The latest Hearthstone patch notes for the 27.4.2.update brings buffs and nerfs for Standard, Wild, Twist, Battlegrounds, and more
After an initial delay on the teaser that was posted yesterday, we get to explore the 27.4.2 Hearthstone patch notes. The following balance changes will go live today, September 28, and will affect almost every game mode.
The patch notes bring nearly 20 nerfs, 10 buffs -including the OG Hearthstone legendaries Tirion Fordring and Lord Jaraxxus- and 3 card bans! Let's go over the details
Hearthstone Standard Balance Changes
As usual, Hearthstone Devs have included many comments on this patch notes, explaining their train of thought and the reasons behind their decisions.
"We have a lot of card changes in this patch, and a lot to share about why these changes are being made. For the Standard-focused changes, we’re addressing both power outliers and play experience outliers in this patch"
To begin with we need to address the elephant in the room. Yes, the patch notes say that Gadzetazn Auctioneer has been removed from the Hearthstone Core Set, so it is no longer Standard lega. This was the first change teased by Aleco during the weekend, but the ban also includes a nerf. With it, Druid also lost some of its Mana-cheating potential now that Contaminated Lasher was also nerfed.
![Gadgetzan Auctioneer<br>Old: [6 Mana]<br>New: [7 Mana]](https://admin.esports.gg/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Gadgetzan-Auctioneer-ban-Hearthstone-patch-notes.webp)
Old: [6 Mana]
New: [7 Mana]
Gadgetzan Auctioneer also has been removed from the Core Set, so it is no longer Standard legal.
"For a long time, Auctioneer has been a card that only popped up in Standard when it was up to no good. In this case, the Mini-Set provided a critical mass of effects that allowed for a deck that used Auctioneer to consistently draw through its entire deck and OTK as early as turn 5. That’s not the bar we want for Standard, regardless of the deck’s overall winrate."
![Contaminated Lasher<br>Old: [2 Mana 3/2]<br>New: [3 Mana 3/3]](https://admin.esports.gg/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Contaminated-Lasher-Nerf-Hearthstone-patch-notes.webp)
Old: [2 Mana 3/2]
New: [3 Mana 3/3]
Another overperforming card, especially in high Legend, was addressed in this Hearthstone balance patch. Spiritlash Siren was both a powerful enabler and created negative player sentiment. That's why it's going once more to 5 Mana.
![Spitelash Siren<br>Old: [4 Mana] 2 Attack, 5 Health<br>New: [5 Mana] 2 Attack, 6 Health](https://admin.esports.gg/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Spiritleas-Siren-Hearthstone-nerf-patch-notes.webp)
Old: [4 Mana] 2 Attack, 5 Health
New: [5 Mana] 2 Attack, 6 Health
Talking about powerful cards and decks, Warrior is also gonna be tuned down in this Hearthstone patch. The Devs recognize that they opt to err on the side of the deck being overpowered rather than weak. They were committed to making Warrior great again as Cora said.
"When we buffed Warrior in our last balance patch, we did so knowing that they’d get more powerful tools in the Mini-Set, but we wanted to make sure that the deck hit, so we erred on the side of over-buffing it, knowing that we’d have the option to make a small correction back down if we needed. Now that the Mini-Set has landed, Warrior is looking like one of the most standout classes, so we’re making those adjustments."
Old: Whenever your hero attacks, gain 4 Armor.
New: Whenever your hero attacks, gain 3 Armor.
![Sanitize<br>Old: [4 Mana]<br>New: [5 Mana]](https://admin.esports.gg/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1DS7U3NM6LJ81695834494417.webp)
Old: [4 Mana]
New: [5 Mana]
On top of the changes to address the current problem, the balance team has also taken some preemptive measures. This is the case of the Hunter class, which after this Hearthstone Patch, with Warriors being less powerful, would otherwise rule the metagame.
Old: 6 Attack, 2 Durability
New: 5 Attack, 2 Durability
"Hunter also has one of the strongest decks in the format, and we’d expect it to get even stronger after the other changes we’re making in this patch, so we’re making a small adjustment to bring its power down a little as well."
Finally, some other sentiment cards have been adjusted for standard. Movement of Pride will no longer get a super early Sargeras and Coppertail Snoop will be much weaker also preventing the snowball effect.
Old: Draw your highest Cost minion. Reduce its Cost by (6).
New: Draw a minion. Reduce its Cost by (6).
Old: 4 Attack, 3 Health
New: 3 Attack, 2 Health
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Hearthstone Twist and Wild Nerfs
In this case, we will not go over each card change specifically, but in general, they are tunning down Discard Warlock and Jade Rogue, the two top dogs. More over, we have also included in this category the series of Wild exclusive nerfs as well.
"For the Twist-focused changes, we’ve seen that the Wonders format was faster than we wanted, not leaving much room for some of the cards that are evocative of this Wonders era. The adjustments in this patch are targeted at weakening the format’s clearest power outliers, and, at the same time, buffing some late-game payoffs and control tools."
Card | Old Version | New Version |
|---|---|---|
| Chamber of Viscidus | [2 Mana] 3 Durability | [3 Mana] 2 Durability |
| Dark Bargain | [3 Mana] | [4 Mana] |
| Tiny Knight of Evil | Whenever you discard a card, gain +2/+2. | Whenever you discard a card, gain +2/+1 |
| Blast from the Past | [3 Mana] | [4 Mana] |
| Ivory Rook | 4 Attack, 4 Health | 4 Attack, 3 Health |
| Jade Telegram | [3 Mana] | [4 Mana] |
| Scarab Gong (generated by The Scarab Lord) | 0 Attack, 2 Health | 0 Attack, 2 Health |
| Blade of C’Thun | [6 Mana] | [7 Mana] |
| Trial of the Jormungars | [5 Mana] | [6 Mana] |
| Spirit of the Frog | [3 Mana] | [5 Mana] |
| Firemancer Flurgl | [2 Mana] | [4 Mana] |
| Scargill | [4 Mana] | [5 Mana] |
| Shadow Essence | [6 Mana] | [7 Mana] |
| Kabal Lackey | The next Secret you play this turn costs (0). | The next Secret you play this turn costs (1). |
| Mechwarper | Now banned in Wild. | |
| Tony, King of Piracy | Now banned in Wild. |
"Wild is a mode that’s inherently full of powerful interactions, but we still want the mode to feel like you’re playing Hearthstone. That’s why these adjustments focus on the biggest play experience outliers in the mode—decks that are frustrating now and that, if we didn’t step in, would likely remain frustrating for a long time. There are some strong Wild decks that we didn’t touch in these changes because, though they’re powerful, they still generally fit in the Hearthstone mold. We’ve found that Wild players often have different goals for the mode so we expect that some players will wish we hit more or different things, but we hope that these adjustments will make the mode more fun for more players overall."
Hearthstone patch notes 27.4.2: buffs
On top of the corrections mentioned above to address the problems caused by overpowered cards and decks, the Hearthstone team is also introducing a series of buffs in this patch. The idea is to encourage players to experiment with new expansion mechanics and archetypes.
This list of buffs corresponds both to Standard and Twist.
Card | Old Version | New Version |
|---|---|---|
| Down with the Ship | [Frost, Unholy] | [Unholy] |
| Tomb Traitor | [Frost, Unholy] | [Unholy] |
| Frost Queen Sindragosa | [Blood, Frost] | [Frost] |
| Tyr’s Tears | Resurrect 3 different Paladin minions. Set their stats to 2/2. Forge: Resurrect another | Resurrect 3 different minions from your class. Set their stats to 2/2. Forge: Resurrect another. |
| Tirion Fordring | 6 Attack, 6 Health | 8 Attack, 8 Health |
| Lord Jaraxxus | [9 Mana] | [8 Mana] |
| Cenarion Hold | [2 Mana] | [1 Mana] |
| Dragonfire Potion | [6 Mana] | [5 Mana] |
| Bronze Dragonknight | Battlecry: If this has 5 or more Attack, summon a copy of this. | Battlecry: If this has 5 or more Attack, summon a copy of this. |
| Elemental Destruction | Deal 4-5 damage to all minions. Overload: (5) | Deal 4-5 damage to all minions. Overload: (2) |
| Al’Akir, the Winds of Time | 5 Armor | 8 Armor |
Before we close this balance changes report, the 27.4.2 Hearthstone patch notes also included changes for Battlegrounds and Duels, feel free to check those on the official blog post.
Remember that all versions of the Hearthstone nerfed cards that can be disenchanted, will be eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following Patch 27.4.2.
That's all for now, stay tuned to esports.gg for more Hearthstone news and updates. See you next time in the Tavern.
