Blizzard plans to shake things up in Hearthstone with the introduction of the “Standard” mode. We have gathered the goals and plans mentioned so far for you.
Fewer expansions, more balancing adjustments
A few days ago, we talked about the meeting of the Hearthstone elite with the game developers. While four expansions were released last year, alternating an adventure and a card set, changes are planned for the near future. In 2016, there should only be “three expansions”: one at the beginning, a card set, then an adventure in the summer, and another card set by the end of the year. This cadence is intended to be maintained for now to see “how it feels”.
Alongside the next expansion, the new “Standard” game mode will also be introduced, which will only allow certain card sets. This is intended to give newcomers the chance to catch up faster and keep the meta exciting. Blizzard states that “the transition to Standard may happen a bit early, but they don’t want to wait until they miss the right timing.”
With the introduction of “Standard”, many “old” cards from the Basic and Classic sets are also set to be revised. A few examples have already been mentioned that could greatly influence the course of a match.
- The Knife Juggler will likely be nerfed. Especially in Rush decks with many minions, their effect occurs too frequently.
- The Leper Gnome is also on the list. “If they could, they would put 30 Leper Gnomes in a Rush deck.”
- For Druids, they are focusing on the Keeper of the Grove, Ancient of Lore, and the feared “Nature’s Wrath + Wild Roar” combo. Nerfs are also expected here.
However, there are no concrete plans regarding the changes yet. We will keep you updated as soon as Blizzard releases details on this.
You can find more news and information about the game on our Hearthstone topic page.
