New Classic Cards Coming to Hearthstone, Tournaments On Hold, Halloween, New Welcome Bundle, New Paladin Hero
Hearthstone is getting some big updates soon! Check out everything that is coming in the coming months including new classic cards!
- Blizzard is currently happy with the meta. They are keeping their eyes on Giggling Inventor
- Mages, Warlocks, and Rogues are getting new classic cards to fill in holes. These are brand new cards.
- New ranks are being added for new players only. New players will start at rank 50.
- Tournament Mode has been put on hold.
- Fireside Gatherings will have more brawls to choose from.
- The Welcome Bundle is returning but instead of giving class legendaries, it includes one of six classic dragon legendaries.
- If you previously purchased the welcome bundle, you can buy it again.
- Hallow's End returns October 17th with Dual Class Arena like last year.
- A new Paladin Hero will be available through a special deal, arriving during Hallow's End. The hero is "Sir Annoy-O".
- According to art on the press site, it looks like you may get Sir Annoy-O with a special purchase of 20 Witchwood packs. Not confirmed.
This is one time where you really don't want to skip the annnoucement post, so read that down below.
New Cards
Four new cards are being added to the Classic set in a future update. We've got dedicated discussion threads for each one.
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Blog Post
Quote from DaxxarriWelcome to Hearthstone’s first In the Works update. Here we’re giving you a brief look at what’s coming in the next few months for Hearthstone—game updates and events, esports, and more!
There’s a lot to talk about, so read on to find out what’s in store.
Game Updates
The State of the MetaWe’ve seen the meta-game start to stabilize in the wake of The Boomsday Project’s release. Decks like Odd Warrior, Odd Paladin, Token Druid, Tempo Mage, Taunt Druid, Zoo Warlock, Quest Rogue, Secret Hunter, Even Paladin, Deathrattle Hunter, and Even Warlock, have all been top performers.
While those decks stand out from the pack slightly, there are effective decks from every class. Evolve Shaman and Combo Priest have both seen success, for example.
Overall we’re happy with the excellent diversity of decks we’re seeing at all levels of Ranked Play.
Cards to WatchGiggling Inventor is hugely popular and shows up in a lot of decks. We intended for Giggling Inventor to be powerful because we’ve found that having powerful neutral Taunt minions tends to make games more interesting. We’ve seen that with cards like Sludge Belcher and Tar Creeper in the past. Cards that fulfill this role need to be strong to get that job done, but there’s a line where they might be too good.
We aren’t planning any changes to Giggling Inventor for now, but we’re keeping an eye on it in the meantime. We’d like to know what you think.
Wild BalanceThere’s been an ongoing discussion within the team regarding how Wild should play. Right now, Wild feels somewhat like Standard but with an elevated power level and a vast library of cards. Should Wild live up to its name more, where we allow really crazy and powerful combos to happen, even in the early game? Generally, it’s harder for any one strategy to be dominant in Wild since everything is so powerful and everyone has access to so many tools, but do we want those strategies to exist? We know that there are players who would prefer to have a mode that offers that kind of gameplay.
There’s also the point to consider that the reason to have multiple modes in Hearthstone is for them to play differently, so there are downsides to trying to put the reins on Wild too much. But we also recognize that there might be decks like Naga Sea Witch that become too prevalent and simply aren’t fun to play against.
We’d love to hear your opinions about what you want from Wild. What do you think of how it is now, and what’s the role you see for it in the future of Hearthstone?
New Classic CardsIf you’ve been playing Hearthstone for a while, then you already know that with each new Hearthstone year, we’ve chosen certain cards to rotate out of the Standard format. Some of those cards have been part of the Classic format, which is usually an evergreen part of the Standard format.
A few of the cards that left Standard were Class cards, but we want each Class to have a roughly equal number of cards available in the Classic set. To accomplish that, we’re adding four all-new cards to fill the gap.
Here are the new Class cards being added to the Classic set. You’ll be able to craft them or open them in Classic card packs next month:
When designing these cards we are thinking about new players’ first experiences playing Hearthstone. They should be relatively straightforward while still creating some exciting moments. They also give players a chance to see and play with cards that they don't own. At the same time it’s important that they aren’t so powerful that they limit future design or cause problems (since they’ll be in Standard for longer than 2 years.)
Looking forward, we expect more cards to join the Hall of Fame. There are also still some gaps in Classic where neutral Legendary cards joined the Hall of Fame, so we’re considering adding some new cards to the Classic set in the future.
New Player Experience ImprovementsEven at Rank 25, competition in the Tavern can be fierce, especially if you’ve never played Hearthstone before. We’d like to ease new players into the fray a little more gently, so we’re taking some steps toward improving the new player experience. Here’s what newcomers to the Hearthstone tavern can expect to find:
New players will start at Rank 50. Ranks 50 through 26 will be for new players only, and just like ranks 25 through 20, you can’t lose Stars while ranking up. Once a player achieves Rank 25, they’ll never drop below that rank again. We hope this gives players who are new to Hearthstone a little more time to get used to the Tavern, and we’ll also be giving them a few free gifts along the way to help them get up to speed. If you’re an experienced player making an additional account, there will be an option to skip the New Player Experience (and some loot, so consider carefully!) so you can get back into the competition faster. There are a few more details that we’ll provide in the future, but that’s the gist of it!
In-game Tournaments UpdateEarlier this year we talked about adding a new feature to Hearthstone that would make it easier to organize tournaments for Fireside Gatherings and private events. The team has been working on this feature for some time, and it was originally slated to arrive this year. Unfortunately, In-game Tournaments are now on hold, so we wanted to take this opportunity to explain why.
We have a lot of plans to improve many features of Hearthstone, including its social experience, and In-game Tournaments are an important part of that. Tournaments can serve many different audiences, but the implementation we’d arrived at catered to a very specific audience of players. Instead of broadening Hearthstone with an exciting new way to play, it felt “tacked on”, and wasn’t integrating well into the larger Hearthstone experience.
Ultimately, we were forced to conclude that we needed to think about how and where we want to improve Hearthstone’s overall social experience before we can tackle adding a satisfying and robust implementation of In-game Tournaments that all players can enjoy. As developers, sometimes we have to make the difficult decision to step away from a design that isn’t working. We no longer felt that the end result would deliver on everyone’s expectations or the high standards we have for Hearthstone.
As a result, while we want to revisit In-Game Tournaments at a later date, the feature is on hold for the foreseeable future.
Fireside GatheringsIf you’ve never attended a Fireside Gathering, or organized one of your own, you’re missing one of the most fun ways to enjoy Hearthstone with friends! They’re more fun than ever—including private events in your own home—so drop by the Fireside Gatherings site and check it out.
Innkeepers are soon going to have even more options to spice up their events. It was already possible to experience Fireside Brawls (Tavern Brawls that can only be experienced at Fireside Gatherings), and now they’ll have a whole menu of Brawls to choose from to offer their attendees. In addition to the rotating monthly Fireside Brawl, Innkeepers will be able to select one additional Fireside Brawl from a curated library of brawls that their patrons will have access to during their Fireside Gathering.
EsportsThe 2018 HCT Fall Championship is coming mid-October! Watch it live on stream or live in-person at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles.
It’s going to be a thrilling event to witness, and if you can be there live, it gets even better! You’ll get to meet Hearthstone developers, enjoy pick-up tournaments on-site, snap up cool stuff like Hearthstone and Blizzard Arena merchandise and earn the Thrill of Victory card back just for attending!
You can get your tickets here. Get them fast before they sell out as seating is limited!
Welcome Bundle’s Roaring ReturnOkay, it never left, but it IS getting a majestic make-over. It will still offer 10 Classic card packs at a very low price (great time to try to pick up those new Classic Class cards!), but instead of a random Class Legendary card, it will now include one of six Legendary dragons from the Classic set: Alexstrasza, Deathwing, Malygos, Nozdormu, Onyxia, or Ysera!
There’s even better news! What could be better than dragons, you ask? Even if you’ve purchased the Welcome Bundle before, you’ll be able to grab this one too!
Upcoming Game Events
Hallow’s End
The Headless Horseman returns for another spooktacular Hallow’s End event starting October 17! Just like last year, the Tavern will be decked out in horrific fashion, the dual Class Arena returns, and you’ll face the Headless Horseman in the Tavern Brawl. In the spirit of the season, we’re tossing a few more treats in the bag this year, and we’ll let you know all about them as the Headless Horseman’s return draws nigh.
Hallow’s End also marks the arrival of a friendly new Paladin Hero who will be available for purchase as a part of a special deal!
And that’s what’s In the Works for Hearthstone! Thanks for joining us, and we look forward to hearing what you think, so let us know on social media, or in the comments below.
Totally agree. Also, I hate this - Hey, but this is for new players! I remember being a new player. I loved SYNERGIES. I played murlocs in every class, I played all available pirates. I playedTotemic Might [/card]and [card]ancestral healing in my Bloodlust deck with Violet Teacher and other stuff like that. I wouldn't put any of those in my decks.
What kind of interesting decks new player can build with those new cards? Murloc Raider is a very bad card and yet it is interesting to build murloc deck (Some may say that even new players netdeck... first it isn't entirely true, seconds netdeckers, even ones that go for budget decks, won't touch those 4 cards anyway). What is exciting in "get a random demon"? Do they really think that chance to play a card that isn't in your collection is that important for new players?
so can i buy both bundles, or is the dragon one replacing the class legendary one?
You can buy the class legendary one now before the dragon one appears. Once it does appear, I think the class legendary one is gone
THOSE NEW CARDS ARE AAAAAWFUL LMAO. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!?!?
That's sort of the point. They want to keep the power-level of evergreen cards low, as they can't be reigned in by set rotations (or, if you're cynical, to encourage expansion pack sales).
I don't know, don't replace broken stuff with more broken stuff.
There's another option besides game-breaking OP and trash-tier unplayable cards. Or at least, there should be. If every card released is either pre-nerf Undertaker or Magma Rager in terms of power levels, this game is fucked.
Blizzard don't want cards that have any chance to become opresive options, i think is the rigth move here, you know, if the cards arenn¡t good enough or are just bad, they wont see play, and that happens every single expansion. The main diference is cards in this post have more chance to be play cause they'll never rotate out. Is almost imposible have a good reason to rotate out this ones
This is the equivalent of doing absolutely nothing. I'm not going to congratulate them for not breaking the game. Why add cards at all if they are so bad they will never see competitive play? You say they have a chance to see play because they don't rotate, but why would a 1 mana add a random card spell ever fit in a competitive deck? Cards like swashburglar and hallucinate saw play because they weren't just "add a random card to your hand". Swashburglar had a body, hallucinate had discover. These cards are totally useless and are just token "we're trying" gestures by blizzard, except they aren't trying and it's very obvious, this is only fooling gullible idiots.
but those cards rotates, and, if new cards break the game, we'll still have people complaining and asking for nerfs, this cards should not make problems in ladder, what is the point replacing broken stuff with more broken stuff?. It also has no sense. I prefer cards that could do something in the future but no destroy the meta. If you hate the cards, well, don't play them, are just an epic a 3 f***cking commons. Is not like this should make a change as an entire expansion has to do
They should not make problems for ladder because they won't be played in ladder. Ever. They basically don't exist. They will not do anything meaningful in the future. There will never be a competitive deck that is improved by adding these cards. You can quote me on that later if I'm somehow proven wrong, but I won't be.
I am not saying the cards should be broken. There is a LOT of room between being totally useless fluff (these cards) and broken. These cards are basically someone asking "what cards can we make that nobody will play but will make it look like we're working on the classic set?" Answer the question: why do these cards exist? There is no good reason. It's equivalent to adding a 1 mana 2/1 do nothing like a murloc raider. Yeah it's a "new" card, but who is ever going to use it? Nobody.
That's wrong, they'll do decent in arena (well, i'm not sure icicle but the other 3), and they'll apear from random spell generation and discover effects, make strong spells for mage make's glyph and spell discoveries stronger for mages, make a good burgle card for rogue means a swashburglar 2.0, And the warlock one, well, that could have an annoy pount, cause random deamons are usually bad there is no card that made the cut in that appart.
You can't thinc the card just by it self, you need to think what could it be with others.
Glyph is good because you control what you get to some extent. Swashburglar is good because it has a 1/1 body attached to it and at one point pulled out patches before they nerfed him in to the ground. The mage card is babbling book without the body. Yes it's just a 1/1 but that was a big reason why people played it in the first place. Card slots in constructed are valuable. None of these cards should make the cut in any viable deck. I think you're the one not thinking about the full context of the cards.
And again I reiterate - why these cards? Why now? What problem are they addressing (not what problem does blizzard claim they are addressing, but what do they ACTUALLY address?)?
well, add a good average card to glyph poll is not a good idea,
And why now?, cause they wanted, and people asked for blizzard to do that, now they does it, and people keeps complaining, if the card were good has more chances to be opresive at some point and people would compain about then anyways, now people complains about them cause are bad, pople just would complain about the cards if this happend now or in the future, so better do it and let it pass.
to all of the people saying "these cards will never see competitive play", these cards would never see "fun" play either, let alone competitive. They're literally worse than the basic cards that come with the game like Oasis Snapjaw. The rogue one is literally just Hallucination, which is a card that already exists, but it's objectively worse and less fun in every situation, when Hallucinationdoesn't even see play in standard...
They have suspended the tournament-mode and the excuse (reason) for it is lame. I've been waiting for this mode, from the very first first day, i started the Game.
Ladder is so annoying, i want top play more than one Deck per Battle. Ladder is a coinflip between good and bad matchup.
I feel like adding a few noob ranks is a good idea,but 25 of them feels like way too much especially if you need 5 stars like the regular ranks. I get that new players need some time and experience before they get smashed by someone looking for their 5 wins but this feels like babying. I would think around 10 ranks would be sufficient. It may even put some people off because they have to choose between a mega grind to get rewards that they need or to play for rank position. Also what about new players who have already just started? Will they get screwed because they started a month too late? Lots of questions and we need more info
1. They're only adding 25 new ranks for new players, not 50.
2. Low ranks are very fast to rank through, especially with winstreaks, it should take a few hours on average.
when i started hearthstone it took me the entire month to get past those 5 ranks and get to rank 20.
Quick question: if you have all classic legendary dragons will you get a golden version or just an extra copy?