Hearthstone Patch 20.2.2 adjusts 15 Standard cards and nerfs Quilboars in Battlegrounds

Hearthstone’s Patch 20.2.2 is the latest update for the Forged in the Barrens expansion cycle—and it’s arriving later today. Blizzard has shown off the details for the exact changes coming with Patch 20.2.2, which adjusts multiple cards in the Standard format and nerfs the newest minion type in Battlegrounds, Quilboars.

Of the 15 cards receiving changes, there are five nerfs that aim to weaken the top-tier decks and 10 buffs meant to help give weaker lists a fighting chance in the meta. With Quilboars being nerfed across the board in Battlegrounds, this gives other minion types a chance to punish Quilboars early before they scale up to the late game with their Blood Gem tactics.

Here are all of the changes coming with Hearthstone Patch 20.2.2.

Standard format changes

Nerfs

• Refreshing Spring Water
  • Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 5]
    • Dev comment: “Spell Mage currently exhibits many explosive turns, with Refreshing Spring Water playing a significant role. By nerfing Refreshing Spring Water to 5 mana, we’re aiming to lower the frequency of extreme turns where Refreshing Spring Water draws cards and gains you mana in the process. By lowering the frequency of those gameplay sequences, we believe the deck’s range of possibilities will be more in line with other current options.”
• First Day of School
  • Old: [Costs 0] Add 2 random 1-Cost minions to your hand → New: [Costs 1] Add 3 random 1-Cost minions to your hand.
    • Dev comment: “As we look at Paladin’s continued strong performance across multiple archetypes, we’re nerfing First Day of School in order to hit Paladin’s early-game strength. By bumping up First Day of School’s mana cost and the amount of 1-Cost minions generated, we are moving the card to fit a value role rather than its initial position as an efficient curve enabler.”
• Hysteria
  • Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 4]
    • Dev comment: “At 3 mana, Hysteria becomes an option before opponents really have the opportunity to consider how to best interact with it. Pushing Hysteria to 4 mana gives more space for those board-committal decisions to occur and also allows cheaper removal in Priest/Warlock to have a more distinct purpose.”
• Crabrider
  • Old: Rush Windfury → New: Rush Battlecry: Gain Windfury this turn only.
    • Dev comment: “Crabrider is too efficient in some of our board-based decks, clearing minions and dishing out a lot of Windfury damage. By changing Crabrider’s Windfury to only last until end of turn, we’re pulling back on the lethality it poses if left alone for a few turns. We aim for Crabrider to still remain a solid option for decks looking to swing back the board, especially when combined with buffs.”
• Olgra, Mankrik’s Wife
  • Old: Casts When Drawn Summon a 3/10 Mankrik, who immediately attacks the enemy hero. → New: Casts When Drawn Summon a 3/7 Mankrik, who immediately attacks the enemy hero.
  • Dev comment: “We are lowering the Health on Mankrik, Consumed by Hatred to soften the effect of an early Olgra draw. At 7 Health, the token will be more in reach of the mid-game removal that’s available throughout turns 4-6.”

Players who want to dust all of the cards above (and Golden Mankrik) can do so. They’ll be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks after Patch 20.2.2 goes live.

Buffs

Dev comment: “We’re issuing a number of buffs in 20.2.2, mainly focused on bringing up struggling classes and archetypes. One of our goals for a meta is to provide deck diversity: not only different class options, but also attractive deck options that play markedly different from one another. These buffs follow that goal, as each one is targeted at helping out an underrepresented archetype or play pattern.”

• Razorboar
  • Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health → New: 3 Attack, 2 Health
• Dark Inquisitor Xanesh
  • Old: Reduce the Cost of all Corrupt cards in your hand and deck by (2). → New: Reduce the Cost of all Corrupt and Corrupted cards in your hand and deck by (2).
• Unbound Elemental
  • Old: 2 Attack, 4 Health → New: 3 Attack, 4 Health
• Tidal Surge
  • Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]
• Lilypad Lurker
  • Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health → New: 5 Attack, 6 Health
• Fiendish Circle
  • Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]
• Deck of Chaos
  • Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 5]
• Whirling Combatant
  • Old: 2 Attack, 6 Health → New: 3 Attack, 6 Health
• Shieldmaiden
  • Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 5]
• N’Zoth, God of the Deep
  • Old: [Costs 10] → New: [Costs 9]

Battlegrounds changes

Minion pool update

• Barrens Blacksmith will be removed from the minion pool.

Minion nerfs

• Roadboar
  • Old: 2 Attack, 4 Health → New: 1 Attack, 4 Health
• Prophet of the Boar
  • Old: 3 Attack, 3 Health → New: 2 Attack, 3 Health
• Bannerboar
  • Old: 2 Attack, 5 Health → New: 1 Attack, 4 Health
• Bristleback Brute
  • Old: The first Blood Gem played on this each turn gives an extra +3/+3. → New: The first Blood Gem played on this each turn gives an extra +2/+2.
• Groundshaker
  • Old: After a Blood Gem is played on this, give your minions +2 Attack for next combat only. → New: After a Blood Gem is played on this, give your other minions +2 Attack for next combat only.
• Dynamic Duo
  • Old: 5 Attack, 6 Health → New: 3 Attack, 4 Health
• Bonker
  • Old: 4 Attack, 7 Health → New: 3 Attack, 7 Health
  • Old (Golden): Mega-Windfury. After this attacks, gain 2 Blood Gems. → New: Mega-Windfury. After this attacks, gain a Blood Gem.
• Charlga
  • Old: 7 Attack, 7 Health. At the end of your turn, play a Blood Gem on all friendly minions. → New: 4 Attack, 4 Health. At the end of your turn, play a Blood Gem on all other friendly minions.

Bug fixes and game improvements

• Fixed a bug that removed Glaivebound Adept from the game. It will now be back in your collection, safe and where it belongs.
• Fixed a bug where Sparkjoy Cheat would draw a card whenever you had a Secret in your hand, even if the Secret was not castable (such as if the Secret was a duplicate of one already in play). Sparkjoy Cheat will now only draw a card if a Secret is cast from your hand.
• Fixed a bug where using Vol’jin’s Hero Power on Goldgrubber would sometimes result in Goldgrubber’s stats being reset each round.
• Updated language on certain Amalgam cards to properly include all Minion Types.
• Fixed a bug related to in-game notifications.
• Fixed a bug that prevented Battle-Ready Decks from being accessed if Dame Hazelbark was opened first.
• Fixed various bugs related to properly displaying pricing on items in the in-game shop.