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Hall of Fame Rotation Signals the End of These Standard Decks

In April Molten Giant, Ice Block, and Coldlight Oracle will enter the Hall of Fame — a rare designation used to banish classic cards to the Wild format — when Blizzard introduces a new expansion to kick off the Year of the Raven. The three will join the likes of Sylvanas Windrunner, Azure Drake, and Ragnaros the Firelord, which rotated into Wild together last Spring.

Blizzard’s reasoning ranged from a lack of interactivity with Coldlight Oracle to overuse of Ice Block by Mage. Both were common inclusions in control decks, but Ice Block has long been considered an auto-include by Mage players.

Molten Giant didn’t receive the same sort of scrutiny as the others. The decision is largely, it seems, in response to a community that missed its most expensive giant (and the Handlock archetype of old). Reverting its mana to the original 20 and making it exclusive to Wild will purportedly appease these players without the possibility of balance problems in Standard.

Other classic powerhouses such as Gadgetzan Auctioneer, Alexstrasza, and Edwin VanCleef have saturated the community discussion around the Hall of Fame. It’s difficult to speculate why these cards dodged this rotation, considering Blizzard will have taken into account an expansions-worth of cards we haven’t seen yet.

Fun and Interactive

Ice Block and Coldlight Oracle have been prime candidates for the Hall of Fame since its inception last spring — especially the mage secret, which ignores lethal damage barring Eater of Secrets, Flare, or requisite fatigue damage.

Their rotation will devastate both Mill Rogue and Quest Mage players, the two control decks featuring unique win conditions, high skill ceilings, and integral mechanics criticized for their lack of interactivity.

The extra turn or two provided by Ice Block has allowed infamous control and combo archetypes to flourish under Jaina’s power, including Freeze Mage and Quest Mage (also known as Exodia Mage for its one-turn-kill gameplan). We discussed the possibility of an Ice Block induction back when the recent nerfs to Corridor Creeper and Patches the Pirate were still mere hopes. That possibility verged on expectation because of Blizzard’s explicit distaste for cards that stifle interactivity.

The debate around the merits of interactivity will rage on. But no matter your opinion, nothing will change the fact that countless players have enjoyed deck archetypes reliant on these cards and grown to understand Hearthstone as a game that fostered them. Look no further than the miracles performed by Disguised Toast with Quest Mage and Dog’s Mill Rogue for evidence. The recent decision signals a move away from these styles of play, to the explicit dismay of both players.

It’s worth noting that the archetypes built around these cards checked the meta, too — especially in the upper echelons of Legend where greedy control decks run rampant. The meta will be influenced by 100+ new cards by the time these changes take place, but new anti-control strategies will need to be borne out of whatever’s there.

Until then, to honor the archetypes before they leave Standard (in their current form) forever, consider piloting them yourself. Remember: they are difficult to play, requiring a lot of situational awareness and a bit of draw-dependent luck. You would do well to watch and study high-level gameplay before giving them a go. Ready those Wild Handlock deck lists, too!

An Extra Turn (Or Two or Three)

Ice Block is an integral piece of the current Quest Mage formula. It’s not a piece of the one-turn-kill combo, but without the extra turns, aggro decks will rush you down and control decks will just get there with too much regularity. If you could play five copies each of Frost Nova and Blizzard it might be possible. You can’t, though, so just savor the extra turns in Standard while you can.

Watch Disguised Toast to appreciate the intricacies of the deck and witness the late-game miracles it’s capable of. His deck is below.

The Infinite Weapon

While Quest Mage loses the card that lets it stall and continue drawing into its combo, Mill Rogue loses the card that inspired the archetype in the first place: Coldlight Oracle. The archetype underwent a reconstruction of sorts when Kobolds and Catacombs gave us Kingsbane. The weapon, with its lifesteal and its near endless buffs, offer players another win condition in addition to stability in the mid-game. Valeera the Hollow helped Mill Rogue, too, with an Ice Block-esque stealth effect. But without the ominous 3-mana murlocs (summoned again and again with bounce effects like Shadowstep and Vanish) to draw your win conditions while destroying the opponent’s resources, the archetype will need very specific and powerful new cards come April to stay relatively viable in Standard.

Like Disguised Toast and Quest Mage, watching Dog play Mill Rogue will have you in awe. He regularly streams himself playing it at high legend. Below he coaches Hafu to an improbable late-game victory against a Highlander Priest.

How do you feel about these cards leaving for the Hall of Fame? Are you sad to see them go, or are you instead throwing a party in celebration of their retirement? Let us know what you think in the comments, or if you'd like to talk about each card individually, we have dedicated rotation threads setup for them which you can find linked below.

Discuss The Move
Discuss The Move
Discuss The Move