Alterac Valley Nerfs

Alterac Valley Nerfs is a Hearthstone patch released on Dec. 20, 2021. It was versioned 22.0.2 with the build number 128654. It was released during the expansion Fractured in Alterac Valley

Card Changes

Celestial Alignment - Cost increased to 8 (from 7).
Efficient Octo-bot - Cost increased to 3 (from 2).
Snowfall Guardian - Cost increased to 6 (from 5).
Runed Mithril Rod - Cost increased to 5 (from 4).
Mo'arg Artificer - Cost increased to 3 (from 2). Health increased to 5 (from 4).
Alliance Bannerman - Health decreased to 1 (from 2).
Touch of the Nathrezim - Now restores 3 Health (down from 4).
Bloodsail Deckhand - Buff reverted, Health decreased to 1 (from 2).
Irondeep Trogg - No longer summons a copy but another 1/2 Irondeep Trogg.
Summon Pet - Cost decreased to 2 (from 3).
Grey Sage Parrot - Cost decreased to 6 (from 8). Stats changed to 4/5 (down from 6/6).
Magister Dawngrasp - Cost decreased to 7 (from 8).
Arcane Burst - Now deals 2 damage (up from 1).
Wildfire - Effect now persists for the entire game, even after swapping Hero Powers.

Quote From Blizzard

Patch 22.0.2, launching today, includes balance changes for Standard and Battlegrounds, a system update for Mercenaries, and more!

Standard Balance Updates

Dev Comment: We’re coming up on two weeks since the launch of Fractured in Alterac Valley and, while players are still finding success with quite a variety of strategies, we want to open up the format further. This patch is mainly focused on weakening some of the stronger, combo-centric strategies that have had long-term success throughout the Year of the Gryphon.

The following cards have been adjusted down in power:
Celestial Alignment

Old: [Costs 7] → New: [Costs 8]

Dev Comment: Although Celestial Alignment is not usually a card used for from-hand, burst damage, it does frequently allow for absurd turns that happen a little earlier than we feel is healthy. Moving it up a mana should allow for more setup and counterplay before Celestial Alignment is cast.

Alliance Bannerman

Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health → New: 2 Attack, 1 Health

Dev Comment: Paladins have a very consistent, powerful package of cards that they can include in quite a few distinct strategies. Alliance Bannerman is one of these cards that can fit into a wide range of decks. Lowering its Health by one should tone down Paladin decks by a small amount across the board.

Efficient Octo-bot

Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 3]

Dev Comment: Efficient Octo-bot has been a little too efficient at the upper echelons of play. We’re slowing it down as part of the general goal of toning down the power level of combo strategies.

Snowfall Guardian

Old: [Costs 5] → New: [Costs 6]

Dev Comment: Snowfall Guardian was designed with the intent of giving Freeze Shaman decks a powerful tool, but it is a little too efficient at locking up the board, especially when combined with cards like Brilliant Macaw. Moving it up one mana should soften the power of this interaction.

Touch of the Nathrezim

Old: Deal 2 damage to a minion. If it dies, restore 4 Health to your hero. → New: Deal 2 damage to a minion. If it dies, restore 3 Health to your hero.

Dev Comment: Touch of the Nathrezim is meant to be a solid removal option for slower Warlock decks, but the overall Health restoration in Warlock is slightly too high. This is meant to be a softer change that leaves Warlock with a powerful removal option, but reduces overall Warlock healing capabilities enough to bring that aspect of the class back in line.

Runed Mithril Rod

Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 5]

Dev Comment: Runed Mithril Rod was an incredibly strong tool in the first few days after the launch of Fractured in Alterac Valley. While players were able to find a counter to it in cards like Rustrot Viper, we believe going up a Mana here will lead to healthier play patterns for the game overall.

Bloodsail Deckhand

Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health → New: 2 Attack, 1 Health

Dev Comment: We’re reverting our previous change to Bloodsail Deckhand. Questline Warrior ended up slightly stronger than intended, and we believe it will continue to find success after this change.

Irondeep Trogg

Old: After your opponent casts a spell, summon a copy of this. → New: After your opponent casts a spell, summon another Irondeep Trogg.

Dev Comment: Irondeep Trogg has the capability of running away with games very early when combined with minion buffs like Noble Mount or Doggie Biscuit. Taking into account the rest of the changes we’re making with this patch, we want to adjust Trogg to remain a viable counter to early spells, but to better match the targeted power level of the format as a whole.

Mo’arg Artificer

Old: [Costs 2] 2 Attack, 4 Health → New: [Costs 3] 2 Attack, 5 Health

Dev Comment: Mo’arg Artificer does too much, too efficiently for decks with large amounts of removal. Increasing its cost by one will make the card a little less efficient as a tool for cheap clears, large amounts of life gain, and combo finishers.

The collectible cards listed above will be eligible for a full dust refund for 2 weeks after the 22.0.2 patch goes live. Bloodsail Deckhand is not eligible for the dust refund, because it's a Core Set card, not a collectible one.

Dev Comment: Alongside the changes above, we’re also making a couple adjustments aimed at powering up slower Mage decks and the less powerful Hero Cards.

The following cards have been adjusted up in power:
Beaststalker Tavish

Old: [Hero Power Costs 3] → New: [Hero Power Costs 2]

Grey Sage Parrot

Old: [Costs 8] 6 Attack, 6 Health → New: [Costs 6] 4 Attack, 5 Health

Magister Dawngrasp

Old: [Costs 8] → New: [Costs 7]

Old: Hero Power: Deal 1 Damage. Honorable Kill: Gain +2 Damage. → New: Hero Power: Deal 2 Damage. Honorable Kill: Gain +2 Damage.

Wildfire

Old: Increase the damage of your Hero Power by 1. → New: Increase the damage of your Hero Power by 1 this game.

Dev Comment: This is a minor rework to make it so that Wildfire will now persist after swapping Hero Powers. Although we don’t envision this being dramatically impactful, we do think it will allow for a smoother gameplay experience with Hero Power changing cards like Magister Dawngrasp.

Battlegrounds Balance Updates

HERO UPDATES
Sneed

Armor Tier changed from Tier 1 (0 Armor) to Tier 2 (2-5 Armor)

Sneed’s Replicator

Old: [Costs 1] → New: [Costs 2]

Tamsin

Fragrant Phylactery

Old: [Costs 0] Start of Combat: Destroy your lowest Health minion. Give its Health to all your others. → New: [Costs 1] Start of Combat: Destroy your lowest Health minion. Give its stats to all your others.

Scabbs Cutterbutter

Armor Tier changed from Tier 2 (2-5 Armor) to Tier 1 (0 Armor)

Cariel Roame

Armor Tier changed from Tier 6 (6-9 Armor) to Tier 7 (7-10 Armor)

Deathwing

Armor Tier changed from Tier 4 (4-7 Armor) to Tier 5 (5-8 Armor)

Millificent Manastorm

Armor Tier changed from Tier 3 (3-6 Armor) to Tier 5 (5-8 Armor)

Overlord Saurfang

Armor Tier changed from Tier 6 (6-9 Armor) to Tier 7 (7-10 Armor)

Patches the Pirate

Armor Tier changed from Tier 3 (3-6 Armor) to Tier 2 (2-5 Armor)

Trade Prince Gallywix

Armor Tier changed from Tier 4 (4-7 Armor) to Tier 2 (2-5 Armor)

MINION UPDATES
Prized Promo-Drake

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

Dazzling Lightspawn

Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health → New: 2 Attack, 5 Health

Mercenaries Update

All Heroic Level 30 Bounties will now include at least one pile of Legendary Coins (chosen from the selection of Coins designated for each Bounty) as part of their Bounty completion rewards.

Arena Update

Abominable Lieutenant is no longer draftable in Arena.

Bug Fixes & Game Improvements

The base versions of Drek’Thar and Vanndar are now eligible for full dust refunds. We will be doing a separate update later on patch day to grant additional Arcane Dust to players who already disenchanted either card.

Fixed a bug where the Duels treasure Impcredible Trousers did not properly shuffle the imp portals.