Hearthstone Patch 21.0 brings a new hero to Battlegrounds, update for Duels, and prepares for next expansion

Hearthstone Patch 21.0 was officially released today.

The newest update is bringing a wealth of changes to Battlegrounds, Duels, and Arena rotations all in preparation for the upcoming United in Stormwind expansion, which launches on Aug. 3.

Here are the full notes and updates for Hearthstone Patch 21.0.

Battlegrounds update

The newest Battleground hero is Dungar’s Gryphon, Galewing. Players are given a choice to select a flight path that lasts for one, three, or five turns and players can repeat flight paths. But the previously selected flight path must be completed before you’re allowed to choose another one.

There are two ways to consider playing Galewing, either going for value or tempo. If you try to play for value, selecting the Plaguelands flight path on the first turn will allow you to reach a higher Tavern Tier at a faster and discounted pace before your opponents.

If you want to gain an early tempo lead, flying toward Ironforge will allow you to fill out your board fairly quickly, saving extra life and finding potential triples.

This hero will be available to players now with Battlegrounds Perks before being formally released on Aug. 10.

Duels updates

With the patch going live, all players’ Duels ratings will be reset and the pool of eligible cards you can build your initial 15-card deck from will be updated to the following expansions:

• (NEW) United in Stormwind
• Wailing Caverns Mini-Set
• Forged in the Barrens
• The Darkmoon Races Mini-Set
• Madness at the Darkmoon Faire
• Scholomance Academy
• (NEW) Kobolds & Catacombs
• Journey to Un’Goro
• One Night in Kharazan
• Whispers of the Old Gods
• Curse of Naxxramas
• Legacy (Basic/Classic)
• Core

In addition, there will be new Passive Treasures that you can potentially find.

• Party Replacement
  • At the start of your turn, summon a 2/2 Adventurer with a random bonus effect.
• Inspiring Presence
  • After you play a Legendary minion, reduce the cost of a random minion in your hand by (1).
• Greedy Gains
  • Your minions have +2/+2 but cost (2) more (up to 10).
• Meek Mastery
  • Your Neutral minions cost (1) less and have +1/+1.
• Legendary Loot
  • At the start of the game, equip a random Legendary weapon.
• Deathly Death!
  • After a friendly Deathrattle minion dies, destroy the minion with the lowest Health.
• Ooops, All Spells!
  • At the start of the game, destroy all minions in your deck. Your spells cost (1) less and gain +2 Spell Damage.

Banned cards and buckets

The following cards have been banned from between-game card buckets and won’t be Discoverable:

• Final Showdown             
• Lost in the Park
• Defend the Dwarven District      
• Sorcerer’s Gambit           
• Rise to the Occasion       
• Seek Guidance 
• Find the Imposter           
• Command the Elements
• The Demon Seed            
• Raid the Docks 

Other banned cards:

• Unstable Evolution is banned from card buckets but will still be Discoverable.
• Maestra of the Masquerade is banned from deckbuilding, card buckets, and will not be Discoverable.

Seven new designer card buckets have been added as well:

• Furious Fel (Demon Hunter)
• AHHHH RATS!!!! (Hunter)
• Fire!!! (Mage)
• SI:7 (Rogue)
• ARRRRRRG! (Warrior)
• Auction House (Neutral)
• Live to Win (Neutral)
  • Smart buckets have also been updated to include the two new card sets, and two previously missed card sets: Legacy (Classic/Basic) and Demon Hunter Initiate. Lastly, you’ll be able to find United in Stormwind cards in Duels card buckets after the patch goes live and before the expansion launches.

Arena rotation

When United in Stormwind launches on Aug. 3, the Arena will include cards from the following sets:

• United in Stormwind
• Forged in the Barrens
• Wailing Caverns Mini-Set
• Madness at the Darkmoon Faire
• Darkmoon Races Mini-Set
• The Witchwood
• Saviors of Uldum
• Rastakhan’s Rumble
• Core

Book of Heroes Illidan – Coming Aug. 10

“After regaining his freedom, Illidan was eager to prove himself once and for all. But even as he journeyed far from his homeland and joined forces with new allies, the thirst for power never left him. It was only a matter of time before it interfered with his judgment, resulting in more dire consequences than ever before…Defeating all 8 bosses in this linear adventure will reward 1 Demon Hunter pack, containing only Demon Hunter cards from Standard.”

United in Stormwind Rewards Track and Tavern Pass

“When the Rewards Track refreshes when United in Stormwind launches, all players will automatically be granted any unclaimed rewards on both the free track and the Tavern Pass track (if purchased), and a completely new Rewards Track of unlockable loot will take its place.

Please note that incomplete Forged in the Barrens Gameplay achievements will no longer grant Reward Track XP once United in Stormwind releases on August 3, at which point the United in Stormwind Gameplay achievements will take over, so don’t forget to finish and claim those before you’ve left the Barrens.

The Forged in the Barrens Tavern Pass will expire with the launch of United in Stormwind and a new Tavern Pass will be made available for purchase—offering a host of brand-new cosmetic rewards and XP boosts.

As a reminder, Battlegrounds Perks are now available as a standalone purchase, separate from the Tavern Pass.”

New Cosmetic Coins

“Two new Cosmetic Coins are being added with United in Stormwind, the Stormwind coin and the Lordaeron coin. The Stormwind coin is obtainable by completing the first 90 levels of the Rewards Track with the Tavern Pass. The Lordaeron coin is obtainable by collecting 135 unique United in Stormwind cards.

Keep in mind that United in Stormwind will have a 35-card Mini-Set that will make it easier to reach both the 25 total United in Stormwind Legendary cards for the Archbishop Benedictus Diamond card reward and the 135 total United in Stormwind cards for the Lordaeron Cosmetic Coin. We’ll have more information to share about the United in Stormwind Mini-Set in the coming months.”

Bug fixes and game improvements

• Fixed a bug where Shenanigans would not transform Soul Fragments into Bananas.
• Fixed a bug where Wicked Stab could be upgraded by cards that temporarily increase mana.
• Fixed a bug where Shan’do Wildclaw would not lay flat on the board.
• Fixed a bug where Defender would not play its VO when summoned by Noble Sacrifice.
• Fixed a bug where golden Soul of the Forest would not summon golden Treants.
• Fixed a bug where golden Ancestral Spirit would not summon a golden minion.
• Fixed a bug where golden Grave Rune would not summon golden minions.
• Fixed a bug where golden Primal Talisman would not summon golden minions.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Y’shaarj’s Battlegrounds Hero Power would not take its newly summoned minion into account when deciding which warband attacked first.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Baron Rivendare was causing visual issues when in a warband with golden Kaboom Bot.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Galakrond’s Greed was missing a tooltip for Discover.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Come One, Come All! Was missing a tooltip for Discover.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Avatar of N’Zoth was missing a tooltip for Deathrattle.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Sprout It Out! Was missing a tooltip for Taunt.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Hero Powers for Aranna Starseeker, Infinite Toki, Millhouse Manastorm, Nozdormu, and Tess Greymane were missing a tooltip for Refresh.
• Fixed a Duels bug where Diamond cards would only be Diamond in appearance for the first game of a run.
• Fixed a Duels bug where Lone Champion and minions summoned by Gift of Luminance were not buffed by Hold the Line.
• Updated the description of the Roguish Maneuvers Hero Power in Duels to be more accurate.
• Fixed a bug with Book of Mercenaries Guff where A Party of Adventurers will cast Against All Odds, even if they have board control.
• Fixed a bug where one of Lady Katrana Prestor’s emotes was showing incorrect text.
• Searching “Refund” in the Collection will now populate with cards eligible for a dust refund.
• Pressing and holding on the Rewards Track page arrows will now flip through the pages quickly.
• Fixed a bug where if a player disconnected from a ranked match, they’d get a message stating they won their last ranked game upon relogging.

You can try out the new Battlegrounds Hero and Duels meta now since Hearthstone Patch 21.0 is live.