Hearthstone

Patch 24.6.2 is a data-only patch (no app-store update required) launching today with the following updates:

Battlegrounds Updates

Quest and Reward Updates

• Golden Hammer and Kidnap Sack have been returned to the Quest Reward Pool.
• Hire an Investigator (Quest)
  • Old Baseline: End your turn with unspent Gold 3 times.
  • New Baseline: End your turn with unspent Gold 2 times.
• Volatile Venom (Quest Reward)
  • Old: Your minions have +8/+8. After they attack, they die. Horribly.
  • New: Your minions have +7/+7. After they attack, they die. Horribly.
• Tiny Henchmen, The Golden Hammer, and Volatile Venom have been made easier to earn.
• Stolen Gold has been made harder to earn.
• Interrogator Whitemane and Vigilant Stoneborn have been added to the pool of Neutral minions available in one of Wonderous Wisdomball’s lucky rolls.

Armor Tier Updates

• C’Thun has less Armor (moved to Armor Tier 4).
• The Jailer has more Armor (moved to Armor Tier 4).

Arena Updates

• Fixed a bug where the Basic set was missing from the draft pool.
• Increased the appearance rate of class cards globally.
  • Dev Comment: We will be carefully monitoring class balance as class cards become a more defining aspect of Arena draft and will make adjustments in the future if needed.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug with deck codes and decks not saving correctly.

Patch 24.6.2 is a data-only patch (no app-store update required) launching today with the following updates:

Battlegrounds Updates

Quest and Reward Updates

• Golden Hammer and Kidnap Sack have been returned to the Quest Reward Pool.
• Hire an Investigator (Quest)
  • Old Baseline: End your turn with unspent Gold 3 times.
  • New Baseline: End your turn with unspent Gold 2 times.
• Volatile Venom (Quest Reward)
  • Old: Your minions have +8/+8. After they attack, they die. Horribly.
  • New: Your minions have +7/+7. After they attack, they die. Horribly.
• Tiny Henchmen, The Golden Hammer, and Volatile Venom have been made easier to earn.
• Stolen Gold has been made harder to earn.
• Interrogator Whitemane and Vigilant Stoneborn have been added to the pool of Neutral minions available in one of Wonderous Wisdomball’s lucky rolls.

Armor Tier Updates

• C’Thun has less Armor (moved to Armor Tier 4).
• The Jailer has more Armor (moved to Armor Tier 4).

Arena Updates

• Fixed a bug where the Basic set was missing from the draft pool.
• Increased the appearance rate of class cards globally.
  • Dev Comment: We will be carefully monitoring class balance as class cards become a more defining aspect of Arena draft and will make adjustments in the future if needed.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug with deck codes and decks not saving correctly.

Patch 24.6, launching today, is a massive patch that kicks off Hearthstone’s next event, immediately adds Knights of the Frozen Throne to the free Core Set for a limited time, reworks Mercenaries systems, refreshes Battlegrounds, and paves the way for Hearthstone’s new Death Knight class and next expansion: March of the Lich King!

Table of Contents

• Hearthstone Updates
• Battlegrounds Updates
• Mercenaries Updates
• Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

Pre-Purchase March of the Lich King

Hearthstone’s next expansion, March of the Lich King, is coming on December 6! The Lich King is back, and he’s leading his Undead army in an assault on the Blood Elf city of Silvermoon. In this expansion, you can become a Death Knight, the all-new playable class, and use Corpses left on the battlefield to fuel your evil power. Or you can channel magic from the Sunwell with the new Manathirst keyword that makes your cards more powerful as the battle rages on. The armies are gathering. It is up to you to decide whether you will join, or stand against, the March of the Lich King!

March of the Lich King includes 145 new collectible cards. The March of the Lich King Mega Bundle is entirely focused on the Hearthstone mode, granting more cards than ever before, including new Signature cards, Signature Golden Packs, and the entire Path of Arthas set. You can learn more about Signature cards and Signature Golden Packs in the Expansion Announcement, and you can learn more about the Death Knight class and the Path of Arthas set in the Death Knight Deep Dive.

This time, for the first time ever, both March of the Lich King pre-purchase bundles will also be available for one week following the launch of the expansion! Get them now to start rocking your new card back right away, or get them after the expansion goes live—whatever works best for you.

Pre-purchase

Log In and Channel the Power of the Sunwell for Free!

Log in to Hearthstone now for your first steps in the March of the Lich King with the free The Sunwell Legendary Neutral spell!* The Sunwell’s magic is limited only by your hand size! Add it to your collection and see what blessings The Sunwell holds.

* Limited one per account. After Patch 25.6, Sunwell will be granted upon opening your first March of the Lich King pack, instead of upon logging in.

New Cosmetic: Legendary Hero Skins!

Like our Full Hero Skins, new Legendary Hero Skins feature impressive new come into play and hero power animations, a unique hero tray, and new voicelines. They then go even further by replacing your hero frame and portrait with a completely 3D character model! They also have custom character animations for a variety of actions, like attacking, summoning minions, casting spells, emotes, and more!

To celebrate the upcoming Death Knight class, our first Legendary Skin will be Arthas Menethil, for the upcoming Death Knight Class! It will be available for prepurchase as part of the Arthas Menethil Bundle, starting on November 8.

This bundle will be available for purchase in Patch 24.6 and 25.0 after the expansion launches, but the contents of it will not be usable until the Death Knight class unlocks with The March of the Lich King on December 6.

New Event System, Knights of Hallow’s End Event, and Knights of the Frozen Throne’s Return to Standard!

We’re introducing a new Events System and interface with Patch 24.6! Now, instead of just Legendary Quests, players can complete thematic Event Quests to earn XP on an Event-specific reward track. Additionally, in-game events will have their own special place in the Journal. When an event is live, there will be a seasonal wax seal over the Journal. Open the wax seal and you will be directed to a special Journal tab for that event, which will show Event Quests, rewards, and duration all in one thematic spot!

The first event with this new Events System will be the Knights of Hallow’s End Event, which starts with Patch 24.6. To kick off that event, the entire Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion will be temporarily Standard legal and FREE for all players! Now you can relive the first time The Lich King came to Hearthstone as you prepare for his return in December.

Use the Knights of the Frozen Throne cards to complete special Event Quests and Daily Quests, to earn Event XP.* Complete the entire Event reward track during the Event period and you’ll get two Battlegrounds Emotes, a Standard Card Pack, a Murder at Castle Nathria Pack, two March of the Lich King Packs, and a Banshee Tyrande Hearthstone Hero Skin!

The Knights of Hallow’s End Event will last for two weeks after the launch of Patch 24.6. Knights of the Frozen Throne will be part of the Core Set from the launch of Patch 24.6 until March of the Lich King launches on December 6!

* Event XP can also be earned by just playing regularly, but completing Event Quests is the fastest way to complete the entire Event reward track.

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Battlegrounds Updates

General Text Updates

• Changed all instances of “gain 1 Gold this turn only” to “gain 1 Gold.” This is not a functional change.
• Changed all instances of “gain a Blood Gem” to “get a Blood Gem.” This is not a functional change.

New Hero

The Jailer (Armor Tier 3)

• Runic Empowerment
  • [1 Gold] Give a minion +1/+1. Upgrades after 9 friendly minions die.

This new hero will be available in all lobbies for two weeks after patch launch.

Hero Updates

The following Heroes have hero power updates:

C’Thun (Saturday C’Thuns)

• Old: [2 Gold] At the end of turn, give a friendly minion +1/+1. Repeat 0 times. (Upgrades after each use!)
• New: [2 Gold] At the end of turn, give a friendly minion +1/+1. Repeat 0 times. (Upgrades each turn!)

Infinite Toki (Temporal Tavern)

• Old: [1 Gold] Refresh Bob’s Tavern. Include a minion from a higher Tavern Tier.
• New: [1 Gold] Refresh Bob’s Tavern. Include two minions from a higher Tavern Tier.

The Rat King (A Tale of Kings)

• Old: Passive. Whenever you buy a minion of a specific type, give it +2/+2. Swaps type each turn.
• New: [2 Gold] Discover a minion of a specific type. Swaps type each turn.

The following Heroes have less Armor:

• Bru’kan, Pyramad, and The Rat King are now Armor Tier 1 (0 Armor).
• Lich Baz’hial is now Armor Tier 2 (2-5 Armor).
• Deathwing, Infinite Toki, Kurtrus Ashfallen, and Tavish Stormpike are now Armor Tier 3 (3-6 Armor).
• Onyxia is now Armor Tier 4 (4-7 Armor).

The following Heroes have more Armor:

• Patchwerk is now Armor Tier 2 (2-5 Armor).
• Alexstrasza and Ambassador Faelin are now Armor Tier 4 (4-7 Armor)
• Chenvaala, Mr. Bigglesworth, and Zephrys the Great are now Armor Tier 5 (5-8 Armor)

New Battlegrounds Quests

Hire an Investigator: End your turn with unspent Gold 3 times.

Crack the Case: Have friendly minions attack 11 times.

Remember, these are just the baseline Quest completion requirements. Actual requirements in-game vary based on the Reward these Quests are paired with and several other factors.

New Battlegrounds Quest Rewards

Blood Goblet: At the end of your turn, give your right-most minion Attack equal to your missing Health.

Essence of Zerus: At the end of your turn, add a “Shifter Zerus” to your hand which transforms into random minions.

Hidden Treasure Vault: At the start of your turn, gain 1 Gold. (Upgrades each turn!)

Ethereal Evidence: At the start of every turn, choose from 2 new Rewards.

Volatile Venom: Your minions have +8/+8. After they attack, they die. Horribly.

The Golden Hammer: Spellcraft: Make a friendly minion Golden until next turn.

Sinfall Medallion: After you play a minion, give 2 other friendly minions of its Tavern Tier +2/+2.

Kidnap Sack: Spellcraft: Choose a non-Golden minion. Add it to your hand.

Battlegrounds Quest and Quest Reward Updates

• Quest: Find the Murder Weapon has had its baseline completion requirement reduced from 17 to 14.
• Reward: Anima Bribe has been removed from the Reward pool.
• Reward: Theotar’s Parasol has been returned to the Reward pool.
• Reward: Stolen Gold has had its appearance rate reduced by 50%.

New Minions

Dozy Whelp (Tavern Tier 1, Dragon)

• 0 Attack, 3 Health. Taunt. Whenever this minion is attacked, gain +1 Attack permanently.

Patient Scout (Tavern Tier 2)

• 1 Attack, 1 Health. When you sell this, Discover a Tavern Tier 1 minion. (Upgrades each turn!)

Bristlemane Scrapsmith (Tavern Tier 3, Quilboar)

• 4 Attack, 4 Health. After a friendly Taunt minion dies, get a Blood Gem.

Faceless Disciple (Tavern Tier 3)

• 6 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Transform a minion into one of a Tier higher.

Vigilant Stoneborn (Tavern Tier 4)

• 2 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Give a minion +6 Health and Taunt.

Ball of Minions (Tavern Tier 4, All)

• 5 Attack, 5 Health. When you sell this, give its stats to a random friendly minion.

Interrogator Whitemane (Tavern Tier 5)

• 8 Attack, 5 Health. Start of Combat: Give the enemies opposite this Taunt. They take double damage.

Vanessa VanCleef (Tavern Tier 5, Pirate)

• 3 Attack, 7 Health. Whenever this attacks, give your Pirates +2/+1 permanently.

The Walking Fort (Tavern Tier 6)

• 4 Attack, 6 Health. At the end of your turn, give 4 friendly Taunt minions +4/+4.

Minion Updates

Prophet of the Boar

• Old: 3 Attack, 3 Health. Once per Turn: After you play a Quilboar, gain a Blood Gem.
• New: 2 Attack, 3 Health. Taunt. After you play a Quilboar, get a Blood Gem.

Tarecgosa

• Old: This permanently keeps enchantments from combat.
• New: This permanently keeps your enchantments from combat.

Dev comment: Tarecgosa will function the same way as it does now. This change is to prevent Tarecgosa from keeping negative enchantments, like Interrogator Whitemane’s added this patch.

Minion Pool Changes

• Spawn of N’Zoth, Gemsplitter, Reef Explorer, Nightmare Amalgam, Nosy Looter, and Yrel have been removed from the minion pool.
• Menagerie Mug has been returned to the minion pool.

New Battle Bash: Hallow’s End Collection

Battle Bash is a new way for you to earn a limited-time* curated collection of Battlegrounds cosmetics, including at least one Legendary item! Purchasing access to the Battle Bash means you earn one “Hammer” with each Top 4 finish during the Battle Bash period. Each Hammer can then be used to Bash for a random prize from that Battle Bash collection.

The first Battle Bash will be the Hallow’s End collection of ten items (purchasable for money or 1000 Runestones), including two Legendary items: a Legendary Board, a Legendary Strike, a Rare Bartender, 5 Epic Skins, and 2 sets of three Rare Emotes!

Purchasing this first Battle Bash will immediately unlock 2 Hammers. On top of that, Bob will give all players one free Bash to try it out. That means you have a random chance to get your favorite prize for free! It also means that if you purchase this Battle Bash, you only need seven Top 4 finishes during the Battle Bash period to unlock all the prizes. This first Battle Bash period will last for three weeks from the initial Battle Bash offering.

* Each Battle Bash collection will only be available as a whole collection for a limited time. However, individual items within a Battle Bash may become available at a later time. Items within each Battle Bash have different pull weightings. For more details, see the full disclosures site.

Battlegrounds Lobby Legends Returns

You can watch the best of the best battle it out in the fresh Battlegrounds meta when Lobby Legends returns on November 12! Keep an eye out for more event details closer to the event’s start.

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Mercenaries Updates

New Renown System

You’ve dominated the Bounty Board and your best Mercenaries are beyond Maxed. Your reputation precedes you, and you’ve achieved great Renown in your Village. With Patch 24.6, you’ll be able to convert your excess coins into Renown. Daily Tasks are being reworked (discussed below) and, in their place at the Campfire, you’ll receive a selection of offers to exchange Renown for Coins for a Mercenary you own, but haven’t yet Maxed.

The conversion rates from excess coins to Renown are as follows:

• 10 Rare Coins = 1 Renown
• 5 Epic Coins = 1 Renown
• 2 Legendary Coins = 1 Renown

The conversion rates to then exchange Renown for Coins from Mercs you haven’t Maxed are as follows:

• 100 Renown = 50 Rare Coins
• 150 Renown = 50 Epic Coins
• 250 Renown = 50 Legendary Coins

In the future, this system will be updated to incorporate Renown into the upcoming end-game system. More information will be shared about that update at a later time.

Task System Rework

All Task chains are now available whenever you want! Active Task chains are those for the Mercs that are in your Party at that time, so you can work on up to six Task chains at a time, and you can switch those Task chains up just by switching up your Party. This means players can easily select exactly which Task chains they want to work on, and efficiently clear their Tasks in a way that makes sense for them!

In addition to all the Tasks for all Mercs, there will also be extra miscellaneous Tasks mixed in with the daily Renown exchange offerings, so you will still get opportunities to grow even after completing all the main Task chains. Finally, as the Mysterious Stranger’s job is now done, they will no longer appear in mystery nodes—they will be replaced by the Cursed Treasure node.

New Limited-Time Event: Rattlegore

RATTLEGORE! Rattlegore has escaped and is making its way to terrorize your Village, starting on November 1. The event will consist of 10 special Tasks, centered around Rattlegore. Two new event tasks will be unlocked on each of the first five days of the event, but you have until November 29 to complete all 10 Tasks. Completing all 10 Tasks will get you the Rattlegore Mercenary, two random Golden Rattlegore Portraits, and 700 Mercenaries Coins! Orcs, Beast, and Demons will be helpful in completing this special event.

New Mercenary

Rattlegore (Epic Protector)

• Undead—12/30 Maxed Stats
• Abilities
  • Rusted Blades 5: (Speed 2) Gain +5 Attack and Attack an enemy. Make this ability (2) speed slower.
  • BONEFLAME!!! 5: (Fire – Speed 4) Deal 16 damage. Deathblow: Gain +3 Fire Damage.
  • Confusing Bruising 5: (Shadow – Speed 1, Cooldown 2) Gain +15/+15 and Attack an enemy. Die at the end of turn.
• Equipment
  • Spooky Scary 4: Deathrattle: Fill your Board with 9/9 Skeletons.
  • A Solid Education 4: Deathrattle: Resummon this as a 10/70 without this Deathrattle.
  • Rattling Bones 4: Deathrattle: Resummon this with -2/-5.

Rattlegore and its Portraits will not initially be available through packs or crafting. They will be available through all normal means in a patch after the Rattlegore event ends.

Arena Updates

When Patch 24.6 goes live, all current Arena runs will end, and Hallow’s End will come to Arena! Dual-class Arena is back, and this time we’re kicking it old school. The eligible sets will be all sets from Classic through League of Explorers, and that’s it! No modern cards. But there’s a catch—Demon Hunter is still in the game. If you pick Demon Hunter, you could end up with the Demon Claws hero power, but no Demon Hunter class cards will appear.

Dual Class Arena will last until March of the Lich King launches on December 6. The eligible card sets during this period will be:

• Basic
• Classic
• Curse of Naxxramus
• Goblins vs Gnomes
• Blackrock Mountain
• The Grand Tournament
• League of Explorers

Note that this throwback event uses the Basic and Classic sets, not the more modern Core Set.

Improved New and Returning Player Deck System

New and returning players* will now be able to borrow a selection of competitive decks for one week following their return, before choosing one to claim at the end of that Loaner Deck period. In Patch 24.6, there will be 6 Loaner Decks they can try during that period.

* Includes players who didn’t play the Murder at Castle Nathria expansion. See the official post for decklists and eligibility details.

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Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Quests] Some Daily and Weekly Quests will now include an arrow at the bottom. Press this arrow to be taken directly to the part of the client where that Quest can be completed.
• [Hearthstone] The Hearthstone tutorial can now be skipped by pressing “Leave Tutorial” in the in-game menu.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Blademaster Okani’s ability could be wasted if a spell was also Countered at the same time by Ice Trap.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual mobile bug with destroying a Location with Demolition Renovator.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Reno the Relicologist could cause disconnects under certain conditions.
• [Battlegrounds] The Battlegrounds Track will now open to the page of the most recently earned item.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where some Alternate Bartenders were not saying their voicelines as frequently as expected.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bugged interaction between the Time Thief Darkmoon Prize and the Secret Sinstone Quest Reward.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where minions summoned off the Evil Twin Quest Reward were not copied by Khadgar. There remains a visual bug where the now copied Evil Twins will not have their mustaches; we will award them the appropriate facial hair in a later patch.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Leeroy Jenkins killed the last minion that damaged him, not the one that dealt him lethal damage.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed a bug where Ysera’s Nightmare Ability was being treated as a Nature Ability instead of a Shadow Ability.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed a bug where Genn’s Smooth Transformation Equipment would trigger while he was on the bench.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug with the “One of the Classic Blunders” Achievement.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug with the “Shut Up, Dad” Achievement.
• [Collection] You can now search “tag:imp” or “tag:whelp” to return all cards in your collection that have those tags. You can type just “imp” if you want all text matches as well as all cards with the Imp tag.
• [Misc.] Fixed a bug causing computer opponents to make unexpected plays.

Patch 24.4.3 is a data-only client patch, scheduled for October 13, that includes the following updates and bug fixes:

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: The meta is relatively stable right now, with just a few outliers. Our goal with this patch is to reduce frustration and give weaker decks a bit more breathing room by reducing the overall power level of Hunter.

The one notable outlier that is not getting changed, but which we are keeping a close eye on, is Prince Renathal. He is powerful and popular, but we don’t want this patch to completely shake up the meta, because we have something fun coming in Patch 24.6 and we want to see how Renathal performs in the next expansion before making changes to him.

The following cards have been adjusted down in power:

Theotar, the Mad Duke

• Old: Costs 4
• New: Costs 5

Dev Comment: Theotar is a defining card in the current meta. He plays an important role in giving players agency against powerful late-game plays, but he can also be very frustrating to lose to. We don’t want him to be one of the most popular cards in the next expansion, and our goal with this change is to lower his playrate across all ranks. If his playrate doesn’t drop significantly with this change, we’ll evaluate further changes at the next opportunity.

Stag Spirit Wildseed

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

Bear Spirit Wildseed

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

Harpoon Gun

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

Dev Comment: Hunter has been the most popular and arguably the most powerful class in the game for some time, especially in lower ranks. These changes are meant to address some of the sharper play patterns this class is capable of, while simultaneously lowering the overall class power level.

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 24.4.3.

Battlegrounds Updates

Dev Comment: This is a smaller update, as we’ve spread our recent changes across the last few hotfix patches. Battlegrounds players should expect a bigger Battlegrounds update with the next major patch, Patch 24.6.

Hero Update

Fungalmancer Flurgl – Gone Fishing

• Old: Passive: After you sell 4 minions, get a random Murloc.
• New: Passive: After you sell 5 minions, get a random Murloc.
• Fungalmancer Flurgl has been moved from Armor Tier 1 (0 Armor) to Armor Tier 4 (4-7 Armor)

Quest Reward Update

The Smoking Gun

• Old: Your minions have +5 Attack.
• New: Your minions have +4 Attack.
• The Smoking Gun is now easier to earn.

Minion Updates

Nether Drake

• Old: [Tavern Tier 2] 0 Attack, 4 Health
• New: [Tavern Tier 3] 1 Attack, 5 Health

Twilight Emissary

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

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Dark Force Malygos was not able to be claimed or equipped.

Patch 24.4, launching on September 27, includes the new Murder at Castle Nathria Mini-Set, a returning Battlegrounds Hero, several Mercenaries updates, and more!

Maw and Disorder Mini-Set Commences on September 27

Sylvanas has been accused and must stand trial before the Jailer! Get all the Accusations, new synergies, and courtroom characters in this Mini-Set of 35 all-new cards to add to your collection. Get them in Murder at Castle Nathria packs, or as a complete 66-card* Mini-Set. Get the Normal version in-game for 1500 Runestones or 2000 Gold, or get the all-Golden version for $69.99 or 7000 Runestones.

* 4 Legendary cards (x1), 1 Epic card (x2), 14 Rare cards (x2), and 16 Common cards (x2)

Battlegrounds Updates

General Updates

• Another Hidden Body has been returned to the Quest Reward pool. Its animation has also been sped up.
• Another Hidden Body has been made more difficult to earn.
• When creating a private lobby, players can now invite friends of their invited friends.

Returning Hero

Sylvanas Windrunner (Armor Tier 1)

• Reclaimed Souls
  • [1 Gold] Give +2/+1 to your minions that died last combat.

This new hero will be available in all lobbies for two weeks after patch launch.

New Cosmetic: Legendary Battlegrounds Boards

Introducing Legendary Battlegrounds Boards! Legendary Boards have six different visuals one for during the recruit phase and one for the combat phase, as well as special modifiers for when you are in the Top 4, when you are on a winstreak, when you are at low Health, and when you land a big hit! Experience the whole range of Legendary animations with the new Murloc Hideaway Legendary Battlegrounds Board, available starting October 11.

Mercenaries Updates

General Updates

• C’Thun can now be earned through all normal methods.
• New Keyword: Charge! Characters with Charge immediately Attack a chosen target when summoned. This is like Rush except that Rush characters Attack a random enemy character when summoned while Charge lets you choose.

New Mercenaries

Murloc Holmes (Legendary Protector)

• Murloc – 13/87 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Hot on the Case 5: (Fire - Speed 9) Gain +5 Attack and Attack an enemy. It takes Critical Damage after it acts next turn.
  • Elementary! 5: (Nature - Speed 3, Cooldown 1) Give a friendly character Divine Shield. If they lose it this turn, they gain +5/+10 and Attack the enemies opposite them.
  • And the Killer Is! 5: (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) Deal 16 damage to an enemy. Make a prediction for a bonus.
    • First to Arrive 5: Deal 16 damage to an enemy. If it acted first this turn, deal 16 more and they act last next turn.
    • Last on the Scene 5: Deal 16 damage to an enemy. If it acts last in combat, deal 10 damage to all enemies.
    • Obviously the Murderer 5: Deal 16 damage to an enemy. After it destroys two Mercs, it takes 80 damage.
• Equipment:
  • Trusty Sidekick 4: Battlecry: Summon a 12/30 Watfin (Beast) who Attacks enemies who damage your Murloc Holmes.
  • Paid Up Front 4: Battlecry: Gain +4/+4 and this Merc’s Abilities Refresh (1).
  • Suspect Everyone 4: Passive: After an enemy casts a 4, 5, or 6 Speed Ability, deal 8 damage to them.

Ysera (Legendary Fighter)

• Dragon – 8/84 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Verdant Breath 5: (Nature - Speed 5) Deal 12 damage to an enemy. Restore that much Health to another friendly Dragon.
  • Emerald Dream 5: (Nature - Speed 5, Cooldown 1) Choose a Dream card to cast.
    • Emerald Drake 5: (Dragon) 25/20. Rush.
    • Ysera Awakens 5: (Nature) Deal 20 damage to all enemies and 5 damage to all other friendly characters.
    • Nightmare 5: (Shadow) Give a character +30 Attack, at the end of each turn they take 20 damage.
  • Emerald Oracle 5: (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) Choose One:
    • Restore 20 Health to a character. Your Mercs’ abilities are (5) Speed faster this turn.
    • Restore 20 Health to a friendly Merc and return it to the bench.
• Equipment:
  • Ysera’s Vengeance 4: Verdant Breath deals 5 more damage.
  • Dream Infusion 4: Passive: After one of your characters dies, restore 7 Health to your Dragons.
  • Emerald Majesty 4: Ysera Awakens also restores 15 Health to this Merc.

Bwonsamdi (Epic Fighter)

• Troll – 3/89 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Soul Subjugation 5: (Shadow - Speed 9) Deal 28 damage. Deals 3 less damage for each time this was damaged this turn.
  • Irrefusable Offer 5: (Shadow - Speed 1) Choose one of Bwonsamdi’s Deals. Increase the Cooldown of this ability by 1.
    • Deal of Time: All abilities with initial Speeds of (5) or faster are (5) Speed slower next turn. All others are (5) Speed faster.
    • Deal of Vanity: Gain +5 Health. All enemy abilities this turn target this (if possible).
    • Deal of Fear: This takes no damage this turn. Return all Mercs to the Bench at the end of the turn.
  • Binding Contract 5: (Shadow - Speed 2, Cooldown 2) Deal 12 damage to an enemy. If this Merc dies this turn, deal 90 more.
• Equipment:
  • Arena Contender 4: Battlecry: This Merc’s abilities Refresh (2). Deathrattle: Your abilities Refresh (2).
  • New Client 4: Resurrect one of your Mercs that died this game, with 24 Health remaining.
  • Spirit of the Dead 4: Passive: After one of your characters dies, restore 7 Health to your Trolls.

Korrak the Bloodrager (Legendary Caster)

• Troll – 11/60 Maxed Stats
• Deathrattle: Destroy a random Minion. This Merc returns to life with their Health.
• Abilities:
  • Mounting Anger 5: (Speed 5) Gain +5 Attack this turn and Attack an enemy. (Increases by +3 after use).
  • Eat the Dead 5: (Speed 4) Gain +8 Health. Health gain increases by +8 each time a character dies. Resets after use.
  • Blood Rage 5: (Speed 6, Cooldown 2) Distribute 20 damage to random enemies. (Increased by this Merc’s missing Health).
• Equipment:
  • Winterax Strong 4: Mounting Anger increases by an additional +4 Attack after use.
  • Honor Bound 4: Eat the Dead only increases when a friendly character dies, but increases by an extra +12.
  • The Everliving 4: Blood Rage gains: “Deathblow: Restore 20 Health.”

Archimonde (Epic Caster)

• Demon – 10/86 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Finger of Death 5: (Fel - Speed 4) Deal 12 damage. Gain +3 Fel Damage.
  • Rain of Chaos 5: (Fel - Speed 6, Cooldown 1) Deal 18 to all enemies. Your Fel abilities are (3) Speed faster next turn.
  • Doomfire 5: (Fel - Speed 3, Cooldown 1) Give all enemies +5 Fel Weakness this turn. Deal 10 damage to them after they act.
• Equipment:
  • Edict of Argus 4: Doomfire’s Fel Weakness is permanent.
  • Archimonde’s Gold Coin 4: After a Demon dies, restore 10 Health to all friendly Demons.
  • The Infernal Codex 4: Finger of Death gains “Deathblow: Gain +4 Fel Damage.”

Prince Malchezaar (Rare Protector)

• Demon – 12/79 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Party Crasher 5: (Speed 3) Attack an enemy. If it is a Protector, it takes 10 more damage this turn.
  • Check Your Weapons 5: (Fel - Speed 5) Deal 18 damage to the highest Attack enemy. If it is a Fighter, its Attack is permanently halved, rounded up.
  • All Realities 5: (Shadow - Speed 3, Cooldown 2) Deal 25 damage to the next enemy who acts this turn. If it’s a Caster, set its remaining Health to 5, instead.
• Equipment:
  • Flying Axes 4: Passive: +15 Health. Battlecry: Change a random enemy Merc’s Role to Protector.
  • Parrying Blade 4: Battlecry: Permanently reduce enemy Protectors’ and Casters’ Attack by 10.
  • Three Moves Ahead 4: Passive: Enemy Casters’ Abilities are (2) Speed slower.

Neeru Fireblade (Rare Caster)

• Orc – 9/84 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Command Demon 5: (Fel - Speed 5) Summon a Wild Imp 5. Deal 10 damage to an enemy. Your Imps will target it this turn, if able.
    • Wild Imp 5: (Demon) 5/15. At the end of the turn, deal 12 Fel damage to a random enemy.
  • Burning Blade Portal 5: (Fel - Speed 5, Cooldown 2) At the end of your turn, fill your board with Wild Imps 5.
  • Imp-losion 5: (Fel - Speed 6, Cooldown 2) Destroy a friendly Imp. Deal 10 damage plus its Attack and Health to a random enemy 3 times.
• Equipment:
  • Jumbo Imps 4: Wild Imp has +15 Health.
  • Combustible Imps 4: Wild Imp has “Deathrattle: Deal 12 Fel damage to a random enemy.”
  • Demon Armor 4: Passive: Your Demons have “Immune while Attacking.”

Nemsy Necrofizzle (Rare Caster)

• Gnome – 9/70 Maxed Stats
• Battlecry: Summon a 10/25 Boggy Elemental with Taunt.
• Abilities:
  • Boggy Blast 5: (Nature - Speed 7) Deal 15 damage. Summon a 10/25 Boggy with Taunt. If you already have Boggy, give it +15 Health instead.
  • Erupting Fungus 5: (Nature - Speed 4) Choose a friendly character. After it survives damage this turn, it deals 18 damage to a random enemy.
  • Bogonomics 5: (Nature - Speed 3) Give a friendly character +5/+10 and Taunt. If you have Boggy, give it +5/+5.
• Equipment:
  • Bog Moss 4: Boggy gains “Adjacent characters take 7 less damage.”
  • Fishing Lure 4: Boggy gains +10 Health and “After this is attacked, Attack a random enemy.”
  • “Fresh” Peaches 4: Boggy gains “At the end of the turn, give your Taunt characters +12 Health.”

Garona Halforcen (Rare Fighter)

• Half-Orc – 10/84 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Smoke and Knives 5: (Shadow - Speed 8) Attack an enemy and deal 20 damage to an adjacent one. If this isn’t already a Fighter, become one and deal 26 instead.
  • Shimmering Toxin 5: (Nature – Speed 1) Gain +10 Attack. Take 12 less damage this turn. Become a Protector. (Starts off Cooldown)
  • One and the Same 5: (Cooldown 1) Discover a Lineage Ability. Combo: Become a Caster first.
    • Dev comment: When Abilities Discover an Ability, that includes the Discovered Ability’s Speed. A “Lineage Ability” is a selection from several classic Orc Abilities.
• Equipment:
  • Shadowstep 4: End of Turn: If you control another Merc, gain +4/+5 and return to the bench.
  • Halforcen Legacy 4: Battlecry: If you control another Orc, gain +3/+10. Repeat for Dranei and Human.
  • Knife of Indecision 4: Battlecry: Gain +15 Health and become Neutral.

Khadgar (Epic Caster)

• Human – 10/82 Maxed Stats
• At the end of the turn, if all three of your basic Abilities are upgraded, transform into Archmage Khadgar.
• Abilities:
  • Arcane Surge 5: (Arcane - Speed 6) Deal 16 damage. Upgrade Blizzard to Root all enemies.
  • Blizzard 5: (Frost - Speed 5, Cooldown 1) Deal 14 damage. Upgrade Hearthfire to grant +5 Attack.
  • Hearthfire 5: (Fire - Speed 2) Give your characters +12 Health. Upgrade Arcane Surge to be (2) Speed.
• Equipment:
  • Bakin’ Bacon 4: Start of Game: Upgrade Hearthfire. Khadgar gains +8 Health.
  • Bitter Chill 4: Start of Game: Upgrade Blizzard and it Refreshes (1).
  • Boon of Atiesh 4: Archmage Khadgar has an extra +3 Fire, Frost, and Arcane Damage.

Archmage Khadgar (Transformed Form)

• Human – 10/82 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Prismatic Bolt 5: (Speed 2) Deal 16 damage. Gain +1 Fire, Frost, and Arcane Damage.
  • Archmage Nova 5: (Speed 5, Cooldown 1) Cast all of Khadgar’s upgraded abilities.
  • Triune Supremacy 5: Discover one of Khadgar’s upgraded abilities.

Medivh (Legendary Protector)

• Human – 11/86 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Arcane Rift 5: (Arcane - Speed 5) Deal 12 damage. Your next Arcane ability this turn deals Critical Damage.
  • Mage Guard 5: (Arcane - Speed 3) Give a friendly character +15 Health and Taunt this turn. After it is Attacked this turn, it gains +3 Arcane Damage.
  • Summon Raven Familiar 5: (Speed 6, Cooldown 1) Summon a Raven Familiar with “Spell Resistance +10” and the “Birds of a Feather 5” Ability.
    • Raven Familiar: (Beast) 10/20. Spell Resistance +10.
      • Birds of a Feather 5: (Arcane - Speed 6) Deal 8 damage. (Increases by 5 when you use another Arcane ability.)
• Equipment:
  • Unstable Rune 4: Battlecry: Summon a 0/10 Arcane Ward with “Counter the first Ability used each turn.”
  • Medivh’s Locket 4: After you summon a minion, give it +4 Arcane Damage.
  • Staff of Atiesh 4: Start of Game: Give friendly Casters +5/+10.

Tess Greymane (Rare Protector)

• Human – 16/92 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Yoink! 5: (Shadow - Speed 4) Deal 15 damage. Transform into a one-time copy of the ability the target cast this turn. (if possible)
  • Moonlight Resolve! 5: (Arcane - Speed 3) Restore 25 Health. Transform into a one-time copy of the last enemy ability cast this turn. (if possible)
  • Princess Power! 5: (Cooldown 1) Discover an enemy ability. Cast 12 unique abilities this game to transform into What I’m Capable Of!
    • What I’m Capable Of!: Cast 5 random abilities you’ve cast this game at an enemy. (if possible)
• Equipment:
  • Cloak of Shadows 4: Yoink! And Moonlight Resolve! Transform permanently. Their initial effects are improved by 6.
  • Steadfast Convictions 4: Passive: +4/+8. After this deals damage to a Merc, gain Role advantage.
  • Tools of the Trade 4: Start of Game: Transform Yoink! and Moonlight Resolve! Into random single use enemy abilities. Gain +15 Health.

Genn Greymane (Epic Protector)

• Human – 12/89 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Blistering Bullet 5: (Fire - Speed 2) Deal 12 damage. Transform into a Worgen.
  • Spacemaker 5: (Fire - Speed 6) Deal 18 damage. Gain +3 Attack.
  • Beastly Beauty 5: (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) 15/20 Human. Taunt. Battlecry: Give your other Humans and Worgen +4/+6.
• Equipment:
  • Blood Moon 4: Battlecry: Gain +7 Attack. Transform into Genn’s Other Form.
  • Smooth Transformation 4: End of Turn: Transform into Genn’s Other Form and gain +8 Health.
  • Gilnean Strength 4: After one of your characters casts an even-Speed ability, restore 10 Health to them.

Genn Greymane (Worgen Form) (Fighter)

• Worgen – 12/89 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Moonlight Strike 5: Deal damage equal to this Merc’s attack. Transform into a Human.
  • Ankle Breaker 5: Attack an enemy. It’s (5) Speed slower while this is a Human.
  • Beautiful Beast 5: (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) 20/15 Worgen. Charge. Battlecry: Give your other Humans and Worgen +6/+4.

Aranna Starseeker (Rare Caster)

• Night Elf – 9/81 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Edge Cancel 5: (Speed 6) Gain +7 Attack this turn and Attack an enemy. If it has less Attack, return this to the bench.
  • Felodic Intonement 5: (Fel - Speed 9) Deal 22 damage to an enemy. Set its Attack to 0 until next turn.
  • Aggrobatics 5: (Fel - Speed 2, Cooldown 1) Deal 10 damage to an enemy and swap with an ally across from it. Enemy abilities targeting the Mercs swap targets (if possible).
• Equipment:
  • Unbreakable Backpack 4: Battlecry: Gain +2 Fel, Arcane, and Nature Damage. Gain +1 more for each of your other Night Elves and Demons.
  • Iambic Pentameter 4: Passive: Enemies across from this have -8 Attack.
  • Glaive Land 4: Battlecry: Gain +5 Health and Role advantage against this Merc’s current Role.

Merc Updates

Some existing mercs have been updated to incorporate the new Charge mechanic.

N’Zoth

• Spawn of N’Zoth 5
  • Old: Rush. Immune while Attacking.
  • New: Charge. Immune while Attacking.

Zar’jira, the Sea Witch

• Wavethrasher 5
  • Old: Rush. Passive: Has +10 Attack for each Frozen character.
  • New: Charge. Passive: Has +10 Attack for each Frozen character.

C’Thun

• Tentacle of C’Thun 5
  • Old: Rush. Whenever this attacks, give your C’Thun +5 Attack and Old Gods’ abilities Refresh (1).
  • New: Charge. Whenever this attacks, give your C’Thun +5 Attack and Old Gods’ abilities Refresh (1).
• Heart of C’Thun 4
  • Old: Summon a 5/15 Tentacle of C’Thun. It gains Taunt but loses Rush.
  • New: Summon a 5/15 Tentacle of C’Thun. It gains Taunt but loses Charge.

Warmaster Voone

• Evasive Wurm 5
  • Old: Divine Shield, Rush.
  • New: Divine Shield, Charge.

King Krush

• Devilsaur 5
  • Old: Rush.
  • New: Charge.

Old Murk-Eye

• Gigantfin
  • Old: Rush.
  • New: Charge.

New Zone and Bounties

We are welcoming the Darkmoon Troupe to Mercenaries in a brand-new Zone, spanning 11 new Bounties. We are also adding five new Bounties to the Felwood Zone, and 3 more new Bounties to the Blackrock Mountain Zone.

Duels Updates

• Maw and Disorder Mini-Set cards can now be used in building a starting deck.
• Card buckets were added and adjusted to incorporate Maw and Disorder Mini-Set cards.
• Sire Denathrius has been removed from all card buckets.

Arena Updates

On September 27, when Maw and Disorder 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
• Blackrock Mountain
• Kobolds & Catacombs
• Ashes of Outland
• Journey to Un'goro
• Rise of Shadows
• Murder at Castle Nathria (including Maw and Disorder Mini-Set)

Early Progression and Milestone Offer Updates

Apprentice (new player ranks) and low internal-rating players (colloquially called “MMR”) may now face up against AI opponents when playing on the ranked Standard ladder. This will help said players have a more fun experience while learning the game. Experienced players will not face these AI opponents, and they will have no impact on MMR, leaderboards, or legend ranks. Most players advance beyond the affected MMR range upon leaving Silver or Gold ranks.

Additionally, milestone shop offers are returning to celebrate Standard ladder progression in October. This time, some players will be offered Battle-Ready Decks as part of those offers. Upon reaching Bronze, those players will be offered a Battle-Ready Deck for their most-played class. Upon reaching Platinum, they will be offered a second Battle-Ready Deck for their second most-played class.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Necrolord Draka’s Maldraxxus Dagger now caps out at 10 mana.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where players could not play minions onto a full board, even if space was being cleared, until after animations and effects resolved.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where playing Gone Fishin’ with an empty deck did not draw a fatigue card.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where The Leviathan would sometimes summon a blank space instead of its appendage.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Deathborne did not summon a Volatile Skeleton if the minion went Dormant when killed.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Bibliomite revealed the card returned to its owner’s deck.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where if a card selected by a “Suspicious” card was transformed, opponents would be offered the new transformed card instead of the original card chosen.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug that resulted in a Flightmaster Dungar copied from an opponent getting extra effect activations.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where if the last minion to die was a Golden Summoned minion, Victim’s Specter would give a copy of that minion that granted a triple reward.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Reborn Rites persisted for an extra turn if the target was tripled by Victim’s Specter.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug that in certain edge cases could prevent minions from properly tripling.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a visual bug where Battlegrounds Rating did not appear correctly on mobile.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Training Session did not function properly with Sire Denathrius.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where the notification would not show when new Battlegrounds rewards were able to be claimed on the Battlegrounds Track.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed a bug where players were sometimes unable to edit their Party on mobile.
• [Solo Content] Fixed a bug that prevented players from entering certain solo content if they owned some portion of the solo content, but not all of it.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug in tracking the Flower Power achievement.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug causing the Journal notification to persist even if there were no notifications to clear.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

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.