Patch 7.1.0.17720

Patch 7.1.0.17720 is a Hearthstone patch released February 28, 2017. It is a medium patch, bringing the pre-order of Journey to Un'Goro, preparations for 2017 Standard format rotation and several card changes.

Patch notes

 * This update begins preparations for the Year of the Mammoth celebration that kicks off at the end of March.
 * Pre-purchase for Journey to Un'Goro, Hearthstone’s latest expansion, is now available! You can pre-purchase 50 card packs and get the Fossil card back for $49.99 USD.

Ranked Play

 * Upon achieving certain milestones in Ranked Play, it will no longer be possible to lose ranks beyond those milestones for that season. The milestones are Rank 20, 15, 10, 5, and Legend.

Arena

 * Creating decks for the Arena will now feature Standard cards only. Arena runs that were started prior to the patch will still include Wild cards.
 * Rares, Epics, and Legendaries will be offered more frequently during Arena deckbuilding.
 * Spells will now show up with a higher frequency.
 * Neutral Basic / Classic cards will appear less often.
 * If you own a Golden version of a card, the first copy you draft will be Golden. If you own multiple Golden copies of a card, all copies you draft will be Golden.

Balance Updates

 * Small-Time Buccaneer's health reduced from 2 to 1.
 * The mana cost of Spirit Claws increased from 1 to 2.

General

 * Added some memory optimizations.
 * Improved matchmaking for new players.
 * We are testing an update to the account creation process for mobile players. This will minimize the overhead associated with creating a new Battle.net account, and will be available in limited release.
 * Maximum in-game music volume has been capped in order to retain the best audio quality.
 * [Android] We made some optimizations to Android distribution, allowing for a smaller install size and smoother patching in the future.

Bug Fixes

 * Resolved inconsistencies in the way that Small-time Buccaneer's Attack interacts with effects such as those generated by Humility, Keeper of Uldaman, and Crazed Alchemist.
 * Resolved an issue where a Kazakus potion spell cards could appear blank when copied by a minion or spell effect.
 * Knuckles will now correctly use its effect when under the effects of Misdirection.
 * Addressed an issue with the interaction of Wrath's card draw timing in conjunction with Daring Reporter.
 * Snipe will now correctly trigger after Potion of Polymorph.
 * Djinni of Zephyrs will now correctly copy spells buffed by spell damage.
 * Bouncing Blade will now correctly continue bouncing after clearing a Divine Shield.
 * Resolved an issue where seasonal reward cards could take a while to show up in the Collection Manager.
 * Searching the Collection Manager with a class name will now correctly display Tri-Class cards.
 * Resolved issues that could slow or stop payment authentication when using the in-game Shop.
 * Fixed many minor visual issues and some card text inconsistencies.

Undocumented changes

 * A number of cards have had their wording changed for consistency:
 * Mistress of Mixtures changed from "Deathrattle: Restore 4 Health to both players." to "Deathrattle: Restore 4 Health to each hero."
 * Demonwrath changed from "Deal 2 damage to all non-Demon minions." to "Deal 2 damage to all minions except Demons."
 * Celestial Dreamer changed from "Battlecry: If a friendly minion has 5 or more Attack, gain +2/+2." to "Battlecry: If you control a minion with 5 or more Attack, gain +2/+2."
 * Redemption changed from "Secret: When one of your minions dies, return it to life with 1 Health." to "Secret: When a friendly minion dies, return it to life with 1 Health."
 * Mistress of Pain changed from "Whenever this minion deals damage, restore that much Health to your hero." to "Damage dealt by this minion also heals your hero."
 * Captain's Parrot changed from "Battlecry: Put a random Pirate from your deck into your hand." to "Battlecry: Draw a Pirate from your deck."


 * "Destroy any minion damaged by this minion" mechanic has been renamed to Poisonous in preparation for the Journey to Un'Goro expansion. Old cards that has that effect have been rewritten:
 * Pit Snake
 * Patient Assassin
 * Emperor Cobra
 * Maexxna


 * Several Tavern Brawl cards have been added:
 * Smuggle, Construct Golem, Brew Potion, Rock Candy, Pelt, Party Crasher, Something in the Punch, Party Supplies, Fruit Plate, Like a Sore Thumb, Noise Complaint, Party Barracks, Party Armory, Happy Partygoer, Party Banner, Ornery Partygoer
 * A few Tavern Brawl cards have been changed:
 * Grobbulus (An Evil Exchange) and Fallout Slime (An Evil Exchange) now reference "Poisonous"
 * Necromancy appears to have had its text changed from "Resurrect a random friendly minion that died this game." to "Add a random Naxxramas minion to your hand."


 * The following card backs has been added:
 * Year of the Kraken – Acquired at the end of the month by reaching Rank 20 or higher in Ranked Play mode during the month of March 2017.
 * Fossil – Acquired by pre-purchasing Journey to Un'Goro.


 * As announced one week prior to this patch, the likelihood of Flamestrike and Abyssal Enforcer being offerend in an Arena draft is reduced by 50%.


 * Chromaggus now correctly generates a copy when King's Elekk's Battlecry activates.