Huge Duels Content Update Coming in 20.0 – New Rotation, New Passive Treasures, Balance Changes, Ban List and Easier Unlocks

A massive update is coming to Duels in Patch 20.0.

• New rotation – technically no set is rotating out, but we’re getting Journey to Un’Goro, Core Set 2021 and Forged in the Barrens added in. Basic/Classic (Legacy) also remain playable, so the pool of cards will grow substantially.
• 25 new Passive Treasures.
• 6 balance changes.
• Ban list is extended significantly – 15 cards are banned from deck building and Un’Goro Quests are banned from card buckets.
• Hero Powers / Treasures are easier to unlock.

You can check out all the details in the blog post below!

The 20.0 patch includes a big update for Duels! When the patch hits on March 25, Duels ratings for Casual and Heroic will reset, and the pool of eligible cards you can use to build your 15-card starter deck will be updated as follows:

• (NEW) Forged in the Barrens
• (NEW) Core
• The Darkmoon Races Mini-Set
• Madness at the Darkmoon Faire
• Scholomance Academy
• (NEW) Journey to Un’Goro
• One Night in Kharazan
• Whispers of the Old Gods
• Curse of Naxxramas
• Legacy (Basic/Classic)

What’s more, Forged in the Barrens cards can be found in card buckets offered between matches in Duels before the expansion unlocks on March 30!

New Passive Treasures

The following Passive Treasures can now be found between matches in a Duels run:

Duels Balance Updates

Watermarks on cards pictured below are not final. 

Frost Shards

• Old: [Costs 2] Deal 1 damage. Add a 1/1 Ice Shard that Freezes to your hand. → New: [Costs 1] Deal 1 damage. Add a 2/1 Ice Shard that Freezes to your hand.

Ice Shard

• Old: [Costs 1] Attack 1, Health 1. → New: [Costs 2] Attack 2, Health 1.

Dark Arts

• Old: Look at up to 4 cards in your hand and discard 1. Then, draw 1 card. → New: Look at up to 3 cards in your hand and discard 1. Then, draw 1 card.

Favored Racer

• Old: Battlecry: Cast 1 random blessing on this minion. (Improves during run) → New: Rush. Battlecry: Cast 1 random blessing on this minion. (Improves during run)

Tempest’s Fury

• Old: Attack 2, Durability 2. → New: Attack 2, Durability 3.

Connections

• Old: At the start of your turn, add a 1/1 Informant to your hand. → New: At the start of your turn, add a random 1-Cost minion to your hand.

Deathstrider

• Now has the Beast tag.

Banned Cards

We’re banning several cards from Duels in 20.0 for deckbuilding specifically, and then excluding a few more from card buckets. As you may have noticed, Self-Sharpening Sword has been banned in Duels since the mode launched. In the 20.0 patch, Self-Sharpening Sword will be unbanned from Deckbuilding, will become Discoverable, and can now show up in the Group Learning bucket.

Unbanned from Deckbuilding and Card Buckets:

• Self-Sharpening Sword

Banned from Deckbuilding:

• Ice Lance
• Sylvanas Windrunner
• Leeroy Jenkins
• Ice Block
• Doomguard
• Divine Favor
• Prophet Velen
• Auchenai Soulpriest
• Mind Blast
• Old Murk-Eye
• Divine Spirit
• Tour Guide
• Pen Flinger
• Lightning Bloom
• Nozdormu the Eternal

Banned from Card Buckets:

• Jungle Giants
• The Marsh Queen
• Open the Waygate
• The Last Kaleidosaur
• Awaken the Makers
• The Caverns Below
• Unite the Murlocs
• Lakkari Sacrifice
• Fire Plume’s Heart

Duels General Updates

We’ve made a few miscellaneous updates to Duels outside of the balance changes listed above. You might notice we’ve updated the general game flow to offer Passive/Active Treasures, adjust Health values, and offer card buckets at new intervals throughout a Duels run. Also, Spell Schools have been added to several Signature Treasures!

• Nature – Warden’s Insight, Marvelous Mycelium, Deadly Weapons 101, Chaos Storm
• Shadow – Fractured Spirits, Shadow Word: Void, Acquired Allies, Demonology 101
• Fel – Summoning Ritual, Gift of Legion, Binding Chains
• Holy – Men at Arms, Humble Blessings
• Fire – Elemental Learning
• Arcane – Infinite Arcane

We’ve also added six new buckets of cards that will appear between matches:

• Little Bites (Hunter)
• Razerrattle (Demon Hunter)
• Hero Power (Mage)
• Divine Duty (Priest)
• Hero Power (Neutral)
• Barrens Chat (Neutral)

Lastly, we’ve updated the unlock criteria for all Signature Treasures and Hero Powers to now count duplicates in your Collection, and no longer require unique cards.

The 20.0 patch notes were published today! Check out the blog to get the full list of changes coming to the Tavern on March 25, before Forged in the Barrens launches on March 30!

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