Hearthstone announces Core Set, removal of Basic, Classic Sets

▲ Hearthstone is turning back the clock in their new Classic mode. *Images via Blizzard*

In arguably one of the biggest announcements in Hearthstone's nearly seven-year history, the game's development team is shattering the mold by reworking how the game is played, how players collect cards and what the future of the title has in store.

On Tuesday afternoon, Blizzard Entertainment released a blog post detailing how the game will look moving forward in an upcoming update. Within the post, the development team accounted that the seemingly evergreen Basic and Classic card sets are being rotated to the Wild format to make room for the brand new Core Set. The Core Set, which will be free to all players, is a selection of 235 cards from across the game's history that players will be able to create decks out of. According to the Hearthstone team, never before seen and even reworked cards will be apart of the set. This Core Set will replace Basic and Classic in the Standard game mode.

The Core Set is being broken down into:

- 88 cards returning from Classic (54 class cards, 34 neutral cards).
- 54 cards returning from Basic (41 class cards, 13 neutral cards).
- 55 cards returning from Wild (36 class cards, 19 neutral cards).
- 4 cards returning from Ashes of Outland (4 Demon Hunter Class cards).
- 4 cards returning from Demon Hunter Initiate.
- 1 card returning from Hall of Fame (Shadowform).
- 29 new cards (20 Class cards, 9 Neutral cards).

The Core Set will be rotated yearly alongside the Standard yearly rotation of expansions.

The Basic and Classic card sets will team up with the thousands of others in Wild to form the Legacy Set.

▲ Hearthstone's first World Champion, James "Firebat" Kostesich.

Tucked away lower in the blog post is a game mode that will have long-time Hearthstone players feeling a bit nostalgic. Titled the Classic Format, players will be able to craft decks and compete in a ladder using the game's original 240 cards as they were intended when the game launched back in 2014. Cards that have been nerfed, buffed or reworked in the years since will be reverted back to their original forms for all to enjoy.

More information is scheduled to be shared during BlizzConline which is set to take place on February 19.