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Does anybody know what happens exactly to the core cards once the year of the gryphon rotates? Blizzard has clearly stated that the core set is only a "loan" but does that mean that I also lose all these new cards which were given to me for free at the beginning of the year. I am talking about the new cards and not the ones from classic or wild which were recycled. Just to name a few:
I can't find a clear explanation anywhere. Honestly, it would be a bummer to have to craft cards like Taelan or Aegwynn but I don't expect much from Blizzard anyway(I think it's like 30 cards in total of which 10 are legendaries)
That's an excellent question. I feel like the brand new cards should be gifts to the players for their collection, since they aren't obtainable in any packs to speak of, anyway.
If they just take them away and say, "lol, just craft them" it'd be kind of a big finger up to everyone.
I would guess as we get closer to rotation and the new core set they'll speak of it.
From Iksar's AMA #20, he said all the cards that were specifically created for the Core set will move into wild. So we get to keep them.
My presumption (I don't think there's been confirmation) is that you'll have them as long as they remain in the Core set. Perhaps some would get moved out of Core (and Standard as a whole), but if so they'd almost surely be replaced by new free cards. I bet anything moved out of Core/Standard would need to be crafted to use in Wild.
Most of them are probably safe for now. They're only a year old, and most things have been going on a 2-year cycle. I certainly can't see Reckoning being removed. I wouldn't be shocked with, say, Illidari Inquisitor. If Bliz felt that they didn't want such a big card going face in 2022, they might remove it from Core and Standard, where if you wanted it to use in Wild you'd need to craft it. But if they did this, I'd strongly suspect that some different free big demon would replace it.
If they felt Reckoning was too boring, they might replace it with a Paladin secret they felt was stronger. You'd need to craft Reckoning if you wanted it in Wild, but you'd get a replacement secret for free.
I'd be surprised to see anything leave Core without being replaced by something else which was also free.
But it's also worth noting that churn should happen. There haven't been too many perpetual Core cards so far, and it's only been a year, but the goal is to eventually see stuff like Taelan getting swapped out (not yet, he's too new, but maybe in another two years) for some new neutral Legendary minion, maybe a 3rd round of the Dragon Aspects, and so forth. The point of a Core set like this is so that it can change. The old model of the never-changing Classic and Basic sets lead to a lot of really boring staple cards that Blizzard had to keep nerfing since they didn't feel they could remove them. Now, the structure of Core is different, and the devs could replace problematic (or just overplayed and repetitive) cards with entirely new ones, with strays from older sets which never had a place to shine (I'm looking at you, Coldara Drake), and keep the game more vibrant.
I get that the cards are free, and I will get the same amount of cards in return(or even keep them as many will probably stay in the core set). However, this way blizzard is essentially printing an extra 20-30 cards per year which players have to collect. I am not saying this is a bad thing but I feel like this increases the cost of the game yet again. Either that or the cards will be forgotten forever just like High Inquisitor Whitemane or Natalie Seline were.
Just like you said I would like them to just use a base of classic cards and sprinkle in some interesting wild cards. That would be way more interesting than having these filler cards added each year.
This isn't mentioned anywhere in that article or I might be looking over it
It was confirmed by Alec Dawson (@GW_Alec) in Iksar's Hearthstone AMA that all the cards created for the Core set, like the ones mentioned by OP, will be moved to wild when they rotate out.
The Core Set is rotating every year: “[…] the Core Set will be refreshed each year. At the end of every (Hearthstone) year, a new Core Set will take the place of the previous, comprised of new and existing cards.”
https://www.bluetracker.gg/hearthstone/topic/us-en/23620129-introducing-the-core-set-and-classic-format/
I saw it on an old HearthstoneTopDecks post for Iksar's AMA #20 and then I found the actual tweet. He guesses WIld, and then Alec Dawson confirms it in the replies. https://twitter.com/AJz77x/status/1412963012592422914?s=20
From the Q/A summary:
"Core Set cards created specifically for Core Set (e.g. Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, Taelan Fordring, Reckoning etc.) will simply rotate out to Wild when removed from the Core Set – they won’t fully disappear from the game."
But will we get to keep them? I think that's the main question here.
Since they were pretty clear about how the core set works as a temporary addition to your collection and any wild cards that were brought back to the core set that you didn't already own will be gone again after the rotation... it serves to suggest that the new cards created for the core set will also disappear from your collection.
They may still exist, but we'd have to craft them if we want to use them in wild?
Yes to keep using them you'd have to craft them or open them in those new 'Wild' packs
Well, I've already stated how I feel about that, if that's really how it'll work out.
... something something greedy company.
Why would they compensate you for something you never paid for, never crafted?
They've always been very clear that Core cards were "on loan" only, and they would not remain in your collection after they rotate out. Squatter's rights do not apply to virtual cards in a video game.
On the bright side, it's a fun new way for Wild players to feel persecuted even though they should have known what they were getting into.
"Why, you never expected justice from a company, did you? They have neither a soul to lose nor a body to kick." -- Lady Saba Holland
I mean, if we're being pedantic it's not a big finger up to everyone, just to the wild playerbase. Not like standard players will miss cards they can't possibly use.
I am pretty sure you will lose them (since you don't own them, because you never crafted them or unpacked them or acquired them through achievments or such), and you can then craft them if you want to use them in Wild.
I don’t understand the logic behind saying players “have to collect” these rotating cards. If you FEEL like you have to collect them that’s your prerogative but we are not required to acquire them all in any way, even in Wild. There’s no reason to craft any of them unless you want to experiment with them or they become relevant in the meta, which shouldn’t be breaking anyone’s bank or dust reserves.
I didn't make my point clearly, I guess. Since only some of each core set will rotate in and out each year, and some will be comprised of existing cards, I'd guess that most of the new creation cards like Taelan and the revised Dragon Aspects will probably stick around for two years or more until replaced, unless they're far too ubiquitous and strong.
The fact that there is a yearly core rework is a different topic entirely to the question of what we expect will move in and out in any particular year. I'd guess that there'll be changes in a lot of staple spells. Which secrets you have, which AOE clears, which single-target burn and removal. Particularly among stuff that had existed before the creation of Core.
With the new legendary minions, I bet the devs want these cards to have a bit more time.
Last part first: Adding new cards for core is a lot more interesting, since it's new cards, and not just old cards. I'd hate to never see new stuff like Taelan in core, just because it might rotate to wild one day and someone might have to craft something they'd previously had for free. That's a really bad reason not to have new cards added to core.
I'd also disagree with "increases the cost of the game." I suppose it increases the cost of being a 100% completion Wild collector, but that's not most folks. Many don't play wild. Many who play wild don't collect every single card, just the ones they want to play. The cost hasn't gone up for most players. Cards "which players have to collect" is an extreme way of phrasing things, as well as inaccurate. A player who only plays Standard has seen no cost increase at all, and has nothing extra to collect. Core is free in Standard, and if it's no longer in Core, it isn't in Standard.
Adding cards like Taelan or the revised Dragon aspects to expansions rather than Core doesn't make things cheaper, either. That'd only make things more expensive, since you'd need to collect them from packs to play them at all, instead of having a year or few of getting them for free as part of the Core rotation.