Update: The patch is now live on both PC and mobile. Enjoy!
Blizzard just published 29.0 patch notes! The update launches later today. The patch notes are quite dense and contain a lot of news. You can find a summary below:
- Whizbang’s Workshop & Standard Rotation – This patch contains data for the new Hearthstone expansion launching on March 19. All of the cards from the set have already been revealed. Learn more about it with our Expansions Guide. When Whizbang’s Workshop releases, Year of the Wolf will give way to Year of the Pegasus. All of the 2022 (Hydra) expansions will rotate out of Standard, alongside lots of changes to the Core Set.
- Community Day – Today at 10 AM PT (18:00 CET), a “Community Day” with tons of Twitch drops starts as a part of the game’s 10th Anniversary celebration. Earn multiple card packs (including one Golden Whizbang’s Workshop pack), Tavern Tickets and Battlegrounds cosmetics. More details here.
- Theorycrafting Streams – Just like every expansion, Blizzard has invited multiple content creators to host theorycrafting session before the set launches. This time it happens on Wednesday, March 13. It follows the usual deck-building rules of requiring 10 cards from the latest expansion, but this time they will also be able to try out Splendiferous Whizbang decks (we still don’t how those look exactly).
- Card Updates – 4 Warcraft Rumble-themed cards announced together with the Core Set changes are available starting today. They will be a part of the Core Set 2024 too. But their power level is not very high anyway. But a more important info are nerf reverts and other card adjustments. Many of the cards that are about to rotate out to Wild got buffed so they might have a higher chance of thriving in a much more hostile meta. Additionally, some cards that were previously banned in Wild got banned and nerfed to a state in which they should no longer be overpowered.
- Battlegrounds Updates – Battlegrounds got a very minor update with one minion returning to a pool, but Blizzard teased “double the fun” coming soon, most likely talking about Battlegrounds Duos announced at BlizzCon. I assume they will release with Patch 29.2.
- Arena Updates – A new Arena rotation will start when patch releases, retiring all of the previous runs (and thus compensating players with Tavern Tickets). The new season will employ a special ruleset that includes cards from ALL expansions. It doesn’t mean that every card will be available though – each class will have its own curated list of cards that can include cards from any expansion. While the first pick will still always be a Legendary card, Duels Treasures have now been removed from drafts.
- Signature Frame Update – Whizbang’s Workshop Signature cards are the first batch of cards with a new, updated frame (including a different rarity gem shape for each rarity). Blizzard feels that it fits the Hearthstone style more. Old Signatures won’t get changed, but future should keep using this new frame, just with artwork that matches “feels and themes” of each expansion (maybe new expansions will also have a cohesive artwork theme like “mechanized” versions of minions for Whizbang’s).
- Whizbang’s Workshop Catch-Up Packs – Catch-Up Packs are back for Whizbang’s Workshop! They work exactly like the Badlands ones, containing anywhere between 5 and 50 packs from Standard sets up to (but not including) Whizbang’s Workshop. As the name suggests, they are useful for… catching up. So players with big collections won’t find them useful, they will be a weaker version of Standard packs. But if you’re missing most of the cards from 2023 expansions, you should find them very useful. You can learn more about Catch-Up packs with our Guide by Old Guardian. The breakdown of cards is slightly different for 3 sets vs 5 sets but the overall mechanic is the same.
- 10th Anniversary Card Back – When you log in today after Patch 29.0 drops, you will get a special Legendary Quest to earn a new 10th Anniversary Card Back.
- Whizbang’s Workshop In-Game Event – A new in-game event has been announced, launching on March 26. The rewards are 5x Standard Card Pack, 2x Whizbang’s Workshop Pack, and a Bobble Mal’Ganis Warlock Hero Skin.
- World of Warcraft Celebration – WoW will also join the celebration of Hearthstone’s 10th anniversary. WoW players can log into Hearthstone to get a Fiery Heartsteed mount for free. There will also be some special in-game events waiting for them in capital cities
- Hearthstone: Music of the Tavern – An album with 31 in-game Hearthstone tracks has been release for free across multiple music streaming platforms, including YouTube.
- Bug Fixes & Game Improvements – Just like always, major patches launches with TONS of bug fixes and smaller QoL changes. I assume that since it’s a massive patch, it will also contain a lot of issues, but we’ll have a separate post for those. Some of the changes are pretty cool. For example, temporary mana (like Coin) can now put you above 10 Mana Crystals. You can have multiples of the same Sigil/Aura/Objective in play at the same time (for example, you can now play 2x Crusader Aura). Secrets are still limited the way they were. Silver Hand Recruits will now have different artworks. You can now favorite multiple Coins or even make them rotate at random just like Card Backs & Heroes. Demon Hunter’s “iconic hand” from Harth Stonebrew was fixed. And more!
Learn more with the full patch notes below: (Update: Sorry, there’s some weird formatting going on after I copied the blog post. It normally doesn’t happen and I don’t know how to fix it without just rewriting it from scratch but that would be silly. You can find full patch notes here on the official website.)
Happy anniversary! Today, March 11, marks 10 years since the launch of Hearthstone. We’re celebrating with a Community Day and Patch 29.0, including the groundwork for Whizbang’s Workshop, the Core Set rotation, in-game rewards, and more!
Schedule and Quick Reference
There’s a lot happening with this patch, so we’ve organized it into a quick breakdown. You can click on the links to jump to that portion of the Patch Notes.
Whizbang’s Workshop Opens on March 19!
Hearthstone’s next expansion, Whizbang’s Workshop, opens its doors on March 19. The 145-card expansion includes nostalgic characters, throwback mechanics, the new Miniaturize keyword, a build-your-own Legendary, and more! See all the new cards in the official Card Library today. This is your last chance to get your pre-purchase bundles, only available until the expansion goes live next week.
With the launch of Whizbang’s Workshop comes a new Rewards Track, filled with XP boosts, cards, Gold, and more. On top of that, Showdown in the Badlands Rewards Track achievements will continue granting XP even after the Rewards Track rolls over! Check out the Rewards Track Refresh blog for details. Community Day Starts Today!
Celebrate 10 years of Hearthstone with 10 rewards in 24 hours! From March 11, 10:00 a.m. (PDT) to March 12, 10:00 a.m. (PDT) you can earn the following drops to enjoy across Hearthstone modes, just for watching any Hearthstone stream:
- 1st Drop: 1 Festival of Legends Card Pack and Crystal Justice Epic Battlegrounds Strike
- 2nd Drop: 1 TITANS Card Pack and 1 Showdown in the Badlands Card Pack
- 3rd Drop: 2 Tavern Tickets
- 4th Drop: 2 Whizbang’s Workshop Card Packs
- 5th Drop: 1 Golden Whizbang’s Workshop Card Pack and Harth Stonebrew Battlegrounds Bartender
Tune in to your favorite streamers and join them in this celebration of Hearthstone’s community! Make sure you link your Twitch and Battle.net accounts so that your viewing time counts towards the drops. Whizbang Workshop Theorycrafting Streams
Join your favorite content creators as they step into Whizbang’s Workshop before its doors open to the public. Invited players will be streaming their participation on their own personal streams, so make sure that you’re following your favorite Hearthstone creators and tune in when they go live!
- NA/LATAM/EMEA players will play on March 13, 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. (PDT)
- APAC players will play on March 14, 2:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. (PDT)
All participants need to include at least 10 Whizbang’s Workshop cards in their decks (that can be 10 individual cards, 5 duplicates, or anything in between) or have Splendiferous Whizbang as their deck.
Your favorite casters will also be returning to call the shots with the official Theorycasting event, on the official Hearthstone Twitch channel. Join them as they jump between games of all participating players and provide their expert commentary.
- Sottle, Raven, Lorinda, and Edelweiss will be casting on March 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm. (PDT).
Twitch Drops will be enabled category-wide from March 13, 9:00 a.m. to March 14, 9:00 a.m. (PDT), so you can watch any Hearthstone stream you’d like and earn up to 2 Whizbang’s Workshop packs! In addition to category-wide Twitch Drops, all participating streamers will have Pre-Purchase Mega Bundle codes to give away to their respective audiences during the event!
Hearthstone Card Updates
New Cards
Warcraft Rumble can’t wait to join us for the birthday festivities! Four new Warcraft Rumble themed cards will be added directly into the free Core Set today, with Patch 29.0!
Card Adjustments
Several balance changes throughout the years were made because cards were too powerful for Standard, even if not necessarily too powerful in Wild. On March 11, with Patch 29.0, the following cards will be adjusted. Most of these changes are to cards currently in Standard, in anticipation of their rotation into Wild on March 19.
The following cards will be reverted to their original form:
- Blightfang
- Glacial Advance
- Construct Quarter
- Relic of Dimensions
- Felscale Evoker
- Wild Growth
- Miracle Growth
- Spirit Poacher
- Stag Charge
- Wild Spirits
- Ara’lon
- Hope of Quel’thalas
- Faithful Companions
- Arcane Wyrm
- Nightcloak Sanctum
- Spitelash Siren
- Feast and Famine
- The Purator
- Lightray
- Boon of the Ascended
- High Cultist Basaleph
- Scribbling Stenographer
- Vile Library
- From the Depths
- Thori’belore
- Nellie, the Great Thresher
- Pufferfist
- School Teacher
- Smothering Starfish
- Prince Renathal
The following cards will be updated or reverted as follows:
Death Blossom Whomper
- [5 Mana] 6/5.
Halduron Brightwing
- [3 Mana] 3/4. Battlecry: Give all Arcane spells in your hand and deck Spell Damage +1.
Switcheroo
- [5 Mana] Draw 2 minions. Swap their Health.
- No longer banned in Wild.
Tome Tampering
- [6 Mana]
- No longer banned in Wild.
Mechwarper (Mech)
- [4 Mana] 4/4. Your Mechs cost (1) less.
- No longer banned in Wild.
Balance changes to Core Set cards will also take place on March 11. See the Core Set blog for details. The Year of the Pegasus Takes Off
When Whizbang’s Workshop goes live on March 19, so will the start of the next Hearthstone year: the Year of the Pegasus. At that time, cards from the Year of the Hydra (Voyage to the Sunken City, Murder at Castle Nathria, March of the Lich King, and Path of Arthas) rotate out of Standard. The Core Set rotation—cards leaving and entering Core—will also happen on March 19.
Battlegrounds Updates
- Greta Gold-Gun is returning to the minion pool.
- Stay tuned for news about our next major Battlegrounds update in the coming weeks… some might say it’s double the fun!
Arena Updates
On March 11, all ongoing Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. Celebrate 10 years of Hearthstone with this special Arena Season that includes cards across all Hearthstone expansions! Instead of a group of sets that apply to all classes, each class has its own curated list of cards that can include cards from any expansion. The first pick of each Arena draft will be a Legendary card, which will be the only Legendary card offered in your draft. Duels Treasures have been removed from Arena drafts.
Signature Frame Update
We’ve made a new frame for Signature cards in Whizbang’s Workshop! The rarity gems on these Signature cards are also differently shaped for different rarities, making them more accessible and easier to read.
This new frame pulls from general Hearthstone aesthetics, but is flexible enough to work with a variety of Signature card themes. All current Signature cards will remain unchanged, but all future Signature cards will use this new frame. The art style within each frame will update to match the feel and themes of each expansion.
Whizbang’s Workshop Catch-Up Packs
Catch-Up Packs are back for Whizbang’s Workshop! Just like Showdown in the Badlands Catch-Up Packs, Whizbang’s Workshop Catch-Up Packs include 5-50 cards from previous Standard sets, depending on your collection completion levels for those sets. However, because of the Standard rotation, there are only three eligible sets for Whizbang’s Workshop Catch-Up Packs: Festival of Legends, TITANS, and Showdown in the Badlands. Since these packs pull from three sets instead of five, the details have shifted to meet the overall goal of still giving 5-50 total cards per pack. You can read all the specifics on the updated Disclosure Page.
This new breakdown only applies to 3-set Catch-Up Packs (currently only Whizbang’s Workshop). 5-set Catch-Up Packs (currently only Showdown in the Badlands) will still work as they did before. Each type of Catch-Up Pack is distinct and pulls from an established pool of cards, meaning that Badlands Catch-Up Packs are not updating to Whizbang’s Workshop Catch-Up Packs or changing in any way with rotation.
10-Year Anniversary Card Back
Celebrate 10 years in style! Log in today and complete a special Legendary Quest to earn the 10-Year Anniversary Card Back.
In-Game Event: Whizbang’s Workshop
Take a tour of Whizbang’s Workshop! From March 26 to April 16, complete Event Quests to earn Event XP on the special event rewards track. Complete the rewards track to earn 5 Standard Packs, 2 Whizbang’s Workshop Packs, and the Bobble Mal’Ganis Warlock Hero Skin.
New Legendary Hero Skin: Leeroy the Legend
Get the most legendary of Legendary Hero Skins: Leeroy the Legend! From pauldrons to poultry, this Paladin has it all. Available starting March 19.
WoW Joins the Celebration
World of Warcraft joins the Hearthstone celebration! Starting on March 11, at 10:00 a.m. (PDT), Warcraft players can login to Hearthstone to get a new Fiery Hearthsteed World of Warcraft mount for free!* Also, enjoy a week of special “Hearthstone” matches, Hearthstone-themed encounters, and Hearthstone-themed rewards!
* No additional purchase necessary for the Fiery Hearthsteed mount. Limited-time offer only available to those who login to Hearthstone between March 11 and May 14. Mount not available in World of Warcraft® Classic games. Hearthstone: Music of the Tavern
Celebrate ten years with the sounds of the tavern. Hearthstone: Music from the Tavern (Anniversary Picks) features 31 of Hearthstone’s iconic in-game tracks, available now on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, YouTube, and Deezer!
Bug Fixes and Game Improvements
- [Hearthstone] Rules change! Temporary mana (such as from the Coin or Innervate) can now make you go above max mana. This applies to the base max mana of 10 and to any modified max mana, like if you’ve played Wildheart Guff or Audio Amplifier.
- [Hearthstone] Another rules change! You can now have multiple of the same Sigil, Objective, or Aura in play at the same time. Secrets, Quests, Questlines, Sidequests, and Battlegrounds effects that use the Secret Zone are still restricted to one instance in play at a time.
- [Hearthstone] Wrath of Air Totem is back, in place of Strength Totem, in the Shaman Hero Power pool.
- [Hearthstone] Paladin has expanded its recruiting efforts! Now, whenever you summon a Silver Hand Recruit, it will be one of 7 different art pieces (6 new recruits and the original).
- [Hearthstone] Like card backs and hero skins, you are now able to favorite more than one Coin. Decks can now use a random favorite Coin, a random owned Coin, or one specific Coin.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Harth Stonebrew’s Iconic Demon Hunter hand wasn’t iconic enough: the cards in that specific hand will now be their launch versions. We’ve also adjusted the hand order to make it flow better with Outcast effects.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug causing a disconnect when an effect summoned a Colossal minion into play when Reno, Lone Ranger’s standoff was in effect.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Velarok, the Deceiver didn’t count as a Dragon after transforming.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Frost Plague’s debuff would be re-applied if it applied to a minion that was then stolen.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Summoning Ward attempts to trigger even if your board is full.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Harvester of Envy wouldn’t steal an original card copied with Shattered Reflections.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Keywarden Ivory could only discover from Madness at the Darkmoon Faire and Scholomance Academy.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where players couldn’t scroll all the way to the bottom of Twist decks on mobile.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug where Frozen Signature cards lacked the Frozen U.I.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where “Come One, Come All” (Silas Darkmoon’s Hero Power) wouldn’t progress if the minion holding the Darkmoon Ticket was your last minion for a Golden minion.
- [Arena] Fixed a bug where Horn of the Ancients wouldn’t grant Colossal minions if it was generated when they weren’t in the card set pool.
- [Progression] Fixed a bug where the “It’s 12 O’Clock” Achievement wouldn’t progress.
- [Progression] Fixed a bug where the “All Werked Up” Achievement didn’t count minions destroyed in hand.
- [General] Improved tooltip effects, including fixing some bugs where certain tooltips were cut off.
- Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.
Reverted Renathal is the best new in a long long time.