In a Hearthstone blog post released earlier today by Blizzard, several new cards to replace Hall of Famed cards were announced. In total, 10 new cards will be available to play once the next Hearthstone patch goes live. The developers further took the time to explain their view on class identity and how this will effect Hearthstone and its future.
Cards entering the Hall of Fame
Following the new guidelines set for the class identity of each class in Hearthstone, two classic cards will be rotated to the Hall of Fame. Classic cards sent to the Hall of Fame will no longer be playable in the standard format, but they will still be available to use in the Wild format. This time around, the classic cards Vanish and Mind Blast will be rotated.
The developers want one of Rogue’s weaknesses to be board clearing, as stated earlier in the announcement. This is the main reason for Vanish’s removal. A lot of Rogue decks will be sad to see this card leave the format. However, it will allow for more exciting cards to be printed in the future. The rotation of Vanish is unlikely to affect the current meta much. The only deck Vanish saw active play in was the Pogo-Rogue deck some players have tried (and failed) to bring to Hearthstone Grandmasters.
The same goes for Mind Blast. The card itself has long had a presence in Hearthstone, however, not always a positive one. The card always felt out of place in the Priest class, and it limited what control cards could be printed for the class. Vanish and Mind Blast will be replaced when they rotate into the Hall of Fame, which is expected to happen later this month.
Two new classic cards
Here are the two new cards to replace Vanish and Mind Blast. One is Plaguebringer, a worse version of the card Plague Scientist from the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion. The card will literally almost never see play in Hearthstone. The reason this card is so bad is explained well by a quote from the developers: “Since these are Basic and Classic cards (and so not subject to set rotation), we want to be careful with their power level so that Hearthstone can continue to feel fresh with each new year.”
This is in line with their previous changes over the years to make the Classic and Basic set as useless as possible. This comes mainly because of the fact that the cards in the Classic and Basic set are simply still too powerful and reduce what can be done with new archetypes in every expansion.
The second new card is Radiance. Radiance is an effective reprint of Flash Heal, a card from the Grand Tournament expansion. Back in the day, however, the card was able to target any minion or hero in the game, and as such was simply much better. This card is again simply never going to see play in Hearthstone.
The Hall of Fame replacements
Over the years quite a few cards from various expansions have been sent to the Hall of Fame. The next update will bring replacements for these gaps in the Classic and Basic sets. As all of the non-legendary cards will never see play in Hearthstone, let’s focus on the positives. The next update will bring two new legendary cards for you to play, and they might actually be good!
Starting off with Brightwing, it’s a simple card with a surprising amount of potential. The card is cheap, does something decent, and has some synergy with existing builds of various decks. My mind went straight to the current builds of Cyclone Mage, which can also make use of the dragon package. On top of that, the card does not affect your hand size when you play it. This makes it one of the few cards Mages can play on turn 3 without affecting their turn 4 plays.
The other legendary card that will be joining the ranks of Hearthstone soon is High Inquisitor Whitemane. This card is simply great. It’s a big pile of stats that avoids the occasional Big Game Hunters being played. Aggressive-style decks feel great about being able to trade away their minions on turn 7 and bringing them right back with this Lady. In control decks, however, this card might also make the cut. Various decks in the current meta are based around minions, and all this card needs to be included is to revive a single minion consistently on turn 7 or beyond, which is extremely likely.
What do you think?
High Inquisitor Whitemane is certain to make me try out some new decks again when the update goes live. What do you think about these new tools coming to Hearthstone soon? Let us know! For more coverage of Hearthstone, check out the final Hearthstone Masters tour location of the year, Bucharest.
