Eternals—

Get ready for a pretty big Hotfix, chock-full of improvements and bug-fixes to fine-tune your Eternal experience. First things first, Buffmas has come early! When we nerf a card due to its performance in Expedition, that can often push it out of Throne as well. We want to take this opportunity to revert a bunch of changes for cards that are no longer in Expedition and might be fun additions to the Throne metagame. 

• Phoenix Stone costs 2 to activate (was 3)
• Soulfire Drake to 5FFF (was 6FFF)
• Helena, Skyguide to 3/4 and +3/+4 (was 3/3 and +1/+1)
• Scalesworn Patrol gains Inscribe
• Vine Tangler costs 7 to activate (was 9)
• Slumbering Stone now plays the 2/2 Gargoyle on Entomb (was draw a 2/2 Gargoyle)
• Heart of the Vault to 6/6 (was 5/5)
• Acclaimed Artisan to Mastery 4 (was Mastery 6)
• The Bandit Queen to 3/3 (was 3/2)
• Eremot’s Machinations to 5TS (was 6TTSS)
• The Merriest Mandrake to 0/4 (was 0/3)

However, alongside these joyous buffs, there is one particular card that’s been causing some problems of late. Spire Shadows has always been an interesting buildaround, but a dangerous and often uninteractive amount of cost reduction. The recent addition of the Recruit mechanic has pushed the deck to high popularity. While its win rate has remained relatively average due to weak aggro matchups, it preys heavily on midrange decks and has been reducing variety in the Throne metagame. 

• Spire Shadows becomes a Relic with “Once per turn, when you draw a unit with higher cost than Strength, swap them.

We experimented with a variety of changes, but just increasing the cost or making it a relic pushed the deck even more towards trying to set up a big combo turn without giving the opponent a chance to interact. This version maintains the low cost to start benefiting early, but increases counterplay and limits Recruit and Market shenanigans. Note that multiple copies in play trigger separately, so having three will swap the first three appropriate units you draw each turn.

Note: As Spire Shadows was only available through the set, Shadow of the Spire set, we are giving a one-time grant of 1,250 gold to users who purchased the set. Users that purchased the premium versions of the set will receive an additional 1,250 gold. Users will, of course, keep all their copies of the cards.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed an issue where The Hermit’s Triumph did not play VFX to the chosen units
• Fixed an issue where The Hermit’s Triumph could return a unit to the previous owner when you sacrificed one of them early
• Fixed an issue where some abilities that count things in the void did not immediately update after Devour effects
• Fixed an issue where some Devour cards’ superhinting didn’t update when new targets became present
• Fixed an issue where some abilities that count relics in the void didn’t update when a unit-equipped Versatile weapon entered the void
• Fixed an issue where Aerial Suppression could retain double damage when Flying units were removed from play
• Fixed an issue where Eris, Apex Slayer’s Renown could bypass Aegis
• Fixed an issue where Nomnom, Epic Epicure could die when discarding Poacher’s Menagerie
• Fixed an issue where Mystical Shackles’ summon could trigger twice when played from the void
• Fixed an issue where Bounty Board had no VFX and could sometimes trigger and resolve in the middle of combat animations
• Fixed an issue where Bounty Board was not triggered by Killer attacks
• Fixed an issue where Eyes of the Hermit didn’t reveal the top card of your deck when played by Recruit. 
• Fixed an issue where Hunts caused by Living Reflection could bypass Aegis in certain scenarios
• Fixed an issue where Reeking Troublemaker could prevent units from blocking if killed/silenced/transformed in response to its summon
• Fixed an issue where a stolen Ossuar Longbow would not gain armor from Hunting
• Fixed an issue where Cirt, Prime Deserter instantly died when created directly into play
• Fixed an issue where Cunning Plan’s sacrifice did not trigger Renown on your unit
• Fixed an issue where Cunning Plan’s sacrifice occurred after the enemy response window instead of before
• Fixed an issue where Tight-Lipped prevented Cunning Plan from sacrificing a unit
• Fixed an issue where Destiny units targeted by Altruistic Bonepicker or Against the Odds could keep their damage after dying
• Fixed an issue where Strip for Parts could not play Bloodrite Kalis
• Fixed an issue where Veli, Always Watching’s Bolster ability played VFX for the larger debuff first when doubled by Fiera, on the Frontlines
• Fixed an issue where Devour units could still buff themselves if they were killed in response. The Devour will still destroy cards if possible.
• Fixed an issue where Embargo Officer didn’t prevent Information Leak’s discard
• Fixed an issue where Voice of the Speaker did not grant Echo to power cards that were created and drawn
• Fixed an issue where Heirloom Blade could be partially played with 2-5 power and only shifted units in play
• Fixed an issue where Kosul Elite didn’t grant Fast to Versatile weapons
• Fixed an issue where Martyr’s Chains didn’t trigger unless there was at least one unit before a unit is created at the end of the turn
• Fixed an issue where Dizo’s Racket did not properly apply Lifesteal from relic weapons
• Fixed an issue where Blood of Makkar did not offer a response window when played
• Fixed an issue where some ongoing void-binding abilities did not update when stolen
• Fixed an issue where Vara, Decisive Action could be sacrificed by Vara, Death’s Master
• Fixed an issue where Can’t Remember showed the enemy deck when they had Aegis

Improvements:

• Updated Fang Trap’s functionality so that the Bolster debuff can stack correctly with existing damage on the unit. It now grants a permanent debuff to the cursed unit, rather than modifying the curse’s ongoing debuff amount.
• Updated Vulk’s Heart so that it can play a Vulk with 0 or less health if the +2/+2 will get Vulk above 0 health
• Streamlined VFX for all spells with Unleash to play faster, especially Growth Spurt
• Removed outdated Black Market hangers on Rime Conclave Smuggler and Fearless Crescendo
• Updated spell-negating abilities like Numbing Cold to not trigger against spells that cannot be negated

---

[Updates] 12/13/2023 Hotfix Notes

Eternals—

We have a mini list of fixes to add to the Buffmas Patch. Consider it a nice envelope among the ornaments.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed an issue where Cunning plans couldn’t be played unless you had a valid unit to sacrifice.
• Removed an extra VFX when playing Cunning Plans.
• Fixed a prompt when playing Generosity.
• Fixed an issue with Heirloom Blade preventing it from triggering renown.

Happy Playing!