Hearthstone

Patch 26.6, launching today, is a massive patch that brings a new Hearthstone Mode, sets up the return of Battlegrounds Quests, and heralds the coming of Hearthstone’s next expansion: TITANS!

Pre-Purchase TITANS

Get ready to meet your makers in Hearthstone’s next expansion, TITANS, coming August 1! In the beginning, massive titan world-souls shaped life on Azeroth. Now, they’re coming to shape Hearthstone! With mythical characters and out-of-this-world effects, this is the dawn of the age of the TITANS!

TITANS is bursting with primordial power and 145 new collectible cards. You can learn more in the TITANS Announcement Blog. Two pre-purchase options are available now so you can start forging decks as soon as the expansion launches.

Pre-purchase

Log in and Get the Prison of Yogg-Saron for Free!

Log in to Hearthstone now for your first taste of TITANS with the free Prison of Yogg-Saron Legendary Location card!* When the titans came to Azeroth, they found it infected by chaotic Old Gods, deeply embedded into the planet. The titan-forged armies defeated the Old Gods, but were unable to safely remove them. So, instead, they locked the Old Gods away in massive, enchanted prisons. Now, the Legendary Prison of Yogg-Saron, Hearthstone’s first-ever neutral Location, is yours to watch over—just beware of Yogg-Saron's creeping, chaotic influence.

* Limited one per account. After Patch 27.6, Prison of Yogg-Saron will be granted upon opening your first TITANS pack, instead of upon logging in.

Hearthstone’s Newest Mode: Twist

Patch 26.6 will kick off the Beta seasons of Hearthstone’s newest Mode, Twist! Twist will be replacing Classic. Like the other Hearthstone Modes, Twist is a constructed format where you build a deck and compete in a ranked ladder climb. But, unlike Standard and Wild, each Twist season has a special twist on the eligible card pools or rules! In Twist, you can replay all your old favorite cards, but see them in a whole new light.

The Twist Beta period will run during Patch 26.6. For that Beta period, the following sets will make up the eligible Twist card pool (but with no neutral cards):

• Core
• Demon Hunter Initiate
• Ashes of Outland
• Scholomance Academy
• Madness at the Darkmoon Faire
• Forged in the Barrens
• United in Stormwind
• Fractured in Alterac Valley
• Voyage to the Sunken City
• Murder at Castle Nathria
• March of the Lich King
• Path of Arthas
• Festival of Legends

Don’t worry if you don’t have cards from all those sets, we’ll be offering 6 Battle-Ready Decks specially created for this Twist format, such as Libram Paladin, Weapon Rogue, and Questline Druid! These decks are perfect for players who don’t have the cards for the format and just want to jump right into the fun. Each of these Battle-Ready decks will be offered in regular (3200 Gold or $19.99) and all-Golden (12000 Gold or $79.99) versions.

You can learn more about our current and upcoming plans for Twist in the official Twist announcement blog.

In-Game Event: Twist—New Age

To further celebrate the Twist Beta, we’re throwing a special in-game event. From July 3-July 11, you can complete Twist-based Event Quests to earn Event XP on the special event rewards track. Complete the rewards to earn six packs from Hearthstone’s New Age that you can use in the Twist Beta seasons, one from each of: Ashes of Outland, Scholomance Academy, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, Forged in the Barrens, Fractured in Alterac Valley, and United in Stormwind!

In-Game Event: Fire Festival Returns

The Fire Festival is back! From July 11-August 1, join the annual midsummer celebration with special Event Quests and prizes for both Traditional Hearthstone and Battlegrounds. Complete Event Quests to earn Event XP on the special event rewards track. Complete the rewards track to earn three Standard Packs, two March of the Lich King Packs, a Festival of Legends Pack, the Sparkhoarder Togwaggle Battlegrounds Hero Skin, and the Felblaze Illidan Demon Hunter skin.

Battlegrounds Updates

With Patch 26.6, Battlegrounds is getting the following updates to heroes and minions.

Hero Power Updates

Cariel (Conviction)

• [1 Gold] Give 2 friendly minions +1/+1. (After you upgrade the Tavern, choose an improvement!)
  • United Stance: For the rest of the game, ‘Conviction’ gives stats to an additional friendly minion.
  • Offensive Stance: For the rest of the game, ‘Conviction’ gives an additional +2 Attack.
  • Defensive Stance: For the rest of the game, ‘Conviction’ gives an additional +2 Health.
• Captain Fairmount
  • Choose One - For the rest of the game, ‘Conviction’ gives an additional +2 Attack; or +2 Health.
    • Dev Comment: This is a text-only change with no functionality update.

Dancin’ Deryl (Hat Trick)

• Passive. When you buy a minion, give it a +1/+1 Hat that passes to a friendly minion when sold.

Deathwing (ALL Will Burn!)

• Passive. Start of Combat: Give ALL minions +2 Attack permanently.

Death Speaker Blackthorn (Bloodbound)

• [1 Gold] Get 2 Blood Gems. (Twice per turn.)

Drek’Thar (Lead the Frostwolves)

• Passive. Avenge (2): Give your minions +1 Attack permanently.

Edwin VanCleef (Sharpen Blades)

• [1 Gold] Give a minion +1/+1. Upgrades after you buy 4 minions.

Illidan Stormrage (Wingmen)

• Passive. Start of Combat: Your left and right-most minions gain +2/+1 and attack immediately.

Ini Stormcoil (MechGyver)

• Passive. After 10 friendly minions die, get a random Mech.

King Mukla (Bananarama)

• Passive. At the start of your turn, get 2 Bananas and give everyone else one.

Kurtrus Ashfallen (Glaive Ricochet)

• Passive. Once per turn, after you buy 4 minions, Discover a plain copy of one of them.

Onyxia (Broodmother)

• Passive: Avenge (3): Summon a 3/1 Whelp. It attacks immediately.

Overlord Saurfang (For the Horde!)

• [1 Gold] Give a minion in the Tavern +2/+1. (Doubles every 3 turns!)

Queen Azshara (Azshara’s Ambition)

• Passive. When your warband reaches 25 total Attack, begin your Naga Conquest.

Queen Wagtoggle (Wax Warband)

• Passive. Start of Combat: Give a friendly minion of each type stats equal to their Tavern Tiers.

Rakanishu (Tavern Lighting)

• [1 Gold] Give a minion stats equal to your Tavern Tier.

Tamsin Roame (Fragrant Phylactery)

• [0 Gold] Start of Combat: Destroy your lowest Health minion. Give its stats to your other minions.

Tavish Stormpike (Deadeye)

• [0 Gold] Take aim! Start of Combat: Deal 2 damage to your target (Doubles every 3 turns!)

The Great Akazamzarak (Prestidigitation and Street Magician)

• Snake Trap and Avenge have been removed from the Secret Pool.
• Reckoning and Magic Black Soulstone have been added to the Secret Pool.
  • Reckoning: After an enemy minion deals 3 or more damage, destroy it.
  • Magic Black Soulstone: After your last minion dies, summon 2 random Demons.

Armor Updates

The following heroes have been adjusted to have less Armor*:

• Ini Stormcoil now has 5 Armor at lower levels of play, but still has 10 Armor at higher levels of play.
• Deathwing now has 8 Armor.
• Onyxia and Queen Wagtoggle now have 10 Armor at higher levels of play and 7 Armor at lower levels of play.
• Cariel Roame now has 10 Armor at higher levels of play and 8 Armor at lower levels of play.
• Death Speaker Blackthorn, Drek’Thar, Kurtrus Ashfallen, and Tamsin Roame now have 10 Armor.
• Edwin VanCleef and The Great Akazamzarak now have 11 Armor.
• Dancin’ Deryl, Queen Azshara, and Tavish Stormpike now have 12 Armor.
• Overlord Saurfang now has 13 Armor.
• King Mukla now has 14 Armor.
• Rakanishu now has 15 Armor.

*Dancin’ Deryl and King Mukla’s new Armor totals are less Armor than they previously had at higher levels of play, but more Armor than they previously had at lower levels of play.

New Minions

Hungry Snapjaw [Tier 2, Beast]

• 4 Attack, 2 Health. After you summon a Beast, gain +1 Health permanently.

Cogwork Copter [Tier 2, Mech]

• 2 Attack, 1 Health. Divine Shield. After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, give a minion in your hand +1/+1.

Annoy-o-Troupe [Tier 5, Mech]

• 3 Attack, 6 Health. Taunt. Divine Shield. Deathrattle: Summon three 1/2 Mechs with Taunt and Divine Shield.

Minion Pool Updates

The following minions have been removed from the minion pool:

• Icky Imp
• Pupbot
• Metaltooth Leaper
• Budding Greenthumb
• Patient Scout
• Leapfrogger
• Gem Smuggler
• Faceless Disciple
• Treasure-Seeker Elise
• Dr. Boombox
• Sinrunner Blanchy
• Omega Buster
• Kangor’s Apprentice

The following minions have been returned to the minion pool:

• Imprisoner
• Annoy-o-Tron
• Yrel
• Spawn of N’Zoth
• Gemsplitter
• Briny Bootlegger
• Qiraji Harbinger
• Witchwing Nestmatron
• Champion of Y’Shaarj
• Baby Krush
• Cyborg Drake
• Grease Bot

Minion Updates

Annoy-o-Tron [Tier 1, Mech]

• 1 Attack, 2 Health. Taunt, Divine Shield.

Champion of Y’Shaarj [Tier 4]

• 3 Attack, 3 Health. Whenever a friendly Taunt minion is attacked, gain +1/+2 permanently.

Murozond [Tier 5, Dragon]

• [Regular version] 5 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: Get a plain copy of a minion from your last opponent’s warband.
• [Golden version] 10 Attack, 10 Health. Battlecry: Get a plain copy of a minion from your last opponent’s warband twice.
• Dev Comment: The regular version is a text-only update with no functional change, but the Golden version is both a text change and a functional change (it now gives two minions instead of one Golden minion).

Grease Bot [Tier 6, Mech]

• Divine Shield. After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, give it +2/+2 permanently.

Quests are Returning to Battlegrounds!

That’s not all the updates for Battlegrounds. On July 11, Battlegrounds Quests are returning to Battlegrounds! Just as before, Quest-Reward options will appear on turn 4 (the 6 Gold turn) for you to choose how you want to play out the rest of your match! We have a few updates to Quests and Rewards this time around, so watch for more details coming soon.

New Product: Epic Bartenders

We’re continuing to expand our Battlegrounds offerings this patch with new Epic Bartenders. Epic Bartenders include alternate portraits and new voice lines, like Rare Bartenders, but also have a Golden frame and Golden-style animation on their portraits! Get the first ever Epic Bartender, Lillian Singh, available in the shop now.

Special Community Day Event!

This weekend, July 1-July 2, we’ll be hosting a special Community Day to celebrate the new Twist Beta and the upcoming launch of TITANS! By participating in Community Day, you can earn 11 free packs within 24 hours! From July 1, 12:00 p.m. (PDT) to July 2, 11:59 a.m. (PDT), earn six drops, each for watching 1 hour of any Hearthstone stream.

• First hour: 1 Ashes of Outland Pack + 1 Scholomance Academy Pack
• Second hour: 1 Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Pack + 1 Forged in the Barrens Pack
• Third hour: 1 United in Stormwind Pack + 1 Fractured in Alterac Valley Pack
• Fourth hour: 1 Voyage to the Sunken City Pack + 1 Murder at Castle Nathria Pack
• Fifth hour: 1 March of the Lich King Pack + 1 Festival of Legends Pack
• Sixth hour: 1 TITANS Pack

Tune in to your favorite streamers and join them for this massive celebration of Hearthstone’s past and future! Make sure you link your Twitch and Battle.net accounts so that your viewing time counts towards drops.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [General] We’ve moved Tavern Brawl to the main menu and moved Mercenaries to the Modes button. Tavern Brawl, Mercenaries, and all other Modes are now unlocked by unlocking all Hearthstone classes.
• [General] Improved new player flow.
• [General] Fixed a bug where players could not adjust screen resolution.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where stealing Fizzle’s Snapshot from your opponent’s deck did not give any cards when played.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where triple-Rune cards were sometimes offered in Discover effects.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug on mobile where the deck selection screen would remain blurry after a match.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where cards destroyed from your opponent’s deck would show as coming and being destroyed from yours.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where JIVE, INSECT! would sometimes not transform the art of the card it targeted.
• [Battlegrounds] Bassgill can no longer summon Ambassador Faelin’s locked minions.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Ambassador Faelin’s locked minions could be made playable when becoming Goldenized by Upbeat Impressionist.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Golden Octasari, Wrap God’s Deathrattle would not trigger correctly with Titus Rivendare.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Vaelastrasz (Alexstrasza’s Buddy) did not always give you a Dragon of your Tavern Tier.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where “All”-type minions added to Cookie, the Cook’s pot could result in no-type minions being offered in the Discover options. Cookie’s now gotten better training on following dietary restrictions.
• [Solo Content] Fixed a bug where defeating The Lich King in the Icecrown Solo Adventure would cause the game to lock on some devices.
• [Features] Fixed a bug where the iOS keyboard would appear and block the ability to share a deck code with a friend on mobile.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where total win counts would not update unless the client was restarted.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed Frostmonger Sai and Crimson Knight Sai text emotes and voicelines.
• [Shop] Added a confirmation window for shop purchases made with Gold (to avoid accidental just-a-buys).
• Misc. other performance updates, game improvements, and bug fixes.

Patch 26.4.3 is a data-only patch, launching today, that includes the following updates.

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: The meta is in a pretty healthy place right now and a lot of players seem to be enjoying the post mini-set meta, so we’re not trying to be too disruptive with this round of changes. We’re making some smaller adjustments to tone down a few emerging meta outliers and to give a little more power to some of the mini-set cards that have not gotten much attention.

The following cards have been adjusted to be less powerful:

The Purator

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Disco Maul

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

Feast and Famine

• Old: [1 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Dev Comment: Pure Paladin has been a strong deck for a while now. After this latest patch, we saw a jump in the deck’s power to the point where it is now a dominant power outlier at all levels of play. Purator is the best card in the best deck, by every measure, so it was an easy target for change. We expect it to still see play after getting toned down a little. Disco Maul has been a card we’ve had our eyes on for a while, and this felt like the appropriate time to act on it. Finally, we’ve seen a lot of power come from the Horn of the Windlord – Feast and Famine combo, but we can see that Horn of the Windlord isn’t a problem in Shaman, so we’re adjusting the other half of the combo to make it a little slower overall and less flexible on non-combo turns.

Lady S’Theno

• Old: 2 Attack, 4 Health
• New: 1 Attack, 4 Health

Dev Comment: There’s been a growing negative sentiment about Spell Demon Hunter, especially at the top levels of play, and particularly with the class closing out games in the same way for a long time. There were a few choices for us on which card(s) to adjust, but Lady S’Theno seemed like the best target to have the biggest impact on play experience and player sentiment.

Hope of Quel’Thalas

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

Dev Comment: Big Hunter has emerged as another power outlier after the mini-set additions of Hollow Hound and Star Power. We think the deck is fun and cool, and we want to see players continue to enjoy it, but we also don’t want it to become too powerful after the other adjustments this patch, so this is a small preemptive adjustment to shave a little bit of its power.

Pozzik, Audio Engineer

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

Dev Comment: Statistically, Pozzik is the highest winrate neutral legendary in the game and has been criminally underplayed. As we saw more and more decks trying the card, it became clear it could use a little nudge.

Crimson Clergy

• Now banned in Wild.

Dev Comment: Crimson Clergy is a key enabler in a combo deck with play patterns beyond what we want for the format.

The above craftable cards will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks following Patch 26.4.3 (there is both an uncraftable version of Crimson Clergy that all players have for free as part of the Core Set, which can’t be disenchanted, and a version of Crimson Clergy in the Legacy Set that can be crafted or disenchanted).

The following cards have been adjusted to be more powerful:

Dev Comment: These mini-set cards were the ones that had the most room for adjustment.

Rhythmdancer Risa

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Fiddlefire Imp

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

Remixed Dispense-o-bot

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

Battlegrounds Updates

Hero Updates

Aranna Starseeker (Hero Power – Demon Hunter Training)

• Old: [Passive] After you Refresh 5 times, Bob always has 7 minions.
• New: [Passive] After 16 friendly minions attack, the first minion you buy every turn is free.

The Curator (Hero Power – Menagerist)

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

E.T.C., Band Manager (Buddy - Talent Scout)

• Old: [Tier 3]
• New: [Tier 5]
• Dev Comment: E.T.C.’s hero power, Sign a New Artist, respects that Tavern Tier you’re currently at, so raising Talent Scout’s Tier means that it can’t be Discovered until later in the game.

Armor Updates

Aranna Starseeker and The Curator now have 10 Armor.

Minion Updates

Flourishing Frostling

• Old: 0 Attack, 5 Health
• New: 0 Attack, 6 Health

Humming Bird

• Old: 0 Attack, 3 Health
• New: 0 Attack, 5 Health

Eternal Knight

• Old: 3 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 4 Attack, 1 Health

Scarlet Skull

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

Soul Rewinder

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

Radio Star

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

Accord-o-Tron

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

Prickly Piper

• Old: [Tier 4] 6 Attack, 3 Health
• New: [Tier 3] 5 Attack, 2 Health

Handless Forsaken

• Old: [Tier 4] 2 Attack, 3 Health. Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Hand with Reborn.
• New: [Tier 3] 2 Attack, 1 Health. Deathrattle: Summon a 2/1 Hand with Reborn.

Rylak Metalhead

• Old: [Tier 3]
• New: [Tier 4]

Malchezaar, Prince of Dance

• Old: [Tier 3] 5 Attack, 2 Health
• New: [Tier 4] 6 Attack, 3 Health

Scrap Scraper

• Old: 3 Attack, 6 Health. Avenge (4): Get a random Magnetic mech.
• New: 3 Attack, 7 Health. At the end of your turn get a random Magnetic Mech.

Xylo-bones

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

Upbeat Duo

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

Utility Drone

• Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health
• New: 6 Attack, 7 Health

Bongo Bopper

• Old: 5 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, get 1 Blood Gem and play 2 more on this.
• New: 6 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, get 2 Blood Gems and play 2 more on this.

Bristleback Knight

• Old: 5 Attack, 8 Health
• New: 6 Attack, 9 Health

Gusty Trumpeter

• Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health
• New: 6 Attack, 7 Health

Lightfang Enforcer

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

Polarizing Beatboxer

• Old: 3 Attack, 7 Health
• New: 5 Attack, 10 Health

Sister Deathwhisper

• Old: 4 Attack, 9 Health. After a friendly minion is Reborn, give your Undead +1/+2 permanently.
• New: 4 Attack, 10 Health. After a friendly minion is Reborn, give your Undead +1/+3 permanently.

Fleet Admiral Tethys

• Old: After you spend 8 Gold, get another random Pirate.
• New: After you spend 9 Gold, get another random Pirate.

Eternal Summoner

• Old: 6 Attack, 1 Health
• New: 8 Attack, 1 Health

Young Murk-Eye

• Old: 7 Attack, 4 Health
• New: 9 Health, 6 Health

Minion Pool Updates

• Incorporeal Corporal has been removed from the minion pool.
• Rot Hide Gnoll has been returned to the minion pool.

Duels Updates

Hero Power Updates

Arcane Craftiness

• Old: Fire two missiles at random enemies that each deal 1 damage. If any minion dies, repeat this.
• New: Fire two missiles at random enemy minions that each deal 1 damage. If any minion dies, repeat this.

Roguish Maneuvers:

• Old: [1 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Dino Tracking

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

Signature Treasure Updates

Demonizer

• Old: [4 Mana] 4 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Add 1 Demon to your hand. It costs (3) less. (Improves during run)
• New: [5 Mana] 4 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Add 1 Demon to your hand. It costs (2) less. (Improves during run)

Chaos Storm

• Old: [1 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Spiked Arms:

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Passive Treasure Updates

Staking a Claim

• Old: After you play your first Discover card in a turn, all friendly minions gain +1/+1.
• New: After you play your first Discover card in a turn, all friendly minions gain +1 Attack.

Beckoning Bicorn

• Old: After you play your first Pirate each turn, summon a Patches the Pirate.
• New: After you play your first Pirate each turn, add a Patches the Pirate to your deck.

Wither the Weak

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

Corrupted Felstone

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

Legendary Loot

• Old: On your first turn, Discover a Legendary weapon and equip it.
• New: On your first turn, Discover a Legendary weapon. It costs (3) less.

Ring of Phaseshifting

• Old: After you play a Legendary minion, add a random Legendary minion to your hand.
• New: After you play a Legendary minion, add a random Legendary minion to your hand. It costs (1) less.

Blood Shields

• Old: After the first time you spend a Corpse in a turn, gain 1 Health.
• New: After the first time you spend a Corpse in a turn, gain 2 Health.

Starving

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

Elixir of Vigor

• Old: After you play a minion, shuffle two copies of it into your deck. They cost (3).
• New: After you play a minion, shuffle two copies of it into your deck. They cost (2).

Ring of Black Ice

• Old: Whenever a minion is Frozen, add a copy of it to your hand. It costs (1) less.
• New: Whenever a minion is Frozen, add a copy of it to your hand. It costs (2) less.

Imp-credible Trousers

• Old: After you cast a Fel spell, shuffle 2 Fel Rifts into your deck.
• New: After you cast your first Fel spell in a turn, shuffle 2 Fel Rifts into your deck. Draw a card.

Dragonbone Ritual

• Old: After you play a Dragon, give it Deathrattle: Go dormant. Revive in two turns.
• New: After you play a Dragon, give it Deathrattle: Go dormant. Revive in two turns. When this awakens, give it +1 Attack.

All Shall Serve

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

Card and Treasure Pool Updates

• Kingsbane has been banned from deckbuilding and all card pools.
• Spectral Cutlass has been banned from deckbuilding and all card pools.
• Heavy Armor has been removed from all treasure pools.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Fixed misc. localization issues.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug where the All Shall Serve Treasure also triggered on enemy minion deaths.
• [Duels] Updated the wording on the Journey to the East Signature Treasure to better reflect its effect; no functional change.

Patch 26.4 brings the Audiopocalypse Mini-Set, Diablo appearances across game modes, and more!

The Audiopocalypse is Upon Us!

The Festival of Legends has rocked on, and on, and on. The local Grimtotem Tauren have grown tired of the racket! Now they and their leader, Magatha, have come to not just shut down the show, but to snuff out all music on Azeroth! The fate of music is in your hands.

Dual-class cards, Remixed cards, and E.T.C. himself are on the setlist for this Mini-Set of 38 all-new cards to add to your collection. Get them in Festival of Legends packs, or as a complete 72-card* Mini-Set. Get the normal version in-game for $14.99 or 2000 Gold, or get the all-Golden version for $69.99 or 10,000 Gold. The all-Golden version also comes with a bonus Diamond copy of the Magatha, Bane of Music Legendary minion!

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

Special Event – Epic Duels of Rock Legends

You’ve been challenged to an Epic Rock Duel! Will you step up to the stage? From June 6 to June 20, complete Event Quests to earn Event XP on a special event rewards track. Complete the rewards track for one Standard Pack, one March of the Lich King Pack, and one Festival of Legends Packs!

Special Returning Tavern Brawl: The Dark Wanderer

On June 7 and June 14, we’re bringing back a special Diablo-themed Tavern Brawl! Face off against the mysterious Dark Wanderer in this epic boss battle where progression is saved after a loss and the stakes are raised each fight!* The first time you Defeat Diablo, you’ll earn a special Lilith card back!

*Progression is saved within each week’s Tavern Brawl, not across both weeks. This is one Tavern Brawl run twice in a row, not a 2-week long Tavern Brawl. Your first time defeating Diablo each week will grant you one Standard Pack.

New Tavern Brawl: Battle of the Bands

On June 21, with a second encore performance on June 28, we’re running a new, special dungeon-run style Tavern Brawl! You play as a fan turned musician, trying to win their way onto the main stage! Face off against 7 randomized musical acts on your way to the final battle against E.T.C. himself.

Each week, you get one Standard pack for your first win and one Festival of Legends pack for your first full clear.

Battlegrounds Updates

New Heroes

Inge, the Iron Hymn (15 Armor)

• Major Hymn
  • [0 Gold] Give a minion Attack equal to your Tavern Tier. (Swaps to Health next turn!)
• Minor Hymn
  • [0 Gold] Give a minion Health equal to your Tavern Tier. (Swaps to Attack next turn!)

Cap’n Hoggarr (10 Armor)

• I’m the Cap’n Now
  • [Passive] After you buy a Pirate, gain 1 Gold.

Updated: Inge, the Iron Hymn will be guaranteed in every game for the first 2 weeks after launch. Cap'n Hoggarr will be guaranteed in every Pirates game for the first 2 weeks after launch.

Diablo Returns!

The lord of terror is back for a limited time! From June 5-7, Diablo will be available in every game, before he is removed from the hero pool once again.

Diablo (10 Armor)

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

New Epic Emotes!

Battlegrounds Emotes are getting even more emotive. Introducing new Battlegrounds Epic Emotes! Epic Emotes are animated emotes that can be equipped in place of your base Battlegrounds emotes.

Duels Updates

Hero Updates

Diablo has returned to Duels for a limited time! Diablo’s back and more menacing than ever! Diablo has all his original Hero Powers and Signature Treasures, fully unlocked. He also has one new Signature Treasure:

Journey to the East

• [1 Mana Spell] Quest: Take 25 damage on your turns. Reward: Transform into Uber Diablo.

Uber Diablo

• [6 Mana Hero Card, 6 Armor] Battlecry: Deal 6 damage to ALL enemies. Shuffle an Uber Apocalypse into your deck. Draw 3 cards.
• Hero Power: [3 Mana] Gain 3 Attack this turn. Gain 3 Armor.

Uber Apocalypse

• [10 Mana Fire Spell] Destroy all minions. Enemy characters take double damage for the rest of the game.

New Active Treasure

The Stone of Jordan [Pool 1]

• [3 Mana Spell] Gain +2 Attack this turn only. Draw 2 cards and give any spells drawn Spell Damage +1.

New Arena Season

On May 31, when the Audiopocalypse begins, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Core
• Voyage to the Sunken City
• Murder at Castle Nathria
• March of the Lich King
• Path of Arthas
• Festival of Legends (including the new Audiopocalypse Mini-Set)

Bug Fixes & Game Improvements

• [General] Hover-over text now dynamically updates in real time, instead of requiring an un-hover and re-hover to update.
• [Hearthstone] Added to and improved Signature card tooltips.
• [Hearthstone] Photographer Fizzle’s Snapshot will now grant cards when recast by cards like Grand Magister Rommath.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Tony, King of Piracy shuffled decks when swapping them. He’s a pirate, not a magician.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where a minion granted Masked Reveler’s Deathrattle would check for “not Masked Reveler” instead of “not this minion.”
• [Battlegrounds] Lord Barov has been temporarily removed from the Hero Pool due to a bug; he will be returned to the Hero Pool in an upcoming hotfix patch.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Elemental of Surprise would sometimes be a little too surprising, by triggering a triple at a time when the triple effect is supposed to be suppressed until the next shop phase.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where certain Strikes did not have preview videos.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug blocking loaner deck grants for some new/returning players.
• [Progression] Improved display of rewards, including class progression and monthly ranked rewards.
• [Achievements] Diamond Zephrys the Great has been returned to his spot in the Achievements and is ready to offer you the perfect Boulderfist Ogre.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug where the “Friend of a Friend” achievement did not track.
• [Achievements] Updated Mercenaries Achievements that could no longer be completed after Mode updates.
• [Shop] Time for an adventure! All old Hearthstone Adventures are now available in the in-game Shop for Gold.

Patch 26.2.2, launching today, includes the following bug fixes and updates to Hearthstone, Battlegrounds, and Duels.

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: Overall, the meta is in a pretty good spot right now, with lots of competitive options for players across almost every class. This is our opportunity to some adjustments that hit a few power outliers and play experience outliers. We’re also including a few buffs that we hope will give players a few more neutral options and open up some space for the weaker classes.

The following cards have been adjusted to be less powerful:

Sinful Brand

• Old: Brand an enemy minion. Whenever it takes damage, deal 2 damage to the enemy hero.
• New: Brand an enemy minion. Whenever it takes damage, deal 1 damage to the enemy hero.
• Dev Comment: Demon Hunter is one of the few power outliers in this meta, with several competitive archetypes. Sinful Brand Spell Demon Hunter is a standout within that class in both power and negative play experiences. This change is intended to significantly reduce the power and prevalence of that card.

Felscale Evoker

• Old: 5 Attack
• New: 3 Attack
• Dev Comment: This is a standout card in the newly emergent Big Demon Hunter archetype. Its powerful effect makes it one of the strongest cards in the deck. It doesn’t also need to be a threat in its own right. We think it’s really cool that Big Demon Hunter has finally become a competitive archetype, and we expect that the archetype will continue to see play after this slight adjustment.

Predation

• Old: [3 Mana] Deal 3 damage. Costs 0 if you played a Naga while holding this.
• New: [2 Mana] Deal 2 damage. Costs 0 if you played a Naga while holding this.
• Dev Comment: The Lady S’Theno-Predation combo has been used across many Demon Hunter decks for a long time. This change is intended to be a smaller adjustment across the entire class.

Battlefield Necromancer

• Old: 3 Health
• New: 2 Health

Blightfang

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]
• Dev Comment: Both these Death Knight cards were buffed last expansion, which was necessary when the class was struggling. However, our current balance philosophy is that balance changes are fluid adjustments over time, not decisions set in stone. Unholy Death Knight is now the strongest deck on the ladder, so it needs to be toned back down. We’re not reverting the prior buffs, but trying different adjustments to weaken it slightly, particularly in its matchup versus other aggro decks, where the deck is disproportionately powerful.

High Cultist Basaleph

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]
• Dev Comment: Aggro Priest is in a good spot right now at all levels of play, but especially at lower levels. This reversion of a prior buff is intended to be a small adjustment to put it back in line with other decks. We expect this deck, and this card in it, to remain competitive.

Anub’Rekhan

• Old: Battlecry: Gain 8 Armor. Your next 3 minions this turn cost Armor instead of Mana.
• New: Battlecry: Gain 5 Armor. Your next 3 minions this turn cost Armor instead of Mana.
• Dev Comment: Anub’Rekhan allows for a notably negative play experience that warps the meta around it. This change does not prevent Druid players from making their big flashy plays, but it does mean that more setup is now required. We expect this to mean fans of the deck can still play it, but its overall power, playrate, and influence on the meta will lessen.

Scribbling Stenographer

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]
• Dev Comment: Miracle Rogue is not a power outlier at most levels of play, but it remains strong and prevalent at higher levels of play. This is a minor adjustment to reflect its current power level and its potential power level after the adjustments to the other cards changed in this patch.

The above craftable cards will be eligible for full a full dust refund for two weeks following Patch 26.2.2.

The following cards have been adjusted to be more powerful:

Symphony of Sins

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]
• Dev Comment: Players really love playing this card, but it is not very powerful. This change is to make it a little more palatable to play this exciting card.

From the Depths

• Old: [4 Mana] Reduce the Cost of the bottom five cards in your deck by (3), then Dredge.
• New: [3 Mana] Reduce the Cost of the bottom five cards in your deck by (2), then Dredge.
• Dev Comment: Warrior has gotten more options, more power, and more play after our recent adjustments, but players still hunger for a slower Warrior. We’re making this adjustment to a proven powerful card that we expect will see play again after this change.

Chorus Riff

• Old: Draw a minion. Give it +2/+2. Finale: Play your last Riff.
• New: Draw a minion. Give it +3/+3. Finale: Play your last Riff.
• Dev Comment: We recently made a few adjustments to the Riff package, and those adjustments were successful in raising the playrate and power of the Riffs package. But now Chorus Riff is the weakest of the Riffs, and all the Riffs need to be good for the package to be good. This is a slight nudge to make that whole package a little stronger.

Demolition Renovator

• Old: Battlecry: Destroy an enemy location.
• New: Tradeable Battlecry: Destroy an enemy location.

Rotten Applebaum:

• Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health. Taunt Deathrattle: Restore 4 Health to your hero.
• New: 4 Attack, 6 Health. Taunt Deathrattle: Restore 6 Health to your hero.
• Dev Comment: Demolition Renovator has never seen much play, so we wanted to make it feel a little better as a tech card option. Rotten Applebaum is getting a decent buff to add an option for slower decks that want to target aggressive strategies.

Pandaren Importer

• Old: [3 Mana] 2Attack, 4 Health
• New: [2 Mana] 1 Attack, 3Health
• Dev Comment: Pandaren Importer was previously adjusted due to an unintended play pattern that was made possible by the smaller card pool in Standard. Now that it is in Wild, that concern no longer exists and the prior change can be reverted.

Battlegrounds Updates

Armor Updates

• Master Nguyen’s Armor was reduced to 8.
• E.T.C., Band Manager’s Armor was reduced to 10.
• Patches the Pirate’s Armor was reduced to 10 in higher ranked lobbies; it is still 5 in lower ranked lobbies.

Hero Updates

E.T.C., Band Manager (Sign a New Artist)

• Old: [4 Gold]
• New: [3 Gold]

Minion Updates

Upbeat Frontdrake

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

Low-Flier

• Old: At the end of your turn, give +2 Attack to your minions with less Attack than this.
• New: At the end of your turn, give +1 Attack to your minions with less Attack than this.

Reef Riffer

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

Molten Rock

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

Flourishing Frostling

• Old: 0 Attack, 4 Health
• New: 0 Attack, 5 Health

Scourfin

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

Radio Star

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

Pufferquil

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

Banana Slamma

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

Upbeat Duo

• Old: 4 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: Choose a minion. At the end of every 2 turns, this gives you a plain copy.
• New: 4 Attack, 4 Health. At the end of every 2 turns, get a plain copy of the minion to the left of this.

Reanimating Rattler

• Old: 5 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Give a friendly Beast Reborn.
• New: 4 Attack, 3 Health. At the end of your turn, give another friendly Beast Reborn.

Dev Comment: This change to Reanimating Rattler was not made for power level reasons, but to avoid an unintended interaction with Rylak Metalhead and Monstrous Macaw.

Peggy Sturdybone

• Old: 6 Attack, 5 Health
• New: 4 Attack, 2 Health

Dancing Barnstormer

• Old: 4 Attack, 2 Health. Deathrattle: Elementals in Bob’s Tavern have +2/+2 for the rest of the game.
• New: 3 Attack, 2 Health. Deathrattle: Elementals in Bob’s Tavern have +3/+2 for the rest of the game.

Electric Synthesizer

• Old: [Tavern Tier 5] Battlecry: Give your other Dragons +4 Attack.
• New: [Tavern Tier 4] Battlecry: Give your other Dragons +3 Attack.

General Drakkisath

• Old: [Tavern Tier 4]
• New: [Tavern Tier 5]

Underhand Dealer

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

Mama Bear

• Old: 5 Attack, 5 Health. Whenever you summon a Beast, give it +5/+5.
• New: 4 Attack, 4 Health. Whenever you summon a Beast, give it +4/+4.

Record Smuggler

• Old: 7 Attack, 6 Health
• New: 5 Attack, 4 Health

Gusty Trumpeter

• Old: After you sell 6 Elementals, get another random Elemental.
• New: After you sell 5 Elementals, get another random Elemental.

Kalecgos, Arcane Aspect

• Old: 4 Attack, 12 Health
• New: 2 Attack, 10 Health

Nadina the Red

• Old: 7 Attack, 4 Health. Deathrattle: Give your Dragons Divine Shield.
• New: 8 Attack, 4 Health. Deathrattle: Give 3 friendly Dragons Divine Shield.

Rock Rock

• Old: After you play an Elemental, give your minions +1 Attack. (Swaps to Health next turn.)
• New: After you play an Elemental, give your other minions +2 Attack. (Swaps to Health next turn.)

Zapp Slywick

• Old: 7 Attack, 10 Health
• New: 8 Attack, 16 Health

Minion Pool Changes

• Monstrous Macaw has been returned to the minion pool.
• Sin’dorei Straight Shot is now available in all lobbies (not just Undead lobbies).

Duels Updates

Hero Power Updates

Promote

• Old: [1 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Harvest Time

• Old: Destroy a minion, then summon two 2/2 Treants for that minion’s owner.
• New: Destroy a minion, then summon two 1/1 Saplings for that minion’s owner.

Mind Tether

• Old: [Passive] After you cast a spell, deal 1 damage to the enemy hero.
• New: [1 Mana] After each spell you cast this turn, deal 1 damage to the enemy hero.

Dino Tracking

• Old: Discover a card from your deck.
• New: Discover a Beast.

Signature Treasure Updates

Nerubian Peddler

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Spiked Arms

• Old: 3 Attack, 3 Durability
• New: 1 Attack, 3 Durability

Royal Greatsword

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]

Infinite Arcane

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [9 Mana]

Passive Treasure Updates

Staking a Claim

• Old: Whenever you play a Discover card, all friendly minions gain +1/+1.
• New: After you play your first Discover card each turn, all friendly minions get +1/+1.

The Floor is Lava

• Old: After you play a minion, deal 1 damage to it and give it +2 Attack.
• New: After you play your first minion each turn, deal 1 damage to it and give it +2 Attack.

Dragonblood

• Old: After a friendly Dragon dies, give two minions in your hand +1/+1.
• New: After the first time a friendly Dragon dies each turn, give minions in your hand +1/+1.

Dragon Affinity

• Unbanned and moved to Pool 1.
• Old: Your Dragons cost (2) less.
• New: The first Dragon you play each turn costs (1) less.

Glacial Downpour

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

Flames of the Kirin Tor

• Old: After you cast your first Fire spell in a turn, add a random Fire spell to your hand.
• New: After you cast your first Fire spell in a turn, add a random non-Legendary Fire spell from your class to your hand.

Unholy Gift

• Old: At the start of the game, shuffle 5 Lich King cards into your deck.
• New: At the start of the game, shuffle 8 Lich King cards into your deck.

Ring of Black Ice

• Old: Whenever a minion is Frozen, add a copy of it to your hand.
• New: Whenever a minion is Frozen, add a copy of it to your hand. It costs (1) less.

All Shall Serve

• Old: Whenever a Demon dies, draw a card.
• New: After the first time a friendly Demon dies in a turn, draw a minion from your deck.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Moved Heroic Tavern Brawl to next week, to allow time for players to first adjust to the new balance changes.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug where the original version of Tour Guide was banned in all card pools, but the new Core Set version was not.

Patch 26.2 launches Battlegrounds Season 4, where E.T.C.’s taking an exciting new show to Bob’s Tavern!

Battlegrounds Season 4 is Here

Are you ready to put the “band” in your warband?! Battlegrounds Season 4 is headlined by the new Rock Master Voone Hero, the new Venomous keyword, and a massive minion remix to Battlegrounds!

General Updates

• On May 9, Battlegrounds Season 3 will end and Season 4 will begin. That means rankings will reset, Battlegrounds Buddies will be removed, minion pools will update, and the Battlegrounds Track will switch over. All rewards that were earned from the Season 3 Track, but not yet claimed, will automatically be claimed.
• Minion types will be rolled out in phases for Season 4. On May 9, only six types will be eligible in all games: Beasts, Murlocs, Dragons, Elementals, Naga, and Undead. On May 11, Pirates will be added to the pool of eligible types. On May 15, Demons will be added to the pool of eligible types. Finally, on May 22, Quilboar and Mechs will be added to the pool of eligible types.

New Hero

Rock Master Voone

• Upbeat Harmony
  • Passive. At the end of every 3 turns, get a plain copy of the left-most card in your hand.

Rock Master Voone will be available in all lobbies for two weeks after Patch 26.2.

Hero Updates

Lady Vashj (Relics of the Deep)

• Old: Discover a Spellcraft spell of your Tier or lower. Passive: Your first one each turn is permanent.
• New: Discover a Spellcraft spell of your Tier or lower. Its effect is permanent.

Lich Baz’hial (Graveyard Shift)

• Old: [0 Gold] Take 4 damage. Gain 2 Gold.
• New: [1 Gold] Steal a minion in Bob’s Tavern. Take damage equal to its Tavern Tier.

Shudderwock

• No longer banned in Beast lobbies.

N’Zoth

• No longer banned in any lobbies.

Mutanus

• Now banned in Naga lobbies.

Vol’jin

• Now banned in Naga lobbies.

Updated Armor Tiers

All Armor Tiers at the launch of Patch 26.2 will be as follows:

Patch 26.0.4 is a data-only patch that includes bug fixes and balance updates to Standard, Wild, Battlegrounds, and Duels!

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: Overall, we’re pretty happy with meta diversity and power in Standard right now. There are a few outliers that we’re looking to reign in with this patch, but the bigger focus is on raising the power level of some of the new Festival of Legends cards and archetypes, so that they can compete with the stronger stuff and people can feel better about trying out these fun new strategies.

System Update

All Death Knight cards with any three-rune requirements (Frost-Frost-Frost, Blood-Frost-Unholy, etc.) are now removed from all Discover pools and random generation effects.

Dev Comment: Death Knight is very strong as a class right now, and this change weakens the class across the board. We’ve also received a lot of feedback that one of the more frustrating parts of playing against Death Knights is when they are able to generate additional copies of their powerful triple-rune cards—particularly when the card is one the deck didn’t have access to in deckbuilding.

Card Updates

The following cards have been adjusted to be less powerful:

Rowdy Fan

• Old: Battlecry: Choose a minion. It has +4 Attack while this is alive.
• New: Battlecry: Choose a minion. It has +3 Attack while this is alive.
• Dev Comment: Rowdy fan has gotten a lot of attention in combination with Lady S’Theno, a powerful combo at high levels of play. But even outside of that combo, it’s a card that is just a bit too efficient at its rate in a wide variety of decks.

Overseer Frigidara

• Old: 5 Attack, 6 Health
• New: 3 Attack, 6 Health
• Dev Comment: Death Knight has several strong decks, and Frost Death Knight stands out as the strongest of the bunch. We wanted to shave a bit more power off it by bringing one of its best cards more in line with the rest of the deck.

Twig of the World Tree

• Old: Deathrattle: Gain 10 Mana Crystals.
• New: Deathrattle: Refresh your Mana Crystals.
• Dev Comment: Twig of the World Tree is the best card in a really good deck leading to some frustrating play experiences in Wild right now. The interaction between Twig of the World Tree and Sphere of Sapience didn’t exist when Twig was first printed, so this change is to curb this card’s power level and bring it back closer to the original play pattern.

Rowdy Fan and Twig of the World Tree will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 26.0.4. Overseer Frigidara is a Core Set card, so it can’t be crafted or disenchanted.

The following cards have been adjusted to be more powerful:

Rock Master Voone

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Verse Riff

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: [1 Mana]

Bridge Riff

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Power Slider

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

Shield Block

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Frightened Flunky

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

Thori’belore

• Old: Rush. Deathrattle: Go Dormant. Cast a Fire spell to revive Thori-belore! (Revives 2 times.)
• New: Rush. Deathrattle: Go Dormant. Cast a Fire spell to revive Thori-belore!

Dev Comment: Warrior had two major themes this expansion, menagerie and riffs, and neither of them landed at the level we were hoping for at launch. We’re buffing these Festival of Legends cards to give those themes a chance. We’re also buffing some older cards to help support the class generally. Shield Block is a card we now hope can become a definitional, powerful card that represents what Warrior is about. We’ll continue to monitor the class after these adjustments to determine if further changes are needed down the line.

Infinitize the Maxitude

• Old: Discover a spell. Finale: Return this to your hand at end of turn.
• New: Discover a spell. Reduce its Cost by (1). Finale: Return this to your hand at end of turn.

Audiosplitter

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

Spitelash Siren

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

Arcane Artificer

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

Dev Comment: Mage got two major focuses in Festival of Legends: Light Show and DJ Manastorm. Audio Splitter and Infinitize the Maxitude can both fit into those decks, and others, so we hope these changes can help open up the class. As for the reversion to Spitelash Siren, what more can we say other than, “Naga, Spell, Naga...”

Stranglethorn Heart

• Old: [10 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Halduron Brightwing

• Old: Battlecry: Give all Arcane spells in your deck Spell Damage +1.
• New: Battlecry: Give all Arcane spells in your hand and deck Spell Damage +1.

Dev Comment: Like Infinitize the Maxitude, Stranglethorn Heart is underperforming. We’re giving them both buffs because we want these Legendary spells to feel better to open and play. We’re also buffing Halduron to give some help to the Arcane Hunter package that has never had a chance to shine.

Jazz Bass

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

Altered Chord

• Old: Lifesteal. Deal 5 damage to a minion. Costs (3) less if you’re Overloaded.
• New: Lifesteal. Deal 6 damage to a minion. Costs (3) less if you’re Overloaded.

Flow Rider

• Old: [2 Mana] 3 Attack, 2 Health
• New: [1 Mana] 2 Attack, 1 Health

Lightning Storm

• Old: Overload (2)
• New: Overload (1)

Dev Comment: The new Overload Shaman deck has not performed where we wanted or expected it to, so we’re giving it help with all these changes. This change to Lightning Storm also puts it better in line with the other current 3-4 Cost AoE spells.

Crescendo

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Crazed Conductor

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

Siphon Soul

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Dev Comment: Warlock is one of the weakest classes in the game right now, so we’re giving it some buffs to its new Fatigue package. We’re also bumping up Siphon Soul, which we think should help the class a little more generally.

Record Scratcher

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

MC Blingtron

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

Dev Comment: Rogue has some good decks right now, especially at higher levels. We didn’t want to further strengthen those existing decks, but we did want to give them some more options from their Festival of Legends set.

Holy Nova

• Old: [4 Mana] Deal 2 damage to all enemies. Restore 2 Health to all friendly characters.
• New: [3 Mana] Deal 2 damage to all enemy minions. Restore 2 Health to all friendly characters.

Dev Comment: Right now, Priest has some powerful aggressive strategies. This adjustment is to make its other decks—control and Overheal—more enticing. While some players were hoping for more Overheal support in this patch, Overheal is an evergreen mechanic that we hope and expect to evolve over time, including through additional future card drops, instead of just adjustments to our first batch.

Kiri, Chosen of Elune

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Death Blossom Whomper

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

Dev Comment: Druid is one of the classes that has seen a lot of new Festival of Legends cards see play, and we’re pretty happy with where its expansion set has landed. We’re taking this opportunity to set a higher bar for the Core Set and to encourage more of the cool Deathrattle support the class got from Murder at Castle Nathria.

Battlegrounds Updates

Armor Adjustments

Patch 26.0.2 is a data-only hotfix patch launching today with updates to Hearthstone, Battlegrounds, and Arena, plus bug fixes.

HEARTHSTONE UPDATES

Card Changes

Construct Quarter

• Old: 3 Durability
• New: 2 Durability

Vengeful Walloper

• Old: 6 Mana
• New: 7 Mana

Lightray

• Old: 9 Mana
• New: 10 Mana

BATTLEGROUNDS UPDATES

Armor Changes

Patch 26.0, launching tomorrow, is the venue for Hearthstone’s latest expansion, Festival of Legends, launching April 11! The Patch also paves the way for the new Year of the Wolf, adjusts Battlegrounds, Duels, and Arena, and more.

Festival of Legends is About to Begin!

Hearthstone’s next expansion, Festival of Legends, starts the show on April 11! The new 145-card expansion features the new Finale keyword, Legendary musicians and songs, instrument weapons, Harmonic spells, Soloists, and more! See all the new cards in the official Card Library today. This is your last chance to get your Pre-Purchase bundle, only available until the expansion goes live next week!

With the launch of Festival of Legends comes a new Rewards Track, with tons of showstopping cosmetics, XP boosts, cards, card packs, and a huge infusion of Gold! Check out our upcoming Rewards Track Refresh blog for details.

Card Rotation and Core Set Changes

The launch of Festival of Legends kicks off the next Hearthstone year: the Year of the Wolf! With that, comes the Standard rotation. That means that Forged in the Barrens, United in Stormwind, and Fractured in Alterac Valley will be rotating out of Standard. Standard will then be comprised of Voyage to the Sunken City, Murder at Castle Nathria, March of the Lich King, Path of Arthas, Festival of Legends, and the free Core Set.

The Core Set has a huge update for the Year of the Wolf! Over 70 cards are being swapped out for new ones in the free Core Set. On top of that, dozens of existing and new Core cards are getting adjustments for the new year. Finally, the Core Set is bringing back the Tradeable and Magnetic keywords, and introducing a new Priest keyword, Overheal. You can learn more about all the Core Set changes in our dedicated Year of the Wolf blog and video.

The cards that are being adjusted in the Core Set will be adjusted on April 4, with Patch 26.0. The swap of cards entering and leaving the Core Set will take place when the new Hearthstone Year begins with the launch of Festival of Legends on April 11!

Special Event – Legends Take the Stage

On April 18, after you’ve hashed out your setlist and tuned up your instruments, an expansion celebration event will take place using the in-game Event system. From April 18 to May 2, complete Event Quests to earn Event XP on a special event rewards track! Complete the rewards track for four Signature cards (2 copies each of two non-Legendary cards), a Standard Pack, and a Festival of Legends Pack.

Signature Cards Update

Signature Cards have a totally new look for Festival of Legends! Festival of Legends’s Signature cards feature vibrant full-color art, Golden-style animations, and a new, thinner frame to show off more of the art. Additionally, their card text is moved off the card and shown via tooltip instead, so the art can take center stage.

Starting with Patch 26.0, all Signature cards (even those from March of the Lich King) will also have duplicate protection and be able to be disenchanted* for the same value as if they were Golden cards. Signature Cards still can’t be crafted because we still want them to feel special. Due to these changes, we’ve removed the rule that if you are awarded a Signature card when you already have all Signature cards, you’d get a Golden Legendary card, instead—now you will just receive a duplicate Signature card that can be disenchanted.

* As with all other cards, the exception is special card grants, like events and the Rewards Track.

Card Balance Updates

The following cards are being adjusted with Patch 26.0. Most of these adjustments are reversions to prior changes, in preparation for these cards rotating into Wild:

• Final Showdown (the first phase of the Demon Hunter Questline)
  • Old: Draw 6 cards in one turn.
  • New: Draw 4 cards in one turn.​

​​

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

​​

• Razormane Battleguard
  • Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health
  • New: 2 Attack, 3 Health

​​

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

​​

• Dragonbane Shot
  • Old: [3 Mana]
  • New: [2 Mana]

​​

• Arcanist Dawngrasp (the final reward from Sorcerer’s Gambit, the Mage Questline)
  • Old: Battlecry: For the rest of the game, you have +2 Spell Damage.
  • New: Battlecry: For the rest of the game, you have +3 Spell Damage.

​​

• ​Arcane Burst (Magister Dawngrasp’s hero power)
  • Old: Deal 2 damage. Honorable Kill: Gain +1 damage.
  • New: Deal 2 damage. Honorable Kill: Gain +2 damage.

​​

• ​Conviction
  • Old: [2 Mana]
  • New: [1 Mana]​

​​

• ​Level Up!
  • Old: [6 Mana]
  • New: [5 Mana]

​​

• Cold Blood
  • Old: [2 Mana]
  • New: [1 Mana]​

​​

• ​Garrote
  • Old: Deal 2 damage to the enemy hero. Shuffle 2 Bleeds into your deck that deal 2 more when drawn.
  • New: Deal 2 damage to the enemy hero. Shuffle 3 Bleeds into your deck that deal 2 more when drawn.

​​

• ​EVIL Miscreant
  • Old: 1 Attack, 4 Health
  • New: 1 Attack, 5 Health

​​

• ​​Forsaken Lieutenant
  • Old: [3 Mana]
  • New: [2 Mana]

​​

• ​​Tame the Flames (the final phase of Command the Elements, the Shaman Questline)
  • Old: Play 3 cards with Overload.
  • New: Play 2 cards with Overload.

​​

• Granite Forgeborn
  • Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health
  • New: 4 Attack, 5 Health

​​

• ​​Dark Pact
  • Old: Destroy a friendly minion. Restore 4 Health to your hero.
  • New: Destroy a friendly minion. Restore 8 Health to your hero.

​​

• ​The Demon Seed (each phase of the Warlock Questline)
  • Old: Take 8 damage on your turns. (Each phase of the Questline)
  • New: Take 10 damage on your turns. (Each phase of the Questline)
  • The Demon Seed is no longer banned in Wild.

​​

• Stealer of Souls
  • Old: [6 Mana] 4 Attack, 6 Health. After you draw a card, change its Cost to Health instead of Mana.
  • New: [4 Mana] 2 Attack, 6 Health. The first card you draw each turn costs Health instead of Mana.
  • Stealer of Souls is no longer banned in Wild.

​​

• ​Fiery War Axe
  • Old: [3 Mana]
  • New: [2 Mana]

​​

• ​​Warsong Commander
  • Old: After you summon another minion, give it Rush.
  • New: Whenever you summon a minion with 3 or less Attack, give it Charge.

​​

• ​Mor’shan Watch Post
  • Old: 3 Attack, 4 Health
  • New: 3 Attack, 5 Health

​​

• ​Ice Revenant
  • Old: Whenever you cast a Frost spell, gain +1/+1.
  • New: Whenever you cast a Frost spell, gain +2/+2.

​

• ​Faceless Corruptor
  • Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health
  • New: 5 Attack, 4 Health

​​

• ​Goldshire Gnoll
  • Old: [11 Mana]
  • New: [10 Mana]

​​

​​

Dev Comment: Pandaren Importer will also be reverted, in a patch after it has rotated to Wild.

The Demon Seed and Soul Stealer will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 26.0.

Battlegrounds Updates

Minion Updates

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

​​

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

​​

​​

Minion Pool Updates

• Sire Denathrius has been returned to the hero pool.
• Friend of a Friend has been returned to the minion pool.

Duels Updates

On April 4, the current Duels season will end, ratings will be reset, and ongoing runs will be concluded. At that time, Rastakhan’s Rumble and Festival of Legends will be added to card pool offerings; also on April 4, Rastakhan’s Rumble and E.T.C., Band Manager will be available for initial deck construction. The rest of the Festival of Legends set will be available for deck construction when Festival of Legends launches on April 11.

Hero Power Updates

• Outlander (Demon Hunter)
  • Old: After you play the left- or right-most card in your hand, gain +1 Attack this turn.
  • New: If you played a card with Outcast this turn, add a random Fel spell to your hand.

​​

• Illidari Strike (Demon Hunter)
  • Old: [1 Mana]
  • New: [2 Mana]

​

• Starseeker (Druid)
  • Old: After you cast 3 spells in a turn, add a Moonfire to your hand.
  • New: After you cast 4 spells in a turn, add a Moonfire to your hand.

• Well Equipped (Hunter)
  • Old: Equip a random weapon and set its Durability to 1.
  • New: Equip a random weapon from your class and set its Durability to 1.

​​

• Power Up (Paladin)
  • Old: Give a minion Windfury and Divine Shield. Overload: (1).
  • New: Give a minion Windfury and Divine Shield. Overload: (2).

​​

• Connections (Rogue)
  • Old: [1 Mana] Add a random 1-Cost minion to your hand.
  • New: [Passive] At the start of your turn, add a random 1-Cost minion to your hand.

​​

• ​​Vile Concoction (Rogue)
  • Old: Give a minion Poisonous. Combo: And +1/+1 and Stealth for 1 turn.
  • New: Give a minion Poisonous. Combo: Add a Concoction to your hand.

​​

Treasure Updates

• ​​Moonbeast (Druid)
  • Old: [4 Mana] 4 Attack, 6 Health.
  • New: [3 Mana] 3 Attack, 5 Health.

​​

• Herding Horn (Druid)
  • Old: [3 Mana]
  • New: [2 Mana]

• Gatling Wand (Mage)
  • Old: [5 Mana]
  • New: [3 Mana]

• Humble Blessings (Paladin)
  • Old: [4 Mana]
  • New: [5 Mana]

​​

• ​​Addarah (Priest)
  • Old: [7 Mana]
  • New: [8 Mana]

​​

• Tempest’s Fury (Shaman)
  • Old: [4 Mana]
  • New: [5 Mana]

​​

• Gift of the Old Gods (Warlock)
  • Old: Draw 2 Corrupt cards, then Corrupt them.
  • New: Discover 2 Corrupt cards, then Corrupt them.

​​

• ​​Collector’s Ire (Warrior)
  • Old: [4 Mana] Summon a Mech, Pirate, and Dragon from your hand.
  • New: [7 Mana] Summon a Mech, Pirate, and Dragon from your deck.

​​

• ​​Pact of the Lich (Drek'Thar)
  • Old: [4 Mana]
  • New: [6 Mana]​

​​

• Devout Blessings (Vanndar)
  • Old: [5 Mana]
  • New: [6 Mana]

​​

• ​​Rending Ambush (Vanndar)
  • Old: [6 Mana]
  • New: [5 Mana]

​​

• Stalker’s Supplies (Vanndar)
  • Old: [3 Mana]
  • New: [2 Mana]

​​

Arena Updates

On April 11, when Festival of Legends launches, all current Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Core
• Voyage to the Sunken City
• Murder at Castle Nathria
• March of the Lich King
• Path of Arthas
• Festival of Legends

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Cards that cost Health (or Armor) instead of Mana no longer count as “dealing damage.” That means, for instance, the player will still pay that Health if they are Immune or have Divine Shield. This change does not apply to spending Health instead of Gold in Battlegrounds (e.g., Leeching Felhound).

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where copying a deck code with E.T.C., Band Manager in it would not properly transfer over card quality.

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where copying a deck code with E.T.C., Band Manager in it would not override an existing Band in a deck.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where the “Pick a Replacement” interface did not work with E.T.C.’s Band.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Ring of Tides would get stuck on its first transformation.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where, if Orion, Mansion Manager was summoned by a triggered Secret, his effect would then trigger based off that same Secret.
• [Hearthstone] Invincible’s card text was updated to match its current, intended function.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Grand Magister Rommath’s Battlecry would replay the spells in the order they were played instead of in random order.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Infused Sinfueled Golem’s stats could be Silenced.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed bugs with Build-A-Beast Zombeast effects.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Inkmaster Solia’s effect would be “spent” even if the card played is Countered.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where bots on ladder could sometimes start the game with 40 Health.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where bots on ladder could have Infused versions of cards in their decks, pre-Infused.
• [Battlegrounds] Cosmetics can now be search by a Hero’s base name (e.g., “Scabbs Cutterbutter” or “Scabbs” or “Cutterbutter”), or by rarity.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug where Stalker’s Supplies did not include Improved ZOMBEEEES!!! and Improved Motion Denied as intended.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed a bug in the Renown upgrade interface causing soft locks.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed a bug where the Dat Ashbringer Treasure did not apply its buff to all levels.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where unlocking the Death Knight class automatically granted all Death Knight’s Golden Core set.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where the “Wither? You killed her!” achievement could not progress.
• [Progression] Fixed a bug where players did not earn game-end Event XP after playing a bot.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a visual bug with the Hedanis Priest Hero Skin’s Hero Power animation.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where the Inzah Shaman Hero Skin did not play its special Hero Power animation.
• Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.

Patch 25.6.2 is a data-only balance patch, launching today with several updates to Battlegrounds.

Battlegrounds Updates

Armor Updates

The following heroes will now have less Armor:

• Trade Prince Gallywix now has 7 Armor
• Patches the Pirate now has 8 Armor, or 10 Armor in high MMR lobbies
• Death Speaker Blackthorn, Deathwing, and Elise Starseeker now have 10 Armor
• Jandice Barov and Sindragosa now have 12 Armor

The following heroes will now have more Armor:

• George the Fallen now has 13 Armor
• Forest Warden Omu and Millificent Manastorm now have 14 Armor
• Ambassador Faelin, Lord Barov, Master Nguyen, Silas Darkmoon, and Tess Greymane now have 15 Armor
• N’Zoth and Ragnaros the Firelord now have 16 Armor
• Chenvaala now has 17 Armor
• Nozdormu now has 18 Armor

Buddy Updates

Living Nightmare (Kurtrus Ashfallen's Buddy)

• Old: After you buy a minion, minions in Bob’s Tavern have +1/+1 this turn.
• New: After you buy a minion, minions in Bob’s Tavern have +2/+1 this turn.

Enhance-o Medico (Enhance-o Mechano’s Buddy)

• Old: [Tavern Tier 2] 2 Attack, 3 Health. Minions in Bob’s Tavern with Taunt, Reborn, Divine Shield, or Windfury have +1/+1 for each.
• New: [Tavern Tier 1] 2 Attack, 2 Health. Minions in Bob’s Tavern with Taunt, Reborn, Divine Shield, or Windfury have +2/+2 for each.

Sr. Tomb Diver (Reno Jackson’s Buddy)

• Old: [Tavern Tier 2] Deathrattle: Make your right-most minion Golden.
• New: [Tavern Tier 1] Taunt. Deathrattle: Make your right-most minion Golden.

Raging Contender (Captain Hooktusk’s Buddy)

• Old: [Tavern Tier 1] 4 Attack, 2 Health. ‘Trash for Treasure’ offers 3 options instead of 2.
• New: [Tavern Tier 4] 5 Attack, 4 Health. After you use ‘Trash for Treasure,’ gain Gold equal to the removed minion’s Tavern Tier.

Frostwolf Lieutenant (Drek’Thar’s Buddy)

• Old: Avenge (3): Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +1 Attack for the rest of the game.
• New: Avenge (2): Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +1 Attack for the rest of the game.

Unearthed Underling (Lich Baz’hial’s Buddy)

• Old: 3 Attack, 3 Health. Whenever your hero takes damage, this minion gains +3/+3 instead. (2 left this turn.)
• New: 2 Attack, 2 Health. Whenever your hero takes damage, this minion gains +2/+2 instead. (2 left this turn.)

Jr. Navigator (Elise Starseeker’s Buddy)

• Old: Reduce the Cost of your Hero Power by (2).
• New: Reduce the Cost of ‘Lead Explorer’ by (2).
• Dev Comment: Junior Navigator has been removed from E.T.C.’s hero power pool.

Arfus (The Lich King’s Buddy)

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

Festergut (Professor Putricide’s Buddy)

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

Apostle of Galakrond (Galakrond’s Buddy)

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

Elder Taggawag (Queen Wagtoggle’s Buddy)

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

Flight Trainer (Galewing’s Buddy)

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

Piloted Whirl-O-Tron (Sneed’s Buddy)

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

Mawsworn Soulkeeper (The Jailer’s Buddy)

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

Lucifron (Ragnaros the Firelord’s Buddy)

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

Burth (Silas Darkmoon’s Buddy)

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

Wandering Treant (Greybough’s Buddy)

• Old: [Tavern Tier 3] 4 Attack, 7 Health.
• New: [Tavern Tier 2] 3 Attack, 5 Health.

Nathanos Blightcaller (Sylvanas’s Buddy)

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

Warden Thelwater

• Old: [Tavern Tier 3] 4 Attack, 6 Health.
• New: [Tavern Tier 4] 2 Attack, 6 Health.

Muckslinger

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

Titanic Guardian (Pyramad’s Buddy)

• Old: 6 Attack, 2 Health
• New: 5 Attack, 2 Health.

Tentacle of C’Thun (C’Thun’s Buddy)

• Old: [Tavern Tier 2] 1 Attack, 1 Health.
• New: [Tavern Tier 3] 3 Attack, 3 Health.

Loyal Henchman (Arch-Villain Rafaam’s Buddy)

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

Buddy Tavern Tier Updates

The following Buddies are now a lower Tavern Tier:

• Enhance-o Medico, Sklibb, Demon Hunter, and Sr. Tomb Diver are now Tavern Tier 1.
• Apostle of Galakrond, Crazy Monkey, Eclipsion Illidari, Elder Taggawag, Flight Trainer, Many Whelps, Mawsworn Soulkeeper, SI:7 Scout, Tamuzo, and Wandering Treant are now Tavern Tier 2.
• Baby Elekk, Dagwik Stickytoe, Festergut, Piloted Whirl-O-Tron, Spirit Raptor, and Street Magician are now Tavern Tier 3.
• Baby N’Zoth is now Tavern Tier 4.

The following Buddies are now a higher Tavern Tier:

• Brann’s Epic Egg, Lil’ K.T, Muckslinger, and Tentacle of C’Thun are now Tavern Tier 3.
• Acolyte of Yogg-Saron, Imperial Defender, Kil’rek, Maxwell Mighty Steed, Nexus Lord, Raging Contender, Varden’s Aquarrior, and Warden Thelwater are now Tavern Tier 4.
• Baby Kodo, Captain Fairmount, Clockwork Assistant, Crimson Hand Centurion, and Ticket Collector are now Tavern Tier 5.
• Nathanos Blightcaller is now Tavern Tier 6.

Minion Pool Updates

• Chronormu has been removed from the minion pool.
• Razorgore has been returned to the minion pool.

Bug Fixes

• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where some Buddy visuals were missing from the “Last 5 Warbands” under certain circumstances.
• [Collection] Fixed an issue where Diamond Zephrys appeared in-client before he was ready. He will return, and be earnable, when the time is right.

Patch 25.6, launching today, sets the stage for Hearthstone’s next expansion: Festival of Legends! The patch also brings Battlegrounds Buddies back with an updated system, new friends, and more. So grab your Buddy and your pre-purchase bundle, the show is about to begin!

Pre-Purchase Festival of Legends

Hearthstone’s next expansion, Festival of Legends, is coming this April! Azeroth’s greatest musician, E.T.C., is putting together a massive music festival, featuring the best artists in 11 different musical genres—each with its own Legendary musician minion and song spell. Grab your gear and prepare for the opening act, it’s almost time for the Festival of Legends!

Festival of Legends is jam-packed with 145 new collectible cards. You can learn more in the Festival of Legends Announcement blog. Two pre-purchase options are available now so that you don’t miss a beat when the expansion launches.

Pre-purchase

Log in and Get E.T.C., Band Manager for Free!

Log in to Hearthstone now for your first steps towards stardom with the free E.T.C., Band Manager Legendary card!* With E.T.C., you can form a three-piece band while building your deck and then call any band member up to the stage when the time is right. Try-outs are now open! What cards are making it into your band?**

* Limited one per account. After Patch 26.6, E.T.C., Band Manager will be granted upon opening your first Festival of Legends pack, instead of upon logging in.

** E.T.C.’s band follows deckbuilding rules for the deck E.T.C. is in—so you can’t use the band to get extra copies of a Legendary card, or cards from another class. Any card can be in the band, not just minions, but certain cards don’t have what it takes to make the band. Cards with Start of Game effects, Maestra of the Masquerade, Whizbang the Wonderful, Zale Shadowcloak, and the Galakrond forms are banned from the band at launch. The Galakronds are expected to be un-banned in a future update, after some bug fixes. Additionally, E.T.C., Band Manager can’t be drafted in Arena and does not appear in Duels deckbuilding or card buckets.

Card Updates

Test Subject has been unbanned in Wild and has had its text updated.

• Old: Deathrattle: Return any spells you cast on this minion to your hand.
• New: Deathrattle: Shuffle any spells you cast on this minion into your deck.

Test Subject will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks following Patch 25.6.

Join the Headliner’s Tour

On Warm up for the Festival of Legends with a special in-game event. Choose one of three headliners to follow on tour as they make their way to the Festival of Legends. From March 14 to March 28, you can complete daily and special Event Quests to earn Event XP towards your selected event Rewards Track. The Event Quests offered will correspond to the classes represented in your chosen Rewards Track. Complete the event Rewards Track to earn three class packs, one Festival of Legends pack, and a hero skin of your selected headliner!

Don’t worry about missing the other headliners’ shows, the hero skins that you do not earn will be available for purchase in the in-game shop during Patch 26.0.

New Battle Bash: Corgi Cup Collection

A new Battle Bash is here for Corgle fans everywhere! This limited-time curated collection* of Battlegrounds cosmetics includes ten Corgi Cup themed items: an Epic Strike, an Epic Board, five different Epic Hero Skins, a Rare Bartender, and two sets of three Rare Emotes. Purchasing the Battle Bash will immediately unlock 2 Hammers you can use to Bash for random prizes from the collection. Each Top 4 finish during the Battle Bash period unlocks another Hammer.

On March 21, a new Battle Bash is coming for Corgle fans everywhere! That means everyone has a random chance to score their favorite prize for free! It also means that players purchasing the Battle Bash will only need seven Top 4 finishes during the Battle Bash period to unlock all the prizes.

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

Battlegrounds Updates

General Updates

• Battlegrounds Buddies are back for the mid-season update!
• Heroes now have 30 starting Health (except for Patchwerk) and Armor Tiers are being removed. Instead of a range of Armor, each hero will have a set amount of Armor, from 5-20.
• The starting Cost to upgrade from Tavern Tier 4 to Tavern Tier 5 has increased from 9 Gold to 11 Gold.
• Some Buddies had their minion types adjusted to match the minion type updates since Buddies were last in the Tavern.

Buddies are Back and Better than Before!

Buddies are returning for every hero that had a Buddy last time they were around. Heroes that didn’t already have their Buddy are making a new friend!

Buddies work a little bit differently this time around. Instead of a complicated Buddy Meter, there’s now a Buddy Button that you can press at any time to get your Buddy. The Buddy Button’s initial cost is based on your Buddy’s Tavern Tier, and is reduced by 3 Gold each time you win or tie a combat, or reduced by 2 Gold each time you lose a combat.

Like with the previous Buddy Meter, the Buddy Button can be activated up to twice per game. The first time you press the Button, you’ll get one copy of your Buddy; the second time you press the Button, you’ll get two copies. The cost to press the Button resets and is slightly increased after you press it the first time.

New Hero

E.T.C., Band Manager

• Hero Power - Sign a New Artist (4 Gold): Discover a Buddy. (Unlocks at Tier 2.)
  • Dev Comment: To avoid unwanted and ineffective interactions, the “Sign a New Artist” Buddy pool has the same limitations as Friend of a Friend.

• Buddy – Talent Scout (Tavern Tier 5)
  • 4 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Make a Buddy Golden.

E.T.C., Band Manager will be guaranteed in every game for the first 2 weeks after the launch of Patch 25.6.

Hero Power Updates

Shudderwock – Snicker-snack

• Old: [1 Gold] Add a 1/1 Shudderling to your hand that repeats all Battlecries you’ve played. (Twice per game).
• New: [0 Gold] Trigger a friendly minion’s Battlecry.
• Dev Comment: Shudderwock is still banned in Beast lobbies.

Queen Wagtoggle – Wax Warband

• Old: [1 Gold] Give a friendly minion of each minion type +1/+1.
• New: Passive. Start of Combat: Give 3 friendly minions of different types stats equal to their Tavern Tiers.

New Buddies

Queen Azshara – Imperial Defender

• [Tavern Tier 3, Naga] 2 Attack, 4 Health. Whenever you cast a Spellcraft spell on a different minion, you also cast it on this.

Ozumat – Tamuzo

• [Tavern Tier 3, Beast] 4 Attack, 4 Health. Avenge (2): Upgrade ‘Tentacular’ by +1/+1.

Lady Vashj - Coilfang Elite

• [Tavern Tier 2, Naga] 3 Attack, 4 Health. After a Spellcraft minion appears in Bob’s Tavern, get a copy of its spell.

Heistbaron Togwaggle – Waxadred, the Drippy

• [Tavern Tier 4, Dragon-Elemental] 7 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: Refresh Bob’s Tavern with the highest Tier minion from each opponent’s last Warband.

Murloc Holmes – Watfin

• [Tavern Tier 3, Beast] 2 Attack, 6 Health. After you guess correctly with ‘Detective for Hire,’ get a plain copy of the minion.

Sire Denathrius – Shady Aristocrat

• [Tavern Tier 2] 2 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: Discover a Quest. Complete it to get a 8-Gold Coin Pouch.
• Note: Due to a bug found late in patch development, Sire Denathrius (and Shady Aristocrat) will be temporarily banned at launch.

Sylvanas Windrunner – Nathanos Blightcaller

• [Tavern Tier 5, Undead] 3 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Remove a friendly minion. Give its stats to its neighbors.

The Jailer – Mawsorn Soulkeeper

• [Tavern Tier 3, Undead] 3 Attack, 3 Health. Deathrattle: Summon 3 random Tier 1 minions.

Enhance-o Mechano – Enhance-o Medico

• [Tavern Tier 2, Mech] 2 Attack, 3 Health. Minions in Bob’s Tavern with Taunt, Reborn, Divine Shield, or Windfury have +1/+1 for each.

Professor Putricide – Festergut

• [Tavern Tier 4, Undead] 5 Attack, 2 Health. Deathrattle: Summon a random Undead Creation.

Teron Gorefiend – Shadowy Construct

• [Tavern Tier 3, Undead] 3 Attack, 4 Health. After a friendly minion dies, give its neighbors +1/+1.

Buddy Effect Updates

Drek’Thar - Frostwolf Lieutenant

• [Tavern Tier 3] 7 Attack, 4 Health. Avenge (3): Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +1 Attack for the rest of the game.

Vanndar Stormpike – Stormpike Lieutenant

• [Tavern Tier 3] 4 Attack, 7 Health. Avenge (2): Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +1 Health for the rest of the game.

Elise Starseeker – Jr. Navigator

• [Tavern Tier 2] 3 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Reduce the Cost of your Hero Power by (2).

Galewing – Flight Trainer

• [Tavern Tier 3] 3 Attack, 4 Health. Your flightpaths trigger twice.

Queen Wagtoggle – Elder Taggawag

• [Tavern Tier 4] 5 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Gain 1 Gold for each minion type you control.

Silas Darkmoon – Burth

• [Tavern Tier 4] 3 Attack, 6 Health. Whenever you Discover a minion, give it +4/+4 and upgrade this by +1/+1.

Aranna Starseeker – Sklibb, Demon Hunter

• [Tavern Tier 2] 4 Attack, 4 Health. After you buy a minion, your next Refresh costs (0).

The Lich King – Arfus

• [Tavern Tier 3, Beast-Undead] 4 Attack, 3 Health. After a friendly minion is Reborn, give it this minion’s Attack.

Trade Prince Gallywix – Bilgewater Mogul

• [Tavern Tier 3] 6 Attack, 3 Health. Choose One – Give a minion +1 Attack for each Gold you’ve spent this turn; or +1 Health.
• Dev Comment: A few Buddies had their effects changed from Battlecry effects to functionally similar effects so that their gameplay would generally stay the same, but they wouldn’t be too powerful with Brann.

Tickatus – Ticket Collector

• [Tavern Tier 4] 6 Attack, 6 Health. When you sell this, Discover a Darkmoon Prize from the next prize turn.

Yogg-Saron – Acolyte of Yogg-Saron

• [Tavern Tier 3, Murloc] 5 Attack, 4 Health. When you sell this, spin the Wheel of Yogg Saron.

Cariel Roame – Captain Fairmount

• [Tavern Tier 4] 7 Attack, 5 Health. Choose One - ‘Conviction] gives an additional +2 Attack for the rest of the game; or +2 Health.

Millificent Manastorm – Elementium Squirrel Bomb

• [Tavern Tier 4, Mech] Deathrattle: Deal 2 damage to a random enemy minion for each of your Mechs that died this combat.

Master Nguyen – Lei Flamepaw

• [Tavern Tier 1] 2 Attack, 5 Health. ‘Power of the Storm’ offers 3 options instead of 2.

Captain Hooktusk – Raging Contender

• [Tavern Tier 1] 4 Attack, 2 Health. ‘Trash for Treasure’ offers 3 options instead of 2.

New Minions

Poetic Pen Pal

• [Tavern Tier 2] 2 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Reduce the Cost of your next Buddy by (2).

Leeching Felhound

• [Tavern Tier 3, Demon] 3 Attack, 3 Health. This costs Health to buy instead of Gold.

Fireworks Fanatic

• [Tavern Tier 4] 4 Attack, 3 Health. Whenever you get a minion you already have, give your minions +1/+1.
• Dev Comment: This effect triggers whenever a minion is added to your hand, through any means, when you already have a minion of the same name either in play or in your hand.

Dr. Boombox

• [Tavern Tier 4, Mech] 7 Attack, 1 Health. Deathrattle: Deal 7 damage to the 2 nearest enemy minions.

Sly Raptor

• [Tavern Tier 4, Beast] 1 Attack, 3 Health. Deathrattle: Summon another random Beast. Set its stats to 7/7.

Gem Smuggler

• [Tavern Tier 4, Quilboar] 3 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Play a Blood Gem on all your other Quilboar.

Bonemare

• [Tavern Tier 5, Undead-Beast] 5 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: Give a friendly minion +4/+4 and Taunt.

Minion Updates

Shell Collector

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

Annihilan Battlemaster

• Old: Battlecry: Gain +1 Health for each Health your hero is missing.
• New: Battlecry: Gain +2 Health for each Health your hero is missing.
• Dev Comment: This change is to compensate for the decrease in Heroes’ maximum base Health.

Minion Pool Updates

• Tarecgosa has been moved from Tavern Tier 3 to Tavern Tier 4.
• Rendle the Mistermind, Kaboom Bot, Savannah Highmane, and Houndmaster have been removed from the minion pool.
• Archdruid Hamuul was also removed from the minion pool.

Armor and Buddy Tier Updates

With the updated Buddy System, most Buddies have adjusted Buddy Tavern Tiers. Additionally, Armor Tiers are now gone. Instead of a range of Armor, Heroes have a set amount of Armor every game, between 5 and 20. Every Hero’s new Armor amount and Buddy Tier are as follows:

* These Heroes have the largest winrate disparities between lower-MMR and higher-MMR players. To account for this, their Armor totals will be different in higher-MMR lobbies, as follows: Dancin’ Deryl will have 15 Armor; Ini Stormcoil will have 13 Armor; Maiev will have 10 Armor; Patches the Pirate will have 14 Armor; and Ysera will have 10 Armor.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Updated Multicaster’s card text to indicate how many cards it will draw (no functional change).
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Gnome Muncher would always attack the enemy hero in the case of a tie.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Queensguard counted spells that were Countered.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Choose One effects could target Dormant minions.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Scourge Rager died before being counted as being Played or Summoned.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Talented Arcanist’s effect would apply to spells discarded by the first spell played.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Avian Watcher did not gain Taunt from its effect.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Enhancification effects are not preserved by Magnetic.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug that could cause more than 7 minions to fit on the board.
• [Mercenaries] Improved performance on mobile and low-spec devices.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed a visual bug with the Old Gods’ Diamond Portraits.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed bugs with several Treasures and Abilities that did not function as intended.
• [Solo Content] Fixed a bug where completing a Book of Heroes would not grant the crown over the completed class.
• [Social] Added Battlegrounds opponents to the “Recent Opponents” list.
• [Social] Minor graphical improvements to the Friends List user interface.
• [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug with the animations in the Varian Wrynn legendary skin.
• [Shop] Added support for the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD).
• [Shop] Fixed a bug where the shop was closed for some players on Windows devices.
• [Shop] Fixed a bug where the Leeroy emote was not included when purchasing the Corgi Cup Fanatics emotes.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug with The Grind Never Stops achievement would not count if the cards were played on different turns.
• [General] Fixed a bug causing crashes on Android devices.
• [General] Fixed miscellaneous localization and card text issues.
• Misc. other bug fixes, text updates, and game improvements.