Year of the Phoenix - New Game Mode Speculation!
After last week's article about the upcoming expansion speculation it is time this week to turn our attention to the much hyped new game mode that is coming with that expansion. Let's start with an overview of what is coming and then dive into the details.
The Icon
Most of the above graphic speaks for itself. Something to note however: The icons seem to mostly be specifically made for that particular thing. Meaning that the Battlegrounds icon is uniquely made for Battlegrounds and so on. This is of interest because the icon for the new game mode is also unique to just that, which means that perhaps we can draw meaning from what the icon looks like and extrapolate.
To start with, the icon looks like a shield with 2 fields of different color, with 2 swords crossed behind it. The feeling that this portrays combat seems pretty clear and the fact that the field is in 2 separate colors further promotes the idea that this is an icon that it is about 2 different sides clashing, which would suggest this game mode will be Player vs Player and not Player vs Computer opponents.
The icon will to people familiar with it also draw comparisons to the imagery used with the Hearthstone expansion The Grand Tournament, which saw a card back with a shield and 2 crossed Jousting poles, the game mechanic "Joust" from the Grand Tournament was also very much meant to be a style of honorable 1vs1 combat.
That said, it might be unwise to read too much into the icon. If we look at the Battlegrounds icon for instance, it does not signify much of anything to do with what we know about that game mode.
Known Details
Blizzard has been unsurprisingly mum on what the new game mode will be about. What they did say was that it was going to use your card collection, and that no restrictions would be placed on which sets you can use, meaning that there is no Standard/Wild divide like in the normal game play and you can use your full collection. They also said the new game mode will be similar in scope and scale to Arena mode but not in game play.
That last bit can be interpreted in many ways. Is it similar in that it gives a similar type of rewards when played? Similar in that it will cost gold to participate in? Many things to consider there. What we know for certain though is that this is a significant game mode, that is likely meant to draw a lot of play and interest. So then to come back to the actual point of this post: What could this game mode be?
Speculation
Pack Draft
Knowing everything laid out above we can start with a basic speculation that has been around since the start of the game: Pack Draft. The idea here is that you build a lobby of people, like in Battlegrounds, and then draft cards from a pool in alternating fashion, to build a deck that you then use to play against people in the lobby, who drew cards from the same pool. It is a popular game mode in physical card games as it evens the playing field and doesn't require a huge collection to have fun with.
And there's the rub: no collection needed when Blizzard has stated that your collection will be very much used for this and has said, in relation to this: "We are a collectible card game and would like our players to feel better about their collection and its value." This idea then seems unlikely, unless Blizzard found some way to do a draft from just your collection and still keep a level playing field between players.
Tournament Mode
Also an old favorite is the demand for a Tournament Mode. Some way to play against a group of people and play competitively through a Tournament setting to decide a winner. If sufficiently supported such a game mode would be able to support every type of restriction in number of players and card format used. There could even be custom Tournaments made with restrictions to very specific expansions, like "Only Classic" or "Only Classic, Goblins vs Gnomes and Boomsday Project". The possibilities would be endless.
Again though there is something to make this popular suggestion unlikely. Back in February at the Hearthstone Summit that previewed the coming year and everything coming with it, we not only had a representative there, but they did an interview with Dean "IksarHS" Ayala, and in it he was asked about Tournament mode and said "I actually did a walkthrough of the application. I think having a competitive mode within the game that’s probably like esports level experience, is super positive and we are just trying to figure out the right way to do that in the client. We want to do competitive features in the client, just not right now."
"Just not right now" at a time Blizzard had earlier announced that they were doing this new game mode. The conclusion basically has to be that Tournament mode was not the game mode they were working on at the time and thus probably not what we will see this upcoming expansion.
A Tavern Brawl
Another suggestion that we have seen floating around is that Blizzard rework one of their Tavern Brawls into a stand alone game mode. There's a very good reason why this might actually happen: Battlegrounds game mode is a modified version of an autochess Tavern Brawl that has been seen several times. The game mode grew into something more complex and different, but some of the basics were ported over.
So which Tavern Brawl to turn into a separate game mode then? There's been so many! One of the popular suggestions is the Brawliseum Tavern Brawl series, which is usually a Deck building excercise with restrictions on which expansions can be used to draw cards from. This is similar to the restrictions mentioned above in the Tournament mode section, "Only Classic" or "Only Classic, Goblins vs Gnomes and Boomsday Project" or whatever other restriction Blizz would want to put out. It would likely be a format where there's a changing card pool to build with every so often (likely per week). There could also be an arcade like angle to it, where there are several different formats active at the same time, although questions about queue times would then certainly be something to watch for.
But that's not the only Tavern Brawl that might be turned into a stand alone game mode. The Tavern Brawls of the Felfire Festival of the past 2 weeks might shed a light on something else that can be done...
Dungeon Run Inspired
The past 2 weeks we have seen some pretty crazy Tavern Brawls, with Dungeon Run treasures, Hero Powers and amazing custom weapons being added to fairly normal decks to create some very unique and fun gameplay where you could feel what it's like to play the game when the normal rules no longer apply. So what if this was it's own game mode?
There's obviously questions about how you would go about creating a somewhat level playing field, but some version where you are allowed to pick a custom Hero Power and 1 or more treasures in an Arena like set up, and then get to build a deck from your collection to support that Hero Power and those treasures could be cool.
Another way to do it would be to have a mix between Arena and Dungeon Runs. Similar to Dungeon Runs you start with a small deck and a Hero Power and then while you keep winning, you keep adding cards from your collection and more treasures. The difference being that you play against other people making decks in this way, instead of against a computer simulated opponent. Like in Arena you would perhaps have several chances before you are eliminated, but the basic idea would be that you get paired against similarly winning opponents until a certain preset end point where you just "win", and claim your reward.
There's obviously myriad other ways Blizzard could go to achieve the basic premise of adding overpowered Dungeon Run special cards to a normally built deck, but these are some ways to do it. Similar to Battlegrounds, Blizzard could easily add and remove certain cards and powers if they prove problematic or underpowered and also similarly could start adding new cards specifically for this game mode once they get the content for it rolling. The possibilities would be endless.
Conclusion
These are obviously just the tip of the iceberg. Many more ideas exist about what could be done for a new game mode, so let us know if you liked any of the ideas presented or have other, much better ideas!
I am surprised that no one has pointed out the obvious thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: A sort of block format with a rotating pool of cards (perhaps each month).
We have already had two Tavern Brawls that hinted at something like this: One where it used cards exclusively from the Year of the Kraken, and one several weeks back that exclusively used cards from Descent of Dragons and Adventures (Naxxramus, Black Rock Mountain, League of Explorers, One Night in Karazhan, Descent of Dragons). A format where the card pool changes every month could spice things up for this game - you know, something that isn't like Arena where all of your card selections are made by RNG.
Arena, but with a deck from the collection, as it was in the brawl several times. I would not want this, but this is unfortunately more likely than the two-headed mode or PvE. I hope I'm wrong.
Tournament mode with rules settings, possibly including intra-match. But it’s strange that it didn’t come out, since many people should participate in the test of this mode.
Or another attempt to spoof something trendy, but I do not follow this.
"Spell locked" - it also causes awe, but probably this is only part of the new game mode. I can’t believe that they will introduce social innovations (clans) or change the appearance of the collection of cards (more settings for the filter) - at least not before achievements.
The graphic seems to suggest that there isn't any solo adventure with the next expansion (unless it's under the "spell locked icon"). So the "new mode" might be something new in the same way that Dungeon Run and Boomsday Puzzles were "new" modes, and directly tied to the setting of the expansion.
And yeah it could involve coop or 2v2 stuff considering the dual swords and shield colours.
i hope its 2v2 where you can play with a friend as aganist 2 friends... also they should let you play with more than 1 friend battlegrounds
HS needs a big revolution. They already lost some players to MTGA and now people are trying LoR.
Battlegrounds gave the game some extra life but some people dont wanna spent time o auto-chess so they felt left by Blizzard
I hope they can bring some great content but after demon hunter my hopes are down low
Exactly. I feel the game has reached its plateau. Old players are already getting bored really fast. I rarely see streamers playing ranked. They are mostly enjoying themselves in battlegrounds.They are not gonna get new players anymore. They need to add some serious new content.
You did not mention the new ladder matchmatching system...
People have been saying that for years, but Hearthstone really has never lost such a significant amount of players as you are saying they will. Hearthstone has survived Gwent, Artifact, MTGA and many more other cardgames people thought Hearthstone would lose its playerbase to, but it never did.
Besides that, this year Hearthstone is revolutionizing the most since it launched. Second half last year Battlegrounds launched, which has had many updates already, they completely changed the ranking system, they introduced a new class, reworked Priest some, there's a new gamemode launching in a few months, achievements/progress is coming during expansion cycle 3, very frequent balance changes too.
This is way more new stuff than Hearthstone has ever had before, so no, Hearthstone as a game is not dying down, but growing more rapidly than every before. Therefore they will not lose their playerbase.
Back when Ben Brode was still part of the team, they always mentioned possibly rotating one or more old expansion (possibly just a few handful of cards) in Wild into Standard. Possibly doing it mid-season rather than when a new expansion comes out.
that's gotta be pack draft or a new type of constructed, kinda like modern for mtg
I personally think it would be quite toxic and OP, and impossible to fix unless Blizzard creates a way of nerfing certain cards for certain modes, which would be extremely confusing.
I mean, all classes have flaws and advantages, and Hearthstone is a game mainly based in that premise. If you merge two or more classes, you could create a flawless class. Like, for example, Priest and Warlock. Just imagine the draw of Warlock's hero power with the healing and control from Priest. One word: DISGUSTING. Or another example, Demon Hunter's fast paced minions and Hero power, with Hunter's secrets and hero power synergies. The proper word for this one is BROKEN.
I think you all are expecting too much. I think it will just make wild brawliseium always available.
Maybe with some weird restrictions. Like you cant have more than 4 cards from any expansion or something that changes week to week.
Honestly, a blocked-set brawliseum that changes often would be one of the most exciting things they could announce for me!
combined class mode would be pretty cool
although i fear it's going to shit pretty soon after, once the absurd combos are found
But EVERYTHING will be broken. Imagine Pirate Warrior with Rogue cards and Aluneth and Divine Favor or Kun/Aviana Combos with Velen, theres so many amazing synergies to use and it would be so fun to test all of them
no class restriction decks.
making new game it s nice it will be also nice to balance existing one
"That said, it might be unwise to read too much into the icon. If we look at the Battlegrounds icon for instance, it does not signify much of anything to do with what we know about that game mode."
The icon is literally a crown, which very much means the last one standing is a winner, its basically a battle royale mode in hs.
I would most like to see either;
1. A reworked Dungeon Run mode that includes ALL wild solo content. As well as improvement on the rogue-like mechanics.
2. Reworked Tavern Brawl mode that includes the daily brawl, as well as custom games and tournament mode that are hosted in your own Tavern that functions online like a custom lobby or group unlike the location-specific fireside gatherings.
when new expansion comes out ????