Voyage to the Sunken City

Voyage to the Sunken City is a Hearthstone patch released on April 5, 2022. It was versioned 23.0.0 with the build number 135540. It was released during the expansion Voyage to the Sunken City

Card Changes

• Apotheosis - Nerf reverted, stat buff increased to +2/+3 (was +1/+2).
• Imprisoned Scrap Imp - Nerf reverted, stat buff increased to +2/+2 (was +2/+1).
• Blackjack Stunner - Nerf reverted, the card returned to hand now costs (2) more. (Up from 1)
• Scavenger's Ingenuity - Nerf reverted, the buff increased to +3/+3 (was +2/+2).
• Kael'thas Sunstrider - Both nerfs reverted, cost decreased to 6 (from 7) and every third spell costs 0 (down from 1).
• Corsair Cache - Nerf reverted, the drawn weapon gets +1 Attack buff again.
• Crabrider - Nerf reverted, Battlecry replaced by Windfury.
• Mo'arg Artificer - Changes reverted, now costs 2 (down from 3) and has 4 Health (down from 5).
• Il'gynoth - Change reverted, cost decreased to 4 (was 6) and statline changed to 2/6 (was 4/8).
• Deck of Lunacy - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 2 (from 4).
• Boggspine Knuckles - Nerf reverted, now has 4 Attack (up from 3).
• Dreadlord's Bite - Nerf reverted, now has 3 Attack (up from 2).
• Shardshatter Mystic - Nerf reverted, now costs 3 (down from 4).
• Solarian Prime - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 7 (was 9).
• Guardian Animals - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 7 (was 8).
• Bloodboil Brute - Nerf reverted, now has 6 Attack (up from 5).
• Imprisoned Antaen - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 5 (was 6).
• Jandice Barov - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 5 (was 6).
• High Abbess Alura - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 4 (was 5).
• Lorekeeper Polkelt - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 4 (was 5).
• Evocation - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 1 (was 2).
• Priestess of Fury - Nerf reverted, Health increased to 7 (was 5).
• Kayn Sunfury - Nerf reverted, Health increased to 5 (was 4 ).
• Cabal Acolyte - Nerf reverted, Health increased to 6 (was 4).
• Worgen Greaser - Health increased to 4 (from 3).
• Kalecgos - Cost decreased to 9 (was 10).
• Feast of Souls - Cost decreased to 1 (from 2).
• Nourish - Nerf reverted, cost decreased to 5 (from 6).
• Equality - Cost decreased to 2 (from 3).
• Execute - Cost decreased to 1 (from 2).
• Wrathscale Naga - Health increased to 2 (from 1).
• Bronze Explorer - Attack increased to 3 (from 2).
• High Priestess Jeklik - Health increased to 5 (from 4).
• Darius Crowley - Health increased to 5 (from 4).
• Azure Drake - Health increased to 5 (from 4).
• Gorillabot A-3 - Cost decreased to 3 (from 4).
• Pandaren Importer - Cost increased to 3 (from 2). Statline changed to 2/4 (was 1/3).

New Collectible Cards

New cards have been added to the game.

New Demon Hunter Cards

• Metamorphosis - As the humble caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly, so too does a demon hunter become a hideous mass of writhing destruction and unfettered chaos.
• Flamereaper - Honestly it sows more flame than it reaps.
• Wrathscale Naga - If throwing glaives is what you crave; summon tokens and make 'em broken.

New Druid Cards

• Fandral Staghelm - Always manages to mention "Back when I was creating the World Tree…" in EVERY conversation. Sheesh! Enough already.
• Ancient of Lore - Go ahead, carve your initials in him.
• Nordrassil Druid - The World Tree Nordrassil provides life-giving energy to the world--and excellent mana savings.
• Earthen Scales - You can make your own Earthen Scales at home. Step 1: Roll around in the dirt. Step 2: Magic.
• Mounted Raptor - Clever girl!
• Wrath - The talk around the Ratchet Inn is that this card is too good and should be a Legendary.
• Living Roots - 2 out of 2 saplings recommend that you summon the saplings.

New Hunter Cards

• Houndmaster Shaw - They’re good dogs, Tess.
• Marked Shot - Obviously it's marked for greatness.
• Cloaked Huntress - She's practically GIVING your secrets away!
• Animal Companion - You could summon Misha, Leokk, or Huffer! Huffer is more trouble than he's worth.
• Springpaw - The terrible thing about lynxes is lynxes are terrible things. Their teeth are made out of biting, their paws are made out of springs!
• Candleshot - Once called Cahn’delar, Shortbow of the Ancient Whisker.

New Mage Cards

• Kalecgos - He was once the Aspect of Magic but gave it up to focus on cheap tricks.
• Pyroblast - Take the time for an evil laugh after you draw this card.
• Blizzard - This spell can be very Entertaining.
• Pyromaniac - She prefers “Flammably Inclined.”
• Explosive Runes - Sometimes it's safer NOT to read the warning signs.

New Paladin Cards

• Ragnaros, Lightlord - What happens when you try and corrupt a corrupted firelord? DOUBLE NEGATIVE, INSECT!
• Pursuit of Justice - "Is this about justice or just us?"
• Amber Watcher - Healing really resin-ates with him.
• Bronze Explorer - Always ready to explore new friendships! Except with Deathwing.
• Flash of Light - Hey! No cameras allowed!

New Priest Cards

• Murozond the Infinite - "Well, I'm glad YOU knew what I should be doing this turn."
• Lyra the Sunshard - Arise, fair sun, and kill my envious foes. They don't have a legendary as beautiful as you.
• Lightbomb - This is what happens when you allow goblins to be priests.
• Drakonid Operative - His job is to spy on the Goons and the Jade Lotus, but he's OBVIOUSLY a dragon so it's pretty hard work.
• Crimson Clergy - He won't drop the ball.
• Radiant Elemental - It's a literal lava lamp!
• Northshire Cleric - They help the downtrodden and distressed. Also they sell cookies.

New Rogue Cards

• Tess Greymane - Those who cannot remember their card history are doomed to repeat it.
• Hench-Clan Burglar - She’s more of a rat burglar.
• Buccaneer - The best part of buccaneering is the pants.

New Shaman Cards

• Krag'wa, the Frog - Krag'wa has a ritual to honor his friends and a ritual to devour his enemies. No one can tell them apart.
• Far Sight - Drek'thar can't see, but he can <i>see</i>. You know what I mean? It's ok if you don't.
• Maelstrom Portal - They bill this as a popular resort attraction, but they try and get your money up front.
• Bloodlust - blaarghghLLGHRHARAAHAHHH!!
• Flametongue Totem - Totemsmiths like to use the rarest woods for their totems. There are even rumors of totems made of Ironbark Protectors.

New Warlock Cards

• High Priestess Jeklik - If you love Jeklik, set her free. YOU CAN'T GET RID OF HER.
• Darkshire Librarian - Do NOT be late with your overdue fines.
• Ritual of Doom - "Who wants to sing the Doom song?!"
• Enslaved Fel Lord - He's not really chained up. He just wears that to scare the imps when they get too unruly.
• Abyssal Enforcer - The Kabal print this on every package of illicit Mana Crystals: WARNING - DO NOT PUT WITHIN REACH OF ABYSSALS. THIS IS NOT APPROVED FOR USE BY FLAMING DEMONS OF ANY KIND.
• Imp Gang Boss - His imp gang likes to sneak into Stormwind to spraypaint "Ragnaros Rulez" on the Mage Tower.
• Voidwalker - No relation to "The Voidsteppers", the popular Void-based dance troupe.

New Warrior Cards

• Darius Crowley - You either die a villain, or live long enough to see yourself become the hero.
• War Cache - It's much tidier than Illidan's storage locker.
• 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.
• Warsong Outrider - When it comes to the Warsong clan, outriders are the insiders.
• Shield Block - Shields were invented because Face Block is USELESS.
• Bash - You might think bashing doesn't take a lot of practice. It doesn't.

New Neutral Cards

• Reno Jackson - Reno is a four-time winner of the 'Best Accessorized Explorer' award.
• Elise Starseeker - A large part of her job entails not mixing up the Map to the Golden Monkey with the Map to Monkey Island.
• Brann Bronzebeard - Contains 75% more fiber than his brother Magni!
• Zola the Gorgon - Her name seems a bit cheesy.
• Sir Finley Mrrgglton - In addition to fluent Common, he also speaks fourteen dialects of 'mrgl'.
• Sea Giant - See? Giant.
• Primordial Drake - Before he became a rap artist.
• Mossy Horror - The hills have eyes. And teeth. Pretty bad breath, too.
• Escaped Manasaber - Captive manasabers don't behave much better--they're always scratching your furniture and coughing up mana balls.
• Vulpera Scoundrel - A spell is a spell, but the mystery choice could be anything! (It's also a spell.)
• Murloc Warleader - Do Murlocs ever get tired of making the same old sound? Nope! Mrglglrglglglglglglgl!
• Doomsayer - He's almost been right so many times. He was <i>sure</i> it was coming during the Cataclysm.
• Azure Drake - They initially planned to be the Beryl or Cerulean drakes, but those felt a tad too pretentious.
• Twilight Drake - Twilight drakes feed on Mystical Energy. And Tacos.
• Lifedrinker - In a pinch, he'll also settle for Holy Water: Zero.
• Wild Pyromancer - BOOM BABY BOOM! BAD IS GOOD! DOWN WITH GOVERNMENT!
• Cobalt Scalebane - You get a sword! And you get a sword! Everybody gets a sword!
• Acolyte of Pain - He trained when he was younger to be an acolyte of joy, but things didn’t work out like he thought they would.
• Gorillabot A-3 - A-1 and A-2 went nuts, when they should have gone bolts.
• Tar Creeper - If you won't come to the tar pits, we'll bring them to you!
• Faerie Dragon - Adorable. Immune to Magic. Doesn't pee on the rug. The perfect pet!
• Plated Beetle - "Ok, your party has defeated the beetle." "I put it on my head." "What?" "I put it on my head. Like a hat."
• Injured Tol'vir - Me-OW!
• Mistress of Mixtures - Her favorite mixture is cola and lime.
• Beaming Sidekick - Sure, I'll carry the water! And the food! And the tents! And the cursed monkey paw!

Quote From Blizzard

Patch 23.0, launching today, charts a course for Hearthstone’s latest expansion, Voyage to the Sunken City, launching April 12! The patch also includes updates to Battlegrounds, Mercenaries, Duels, and Arena, as well as bug fixes and more.

Voyage to the Sunken City Sets Off on April 12!

Hearthstone’s next expansion, Voyage to the Sunken City, goes live on April 12! The new expansion includes 135 all-new cards, featuring the new Naga minion type, the Colossal and Dredge keyword mechanics, Sunken cards, and more! See all the new cards in the official card library today.

Pre-purchase

With the launch of the Voyage to the Sunken City comes a new Rewards Track with tons of cosmetics, XP boosts, packs, and a treasure trove of Gold! Check out our Rewards Track Refresh blog for all the details.

Enter the Year of the Hydra

When Voyage to the Sunken City goes live on April 12, we will enter the next Hearthstone Year: the Year of the Hydra! With the new Hearthstone year, cards from the Year of the Phoenix (which includes the Ashes of Outland, Scholomance Academy, and Madness at the Darkmoon Faire expansions) will rotate out of Standard. Some of the cards from the Core Set will also be replaced.

Learn more about the Core Set update and our other plans for the Year of the Hydra in the Year of the Hydra Announcement blog.

Wild Gets Wilder

Some balance changes over the years were made because cards were too powerful in Standard, even if they were not necessarily too powerful in Wild. The following cards will have their balance changes reverted on April 5 before they rotate into Wild with the launch of Voyage to the Sunken City on April 12:

• Apotheosis
• Imprisoned Scrap Imp
• Blackjack Stunner
• Scavenger’s Ingenuity
• Kael’thas Sunstrider
• Corsair Cache
• Crabrider
• Mo’arg Artificer
• Il’gynoth
• Deck of Lunacy
• Boggspine Knuckles
• Dreadlord’s Bite
• Shardshatter Mystic
• Solarian Prime (generated by Astromancer Solarian)
• Guardian Animals
• Bloodboil Brute
• Imprisoned Antaen
• Jandice Barov
• High Abess Alura
• Lorekeeper Polkelt
• Evocation
• Priestess of Fury
• Kayn Sunfury
• Cabal Acolyte

Standard players will have one week to give these cards a last hurrah while Wild players get started assimilating these newly re-strengthened cards into their format!

Diamond Drek’Thar is Here

Drek’Thar is back with a vengeance! The Alliance may have won the Battle for Alterac Valley, but this is a new day and the Horde is resilient and strong. You can show your Horde pride with the Diamond Drek’Thar Legendary card, now available in the shop. For the Horde!

Normal Drek’Thar can still be crafted or earned through Fractured in Alterac Valley packs like Vanndar or any other Legendary card. After Patch 23.0 goes live, the Honor Track event will end and anybody who did not complete the Honor Track will be able to earn Golden Drek’Thar/Golden Vanndar through an Achievement added with the patch.

 

Battlegrounds Updates

NEW HERO AND BUDDY

Ini Stormcoil

• MechGyver
  • Passive. After 9 friendly mechs die, get a random Mech.

Sub Scrubber (Ini Stormcoil’s Buddy)

• [Tavern Tier 2, Mech] 4 Attack, 4 Health. After you play a Mech, gain +2/+2.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to the new Hero before it is formally released on April 19.

 

BALANCE CHANGES

• Varden Dawngrasp’s Hero Power - Twice as Nice

​

• Old: Passive. After Bob’s Tavern is Refreshed, copy and Freeze one of his minions. → New: Passive. After Bob’s Tavern is Refreshed, copy his highest Tier minion and Freeze them both.
• Varden’s Aquarrior (Varden Dawngrasp’s Buddy)
  • Old: ‘Twice as Nice’ also gives the copy stats equal to your Tavern Tier. → New: ‘Twice as Nice’ also gives both minions stats equal to your Tavern Tier.

 

PRODUCT UPDATES

The products previously called “Battlegrounds Finishers” are now called “Battlegrounds Strikes.” We feel this name more accurately describes the function of the cosmetic and is better suited to Battlegrounds.

A new Battlegrounds Strike – Deep Sea Vortex is going live with Patch 23.0. There will also be a new Shipwreck Cove Battlegrounds Board at patch launch, as well as a Bundle that offers the Strike, Board, and eight new Sunken City-themed Hero skins all rolled into one!

Mercenaries Updates

TASK SYSTEM REWORK

Starting with Patch 23.0, completing one Task in a Mercenary’s Task progression will automatically move you on to the next Task in that Mercenary’s progression. You can then continue that Mercenary’s Task progression until you have completed all Tasks for that Mercenary!

The Mysterious Stranger was initially designed and intended to give you more Tasks, but since that will now mostly happen automatically, we are reducing his appearance rate. He will still appear occasionally so that you can get more Tasks if you abandon a Task or complete a Mercenary’s Task progression. You will also still be able to get random new Tasks if you leave any normal Task slots open for the daily Task refresh.

The intent of this system update is to give players more of the Tasks they want, and more Tasks overall, while allowing players to explore more engaging gameplay patterns. We hope this new system will be an improvement for players trying to progress specific Mercenaries, or anybody who is always looking for the next Task to complete. We will monitor how this new system works, and make adjustments if needed, but we are also working on an even larger Task System rework that we are hoping to share more information about later on this year.

NEW MERCENARY

Murky (Epic Fighter)

• 11/79 Maxed Stats
• Abilities
  • Slime Time 5 (Nature): (Speed 4) Deal 12 damage to an enemy. Give it Taunt until the end of next turn.
  • Bubbly Bobble 5 (Nature): (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) Restore 13 Health to an adjacent Murloc. Swap places and both gain Divine Shield. Nature Combo: Repeat this.
  • Pufferfisher 5: (Speed 7, Cooldown 1)
    • (Murloc) 15 Attack, 10 Health. Deathrattle: Deal damage equal to this minion’s Attack to 3 random enemies.
• Equipment
  • Time to Krill 4: Passive: Whenever a friendly Murloc Attacks an enemy with Taunt, give them +4 Attack.
  • Slippery When Wet 4: Passive: After one of your characters loses Divine Shield or Frozen, its next ability is (3) Speed faster.
  • March of the Murlocs 4: Battlecry: Summon 2 10/10 Murlocs.

Murky is available for free as part of the Voyage to the Sunken City Rewards Track. Murky portraits are available as part of the Voyage to the Sunken City Tavern Pass. Murky and his portraits will be available for purchase in Mercenaries products after the end of the Voyage to the Sunken City expansion period.

 

MERCENARY BALANCE UPDATES AND REWORKS

Baron Geddon

• Old: 10/82 Maxed Stats → New: 10/86 Maxed Stats
• Molten Blade (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Heating Up deals 4 more damage. → New (Rank 4): Heating Up deals 7 more damage.

King Mukla

• Dinner Time
  • Old (Rank 5): Speed 2, Cooldown 1 → New (Rank 5): Speed 1, Cooldown 1
• Refreshing Bananas (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Bananas give an additional +4 Health. → New (Rank 4): Bananas give an additional +5 Health.
• Radioactive Bananas (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Bananas give an additional +2 Attack → New (Rank 4): Bananas give an additional +4 Attack.

Xyrella

• Atonement
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 15 damage. +3 damage each time you restore 20 Health. → New (Rank 5): Deal 20 damage. +3 damage each time you restore 20 Health.
• Robes of Purity (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Atonement requires 5 less healing to upgrade. → New: Atonement requires 10 less healing to upgrade.

Scabbs Cutterbutter

• Old: 11/77 Maxed Stats → New: 13/81 Maxed Stats
• SI:7 Contract (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Tactical Strike’s Combo effect deals 4 more damage. → New: Tactical Strike’s Combo effect deals 8 more damage.
• Honing Rod (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 1): Shadow Blade gives +4 Attack first. → New: Shadow Blade gives +10 Attack first.

Millhouse Manastorm

• Old: 6/69 Maxed Stats → 6/74 Maxed Stats
• Greater Arcane Missiles
  • Old (Rank 5): Shoot three missiles at random enemies that deal 15 damage each. → New (Rank 5): Shoot three missiles at random enemies that deal 20 damage each.
• Arcane Powder (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Arcane Explosion deals 4 more damage. → New (Rank 4): Arcane Explosion deals 5 more damage and enemies lose Stealth.

Cariel Roame

• Old: 11/78 Maxed Stats → New: 12/78 Maxed Stats
• Crusader’s Blow
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Restore 40 Health. → New: Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Restore 60 Health.
• Tome of Light (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Passive: While this Merc has Taunt, it has +8 Attack. → New (Rank 4): Passive: While this Merc has Taunt, it has +12 Attack.

Uther

• Blessing of Protection
  • Old (Rank 5): Restore 10 Health to a friendly character and give them Taunt this turn. → New (Rank 5): Restore 14 Health to a friendly character and give them Taunt this turn.
• Lightbringer (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Hammer of Justice deals 4 more damage and slows the target by (2) Speed more. → New (Rank 4): Hammer of Justice deals 6 more damage and slows the target by (2) Speed more.
• Gleaming Pauldrons (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Avenging Wrath deals 4 more damage. → New (Rank 4): Avenging Wrath deals 8 more damage.

Garrosh Hellscream

• Old: 11/84 Maxed Stats → New: 12/84 Maxed Stats
• Orcish Banner (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Battle Shout also restores 10 Health to your Orcs. → New (Rank 4): Battle Shout also restores 15 Health to your Orcs.

Captain Galvangar

• Old: 11/71 Maxed Stats → New: 11/79 Maxed Stats
• Rending Cleave
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If it has not acted this turn, apply Bleed (8) to it and adjacent enemies. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If it has not acted this turn, apply Bleed (12) to it and adjacent enemies.
• Drek’Thar’s Boon (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Fatal Strike also applies Bleed (5). → New (Rank 4): Fatal Strike also applies Bleed (10).

Wrathion

• Old: 12/73 Maxed Stats → New: 12/79 Maxed Stats
• Creeping Madness
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Next turn they must use a different ability or take 20 damage. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Next turn they must use a different ability or take 25 damage.
• Black Dragon Scales (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Tail Swipe also applies Bleed (5). → New (Rank 4): Tail Swipe also applies Bleed (10).

Vanessa Van Cleef

• Old: 10/75 Maxed Stats → New: 13/75 Maxed Stats
• Burgle Barrage
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Combo: Steal 5 Attack from them. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Combo: Steal 5 Attack from them first.
• Extra Pockets (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): After using Makeshift Weaponry, this Merc keeps up to 5 Attack. → New (Rank 4): After using Makeshift Weaponry, this Merc keeps up to 10 Attack.

Tyrande

• Arcane Salvo
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 8 damage to two random enemies. → New (Rank 5): Deal 12 damage to two random enemies. If any die, repeat this.
• Elune’s Charm (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Arcane Shot deals 5 more damage. → New (Rank 4): Arcane Shot deals 15 more damage if the enemy has already acted.

Varian Wrynn

• Splitting Strike
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Give your Humans +12 Attack. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. Deathblow: Give your Humans +15 Attack.
• Heroic Leap
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 14 damage to an enemy. Your other Humans are permanently (1) Speed faster. → New (Rank 5): Deal 14 damage to an enemy. Your other Humans in play and bench are permanently (1) Speed faster.
• Retaliation
  • Old (Rank 5): After an enemy Attacks this turn, gain +5 Attack and Attack it. → New (Rank 5): After an enemy Attacks this turn, gain +5/+5 and Attack it.
• War Banner (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Retaliation also gives an additional +4 Attack. → New (Rank 4): Retaliation gives an additional +2/+10.

Gul’dan

• Rain of Destruction
  • Old: Speed 8, Cooldown 1 → New: Speed 8, Cooldown 0.
• Staff of Chaos (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Passive. After an Orc dies, gain +4 Fel Damage. → New (Rank 4): Passive. After an Orc or Demon dies, gain +4 Fel Damage.

Trigore

• Frenzied Attack
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If this took damage this turn, deal 12 damage to a random adjacent enemy. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If this took damage this turn, deal 16 damage to a random adjacent enemy.
• Backlash
  • Old (Rank 5): The next time an enemy damages an adjacent ally, gain +5 Attack and deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them. → New (Rank 5): Gain +5 Attack. Each time an enemy damages an adjacent ally this turn, deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them.

Sneed

• Old: 7/77 Maxed Stats → New: 9/77 Maxed Stats
• Activate Saw
  • Old (Rank 5): Gain +6 Attack for 2 turns. Attack a random enemy. → New (Rank 5): Gain +9 Attack for 2 turns. Attack a random enemy.
• Skull Dust (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Bzzz!!! Gains Bleed (5). → New (Rank 4): Bzzz!!! Gains Bleed (10).
• Extra Blades (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Sneed starts with Activate Blades active for 1 turn. → New (Rank 4): Battlecry: Start with Activate Saw 5 active for 2 turns.

Edwin, Defias Kingpin

• Assassin’s Blade
  • Old (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If it hasn’t acted yet this turn, gain +5 Health and Attack it again. → New (Rank 5): Attack an enemy. If it hasn’t acted yet this turn, gain +10 Health and Attack it again.
• Kingpin’s Bounty
  • Old: Speed 4, Cooldown 2. → New: Speed 4, Cooldown 1.
• Black Flag (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Passive: Adjacent Pirates are (4) Speed faster. → New (Rank 4): Passive: Your other Pirates are (4) Speed faster.
• Even Shares (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Kingpin’s Bounty restores 10 more Health and affects all friendly characters. → New (Rank 4): Kingpin’s County restores 15 more Health and affects all friendly characters.

Thrall

• Lightning Storm
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 10 damage to all enemies. → New (Rank 5): Deal 10 damage to all enemies. They lose Stealth.

Mannoroth

• Howl of Terror
  • Old (Rank 5): Reduce the Attack of all enemies by 15 this turn. → New (Rank 5): Reduce the Attack of all enemies by 15 this turn. They lose Stealth.

Ragnaros

• DIE, INSECTS
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 22 damage to a random enemy. Deathblow: Repeat this. → New (Rank 5): Deal 22 damage to a random enemy. It loses Stealth. Deathblow: Repeat this.

Warmaster Voone

• Axe Throw
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 8 damage to an enemy and one of its neighbors. → New (Rank 5): Deal 10 damage to an enemy and one of its neighbors. They lose Stealth.

Varden Dawngrasp

• Flurry
  • Old (Rank 5): Deal 6 damage to 3 random enemy Mercs. They are (2) Speed slower next turn. → New (Rank 5): Shoot three missiles at random enemies that deal 7 damage each and slow for (2) Speed next turn.
• Chilling Amulet (Equipment)
  • Old (Rank 4): Deathrattle: Deal 8 damage to all enemies. Freeze a random enemy until the end of next turn. → New (Rank 4): Deathrattle: Deal 14 damage to all enemies and Freeze a random enemy.

 

ADDITIONAL UPDATES

• While on a Bounty, the Campfire node will now allow work with one click instead of requiring it be selected and then entered.
• Vaelstrasz’s Bounty rewards will now be able to grant Murky Coins instead of Lady Anacondra Coins.
• Multiple stacks of Bleed will now be combined into a total Bleed count that can be reduced by healing, instead of erased entirely.
• Bleed damage will no longer be able to deal Critical damage.
• Adjusted Mercenary card display and screen space for better Ability previews.

Duels Updates

GENERAL UPDATES

• On April 5, the current Duels season will end, ratings will be reset to 0, and ongoing runs will be concluded.
• Also on April 5, both the League of Explorers and the Saviors of Uldum expansions will be added to the eligible card pools for deckbuilding, buckets, and Discover effects.
• Voyage to the Sunken City will be added to card buckets and Discover effects with the patch on April 5, but will not be able to be used in initial deckbuilding until the set launches on April 12.
• All Core Set cards that are rotating out of the Core Set will be banned from April 5 until the Core Set updates on April 12. Core Set cards that will remain in the Core Set after the update will still be playable, as will any non-Core versions of any rotating cards that are eligible from another set. Learn more about the Core Set update in the Year of the Hydra blog.
• The new heroes listed below will be available on April 5, with the new Duels season.
• You will now be able to select from 5 different heroes at the start of a run, instead of 4.

 

NEW HEROES

The League of Explorers have come to Duels! Each of the four members of the league is a special dual-class hero that combines two different classes in fun and interesting ways. Reno Jackson is a Mage/Rogue, Sir Finley is a Paladin/Shaman, Elise Starseeker is a Druid/Priest, and Brann Bronzebeard is a Hunter/Warrior. When you pick one of those heroes, you’ll have access to cards from both their classes in creating your starter deck and picking your buckets.

For the first time ever, the new hero powers and signature treasures can be unlocked either by playing Duels or by unlocking those same hero powers and treasures in the Saviors of Uldum solo content: Tombs of Terror. Any hero powers or signature treasures that were already unlocked in Tombs of Terror will automatically be unlocked in Duels. Players who previously purchased Tombs of Terror can access it in the “Solo Adventures” Mode. Players who do not already own the Tombs of Terror can purchase that content from the Wild section of the in-game and web shops.

Reno Jackson has three new hero powers that you can unlock as you play:

• Amateur Mage
  • [Costs 2] Deal 1 damage. Combo: Deal 2 instead.
• “Relicologist”
  • [Costs 1] Your next spell this turn has Spell Damage +2.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 cards that cost 3 or less.
• Arcane Craftiness
  • [Costs 2] Fire two missiles that deal 1 damage each. If any minion dies, repeat this.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Use your hero power 30 times.

Reno Jackson also has 6 signature treasures that you can unlock as you play:

• Reno’s Lucky Hat
  • [2 Mana Spell] Give a minion +2/+2 and Spell Damage +2.
• Reno’s Crafty Lasso
  • [2 Mana Weapon] 3 Attack, 2 Durability. After your hero attacks, copy a card from your opponent’s hand.
• Reno’s Magical Torch
  • [2 Mana Spell] Deal 4 damage. Combo: Shuffle a copy of this into your deck that deals 2 more damage.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from Saviors of Uldum.
• Sr. Tomb Diver
  • [4 Mana Minion] 5 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: If you played 5 Secrets this game, your Hero Power becomes ‘Discover a Treasure’.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from The Sunken City.
• Lei Flamepaw
  • [4 Mana Minion] 2 Attack, 6 Health. After your first spell each turn, cast it again (on the same target).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from Saviors of Uldum.
• The Gatling Wand
  • [5 Mana Spell] Deal 3 damage split randomly among all enemy minions (improves for each spell you’ve cast this game).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from The Sunken City.

Sir Finley has three new hero powers that you can unlock as you play:

• New “Recruits”
  • [Costs 2] Summon a 2/2 Amalgam Explorer.
• Bubble Blower
  • [Costs 1] Discover a Shaman or Paladin minion with Battlecry. Overload: (1).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Battlecry cards.
• Power Up!
  • [Costs 2] Give a minion Divine Shield and Windfury.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 20 Dredge cards.

Sir Finley also has 6 signature treasures that you can unlock as you play:

• Finley’s Pith Helmet
  • [2 Mana Spell] Give all friendly minions +2 Health. Shuffle this card into your deck.
• Maxwell, Mighty Steed
  • [5 Mana Minion] 3 Attack, 5 Health. Rush. Reborn. Has +2 Attack for each other minion on the battlefield.
• Truesilver Lance
  • [5 Mana Weapon] 3 Attack, 1 Durability. Lifesteal. After you Overload, gain +1 Durability.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from Saviors of Uldum.
• Sr. Scout
  • [5 Mana Minion] 6 Attack, 6 Health. Rush, Windfury. At the end of your turn, deal 6 damage to a random enemy minion.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from The Sunken City.
• Karl the Lost
  • [8 Mana Minion] 6 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Summon six Silver Hand Recruits and give all friendly minions Taunt and Divine Shield.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from Saviors of Uldum.
• Scales of Justice
  • [5 Mana Spell] Transform all minions into 1/1 Murlocs. Fill your hand with random Murlocs that cost (1).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from The Sunken City.

Elise Starseeker has three new hero powers that you can unlock as you play:

• Elise’s Might
  • [Costs 2] Choose One: +2 Attack this turn; or Gain 2 Armor.
• Druidic Teaching
  • [Costs 2] Restore 2 Health, then draw a card if the target is at full Health.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 40 spells.
• Starseeker
  • [Passive] After you cast 3 spells in a turn, add a ‘Moonfire’ to your hand.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Attack 10 times with your hero.

Elise Starseeker also has 6 signature treasures that you can unlock as you play:

• Starseeker’s Tools
  • [4 Mana Spell] Discover a minion and a spell. They cost (2) less.
• Elise’s Machete
  • [5 Mana Weapon] 3 Attack, 3 Durability. After your hero attacks, summon two 2/2 Treants. Give them Rush.
• Addarah
  • [7 Mana Minion] 3 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Shuffle all enemy minions into your deck.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from Saviors of Uldum.
• Sr. Navigator
  • [5 Mana Minion] 2 Attack, 10 Health. Whenever you target this minion with a spell that costs (2) or more, add a copy of the spell to your hand.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from The Sunken City.
• Academic Research
  • [3 Mana Spell] Start of Game: Draw this. Gain 1 Mana Crystal. (Upgrades each time a friendly minion dies).
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from Saviors of Uldum.
• Staff of Renewal
  • [10 Mana Spell] Resurrect 5 friendly minions with the highest Cost. Give them Taunt.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from The Sunken City.

Brann Bronzebeard has three new hero powers that you can unlock as you play:

• Spread Shot
  • [Costs 2]: Deal 1 damage, then 1 damage to the enemy hero.
• Well Equipped
  • [Costs 2]: Equip a random weapon and set its Durability to 1.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 15 weapons.
• Dino Tracking
  • [Passive]: At the start of your turn, Discover which card you draw.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Discover 30 times.

Brann Bronzebeard also has 6 signature treasures that you can unlock as you play:

• Ol’ Faithful
  • [3 Cost Weapon] 4 Attack, 2 Durability. After your hero attacks, deal 1 damage to all enemies.
• Brann’s Saddle
  • [3 Cost Spell] Give a friendly Beast +3/+3 and ‘Deathrattle: Give Brann’s Saddle to another friendly Beast.’
• Titan-Forged Grapnel
  • [4 Cost Spell] Destroy 2 random enemy minions. Gain Armor equal to their combined Attack.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from Saviors of Uldum.
• Sr. Excavator
  • [5 Cost Minion] 3 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Draw 3 cards. Any minions you draw cost (4) less.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class minions from The Sunken City.
• Flo Slatebrand
  • [6 Cost Minion] 4 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry and Deathrattle: Add a random Treasure to your hand.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from Saviors of Uldum.
• Brann’s Epic Egg
  • [7 Cost Minion] 0 Attack, 3 Health. After this takes damage, summon King Krush.
  • Duels-only unlock criteria: Play 25 Class spells from The Sunken City.

 

NEW PASSIVE TREASURES

• Edge of Dredge—Pool 1
  • After you Dredge, draw a card and shuffle your deck.
• Coil Casting—Pool 1
  • After you play your first Naga each turn, add a random 1-Cost spell to your hand.
• Optimized Polarity—Pool 1
  • After you play your first Non-Magnetic Mech each turn, add a random (1) mana Mech with Magnetic to your hand.
• Beckoning Bicorn—Pool 1
  • After you play your first Pirate each turn, summon a Patches the Pirate.
• Cookie’s Ladle—Pool 1
  • After you play your first Murloc each turn, draw a Murloc.
• Forgotten Depths—Pool 1
  • At the start of game, put 3 Colossal minions on the bottom of your deck. They cost (3) less.

 

TREASURE UPDATES

For the Alliance and For the Horde

• The unlock criteria for these two signature treasures have been removed.
• Dev Comment: Okay, 200 was a bit much, wannit?

Traktamer Aelessa

• Old: 2 Attack, 3 Health → New: 2 Attack, 5 Health

Mo’arg Outcast

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Marvelous Mycelium

• Old: Discover a Choose One card. Choose One cards and powers have both effects combined until end of turn. → New: Discover two Choose One cards. They have both effects combined. Shuffle this card into your deck.

Slate’s Syringe

• Old: Steal up to 3 Attack and Health from an enemy minion. Give those stats to a random friendly Beast. → New: Steal up to 4 Attack and Health from an enemy minion. Give those stats to a random friendly Beast.

Britz Blazebucket

• Old: After you play a spell, summon a random minion of the same Cost. It dies when it takes damage. → New: After you play a spell, summon two random minions of the same Cost that die when they take damage.

Drocomurchanicas

• Old: Deathrattle: Draw a Dragon, Murloc, and Mech. They cost (2) less. → New: Deathrattle: Draw a Dragon, Murloc, and Mech. They cost (3) less.
• Dev Comment: Oh wow! Menagerie got better with this!

Humble Blessings

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Su Leadfoot

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Ace in the Hole

• Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]

Scion of the Deep

• Old: [Costs 3] 2 Attack, 2 Health → New: [Costs 2] 2 Attack, 4 Health

Joras Thuldoom

• Old: Whenever your Health changes on your turn, summon a copy of this minion. → New: Rush. Whenever your Health changes on your turn, summon a copy of this minion.

Droplet of Insanity

• Old: [Costs 5] → New: [Costs 4]

Gift of the Old Gods

• Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 4]

Binding Chains

• Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Moonbeast

• Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health. Your Eclipse spells cost (0). → New: 4 Attack, 6 Health. At the end of your turn, add a random Eclipse spell to your hand. Your Eclipse spells cost (0).

Zukara the Wild

• Old: 3 Attack, 5 Health. → New: 3 Attack, 6 Health.

Collector’s Ire

• Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 5]
• Dev Comment: More buffs to Menagerie!

Flame Waves

• Old: At the end of your turn, deal 2 damage to all enemies for each Fire spell you’ve cast this turn. → New: At the end of your turn, deal 2 damage to all enemy minions for each Fire spell you’ve cast this turn.
• Dev Comment: Hey, you know who you are, yes, you, look what you made me do to my boy.

Scepter of Summoning

• Moved from Treasure Pool 2 to Treasure Pool 2 Ultra Rare

 

HERO POWER UPDATES

Vile Concoction (Infiltrator Lilian’s Hero Power)

• Old: Give a minion Poisonous. Combo: Also give it Stealth for 1 turn. → New: Give a minion Poisonous. Combo: Also give it +1/+1 and Stealth for 1 turn.

 

BUCKET UPDATES

• The Menagerie bucket has been removed.
  • Dev Comment: Nooooo! How could we do this right when we give it buffs?!
• New buckets have been added for Voyage to the Sunken City archetypes.

Arena Updates

When the expansion unlocks on April 12, ongoing Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. The eligible pool of card sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Core
• League of Explorers
• Whispers of the Old Gods
• The Grand Tournament
• United in Stormwind
• Fractured in Alterac Valley
• Voyage to the Sunken City

 

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Added a Recently Completed Achievements U.I. that will make it easier to claim your Achievements.
• In order to avoid a negative play experience with Radiance of Azshara, Unstable Evolution has had its effect updated to function like it has the Echo keyword (meaning that copies after the first copy can’t Cost less than 1). Its text will be updated to add the Echo keyword in a future update. As a result of this change, Unstable Evolution will be eligible for a full dust refund for 2 weeks after the 23.0 patch goes live.
• Fixed a bug where Kurtrus, Demon-Render would not upgrade if the attack did not cause damage (such as attacking into a Divine Shield or a Bulwark of Azzinoth).
• Fixed a bug where Breath of Dreams did not grant a mana crystal if you had 10 or more mana with Wildheart Guff.
• Fixed a bug where Ancient Reflections copied over “while damaged” effects if the original target was damaged.
• Increased Wax Rager’s death limit from 8 to 51 for instances where it would die multiple times from one effect, from cards like Perpetual Flame and Spammy Arcanist.
• Solar Eclipse has had its wording updated. This is not an update to the card’s function.
• Fixed a bug where the “refund” search term did not work in German.
• Fixed a bug causing some languages to be unable to see the text of the Tavern Brawl chalkboard.
• Fixed a bug causing occasional de-syncs in Battlegrounds, resulting in players and/or spectators seeing different results from the same battle.
• Fixed a visual bug where Mercenaries crafting costs sometimes appeared to cost double.
• Fixed a visual bug where Mercenaries’ Tasks appeared as “Task 1” on the Mysterious Stanger node.
• Fixed a bug where the Positive Equilibrium treasure did not grant the Nature and Fire Damage bonuses listed.
• Fixed a bug that allowed Chi-Ji’s Flamehearth Brooch to activate even if Chi-Ji was on the Bench.
• Fixed a bug where if Wrathion died while in dragon form, he would not count as having died for future Bounty encounters or for purposes of ensuring enough play has passed to count as a win in the Fighting Pit.
• Fixed a bug where Wrathion’s Task 10 did not track if he was in dragon form.
• Updated Rokara’s Tribal Fortitude Task to be based on damage dealt by Tribal Warfare, so that it can be completed as written.
• Fixed a bug where Elemental Chaos in Duels was not affected by Spell Damage or Professor Slate. 
• Misc. other performance enhancements and bug fixes to make your seat comfier around the hearth.

The patch was soon followed by another hotfix patch.

Quote From GnomeSayin

Patch 23.0.1 is a server-side hotfix, deploying right now. The patch includes balance changes to Battlegrounds and Duels, a pre-emptive balance change for Standard, and bug fixes.

Balance Changes:

• In order to prevent an unintended interaction after Standard rotation, Pandaren Importer is changing from a 2-mana 1/3 to a 3-mana 2/4. Because this is a server-side patch, Pandaren Importer will appear as though its stats have been affected by an in-game effect. This will be updated in an upcoming patch. Because of this change, regular copies of Pandaren Importer will be able to be disenchanted for their full dust value until April 20 at 10 a.m. Pacific. (Golden copies of Pandaren Importer are not craftable because they were on the United in Stormwind rewards track).
• Sub Scrubber (Ini Stormcoil’s Buddy) has been moved from Tavern Tier 2, to Tavern Tier 4. Because this is a server-side hotfix, the Tavern Tier will not appear correctly at hero selection or when hovering over the Buddy Meter. This will be updated in a later full patch.
• Varden Dawngrasp and Ini Stormcoil have been moved from Armor Tier 2 (2-5 Armor) to Armor Tier 1 (0 Armor).
• Wildfire and Malygos are banned from deck creation in Duels.
• The Legendary Loot and Unstable Magic Passive Treasures were moved to the Ultra Rare Pool 2.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements:

• New: Fixed a bug that caused this weekend’s pre-release Fireside Gatherings to be unable to use the new Sunken City deck recipes.
• Fixed the visual bug that caused the Ranked Season Rewards celebration to appear blank.
• Fixed a bug where Kurtrus, Demon Render counted times your hero was attacked as well as times you attacked with your hero.
• Fixed a bug where secrets played after Freezing Trap would not trigger after Freezing Trap activated to remove the trigger condition. For example, after this bug fix, if a player plays Freezing Trap and then Explosive Trap, and the enemy attacks the player with a minion, the Freezing Trap will activate to return the attacking minion and then the Explosive Trap will trigger.
• Fixed a bug where Emergency Maneuvers could cause an enemy minion to go Dormant.
• Fixed a bug where Pathmaker would create extra history tiles throughout games.
• Improved Battlegrounds performance related to when minions buffed “for the rest of the game” appear in Bob’s Tavern during the Recruit Phase.
• Temporarily removed the “The Good Stuff” Darkmoon Prize from Tickatus’s Prize pool in order to avoid a bug. The Prize is expected to be returned to Tickatus’s Prize pool in a later patch, when the bug is resolved.
• Fixed a bug where the game would crash if you got a Mysterious Stranger encounter after already completing all Tasks for all Mercenaries you own. Now, if there are not enough visitors with available Tasks to fill the three options, it will select random Mercenaries to fill those slots. You will then be able to select a Mercenary as normal and, if that Mercenary does not have any Tasks to offer, you will get Coins for that Mercenary.
• Fixed a bug where the Reshape Deathblow would copy the target’s Equipment twice.
• Fixed a bug where the “Mecha Magic!” Duels card bucket was inaccurately labeled as “Big Spell.”
• Fixed a bug where players who already had a complete Curse of Naxxramas collection when Patch 23.0 went live could not claim the Diamond Loatheb reward that was added in the patch.