This balance patch was hyped up to be all about nerfs and buffs for both Constructed Hearthstone and Battlegrounds, so we didn't hold our breath for much else. Luckily, it seems like Team 5 was able to throw at least a handful of small updates for Duels aficionados! 

The only major news here are the buffs for the newest Hero addition of Darius Crowley, who has been pretty much underperforming all across the board. Based on the earlier communication by the Modes crew, we've known some upgrades are coming; we just didn't know when. 

Darius Crowley Card Image Cannon Card Image

The balance patch is already live - it's also 'data-only', with mobile clients able to start downloading straight away from within the game rather than having to wait for their storefront's approval. And as for the very short list of all announced changes: 

Quote From Blizzard

Duels Updates

  • Brittle Bones now only triggers if an enemy minion is destroyed with a spell.
  • Killmox, the Banished One is now counted as an Imp.
  • Darius Crowley’s “Fire!” hero power reduced from 2 mana to 1 mana.
  • Darius Crowley’s “Fire at Thee!” hero power reduced from 3 mana to 2 mana.
  • Darius Crowley’s “Grizzled Reinforcement” signature treasure reduced from 6 mana to 5 mana.

Fire! Card Image Fire at Thee! Card Image Grizzled Reinforcement Card Image

Bug Fixes

  • Removed Duels Achievements based on heroes not in the game.

Guess one nerf to Brittle Bones just wasn't enough. And that not-really-a-proper-tribe-yet of Imps is slowly taking over the game! Killmox had a Demon tag up until now, so this changes some things.

Brittle Bones Card Image Killmox, the Banished One Card Image

The final 'bug fix' note refers to a couple of other heroes known to us from the Monster Hunt solo adventure (where Crowley also originates from), who might've spoiled what's to come in the future.


Do you think that's going to be enough for Darius Crowley to be able to compete with other Duels powerhouses?