Blizzard released patch 25.0.4 for Hearthstone, adjusting the cost and power of several cards to make them less powerful. This new update also comes with a variety of bug fixes and optimizations to make the overall Hearthstone experience better for all players, whether in the traditional Hearthstone mode, in arenas, or in duels.
Blizzard stated that these changes were meant to better balance the game, but that the update was made with limited data that didn’t guarantee a perfect equilibrium between all the cards available in Hearthstone.
Hearthstone Cards Edited with Patch 25.0.4:
- Unleash Fel: manathirst requirement raised from 4 to 6
- Anub’Rekhan: battlecry changed from “Gain 8 Armor. This turn, your minions cost Armor instead of Mana.” to “Gain 8 Armor. This turn, your next 3 minions cost Armor instead of Mana.”
- Prince Renathal: description changed from “Your deck size and starting Health are 40.” to “Your deck size and starting Health are 40.”
- Tome Tampering now banned in Wild
- Corpse Bride: battlecry changed from “Spend up to 8 Corpses. Summon a Risen Groom with stats equal to the amount spent.” to “Spend up to 10 Corpses. Summon a Risen Groom with stats equal to the amount spent.”
- Malignant Horror: description changed from “At the end of your turn, spend 5 Corpses to summon a copy of this minion.” to “At the end of your turn, spend 4 Corpses to summon a copy of this minion.”
- Meat Grinder: battlecry changed from “Shred a random minion in your deck to gain 3 Corpses.” to “Shred a random minion in your deck to gain 4 Corpses.”
- Blightfang: gains one health point, going from 3 to 4
- Ymirjar Deathbringer: gains one attack point, going from 3 to 4
- Rime Sculptor: gains one attack point, going from 3 to 4
- Obliterate: description changed from “Destroy a minion. Your hero takes damage equal to its Health.” to “Destroy a minion. Your hero takes 3 damage.”
- Blood Tap: description changed from “Give all minions in your hand +1/+1. Spend 3 Corpses to give them +1/+1 more.” to “Give all minions in your hand +1/+1. Spend 2 Corpses to give them +1/+1 more.”
Hearthstone Cards That Cost More with Patch 25.0.4:
- Relic of Dimensions: cost changed from 5 to 6
- Boon of the Ascended: cost changed from 4 to 5
- Priestess Valishj: cost changed from 0 to 1
- Necrolord Draka: cost changed from 4 to 5
- Sinstone Graveyard: cost changed from 2 to 3
- Sketchy Information: cost changed from 3 to 4
- Forsaken Lieutenant: cost changed from 2 to 3
- Stitched Giant: cost changed from 10 to 9
Battlegrounds Updates
Quest Reward Updates
- The Kidnap Sack Quest Reward has been made harder to earn.
- The Hidden Treasure Vault and Teal Tiger Sapphire Quest Rewards have been made easier to earn.
- The Partner in Crime, Pilfered Lamps, Wondrous Wisdomball, and Yogg-tastic Tasties Quest Rewards will appear more frequently.
Minion Updates
- Toxfin: tavern tier raised from 4 to 6
Minion Pool Updates
- Mechano-Tank and Interrogator Whitemane have been removed from the minion pool.
- Witchwing Nestmatron, Mechano-Egg, Mythrax the Unraveler, and Seafood Slinger have been returned to the minion pool.
Arena Updates
Arena draft appearance rates have been adjusted as follows:
- Death Knight and Paladin cards that generate more cards will appear less frequently.
- Death Knight cards that remove opposing minions and leave a board presence will appear less frequently.
- Low winrate cards from low performing classes will appear less frequently.
- High winrate cards from low performing classes will appear more frequently.
- Some Neutral cards will appear more or less frequently, depending on their performance in a given class.
Bug Fixes and Game Improvements
Hearthstone:
- Fixed a bug where Potion Belt could not Discover two of the same Concoction.
- The wording on Astalor, the Flamebringer has been updated for clarity; this is not a functional change.
- Grim Patron and Gruntled Patron will now once again leave Corpses. Adjusted the Corpse Explosion interaction so that it no longer chains infinitely.
Duels:
- Fixed a bug where Greatsword of the Ebon Blade would lose Durability whenever any card was played, not just minions.
- Fixed a bug that made Scourge Strike unable to be played.
- Fixed a bug where the Scourging Hero Power doesn’t work if your board is full.
- Fixed a bug where Hematology and Unholy Embrace did not count as consuming Corpses.
- Fixed a bug where Unholy Embrace always filled your hand if you had any Corpses to spend when you played it.
