Badlands Balance

Badlands Balance is a Hearthstone patch released on Dec. 8, 2023. It was versioned 28.2.1 with the build number 190920. It was released during the expansion Showdown in the Badlands

Card Changes

Inquisitive Creation - Cost increased to 5 (from 4).
Thori'belore - Health decreased to 3 (from 4).
Battleworn Faceless - Cost increased to 3 (from 2).
Sludge on Wheels - Attack increased to 2 (from 1).
Flint Firearm - Cost and Attack decreased to 2 (from 3).
Detonation Juggernaut - Cost decreased to 4 (from 5). Health decreased to 4 (from 6).
Snake Eyes - Health increased to 4 (from 3).
Going Down Swinging - Cost decreased to 4 (from 5).
Blast Charge - Cost decreased to 2 (from 3).
Antique Flinger - Stats changed to 3-Mana 4/3 (from 4-Mana 5/4).
Burrow Buster - Health increased to 5 (from 4).
Escaping Trogg - Health increased to 3 (from 2).
Steelhide Mole - Attack increased to 3 (from 2).
Canary - Health increased to 2 (from 1).

Quote From Blizzard

Patch 28.2.1 is a data-only patch launching today with the following updates.

Hearthstone Updates

Dev Comment: This is our balance patch for Worlds! We specifically requested this early balance window so that we could make changes that we think will make the coolest Worlds possible! Overall, we think the meta is in a good spot, with most classes having something interesting to play and most top decks having play patterns we’re comfortable with. That lets us take a high confidence, step-wise approach with this patch, instead of making risky, drastic changes.

Enrage Warrior was the biggest standout we wanted to adjust down, and we wanted to make Sif Mage a bit more attackable. We’re also taking this opportunity to buff some underperforming archetypes, especially with new cards. Excavate as a whole got a little love with buffs to a Treasure at each rarity, the Neutral Burrow Buster, and a couple low-performance class Excavate cards.

We have another balance patch window lined up for shortly after Worlds where we’ll be able to make more changes—including maybe some more adventurous buffs. We’ll keep an eye on how these changes land and we hope you’ll join us for the World Championships on December 16th and 17th!

The following cards have been adjusted to be less powerful:

Inquisitive Creation

Old: [4 Mana]

New: [5 Mana]

Thori’belore

Old: 4/4

New: 4/3

Battleworn Faceless

Old: [2 Mana]

New: [3 Mana]

The cards listed above, plus the cards updated in Patch 28.2 (Fate Splitter, Monstrous Parrot, Counterfeit Blade, Dwarven Archaeologist, and Madam Goya), will be eligible for full dust refunds for at least three weeks following Patch 28.2.1.

The following cards have been adjusted to be more powerful:

Sludge on Wheels

Old: 1/5

New: 2/5

Detonation Juggernaut

Old: [5 Mana] 3/6

New: [4 Mana] 3/4

Snake Eyes

Old: 2/3

New: 2/4

Going Down Swinging

Old: [5 Mana]

New: [4 Mana]

Flint Firearm

Old: [3 Mana] 3/3

New: [2 Mana] 2/3

Blast Charge

Old: [3 Mana]

New: [2 Mana]

Antique Flinger

Old: [4 Mana] 5/4

New: [3 Mana] 4/3

Burrow Buster

Old: 6/4

New: 6/5

Escaping Trogg (Excavate Treasure)

Old: 2/2

New: 2/3

Canary (Excavate Treasure)

Old: 2/1

New: 2/2

Steelhide Mole (Excavate Treasure)

Old: 2/7

New: 3/7

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

[Hearthstone] Discovery of Magic will now always offer three Discover options when played (if you’ve played enough spell schools that only 1 or 2 remain, it will fill in with random spell(s) from the same spell school(s)).

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Kingpin Pud couldn’t resurrect the entire Ogre-Gang.

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where, if Reno, Lone Ranger was played while Hero Powers were disabled (like with a Mindbreaker in play), his Hero Power would not update.

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Chaos Gazer’s effect triggered at the end of the turn it was played, instead of the end of the opponent’s turn.

[Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where certain Tavern Spells weren’t ever offered in Discover options.

[Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Hero Powers that upgraded as you upgrade your Tavern were auto-upgrading.

[Progression] Fixed a bug where some players received the Tae’thalan Bloodwatcher achievement upon login.