other friendly Nightbanes. The effect is otherwise unchanged.

Briarback Bookie

• Old: 3/4. If you have unspent Gold at the end of your turn, get 2 Blood Gems.
• New: 3/3. At the end of your turn, get a Blood Gem.

Boundless Potential

• Old: [4 Gold] Choose One – Discover a minion of your Tier; or a Tavern spell of a Tier higher.
• New: [3 Gold] Choose One – Discover a minion of your Tier; or a Tavern spell of your Tier.

Fandral’s Fortune

• Old: [3 Gold]
• New: [4 Gold]

Arena Updates

We’re making a couple Arena microadjustments to reduce the power of Death Knight this season:

• Horizon’s Edge can no longer be drafted.
• Travel Security will be offered significantly less frequently while drafting.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Implant Subject’s effect didn’t work with Spellcraft spells that gave bonus Keywords.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug with the Bob-blehead Trinket.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Exarch Othaar and Zerek, Master Cloner appeared as Bartenders in some places, instead of Heroes.
• [General] Misc. cosmetic and text updates.

Patch 31.2, launching tomorrow, kicks off Battlegrounds Season 9, sends an invitation to Bob’s Holiday Bash, and more!

Enter the Technotavern in Battlegrounds Season 9

On December 3, Battlegrounds Season 8 will end and Season 9 will begin. That means ratings will reset in Battlegrounds and Duos, Trinkets will be removed, and the Battlegrounds Rewards Track will switch over. All rewards that were earned on the Season 8 track, but not yet claimed, will be automatically claimed. Learn more about the upcoming Season in our Season 9 Announcement Blog.

Three New Heroes

Farseer Nobundo

• The Galaxy’s Lens [3 Gold]
• Get a copy of the last Tavern spell you cast. Each turn, your next Hero Power costs (1) less.

Exarch Othaar

• Arcane Knowledge [0 Gold]
• The next Tavern spell you buy costs (1) less. (Unlocks on turn 3.)

Zerek, Master Cloner

• Cloning Gallery [0 Gold]
• Summon an exact copy of a friendly minion. (Once per game.)

These three new heroes will be offered in every Battlegrounds/Duos game for two weeks following their introduction in Patch 31.2. Since they will always be in the initial hero offerings each game, that also means you will NOT be able to Reroll into them during this period (because you can’t Reroll into a hero that’s already been offered, more on that below).

Hero Updates

Lich Baz’hial

• Graveyard Shift [2 Gold]
• Steal a card from the Tavern. Take 2 damage.

Shudderwock

• Snicker-snack [0 Gold]
• Trigger a friendly minion’s Battlecry. (Unlocks on Turn 3.)

Marin the Manager

• Kaboom Bot Portrait, Eternal Portrait, Felblood Portrait, Tiger Carving, Souvenir Stand, Goose Portrait, and Empowered Mirror have been removed from the Hero Power Trinket Pool.

Trade Prince Gallywix

• No longer banned in Elemental lobbies.

Minion Refresh and Rollout Schedule

The new season will bring nearly 90 new and returning minions and 11 all-new Tavern spells across Battlegrounds and Duos! With so many changes, Bob’s rolling out the minion types in groups so you can learn the new synergies, and each gets a chance to shine:

• December 3: Patch goes live initially with Beasts, Dragons, Quilboar, Pirates, Naga, and Mechs.
• December 5: Murlocs and Demons are added to the minion pool.
• December 9: Undead and Elementals are added to the minion pool.

You can see all the card reveals and changes now in the official Card Library.

Damage Cap Update

Starting with Season 9, the damage cap will be adjusted in solo Battlegrounds games (note: this change will only apply to solo Battlegrounds, not Duos). The damage cap will start at 5 damage, then go up to 10 damage on turn 4, and 15 damage on turn 8. The cap will still be removed once you’re in the Top 4. This change will allow games to progress more evenly, without big bursts of damage in the early game.

New Feature: Hero Rerolls

Starting with Season 9, you’ll be able to Reroll Hero options during the Hero selection phase of your Battlegrounds games. Each Hero slot can be Rerolled once per game, using new Battlegrounds Tokens. Each Reroll will change that specific Hero into a different Hero option that hasn’t been offered to any player in the lobby that game.* Each player’s Rerolls are independent of other players’, so you don’t need to worry about timing your Rerolls to make them more effective.

You can get Battlegrounds Tokens from the Rewards Track (as free rewards and with the Season Pass), in-game grants, viewership rewards, and the in-game Shop. Once Patch 31.2 goes live, all players will automatically have 2 Battlegrounds Tokens added to their account. There will also be a free bundle of 4 Battlegrounds Tokens that you can claim in the in-game Shop for a limited time after launch. Finally, with the new Battlegrounds Season Pass+, your first Reroll each game doesn’t require a Battlegrounds Token.

* Because you can’t Reroll into a Hero that was already offered to someone in the lobby, and because the new Heroes are guaranteed to be offered in every lobby for two weeks following the patch, you will be unable to Reroll into those Heroes during that period.

New Battlegrounds Season Pass and Season Pass+

With Season 9, the Battlegrounds Rewards Track is being extended to add Battlegrounds Tokens throughout both the free rewards and the paid rewards from the Season Pass. There will also be a new option, the Season Pass+, that includes everything on the Season Pass plus a perk that makes it so your first Reroll each game doesn’t consume a Battlegrounds Token—making it the most consistent and efficient option for people who want to maximize their Rerolls and Hero options.

The Season Pass will be available for the same price as before ($14.99 USD or 1500 Runestones). The Season Pass+ will be available for $19.99 USD or 2000 Runestones. If you get the regular Season Pass and later decide you want to upgrade to the Season Pass+, you will be able to do so for $4.99 or 500 Runestones. See our Season 9 Announcement Blog for the details about all three levels of the Rewards Track.

Arena Update

When Patch 31.2 launches on December 3, all ongoing Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible sets will be updated to the following:

• The Great Dark Beyond
• Perils in Paradise
• TITANS
• Festival of Legends
• Scholomance Academy
• Descent of Dragons

Twist Updates

Twist is back! Twist returns with the Wonders format for when Patch 31.2 launches on December 3. The Wonders format is a throwback format celebrating the early years of Hearthstone*. In it, players can make decks with cards from the following sets:

• Legacy (which is distinct from Core and Classic)
• Curse of Naxxramas
• Goblins vs Gnomes
• Blackrock Mountain
• The Grand Tournament
• The League of Explorers
• Whispers of the Old Gods
• One Night in Karazhan
• Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
• Caverns of Time

Starting with Patch 31.2, Twist will no longer require that all formats start and end exactly on the first and last day of the month. This will allow for better support during those transition periods by avoiding weekends and holidays. The initial Wonders format will run from December 3 to January 6.

Seasons will still be monthly and ladder rankings will still reset with the monthly calendar. That means, for example, that the January ladder season will consist of two different formats: one from January 1-6, and one from January 6-31.

On January 6, the XL Wonders format will begin. XL Wonders uses the same card pool as Wonders, but allows you to build your decks with anywhere between 30 and 40 cards and then have your life total match your card total (so if you have a 37-card deck, you will begin the game with 37 max life). This means you can keep playing your Wonders deck, or add a bit more cards in once the format rolls over. What Wonders will you accomplish with freedom over your deck and life total?!

We’ll have more information about the February Twist season closer to when it goes live.

* Before the introduction of Demon Hunter and Death Knight, so those classes are banned in both Wonders and XL Wonders.

Heroic Tavern Brawl Returns

Heroic Tavern Brawl returns for the week of December 4-11. Pay an entry fee and compete in high-stakes games until reaching either 12 wins or 3 losses, with prizing based on how well you do.

In-Game Event: Bob’s Holiday Bash

Bob’s hosting a holiday bash this year, with a special in-game event. From December 10 to December 31, complete Event Quests to earn XP on the special Event XP Track. Both Hearthstone and Battlegrounds are on Bob’s invite list, so Event Quests can be completed in either Mode, and progress gives rewards for both Modes. Complete the entire Event Track to earn 7 The Great Dark Beyond Packs, 4 Battlegrounds Tokens, and Bob the Bartender himself (regular and golden), for the first time in Standard Hearthstone!

Bob the Bartender is planned to rotate out of Standard with the 2026 Standard rotation.

Enjoy Music from the Tavern!

Finish the year out strong with Hearthstone: Music of the Tavern (Volume 2), releasing on December 18! Enjoy the tunes of over 50 in-game tracks when they launch on Spotify, Apple Music, itunes, and Deezer!

Artist: Uriah Voth

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [General] Using the “Quit” button from the in-game menu will no longer Concede your game when closing the client. Funnily, this issue was actually the original and intended behavior, resurfaced after a longstanding bug was fixed. But there was clear feedback that many of you were used to the bug and preferred that functionality, so we turned the bug into a feature and reverted the functionality.
• [General] Fixed a bug causing disconnection/performance issues.
• [Tavern Brawl] Tavern Brawl timing will be updated so that all regions align with Pacific Time (9 a.m. PT start time).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed bugs with Private Eye and Mysterious Challenger causing disconnects, and unbanned them from Wild.
• [Hearthstone] Avatar of Hearthstone will no longer require handspace for its effect.
• [Hearthstone] Announce Darkness can now give Warlock locations.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where playing a Titan, returning it to your hand, and replaying it could cause a disconnect.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Imployee of the Month didn’t count as an Imp. We’ve updated his personnel file.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Airlock Breach didn’t count properly for number of Health changes.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Maestra, Mask Merchant could Discover Galakrond hero cards.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a text-only bug where Kil’jaeden’s Portal would upgrade some card texts that it shouldn’t, based on the Portal buffs.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Mining Casualties could be played on a full board.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Carnivorous Cubicle’s end of turn effect could trigger multiple times if its Battlecry was multiplied when played (like with Shudderblock).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Hot Coals would not resolve deaths after the first wave.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Parrot Sanctuary wouldn’t reopen if the Battlecry minion transformed into a non-Battlecry minion.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Wakener of Souls could resurrect itself under specific circumstances.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Uluu, the Everdrifter’s Choose One effects could be affected by Spell Damage.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where cards that would resurrect Mistah Vistah couldn’t (or would cause a crash).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Dryscale Deputy wouldn’t copy the right card if the next spell drawn was a Cast When Drawn card, like a Plague (now it will copy the Plague).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Greedy Partner wouldn’t get activated by cards that were made to cost 2 by Razorscale.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where minions that transformed into Dormant minions with “while Dormant” effects didn’t have their functionality.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed visual bugs with Spore Empress Moldara’s effect.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Deathborne and Cycle of Hatred counted as destroying minions that died during their effect resolution, but not as a direct result of the spell (it was a weird edge case, don’t worry about it).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where copying Voodoo Doll’s Battlecry would also copy its Deathrattle.
• [Battlegrounds] Various minions that give a bonus when you spend a certain amount of Gold have been updated so that the effect will now still trigger even if the required Gold is spent getting a triple of that minion.
• [Battlegrounds] Various minions that grant a variable of an effect (like, based on how much Gold was spent that turn) have had their text updated to track this variable.
• [Battlegrounds] The Blessing of the Nine Frogs Hero Power can no longer be activated if your hand is full.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Ritual of Growth would trigger Catacomb Crasher’s effect.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Motley Phalanx would not buff Corrupted Myrmidon during combat.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Golden Persistent Poet didn’t work with Sky Pirate Flagbearer.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Ghosts could have spells with Start of Game effects that should have been spent expired after the fight they died in.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Aggem Thorncurse’s effect could be triggered in the Tavern.
• [Collection, CN-only] Fixed a bug where the “Refund” search in the Collection manager showed all the cards from the prior year.
• [Collection] Players who missed getting Champions of Azeroth from the event can now get the normal version by going to the pack opening screen with a regular The Great Dark Beyond pack and get the golden version with a Golden The Great Dark Beyond pack.
• [Collection] Fixed a bug where Imp-oster couldn’t be crafted or disenchanted.
• [Collection] Check out Interstellar Starslicer’s flavor text.
• [Shop] Fixed a bug where the “New” notification could show even when there was nothing new in the Shop.
• [Solo Content] Fixed issues where a couple Boomsday Puzzles became unsolvable.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where multiple older Achievements didn’t progress correctly if you used Core Set versions of the relevant cards instead of the originals.
• [Misc.] Fixed a bug with the performance of the in-game Reconnect feature.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 31.0.3 is rolling out today with the following updates:

Hearthstone Card Changes

Dev Comments: The goal of this patch is to focus on The Great Dark Beyond. The power level of new decks and archetypes is lower than we intended it to be, and older archetypes are more dominant than we’d like. To make new decks and cards stand out more, we’re weakening a number of cards (mostly from older sets) and strengthening others (all from The Great Dark Beyond).

Our long-term ambition is for the overall power level of the game to be closer to The Great Dark Beyond than the power level of the sets before it, but we think some buffs are warranted and needed to hit our immediate goal encouraging exploration in The Great Dark Beyond. Between balancing our immediate and long-term goals, plus the sheer number of changes in this patch, we expect there will be some level of follow-up adjustments that we plan to work on in the next balance patch window after we see how these changes affect the meta (coming before Winter break).

In deciding which cards to bring down in power, we looked at three major categories: 1) overly powerful cards/archetypes from older expansions; 2) cards that led to frustrating experiences, even if not overly powerful; and 3) cards that were overly hostile to new expansion cards and mechanics, like Starships.

The following cards are being adjusted to be weaker:

Reno, Lone Ranger

• Old: Battlecry: If your deck started with no duplicates, empty the enemy board and limit it to 1 space for a turn.
• New: Battlecry: If your deck started with no duplicates, remove all enemy minions from the game.
• Dev Comments: Reno has been a polarizing card since its release. He’s a necessarily strong payoff to singleton decks, which many players really enjoy, but playing against him can be really frustrating—especially his next turn board limitation. It’s been difficult to balance these competing player interests, and we don’t make this change lightly, but we felt Reno was due for an update (to no longer hit non-minions, Dormant minions, etc.) so we could give Starships a better chance to fly.

Lamplighter

• Old: 4/3. Battlecry: Deal 1 damage (Improved by each turn in a row you’ve played an Elemental).
• New: 4/4. Battlecry: If you played an Elemental last turn, deal 4 damage.
• Dev Comment: Elemental decks are designed to be tempo decks that can play for board and be aggressive. We want them to have some finishing power, but Lamplighter gave the deck more direct damage than we'd like. We think this change, instead of just making it cost more or only hit minions, better aligns with the goals for the archetype.

Seabreeze Chalice

• Old: Deal 2 damage randomly split among all enemies.
• New: Deal 2 damage randomly split among all enemy minions.

Conniving Conman

• Old: Battlecry: Replay the last card you’ve played from a non-Rogue class.
• New: Battlecry: Replay the last card you’ve played from another class.

Sea Shill

• Old: Battlecry: The next card you play from a non-Rogue class costs (2) less.
• New: Battlecry: The next card you play from another class costs (2) less.

Sleep Under the Stars

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Quasar

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]
• Dev Comment: Yeah, our bad... Every expansion we like to make a few “dreamy” cards that get players thinking about how far they can push the game. These cards aren’t supposed to be the most competitively viable; the fun of them is wondering “what if.” Quasar mostly fell into that category—it certainly got the dreamers cooking and it hasn’t turned out to be a competitive power outlier—but the experiences when this card does work are too sharp and end games too early, turning the dream into a nightmare to play against.

Everything Must Go

• Old: [8 Mana]
• New: [9 Mana]

Malted Magma

• Old: Deal 1 damage to all enemies.
• New: Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions.

Wave of Nostalgia

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Threads of Despair

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Reska, the Pit Boss

• Old: [20 Mana]
• New: [25 Mana]

Funnel Cake

• Old: [1 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Mystery Egg

• Old: Miniaturize. Deathrattle: Get a copy of a random Beast in your deck. It costs (4) less.
• New: Miniaturize. Deathrattle: Get a copy of a random Beast in your deck. It costs (3) less.

Order in the Court

• Old: Reorder your deck from highest Cost to lowest Cost.
• New: Reorder your deck from highest Cost to lowest Cost. Draw a card.
• Dev Comment: On its face, this looks like a buff, but the intent of this change is to pull back on a play pattern that is warping the Wild metagame. With the introduction of The Ceaseless Expanse, the deck got a payoff worth going all-in on in a way that made the deck faster and more consistent than ever before. This change will still allow for big plays, while skipping over the turn 5 100-damage Holy Wrath target. With this change, The Ceaseless Expanse is no longer banned in Wild.

The above cards, plus disenchantable copies of Master’s Call—more on that in the Bug Fixes and Game Improvements section—will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 31.0.3.

The following cards are being adjusted to be stronger:

Dev Comment: When we looked at The Great Dark Beyond data, we found some cards with room for buffs. So, we’ve made adjustments across a wide range of new cards, with an emphasis on promoting the expansion’s marquee archetypes.

Askara

• Old: [5 Mana] 4/5
• New: [4 Mana] 4/4

Dirdra, Rebel Captain

• Old: Rush. Battlecry: Shuffle all 8 Crewmates into your deck. Deathrattle: Draw one.
• New: Rush. Battlecry: Shuffle all 8 Crewmates into your deck. Deathrattle: Draw two Crewmates.

Voronei Recruiter

• Old: 1/3
• New: 2/3

Interstellar Starslicer

• Old: 2/3
• New: 3/2

Yrel, Beacon of Hope

• Old: [5 Mana] 4/3
• New: [4 Mana] 3/3

Felfire Thrusters

• Old: 2/3
• New: 2/4

Sha’tari Cloakfield

• Old: 1/3
• New: 1/4

The Gravitational Displacer

• Old: 4/3
• New: 5/4

Starship Schematic

• Old: Discover a Starship Piece from another class.
• New: Discover a Starship Piece from another class. It costs (1) less.

Scrounging Shipwright

• Old: Deathrattle: Get a random Starship Piece from another class.
• New: Battlecry: Get a random Starship Piece from another class.

The Exodar

• Old: [8 Mana] 6/10
• New: [7 Mana] 6/8
• Dev Comment: This last change is particularly spicy. We wanted to make sure that Starships got a chance to shine, but we’ll keep an eye on this one after all the changes go live to make sure we didn’t push too far.

Ace Wayfinder

• Old: [5 Mana] 5/5
• New: [4 Mana] 4/4

Dimensional Core

• Old: [3 Mana] 3/2
• New: [2 Mana] 2/2

Astral Vigilant

• Old: 1/1
• New: 1/2

Battlegrounds Updates

Dev Comments: Well met! As this season comes to a close, we primarily focused on making adjustments to cards that will be leaving at the end of the season. Specifically, we wanted to raise the power of Naga and Beasts a little bit while lowering the power of Quilboar a bit as well. We also removed or adjusted some frustrating/unpopular trinkets.

One absence this patch is to hero adjustments. We decided not to make significant changes to any heroes at this time because we expect the meta to change significantly in 31.2 and we will be able to better adjust them when Trinkets are rotated out. We are expecting to make some hero adjustments in the first major balance patch after the new season launches. We'll see you in the Tavern!

Minion Updates

Critter Wrangler

• Old: 2/5. Whenever you cast a spell on a minion, give it +2/+2.
• New: 3/6. Whenever you cast a spell on a minion, give it +3/+3.

Soft-hearted Siren

• Old: 3/6
• New: 3/10

Living Azerite

• Old: [Tier 4] 6/6
• New: [Tier 3] 4/4

Iridescent Skyblazer

• Old: 4/8. Whenever a friendly Beast takes damage, give a friendly Beast other than it +1/+1 permanently.
• New: 3/7. Whenever a friendly Beast takes damage, give a friendly Beast other than it +2/+1 permanently.

Moon-Bacon Jazzer

• Old: [Tier 2] 2/3
• New: [Tier 3] 2/5

Karmic Chameleon (Golden version only)

• Old: Avenge (5): Transform into a copy of the minion to the left of this.
• New: Avenge (5): Transform into a Golden copy of the minion to the left of this.

Land Lubber

• Old: [Tier 3] 4/5
• New: [Tier 4] 5/6

Phyresz

• Old: 3/3. Battlecry: Discover a plain copy of a different minion that you have exactly one of.
• New: 4/4. When you sell this, Discover a plain copy of a different minion that you have exactly one of.

Famished Felbat

• Old: 9/6. At the end of your turn, your other Demons consume a minion in the Tavern to gain its stats.
• New: 9/5. At the end of your turn, your Demons each consume a minion in the Tavern to gain its stats.

Lesser Trinket Updates

Belcher Portrait

• Old: Get an ‘Operatic Belcher’. Whenever a friendly minion loses Venomous, it gains +3/+3 permanently.
• New: Get an ‘Operatic Belcher’. Whenever a friendly minion loses Venomous, it gains +4/+4 permanently.

Kaboom Bot Portrait

• Old: Get a ‘Kaboom Bot’. Your Kaboom Bots’ Deathrattles deal 8 extra damage.
• New: Get a ‘Kaboom Bot’. Your Kaboom Bots’ Deathrattles deal 10 extra damage.

Dalaran Cheese Wheel

• Old: [0 Gold] Minions in the Tavern have +1/+1. Upgrades every 5 times you Refresh.
• New: [1 Gold] Minions in the Tavern have +1/+1. Upgrades every 4 times you Refresh.

Blingtron’s Sunglasses

• Old: [3 Gold]
• New: [4 Gold]

Azeroth Model Globe

• Old: [1 Gold]
• New: [0 Gold]

Rewinder Portrait

• Old: [4 Gold]
• New: [3 Gold]

Bob-blehead

• Old: The Tavern no longer offers cards from Tier 1 or Tier 2.
• New: Gain 2 Gold. The Tavern no longer offers cards from Tier 1 or Tier 2.

Greater Trinket Updates

Bronzebeard Portrait

• Old: Get a ‘Brann Bronzebeard’. Your Brann Bronzebeards are both Murlocs and Dragons.
• New: Get a ‘Brann Bronzebeard’ and a random Battlecry minion. Your Brann Bronzebeards are both Murlocs and Dragons.

Redeemer Portrait

• Old: [8 Gold] Get a ‘Nalaa the Redeemer’. Tavern spells cost (1) less.
• New: [5 Gold] Get a ‘Nalaa the Redeemer’. Tavern spells cost (1) less (but not less than 1).

Belcher Portrait

• Old: Get an ‘Operatic Belcher’. Whenever a friendly minion loses Venomous, it gains +12/+12 permanently.
• New: Get an ‘Operatic Belcher’. Whenever a friendly minion loses Venomous, it gains +14/+14 permanently.

Dalaran Cheese Wheel

• Old: [2 Gold] Minions in the Tavern have +2/+2. Upgrades every 5 times you Refresh.
• New: [5 Gold] Minions in the Tavern have +2/+2. Upgrades every 4 times you Refresh.

Azerite Portrait

• Old: [1 Gold]
• New: [4 Gold]

Twin Sky Lantern

• Old: [2 Gold]
• New: [1 Gold]

Promo Portrait

• Old: [1 Gold]
• New: [0 Gold]

Pool Updates

• Aggem Thorncurse will stay removed from the Minion Pool.
• Primalfin Portrait, Shaman Prayer Beads, and Precious Pearl have been removed from the Trinket Pools.
• The Eye of Sargeras will be removed from the Trinket Pool if you have Souvenir Stand.
• Tickatus Sticker has been removed from the Mystery Cube.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Various Discover cards (Master’s Call, Font of Power, Crystalsong Portal, Omega Assembly, Maruut Stonebinder, and some PVE cards) have been adjusted to more clearly and accurately account for cards gained through Discover versus alternative effects. We don’t normally give refunds for these types of bug fixes/general rules updates, and these changes won’t have any gameplay impact in most games, but we’ve decided to include Master’s Call in this patch’s refund period due to its specific changed interaction with Alien Encounters.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Blood Gems sometimes didn’t work when you had the Training Certificate Trinket.
• [General] Fixed a bug where the “Hearthstone has been updated!” message could sometimes block players even when no update was available.