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Whispers of the Old Gods

Whispers of the Old Gods is a Hearthstone patch released on April 24, 2016. It was versioned 5.0.0 with the build number 12574. It was released during the expansion Whispers of the Old Gods

Card Changes

  • Molten Giant - Cost increased to 25 (from 20).
  • Old Murk-Eye - No longer obtainable as a reward. Became craftable.
  • Captain's Parrot - No longer obtainable as a reward. Became craftable.
  • Master of Disguise - Now Reads: "Battlecry: Give a friendly minion Stealth until your next turn.". Previously Read: "Battlecry: Give a friendly minion Stealth.".
  • Arcane Golem - Charge keyword removed. Health increased to 4 (from 2).
  • Leper Gnome - Attack reduced to 1 (from 2).
  • Knife Juggler - Attack reduced to 2 (from 3).
  • Blade Flurry - Cost increased to 4 (from 2). Now Reads: "Destroy your weapon and deal its damage to all enemy minions." Previously Read: "Destroy your weapon and deal its damage to all enemies."
  • Hunter's Mark - Cost increased to 1 (from 0).
  • Big Game Hunter - Cost increased to 5 (from 3).
  • Keeper of the Grove - Health reduced to 2 (from 4).
  • Ironbeak Owl - Cost increased to 3 (from 2).
  • Force of Nature - Cost reduced to 5 (from 6). Now Reads: "Summon three 2/2 Treants." Previously Read: "Summon three 2/2 Treants with Charge that die at the end of the turn."
  • Ancient of Lore - Now Reads: "Choose One - Draw a card; or Restore 5 Health." Previously Read: "Choose One - Draw 2 cards; or Restore 5 Health."

New Collectible Cards

New cards have been added to the game.

New Druid Cards

  • Fandral Staghelm - Always manages to mention "Back when I was creating the World Tree…" in EVERY conversation. Sheesh! Enough already.
  • Wisps of the Old Gods - They're just normal wisps, actually. The "Of the Old Gods" bit is just marketing.
  • Forbidden Ancient - This Ancient was banned from the local tavern after tucking a 'Dr. Boom' up its sleeve.
  • Klaxxi Amber-Weaver - Amberweaving is a specialty course at the local trade school.
  • Mire Keeper - "Hey.... Is that Mire for sale?" "No. I'm keeping it."
  • Addled Grizzly - Druids who spend too long in bear form are more susceptible to the whispers of the Old Gods. Right now they are whispering the lyrics to "La Bamba".
  • Dark Arakkoa - There's a whole gradient of Arakkoa! This one is on the darker side.
  • Feral Rage - Let's be honest. One option is a lot ragier than the other.
  • Mark of Y'Shaarj - Y'Shaarj had three sons: Mark, Theodore, and Chris.

New Hunter Cards

  • Princess Huhuran - She flitters around Ahn'Qiraj dreaming of the day she will meet a sweet prince, whom she can lay thousands of eggs with.
  • Giant Sand Worm - Banned from every all-you-can-eat buffet on Azeroth.
  • Call of the Wild - "Hello. Misha, Leokk and Huffer aren't here right now, but if you leave a message we'll get back to you right away." BEEP.
  • Infested Wolf - A little flea powder will fix that right up.
  • Infest - The best part is the look on their face when you jump out of the cake! Err… corpse.
  • Forlorn Stalker - He's going to leave the dying up to you, if that's cool.
  • Carrion Grub - Carrion, my wayward grub.
  • Fiery Bat - He'll always be our first.
  • On the Hunt - The mastiff giggles if you don't hit any ducks.

New Mage Cards

  • Anomalus - That's short for "Anomnomnomnomalus".
  • Cabalist's Tome - What's in there? I bet it's cookie recipes!
  • Forbidden Flame - WARNING: This flame is not to be used unless you are a licensed acolyte of the Old Gods.
  • Servant of Yogg-Saron - Yogg-Saron always likes to complain about how he has too many servants and there are too many mouths to feed.
  • Demented Frostcaller - He prefers that you refer to him by his nickname: 'Frostwaker.'
  • Cult Sorcerer - No matter how many times we tell her not to, she keeps feeding C'Thun scraps under the table.
  • Faceless Summoner - They never get the recognition they deserve.
  • Twilight Flamecaller - Make sure you summon a Twilight Marshmallowcaller too! Mmmm Mmm Mmm!!
  • Shatter - What's cooler than being cool?

New Paladin Cards

  • Ragnaros, Lightlord - What happens when you try and corrupt a corrupted firelord? DOUBLE NEGATIVE, INSECT!
  • Vilefin Inquisitor - Nobody expects the Vilefin Inquisition!
  • Forbidden Healing - No one's quite sure why it's forbidden. And yes, that should make you nervous.
  • Rallying Blade - As far as blades go, this one is pretty great in the motivation department.
  • Steward of Darkshire - Turns out divine shields are way cheaper if you buy in bulk.
  • Selfless Hero - "Don't worry about me… I'll just be here... under these tentacles."
  • Stand Against Darkness - Or if you're too tired, you can just kind of lean against the darkness.
  • A Light in the Darkness - Wait, how can you have a light in the dark? If you turn on a light while it’s dark, doesn’t that mean it’s no longer dark?
  • Divine Strength - Every year a few paladins get disqualified from the Westfall weight lifting championship for using Divine Strength.

New Priest Cards

New Rogue Cards

  • Xaril, Poisoned Mind - It's basically your own fault if you go around drinking weird green potions handed out by creepy mantid dudes.
  • Blade of C'Thun - C'Thun demands a sacrifice! Preferably a Deathwing.
  • Shadowcaster - I mean, it's not creepy if you ASK before you steal their shadow to make a small replica of them to keep on your shelf.
  • Thistle Tea - Aren't Thistles prickly? Why would you drink them? I don't get Rogues.
  • Undercity Huckster - Psst! Wanna buy a random class card (from your opponent's class)?
  • Journey Below - Don't stop believing there's something below.
  • Southsea Squidface - Quick! Before I drown! Let me sharpen your sword for you.
  • Shadow Strike - It's like a backstab, only from the front. And with two more stabs.
  • Bladed Cultist - He has a poor understanding of the law of diminishing returns.

New Shaman Cards

New Warlock Cards

New Warrior Cards

  • Malkorok - Garrosh's best buddy. It's true. Look it up.
  • Tentacles for Arms - That's right. Garrosh just slapped you to death with a tentacle.
  • Blood Warriors - They have an uneasy rivalry with the Blood Paladins.
  • Ancient Shieldbearer - Back in her day, each shield weighed two tons and she had to carry four of them on each arm!
  • Bloodsail Cultist - They're really just in it for the Blood Parrot.
  • Blood To Ichor - For his next trick, he turns the ichor back to blood and stuffs it back in you.
  • Bloodhoof Brave - He thought the set was called "Flippers of the Old Cods" and hungrily volunteered to be in it. He is definitely going to get his hearing checked.
  • Ravaging Ghoul - But goes by "Ravishing Ghoul" when he hits the club.
  • N'Zoth's First Mate - Hates when N'Zoth yells "Ahoy Matey!!", but there's not really much he can do about it.

New Neutral Cards

  • Yogg-Saron, Hope's End - I spell your doom... Y-O-U-R D-O-O-M!
  • N'Zoth, the Corruptor - Has not been able to get "Under the Sea" out of his head for like FIVE THOUSAND YEARS.
  • Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound - When he's working out, he binds all that rage back into a ponytail.
  • Deathwing, Dragonlord - To his credit, Deathwing really took to heart the feedback he was receiving that he needed to be "more of a team player".
  • Soggoth the Slitherer - Don't tell Soggoth, but in the future he gets totally owned by the Master's Glaive and his skull becomes a tourist attraction.
  • C'Thun - C'Thun's least favorite Hearthstone card: Eye for an Eye.
  • The Boogeymonster - Has 20 years of training in classical ballet, but ALLLLLL he ever gets asked to do is boogie.
  • Hogger, Doom of Elwynn - When C'thun went to sleep, he checked under his bed for Hogger.
  • Twin Emperor Vek'lor - Do they make decisions based on age? "I'm two minutes older therefore we burn this village."
  • Mukla, Tyrant of the Vale - Pro tip: DO NOT BOGART THE BANANAS.
  • Nat, the Darkfisher - You can take away his humanity, but you will never take away his fishing pole.
  • Shifter Zerus - It's like being able to play with THREE angry chickens!
  • Blood of The Ancient One - Add two cups of Blood of the Ancient One to one cup of lemon juice. Add just a dash of sugar and stir. Delicious!
  • Scaled Nightmare - I like it because it scales.
  • Ancient Harbinger - "honey, can u run down to the store and pick up some 10 cost minions? thx"
  • Darkspeaker - People often think that Darkspeaker is the arch nemesis of Lightspeaker, but that title actually belongs to Heavyspeaker.
  • Validated Doomsayer - Really feels good about himself and is in a much better place now. But… he sure does miss piloting those shredders.
  • Faceless Shambler - "What is that thing?!" "I'm not sure, but it seems to be sort of Ysera shaped."
  • Twilight Summoner - If you strike him down, he shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
  • Crazed Worshipper - Every month they share a pancake breakfast with the Perfectly Rational Worshippers.
  • Cyclopian Horror - What are the qualifications for being a 'Horror?' Just how horrible do you have to be?
  • Doomcaller - "Hello, is Doom there? No? Can I leave a message?"
  • Corrupted Seer - For seers, it's very handy to have your crystal ball hanging right in front of your face.
  • Skeram Cultist - Just before he comes into play, there is an AWESOME training montage with C'Thun.
  • Corrupted Healbot - Not so much "corrupted" as "has terrible aim".
  • Eater of Secrets - You don't want to be around after it has eaten an explosive trap. You thought Sludge Belcher was bad...
  • Blackwater Pirate - "Look, they fell off the back of a ship, do you want them or not? I have a meeting with Y'Shaarj in like ten minutes."
  • Midnight Drake - Still fearsome in the daytime.
  • Silithid Swarmer - If your hero doesn't attack, it's just "Silithid Loner".
  • Disciple of C'Thun - C’Thun’s recruiting pitch involves cookies, which is why it’s the most popular Old God.
  • Faceless Behemoth - Rejected names: Forty-Foot Faceless, Big ol' No-face, Huge Creature Sans Face, Teddy.
  • Eldritch Horror - Often wonders what path his life might have taken if he wasn't named, you know, "Eldritch Horror".
  • Grotesque Dragonhawk - They say that "grotesque is in the eye of the beholder," but that's just because they've never seen a Grotesque Dragonhawk. Yikes!
  • Bog Creeper - He's tried other things, but bog sidling, bog ambling, and bog trundling just aren't as effective as bog creeping.
  • Nerubian Prophet - It’s a self-reducing prophecy.
  • Psych-o-Tron - "Annoyinger-o-Tron" was just too unwieldy. And accurate.
  • Aberrant Berserker - I berserk, therefore I am.
  • Infested Tauren - The Overmind and the Old Gods are surprisingly similar.
  • Cult Apothecary - Cults need pharmacists too.
  • C'Thun's Chosen - He gave her a promise ring and everything.
  • Evolved Kobold - You no take tentacle!
  • Polluted Hoarder - Roll ‘greed’ OR THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU.
  • Am'gam Rager - peerc rewop
  • Spawn of N'Zoth - Who's a cute widdle N'Zoth? You are! Yes you are! Yes you're the cutest widdle N'Zoth in the whole world!!!
  • Twilight Elder - Just doesn't understand those Twilight Youngsters any more - with their comic books and their rock music.
  • Squirming Tentacle - Yeah, I think we can agree that killing the squirming tentacle first is a good idea.
  • Twisted Worgen - Sometimes the Old Gods' corruptions gives you power untold, sometimes you get +1 Attack. We can’t all be winners in the Eldritch lottery.
  • Beckoner of Evil - Here, Evil! C'mon boy!
  • Twilight Geomancer - "Ok C'Thun, repeat after me: 'Your mother was a hamster.'"
  • Bilefin Tidehunter - Bile actually makes for surprisingly sturdy fins.
  • Duskboar - Often excluded from dinner parties. To be fair, he is very boaring.
  • Zealous Initiate - Ok, Initiate. You need to settle down and do your job. In this case, that means die so someone else can get a minor buff.
  • Tentacle of N'Zoth - Because EVERYDAY is the Day of the Tentacle of N'zoth.

Official Patch Notes

Quote From Blizzard

This Hearthstone patch prepares the Tavern for the arrival of Whispers of the Old Gods! This patch also paves the way fora new way to play Hearthstone, and introduces adjustments to key Basic and Classic cards. Along with bug fixes, we've also added new card backs and Tavern Brawls.

Read on for details!

  • Do you hear them? The Whispers of the Old Gods expansion will arrive on April 26! You can purchase Whispers of the Old Gods card packs from the in-game shop and play them beginning April 26.
  • As of April 26, the Year of the Kraken will begin, bringing with it Standard and Wild formats. Check out the A New Way to Play blog at www.playhearthstone.com for more info.
  • Friendly Challenge menu has been updated. Starting April 26, you can challenge friends to Standard, Wild, or Tavern Brawl games.
  • Collection Manager’s Set Filter has been updated.
  • Some Deck Recipes have been updated for Whispers of the Old Gods. See what we’ve cooked up!
  • The following card backs have been added:


    Shadowmoon Valley
    Zul'Drak
    Halfhill

    • The guaranteed pack from Arena Runs will now always be from the most recently released expansion. Additionally, you are slightly more likely to receive a second card pack from a different Standard set.
    • The “Sorry” emote has been replaced with a new “Wow” emote. Wow!
    • The following cards have changed. For full details regarding these changes, please read the Keeping Hearthstone Freshblog:
      • Ancient of Lore – Now draws 1 card instead of 2
      • Force of Nature – Mana cost decreased from 6 to 5, Treants no longer have Charge and no longer die at the end of the turn
      • [Hearthstone Card (Keeper of the Grove) Not Found] – Health reduced from 4 to 2
      • Ironbeak Owl – Mana cost increased from 2 to 3
      • Big Game Hunter – Mana cost increased from 3 to 5
      • [Hearthstone Card (Hunter’s Mark) Not Found] – Mana cost increased from 0 to 1
      • Blade Flurry – Mana cost increased from 2 to 4 and only affects Minions
      • Knife Juggler – Attack reduced from 3 to 2
      • Leper Gnome – Attack reduced from 2 to 1
      • Arcane Golem – Health increased from 2 to 4, no longer has Charge
      • Molten Giant – Mana cost increased from 20 to 25
      • Master of Disguise – Stealth granted by this card now only lasts until the start of the next turn
    • Non-Basic Cards that have been changed will be disenchantable for their full dust value for a limited time. 
    • Resolved various issues with AI behavior and gameplay such as:
    • Quests to obtain Old Murk-Eye and [Hearthstone Card (Captain’s Parrot) Not Found] have been disabled, as those cards are only available in Wild mode. These cards can be crafted as normal with the release of Whispers of the Old Gods.
    • Added improved visual effects to certain Classic cards.
    • The reconnect feature has been improved.
    • Fixed various audio, graphical, and UI issues.

    More information can be found in our blog at www.playhearthstone.com

Balance Reasoning

Quote From Blizzard

As the Year of the Kraken approaches, the time has come to reveal the results of our Basic and Classic card review. We focused on Basic and Classic cards because those sets will form the foundation of both formats for years to come. It took much careful consideration to arrive here, but we believe that—between our own analysis and reading plenty of community feedback—we’ve identified the right cards to change.

There’s a simple guiding principle that underlies each of the changes you’re about to see: New card releases should have an impact on Standard and enrich Wild, to make sure that Hearthstone is always as dynamic, fresh, and fun as it can be.

Read on for the details!

Druid Cards

The most popular Druid decks are consistently composed of the same big chunk of Druid cards. That puts a damper on deckbuilding creativity and has left the Druids feeling stagnant. We want to inject some life into Druid deckbuilding, so we’re adjusting some of the worst offenders.

It’s important to point out that, in general, we like that Classes in Hearthstone have signature cards that appear in decks frequently, since they help give each Class its identity. We also still think it’s good for some signature Class cards to be in Druid decks, too. For example, Innervate and Wild Growth embody the Druid’s unique strength, so we’ve chosen not to adjust them.

Ancient of Lore
Drawing cards is powerful in Hearthstone, and Ancient of Lore easily found its way into nearly every popular Druid deck. We’d like Druid players to feel that other cards can compete with Ancient of Lore, so we’ve reduced the number of cards drawn from 2 to 1.

Force of Nature
The new version of Force of Nature lowers its mana cost by 1, but removes Charge and makes the summoned Treants permanent—like the other Treants that Druids summon. This change also removes the powerful one-turn combo of Force of Nature and Savage Roar. Now, opponents will have a chance to deal with the threat that the Treants represent, and it won’t feel mandatory to always include the combo.

Keeper of the Grove
Keeper of the Grove is a strong and versatile minion that combines Silence with solid stats, which made the decision to include it in every Druid deck virtually automatic. Whether or not to introduce a source of Silence to a deck should require some decision making, so Keeper of the Grove shouldn’t be a default choice for all Druid decks. Its stats have been changed from 2/4 to 2/2.  

Silence & Removal

Speaking of Keeper of the Grove, Silence and minion removal are potent effects in Hearthstone. Currently, some removal options are too widely played, are attached to minions with efficient stats, or are simply too powerful. While removal is an important part of Hearthstone, it also makes playing big, exciting minions less rewarding. We are adjusting some of these cards so that the decision to add them to your deck comes with a cost, especially if you don’t end up finding an ideal target for them. These changes should help make cards with high attack or cool effects more interesting too.

Ironbeak Owl
Ironbeak Owl is a staple source for an inexpensive Silence in many decks. In line with our overall goal to make Silence effects more costly, Ironbeak Owl is moving from 2 to 3 mana.

Big Game Hunter
Big Game Hunter represents an inexpensive source of removal that is packaged with a minion. It’s efficient enough that some Heroes with powerful Class-based removal cards choose to run the neutral Big Game Hunter. We’re increasing the cost of the card from 3 mana to 5 mana.

[Hearthstone Card (Hunter’s Mark) Not Found]
Hunter’s Mark is an important option for Hunters, but it’s too efficient at 0 mana. We are increasing its cost to 1.

Blade Flurry
Blade Flurry is a problem because it enables both board clear and heavy burst damage, and it’s also an obstacle to adding better cards for Rogues. To address these issues, the cost of Blade Flurry is moving from 2 to 4 mana, and it will now only affect minions, so that Rogues have to choose between removing threats or damaging the enemy Hero.

Powerful Neutral Minions

Strong, widely-played neutral cards can stifle deck-building decisions and homogenize decks. These cards also make it more difficult to create new cards that can compete with them. We’re adjusting these neutral cards so that other cards can become compelling replacements, and open the door for more of a deck’s power to come from its Class identity.

Knife Juggler
Knife Juggler should be a good choice in decks that play many cheap minions, but with 3 Attack, it is played almost universally. We’re reducing Knife Juggler’s Attack from 3 to 2, so this card will move into a more specialized role in the decks that include it, instead of always being among the best choices for a 2 mana-cost minion.

Leper Gnome
Leper Gnome is powerful for its cost, finds its way into almost every aggressive deck, and requires no further deck building decisions to be effective. We’d like other 1 mana minions to be more compelling, so we’re reducing its Attack from 2 to 1.

Arcane Golem
Charge is an ability we’ve learned to use sparingly. Arcane Golem has been a staple in many aggressive and ‘one turn kill’ combo decks, and its drawback is rarely relevant. We’re addressing both issues by removing Charge and increasing Arcane Golem’s Health, while leaving its drawback. Arcane Golem will now be a 3 mana 4/4 with Battlecry: Give your opponent a Mana Crystal.

Molten Giant
Molten Giant is an interesting card, but it’s too easy for players to reduce its mana cost to 0. We’re increasing Molten Giant’s mana cost to 25 to increase the risks players must take to get a free Giant. The changes to Force of Nature and Arcane Golem will make dropping to low health somewhat less risky as well, which helped spur this change.

Master of Disguise
The ability of Master of Disguise to grant permanent Stealth has been a design obstacle for a long time, so we are changing Master of Disguise to only grant Stealth until the next turn. This change opens up exciting options for future cards.

Thanks for reading along as we’ve explored the decisions that have shaped these cards. These changes will arrive as part of Hearthstone Patch 5.0. Then be sure to join us on April 26 for the arrival of Hearthstone’s newest expansion: Whispers of the Old Gods, the introduction of formats, and the beginning of the Year of the Kraken!

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