Hearthstone’s mini-set is strongly linked to the previous card release in terms of keywords and themes, so why did these cards end up in the later release instead of the main one? Though we can’t know for sure, we can make some educated guesses and reveal some design considerations in the process.
Qualification
Considering the strong thematic links and the unprecedentedly short amount of time between the release of Darkmoon Races and Madness at the Darkmoon Fair, it makes sense to treat them as a singular entity from a design perspective – that is, to look at it as 170 total cards, with 35 of them shunted off for a slightly later release. So why could that be the case, both theme-wise and in terms of power level?
Let’s not forget that these content pieces are planned out and developed far in advance, and the early onset of COVID likely had an impact on the development pipeline and not everything that was originally planned may have made the eventual release. There may have also been some sort of single-player content in the workings at some point, much like in the case of Galakrond’s Awakening, and indeed the “Races” theming of the mini-set is perhaps its weakest element, suggesting there may have been more to it at some point than what we’ve ended up with.
In fact, here’s an interesting exercise: suppose you scroll through the entire Darkmoon Faire card list in the collection – could you tell which one came from the main release and which is from the mini-set? For what it’s worth, this wasn’t exactly a strong point of Galakrond’s Awakening either, with only a few cards vaguely referencing the epic battle for the fate of Azeroth going on in the background (Dark Prophecy, Boom Squad and The Amazing Reno and that’s about it). Some of the cards may feature some sort of vehicle on their art or have a passing reference in the name, but Formula One this is not.
Green Green Green
First of all, let’s look at the neutrals, or what’s left of them. The role of these cards have undergone a significant change over the years, with the addition of an extra class legendary and a tenth class, plus now the dual-class cards making them a smaller part of the gameplay than ever before. This, coupled with their relatively lower power level, means they now occupy very specific niches. Here, the return of the Old Gods and the corresponding Corrupt keyword ate up most of the space, leaving the mini-set’s cards to offer a sprinkling of niche tech options instead.
The addition of a mini-set also allows Team 5 to re-introduce mechanics from previous sets without diluting the focus on the shiny new stuff in the main release. Both Spellburst and the dual-class cards are welcome addition in Darkmoon Races, and one has to wonder whether something like Twinspell or Sidequest which only had a limited time in the limelight could have been further expanded upon with this kind of a release schedule – and by the same token, it makes sense why they weren’t made a part of the main release.
The same goes for archetypal support. We’re looking at an end-of-year set here, which rotates out after the shortest amount of possible time in Standard, generally leading to higher power levels in the design process. In that sense, it would make sense for Darkmoon Races to also follow the same principle, and previous examples like Risky Skipper and Rotnest Drake show how mini-releases can launch brand new archetypes straight out of the gate even at the current power levels in the game.
Hearthstone’s devs have always been insistent on paving the way in advance, heavily signposting synergies and pre-planned archetypes (with only a few decks ever emerging outside this pattern), which makes it easy to trace the roles of most cards as part of the different releases. The Darkmoon Races card are actively supporting builds as diverse as Token Druid and Big Druid, Beast Hunter and Tempo Paladin, Aggro Rogue and Control Warrior – whether they do enough to help out remains to be seen, but none of these archetypes got significant support in the main Madness at the Darkmoon Faire set.
Checkered Flag
So what does this all tell us about what to expect going forward? Well, the larger amount of cards clearly allow Team 5 to support a wider range of archetypes over the course of a set release, meaning travesties like Knights of the Frozen Throne’s Freeze Shaman are not likely to return in the future – that is, each class should have at least a near-playable archetype at some point in the meta.
This also makes it easier for casual players to make use of their cards – and by the same token, also providing room for a small subset of cards meant specifically for applications in other game modes. Ultimately, adding more cards won’t increase the number of top tier tools in the meta (that’s just the nature of the beast), and the fact that these extra releases were phased in after the conveyor belt of game modes was set up makes a lot of sense.
Though the theming aspect of the mini-set is sorely lacking, the added support for wider archetypes is a welcome sight for sore eyes, and perhaps the most reassuring aspect of the way this release was constructed. However, whether they achieve the “broader shake-up” in the meta as Iksar wished remains to be seen.
If the goal is to re-up engagement, the main consideration has to be “just” to support different gameplay ideas than the ones we’ve seen in the main set, or else casual players won’t return to check out the new content – and by the same token, they won’t pay for the privilege. As Hearthstone’s relationship with its main mode continues to evolve in mind of Battlegrounds’ monstrous growth, this shift towards an even more aggressive approach to patching in content over time. As we’ve seen from adventures, it’s not the size of the release, it’s how they use it.
Hey, I’m not sure if everyone knows about this bug: With the addition of the Miniset, I achieved 135 different cards from the Darkmoon Faire. Therefore, I won the Coin Skin of completing the Expansion Set. But the case is that I’m still around 10 epics and 15 legendaries short to actually complete it.
I liked it 😀
For example, I achieved the 135 cards and I won the Skin for the Coin, however, my achievement now shoes incomplete (less than 135 cards). Another example: it show 14 of 15 warlock cards, but it showed to me that I completed it. The case is that I got the skin coin with the addition of the miniset.
Edit: For example, I achieved the 135 cards and I won the Skin for the Coin, however, my achievement now shows incomplete (less than 135 cards). Another example: it shows 14 of 15 warlock cards, but it showed to me that I had completed it with the miniset. The case is that I got the skin coin with the addition of the miniset.
It’s intended. Look at the achievement text. They changed it for the miniset and just says have 135 cards. Nothing to see here.
In fact for the big reveal for duels and darkmoon months ago before the progression update, the dev in the video said exactly that: Once the miniset is released you can get that coin without owning a single legendary. That’s what he said which made me slightly skeptical given that the achievements have issues and originally the intent of the achievement seemed that you’d have to own the whole set (135 cards). I was curious the whole time if the achievement would be weird or inaccurate or what, and they just sort of seamlessly updated it like the guy said. So now there will be people who will want to clarify that they had the prize coin before darkmoon races XD
Thank you for the answers and clarification! 🙂
For sure!
On a tangent point I always wonder how someone would own every card from a new set. Saw that coin a handful of times.