September 2023 Balance

September 2023 Balance is a Hearthstone patch released on Sept. 28, 2023. It was versioned 27.4.2 with the build number 186852. It was released during the expansion TITANS

Card Changes

• Movement of Pride - Now draws a random minion instead of highest Cost minion.
• Starstrung Bow - Attack decreased to 5 (from 6).
• Sanitize - Cost increased to 5 (from 4).
• Chamber of Viscidus - Cost increased to 3 (from 2). Durability reduced to 2 (from 3).
• Dark Bargain - Cost increased to 4 (from 3).
• Tiny Knight of Evil - Buff reduced to +2/+1 (from +2/+2).
• Coppertail Snoop - Stats decreased to 3/2 (from 4/3).
• Contaminated Lasher - Cost and Health increased to 3 (from 2).
• Gadgetzan Auctioneer - Cost increased to 7 (from 6). Removed from Core Set.
• Blast from the Past - Cost increased to 4 (from 3).
• Jade Telegram - Cost increased to 4 (from 3).
• Scarab Gong - Health decreased to 1 (from 2).
• Blade of C'Thun - Cost increased to 7 (from 6).
• Spirit of the Frog - Cost increased to 5 (from 3).
• Firemancer Flurgl - Cost increased to 4 (from 2).
• Kabal Lackey - Next Secret costs (1) (increased from 0).
• Tony, King of Piracy - Banned in Wild.
• Tomb Traitor - Frost Rune removed from deckbuilding requirements.
• Frost Queen Sindragosa - Blood Rune removed from deckbuilding requirements.
• Tyr's Tears - Resurrects 'minions from your class' (was 'Paladin minions').
• Tirion Fordring - Stats increased to 8/8 (from 6/6).
• Lord Jaraxxus - Cost decreased to 8 (from 9).
• Spitelash Siren - Re-nerfed: Cost increased to 5 (from 4). Health increased to 6 (from 5).
• Ivory Rook - Health decreased to 3 (from 4).
• Trial of the Jormungars - Cost increased to 6 (from 5).
• Scargil - Cost increased to 5 (from 4).
• Mechwarper - Banned in Wild.
• Dragonfire Potion - Cost decreased to 5 (from 6).
• Craftsman's Hammer - Armor gain reduced to 3 (from 4).
• The Scarab Lord - Health of the Gong decreased to 1 (from 2).
• Shadow Essence - Cost increased to 7 (from 6).
• Down with the Ship - Frost Rune removed from deckbuilding requirements.
• Cenarion Hold - Cost decreased to 1 (from 2).
• Bronze Dragonknight - Now has Taunt.
• Elemental Destruction - Overload decreased to 2 (from 5).
• Al'Akir, the Winds of Time - Armor increased to 8 (from 5).
• The Jailer - Temporarily banned from Standard and Wild.

Quote From Blizzard

Patch 27.4.2 is a data-only balance patch, launching today, with the updates across modes.

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: We have a lot of card changes in this patch, and a lot to share about why these changes are being made. 

For the Standard-focused changes, we’re addressing both power outliers and play experience outliers in this patch. When we buffed Warrior in our last balance patch, we did so knowing that they’d get more powerful tools in the Mini-Set, but we wanted to make sure that the deck hit, so we erred on the side of over-buffing it, knowing that we’d have the option to make a small correction back down if we needed. Now that the Mini-Set has landed, Warrior is looking like one of the most standout classes, so we’re making those adjustments. Hunter also has one of the strongest decks in the format, and we’d expect it to get even stronger after the other changes we’re making in this patch, so we’re making a small adjustment to bring its power down a little as well. 

Movement of Pride is an adjustment to take away the negative play experience of cheating out a super-early Sargeras. Coppertail Snoop is an adjustment to a powerful deck and a negative play experience, by taking away some of Mech Rogue’s burst and snowball potential. 

Spitelash Siren and Gadgetzan Auctioneer are also combined power and sentiment issues, but mostly focused on the higher end of the ladder. For a long time, Auctioneer has been a card that only popped up in Standard when it was up to no good. In this case, the Mini-Set provided a critical mass of effects that allowed for a deck that used Auctioneer to consistently draw through its entire deck and OTK as early as turn 5. That’s not the bar we want for Standard, regardless of the deck’s overall winrate. In this case, it did look like the deck was trending towards being very powerful as it was getting refined, but we needed to make an adjustment no matter what. With this patch, we’ve both removed Auctioneer from Standard and increased its cost by 1, since it was a problem card in Wild as well. 

For the Wild-focused changes, Caverns of Time is our first ever direct-to-Wild expansion. We don’t plan to make regular Wild updates of this scale, but some cards from Caverns ended up needing some adjustments, and that presented us with a special opportunity to make adjustments more generally. 

Wild is a mode that’s inherently full of powerful interactions, but we still want the mode to feel like you’re playing Hearthstone. That’s why these adjustments focus on the biggest play experience outliers in the mode—decks that are frustrating now and that, if we didn’t step in, would likely remain frustrating for a long time. There are some strong Wild decks that we didn’t touch in these changes because, though they’re powerful, they still generally fit in the Hearthstone mold. We’ve found that Wild players often have different goals for the mode so we expect that some players will wish we hit more or different things, but we hope that these adjustments will make the mode more fun for more players overall. 

Finally, for the Twist-focused changes, we’ve seen that the Wonders format was faster than we wanted, not leaving much room for some of the cards that are evocative of this Wonders era. The adjustments in this patch are targeted at weakening the format’s clearest power outliers, and, at the same time, buffing some late-game payoffs and control tools. We hope that these changes, plus next month’s Twist modifier, will allow some room for slower strategies to exist in the format. 

The following cards have been adjusted to be less powerful:

Movement of Pride (generated by Symphony of Sins)

• Old: Draw your highest Cost minion. Reduce its Cost by (6).
• New: Draw a minion. Reduce its Cost by (6).

Coppertail Snoop

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

Spitelash Siren

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

Starstrung Bow

• Old: 6 Attack, 2 Durability
• New: 5 Attack, 2 Durability

Craftsman’s Hammer

• Old: Whenever your hero attacks, gain 4 Armor.
• New: Whenever your hero attacks, gain 3 Armor.

Sanitize

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Contaminated Lasher

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

Gadgetzan Auctioneer

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]
• Gadgetzan Auctioneer also has been removed from the Core Set, so it is no longer Standard legal.

Chamber of Viscidus

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

Dark Bargain

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Tiny Knight of Evil

• Old: Whenever you discard a card, gain +2/+2.
• New: Whenever you discard a card, gain +2/+1.

Blast from the Past

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Ivory Rook

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

Jade Telegram

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Scarab Gong (generated by The Scarab Lord)

• Old: 0 Attack, 2 Health
• New: 0 Attack, 1 Health

Blade of C’Thun

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]

Trial of the Jormungars

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Spirit of the Frog

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Firemancer Flurgl

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: 4 Mana]

Scargil

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Shadow Essence

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]

Kabal Lackey

• Old: The next Secret you play this turn costs (0).
• New: The next Secret you play this turn costs (1).

Mechwarper

• Now banned in Wild.

Tony, King of Piracy

• Now banned in Wild.

All versions of the above cards that can be disenchanted, will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 27.4.2.

The following cards have been adjusted to be more powerful:

Down with the Ship

• Old: [Frost, Unholy]
• New: [Unholy]

Tomb Traitor

• Old: [Frost, Unholy]
• New: [Unholy]

Frost Queen Sindragosa

• Old: [Blood, Frost]
• New: [Frost]

Tyr’s Tears

• Old: Resurrect 3 different Paladin minions. Set their stats to 2/2. Forge: Resurrect another.
• New: Resurrect 3 different minions from your class. Set their stats to 2/2. Forge: Resurrect another.
• Dev Comment: This will make the card better when generated by other classes.

Tirion Fordring

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

Lord Jaraxxus

• Old: [9 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Cenarion Hold

• Old: [2 Mana]
• New: [1 Mana]

Dragonfire Potion

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Bronze Dragonknight

• Old: Battlecry: If this has 5 or more Attack, summon a copy of this.
• New: Taunt. Battlecry: If this has 5 or more Attack, summon a copy of this.

Elemental Destruction

• Old: Deal 4-5 damage to all minions. Overload: (5)
• New: Deal 4-5 damage to all minions. Overload: (2)

Al’Akir, the Winds of Time

• Old: 5 Armor
• New: 8 Armor

Battlegrounds Updates

Anomaly System Update

Each week’s new Anomalies will now have a slightly smaller appearance bonus in higher-rated lobbies (they will still have an appearance bonus for the first week they are added compared to all the other Anomalies, but not as large of one). Lower-rated lobbies will still have the same offering bonus as before.

Anomalies Updates

Big League

• Old: Only Tavern Tiers 3, 4, 5, and 6 exist.
• New: Only Tavern Tiers 3, 4, 5, and 6 exist. Start with 10 extra Armor.
• Dev Comment: Also, Demons are now banned from this Anomaly.

Everything’s On Fire

• Old: At the start of the game, take 30 damage. After another hero dies, regain 5 Health.
• New: At the start of the game, take 25 damage. After another hero dies, regain 5 Health.

A Faire Reward (the Triple Reward)

• Old: Discover a Darkmoon Prize.
• New: Discover a Tier __ Darkmoon Prize.
• Dev Comment: Darkmoon Prizes are now locked based on the Tier you were at when you tripled, instead of giving a Prize based on the Tier you’re at when you play them.

Yogg-iseum

• Old: At the start of each turn, all heroes spin the Wheel of Yogg-Saron.
• New: At the start of each turn, all heroes spin the SAME Wheel of Yogg-Saron.
• Dev Comment: This is a text-only wording update for clarity.

Golganneth’s Tempest

• The following heroes are now banned from games with this Anomaly: A.F.Kay, Captain Eudora, Dinotamer Brann, Elise Starseeker, Forest Warden Omu, Fungalmancer Flurgl, Galakrond, Kurtrus Ashfallen, Ozumat, Scabbs Cutterbutter, Silas Darkmoon, Overlord Saurfang, Professor Putricide, Xyrella, Yogg-Saron, and Y’Shaarj.

Minion Updates

Imposing Percussionist

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

Shady Aristocrat (Sire Denathrius's Buddy)

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

Piloted Whirl-o-Tron (Sneed’s Buddy)

• Old: [Tier 3] 4 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Copy a different friendly minion’s Deathrattles.
• New: [Tier 5] 5 Attack, 4 Health. Start of Combat: Copy all other minions’ Deathrattles (except Piloted Whirl-o-Tron).
• Dev Comment: Yes, ALL. With this update, Piloted Whirl-o-Tron has been returned to the “Bring in the Buddies” Anomaly’s Buddy pool.

Street Magician (The Great Akazamzarak’s Buddy)

• Old: 5 Attack, 3 Health. Deathrattle: Put a random Secret into the Battlefield.
• New: 3 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, cast a random Secret.

Minion Pool Updates

• Keyboard Igniter and Spark-ling have been removed from the minion pool.
• Felemental has been returned to the minion pool.

Duels Updates

Hero Power Update

Dino Tracking

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

Passive Treasure Updates

Starving

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

Corrupted Felstone

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

Treasure Pool Updates

• Starving has been moved to Pool 1.
• Unlocked Potential has been moved to Ultra Rare.

Card Pool Update

• The Caverns Below has been banned from initial deckbuilding and all card pools.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Duels] Hunter-class heroes can now be offered Arcane Passive treasures.
• [Duels] Warrior-class heroes can now be offered Pool 2 Fire Passive treasures.
• [Events] Clarified the text on an event daily quest requiring that you “experience an Anomaly” must be completed in Traditional Hearthstone, not Battlegrounds.
• [Collection] Fixed a bug where Signature Cenarius was not showing up in collections.

Quote From Blizzard

Patch 27.4.3 is a server-side hotfix patch rolling out today with the following updates and bug fixes.

Hearthstone Update

• The Jailer has been temporarily banned from Standard and Wild

Dev Comment: We’re putting The Jailer in jail for his crimes against the meta. When we made our last set of changes, Druid was still developing as a class following the Mini-Set. After our changes were locked in, Tony Druid appeared as a top archetype in Standard. We know that we want to adjust something in that deck in our next balance window, and we also know we don’t want this deck to warp the meta in the meantime, so we’re temporarily banning The Jailer until our next scheduled balance patch.

The Jailer will be released on bail (unbanned) in our next scheduled balance patch. At that time, we’ll make other adjustments to address Tony Druid and anything else that needs tweaking.

Battlegrounds Updates
The following heroes have been banned from the following Anomalies:

• Golganneth’s Tempest: The Rat King
• Gladiator’s Spoils: Fungalmancer Flurgl, Infinite Toki, Maiev Shadowsong, Onyxia, Patches the Pirate, and Vanndar Stormpike

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Sinister Soulcage could target enemy Undead minions.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Sif’s cost was not reduced by Primordial Studies.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug with Kabal Lackey’s updated effect.
• [Duels] Removed Elixir of Vigor from the Passive Treasure pool due to an unintended interaction.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug where Remembrance of Ice would resurrect minions killed by opponents’ Frost spells as well as yours.
• [Duels] Fixed a bug where Optimized Polarity would trigger off certain Magnetic Mechs.
• [Events] Fixed a bug where the “Alone in the Dark” event quest was triggering based on when a friendly Titan was destroyed, instead of when you destroyed a Titan.