The online card game Hearthstone has had a problem with the class “Death Knight” for years. Fans wanted to see it in the game, but that would have caused Blizzard a lot of issues. Now, Death Knights are coming to Hearthstone, but not quite. Blizzard elegantly solves an unsolvable problem with Knights of the Frozen Throne.
Hearthstone launched with the nine original classes from World of Warcraft. WoW added the tenth class, the Death Knight, about four years after its release. Therefore, the question has been pressing in Hearthstone for years: “Are they bringing a new class? Will the Death Knight be included at some point?”
Now Blizzard answers, surprisingly innovatively.
Hearthstone: The problem of introducing a new class
Because it wouldn’t be easy to bring a new class to Hearthstone: Blizzard would have to answer many questions:
- What hero power would you give the Death Knight?
- What “special mechanics” are still available, and what playstyle should the class have?
- How does it fit into the balance?
- How many cards should the Death Knight get, would Blizzard retroactively give it cards for all expansions? We would have to introduce many cards at once just for one class – the others would feel neglected.
- If Blizzard introduces the Death Knight – what about the Monk? And then also the Demon Hunter?
From a design perspective, it’s a cascade of problems. Additionally, Blizzard would have to design and balance not only for nine classes in all future expansions, but for ten – and with the Monk, that would be eleven, and with the Demon Hunter, twelve. Everything would be even more difficult if the floodgates for new classes in Hearthstone were opened.
Elegant solution to the Death Knight problem – Hearthstone: Knights of the Frozen Throne
With the latest expansion “Knights of the Frozen Throne” Blizzard cleverly solves this problem and cuts through the Gordian Knot.
It doesn’t add “a new class”, but the existing new classes receive legendary cards that transform the hero into a “Death Knight” with new hero powers, but no new “basic cards.”
The first hero power of the Hunter Death Knight already fuels the imagination
The first new Death Knight variant is the Hunter Deathstalker Rexxar. With the hero power, he can merge two minions costing up to 5 mana into a “Super-Monster”, which then takes on the attributes, mana costs, and stats of the two “component minions”.
Some specialists are already rubbing their hands at how they can “break” Hearthstone with this. Someone who specializes in this is “Disguised Toast”. He’s already thinking about merging the 1/1 Charger with the Malevolent Hatchling, making it a 4/4 Monster with Charge that mutates on each attack on the opposing hero. Really nasty.
If Blizzard manages to create such an interesting variant for the other heroes as well, one can only congratulate them: an elegantly solved problem.
Here are more infos and the first cards from Hearthstone “Knights of the Frozen Throne”:
Hearthstone: The first cards from ‘Knights of the Frozen Throne’
