Hearthstone

Patch 28.0, launching tomorrow, saddles up for Showdown in the Badlands to come to Hearthstone on November 14!

The Showdown in the Badlands is About to Begin!

Hearthstone’s next expansion, Showdown in the Badlands, is riding into Hearthstone on November 14. The new 145-card expansion includes the new Quickdraw and Excavate keywords, Legendary outlaws, and more! See all the new cards in the official Card Library today. This is your last chance to wrangle your Pre-Purchase bundle, only available until the expansion goes live next week!

With the launch of Showdown in the Badlands comes a new Rewards Track, filled with treasures like XP boosts, cards, card packs, and a motherlode of Gold. Eureka! Check out our Rewards Track Refresh blog for details.

Pre-Release Theorycrafting on November 9-10

Join us as your favorite content creators fire off their first shots at the new expansion, before its official launch on November 14. Invited players will be streaming their participation on their own personal streams, so make sure that you’re following your Hearthstone creators and tune in when they go live!

• NA/LATAM/EMEA players will play on November 9, 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (PT)
• APAC players will play on November 10, 2:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. (PT)

All participants need to include at least 10 Showdown in the Badlands cards in their decks (that can be 10 individual cards, 5 duplicates, or anything in between).

Your favorite posse of casters is also returning for their TheoryCASTING stream on the official Hearthstone Twitch channel. Join them as they bounce between games from all the participating players and provide their expert analysis.

• Lorinda, Edelweiss, Sottle, and Raven are back on November 9, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (PT)

Twitch Drops will be enabled category-wide from November 9, 9:00 a.m. to November 10, 9:00 a.m. (PT), so you can watch any Hearthstone stream you’d like and earn up to 2 Showdown in the Badlands Packs! Just make sure you link your Twitch and Battle.net accounts for your watch time to award drops. In addition to category-wide Twitch Drops, all participating streamers will have Pre-Purchase Mega Bundle codes to give away to their respective audiences during the event!

Hearthstone Updates

Anomalies Update

Yogg-Saron has been contained once again! Anomalies will no longer appear in 1/4 of matches. Anomalies will now only appear if one or both players have Cho-Gall, Twilight Chieftain in their deck at the start of the game.

Card Updates

Stitched Giant

• Old: [Double Unholy Runes]
• New: [Single Unholy Rune]

Catch-Up Packs Unlock on November 14

Catch-Up Packs are a new type of pack that was announced at BlizzCon. Each Catch-Up Pack has a variable number of cards in it, based on your collection—up to 50 per pack! Login after Patch 28.0 goes live for 2 free Catch-Up Packs.* Catch-Up Packs have also been added to the Showdown in the Badlands Pre-Purchase Bundles, and more! Check out our dedicated Catch-Up Packs blog for more information.

* Available until Patch 29.0.

In-Game Event—Wanted: Dead or Alive!

Outlaws and crooks ride rampant in the Badlands. Starting on November 20, get deputized and start chasing their bounties! From November 20-December 5, complete Event Quests to earn Event XP on the special event rewards track. Complete the rewards track to earn 2 Showdown in the Badlands Packs, 5 Catch-Up Packs, and the Trader Rafaam Warlock Hero Skin.

Battlegrounds Updates

• There are no new Anomalies coming with Patch 28.0, but Anomalies will continue to be in all games until the next Battlegrounds Season begins in Patch 28.2.
• No more choosing between favorites! You can now toggle multiple favorite Strikes and Boards, to get a random one of your favorites at the start of each game.

Duels Updates

Season Update

On November 7, the current Duels season will end, ratings will be reset, and current runs will be concluded. At that time, Descent of Dragons and Galakrond’s Awakening will be added to deckbuilding and card pool offerings. Showdown in the Badlands will also become available in all card pool offerings at that time, but will not be available for initial deckbuilding until the launch of the expansion on November 14.

Bucket System Update

Adventure card sets will no longer have their own buckets. Instead, they’ll be rolled into an expansion set bucket. Curse of Naxxramas will be added to the Goblins vs. Gnomes bucket; One Night in Karazhan will be added to the The Grand Tournament bucket; Galakrond’s Awakening and Blackrock Mountain will be added to the Descent of Dragons bucket; and The League of Explorers will be added to the Saviors of Uldum bucket.

Card Pool Updates

• The following card is banned from deckbuilding and all buckets:
  • Arcane Amplifier*
• The following cards are banned from all draft buckets, but are legal for initial deckbuilding:
  • Embiggen
  • The Amazing Reno*
  • Goru the Mightree
  • Nozdormu the Timeless
  • All 5 forms of Galakrond*
  • Waxadred*
  • Flik Skyshiv*
  • Maw and Paw
  • Rheastrasza
  • Theldurin the Lost
  • Tae’Thalan Bloodwatcher
  • Spirit of the Badlands
  • Reno, Lone Ranger*

* These cards are also banned from Discover and random generation effects.

Minion Update

Sr. Navigator

• Old: Whenever you target this minion with a spell that costs (2) or more, add a copy of the spell to your hand.
• New: After you target this minion with a spell that costs (2) or more, restore 3 Health to another random friendly minion.

Arena Updates

On November 7, with Patch 28.0, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Core
• Showdown in the Badlands
• Caverns of Time
• TITANS
• Path of Arthas
• Descent of Dragons
• Saviors of Uldum

Updated: For the upcoming Arena season, we’re excited to try a new drafting structure! The first pick of each draft is now guaranteed to be a Legendary card. Then, Legendary cards won’t appear at all in subsequent picks. We hope this will allow for the new “no duplicate” Legendary cards in Showdown in the Badlands to feel like a viable strategy in Arena, too. Along with this change, we’ve removed all Titans from the Arena pool (and, as a reminder, Hero Cards are already unable to be drafted in Arena — except for Lord Jaraxxus). We’ll be monitoring the experience and player feedback closely and make adjustments if necessary.

Twist Updates

Journey to Un’Goro has come to Twist for the November season, now live! Head to Twist now to dino-size your climb. After the November season, Twist will be temporarily disabled for the December and January seasons. We look forward bringing Twist back in February with a fun new season!

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [General] Addressed various localization issues.
• [Hearthstone] Void Scripture will no longer reveal a Secret selected and immediately cast by its effect.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where a Reborn trigger counted as summoning an extra time.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where a doubled Celestial Shot would result in an extra damage buff.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where certain cards were able to Discover different set versions of themselves.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Crusader’s Aura was missing its “turns left” indicator.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Shadowtouched Kvaldir’s effect wouldn’t be spent if it was used to pop a Divine Shield.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug with Shadowtouched Kvaldir and Overheal effects.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Conjurer’s Calling didn’t work with Fanottem, Lord of the Opera.
• [Battlegrounds] The Yogg-iseum Anomaly will no longer be able to roll Curse of Flesh on the first turn of the game.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where the Anomaly for the match couldn’t be seen on mobile devices during Hero Select.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Sea Witch Zar’jira’s Spellcraft spell made a base copy instead of an exact copy.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where a minion with Reborn couldn’t re-gain Reborn after it lost Reborn from being attacked by Sin’dorei Straight Shot.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where, if one player disconnected during a game with the Yogg-isseum Anomaly, the same result would then be spun every turn for the rest of the game.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed an issue causing disconnects.
• [Duels] Deathcharger and Joras Thuldoom have had their minion types updated.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug where Aviana would appear in Duels buckets.
• [Features] Spacebar input now works with the Mass Pack Opening feature.
• [Features] Fixed a bug where if you opened 12+ Legendary cards with Mass Pack Opening Harth would be so flabbergasted that the summary screen would show an empty Legendary banner.
• [Progression] We’ve adjusted the amount of Rewards Track experience gained from playing in Mercenaries.
• [Progression] Fixed various bugs with the reworked tutorial.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed bugs with the appearance of Rafaam’s Legendary Skin on Android devices.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug with Wallflower Halveria’s Hero Power animation.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug with Omen’s Hero Power animation.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug where the “What We Heal in the Shadows” Achievement didn’t properly track AoE effects.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug where the “The Answer May Shock You” Achievement didn’t properly track.
• [???] Fixed issues with the Mystery puzzles.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Announcing
Showdown in the Badlands
Hearthstone’s Newest Expansion

The Bloodrock Mining Company found powerful Azerite in the Badlands. They’re digging deep and bleeding the land dry, disrupting the Badlands and awakening slumbering elementals! Now mysterious outlaws are riding into town to set things right. Tumbleweeds roll by and high noon looms. Grab your horse and your hat, it’s nearly time for a Showdown in the Badlands!

Showdown in the Badlands launches worldwide on November 14, with 145 rootin’ tootin’ new cards! You can find the full Showdown in the Badlands reveal schedule, and all the cards that have already been revealed, by visiting the official Card Library. Check back frequently—the page will be updated with new cards daily. And make sure you check out Hearthstone at BlizzCon, where we’ll be showing the Showdown in the Badlands Cinematic Trailer and more!

A Crooked Lawman Faces Noble Outlaws

The Bloodrock Mining Company’s operation is run by none other than the corrupt Sheriff Barrelbrim! Sheriff Barrelbrim is as greedy as his hat is tall, so he’s not halting the mining for something as silly as health and safety. He’s coerced, cajoled, and conscripted the townsfolk into working the mines; and he has a special spot in the Badlands Jail for anyone who stands in his way.

But an unexpected band of noble outlaws has come together to take him on! Each of these gunslingers is used to working on their lonesome, so they have special effects if your deck has no duplicates. Demon Hunter, Druid, Hunter, Paladin, Priest, and Shaman each have one of these Legendary Outlaws, and they’re led by Elise, Badlands Savior!

This here story takes place before Elise joined the League of Explorers, so they won’t be joining her in this rodeo, but who knows who she might meet on this adventure.

New Keyword: Quickdraw

To win a Wild West Showdown, you’ve got to be quick on the draw! Cards with the new Quickdraw keyword get a special bonus if they’re played the turn they enter your hand. Fire your cards off as soon as you draw them for maximum effect!

New Keyword: Excavate

What’s the Bloodrock Mining Company after, anyway? Why, Treasures, of course! Cards with the new Excavate keyword give you a Treasure when played. Each time you Excavate, you get a Treasure from the tier you’re on, and then you progress to the next tier, so the further you dig into the mine, the bigger and rarer your treasure gets. Talk about paydirt!

So, the first time you Excavate, you get one of five 1-mana Common Treasures. The next time you Excavate, you get one of five 2-mana Rare Treasures. Then one of five 3-mana Epic Treasures. Once you tap out your mine, you start your excavation over at Common in a new vein! In total, there are 15 Neutral Excavation Treasures that all classes can dig up: five at each rarity.

Five classes are working with the Bloodrock Mining Company: Death Knight, Mage, Rogue, Warlock, and Warrior. These expert miners are able to get even deeper in their Excavations. Each of these classes has a class-specific 4-mana Legendary Excavate Treasure that they get when they Excavate for the fourth time. Eureka!

The Excavate Treasures have rarities so you know how far you are into the mine, but none of these cards are collectible cards in the set—they can only be obtained through Excavation. You can also find these Excavation Treasures through the “related cards” functionality in the official Card Library. The remaining Legendary Excavate Treasures will be revealed during reveal season.

Thunderbringer Login Reward Available Now!

It’s almost time to ride off into the Showdown in the Badlands! But first, you need a good horse. Login now to get the Legendary minion, Thunderbringer!* This majestic Elemental Beast has a Deathrattle that summons an Elemental and a Beast from your deck. Fill your stable with powerful targets and make your opponents pony up! Yee-haw!

* Limited one per account. After Patch 28.6, Thunderbringer will be granted upon opening your first Showdown in the Badlands pack, instead of upon logging in.

Pre-Purchase Showdown in the Badlands Now!

The Showdown in the Badlands Mega Bundle includes 80 Showdown in the Badlands card packs, 10 Golden Showdown in the Badlands card packs, 1 random Showdown in the Badlands Signature Legendary card, 1 random Showdown in the Badlands Golden Legendary card, the Ulfar Druid Hero Skin, and the Ulfar card back!

The Showdown in the Badlands Bundle includes 60 Showdown in the Badlands card packs, 2 random Showdown in the Badlands Legendary cards, and the Ulfar card back!

Pre-Purchase bundles will only be available until the launch of Showdown in the Badlands, on November 14. Don’t miss your chance to wrangle these deals!

Pre-purchase

Patch 27.6, launching today, is a huge patch that introduces Hearthstone’s next expansion, Showdown in the Badlands, brings Un'Goro to Twist, makes Battlegrounds mid-season adjustments, and includes goodies for Blizzcon and Hallow’s End festivities!

Pre-Purchase Showdown in the Badlands

Saddle up for Hearthstone’s next expansion, Showdown in the Badlands, coming November 14! In the Badlands, the Bloodrock Mining Company’s struck Gold—or, rather, something even better: Azerite! Now they’re conscripting the townfolk and bleeding the land dry, putting the entire Badlands at risk. A band of mysterious, noble outlaws has banded together to put a stop to it, but the greedy Sheriff Barrelbrim won’t give up that easy. It all leads to this, a massive Showdown in the Badlands!

Showdown in the Badlands has 145 all-new, rootin’ and tootin’ collectible cards! You can learn more in the Showdown in the Badlands Announcement Blog. Two pre-purchase options are available now so you can be quick on the draw once the expansion launches.

Pre-purchase

Log in and Get Thunderbringer for Free!

Log in to Hearthstone now to start taming the Badlands with the free Thunderbringer Legendary minion!* This powerful steed is a noble Beast, infused with Elemental power. When its Deathrattle triggers, it summons an Elemental and a Beast from your deck! What will you choose to fill out your stable?

* Limited one per account. After Patch 28.6, Thunderbringer will be granted upon opening your first Showdown in the Badlands pack, instead of upon logging in.

Join the BlizzCon Celebration!

Blizzcon is right around the corner! This is your last chance to buy a ticket or a special BlizzCon Collection of in-game goodies. Hearthstone has some fun stuff planned for BlizzCon, including the premier of the Showdown in the Badlands cinematic, so you won’t want to miss it! Learn more about everything happening at BlizzCon this year in the official BlizzCon site, learn more about what Hearthstone goodies you can get in the BlizzCon Collection, and get your tickets today!

Whether you’re joining us at BlizzCon or following the announcements from home, from November 3 to November 10 you can complete a Legendary Quest to earn the special BlizzCon For All card back!

Twist Seasonal Update: Wonderful Un’Goro

We’re expanding the Wonders format for November, adding Un’Goro to the mix! With this update, the sets that are legal in Wonders will be:

• Caverns of Time
• Legacy (not Core)
• 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

There will be no special rules modifier for the November season, but there is one more card pool update:

• “The Caverns Below” is banned in Twist this season.

Hearthstone Updates

In celebration of Un’Goro being added to Twist, the following cards are getting updated to better match Wild and the upcoming Twist format. These changes will go live with Patch 27.6, so you have some time to dust off your Un’Goro cards and try these updates out ahead of the Twist season rollover.

Patch 27.4.2 is a data-only balance patch, launching today, with the updates across modes.

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: We have a lot of card changes in this patch, and a lot to share about why these changes are being made.

For the Standard-focused changes, we’re addressing both power outliers and play experience outliers in this patch. When we buffed Warrior in our last balance patch, we did so knowing that they’d get more powerful tools in the Mini-Set, but we wanted to make sure that the deck hit, so we erred on the side of over-buffing it, knowing that we’d have the option to make a small correction back down if we needed. Now that the Mini-Set has landed, Warrior is looking like one of the most standout classes, so we’re making those adjustments. Hunter also has one of the strongest decks in the format, and we’d expect it to get even stronger after the other changes we’re making in this patch, so we’re making a small adjustment to bring its power down a little as well.

Movement of Pride is an adjustment to take away the negative play experience of cheating out a super-early Sargeras. Coppertail Snoop is an adjustment to a powerful deck and a negative play experience, by taking away some of Mech Rogue’s burst and snowball potential.

Spitelash Siren and Gadgetzan Auctioneer are also combined power and sentiment issues, but mostly focused on the higher end of the ladder. For a long time, Auctioneer has been a card that only popped up in Standard when it was up to no good. In this case, the Mini-Set provided a critical mass of effects that allowed for a deck that used Auctioneer to consistently draw through its entire deck and OTK as early as turn 5. That’s not the bar we want for Standard, regardless of the deck’s overall winrate. In this case, it did look like the deck was trending towards being very powerful as it was getting refined, but we needed to make an adjustment no matter what. With this patch, we’ve both removed Auctioneer from Standard and increased its cost by 1, since it was a problem card in Wild as well.

For the Wild-focused changes, Caverns of Time is our first ever direct-to-Wild expansion. We don’t plan to make regular Wild updates of this scale, but some cards from Caverns ended up needing some adjustments, and that presented us with a special opportunity to make adjustments more generally.

Wild is a mode that’s inherently full of powerful interactions, but we still want the mode to feel like you’re playing Hearthstone. That’s why these adjustments focus on the biggest play experience outliers in the mode—decks that are frustrating now and that, if we didn’t step in, would likely remain frustrating for a long time. There are some strong Wild decks that we didn’t touch in these changes because, though they’re powerful, they still generally fit in the Hearthstone mold. We’ve found that Wild players often have different goals for the mode so we expect that some players will wish we hit more or different things, but we hope that these adjustments will make the mode more fun for more players overall.

Finally, for the Twist-focused changes, we’ve seen that the Wonders format was faster than we wanted, not leaving much room for some of the cards that are evocative of this Wonders era. The adjustments in this patch are targeted at weakening the format’s clearest power outliers, and, at the same time, buffing some late-game payoffs and control tools. We hope that these changes, plus next month’s Twist modifier, will allow some room for slower strategies to exist in the format.

The following cards have been adjusted to be less powerful:

Movement of Pride (generated by Symphony of Sins)

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

Coppertail Snoop

• Old: 4 Attack, 3 Health
• New: 3 Attack, 2 Health

Spitelash Siren

• Old: [4 Mana] 2 Attack, 5 Health
• New: [5 Mana] 2 Attack, 6 Health

Starstrung Bow

• Old: 6 Attack, 2 Durability
• New: 5 Attack, 2 Durability

Craftsman’s Hammer

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

Sanitize

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Contaminated Lasher

• Old: [2 Mana] 3 Attack, 2 Health
• New: [3 Mana] 3 Attack, 3 Health

Gadgetzan Auctioneer

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]
• Gadgetzan Auctioneer also has been removed from the Core Set, so it is no longer Standard legal.

Chamber of Viscidus

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

Dark Bargain

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Tiny Knight of Evil

• Old: Whenever you discard a card, gain +2/+2.
• New: Whenever you discard a card, gain +2/+1.

Blast from the Past

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Ivory Rook

• Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health
• New: 4 Attack, 3 Health

Jade Telegram

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Scarab Gong (generated by The Scarab Lord)

• Old: 0 Attack, 2 Health
• New: 0 Attack, 1 Health

Blade of C’Thun

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]

Trial of the Jormungars

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Spirit of the Frog

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Firemancer Flurgl

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: 4 Mana]

Scargil

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Shadow Essence

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]

Kabal Lackey

• Old: The next Secret you play this turn costs (0).
• New: The next Secret you play this turn costs (1).

Mechwarper

• Now banned in Wild.

Tony, King of Piracy

• Now banned in Wild.

All versions of the above cards that can be disenchanted, will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 27.4.2.

The following cards have been adjusted to be more powerful:

Down with the Ship

• Old: [Frost, Unholy]
• New: [Unholy]

Tomb Traitor

• Old: [Frost, Unholy]
• New: [Unholy]

Frost Queen Sindragosa

• Old: [Blood, Frost]
• New: [Frost]

Tyr’s Tears

• Old: Resurrect 3 different Paladin minions. Set their stats to 2/2. Forge: Resurrect another.
• New: Resurrect 3 different minions from your class. Set their stats to 2/2. Forge: Resurrect another.
• Dev Comment: This will make the card better when generated by other classes.

Tirion Fordring

• Old: 6 Attack, 6 Health
• New: 8 Attack, 8 Health

Lord Jaraxxus

• Old: [9 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Cenarion Hold

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: [1 Mana]

Dragonfire Potion

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Bronze Dragonknight

• Old: Battlecry: If this has 5 or more Attack, summon a copy of this.
• New: Taunt. Battlecry: If this has 5 or more Attack, summon a copy of this.

Elemental Destruction

• Old: Deal 4-5 damage to all minions. Overload: (5)
• New: Deal 4-5 damage to all minions. Overload: (2)

Al’Akir, the Winds of Time

• Old: 5 Armor
• New: 8 Armor

Battlegrounds Updates

Anomaly System Update

Each week’s new Anomalies will now have a slightly smaller appearance bonus in higher-rated lobbies (they will still have an appearance bonus for the first week they are added compared to all the other Anomalies, but not as large of one). Lower-rated lobbies will still have the same offering bonus as before.

Anomalies Updates

Big League

• Old: Only Tavern Tiers 3, 4, 5, and 6 exist.
• New: Only Tavern Tiers 3, 4, 5, and 6 exist. Start with 10 extra Armor.
• Dev Comment: Also, Demons are now banned from this Anomaly.

Everything’s On Fire

• Old: At the start of the game, take 30 damage. After another hero dies, regain 5 Health.
• New: At the start of the game, take 25 damage. After another hero dies, regain 5 Health.

A Faire Reward (the Triple Reward)

• Old: Discover a Darkmoon Prize.
• New: Discover a Tier __ Darkmoon Prize.
• Dev Comment: Darkmoon Prizes are now locked based on the Tier you were at when you tripled, instead of giving a Prize based on the Tier you’re at when you play them.

Yogg-iseum

• Old: At the start of each turn, all heroes spin the Wheel of Yogg-Saron.
• New: At the start of each turn, all heroes spin the SAME Wheel of Yogg-Saron.
• Dev Comment: This is a text-only wording update for clarity.

Golganneth’s Tempest

• The following heroes are now banned from games with this Anomaly: A.F.Kay, Captain Eudora, Dinotamer Brann, Elise Starseeker, Forest Warden Omu, Fungalmancer Flurgl, Galakrond, Kurtrus Ashfallen, Ozumat, Scabbs Cutterbutter, Silas Darkmoon, Overlord Saurfang, Professor Putricide, Xyrella, Yogg-Saron, and Y’Shaarj.

Minion Updates

Imposing Percussionist

• Old: [Tier 5] 6 Attack, 6 Health
• New: [Tier 4] 4 Attack, 4 Health

Shady Aristocrat (Sire Denathrius's Buddy)

• Old: [Tier 2] 2 Attack, 2 Health
• New: [Tier 3] 3 Attack, 3 Health

Piloted Whirl-o-Tron (Sneed’s Buddy)

• Old: [Tier 3] 4 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Copy a different friendly minion’s Deathrattles.
• New: [Tier 5] 5 Attack, 4 Health. Start of Combat: Copy all other minions’ Deathrattles (except Piloted Whirl-o-Tron).
• Dev Comment: Yes, ALL. With this update, Piloted Whirl-o-Tron has been returned to the “Bring in the Buddies” Anomaly’s Buddy pool.

Street Magician (The Great Akazamzarak’s Buddy)

• Old: 5 Attack, 3 Health. Deathrattle: Put a random Secret into the Battlefield.
• New: 3 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, cast a random Secret.

Minion Pool Updates

• Keyboard Igniter and Spark-ling have been removed from the minion pool.
• Felemental has been returned to the minion pool.

Duels Updates

Hero Power Update

Dino Tracking

• Old: Discover a Beast. Give it +1 Attack.
• New: Discover a Beast. Give it +1/+1.

Passive Treasure Updates

Starving

• Old: After the first time a friendly Beast dies in your turn, draw a minion from your deck and give it +1 Attack.
• New: After the first time a friendly Beast dies in your turn, draw a card.

Corrupted Felstone

• Old: After you cast a Fel spell, give the left- and right-most minions in your hand +1/+1.
• New: After you cast a Fel spell, give the left- and right-most minions in your hand +2/+1.

Treasure Pool Updates

• Starving has been moved to Pool 1.
• Unlocked Potential has been moved to Ultra Rare.

Card Pool Update

• The Caverns Below has been banned from initial deckbuilding and all card pools.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Duels] Hunter-class heroes can now be offered Arcane Passive treasures.
• [Duels] Warrior-class heroes can now be offered Pool 2 Fire Passive treasures.
• [Events] Clarified the text on an event daily quest requiring that you “experience an Anomaly” must be completed in Traditional Hearthstone, not Battlegrounds.
• [Collection] Fixed a bug where Signature Cenarius was not showing up in collections.

Patch 27.4 brings the Fall of Ulduar Mini-Set; Yogg-Saron has escaped and is spreading his Anomalies across Hearthstone!

Ulduar Has Fallen

The titans left their charges to watch over the imprisoned Yogg-Saron, but no prison lasts forever. The Old God has escaped to once again wreak havoc on Azeroth! Will you fight back, or will you succumb to the madness within?!

There’s a new Titan in town. Cast spells to fuel the Old God’s power, bring madness to the Tavern with Chaotic Tendrils, and unleash Yogg-Saron on your opponents with this Mini-Set of 38 all-new cards. Get them in TITANS packs, or as a complete 72-card* Mini-Set. Get the normal version in-game for $14.99 or 2000 Gold, or get the all-Golden version for $69.99 or 10,000 Gold. The all-Golden version also comes with a bonus Diamond copy of the Yogg-Saron, Unleashed Legendary minion! You can see all the cards from the Fall of Ulduar Mini-Set in the official Card Library.

* 4 Legendary cards, 1 Epic card (2x), 17 Rare cards (x2), and 16 Common cards (x2).

Yogg-Saron's Anomalies Consume Hearthstone!

It’s all so clear now: Yogg-Saron's whispers have been corrupting Battlegrounds this entire Season. Now, Yogg-Saron has escaped, and Anomalies are appearing in Standard, Wild, Twist, Casual, Arena, and Practice Modes, too! The following Anomalies have been unleashed upon the Tavern:

Patch 27.2.2 is a data-only patch, launching today, with bug fixes and updates to Hearthstone, Battlegrounds, and Duels.

Hearthstone Updates

Standard Card Updates

Dev Comment: When we made our last round of changes, we knew this balance window was coming soon, so we took a lighter touch on Hunter. Now that we’ve seen the results of our last changes, we’re happy with how the meta is shaping up, but it’s clear that we need to give Hunter a bit more of an adjustment to give other classes some room to breathe.

Hunter has two decks we’re targeting with these changes: Arcane Hunter and Hound Hunter. Halduron is a card we previously buffed to give the Arcane package a chance to shine. We’re happy with our prior change to the effect, but just need to adjust the numbers slightly to keep the power in line. For Hound Hunter, we wanted to hit the deck’s early game and its explosive endgame. The adjustment to Faithful Companions should cut down on that finishing potential while also letting the deck operate on another axis with more interesting late-game decisions.

Fox Spirit Wildseed (summoned by “Wildseed” cards)

• Old: 3 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 2 Attack, 1 Health

Halduron Brightwing

• Old: [3 Mana] 3 Attack, 4 Health
• New: [4 Mana] 4 Attack, 4 Health

Faithful Companions

• Old: Discover a Beast from your deck and summon it. Manathirst (10): Also summon a copy of it.
• New: Discover a Beast from your deck and summon it. Manathirst (10): Summon a Beast from your hand.

Halduron Brightwing, Faithful Companions, Ara’lon, Wild Spirits, Stag Charge, and Spirit Poacher will all be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks following Patch 27.2.2.

Wild Card Updates

With the launch of 27.2, 113 Wild cards were updated for Wild and the upcoming launch of Twist! There were also six more cards that were unintentionally changed at that time. In this patch, we’re removing three of those unintended changes (noted in the Bug Fixes section below). However, the following changes are staying:

Timber Wolf

• Old: 1 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 1 Attack, 2 Health

Jinyu Waterspeaker

• Old: 3 Attack, 6 Health
• New: 4 Attack, 6 Health

Firelands Portal

• Old: Deal 5 damage. Summon a random 5-Cost minion.
• New: Deal 6 damage. Summon a random 6-Cost minion.

Battlegrounds Updates

General Updates

Denathrius’ Anima Reserves (Anomaly)

• Old: All heroes are Sire Denathrius.
• New: Quests and Rewards are in this game. All heroes are Sire Denathrius.
• Dev Comment: We heard your feedback that this Anomaly didn’t feel interesting enough, so we set out on a Quest to make this Anomaly more Rewarding—double the Quests, double the fun!

Friends and Family Discount (Darkmoon Prize)

• Old: For the rest of the game, minions in the Tavern cost (1) less.
• New: For the rest of the game, minions in the Tavern cost (2).

Anomaly Pool Updates

The following Anomalies will now appear less frequently:

• Might of Khaz’goroth
• Fortitude of Khaz’goroth
• Oops, All _____ !
• Finicky Hourglass
• Dev Comment: Anti-Gravity Stadium is also still removed from the Anomaly Pool.

The following Anomalies will now appear more frequently:

• Prudence of Amitus
• Nguyen’s Shifting Disks
• Bring in the Buddies
• A Faire Reward

Minion Updates

Surf and Surf

• Old: Spellcraft: Give a minion “Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Crab” until next turn.
• New: Spellcraft: Give a minion “Deathrattle: Summon a 3/2 Crab” until next turn.

Niuzao

• Old: [Tier 6] 7 Attack, 6 Health
• New: [Tier 5] 6 Attack, 5 Health

Soul Rewinder

• Old: 2 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 3 Attack, 1 Health
• Dev Comment: We rewinded the previous change to Soul Rewinder.

Keyboard Igniter

• Old: 4 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: If you’ve taken damage since last turn, give your other Demons +1/+2.
• New: 4 Attack, 1 Health. Battlecry: If you’ve taken damage since last turn, give your other Demons +2/+2.

Famished Felbat

• Old: 9 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, your other Demons consume a minion in Bob’s Tavern to gain its stats.
• New: 8 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, your Demons consume a minion in Bob’s Tavern to gain its stats.

Time Saver

• Old: 3 Attack, 5 Health. If you have any unspent Gold at the end of your turn, this sells for 2 more Gold.
• New: 2 Attack, 3 Health. If you have any unspent Gold at the end of your turn, this sells for 3 more Gold.

Stormbringer

• Old: 1 Attack, 7 Health
• New: 1 Attack, 9 Health

Electric Synthesizer

• Battlecry: Give your other Dragons +3 Attack.
• Battlecry: Give your other Dragons +3/+1.

Obsidian Ravager

• Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health
• New: 7 Attack, 7 Health

Carbonic Copy

• Old: [Tier 5] 5 Attack, 6 Health
• New: [Tier 4] 3 Attack, 3 Health

Granite Guardian

• Old: 1 Attack, 17 Health
• New: 1 Attack, 28 Health

Adaptable Barricade

• Old: 12 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 18 Attack, 1 Health

Omega Buster

• Old: Deathrattle: Summon five 1/1 Microbots. For each that doesn’t fit, give your Mechs +1/+1.
• New: Deathrattle: Summon six 1/1 Microbots. For each that doesn’t fit, give your Mechs +1/+1.

Sanguine Champion

• Old: 9 Attack, 3 Health
• New: 18 Attack, 3 Health

Sore Loser

• Old: 1 Attack, 4 Health. Your Undead have extra Attack equal to your Tier.
• New: 2 Attack, 4 Health. Your other Undead have extra Attack equal to your Tier.

Relentless Sentry

• Old: 5 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 6 Attack, 1 Health

Champion of the Primus

• Old: 1 Attack, 8 Health. Avenge (2): Your Undead have +1 Attack for the rest of the game (wherever they are).
• New: 2 Attack, 9 Health. Avenge (3): Your Undead have +1 Attack for the rest of the game (wherever they are).

Recurring Nightmare

• Old: 5 Attack, 5 Health
• New: 8 Attack, 5 Health

Fairy Tale Caroler

• Old: 2 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: If you lost your last combat, give your other minions +2/+1.
• New: 2 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: If you lost your last combat, give your other minions +2/+2.

Minion Pool Updates

The following minions have been removed from the minion pool:

• Razorgore
• Baby Krush
• Dynamic Duo
• Invent-o-matic

The following minions have been returned to the minion pool:

• General Drakkisath
• Tavern Tempest
• Bonker
• Kaboom Bot

Duels Updates

Passive Treasure Updates

Kindling Flame

• Old: Fire Spell Damage +2
• New: Fire Spell Damage +1

Natural Force

• Old: Nature Spell Damage +2
• New: Nature Spell Damage +1

Mending Pools

• Old: Whenever you play a Nature spell, restore 2 Health to all friendly characters.
• New: After you cast your first Nature spell in a turn, restore 2 Health to all friendly characters.

Spreading Saplings

• Old: After you cast a Nature spell, summon a 2/2 Treant.
• New: After you cast a Nature spell, summon a 1/1 Sapling.

Iron Roots

• Old: After you cast a Nature spell, give a random friendly minion +2/+2 and Taunt.
• New: After you cast a Nature spell, give a random friendly minion +1/+1 and Taunt.

Endurance Training

• Old: Your Taunt minions cost (2) less, but not less than (2).
• New: Your Taunt minions cost (2) less, but not less than (1).

Freeze Solid

• Old: Whenever damage is dealt to a Frozen enemy, deal 1 more.
• New: Whenever damage is dealt to a Frozen enemy, deal 2 more.

Corrupted Felstone

• Old: After you cast a Fel spell, give the left- and right-most minions in your hand +1 Attack.
• New: After you cast a Fel spell, give the left- and right-most minions in your hand +1/+1.

Passive Treasure Pool Updates

• Starving has been moved to Pool 2.
• Special Delivery has been moved to Pool 2 Ultra Rare.

Card Pool Updates

• Helya and Odyn, Prime Designate have been banned from initial deckbuilding.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where unintended changes were made to Glaivezooka, Swipe, and Dragon’s Breath.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Don Han’Cho was updated to 5/6 stats instead of the intended 5/5 stats.
• [Hearthstone] Updated Wyrm Weaver’s textbox to match updated Mana Wyrm stats.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Captain Sanders was in the Thorim, Stormlord Hero Power pool in games where the Golden Arena Anomaly was active.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Golden Leeching Felhound cost more than 3 Health.
• [Duels] Neptulon will no longer be generated by Chaos Storm.

Patch 27.2 is a massive patch, launching both Battlegrounds Season 5 and the first official Twist season, our first-ever direct-to-Wild expansion, and more!

Table of Contents

• Battlegrounds Season 5, Anomalies System
• Battlegrounds New Hero and New Minions
• Battlegrounds Minion and Minion Pool Updates
• Caverns of Time Set and Wild Card Updates
• Twist Season 1
• Standard Balance Updates
• Duels Updates
• Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

Battlegrounds Season 5 is Here!

Competitors throughout Azeroth are gathering in the Tavern for a gladiatorial contest to earn the favor of the Titans and their keepers. With over 30 new minions, 7 opponents, and slew of new Anomalies to master, the competition has never been fiercer!

On August 22, Battlegrounds Season 4 will end and Season 5 will begin. That means rankings will reset, Battlegrounds Quests will be removed, minion pools will update, and the Battlegrounds Track will switch over. All rewards that were earned from the Season 4 Track, but not yet claimed, will automatically be claimed.

New Gameplay System—Anomalies

Battlegrounds Season 5 introduces a chaotic new seasonal system: Anomalies! Anomalies are game-changing effects that are randomly set at the start of each game. All players in the game get the same Anomaly for that game.

Anomaly appearance rates vary, with some more common than others. Some minions, minion types, and heroes won’t be offered if a particular Anomaly applies to your game. You’ll know your game’s Anomaly when you’re picking your hero.

Anomalies at Launch

There will be an initial pool of Anomalies at the Season launch, and then new Anomalies will be added to the pool each week throughout Battlegrounds Season 5. The following Anomalies will be available from the beginning of Season 5:

Prudence of Amitus	Unspent Gold carries over to your next turn. If you saved at least 5, gain 1 extra.
Anti-Gravity Stadium	Minions in the Tavern have their Attack and Health swapped.
Might of Khaz-goroth	At the end of your turn, set your left and right-most minions' Attack to the higher of the two.
Fortitude of Khaz-goroth	At the end of your turn, set your left and right-most minions' Health to the higher of the two.
Money Match	Start at 10 Gold.
Denathrius’ Anima Reserves	All heroes are Sire Denathrius.
Uncompensated Upset	Start at 1 Gold. Minions cost (1) but sell for (0). Upgrading the Tavern costs (2) less.
Secrets of Norgannon	Tavern Tier 7 exists. Start with 10 extra Armor.
Transient Treasures	At the start of your turn, choose from 2 new Quest Rewards.
Nguyen's Shifting Disks	All heroes are Master Nguyen.
Bring in the Buddies	Buddies are in the Tavern.
Oops, All _______!	This Anomaly has a version for Beasts, Pirates, Dragons, Elementals, Mechs, Murlocs, Naga, Quilboar, Undead, and Demons. What it means is that only that minion Type and Neutrals are in the Tavern for that game. When this Anomaly is active, the number of each minion in the pool is increased to fill out the Tavern: 5x the number of each minion of the selected Type and 2x the number of each Neutral minion. Oops, All Pirates! also has one extra adjustment: Cap’n Hoggarr is added to the minion pool. Yaharrr!
A Faire Reward	Instead of a minion, Triple Rewards Discover a Tier 1 Darkmoon Prize. (Upgrades in 3 turns!)
Finicky Hourglass	Start at Tavern Tier 2.
Packed Stands	The Tavern always has 7 minions
Double Header	The first time you buy a minion each turn, get an extra copy of it.
Echoes of Argus	Your Battlecries and Deathrattles trigger an extra time.
False Idols	You only need 2 copies of a minion to make it Golden. Instead of a Triple Reward, get a Gold Coin.
Grapnel of the Titans	The first minion you buy each turn is free.
The Golden Arena	ALL minions are Golden, but you do not get Triple Rewards. Dev Comment: This includes cards that are Discovered or generated by other cards.

Anomalies Coming Throughout Patch 27.2

Additional Anomalies will be added to the Anomaly pool each week throughout Patch 27.2. When Anomalies are newly added to the Anomaly pool, they’ll have an increased appearance rate for that week. The additional Anomalies coming throughout Patch 27.2 are:

Big League	Only Tavern Tiers 3, 4, 5, and 6 exist.
Little League	Only Tavern Tiers 1, 2, 3, and 4 exist.
Everything’s On Fire!	At the start of the game, take 30 damage. Whenever another hero dies, regain 5 Health. Dev Comment: This is fine.
Wisdom of Ulduar	At the end of every 3 turns, set your right-most minion’s stats to 15/15.
Overseer’s Orb	After you upgrade the Tavern, Refresh it with minions of your most common type.
Perfected Alchemy	Start with a “Goldenizer” that makes a friendly minion Golden.
Blood of Sargeras	At the start of your turn, set your hero’s Health to 12.
Mimiron’s Clockwork Stadium	You cannot upgrade the Tavern with Gold. It upgrades itself every 2 turns.
Path of the Treasure-Seeker	After you Refresh 5 times, find the Golden Monkey!

New Hero

Thorim, Stormlord

• Choose Your Champion
  • Passive. At the start of the game, Discover a Tier 7 minion to get after you spend 65 Gold.

Thorim, Stormlord will be offered in every game for the first two weeks after launch.

27.2 Hero and Minion updates will be represented in the official Card Library with the launch of Patch 27.2.

Hero Updates

Cariel Roame (Conviction)

• Old: Give 3 friendly minions +1/+1. (After you upgrade the Tavern, choose an improvement!)
• New: Give 2 friendly minions +1/+1. (After you upgrade the Tavern, choose an improvement!)

Kurtrus Ashfallen (Glaive Ricochet)

• Old: Passive: Once per turn, after you buy 4 minions, Discover a plain copy of one of them.
• New: Passive: Once per turn, after you buy 3 minions, get a plain copy of one of them.

New Minions

Oozeling Gladiator [Tier 2]

• 1 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: Get two Slimy Shields that give +1/+1 and Taunt.

Iron Groundskeeper [Tier 3]

• 5 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Give a minion Taunt. If it already has it, remove its Taunt.

Living Constellation [Tier 3]

• 4 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: Give a minion +1/+1 for each type you control.

Fairy Tale Caroler [Tier 4]

• 2 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: If you lost your last combat, give your other minions +2/+1.

Free-Flying Feathermane [Tier 3, Beast]

• 5 Attack, 5 Health. After a friendly Beast dies, summon this from your hand for this combat only.
• Dev Comment: This minion will be summoned once there is board space, after all Deathrattles and Reborns resolve.

Niuzao [Tier 6, Beast]

• 7 Attack, 6 Health. Whenever this attacks, deal damage equal to its Attack to another random enemy minion.

The Glad-iator [Tier 3, Naga]

• 1 Attack, 1 Health. Divine Shield. Whenever you cast a spell, gain +1 Attack.

Daggerspine Thrasher [Tier 3, Naga]

• 3 Attack, 5 Health. Whenever you cast a spell, gain Divine Shield, Windfury, or Venomous until next turn.

Briarback Bookie [Tier 2, Quilboar]

• 3 Attack, 4 Health. If you have any unspent Gold at the end of your turn, get 2 Blood Gems.

Murcules [Tier 2, Murloc]

• 5 Attack, 2 Health. Whenever this kills a minion, give a minion in your hand +2/+2.

Murky [Tier 6, Murloc]

• 6 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: Give a friendly Murloc +1/+1. (Improved by each Battlecry minion you played this game!)

Time Saver [Tier 3, Dragon]

• 3 Attack, 5 Health. If you have any unspent Gold at the end of your turn, this sells for 2 more Gold.

Hunter of Gatherers [Tier 5, Dragon]

• 3 Attack, 6 Health. After this gains Attack, give your minions +1 Health.

Warpwing [Tier 6, Dragon]

• 12 Attack, 4 Health. Immune while attacking.

Bejeweled Duelist [Tier 2, Elemental]

• 3 Attack, 4 Health. Taunt. Whenever you Refresh, gain +1 Health.

Spark-ling [Tier 3, Elemental]

• 5 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: Give all other minions +1/+1.

Emergent Flame [Tier 4, Elemental]

• 5 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Give an Elemental +1/+1. (Improved by each Refresh this turn!)

Carbonic Copy [Tier 5, Elemental]

• 5 Attack, 6 Health. Start of Combat: Summon a copy of this minion.

Invent-o-Matic [Tier 2, Mech]

• 2 Attack, 3 Health. Whenever you Magnetize a minion, give it +1/+1.

Adaptable Barricade [Tier 5, Mech]

• 12 Attack, 1 Health. Taunt. Whenever this attacked, it shifts its stats to survive with 1 Health (if possible).
• Dev Comment: This respects Venomous/Poisonous. If it is going to take damage from a minion with one of those effects, it will not shift its stats.

Relentless Sentry [Tier 3, Undead]

• 5 Attack, 1 Health. Avenge (4): Gain Taunt and Reborn.

Sore Loser [Tier 3, Undead]

• 1 Attack, 4 Health. Your Undead have extra Attack equal to your Tier.

Champion of the Primus [Tier 5, Undead]

• 1 Attack, 8 Health. Avenge (2): Your Undead have +1 Attack for the rest of the game (wherever they are).

Surf n’ Surf [Tier 1, Naga/Beast]

• 1 Attack, 1 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion “Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Crab” until next turn.

Seaborn Summoner [Tier 2, Naga/Elemental]

• 2 Attack, 4 Health. Spellcraft: Choose a minion. Add a minion of its type to the Tavern.

Withered Spearhide [Tier 3, Undead/Quilboar]

• 2 Attack, 2 Health. Reborn. Deathrattle: Get a Blood Gem.

Dreadbeard [Tier 3, Demon/Pirate]

• 4 Attack, 4 Health. At the end of your turn, deal 1 damage to your hero and get a Gold Coin.

Peckish Feldrake [Tier 4, Demon/Dragon]

• 0 Attack, 1 Health. Battlecry: Consume 3 minions in the Tavern to gain their stats.

Mannoroth [Tier 5, Undead/Demon]

• 1 Attack, 10 Health. Venomous. After this kills a minion and survives, gain its maximum stats. (Once per combat).

Mechanized Gift Horse [Tier 5, Mech/Beast]

• 4 Attack, 4 Health. Deathrattle: Summon two 2/2 Mechorses with “Deathrattle: Summon a 1/1 Mechapony.”

Transmuted Bramblewitch [Tier 5, Elemental/Quilboar]

• 4 Attack, 4 Health. When this attacks, set the defender’s stats to 3/3. (Once per combat).

Relentless Mur’ghoul [Tier 6, Undead/Murloc]

• 5 Attack, 4 Health. Venomous. Avenge (4): Gain Reborn.

Tier 7 Minions

Tier 7 Minions are only accessible through Thorim’s Hero Power or in games with the Secrets of Norgannon Anomaly. In games with the Secrets of Norgannon Anomaly active, Tier 7 can be accessed through any normal means (upgrading the Tavern, getting triples, Patient Scout, etc.). When Tier 7 is active, there are five copies of each Tier 7 minion that’s in that game’s minion pool.

Argent Braggart [Tier 7]

• 1 Attack, 1 Health. Battlecry: Set this minion’s Attack and Health to the highest in the battlefield.

King Varian [Tier 7]

• 9 Attack, 9 Health. When you sell this, Discover two tier 6 minions.

Moira Bronzebeard [Tier 7]

• 3 Attack, 9 Health. Your Battlecries and Deathrattles trigger twice.

Papa Bear [Tier 7, Beast]

• 12 Attack, 12 Health. Deathrattle: Summon 3 Mama Bears.

Champion of Sargeras [Tier 7, Demon]

• 10 Attack, 10 Health. Minions in the Tavern have +10/+10.

Recurring Nightmare [Tier 7, Undead]

• 5 Attack, 5 Health. Deathrattle: Give a different friendly Undead “Deathrattle: Summon a Recurring Nightmare.”

Captain Sanders [Tier 7, Pirate]

• 7 Attack, 7 Health. Battlecry: Make a friendly minion Golden.

Tide Oracle Morgl [Tier 7, Murloc]

• 1 Attack, 10 Health. Poisonous. When this attacks and kills a minion, give its maximum stats to a minion in your hand.

Granite Guardian [Tier 7, Elemental]

• 1 Attack, 17 Health. Taunt. Whenever this is attacked, reduce the attacker’s Health to 1.

Sea Witch Zar’jira [Tier 7, Naga]

• 4 Attack, 5 Health. Spellcraft: Choose a different minion in the Tavern to get a copy of.

Obsidian Ravager [Tier 7, Dragon]

• 4 Attack, 4 Health. Whenever this attacks, deal damage equal to its Attack to the target and an adjacent minion.

The Boommobile [Tier 7, Mech]

• 12 Attack, 12 Health. Magnetic, Reborn, Divine Shield, Taunt, Windfury

Sanguine Champion [Tier 7, Quilboar]

• 9 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry and Deathrattle: Your Blood Gems give an extra +1/+1 this game.

Amalgadon [Tier 7, All]

• 6 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: For each different minion type you control, randomly Adapt.
• Dev Comment: Note that this is a reversion to a prior version of this card, but now at Tier 7.

Minion Pool Updates

• The following 49 minions have been removed from the minion pool: Sparring Partner; Spawn of N’Zoth; Vigilant Stoneborn; Qiraji Harbinger; Tortollan Blue Shell; Champion of Y’Shaarj; Lightfang Enforcer; Rat Pack; Eventide Brute; Pufferquil; Prophet of the Boar; Gemsplitter; Upbeat Flutist; Plagued Tidewalker; Ring Matron; Tarecgosa; Sanctum Rester; Nadina the Red; Prized Promo-Drake; General Drakkisath; Molten Rock; Felemental; Upbeat Upstart; Magmaloc; Crackling Cyclone; Smogger; Annoy-o Troupe; Harvest Golem; Mecha Jaraxxus; Wargear; Grease Bot; Ghoul of the Feast; Xylo-bones; Radio Star; Mini-Myrmidon; Thorncaptain; Snail Cavalry; Thorncaller; Backstage Security; Briny Bootlegger; Annihilan Battlemaster; Colossus of the Sun; Scavenging Hyena; Cyborg Drake; Mantid Queen; Bonemare; Bristlemane Scrapsmith; Mistake; Tavern Tempest.
• The following 11 minions have returned to the minion pool: Reef Explorer; Treasure-Seeker Elise; Mythrax the Unraveler; Bannerboar; Captain Flat Tusk; Floating Watcher; Razorgore, the Untamed; Party Elemental; Mechano-Tank; Omega Buster; Nightmare Amalgam

Minion Updates

Eternal Summoner

• Old (Regular): 8 Attack, 1 Health.
• Old (Golden): 16 Attack, 2 Health. Reborn. Deathrattle: Summon 2 Eternal Knights.
• New (Regular): 8 Attack, 1 Health.
• New (Golden): 16 Attack, 2 Health. Reborn. Deathrattle: Summon a Golden Eternal Knight.

Saltscale Honcho

• Old: After you play a Murloc, give two other friendly Murlocs +1 Health.
• New: After you play a Murloc, give two friendly Murlocs +1 Health.

King Bagurgle

• Old: 6 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry and Deathrattle: Give your other Murlocs +2/+2.
• New: 6 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Give your other Murlocs +2/+3.

Young Murk Eye

• Old (Regular): 9 Attack, 6 Health. At the end of your turn, the minion to the left of this triggers its Battlecry.
• Old (Golden): 18 Attack, 12 Health. At the end of your turn, adjacent minions trigger their Battlecries.
• New (Regular): 8 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, adjacent minions trigger their Battlecries.
• New (Golden): 16 Attack, 10 Health. At the end of your turn, adjacent minions trigger their Battlecries twice.

Party Elemental

• Old (Regular): [Tier 2] 4 Attack, 2 Health. After you play an Elemental, give another random friendly Elemental +1/+1.
• Old (Golden): [Tier 2] 8 Attack, 4 Health. After you play an Elemental, give another random friendly Elemental +1/+1 twice.
• New (Regular): [Tier 3] 2 Attack, 5 Health. After you play an Elemental, give a friendly Elemental other than it +1/+2.
• New (Golden): [Tier 3] 4 Attack, 10 Health. After you play an Elemental, give a friendly Elemental other than it +2/+4.

Wildfire Elemental

• Old: After this attacks and kills a minion, deal excess damage to a random adjacent minion.
• New: After this attacks and kills a minion, deal excess damage to an adjacent minion.
• Dev Comment: This is a text-only change with no functional update.

Lava Lurker

• Old: The first Spellcraft spell cast on this each turn is permanent.
• New: The first Spellcraft enchantment on this each turn is permanent.
• Dev Comment: This change means that Lava Lurker’s effect won’t be consumed if it is targeted by Spellcraft spells that don’t leave enchantments, like Seaborn Summoner’s or Sea Witch Zar’jira’s.

Bannerboar

• Old: [Tier 3] 1 Attack, 3 Health
• New: [Tier 4] 3 Attack, 5 Health

Piloted Whirl-O-Tron (Sneed’s Buddy)

• Old: Battlecry: Copy a friendly minion’s Deathrattles.
• New: Battlecry: Copy a different friendly minion’s Deathrattles.
• Dev Comment: This change was made to avoid a bugged interaction. With this change, Sneed has been returned to the hero pool and Piloted Whirl-O-Tron has been returned to E.T.C.’s hero power pool.

Updated Armor Levels

All Armor Tiers at the launch of Patch 27.2 will be as follows:

Hero Name	Armor	Armor (at Higher Rating)*
A.F. Kay	18	-
Al’Akir	13	-
Alexstrasza	17	-
Ambassador Faelin	15	-
Aranna Starseeker	12	-
Arch-Villain Rafaam	10	-
Bru’kan	12	-
C’Thun	10	13
Cap’n Hoggarr	10	-
Captain Eudora	19	-
Captain Hooktusk	15	11
Cariel Roame	10	-
Chenvaala	12	15
Cookie the Cook	7	-
Dancin’ Deryl	7	-
Death Speaker Blackthorn	10	-
Deathwing	10	-
Dinotamer Brann	18	-
Drek’Thar	7	-
E.T.C., Band Manager	10	5
Edwin VanCleef	17	-
Elise Starseeker	13	-
Enhance-o Mechano	13	-
Forest Warden Omu	12	-
Fungalmancer Flurgl	8	12
Galakrond	17	-
Galewing	8	-
George the Fallen	15	-
Greybough	16	-
Guff Runetotem	16	-
Heistbaron Togwaggle	13	-
Illidan Stormrage	14	-
Infinite Toki	13	-
Inge, the Iron Hymn	6	10
Ini Stormcoil	6	8
Jandice Barov	16	-
Kael’thas Sunstrider	15	-
King Mukla	10	-
Kurtrus Ashfallen	12	-
Lady Vashj	13	-
Lich Baz’hial	7	-
Lord Barov	19	10
Lord Jaraxxus	10	19
Maiev Shadowsong	18	15
Malygos	14	-
Master Nguyen	8	-
Millhouse Manastorm	10	5
Millificent Manastorm	6	10
Mr. Bigglesworth	16	-
Murloc Holmes	10	-
Mutanus the Devourer	11	-
N’Zoth	12	-
Nozdormu	13	-
Onyxia	7	-
Overlord Saurfang	14	-
Ozumat	12	-
Patches the Pirate	5	10
Patchwerk	0	-
Professor Putricide	15	-
Pyramad	14	-
Queen Azshara	13	-
Queen Wagtoggle	7	13
Ragnaros the Firelord	13	16
Rakanishu	15	-
Reno Jackson	16	-
Rock Master Voone	15	10
Rokara	12	-
Scabbs Cutterbutter	10	-
Shudderwock	10	7
Silas Darkmoon	10	-
Sindragosa	16	-
Sir Finley Mrrgglton	12	-
Sire Denathrius	11	-
Skycap’n Kragg	15	-
Sneed	14	-
Sylvanas Windrunner	14	-
Tamsin Roame	10	-
Tavish Stormpike	15	-
Teron Gorefiend	10	12
Tess Greymane	17	-
The Curator	13	-
The Great Akazamzarak	10	-
The Jailer	17	-
The Lich King	10	-
The Rat King	9	-
Tickatus	12	-
Thorim, Stormlord	15	-
Trade Prince Gallywix	10	6
Vanndar Stormpike	10	-
Varden Dawngrasp	13	-
Vol’jin	15	11
Xyrella	15	10
Y’Shaarj	14	-
Yogg-Saron, Hope’s End	14	-
Ysera	5	12
Zephrys, the Great	17	-

Some Heroes have high winrate disparities between lower-MMR and higher-MMR players. To account for this, those Heroes are given an alternative Armor value, depending on the average internal rating of the lobby you’re in. Any Hero that only lists one Armor amount has the same Armor at all levels of play.

New Battlegrounds Track

The Season 5 Battlegrounds Track, with the Season Pass, features 40 levels of rewards, including 5 Legendary Hero Skins, 12 Epic Hero Skins, 6 Rare Hero Skins, 6 Epic Emotes, 8 Rare Emotes, and Epic Bartender and a Legendary Strike!

For more details about the Season 5 Battlegrounds Track, and the new Battlegrounds Season Pass, see our Season 5 Announcement Blog.

Hearthstone Updates

New Special Set: Caverns of Time!

The Infinite Dragonflight is trying to go back in time and change the way the Battle of Ahn’Qiraj went against the Old God C’Thun. The fate of the world—and the true timeline—hangs in the balance! It’s up to you to hold off their attack... or join them instead...

Caverns of Time is a new type of Hearthstone expansion, including card reprints, new cards, and some new card cosmetics! It’s also Hearthstone’s first-ever direct-to-Wild expansion, meaning that the cards in it will not be legal in Standard (and can be balanced towards Wild). Caverns of Time launches on August 31, and it includes 147 cards: 113 buffed reprints* and 34 brand new cards!

Caverns of Times packs can also include special Signature versions of other iconic Wild cards. Keep an eye out for a dedicated Caverns of Time blog, coming August 22, with more details about the 34 new cards, the special Signature variants, and more.

* Duplicate protection applies for these reprints. So, if you already have (or disenchanted) the original versions, you won’t open them again in Caverns of Time packs until you’ve opened all new cards from that rarity.

Wild Card Updates

113 Wild cards are getting buffs with Patch 27.2! These are the cards that are being reprinted as part of the Caverns of Time set. If you already have the cards in your collection from their original release, they will be automatically updated with the patch. If you don’t already have the cards, you can still get them through all current means, or from Caverns of Time packs once the set goes live.

	Card Name	Change
Druid	Jade Behemoth	5 Mana
Dark Arakkoa	Battlecry: Give your C’Thun +4/+4 (wherever it is).
Knight of the Wild	Costs (1) less for each Beast you’ve summoned this game.
Menagerie Warden	5 Attack, 4 Health
Mire Keeper	3 Attack, 4 Health
Virmen Sensei	[4 Mana] 4 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Give a friendly Beast +3/+3.
Addled Grizzly	[2 Mana] 2 Attack, 3 Health. After you summon a Beast, give it +1/+1.
Klaxxi Amber-Weaver	Taunt. Battlecry: If your C’Thun has at least 10 Attack, gain +5 Health.
Malorne	Deathrattle: Go Dormant. Revive after 2 friendly Beasts die.
Aviana	9 Mana
Hunter	Cobra Shot	4 Mana
Snipe	Secret: When your opponent plays a minion, deal 6 damage to it.
Smuggler’s Crate	0 Mana
Shaky Zipgunner	4 Attack, 3 Health
King of Beasts	[3 Mana] 1 Attack, 5 Health. Taunt. Has +1 Attack for each other Beast you control.
Ball of Spiders	[3 Mana] Summon three 1/1 Webspinners with “Deathrattle: Get a random Beast.”
Explorer’s Hat	1 Mana
Lock and Load	0 Mana
Acidmaw	[3 Mana] Whenever an enemy minion takes damage, destroy it.
Dreadscale	At the end of your turn, deal 1 damage to all enemies.
Mage	Dalaran Aspirant	Spell Damage +1 Inspire: Gain Spell Damage +1.
Flame Lance	Deal 25 damage to a minion.
Mana Wyrm	1 Attack, 3 Health
Spellslinger	Battlecry: Both players get a random spell. Yours costs (2) less.
Soot Spewer	3 Attack, 4 Health. Spell Damage +1 Battlecry: If you control another Mech, get a random Fire spell.
Kabal Crystal Runner	6 Attack, 5 Health
Goblin Blastmage	Battlecry: If you control a Mech, deal 6 damage randomly split among all enemies.
Servant of Yogg-Saron	Battlecry: Cast a random spell that costs (5) or MORE (targets chosen randomly).
Cabalist’s Tome	4 Mana
Flame Leviathan	Rush. When you draw this, deal 2 damage to all characters except Mechs.
Paladin	Silvermoon Portal	3 Mana
A Light in the Darkness	Discover a Paladin minion. Give it +2/+2.
Keeper of Uldaman	3 Mana
Steward of Darkshire	4 Attack, 3 Health
Ivory Knight	4 Mana
Grimestreet Enforcer	4 Mana
Lay on Hands	6 Mana
Mysterious Challenger	[5 Mana] 5 Attack, 5 Health
Enter the Coliseum	3 Mana
Wickerflame Burnbristle	3 Attack, 3 Health
Priest	Hooded Acolyte	Taunt. Whenever a character is healed, give your C’Thun +1/+1 (wherever it is).
Shrinkmeister	Battlecry: Give a minion -3 Attack this turn.
Museum Curator	Battlecry: Discover a Deathrattle card. It costs (1) less.
Darkshire Alchemist	5 Attack, 5 Health
Onyx Bishop	4 Mana
Spawn of Shadows	[5 Mana] 5 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry and Inspire: Deal 4 damage to each hero.
Convert	[3 Mana] Put a copy of an enemy minion into your hand. It costs (1).
Shadowfiend	[2 Mana] 2 Attack, 3 Health
Shadowbomber	3 Attack, 1 Health
Confessor Paletress	Battlecry and Inspire: Summon a random Legendary minion.
Rogue	Jade Swarmer	1 Mana
Shado-Pan Rider	Combo: Gain +4 Attack.
Tomb Pillager	6 Attack, 4 Health
Jade Shurikan	Deal 3 damage. Combo: Summon a Jade Golem.
Burgle	Get 3 random cards (from your opponent’s class).
Undercity Huckster	2 Attack, 3 Health
Dark Iron Skulker	[4 Mana] 4 Attack, 3 Health
Poisoned Blade	2 Mana
Blade of C’Thun	6 Mana
Anub’arak	[8 Mana] Deathrattle: Summon a 4/4 Nerubian with “Deathrattle: Summon Anub’arak.”
Shaman	Reincarnate	1 Mana
Tuskarr Totemic	2 Mana
Jade Lightning	[3 Mana] Deal 3 damage. Summon a Jade Golem.
Wicked Witchdoctor	3 Mana
Jade Chieftain	[6 Mana] 5 Attack, 5 Health
Thunder Bluff Valiant	Battlecry and Inspire: Give your Totems +2 Attack.
Call in the Finishers	3 Mana
Healing Wave	Restore 8 Health. Reveal a minion in each deck. If yours costs more, restore 16 instead.
Charged Hammer	[3 Mana] 2 Attack, 3 Durability
Hallazeal the Ascended	Spell Damage +1 Your spells have Lifesteal.
Warlock	Demonfuse	Give a Demon +3/+3.
Usher of Souls	[4 Mana] 3 Attack, 5 Health. Whenever a minion dies, give your C’Thun +1/+1 (wherever it is).
Darkbomb	Deal 3 damage to a character. If it dies, draw a Shadow spell.
Dark Peddler	2 Attack, 3 Health
Spreading Madness	Deal 13 damage randomly split among ALL characters.
Silverware Golem	4 Attack, 3 Health
Tiny Knight of Evil	Whenever you discard a card, gain +2/+2.
Dark Bargain	[3 Mana]
Bane of Doom	Deal 3 damage to a character. If that kills it, summon a random Demon.
Krul the Unshackled	9 Attack, 9 Health
Warrior	I Know a Guy	Discover a Taunt minion. Give it +1/+2.
Ironforge Portal	4 Mana
Grimy Gadgeteer	3 Mana
Axe Flinger	2 Attack, 6 Health
Stolen Goods	Draw a Taunt minion. Give it +2/+2.
Ancient Shieldbearer	6 Mana
Alley Armorsmith	3 Attack, 7 Health
Bouncing Blade	2 Mana
Brass Knuckles	3 Mana
Iron Juggernaut	Battlecry and Deathrattle: Shuffle a Mine into your opponent’s deck. When drawn, it explodes for 10 damage.
Neutral	Jade Spirit	3 Attack, 3 Health
Worgen Greaser	6 Attack, 5 Health
Street Trickster	Spell Damage +2
Mukla’s Champion	5 Attack, 3 Health
Blackwing Corruptor	Battlecry: If you’re holding a Dragon, deal 5 damage.
Cult Apothecary	4 Mana
Twilight Geomancer	Taunt. Battlecry: Give your C’Thun +1/+1 and Taunt (wherever it is).
C’Thun’s Chosen	Divine Shield. Battlecry: Give your C’Thun +3/+3 (wherever it is).
Acolyte of Pain	1 Attack, 4 Health
Grimestreet Informant	2 Attack, 2 Health
Disciple of C’Thun	2 Attack, 2 Health
Sludge Belcher	3 Attack, 6 Health
Small-Time Buccaneer	1 Attack, 2 Health
Kabal Courier	2 Mana
Lotus Agents	[3 Mana] 3 Attack, 3 Health
Crazed Worshipper	4 Mana
Emperor Thaurissan	[5 Mana] 4 Attack, 4 Health
Twin Emperor Vek’lor	6 Attack, 7 Health
C’Thun	8 Mana
Aya Blackpaw	6 Attack, 3 Health
Don Han’Cho	[5 Mana] 5 Attack, 5 Health

Be sure to catch The State of Wild podcast on August 17 for an exclusive developer interview with Matt London and Chadd Nervig to discuss these changes and more.

Kean-eye readers will note that two of the 113 cards aren’t listed here (wow, we can’t believe you counted all of them, that’s commitment). The two missing cards are more akin to “reworks” than “buffed reprints,” so they will be revealed in the August 22 full explainer blog.

Twist Official Launch

Twist is back! On September 1, at your local ladder reset time, we’ll be kicking off the first official season of Twist. This season will feature the Wonders format, a fun throwback format celebrating the early years of Hearthstone. It includes all expansions from Legacy (not Core or Classic) through Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, plus the new cards from the Caverns of Time set, launching on August 31. That means the legal sets will be:

• Legacy (not Core or 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

There will be no Demon Hunter or Death Knight classes in this season of Twist, as they didn’t exist during the Wonders era. There’s no special rules modifier for this first Wonders season—the Twist is that you get to use the buffed cards and the brand new cards from Caverns of Time! You can learn more about Caverns of Time and this new Twist format in our dedicated Caverns of Time blog, coming on August 22.

Standard Balance Changes

The following cards are being adjusted down in power:

Hollow Hound

• Old: 3 Attack, 6 Health
• New: 3 Attack, 4 Health

Costumed Singer

• Old: 2 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 1 Attack, 1 Health

Bioluminescence

• Old: 3 Mana
• New: 4 Mana

Thaddius, Monstrosity

• Old: Taunt. Your odd-Cost cards cost (1). (Swaps polarity each turn!)
• New: Taunt. Your odd-Cost cards cost (4) less. (Swaps polarity each turn!)

The above cards will be available for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 27.2.

The following card are being adjusted up in power:

Down with the Ship

• Old: Deal 3 damage to a minion. If it dies, shuffle two random Plagues into your opponent’s deck.
• New: Deal 3 damage. Shuffle two random Plagues into your opponent’s deck.

Mythical Terror

• Old: 3 Attack, 10 Health
• New: 4 Attack, 10 Health

Frost Lotus Seedling (and Frost Lotus Blossom)

• Old (Seedling): Draw 1 card. Gain 4 Armor. (Blossoms in 3 turns.)
• Old (Blossom): Draw 2 cards. Gain 8 Armor.
• New (Seedling): Draw 1 card. Gain 5 Armor. (Blossoms in 3 turns.)
• New (Blossom): Draw 2 cards. Gain 10 Armor.

Disciple of Amitus

• Old: [6 Mana] 4 Attack, 6 Health
• New: [5 Mana] 4 Attack, 5 Health

Tyr

• Old: 7 Mana
• New: 6 Mana

Astral Automaton

• Old: 1 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 1 Attack, 2 Health

Felstring Harp

• Old: 2 Mana
• New: 1 Mana

Bladestorm

• Old: 3 Mana
• New: 2 Mana

Stoneskin Armorer

• Old: [3 Mana] 3 Attack, 4 Health
• New: [2 Mana] 2 Attack, 2 Health

Craftsman’s Hammer

• Old: After your hero attacks and kills a minion, gain 4 Armor.
• New: Whenever your hero attacks, gain 4 Armor.
• Dev Comment: This change means that it now works to give you extra damage after you’ve played Odyn.

Trial by Fire

• Old: 7 Mana
• New: 6 Mana

New In-Game Event: Battle of Ahn’Qiraj

Starting on September 5, join the Battle of Ahn’Qiraj with this special in-game event, celebrating the launch of Twist! From September 5 to September 19, complete Event Quests to earn Event XP on the special event rewards track. Complete the rewards track to earn a total of 6 card packs (1 The Grand Tournament Pack, 1 Goblins vs Gnomes Pack, 1 Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Pack, 1 Whispers of the Old Gods Pack, and 2 Caverns of Time Packs), 2 Signature Northshire Cleric Common cards, and 2 Signature Deathlord Rare cards!

Heroic Tavern Brawl

Heroic Tavern Brawl is returning on September 6, and this time it’s taking a walk on the Wild side. See where the dust settles after the Wild updates with this week-long competition for top prizes! The competition will be fierce, but the victors will be greatly rewarded.

Duels Updates

With Patch 27.2, the following card pool adjustments will be made:

• Thundra Rhino, Anub’Rekhan, Seafloor Gateway, and Mister Mukla are banned from deckbuilding and all card pools.
• Symphony of Sins is banned from deckbuilding.
• Solid Alibi and Cloak of Shadows are removed from draft buckets.
• Caverns of Time cards will be added to all card pools.

Once Caverns of Time launches on August 31, it will be added to initial deckbuilding as well. There will not be a season change with any of these updates, so ongoing runs will continue and ratings will be preserved.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Updated Disciple of Eonar’s text to indicate it works with Choose One cards or hero powers. Fixed a bug where, if it buffed a Choose One hero power, the aura would not be spent after the hero power was used.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where cards that reduce their own Cost were able to cost less than 2 when Razorscale was in play.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Titanforged Traps didn’t cast off “cast a random spell” effects. It now offers Hunter Secrets to classes that don’t have Secrets.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Chameleos and Disguised K’thir did not count as copies for Harvester of Envy.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Fate Spitter wouldn’t create a copy of a hero card if killed by that card’s Battlecry effect.
• [Hearthstone] Updated the Core Priest deck recipe to replace Crimson Clergy with Beaming Sidekick. This resolved a bug where that deck couldn’t be played in Practice or other adventures that use the Wild card pool (where Crimson Clergy is banned).
• [Battlegrounds] Your “Last 5 Warbands” stats page will now show your hero with your equipped Hero Skin, instead of always the default skin.
• [Battlegrounds] Zesty Shaker, Critter Wrangler, Tidemistress Athissa, and Kel’Thuzad’s Kitty (Hero Power) now use “When” or “Whenever” instead of “After” timing.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where giving a Divine Shield minion a temporary Divine Shield with Glowscale’s Spellcraft effect will then remove that minion’s original Divine Shield the next turn.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Dynamic Duo wouldn’t receive in-combat buffs from its effect.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a visual-only bug where Humming Bird plus another card that adds stats would display the wrong number.
• [Battlegrounds] Updated the Battlegrounds tutorial to better match modern Battlegrounds rules.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug where hero Health was not displaying on the pre-match loadout for Duels and Dungeon Run style solo content.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug with the Death Games Hero Power.
• [Solo Content] Fixed a bug where the new/returning player Loaner Decks were not useable in Solo Adventures.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where the Sargeras Hero Skin was missing its hero tray.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where the Legendary Rafaam Hero Skin’s hero power didn’t animate if you had fewer than 500 Warlock Ranked wins.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where using the hero power would cause visual issues with animated Hero Skins.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug where the TITANS achievements were missing the TITANS icon.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug where the Hats on Hats on Hats achievement couldn’t be progressed.
• [General] Added support for Android 13.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 27.0.3 is a data-only patch, rolling out today, with the following updates and bug fixes.

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: This is a smaller, numbers-only adjustment intended to address negative play experience outliers from the first few days of the new expansion. There will be another patch a couple weeks after this one where we will have more data points to make larger adjustments to the meta, if needed.

Solid Alibi

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Lab Constructor

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

The above cards will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks following Patch 27.0.3.

Duels Update

• Mechwarper has been banned from deckbuilding and all card pools.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Updated Sparkbots to better match their colors to their effects. WARNING: Wear proper safety equipment and read card texts to mitigate the risk of misplays while handling Sparkbots.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Dormant Titans could activate their abilities (kind of), causing issues.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where the Korean language version of the Forge tooltip displayed incorrectly.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed miscellaneous localization issues across languages.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug where Open the Doorways didn't trigger off of Symphony of Sins or Snack Run.
• [Collection] Fixed a bug where the Sargeras card back appeared as unowned and couldn’t be favorited.

Patch 27.0, launching tomorrow, prepares the way for TITANS to come to Hearthstone on August 1! The patch also includes updates to Battlegrounds, Duels, Arena, and more.

TITANS Are Making Their Way to Hearthstone!

Hearthstone’s next expansion, TITANS, is awakening in Hearthstone on August 1. The new 145-card expansion includes the new Titan and Forge keywords, Legendary Keepers, the returning Magnetic keyword, and more! See all the new cards in the official Card Library today. This is your last chance to get your Pre-Purchase bundle, only available until the expansion goes live next week!

With the launch of TITANS comes a new Rewards Track, with out-of-this-world cosmetics, XP boosts, cards, card packs, and a huge infusion of Gold! Check out our Rewards Track Refresh blog for details.

In-Game Event: Ulduar Grand Championship

Starting on August 3, vie for the favor of the Titans in a special in-game event, celebrating the launch of TITANS! From August 3 to August 22, complete Event Quests to earn Event XP on the special event rewards track. Complete the rewards track to earn 6 total packs (2 Standard Packs, 1 Golden Standard Pack, 1 Festival of Legends Pack, and 2 TITANS Packs) and a Death Knight Hero Skin!

New to Core: Paladin Auras

As part of our continued efforts to be more flexible with the Core Set throughout the year, two new cards are being added to Paladin’s Core Set with Patch 27.0.

The Auras have an effect that lasts for a few turns after you play the card. These two cards will be automatically added to the free Core Set with Patch 27.0. There is also one more Aura card in the TITANS set that can be obtained through all normal means once the expansion is live. We plan to continue exploring this design space for Paladin in future expansions as well.

Battlegrounds Updates

New Quest Rewards

• Turbulent Tombs: Add [a specified “Deathrattle” minion] to your hand. Your Deathrattles trigger an extra time.

• Gilnean War Horn: Add [a specified “Battlecry” minion] to your hand. Your Battlecries trigger an extra time.

Quest Reward Updates

• The following Quest Rewards are now more difficult to earn:
  • Endless Blood Moon; Sturdy Shard; Volatile Venom; Doppelganger’s Locket; Hidden Treasure Vault
• The following Quest Rewards are now easier to earn:
  • Boom Squad; Map of the Unknown; Ice Sickle; Bloodsoaked Tome; Snicker Snacks; Scepter of Guidance; Timeline Acceleration; Ritual Dagger; Anima Bribe; Mirror Shield

Hero Armor Updates

The following heroes now have less Armor:

• Cariel Roame now has 6 Armor
• Chenvaala now has 15 Armor at higher ratings, still has 12 Armor at lower ratings

The following heroes now have more Armor:

• Trade Prince Gallywix now has 8 Armor at higher ratings; still has 10 Armor at lower ratings
• Queen Wagtoggle now has 13 Armor at higher ratings; still has 7 Armor at lower ratings

Minion Update

Bristleback Knight

• Old (regular): Windfury, Divine Shield. Frenzy: Gain Divine Shield.
• New (regular): Windfury. Divine Shield. The first time this survives damage, gain Divine Shield.
• New (golden): Windfury. Divine Shield. The first two times this survives damage, gain Divine Shield.
• Dev Comment: This is a word change update for clarity, since this was the only card in Battlegrounds using the Frenzy keyword. There is no functional change to the normal version, but the Golden version is now stronger.

Wording Updates

Text-only updates have been made in several instances across Battlegrounds for consistency and better templating: “Tavern Tier” has been shortened to “Tier”; “Bob’s Tavern” has been changed to “the Tavern”; “add to your hand” has been shortened to “get”; and “minion type” has been shortened to “type” when “minion” has already been previously mentioned in the text. None of these changes are gameplay-impacting changes.

Duels Updates

Season Update

On July 25, the current Duels season will end, ratings will be reset, and current runs will be concluded. At that time, Ashes of Outland will be added to deckbuilding and card pool offerings. TITANS will also become available for all card pools at that time, but will not be available for initial deckbuilding until the launch of the expansion on August 1.

Hero Pool Update

Diablo is no longer in the eligible hero pool.

Card Pool Update

• Rattlegore is no longer banned from all card pools.
• Mo’arg Artificer and Kael’thas Sunstrider are now banned from all card pools.
• The following cards do not appear in card buckets and can’t be Discovered or randomly generated: Akama, Bulwark of Azzinoth, Incanter’s Flow, and all 11 “Titan” minions.

Arena Updates

On July 25, with Patch 27.0, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Core
• Saviors of Uldum
• Ashes of Outland
• Madness at the Darkmoon Faire
• March of the Lich King
• Path of Arthas
• Festival of Legends
• TITANS

Enter the Arena to play the new TITANS cards before the expansion launches!

Twist Beta Ending Soon

The current Twist Beta is coming to an end at the end of this season, at the end of the day on July 31. After the Beta ends, Twist will be temporarily unavailable while we prepare for the formal launch. Thank you all for trying out this new Mode and giving your feedback!

Twist is scheduled to formally launch on September 1, with a new format and a fun surprise. Stay tuned for more details closer to launch.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where triggering a reduced-cost Secret caused a crash on mobile devices.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where combining Solar Eclipse and Funnel Cake would refresh the wrong amount of mana crystals.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Sir Finley swapped the cards in your hand into your deck in the order they entered your hand instead of in the order they were held in your hand.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where a spell with its cost reduced by Infinitize the Maxitude would keep the cost reduction when discovered again by Rewind.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Cannibalize triggered the Overheal of the minion it destroyed. You don’t want to see that happening to you.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Remixed Musician could not be Silenced. Someone has now cut his mic.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where playing a Magnetic minion next to a Dormant minion could allow you to have 8 minions on the board.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Jerry Rig Carpenter’s effect could sometimes cause crashes.
• [Hearthstone] Updated Zarog’s Crown to match other Discover effects (it now adds a copy of the card to your hand as part of its effect).
• [Battlegrounds] Magnetic minions now return to the minion pool immediately after being Magnetized.
• [Battlegrounds] Bob’s Burgles (Tess Greymane’s hero power) can no longer be activated if your last opponent had no minions.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where if you have both Secret Sinstone and Another Hidden Body Quest Rewards, Secret Sinstone would not trigger off of Another Hidden Body’s effect.
• [Solo Adventures] Fixed a bug where players were unable to purchase Dalaran Heist chapters 2-5 with Gold.
• [Solo Adventures] Fixed a bug where clicking on the rewards preview in the One Night in Karazhan Adventure could cause a crash.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where Inge, the Iron Hymn was missing her hero tray.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a visual bug with Battlegrounds Boards causing clipping on phones. Visuals in the upper left corner of Battlegrounds boards will now appear simplified on phones.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 26.6.2 is a data-only patch, launching today, with the following updates.

Hearthstone Updates

Standard Card Update

Dev Comment: The Standard meta is in a good spot right now, with a lot of competitive options across most classes. We’re making this adjustment because Whomper is the biggest sentiment outlier in the format. We considered a handful of other cards that could have gotten small adjustments, but decided that it would be better to let this meta play out for a while.

Death Blossom Whomper

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Twist Card Updates

Dev Comment: Part of the Twist Beta is exploring our own design objectives when it comes to the mode. The whole premise of the mode is that there are quickly updating formats already built into it, so balance changes might not be as necessary to keep things fresh. However, we are still able to make card bans when we think they make the format better. Here, we’re taking a lighter approach to the big three outliers in the current format. We’ll see how these changes impact players and might take further or different actions in the future, including next time we bring back the New Age format.

• Glide, Crypt Keeper, and Refreshing Spring Water are now banned in Twist.

The four cards mentioned above (Standard and Twist) will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks following Patch 26.6.2.

Battlegrounds Updates

Hero Power Updates

Cariel Roame

• Old: Give 2 friendly minions +1/+1. (After you upgrade the Tavern, choose an improvement!)
  • Offensive Stance: For the rest of the game, ‘Conviction’ gives an additional +2 Attack.
  • Defensive Stance: For the rest of the game, ‘Conviction’ gives an additional +2 Health.
• New: Give 3 friendly minions +1/+1. (After you upgrade the Tavern, choose an improvement!)
  • Offensive Stance: For the rest of the game, ‘Conviction’ gives an additional +1 Attack.
  • Defensive Stance: For the rest of the game, ‘Conviction’ gives an additional +1 Health.

King Mukla

• No text update.
• Old: King Mukla has 50% chance to get a Big Banana, all other players have 0% chance.
• New: All bananas have a 33% chance of being a Big Banana, regardless of who receives them.

Aranna Starseeker

• Old: After 16 friendly minions attack, the first minion you buy each turn is free.
• New: After 14 friendly minions attack, the first minion you buy each turn is free.

The Curator

• Old: [Passive] Start the game with a 1/1 Amalgam with Venomous and all minion types.
• New: [Passive] Start the game with a 2/2 Amalgam with Venomous and all minion types.

Armor Updates

The following heroes now have more armor:

• King Mukla now has 10 Armor.
• Cariel Roame now has 12 Armor at higher ranked lobbies and 10 Armor at lower ranked lobbies.
• Aranna Starseeker and The Curator now have 15 Armor.

Minion Updates

Cogwork Copter

• Old: 2 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 1 Attack, 1 Health

Scrap Scraper

• Old: 3 Attack, 7 Health. At the end of your turn, get a random Magnetic Mech.
• New: 4 Attack, 7 Health. At the end of every 2 turns, get a random Magnetic Mech.

Cyborg Drake

• Old: 2 Attack, 10 Health. Divine Shield. Your minions with Divine Shield have +8 Attack.
• New: 3 Attack, 10 Health. Divine Shield. Your minions with Divine Shield have +6 Attack.

Prickly Piper

• Old: 5 Attack, 2 Health
• New: 3 Attack, 1 Health

Bongo Bopper

• Old: 6 Attack, 5 Health.
• New: 4 Attack, 3 Health.

Hungry Snapjaw

• Old: 4 Attack, 2 Health.
• New: 5 Attack, 2 Health.

Recycling Wraith

• Old: [Tier 4] 5 Attack, 4 Health
• New: [Tier 3] 4 Attack, 2 Health

Bream Counter

• Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health. While this is in your hand, after you play a Murloc, gain +3/+2.
• New: 5 Attack, 5 Health. While this is in your hand, after you play a Murloc, gain +3/+3.

Eventide Brute

• Old: 3 Attack, 2 Health
• New: 4 Attack, 3 Health

Tidemistress Athissa

• Old: 7 Attack, 8 Health. After you cast a spell, give three friendly Naga +1/+1.
• New: 6 Attack, 8 Health. After you cast a spell, give four friendly Naga +1/+1.

Soulsplitter

• Old: [Tier 5] 5 Attack, 2 Health.
• New: [Tier 4] 4 Attack, 2 Health.

Minion Pool Changes

• Bannerboar has been removed from the minion pool.
• Patient Scout has been returned to the minion pool.

Duels Updates

Signature Treasure Updates

Carrot on a Stick

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Men-at-Arms

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Passive Treasure Updates

Starving

• Old: After the first time a friendly Beast dies in a turn, draw a minion from your deck and give it +1 Attack.
• New: After the first time a friendly Beast dies in your turn, draw a minion from your deck and give it +1 Attack.

Corrupted Felstone

• Old: After you cast your first Fel spell in a turn, give the left- and right-most minions in your hand +1 Attack.
• New: After you cast a Fel spell, give the left- and right-most minions in your hand +1 Attack.

Card Pool Updates

• Lightning Bloom and Kayne Sunfury have been banned from deckbuilding and all card pools.
• Rattlegore has been temporarily banned from deckbuilding and all card pools until Diablo leaves the hero pool.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Shop/Twist] Updated the Druid Battle-Ready Deck to now include Umbral Owl instead of Jerry-Rig Carpenter.
• [Battlegrounds] Corrected the text on Tavish’s “Aim Right” hero power option; no functional change.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where certain hero powers didn’t show their costs on the hero select screen.
• [Duels] Corrected the text of Sai Shadestorm’s Signature Treasure, Glaciaxe; no functional change.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug with Sai Shadestorm’s hero power, Gathering Storm, where it couldn’t be used when you had a full board.