Hearthstone Patch Notes 21.0.3 breakdown

The first patch of the United in Stormwind expansion is coming out Tuesday. The patch will bring the first nerfs to much-needed decks as well as numerous Battlegrounds changes and bug fixes. Here is a rundown on what is coming in Hearthstone Patch 21.0.3.

Nerfs coming to Shaman, Paladin, Mage in these Hearthstone patch notes

United in Stormwind has been out for two weeks now. In those two weeks, numerous decks have emerged as top-tier contenders. Among the best of the best lies in Paladin and Shaman, specifically the Handbuff Paladin and Elemental Shaman.

According to HSreplay.net, Handbuff Paladin is a Tier 1 deck with a 60% win ratio. Two of the strongest cards in the deck, Conviction and Battleground Battlemaster are being nerfed. Starting in the new patch, both cards will cost one extra mana.

Elemental Shaman is in a similar boat. HSreplay.net has the deck at a 58.75% win ratio which is good for third-best, only behind two variants of Paladin. Granite Forgeborn, one of the best enablers in the deck, is also getting a nerf but to its defense by one health.

With the top two decks getting nerfed, Blizzard is making an effort to nerf the next best decks as well to prevent a sudden shift to the metagame. Mage, Demon Hunter, Hunter, and Warlock are all getting card nerfs as well. For the full list, check here.

Blizzard said in the patch notes that the goal for these nerfs is to slow down the format which, they hope, will enable more playable slower strategies.

Battlegrounds bring back Shudderwock

When Shudderwock was first introduced in Battlegrounds, it wasn’t played often due to its mediocre hero power. Its old hero power simply triggered Battlecries twice during the turn it was activated. After a rework, Shudderwock is back with a brand new upgrade.

Burbling has been replaced with “Snicker-Snack.” The new hero power reads “Add a 1/1 Shudderling to your hand that repeats all Battlecries you’ve played (Twice per game).” The minion itself indeed triggers Battlecries but not just for the turn, but for the entire game. It only costs one gold but a player can only get two per game. This update will make going for big pushes more exciting and Blizzard said it hopes it will cause players to give it another chance.

Blizzard is also taking the opportunity to update some of the underused heroes in Battlegrounds. Among the Heroes getting buffed are Dancin Daryl, Fungalmancer Flurgl, Maiuev Shadowsong, and Malygos. The spefic changes can be found in the full Patch 21.0.3 notes.