Update: Here’s a separate post with a full list of cards rotating in and out of the Core Set!
Blizzard just posted about the upcoming Core Set update. With the launch of the first expansion of the year and Standard rotation, we’re also getting an update to the Core Set. A lot of the cards move out back to Wild and new/returning cards take their place instead. Core Set changes are often almost as important as the new expansion itself, as they can make or break multiple archetypes.
A total of 83 cards leave Core Set, while we get 89 new & returning cards to take their place. Yes, it means that the Core Set will be slightly bigger than last year’s – we’re getting 2 more Death Knight cards and 4 more Neutral cards. Those 4 extra Neutral cards are brand new ones inspired by Warcraft Rumble. We’re getting two Commons, one Rare and one Legendary. Truth be told, they don’t look particularly impressive (maybe in Arena), but I’ve been surprised by cards before so we’ll see.
Additionally, a total of 36 cards got changed (4 of those are Ysera’s Dream cards). Most of those changes are buffs, although we do have a nerf (Mind Control Tech now costs 5 mana) and a change that could be seen as both (Acolyte of Death is now a 2/4 but doesn’t require Frost rune – which is a buff in decks that couldn’t previously run it, but a nerf in decks that played Frost anyway). Talking about Runes – A LOT of those changes are loosening of Death Knight rune restrictions. Many cards got their Rune requirements reduced by one (which often lead to their complete removal – like Nerubian Swarmguard or Gnome Muncher now not requiring any Runes to add to deck). It might be interesting and might make Death Knight cards more versatile.
Finally, some of the card changes are just a pure text change. That’s because a new keyword – Elusive – has been added to the game. As you’ve probably guessed by now, it’s short for “Can’t be targeted by spells or hero powers”, a phrase we’ve seen on cards ever since the Classic days (Faerie Dragon). Players have been asking for this to get keyworded for YEARS, and it’s finally there. From what I’ve gathered, nothing changes about those cards mechanically, it’s just a purely visual change. One more thing we’ve learned is that Blizzard promises to utilize this effect a bit more this year.
Read more in the official blog post below:
With each new Hearthstone year comes an update to the free Core Set that all players have access to. This year, Hearthstone’s 10th year, brings an exciting Core Set refresh designed to celebrate Hearthstone’s history and future with iconic old favorites and a few new friends! The new Core Set goes live when the Year of the Pegasus begins, but it’s just one of the many things we’re doing to celebrate throughout the year. This blog goes over all our Core Set updates, but you can learn more about all the other new year and anniversary festivities in our dedicated Year of the Pegasus blog.
Iconic Cards Return
We’re charging into the new year head-first! This Core Set, we’re making bold calls and bringing back some old favorites we haven’t seen in Standard for a while, including:
Friendly New Faces
We’re also celebrating the many new friends we’ve made along the way with four new Warcraft Rumble inspired cards, added directly into this year’s Core Set:
New Keyword: Elusive
After years of hunting, we’ve finally pinned down our most evasive keyword yet: Elusive! Minions with Elusive can’t be targeted by spells or Hero Powers. We’re updating several minions to have the new Elusive keyword—including the card that you voted into Core back in December: Evasive Wyrm! We also plan to use this effect a little bit more frequently in the upcoming year.
Core Card Shakeups
Because the Core Set is the free baseline set that underpins the entire year of Hearthstone expansions, Core rotation is always a good time for us to evaluate what we want that foundation for the year to look like. We do this not just in deciding what to keep, remove, and add to Core, but also in adjustments to the cards we include.
This year, we felt it was time to uproot Druid’s ramping mechanic, reduce Rune requirements for several Death Knight cards, and upgrade some of our old favorite cards for the modern game. You can find all the upcoming changes linked here:
With that baseline known, you’re ready to jump into next expansion’s reveals. Don’t forget to check out the New Year blog for more details about the upcoming festivities—it all starts soon!
It isn’t exactly a pure nerf since now you can target Mind Control Tech instead of it being a random roll.
Oh dear. We just get starting. <3 I hope good news will come.