The latest changes to Hearthstone’s metagame are now live: 8 nerfs and over 20 buffs. Check them all in this article.
Hearthstone patch notes are out, and the nerfs and buffs leaked the past weekend are finally confirmed. With Paladin, Warrior and Demon Hunter literally in the dumpster, this patch aims to restore the power level of those classes to something playable. Let’s dive into the nerfs and buffs coming with Hearthstone 24.0.3 patch going live today!
The current power level of the top decks after the launch of Murder at Castle Nathria is pretty close to the level that we’d like it to be. We’re happy with decks like Imp Warlock and Control Shaman being powerful, but we’re less happy with the power level of the weakest classes. So while we did a few touches to the top decks with the goal of reducing play-against frustration, the primary goal of this patch was to elevate the classes that are struggling in the current meta.
Hearthstone Patch 24.0.3: Nerfs
Starting with the short part, what Hearthstone nerfs are coming with patch 24.0.3? There will be 8 cards nerfed in this Hearthstone patch, with one being a 4x1 deal. Iksar teased the first of the changes, and then, due to an “oopsy-doopsy”, the patch leaked into the game on Saturday. While we covered these nerfs in our previous article, it’s worth mentioning the Dev’s comment on them.
Old: Set each player to 0 Mana Crystals. Set the cost of all cards in hands and decks to (1). → New: Set your Mana Crystals to 0. Set the cost of all cards in your hand and deck to (1).
Old: Dormant for 3 turns. When this awakens, equip a 4/2 Greatbow. → New: Dormant for 3 turns. When this awakens, equip a 3/2 Greatbow.
Many Hearthstone players hated the Celestial Alignment experience, and later than sooner, the balance team reacted. Devs explained this nerf the following way: “This change is targeted at removing as much of that frustration as possible while still retaining the primary effect for players who enjoy the big turns it can allow.”
Old: 3 Attack, 3 Health. Battlecry: Freeze all other minions. Gain +1/+1 for each Frozen minion. → New: 5 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: Freeze all other minions.
Old: Give a friendly minion +1/+1. Repeat for each Imp you control. → New: Give a minion +1/+1 for each Imp you control.
Following the same philosophy, Hearthstone devs nerfed Snowfall Guardian hard this patch. Suffering several continuous board freezes in a board-centric meta is a painful experience, especially if that comes with counterpressure.
Continuing with the top-performing decks, it’s time for Imp Warlock to take the hit. The most successful of Locations was just too good, and couldn’t dodge the 24.0.3 Hearthstone patch nerfs. Devs explained that they are happy with the archetype they pushed but wanted to slow it down a bit.
“We’re happy to see that Imp Warlock has been one of the top performing decks in this expansion, but a little bit too much of its power is coming from the burst damage this single card allows”
Wild nerfs
Before we jump into the buffs coming with Hearthstone patch 24.0.3, we need to address a Wild nerf, Kobold Illusionist. The card allowed Big Rogue archetypes to abuse Sketchy Information synergies.
![Kobold Illusionist<br>Old: [Costs 4] → <strong>New: [Costs 5]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-nerfs-Kobold-Illuisionist.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 5]
Hearthstone buffs in patch 24.0.3
Well, buckle up we have more than 20 buffs coming with the next Hearthstone patch. Most of them were unspotted during the weekend since there was not a single soul playing Warrior, Demon Hunter or Paladin. This shouldn’t be a surprise since their win rate is lower than what meme decks used to have.
Demon Hunter buffs
Relics were the cool new thing for Demon Hunter in this expansion. However, their power level was simply disappointing. That, combined with the low efficiency of aggressive strategies right now (Renathal, I’m looking at you), sent the class to the dumpster. Will this be enough for a comeback?
![Relic Vault<br>Old: [Costs 3] → <strong>New: [Costs 2]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-Buffs-Relic-Vault.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]
![Relic of Extinction<br>Old: [Costs 2] → <strong>New: [Costs 1]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-Buffs-Relic-of-Extinction.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]
Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health → New: 5 Attack, 4 Health
Old: 2 Attack, 2 Durability → New: 3 Attack, 2 Durability
The 24.0.3 Hearthstone Patch notes mention that the reason behind these buffs is that the team was “a little too safe on the numbers for the new Aggro Demon Hunter cards” at launch. Let's see how this works out. But this isn’t all. There are more Demon Hunter buffs in Hearthstone patch 24.0.3.
![Abyssal Depths<br>Old: [Costs 4] → <strong>New: [Costs 3]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-Buffs-Abyssal-Depths.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]
Old: 2 Attack, 1 Health → New: 2 Attack, 2 Health
![Irebound Brute<br>Old: [Costs 8] → <strong> New: [Costs 7]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-buffs-Irebound-Brute.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 8] → New: [Costs 7]
Suspecting that the previous 4 buffs may not be enough to bring Demon Hunter to a balanced state, the team is throwing some bonus tracks.
Related articles
Paladin card buffs in Hearthstone patch 24.0.3
The next stop of this buff train arriving with Hearthstone patch 24.0.3 is Paladin. The new Silver Hand Paladin archetype wasn’t seeing the light or any play at all. Warhorse Trainer and Stand Against Darkness were “too fair” for this Hearthstone age, so the dev team is giving them a little buff. Furthermore, Pure enjoyers will now see more rewarding rewards from The Countess.
![Legendary Invitation (generated by The Countess)<br>Old: [Costs 3] → <strong>New: [Costs 2]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-buffs-paladin-The-Countess-Legendary-Invitation.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]
![Stand Against Darkness<br>Old: [Costs 5] → <strong>New: [Costs 4]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-buffs-paladin-Sand-Against-Darkness.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 5] → New: [Costs 4]
Old: Your Silver Hand Recruits Have +1 Attack. → New: Your Silver Hand Recruits have +2 Attack and Taunt.
Old: Give a Silver Hand Recruit +3/+3. → New: Give a Silver Hand Recruit +3/+3 and Taunt.
Cards like Stand Against Darkness and Warhorse Trainer were simply not at the power level of modern Hearthstone, so we're buffing them up to see what they can do in this new age. To top it off, Promotion now comes with a raise!
Rogue buffs
The 24.0.3 Hearthstone patch is also buffing Rogue. The idea is to make one of Rogue’s class strengths shine again, improving efficient card draw options, especially after the departure of Secret Passage to Wild.
![Edwin, Defias Kingpin<br>Old: [Costs 4] 4 Attack, 4 Health → <strong>New: [Costs 3] 3 Attack, 3 Health</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-buffs-rogue-Edwin.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 4] 4 Attack, 4 Health → New: [Costs 3] 3 Attack, 3 Health
![Sprint<br>Old: [Costs 6] → <strong> New: [Costs 5]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-buffs-rogue-sprint.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 5]
![Silverleaf Poison<br>Old: [Costs 2] <strong>→ New: [Costs 1]</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-buffs-rogue-Silverleaf-Poison.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]
Old: Deathrattle: If you control a Secret, store Halkias' soul inside of it. It resummons Halkias when triggered. → New: Stealth. Deathrattle: Store Halkias's soul inside of a friendly Secret. It resummons Halkias when triggered.
The buffs to Edwin, Sprint, and Silverleaf Poison are all made with the intention of reinforcing card draw as a strength of the class. Miracle Rogue has not been overperforming in power, but we are aware it can win in frustrating ways, so we’ll be keeping an eye on how it develops following these buffs.
Warrior Buffs in Hearthstone Patch 24.0.3
Time to do some heavy lifting. Warrior saw zero (yes, literally ZERO) representation in the last Masters Tour, and the Hearthstone dev team wants to correct that with seven buffs in the 24.0.3 patch. The Murder at Castle Nathria enrage Warrior never took off, so some extra love might help it become playable.
Old: Deal 1 damage to a minion and give it +1 Attack. → New: Deal 1 damage to a minion and give it +2 Attack.
Old: After your hero attacks, give your damaged minions +1/+1. Infuse (3): +2/+2 instead. → New: After your hero attacks, give your damaged minions +1/+2. Infuse (2): +2/+2 instead.
Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health → New: 2 Attack, 3 Health
Furthermore, some control tools have been upgraded. Devs say that they “may have been a little over zealous when we were addressing Control Warrior in the last balance patch”. Well, personally, I’d say that they did an amazing job in erasing the archetype from the meta, but that is just my opinion.
Old: Battlecry: Deal 5 damage. Gain 5 Armor. → New: Battlecry: Deal 5 damage. Gain 8 Armor.
Old: Deal 4 damage to all minions. Costs (1) less for each Armor you have. → New: Deal 5 damage to all minions. Costs (1) less for each Armor you have.
![<em>Slam:</em><br><em>Old: [Costs 2] → </em><strong><em>New: [Costs 1]</em></strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-Buffs-Warrior-Slam.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]
![S<em>Bash:</em><br><em>Old: [Costs 3] → </em><strong><em>New: [Costs 2]</em></strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.esports.gg%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FHearthstone-Buffs-Warrior-Bash.png&w=3840&q=75)
Old: [Costs 3] → New: [Costs 2]
These are all the nerfs and buffs coming to Hearthstone with patch 24.0.3 that is live today. There are also some other changes that refer to Battlegrounds, but that will come in a separate article, this has been long enough.
As always, thank you for reading and stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Hearthstone news and updates. See you next time, at Castle Nathria.
