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
Discuss this Card
Discuss this Card
Discuss this Card
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.
You don't need to spend thousands of dollars on rotated sets to be competitive in wild. Most of the most popular decks in wild only use a couple thousand dust worth of rotated cards. Also, buying old packs to be competitive in wild isn't even a good idea in the first place. You're better on getting classic packs or packs from the most powerful newer sets and crafting whatever you need from older sets with dust.
A couple thousand dust PER deck, which is fine if you want to be a one-trick pony, not if you want to play all 9 classes and all archetypes. And I'm not talking about meme cards/archetypes either. I could care less about cards like Bolf Ramshield, but I definitely want to experiment with things likeMysterious Challenger, Quartermaster, Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound,Yogg-Saron, Hope's End,N'Zoth, the Corruptor, Ragnaros the Firelord,Sylvanas Windrunner, Mal'Ganis, etc. I just named over 10k dust worth of viable cards I'd want to build decks around and that's just scratching the surface. So no, your claim that I'd only need 2k dust in Wild is false.
I never said you would only need a couple thousand dust to build EVERY SINGLE DECK, I said TO BE COMPETITIVE. There's a big difference there that you seem to have missed. In any case, I was still correct when I said that buying old packs is an inefficient way to go about building wild decks so I still don't see your problem. Is it hard for brand new players to build ALL of the decks in wild? Yes. Should it be easy for new players to build ALL the decks in wild? No.
Yes, to build ALL the decks in wild it is expensive. Have you priced how expensive it would be to have ALL the decks in standard? I'm sure it is not cheap either.
It's significantly cheaper to build them in standard because of regular promotions and ability to buy cardpacks via Amazon Coins or even gold. Again, this is NOT a "new player" problem, this is a "player who started after 2016" problem, anyone who started prior to 2016 got them at a discount. Here is the major difference: a player who starts today can hope to get close to a full collection in standard with enough dedication to this game, the same is not true at all of wild. Also, how does your statement that "it is inefficient to buy wild packs" contradict my original post at all? If you're claiming that it is also inefficient to buy them in standard, then I disagree with you, because diminishing returns only kick in after you have about 50% of the collection, which (with a few extra epic + legendary crafts) is usually enough to get by.
" how does your statement that "it is inefficient to buy wild packs" contradict my original post at all? "
Your first post is focused around your belief that Blizzard should allow you to buy old packs with gold or at the same promotional rate that we get for brand new sets because that will make it easier for players to get the cards they need for wild. The fact that it is inefficient to buy wild packs to get the cards you need means that buying old packs will not make it easier for players to get the cards they need for wild.
"Again, this is NOT a "new player" problem, this is a "player who started after 2016" problem, anyone who started prior to 2016 got them at a discount."
Getting packs at a discount isn't why those older players have larger collections. Them playing for years is why they have those large collections. Once you play for a few years you will have a large collection too.
In any case, if you plan to play for years then the Wild format is eventually the cheaper format because decks will need fewer new cards than standards decks after each release, so even though it has a slightly higher upfront cost you have a much lower cost going forward.
The free legendary guarenteed to be none golden. You would still be able to get a golden legendary in your 10 packs however
Let me sum this up
-Tournament mode is Cancelled (Sorry put on HOLD......ya whatever its cancelled)
- Nothing is being Nerfed (Cause this meta so much fun)
-4 new classic cards (3 of which are all RNG garbage)
-New Hero portrait (that you need to pay for)
-If you paid for beginner packs before you'll get them for free now (This is a +)
That's pretty much all you need to know
at last Deathwing is coming!
New mage spell Tome Of Intellect helps with Quest Mage...
Anyone know if you have all non-golden legendary cards from a set does that guarantee that moving forward you will only open golden legends from the set? If so, will that hold true for the free dragon with this promotion? If I have all 6 regular legendaries should I get one of the 6 golden?
Nope, if your legendary collection is full, you'll just get a random legendary, with a chance to be golden as usual. Anyway, the dragon you will receive will probably follow the same class legendary rules of the actual bundle, and by that I mean no "no double legendary rule" and not golden.
No. After you got it all non-golden, you start to get random ones (like before the update that changed this).
Darn. One could hope...
DAMN just checked my collection, and I got all the dragons...
Yay more activision.
A lot of news, but sadly none of them is really interesting.
Well aren’t you the perceptive one? Nothing gets by you.
There don’t need to be nerfs. Most of the players realize this.
You are free to disagree. You are also free to hold your breath until whatever pains you gets nerfed.
I have to say, Hearthstone's been announcing some great stuff recently! Free KFC packs, Halloween's back, cool replacement class cards, another welcome bundle, (which is amazing for players trying to get a good start,) and the new best hero! How am I going to choose between Uther, Sir Annoy-O and Arthas...?
I have Golden Malygos and Golden Alextrasza, if I get Golden Nozdormu I'm uninstalling this game... however if I get Golden Ysera I will never uninstall even if I stopped playing 4 years ago #Goals
Also... I NEED that Pally hero, a shame that were getting another Paladin hero, would have loved to see another Warrior, Rogue or Priest skin but hey. Beggers can't be choosers... I think?
Brah just do what I always do, laugh at these people because you know they'll be back after a week of playing Artifact and/ or Gwent. Nobody is just gonna throw away hundreds of hours (and/ or money) spent on this game just like that, it's why WoW and League are still being played.
What I'm getting tired about is people bitching about cosmetics that you aren't forced to purchase "REEEEEEEEEEEEEE Blazaurddd relused a cusmatic that ey cunot aafoordd REEEEEEEEEE Graadey capptimalismsms cumpinay REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I'm 25 aaand still no job ooar degREEEEEEEEEEEEE"