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.
Discuss this Card
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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.
Anyone else tired of people talking about "Artifact" or "Gwent"? Join Ragnaros' Burning Crusade to purge these fanatics!
I understand that the new cards have the benefit of not rotating but being a class card, it shouldn't be completely dominated by another similar card - even from wild. As it stands, Pilfer is completely dominated by Hallucination. Blizzard should have at least added some benefit to it that Hallucination doesn't have (i.e. add a random card that costs 3 or more). In my opinion, a much better addition to Rogue would be moving Counterfeit Coin into standard.
Tome of Intellect is technically a downgraded version of Babbling Book as well, but given that it's a spell (and can be discounted via Sorcerer's Apprentice), it doesn't fit into the same exact niche and may have benefits the babbling book does not.
I would be more happy about a neutral card steal option as steady counter for combo decks, like BGH or Harrison are relevant from time to time. But so, it slows down the game more, more minion and stats interaction and less face bursting or all-time board clearing. think the classic cards are ok. Nothing to use dust for, but if drawn it is still ok.
Wild should have a monthly rotation through the sets. So you have a monthly new meta, shouldn't worry about a special combo of different sets (like Aviana+Kun+Bran+X) and don't need to nerf anything.
Additional there should be a non-competitive mode (maybe not rewarding, too) where you can use everything, no matter if you own the cards or not.
so nothing new
nice...
The only dragon I don't have is Ysera, so guaranteed Ysera for me!
Nozdormu for me, yay...
" There’s even better news! [for blizzard, obviously]. 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! [Yeah, you heard that right, now you can have one random card for 5$, isn't that great? Oh, and we're adding a new 80$ hero skin cause Mecha Jaraxxus made us sooo much money, it's amazing! ] "
I literally played once a week for the last month, just to see the new tavern and enjoy a few games with my Infinite Tess Deck, but it still bothers me when I see how Blizz is treating their customers.
Sorry if i'm too much of a hater right now, but this sounds terrible.
You get 10 packs with the 5 dollar purchase, and the skin won't be 80 dollars.
Calm yourself
So... Icicle is officially the replacement for Ice Block but in terms of functionality is the Ice Lance replacement... And in terms of effect it's a mediocre early game control tool.
Tome of Intellect is Babbling Book without the body. Plus it can give you itself...
Call of the Void is kinda nice since it can give you some really cool and/or good Demons to play with (hello, Illidan Stormrage!), but it's too inconsistent in terms of effect.
Pilfer is half a Burgle for 1/3rd of the cost.
EDIT: *insert witty comparison to Swashburglar and Hallucination here after being reminded by vNihilism*
Not a very creative bunch but they fit the core aesthetics of their respective classes and they all have nice art. So I'm not complaining about that reveal.
The one thing that does bug me is the "Tournament Mode" put on hold thing. People have been waiting for it for years now and we'll be lucky if we get it next year considering this blue post :/
Pilfer is worse than Swashburglar and Hallucination btw
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat this came out of NOWHERE!
I have all the dragons and missing only Velen in class legendaries ... crap, the old one would be better.
Rank 50 for new players? That would actually turn me off.
I climbed wild ladder as a returning player two years ago with just the Naxx set and a few classic cards. Wasn't pretty. It's probably uglier now in wild with OTK decks, even though standard is aggro garbage almost all the time.
what will you recieve, if you have all the dragons? copy?
You weren’t a new player when you returned
I remember they said something that similar to UI. It hasn't get nerfed yet....
I agree, it actually scares me that they even consider the idea of crazy powerful combos in the early game to be a thing. The late game is where things should get crazy because that's when players are able to accurately respond to the opponent's plays. A 6/6 on turn 1 is much more powerful than a 600/600 on turn 10.
Lots of fluff. Addresses none of the complaints anyone has. The only card in standard that they are looking at is Giggling because a bunch of rank 25 players on reddit think it's problematic. The new cards are objectively worse versions of cards that already don't see any play, with the 3 1 mana spells all being lazily similar. Let's not talk about the big problem in the game though aka druid. Also, looks they are back to selling hero skins. Guess Mecha Jaraxxus opened the flood gates again.
This was their chance to shake things up before artifact arrives. Looks to me like we are in this stale meta for the long haul and they left the gate wide open for the hot new thing to eat their lunch next month when the artifact beta drops. Grats Blizzard.
p.s. I don't believe they were ever working on a tournament mode and now they definitely aren't. What. A. Joke.
how much do artifact pay you to post this junk everywhere?
and the pricks have the audacity to act like it's a feature their noble souls are giving out of the kindness of their hearts.
These cards are pathetic. No effort whatsoever. Disappointing