Hearthstone Announces Massive Balance Patch - Strong Nerfs to Standard Cards, Reversions for Cards Moving to Wild

Hearthstone's latest news article announced a the return of several events to get you hyped for Into the Emerald Dream, but it also included an astounding number of card changes. We've got a lot of nerfs to cards that are staying in Standard once Rotation hits, but also a lot of buffs (or, rather, nerf reversions) to A LOT of cards that will be going to Wild soon.

The patch will happen on March 18th, so there'll be about a week to have fun with those cards in Standard before they're denied entry Into the Emerald Dream. In total we have 19 Standard nerfs (plus 4 of the Terran Starships), and a whooping 43 reversions to soon-to-be-Wild cards.

Quote From Blizzard

A HUGE Balance Update Coming in Patch 32.0 (March 18)

Last, but certainly not least, several balance changes are coming soon, including our usual updates to cards soon rotating into Wild, as well as updates to cards that will be staying in Standard. These changes go live with Patch 32.0, on March 18. That means these changes will apply to the Theorycrafting event, the Pre-Release Tavern Brawl, the Esports Open Qualifiers, and, of course, the launch of Into the Emerald Dream. Take it all in, the fun starts tomorrow!

 

Standard-Focused Updates

Dreadhound Handler

• Old: 2/2
• New: 2/1

Infestor

• Old: 3/2. Deathrattle: Your Zerg minions have +1/+1 for the rest of the game.
• New: 4/2. Deathrattle: Your Zerg minions have +1 Attack for the rest of the game.

Hydration Station

• Old: [8 Mana]
• New: [10 Mana]

Alien Encounters

• Old: Summon two 2/5 Beasts with Taunt. Costs (1) less for each card you Discovered this game.
• New: Summon two 2/4 Beasts with Taunt. Costs (1) less for each card you Discovered this game.

Painter’s Virtue

• Old: Lifesteal. After your hero attacks, give minions in your hand +1/+1.
• New: After your hero attacks, give minions in your hand +1/+1.

Holy Glowsticks

• Old: Lifesteal. Deal 4 damage. Costs (1) if you’ve cast a Holy spell this turn.
• New: Lifesteal. Deal 4 damage to a minion. Costs (1) if you’ve cast a Holy spell this turn.

Timewinder Zarimi

• Old: Battlecry: Once per game, if you’ve summoned 8 other Dragons, take an extra turn.
• New: Battlecry: Once per game, if you’ve played 8 other Dragons, take an extra turn.

Raza the Resealed

• Old: Battlecry: For the rest of the game, your Hero Power refreshes whenever you play a card.
• New (reworked): Battlecry: Shuffle copies of 5 random friendly minions that died this game into your deck. They cost (0).

Orbital Halo

• Old: Give a minion +2/+1 and Divine Shield. Costs (0) if you played an adjacent card this turn.
• New: Give a minion +1/+1 and Divine Shield. Costs (0) if you played an adjacent card this turn.

Domino Effect

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Kerrigan, Queen of Blades

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Zergling

• Old: Battlecry: Summon a copy of this.
• New: Battlecry: Summon a 1/1 Zergling.

Jim Raynor

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Viking (Lift Off and Starport Token)

• Old: Starship Piece. When this is launched, gain 7 Armor.
• New: Starship Piece. When this is launched, gain 5 Armor.

Liberator (Lift Off and Starport Token)

• Old: Starship Piece. When this is launched, deal 2 damage to all enemies.
• New: Starship Piece. When this is launched, deal 2 damage to all enemy minions.

Raven (Lift Off and Starport Token)

• Old: Starship Piece. When this is launched, gain 3 random Bonus Effects.
• New: Starship Piece. When this is launched, gain 2 random Bonus Effects.

Banshee (Lift Off and Starport Token)

• Old: Starship Piece. When this is launched, deal 5 damage to a random enemy.
• New: Starship Piece. When this is launched, deal 3 damage to a random enemy.

The Ceaseless Expanse

• Old: 15/15
• New: 10/10

Incindius

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [7 Mana]

Bob the Bartender (Recruit a Minion option)

• Old: Put an enemy minion into your hand. Your opponent gets 3 Coins.
• New: Put a copy of an enemy minion into your hand. Your opponent gets 3 Coins.

Zilliax Deluxe 3000 (Virus Module)

• Old: 1/4. Elusive, Poisonous, Reborn
• New: 2/5. Elusive, Poisonous

Gorgonzormu

• Old: [3 Mana] 3/3
• New: [4 Mana] 4/4

Arkonite Defense Crystal

• Old: Taunt. Deathrattle: Gain 6 Armor. Starship Piece.
• New: Taunt. Deathrattle: Gain 4 Armor. Starship Piece.

 

The disenchantable cards above, plus Lift Off and Starport, will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 32.0.

 

Wild-Focused Updates

Reska, the Pit Boss

• Old: [25 Mana]
• New: [20 Mana]

Sickly Grimewalker

• Old: [4 Mana] 3/5
• New: [3 Mana] 2/4

Blindeye Sharpshooter

• Old: [4 Mana] 3/3
• New: [3 Mana] 1/3

Desert Nestmatron

• Old: 3/4
• New: 3/5

Splish-Splash Whelp

• Old: [3 Mana] 3/2
• New: [2 Mana] 2/1

Cactus Construct

• Old: Discover a 2-Cost minion. Summon a 1/1 copy of it.
• New: Discover a 2-Cost minion. Summon a 1/2 copy of it.

Doomkin

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Shattered Reflections

• Old: Choose a non-Titan minion. Add a copy of it to your deck and battlefield.
• New: Choose a minion. Add a copy of it to your hand, deck, and battlefield.

Starstrung Bow

• Old: 5/2
• New: 6/2

Saddle Up

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Awakening Tremors

• Old: Get three 3/1 Worms. They cost (1).
• New: Get three 4/1 Worms. They cost (1).

Inquisitive Creation

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Chaos Creation

• Old: Deal 5 damage. Summon a random 5-Cost minion. Destroy the bottom 5 cards of your deck.
• New: Deal 6 damage. Summon a random 6-Cost minion. Destroy the bottom 6 cards of your deck.

Showdown

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Keeper’s Strength

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Prismatic Beam

• Old: [8 Mana] Deal 3 damage to all enemy minions. Costs (1) less for each enemy minion.
• New: [7 Mana] Deal 3 damage to all enemies. Costs (1) less for each enemy minion.

Thirsty Drifter

• Old: [7 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

Injured Hauler

• Old: Overheal: Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions.
• New: Overheal: Deal 2 damage to all enemy minions.

Lab Constructor

• Old: [5 Mana]
• New: [4 Mana]

Shattershambler

• Old: The next Deathrattle minion you play immediately dies.
• New: The next Deathrattle minion you play costs (1) less and immediately dies.

Coppertail Snoop

• Old: 3/2
• New: 4/3

Flash of Lightning

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Crash of Thunder

• Old: [6 Mana]
• New: [5 Mana]

Staff of the Nine Frogs (generated by Doctor Holli'dae)

• Old: 1/9
• New: 2/9

Aftershocks

• Old: Deal 1 damage to all minions, three times. Costs (1) less if you cast a spell last turn.
• New: Deal 1 damage to all minions, three times. Costs (2) less if you cast a spell last turn.

Forge of Wills

• Old: [4 Mana]
• New: [3 Mana]

Crescendo

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Sludge on Wheels

• Old: 2/4
• New: 2/5

Waste Remover

• Old: 5/7
• New: 7/7

Azerite Snake

• Old: Battlecry: Your hero steals 7 Health from the enemy hero.
• New: Battlecry: Your hero steals 10 Health from the enemy hero.

Movement of Pride (generated by Symphony of Sins)

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

Odyn, Prime Designate

• Old: [9 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Deepminer Brann

• Old: [8 Mana]
• New: [6 Mana]

 

Battleworn Faceless

• Old: [3 Mana]
• New: [2 Mana]

Sanitize

• Old: [6 Mana] Deal damage equal to your Armor to all minions. Forge: Gain 4 Armor first.
• New: [4 Mana] Deal damage equal to your Armor to all minions. Forge: Gain 3 Armor first.

Craftsman’s Hammer

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

Yogg-Saron, Unleashed

• Old: [10 Mana]
• New: [9 Mana]

Reno, Lone Ranger

• Old: [10 Mana]
• New: [8 Mana]

Pozzik, Audio Engineer

• Old: 4/4
• New: 5/4

Molten Giant

• Old: [22 Mana]
• New: [20 Mana]

Celestial Projectionist

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

Rowdy Fan

• Old: Battlecry: Choose a minion. It has +3 Attack while this is alive.
• New: Battlecry: Choose a minion. It has +4 Attack while this is alive.

Snake Oil (generated by Miracle Salesman and Snake Oil Seller)

• Old: [1 Mana]
• New: [0 Mana]

What do you think of those changes? Which one do you find most exciting? Let us know in the comments below!