Hearthpwn

Blizzard developers have been responding to a lot of different topics lately and here is the summary of them all

Demon Hunter

Q: Do we know anything about how Justicar Trueheart or Baku the Mooneater will work with Demon Hunter in Wild? Do we know if Illidan has a 1,000 win portrait yet?
A: Justicar Trueheart and Baku the Mooneater give you a (1) mana +2 damage this turn Hero Power (Demon's Bite). Genn Greymane gives you memes. Illidan has a 1000 win portrait, yeah (Editor notes: If you want to see the artwork, just CLICK HERE).

Q: Hi Hadid! Do you know if the Demon Hunter will be available in the Arena?
A: He'll be available in Arena, yeah.:)

Q: No mentioning of a classic set yeah. It would be... strange. It's also interesting that they explicitly mention that new sets will include 15 Demon Hunter cards...
A: The 15 cards per expansion in Year of the Phoenix will provide parity with other classes' Classic during the following year. And sometime before the year after that, we will be making them a Classic set, likely comprised of at least some expansion cards that we want to make permanent. We have a long time before we need to decide which ones those are to make evergreen, so we are taking that time.

Q: Man I hope it’s him talking seriously and like an edgelord while literally, everyone else is not taking it seriously. “I have suffered for ten thousand years...” “... you want a chocolate or vanilla cone?”
A: Hearthstone is generally very charming and whimsical, making silly jokes about a lot of things. That didn't feel right for Illidan. Illidan is so grave and brooding, it felt wrong to make him crack jokes. So, we're playing Illidan pretty straight in Hearthstone. We're leaving the light-heartedness to the other individual cards, where we can have fun with silly things like the Furious Felfin and the [REDACTED] (Editor notes: A new legendary minion - probably from the Demon Hunter Initiate set).

Q: Another consistently inconsistent? How is Blur's text different from the immune keyword?
A: Yes, it's functionally Immune. But we word Blur like this for a few reasons. First, this is a Basic card. Basic cards are *really* basic, very light on keywords. Like, there's no Combo in Basic Rogue, for example. Second, we have the room on the card text here to just spell it out, and we don't intend to add any Immune-interaction cards, so it's better off just being spelled out. Third, it was a really weird flavor mismatch; the intended flavor of Blur is that Demon Hunters are super agile, dodging all incoming attacks, not a tanky juggernaut that is protected from all damage.
A: Whoops, I misremembered! Blur *was* a Basic card through most of the development, I forgot we swapped it into Initiate (apologies, there's a whooole lot to remember here). The other 2 reasons still apply, so we left it worded that way.

Q: Is it safe to assume Sir Finley Mrrgglton will also offer the Demon Hunter's Hero Power as an option?
A: Finley will indeed get the Demon Hunter Hero Power (once DH is unlocked).

Q: Will Illidan's upgraded Hero Power be added to the Sir Finley of the Sands Hero Power pool?
A: Yep!

Q: Can I use Demon Hunter in old adventures for example against lich king?
A: MOST old adventures support Demon Hunter. A few that are heavily customized by class will not (unfortunately including the Lich King) since they don't have support for the new class.

New Ranked System

Q: How does the bonus star system work? If you get, say, 11 bonus stars, does that mean that every win gets you 11 stars right until you reach legend again?
A: Based on your previous rank, you'll be given a Star Multiplier. Every win you give you stars equal to your multiplier. Whenever you hit a ranked floor, your Star Multiplier goes down by 1. So early on, you'll accelerate very quickly out of the low ranks and it will slow down as you approach your previous rank. You keep your Star Bonus even when you lose.

Q: So, essentially, once you reach your previous rank, your bonus stars will be all gone.
A: Yes, correct.

Q: What is the difference between a promotional and non-promotional rank floor?
A: They are essentially the same. The leagues act as the major milestones. Whereas the non-promotional floors are there to prevent you from falling back to rank 10 of your league. You do get additional first-time rewards and better end of season rewards when you reach any ranked floor.

Q: Rank floors are ranks 10 or 5 or bronze/silver/etc..?
A: Right, rank 5 and 10 of each league (silver 10, silver 5, gold 10, gold 5, etc).

Q: What are the star bonus breakpoints?
A: It's 1 more bonus star per rank: Legend = 10x stars per win, Diamond 5 = 9x, Diamond 10 = 8x ... Silver 5 = 3x, Silver 10 = 2x, Bronze 5/10 = 2x. You may additionally get a bigger Star Bonus if your MMR is higher than others at your rank (so high legend players could get 11x Star Bonus). This also helps players who reach legend in one month and only play enough to reach Bronze 5 the next month. They will get a Star Bonus closer to that of a Legend player.

Q: What about the transition of the current March season to the April season, where the ranked system changes?
A: There is a conversion from the old rank system to the new one. You will get a Star Bonus in April based on the best rank you achieved in March.

Q: Is a season still considered 1 month?
A: Yes

Q: If we're going to be reset to bronze 10,  won't the beginning of the season be brutal for new and low-level players?
A: You'll be matched based on skill, so you'll have fair matches - even when the season resets.

Q: Looking for some clarification on the MMR system. So I'm currently rank 5. Will I be matched up against Rank 5 players and above through my entire climb through Bronze and above?
A: Until you run out of Star Multiplier. Then you'll be matched based on Rank. That way, if your skill is higher than your Rank, you'll move up.

Q: Okay, but why the reset to Bronze? What does that gain you other than making it possibly harder for players to reach higher ranks (and the respective rank rewards)? The star multiplier exists, yes, but that doesn't mean that ranking will be as fast as it was before. (And it can be tweaked at any time to slow you down.)
A: One of the biggest benefits of the old system is that it provides a great progression system. You feel like you're working towards a goal - either meeting your previous rank or moving up the next floor, etc. We wanted to make sure you didn't lose that in the new system. One of the biggest flaws of the old system is that you don't know how you rate against other players. With the new system, it's more familiar to players and it's easier to talk about your rank. It's easier to say "I'm a Gold level player" than it is to say "I'm Rank 15." The new system also helps when the new season rolls around and new players aren't getting stomped by more experienced players who may not play as often and will slowly move to the bottom of the ladder. We wanted to make sure you got the progression of the old system with the benefits of the new one.

Q: By the way, is the one-time reward for hitting Legend retroactive with the new ranked system?
A: It's not, you'll need to pop Legend again under the new system.

Q: What happens to the current rank 50-25? Will there be anything similar for new players?
A: Yes. They're called "Apprentice League", and there are now 50 Ranks to it.

Hall Of Fame

Q: Spellbreaker in Hall of Fame? What the hell?
A: Spellbreaker and Acolyte of Pain were too strong for neutral, and we'd rather that sort of thing be expansion-specific and class-specific, so things stay fresh and new, over time. There are some lower power level versions of these still available, so you can get neutral card draw and silence if you really need to. But I'm excited for us to see more interesting forms of these in expansions, so they change over time.

Q: Edwin VanCleef is not being Hall of Famed?
A: I'm seeing this topic discussed in Twitch chat, in Reddit, on Twitter, etc, so I'll just respond generally here... Let's talk about Edwin VanCleef, and why he isn't going to the Hall of Fame (at least, not yet, anyway).
A: Edwin was very much on our shortlist of potential cards to Hall of Fame this year. (Sea Giant was the other close contender). He has been extremely powerful, for a long time. So, why not rotate him? Well, a couple of reasons.
A: He's really good, but he's also in a class, not Neutral, and that goes a long way. He's also right up Rogue's alley in terms of class identity. He skews Rogue in general toward playing lots of little cards, but not toward any particular archetype overly strongly.
A: Much of his *current* power level is dependent upon the Year of the Dragon cards. This sort of ebb/flow with expansions is good! Not disputing that he's been pretty strong all along, but Year of the Dragon, in particular, has had really strong synergies for him.
A: This is definitely a card that we'll continue to reevaluate each year, so I wouldn't be surprised if Edwin VanCleef does make it to the Hall of Fame in the future. But at least for the Year of the Phoenix, we think the Standard game is better with him still there.

About Ashes Of Outland

Q: Rogue Secrets are back baby! Let's do it right this time!
A: Luckily, this is at the beginning of the year, so we have time to build into it and not have to worry about the rotation. ;)

Q: GIVE US SPORELINGS!!!
A: There are 7 cards that feature Sporelings in Ashes of Outland.

Q: And Kazzak could definitely make an appearance with this expac.
A: We had so many incredible characters from Outland that we wanted to feature in Ashes of Outland, some of them are featured in spell art, and some use a generic name and are on non-Legendary minions.

Q: Does the Druid Quest reward make the Fungal Guardian have both Taunt and Rush at the same time or does it spawn two 9/9, one with Taunt and the other with Rush?
A: The Fungal Gargantuan (what you get if you have Choose Both) has both Taunt and Rush.

Q: Priest theme this expansion is probably going to be about Nether dragons. The Dragonmaw clan in the Burning Crusade expansion in wow is the clan trying to tame/enslave those dragons. This one on the card has a boot in his hand in reference to the daily quest during BC where you would disguise as a Fel Orc and "motivate" peons by kicking them with a boot boomerang. We can even see crystals in the card art, as this daily quest was in a zone with huge crystals everywhere.
A: Bingo, this is that dude. :D Yeah, on his own, this card is aesthetically a little weird for Priest, but it's part of a larger Dragonmaw package that you'll see more of soon.

Q: Does Shadowjeweler Hanar's text mean that you’re offered a Hunter, Paladin, and Mage secret in the discover options each time? The flavor is bonkers. I love this card, amazing design.
A: You're offered one from each class. But it depends on which class the Secret you're playing is from. If you play a Rogue Secret, you're offered Mage, Paladin, and Hunter. If you pick the Paladin Secret and play it, you'll be offered Rogue, Mage, and Hunter.

Q: So you can play a Paladin and Hunter/Rogue secret instead of 1 Mage Secret for 3 Mana? With 10 Mana, the combinations seem pretty interesting.
A: Yeah! It's super fun to weigh all your options. Do you take the Paladin one so you can reroll your options and take a gamble? Do you take the Mage one that may be more useful, but will use up the rest of your mana? It's such a fun card.

Q: Will Flare remove Akama Prime's stealth? If so, is the stealth removed permanently or until the end of the turn?
A: No, since Akama Prime isn't silenced and thus his effect will just re-stealth him right away.

Q: If you would play Metamorphosis while already having Demonic Blast equipped, would you be able to keep Demonic Blast forever?
A: We did account for that, it follows the chain back to what it was before the first Metamorphosis.

Q: Can you use Maiev Shadowsong to retrigger a dormant minion's effect I wonder?
A: Yes.

Q: I wonder if the minion saves its buffs and gained effects after waking up from Maiev Shadowsong's battlecry. How does it work?
A: Yep, it awakens exactly as it was (Editor notes: So It apparently won't heal the minion as some of you might be wondering).

Q: I couldn't find anywhere when the duplicate protection is going live, is it when Ashes of Outland comes out?
A: March 26th!

Q: How will Blackjack Stunner work with Brann Bronzebeard? Is the cost increase part of the battlecry or is it a separate enchantment?
A: The cost increase would indeed be played twice. The target minion would return to its owner's hand and have its cost increased by 4.

Q: Can dormant minions attack the turn they wake up?
A: No. (Unless they have Rush; or Charge)

Q: What will happen if I'll use a Sideshow Spelleater against 1 already used Demonic Blast? Will I get Illidan's Hero Power Back or my normal Hero Power instead?
A: After you use your Stolen-1Charge-Meta, you'll get Demon Claws. (or, to be pedantic, whatever Illidan had before, which is probably Demon Claws).

Q: When Kayn Sunfury's text says ALL friendly attacks, it means Kayn Sunfury, your other minions, and your own face all bypass taunt? :)
A: Crystal clear: Yes.

Q: Will Augmented Porcupine be in Deathstalker Rexxar's beast pool?
A: Yes. However, Zixor, Apex Predator will not.

Q: In terms of dormant: Will anything (such as The Amazing Reno) be able to affect them, or are they essentially phased out until they hit the board?
A: Just like existing Dormant minions, nothing at all will affect them, apart from taking up board space.

Q: Does resummoning or copying make the Imprisoned Antaen (or the copy) go dormant again?
A: With copying, its woke-ness is copied, so you'd end up with an awake one. With resummoning, that's like getting a new one, so it starts Dormant.

Q: How does Mo'arg Artificer work with Explosive Runes?
A: After the spell's damage calculations are done, it will double everything.

Q: How does Blackjack Stunner work with (9) or (10) mana minions? - They won't be playable anymore if you can't make em cheaper, right?
A: Just like a Freezing Trap. Yep, makes them unplayable unless you can make them cheaper again.

Q: Can Shadow Council give you Demons from the Demon Hunter class?
A: Yep, any Demons, regardless of class.

Q: Is Rogue gonna get any decent Deathrattle cards?
A: Yes.

Q: Hey I'm really wondering what you lot at Blizzard plan on doing with Whizbang the Wonderful (if you're planning on anything for him at all) He's really good for newer players or players that don't have decks for all classes, do you plan on moving him to Classic to replace Leeroy Jenkins?
A: No plans to move Whizbang the Wonderful. He'll be rotating to wild (and still works there) with the start of Year of the Phoenix. New and returning players can get free competitive decks now, and all players get Demon Hunter and 30 cards free!

Q: In the hearthside chat there was mention of free PVE content for every expansion does this mean all PVE content will be free this year?
A: Yep, all PvE content will be free this year!

Q: Can we get all the new Priest replacements from Zephrys the Great after the expansion launch?
A: Yep, Zephrys the Great is updated for the changes to Basic and Classic (both Priest and Demon Hunter).

Q: So if the Pit Commander "recruits" an Imprisoned Antaen, will it awake after two turns?
A: Yes (and trigger its awaken effect).

Q: I really hope that we will see at least 3 new rogue secrets to make this card useful because It's art is amazing and I love secret Rogue.
A: There are indeed 3 new Rogue Secrets in Ashes of Outland (and more coming throughout the Year of the Phoenix).

Q: What class won't get a prime?
A: Demon Hunter. The Primes are related to the Rusted Legion. Demon Hunters are the opposition to the Rusted Legion. Also, Demon Hunters have quite a lot going on already. :)

Q: Hey is there any reason The Lurker Below isn't a Beast? He's a Kraken, which classifies as a Beast in WoW. This would line up with North Sea Kraken.
A: Looks like a bug, we'll get that fixed!

This is just a visualization of the upcoming change. 

Other Notable Changes

Q: Do you happen to know whether the new dormant minions are in the evolve pool?
Q: Old ones are already in the pool so there's no reason for excluding them.
A: Funnily enough, we've changed this rule. Minions that will wake up on their own (new Dormant demons that awaken after 2 turns) are in the pool to be randomly summoned. Minions that can't wake up (The Darkness) are no longer in the random summon/evolve pool.

Q: So if you evolve into a new dormant minion will it start as a dormant?
A: Yes. And you get the awaken trigger in two turns.

Q: Is it possible to evolve a dormant minion?
A: Once it wakes up. ;)

Q: I noticed Ysera and Onyxia both have new entrance animations, I wonder if all the dragon aspects have gotten this treatment.
A: There are new ones for Ysera and Onyxia, and for Malygos. Our artist Dominic did them!:)

Q: So hoarding packs before major nerfs will be a good dust strat if you have a good collection (Editor notes: This is a comment about the new duplicate rule).
A: There's a caveat here: once you receive a card, you'll have it marked for "collected" purposes. So if you disenchant a card you've received, it's still considered "owned." So you can't exploit the refund system that way. There's a great benefit to this though: If you don't like a particular card or class, you can disenchant them and not have to worry about getting them in future packs.

Q: And how long is the card will be marked "collected"? For example, I've opened an epic I don't want so I dust it right away. But if I already collected other epics I would like to have them all again.
A: Forever. Once you've collected a card, you've collected it.

Breakdown Of Rarities In Each Set

Quote from Blizzard

The addition of Demon Hunter cards comes in place of Neutral cards. However, more than that, it also affects the Rarity distribution within Neutral. We wanted to keep the overall Dust value of the set close to the same as previous sets. We're not at all trying to make the game more expensive (quite the opposite, see duplicate protection, free decks, etc.).