Class identity in Hearthstone: the past, the present, and the future

In the developer blog post that detailed the new Hall of Fame rotation and new Basic and Classic cards, Blizzard discussed class identity in Hearthstone in quite some detail. We have always known that classes are different, and on some intuitive level it has been possible to grasp how they differ from each other, but this is the first time we get some real insight into what the designers want each class to be like.

I’m not sure how crystal clear class identity has been to the developers themselves in the past. They point out that they discuss their “current class identity philosophy,”  so this may have changed over the years.

According to the blog post, classes have strengths, limitations, and weaknesses:

• Strengths: These are the things that a class focuses on and excels at.
• Limitations: These are aspects that might show up a few times in a class, but they are very limited in power level and the number of cards.
• Weaknesses: These are aspects that a class either doesn’t have or struggles to achieve effectively.

Knowing these, we may be able to anticipate the types of cards classes are likely to receive in the future. Notably, they can also be useful in evaluating the importance of various effects for classes: a class that struggles with card draw may value a draw effect much more highly than a class that has draw effects in abundance.

Let’s examine the class identities of all classes, how they line up with what the classes are actually doing in the game, and what kinds of cards we should be interested in for various classes. I will focus on the Standard format: Wild is a peculiar place when it comes to class identity, as all classes have had cards that go against their current identity philosophy, and those cards are not leaving the Wild format, so class identity holds less sway there.

Druid

Attuned with nature, Druids rely on the magic of the wild, massive beasts, and swarms of woodland creatures. Their toolbox allows them the versatility to pivot from defense to aggression. However, they have limited ways to directly clear out enemy minions.

• Strengths: Mana generation, giant minions, minion swarms, card draw, Beasts
• Weaknesses: Destroying big minions, board clear

In its current state, Druid is mostly restricted to the minion swarm strategy in the form of Token Druid. Its mana generation has been repeatedly nerfed until it finally crashed and burned, and without mana generation and board clears, giant minions remain a distant dream for the class. Beast Druid has been pushed repeatedly, but it has never been successful. Interestingly enough, Malygos Druid, one of the most lasting archetypes of the class, does not receive even a small mention.

Overall, Druid has resembled its current stated identity reasonable well over the years. Savage Roar has been the centerpiece of many decks that play multiple minions, even though its combo capabilities were culled with the Force of Nature nerf that took away Charge from the Treants – and also removed some of Druid’s board clear capabilities.

Druid used to have spells to destroy big minions, but Mulch eventually rotated out of Standard and then Naturalize was moved to Hall of Fame, upon which Druid lost its ability to destroy big minions other than with Neutral cards, such as Big Game Hunter.

Giant minions have been present in many forms in Big Druid, Taunt Druid, and the infamous Jade Druid. However, as Druid currently lacks mana generation, big minions are not very usable either.

If the Druid class identity is to be promoted in the next expansion, we can expect some form of mana generation and Beast synergies, as those are clearly lacking at the moment. Druids are also especially interested in shoring up their weaknesses, so anything that can help them clear wide boards and destroy big minions would be appreciated. It would take a lot of new things for Druid to succeed with other than token strategies, but this new class identity may hint at what is coming for the class.

Hunter

Hunters use their wit, ferocity, and an army of beasts fighting alongside them to destroy their competition. Although they lack in defense, their aggression allows them to push through before they need it. A well-timed Secret or Deathrattle can help them gain clutch advantages against their opponent.

• Strengths: Beasts, face damage, Secrets, Deathrattle
• Limitations: Card draw and generation, board clear, Taunt
• Weaknesses: Healing

Hunter and face, such an iconic duo that brings back warm memories. Hunter has indeed been one of the most aggressive classes throughout the history of Hearthstone, and Face Hunter was once a feared aggro deck at a time when pure aggro decks still existed in the game. Midrange Hunters with Beasts, Secret Hunters, Deathrattle Hunters, all are familiar archetypes.

Hunter class identity also serves to highlight the importance of overcoming class limitations and weaknesses: it is no coincidence that cards such as Master's Call, Zul'jin, Dire Frenzy + Vicious Scalehide, Zilliax, and Venomizer + Missile Launcher have had such a profound effect on the Hunter decks we see on the ladder right now. While it may seem as if Hunter limitations are not accurate, they have been limitation to the class historically, and now that Hunter has access to a number of tools to overcome these limitations, it has become one of the strongest classes in the game. If we will see no replacements to these effects, that may drastically weaken Hunter, well, in April 2020.

Mage

Mages have mastered the arcane arts and use their wide range of spells to take on even the most aggressive of opponents. Their defensive cadre is limited—while a good Mage usually has a useful tool to deal with any situation, a great Mage conjures the right tool when they need it.

• Strengths: Spells (big and small), damage spells, Secrets, board clear
• Limitations: Minion swarms
• Weaknesses: Healing, Taunt, minion buffs

Thinking back at the popular Mage archetypes over the years, Freeze Mage is the first that comes to mind. Board clears, secrets, and damage spells, check. Tempo Mages from various eras also fit in nicely with all the spells flying around, while the aggressive Mech Mages and Murloc Mages have been exceptions where things have lined up for the Mage class to overcome its limitations.

The lovely pun about a great Mage conjuring the right tools is apt for the current iteration of Mage decks: thanks to Conjurer's Calling and its synergy with Mountain Giant/Grave Horror, Mage lacks neither minion swarms nor Taunt minions. And don’t get me started on how good Zilliax is for Mage, crossing out all of the class’s weaknesses in a single card.

It is ironic that Mage’s capability to deal damage with spells has been the subject of repeated nerfs to the point where even the current Freeze Mage decks rely more on minions than spells to deal damage. Despite damage spells being listed as a class strength, I have a hard time seeing this line change completely to make direct damage spells a viable win condition again.

Paladin

Paladins are great champions who support their minions with buffs, healing, and divine shields; however, they are not afraid to get their hands dirty when the time comes. They are methodical, controlling the battlefield through debuffs and focused attacks instead of destructive spells. Strength and persistence are the keys to a Paladin’s victory.

• Strengths: Minion swarms, minion buffs and debuffs, healing, Divine Shield, Secrets
• Limitations: Cost reduction
• Weaknesses: Direct damage spells, destroying big minions

The main Paladin archetypes of the past have exemplified the class’s strengths: Odd Paladin with its minion swarms, Even Paladin / Midrange Paladin with their minion buffs, and Secret Paladin with secrets and buffs. Control Paladin is left out in the cold though, perhaps explaining why it has always been the odd one out when it comes to control decks: while it has control tools, it lacks control win conditions, and therefore tends to lose to other control decks whenever it does not have access to an OTK combo finisher.

Of the current Paladin decks, Mech Paladin is arguably a minion buff deck, although it is also heavily built around cost reduction. Holy Wrath Paladin, on the other hand, is a direct damage combo deck that does not fit the class identity at all. Is it time to Hall of Fame Holy Wrath for not being in line with class identity? Hopefully not.

Priest

Priests balance holy light and shadow magic to defeat their opponents. They control a battle’s outcome using powerful spells with situational applications. While not the most aggressive, they are able to generate, copy, and use combinations of cards to create a powerful army.

• Strengths: Healing, narrow but powerful spells, copying, single-minion buffs, Deathrattle
• Limitations: Card draw
• Weaknesses: Face damage spells, multi-minion buffs

The justification for rotating Mind Blast to Hall of Fame came from this new Priest class identity. The identity itself seems conflicted though, because the text part mentions shadow magic, but there is no shadow magic for Priest anymore – that’s what Mind Blast was all about and that’s what turning healing into damage with Auchenai Soulpriest and other similar effects was all about. Now, Priest can turn healing that can only target the Priest into damage, but that is hardly a win condition.

When Priest has been good, Prophet Velen and Mind Blast have usually had something to do with it. The glory days of Shadowreaper Anduin may be in the past with this new class identity though, and with Mind Blast taken away from Silence Priest as well, aggressive Priest archetypes also seem doomed. Priest just does not have any reach left.

Raza Priest, Dragon Priest, Nomi Priest, Wall Priest – none of the successful Priest archetypes seem to fit the new class identity. In a way, you could argue that all future Priest decks will fit the class identity, as they will all have to include Divine Spirit and Inner Fire to win any games at all.

It is interesting that resurrection is not mentioned as part of Priest class identity. Maybe this means that Big Priest will not receive even more support in Wild. I count that as an upside.

If we try to take a positive approach at the grave of this dead class, perhaps Priest will receive some usable healing in future expansions (it does not make it to the top three classes in healing at the moment if you count armor, which you should, because it’s super healing), and maybe there will be something in the form of Deathrattles to make Priest viable. Comparing the current Deathrattle support packages of Priest and Hunter, two classes whose strength it is, Hunter wins hands down. So, now that we know what Priest should be good at, we can wait for it to get some cards that would actually be good at those things.

Rogue

Rogues hide in the shadows, planning for the perfect time to strike. They may be sneaky and nimble, but they lack strong defenses and regeneration, forcing them to act quickly to incapacitate an opponent. Their innate ability to generate, draw, and burgle cards allows them to build up and execute on many synergies.

• Strengths: Combo cards, destroying individual minions, card draw, weapons, Deathrattle
• Weaknesses: Taunt, healing, board clear, multi-minion buffs

Miracle Rogue, Oil Rogue, Tempo Rogue: the most iconic Rogue decks have indeed always been quick to get to the point and lethal as soon as they get there.

The extent that weapons are a strength for Rogue can be debated, as whenever they become powerful, they tend to get nerfed, at least indirectly through nerfing cards such as Blade Flurry and Leeching Poison. Surprisingly enough, Waggle Pick has survived for now, and it points to a new way for Rogue weapons to succeed: with almost all weapon synergy cards nerfed, any weapons need to stand on their own, and we are at a point where Blizzard can confidently make good weapons without fearing too much support for those weapons from other cards.

Deathrattles are also a questionable strength for the class. Deathrattles are generally slow, so in order to make use of them, you usually need some other things, such as Taunt and healing. Deathrattle Rogue has only been somewhat successful when it has been able to heal with the likes of Zilliax or Deranged Doctor to last long enough for the Deathrattles to take over the game. It will be interesting to see if Blizzard can come up with some way to make Deathrattles meaningful for Rogue as the class identity implies.

Shaman

Shamans wield the power of the elements along with their trusty totems. While they may not be able to generate resources as quickly as a Mage, they are able to overload their Mana Crystals with lightning, allowing them to ramp up for a burst of power faster than other classes. Shamans are thus rewarded for planning a few turns ahead by tuning their mana curve. Shamans also have strong tools to adapt to many situations. Although they are not as versatile as a Druid’s Choose One cards, they are able to extend their capabilities in ways other classes might not be able to.

• Strengths: Minion swarms, damage spells, Totems, Elementals, Murlocs
• Weaknesses: Card draw, card generation

Shaman has indeed used many of its listed strengths. Token Shamans and Murloc Shamans have existed for a long time, and various forms of Aggro Shamans have often made good use of Lightning Bolt and Lava Burst. Big Shamans and Elemental Shamans have made use of various Elemental synergies. Control Shamans, when they have existed, have traditionally struggled with card draw.

It is no coincidence that some of the best tools Shaman has right now are cards that overcome the class weaknesses: Spirit of the Frog is an excellent card draw tool and Hagatha the Witch and Underbelly Angler are phenomenal card generation engines.

I am slightly surprised that the Evolve mechanic did not get a mention for Shaman. On the other hand, such a pinnacle of randomness was never a solid foundation for consistent results, so hopefully the design team is moving away from it.

Warlock

Sometimes sacrifices need to be made for power, and when you get demons involved this is often the case. The Warlock is comfortable with this bond and can manage all their resources (including their Health) in order to defeat their opponent. Their inherent ability to draw cards—with a sacrifice—allows them to keep the power flowing.

• Strengths: Powerful sacrifice effects, card draw, minion swarms, disruption, Demons
• Weaknesses: Face damage spells, big healing

Malygos Warlock and Control Warlock are staring bleakly at those class weaknesses. Once upon a time, Warlock could actually target face with spells, but those days are long gone. Likewise, the success of Control Warlock is closely tied to the healing available to the class: it thrives when healing is plentiful – Reno Jackson, Bloodreaver Gul'dan – and is completely annihilated when healing is weak and unpredictable, like Aranasi Broodmother.

Zoo Warlock gets a nod in the form of minion swarms and sacrifice effects, and it seems set to stay around forever. Well, it is powered by the Warlock Hero Power more than any specific cards, so it cannot really be taken away anyway.

Demons as a strength is interesting. Demons have not been able to play a major role since Mal'Ganis rotated out of Standard format, and that was a long time ago. The developers have printed the occasional Demon synergy card every now and then, but never to the extent that they would actually be useful. Perhaps this may change in the future.

Discard is not mentioned by name, but it may be included under sacrifice effects. Whether there are any powerful Discard effects left without Doomguard is another matter.

The Warlock strengths list does not promise anything for Control Warlock in the future. The archetype has been killed multiple times in the past, because it relies completely on expansion cards, so whether it will see a revival is uncertain.

Warrior

Warriors thirst for the battlefield. Primarily a martial class, they incorporate Armor, weapons, and minions to destroy their opponents. The minions who fight alongside each Warrior tend to be bigger and stronger, and they employ Rush and Taunt to control the flow of battle.

• Strengths: Armor, weapons, Taunt, destroying minions
• Limitations: Card draw and generation
• Weaknesses: Face damage spells, multi-minion buffs, minion swarms

Minions are mentioned for Warrior in the description, but not in the bullet points. I can only assume that the text is some leftover from Pirate Warrior days, when Warrior had something to throw on the board instead of just emptying the board turn after turn. No Pirates mentioned as a strength either, the times they have a-changed.

Control Warrior agrees with the bullet points, and that’s what matters the most.

What does it all mean?

There is a considerable risk of reading too much into these descriptions. Obviously, they are not all that there is to Hearthstone. However, some thoughts come to mind when examining these strengths, limitations, and weaknesses:

• Whenever classes get cards that shore up their limitations or weaknesses, those cards have the potential to be extremely important. Think Underbelly Angler, Spirit of the Frog, and Hagatha the Witch. Limitations and weaknesses are lists of things to look for when classes get new cards.
• Some extremely prominent mechanics are not listed as strengths for their classes, such as evolve and resurrect. Perhaps this indicates a change in design direction. Perhaps it does not. I would not be sad to see them go.
• Some strengths are not actual strengths for the classes at the moment. Deathrattle for Priest and Rogue, mana generation and giant minions for Druid, Totems for Shaman, and Demons for Warlock, for example. These may be things we can expect to see in future expansions.
• Combo decks get no love in class identities. There is nothing in the text description or bullet points of any class that would even hint at the existence of combo decks.

It is not that long until the next expansion, and it is interesting to think that these class identities could become fulfilled with the next set of cards.

What do you think? What class identities are you looking forward to? Were you hoping for something else for some of the classes?