All you need to know about the Hearthstone Battlegrounds patch 26.4.3 changes.
Hearthstone's patch notes for 26.4.3 are here! We can now take a look at the Battlegrounds balance changes. The Curator, an original fan-favorite hero that had fallen away from glory, is now back for its Venomous revenge. We also explain Aranna Starseeker’s recent bug, go into Rylak Metalhead's nerf, and talk about a Demons nerf plus the Undead and Quilboar buffs. Read on for more details.
Hero changes
The Curator might be back on the menu. The tiny Amalgam from its Hero Power is now Venomous. Therefore, it now has a viable late-game effect. It destroys the first minion it deals damage to. The change is very welcome since the all minion types token was previously akin to Mistake, which is a basic Tavern Tier 1 unit.
It's also an ironic change as the Hearthstone patch notes for 26.4.3 bring nerfs to its Standard counterpart, The Purator.
E.T.C., Band Manager ranks S-tier in the the pro community's tierlist. A deserved nerf hits his Buddy — now only available in the late game after moving to Tier 5.
E.T.C.’s hero power, Sign a New Artist, respects that Tavern Tier you’re currently at, so raising Talent Scout’s Tier means that it can’t be Discovered until later in the game.
This prevents early snowballing, as other game-changing Buddies will not become Golden as easily.
Aranna Starseeker’s recent bug meant she required 16 Refreshes for the Tavern to fill up. Her Hero Power, Demon Hunter Training, has changed to "Passive. After 16 friendly minions attack, the first minion you buy every turn is free.” You could say she received Castle Nathria training since this passive is very similar to Sire Denathrius and the larger concept of Battlegrounds Quests.
Minion ability changes in Hearthstone Battlegrounds 26.4.3
First, we shall address the spicier Battlegrounds balance changes — those that modify a minion’s ability. We’ll leave stat changes or Tavern Tier balancing for later. Most importantly, Scrap Scraper’s effect now triggers at the end of your turn instead of Avenge (4). This is another measure against the snowball effect, where an early Scrap Scraper Discover coupled with a few Reborns grant an unfair advantage.
Another minion that's related to the end of a turn, Upbeat Duo, moves up to Tier 5 in yet another attempt to prevent early highrolls. Finding it early meant triples upon triples. Meanwhile, the Quilboar Bongo Bopper now grants two Blood Gems after every turn, instead of just one.
Only Drakkari Enchanter can multiply these end of turn effects. Will we be seeing more of the ice troll?
Stat changes
We called the end-of-turn effects flat, but spoke too soon. Now comes an army of stat changes. With the above nerfs targeting snowball enablers, it's now time for underused late-game strategies to receive buffs. Minions such as Young Murk-Eye, Gusty Trumpeter, Eternal Summoner, Lightfang Enforcer, Bristleback Knight, Utility Drone, and Polarizing Beatboxer have their stats slightly increased.
Undead “revival” in Hearthstone Battlegrounds 26.4.3
Perhaps the most underwhelming strategy of all, buffing Undead via Sister Deathwhisper, now has a stronger outcome. Your Undead board now gains +1/+3, up from +1/+2. Moreover, the whole Undead tribe gets a rebalance. Eternal Knight follows Eternal Summoner with an Attack increase, and so do Scarlet Skull and Xylo-bones. Let’s also not overlook Rot Hide Gnoll’s return, replacing Incorporeal Corporal.
The Undead tribe’s previous highlight, “triple” token Handless Forsaken, now has less Health. However, the change will likely not affect the combo of Reborn and Anub’arak, as Health has never been their forte. Radio Star’s stats are also taken down a notch, but who needs stats when you get economy instead?
Quilboars’ Blood Gem enablers buffed, but Rylak Metalhead hit instead
Another underused tribe, Quilboar, gets its second Blood Gem buffer, Prickly Piper, down to Tavern Tier 3, also home to Moon-Bacon Jazzer. Beefing up Blood Gems has never been this easy! However, Moon-Bacon Jazzer’s key enabler, the Battlecry-doubling Rylak Metalhead, heads up to Tier 4. You win some, you lose some!
Demons core enablers nerfed
Demons might not be the most reliable tribe, but when you find Soul Rewinder, they hit hard. Coupled with Malchezaar, Prince of Dance, the strategy allowed additional free rolling to get other pieces and triples. This got much harder, as this Prince of Refreshes takes his moves to Tier 4.
Other balance changes in Hearthstone Battlegrounds patch 26.4.3
In a quiet change, Fleet Admiral Tethys now requires you to spend an additional Gold. Therefore, inflation hits Pirates. Humming Bird and Flourishing Frostling also have more Health now.
What’s next for Battlegrounds?
The goal of patch 26.4.3 in Battlegrounds seems clear: reducing early snowball effects. Time will tell whether such strategies will still prevail.
Hopefully, we may report back with positive outcomes within our Hearthstone news and guides section. Make sure to visit esports.gg for all the latest esports news as well. See you next time in Bob’s Tavern.