As was announced earlier this week, we're getting a new Core Set being implemented into the game at the time the first set of this year is released. Of note is that 55 of the cards found in the new Core Set will be cards returning from Wild (and presumably, this includes cards that will also be rotating out when the first set of this year hits). With this information, I'm sure that quite a lot of us have been thinking of what Wild cards we'd want to see added to the Core Set when it hits. We at Out of Cards have been doing that exact same thing. A bunch of us decided to pick 3 Wild or rotating cards that we want to have added to the Core Set and write about why we want to see them in the Core set (we did also choose not to pick any cards that someone else already chose).

Linkblade91

Kalimos, Primal Lord Card ImageKathrena Winterwisp Card ImageLynessa Sunsorrow Card Image

Kalimos, Primal Lord - "Elementals are thematically important to the Shaman, but an Elemental-focused Shaman set hasn't come our way in a long time. Sure they've received the occasional card - Cagematch Custodian, Molten Blast, Shattered Rumbler - but none of them have truly been of the "If you played an Elemental last turn" variety like the Mage received with Grand Finale. Bringing back Kalimos, Primal Lord would emphasize and go hand-in-hand with the return of Elementals as one of the Shaman's primary strengths."

Kathrena Winterwisp - "Beasts are a core identity of the Hunter, so it makes sense to bring back a Beast-related Legendary card. It could be a stretch given that this current Hearthstone Year has had so few worthwhile Recruit targets (Teacher's Pet...and that's about it), but this could easily change if Blizzard is going ahead with a "safari"-esque expansion as they appear to be. Bringing back Kathrena Winterwisp would also demonstrate how old set-specific keywords could come back, mixing together in new ways."

Lynessa Sunsorrow - "I surely am reaching on this one, but casting buffs on your minions is a key strength of the Paladin, as seen most recently by the Librams. Blizzard might hold back given the prevalence of said archetype - believing it has had its time already - but I think Lynessa Sunsorrow could be halfway-decent in the deck. She never got off the ground last time around in-part because The Last Kaleidosaur kind of sucked, but in a new light, she could find hope again. Throw in Spikeridged Steed as a returning card, and maybe you've got yourself a winner :D"

BloodMefist

Medivh, the Guardian Card ImageSeance Card ImageLord Godfrey Card Image

Medivh, the Guardian - "Medivh is a very famous and recognizable character and comes with a pretty cool effect. He never broke Standard while he was in rotation and could help open the door for some neat value decks across several classes."

Seance - "Seance is a simple, but very flexible card. Being able to double down on your own strategy or borrow from your opponent's is a niche but somewhat satisfying gameplay decision. Some of the most fun I had in Hearthstone was when I could spam Amara, Warden of Hope thanks to Seance."

Lord Godfrey - "Oh my Yogg I love this card so much. Godfrey might be the single-handedly most satisfying card to play when he works. Getting the clean board clear after setting up around Deathrattles and minion health feels so rewarding. Defile is also cool, but it limits design space a bit more due to its much cheaper mana cost and doesn't come with sick bullet VFX."

Sule

King's Elekk Card ImageAnyfin Can Happen Card ImageNecrium Blade Card Image

King's Elekk - "One of the few successful iterations of the ill-fated "Joust" mechanic from The Grand Tournament (not to be confused with the ill-fated "Inspire" mechanic from The Grand Tournament), King's Elekk was a cool way for Blizzard to give Hunter a way to draw cards in a way that informed deck-building decisions. It was such a cool design that this effect was later aped by Raven Familiar, but the O.G. Beast that Jousts for Card Draw will always have a special place in my heart."

Anyfin Can Happen - "Anyfin Can Happen was the finisher for probably my favorite OTK deck of all time, and it doesn't hurt that the name is pretty good. The deck was mainly removal, card draw, and healing...and four (or five, depending on the build) Murlocs that you would play over the course of the game. Then, at the end, you would drop an Anyfin Can Happen or two and punch your opponent in the face with some big Bluegill Warriors. It was stupid and a heckuva lot of fun to play."

Necrium Blade - "Deathrattle Rogue is always floating around, but in my opinion, the deck was never more fun to play in Standard than the period in time when it had Necrium Blade. The card was great at answering your opponent's stuff and its effect allowed you more flexibility when triggering your minion's Deathrattles. It helped that there were some very good cheap Deathrattles in Boomsday Standard, but Necrium Blade was the best part of that archetype."

Demonxz95

Dwarven Sharpshooter Card ImageLava Shock Card Image

Priest Board Clear - "This is just a stand-in for, really, any Priest board clear card. Of the ones that exist, both Lightbomb and Mass Hysteria would be my top two as far as which ones I think should come back. Priest doesn't have small board clears for the Core set, so either Spirit Lash or Holy Ripple would also work."

Dwarven Sharpshooter - "This is simply an elegant 1-drop for Hunter that's quite strong, but not too oppressively and opens up the class quite a bit. Gives Hunter the ability to have some type of control tool for the Core set."

Lava Shock - "This might come off as a very bizarre choice given that the amount of play it saw was relatively minor. But I figured that out of other cards I could've picked here, they either were too obvious and I felt someone else would pick them or didn't offer much variety against the other two cards. I choose Lava Shock because while it's not that strong, it's a perfect card for Shaman's core arsenal that will always be useful if they're going to get good Overload support, and the ability really deserves to be put on a core card. I think it would benefit from being placed in said environment and would see more play as a result."

Nirast

Moorabi Card ImageFoe Reaper 4000 Card ImageRenounce Darkness Card Image

Moorabi - "Ok, maybe not the card itself, but what it represents: Freeze Shaman. An archetype that was pretty much dead on arrival because of lack of support, but which can have a chance with a pseudo-permanent base in rotation."

Foe Reaper 4000 - "There's like 4 Mechs in Classic/Basic, and one of them isn't even collectible. The tribe needs more cards in Standard and, barring the obvious choice that is Zilliax, Foe Reaper is just a great card to have. It's not even that strong these days."

Renounce Darkness - "Pure, unadulterated fun card. It Will never be meta, but it's a great meme card. Honorable mention to Plot Twist from the Warlock side."

Koetti

Tess Greymane Card ImageRhok'delar Card ImageDirty Rat Card Image

Tess Greymane - "Burgle Rogue is just the most fun Archetype there is! It's so interesting because you have to adapt to different circumstances and come up with a game plan along the way every game. Are you going in aggressive with burn? Will you find the pieces for a weird, game-ending combo? Or is it gonna be a grindy control match? Who knows! Tess Greymane is THE card for Burgle Rogue, because not only does it fully embraces this archetype's chaotic nature, but it also can provide for a legitimate Win-Condition."

Rhok'delar - "I remember when this and To My Side! got revealed and almost everyone declared it DoA. "LuL, Hunter without Beasts, WTF?!". But, as it turns out, Spell Hunter is not only a pretty unique control-ish archetype for a class, that usually focuses more on the early- or mid-game but also pretty fun! And with Hero Cards like Deathstalker Rexxar or Zul'jin it was also quite competitive! Sadly, this didn't last after rotating into Wild. Hunter doesn't have the tools necessary to make it against Aggro, and if they do get into a Control-Match up, they usually get outshined by other class' more powerful endgame. However, a return to Standard via the Core Set could give this awesome archetype a second wind!"

Dirty Rat - "Combos and powerful Battlecries are fine, but they can become extremely frustrating if there's barely anything you can do against them, especially when you're not playing Priest with Mindrender Illucia or Rogue with Shenanigans. If you do want them in your game, you need to give the player's a reasonable tech card in return. Dirty Rat is just the best option for that: It's simple, neutral, and - at least IMO - fair."

Noxious

High Priest Amet Card ImageThe Lich King Card ImageJusticar Trueheart Card Image

High Priest Amet - "If Priest is about to get yet another rework, considering there are some shadowy things going on with it, and if we please god move away from the resurrection mechanic, I think High Priest Amet would be a great card to include in the core set. It's not the strongest, but it'll fight hard. It works quite well with the general Priest shenanigans, and it's not "too complicated" for new players to get the hang of it. "

The Lich King - "Color me unsurprised if The Lich King makes it into the core set, with Shadowlands being a thing at the moment. It wouldn't be the first time Hearthstone has "synced" with certain themes in WoW. Aside from that being likely shenanigans, The Lich King would be the best choice for the next Core "Ysera", with its randomized yet powerful card generation effect. It's a card that can fit in almost any deck, and even its stats alone make it worth playing - it's an Ironbark Protector, but juicier."

Justicar Trueheart - "*Dramatic brass thump* Justicar Trueheart! Straightforward mechanic, lovely effect. Works with almost any deck, bar the more funky ones that change hero powers like Bob changes his opinions. Trueheart used to be quite strong in her heyday, but compared with how off-the-charts the power level of the meta is these days (and, I assume, will simply continue to grow until they'll need to set heroes' starting health to 40), Justicar Trueheart would work quite well as a mild-mannered, mid-game board slam that anyone can throw into their incomplete deck once they run out of ideas."

Sinti

Thoughtsteal Card ImageUnstable Portal Card ImageHallucination Card Image

Thoughtsteal - "This is the card I probably like the most in Hearthstone, for sentimental reasons, playing a lot of Steal Priest when that archetype wasn't really a thing yet, but also for the fun part of Priest, where it allows you to have a different game each time. There are other cards that do a similar thing, but Thoughtsteal is Thoughtsteal man, this card needs to survive!"

Unstable Portal - "I'm not just all about the RNG, I swear! :D But I have to pick out the cards I've had the most fun with over the years and wouldn't mind if they became part of Standard again. In today's setting, it wouldn't be the strongest card out there, well never was, but it would still be good enough to include in most decks and, again, provide that freshness to your games without sacrificing your deck's goals in the process."

Hallucination - "Tess Greymane was already taken, so I will go with my second choice for Burgle Rogue. Hallucination was always my favorite and I can't count how many times it saved my bacon. The Discover part is the main reason, you don't just get a random card, you can pick what you need, or decide to alter your strategy, based on the options offered. I could have as easily picked Swashburglar, Undercity Huckster or Blink Fox here, and I would be fine with any of these making it instead, but Hallucination is bae <3"

Echo

Candleshot Card ImagePatches the Pirate Card ImageDefile Card Image

Candleshot - "I'm an absolute sucker for a solid aggressive card and Candleshot sticks out to me as a card that can fit only aggressive decks, but more midrange focused ones as well. While missing Hunter's Mark would obviously hurt the bows success, I do believe that including candleshot would be a great way to bridge the gaps between the current hyper aggro decks the class has and the more midrange focused builds hunter has seen in the past. The card encourages even the most aggressive players to play for the board and ultimately has never felt too oppressive to me."

Patches the Pirate - "Hands down the most controversial card I want to see back in standard, Patches the Pirate is almost always the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of Pirates in Hearthstone. After taking a look at standard next year, with the rotation of Uldum, Descent of Dragons, and Galakrond's Awakening, there are only going to be three pirates in standard, two belonging to different classes, and the third being Circus Amalgam. Due to the sheer lack of pirates from prior sets, the tribe really needs some gas in the tank to ever exist and I feel like Patches could fit that niche. Is there a chance Patches becomes too dominant if a fair amount of playable pirates are printed? Absolutely, but those are risks I'm willing to take. To me, a core set should include cards that are skill testing, both in deck building and with actually piloting the deck, and Patches the Pirate easily fills the first niche with new players, who might not recognize the number of power Patches brings to the table."

Defile - "On the complete other side of the spectrum from my last two cards, I have Defile. I have such a love-hate relationship with it at times feeling borderline busted and other times feeling like a worse Arcane Explosion. While I doubt we will ever see a meta again where defiling for 7+ damage is going to be a necessity, the card still is one of the most skill-testing cards we've seen to date. If Defile does come back and you ask me about a week into the new expansion on whether I'm glad to see it back, there is a solid chance I'm going to recoil in fear at the mention of the name alone, but I do believe it is a perfect time to experiment with a higher power budget given that the cards will only be back in standard for a year."

These are the cards that we want back in the Core Set, but the interesting thing about this topic is simply how many different cards people choose and for different reasons. Let us know in the comments what cards you want to see make a return.