It’s that time of the year where Hearthstone is gearing up to launch the first expansion in 2019 and that also means that we’re getting a brand-new year for Standard mode that will see all of 2017’s expansions rotate out into Wild format. However, Blizzard detailed everything else they have in store for this year and some of it is bringing some improvements to the game as well as the Hall of Faming of NINE cards this time.
Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame was created so that Classic and Basic cards that launched with the base version of Hearthstone can be rotated out of Standard. The reason for this is because Blizzard stated that Standard format will always be composed of Basic and Classic Cards, the three expansions from the previous year, and the three expansions in the current year. Sometimes, Classic and Basic cards are either deemed too powerful or they impede on the ability to create cool new cards because the new cards could, in turn, make the Classic/Basic cards more powerful than intended.
However, Blizzard decided to make exceptions this time around. Out of the nine cards moving to the Hall of Fame, only three are from the base set! Those cards are Naturalize (Druid), Doomguard (Warlock), and Divine Favor (Paladin).
Blizzard offered the following explanations for these three cards:
Naturalize
Druids have always had excellent flexibility and a number of different tools when it comes to generating mana, cards, and minions, but have long struggled to remove their opponent’s large minions. Naturalize effectively nullifies that weakness, giving Druids a powerful option in matchups where card advantage doesn’t matter. Moving it into the Hall of Fame enforces the Druid’s weakness in removing large minions, maintaining its class identity.
Doomguard
As masters of Demons, Warlocks have long been a powerful board-control class. While we like that minion combat is as much a part of the Warlock’s identity as destructive magic, we want to acknowledge and embrace the class’s weaknesses when they lose control of the board. To that end, we want to limit the amount of damage a Warlock can deal from their hand. As a powerful Charge minion, Doomguard pushes against the Warlock class identity, so we are moving it into the Hall of Fame.
Divine Favor
Over the past several years, we’ve seen a number of strong, aggressive Paladin decks. While we like Paladin’s identity as a minion-summoning and minion-buffing class with a fair amount of resource generation, card draw doesn’t also need to be one of the Paladin’s strengths. Divine Favor is one of the most cost-effective draw spells in the game, so to better emphasize other classes’ strengths and to provide better control over the power level of future aggressive Paladin decks, we are moving Divine Favor to the Hall of Fame.
In an odd move, Blizzard decided to move two legendary cards from 2018’s first expansion, The Witchwood. They are removing Baku the Mooneater and Genn Greymane. Since these cards are part of The Witchwood, they would not be rotating out into Standard until April 2020. These cards inspired Odd and Even decks and became so powerful that decks like Odd Paladin, Even Paladin, and Odd Rogue were dominating the ranked ladder. It was so troublesome that despite launching two expansions after The Witchwood, players continued to play those decks with little to no change. This lead to high frustration and even lead Blizzard to doubling the number of ranks on ladder in an effort to keep skilled players away from casual players while removing the sense that casual players cannot progress up the ladder.
With Baku and Genn rotating out into Wild a year earlier than intended, this means a MASSIVE shake-up of the meta is happening and we are guaranteed to see some brand-new decks in 2019! Unless you all just want to keep playing Spell Hunter or Deathrattle Hunter. While I understand the need to move those two cards out, I am personally saddened because I was starting to have a lot of fun with my Odd Jan’alai Mage deck and now that deck is ruined in Standard. A small sacrifice for the greater good, I suppose.
Four more cards are joining the previous five in the Hall of Fame. Those being Gloom Stag (Druid), Black Cat (Mage), Glitter Moth (Priest), and Murkspark Eel (Shaman). The reason for this is simple. These cards played big roles in a lot of Odd and Even decks. Without Genn and Baku in Standard, these cards would become so severely nerfed, that they would, quite literally, be unplayable. Therefore, they are moving to Wild where they can continue to act alongside Genn and Baku.
Improvements to Solo Play
Needless to say, the Dungeon Run system was a major hit for Blizzard and they are looking to continue that going forward into the three expansions in 2019 but they realize that they can’t just copy and paste the system and expect everyone to be satisfied. This is why they decided that they’re going to make some improvements to the solo play system, summed up in one nifty infographic.
The one thing that is changing with this model is that they are now monetizing the Dungeon Run system. Previously, you simply waiting two weeks after the expansion launched and the content was available to everyone. Now, only the first wing is free and much like past mini expansions like Curse of Naxxramas or Blackrock Mountain, you can purchase additional wins for 700 gold each or purchase the entire adventure for $19.99.
Each new wing you unlock gives you two new characters to play as, three new Hero Powers, and four new starting decks. Completing a wing will earn you three card packs from the new expansion. For completing all five chapters, it will earn you a card back and a Golden Classic Card Pack which gives you Base and Classic cards but all five cards are guaranteed to be golden.
Arena Improvements
If you’re a fan of Arena Mode, Blizzard stated that they are looking to enhance this mode even more. They will be updating the draft pool by rotating out sets and adding new ones twice every expansion to keep things fresh. With the first rotation, The Arena draft pool will contain the following sets:
- Basic
- Classic
- Curse of Naxxramas
- Whispers of the Old Gods
- Means Streets of Gadgetzan
- The Witchwood
- 2019 Expansion 1
Fireside Gathering Pre-Releases Now Permanent
Blizzard loves the idea of community participation and is rewarding that by making pre-releases a permanent fixture going forward. Players can now attend these public events and play with new cards from expansions before their official release but it doesn’t stop there. If you wish to host your own pre-release party, Blizzard is allowing you to do just that! You can create unlisted Fireside Gatherings during the pre-release timeframe and get to open your expansion packs early and play with the new cards amongst your friends!
More information on how to host Fireside Gatherings can be found here: https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/22912682/FiresideGatherings.com
New Features
With a new year, comes new features. Blizzard is adding the ability to reroll legendary quests. Not interested in those one-time or seasonal quests that pop up? Now you can reroll them into an entirely different quest just like you can with basic quests!
Also, there’s a new Random Card Back feature coming where if you select the Random Option as your card back, a card back from your collection will be chosen for you randomly at the start of every match.
They also have a smarter deck builder on the way as well. If you’re stuck making a deck, you can have the game finish the deck for you. Now, it will be smarter about the choices it makes by recognizing cards you’ve chosen and it will try and pair up cards in your collection that will benefit from your already chosen cards, thus opening up the ability to give you combos you may have missed.
Lastly, they are making Arena wins count towards your 500 win condition to earn a golden hero portrait. Normally, you would have to win 500 ranked matches in constructed with a hero (4500 matches total for all nine heroes) to get that hero’s golden portrait. Now, if you’re a fan of Arena, those wins will now count towards that 500 total!
Say Farewell to the Mammoth
Needless to say, a lot is coming in The Year of the Dragon but what about The Year of the Mammoth which will be rotating out?
When the first expansion of 2019 hits in April, the following expansions will be moving to Wild format:
- Journey to Un’goro
- Knights of the Frozen Throne
- Kobolds & Catacombs
That means goodbye to Legendary Quest Spells, Legendary Weapons, and Death Knight cards.
However, if you need to get caught up because Wild Mode is the only mode for you, Blizzard is giving you a chance to flesh out your collections before the expansions fade away from Standard. From March 25 to April 2, when you log in, you will be given a one-time reward of 3 free packs, one from each expansion. In addition, there will be a special Year of the Mammoth Tavern Brawl where you can only construct decks using cards from those three expansions.
