Today's Patch 17.6 brings pre-purchase for Hearthstone’s newest expansion, Scholomance Academy, a handful of Battlegrounds updates, Standard balance changes, and game improvements.
New and Returning Battlegrounds Heroes
Brand new to Battlegrounds is Tess Greymane. A fan-favorite Rogue card from The Witchwood, Tess's hero power in this game mode will refresh Bob's Tavern with minions from your opponent's last warband (without enchantments).
King Mukla used to give you a Banana every time you purchased a Beast. Now, his hero power for 1 mana will give you 2 Bananas. Be careful though! Mukla is a bit reckless, so all other players will get 1 Banana at the end of your turn as well.
Brann Bronzebeard used to be one of the best heroes in Battlegrounds, giving a friendly minion +1/+1 every time you played a Battlecry minion. In this new iteration, his 1 mana hero power will refresh Bob's Tavern only with Battlecry minions.
Updated Hero Powers
New Minion: Amalgadon
The menagerie effect on a minion has a lot of potential, as proved by Nightmare Amalgam being an auto-purchase when it was included in Battlegrounds due to its ability to take on any buffs and work with any warband.
Having this minion at Tier 6 makes it less likely to spiral out of control like its nightmarish cousin. But with the right support, its Battlecry could give it some devastating keywords like Divine Shield and Poisonous. It's certainly a different, flexible option for the late game. We're eager to see its impact.
Updated Minion: Goldrinn, the Great Wolf
Old: [Tier 5] → New: [Tier 6]
Balance Updates
A total of 8 different cards are being changed. See the full list of balance updates.
Log In Reward
With today’s 17.6 patch all players can log in to receive two copies of the Epic Neutral minion, Transfer Student, for free!* Transfer Student has different effects based on which game board it’s played on, with 25 different effects in total, and can be slotted into your decks immediately!
Miscellaneous
Game Improvements & Game Fixes
- When random card back is selected, you will now see a randomized card back every time you open a pack and every time you open the Crafting menu.
- The UI has been updated with an icon on the top right that will indicate when you’re offline.
Scholomance Academy Coming To Arena
When Scholomance Academy launches, the Arena will include cards from the following sets: Scholomance Academy, Demon Hunter Initiate, Ashes of Outland, Galakrond's Awakening, Descent of Dragons, Saviors of Uldum, Rise of Shadows, Classic and Basic.
Weapon Frame Updates - Coming July 30
Pre-Purchase Scholomance Academy
The Mega Bundle includes 85 Scholomance Academy card packs and, for the first time ever, 5 of those will be Golden Scholomance Academy packs—each filled with Golden cards! The Mega Bundle also includes one random Scholomance Academy Golden Legendary card, the Kel’Thuzad Mage Hero, the Kel'Thuzad card back, and a Tavern Pass, which includes 4 Arena tickets.
The Scholomance Academy Bundle includes 55 Scholomance Academy card packs, the Kel’thuzad card back, and a random Scholomance Academy Golden Legendary card.
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