25.2.2 Patch Notes

news.blizzard.com:

Patch 25.2.2 is a data-only patch, launching today, that includes updates to Standard, Battlegrounds, Duels, and more!

Dev Comment: In general, our recent patch cadence has been faster than it has been in the past. This can make it more painful when updates are a little slower, such as around the holiday break period. We’re discussing as a team how to make the patch schedule work a little better for future holiday periods.

This is the first patch after the new March of the Lich King expansion where we have enough data to make significant and informed buffs to the new cards. Now that we have seen where the set’s archetypes landed on a power basis, we know where we can safely inject a bit of power.

Wildpaw Gnoll

​Dev Comment: Dual-class cards that are Rogue and another class will not reduce the cost of Gnoll.  

Sinstone Graveyard

Dev Comment: We recognize that Rogue has been a little too good (for a little too long) at higher ranks. The change to the Gnoll/Maestra interaction is a major change to the class intended to substantially shakeup how it looks and plays, while the Sinstone Graveyard change gives opponents more of a chance to respond to the big Rogue pop-off turns.

Final Showdown (the first phase of the Demon Hunter Questline)

Sinful Brand

Dev Comment: Demon Hunter is the other best performing class at high levels of play, so these changes are intended to adjust its power. Sinful Brand was chosen as a card to target because it punishes opponents for simply playing the game, a play pattern that we don’t like being too powerful or prevalent.

Shockspitter

Dev Comment: Hunter is the top class at most parts of the ladder. When we changed Shockspitter to 3 mana in Patch 25.0.3, we expected that it would remain powerful after that