Hearthstone is going to be changing things up in 2017, including the official change from The Year of the Kraken to The Year of the Mammoth. This means new content, new ways to play with friends and even a new Standard format.
Hearthstone’s Year of the Mammoth will begin once the first expansion of 2017 is released. This expansion, called Blackrock Mountain, doesn’t have a release window yet, but once it comes out The Grand Tournament and League of Explorer cards will become exclusive to Wild.
Speaking of Wild, the set rotation for Standard will kick in once Blackrock Mountain is released as well. This allows for new players to Hearthstone to more easily build a competitive deck without having to amass all the old cards from previous releases. Additionally, some cards from the Classic pack will be moved out of Standard and become exclusive to Wild. The reason why these cards are getting moved is basically because they are too useful.
The cards moving from Classic to Wild include:
Azure Drake
Sylvanas Windrunner
Ragnaros the Firelord
Power Overwhelming
Ice Lance
Conceal
To make this easier for everyone, Blizzard will be giving away dust equal to the amount players would be getting if they disenchanted any Classic cards getting moved to Wild. This means if you happen to have a Golden Ragnaros, you’ll be gifted 3200 dust. The dust will be automatically added to accounts once the Year of the Mammoth begins and a player logs in for the first time.
To make Wild even more interesting, Blizzard will be focusing on new Wild tournaments, starting with a Heroic Tavern Brawl. This Brawl will put even the most experienced players to the test, as it features more cards than ever before and new ways of making decks. Third-party tournament organizers will also be creating more opportunities to play Wild.
As for other changes coming to Hearthstone, Blizzard will be changing how expansions are released. For 2017, there will be three expansions, each with around 130 cards. Instead of releasing separate Adventures, the Adventures will now be included in the expansions. This method of new Adventures will begin with the second expansion in 2017.
There will also be a new Rogue Hero coming in Year of the Mammoth: Malev Shadowsong. The Night Elf will be easy enough to acquire; simply win 10 Standard games of Hearthstone once the next expansion is out in either Casual or Ranked, and she’s all yours.
There are a few smaller changes as well. In the weeks leading up to the Year of the Mammoth launch, Blizzard will be giving out daily rewards for those who log in, including dust, gold and expansion packs. Blizzard is also looking to improve the Fireside Gatherings program, and will be adding new features to it in 2017. Details on this are vague, but Blizzard says more information will be coming before Year of the Mammoth officially starts.
So what do you think? Are you excited for all the changes coming to Hearthstone in 2017? When do you think the first major expansion will be released? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
