Patch Overview
Official notes: 35.6 Patch Notes · Patch comparison: /patch-notes/242566-to-243002Patch 243002 is a season-shaping refresh: Anomalies are back, several minions rotate in and out of the pool, Blood Gem support gets new tools, and Trinkets add a new set of build-defining choices.
At a glance
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Total tracked changes | 79 |
| Added cards | 48 |
| Removed cards | 23 |
| Changed cards | 8 |
By bucket:
| Bucket | Added | Removed | Changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minions | 30 | 23 | 5 |
| Trinkets | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| Spells | 1 | 0 | 0 |
New and changed minions
New highlights
- Dead Sea Ravager (Tier 6 Pirate/Undead): Rally gives 3 other friendly minions this minion's Attack.
- Ingenious Inventor (Tier 5 Mech): Deathrattle grants your Mechs Attack this combat, scaling with Magnetize count.
- Tidecaller Prophet (Tier 5 Murloc): Your Tavern spells give extra stats this turn, and it improves after playing Murlocs.
Notable changed/returning-with-change cards
- Malchezaar, Prince of Dance moves to Tier 3 with reduced stats and Refreshes that cost Health instead of Gold.
- Dancing Barnstormer, Nomi, Kitchen Nightmare, and Unleashed Mana Surge return with stronger Elemental scaling text.
- Volcanic Visitor now offers larger Spellcraft stat options.
- Briarback Drummer and Razorfen Flapper both tie into the return of Blood Gem Barrage.
Pool rotation summary
Big returning list includes Archlich Kel'Thuzad, Barrens Conjurer, Charmwing, Greymane's Champion, Spacefarer, Upbeat Duo, and more. Removed list includes Batty Terrorguard, Floating Watcher, P-0UL-TR-0N, Ship Master Eudora, Tidemistress Athissa, and Ultraviolet Ascendant.Tavern spells and Trinkets
Tavern spell update
- Blood Gem Barrage returns to the Tavern spell pool.
New lesser Trinkets
- Rylak Portrait
- Timeworn Candelabra
- Maxwell Sticker
- Stuffed Coin Purse
- Mysterious Orb
- Minion Bait
New greater Trinkets
- Chillmere Mosaic
- Sky Golem Portrait
- Bloodbound Ring
- Vinespeaker Portrait
- Deathtouch Apple
- Soul Fermenter
- Orb of the Unknown
- Double Stitch Needle
- Sinstone Sticker
Anomalies are back
Seven new Anomalies are added, including:
- Fly the Flag
- Anomalous Cube
- Anomalous Conflux
- Anomalous Timeline
- Anomalous Expedition
- Lesser Fortune
- Greater Fortune
Timewarp update
- Timewarped Nest Swarmer returns to the Timewarp Pool.
Practical takeaway
This patch is less about small numeric tuning and more about reshaping lobby identity through hard pool changes.
- Elementals take a real hit with Living Azerite removed. It was one of the most important enablers for stable, high-cap Elemental lines.
- Beast Rally pressure is heavily reduced with both P-0UL-TR-0N removed again and Stomping Stegodon removed, which effectively deletes a full Beast pattern that relied on those pieces.
- Naga gets a cleaner but lower-ceiling profile with Tidemistress Athissa removed (it had become underpowered for a Tier 6 slot) and Waverider removed, reducing oppressive Windfury patterns on minions like Ruthless Queensguard and Seafloor Recruiter.
- Menagerie loses a flexible top-end bridge with One-Amalgam Tour Group gone, another casualty of power creep.
- Undead/tempo hybrid lines are trimmed with Sinrunner Blanchy removed, which slightly nerfs boards that often abused spell scaling like Back to Back.
At the same time, several archetypes get meaningful life:
- Beetle scaling Beasts are back via returns like Forest Rover, Turquoise Skitterer, and Silky Shimmermoth.
- AOE self-damage Demons return with Lord of the Ruins and Silent Enforcer, reviving that board-wide scaling identity.
- Pirates gain a late-game angle with Spacefarer returning, potentially shifting the tribe away from "economy now, pivot later" into a comp that can better compete for top-end fights.