The Year of the Gryphon.
One of the major changes Hearthstone announced for Year of the Gryphon is the introduction of the Core Set, which will replace Basic and Classic sets. A 235 card set comprised of both fan-favorite Basics and additions from across Hearthstone history, the Core Set is designed to be customizable by the game's developers, rotating cards in and out to better complement new set releases. Hearthstone Core Set is also free to players, making Hearthstone much more accessible than it was just months ago. The game's nature as free-to-play has always been a draw, but in the years since its launch its massive card pool has made playing competitively for new players exceedingly difficult.
Now, players can begin to prepare for what life after Basic and Classic looks like. The official Hearthstone Twitter announced that the entire Hearthstone Core Set card list is available now, and fans can now peruse what the game's future looks like. As part of the reveal, several new free Legendaries are also debuting, and they seem like they'll add a good layer of complexity to the game's base offering. Other cards, like Lord Jaraxxus, have been tweaked, too, so the changes coming to Hearthstone are pretty extensive.
The full Hearthstone Core Set card list looks like a balanced mix between the simplicity that colored Basic card design and the game's most fun mechanics spread out across sets. For instance, cards like Shadow Word: Death for Priest serve a crucial function that is good to preserve as-is in the game, while cards like Mage's Babbling Book weren't previously always in Standard but add a level of fun and variety to core gameplay.
Right now, Hearthstone Core Set's full list looks exciting for players - and that's before considering the game is adding a new mode in Hearthstone Mercenaries later this year and a brand-new-but-so-old format in Classic. 2021 is shaping up to be one of the biggest years in Hearthstone history, and by all s so far, it also looks like it could be one of the game's best. Those looking to browse the full list can click here, but it's an extensive list - to sort by classes if there's a favorite to check in on.
Source: PlayHearthstone, Play Hearthstone
