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Hearthstone Patch 37.0.2 Reins In C'Thun and Warlock, Buffs the Other Old Gods

OFFICIAL Written by GPN · Nov 7, 2026, 5:04 PM ET · Hearthstone · Gaming

Hearthstone's latest balance patch is live, and it takes direct aim at the Old God that has been running the metagame. Patch 37.0.2 shifts power away from the cards that summon C'Thun early and into C'Thun itself, while reining in Warlock and giving the other Old Gods room to breathe.

Standard

C'Thun, Eye of the Empire now quadruples its abilities once all four have triggered, up from tripling them, making the late-game payoff bigger than before. To pay for that, the cards that feed it early all get weaker: M.O.T.H.E.R. costs 10 mana instead of 9, Wrath of C'Thun deals 6 damage split among enemies instead of 7, Domain of C'Thun grants +2/+2 instead of +2/+3, and Servants of C'Thun summons 2/2 Fanatics instead of 2/3.

Warlock takes several hits as the strongest C'Thun user. Godfather Kazakus's Spurious Shiv now grants +2/+2 instead of +3/+3, Criminal Contract summons 2-Cost minions instead of 3-Cost, Sentenced for Smuggling steals one card instead of two, Ritual of Summoning summons 2/4 C'thraxxi instead of 3/5, Bat Mask can now only copy non-Legendary minions, and Divergence costs 7 mana instead of 5. Unstable Prototype now gives minions in hand +1 Attack instead of +1/+1, Priest's Reach Equilibrium quest needs 6 Holy and 6 Shadow spells instead of 4 each, Sawbones moves to 6 mana as a 6/3, and Egg of Khelos loses its Taunt, reverting an earlier buff.

The buffs focus on the Old Gods that have been living in C'Thun's shadow. Tinker drops to 1 mana, Flamespitter becomes a 3/2, Grafted Knight gains a triple Blood Rune and becomes a 3/4, Dark Deacon triggers after a single Shadow spell, Elder Word: Manifest summons two 3/4 Voidwings with Lifesteal, Setesh drops to 6 mana as a 6/6, Decimation costs 5, Aqir Swarmer becomes a 4 mana 5/4 whose Larvae cost 0, Aqir Goliath draws two cards, and Y'Shaarj, Titan Bane drops to 9 mana.

Cards changed in this patch are eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks. Spawn of C'Thun will also be refundable, but only starting with Patch 37.2, because a bug is keeping it from being refundable in this patch.

Wild

Wild gets targeted fixes for its most frustrating combos. Reincarnate can no longer target Legendary minions, Kobold Illusionist now summons a minion from hand and sets it to 1/1, and Mysterious Visitor reduces the cost of copied cards by 2 instead of 3. The draw questlines get slower: Final Showdown needs 5 cards drawn in a turn instead of 4, while Gain Momentum and Close the Portal need 6 instead of 5. Battle at the End Time itself is unchanged, but Sir Finley, Sea Guide, Plot Twist and Gaslight Gatekeeper no longer progress the empty-your-hand part of its quest.

Arena

Arena drafting gets a rebalance. Kith'ix leaves the draft pool entirely. Ritual of Summoning, Eyemaul, Watch Over, Bygone Echoes for Death Knight, G'huun, Fleshshape, Cryofrozen Champion and Lightning Reflexes all show up less often, while Midnight Wolf, Tentacle Lash, Kobold Miner for Mage and Rogue, Burrow Buster for Rogue and Mage, Aetherial Kindling, Deathblossom, Curious Grimlynx, Dark Deacon and Tank Regiment appear more. The aim is to pull back Warlock, Shaman and Death Knight, the current top performers, and lift Druid, Demon Hunter, Priest, Rogue, Mage and Hunter.

Battlegrounds

Battlegrounds trims its strongest types and props up its weakest. Expert Aviator is removed and Murcules returns. Living Azerite drops to +3/+3 for Elementals, and the dominant Murloc combination of Expert Aviator, Diremuck Forager and Bile Spitter is broken up. Dark Gifts are rebalanced so holding them is more viable: early-game options Fresh Perspective and Toughened Shield are weaker, while mid- and late-game options Hostility, Resistance and Incubation are stronger, and Discover picks on turns 7 to 9 now guarantee at least two minions of your most common type.

Event cards

The event cards Arrival of the Old Gods, Arrival of the Titans and Dark Terraforming arrive early. From today's patch, they can be obtained by owning an Escape from Violet Hold pack, instead of waiting for the usual automatic grant window.

Facts gathered from

• Blizzard News

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