The Tumults events have just ended and results will be revealed next Thursday. As we approach the end of the season and the start the Reveal Season for the next set — it's also time to unveil the contents of the new patch.

We know how highly anticipated this patch is, and, as always, we’re taking the opportunity to share our observations with you on the current state of the metagame.

While it’s undeniable that Sigismar in particular has held a prominent place at the heart of the metagame in recent months, closely followed by Afanas, they haven’t prevented many other decks from existing and performing across the hundreds of competitions held around the world (and of course on Board Game Arena).

As you’ll see with the Tumult results, every faction has had its moment in the spotlight, each claiming its fair share of victories — with the exception of our friends from Axiom, who’ve struggled more than we would have liked.

• With the errata to Ozma in the last mid-season patch, we were glad to offer a solution for a card that was suspended, making it playable once again. However, at the same time, we also inadvertently gave Sigismar new tools — even though he already had plenty.
• The errata to Haven, Bravos Bastion (Axiom) provided some tools to Subhash and Treyst, and the card now seems to have found a welcome place in certain decks without becoming an automatic choice — a balance with which we are satisfied. However, the card’s return unfortunately wasn’t enough to bring Axiom back to the top of the metagame. We’re keeping this in mind as we wait to see the Whispers from the Maze metagame take shape.

Maintaining Altered’s competitive format is a delicate task — a careful balance between strategic equilibrium and accessibility for the widest audience.

Each suspension or errata directly impacts players’ ability to engage with the format. One of our priorities is to make the first steps into competition as smooth as possible, ensuring that changes don’t become too numerous or overly complex, to avoid discouraging newcomers.

While some adjustments may seem minor to our veteran players, they can be disorienting for those just discovering competitive play. We are constantly seeking the compromise that best serves the game’s overall health. This approach also aims to bring greater stability — essential for allowing players to invest in the game in the long-term Suspending several Unique cards might seem like a simple fix to rebalance the format, but it’s a lever we use with caution. Due to their rarity and visibility, these cards have a significant impact on player's experiences, and altering them can affect clarity and trust in the game.

We are not ruling out this option, but we are reserving it for cases where no other satisfying solution seems possible. For now, we are favoring more measured adjustments that offer better compromises in terms of accessibility.

We also pay close attention to format stability, which is essential for a positive gameplay experience. A competitive environment that changes too often or too abruptly can become difficult to follow and discouraging for highly committed players. Many of you spend hours mastering decks, fine-tuning strategies, and this forms the beating heart of our community.

By preserving stability, we allow players to invest over time, and retain confidence in the long-term value of their choices — all while ensuring the game remains welcoming and engaging for new players.

That’s why our suspension and errata decisions aim to be as targeted as possible. We favor surgical actions that effectively address imbalances while affecting as few cards as possible — especially Unique cards, whose errata are harder to follow and can raise doubts about their lasting value.

It is with this mindset that we’ve designed the adjustments presented in this patch.

If a player’s Expedition would move to the same region as that player’s other Expedition, or move to a region further from their starting region than that player’s other Expedition, the endgame procedure begins.

The timing to check if a player wins due to the Expeditions progression (or if tiebreakers should start) has changed: instead of being checked continuously, it is now only checked at the end of Night, during a new daily effect called Check Victory. During Check Victory, before starting a new Day, check if at least one player’s hero Expedition and companion Expedition have met or crossed each other.

We've received a lot of feedback about how frustrating it can be to play against Small Step, Giant Leap, and Great Endeavor. These cards could often lead to a win without giving the opponent meaningful opportunities to respond, creating play patterns that are in some cases impossible to interact with — something that goes against the spirit of Altered.

This rule change doesn’t modify the aforementioned cards, but gives you an opportunity to react when your opponent uses one of them. It also prevents weird scenarios where the winner of a game is decided by the first player token, allowing one player to play their Small Step, Giant Leap before the other player.

SUSPENDED

A large part of Sigismar’s strength comes from how easily he can play numerous low-cost, high-impact cards while still effortlessly drawing new resources. Following the errata to Ozma, we confirmed that targeting Ordis’ card advantage was the right approach, and we’re continuing in that direction with this suspension. We hope this change will push Ordis players to slightly raise their mana curve and explore new deckbuilding constraints.

We currently have several promising options for an errata to this card, but rather than choosing one right now, we prefer to first observe how the upcoming metagame evolves and then reintroduce the card in the best possible way.

SUSPENDED

The Yzmir version of Helping Hand presents several issues that are pushing us to take action:

• A win rate far too high when paired with Afanas
• An obvious inclusion during deckbuilding =
• A synergy with Afanas that's too powerful for the current metagame
• Easily replayed and abused through some of the best unique cards currently available in Yzmir

We currently have several promising options for an errata to this card, but rather than choosing one right now, we prefer to first observe how the upcoming metagame evolves and then reintroduce the card in the best possible way.

All Uniques suspended → All Uniques Unsuspended

• Errata (only for cards concerned by the texts below)
  • Erratum #1
    • BEFORE: When a Character you control gains 1 or more boosts — Create a Brassbug 2/2/2 Robot Token in target Expedition.
    • AFTER: When a non-Token Character you control gains 1 or more boosts — Create a Brassbug 2/2/2 Robot Token in my Expedition.
  • Erratum #2
    • BEFORE: When I gain 1 or more boosts — Create a Brassbug 2/2/2 Robot token in target Expedition.
    • AFTER: When I gain 1 or more boosts — Create a Brassbug 2/2/2 Robot token in my Expedition.

All Uniques suspended → All Uniques Unsuspended

• Errata (only for cards concerned by the texts below)
  • Erratum #1
    • BEFORE: When a Character you control gains 1 or more boosts — You may have target Character gain Fleeting.
    • AFTER: When a Character you control gains 1 or more boosts — You may have target Character other than me gain Fleeting.
  • Erratum #2
    • BEFORE: When I gain 1 or more boosts — You may have target Character gain Fleeting.
    • AFTER: When I gain 1 or more boosts — You may have target Character other than me gain Fleeting.

• No change: Moonlight Jellyfish (All Uniques)

• New: Baba Yaga (Ordis, Rare)

• New: Helping Hand (Yzmir, Rare)

• Baba Yaga (Ordis, Rare)
• Helping Hand (Yzmir, Rare)
• Small Step Giant Leap (All versions)
• Kadigiran Mage-Dancer (Yzmir, Common & Rare)
• Ordis Attorney (Rare)

We are aware of the power of certain unique cards, particularly those from the first set, and we will continue to monitor their impact on the metagame of the upcoming set.

We are still working on the compensation system and will provide updates as soon as possible. Any solution we come with will be retroactive.