Hearthpwn

Standard Play Clarifications

We've got official Blizzard confirmations on Standard Play and other questions everyone has had. Some confirmations may reiterate what is already available in the massive FAQ but were worth mentioning.

Quote from Blizzard

Adventures

If i get a new Naxxramas wings AFTER the update would i still be able to disenchant those cards?
Yes. In fact, you'll be able to disenchant or craft *any* Adventure cards after you earn them. (Source)
I'll assume you can't re-run the adventure to reacquire any cards you disenchant.
Correct. You'd have to craft them to re-acquire them. (Source)

Hello!.Could we craft any cards from LoE if didn't buy this adventure.Or this rules only about Naxx?
This will only apply to Naxxramas. (Source)

Adventures are Wild. Tavern Brawl follows its own rules, some deck-building Brawls could be Standard. (Source)

Arena

When standard format starts and older packs are no longer avail in the store, can they still be obtained as arena rewards?
Arena rewards will only include cards that are usable in Standard format. (Source)

Disenchanting

Do you disenchant GvG cards for their full cost or normal?
Cards will be disenchanted for their normal dust value. Exceptions will be Classic cards that are updated in the upcoming review (Source)

Standard Play (Ranked + Casual)

In standard will the older cards still show up randomly? Eg: could Paletress summon Kel'Thuzad?
Standard format random effects will only summon Standard cards. (Source)

PLEASE don't let us grind our golden Heroes again for the new mode ;(
You can earn golden hero portraits in both formats. (Source)

Will any cards from old sets be reprinted or updated in future sets?
There are currently no plans to do "re-prints". (Source)

Esports

What will happen to the competitive scene? Will Worlds be Wild or Standard?
Official Blizzard events in 2016 will be Standard format. (Source)

Will the GvG game board still be playable?
Yes, all the game boards will stay in the rotation. (Source)

Summoning, Adding, and Tribe Synergy in Standard

ShadowsOfSense has put together an excellent post detailing the changes we'll be seeing with cards that summon minions, add things to your hand, or are straight up major changes to the way tribes interact once Standard becomes active. Head on over to the thread to learn more about these changes!

Important Cards Being Removed with Standard Play

What an exciting announcement for Hearthstone today! A new game mode, Standard Play, is being added to the game. This game mode will be taking away old expansions from the playable card sets to give us a more limited format. For more information on the changes, check out this news post or click on the banner below. Highlights include:

• 9 additional deck slots! Once you've unlocked all 9 heroes, you'll have 18 deck slots.
• Naxxramas and Goblins vs Gnomes won't be available in Standard.
• Some cards in the basic and classic sets are being re-evaluated and may be changed.

With that out of the way, it's time to take a look at what important cards we're going to be losing to see what we can expect once Standard hits.

Dr. Boom

Dr. Balanced has been one of the most frustrating cards in the game for players and has been one of the most popular suggestions for crafting when you’ve got 1600 dust ready to go. Boom is one of the only 7-drops that is competitive which will now be a void in decks which made use of his tactics. No longer will we marvel at his might, but those Boom Bots will definitely still explode.

Decks affected: Most midrange and control decks.
[Find decks with Dr. Boom]

Loatheb

An excellent stop to combo-oriented spell decks and to prevent a large burst of damage late-game from those pesky mages through Pyroblast.

Nothing else in the game currently has the same effect on spells. You will be sincerely missed, fungal beast.

Decks affected: Most midrange and control decks.
[Find decks with Loatheb]

Sludge Belcher

When Sludge Belcher was first introduced he was a means to combat aggressive decks and it was a much needed tool at the time. Although he was slowly phased out of some decks, he still remains a staple aggro counter it will be sad to see him card go.

Keep drooling that slime, buddy!

Decks affected: Most midrange and control decks.
[Find decks with Sludge Belcher]

Kezan Mystic

Although not a must-include in decks, Kezan Mystic was the only neutral answer to secrets when you were fighting heavy secret decks on the ladder. Hunters will still be able to make use of Flare which is great for them, but the rest of the classes will have to suffer.

We hope a new neutral secret answer will make it into the game, especially since it isn't a worry that there's too many anti-secret cards available in the most competitive game mode. Whether a new card will be added in the next expansion, or an old card in the basic or classic sets will be reworked with a similar mechanic we don't know.

Decks affected: Anyone who wanted an anti-secret tech card.
[Find decks with Kezan Mystic]

Mad Scientist

Who doesn't like free secrets? The person who doesn't have a Mad Scientist on the board, that's who. The card gave incredible value to decks which made careful use of it and has been a subject for complaints many times over the years.

With Mad Scientist gone, aggro players won't be getting crazy bang for their buck when playing with secrets anymore. Oh Face Hunter, your poor thing - said no one ever.

Decks affected: Freeze Mage, Face Hunter, Midrange Hunter.
[Find decks with Mad Scientist]

Haunted Creeper

[An00b'arak]: guess what im not ashamed of what i am
[An00b'arak]: >8< spider pride

And neither should Haunted Creeper! This token-generating aggro requirement was a great way for aggro and control players to keep minions on the field and gain value and it will be missed.

Aggro decks typically would pop it out early on and get value through their opponent not wanting to pop it until they could deal with the extra spawns, and the control side of the spectrum was able to make very valuable trades early-game.

Decks affected: Face Hunter, Midrange Hunter, Combo Druid, Zoolock.
[Find decks with Haunted Creeper]

Zombie Chow

A helper of early-game board control due to its awesome 2 damage and 3 health for 1 mana, a minion which doesn't currently exist in any other form. Zombie Chow was able to deal punches while taking hits which made him the control MVP, and the drawback of healing your opponent was never really a fear due to them still being at 30 health.

It also looks like we won't see any cheesy priest play anymore via Zombie Chow + Auchenai Soulpriest. Phew.

Decks affected: Control Priest, Control Paladin, Renolock
[Find decks with Zombie Chow]

Antique Healbot

The need to stabilize against aggression was a strong one, and we had finally gotten that with Goblins vs Gnomes. Anytime you were finding your deck to be too slow to deal with aggro, or you just wanted to stall games out by not only roping, a couple of Antique Healbots made everything ok.

Decks affected: Freeze Mage, Handlock, Control-all-day-everyday
[Find decks with Antique Healbot]

Piloted Shredder

Once upon a time, only goblins piloted shredders. These days, everyone from Doomsayer to Lorewalker Cho seems to ride one.

An auto-include for most decks, Piloted Shredder is quite possibly the best 4-drop in the game and an annoyance not many will miss. Woo board presence!

It's a good thing it's simply not going to be playable in the future rather than nerfed though, we wouldn't want to see it go the way of Warsong Commander to read  ''Your Charge Mechs have +1 Attack''. Thanks to Frostoise for that gem ;)

Decks affected: Combo Druid, Mech Mage, Tempo Mage, Midrange Everything
[Find decks with Piloted Shredder]

Key Class Card Removals

With the neutrals out of the way, we're going to check out some of the removed cards which influence the individual classes the most.

Druid

Could somebody please queue up the Ben Brode laugh track.

Druids, you don't have to worry about any Naxxramas or Goblins vs Gnomes cards going away. Maybe Dark Wispers. Definitely worried about possible changes to the Basic and Classic card sets though.

Hunter

Hunter's are going to be losing the spider-tastic Webspinner from Naxx and the aggression support, Glaivezooka.

Mage

Pretty tough hit for Mages. It will become easier to play around secrets with Duplicate out of the way.

Paladin

Mustard and one of those annoying christmas tree supporting secrets will be a thing of a past in Standard.

Priest

Removing that removal! Lightbomb going away is sad for Priests, but not as sad as Velen's Chosen going away.

Rogue

The slick has been cleaned up! The oil in oil rogue won't be a thing in the new Standard format. Hopefully some new tools come around for the sneaky assassins.

Shaman

Crackle was a great way to remove slightly chunkier minions and worked really well with Spell Power on the field for such a cheap cost. Now it is a relic of the past.

Warlock

#REKT would be the most appropriate Twitter hashtag for Warlocks. Not only are some of their favourite neutral minions being removed, but we also see some class-specific heavy hitters going away. At least we won't have to rage about Mal'Ganis anymore.

Warrior

Don't worry warriors, you only lost tools to enrage your minions and gain silly amounts of armor. Oh what will you do without those.

Class Design Competition Phase 3 - Poll #2

IMPORTANT: This is NOT the same Poll Topic from yesterday. That Poll Topic is here. It has already concluded, and it featured an entirely different set...

Our class design competition is still underway and we're now into the third phase with 30 custom classes remaining after a tough battle. This is the second of two polls for this stage of the competition which contains the other half of this stage's finalists.

Head on over to the voting thread to checkout all the awesome creations in the first poll for this phase. Vote for your favourites to help us determine who will move on!