Guys, it's this simple:
- You own a golden copy of the card = Do nothing
- You own a regular copy of the card = Do nothing EXCEPT for the common rarity (Craft Goldens, DE afterwards = 10 dust profit per card) + if you like Goldens, you can craft them at reduced cost (see below overview with calculations)
- You don't own a copy of the card = Craft golden copy/copies for "free", as you get the dust back when the expansion hits. (In case of lack of dust, craft regular copy/copies instead.)
Note1: Max dust rewarded is 1 copy per legendary, 2 copies for other rarities. Dust is granted just for your golden copies, not your regular, if you happen to own both regular and golden copies. See bottom of post for a visual overview of dust returns.
Note2: It IS possible to DE cards after the expansion hits (against regular DE value only) even though Hearthpwn news mentioned it not to be possible; http://www.hearthpwn.com/news/2247-some-classic-cards-moving-to-wild-three-expansions
There is no mention of this in the official Blizzard post; http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/20475356/a-year-of-mammoth-proportions-2-16-2017
and Ben Brode already confirmed it on twitter: https://twitter.com/bdbrode/status/832304105624178688
Note3: You WILL get the full dust rewards if you didn't own and get any of these cards after the announcement, as confirmed by Brode:
https://twitter.com/bdbrode/status/832872467836260352
https://twitter.com/bdbrode/status/832368092428726273
~
If you own the regular version, but are thinking about creating the golden versions (because you are a collector or fancy golden cards); please see below the opportunity cost. Calculations are per individual copy of the card, so multiply by the desired amount of copies to get final dust value.
Note: Essentially it's possible to craft the golden cards without loss, because you can DE them at a later stage if you'll need the dust again. If you know you'll need the dust, it's not worth the effort, as there is no dust gain except for the golden commons (10 dust each).
Ragnaros the Firelord / Sylvanas Windrunner
Don't do anything = +1600
Craft Golden = -3200+3200= 0 (i.e. crafting golden opportunity cost = 1600. Which equals the DE value = good deal)
Craft Golden, dust regular = -3200+3200+400 = +400 (i.e. replacing regular for golden opportunity cost = 1200)
Craft Golden, Dust golden = -3200 + 3200 +1600 = +1600 (i.e. Same result as doing nothing, so don't bother if you are doing it just for the dust)
Azure Drake
Don't do anything = +100
Craft Golden = -800 + 800 = 0
Craft Golden, dust regular = -800 + 800 + 20 = +20
Craft Golden, Dust Golden = -800 + 800 +100 = +100 (i.e. don't bother)
Ice Lance / Conceal / Power Overwhelming
Don't do anything = +40
Craft Golden = -400 + 400 = 0
Craft Golden, Dust regular = -400 +400 +5 = +5
Craft Golden, Dust Golden = -400 +400 +50 = +50 (i.e. easy 10 dust for people who don't care about goldens)
~
Visual Overview of Dust Returns when the expansion goes live
You need to own the cards upon login to receive the dust!
Image Credit: TheLordOfTerror (>original post<)
See http://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Crafting#Cost for a full overview of dust costs/returns.
Someone with all regular copies would get:
1600*2+100*2+40*6=3200+200+240=3640 dust
Someone with all golden copies would get:
3200*2+800*2+400*6=6400+1600+2400=10400 dust
11
Dust a bunch of classic and start over
18
Don't preorder before reveals and then complain about it. Please.
9
They should reprint dirty rat with echo
2
This is total garbage.
How the hell is this legendary? Face collector? Seriously?
3
They should give up on it. Its a horrible mechanic.
2
4
12
Not another cent on this game.
1
Blizzard: just shut up and tell me your credit card number.
1
What a bunch of buffoons.