20.2 Patch Notes – Quilboars & 3 New Heroes in Battlegrounds, Duels Humble Blessings Nerf, New Hero Skins, Diamond Ragnaros And More – May 4

20.02 Patch Notes have just dropped and it’s huge! The patch releases on May 4 and here’s a roundup on all changes and new features:

• 3 New Heroes (Death Speaker Blackthorn, Vol’jin, Xyrella) + 1 Hero Update (The Rat King) in Battlegrounds.
• Quilboar minion type added to Battlegrounds – 17 new minions with a new “Blood Gem” mechanic.
• Quilboar minion type also added to other formats, including Constructed – but there are no plans for any extra synergies for now. However, adding a new minion type alone affects some cards – e.g. N'Zoth, God of the Deep.
• Humble Blessings got nerfed from 3 to 4 mana in Duels.
• Diamond Ragnaros is out, and it’s a reward for collecting all 36 Classic Legendaries.
• 10 new Hero portraits were added (one for each class) – they’re a reward for an achievement tracking your total rewards track level across multiple expansions. For each tier (every 200 levels), you get to pick one skin.
• Battle-ready decks will launch too – learn more about them here.
• Book of Heroes for Thrall is coming on May 25. The rest of Book of Heroes will probably release interchangeably with Book of Mercenaries.
• Lots of bug fixes.

Learn more with the full patch notes below:

The 20.2 patch, which will release on May 4, includes a major update for Battlegrounds, purchasable decks, and more!

Battlegrounds Updates

Quilboar have been added as a new Battlegrounds minion type! There will still be five minion types per Battlegrounds game once Quilboar are added, meaning that three minion types will be excluded from each game. Just like when Dragons, Pirates, and Elementals were added, Quilboar will show up in every Battlegrounds match until our next major content patch.

The Quilboar update includes 17 new minions, 3 new heroes, and a new mechanic: Blood Gems! Blood Gems are spells that give a friendly minion +1/+1. Some Quilboar give you Blood Gems, while others have special interactions when Blood Gems are played.

We’ve also added Battlegrounds support for your favorite Coin! As a reminder, you can set a Coin as your favorite by clicking on the Coin icon in the top right of your Collection.

Finally, prepare for a fresh playing field as all players’ Battlegrounds ratings will be reset to 0 when the 20.2 patch launches on May 4!

NEW & UPDATED HEROES

Death Speaker Blackthorn

• Bloodbound [Passive]
  • After you upgrade Bob’s Tavern, gain 2 Blood Gems.

Vol’jin

• Spirit Swap [Costs 0]
  • Choose two minions. Swap their stats.

Xyrella

• See the Light [Costs 2]
  • Choose a minion in Bob’s Tavern to add to your hand. Set its stats to 2.

Rat King (Updated)

• King of Quilboar [Passive]
  • Whenever you buy a Quilboar, give it +2/+2. Swaps type each turn.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to the new Heroes above before they are formally released on May 18.

NEW MINIONS

Razorfen Geomancer

• [Tier 1, Quilboar] 3 Attack, 1 Health. Battlecry: Gain a Blood Gem.

Sun-Bacon Relaxer

• [Tier 1, Quilboar] 1 Attack, 2 Health. When you sell this, gain 2 Blood Gems.

Roadboar

• [Tier 2, Quilboar] 2 Attack, 4 Health. Frenzy: Gain a Blood Gem.

Tough Tusk

• [Tier 2, Quilboar] 4 Attack, 3 Health. After a Blood Gem is played on this, gain Divine Shield for the next combat.

Prophet of the Boar

• [Tier 2] 3 Attack, 3 Health. Once per Turn: After you play a Quilboar, gain a Blood Gem.

Bristleback Brute

• [Tier 3, Quilboar] 3 Attack, 3 Health. The first Blood Gem played on this each turn gives an extra +3/+3.

Bannerboar

• [Tier 3, Quilboar] 2 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, play a Blood Gem on adjacent Quilboar.

Thorncaller

• [Tier 3, Quilboar] 4 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry and Deathrattle: Gain a Blood Gem.

Necrolyte

• [Tier 3, Quilboar] 3 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Choose a friendly minion. It steals all Blood Gems from its neighbors.

Dynamic Duo

• [Tier 4, Quilboar] 5 Attack, 6 Health. Taunt. After a Blood Gem is played on another Quilboar, gain +1/+1.

Bonker

• [Tier 4, Quilboar] 4 Attack, 7 Health. Windfury. After this attacks, gain a Blood Gem.

Groundshaker

• [Tier 4, Quilboar] 2 Attack, 6 Health. After a Blood Gem is played on this, give your minions +2 Attack for next combat only.

Bristleback Knight

• [Tier 5, Quilboar] 4 Attack, 8 Health. Windfury, Divine Shield. Frenzy: Gain Divine Shield.

Aggem Thorncurse

• [Tier 5, Quilboar] 3 Attack, 6 Health. After a Blood Gem is played on this, give a friendly minion of each minion type +1/+1.

Agamaggan, The Great Boar

• [Tier 5, Beast] 6 Attack, 6 Health. Your Blood Gems give an extra +1/+1.

Charlga

• [Tier 6, Quilboar] 7 Attack, 7 Health. At the end of your turn, play a Blood Gem on all friendly minions.

Captain Flat Tusk

• [Tier 6, Quilboar] 9 Attack, 6 Health. After you spend 3 Gold, gain a Blood Gem.

Quilboar Elsewhere

While we don’t currently have plans to build synergies around Quilboar in other game modes, we are adding the Quilboar tag to several should-be Quilboar minions to maintain consistency across game modes. The full list is as follows:

From Forged in the Barrens:

• Death Speaker Blackthorn
• Razorfen Beastmaster
• Razormane Battleguard
• Plaguemaw the Rotting
• Blood Shard Bristleback
• Death’s Head Cultist
• Razormane Raider

From Past Expansions:

• Hench-Clan Sneak
• Hench-Clan Thug
• Hench-Clan Shadequill
• Tanaris Hogchopper
• Spiked Hogrider
• Leatherclad Hogleader

From Past Adventures:

• Infected Quillfinger (previously a Beast)
• Quilboar Hunter
• Rallying Quilboar

Duels Updates

• New tech has been added so that you’ll more regularly be offered Treasures that synergize better with the cards in your deck.
• Nozdormu the Eternal has been unbanned.

Humble Blessings (Paladin Signature Treasure)

• Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 4]

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Diamond Ragnaros & Tavern Regular Achievement

Diamond Ragnaros has been added to the Tavern! Diamond Ragnaros can be acquired by completing the Classic Legendary Collector 5/5 achievement (Collect all 36 Classic Legendary cards). Please note that players who have already completed and claimed this achievement must reclaim the achievement to obtain Diamond Ragnaros.

We’ve also added a new progression achievement, Tavern Regular, which tracks total reward track levels earned on your account across all reward tracks from each expansion. Completing each tier of this achievement will reward a choice from 1 of 10 new Hero skins, featuring upgraded armor!

Battle-Ready Decks

For the first time ever, we’ll be offering curated decks optimized for the most recent expansion through the web and in-game shops, starting May 4! When these Battle-Ready Decks become available, you’ll be able to add a complete deck list from the class of your choice to your Collection permanently—each handcrafted using data captured across hundreds of thousands of play sessions to ensure you’re taking home a combat-worthy list! Battle-Ready Decks will be available for purchase for a limited time for $19.99 and will be limited to one per account

For more information on Battle-Ready Decks, check out the initial announcement blog.

Book of Heroes Thrall – Coming May 25

Torn away from his people when he was young, Thrall has fought hard to make his place in the world and keep his allies from danger. From the snows of Alterac to sunny Kalimdor, Thrall’s fate is forever entwined with the fate of the Horde. Defeating all 8 bosses in this linear adventure will reward 1 Shaman pack, containing only Shaman cards from Standard!

Bug Fixes & Game Improvements

• Fixed a bug where Power Word: Fortitude created by Deck of Lunacy would not have a updated mana cost.
• Fixed a bug where Strength Totem’s history tile would not display which minion it gave an Attack buff.
• Fixed a bug with Canonmaster Smythe where secrets would spawn as minions in a fixed order.
• Fixed a bug where Razormane Raider would not regain Frenzy if played after triggering a Freezing Trap.
• Fixed a bug where Razormane Battleguard would Corrupt cards of equal cost after Celestial Alignment is played.
• Sped up animation time for Serena Bloodfeather when drawing Attack and Health from large minions.
• Fixed a bug where effects for Steward of Darkshire and Carnival Barker would not trigger on minions summoned with one Health remaining.
• Fixed a bug where the Deathrattle for Darkspear Berserker and Nerubian Egg would not create a history tile.
• Fixed a bug where Dirty Rat summoning Outcast minions from the opponent’s hand would remove discounts from Illidari Studies.
• Fixed additional cases where Achievement pop-ups could spoil the outcome of a Battlegrounds match.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where triples formed by Khadgar were not counting toward the Ruler of Thirds Achievement.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where the Three Wishes Hero Power would flip back over after all three wishes had been used.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Golden Imp Mama would turn non-Golden during her token spawning animation.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where spectators were unable to see parts of the board when there were more than 5 players.
• Fixed a bug where some cards specific to Duels had a watermark.
• Fixed a bug where Legacy and Core set filters were not appearing when making a deck in Duels.
• Fixed a Duels bug on mobile where the client could become stuck on the rewards screen after finishing a Heroic run.
• Fixed a bug where Desperate Measures would not work in Duels or Arena.
• Fixed a bug where Nozdormu the Eternal’s effect would not trigger in Arena until your first card was played.
• Fixed a bug where attempting to enter a practice match with Demon Hunter after queuing for Ranked Classic would result in an Invalid Class error.
• Fixed a bug where the Book of Mercenaries menu was incorrectly showing a ‘New Hero!’ banner.
• Fixed a misspelling on the card Arrival in Orgrimmar from Book of Mercenaries Rokara.
• Added functionality so that players who did not claim the level 50 Hero Skin on the Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Rewards Track will be prompted to do so upon login after the 20.2 patch has gone live, and all players who do not claim the level 50 Hero Skin moving forward will now be prompted to do so when the Rewards Track refreshes in the future.
• Updated the Rewards Track to open to the earliest page on which you have unclaimed rewards.
• Fixed a bug where claiming numerous rewards on the Rewards Track could prevent additional rewards from being claimed until the Journal is reopened.
• Fixed a bug where The Final Lesson Achievement would not be marked as completed after completing Book of Mercenaries Rokara.
• Updated the Collection to so that Core and Legacy cards no longer take up 4 spots with Golden versions. Core set cards will take precedence based on card amounts.
• Fixed a bug where the Collection manager wouldn’t remember what format was picked when entering from the Play mode screen.
• Fixed a bug where some cards could appear with a blue tint when hovering over them in the deck builder.
• Fixed a bug where searching for “missing” in the Collection Manager would not count Golden cards you own toward the results of what you’re missing.
• Fixed a bug where Hero unlock notifications can appear zoomed in.
• Fixed a visual bug where the achievements “Mug Half Full” and “Lord of the Battlegrounds” would show twice as much progress as intended.
• Fixed a bug where text size could be inconsistent on Achievements in the Journal.
• Fixed a bug where the Seasonal Rewards Chest could be missing from the UI on mobile devices.
• Fixed a bug where Astral Communion would not play any VFX.
• Fixed a bug where the VFX for Malygos the Spellweaver would show over your deck when played by the opponent.
• Fixed a bug where the screen could remain desaturated and blurred after a match.
• Fixed a bug where Felheart Gul’dan was missing emotes and VO.
• Fixed a bug where Diamond cards were appearing slightly larger than other cards.
• Fixed a bug where cards that can create copies of Diamond Cards, such as Soul Mirror, would generate a Golden version instead.
• Fixed a bug where enchantments from Golden spells, such as Soul of the Murloc, would not create Golden tokens.
• Fixed a bug where leaving and returning to the client on mobile devices could make the Shop button non-functional.
• Fixed a bug where two players could become stuck on the main menu if they challenged each other at the exact same time.
• Added additional in-game messaging functionality.