Mammoth Shifts - Journey to Un'Goro

For the entirety of 2018, while cards from the Witchwood, Boomsday Project and Rastakhan's Rumble came into the expansion, the cards from the Year of the Mammoth stuck around and were still core to many of the decks around. This attests to their strength - truly, they deserve being called Mammoths in their own right.

In the first part of this 3-part series reminiscing the cards leaving Standard, we will take a look at the most memorable cards that have stuck around in Hearthstone from Un'Goro.

Journey to Un'Goro

The Year of the Mammoth adapted on a high note, bringing with it a new tribe of Elementals and new mechanics such as our very own legendary Quests!

Most notably, it brought on a legendary rap which reached the top of Reddit in just a day. Truly a legendary achievement!

Looking for more information on Journey to Un'Goro? Visit our dedicated guide!

Meta-Warpers

These cards are the kings of the expansions,  either by shaping the meta around them or being core cards in high tier decks. Often, the trademark of such a card can be seen by the countless "nerf plz" threads for them.

Hunter and Mage - Adapting and Discovering

Crackling Razormaw was the inspiration for this entire series as it has been such a staple in almost every Hunter deck ever since the first day it was released. Definitely deserving of a truly long-service award.

Devilsaur Egg, while being a neutral card, forms the core of most Deathrattle Hunter decks. Who knew that summoning many 5/5's before Turn 4 could be that easy?

Primordial Glyph: Discover a spell that wins you the game. Enough has been argued about this card.

The Arcanologist, though simple, has been a staple tutor card for every Secrets Mage deck, especially by ensuring the perfect curve. Who knew that cheap, tutor effects could be this strong?

Paladins - Odds and Evens

After a poor showing along the Streets of Gadgetzan, the secrets of Un'Goro unveiled a ton of powerful cards for Paladins.

Coupled with Baku and Genn in the Year of the Raven, all of these cards were responsible for the salty tears of millions of Hearthstone players. While cool, these cards will definitely not be missed.

A bonus to Stonehill Defender for effectively discovering Tirion Fordring, Sunkeeper Tarim or Wickerflame Burnbristle everytime!

Priests - Spells are fun!

These three cards form the core of every spell-heavy deck ever since its introduction, ranging from Control Priest decks all the way to OTK decks such as Topsy-Turvy Priest and Clone Priest. Suffice to say, the removal of these cards from the meta will definitely impact every competitive Priest deck out there currently. What fun could Blizzard add in the new set to replace such staples?

Rogues & Warriors - Questing via Bouncing and Defending

The most powerful quest in the entire set, The Caverns Below, holds the rare award of being the first card to be nerfed twice over the past two years. Some say it still is pretty powerful!

Vilespine Slayer is still the king of creating huge tempo for every Rogue deck that played it.

Fire Plume's Heart and Direhorn Hatchling remain as two of the most important cards for a Taunt-heavy Warrior, which is still played competitively to this very day.

Neutrals 

These neutral cards were much beloved by many as being some of the most well-designed cards in the history of Hearthstone. Well, maybe except Charged Devilsaur, when somebody decided to use Carnivorous Cube on it twice.

Honourable Mentions

Unfortunately for 5-Attack Druids, Murloc Shamans and Discard Warlocks, those mechanics were not competitive enough. However, in their classes, they did create some relatively good cards that were played in the right kinds of decks.

Meme-Kings

These cards have transcended beyond the game, and have incited many lulz and discussions over the past years.

Ultrasaur needs no further introduction.

The Marsh Queen was one of the fiercely-debated cards over the pro scene in the Hearthstone community, whereby the card was going to be really strong or really bad. Well, thank goodness it was bad, but nobody managed to see how powerful The Caverns Below would become.

Lakkari Sacrifice marked the first out of many attempts in the history of Hearthstone in attempting to make Discard Warlock work. Expect to see many of these cards to fall in here!

Derpcorn Companions

This section is where the cutest cards in each set are adored and enthroned!

Unfortunately, in venturing into ancient civilizations, the devs favoured creepy, scary dinosaurs more than cute cards. But hey, it's <3 creatures, and it's still a cute little beast!

Onwards to Northrend!

Many have claimed that the Journey to Ungoro formed one of the most, well-balanced meta in the game's history. While true, some of these cards would only see their fullest potential when future expansions came into the picture. Join us next time, where we travel to the icy winds of Northrend to investigate the Knights of the Frozen Throne!