Blizzard has made a huge announcement today about the future of Hearthstone. We're getting a new Core set, Basic & Classic are moving to Wild, a new format is arriving that let's you play old Hearthstone, and more! Details down below.
Hearthstone's 2021 Rotation - The Legacy and Core Sets
- Basic & Classic Sets move to Wild in a new set called Legacy.
- The new Core Set has 235 cards.
- This set will change every year and be completely free for all players.
- You unlock cards in this set by leveling your heroes.
- Some older cards will return from previous expansions.
- 29 of the cards this upcoming year are completely new.
- We will be able to have 27 deck slots!
- Tavern Brawl will be changed to give out more recent packs instead of Classic packs.
New Format: Classic
This is not the new game mode.
- Arrives on set rotation this year.
- You get to play with the original 240 Hearthstone cards as they were in 2014 - no nerfs or buffs!
- Your collection gets mirrored - having the current card also gives you the older card.
- This is only with Basic & Classic cards. No other additions have been announced.
- Has its own matchmaking pool and ranked play mode.
- Games you play count towards achievements.
- Cards that were added to the Classic set past 2014 will no longer be included in Classic Packs but instead can be crafted.
- Demon Hunter will not be playable in the format.
Quote From Blizzard We’ve got some major changes on the horizon we’re ready to discuss. When card sets from Year of the Dragon (Rise of Shadows, Saviors of Uldum, Descent of Dragons, Demon Hunter Initiate) rotate to Wild at the launch of our next expansion, we’re planning to move the Basic and Classic sets to Wild as well to make way for the new Core Set!
Introducing the Core Set
The Core set replaces Basic and Classic cards in the Standard format and will contain a selection of 235 cards.
After set rotation this year, Standard will include card sets from Year of the Phoenix (Ashes of Outland, Scholomance Academy, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, Darkmoon Races Mini-Set), the next expansion, and the new Core Set!
The Core Set will be free for all players and will replace Basic and Classic in Standard as a curated selection of 235 cards intended to provide a modern collection of starting cards to players of all types and make Hearthstone even more approachable for newcomers. Some of the Core Set cards are returning from previous sets, some are reimagined favorites, and 29 cards are completely new!
Core Set Breakdown:
- 88 cards returning from Classic (54 class cards, 34 neutral cards).
- 54 cards returning from Basic (41 class cards, 13 neutral cards).
- 55 cards returning from Wild (36 class cards, 19 neutral cards).
- 4 cards returning from Ashes of Outland (4 Demon Hunter Class cards).
- 4 cards returning from Demon Hunter Initiate.
- 1 card returning from Hall of Fame (Shadowform).
- 29 new cards (20 Class cards, 9 Neutral cards).
Like the Basic Set, you’ll earn Core Set cards by leveling up each class. All Core Set class cards are rewarded between levels 1-10 for each class, and Neutral Core Set cards will unlock based the sum of all your class levels combined, up to the combined level of 60. Golden versions of Core Set cards can be unlocked by completing Achievements associated with winning games as each class.
When you log in after rotation, you’ll automatically be granted the new Core Set cards equal to your current level for each class!*
Unlike how Basic and Classic functioned previously, the Core Set will be refreshed each year. At the end of every (Hearthstone) year, a new Core Set will take the place of the previous, comprised of new and existing cards. When that happens, the Core Set cards that are rotating will be swapped with new ones in your Collection automatically.
*Core set cards will be available in your Collection automatically at set rotation. Players will not see an in-game pop up when this occurs.
Introducing the Legacy Set
Basic and Classic cards will join Wild in the form of a card set named “Legacy”.
When the Core Set is added at rotation, we’ll be retiring the Hall of Fame entirely. The Basic and Classic sets will move to Wild under a new name—the Legacy Set, which is where most cards from the Hall of Fame will go as well. There are a few exceptions: Genn Greymane, Baku the Mooneater, and other Hall of Fame cards from the Witchwood will return to the Witchwood set, and Shadowform will return to Standard as part of the Core Set!
With the Classic Set joining the Legacy Set in Wild, all Classic cards and their Golden versions will now be craftable and disenchantable. Basic cards and their Golden versions will be granted to all players that have Wild unlocked for free at rotation, as will the normal versions of Demon Hunter Initiate cards (Golden Demon Hunter Initiate cards will still be craftable and disenchantable).
Introducing the Classic Format
Craft decks and compete using Hearthstone’s original 240 cards as they were in 2014, the year the game launched!
We’re excited to share that we’ll be launching the Classic format alongside set rotation and our next expansion! The Classic format invites players to craft decks and compete using Hearthstone’s original 240 cards as they were in 2014, the year that Hearthstone launched!
When logging in after our patch for the next expansion (before expansion content unlocks), your entire collection of Basic, Classic, and relevant Hall of Fame cards will be mirrored and available for deck building in the Classic format—as they were in the 1.0.0.5832 patch of June 2014 (after we made a few important changes), with any and all balance changes since then reverted. Yes, in the Classic format Warsong Commander can give minions Charge, Holy Smite can go face, and Leeroy Jenkins will cost 4 mana! If you want to relive the old-school Hearthstone experience, Classic will be the place for you!
Moving forward, unlocking the Wild format will also grant access to the Classic format. Classic’s reward systems, rank systems, and seasons will function the same as Standard and Wild, and like those formats, Classic will have its own matchmaking pool. You will be able to challenge your friends in the Classic format from Day 1, and games played in the Classic format will count towards any relevant Achievements.
Classic format cards will appear in their own section within the Collection manager and Classic format decks will have a unique border on your deck selection page to differentiate them from your Standard and Wild decks. Speaking of the deck selection page, we’re also excited to share that we’ll be increasing the total number of deck slots from 18 to 27 alongside the release of Classic!
Classic packs will now add to your Collection for the Classic format, as well as the Legacy set in Wild. If you have Knife Juggler in your Collection, you’ll have two versions of it—one that can be used in Wild with 2 Attack and 2 Health, and one you can use in the Classic format as it was in 2014 with 3 Attack and 2 Health.
Cards that were added to the Classic set later in Hearthstone's history will not be usable in the Classic format or drop from Classic packs, but will be craftable as part of the Legacy set in Wild. This includes:
- Icicle
- Tome of Intellect
- Call of the Void
- Pilfer
- Siegebreaker
- Gift of the Wild
- Righteousness
- Brightwing
- High Inquisitor Whitemane
- Barrens Stablehand
- SI:7 Infiltrator
- Arcane Devourer
- Kul Tiran Chaplain
- Scarlet Subjugator
- Shadow Word: Ruin
- Natalie Seline
Lastly, since cards from Classic Packs are no longer usable in Standard, we'll be replacing Classic Packs in various rewards (such as Tavern Brawls and Achievements) with other recent card packs.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is the Core Set only playable in Standard?
- No. The Core set can be used in Wild as well.
- Will the Core Set cost money?
- No. The Core Set is free. Once you reach level 10 with a class, you’ll have all Core Set class cards for that class unlocked forever. A total level of 60 across all classes will unlock all Core Set neutral cards forever! When cards in the Core Set rotate for the first time, the applicable cards in your Collection will automatically swap out for new ones.
- Are there any dust refunds associated with this?
- No. We are rotating Basic and Classic to Wild just like other card sets that have moved to Wild in the past, and providing the new Core Set for free. No cards in Standard or Wild are being nerfed.
- I have every class at level 10 or higher, will I get the full Core Set at set rotation?
- Yes, you will have the full Core Set unlocked at set rotation. Core Set cards are unlocked based on class levels (quite easily), regardless of whether you own the original card or not. Unlocking a card in the Core Set doesn’t grant you ownership of the card in its original set. You can use them for the duration of the year. Next year, a different set of cards will comprise the Core Set.
- Will the Core Set replace Basic and Classic in Arena?
- Yes, the Core Set will replace Basic and Classic in the next Arena rotation, which will take place at the launch of our next expansion.
- Will we be able to get Genn Greymane, Baku the Mooneater, and the other Hall of Fame cards from the Witchwood in Witchwood card packs now?
- Yes, you will be able to unpack all Witchwood minions that were previously in the Hall of Fame from Witchwood packs after the format changes take place.
- What’s happening with Shadowform?
- Shadowform is returning to Standard as part of the Core Set, but it will also be playable in Wild as part of the Legacy set, and available for use in the Classic format as well.
- How do Classic Packs work with Standard now?
- Classic packs still contain Classic cards, which will now be usable in the Classic format and in Wild as part of the Legacy Set. Classic cards that aren’t part of the Core Set will not be usable in Standard. We’re adjusting the rewards for a wide variety of quests/achievements/etc. that previously awarded Classic packs to have Standard-usable rewards instead.
- Can I disenchant the Classic format version of a card and keep the version in Wild that’s part of the Legacy Set or vice versa?
- No. You cannot disenchant or earn these cards separately. While stats, card text, and effects might be different, they are effectively the same card shown in two different ways.
- Can I disenchant Classic format/Legacy cards?
- Yes, Classic format/Legacy cards can be disenchanted. But as stated in the answer above, Classic format and Legacy versions of a card are not duplicates of each other; if you disenchant Leeroy Jenkins, he’ll be gone from both your Classic format Collection and Legacy.
- Will Demon Hunter be in the Classic Format?
- No. Demon Hunter was not in Hearthstone in 2014, so it will not be part of the Classic format.
- Will cards in the Classic format be the exact same as they were in 2014?
- All balance changes for these cards over the years will be reverted, but cosmetic changes will remain. For example: Felstalker will be Felstalker and will not revert to Succubus. Also, all Basic cards from the Hall of Fame will be Common rarity in the Classic format.
- Will the Classic format see changes in the future (more expansions added, etc.)?
- We have nothing further to announce currently, but we’re looking forward to player feedback on the Classic format!
- Why 27 deck slots? That seems like a strange number.
- We’re keeping the same familiar deck selection UI but adding one more page of 9 slots.
- Are you changing the pool of cards Zephrys the Great pulls from?
- No. Zephrys the Great is rotating to Wild with Saviors of Uldum and will still pull from the same Basic and Classic cards that are now part of the Legacy set.
- What happens to Whizbang?
- Whizbang will remain in Wild as part of the Boomsday set and will be updated for every major release moving forward.
- When will the Core Set and Classic format go live?
- While we don’t have dates to share today, the Classic format will go live with the patch for our next expansion and the Core Set will go live with set rotation when content for the next expansion unlocks.
- Will there be a page on PlayHearthstone.com where we’ll be able to see the full Core Set and all the cards in the Classic format?
- Yes! The full Core Set will be revealed a few days after BlizzConline and will be available for early deck building in the card library. The card library will be updated to include all cards for the Classic format when it goes live with the patch for our next expansion.
Tune-in to BlizzConline on February 19 to learn more about the Core Set and Classic format! We’ve got some exciting news to share before revealing some of the new and revolutionized Core Set cards!
Comments
And my first question was:
Are you changing the pool of cards Zephrys the Great pulls from?
Thank the Maker!
Haha
As an almost exclusively Wild player, I'm confused why they're reverting all the OG cards for the sake of a Classic format, but not changing cards for Wild. I don't see Classic lasting as a format for a lot of people, it seems gimmicky. A lot of those pre-nerfed cards would be totally fine and actually pretty good for the Wild format. Mana Wyrm would bring back Tempo Mage, Wild Growth is currently power creeped anyway, Leper Gnome and Abusive Sergeant would give some traditional aggro strategies a lot of support, Keeper of the Grove is obsolete next to Spellbreaker, Big Game Hunter is often a tempo loss at 5 mana, Force of Nature is honestly unplayable, Warsong Commander would be fine considering Warrior has stronger archetypes than Patron Warrior now, Power Word: Shield is next to useless, etc.
Not to mention Preparation, Cold Blood, Flare, Equality, and Blade Flurry being fine in their original designs/costs but flawed as evergreen cards.
Flametonque Totem aswell
This all seems great and I am honestly all for a new Core set. I doubt I'll play Classic mode much, but it'll be interesting to see what Hearthstone was like before I started playing at the Blackrock launch.
However, there's one thing I don't understand. They seem to imply, by saying that they will give us the Core cards for free and then "swap" them for the new Core set next year, that we will not keep our copies of the Core cards that we didn't already have. So when the 2021 Core set rotates, will I have to craft those 29 new cards if I want to play them in Wild, even though I've been playing them for 2 years in Standard? I get that Blizzard don't want to keep giving us a bunch of free cards every year that we keep forever, but that seems needlessly confusing and unfairly detrimental for Wild players (assuming any of these Core cards have the power-level to make them still relevant in Wild 2 years after they come out, of course).
Looks like I'm currently missing a few hall of fame cards (Captain's Parrot x2, Elite Tauren Chieftain, Gelbin Mekkatorque) and a few "new" classic cards (Icicle, Natalie). If I open my classic packs now, I have a chance of getting the "new" classic cards I'm missing, but miss out on the chance of getting the hall of fame ones I'm missing. If I wait, the only way to get the "new" ones will be to craft them, but I'll have the chance of getting the hall of fame ones from Classic packs again. The tricky part is, the three hall of fame cards I'm missing weren't originally in Classic Packs (they were in the Rewards/Promo sets), so will they suddenly be available in Classic packs after the Hall of Fame disappears, or will the simply remain only craftable?
I highly doubt that Captain's Parrot, ETC and Gelbin would be added to Classic packs. They've been craft only ever since the the Pirates quest was removed for Parrot, and since their promo releases for the other two, and I don't see that changing.
I don't know how well it will go. But I'm absolutely glad for the Classic format.
I'll get that Hearthstone back, what I hopelessly loved. Which was simple, but great, and when random factors where at pretty healthy levels.
I thank you, very much. As well as the extra deck slots, true that they could be 100 total. Pardon, Wild player here. :) Old School Miracle Rogue, here I come.
I always wait for sets to rotate out of standard before dusting duplicates (in case of nerfs), but now I'll finally be able to dust classic duplicates too (or legacy as they'll be known). I guess I can do it now since they said no nerfs but I'll wait anyway.
I wonder if basic cards that will all become legacy will be dustable or still marked as uncraftable/non-dustable? Probably the latter but if not, makes sense to level any classes to get golden basic cards you don't have which is lots in my case because some classes I pretty much don't play.
1. all basic cards will be dustable, and of common qulality
2. No need to level heroes, the blog says that if you unlocked wild before the patch, you recieve all golden and non golden basic cards.
I'm shocked to see no one discussing exactly how many cards we are losing. Basic, with the 10 Demon Hunter cards was 143 total cards, Classic without any Demon Hunter cards was 240, so it could have had 255 if they had truly made a Classic Demon Hunter set like they said they planned to before making this announcement. The new Core Set will only have 235 cards, that means the grand total of possible options is being cut from 398 down to 235. That's a loss of 163 cards. Now don't get me wrong, many many cards in Basic and Classic aren't viable constructed options, but let's be real, many cards from every set aren't really viable constructed options either, so even if they greatly increase the number of viable options overall will it outweigh those missing cards? That's more cards than a standard expansion just gone.
That also means that cards that generate cards, at least in Standard are going to have a much much smaller variance of power, if the base strength is naturally higher and all the terrible cards from Basic and Classic are purged it could create even more issues than ever before with randomly generated effects taking precedence. We already see things like Mana Cyclone in Mage and Sethekk Veilweaver in Priest almost making high cost high value cards unnecessary as generating large amounts of random cards is better. When you narrow that pool of options and make it more powerful it makes cards like those better while making the cards they actually generate less likely to be included in decks directly.
I do think the changes overall are great. I think returning cards is great. I think a few Core set is great. I think there might be negatives to a smaller, more powerful pool of cards moving forward considering Blizzards general approach to making Hearthstone about moments and randomness and excitement, instead of truly balanced gameplay.
so wild will have everything even the unnerfed cards?
No, Classic is its own thin
Started reading but when it became apparent I could open hoarded Classic packs had to login and start smashing space bar! OK done, reading complete.
A 2014 classic game mode is interesting, but will it have the player base to avoid queuing for 10+ mins or facing same few opponents over and over once initial interest wanes?
I mean, it's presumably going to be the same exact format forever without any balance changes or additions. There's gonna be a handful of best decks that will remain the best decks for eternity. It's bound to die off and my guess is it'll happen pretty quickly. Honestly I don't think they thought the idea through very much.
Thumbs up on most of this but...weird question. Say I'm a Wild player. They introduce the Core set, which will contain 29 new cards (all the rest are "reprints"). Then next year, when set rotation happens, the Core set gets replaced with a different Core set, likely again containing 29 new cards. Does that mean the 29 new cards from the previous year's Core set are now and forever unavailable and unplayable, even in Wild? Essentially, Wild now also has an, albeit small, rotating set? Am I understaning this right?
That's how I read it too. Definitely seems kinda weird, but that's how I understand the Core mechanic too. I hope they clarify that for us in the coming days.
27 DECK SLOTS!
TAVERN BRAWLS NOW AWARDING RECENT PACKS!
Also damn they'll announce the full core set after blizzconline? then I guess the HS presentation will focus on the next expansion...