The first update to HearthStone in 2018 focuses on Wild cards and aspects of the game. The HearthStone Wild update celebrates all things with the Wildfest event running from February 20 through March 12, 2018.
This HearthStone Wild update is the first for the title since the introduction of the “Kobolds and Catacombs” expansion. While the HearthStone Wild update doesn’t introduce new cards, it does focus on those cards that may not see as much play since being removed from Standard.
Wild Arena
The first event to go live on February 20 is the Wild Arena. On that day, until March 12, the Arena draft will feature Wild cards exclusively. If you have an Arena run in progress you’ll need to finish it up prior to the beginning of Wildfest. All ongoing Arena runs will be automatically retired on February 20. Your first Arena draft after February 20 will be free.
Tavern Brawl & The Brawliseum
After Wildfest commences, the first weekly Tavern Brawl will feature pre-constructed Wild decks. Players simply need select a class and they’ll be given a deck to play with. It allows players to experience Wild even if they don’t own enough cards to construct a Wild deck.
Another brand new feature is the Brawliseum. The Brawliseum is designed for competitive players who want to test their cards, their skills and their decks. The Wild Brawliseum will use player-constructed decks that are set for the duration of an attempt. Just like the Arena, the Brawliseum sees players attempting to win matches up to a total of 12. After three losses you’ll be eliminated.
Prizes in the Brawliseum are the same as those in the Arena and entry costs Gold or real money. The first entry into the Brawliseum is free.
Card Changes
In addition to all the new content in the HearthStone Wild update, Blizzard has made some changes to a few cards. A summary of the changes is as follows;
- Corridor Creeper – Now has 2 attack, down from 5.
- Patches the Pirate – No longer has Charge.
- Raza the Chained – Now reduces your Hero Power cost to 1 instead of 0.
- Bonemare – Now costs 8 mana, up from 7
You can read about all of the changes in the 10.2 Balance Change Blog Post.
Finallly, some changes will come into effect for Rank Play beginning March 2.
- Your reset will not be based on the stars you earned over the season. Instead, you’ll reset to four ranks lower than your highest rank that season.
- Players at Legend reset to rank 4, 0 stars.
- All ranks will have 5 stars.
- Starting in March, you will no longer earn the monthly card back by reaching Rank 20. Instead, you can earn each season’s card back by winning 5 games in Ranked Standard or Wild at any rank.
HearthStone is free to play on PC and Mobile.
