For the year 2019, Hearthstone is removing several cards from the game. Some of them even a year earlier than players expected.
To keep Blizzard’s card game feeling fresh and to prevent some “evergreens” from making new decks nearly impossible, old cards are periodically banished to the “Hall of Fame.” These cards can no longer be played in ranked mode. As compensation, however, players receive the full amount of Arcane Dust without actually losing the card.
For the year 2019, this affects nine very popular cards that you will soon have to say goodbye to.
- Druids lose Circle of Nature. This spell was a staple and almost present in every deck.
- Warlocks lose their Doomguard , one of their strongest minions. Especially in the “Cube Lock,” this minion was important, as it could swiftly defeat the enemy with Charge.
- Paladins lose their Divine Favor, with which they can draw many cards. With the next major patch, this card will no longer be playable.
The end of “even” and “odd” decks
However, it hits a whole number of cards that were only introduced in 2018 even harder. Both Baku the Mooncaller and Genn Greymane are being moved early to the “Hall of Fame,” even though they were supposed to be part of the standard rotation for another year.
The developers were drawn to this decision because the two deck types had a greater influence on the game than Blizzard had anticipated. They do not want to play against these specific decks for another year. At least the first comments under the announcement welcome this step.
Alongside this, four more cards that relied heavily on Baku and Genn will be banished. These are:
- Gloomstag
- Black Cat
- Shimmering Moth
- Murk-Eye Eel
The cards will be moved to the Hall of Fame with the next major patch and the start of the “Year of the Dragon.” Until then, you can still play them.
What do you think of these changes? Are they good and reasonable? Or has Blizzard acted prematurely?
By the way: Solo adventures in Hearthstone will soon cost money again…
