How Strong Is the 2022 Hearthstone Core Set?

With Voyage to the Sunken City expansion, we bid farewell to a large number of cards from the Standard format. The expansions from 2020 – Ashes of Outland, Scholomance Academy, and Madness at the Darkmoon Faire – will rotate out of Standard and only be playable in Wild. But this Standard rotation is even bigger than that because there are also many changes to the Core set. We say goodbye to 57 Core set cards and welcome 72 cards from old expansions back to the Standard format through the Core set.

Overall, Blizzard mainly rotates out weak cards that did not see play anyway and brings in many cards that were staples back in the day. Of course, as the power level in Hearthstone has been constantly evolving, these old staples might not be able to reach staple status again.

Let’s take a more detailed look at what strong contenders there are in each class.

Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter does not have a large backlog of cards to bring in, and the changes for the class are minor. Nothing of importance is leaving, and it’s doubtful whether anything of importance is brought in either.

Metamorphosis has potential and may see play in Fel Demon Hunter decks, although it is a little slow by today’s standards. Wrathscale Naga has failed to impress: there have never been successful token decks in Hearthstone that cannot buff their minions, especially Health, and the Naga’s damage-dealing ability did not change that the first time it tried. I don’t expect it to work this time either.

Demon Hunter has a strong Core set overall though. Spectral Sight is used in almost all Demon Hunter decks, and Eye Beam, Chaos Strike, Aldrachi Warblades, Crimson Sigil Runner, and Illidari Inquisitor are all among the most popular Demon Hunter cards in the game.

Druid

It is unlikely that anyone will even notice the five Druid cards that are leaving the Core set. Nordrassil Druid was specifically created for the 2021 Core set, so players will not have it in their collections now that it departs from the Core set. It will be part of the Legacy set, and can be crafted, but there will never be any reason to do so.

The six cards that are added to the Druid Core set are much spicier. All of them saw significant amounts of play back in their day! Sure, Ancient of Lore is just about guaranteed to be obsolete by now, and Fandral Staghelm hardly causes jaws to drop the way it did when it was first introduced. At least Living Roots and Wrath should still be capable cards even by today’s standards.

Druid also gets to keep all of its ramp cards from the Core set. With Overgrowth out of Standard format, it was uncertain how many friends Wildheart Guff would still have, but now it is certain that Innervate and Wild Growth are here for another year, so Ramp Druid can still be a thing. Malygos the Spellweaver is also staying, so Kazakusan can have a good party.

The other popular Druid Core cards are Feral Rage, Power of the Wild, Nourish, and Mark of the Wild, and they will all remain is Standard format for another year at least. Nourish in particular was already playable at 6 mana in some decks, so it might be really good at 5.

Hunter

The five departing Hunter cards all saw some play in their hay day, but that day was not in 2021. Bearshark was the strongest of the five last year, and it was not good. At least with Lock and Load leaving, people will no longer be tempted to put such a miserable card in their decks. Countless new players will be saved the trouble of finding out how weak it is, so that’s an upside.

The six new Hunter cards are again some of the top cards of their respective eras. Then again, the departing five Hunter cards were also playable at one point, so that does not really mean anything.

Cloaked Huntress arrives exactly when Petting Zoo departs, which is an unfortunate timing. We also have Dun Baldar Bunker available, so we can already draw and discount Secrets instead of just discounting ones that are already in hand. Seems like unfortunate timing for Cloaked Huntress overall.

Houndmaster Shaw has just the wrong mana cost to work with either Vanndar Stormpike or Drek'Thar, another unfortunate setback.

There is some sweet potential in the Hunter cards, but they may have to wait until later in the year to truly shine.

Mage

Mage is getting one of the best deals from the new Core set. It gets to keep all the good stuff: Arcane Intellect, Ice Barrier, Fireball, Arcanologist, Babbling Book, Flamestrike, and Counterspell, and it gets some sweet upgrades.

Explosive Runes is arguably the strongest Mage Secret of all time, only contested by Ice Barrier and Counterspell, and all of them are now in the Core set at the same time! Explosive Runes may even open paths for aggressive Secret Mage strategies in Standard.

Kalecgos being added to the Dragon pool is unlikely to affect the mainstream Mage decks, but it is a nice addition to any slower ones.

Blizzard finally gives Mage the ability to freeze the entire board with a spell again, potentially enabling stall strategies.

And then there’s Pyroblast. Any way to cheat out that big chunk of damage can prove to be a big deal.

Paladin

Paladin changes follow in the footsteps of the other classes: useless cards leave, potentially useful cards come back. The Silver Hand Recruit synergies of Pursuit of Justice never worked out – you really need a way to give them Health to make them scary – and even the buffed version of Guardian of Kings was never strong enough to see play.

To the contrary, all four Paladin additions have seen play once upon a time, and now Bronze Explorer returns with a +1 Attack buff on top. Judged by today’s standards, all four cards may be too weak: while they provide Paladin with impressive healing capabilities, healing has not been strong in the game lately. I’d rate Bronze Explorer the highest, as there are several useful Dragons in the card pool and there is always a chance to build something around Kazakusan.

The remaining Paladin Core set cards are some of the weakest in the set. Righteous Protector is an exception, as strong one-drops are hard to find in the game right now. The Core set also has some fine Paladin secrets, but without Oh My Yogg!, it seems unlikely that Paladin would be interested in Secrets in the near future.

Priest

The Priest Core set cards received several buffs last year, but they were not strong enough to make them playable. Shadowform was just way too clumsy to make Shadow Priest a thing, even though the concept itself is sound as demonstrated by Darkbishop Benedictus.

In return, Priest is getting the strongest set of them all. Six cards, all of which have been absolutely top tier at some point. Random stuff with Lyra the Sunshard and Radiant Elemental. Removal with Lightbomb. Card draw with Northshire Cleric. Some excellent Dragon support with Drakonid Operative and Murozond the Infinite. Drakonid Operative was blatantly overpowered back in the day, and Blizzard even acknowledged that, saying that they wanted Dragon Priest to be strong for one expansion before its core rotated out of Standard. Now that Drakonid Operative is back, maybe a Midrange Dragon Priest can come back too? With a little Kazakusan for spice, of course.

Of the remaining Core set, Thrive in the Shadows, Holy Smite, and Kul Tiran Chaplain should continue to have a good time in 2022, and it may also be the time for Focused Will to become relevant as Silence Priest returns once again in Voyage to the Sunken City.

Rogue

Rogue has had the strongest Core set in 2021, and subsequently, there are only a few changes here. Some support for Pirate Rogue, which still seems lackluster, and the favorite card of all burgle memers, Tess Greymane. More flavor than power here, but who needs more power when you already have Shadowstep, Preparation, SI:7 Agent, Deadly Poison, Sinister Strike, Swashburglar, and many others.

Shaman

Shaman is actually losing a Core set card that I used to play with, Earth Elemental, but its stats in Alterac Valley were hideous, so it is not really a loss. The re-introduction of Flametongue Totem and Bloodlust to Standard format may make it possible for Shaman to find token strategies to win games. With Landslide rotating out, Maelstrom Portal is the perfect substitute for an early board clear for Burn Shaman.

Shaman also gets to keep Lightning Bolt and Novice Zapper. Less importantly, Doomhammer and Rockbiter Weapon still stay, although with Cagematch Custodian and Stormstrike leaving Standard, it does not look like the support for Doomhammer is there anymore.

Warlock

Warlock loses a couple of potent Zoo cards, Possessed Villager and Ritual of Doom, but Zoo was not doing well anyway. In fact, there are better replacements for those in Voidwalker and Imp Gang Boss, but it is hard to see Zoo shining even with these reinforcements.

Warlock gets to keep some crucial healing and removal in Drain Soul and Mortal Coil, and even Siphon Soul may become more important with the reduced healing capabilities of Warlock after the rotation.

For some reason, Blizzard keeps pushing the Discard mechanic for Warlock. They are adding Darkshire Librarian and High Priestess Jeklik on top of Lakkari Felhound and Tiny Knight of Evil that already exist in the Core set. Sadly, this is largely wasted space, as the Discard mechanic has been strong only in very specific situations with incredibly powerful support cards. These four cards are nowhere near the level they’d need to be to make Discard useful.

Warrior

Warrior loses three useless cards and gains some of the most powerful Warrior cards of all time. In particular, I expect Shield Block to become a staple in Control Warrior immediately again, and Bash does not look bad either. Darius Crowley has picked up one additional Health point, but may still be too weak to see play, especially as five Health seems to be an important breakpoint in Sunken City.

The Core set continues to support the Warrior Questline with multiple Pirates, and Control Warrior with Brawl and Shield Slam.

Neutral

The biggest losses from the current Core set are from Neutral cards. King Mukla is a popular card in the Drek'Thar world, and it is going away. Quest Hunter just discovered that Mini-Mage can be a good addition, and it is ripped away from us too.

Furthermore, there are several hits into strong one-drops: while Arcane Anomaly and Argent Squire have not been the top one-drops in the game, they have seen play in multiple decks just to get enough playable one-drops in. Cogmaster has not seen play, but with the new Mech cards, it would have, if it had not been removed. Overall, the Core set suffers from a lack of strong one-drops. Blizzard seems to want temporary expansions to take a bigger role at the start of the game, which is a reasonable strategy as it makes the game feel fresher after each expansion.

There are many strong Neutral additions to the Core set. Mistress of Mixtures is a phenomenal defensive one-drop, and cards like Doomsayer, Plated Beetle, and Tar Creeper give the Core set a strong defensive flavor in the early game. Sadly, the Core set does not include strong win conditions, so any new players building strongly on the Core set may find that they can hang on for a while, but just cannot find a way to actually win a game. For that, you need powerful cards from the expansion sets.

The League of Explorers is also back in full. I do not expect all of them to see play though. Elise Starseeker, in particular, is a relic of a past era that is not coming back. Reno Jackson will undoubtedly entice players to build Highlander decks, but it is doubtful whether it is actually strong enough of a reward. Sir Finley Mrrgglton may see play in some aggressive decks that want a more aggressive Hero Power. Brann Bronzebeard and Zola the Gorgon (who is not part of the League, of course) are interesting cards with many potential uses. We will see them in decks here and there throughout the year.

Conclusions

The Core set of 2022 is clearly stronger than that of 2021. Then again, only around 60 of the 235 cards in the 2021 Core set saw meaningful play in the meta. We are losing a handful of those cards and more than 50 meaningless cards and getting 72 new cards, of which maybe half will see play at best. This is a clear improvement to the Core set, of course, and a step in the right direction to make Hearthstone more affordable.

It is still far away from the dream of playing a free Hearthstone deck. I actually built a zero-dust Demon Hunter deck from the 2021 Core set, and it was playable for a while, but the one-two punch of United in Stormwind and Fractured in Alterac Valley rendered it completely useless. I know that Blizzard does not want to encourage playing Hearthstone for free, but it would still be nice for a new player to be able to build at least something that resembles a playable deck.

The new Core set just cannot compete alone. It is dreadful when it comes to one-drops, so you cannot compete in the early game. There are some good defensive resources there, but then you’re missing a win condition. It just all falls apart.

Meta decks will continue to use bits and pieces from the Core set to fill gaps. Up to a hundred cards from the set may end up seeing play over the next few months, which would make it contribute more to the meta than the average individual expansion. Currently, the 235 cards of the Core set see less play than the cards from any single expansion. Of course, it was never intended to compete with paid expansions.

Overall, I am reasonably happy with the 2022 Core set. It continues to provide useful cards for all players, even more so than last year, and it is free. My main wish is that it would be strong enough for some starter decks, but that has not been the case since the power creep in United in Stormwind.