As promised, Illidan and his lust for vengeance arrived to Hearthstone's Battlegrounds with today's Ashes of Outland pre-patch.
New Minions
He didn't arrive alone though, he brought two new minions with him! The Mech Deflect-o-Bot is unique to Battlegrounds but the Murloc, Felfin Navigator, will also be part of the upcoming Ashes of Outland expansion. Both minions can now be found among your Tier 3 picks.
Removed Minion
The patch also saw one Tier 3 minion lose its place in the popular game mode. You probably noticed which card Deflect-o-Bot resembled and you guessed right, say goodbye to the Mech powerhouse Cobalt Guardian.
![All The Great Dark Beyond Card Reveals for October 12 - Day 2 [Finished]](dark-beyond-reveals-day-2-thumb.webp)
Comments
Cobalt was annoying to deal with but i kinda feel bad for him. He lost his only place in the spotlight, got replaced by an imposter and is now forever stuck in the wild pit of irrelevance. Btw, the new card came with a nerf to attack but two buffs: it starts with divine shield and it gains attack during combat. I don't think this is going to change anything. Maybe it will actually become worse.
Now does the +1 attack persist into the bob phase for Deflect-o-Bot? Or is it only temporary for that attack round?
I assume not, since you don't have cards that can summon a mech in that phase, you only play mechs. Unless it's transformed through random hero power, of course.
Although it's not documented, Imp Mama is also changed from 6/8 to 6/10 (saw that on Savjz's stream).
I've also heard that there are more changes than what was listed in that blog. Wouldn't be the first time Blizzard doesn't share everything with us.
Good bye Cobalt Guardian and welcome to essentially Colbalt Guardian 2.0, Deflect-o-Bot
anyone actually seen this murloc in BG's yet?
Since it is a card in the new set also, I bet something in the code is hiding him until it releases.
I've played a few rounds and haven't seen it yet. I'm not convinced that it was added this time. It's probably going to be released in an upcoming patch.
Good riddance cobalt.
Even though a lot of us wanted to see a nerf to Cobalt-esque minions, the upside is that Blizzard can change Deflect-o-Bot at will since it's not a minion that exists outside of Battlegrounds. I don't recall every balance change, but I don't think they've changed the card text, Attack, or Health of any minions that aren't exclusive to BGs. They've only adjusted the Tier or removed the minion outright.
Deflect-o-Bot may prove too weak in the early/mid-game to be as powerful as Cobalt, but if it doesn't, then removing its inherent Divine Shield would be a good start.
Keep an eye on Battlegrounds bugs; I'm pretty sure that I kicked Sir Finley out of the game (with -10 or so), but he just stayed their, and stats showed we got a draw.
Yes, sometimes desyncs happen
Do we have the full arts of new cards in this patch?
I‘m not sure that deflectobot is a nerf...
As I read it, it has divine shield from the beginning.
Except it totally starts with a Divine Shield lol :P
Read the text properly, it starts with divine shield even if you play no other mech. It even increases in attack on it's own rather then only gaining divine shield when a mech is summoned during combat. Seems to me like an obvious buff.
Check again
Is it weird that illidan is a battlegrounds hero and a basic hero? And will he be replaced by that one other demon guy who is replacing illidan's card?