He may have the best deals anywhere, but Gadgetzan Auctioneer could be rotating out of Hearthstone’s Standard format in the future. In an interview with PC Gamer, game director Ben Brode discussed his current thoughts on its meta following the Journey to Un’Goro expansion, along with two cards he would enshrine in the Hearthstone Hall of Fame.
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Along with certain card packs being rotated out with the Standard format, Hearthstone has introduced a special Hall of Fame, where extremely popular cards go to retire. With the Year of the Mammoth starting back in February, popular minions Ragnaros, Azure Drake, and Sylvanas Windrunner were all retired from Standard to increase deck variety. When pressed about other cards that could be candidates for the Hall of Fame, Brode cited both Alexstrasza and Gadgetzan Auctioneer as potential Hall of Famers.
Gadgetzan Auctioneer is particularly high on the list as players “have been playing it for enough years that Standard would like some new strategies.” With it being a stable part of many Rogue and Druid decks since the beginning of the game, it may be time for the green-skinned salesman to have a holiday. As for Alexstrasza, Brode puts her in the same camp as Ragnaros, being “a personality that would be missed” and a card which “enables a lot of unique types of decks” like Freeze Mage. It may be a while before these cards are actually retired, but don’t be surprised if they end up only used in Wild by 2018.
Speaking of Wild, Brode would not be averse to nerfing Wild cards if any of them get too powerful, but no “specific cards that have reached [that] threshold yet.” Variety is what makes the Wild format so appealing, and Brode seems content with the wide array of decks and cards which are being used in the format. With Blizzard actually holding their first official Wild tournament later in the summer, this attitude may change if one uber-powerful deck flattens any opposition.
The whole PC Gamer interview is worth a read, with Brode discussing how Blizzard are trying to rebalance lesser played classes, the possibility of a ‘speed Hearthstone’ mode and much more.