Hearthstone 25.2.2 patch notes nerf Astalor, shake up Battlegrounds Season 3

Hearthstone's meta has been in an interesting place ever since the Lich King made his grand return. There are quite a few broken decks across both Standard play and Hearthstone Battlegrounds and Blizzard is looking to fix things with a fresh patch. However, the 25.2.2 update also appears to be buffing almost twice as many cards as its nerfing, which should make the new meta a lot more intriguing.

Astalor Bloodsworn will see changes across all three of his phases.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment

Here are the nerfs coming to Standard, as noted on the Hearthstone website:

Wildpaw Gnoll (Rogue): Costs (1) for each non-Rogue class card added to your hand. (Changed from any card from another class, meaning dual-class Rogue cards will no longer reduce the Gnoll's cost.)
Sinstone Graveyard (Rogue): Summon a 1/1 Ghost for each card played this turn. (Ghost no longer has Stealth.)
Final Showdown (Demon Hunter): Draw 6 cards in one turn. (Up from 4 cards.)
Sinful Brand (Demon Hunter): Costs 2 Mana. (Up from 1 Mana.)
Shockspitter (Hunter): Costs 4 Mana, but now has 3/3 stats. (Up from 3 Mana with 2/2 stats.)
Glacial Advance (Death Knight): Deal 4 damage. Your next spell this turn costs (1) less. (Down from (2) less.)
Astalor Bloodsworn (Neutral): Phase 1 effect's Manathirst cost increased to 5. Phase 2's Manathirst cost increased to 8. Phase 3 now only deals 14 damage. (Changed from 4 Manathirst, 7 Manathirst, and 16 damage.)

Those are the nerfs, but here come the buffs and they appear to be plentiful. The following cards have been buffed:

Battlefield Necromancer (Death Knight): Raise a Corpse as a 1/3 Risen Footman with Taunt. (Up from a 1/2 Risen Footman.)
Boneguard Commander (Death Knight): Raise up to 6 Corpses as 1/3 Risen Footmen with Taunt. (Up from 1/2 Risen Footmen.)
Unholy Frenzy (Death Knight): Costs 2 Mana. (Down from 3 Mana.)
Wither (Druid): Costs 1 Mana. (Down from 2 Mana.)
Bonecaller (Priest): Health increased to 5. (Up from 4 Health.)
Haunting Nightmare (Priest): Attack increased 4. Haunted card's summoned Soldier's Attack also increased to 4. (Up from 3 Attack.)
High Cultist Basaleph (Priest): Costs 4 Mana. (Down from 5 Mana.)
Dar'Khan Drathir (Warlock): Costs 7 Mana. (Down from 8 Mana.)
Infantry Reanimator (Warlock): Costs 5 Mana. (Down from 6 Mana.)
Vengeful Walloper (Demon Hunter): Costs 6 Mana. (Down from 7 Mana.)
Energy Shaper (Mage): Costs 3 Mana with 3/4 stats. (Down from 4 Mana with 3/5 stats.)
Vast Wisdom (Mage): Costs 2 Mana. (Down from 3 Mana.)
Timewarden (Paladin): Costs 3 Mana with 3/4 stats. (Down from 4 Mana with 3/5 stats.)
Asvedon, the Grandshield (Warrior): Now has 3/4 stats with Taunt. (Down from 3/3 stats without Taunt.)
Disruptive Spellbreaker (Warrior): Health increased to 6. (Up from 5 Health.)
Last Stand (Warrior): Costs 1 Mana. Stats are doubled with Manathirst (7). (Down from 4 Mana with included Manathirst effect.)
Nellie's Pirate Ship (Warrior): Adds Nellie's Pirate crew to your hand. They cost (2) less. (Up from (1) less.)
Remornia, Living Blade (Warrior): Attack increased to 5. (Up from 4 Attack.)

Those aren't the only changes coming to Hearthstone on Thursday. Battlegrounds started its Season 3 last week, but it's already time for some major adjustments, specifically to the new Undead minions. Like Standard, this is also a mixture of nerfs and buffs. Let's look at the major changes.

Thorncaptain (Tier 1): Now has 2 Health. (Up from 1 Health.)
Eternal Captain (Tier 2): Now has 3 Attack. (Down from 4 Attack.)
Ghoul of the Feast (Tier 3): Avenge (1) now gives a friendly minion of each type +2 Attack. (Down from +3 Attack.)
Pufferquil (Tier 4): Now has 6 Health. (Up from 4 Health.)
Ripsnarl Captain (Tier 4): Gives a friendly Pirate +3/+3 when it attacks. (Up from +2/+2.)
Master of Realities (Tier 5): Reduced to Tier 4 with 4/4 stats.
Anub'arak, Nerubian King (Tier 5): Reduced to Tier 4 with 4/3 stats. Its Deathrattle now gives Undead +1 Attack for the rest of the game. (Down from 5/3 stats with a +2 Attack Deathrattle effect.)
Magmaloc (Tier 4): Increased to Tier 5 with 3/3 stats.
Soulsplitter (Tier 4): Increased to Tier 5 with 5/2 stats.
Vanessa VanCleef (Tier 5): Now gives Pirates +2/+2 whenever this attacks. (Up from +2/+1.)
Cyborg Drake (Tier 5): Health increased to 10, but now gives Divine Shield minions +8 Attack. (Changed from 8 Health that gives Divine Shield minions +10 Attack.)
Sinrunner Blanchy (Tier 5): Now has 3/3 stats. (Down from 4/4 stats.)
Toxfin (Tier 6): Reduced to Tier 5.
Grease Bot (Tier 6): Friendly minions that lose Divine Shield now get +3/+2 permanently. (Up from +2/+2.)
Felstomper (Tier 6): Health increase to 8, but gives minions +2 Attack when one is summoned. (Up from 7 Health, but effect down from +3 Attack.)
Sister Deathwhisper (Tier 6): Health reduced to 9. Undead gain +1/+2 permanently when a friendly minion is Reborn. (Down from 11 Health and effect is reduced from +1/+3.)
Eternal Summoner (Tier 6): Attack reduced to 6 and Deathrattle now only summons 1 Eternal Knight. (Down from 8 Attack and effect down from summoning 2 Eternal Knights.)

There are many other changes included in today's 25.2.2 patch, including some big balance changes to Duels. It's a loaded update, one appropriate given how much the Death Knight's addition has changed the game. Be sure to check out the Hearthstone website for more on those. We'll continue to watch for changes in the Hearthstone world, so follow Shacknews for the latest updates.