(Patch Out!) Hearthstone 26.2.2 Patch Notes – Constructed, Battlegrounds and Duels Balance Changes

Patch 26.2.2 is finally here! It was originally supposed to release yesterday, but it was delayed until today because Blizzard found some last-minute issue and couldn’t push it out in that state. Luckily it looks like the problem has been resolved. Team 5 has already shown which cards are getting changed, so notes won’t be a massive surprise, but we finally know how they are getting nerfed/buffed.

If everything goes correctly, we expect the patch to go live around 10 AM PT (19:00 CET), or an hour after those notes were posted. We’ll update this post when it’s out! Update: The patch is now out! Since it’s data-only, it should be available on both PC & mobile.

It’s a pretty big balance patch, with 14 Constructed, 25 Battlegrounds, and nearly 20 Duels changes in total. Here’s a full list of Constructed balance changes:

Nerfs

• Sinful Brand – Now deals 1 damage to the enemy hero (instead of 2).
• Felscale Evoker – Now is a 3/7 (instead of 5/7).
• Predation – Now deals 2 damage and costs 2 mana (instead of 3 damage and 3 mana).
• Battlefield Necromancer – Now is a 2/2 Health (instead of 2/3).
• Blightfang – Now costs 4 mana (instead of 3).
• High Cultist Basaleph – Now costs 5 mana (instead of 4).
• Anub'Rekhan – Now gives 5 Armor (instead of 8).
• Scribbling Stenographer – Now costs 7 mana (instead of 6).

Buffs

• Symphony of Sins – Now costs 5 mana (instead of 6).
• From the Depths – Now costs 3 mana and reduces the card cost by 2 (instead of costing 4 and reducing the cost by 3).
• Chorus Riff – Now gives +3/+3 (instead of +2/+2).
• Demolition Renovator – Now has Tradeable (effect stays the same).
• Rotten Applebaum – Now is a 4/6 that restores 6 Health (instead of 4/5 that restores 4 Health).
• Pandaren Importer – Now is a 2 mana 1/3 (instead of 3 mana 2/4).

Nerfed cards will be disenchantable for their full crafting cost for the next 2 weeks. Keep in mind, however, that if you own a Signature version fo Anub'Rekhan, once you disenchant him, you will no longer be able to re-craft the Signature version, so think carefully before doing so.

If you want to learn more about the patch, including dev comments for the above nerfs/buffs, as well as Battlegrounds & Duels changes, check out full patch notes below:

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.

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.

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