Hearthstone

Patch 24.2.2, a hotfix patch scheduled for September 9, includes the following updates and bug fixes.

Standard Card Updates

Dev Comment: Our top priority this patch was to make the meta feel more stable and more diverse. For that reason, we focused primarily on making a moderate number of high-confidence changes this patch. We expect there will still be room for adjustment after this patch settles in, but we’d like to take the opportunity to see where these changes land before making further changes.

The following cards have been adjusted down in power:

Wildheart Guff

• Old: Battlecry and Hero Power granted full mana crystals.
• New: Battlecry and Hero Power grant empty mana crystals.

• Dev Comment: Ramp Druid is one of the most powerful and influential decks in the game this patch. Guff was the clear power outlier for the deck, so a change to Guff was the highest confidence change we could make. We still expect Guff to be a playable card, with an important role in these strategies, but we hope that this change will make it feel like there is more of a cost to ramping than there was previously.

Edwin, Defias Kingpin

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

• Dev Comment: There’s been a lot of attention on Edwin ever since he was buffed in the last patch—and rightfully so! Since his buff, he has been one of the most highly played and winningest cards in the game, which made him an obvious candidate for a high confidence adjustment to Rogue. When we made the initial buff, Rogue looked like it needed some help, but now that these lists have been more refined, we think Rogue will remain a player in the meta even with Edwin back at 4.

Arcane Burst (Magister Dawngrasp’s Hero Power)

• Old: Deal 2 damage. Honorable Kill: Gain +2 damage.
• New: Deal 2 damage. Honorable Kill: Gain +1 damage.

Nightcloak Sanctum

• Old: 3 Durability
• New: 2 Durability

• Dev Comment: Along with Druid and Rogue, Mage has been one of the most dominant classes since the last patch. Nightcloak Sanctum has been a clear outlier in the mid-stages of the game, and the scaling threat of Magister Dawngrasp’s hero power has been the dominant in the end game. These two standout cards were the most obvious targets for tuning down the deck’s power level, and should also make the class less frustrating to play against in the mid- and late game.

Defend the Dwarven District (the first stage of the Hunter Questline)

• Old: Deal damage with 2 spells.
• New: Deal damage with 3 spells.

• Dev Comment: Quest Hunter is a frustrating deck to play against and was poised to be a powerful meta contender after the changes to the other classes. This change is both to address the deck’s current state and anticipated relative power level after this patch.

Kael’thas Sinstrider

• Old: [Costs 6]
• New: [Costs 8]

• Dev Comment: Kael’thas, Brann, and Denathrius have appeared together as a package in a variety of decks. To address the specific interaction between these three cards, we felt the best solution was to add 2 more cost to the Brann-Kael’thas combo so that they can’t be played with 10 mana. We preferred to change Kael’thas over Brann because Kael’thas is being used primarily for things like this combo while Brann has other interesting use cases, too.

Smothering Starfish

• Old: [Costs 3]
• New: [Costs 4]

• Dev Comment: Smothering Starfish was living up to its name a bit too much. The goal for this card was for it to be a strong tech card, but the cost to include it in your deck was low enough that it was acting more like a staple than a tech card. While responding to specific meta forces, Starfish was also unintentionally snuffing out a variety of underrepresented decks. We think this adjustment will still allow Starfish to be used as a powerful tech option, but will make it less generically ubiquitous.

The above cards will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks following Patch 24.2.2.

The following cards have been adjusted up in power:

School Teacher

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

• Dev Comment: When we initially changed School Teacher, it was the most played card in the game. We’re partially reverting the balance change in order to make the card feel a bit better to include in decks, while still acknowledging that its power level at launch was a bit higher than we would have liked it to be.

Alliance Bannerman

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

• Dev Comment: When we buff cards in underperforming classes, we rarely do it with the goal of immediately shooting the class to a 50% plus winrate. Our goal is to make the game more fun, something we can accomplish by bringing the class up to a level where players feel like there is something worth exploring. With the focus on high confidence changes in this patch, the change we were most confident we could give Paladin was something we’ve seen before—a reversion to a previous balance change.

Battlegrounds Updates

Armor Tier Changes

• Al’Akir, Alexstrasza, Murloc Holmes, and Patchwerk are now Armor Tier 1.
• Death Speaker Blackthorn, George the Fallen, Ini Stormcoil, Silas Darkmoon, Tamsin Roame, Vol’jin, and Xyrella are now Armor Tier 2.
• Ambassador Faelin, Cariel Roame, Deathwing, Elise Starseeker, Heistbaron Togwaggle, Lord Barov, Jandice Barov, Maiev Shadowsong, Malygos, Nozdormu, Patches the Pirate, Reno Jackson, Shudderwock, Sir Finley Mrrgglton, Sneed, and Zephrys the Great are now Armor Tier 3.
• Dancin’ Deryl, Dinotamer Brann, Queen Azshara, Ragnaros the Firelord, and Y’Shaarj are now Armor Tier 4.
• A.F. Kay, Chenvaala, Galakrond, Greybough, Illidan Stormraige, Infinite Toki, Mr. Bigglesworth, Rakanishu, Skycap’n Kragg, Tess Greymane, and The Curator are now Armor Tier 5.
• Captain Eudora is now Armor Tier 6.
• C’Thun and Tavish Stormpike are now Armor Tier 7.

Hero Changes

Toggwaggle – Perfect Crime

• Old: 9 Gold
• New: 10 Gold

Minion Changes

Nether Drake

• Old: 5 Health
• New: 4 Health

Legion Overseer

• Old: Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +2/+2.
• New: Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +2/+1.

Amber Guardian

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

Lava Lurker

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

Party Elemental

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

Yo-Ho-Ogre

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

Quest and Quest Reward Changes

As a reminder, Quests and Quest Rewards in Battlegrounds are not static. Quests have baseline values that are adjusted game-by-game, based on several factors, including the value of the Reward they are paired with.

Quest baseline adjustments:

Track the Footprints

• Old: Have Bob’s Tavern Refreshed 10 times.
• New: Have Bob’s Tavern Refreshed 9 times.

Follow the Money

• Old: Spend 30 Gold.
• New: Spend 33 Gold.

Reenact the Murder

• Old: Have 18 friendly minions die.
• New: Have 19 friendly minions die.

Reward text adjustments:

Tiny Henchman

• Old: At the end of your turn, give +2/+2 to 3 friendly minions of Tier 3 or lower.
• New: At the end of your turn, give +3/+3 to 3 friendly minions of Tier 3 or lower.

Alter Ego

• Old: Even Tier minions in Bob’s Tavern have +6/+6. (Swaps to Odd next turn!)
• New: Even Tier minions in Bob’s Tavern have +7/+7. (Swaps to Odd next turn!)

Staff of Origination

• Old: Start of Combat: Give your minions +15/+15.
• New: Start of Combat: Give your minions +12/+12.

Reward difficulty adjustments:

• Teal Tiger Sapphire, Snicker Snacks, and Red Hand were made generally easier to earn.
• The Smoking Gun, Mirror Shield, and Stolen Gold were made generally harder to earn.

Duels Updates

Hero Power Updates

No Guts, No Glory

• Old: 1 Mana
• New: 2 Mana

War Commands

• Old: 2 Mana
• New: 3 Mana

Dino Tracking

• Old: Passive Hero Power. At the start of your turn, Discover which card you draw.
• New: [2 Mana] Discover a card from your deck.

Frost Shards

• Old: 1 Mana
• New: 2 Mana

Signature Treasure Changes

Gift of the Heart

• Old: [5 Mana] Gain 4 empty mana crystals. Allied: Druid.
• New: [6 Mana] Gain 3 empty mana crystals. Allied: Druid.

Traktamer Aelessa

• Old: 2 Mana
• New: 3 Mana

Magister Unchained

• Old: 2 Mana
• New: 3 Mana

Sr. Excavator

• Old: Draw 3 cards. Any minions you draw cost (4) less.
• New: Draw 2 cards. Any minions you draw cost (2) less.

Shadow Word: Void

• Old: 4 Mana
• New: 5 Mana

Elemental Chaos

• Old: 6 Mana
• New: 8 Mana

Green Tortollan Shell

• Old: 1 Mana
• New: 2 Mana

Safe Harbor

• Old: 2 Mana
• New: 5 Mana

Scales of Justice

• Old: 6 Mana
• New: 8 Mana

Warden’s Insight

• Old: 3 Mana
• New: 4 Mana

Marvelous Mycelium

• Old: Discover a Choose One card. It has both effects combined. Shuffle this card into your deck.
• New: Discover a Choose One card, then shuffle it into your deck. It has both effects combined. Repeat 3 times.

Passive Treasure Changes

Arctic Armor

• Old: Whenever you Freeze an enemy, gain 1 Armor.
• New: After the first time you Freeze an enemy each turn, gain 1 Armor.

Forgotten Depths

• Old: At the start of game, put 3 Colossal minions on the bottom of your deck. They cost (3) less.
• New: At the start of the game, put 2 Colossal minions on the bottom of your deck. They cost (3) less.

Wither the Weak

• Old: After you cast a Fel spell, deal 2 damage to the lowest-Health enemy.
• New: After you cast a Fel spell, deal 1 damage to the lowest-Health enemy.

Potion of Sparking

• Old: After a friendly Rush minion attacks an enemy minion, deal 1 damage to adjacent enemy minions.
• New: After a friendly Rush minion attacks an enemy minion, deal 1 damage to a random adjacent enemy minion.

Freeze Solid

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

Glacial Downpour

• Old: At the end of your turn, summon a 3/6 Water Elemental if you’ve cast a Frost spell this turn.
• New: At the end of your turn, summon a 2/1 Ice Shard if you’ve cast a Frost spell this turn.

Special Delivery

• Old: After you play a Rush minion, summon a copy with 1 Health.
• New: After you play your first Rush minion in a turn, summon a copy with 1 Health.

Cookie’s Ladle

• Moved from Pool 1 to Pool 2.

Oops, All Spells!

• Removed from all Passive treasure pools.

Party Replacement

• Removed from all Passive treasure pools.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Battlegrounds] Added a cap to the Sort It All Out and Unmask the Culprits Quests, limiting the top-end requirements needed in order to complete the Quest.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Lich Baz’hial’s Hero Power could not be used if your hand was full.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Kael’thas’s Verdant Spheres would not give a buff if the minion was Magnetized.

Patch 24.2, launching on August 30, starts Battlegrounds Season 2! It also brings with it Mercenaries updates, bug fixes, and more.

Battlegrounds Season 2 is Here!

New Battlegrounds Track, Season Pass, and Battlegrounds Missions

On August 30, Battlegrounds Ratings will reset, and the new season of Battlegrounds will begin. With the new season, Battlegrounds will now have its own Battlegrounds Track, featuring Battlegrounds-specific Rewards you can earn as you play! This Season, the Rewards feature the anime-inspired “Magic of Azeroth” theme.

The Battlegrounds Track features tons of free Battlegrounds rewards, but you can purchase the Season Pass to immediately unlock +2 Hero Choices and the ability to earn even more rewards throughout the season. The Season Pass can be purchased in-game with Runestones, Hearthstone’s new virtual currency. Runestones can be purchased through both the in-game shop and the Battlenet web shop, once Patch 24.2 goes live. During the transition period for this first season, the Season Pass can also be purchased with money directly, either in-game or through the Battlenet web shop.

Earn your Rewards even faster by completing new Battlegrounds Missions. Battlegrounds Missions are like Battlegrounds-specific Weekly Quests that grant a lot more Battlegrounds XP. These will be offered in addition to the normal Hearthstone Daily and Weekly Quests that all players will continue to get. You get three Battlegrounds Missions per week. They can be re-rolled and they are automatically banked until the end of the Season if you don’t complete them right away.

You can learn more about the Battlegrounds Track, the Season Pass, Runestones, and Battlegrounds Missions, including everything that’s including in the Battlegrounds Track and Season Pass, in the Season 2 Announcement Blog.

New Gameplay Mechanic: Quests

Season 2 will also introduce a new game mechanic to Battlegrounds: Quests! Like the traditional Hearthstone Quests and Questlines, Battlegrounds Quests require you to meet a particular condition in order to earn a reward that will empower you for the rest of the game.

In Battlegrounds, Quests have their own unique twist. Instead of starting the game with your Quest, your Quest options will appear on turn 4 (the 6 Gold turn). And instead of getting the same Quest and Quest Reward every game, you pick them from three options at that time. You are choosing both your Quest and the Reward for completing it as a pair, so choose carefully! Once you complete your quest, you automatically receive your Reward.

There are about 13 different Quest options and 24 different Reward options that are available in any given game (certain Quests and Rewards are blocked from particular lobbies or Heroes to prevent unwanted synergies).

The Quest options represent the baseline requirements you will need to complete in order to receive your Reward (subject to some adjustments, discussed below):

• Invite the Guests: Buy 7 minions.
• Dust for Prints: Add 15 cards to your hand.
• Cry for Help: Play 6 Battlecry minions.
• Witness Protection: Have a friendly Taunt minion be attacked 8 times.
• Exhume the Bones: Trigger 6 friendly Deathrattles.
• Track the Footprints: Have Bob’s Tavern Refresh 10 times.
• Assemble a Lineup: Summon 14 minions.
• Unmask the Culprit: Lose or tie 3 combats.
• Find the Murder Weapon: Increase a minion’s stats 15 times.
• Reenact the Murder: Have 18 friendly minions die.
• Sort It All Out: Order your minions from lowest to highest Attack for 4 combats.
• Follow the Money: Spend 25 Gold.
• Unlikely Duo: Play 5 minions from a minion type or another minion type.*
  * In-game, this will choose two minion types that are legal for that game and list them. For example, “Play 5 Beasts or Demons.”

These are the types of Rewards you can earn for completing your Quests:

• Snicker Snacks: At the end of your turn, 2 friendly minions trigger their Battlecries.
• Stolen Gold: Start of Combat: Make your left and right-most minions Golden.
• Evil Twin: Start of Combat: Summon a copy of your highest-Health minion.
• Ritual Dagger: After a friendly Deathrattle minion dies, give it +4/+4 permanently.
• Anima Bribe: After you sell a minion, give its stats to a minion in Bob’s Tavern.
• Devils in the Details: End of Turn: Your left and right-most minions consume a minion in Bob’s Tavern.
• The Smoking Gun: Your minions have +5 Attack.
• Cooked Book: After you buy a minion, give it +1/+1 and upgrade this.
• Mirror Shield: After each Refresh, give a minion in Bob’s Tavern +4/+4 and Divine Shield.
• Secret Sinstone: After you Discover a card, get an extra copy of it.
• Ghastly Mask: Add ‘[a random “end of turn minion”]’ to your hand. Your end of turn effects trigger twice.
• Theotar’s Parasol: At the end of your turn, give your right-most minion Stealth until next turn and +8 Health.
• Teal Tiger Sapphire: Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +1/+1 for each time it was Refreshed this turn.
• Red Hand: At the start of your turn, give a minion in your hand +12/+12.
• Victim’s Specter: After each combat, get a plain copy of the last friendly minion that died.
• Hidden Body: Discover a minion of your Tavern Tier. (Can be earned endlessly!)
• Tiny Henchman: At the end of your turn, give +2/+2 to 3 friendly minions of Tier 3 or below.
• Yogg-tastic Tasties: At the start of your turn, spin the Wheel of Yogg-Saron.
• Wondrous Wisdomball: Occasionally gives helpful Refreshes.
• Staff of Origination: Start of Combat: Give your minions +15/+15.
• Alter Ego: Even Tier minions in Bob’s Tavern have +6/+6 (Swaps to Odd next turn!)
• The Friends Along the Way: At the start of your turn, get 2 random [random minion type].
• Pilfered Lamps: You only need 2 copies of a minion to make it Golden.
• Menagerie Mayham: At the end of your turn, give your minions +1 Attack for each friendly minion type.

The Quests and Rewards are randomly paired together. The numbers in these Quests vary based on which Reward they are paired with, based on how juicy the Reward is. The less powerful Rewards will make your Quest easier to complete and the more powerful Rewards will make the Quest harder to complete. There are also small adjustments based on your hero’s Armor Tier (slightly harder for heroes with less Armor, slightly easier for heroes with more Armor).

Battlegrounds Quests will last until the end of Season 2. You can learn more about Battlegrounds Quests and Quest Rewards in the Battlegrounds Quests Mechanic blog.

General Updates

• Turn 4 (the 6 Gold turn) will have its turn time slightly extended to account for the new Quest mechanic.
• Players can now exceed 10 Gold when selling minions or otherwise gaining Gold during the shop phase. The start-of-turn maximum is still 10 Gold.
• Battlegrounds-exclusive Weekly Quests (like “Finish Top 4 in Battlegrounds”) have been removed from the general Weekly Quests rotation and converted into Battlegrounds Missions. Other Daily and Weekly Quests that can be completed across Modes can still be completed in Battlegrounds or other Modes.
• Celebrate Season 2 with a chain of three Legendary Quests that award new Battlegrounds cosmetics.

New Heroes

Murloc Holmes (Armor Tier 2)

• Detective For Hire
  • [0 Gold] Look at 2 minions. Guess which one your next opponent had last combat for a Coin.

Sire Denathrius (Armor Tier 1)

• Whodunnit
  • Passive. At the start of the game, choose one of two Quests.
  • Dev Comment: This is in addition to the Quest that all players automatically get. Sire Denathrius can have two Quests at once.

These two new heroes will be offered in every lobby for the first two weeks following the patch.

Hero Updates

Rakinishu (Tavern Lightning)

• Old: [2 Gold] Give a friendly minion stats equal to your Tavern Tier. → New: [1 Gold] Give a minion stats equal to its Tavern Tier.
• Moved to Armor Tier 3.

Patchwerk (All Patched Up)

• Old: Passive. Start with 55 Health instead of 40. → New: Passive. Start with 60 Health instead of 40.
• Moved to Armor Tier 2.

Vanndarr Stormpike (Lead the Stormpikes)

• Redesigned: Passive. Avenge (2): Give your minions +1 Health permanently.
• Moved to Armor Tier 1.

Drek’Thar (Lead the Frostwolves)

• Redesigned: Passive. Avenge (3): Give your minions +1 Attack permanently.
• Moved to Armor Tier 2.

Aranna Starseeker (Spectral Sight)

• Bob’s Tavern will now always replenish to 7 minions, such as after buying a minion.

Fungalmancer Flurgl (Gone Fishing)

• Redesigned: Passive. After you sell 4 minions, get a random Murloc.
• Moved to Armor Tier 2.

Skycap’n Kragg (Piggy Bank)

• No text change, but the piggy bank can now store over 10 Gold.

Galewing

• (Westfall) Old: Passive. In 1 turn, give your left-most minion +2 Attack. → New: Passive. In 1 turn, give your left-most minion +2/+1.
• (Eastern Plaguelands) Old: Passive. In 5 turns, your next Tavern Tier upgrade costs (5) less. → New: Passive. In 5 turns, your next Tavern Tier upgrade costs (6) less.

New Minions

Picky Eater [Tavern Tier 1, Demon]

• 1 Attack, 1 Health. Battlecry: Consume a random minion in Bob’s Tavern to gain its stats.

Mind Muck [Tavern Tier 2, Demon]

• 3 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: Choose a friendly Demon. It consumes a minion in Bob’s Tavern to gain its stats.
• Dev Comment: The consumed minion is randomly chosen.

Piggyback Imp [Tavern Tier 2, Demon]

• 4 Attack, 1 Health. Deathrattle: Summon a 4/1 Imp.

Nether Drake [Tavern Tier 2, Dragon]

• 0 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, give your Dragons +1 Attack.

Amber Guardian [Tavern Tier 3, Dragon]

• 3 Attack, 2 Health. Start of Combat: Give another friendly Dragon +3/+3 and Divine Shield.

Legion Overseer [Tavern Tier 3, Demon]

• 4 Attack, 4 Health. Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +2/+2.

First Mate Pip [Tavern Tier 3, Pirate]

• 5 Attack, 4 Health. You only need 2 of these to make a Golden copy.

Treasure-Seeker Elise [Tier 4]

• 5 Attack, 5 Health. After you Refresh 5 times, find the Golden Monkey.
  • Golden Monkey [Tavern Tier 1] 6 Attack, 6 Health. Taunt.
  • Dev Comment: When the Golden Monkey is “found,” it appears in Bob’s Tavern. The Golden Monkey is always Golden and gives you a Triple reward when played.

Rendle the Mistermind [Tavern Tier 4]

• 4 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, steal the highest Tier minion from Bob’s Tavern.

Tortollan Blue Shell [Tavern Tier 5]

• 4 Attack, 7 Health. If you lost your last combat, this minion sells for 5 Gold.

Tea Master Theotar [Tavern Tier 6]

• 6 Attack, 6 Health. After you play a minion with no minion type, give 3 friendly minions of different types +2/+2.

Minion Updates

• Toxfin is returned to the minion pool.
• Kooky Chemist, Steward of Time, Bublette, Silverback Patriarch, Icky Imp, Nathrezim Overseer, Soul Devourer, Briny Bootlegger, Shifter Zerus, Cobalt Scalebane, Witchwing Nestmatron, Mythrax the Unraveler, and SI:Sefin have all been removed from the minion pool.
• Impulsive Trickster
  • Old: [Tavern Tier 1] 2 Attack, 2 Health → New: [Tavern Tier 2] 2 Attack, 3 Health
• Imprisoner
  • Old: [Tavern Tier 2] 3 Attack, 3 Health → New: [Tavern Tier 1] 2 Attack, 2 Health
• Drakonid Enforcer
  • Old: [Tavern Tier 3] 2 Attack, 4 Health → New: [Tavern Tier 4] 3 Attack, 7 Health

Mercenaries Updates

General Updates

• Murky and its portraits can now be obtained through all normal methods.

Merc Updates

King Krush

• Apex Predator 5
  • Old: Attack the lowest Health enemy minion. Deathblow: Repeat this. → New: Attack the lowest Health enemy minion. Deathblow: Gain +5 Health and repeat this.
  • In addition to this effect change, the Ability will now be Speed 5 at all levels.

Cariel Roame

• Crusader’s Blow is now Holy.

Deathwing

• Claws of Terror 5
  • Old: Attack an enemy. If it was damaged this turn, deal 8 damage to them. → New: Attack an enemy. If it was damaged this turn, deal 8 damage to it and its neighbors.
• Heart of Unliving 4
  • Old: Claws of Terror deals 5 more damage and affects adjacent enemies. → New: Claws of Terror deals 5 more damage.

Yrel

• Maxed Health
  • Old: 76 → New: 88
• Radiant Light
  • Old: Speed 4 → New: Speed 2

Blink Fox

• Maxed Stats
  • Old: 11/84 → New: 14/92
• Arcane Fling 5
  • Old: Deal 13 damage to an enemy. If it has not acted yet, deal 18 instead. → New: Deal 17 damage to an enemy. If it has not acted yet, deal 22 instead.

Rexxar

• Animal Companion (All Ranks)
  • Old: Cooldown 1 → New: Cooldown 0
• Explosive Shot 5
  • Old: Deal 16 Damage to an enemy and 8 to adjacent ones. → New: Deal 20 Damage to an enemy and 12 to adjacent ones.
• Huntsman’s Rifle 4
  • Old: Explosive Shot deals 4 more damage. → New: Passive: At the start of each turn, deal 10 damage to all enemies if you’ve summoned all 3 Animal Companions this game.

Fathom-Lord Karathress

• Cataclysmic Bolt 5
  • Old: Deal 20 damage to the lowest health enemy. → New: Deal 22 damage to the lowest health enemy.

Cornelius Roame

• Martial Mastery is now Holy

Wild Heroic Brawliseum Returning on September 14

Heroic Brawliseum is returning on September 14, and this time it is taking a walk on the Wild side! Get your best Wild deck together, because for one week you can face stiff competition to earn top prizes! It won’t be easy, but the victors will be greatly rewarded.

Introducing Runestones

Runestones are Hearthstone’s new virtual currency. You can purchase Runestones with money and then use them just like you would use money for almost all Hearthstone products, across all modes. The costs of products aren’t changing, their prices are just being converted to Runestones. One benefit of this changes is that it allows us to offer smaller-scale items in the shop, like individual Skins or Battlegrounds Emotes, that would previously have had to have been bundled together with other items.

Updated Leaderboards

Hearthstone leaderboards are getting an update! The leaderboards for Standard, Wild, Classic, Battlegrounds, and Mercenaries will now have live updates (currently, they refresh in intervals of 5-10 minutes). All leaderboards will also now select from Season number (like Battlegrounds currently does), instead of a month and year. Finally, there’s no longer a limit to how many people can be shown on those leaderboards. For Standard, Wild, and Classic, this means that all Legend-rank players will be listed. You’re all leaderboard finishers in our book!

Feature Update: In-Game Reporting

In-game player reporting is now live for all players. You can now report friends, current opponents, and past opponents from the friends list menu. Grounds for reporting include inappropriate names, inappropriate chats, and inappropriate gameplay. Now we can all work together to make sure the tavern is a safe and inviting place for everybody to play!

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Improved in-game messaging capabilities.
• Fixed a bug where Relic of Dimensions did not draw from the top of your deck.
• Fixed a bug where Demolition Renovator did not function on mobile.
• Fixed a bug where Front Lines did not trigger if either player’s board was already full.
• Fixed a bug where Party Crasher would “use up” the attack of a Rush minion that survived the crash.
• Fixed a bug where Sinful Brand would not trigger if the minion died from the damage.
• Fixed a bug where Sunken Scavenger was incorrectly counted as an “Imp.”
• Fixed a bug where Imprisoned Scrap Imp was not counted as an “Imp.”
• Fixed a bug where Suspicious Usher would retain any damage done to minions copied.
• Fixed a bug where Dispose of the Evidence showed the shuffled card in the history tile. You can now dispose the evidence without exposing the evidence.
• Fixed a bug where Sinstone Graveyard summoned its minions to the far left side of your board, instead of directly to its right.
• Fixed a bug where the Infuse sound effect did not play when an Infuse counter was incremented.
• Fixed a bug where Locations did not play their entry sounds when played.
• Fixed a bug where Location activation visual effects were not seen by opponents.
• Updated the text on Cloak of Shadows to more accurately describe how it works.
• Spammy Arcanist’s effect will now count Bubbler dying from 1 damage in order to continue spamming.
• The Relics of the Deep Battlegrounds Hero Power can no longer be used when you already have a full hand.
• Updated Trigore’s Task 9 criteria.
• Fixed a bug preventing the Efficient Octo Sought achievement from being able to be completed.
• Fixed a bug where Herald of Shadow did not count for the Harold Who? achievement.
• Updated the wording on the One of the Classic Blunders achievement to match its function.
• Fixed visual bugs with the Reveler Kael’thas and Venthyr Liadrin Hero Skin animations.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 24.0.3, launching today, includes adjustments to Standard, Wild, Battlegrounds, and Duels, as well as a couple bug fixes!

Card Updates:

Dev Comment: The current power level of the top decks after the launch of Murder at Castle Nathria is pretty close to the level that we’d like it to be. We’re happy with decks like Imp Warlock and Control Shaman being powerful, but we’re less happy with the power level of the weakest classes. So while we did a few touches to the top decks with the goal of reducing play-against frustration, the primary goal of this patch was to elevate the classes that are struggling in the current meta.

The following cards have been adjusted down in their power:

Celestial Alignment

• Old: Set each player to 0 Mana Crystals. Set the cost of all cards in hands and decks to (1). → New: Set your Mana Crystals to 0. Set the cost of all cards in your hand and deck to (1).

Dev Comment: We hear you. Alignment has been a frustrating card to play against for a while now and has remained that way after the release of Murder at Castle Nathria, even if it is not a balance outlier. This change is targeted at removing as much of that frustration as possible while still retaining the primary effect for players who enjoy the big turns it can allow.

Stag Spirit Wildseed

• Old: Dormant for 3 turns. When this awakens, equip a 4/2 Greatbow. → New: Dormant for 3 turns. When this awakens, equip a 3/2 Greatbow.

Dev Comment: The Wildseed package has been a fun addition to Hunter, but Stag Spirit Wildseed has been putting out more face damage than we intended. We hope Wildseeds will remain a key part of Hunter decks going forward, but will be a little less ubiquitous across all Hunter archetypes.

Snowfall Guardian

• Old: 3 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Freeze all other minions. Gain +1/+1 for each Frozen minion. → New: 5 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: Freeze all other minions.

Dev Comment: Control Shaman has been one of the most dominant decks since the expansion launch. A big part of their power comes from their ability to repeatedly freeze enemy boards while also pressuring their life totals, thanks to Snowfall Guardian. We hope that by removing the pressure this card applies, it will be less difficult for players to navigate.

Vile Library

• Old: Give a friendly minion +1/+1. Repeat for each Imp you control. → New: Give a minion +1/+1 for each Imp you control.

Dev Comment: We’re happy to see that Imp Warlock has been one of the top performing decks in this expansion, but a little bit too much of its power is coming from the burst damage this single card allows. We’re lightly touching Vile Library because we don’t want it to go away, we just want to bring the deck more in line with the other decks in the meta.

Kobold Illusionist

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 5]

Dev Comments: Big Rogue has developed into a powerhouse that too consistently summons powerful minions too early in the game for players to meaningfully interact with. We’re adding a mana cost to Kobold Illusionist to slow the deck down and break up some of its consistency.

The above craftable cards, as well as Spirit Poacher, Stag Charge, Wild Spirits, and Ara’lon will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 24.0.3.

The following cards have been adjusted up in their power:

Relic Vault

• Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]

Relic of Extinction

• Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]

Dev Comment: Relics are a fun and flavorful new archetype from Murder at Castle Nathria, but they haven’t had their chance to shine. We’re hoping that a couple buffs will make these cards easier to squeeze into turns and make the whole package feel better to try in a variety of decks.

Bibliomite

• Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health → New: 5 Attack, 4 Health

Magnifying Glaive

• Old: 2 Attack, 2 Durability → New: 3 Attack, 2 Durability

Dev Comment: We were a little too safe on the numbers for the new Aggro Demon Hunter cards. We hope these buffs will make the low-hand-size deck a little more appealing!

Abyssal Depths

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Battleworn Vanguard

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

Irebound Brute

• Old: [Costs 8] → New: [Costs 7]

Dev Comment: Demon Hunter has been struggling in a big way this expansion. We felt that changes to new cards alone might not be enough to bring the power level of this class in line with the rest of this meta. So we’re buffing a few older cards to help bridge the gap. We’re hoping that Abyssal Depths can now function as a powerful tool for a variety of Demon Hunter decks, new and old alike. The reverts to Battleworn Vanguard and Irebound Brute should make them more attractive options for the class. Broot me dood!

Legendary Invitation (generated by The Countess)

• Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]

Dev Comment: As the big reward for the Pure Paladin archetype, the Countess wasn’t, well, rewarding enough. This change should make her feel better in decks that are willing to pay the cost of cutting all Neutral cards.

Stand Against Darkness

• Old: [Costs 5] → New: [Costs 4]

Warhorse Trainer

• Old: Your Silver Hand Recruits Have +1 Attack. → New: Your Silver Hand Recruits have +2 Attack and Taunt.

Promotion

• Old: Give a Silver Hand Recruit +3/+3. → New: Give a Silver Hand Recruit +3/+3 and Taunt.

Dev Comment: The new Silver Hand archetype has come up much shorter than we hoped it would. Cards like Stand Against Darkness and Warhorse Trainer were simply not at the power level of modern Hearthstone, so we're buffing them up to see what they can do in this new age. To top it off, Promotion now comes with a raise!

Edwin, Defias Kingpin

• Old: [Costs 4] 4 Attack, 4 Health → New: [Costs 3] 3 Attack, 3 Health

Sprint

• Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 5]

Silverleaf Poison

• Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]

Halkias

• Old: Deathrattle: If you control a Secret, store Halkias' soul inside of it. It resummons Halkias when triggered. → New: Stealth. Deathrattle: Store Halkias's soul inside of a friendly Secret. It resummons Halkias when triggered.

Dev Comment: Card draw has traditionally been one of Rogue’s strengths, but it doesn’t feel like a strength in the current meta. The buffs to Edwin, Sprint, and Silverleaf Poison are all made with the intention of reinforcing card draw as a strength of the class. Miracle Rogue has not been overperforming in power, but we are aware it can win in frustrating ways, so we’ll be keeping an eye on how it develops following these buffs. We also wanted to show a little love to the new secret package. We’re starting with a buff to Halkias that makes him feel better to play, but we may revisit this package later if it needs additional support.

Sanguine Depths

• Old: Deal 1 damage to a minion and give it +1 Attack. → New: Deal 1 damage to a minion and give it +2 Attack.

Imbued Axe

• Old: After your hero attacks, give your damaged minions +1/+1. Infuse (3): +2/+2 instead. → New: After your hero attacks, give your damaged minions +1/+2. Infuse (2): +2/+2 instead.

Cruel Taskmaster

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

Dev Comment: Along with Demon Hunter, Warrior has been struggling this expansion. A big part of that is that their new Enrage Warrior archetype hasn’t been nearly as powerful as we’d hoped it to be. These three buffs are targeted at improving the Enrage Warrior archetype, which we hope to see become a player in the metagame.

Tidal Revenant

• Old: Battlecry: Deal 5 damage. Gain 5 Armor. → New: Battlecry: Deal 5 damage. Gain 8 Armor.

Shield Shatter:

• Old: Deal 4 damage to all minions. Costs (1) less for each Armor you have. → New: Deal 5 damage to all minions. Costs (1) less for each Armor you have.

Slam:

• Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]

Bash:

• Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]

Dev Comment: We may have been a little over zealous when we were addressing Control Warrior in the last balance patch. We’re correcting that here. We’re also giving them a couple new tools in Slam and Bash, which might even make their way into non-control Warrior lists.

Battlegrounds Updates

• Lich Baz’hial has been moved to Armor Tier 1
• Dancin’ Deryl, Deathwing, Elise Starseeker, Guff Runetotem, and Sneed have been moved to Armor Tier 2

Hero Changes

Lich Baz’hial

• Old: Take 2 damage and add a Gold coin to your hand. → New: Take 4 damage. Gain 2 Gold this turn only.

Guff Runetotem

• Old: Give a friendly minion of each Tavern Tier +3/+2. → New: Give a friendly minion of each Tavern Tier +2/+2.

Deathwing

• Old: Passive: Give ALL minions +2 Attack. → New: Passive: Give ALL minions +3 Attack.

Kael’thas Sunstrider

• Old: Every third minion you buy gets +2/+2. → New: Every third minion you play gets +2/+2.

Elise Starseeker

• Old: When you upgrade Bob’s Tavern get a ‘Recruitment Map’. → New: [Costs 1] Discover a minion from your Tavern Tier. Costs (1) more after each use.

Sneed

• Old: Give a minion: “Deathrattle: Summon a random minion from a lower Tavern Tier.” → New: Give a minion: “Deathrattle: Summon a random minion from a Tavern Tier lower.”

• Dev Comment: This is only a clarifying text change, not a functional change.

Minion Changes

• Lieutenant Garr and Grease Bot have been returned to the minion pool.

Grease Bot

• Old: Divine Shield. After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, give it +3/+2 permanently. → New: After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, give it +2/+2 permanently.

Lil’ Rag

• Old: [Tavern Tier 6] → New: [Tavern Tier 5]

Gentle Djinni

• Old: Taunt. Deathrattle: Summon another random Elemental and add a copy of it to your hand. → New: Taunt. Deathrattle: Add another random Elemental to your hand and summon a copy of it.

• Dev Comment: This means that you will now receive the copy of the Elemental in your hand, even if you can’t summon it.

Evolving Chromawing

• Old: 1 Attack, 1 Health. After you upgrade your Tavern Tier, gain +1/+1 for each friendly Dragon. → New: 1 Attack, 4 Health. After you upgrade your Tavern Tier, gain +1 Attack for each friendly Dragon.

Great Deal (Darkmoon Prize)

• Old: Reduce the cost of upgrading Bob’s Tavern by (6). → New: Reduce the cost of upgrading Bob’s Tavern by (5).

Duels Updates

• Brittle Bones now only triggers if an enemy minion is destroyed with a spell.
• Killmox, the Banished One is now counted as an Imp.
• Darius Crowley’s “Fire!” hero power reduced from 2 mana to 1 mana.
• Darius Crowley’s “Fire at Thee!” hero power reduced from 3 mana to 2 mana.
• Darius Crowley’s “Grizzled Reinforcement” signature treasure reduced from 6 mana to 5 mana.

Bug Fixes

• Corrected the text on two of Brightwing’s Mercenary Abilities.
• Removed Duels Achievements based on heroes not in the game.

Patch 24.0, launching tomorrow, sets the stage for Hearthstone’s newest expansion, Murder at Castle Nathria, launching August 2! This patch also includes updates to Battlegrounds, Mercenaries, Duels, and Arena, as well as bug fixes and more.

Murder at Castle Nathria Launches on August 2!

Hearthstone’s next expansion, Murder at Castle Nathria, goes live on August 2! The new expansion includes 135 all-new cards, featuring 10 Legendary suspect minions, the new Infuse keyword, the all-new Location card type, and more! See all the new cards in the official card library today and don’t forget to get your pre-purchase bundle before the expansion launches.

With the launch of Murder at Castle Nathria comes a new Rewards Track with tons of cosmetics, XP boosts, packs, and a huge infusion of Gold! Check out our Rewards Track Refresh blog for all the details.

Battlegrounds Updates

New Emotes!

Starting with Patch 24.0, all players will have access to the base Battlegrounds Emotes. Players will also be able to obtain special Emotes that they can equip over the base emotes in their Battlegrounds Collection. The first set of Battlegrounds Emotes – Mystery Mayhem, will be a collection of Nathria and murder-mystery themed emotes that will be available one week after the expansion goes live! Whether you’re sweating like a suspect or casually sipping on some tea, it’s got just the emote for you.

New Hero

Heistbaron Togwaggle (Armor Tier 1)

• The Perfect Crime
  • [9 Gold] Steal all minions in Bob’s Tavern. Each turn, your next Hero Power costs (1) less.
  • Dev Comment: At the end of each Recruit phase, the cost of your next Hero Power will reduce by 1 automatically. Each time you use Togwaggle’s Hero Power, its cost resets to the original 9 Gold cost and starts the cycle over again.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Heistbaron Togwaggle ahead of his formal release on August 9.

Hero Updates

• The Lich King, Sneed, and Edwin VanCleef can now all target minions in Bob’s Tavern as well as friendly minions. (Effects that are not “for one turn” effects will carry over to the next Recruit phase if you Freeze that minion in the Tavern).

Minion Updates

• Red Whelp
  • Old: 1 Attack, 2 Health → New: 2 Attack, 2 Health

• Evolving Chromawing has been reworked and returned to the minion pool.
  • Evolving Chromawing [Tavern Tier 1, Dragon]
  • 1 Attack, 1 Health. After you Upgrade your Tavern Tier, gain +1/+1 for each friendly Dragon.

​

Mercenaries Updates

New Limited-Time Event: C’Thun

Sensing that its Old God brethren had awakened, the ancient one C’Thun has emerged from its prison to begin its own assault on Mercenaries! Defend your Village and tame the final Old God in this limited-time event, starting on August 16. The event will consist of 10 special Tasks centered around the Old God C’Thun. Two new event Tasks can be unlocked on each of the first five days of the event, but you have until September 6 to complete all 10 Tasks. Completing all 10 Tasks will get you the C’Thun Mercenary, a random Golden C’Thun Portrait, the Diamond C’Thun Portrait, and 700 Mercenary Coins! Dragons and Protectors will be important for protecting your Village from C’Thun’s wrath.

New Mercenaries

C’Thun (Legendary Fighter)

• Old God
• 10/85 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Mind Flay 5 (Shadow): (Speed 7) Deal this Merc’s Attack damage to an enemy. Deathblow: Summon a 5/15 Tentacle of C’Thun.
  • Tentacle of C’Thun 5 (Old God): (Speed 5) 5 Attack, 15 Health. Rush. Whenever this attacks, give your C’Thun +5 Attack and Old Gods’ abilities Refresh (1).
  • Mask of C’Thun 5 (Shadow): (Speed 4, Cooldown 10) Deal this Merc’s Attack damage to all enemies. Deathblow: Restore 20 Health to friendly Old Gods.
• Equipment:
  • Heart of C’Thun 4: Battlecry: Summon a 5/15 Tentacle of C’Thun. It gains Taunt, but loses Rush.
  • Maw of C’Thun 4: Battlecry: Gain +4 Attack. Destroy a random enemy Minion.
  • Body of C’Thun 4: Bench: Gain +5/+10 after you summon an Old God.

Sir Finley (Epic Protector)

• Murloc
• 11/78 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Adventure Awaits 5 (Nature): (Speed 6) Gain +8 Health and Attack an enemy. If your opponent has fewer characters, gain Divine Shield first.
  • Murlocology 5: (Speed 2, Cooldown 1) Discover a dilapidated Murloc Ability.
    • Dev Comment: This is a pool of Abilities from all existing Murloc Mercs when Finley is released.
  • Lead the Charge 5 (Holy): (Speed 3, Cooldown 1) Give a friendly character +12 Attack and Divine Shield. Give your Murlocs +5 Attack.
• Equipment:
  • Maxwell, Mighty Steed 4: Your Murlocs have +10 Health. Your Explorers have +6 Attack.
  • Exploring Monocle 4: Passive: Lead the Charge also gives Explorers Attack.
  • Finley’s Pith Helmet 4: Passive: After a friendly character loses Divine Shield, deal 10 damage to a random enemy.

C’Thun, Sir Finley, and their respective Portraits, will not initially be obtainable through packs or crafting. C’Thun and its Portraits are part of the C’Thun event. Sir Finley will be awarded for free to all players on the Murder at Castle Nathria Rewards Track, and his Portraits can be earned by players who have the Tavern Pass. C’Thun and its Portraits will be obtainable through normal means in a patch after its event ends. Sir Finley and its Portraits will be obtainable through normal means in a patch after the 24.0 expansion cycle ends. Tyrael, Yogg-Saron, and their respective Portraits, are now available through all normal means.

Merc Updates

Brann Bronzebeard

• Summit Campfire 5
  • Old: Gain +4 Frost Resistance. Your characters deal Critical Damage to enemies whom have already acted. → New: Gain +5 Frost Resistance. This turn, enemies who have acted take Critical Damage.
  • Dev Comment: In addition to being reworded and giving +1 more Frost Resistance, Summit Campfire has had some bugs addressed that prevented its full effect from working. Now, when the effect triggers, enemies who have already acted will take Critical Damage and any enemies who act after this effect goes will take Critical Damage for the rest of the turn; if Brann dies, all enemies already impacted will stay impacted, but no additional enemies will be afflicted.
• Extra Spirit 4
  • Old: Passive: If you have them in play, Elise and Reno have +5/+12. → New: Passive: Your Explorers have +5/+12.

Elise Starseeker

• Oasis Canteen 4
  • Old: Passive: If you have Brann and Reno in play, give them +4/+4 at the end of turn. → New: Passive: Give your explorers +4/+4 at the end of each turn.

Reno Jackson

• We’re Rich 4
  • Old: Battlecry: If you have at least two Explorers in play, Restore 100 health to friendly characters. → New: Battlecry: If you control two other Explorers, restore 100 health to your characters.
• Treasure Inspector 4
  • Old: Deathrattle: Cast two random abilities. → New: Cast a random one of Reno’s Looted Powers! Twice!

Wrathion

• Old: 12/79 Maxed Stats → New: 12/84 Maxed Stats
• Creeping Madness
  • Old: Speed 8 → New: Speed 4
• Tail Swipe 5
  • Old: Deal 20 damage, randomly to the left or right-most enemy. → New: Deal 15 damage to an enemy. Deal 5 damage to all enemies to the left or right of it.

Drek’Thar

• Old: 10/73 Maxed Stats → New: 10/81 Maxed Stats
• Spirit Guide
  • Old: Cooldown 1. Battlecry: If you have Shamanism, gain Divine Shield and Rush. → New: Cooldown 0. Taunt. Battlecry: If you have Shamanism, gain Divine Shield and Rush.

Brightwing

• Dev Comment: Brightwing’s fantasy of swapping between bench and battlefield struggled because of randomness. We decided to strengthen her kit overall and reduce the randomness in it so players could direct her effects and choose what she swaps with.
• Old: 7/77 Maxed Stats → New: 8/88 Maxed Stats
• Faerie Breath 5
  • Old: Deal 10 damage. Give a random friendly Merc on your bench +3/+5. → New: Deal 12 damage. Give the lowest health Merc on your bench +3/+10.
• Phase Shift 5
  • Old: Restore 25 Health to this Merc and swap it with the highest health Merc on your bench. → New: Restore 25 Health to this Merc. If you control another Merc, return this to your bench.
    • The Cooldown is now 1 for all levels of this Ability.
• Brightwing’s Ring 4
  • Old: Phase Shift restores 25 more Health. → New: Bench: After a Merc dies, summon this and cast Faerie Breath 5 at a random enemy immediately.
• Brightwing’s Necklace 4
  • Old: Faerie Breath gives an additional +5 Health. → New: Battlecry: Give your lowest health Merc on your Bench +15 Health.

Lady Anacondra

• Dev Comment: Lady Anacondra always felt like a Merc that needed her Equipment just to get her Abilities to baseline levels. So we baked two of the Equipment effects into her Abilities and updated those Equipment with new Viper-summoning effects so that more players can experience that part of her kit.
• Old: 8/76 Maxed Stats → New: 9/84 Maxed Stats
• Serpent’s Bite 5
  • Old: Deal 6 damage. At the end of this turn, it takes 6 damage. → New: Deal 12 damage. At the end of this turn, it takes 12 damage.
• Mend Beast 5
  • Old: Restore 15 Health to a character. If it’s a Beast, also give it +15 Health. → New: Restore 15 Health to a character and this Merc. If it’s a Beast, also give it +15 Health.
• Toxic Venom 4
  • Old: Serpent’s Bite deals 4 more damage. → New: After you cast 3 Nature abilities, summon a 0/15 Nightmare Viper. (3 left!)
• Signet of the Wilds 4
  • Old: Mend Beast restores Health to Lady Anacondra as well. → New: Battlecry: Summon a 0/15 Nightmare Viper.

Morgl the Oracle

• Dev Comment: Morgle always wanted to be the healer for the Murloc party, but unfortunately other characters provided more value. We’ve redesigned his healing to give him the tools to be the Murloc healer he always wanted to be.
• Old: 9/83 Maxed Stats → New: 10/93 Maxed Stats
• Murloc Missile 5
  • Old: Deal 10 damage. Give your Murlocs +5 Health. → New: Deal 14 damage. Give your Murlocs +6 Health.
• Healing Wave 5
  • Old: Cooldown 1. Restore 15 Health. If the target hasn’t acted yet, restore 30 Health instead. → New: Cooldown 0. Restore 15 Health to a character and 10 Health to your Murlocs.
• Dousing Rod 4
  • Old: Healing Wave restores 10 more Health. → New: Passive: After one of your Murlocs takes 20 or more damage in a single hit, restore 8 Health to it.

Guff Runetotem

• Dev Comments: Guff always relied on Bramblethorn Totem to keep Living Brambles’ damage up. We built that damage into Living Brambles to give him more Equipment options, including a new option as a backline character with the Bramblethorn Totem rework.
• Old: 10/80 Maxed Stats → New: 12/91 Maxed Stats
• Living Brambles 5
  • Old: Deal 10 damage. Nature Combo: Repeat this. → New: Deal 14 damage. Nature Combo: Repeat this.
• Bramblethorn Totem 4
  • Old: Living Brambles deals 4 more damage. → New: Battlecry: Restore 20 health to your characters.

Garrosh Hellscream

• Mak’Gora 5
  • Old: Attack an enemy. It Attacks this Merc back. → New: Take 5 less damage this turn. Attack an enemy. It Attacks back.
  • Additionally, Mak’Gora is now Speed 5 at all levels.

The Lich King

• Old: 13/88 Maxed Stats → New: 14/92 Maxed Stats
• Frostbite is now Speed 5 at all levels.

Cookie, the Cook

• Cookie’s Cooking 5
  • Old: Bleed (5) to all enemies. Restore 5 Health to friendly Murlocs and Pirates. → New: Bleed (10) to all enemies. Restore 10 Health to friendly Murlocs and Pirates.
  • Dev Comment: Cookie was the first playable Merc that we designed with the Bleed effect. At the time, we thought it would be a good idea to allow Bleed to scale with Spell Damage. We’ve decided that Bleed shouldn’t be increased by Spell Damage buffs, so we’ve adjusted the base power of the Ability to compensate for that change.

Zar’jira, the Sea Witch

• Old: 8/77 Maxed Stats → New: 9/86 Maxed Stats
• Upstart Acolyte 4
  • Old: Passive: +20 Health. Whenever a friendly character is Frozen, Freeze a random enemy. → New: Passive: +20 Health. The first time a friendly character is Frozen each turn, Freeze a random enemy.

Uther

• Dev Comment: Uther has always struggled to find a place on the Holy team focusing on Anduin and Velen. We think this is a flavorful change and we hope this change will bring more role diversity to Holy compositions. Uther now has the distinction of being the first Protector to deal Holy damage. For justice!
• Old: Caster → New: Protector
• Old: 11/82 Maxed Stats → New: 12/91 Maxed Stats
• Hammer of Justice 5
  • Old: Deal 12 damage to a character. Its next ability is (3) Speed slower. → New: Deal 15 damage to an enemy. Its next ability is (3) Speed slower.

King Krush

• Old: 12/73 Maxed Stats → New: 12/76 Maxed Stats
• Devilsaur 5
  • Old: Cooldown 1 → New: Cooldown 0

Kurtrus Ashfallen

• Old: 14/74 Maxed Stats → New: 14/77 Maxed Stats

Tavish Stormpike

• Old: 7/83 Maxed Stats → New: 8/86 Maxed Stats

Lord Jaraxxus

• Old: 10/81 Maxed Stats → New: 12/83 Maxed Stats

Mannoroth

• Old: 11/78 Maxed Stats → New: 13/84 Maxed Stats

Tamsin Roame

• Old: 9/84 Maxed Stats → New: 10/87 Maxed Stats

Warmaster Voone

• Old: 9/82 Maxed Stats → New: 10/90 Maxed Stats

Rokara

• Old: 10/76 Maxed Stats → New: 10/79 Maxed Stats

Ragnaros

• Old: 9/69 Maxed Stats → New: 10/75 Maxed Stats

Antonidas

• Old: 6/73 Maxed Stats → New: 7/76 Maxed Stats

Vanessa Van Cleef

• Dev Comment: Originally, the fantasy of Vanessa was that she’d steal a bunch of attack and then get a big payoff with Makeshift Weaponry. In practice, however, spending all your Stolen Attack was too high a cost. It also meant that Makeshift Weaponry was a dead Ability on her first turn. We’ve increased its base power, reworked the Extra Pockets synergy, and made the downside less punishing, so we increased the speed to 7 to compensate for those buffs.
• Old: 13/75 Maxed Stats → New: 13/86 Maxed Stats
• Makeshift Weaponry 5
  • Old: Speed 3. Spend Stolen Attack to deal that much damage to all enemies. → New: Speed 7. Deal 12 damage to all enemies. (Improved by Stolen Attack)
• Extra Pockets 4
  • Old: After using Makeshift Weaponry, this Merc keeps up to 10 Attack. → New: Battlecry: Steal 4 attack from an enemy opposite this.

Niuzao

• Old: 10/80 Maxed Stats → New: 10/87 Maxed Stats

Vanndar

• Old: 13/83 Maxed Stats → New: 13/86 Maxed Stats

Deathwing

• Old: 12/90 Maxed Stats → New: 14/94 Maxed Stats

Onyxia

• Old: 10/70 Maxed Stats → New: 11/75 Maxed Stats
• Broodmother’s Rage 4
  • Old: Passive: When another friendly Dragon is destroyed, deal 7 damage to all enemies. → New: Passive: When another friendly Dragon is destroyed, deal 7 Fire damage to all enemies.
  • Dev Comment: This Equipment was already dealing Fire damage, so this is just a wording update to clarify the effect.

Lady Vashj

• Old: 10/75 Maxed Stats → New: 12/81 Maxed Stats

Captain Hooktusk

• Old: 10/75 Maxed Stats → New: 13/83 Maxed Stats

Trigore the Lasher

• Backlash 5
  • Old: Gain +5 Attack. Each time an enemy damages an adjacent ally this turn, deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them. → New: Gain +5 Attack. After an enemy damage an adjacent ally this turn, deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them.
  • Dev Comment: This is not a functional change to Trigore, just a wording update. We also fixed a bug so that Trigore no longer hits after Trigore is functionally dead and no longer hits enemies who are functionally dead.

Murky

• Old: 11/79 Maxed Stats → New: 11/80 Maxed Stats
• Marching Murlocs (Summoned by the March of the Murlocs Equipment)
  • Old: Speed 5 → New: Speed 4

Duels Updates

General Updates

• On July 26, the current Duels season will end, ratings will be reset, and ongoing runs will be concluded.
• The Witchwood and Murder at Castle Nathria expansions are coming to Duels!
• The Witchwood will be fully usable in Duels on July 26. Murder at Castle Nathria will be added to card buckets and Discover effects with Patch 24.0 on July 26, but those cards will not be able to be used in initial deckbuilding until they are released on August 2.
• The new hero (below) will be available with the patch launch on July 26.
• All hero powers and signature treasures are now available for all heroes, for all players, no matter what. No more unlock requirements!

New Hero

Darius Crowley

• Hero Powers
  • Fire!
    • [2 Mana] Fire your Cannons! If they kill any minions, refresh this.
  • Fire Away!
    • [2 Mana] Fire your Cannons! Give your minions +1 Attack.
  • Fire at Thee!
    • [3 Mana] Fire your Cannons twice!
• Signature Treasures
  • Safe Harbor
    • [2 Mana Spell] Choose a minion and put it into your hand. It costs (0).
  • Grizzled Reinforcement
    • [6 Mana Minion] 4 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Summon an extra Cannon.
  • Tuskarr Raider
    • [4 Mana Minion-Pirate] 3 Attack, 9 Health. Rush. After this minion attacks, fire your Cannons.
  • Seabreaker Goliath
    • [10 Mana Minion-Pirate] 15 Attack, 15 Health. Costs (1) less for each time you’ve fired your Cannons.
  • Deck Swabbie
    • [3 Mana Minion] 1 Attack, 4 Health. At the end of your turn, fire your Cannons!
  • Draconic Munition
    • [1 Mana Spell] For the rest of the game, your cannons deal 1 extra damage.

New Passive Treasures

• Location, Location, Location! [Pool 1]
  • Passive. Start the game with a Location of your class in play.
• Be Our Guest [Pool 1]
  • Passive. At the start of the game, shuffle 3 Legendary Invitations into your deck.
• Brittle Bones [Pool 2]
  • Passive. After you destroy a minion with a spell, summon a Volatile Skeleton.
• Ring of Haste [Pool 2 Ultra Rare]
  • Passive. Every third minion you cast each turn costs (1).

Card Pool Changes

• The following cards have been banned from deck creation: Twig of the World Tree, Genn Greymane, Baku the Mooneater, Prince Renathal, Open the Waygate, Blackwald Pixie, Seek Guidance
• The following card is no longer banned from deck creation: Lightning Bloom.
• The following card has been removed from the passive treasure pool: Plaguebringer.

Balance Changes

• Bubble Blower [Hero Power]
  • Old: 1 Mana → New: 0 Mana
• Demon Blood [Hero Power]
  • Old: Give a random Demon in your hand +2/+1. → New: Give a random Demon in your hand +2/+2.
• Marvelous Mycelium
  • Old: Discover two Choose One cards. They have both effects combined. Shuffle this card into your deck. → New: Discover a Choose One card. It has both effects combined. Shuffle this card into your deck.
• Flames of the Kirin Tor
  • Old: Passive After you cast your first Fire spell in a turn, add a Fireball to your hand. → New: Passive After you cast your first Fire spell in a turn, add a random Fire spell to your hand.
• Sr. Excavator
  • Old: 5 Mana → New: 6 Mana
• Ol’ Faithful
  • Old: 4 Mana → New: 5 Mana
• Titan-Forged Grapnel
  • Old: 4 Mana → New: 5 Mana
• Stalking Pride
  • Old: 7 Mana → New: 5 Mana
• Magister Unchained
  • Old: 1 Mana → New: 2 Mana
• Tempest’s Fury
  • Old: 3 Attack → New: 2 Attack

Arena Updates

On August 2, when Murder at Castle Nathria launches, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible card sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

Core
One Night in Karazhan
Saviors of Uldum
Rastakahn’s Rumble
Scholomance Academy
Madness at the Darkmoon Faire
Murder at Castle Nathria

New Feature: Multiple Favorite/Random Hero Skins

Players can now favorite multiple heroes from the same class in the Hearthstone Collection Manager. If a deck has no specific hero assigned to it, a random hero will be used each game. By default, the random hero is pulled from your pool of favorites, but you can also opt into total randomness by unchecking the “Favorites Only” toggle on a deck, expanding the pool to all eligible heroes you own, just like with card backs. The “Favorites Only” toggle starts checked, but if you decide to uncheck it, we leave it unchecked for future decks you create.

Updated Returning Player Experience

It is once again an amazing time to come back to Hearthstone! The quest rewards and free deck offered to Returning Players are no longer limited to once per account. Anyone who has been gone from the game for 120+ days will receive the Returning Player rewards, even if they've gotten them before! Let your friends know!

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• You can now hold down the Spacebar to continuously open packs.
• Uncraftable cards will no longer show up when searching “refund” in the Collection Manager.
• Fixed a visual bug where the filter in the Collection Manager would appear blank on some devices.
• Fixed a visual bug with the 1000 wins animation.
• Fixed a bug preventing Drakonid Operative’s effect from triggering.
• Fixed a bug where if you attack a minion and then play Multi-Strike, you are unable to then attack the enemy hero.
• Fixed a bug where Eureka! summoning a Colossal minion that had its cost reduced would result in the Colossal minion summoning double the appendages.
• Fixed a bug causing some players to get stuck in the Mercenaries tutorial.
• Fixed a bug sometimes causing error messages after getting a new Mercenary.
• Fixed a bug where players would sometimes upgrade a Mercenary’s Ability or Equipment and the upgrade wouldn’t take effect.
• Improved the appearance of tooltips, addressing issues such as lengthy tooltips getting cut off in Mercenaries.
• Weakened and slowed down the Doppelgangster encounter.
• Fixed bugs and wording issues with various Mercenaries Abilities, Equipment, and Treasures.
• Fixed a Duels bug preventing deck codes from working with Neutral heroes.
• Improved shop lag and performance issues.
• Fixed bugs preventing the “Harold Who” and the “Killamari” Achievements from tracking.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 23.6, launching today, sets the stage for Murder at Castle Nathria, Hearthstone’s next expansion! The patch also includes updates to Battlegrounds, Mercenaries, Arena, and more.

Pre-Purchase Murder at Castle Nathria

Hearthstone’s next expansion, Murder at Castle Nathria, is coming on August 2! This anima-Infused mystery takes place in the Shadowlands, where murder is most foul. It’s up to you, and the great detective Murloc Holmes, to scour new Location cards for clues as to which of the 10 suspects killed the great Sire Denathrius!

Murder at Castle Nathria includes 135 new cards surrounding the murder mystery and the 10 guests at the center of it. You can learn more in the Murder at Castle Nathria Announcement blog. Two pre-purchase options are available now to kickstart your inquiry once the expansion launches.

Pre-purchase

Log in and Get Prince Renathal for Free

Log in to Hearthstone now to get your first hint of what Murder at Castle Nathria holds with the free Prince Renathal Legendary minion!* This powerful noble lets you start the game at 40 life and build a 40-card deck! Add him to your collection and see what you can do when you have more space to work with.

* Limited one per account. After Patch 24.6, Prince Renathal will be granted upon opening your first Murder at Castle Nathria card pack instead of upon logging in.

Battlegrounds Updates

General Updates

• Darkmoon Prizes are back! From now until the next Battlegrounds Season, Darkmoon Prizes will appear in 25% of games. Several of the Darkmoon Prizes have been adjusted since their last appearance.
• The number of copies of each Tier 1 minion was reduced from 16 to 15.
• The following Battlegrounds Perks are being extended until the next Battlegrounds Season (instead of the next Standard expansion): Discover from 4 Heroes; Hero Early Access (if any Early Access eligible heroes are released in that time); and Advanced Stats. Visual Emotes will remain until the next Standard expansion, at which point all Battlegrounds Players will receive the base visual emotes. Stay tuned for more details on changes to Battlegrounds Perks and rewards before the next Battlegrounds season!

New Hero

Lady Vashj (Armor Tier 1)

• Relics of the Deep
  • [1 Gold] Discover a Spellcraft spell of your Tier or lower. Passive: Your first one each turn is permanent.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Lady Vashj ahead of her formal release on July 11.

Hero Updates

Bigglesworth

• Bigglesworth’s Hero Power will now give a Consolation Coin whenever a player dies with no minions.

Cariel Roame

• Conviction now targets more minions at each rank: two random friendly at Rank 1; four random friendly minions at Rank 2; and all friendly minions at Rank 3.

Drek’Thar

• Old: Choose a friendly minion. It copies the Attack of your highest Attack minion until next turn. → New: Choose a minion. It copies the Attack of the highest Attack minion until next turn.

• Dev Comment: Drek’Thar and Vanndar now can target and can copy from any minion, including minions in Bob’s Tavern.

Guff Runetotem

• Old: Armor Tier 7 → New: Armor Tier 4
• Old: [1 Gold] Give a friendly minion of each Tavern Tier +1/+1. → New: [2 Gold] Give a friendly minion of each Tavern Tier +3/+2.

Overlord Saurfang

• Old: Give +2 Attack to the next minion you buy this turn. (Upgrades each turn!) → New: Give +2 Attack to the next minion you buy. (Upgrades each turn!)

• Dev Comment: The effect now carries over between turns.

Sindragosa

• Old: Freeze a minion in Bob’s Tavern. Frozen minions get +2/+1 each turn. → New: Freeze a minion in Bob’s Tavern. Passive: At the end of your turn, Frozen minions get +2/+1.

• Dev Comment: This is not a functional change. This is just to more clearly distinguish the active from the passive parts of the Hero Power.

Sneed

• Old: Armor Tier 7 → New: Armor Tier 1
• Old: [2 Gold] Give a friendly minion: “Deathrattle: Summon a random minion of the same Tavern Tier.” → New: [1 Gold] Give a friendly minion: “Deathrattle: Summon a random minion of a lower Tavern Tier.”

Vanndar

• Old: Choose a friendly minion. It copies the Health of your highest Health minion until next turn. → New: Choose a minion. It copies the Health of the highest Health minion until next turn.

Y’Shaarj

• Old: Start of Combat: Summon a minion from your Tavern Tier. Add a copy of it to your hand. → New: Start of Combat: Add a minion from your Tavern Tier to your hand. Summon a copy of it.

• Dev Comment: This means that the minion will be added to your hand even if there is no board space to summon it.

New Minions

Tavern Tipper [Tavern Tier 1]

• 2 Attack, 2 Health. If you have any unspent Gold at the end of your turn, gain +1/+2.

Silverback Patriarch [Tavern Tier 1, Beast]

• 1 Attack, 4 Health. Taunt.

Sparring Partner [Tavern Tier 2]

• 3 Attack, 2 Taunt. Battlecry: Give a minion Taunt.

Kooky Chemist [Tavern Tier 2]

• 4 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Swap the Attack and Health of a minion.

Yrel [Tavern Tier 2]

• 1 Attack, 5 Health. After this attacks, give a friendly minion of each minion type +1/+2.

Atramedes [Tavern Tier 4, Dragon]

• 3 Attack, 6 Health. Whenever this attacks, deal 3 damage to the target and its neighbors.

Wargear [Tavern Tier 4, Mech]

• 5 Attack, 5 Health. Magnetic.

Tunnel Blaster [Tavern Tier 4]

• 3 Attack, 7 Health. Taunt. Deathrattle: Deal 3 damage to all minions.

Uther, the Lightbringer [Tavern Tier 6]

• 5 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Set a minion’s Attack and Health to 15.

Minion Pool Updates

• Shifter Zerus and Iron Sensei have been returned to the minion pool.
• Acolyte of C’Thun, Menagerie Mug, Unstable Ghoul, Budding Greenthumb, Screwjank Clunker, Prestor’s Pyrospawn, Defender of Argus, and Mechano-Egg have all been removed from the minion pool.

Minion Updates

Bannerboar

• Old: 1 Attack, 4 Health. At the end of your turn, play a Blood Gem on adjacent Quilboar. → New: 1 Attack, 3 Health. At the end of your turn, play a Blood Gem on adjacent minions.

Annihilan Battlemaster

• Old: 3 Attack → New: 5 Attack

Soul Devourer

• Old: Battlecry: Choose a friendly Demon. Remove it to gain its stats and 3 Gold. → New: Battlecry: Consume a friendly Demon to gain its stats and 3 Gold.

• Developer Comment: This is not a functional change. This change is only to make the text better match existing effects.

Grease Bot

• Old: [Tavern Tier 4] 3 Attack, 6 Health. After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, give it +1/+1 permanently. → New: [Tavern Tier 6] 4 Attack, 7 Health. Divine Shield. After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, give it +3/+2 permanently.

New and Updated Darkmoon Prizes

Several Darkmoon Prizes have been updated since they last appeared in Battlegrounds:

The Good Stuff

• Old: Give minions in Bob’s Tavern +2 Health for the rest of the game. → New: Give minions in Bob’s Tavern +1 Attack for the rest of the game.

I’m Still Just a Rat in a Cage

• Old: Double a minion’s Attack. → New: Give a minion +2 Attack, then double its Attack.

Great Deal

• Old: For the rest of the game, reduce the cost of upgrading Bob’s Tavern by (3) at the end of your turn. → New: Reduce the cost of upgrading Bob’s Tavern by (6).

The Bouncer

• Old: Give a friendly minion +5/+5 and Taunt. → New: Give a friendly minion +6/+6 and Taunt.

B.A.N.A.N.A.S.

• Bananas now have a 50% chance to be a Big Banana (no change to card textbox).

Additionally, Big Banana has been removed from the Darkmoon Faire Prize pool, and two new prizes have been added:

Banana Bunch (Prize turn 1):

• Add 2 Bananas to your hand.

• Dev Comment: These Bananas have a 50% chance to be Big Bananas as well.

Mindflayer Goggles (Prize turn 3):

• Steal all minions in Bob’s Tavern. Then Refresh it.

Finally, players who are in the bottom half of the scoreboard are no longer more likely to get better Prizes.

Mercenaries Updates

Login Now to Get Three Free Portraits!

Any player who has completed the Mercenaries tutorial* will receive special Portraits for Tyrande Whisperwind, Millhouse Manastorm, and Xyrella! These Portraits are a thank you to everyone who has tried out Mercenaries since its launch. We know that you’ve all been eagerly waiting to see what major changes we’ve been working on this year, including what you’ll be able to do with your excess coins.

Later this year, we’ll be adding a system that will let you exchange some of your excess coins for random coins for a Merc you own but haven’t yet Maxed. We’re also still working on the end-game content that was hinted to in the Year of the Hydra announcement, including a way to use excess coins to add power and personalized traits to your Maxed Mercs, all of which we still expect a bit further down the line.

It has taken us a little longer than we’d hoped to implement these systems, but we wanted to let you know we have a clear plan on our goals for these projects, we are actively working on them, and they are coming. We consider this to be our highest priority in Mercenaries development; we just need some more time to make sure it’s done correctly.

* This is a one-time award for accounts that have already completed the Mercenaries tutorial when Patch 23.6 launches. Those players will automatically have these portraits added to their Collection. These Portraits may become available to other players through other means at a later time.

New Limited-Time Event: Yogg-Saron

The Old Gods continue their onslaught as Yogg-Saron turns its many maws towards Mercenaries. You will be able to take on MADNESS itself in this limited-time event, starting on June 30. The event will consist of 10 special Tasks centered around the Old God Yogg-Saron. Two new event Tasks can be unlocked on each of the first five days of the event, but you have until July 15 to complete all 10 Tasks. Completing all 10 Tasks will get you the Yogg-Saron Mercenary, a random Golden Yogg-Saron Portrait, the Diamond Yogg-Saron Portrait, and 700 Mercenary Coins! Naga, Casters, and a couple of Night Elves will be integral in this battle.

New Mercenary:

Yogg-Saron (Legendary Caster)

• Old God
• 10/80 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Lunatic Gaze 5 (Shadow): (Speed 2) Deal 15 damage to an enemy, or restore 15 Health to a friendly character. Randomly swap the Speeds of their Abilities.
  • Mind Yoggle 5 (Shadow): (Speed 6) Give a friendly character +5 Attack this turn. They Attack a random enemy. Old Gods’ abilities Refresh (1) for each Attack so far this turn.
  • Oh My Yogg 5 (Shadow): (Speed 15, Cooldown 15) Randomly use 5 other Abilities from Mercs in play with random targets.
• Equipment:
  • Piercing Gaze 4: Lunatic Gaze does an extra 5 damage.
  • Lash of Hysteria 4: Mind Yoggle gives an extra +5 Attack.
  • Awakening Roar 4: Battlecry: Old Gods’ abilities Refresh (4).

Yogg-Saron coins have replaced Garrosh Hellscream Coins as the reward for the Garrosh Hellscream Bounty (in the Sunken City Zone). Yogg-Saron and its Portraits will not initially be obtainable through packs or crafting. Yogg-Saron and its Portraits all be obtainable through normal means in a patch after the event ends. Y’Shaarj and its Portraits can now be obtained through all normal means.

Arena Updates

When Patch 23.6 launches, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible card sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Core
• The Boomsday Project
• Descent of Dragons
• Forged in the Barrens
• United in Stormwind
• Fractured in Alterac Valley
• Voyage to the Sunken City
• Taverns of Time

Wait. Rewind. What was that last one?

That’s Right, Taverns of Time Returns to Arena!

The Arena-only set, Taverns of Time, is returning to Arena with several adjustments to update the set for the game’s current state. Murozond has been removed from the set—he can’t be trusted messing with time, honestly—and many of the set’s other 28 cards have had their costs or stats adjusted.

The Fire Festival is Back

Starting on June 30, join in a special Fire Festival chain of seven Legendary Quests! Complete all seven Quests to earn a Standard Packs, a Card Pack for each of Fractured at Alterac Valley, Voyage to the Sunken City, and Murder at Castle Nathria, a Mercenaries Pack, a Battlegrounds hero skin, and a Warrior hero skin.

New Features—Expanded Recent Players List and In-Game Reporting

Recent players capabilities have been expanded and improved in the friends list. Now, there will be a dedicated section at the top of your friends list that includes last opponent, former friends, new friends, your current opponent, and more.

Additionally, we’re happy to share that player-reporting will soon be added to the in-game friends list menu! You’ll be able to report players from the recent players list (including your current opponent) or from your friends list. Grounds for reporting will include inappropriate names, inappropriate chats, and inappropriate gameplay. We’re putting the finishing touches on this feature, so you’ll see hints of it in the game with this patch, and it’ll become available soon!

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Artist credits have been added to additional art pieces.
• Fixed a bug causing deck changes to not carry over when made between different devices and/or while making changes offline.
• Fixed a bug where Brilliant Macaw copied Gigafin’s Deathrattle with its Battlecry.
• Fixed a bug where Glowscale’s Spellcraft’s temporary Divine Shield could remove a minion’s permanent Divine Shield.
• Lowered the requirements for Y’Shaarj’s Tasks 3 and 10.
• Fixed a bug causing “Complete a Bounty at Level 30” Tasks to sometimes not complete as written.
• Fixed a bug preventing all “kill two enemies in one turn” Tasks from tracking.
• Fixed various bugs with Diamond Portrait voicelines.
• Fixed a bug where the Heroic Queen Azshara Bounty did not unlock after the completion of the normal Fish of N’Zoth Bounty.
• Fixed a bug preventing Queen Azshara’s Bleed and Freeze Abilities from working in her Bounty Boss encounter.
• Fixed various text, visual, and functional bugs with several Mercenaries Abilities, including bugs with Maiev’s Imprison Ability and Queen Azshara’s Mage Paramount Ability.
• Fixed a bug where the Ice Block Talisman Equipment would trigger even if the owner had Divine Shield that would have protected it.
• Fixed a bug with the removal of Stealth if all characters have Stealth.
• Fixed a bug in Duels where Brann’s Dino Tracking Hero Power could cause disconnects.
• Fixed a bug where Zephrys’s Lamp caused the client to crash in the Tombs of Terror.
• Added deck copying functionality to Duels. Fixed a bug preventing deck codes from working with certain heroes.
• Miscellaneous other performance improvements, text updates, and bug fixes.

Patch 23.4.3, launching June 16, includes balance changes to Standard, Battlegrounds, and Mercenaries, plus more!

Card Updates

Dev Comments: We have a lot of big Standard balance changes coming this patch (and one for Wild!) which are attempting to accomplish a few different goals. First, we want to lower the power level of the most powerful decks in the current metagame - Fel Demon Hunter and Control Warrior variants. Roughly half of the changes in this patch are balance-motivated and intended to target the winrates of these decks directly.

The rest of the changes in this patch are not primarily motivated by power level, but are instead focused on improving the play-against experience of some of the more polarizing cards in the game.

The following cards have been adjusted to have their power reduced:

Shield Shatter

• Old: Deal 5 damage to all minions. Costs (1) less for each Armor you have. → New: Deal 4 damage to all minions. Costs (1) less for each Armor you have.

Tidal Revenant

• Old: Battlecry: Deal 5 damage. Gain 8 Armor. → New: Battlecry: Deal 5 damage. Gain 5 Armor.

Nellie’s Pirate Ship (the Colossal appendage summoned by Nellie, the Great Thresher)

• Old: Taunt. Deathrattle: Add Nellie’s Pirate crew to your hand. They Cost (1). → New: Taunt. Deathrattle: Add Nellie’s Pirate crew to your hand. They Cost (1) less.

From the Depths

• Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 4]

Dev Comment: Both Charge Warrior and Control Warrior variants have been overperforming on the ladder, and trend towards higher and higher winrates the further up the ladder you climb. These decks share several key cards, and this batch of changes is intended to lower the winrates of both those archetypes. We don’t want or expect these decks to disappear entirely after the changes, but we do hope that some of the more frustrating plays that they are capable of (such as Nellie creating 1-cost Mr. Smite) will be removed or weakened going forward.

Caria Felsoul

• Old: [Costs 6] 6 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Transform into a 6/6 copy of a Demon in your deck. → New: [Costs 7] 7 Attack, 7 Health. Battlecry: Transform into a 7/7 copy of a Demon in your deck.

Battleworn Vanguard

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

Dev Comment: Demon Hunter has been the other standout winrate class since the release of the latest mini-set. Although we’re happy to see the new and improved Xhilag making a splash, we aren’t as excited about Caria being used to cheat out a copy of Xhilag ahead of schedule. In addition to slowing down that interaction, we’ve shaving one Health off Battleworn Vanguard in order to lower the odds that it sticks early and snowballs the game.

Wildpaw Gnoll

• Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health → New: 3 Attack, 5 Health

Dev Comment: Rogue has been one of the most played classes in Standard, and it didn’t feel right for us to hit the other popular classes without taking a small amount of power out of Rogue. Wildpaw Gnoll has been a tricky card for us to get right, but we’re optimistic that the latest change to it will leave both the card and the class in the right place.

Lightforged Cariel

• Old: [Costs 7] → New: [Costs 8]

Dev Comment: We are happy to see hero cards pack a late game punch for their classes, but felt like Cariel was providing that power a turn earlier than she should have been. Paladin is in a pretty healthy spot in the current metagame, and with the rest of the changes we are seeing in this patch, we expect things to stay that way.

Spitelash Siren

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

Dev Comment: Spitelash Siren is a fun and interesting card for Naga mage decks, but we felt that it was capable of effectively ending games in a way that didn’t leave enough room for counterplay. We are hoping that by moving this effect back one turn, opponents of the card will have more time to interact with the wide boards it is capable of generating.

Earthen Scales

• Old: [Costs 1] → New: [Costs 2]

Dev Comment: Druid hasn’t been a dominant class since the mini-set, but it can still be quite frustrating to lose to. We felt Earthen Scales was doing too much for a one-mana card, and that increasing its cost by 1 the class should be a little easier to attack in the mid-game.

Lightning Bloom

• Old: Gain 2 Mana Crystals this turn only. Overload: (2). → New: Refresh 2 Mana Crystals. Overload: (2).

Dev Comment: As we tracked gameplay following the mini-set, we noticed concerns about game experiences in Wild, particularly when it comes to Big Shaman decks. These decks can sometimes ramp out big threats very early, which could make games feel like non-games. We quickly identified Lightning Bloom as the card which was creating the most problems for the format both in the short-term and long-term, so we are making an aggressive adjustment to it.

Mr. Smite

• Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 7]

Dev Comment: Mr. Smite is a powerful, game-ending card that doesn’t need to be quite as powerful as he is on curve. This change will hopefully make the card a little more tolerable in the mid-game, while also slowing down the various combos he is involved in.

School Teacher

• Old: 5 Attack, 4 Health → New: 4 Attack, 3 Health

Dev Comment: Though we’re generally happy with the kinds of gameplay that School Teacher provides, a card with a premium Battlecry effect doesn’t also need to have premium stats. We expect this card to still see plenty of play, but we hope that it won’t be quite as ubiquitous as it is now.

Any craftable versions of the cards listed above will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 23.4.3 (Core Set versions of cards that are in the Core Set, and the Golden versions of School Teacher that were given as part of the Voyage to the Sunken City Rewards Track, are not craftable).

Battlegrounds Updates

Hero Power Updates

Onyxia Broodmother – Broodmother

• Old: Avenge (4): Summon a 2/1 Whelp. It attacks immediately. → New: Avenge (4): Summon a 3/1 Whelp. It attacks immediately.

Ozumat – Tentacular

• Old: Passive. Start of Combat: Summon a 2/2 Tentacle with Taunt. (Upgrades after you sell a minion!) → New: Passive. Start of Combat: Summon a 2/2 Tentacle with Taunt. (Gains +1/+1 after you sell a minion!)

Dev Comment: This is not a functional change; this change is just for clarity.

Pyramad — Brick by Brick

• Old: [Costs 1] Give a random friendly minion +4 Health. → New: [Costs 0] Give a minion +2 Health. (Gains +1 Health each turn you don’t use this!)

Tamsin Roame — Fragrant Phylactery

• Old: Start of Combat: Destroy your lowest Health minion. Give its stats to four friendly minions. → New: Start of Combat: Destroy your lowest Health minion. Give its stats to five friendly minions.

Armor Tier Updates

The following heroes were adjusted to have more armor, and are now in the following armor tiers:

• Al’Akir, Ambassador Faelin, Galakrond, Malygos, and Vol’jin are in Armor Tier 2.
• C’Thun is in Armor Tier 3.
• Bru’kan, Edwin VanCleef, Fungalmancer Flurgl, and Queen Azshara are in Armor Tier 5.
• Deathwing, Elise Starseeker, Illidan Stormrage, Lord Jaraxxus, and Tess Greymane, are in Armor Tier 6.
• Aranna Starseeker, Cariel Roame, King Mukla, Overlord Saurfang, Rakanishu, The Curator, and The Rat King are in Armor Tier 7.

The following heroes were adjusted to have less armor, and are now in the following armor tiers:

• Alexstrasza, Death Speaker Blackthorn, Ini Stormcoil, Maiev Shadowsong, Patches the Pirate, Shudderwock, The Lich King, Trade Prince Gallywix, and Xyrella are in Armor Tier 1.
• Reno Jackson is now in Armor Tier 2.
• Dinotamer Brann is now in Armor Tier 3.

Minion Updates

Bubblette

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

Tarecgosa

• Old: Tavern Tier 4 → New: Tavern Tier 3

Coldlight Seer

• Old: Tavern Tier 4 → New: Tavern Tier 3

Shoal Commander

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

Waverider

• Old: Spellcraft: Give a minion +1/+1 and Windfury until next turn. → New: Spellcraft: Give a minion +2/+2 and Windfury until next turn.

Critter Wrangler

• Old: 5 Attack, 6 Health. After you cast a Spellcraft spell on a minion, give it +2/+1. → New: 5 Attack, 7 Health. After you cast a Spellcraft spell on a minion, give it +2/+2.

Corrupted Myrmidon

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

Tidemistress Athissa

• Old: 7 Attack, 3 Health → New: 7 Attack, 8 Health

Mercenaries Updates

Alexstrasza:

• Dragonqueen’s Gambit
  • Old: Cooldown 2 → New: Cooldown 1

The Lich King

• Death Coil
  • Old: Cooldown 1 → New: Cooldown 0

Yu’Lon:

• Jadeflame Buffet
  • Old: Cooldown 1 → New: Cooldown 0

Tidemistress Athissa:

• Wave Crush
  • Old: Speed 7 → New: Speed 6
• Riptide:
  • Old: Cooldown 1 → New: Cooldown: 0

Rexxar:

• Old: 11/72 Maxed Stats → New: 11/82 Maxed Stats

Xuen, the White Tiger

• Equalizing Strike
  • Old: Speed 7 → New: Speed 5

Captain Hooktusk

• Cutthroat Negotiation
  • Old: Speed 7 → New: Speed 2

Uther

• Blessing of Protection
  • Old: Speed 3 → New: Speed 1

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Zarjira’s Upstart Acolyte Equipment Freeze effect will no longer trigger if the entire enemy board is already Frozen. This will be a temporary fix until the effect can be updated to read “The first time a friendly character is frozen each turn, Freeze a random enemy.”
• Fixed a bug causing Reno’s Treasure Inspector Equipment to occasionally have no effect.
• Addressed miscellaneous localization issues across modes and languages.

Patch 23.4, launching on June 1, includes the all-new Throne of the Tides Mini-Set, along with updates to Battlegrounds, Mercenaries, and more!

Throne of the Tides Mini-Set Launches on June 1!

Colossal forces are fighting for dominance deep under the sea. Fight for the Throne of the Tides in the Voyage to the Sunken City Mini-Set, coming June 1! We’ve dredged the depths of the ocean on our Voyage to the Sunken City and come up with a Mini-Set of 35 all-new cards to add to your collection. Get them in Voyage to the Sunken City packs, or as a complete 66-card Mini-Set* for $14.99 or 2000 Gold (normal version), or $69.99 (all-golden version).

Buy Now!

* 4 Legendary Cards (x1), 1 Epic Card (x2), 14 Rare Cards (x2), and 16 Common Cards (x2).

Battlegrounds Updates

New Hero

Ozumat (Armor Tier 4)

• Tentacular
  • Passive. Start of Combat: Summon a 2/2 Tentacle with Taunt. Upgrades after you sell a minion!

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Ozumat ahead of its formal release on June 15.

New Minion

Bubblette [Tavern Tier 1, Elemental]

• 2 Attack, 5 Health. After this minion takes exactly one damage, destroy it. (Pop!)

Diablo Returns!

Diablo (Armor Tier 1)

• Realm of Terror
  • Passive. Every 4 turns, ALL enemies fight the Lord of Terror and your warband for loot.

Diablo is returning to Battlegrounds for one week only, starting on June 1, as a special celebration! While he is here, Diablo will be offered in every Battlegrounds lobby. Because Diablo is a special promotional hero, he will be equally available to all players during that period. Several of Diablo’s loot has been adjusted since he last appeared in Battlegrounds:

• Sigil of Hell

• Magic Sigil of Hell

• Rare Sigil of Hell

• Unique Sigil of Hell

• Claws of Terror

• Magic Claws of Terror

• Rare Claws of Terror

• Hellfire Hooves

• Magic Hellfire Hooves

• Rare Hellfire Hooves

• Unique Hellfire Hooves

Mercenaries Updates

General Updates

• N’Zoth is now available through all normal acquisition means.
• You can now borrow a Party from your opponent in a Mercenaries friendly challenge.
• You can now copy a Mercenaries Party to build a new Party.
• A new option has been added to the Mystery nodes on Heroic Bounty maps. Whenever you land on a Mystery Treasure node, you’ll get additional rewards if you successfully complete the Bounty! But beware, much of that treasure is Cursed, and will hinder your characters throughout the rest of your run. However, every once in a while your Mystery Treasure will turn out to be straight Bonus Rewards: all the additional prizes at the end of your Bounty without the added Curse! So… are you feeling lucky?

New Limited-Time Event: Y’Shaarj

Y’Shaarj watched enviously as N’Zoth sunk its tentacles into Mercenaries, so now Y’Shaarj, too, is coming to join the Party in its own limited-time event, starting on June 7. The event will consist of 10 special Tasks centered around the Old God Y’Shaarj. Two new event Tasks can be unlocked on each of the first five days of the event, but you have until June 21 to complete all 10 Tasks. Completing all 10 Tasks will get you the Y’Shaarj mercenary, a random Golden Y’Shaarj Portrait, the Diamond Y’Shaarj Portrait, and 750 total Mercenaries Coins. Humans and Pirates will be your best allies for this event!

Y’Shaarj and its Portraits will not initially be obtainable through packs or crafting. Y’Shaarj, its Portraits, and its Coins will all be obtainable through normal means in a patch after the event ends.

Claim Your Free Tyrael Mercenary!

In the immortal struggle between good and evil, it helps to have a powerful ally on your side. Bring strength and justice to your party with this free Legendary Tyrael Mercenary! Tyrael can be claimed for free in the Shop from now until the launch of Patch 24.0.

New Mercenaries

Y’Shaarj (Legendary Protector)

• Old God
• 9/85 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Defiled Attack 5 (Shadow): (Speed 6) Borrow 5 Attack from all friendly characters this turn. Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Repeat this.
  • Strength of Y’Shaarj 5 (Shadow): (Speed 1) Gain Taunt and take 6 less damage this turn. Old Gods’ abilities Refresh (3).
  • Rage Unbound 5 (Shadow): (Speed 2, Cooldown 10) Give all your characters +20 Attack. They Attack random enemies.
• Equipment:
  • Mark of Y’Shaarj 4: Defiled Attack borrows an extra 5 Attack.
  • Heart of Y’Shaarj 4: Passive: Whenever this Merc is Attacked, gain +5 Attack.
  • Idol of Y’Shaarj 4: Rage Unbound gives an extra +8 Attack.

Tyrael (Legendary Fighter)

• 12/75 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Divine Bladestrike 5 (Holy): (Speed 5) Attack an enemy. Holy Combo: Deal 15 damage to them.
  • Holy Judgment 5 (Holy): (Speed 5) Deal 10 damage to an enemy. Holy Combo: Freeze them.
  • Angelic Protection 5 (Holy): (Speed 5, Cooldown 1) Gain Taunt for 2 turns. Holy Combo: Other friendly characters take 10 less damage next turn.
• Equipment:
  • El’druin 4: Divine Bladestrike deals 5 more damage.
  • Blinding Gauntlets 4: Holy Judgment also gives the enemy -5 Attack permanently.
  • Crown of Purity 4: Passive: Your characters have +5 Fel Resistance.

Queen Azshara (Legendary Caster)

• Naga
• 8/83 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Shifting Tides 5 (Arcane): (Speed 10) Deal 18 damage. (Damage increased by +3 for each Spell School cast this game.)
  • Mage Paramount 5 (Arcane): (Speed 0, Cooldown 1) Gain +3 Spell Damage. Whenever an enemy casts a spell, +4 Resist to its Spell School this turn.
  • Vainglorious Rebuke 5 (Shadow): (Speed 3, Cooldown 1) Deal 10 damage to all enemies. (Damage is increased by the final speed.) This ability gets (2) Speed slower this turn whenever another ability is used.
• Equipment:
  • Xal’atath 4: Passive: Whenever you cast a Shadow ability, Restore 6 Health to your characters.
  • Tidestone of Golganneth 4: Passive: This merc has +1/+6 Health for each Naga in play or on your bench.
  • Sharas’fal, Queen’s Scepter 4: Passive: The first time this Merc dies, steal 6 health from all Characters in play and return to life.

Zar’Jira, the Sea Witch (Epic Caster)

• Naga
• 8/77 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Witch’s Curse 5 (Shadow): (Speed 4) Deal 12 damage. If it has already acted, its Attack is permanently halved, rounded up.
  • Freezing Touch 5 (Frost): (Speed 4, Cooldown 2) Freeze a character. They are Immune while Frozen. They deal 10 damage to your enemies when they lose Frozen.
  • Wavethrasher 5: (Speed 7, Cooldown 1)
    • Wavethrasher (Naga, Speed 6): 17/28. Rush. Passive: Has +10 Attack for each Frozen character.
• Equipment:
  • Serve Chilled 4: Witch’s Curse deals an additional 5 damage.
  • Upstart Acolyte 4: Passive: +20 Health. Whenever a friendly character is Frozen, Freeze a random enemy.
  • Ring of Sluggishness 4: Passive: Shadow abilities are (4) Speed slower.

Fathom-Lord Karathress (Rare Protector)

• Naga
• 12/82 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Tidal Strike 5: (Speed 6) Attack an enemy and summon a 8/16 Naga. Frost Combo: Summon another Naga.
    • Fathom Guard (Naga): 8 /16.
  • Cataclysmic Bolt 5: (Speed 6, Cooldown 1) Deal 20 damage to the lowest health enemy.
  • Blessing of the Tides 5: (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) Gain +5 Attack for each friendly Naga. If this Merc has less than 40 Health, gain +10 Attack instead.
• Equipment:
  • Fathom Lure 4: After a friendly Fathom Guard attacks, restore 12 Health to this merc.
  • Hull Breaker 4: Cataclysmic Bolt deals 20 damage to adjacent enemies, but has +1 Cooldown.
  • Tidewalker’s Brooch 4: Blessing of the Tides affects all your Naga and summoned minions, but has +2 Cooldown.

Lady Vashj (Epic Fighter)

• Naga
• 10/75 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Electrify 5 (Nature): (Speed 5) Deal 22 Nature damage to an enemy. Damage is reduced by the current speed of their action.
  • Handmaiden’s Poison 5 (Nature): (Speed 4) Deal 5 damage to an enemy. Bleed (10).
  • Reflex Shot 5 (Fel): (Speed 7, Cooldown 1) Deal 12 damage to all enemies. If they have already acted, deal Critical Damage.
• Equipment:
  • Icy Grasp 4: Passive: Your Naga take 4 less damage until they act each turn.
  • Witch’s Mantle 4: Passive: Enemies affected by Bleed receive 5 less healing.
  • Fel Cauldron 4: Reflex Shot also gains +4 Fel Damage.

Tidemistress Athissa (Rare Protector)

• Naga
• 8/79 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Wave Crush 5 (Frost): (Speed 7) Deal 14 damage to an enemy. If they have already acted, give them +5 Nature Weakness.
  • Riptide 5 (Nature): (Speed 3, Cooldown 1) Deal 10 damage to an enemy. After an enemy attacks this turn, repeat this damage.
  • Captive Tides 5 (Nature): (Speed 7, Cooldown 3) Deal 20 damage to all enemies. (Increased by 7 for each other Naga you control.)
• Equipment:
  • Warlord Parjesh 4: Battlecry: Summon a 12/24 Naga with Taunt.
  • Clutching Hatred 4: Riptide deals 5 more damage.
  • Harpsicold 4: Passive: Whenever this merc takes damage, Refresh (1) on Captive Tides.

Lord Slitherspear (Rare Fighter)

• Naga
• 8/80 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Slithering Rage 5: (Speed 6) Attack an enemy. Summon a 10/18 Hungry Naga with Divine Shield and Rush.
  • You Lift Bro? 5: (Speed 5) Gain +5 Attack. If you control another Naga, gain +5 more Attack. Attack an enemy.
  • Enough of this Trash! 5: (Speed 4, Cooldown 2) Destroy a summoned minion without triggering its Deathrattle. Deal its Attack to all enemies.
• Equipment:
  • Unleashed Eel 4: Hungry Naga has +5 Attack.
  • Fishy Cauldron 4: Passive: +4 Attack. This Merc always deals Critical Damage to Murlocs.
  • Sharp Idea 4: Passive: After an enemy minion is summoned, Refresh (2) Enough of this Trash!

Captain Hooktusk (Epic Caster)

• Pirate
• 10/75
• Abilities:
  • Turnabout Strike 5: (Speed 6) Gain +11 Health. Swap Roles with an enemy and Attack it.
  • Shiver their Timbers 5: (Speed 8) Deal 18 damage to an enemy. If it’s a Fighter, deal 25 damage instead. (Ability swaps to Protector after use.)
    • Shiver their Timbers 5: (Speed 8) Deal 18 damage to an enemy. If it’s a Protector, deal 25 damage instead. (Ability swaps to Caster after use.)
    • Shiver their Timbers 5: (Speed 8) Deal 18 damage to an enemy. If it’s a Caster, deal 25 damage instead. (Ability swaps to Fighter after use.)
  • Cutthroat Negotiations 5: (Speed 7) Change a Merc’s Role to Caster. Bleed (6). (Ability swaps to Fighter after use.)
    • Cutthroat Negotiations 5: (Speed 7) Change a Merc’s Role to Fighter. Bleed (6). (Ability swaps to Protector after use.)
    • Cutthroat Negotiations 5: (Speed 7) Change a Merc’s Role to Protector. Bleed (6). (Ability swaps to Caster after use.)
• Equipment:
  • Jolly Roger 4: Turnabout Strike gives +4 more Health and affects all friendly Pirates.
  • Captain’s Pride 4: Battlecry: Gain +3 Attack and become a Fighter.
  • Prop Knife 4: Cutthroat Negotiations also restores 20 Health if used on a friendly character.

Patches the Pirate (Rare Caster)

• Pirate
• 13/81 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Eye Matey 5: (Speed 7) Attack an enemy. Summon a 10/5 Pirate with Rush.
    • Patchling (Pirate): (Speed 4) 10 Attack, 5 Health. Rush.
  • Eye Cap’n 5: (Speed 9, Cooldown 1) Fill your board with 10/5 Pirates with Rush.
  • Crew the Guns 5: (Speed 6, Cooldown 1) Friendly Pirates deal 10 damage to enemies opposite them.
• Equipment:
  • Hook the Crew 4: Pirates summoned by Eye Matey and Eye Cap’n have +5 Health and are Immune while Attacking.
  • Arms Locker 4: Passive: Whenever a friendly Pirate Attacks, give it +5 Attack.
  • I’m In Charge Now! 4: Bench: After a friendly Pirate Merc dies, summon this Merc. Gain +3 Attack and Attack a random enemy.

Reno Jackson (Legendary Caster)

• Human
• 10/82 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Gatling Wand 5 (Arcane): (Speed 3) Deal 11 damage to a random target. +3 damage each time this merc takes 20 damage.
  • Dazzlin’ Flexin’ 5 (Arcane): (Speed 2) Deal 7 damage to an enemy and gain Taunt. Their next ability target this Merc (if possible).
  • That’s My Treasure! 5: (Speed 5, Cooldown 1) Restore 15-25 health to this Merc. Deal damage equal to the amount healed to a random enemy.
• Equipment:
  • Explorer’s Hat 4: Dazzlin’ Flexin’ deals 10 more damage and affects all enemies, but has +2 Cooldown.
  • We’re Rich! 4: Battlecry: If you have at least two Explorers in play, Restore 100 health to friendly characters.
  • Treasure Inspector 4: Deathrattle: Cast two random Treasure abilities.

Brann Bronzebeard (Epic Protector)

• Dwarf
• 8/84 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Trusty Whip 5: (Speed 5) Deal 12 damage to an enemy. Your characters gain +3 Frost Resistance.
  • Summit Campfire 5 (Fire): (Speed 3) Your characters gain +4 Frost Resistance. Your characters deal Critical Damage to enemies who have already acted this turn.
  • The Bronzebeard Spirit 5: (Speed 8, Cooldown 2) Restore 25 health. If it has acted already, they repeat their ability.
• Equipment:
  • Relic of Uldum 4: +7 Health. Your abilities give Fire Resist instead.
  • Adventurer’s Pack 4: Passive: Brann’s abilities are (3) Speed faster. Your abilities give Shadow Resist instead.
  • Extra Spirit 4: Passive: If you have them in play, Elise and Reno have +5/+12.

Elise Starseeker (Epic Fighter)

• Night Elf
• 7/86 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Starseeker 5 (Nature): (Speed 6) Gain +8 health and Attack an enemy. Nature Combo: Deal damage equal to your Attack, instead.
  • Guiding Path 5 (Nature): (Speed 3, Cooldown 1) Restore 13 health to all friendly characters. Advance the Golden Monkey one step.
  • Quest for the Golden Monkey: Advance through a series of 5 abilities to uncover the Golden Monkey! (Dev Comment: At the start of the game, this will automatically transform into the first step, Embark on the Quest! Then use each Ability to move on to the next step of the Quest.)
    • Embark on the Quest! 5: (Speed 3) Give all your characters on your battlefield and bench +5/+8.
    • Avoid the Dart Trap 5: (Speed 2) Apply Bleed (18) to all enemy characters.
    • Navigate the Jungle 5: (Speed 4) Root all enemy characters.
    • Escape the Rolling Boulder 5: (Speed 6) Deal 20 damage. Any excess damage continues to the right or left.
    • The Golden Monkey 5: Summon a 20/20 Golden Monkey. It has “Passive: Your characters have +15 Spell Damage”.
• Equipment:
  • Talon Trinket 4: Starseeker also gives +5 Attack.
  • Oasis Canteen 4: Passive: If you have Brann and Reno in play, give them +4/+4 at the end of the turn.
  • Monkey’s Paw 4: Start of Game: Advance the Quest for the Golden Monkey 2 steps. Elise has -20 Health.

Maestra (Epic Caster)

• Orc
• 10/74 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Dirty Tricks 5 (Shadow): (Speed 3) Deal 14 damage to the enemies across from this Merc.
  • Shifting Strike 5: (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) Gain +7 Attack and Attack the enemies across from this Merc. Combo: Gain role advantage first.
  • Sudden Betrayal (Shadow): (Speed 8, Cooldown 1) Give an enemy +15 Attack this turn. Force it to deal its Attack to its neighbors.
• Equipment:
  • Mask of the Mummy 4: Bench: After a friendly Merc dies, summon this Merc who uses Dirty Tricks 5 immediately.
  • Mask of the Mimicry 4: Bench: After a friendly Merc Attacks, swap it with this Merc who uses Shifting Strike 5 immediately.
  • Mask of Rage 4: Bench: After an enemy minion is summoned, swap your lowest Health Merc with this Merc who uses Sudden Betrayal 5 immediately.

Baine Bloodhoof (Rare Protector)

• Tauren
• 12/84 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Mulgore Might 5: (Speed 7) Attack an enemy and Gain +2 Healing Power. Nature Combo: Restore 15 Health to this Merc.
  • Chain Heal 5 (Nature): (Speed 3, Cooldown 1) Restore 20 to a friendly character. Repeat this on up to 2 damaged adjacent characters.
  • Earthmother’s Fury 5 (Nature): (Speed 10, Cooldown 2) Deal 25 to all enemies. Deathblow: Set the cooldowns on all enemy abilities to their original value.
• Equipment:
  • Totemic Mastery 4: Battlecry: Summon a 0/10 Grounding Totem.
    • Grounding Totem: 0 Attack, 10 Health. Whenever an adjacent character takes damage, this minion takes it instead.
  • Herbal Ancestry 4: Chain Heal repeats on up to three additional friendly characters, but has +1 Cooldown.
  • Chieftain’s Feather 4: Passive: +7 Health. +4 Healing Power.

Maiev Shadowsong (Legendary Protector)

• Night Elf
• 10/78 Maxed Health
• Abilities:
  • Single-Minded Pursuit 5: Gain +10 Attack and Attack an enemy. This bonus is lost if this Merc ever Attacks a different target.
  • Coup de Grâce 5: Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Restore 25 Health to this Merc and gain the Role of the enemy.
  • Imprison 5: Deal 10 damage to a Merc. Its abilities gain Cooldown equal to the number of their benched Mercs. Return it to the bench.
• Equipment:
  • Charged Glaive 4: Single-Minded Pursuit gains +5 more Attack.
  • Eye of the Watchers 4: Passive: Characters Attacked by this Merc can’t heal until this Merc leaves play.
  • Warden’s Shroud 4: Passive: Your left and right most characters take 10 less damage from Attacks.

Lorewalker Cho (Epic Caster)

• Pandaren
• 4/78 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Knowledge 5: (Speed 5) Tell the Tale of the Mogu, the Hozen, or the Saurok.
    • Tale of the Mogu 5: Summon a 15/15 Mogu with Rush and Deathblow: Gain +10/+10.
    • Tale of the Hozen 5: Summon 2 10/10 Hozen Troublemakers with “Has +3/+3 for each other friendly Hozen Troublemaker.”
    • Tale of the Saurok 5: Summon a 25/1 Saurock with Stealth and +10 Spell Resistance.
  • Patience 5: (Speed 5) Give +5/+10 to all friendly characters who have not yet acted this turn.
  • Wisdom 5: (Speed 1, Cooldown 2) Your characters deal 5 more damage this turn.
• Equipment:
  • Stash of Scrolls 4: Passive: Your minions take 8 less damage.
  • Heart of Neutrality 4: -10 Health. Battlecry: Become Neutral.
  • Cho Family Heirloom 4: Battlecry: Reduce all characters’ Attack by 20 this turn.

Yrel (Epic Fighter)

• Draenei
• 12/76 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Vindicator’s Fury 5 (Holy): (Speed 5) Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Deal 15 damage to all enemies.
  • Radiant Light 5 (Holy): (Speed 4) Gain +6/+6. When another friendly character uses a Holy ability this turn, they gain +6/+6.
  • Wrath of the Lightbound 5 (Holy): (Speed 8, Cooldown 2) Deal 10 damage to all enemies. Then deal 15 damage to all characters who have not used a Holy ability this turn.
• Equipment:
  • Hammer of the Naaru 4: Passive: When a friendly character attacks, they gain +4 Attack this turn.
  • Libram of Wisdom 4: End of Turn: If you have used 2 or more Holy abilities, gain +2 Holy Damage and +2 Healing Power.
  • Light of Karabor 4: Passive: Your characters have +5 Shadow Resistance.

New Zone and Bounties

With Patch 23.4, we’ll be delving deeper into Darkshore with three more Bounties for the Zone. We’ll also be exploring the depths of the Sunken City with 10 Bounties for the all-new Zone. There is no cow level.

Arena Updates

When Patch 23.4 launches, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible card sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Core
• The Boomsday Project
• Descent of Dragons
• Forged in the Barrens
• United in Stormwind
• Fractured in Alterac Valley
• Voyage to the Sunken City (including the new Throne of the Tides Mini-Set)

Additionally, the cards Frozen Mammoth, Horn of Wrathion, and Naval Mine have been returned to the draft pool. The new Mini-Set card, Inkveil Ambusher, will be unable to be drafted.

Book of Heroes: Faelin

Despite many long years, Ambassador Faelin has never forgotten his youth in Zin-Azshari, an ancient city now in ruins at the bottom of the sea. When the opportunity to visit finally arrives, Faelin is eager to face any danger that may cross the path of his intrepid crew. But is the distant past truly as he remembered it, or did something darker lie beneath the surface all this time? This adventure can be played as three different characters. Completing all 17 missions the first time will grant the Ghost Ship card back; completing all missions with a different character will earn you a Standard pack; and completing all missions with the third character will earn you a Voyage to the Sunken City pack.

New Feature: Overcapped Decks!

Have you ever started building a deck and run out of slots before you even made it to the Neutrals? Now, when building a deck in “My Collection,” you’ll be able to add up to 50 cards as you tinker, and then trim it down to 30 when you’re done narrowing down your options. (You’ll still need to make a legal deck before playing with it). There’s no telling what you’ll brew up now that your limits are overcapped!

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Fixed a bug where the card history tile for Nellie, the Great Thresher would show which Pirates were chosen.
• Fixed a bug making it difficult to target the enemy hero on the second Barbed Nets selection.
• Fixed a bug where Pufferfist would always trigger before Defias Cannoneer. They will now trigger in the order they were played.
• Fixed a bug where if Glugg the Gulper had its stats set by an effect (like Equality), Glugg would not be able to Gulp any stats after that point.
• Fixed a bug where the card Parrrley would shuffle the opponent’s deck without stating “shuffle” in its description.
• Nagalings that have learned cards with Echo or “repeatable this turn” will now add a temporary copy of the spell to your hand.
• The Legacy card set (including cards that were specially created for Core and since removed from it) can now be obtained from Wild packs.
• Players who have special Battlegrounds Boards equipped will now always see their equipped Board whenever facing an opponent who has the Classic Battlegrounds Board equipped.
• Spellcraft spells will now be added to your hand after any wagers won by Lord Barov.
• Fixed a bug causing some players to get an error when trying to start a game with a Battlegrounds party.
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to invite ineligible players (those who hadn’t completed the Battlegrounds tutorial) into a Battlegrounds party.
• Fixed a bug where if a Battlegrounds party was formed by a party leader who was playing on a mobile device, players in that party got very little or no ratings adjustments after the game.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes blocked one party member from spectating other party members after losing or conceding a Battlegrounds game.
• Fixed a bug where cards obtained by Ambassador Faelin’s Hero Power, and then obtained by another hero (like Tess, Rafaam, or Mr. Biggelsworth) would not be playable if the new owner was not at that card’s Tavern Tier.
• Fixed a bug where the Battlegrounds scoreboard was cut off on some mobile devices.
• Added keyword tooltips to several Mercenaries Abilities that were missing them.
• Corrected Mercenaries encounters that had the wrong role indicator on the Bounty map.
• Fixed a bug causing various issues with the “New!” indicators in the Mercs Collection.
• Fixed a bug that could on rare occasion cause Duels games to automatically end in a tie.
• Fixed a bug causing the Duels Treasure Stalker’s Supplies to not shuffle Improved Emergency Maneuvers into the player’s deck.
• Fixed a bug where Stormcaller Bru’kan would cast four copies of Elemental Chaos, instead of two.
• Fixed a bug where the “An Acquired Taste” Achievement did not count spells made Poisonous by Mr. Slate.
• Fixed a bug where the “Army of Azshara” Achievement did not count “All” minions as Naga.
• Several more Developer Cards have been added to the credits.
• Fixed a bug causing errors with the reconnect feature on mobile devices.
• Framerate selection will now default to a suggested framerate based on your device. Framerate selections can be adjusted in the Options menu.
• Fixed a bug causing some players to see an inaccurate “low RAM” warning on certain iOS devices.
• Misc. other performance improvements and bug fixes.

Patch 23.2.2, launching May 19, includes bug fixes and balance changes to Battlegrounds and Standard!

Card Updates

The following cards have had their power adjusted down:

Drek’Thar

• Old: Battlecry: If this costs more than every minion in your deck, summon 2 of them. → New: Battlecry: If this costs more than every minion in your deck, summon one of those minions.

Multi-Strike

• Old: [Costs 1] → New: [Costs 2]

Dragonbane Shot

• Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 3]

The above craftable cards will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 23.2.2 (the only version of Drek’Thar that is craftable is the normal, non-golden version). Any players who own Diamond Drek’Thar at the time that the patch goes live will automatically receive 3,000 Gold when they log in as a refund.

The following cards have been buffed:

Xhilag’s Stalk (part of Xhilag the Abyss)

• Old: At the end of your turn, deal 1 damage to an enemy. → New: At the end of your turn, deal 2 damage to an enemy.

Harpoon Gun

• Old: After your hero attacks, Dredge. If it’s a Beast, reduce its Cost by (2). → New: After your hero attacks, Dredge. If it’s a Beast, reduce its Cost by (3).

Pet Collector

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

Azsharan Saber

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

Sunken Saber (generated by Azsharan Saber)

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

Blackwater Behemoth

• Old: [Costs 8] → New: [Costs 7]

Whirlpool

• Old: [Costs 9] → New: [Costs 8]

Shadowcloth Needle

• Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]

Serpent Wig

• Old: Give a minion +1/+1. If you played a Naga while holding this, add a Serpent Wig into your hand. → New: Give a minion +1/+2. If you played a Naga while holding this, add a Serpent Wig into your hand.

Tooth of Nefarian

• Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]

SI:7 Smuggler

• Old: Battlecry: Summon a random 0-Cost minion. (Improved for each other SI:7 card you have played this game). → New: Battlecry: Summon a random 1-Cost minion. (Improved for each other SI:7 card you have played this game).

Wildpaw Gnoll

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

Tess Greymane

• Old: [Costs 8] → New: [Costs 7]

Hench-Clan Burglar

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

Sira’kess Cultist

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

Dragged Below

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Azsharan Scavenger

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

Sunken Scavenger (generated by Azsharan Scavenger)

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

Bloodscent Vilefin

• Old: [Costs 4] 4 Attack, 4 Health → New: [Costs 3] 3 Attack, 4 Health

Battlegrounds Updates

Hero change:

Fungalmancer Flurgl (Gone Fishing hero power)

• Old: Passive: After you sell a minion, add a random Murloc to Bob’s Tavern. → New: Passive: After you sell 2 minions, add a random Murloc to Bob’s Tavern.

Hero Armor changes:

• Al’Akir, Galakrond, George the Fallen, and Malygos have been moved to Armor Tier 1.
• Death Speaker Blackthorn, Fungalmancer Flurgl, Ini Stormcoil, Lord Barov, Maiev Shadowsong, Queen Azshara, Rokara, and Tickatus have been moved to Armor Tier 2.
• Edwin VanCleef has been moved to Armor Tier 4.
• Deathwing, Elise Starseeker, and Kurtrus Ashfallen have been moved to Armor Tier 5.
• Aranna Starseeker and Skycap’n Kragg have been moved to Armor Tier 6.
• Onyxia and Queen Wagtoggle have been moved to Armor Tier 7.

Minion changes:

Snail Cavalry

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

Lava Lurker

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

Shoal Commander

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

Stormscale Siren

• Old: [Tavern Tier 3] 5 Attack, 4 Health. At the end of your turn, your Spellcraft minions cast their spells on themselves. → New: [Tavern Tier 5] 6 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, you cast your Spellcraft minions’ spells on them.

• Dev Comment: The effect text update is not a functional change, but just a rephrasing to make the card text better match how the effect currently functions.

Critter Wrangler

• Old: 5 Attack, 7 Health. After you cast a Spellcraft spell on a minion, give it +2/+2. → New: 5 Attack, 6 Health. After you cast a Spellcraft spell on a minion, give it +2/+1.

Tidemistress Athissa

• Old: 7 Attack, 8 Health. After you cast a spell, give four friendly Naga +1/+1. → New: 7 Attack, 3 Health. After you cast a spell, give three friendly Naga +1/+1.

Orgozoa, the Tender

• Old: 5 Attack, 9 Health → New: 3 Attack, 7 Health

Darkgaze Elder

• Old: After you spend 4 Gold, play a Blood Gem on four friendly Quilboar. → New: After you spend 5 Gold, play a Blood Gem on four friendly Quilboar.

Young Murk-Eye

• Old (normal): At the end of your turn, adjacent Murlocs trigger their Battlecries. → New: At the end of your turn, the Murloc to the left of this triggers its Battlecry.

• Old (golden): At the end of your turn, adjacent Murlocs trigger their Battlecries twice. → New: At the end of your turn, adjacent Murlocs trigger their Battlecries.

Duels Updates

• Removed the Dragon Affinity Passive Treasure.
  • Dev Comment: Good night, sweet prince. Til we meet again.
• Tuned the synergy rules for Emerald Goggles and Fire spell school Passive Treasures.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Improved connectivity surrounding Discover effects.
• Fixed a bug where a temporary Divine Shield from Glowscale could remove a minion’s permanent Divine Shield.
• Fixed a bug where applying a Spellcraft to a magnetic minion in Bob’s tavern then makes that buff permanent.
• Fixed a bug causing Mercenaries Portraits (mostly Rexxar Portraits) to disappear. Players who earned an additional copy of a Portrait while it was temporarily missing will receive a random Portrait from that Merc, instead (or Coins for that Merc if all Portraits are already owned).
• Updated the text in the Upgrade to Golden feature U.I. to better match functionality.
• Fixed an error that caused people who selected the “random” card back to have that function unchecked when they first logged in after Patch 23.2.

Patch 23.2, launching on May 10, includes a fresh new Battlegrounds season, Mercenaries updates, new features, bug fixes, and more!

Battlegrounds Updates

GENERAL UPDATES

• The inaugural Battlegrounds season, Rise of the Naga, begins with Patch 23.2!
• Battlegrounds Ratings will be reset when the patch goes live.
• Buddies will be leaving Battlegrounds with the patch.
• The cost to upgrade to Tavern Tier 5 has been reverted to start at 9 Gold.
• Heroes with transforming Hero Powers can now see the next stage of their Hero Power by hovering over it.
• Cards and Hero Powers with the text “for the next combat” or “for the next combat only” have all been updated to read “until next turn” for text space, consistency, and accuracy. This is not a functional change.

NEW MINION TYPE AND KEYWORD

With the new season, Naga will be added to Bob’s Tavern. The spell-focused Naga will have their own unique new keyword, Spellcraft. Minions with the Spellcraft keyword grant a temporary spell each turn that tends to give a buff for the next combat. Learn more about Naga and Spellcraft in our Rise of the Naga preview blog!

For the first two weeks of the patch, Naga will be guaranteed in every lobby. Afterwards, they will go into the normal rotation of minion types in any given game. The total number of minion types available in every game won’t change with this patch—there will just be an extra minion type on the sidelines.

NEW HERO

Queen Azshara

• Azshara’s Ambition
  • Passive. When your warband reaches 30 total Attack, begin your Naga Conquest.
  • When your Naga Conquest begins, Queen Azshara transforms into Naga Queen Azshara and gets a new Hero Power, below.

Naga Queen Azshara (transformed from Queen Azshara)

• Naga Conquest
  • [1 Gold] Discover a Naga.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to the new Hero before it is formally released on May 24.

NEW MINIONS

Mini-Myrmidon

• [Tavern Tier 1, Naga] 1 Attack, 3 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion +2 Attack until next turn.

Shell Collector

• [Tavern Tier 1, Naga] 3 Attack, 1 Health. Battlecry: Add a Gold Coin to your hand.

Deep-Sea Angler

• [Tavern Tier 2, Naga] 2 Attack, 2 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion +3 Health and Taunt until next turn.

Snail Cavalry

• [Tavern Tier 2, Naga] 5 Attack, 2 Health. Once per Turn: After you cast a spell, gain +2 Health.

Lava Lurker

• [Tavern Tier 2, Naga] 2 Attack, 5 Health. The first Spellcraft spell cast on this each turn is permanent.

Stormscale Siren

• [Tavern Tier 3, Naga] 5 Attack, 4 Health. At the end of your turn, your Spellcraft minions cast their spells on themselves.

Shoal Commander

• [Tavern Tier 3, Naga] 2 Attack, 2 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion +1/+1 for each friendly Naga until next turn.

Pashmar the Vengeful

• [Tavern Tier 3, Naga] 4 Attack, 5 Health. Avenge (3): Get a Spellcraft spell of your Tier or lower.

Waverider

• [Tavern Tier 4, Naga] 2 Attack, 8 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion +1/+1 and Windfury until next turn.

Eventide Brute

• [Tavern Tier 4, Naga] 5 Attack, 4 Health. After you cast a spell, gain +1/+1.

Eelbound Archer

• [Tavern Tier 4, Naga] 4 Attack, 4 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion +8 Attack until next turn.

Reef Explorer

• [Tavern Tier 4] 3 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Discover a minion from a minion type you don’t control.

Leeroy the Reckless

• [Tavern Tier 5] 6 Attack, 2 Health. Deathrattle: Destroy the minion that killed this.

Critter Wrangler

• [Tavern Tier 5, Naga] 5 Attack, 7 Health. After you cast a Spellcraft spell on a minion, give it +2/+2.

Corrupted Myrmidon

• [Tavern Tier 5, Naga] 2 Attack, 2 Health. Start of Combat: Double this minion’s stats.

Glowscale

• [Tavern Tier 5, Naga] 4 Attack, 6 Health. Taunt. Spellcraft: Give a friendly minion Divine Shield until next turn.

Tidemistress Athissa

• [Tavern Tier 6, Naga] 7 Attack, 8 Health. After you cast a spell, give four friendly Naga +1/+1.

Orgozoa, the Tender

• [Tavern Tier 6] 5 Attack, 9 Health. Spellcraft: Discover a Naga.

Darkgaze Elder

• [Tavern Tier 6, Quilboar] 6 Attack, 7 Health. After you spend 4 Gold, play a Blood Gem on four friendly Quilboar.

Mantid Queen

• [Tavern Tier 6] 5 Attack, 5 Health. Poisonous. Start of Combat: For each of your minion types, gain +5/+5, Windfury, Divine Shield, or Taunt.

Young Murk-Eye

• [Tavern Tier 6, Murloc] 8 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, adjacent Murlocs trigger their Battlecries.

MINION POOL CHANGES

• Champion of Y’Shaarj, Deadly Spore, Amalgadon, Seafood Slinger, and Captain Flat Tusk have been removed from the minion pool.
• Nightmare Amalgam has been returned to the minion pool, as a Tier 3 minion.
• Bristleback Knight has been returned to the minion pool, as a 5 Attack minion.
• Dev Comment: Amalgadon was fun while it lasted, but it led to endgame warbands feeling very similar over time. Amalgadon served three different roles in design: a flexible minion for all minion types, a menagerie driver, and a chance for a comeback against opponents who have scaled stats bigger than yours. It’s time for something fresh, so we’ve distributed those roles across a few minions in this patch: Nightmare Amalgam, Mantid Queen, and Leeroy the Reckless. Additionally, this change reflects an update to our Battlegrounds design philosophy: whenever we introduce a new minion type or major system, we plan to also release other minion pool changes like these in order to keep the game fresh, no matter how you play.

ARMOR UPDATES

With Buddies leaving and an entire new minion type joining the game, most heroes are getting an updated Armor Tier in Patch 23.2.

Mercenaries Updates

GENERAL UPDATES

• Vanessa VanCleef, Leeroy Jenkins, and their respective Portraits, are now available through all normal means of obtaining Mercenaries.
• A new Fatigue system has been added to the Fighting Pit. Now, after 10 turns of combat, all characters will be in Fatigue and take double damage (which means 4x damage for Critical Hits).
• The “Refresh” keyword has been updated. Instead of fully finishing a Cooldown on an Ability, Refresh will now be written as “Refresh (x)” and reduce the Cooldown of an Ability by that amount.
• Completing all Bounties in the Wintersping Zone will now unlock the first Bounty in each subsequent Zone.

NEW LIMITED TIME EVENT: N'ZOTH

When Patch 23.2 launches, the Old God N’Zoth’s influence will seep into Mercenaries with a new limited-time event. The event will consist of 10 special Tasks centered around N’Zoth. Two new event Tasks can unlock on each of the first five days of the event, but you have until Patch 23.4 to complete all 10 Tasks. Completing all 10 Tasks will award you the base N’Zoth Mercenary, a random Golden N’Zoth Portrait, the N’Zoth Diamond Portrait, and over 750 total Mercenaries Coins! For the first time ever, Toki will return to her regularly-scheduled daily Tasks the day after you complete all 10 event Tasks, even if the event period isn’t over yet.

Be careful, N’Zoth’s whispers have driven many a merc to madness. You’ll need not just your wits, but also your strongest Humans, Dwarves, Elves, and, especially your Murlocs, to take this event down.

NEW MERCENARY

N’Zoth (Legendary Caster)

• Old God
• 10/80 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Spawn of N’Zoth 5: (Speed 5) 15 Attack, 15 Health. Rush. Immune while Attacking.
  • Gift of N’Zoth 5: (Speed 6) Give a Minion +5 Attack and gain control of it. It Attacks a random enemy. Old Gods’ Abilities Refresh (2).
  • Corrupted Viscera 5: (Speed 2, Cooldown 5) Destroy your Minions. For each, deal damage equal to their Health to all enemies and restore 10 Health to this Merc.
• Equipment:
  • Evolving Might 4: Spawn of N’Zoth gains “Deathrattle: Give a random friendly character +5/+5.”
  • Corrupted Neurons 4: Gift of N’Zoth also gives the Minion +8 Health.
  • Eternal Torment 4: Passive: At the start of each turn deal 4 damage to all enemies.

N’Zoth and its Portraits will not initially be obtainable through packs or crafting. N’Zoth, its Portraits, and its Coins will be able to be obtained through all normal acquisition means in Patch 23.4.

MERCENARY REWORKS

Blink Fox

• Mana Blink 5 (Ability)
  • Old: Refresh your characters’ abilities. Their next ability is (5) Speed faster. → New: Your characters’ abilities Refresh (5). Their next ability is 5 Speed faster.
• Arcane Fling 5 (Ability)
  • Old: Deal 10 damage. Arcane Combo: Deal 18 damage instead. → New: Deal 13 damage to an enemy. If it has not acted yet, deal 18 instead.
• Arcane Fang 4 (Equipment)
  • Old: Arcane Fling deals 5 more damage. → New: Arcane Fling deals 7 more damage.

Robes of Rejuvenation (Anduin’s Equipment)

• Old: Passive: After a friendly Human dies. Refresh Holy Word: Salvation. → New: After a friendly Human dies, Holy Word: Salvation Refreshes (2).

Full Belly (Bounty Treasure)

• Old: Start of Game: Refresh this Merc’s abilities. → New: Start of Game: This Merc’s abilities Refresh (20).

Blitzing Legion (Rathorian’s Ability)

• Gained Fel Spell School

Terror Charge (Mannoroth’s Ability)

• Gained Fel Spell School

Howl of Terror (Mannoroth’s Ability)

• Gained Fel Spell School

Divine Assault (Tirion’s Ability)

• Gained Holy Spell School

Helm of Domination (The Lich King’s Equipment)

• Now deals Frost damage

Chilling Amulet (Varden Dawngrasp’s Equipment)

• Now deals Frost damage

NEW ZONE AND BOUNTY

The new Darkshore Zone will be added to the Bounty Board, and the first Bounty in it, Corrupted Murlocs, will be available to be unlocked with Patch 23.2. More Darkshore Bounties will be added in a later patch.

Heroic Brawliseum Returns

Update: Attention competitors! The Heroic Brawliseum is being postponed by one week. It will now start on May 25 instead of May 18!

On May 18, the Heroic Brawliseum is returning to Tavern Brawl for a week! Lock in your best Standard deck and compete for big prizes! The competition will be fierce, but top competitors will be greatly rewarded.

New Game Features

We’re happy to introduce three exciting new features with Patch 23.2! First, we’ve added the ability to send deck codes to your friends, directly from the in-game chat client. Second, we’ve added the ability to Favorite multiple card backs, so you’ll randomly get one from your selected pool at the start of the game. And finally, the much-requested “Upgrade to Golden” feature will be going live with this patch! This will let you easily and efficiently upgrade your favorite cards to Golden versions, straight from the Collection Manager.

You can learn more about these great new features, and see how they work, in our 23.2 New Features blog.

More Golden Mini-Set Options

The Forged in the Barrens (Wailing Caverns) and United in Stormwind (Deadmines) Mini-Sets will be returning to the client with Patch 23.2. For the first time ever, they will be offered in either Normal or Golden versions, just like the Fractured in Alterac Valley (Onyxia’s Lair) Mini-Set currently is. Whether you just want a taste of last year’s hit cards, or you want to bling out your collection, there’s an option for you!

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Fixed a bug where Nellie, the Great Thresher and Queen Azshara could cause disconnects under certain circumstances.
• Fixed a bug where Improved Emergency Maneuvers would have inconsistent results if it triggered off the death of a Silenced minion.
• Fixed a bug where Seek Guidance would count itself towards its own Questline progression if it was played for 2, 3, or 4 mana.
• Fixed a bug where Cloaked Huntress would not reduce the cost of Secrets that were drawn by Dun Baldar Bunker.
• Fixed a bug where Swiftscale Trickster’s Battlecry reduced the cost of the next spell by the spell’s initial cost, instead of setting the spell’s Cost to 0.
• Fixed a bug where Raid Boss Onyxia would not glow “ready” on her first turn in play.
• Fixed a bug where Hero cards were unable to be Discovered from Resizing Pouch.
• Fixed a bug where High Abbess Alura’s Spellburst effect would have no effect if a “Choose an enemy” spell was selected.
• Fixed a bug where the in-game descriptions of the free New/Returning player decks didn’t update to match the updated decklists.
• Fixed a bug where the combination of Maxwell, Mighty Steed and Brann could cause Battlegrounds Buddies to cost Gold to play.
• Fixed a bug where Sr. Tomb Diver could “Goldenize” summoned tokens that were already Golden.
• Fixed a bug where a large number of repeated Leapfrogger activations could result in a skipped Recruit phase.
• Fixed a bug where the Darkmoon Prize “Time Thief” could offer multiples of the same minion, even if there were other minion options.
• Added new Mercenaries indicators to the Collection, Upgrade screen, and Bounty Board.
• Fixed a bug where Mercenary Portraits would sometimes automatically revert to basic Portraits.
• Updated Task descriptions that did not match their functionality.
• Fixed a bug where Captain Galvangar’s “Defend the Village” Task tracked Defender Boons instead of Fighter Boons.
• Fixed a bug where the “Ambush” Ability did not give Stealth upon Deathblow.
• Fixed a bug where equipping Wrathion’s Black Dragon Scales would not update the text of the Ability to match what the Equipment says.
• Fixed a bug where opening a blank Mercenaries team could cause crashes.
• Achievements that award Reward Track XP will now display an XP scroll icon on them so you can find them more easily.
• Legendary Quests that are tied to seasonal events will now expire at the end of that event. Any old Legendary Quests that are currently in your quest log will expire on May 24.
• Fixed a bug where external iPad keyboards did not work for in-game chat.
• Miscellaneous other bug fixes, text/art corrections, and performance improvements.

Patch 23.0, launching today, charts a course for Hearthstone’s latest expansion, Voyage to the Sunken City, launching April 12! The patch also includes updates to Battlegrounds, Mercenaries, Duels, and Arena, as well as bug fixes and more.

Voyage to the Sunken City Sets Off on April 12!

Hearthstone’s next expansion, Voyage to the Sunken City, goes live on April 12! The new expansion includes 135 all-new cards, featuring the new Naga minion type, the Colossal and Dredge keyword mechanics, Sunken cards, and more! See all the new cards in the official card library today.

With the launch of the Voyage to the Sunken City comes a new Rewards Track with tons of cosmetics, XP boosts, packs, and a treasure trove of Gold! Check out our Rewards Track Refresh blog for all the details.

Enter the Year of the Hydra

When Voyage to the Sunken City goes live on April 12, we will enter the next Hearthstone Year: the Year of the Hydra! With the new Hearthstone year, cards from the Year of the Phoenix (which includes the Ashes of Outland, Scholomance Academy, and Madness at the Darkmoon Faire expansions) will rotate out of Standard. Some of the cards from the Core Set will also be replaced.

Learn more about the Core Set update and our other plans for the Year of the Hydra in the Year of the Hydra Announcement blog.

Wild Gets Wilder

Some balance changes over the years were made because cards were too powerful in Standard, even if they were not necessarily too powerful in Wild. The following cards will have their balance changes reverted on April 5 before they rotate into Wild with the launch of Voyage to the Sunken City on April 12:

• Apotheosis
• Imprisoned Scrap Imp
• Blackjack Stunner
• Scavenger’s Ingenuity
• Kael’thas Sunstrider
• Corsair Cache
• Crabrider
• Mo’arg Artificer
• Il’gynoth
• Deck of Lunacy
• Boggspine Knuckles
• Dreadlord’s Bite
• Shardshatter Mystic
• Solarian Prime (generated by Astromancer Solarian)
• Guardian Animals
• Bloodboil Brute
• Imprisoned Antaen
• Jandice Barov
• High Abess Alura
• Lorekeeper Polkelt
• Evocation
• Priestess of Fury
• Kayn Sunfury
• Cabal Acolyte

Standard players will have one week to give these cards a last hurrah while Wild players get started assimilating these newly re-strengthened cards into their format!

Diamond Drek’Thar is Here

Drek’Thar is back with a vengeance! The Alliance may have won the Battle for Alterac Valley, but this is a new day and the Horde is resilient and strong. You can show your Horde pride with the Diamond Drek’Thar Legendary card, now available in the shop. For the Horde!

Normal Drek’Thar can still be crafted or earned through Fractured in Alterac Valley packs like Vanndar or any other Legendary card. After Patch 23.0 goes live, the Honor Track event will end and anybody who did not complete the Honor Track will be able to earn Golden Drek’Thar/Golden Vanndar through an Achievement added with the patch.

Battlegrounds Updates

NEW HERO AND BUDDY

Ini Stormcoil

• MechGyver
  • Passive. After 9 friendly minions die, get a random Mech.

Sub Scrubber (Ini Stormcoil’s Buddy)

• [Tavern Tier 2, Mech] 4 Attack, 4 Health. After you play a Mech, gain +2/+2.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to the new Hero before it is formally released on April 19.

BALANCE CHANGES

• Varden Dawngrasp’s Hero Power - Twice as Nice

​

• Old: Passive. After Bob’s Tavern is Refreshed, copy and Freeze one of his minions. → New: Passive. After Bob’s Tavern is Refreshed, copy his highest Tier minion and Freeze them both.
• Varden’s Aquarrior (Varden Dawngrasp’s Buddy)
  • Old: ‘Twice as Nice’ also gives the copy stats equal to your Tavern Tier. → New: ‘Twice as Nice’ also gives both minions stats equal to your Tavern Tier.

PRODUCT UPDATES

The products previously called “Battlegrounds Finishers” are now called “Battlegrounds Strikes.” We feel this name more accurately describes the function of the cosmetic and is better suited to Battlegrounds.

A new Battlegrounds Strike – Deep Sea Vortex is going live with Patch 23.0. There will also be a new Shipwreck Cove Battlegrounds Board at patch launch, as well as a Bundle that offers the Strike, Board, and eight new Sunken City-themed Hero skins all rolled into one!

Mercenaries Updates

TASK SYSTEM REWORK

Starting with Patch 23.0, completing one Task in a Mercenary’s Task progression will automatically move you on to the next Task in that Mercenary’s progression. You can then continue that Mercenary’s Task progression until you have completed all Tasks for that Mercenary!

The Mysterious Stranger was initially designed and intended to give you more Tasks, but since that will now mostly happen automatically, we are reducing his appearance rate. He will still appear occasionally so that you can get more Tasks if you abandon a Task or complete a Mercenary’s Task progression. You will also still be able to get random new Tasks if you leave any normal Task slots open for the daily Task refresh.

The intent of this system update is to give players more of the Tasks they want, and more Tasks overall, while allowing players to explore more engaging gameplay patterns. We hope this new system will be an improvement for players trying to progress specific Mercenaries, or anybody who is always looking for the next Task to complete. We will monitor how this new system works, and make adjustments if needed, but we are also working on an even larger Task System rework that we are hoping to share more information about later on this year.

NEW MERCENARY

Murky (Epic Fighter)

• 11/79 Maxed Stats
• Abilities
  • Slime Time 5 (Nature): (Speed 4) Deal 12 damage to an enemy. Give it Taunt until the end of next turn.
  • Bubbly Bobble 5 (Nature): (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) Restore 13 Health to an adjacent Murloc. Swap places and both gain Divine Shield. Nature Combo: Repeat this.
  • Pufferfisher 5: (Speed 7, Cooldown 1)
    • (Murloc) 15 Attack, 10 Health. Deathrattle: Deal damage equal to this minion’s Attack to 3 random enemies.
• Equipment
  • Time to Krill 4: Passive: Whenever a friendly Murloc Attacks an enemy with Taunt, give them +4 Attack.
  • Slippery When Wet 4: Passive: After one of your characters loses Divine Shield or Frozen, its next ability is (3) Speed faster.
  • March of the Murlocs 4: Battlecry: Summon 2 10/10 Murlocs.

Murky is available for free as part of the Voyage to the Sunken City Rewards Track. Murky portraits are available as part of the Voyage to the Sunken City Tavern Pass. Murky and his portraits will be available for purchase in Mercenaries products after the end of the Voyage to the Sunken City expansion period.

MERCENARY BALANCE UPDATES AND REWORKS

Baron Geddon

• Old: 10/82 Maxed Stats → New: 10/86 Maxed Stats
• Molten Blade (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Heating Up deals 4 more damage. → New (Rank 4): Heating Up deals 7 more damage.

King Mukla

• Dinner Time
  • Old (Rank 5): Speed 2, Cooldown 1 → New (Rank 5): Speed 1, Cooldown 1
• Refreshing Bananas (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Bananas give an additional +4 Health. → New (Rank 4): Bananas give an additional +5 Health.
• Radioactive Bananas (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Bananas give an additional +2 Attack → New (Rank 4): Bananas give an additional +4 Attack.

Xyrella

• Atonement
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 15 damage. +3 damage each time you restore 20 Health. → New (Rank 5): Deal 20 damage. +3 damage each time you restore 20 Health.
• Robes of Purity (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Atonement requires 5 less healing to upgrade. → New: Atonement requires 10 less healing to upgrade.

Scabbs Cutterbutter

• Old: 11/77 Maxed Stats → New: 13/81 Maxed Stats
• SI:7 Contract (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Tactical Strike’s Combo effect deals 4 more damage. → New: Tactical Strike’s Combo effect deals 8 more damage.
• Honing Rod (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 1): Shadow Blade gives +4 Attack first. → New: Shadow Blade gives +10 Attack first.

Millhouse Manastorm

• Old: 6/69 Maxed Stats → 6/74 Maxed Stats
• Greater Arcane Missiles
  • Old (Rank 5): Shoot three missiles at random enemies that deal 15 damage each. → New (Rank 5): Shoot three missiles at random enemies that deal 20 damage each.
• Arcane Powder (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Arcane Explosion deals 4 more damage. → New (Rank 4): Arcane Explosion deals 5 more damage and enemies lose Stealth.

Cariel Roame

• Old: 11/78 Maxed Stats → New: 12/78 Maxed Stats
• Crusader’s Blow
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Restore 40 Health. → New: Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Restore 60 Health.
• Tome of Light (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Passive: While this Merc has Taunt, it has +8 Attack. → New (Rank 4): Passive: While this Merc has Taunt, it has +12 Attack.

Uther

• Blessing of Protection
  • Old (Rank 5): Restore 10 Health to a friendly character and give them Taunt this turn. → New (Rank 5): Restore 14 Health to a friendly character and give them Taunt this turn.
• Lightbringer (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Hammer of Justice deals 4 more damage and slows the target by (2) Speed more. → New (Rank 4): Hammer of Justice deals 6 more damage and slows the target by (2) Speed more.
• Gleaming Pauldrons (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Avenging Wrath deals 4 more damage. → New (Rank 4): Avenging Wrath deals 8 more damage.

Garrosh Hellscream

• Old: 11/84 Maxed Stats → New: 12/84 Maxed Stats
• Orcish Banner (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Battle Shout also restores 10 Health to your Orcs. → New (Rank 4): Battle Shout also restores 15 Health to your Orcs.

Captain Galvangar

• Old: 11/71 Maxed Stats → New: 11/79 Maxed Stats
• Rending Cleave
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If it has not acted this turn, apply Bleed (8) to it and adjacent enemies. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If it has not acted this turn, apply Bleed (12) to it and adjacent enemies.
• Drek’Thar’s Boon (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Fatal Strike also applies Bleed (5). → New (Rank 4): Fatal Strike also applies Bleed (10).

Wrathion

• Old: 12/73 Maxed Stats → New: 12/79 Maxed Stats
• Creeping Madness
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Next turn they must use a different ability or take 20 damage. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Next turn they must use a different ability or take 25 damage.
• Black Dragon Scales (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Tail Swipe also applies Bleed (5). → New (Rank 4): Tail Swipe also applies Bleed (10).

Vanessa Van Cleef

• Old: 10/75 Maxed Stats → New: 13/75 Maxed Stats
• Burgle Barrage
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Combo: Steal 5 Attack from them. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Combo: Steal 5 Attack from them first.
• Extra Pockets (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): After using Makeshift Weaponry, this Merc keeps up to 5 Attack. → New (Rank 4): After using Makeshift Weaponry, this Merc keeps up to 10 Attack.

Tyrande

• Arcane Salvo
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 8 damage to two random enemies. → New (Rank 5): Deal 12 damage to two random enemies. If any die, repeat this.
• Elune’s Charm (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Arcane Shot deals 5 more damage. → New (Rank 4): Arcane Shot deals 15 more damage if the enemy has already acted.

Varian Wrynn

• Splitting Strike
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Give your Humans +12 Attack. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Give your Humans +15 Attack.
• Heroic Leap
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 14 damage to an enemy. Your other Humans are permanently (1) Speed faster. → New (Rank 5): Deal 14 damage to an enemy. Your other Humans in play and bench are permanently (1) Speed faster.
• Retaliation
  • Old (Rank 5): After an enemy Attacks this turn, gain +5 Attack and Attack it. → New (Rank 5): After an enemy Attacks this turn, gain +5/+5 and Attack it.
• War Banner (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Retaliation also gives an additional +4 Attack. → New (Rank 4): Retaliation gives an additional +2/+10.

Gul’dan

• Rain of Destruction
  • Old: Speed 8, Cooldown 1 → New: Speed 8, Cooldown 0.
• Staff of Chaos (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Passive. After an Orc dies, gain +4 Fel Damage. → New (Rank 4): Passive. After an Orc or Demon dies, gain +4 Fel Damage.

Trigore

• Frenzied Attack
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If this took damage this turn, deal 12 damage to a random adjacent enemy. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If this took damage this turn, deal 16 damage to a random adjacent enemy.
• Backlash
  • Old (Rank 5): The next time an enemy damages an adjacent ally, gain +5 Attack and deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them. → New (Rank 5): Gain +5 Attack. Each time an enemy damages an adjacent ally this turn, deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them.

Sneed

• Old: 7/77 Maxed Stats → New: 9/77 Maxed Stats
• Activate Saw
  • Old (Rank 5): Gain +6 Attack for 2 turns. Attack a random enemy. → New (Rank 5): Gain +9 Attack for 2 turns. Attack a random enemy.
• Skull Dust (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Bzzz!!! Gains Bleed (5). → New (Rank 4): Bzzz!!! Gains Bleed (10).
• Extra Blades (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Sneed starts with Activate Blades active for 1 turn. → New (Rank 4): Battlecry: Start with Activate Saw 5 active for 2 turns.

Edwin, Defias Kingpin

• Assassin’s Blade
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If it hasn’t acted yet this turn, gain +5 Health and Attack it again. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If it hasn’t acted yet this turn, gain +10 Health and Attack it again.
• Kingpin’s Bounty
  • Old: Speed 4, Cooldown 2. → New: Speed 4, Cooldown 1.
• Black Flag (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Passive: Adjacent Pirates are (4) Speed faster. → New (Rank 4): Passive: Your other Pirates are (4) Speed faster.
• Even Shares (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Kingpin’s Bounty restores 10 more Health and affects all friendly characters. → New (Rank 4): Kingpin’s County restores 15 more Health and affects all friendly characters.

Thrall

• Lightning Storm
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 10 damage to all enemies. → New (Rank 5): Deal 10 damage to all enemies. They lose Stealth.

Mannoroth

• Howl of Terror
  • Old (Rank 5): Reduce the Attack of all enemies by 15 this turn. → New (Rank 5): Reduce the Attack of all enemies by 15 this turn. They lose Stealth.

Ragnaros

• DIE, INSECTS
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 22 damage to a random enemy. Deathblow: Repeat this. → New (Rank 5): Deal 22 damage to a random enemy. It loses Stealth. Deathblow: Repeat this.

Warmaster Voone

• Axe Throw
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 8 damage to an enemy and one of its neighbors. → New (Rank 5): Deal 10 damage to an enemy and one of its neighbors. They lose Stealth.

Varden Dawngrasp

• Flurry
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 6 damage to 3 random enemy Mercs. They are (2) Speed slower next turn. → New (Rank 5): Shoot three missiles at random enemies that deal 7 damage each and slow for (2) Speed next turn.
• Chilling Amulet (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Deathrattle: Deal 8 damage to all enemies. Freeze a random enemy until the end of next turn. → New (Rank 4): Deathrattle: Deal 14 damage to all enemies and Freeze a random enemy.

ADDITIONAL UPDATES

• While on a Bounty, the Campfire node will now work with one click instead of requiring it be selected and then entered.
• Vaelstrasz’s Bounty rewards will now be able to grant Murky Coins instead of Lady Anacondra Coins.
• Multiple stacks of Bleed will now be combined into a total Bleed count that can be reduced by healing, instead of erased entirely.
• Bleed damage will no longer be able to deal Critical damage.
• Adjusted Mercenary card display and screen space for better Ability previews.

Duels Updates

GENERAL UPDATES

• On April 5, the current Duels season will end, ratings will be reset to 0, and ongoing runs will be concluded.
• Also on April 5, both the League of Explorers and the Saviors of Uldum expansions will be added to the eligible card pools for deckbuilding, buckets, and Discover effects.
• Voyage to the Sunken City will be added to card buckets and Discover effects with the patch on April 5, but will not be able to be used in initial deckbuilding until the set launches on April 12.
• All Core Set cards that are rotating out of the Core Set will be banned from April 5 until the Core Set updates on April 12. Core Set cards that will remain in the Core Set after the update will still be playable, as will any non-Core versions of any rotating cards that are eligible from another set. Learn more about the Core Set update in the Year of the Hydra blog.
• The new heroes listed below will be available on April 5, with the new Duels season.
• You will now be able to select from 5 different heroes at the start of a run, instead of 4.

NEW HEROES

The League of Explorers have come to Duels! Each of the four members of the league is a special dual-class hero that combines two different classes in fun and interesting ways. Reno Jackson is a Mage/Rogue, Sir Finley is a Paladin/Shaman, Elise Starseeker is a Druid/Priest, and Brann Bronzebeard is a Hunter/Warrior. When you pick one of those heroes, you’ll have access to cards from both their classes in creating your starter deck and picking your buckets.

For the first time ever, the new hero powers and signature treasures can be unlocked either by playing Duels or by unlocking those same hero powers and treasures in the Saviors of Uldum solo content: Tombs of Terror. Any hero powers or signature treasures that were already unlocked in Tombs of Terror will automatically be unlocked in Duels. Players who previously purchased Tombs of Terror can access it in the “Solo Adventures” Mode. Players who do not already own the Tombs of Terror can purchase that content from the Wild section of the in-game and web shops.

Reno Jackson has three new hero powers that you can unlock as you play:

• Amateur Mage
  • [Costs 2] Deal 1 damage. Combo: Deal 2 instead.
• “Relicologist”
  • [Costs 1] Your next spell this turn has Spell Damage +2.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 cards that cost 3 or less.
• Arcane Craftiness
  • [Costs 2] Fire two missiles that deal 1 damage each. If any minion dies, repeat this.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Use your hero power 30 times.

Reno Jackson also has 6 signature treasures that you can unlock as you play:

• Reno’s Lucky Hat
  • [2 Mana Spell] Give a minion +2/+2 and Spell Damage +2.
• Reno’s Crafty Lasso
  • [2 Mana Weapon] 3 Attack, 2 Durability. After your hero attacks, copy a card from your opponent’s hand.
• Reno’s Magical Torch
  • [2 Mana Spell] Deal 4 damage. Combo: Shuffle a copy of this into your deck that deals 2 more damage.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from Saviors of Uldum.
• Sr. Tomb Diver
  • [4 Mana Minion] 5 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: If you played 5 Secrets this game, your Hero Power becomes ‘Discover a Treasure’.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from The Sunken City.
• Lei Flamepaw
  • [4 Mana Minion] 2 Attack, 6 Health. After your first spell each turn, cast it again (on the same target).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from Saviors of Uldum.
• The Gatling Wand
  • [5 Mana Spell] Deal 3 damage split randomly among all enemy minions (improves for each spell you’ve cast this game).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from The Sunken City.

Sir Finley has three new hero powers that you can unlock as you play:

• New “Recruits”
  • [Costs 2] Summon a 2/2 Amalgam Explorer.
• Bubble Blower
  • [Costs 1] Discover a Shaman or Paladin minion with Battlecry. Overload: (1).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Battlecry cards.
• Power Up!
  • [Costs 2] Give a minion Divine Shield and Windfury.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 20 Dredge cards.

Sir Finley also has 6 signature treasures that you can unlock as you play:

• Finley’s Pith Helmet
  • [2 Mana Spell] Give all friendly minions +2 Health. Shuffle this card into your deck.
• Maxwell, Mighty Steed
  • [5 Mana Minion] 3 Attack, 5 Health. Rush. Reborn. Has +2 Attack for each other minion on the battlefield.
• Truesilver Lance
  • [5 Mana Weapon] 3 Attack, 1 Durability. Lifesteal. After you Overload, gain +1 Durability.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from Saviors of Uldum.
• Sr. Scout
  • [5 Mana Minion] 6 Attack, 6 Health. Rush, Windfury. At the end of your turn, deal 6 damage to a random enemy minion.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from The Sunken City.
• Karl the Lost
  • [8 Mana Minion] 6 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Summon six Silver Hand Recruits and give all friendly minions Taunt and Divine Shield.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from Saviors of Uldum.
• Scales of Justice
  • [5 Mana Spell] Transform all minions into 1/1 Murlocs. Fill your hand with random Murlocs that cost (1).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from The Sunken City.

Elise Starseeker has three new hero powers that you can unlock as you play:

• Elise’s Might
  • [Costs 2] Choose One: +2 Attack this turn; or Gain 2 Armor.
• Druidic Teaching
  • [Costs 2] Restore 2 Health, then draw a card if the target is at full Health.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 40 spells.
• Starseeker
  • [Passive] After you cast 3 spells in a turn, add a ‘Moonfire’ to your hand.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Attack 10 times with your hero.

Elise Starseeker also has 6 signature treasures that you can unlock as you play:

• Starseeker’s Tools
  • [4 Mana Spell] Discover a minion and a spell. They cost (2) less.
• Elise’s Machete
  • [5 Mana Weapon] 3 Attack, 3 Durability. After your hero attacks, summon two 2/2 Treants. Give them Rush.
• Addarah
  • [7 Mana Minion] 3 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Shuffle all enemy minions into your deck.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from Saviors of Uldum.
• Sr. Navigator
  • [5 Mana Minion] 2 Attack, 10 Health. Whenever you target this minion with a spell that costs (2) or more, add a copy of the spell to your hand.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from The Sunken City.
• Academic Research
  • [3 Mana Spell] Start of Game: Draw this. Gain 1 Mana Crystal. (Upgrades each time a friendly minion dies).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from Saviors of Uldum.
• Staff of Renewal
  • [10 Mana Spell] Resurrect 5 friendly minions with the highest Cost. Give them Taunt.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from The Sunken City.

Brann Bronzebeard has three new hero powers that you can unlock as you play:

• Spread Shot
  • [Costs 2]: Deal 1 damage, then 1 damage to the enemy hero.
• Well Equipped
  • [Costs 2]: Equip a random weapon and set its Durability to 1.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 15 weapons.
• Dino Tracking
  • [Passive]: At the start of your turn, Discover which card you draw.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Discover 30 times.

Brann Bronzebeard also has 6 signature treasures that you can unlock as you play:

• Ol’ Faithful
  • [3 Cost Weapon] 4 Attack, 2 Durability. After your hero attacks, deal 1 damage to all enemies.
• Brann’s Saddle
  • [3 Cost Spell] Give a friendly Beast +3/+3 and ‘Deathrattle: Give Brann’s Saddle to another friendly Beast.’
• Titan-Forged Grapnel
  • [4 Cost Spell] Destroy 2 random enemy minions. Gain Armor equal to their combined Attack.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from Saviors of Uldum.
• Sr. Excavator
  • [5 Cost Minion] 3 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Draw 3 cards. Any minions you draw cost (4) less.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from The Sunken City.
• Flo Slatebrand
  • [6 Cost Minion] 4 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry and Deathrattle: Add a random Treasure to your hand.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from Saviors of Uldum.
• Brann’s Epic Egg
  • [7 Cost Minion] 0 Attack, 3 Health. After this takes damage, summon King Krush.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from The Sunken City.

NEW PASSIVE TREASURES

• Edge of Dredge—Pool 1
  • After you Dredge, draw a card and shuffle your deck.
• Coil Casting—Pool 1
  • After you play your first Naga each turn, add a random 1-Cost spell to your hand.
• Optimized Polarity—Pool 1
  • After you play your first Non-Magnetic Mech each turn, add a random (1) mana Mech with Magnetic to your hand.
• Beckoning Bicorn—Pool 1
  • After you play your first Pirate each turn, summon a Patches the Pirate.
• Cookie’s Ladle—Pool 1
  • After you play your first Murloc each turn, draw a Murloc.
• Forgotten Depths—Pool 1
  • At the start of game, put 3 Colossal minions on the bottom of your deck. They cost (3) less.

TREASURE UPDATES

For the Alliance and For the Horde

• The unlock criteria for these two signature treasures have been removed.
• Dev Comment: Okay, 200 was a bit much, wannit?

Traktamer Aelessa

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

Mo’arg Outcast

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Marvelous Mycelium

• Old: Discover a Choose One card. Choose One cards and powers have both effects combined until end of turn. → New: Discover two Choose One cards. They have both effects combined. Shuffle this card into your deck.

Slate’s Syringe

• Old: Steal up to 3 Attack and Health from an enemy minion. Give those stats to a random friendly Beast. → New: Steal up to 4 Attack and Health from an enemy minion. Give those stats to a random friendly Beast.

Britz Blazebucket

• Old: After you play a spell, summon a random minion of the same Cost. It dies when it takes damage. → New: After you play a spell, summon two random minions of the same Cost that die when they take damage.

Drocomurchanicas

• Old: Deathrattle: Draw a Dragon, Murloc, and Mech. They cost (2) less. → New: Deathrattle: Draw a Dragon, Murloc, and Mech. They cost (3) less.
• Dev Comment: Oh wow! Menagerie got better with this!

Humble Blessings

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Su Leadfoot

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Ace in the Hole

• Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]

Scion of the Deep

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

Joras Thuldoom

• Old: Whenever your Health changes on your turn, summon a copy of this minion. → New: Rush. Whenever your Health changes on your turn, summon a copy of this minion.

Droplet of Insanity

• Old: [Costs 5] → New: [Costs 4]

Gift of the Old Gods

• Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 4]

Binding Chains

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Moonbeast

• Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health. Your Eclipse spells cost (0). → New: 4 Attack, 6 Health. At the end of your turn, add a random Eclipse spell to your hand. Your Eclipse spells cost (0).

Zukara the Wild

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

Collector’s Ire

• Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 5]
• Dev Comment: More buffs to Menagerie!

Flame Waves

• Old: At the end of your turn, deal 2 damage to all enemies for each Fire spell you’ve cast this turn. → New: At the end of your turn, deal 2 damage to all enemy minions for each Fire spell you’ve cast this turn.
• Dev Comment: Hey, you know who you are, yes, you, look what you made me do to my boy.

Scepter of Summoning

• Moved from Treasure Pool 2 to Treasure Pool 2 Ultra Rare

HERO POWER UPDATES

Vile Concoction (Infiltrator Lilian’s Hero Power)

• Old: Give a minion Poisonous. Combo: Also give it Stealth for 1 turn. → New: Give a minion Poisonous. Combo: Also give it +1/+1 and Stealth for 1 turn.

BUCKET UPDATES

• The Menagerie bucket has been removed.
  • Dev Comment: Nooooo! How could we do this right when we give it buffs?!
• New buckets have been added for Voyage to the Sunken City archetypes.

Arena Updates

When the expansion unlocks on April 12, ongoing Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible pool of card sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Core
• League of Explorers
• Whispers of the Old Gods
• The Grand Tournament
• United in Stormwind
• Fractured in Alterac Valley
• Voyage to the Sunken City

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Added a Recently Completed Achievements U.I. that will make it easier to claim your Achievements.
• In order to avoid a negative play experience with Radiance of Azshara, Unstable Evolution has had its effect updated to function like it has the Echo keyword (meaning that copies after the first copy can’t Cost less than 1). Its text will be updated to add the Echo keyword in a future update. As a result of this change, Unstable Evolution will be eligible for a full dust refund for 2 weeks after the 23.0 patch goes live.
• Fixed a bug where Kurtrus, Demon-Render would not upgrade if the attack did not cause damage (such as attacking into a Divine Shield or a Bulwark of Azzinoth).
• Fixed a bug where Breath of Dreams did not grant a mana crystal if you had 10 or more mana with Wildheart Guff.
• Fixed a bug where Ancient Reflections copied over “while damaged” effects if the original target was damaged.
• Increased Wax Rager’s death limit from 8 to 51 for instances where it would die multiple times from one effect, from cards like Perpetual Flame and Spammy Arcanist.
• Solar Eclipse has had its wording updated. This is not an update to the card’s function.
• Fixed a bug where the “refund” search term did not work in German.
• Fixed a bug causing some languages to be unable to see the text of the Tavern Brawl chalkboard.
• Fixed a bug causing occasional de-syncs in Battlegrounds, resulting in players and/or spectators seeing different results from the same battle.
• Fixed a visual bug where Mercenaries crafting costs sometimes appeared to cost double.
• Fixed a visual bug where Mercenaries’ Tasks appeared as “Task 1” on the Mysterious Stanger node.
• Fixed a bug where the Positive Equilibrium treasure did not grant the Nature and Fire Damage bonuses listed.
• Fixed a bug that allowed Chi-Ji’s Flamehearth Brooch to activate even if Chi-Ji was on the Bench.
• Fixed a bug where if Wrathion died while in dragon form, he would not count as having died for future Bounty encounters or for purposes of ensuring enough play has passed to count as a win in the Fighting Pit.
• Fixed a bug where Wrathion’s Task 10 did not track if he was in dragon form.
• Updated Rokara’s Tribal Fortitude Task to be based on damage dealt by Tribal Warfare, so that it can be completed as written.
• Fixed a bug where Elemental Chaos in Duels was not affected by Spell Damage or Professor Slate.
• Misc. other performance enhancements and bug fixes to make your seat comfier around the hearth.