Hearthstone Battlegrounds Patch 26.6: Gemsplitter in, Leapfrogger out

Hearthstone Battlegrounds Patch 26.6 is filled with surprising changes. Some underwhelming Heroes get buffs to level the playfield. The minion pool is updated, with old staples like Gemsplitter and Grease Bot returning. Build-defining minions like Leapfrogger and Sinrunner Blanchy leave the Tavern to make way. Despite these Beasts leaving, the real elephant in the room are Quests, which are to return on July 11!

We will start by outlining the minion pool updates, since these changes will affect every Battlegrounds lobby. Afterwards, we will focus on individual Hero changes. Finally, a sneak peek into the returning mechanic of Quests before we take a look at the new swag: Epic Bartenders. Let’s jump into the changes! Remember you can swipe through our photo galleries to see the art and text for all the updates.

A moment of silence for the minions that are leaving the shop, at least for the time being. At least four decent builds lose core pieces. The meta will never be the same, as we say goodbye to Leapfrogger, Sinrunner Blanchy, Omega Buster and the “exodia” duo of Dr. Boombox and Kangor’s Apprentice.

We can also spot a trend within the other removals, with Patient Scout, Faceless Disciple and Treasure-Seeker Elise. All three were used to “cheat” out core minions early, leading to snowball situations. Another power outlier bites the dust! This is consistent with the Battlegrounds devs previous balance changes.

Speaking of consistency, the Dragon Murozond’s Golden version is now more similar to the regular one. The Golden Battlecry now reads “Get a plain copy of a minion from your last opponent’s warband twice.”.

Instead of the aforementioned power outliers, our Tavern shops will be filled with a selection of returning minions. Most seem to slot into previously ignored strategies. Gemsplitter, Cyborg Drake, Grease Bot and Annoy-o-Tron aim to strengthen Divine Shield builds. Furthermore, Cogwork Copter and Annoy-o-Troupe are new additions with the same synergy.

Qiraji Harbinger and Champion of Y’shaarj are here to upgrade Taunt comps. Baby Krush and brand new minion Hungry Snapjaw support summoning builds. Yrel is also back to help menagerie. Is this the real Lightfang Enforcer buff?

Some underwhelming or monotone Heroes are brought in line with their more powerful or at least more exciting counterparts. We choose to discuss the spicier buffs, but feel free to swipe through this photo gallery for the full list of changes.

Dancin’ Deryl’s Hat Trick now “keeps” the Hero Power buff when selling, as the Hat Trick buff is passed to a friendly minion. Is this the spiritual successor to Leapfrogger? Deathwing’s changed passive only activates at the start of combat. Tokens spawned during combat will not receive the attack buff. All minions present at the start of combat gain 2 Attack instead, which means opponents can also plan for a permanent buff.

Deathspeaker Blackthorn will abandon the 3 on 3 leveling curve for good. His Hero Power can now generate 2 Blood Gems twice per turn, at the cost of 1 Gold per Bloodbound activation. King Mukla’s Bananarama is now a free passive. Kurtrus Ashfallen’s Glaive Ricochet now reads: “Passive. Once per turn, after you buy 4 minions, Discover a plain copy of one of them.”. This means that a double will lead to a triple most of the time. Just pray you don’t fall victim to RNG!

Queen Wagtoggle’s Wax Warband now buffs a friendly minion of each type. Let’s applaud the menagerie push, at least for old times’ sake. Rakanishu’s Tavern Lightning now costs 1 Gold. Tavish Stormpike’s Deadeye’s damage now doubles every 3 turns, starting from 2 damage, instead of the linear increase.

Finally, The Great Akazamzarak loses Snake Trap and Avenge and gains more powerful Secrets: Reckoning and Magic Black Soulstone.

For newer players, Quests ask you to complete an objective in exchange for powerful rewards. Currently, Quests are only available to Sire Denathrius. Otherwise, other Heroes will be able to choose their Quest on the fourth turn, which is the 6 Gold turn. While we don’t know much about the new Quests, apart from their date of return, which is July 11, here’s what Lead Game Designer Mitchell Loewen had to say:

A new product hits the shop, as Epic Bartenders combine the alternate portraits and new voice lines with a Golden frame and moving, Golden-style animation. The first Epic Bartender is Lillian Singh, a fitting thematic choice. In World of Warcraft, Lillian Singh was a fireworks vendor that appeared for the Fourth of July in-game celebration.

Hearthstone Patch 26.6 proves full of Battlegrounds content. Heroes are revived with inspired and flavorful changes. Divine Shield and Taunt builds are back in business. Quests are looming, while a festive Epic Bartender transcends from WoW. Not to mention the changes in other modes.

Will this update bring forth titanic meta changes, on par with the upcoming TITANS expansion? Or just a little twist, like the new mode?

Stay tuned to our Hearthstone news and guides section to find out. Make sure to visit esports.gg for all the latest esports news as well. See you next time in Bob’s Tavern.