My thoughts on Standard

Hello, I'm Chen Zexuan, otherwise known as TestZwei. Just a little introduction of myself; prior to Hearthstone, I've played a range of TCGs from Yugioh to Pokemon and Vanguard for about 6 years, coaching for about 4 of those 6 years. 

Recently, Ben Brode announced that Hearthstone will be implementing a new format, known as Standard, which in essence is a rotation system for Hearthstone. Having played Pokemon before, this is no stranger to me, and quite frankly I have to say I saw it coming.

How so? The Grand Tournament, besides introducing the Mysterious Challenger, has done little to destabilize the meta set by previous expansions. It could be possible that Blizzard just made a lackluster expansion, but it's actually more likely that Blizzard is running out of ideas.

I'll explain why I think that way in a minute, but for most new or casual players, the news of Standard is unwelcome. I feel this could be due to a completely new experience and the idea that prior commitments in $$$ may have completely lost value.

From my perspective, rotation is necessary for any TCG for it to remain healthy, whether official stated or not. What I mean is, take Vanguard for example, there isn't a clear cut rotation, but the feasible card pool is always a subset of the newer expansions, with a handful of outliers. If Hearthstone has to progress, later expansions have to be relevant and surpass previous ones. Which brings me back to my previous point.

The Grand Tournament was a really forgettable expansion. Only a handful of cards were able to impact the meta game, and not necessarily in a favorable way.  Random effects like, Silence a Demon, Add a random Paladin card, even those previously hyped cards like Confessor and Savage Combatant see ZERO competitive play. They simply cannot compete with the meta cemented by the GvG cards, such as Piloted Shredder, Lightbomb and of course, Dr. Boom.

While not every player may relish the idea that their previous investments have no competitive value anymore, it is important for a TCGs meta game to progress to promote competitiveness. Card pools need to be disrupted periodically so as the differentiate the good and the great and the not so great. I think it might be safe to point out that, unless new archetypes are significantly overpowered, it will be difficult to get players to shift from what they are winning with. Good examples would be the dramatic shift from Midrange Paladin to Secret Paladin, and the non existent players of Beast Druid. 

That being said, Blizzard have shown that they can introduce archetypes that are relatively on the same power level each other. After introducing the League of Explorers, Renolock, Handlock, ComboRenolock are all feasible and relatively balanced. I do look forward to see if they can continue such trends but I sincerely doubt there would be many repeats of such success. 

Another point to note is that in Pokemon, reprints of previously rotated cards are made so that they can be used during the current rotation. In line with my belief that Blizzard's idea bank is running dry, reprints or similar substitutes can be expected in future expansions. While I don't see Dr. Boom being one of them, generic removals like Darkbomb, and clutch game controllers like Loatheb would be on my watchlist. 

It is also worth it to note that Classic will remain in Standard indefinitely. This to me is another hint that there will be reprints, as they could easily have rotated this set out as well if they were really going to warp the meta game as we know it. By leaving Classic in rotation, the number of reprints needed will be minimized dramatically.

And of course, by leaving Wild in the game and having a separate ladder for that, Blizzard accommodates the player who doesn't dream of Blizzcon. That's right, there are people who don't want to make it to Blizzcon! Isn't that unbelievable?

Thanks for reading my thoughts and predictions on the rationale and consequences of implementing the Standard format. I'm looking forward to games without Crackle, Imp-losion, and the notorious Dr. Boom.

 

We have a Hearthstone tourney coming up :

For those who do not want the pack code as a door gift, you can opt to pay a $6 entry fee that comes with a drink. Unfortunately, we will not be changing the lucky draw prizes for this tournament.

Alright people, due to popular demand for Hearthstone tournaments to take place on Saturdays, Dueller's Point will be hosting an offline tournament and the details are as follows.

Date: 20th February 2016

Address:  Block 450 Hougang Avenue 10 ‪#‎B1‬-541 (approximately 10 minutes walk from Hougang MRT)

Time: 12pm on site registration
12.50pm registration close
1.10pm first round

Entry fee: $7 with one free pack code and drink, or $6 with one drink

 

Prize structure:
1st place - $60 cash
2nd place - $40 cash
3rd place - $30 cash
4th place - $20 cash
There will also be a lucky draw conducted prior to the start of the playoffs for those who did not make the cut
3x 2 pack codes

 

Tournament Format:
16 or less players - Double Elimination 
17-32 players - 3-4 man group Double Elimination Round Robin cut to Top 16 Single Elimination playoff
32-40 players - 4-5 man group Standard Round Robin cut to Top 16 playoffs
>40 players - 5-6 round Swiss cut to Top 8 playoffs

Game format: 
Rounds will be Best of 5 Conquest, players will register 4 classes, and both players will ban one of the opposing classes during the start of the round. The Grand Final will be a Best of 7 Conquest with no ban.

 

Tie breakers in group stage will be decided via
1. Match win/loss differential
2. Head to head result

 

In the event of Swiss rounds, tie breakers will strictly follow the Median-Buchholz system, which you can find out more about here.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchholz_system

 

A 35 minute break will be given to all players after the conclusion of the preliminary stage. Players who are eligible for the lucky draw must be present to claim their prizes.

One feature match from each round of the playoff will be shown live on the television set inside the store, players are encouraged to stay and view the games.

Please forward any inquiries to me via PM or email me at testzweihs@gmail.com