Hearthstone 20.0 patch notes: Nerf reverts, Nitroboost Poison nerf, Battlegrounds Saurfang, Spell Schools, more

Forged in the Barrens card reveal stream has been completed and we now know each of the 135 new cards included in Hearthstone's upcoming seventeenth expansion.

There are less than 10 days left until the release of the expansion, which is slated to be released on 30th March, but before that, to make sure that everything is ready for the release, Blizzard will deploy the 20.0 patch, one of the biggest Hearthstone patches to date. The 20.0 patch will release 25th March 2020, 5 days before the expansion.

Over the last couple of weeks, Blizzard has been revealing details about both the expansion and other big changes which will come with this yearly rotation, including things like the Core Set, Classic format, Spell Schools, an more.

There are 31 completely new cards in the Core Set (Picture: Blizzard)

Surprisingly, there aren't as many nerfs as we've expected, which means that Blizzard probably wants to see how well will the new Core Set and Forged in the Barrens perform, before they decide to nerf cards from previous expansions.

The only nerf coming with this patch is the one for Nitroboost Poison, which will now cost 2 instead of 1 mana, making it much slower and harder to Corrupt.

One of the highlights of this update is "The Great Unnerfing", which is how Blizzard named the process of reverting nerfs for 36 cards that are about to rotate to Wild. The catch is, there is a five-day difference between the patch and the rotation, which means we will witness a pretty spicy meta for that period, while all these unnerfed cards are in the Standard format.

Other big changes coming with this patch are the Core Set and the Classic format.

The Classic format will become available immediately with patch 20.0 along with a free Golden Classic Card Pack as a reward for everyone, but the Classic format leaderboards will launch on 30th March.

"When the patch lands on March 25, your entire collection of relevant Basic, Classic, and Hall of Fame cards will be mirrored and available for deck building in the Classic format—as they were in the 1.0.0.5832 patch of June 2014 (after we made a few important changes), with any and all balance changes since then reverted."

The Core Set launches along with set rotation for the Year of the Gryphon on 30th March and will be free for everyone.

The Core Set consists of the following cards:

• 88 cards returning from Classic (54 class cards, 34 neutral cards).
• 52 cards returning from Basic (41 class cards, 11 neutral cards).
• 55 cards returning from Wild (36 class cards, 19 neutral cards).
• 4 cards returning from Ashes of Outland (4 Demon Hunter Class cards).
• 4 cards returning from Demon Hunter Initiate.
• 1 card returning from the Hall of Fame (Shadowform).
• 31 new cards (20 Class cards, 11 Neutral cards).

You can see a full gallery of the Core Set cards here. 

Wrath of Air (Spell Damage) Totem has been replaced (Picture: Blizzard)

In addition, the Shaman Hero power has been slightly changed. It no longer has the Wrath of Air (Spell Damage) Totem, which has been replaced with a new totem, Strength Totem, which gives a friendly minion +1 Attack at the end of the player's turn.

Finally, previously changed Stonetusk Boar and Bluegill Warrior are now reverted to their original state and are being sent to the Wild format, while two new cards have been added to the Core Set - Emerald Skytalon and Redgill Razorjaw.

Blizzard has listened to player feedback and decided to add new cards instead of changing Stonetusk Boar and Bluegill Warrior (Picture: Blizzard)

The update also introduced Magical Spell Schools, which adds spell types and allows for some new interactions between spells and minions.

"Arcane, Fel, Fire, Frost, Holy, Shadow, and Nature—are being added to 545 previously released Spells across Standard and Wild as a permanent addition to Hearthstone with the patch on March 25! Spell Schools will add synergies and a new layer of depth throughout your Collection, and there are 24 more being added with Forged in the Barrens!"

For the Battlegrounds fans, this update brings a brand new hero, Overlord Saurfang, with a Hero Power: Give +1 Attack to the next minion you buy this turn. (Upgrades each turn!).

Overlord Saurfang is the first character from Forged in the Barrens added to Battlegrounds (Picture: Blizzard)

Below you can see the full list of the unnerfed cards along with a list of bug fixes, gameplay changes and quality of life improvements. For more details about the 20.0 update, check out the official Hearthstone blog.

Hearthstone 20.0 full patch notes

Mage:

• Mana Wrym - Old: [Costs 2] 1 Attack, 3 Health. → New: [Costs 1] 1 Attack, 2 Health
• Wrym Weaver 0- Old: [Costs 5] 3 Attack, 6 Health. Spellburt: Summon two 1/3 Mana Wryms. → New: [Costs 4] 3 Attack, 5 Health. Spellburst: Summon two 1/2 Mana Wryms
• Conjurer’s Calling - Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]
• Dragoncaster - Old: [Costs 7] → New: [Costs 6]

Hunter:

• Flare - Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]
• Hunter’s Mark - Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]
• Starving Buzzard - Old: [Costs 5] 3 Attack, 2 Health → New: [Costs 2] 2 Attack, 1 Health
• Dinotamer Brann - Old: [Costs 8] → New: [Costs 7]

Warrior:

• Charge - Old: [Costs 1] Give a friendly minion Charge. It can't attack heroes this turn. → New: [Costs 3] Give a friendly minion +2 Attack and Charge
• Bloodsworn Mercenary - Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health. → New: 3 Attack, 3 Health
• Scion of Ruin - Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Shaman:

• Spirit Claws - Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]
• Flametongue Totem - Old: [Costs 3] 0 Attack, 3 Health. → New: [Costs 2] 0 Attack, 2 Health
• Invocation of Frost - Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 1]
• Dragon’s Pack - Old: Summon two 2/3 Spirit Wolves with Taunt. If you've Invoked twice, give them +2/+2. → New: Summon two 2/3 Spirit Wolves with Taunt. If you've Invoked twice, give them +3/+3
• Corrupt Elementalist - Old: [Costs 6] → New: [Costs 5]

Druid:

• Keeper of the Grove - Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health. → New: 2 Attack, 4 Health
• Ancient of Lore - Old: Choose One - Draw a card; or Restore 5 Health. → New: Choose One - Draw 2 cards; or Restore 5 Health

Priest:

• Power Word: Shield - Old: [Costs 0] Give a minion +2 Health. → New: [Costs 1] Give a minion +2 Health. Draw a card

Rogue:

• The Caverns Below - Old: Quest: Play five minions with the same name. Reward: Crystal Core (For the rest of the game, your minions are 4/4). → New: Quest: Play four minions with the same name. Reward: Crystal Core (For the rest of the game, your minions are 5/5)
• Edwin VanCleef - Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]
• Blade Flurry - Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 2]
• Necrium Apothecary - Old: [Costs 5] → New: [Costs 4]
• Galakrond, the Nightmare (Applies to upgraded versions) - Old: Draw 1 card. It cost (1). → New: Draw 1 card. It cost (0)

Paladin:

• Call to Arms - Old: [Costs 5] → New: [Costs 4]

Warlock:

• Fiendish Rites - Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]

Neutral:

• Undertaker - Old: Whenever you summon a minion with Deathrattle, gain +1 Attack. → New: Whenever you summon a minion with Deathrattle, gain +1/+1
• Leper Gnome - Old: 1 Attack, 1 Health → New: 2 Attack, 1 Health
• Knife Juggler - Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health. → New: 3 Attack, 2 Health
• Frenzied Felwing - Old: 3 Attack, 2 Health. → New: 3 Attack, 3 Health
• Bad Luck Albatross - Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 3]
• Saronite Chain Gang - Old: Battlecry: Summon another Saronite Chain Gang. → New: Battlecry: Summon a copy of this minion
• Arcane Golem - Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health. → New: 4 Attack, 2 Health. Charge
• Bonemare - Old: [Costs 8] → New: [Costs 7]
• Archivist Elysiana - Old: [Costs 9] → New: [Costs 8]
• Dragonqueen Alexstrasza - Old: Battlecry: If your deck has no duplicates, add 2 other random Dragons to your hand. They cost (1). → New: Battlecry: If your deck has no duplicates, add 2 other random Dragons to your hand. They cost (0)

• Increased the number of available deck slots from 18 to 27.
• Moved the Seasonal Ranked Rewards Chest to the Deck Selection screen. Additionally, the Seasonal Ranked Rewards for March will give Forged in the Barrens packs instead of Madness at the Darkmoon Faire packs.
• Added progress bars for each Achievement category in the Journal.
• Updated the guaranteed Weekly Quest Win 5 Games of Ranked Play Mode to be re-rollable.
• Updated several loading tips to reflect recent changes.
• Updated Arena Rewards to now include Forged in the Barrens packs and no longer include Classic packs.
• Updated Tavern Brawls to reward one Year of the Phoenix pack instead of a Classic pack.
• Updated both new player Legendary quest lines so that several of the quests can be completed in Battlegrounds and will offer pack rewards from recent expansions instead of Classic packs.
• Removed the returning player missions against Malfurion, Tyrande, and Hakkar and updated the Legendary quest line for returning players to reward a total of 15 card packs from recent expansions.
• Updated free decks for new and returning players (recipes can be found here).*
• Updated Book of Heroes so that completing all Book of Heroes missions for a class will now unlock that class.
• Updated the Demon Hunter class so that it can be unlocked by playing against the class in Play mode or beating the class in Practice mode. Completing the Demon Hunter prologue will still unlock the class but will now reward 1 Demon Hunter class pack for players that have yet to complete it.
• Fixed a bug where Wild cards would not appear in the Collection without having Demon Hunter unlocked.
• Fixed a bug where Zephrys the Great would not offer Mass Dispel or Shadowflame when your board was full.
• Fixed a bug where cards that target Deathrattle minions, such as Play Dead, would still work with Deathwarden in play.
• Fixed a bug where minions buffed by Soul of the Murloc would not show a Deathrattle icon.
• Fixed a bug where Khadgar would not copy Vectus’ Deathrattle effects on Plagued Hatchling.
• Fixed a bug where Sparkjoy Cheat casting a secret from your hand would trigger an opponent’s Counterspell and still put the secret into play. It will now no longer trigger Counterspell.
• Fixed a bug where Shenanigans would not trigger if the opponent’s first card drawn was a “Cast When Drawn” card.
• Fixed a bug where Shadow Clone would trigger despite having a full board.
• Fixed a bug where playing Crystal Core and Humble Blessing in the same match would not grant the persistent stat effect of whichever was played second.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where minions that buff others would not visually update all minions that are spawned during combat.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where the Prize Wall Hero Power would not show the correct number of turns left for players other than Tickatus.
• Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where secrets generated from Prestidigitation showed a Gold cost despite not costing any Gold to cast.
• Fixed a Duels bug where the win counter could show -1.
• Fixed a Duels bug where duplicate card buckets could appear.
• Fixed a Duels bug where your deck would not appear on the end of run screen.
• Fixed a Duels bug where the Deathstrider Treasure could cause crashes when triggering multiple Deathrattles.
• Fixed a Duels bug where the Soulcial Studies Hero Power could still appear as Coming Soon.
• Fixed a Duels bug where Prince Malchezaar’s start of game effect would not activate if Prince Malchezaar was drawn from Small Pouches.
• Fixed a bug where clicking the victory banner in Solo Adventures would not exit the match.
• Fixed a bug in Trial by Felfire where the adventure would not show as completed despite earning its respective completion Achievement.
• Fixed a bug in Trial by Felfire where the fight with Gruul the Dragonkiller could lock the game.
• Fixed a bug with Book of Heroes Valeera where minions drawn by Varian Wrynn would not be placed on the board despite having adequate board space.
• Fixed a bug with Book of Heroes Valeera where the AI would play Sleep with the Fishes for no value.
• Fixed a visual bug with Book of Heroes Valeera where minions in play at the start of a match would appear ready to attack during the Mulligan.
• Fixed a visual bug with Book of Heroes Valeera where Rehgar Earthfury would appear unable to attack despite being able to attack.
• Fixed a visual bug with V-O7-TR-ON’s entrance animation.
• Fixed a visual bug where Imprisoned Phoenix would briefly appear to give its Spell Damage buff while Dormant.
• Fixed a visual bug where parts of the Zhuge Liang Anduin and Diao Chan Valeera Hero Skins were not appearing animated.