Hearthstone Patch 31.0.3 Teaser – Standard, Wild & Battlegrounds Balance Update

Blizzard just posted a teaser of the upcoming balance update for both Constructed and Battlegrounds! It’s the first balance patch after the release of The Great Dark Beyond. The main aim of the patch seems to be reducing the power level of some older cards while buffing the underperforming cards from the latest expansion.

It’s a really big patch with the main focus on Standard. We’re getting 14 buffs and 14 nerfs in that format. Additionally, the patch contains a few Battlegrounds changes and two Wild ones (dealing with the early Holy Wrath Paladin issue).

Until the full patch notes are released, we only know what cards are affected and not how! The patch will drop tomorrow (November 21), most likely around 10 AM PT. Patch notes are usually released an hour before the update itself. It’s not an official timing, but it should be correct based on the previous balance updates.

For now, learn more about the patch below:

Standard

Hearthstone Patch 31.0.3 Standard balance changes.

Encircled in green below an up arrow are Dirdra Rebel Captain, Voronei Recruiter, Sha'tari Cloakfield, Askara, Yrel Beacon of Hope, Interstellar Starslicer, The Gravitational Displacer, Starship Schematic, Scrounging Shipwright, Felfire Thrusters, The Exodar, Ace Wayfinder, Dimensional Core, and Astral Vigilant.

Encircled in red below a down arrow are Reska the Pit Boss, Threads of Despair, Sleep Under the Stars, Funnel Cake, Mystery Egg, Seabreeze Chalice, Everything Must Go!, Quasar, Conniving Conman, Sea Shill, Wave of Nostalgia, Malted Magma, Reno Lone Ranger, and Lamplighter.

Here’s a full list of Standard cards that are getting changed in the patch:

Buffs

Nerfs

Wild

Hearthstone Patch 31.0.3 Wild balance changes.

Encircled in red is Order in the Court.

At the bottom of the image, encircled in white, with a green plus sign is The Ceaseless Expanse.

Nerfs

Unban

Battlegrounds

Hearthstone Patch 31.0.3 Battlegrounds balance changes.

Encircled in green below an up arrow are Karmic Chameleon, Iridescent Skyblazer, Famished Felbat, Living Azerite, Critter Wrangler, and Soft-hearted Siren.

Encircled in red below a down arrow are Phyresz, Moon-Bacon Jazzer, and Land Lubber.

And here’s a full list of Battlegrounds changes:

Buffs

  • Karmic Chameleon
  • Iridescent Skyblazer
  • Famished Felbat
  • Living Azerite
  • Critter Wrangler
  • Soft-hearted Siren

Nerfs

  • Phyresz
  • Moon-Bacon Jazzer
  • Land Lubber

Stonekeep

A Hearthstone player and writer from Poland, Stonekeep has been in a love-hate relationship with Hearthstone since Closed Beta. Over that time, he has achieved many high Legend climbs and infinite Arena runs. He's the current admin of Hearthstone Top Decks.

Check out Stonekeep on Twitter!

Leave a Reply

13 Comments

  1. PitLord
    November 21, 2024 at 2:56 AM

    I don’t understand the nerf to malted magma, if they raise the cost the card is dead (like triple the cost), if don’t go face i think is ok. And for chalice the problem is in druid class.
    If lamplighter still go face, there is no nerf to elemental mage (costo of 5 don’t change nothing)

    • Stonekeep - Site Admin
      November 21, 2024 at 4:57 AM

      Asteroid/Burn Shaman are some of the strongest decks right now and they are probably scared of them taking over the meta so a preemptive nerf is justified (Malted Magma is a surprisingly strong card in those decks). Not going face would probably be the right nerf here.

      As for the Chalice, yeah, that’s a big problem with Tourist. Many cards that weren’t too strong in their own class will get nerfed because of the other class that could abuse them. It’s not really fair but I don’t think there’s a good solution to this. It was the same thing with Dual Class cards, many of them were fine in one class but busted in the other and then both classes got punished.

      As for Lamplighter, not making it go face would just kill the card. I think that nerfing it to 5 will make a difference (the previous nerf from 3 to 4 did matter) but probably not as big as they might want. Maybe 6 mana and even better stats? So you can’t play two on the same turn in the late game? I don’t know, haha.

  2. BIackBear
    November 20, 2024 at 3:44 PM

    So much dust for the mini set 😀

  3. Fistouille
    November 20, 2024 at 9:41 AM

    Unban The Ceaseless Expanse .. no comment ..

    • Stonekeep - Site Admin
      November 20, 2024 at 10:41 AM

      Why? It was always the plan, nerf Holy Wrath Paladin, and unban Ceaseless Expanse after that. The card is not problematic by itself.

      • Fistouille
        November 20, 2024 at 11:36 AM

        100 damage face, not problematic ? what ? lol

        • XNanoks
          November 20, 2024 at 11:57 AM

          Are you daft? If they revert Order to draw a card immediately, it can’t be used with Ceaseless.

        • Stonekeep - Site Admin
          November 21, 2024 at 4:52 AM

          I said that the card is not problematic BY ITSELF. Holy Wrath Combo was problematic, of course. But it’s getting nerfed in the same patch. That was their plan from the beginning, Ceaseless ban wasn’t meant to be permanent.

          Order in the Court, a vital combo piece in that deck, is also getting nerfed in this patch. While it isn’t confirmed yet, the “nerf” will most likely be a revert to the old version that not only re-ordered your deck, but also drew the highest cost card. So when you play it you will just draw Ceaseless, you will no longer be able to set up the 100 damage combo this way.