Earlier this week, Blizzard announced that it's popular collectible card game Hearthstone is going to see some major changes. First and foremost is a new game format known as Standard. According to Blizzard this will help them keep Hearthstone "fresh, exciting, and accessible for years to come".
Standardizing The Card Pool
In a nutshell, Standard will function like the current play modes with the caveat that only the most recently released Hearthstone cards will be available for decks. Standard decks can be built from decks built from a pool of cards that were released in the current and previous calendar year, along with the Basic and Classic card sets. The devs have stated that Standard will help make for a more dynamic and balanced metagame, as well as making new sets of card have more impact. In addition, they claim it will let the developers have more freedom when designing new cards. And probably the most telling comment they've made is that Standard will allow new players to jump in faster without having to collect as many cards. Standard will be available as a format in Friendly Challenges, Ranked and Casual- it will not affect Arena, Solo play or Adventures.
Standard format will be rolling out in the spring, allowing decks to be built using sets from:
- Basic
- Classic
- Blackrock Mountain
- The Grand Tournament
- The League of Explorers
- The Spring 2016 Expansion
Long time players will note that Curse of Naxxramas and Goblins vs. Gnomes are not included in the Standard Format. To help keep track of which cards are in part of a current set, Blizzard has come up with the idea of naming each year for a mythical astronomical sign, with the first year being the Year of the Kraken. As the years progress, older card sets will be rotated out of Standard Play. Another important note is that Adventures and Expansions that are not part of the Standard format will no longer be available for purchase from the shop. In the Year of the Kraken, that includes Naxxramas and Goblins vs Gnomes. If you have purchased the first wing of an adventure before it cycles out, you'll still be able to buy the rest and play them. And you will also be able to craft cards from any of them with dust- even cards that were previously unable to be crafted. So what happens to all the older sets?
Welcome To The Wild Side
Wild is the new name for Hearthstone as we know it now. Standard is intended by the game's developer's to bring a balanced experience and allow them to spotlight newer cards. Wild will be an anything goes type of deal. All card sets are available in this mode, and you can take on players in all the modes we currently have. In addition, Wild and Standard will both have their own rank, so you can play as you like and still earn rewards for season play. Rewards will be based on the highest rank you earn in one format, not both so no double farming. We see you over there PredictedCyborg.
Revamping and Expanding
One other feature and developer comment stand out from this announcement. The first is that the team is taking this as a time to make some balance changes to the game. Little information has been released as to what those changes might be, but its the kind of thing that any CCG needs as the available pool of cards expands and grows.
The other tidbit is one that players have been clamoring for literally since the game launched: More Deck Slots. Thats right. If you have all nine hero's unlocked, you will unlock nine more deck slots for a total of 18. No longer will you have to throw out your Windfury/Taunt Deck just so you can build a new deck to crush an Adventure Boss.
Thats a lot of information, and it evokes some major changes in the established game. So, I've rounded up two of our Hearthstone players to provide their opinions on the matter, as well as throwing in my own two cents worth. Jump past the video from the developers below to find out what we think of the changes coming to Hearthstone.
Digmbot
I've been playing CCG's for a long time now. What Blizzard is doing is pretty much in line with what Wizards of the Coast have been doing for years with Magic The Gathering. Hell, pretty much every CCG does it. If you want to keep the meta fresh and balanced, you cycle out old cards. I'm just happy there is a mode dedicated to all the batshit crazy stuff that can happen in Hearthstone. I'm also very much looking forward to seeing what balance changes they will make. There are some cards in the game that need a serious nerf (looking at you Piloted Shredder). And giving the devs freedom to make some truly interesting new cards, that can only be a good thing. Right? A lot of people are going to cry and moan about their favorite cards being nerfed, or not allowed in Standard play. To that I say: Get Over It. If you want the game to grow and continue to be fun and exciting, changes have to be made. Deal with it or get out. Adding nine new hero slots is a great addition to. I've wanted this literally since I got into the beta. I always thought the nine deck limit was stupid, so I'm not going to beat this horse much more except to say "ABOUT DAMN TIME."
Having separate ranks for Wild and Standard is a great idea. It allows players to play in a way that they are comfortable with. Now all Blizzard needs to do is find a way to make the ladder a bit more fun. Card backs aren't really cutting it for me anymore, I need something more. Oh, and if they could make Tavern brawl FUN instead of just a giant RNG bullshit fest, that would be good too.
PredictedCyborg
I’m not entirely sure how to take the changes.
I can see why they’re doing them of course, and finding a new meta in the new Standard mode will be interesting. Problem is, I’ve two decks that I made myself that I’ve spent ages tweaking in places to be as good as they could be and both are affected by the changes coming. My Cybeast deck is a Beast and Mech deck that’ll suffer due to the removal of most Mechs from the GvG set and my Tiny Terrors Paladin deck will lose at least one good method I had of placing my small token Minions onto the board. Sure, I can continue to use both in the Wild mode, but from what I’ve read Wild mode doesn’t include the ranked ladder - which is what I made both these decks for.
I’m also not a fan of the removal of the methods of obtaining both the Naxx and GvG cards except through the crafting of arcane dust. I have obtained all the Naxx cards, but there’s still some GvG cards that I don’t have. I made the choice not to spend loads of money on Hearthstone buying card packs, choosing to complete daily quests to earn the gold to buy my card packs, and now it seems with this change I’ll have to spend actual cash if I ever want to complete my GvG card collection.
Other things coming in the changes I’m excited for. More decks slots? Hell yeah, the community’s been asking for them since the beginning. It will at least allow for 9 slots for new Standard and 9 for Wild - so there we don’t lose out at all. And learning how to make more effective use of newer cards will be fun, especially when the next expansions come out (and hopefully repopulate the Mech population please!)
I just think I could take the new Standard/Wild mode changes if they hadn’t also come with the ‘retirement’ of any method besides dust crafting the cards from Naxx/GvG. That bit’s really not sitting well with me even after a week of hearing the news of changes.
Lonesamurai
Although I’m not much of a TCG player, I’ve followed a lot and played a few over my many decades and packs and decks and Flavours of the month come and go in the TCG market
hearthstone is no different and I quite like the idea that we’ll effectively have two types of game now, Wild play for the crazy oldschool stuff and the upto date gameplay minus older cards to keep the game fresh and upto date
I do understand why some people would be surprised/annoyed that their favourite card is being nerfed or removed, but that's how these games work. Unlike other games though, at least in HS, the cards are still around, and it will make for some fun tournies in the future
