by JR Cook - 2 months ago     show comments

Hearthstone patch 35.6.2 just dropped, and the team isn’t holding back on the nerfs this time. With the Escape from Violet Hold expansion on the horizon, Blizzard is taking the opportunity to bring down some of the dominant decks that have been warping the ladder for the past few weeks. Hunter and Demon Hunter are feeling the heat the most, with targeted changes designed to knock them down a peg before the meta gets completely reshuffled.

The most significant change is Confront the Tol’vir jumping from 3 to 4 mana. This hits both No Hand Hunter and Companion Hunter builds directly, making one of their key enablers significantly slower. Blizzard noted that Hunter has been showing up way more than its raw power level would suggest, which points to the deck just being fun to play. Rather than gutting the strategy entirely, they’re opting for a simple mana nerf to keep it interesting but less oppressive.

Demon Hunter and Druid Adjustments

The Eternal Hold is the other major nerf, with its cost reduction dropping from 0 to 1 mana. Despite being a 6-mana card, it was one of the best keeps in your opening hand for No Minion Demon Hunter, which tells you just how much power was concentrated into this single effect. The change should bring the deck’s performance more in line with the rest of the field without killing it outright.

Token Druid continues to catch nerfs, with Hatchery Helper now giving +1/+1 instead of +1/+2. This is the latest in a series of adjustments aimed at tuning down this resilient archetype. Twilight Egg also got hit, with its Deathrattle Whelp now spawning as a 2/1 instead of 2/2. Blizzard specifically called out the frustration of dealing with the Whelp as the reason for targeting its health stat rather than attack.

Battlegrounds Shakeup

Battlegrounds is getting a substantial round of changes focused primarily on Dragons. The team is targeting the dominance of Ring Bearer comps by removing Egg of the Endtimes (and its related Trinkets) entirely from the pool. This should make the strategy significantly less consistent to assemble. Twilight Hatchling also caught a nerf to reduce the number of attacks you can squeeze into a single combat.

On the buff side, several minions got improvements to support Beasts, Murlocs, Quilboar, and Undead. Felhorn, Costume Enthusiast, and Trench Fighter are all returning to the minion pool to give these tribes some extra help. The team noted they’re happy with the meta after the midseason update but wanted to smooth out some rough edges before Violet Hold launches.

All nerfed Standard cards are eligible for full dust refunds for two weeks following the patch. If you’ve been running any of these decks, now’s the time to decide whether to craft replacements or take the dust and pivot to something new. With a Dev Update scheduled for June 15 covering Violet Hold and the new Pre-Release Tavern Brawl format, it’s worth holding onto your resources until we see what’s coming next.

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Source: Hearthstone Official Patch Notes