Hearthstone To Implement Core Sets, Replacing Basic And Classic Sets, Which Gets Their Own Format

For about five years Blizzard has been rotating Hearthstone expansion sets for Standard play every year, something that was easy enough to predict, as it mimicked what Wizards of the Coast had been doing for Magic: The Gathering for about 25 years. One other thing Magic does is change up its core set of basic cards, which is a step Hearthstone has yet to adopt.

That's going to change in 2020, however, when Hearthstone replaces its Basic and Classic cards with a new, 235-card Core Set. 29 cards in the set will be completely new, with most of the rest coming from Classic, Basic, and Wild. As with the Basic Set, you'll earn Core Set cards by leveling up the game's various classes, so all Core Set cards will be available for free. If you're a veteran player, you'll receive the cards you're entitled to based on your level after the update. Like Magic: the Gathering, Hearthstone's Core Set will be swapped out every year.

So what about the old Basic and Classic cards? They'll move to Wild under the name "Legacy Set," along with most of the cards in the Hall of Fame. You'll also be able to use them in the new Classic format, which uses the original 240 cards from Hearthstone's launch "as they were in 2014," in all their pre-nerfed glory. I guess World of Warcraft isn't the only Blizzard game that's getting the "classic" treatment.

As a bonus to all players, once the new format goes live, Hearthstone will increase from 18 to 27 deck slots. Blizzard promises more reveals next week at BlizzConline; for now, you can learn all there is to know about the new Core Set on the Hearthstone site.