Blizzard has announced a major overhaul of its World of Warcraft-inspired card game Hearthstone.
The biggest change is the introduction of two game modes; Standard and Wild. Standard is actually the new version of the game while Wild keeps things exactly as veteran players expect.
In Standard, you play using cards that have only been released in Hearthstone during the current and previous year. You’ll be able to use these cards as well as the Basic and Classic card sets, which are always compatible with Standard mode. When playing this mode, you’ll only be matched with other players using Standard decks.
Blizzard says Standard will allow them to create new cards and enable new players to build new decks faster. Standard can only be used as a format in Friendly Challenges, Casual, and Ranked play, meaning it won’t impact Solo play, Adventures, and Arena.
Blizzard says Wild was so called because “it’ll be the format where anything can happen.” As the traditional Hearthstone, you can expect more cards to be added over time. Nothing is changing in Wild, and you’ll be able to do everything as you always have, including complete quests, rank up, earn gold, achieve Legend rank, and get cards back.
When queuing for Casual or Ranked play using a Wild Deck, you’ll only ever be matched with players who are also using Wild decks.
There’ll also be more deck slots added to the game. Before the arrival of Standard Blizzard will buff the Collection Manager. When you have nine heroes you’ll now unlock nine more deck slots, meaning you’ll have a total of eighteen deck slots.
Plenty more about the update can be found on Battle.net.
