Blizzard just published patch notes for a huge patch that includes the expansion pre-order, Anniversary, Battlegrounds updates, & more!
Quote from BlizzardPatch 28.6, launching today, introduces Hearthstone’s next expansion, Whizbang’s Workshop, brings Quests back to Battlegrounds, and kicks off 10-year anniversary celebrations throughout the Tavern!
Pre-Purchase Whizbang’s Workshop, Get Early Access Epics
Find your new favorite toy in Hearthstone’s next expansion, Whizbang’s Workshop, coming March 19! Whizbang is opening up the doors to his world-famous workshop—the place where all of Azeroth’s greatest toys are made. He’s got Wind-Up Toys, Miniatures, and nonstop nostalgia. Find a new favorite toy or build your own—you can make all your wishes come true in Whizbang’s Workship!
Whizbang’s Workshop has 145 all-new collectible cards. You can learn more about what’s in store in the Whizbang’s Workshop Announcement Blog. Two pre-purchase options are available now so you can be first in line once the expansion launches.
But wait, what’s that? Whizbang has a special surprise: each pre-purchase bundle comes with two copies of the Early Access Epic card, Corridor Sleeper.* You won’t want to sleep on this deal!
* 2 copies of Corridor Sleeper are included in each pre-purchase bundle and are playable immediately upon purchase. Early access period lasts from time of purchase until the launch of Whizbang’s Workshop on March 19. Once Whizbang’s Workshop launches, Corridor Sleeper can be disenchanted, crafted, and obtained through all other normal means.
Log in and Get Thirteen Cards for Free!
Log in to Hearthstone now to start the 10-year anniversary celebration with thirteen free cards! First, each of the 11 classes has brought a “Gift” card that lets you Discover an iconic spell from their class.
That’s not all! After 10 years of cheering you on, Harth himself is joining the fray! Play him and he replaces your hand with one of thirteen random 8-card iconic Hearthstone hands (one hand for each class, with the exception of Death Knight, which has one for each Rune).
And last, but not least, start your tour of Whizbang’s Workshop with the free Colifero the Artist Legendary minion! This talented artist paints over your whole board as copies of the minion he draws.
All 13 of these rewards are available upon login starting in Patch 28.6. After Patch 29.6, all the above login rewards will be granted upon opening your first Whizbang’s Workshop pack instead of upon logging in. Limit one copy of each login reward per account.
In-Game Event: 10 Year Anniversary
From February 27 to March 19, kick the party up a notch with an in-game event! Complete event quests to earn event XP and progress along a special event rewards track. Complete the Event Rewards Track to earn Golden versions of all the “Gift” cards, plus a special Birthday Coin.
Twist Seasonal Update: Fast Forward
This March, take a walk through Hearthstone history in Twist! On the first day of the season, only Legacy will be in the card pool. On the next day, Hearthstone’s first infusion of cards, Curse of Naxxramas, will be added to the card pool. The next day: Goblins vs Gnomes. Each day, the next infusion of cards will be added until we've fast forwarded through the entire history of Hearthstone (through Showdown in the Badlands)!
Demon Hunter and Death Knight will be unlocked in the Mode with the set that corresponds to their first appearance in Hearthstone. Starting in Patch 28.6, Whizbang the Wonderful will temporarily function in the same way he did at launch (decklists from The Boomsday Project). He’ll be reverted in a major patch after the Fast Forward Twist season ends. After the March season, the Twist Mode will be paused again for the April season.
Battlegrounds Updates
Quests are back in Battlegrounds again! From Patch 28.6 until the next Battlegrounds Season, Battlegrounds Quests will be in every game. As a reminder, Battlegrounds Quests are special tasks that guide your gameplay throughout your game. On turn 4, you’ll be offered a choice from three Quest-Reward pairs that will tell you what you need to do in order to progress your Quest and your Reward for completing it. How will Tavern Spells guide you on your Quest?
New and Returning Quests*
- Fill the Cauldron
- Cast 9 spells.
- Unlikely Duo
- Play 5 <minion type> or <minion type>.
- Invite the Guests
- Buy 6 minions.
- Dust for Prints
- Add 20 cards to your hand.
- Cry for Help
- Play 4 Battlecry minions.
- Exhume the Bones
- Trigger 7 friendly Deathrattles.
- Assemble a Lineup
- Summon 17 minions.
- Find the Murder Weapon
- Increase a friendly minion’s stats 14 times.
- Reenact the Murder
- Have 19 friendly minions die.
- Sort it All Out
- Order your minions from lowest to highest Attack for 4 combats.
- Follow the Money
- Spend 33 Gold.
- Hire an Investigator
- End your turn with unspent Gold 3 times.
- Crack the Case
- Have friendly minions attack 12 times.
- Pressure the Authorities
- Get your warband to 35 total Attack.
- Round Up the Suspects
- Destroy 18 enemy minions.
* Fill the Cauldron is new, the rest are returning. Track the Footprints and Burn the Evidence have not been returned to the Quest pool from last time Quests were in the game. The requirements listed here are the Quest baseline values. Quest baseline requirements are modified by several factors (including, primarily, the Reward they are paired with), so actual Quest requirements vary from game to game.
New and Returning Rewards*
- Beyond the Mirage
- Tavern spells cost (1) less.
- Temporal Tampering
- Your Tavern spells cast twice.
- Splitting Scroll
- Whenever you buy a Tavern spell that costs (3) or more, get an extra copy of it.
- Cycle of Energy
- Avenge (4): Get a random Tavern spell.
- Tumbling Disaster
- Whenever you summon a minion in combat, give it +1/+1. Avenge (4): Upgrade this permanently.
- Double-Headed Reward
- The first time you buy a card each turn, get an extra copy of it.
- Gift of the Golden Kobold
- After you Refresh 5 times, make the highest Tier minion in the Tavern Golden.
- Secret Culprit
- Get <a particular Tier 7 minion>.
- Open Auditions
- At the start of your turn, Discover a Buddy.
- Stash of the Scribe
- At the start of each turn, get 3 random Tavern spells.
- Stable Amalgamation
- Avenge (7): When you have space, summon a 50/50 Amalgam.
- Snicker Snacks
- At the end of your turn, 2 friendly minions trigger their Battlecries.
- Stolen Gold
- Start of Combat: Make your left and right-most minions Golden.
- Evil Twin
- Start of Combat: Summon a copy of your highest-Health minion.
- Ritual Dagger
- After a friendly Deathrattle minion dies, give it +4/+4 permanently.
- Anima Bribe
- After you sell a minion, give its stats to a minion in the Tavern.
- Devils in the Details
- At the end of your turn, your left and right-most minions consume a minion in the Tavern to gain its stats.
- The Smoking Gun
- Your minions have +4 Attack.
- Cooked Book
- After you buy a minion, give it +1/+1 and upgrade this.
- Mirror Shield
- After each Refresh, give a minion in the Tavern +4/+4 and Divine Shield.
- Secret Sinstone
- After you Discover a card, get an extra copy of it.
- Ghastly Mask
- Add <a particular “end of turn” minion> to your hand. Your end of turn effects trigger an extra time.
- Theotar’s Parasol
- At the end of your turn, give your right-most minion Stealth until next turn and +8 Health.
- Red Hand
- At the start of your turn, give a minion in your hand +12/+12.
- Victim’s Specter
- After each combat, get a copy of the last friendly minion that died.
- Another Hidden Body
- Discover a minion of your Tier. (Can be earned endlessly!)
- Alter Ego
- Even Tier minions in the Tavern have +7/+7. (Swaps to Odd next turn!)
- The Friends Along the Way
- At the start of your turn, get two random <particular minion type>.
- Menagerie Mayhem
- At the end of your turn, give your minions +1/+1 for each different friendly minion type.
- Pilfered Lamps
- You only need 2 copies of a minion to make it Golden.
- Yogg-tastic Tasties
- At the start of your turn, spin the Wheel of Yogg-Saron.
- Wondrous Wisdomball
- Occasionally gives helpful Refreshes.
- Essence of Zerus
- At the end of your turn, get a ‘Shifter Zerus’ which transforms into random minions.
- Hidden Treasure Vault
- At the start of your turn, gain 1 Gold. (Upgrades each turn!)
- Ethereal Evidence
- At the start of every turn, choose from 2 new Rewards.
- The Golden Hammer
- Spellcraft: Make a friendly minion Golden until next turn.
- Sinfall Medallion
- After you play a minion, give 2 other friendly minions of its Tier +2/+2.
- Kidnap Sack
- Spellcraft: Choose a non-Golden card. Move it to your hand.
- Enhance-a-matic
- At the start of your turn, get an Enhanced Part that gives +5/+5 and a random bonus. <Taunt, Windfury, Divine Shield, or Reborn>
- Partner in Crime
- Get your Golden Buddy.
- Ice Sickle
- Avenge (1): Give a minion in your hand +4 Attack.
- Soul Pact
- After you play a minion, give other minions of the same type +1/+1.
- Sturdy Shard
- At the end of your turn, give your minions without Taunt +1/+2 for each Taunt minion you control.
- Doppelganger’s Locket
- After each combat, Discover a non-Golden minion from your last opponent’s warband. It keeps enchantments.
- Timeline Acceleration
- At the start of your turn, get two Accelerators that transform a minion into one from a Tier higher.
- Invigorating Conch
- When you buy a minion, give its stats to a random friendly minion.
- Boom Squad
- Avenge (3): Deal 10 damage to the highest Health enemy minion.
- Divine Armor
- At the end of your turn, give the left-most minion in your hand +6/+6 and Divine Shield.
- Map of the Unknown
- After you play a minion of a type you don’t control, give a friendly minion of each type +2/+2.
- Bloodsoaked Tome
- Minions in the Tavern cost 2 Gold.
- Scepter of Guidance
- The Tavern always offers 2 <a particular minion type> when Refreshed.
- Endless Blood Moon
- Your Blood Gems give an extra +1/+1. At the start of your turn, add two to your hand.
- Turbulent Tombs
- Add <a particular Deathrattle minion> to your hand. Your Deathrattles trigger an extra time.
- Gilnean War Horn
- Add <a particular Battlecry minion> to your hand. Your Battlecries trigger an extra time.
* Volatile Venom and Tiny Henchmen have not been returned to the Rewards pool. All new Rewards (those at the top of this list) will appear twice as frequently for a limited time after launch.
New Minions
Eagill [Tier 3, Murloc/Beast]
- 7/1. Battlecry: Give another random friendly minion and a minion in your hand +2/+3.
Vengeful Slitherer [Tier 3, Naga/Undead]
- 5/1. Spellcraft: Give your minions +1 Health until next turn. Any that die next combat gain it permanently!
Saloon Dancer [Tier 4]
- 4/5. Taunt. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give another friendly minion +3/+3.
Augmented Laborer [Tier 5, Mech/Demon]
- 1/6. Avenge (4): Get a random Mecha-Demon.
Felboar [Tier 6, Quilboar/Demon]
- 1/4. After you cast 3 spells, consume a minion in the Tavern to gain its stats.
Deadstomper [Tier 6, Undead/Beast]
- 2/6. After you summon a minion in combat, give your minions +3 Attack.
- Dev Comment: This is a minion-type update to Felstomper (and a corresponding art update, too).
Whirling Lass-o-Matic [Tier 6, Mech]
- 9/2. Divine Shield. Windfury. Whenever this attacks, get a random Tavern spell.
Minion Updates
Yrel [Tier 2]
- 1/4. After this attacks, give a friendly minion of each type +1/+2.
Rendle the Mistermind [Tier 4]
- 4/5. At the end of your turn, steal the highest Tier card from the Tavern.
Utility Drone [Tier 4, Mech]
- 3/4. At the end of your turn, give your minions +1/+1 for each Magnetization they have.
Scrap Scraper [Tier 5, Mech]
- 6/5. Deathrattle: Get a random Magnetic Mech.
Blazing Skyfin [Tier 2, Dragon/Murloc]
- 1/3. After you trigger a Battlecry, gain +1/+1.
Peckish Feldrake [Tier 4, Demon/Dragon]
- Regular: 0/1. Battlecry: Consume 3 minions in the Tavern to gain their stats.
- Golden: 0/2. Battlecry: Consume 3 minions in the Tavern to gain double their stats.
- Dev comment: This is just an update to the Golden version.
New Tavern Spells
Fluidity [Tier 3, 1 Gold]
- Swap a friendly non-Golden minion with a random one in the Tavern.
Toxic Tumbleweed [Tier 4, 2 Gold]
- Start of Combat: Summon a 1/1 Tumbling Assassin with Venomous. It attacks immediately.
Channel the Devourer [Tier 6, 4 Gold]
- Remove a minion. Give its stats to a random friendly minion.
Scavenge for Parts [Tier 4, 4 Gold]
- At the end of your turn, get a random Magnetic minion. Lasts 3 turns.
- Only offered in Mech games.
Cloning Conch [Tier 5, 5 Gold]
- Get a copy of a Murloc in your hand.
- Only offered in Murloc games.
Guzzle the Goop [Tier 4, 4 Gold]
- At the end of your turn, give your Dragons +4 Attack. Lasts 3 turns.
- Only offered in Dragon games.
Boon of Beetles [Tier 4, 2 Gold]
- Start of Combat: Give your minions “Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Beetle.”
- Only offered in Beast games.
Butchering [Tier 4, 2 Gold]
- Destroy a friendly Undead. Your Undead have extra Attack equal to its Tier this game.
- Only offered in Undead games.
Suspicious Stimulant [Tier 3, 2 Gold]
- Freeze a minion in the Tavern. If it’s Frozen at the end of this turn, double its stats.
- Only offered in Elemental games.
Spitescale Special [Tier 3, 2 Gold]
- Get 3 random Spellcraft spells.
- Only offered in Naga games.
Corrupted Cupcakes [Tier 5, 3 Gold]
- Choose a friendly Demon. It consumes all minions in the Tavern to gain their stats.
- Only offered in Demon games.
Plunder Seeker [Tier 4, 6 Gold]
- Steal a random card from the Tavern. Repeat for each friendly Pirate.
- Only offered in Pirate games.
Gem Confiscation [Tier 4, 1 Gold]
- Play 2 Blood Gems on a friendly minion. It steals all Blood Gems from its neighbors.
- Only offered in Quilboar games.
Card Pool Updates
14 minions have been removed from the minion pool:
- Fairy Tale Caroler
- Transmuted Bramblewitch
- Observer of Myths
- Scourfin
- Withered Spearhide
- Relentless Mur’ghoul
- Mecha-Jaraxxus
- Imposing Percussionist
- Octosari, Wrap God
- Niuzao
- Bejeweled Duelist
- Trembling Trolley
- Adaptable Barricade
- Necrolyte
6 minions have been returned to the minion pool:
- Thorncaller
- Crackling Cyclone
- Yrel
- Rendle the Mistermind
- Tortollan Blue Shell
- Mantid Queen
2 Tavern Spells have been removed from the spell pool:
- Jaws of Fate
- Buddy Up
Bug Fixes and Game Improvements
- [General] We have now completed the final phase of our modular download project for mobile devices. Players will now be able to selectively download Battlegrounds or remove it from their device through the download manager.
- [Hearthstone] Updated Eroded Sediment’s textbox to indicate that it can Discover from any class.
- [Hearthstone] School Teacher has gotten its teaching credential and can now teach Nagalings how to play Heat Wave and Misfire.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where The Primus’s Runes of Frost Ability’s effect is still active if first the card it applied to is Countered.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where a stolen Mirage would continue to turn into minions from the original owner’s deck, instead of the new controller’s deck, until played.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Mirage wouldn’t return to your hand if the minion played from it was a Dormant minion.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Thirsty Drifter’s cost would go back up if a 1-cost minion was returned to hand.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Shadow of Demise didn’t activate Quickdraw effects.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Crabatoa’s buff wouldn’t apply to a Claw after the Claw had its stats set to a particular number.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where attacks by Ogre-Gang Outlaw that are redirected to the Hero wouldn’t trigger “when your hero is attacked” Secrets—that would be illegal.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Deputization Aura didn’t apply to minions that were dying (relevant for cards like Spurfang that have Deathrattles based on their Attack at death).
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Spurfang didn’t summon anything if its Attack was over 10.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Shadowtouched Kvaldir’s effect would apply to all end of turn healing effects on the turn played, instead of just the first one to trigger.
- [Hearthstone] Raid Boss Onyxia has finally accepted Starlight Whelp as a Whelp.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Mutanus, the Devourer’s stat buff wouldn’t account for the eaten minion’s stat adjustments while in hand.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Cenarion Hold’s effect could be used up by a Choose One Hero Power.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where cards would lose their art under certain conditions, like when returned to hand.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where the Crafty Clash Legendary Strike could cause game freezes.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where using Chef’s Choice on an “All” minion could give a minion with no minion type.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Mama Bear’s effect was triggered if a Beast was rolled from Infinite Toki’s Hero Power.
- [Modes] Fixed a bug where Gift of the Old Gods didn’t Corrupt certain specific Corrupt cards.
- [Achievements] Fixed a bug where the Consecutive Calamity Achievement didn’t count “All” type minions.
- [Shop] Fixed a bug where Battlegrounds Hero Powers weren’t showing in portrait purchase screens.
- [Cosmetics] Fixed various bugs with skins’ emote texts.
- [Progression] Various bug fixes and improvements within the New Player Progression.
- Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.
Wow - so much to hate all in one expac! We have the potential for some early p2w, we have some extra-flexible cards which are shockingly bad for some classes and very good for others, we have hated cards coming back AND we still have the broken cards from the current set! Whizzbang sure does know how to treat us in his workshop!
The returning core set cards are some of the most hated and historically problematic cards in the game. Who else is looking forward to a 5/7 charge minion which gets to summon a 5/7 rush minion while doing 8 damage to your stuff (face) all for the sum of 5 mana? Sure seems fun to me...
Leeeroy Jenkins......interactivity at it's finest. It's sure going to be fun to face a 16/16 (or more!) windfury charge minion - he's balanced though - he summons some 1/1's. There's also Southsea Deckhand for a nice cheap neutral charge too.
But dont worry Priest players - Ship's Chirurgeon is coming back!!!
This feels like we're at the "cashing in" stage of a games life. Produce a bunch of overpowered broken stuff that enough people will lap up to make as much money as you can before the game dies. They're pushing players away with every expac - this one will be no different imo. (clearly I have no numbers - but if you look at streamers as a proxy they are definitely doing other things now and they make money playing the game). Without some serious changes I think I'm done - there's very little room for fun left in this game now and it really looks like it's going to get worse.
Hiding cards behind a paywall for a limited time ain't good with that said I'm fairly sure it won't see that much play, I just don't think the power of it is enough for warrant to put it into a deck. Its not like it will pop during first two turns its a longer questline than that and the reward is a vanila 3/5 by turn 5 Warlock can put out 3x 10/10s and fairly consistent put out 2x 7/7's on turn 4. DH can almost kill you with Nage/Spell rotationby turn 5. Rogue can make some very nasty things also by turn 4/5 and basiclly every class has some kind of pretty strong plays around the time.
A 3/5 that takes 7 minions deaths before it pops is just very weak in terms of powerlevel. For early game minions you want something that techs you towards something or something that contest the board and can remove threats or draw cards this serves as neither of those.
I would say the closest thing to it in the current game is Foul Egg which I think is a way better card and yet it just see play in very specific decks.
For the two people that are interested:
Is this the first time they put two big Battlegrounds mechanics into the game at the same time (spells and quests)?
Not sure if Darkmoon prizes overlapped at some point with buddies. But mixing mechanics certainly feels better than just rotating them. Or perhaps spells are going to be a permanent addition (in case that has been confirmed, I'm not aware of it).
Disclaimer: I only quite recently started to play BGs seriously, but
I kinda feel Spells are part of what makes BGs game play go, and removing it would be very detrimental to my enjoyment. Buddies and Quests and Darkmoon Prizes are fun stuff to change up the game play, but I feel like spells are not something you can remove again now that we are used to them. The difference in costs between them and what that means to what you can do each turns means SO much more variety to game play. I tried BGs before spells and never really clicked with it, but with spells it finally feels like a complete game to me.
Thanks for that interesting insight.
I have been playing Battlegrounds more or less regularly since the start, and I have felt similarly about previous updates. Buddies felt like an important element to make characters more unique in their playstyle, quests added an element of long-term strategy, where you don't just buy and build your meta-comp, but think about which quest you can complete and what you could do with the reward. Anomalies added a lot of variety, which was admittedly not always ideal, but I thought Battlegrounds is generally more fun the less predictable it is.
I like spells a lot as well, and agree they should stay, but so far, all additions (save for tribes) have been temporary, and I always thought it was a bit of a waste. Especially when something as big as quests had ended just because Undead were added. So I find it really exciting that they combine spells with quests now.
Spells are great but the continual removal of Scam minions is getting really ugly. There are certain tribes that can outscale everyone else very easily and we keep losing all around scam minions to deal with them. Kind of not liking how the mode is moving forward with just..."Me make big minions and you lose".
I honestly hate scam minions, and I much prefer losing to someone who takes risks to make a strong board, than to someone who is crushing everyone for 10 turns with tokens and divine shields, then switches to a scam build to win anyway. Especially when this is the "strategy" that half the players in the lobby are typically going for. I do not enjoy praying for an early Tunnel Blaster and a Ghost turn, just so can level to 5 or 6 with more than 10 HP (if I even make it that far).
If you want to complain about stats dominating the endgame, what is your excuse for tokens dominating the early and midgame? At least there are many different ways to scale stats, not just a handful of Undead, Beasts and Mechs that you have to buy religiously.
Tokens don't dominate anything. Try a better argument or come up and play with the big boys in the 12K bracket.
Hm...
You could be right that on higher MMR the environment/meta is entirely different. I wouldn't know, I don't really care.
Then again, there's something about your response that makes me realize I would be very happy to remain as far away from you and this little boys club as humanly possible, on any conceivable level.
So I gladly agree with you to end this debate, and I will remember to intentionally tank my MMR if there's even the slimest of chances I could ever be paired up in a game with your kind.
Life is too short.
Early access cards? This is very worrying.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where the game wasn't implementing P2W mechanics
Prerelease cards that are uncraftable until release seems extra scummy - if the card is meta, this is pure P2W. And Corridor Sleeper looks pretty damn good to me
I am not happy about this step either. I hope the feedback will be negative enough for this to be a one-time only thing, or the card becomes craftable before the expansion launch.
That being said, calling it "p2w" is overshooting it a bit. Unless this card singlehandedly boosts one deck to become "S tier", and completely crushes everything (in which case it would likely get nerfed), it really isn't creating a p2w scenario, since you can just as well play and win with decks that don't need this card.
And I'd be surprised if it even sees much play, let alone finds its way into a good deck. And even if, it's not the end of the world. Just a very questionable move to boost preorders that should be addressed accordingly.
I'm not really that worried about that card, to be quite honest. The only class I can think of that can take advantage of it is Death Knight, and even then it has to put a lot of resources into triggering the end of the Dormant effect. Even then, it's just a vanilla 3/5 with no abilities (I'd be more concerned if it has Taunt naturally, or Rush).
More concerned about Incredible Value, to be quite honest. Just think, as early as Turn Three you could get to have your fucking face slapped for 14 damage off of the Shaman pulling Brass Elemental. And no fucking drawbacks!
Good thing that card is complete garbage and unplayable even in arena.
Watch them turn it into a seven mana 2/5 at launch.
after 10 years, Hearthstone team finally trying p2w mechanics
For all these year I was reading, that HS is P2W...
Because this F2P should be able to play without spending any money, and Blizzard should rent free all these devs, actors, artists etc.
And BTW it "card game" so "buying packs is, like, normal.
But now I'm reading, that HS is trying P2W mechanics after all the years...
... Give me a break xD
Finally, Felstomper's types make sense again
Oh, that was a bug?