Update: The new format is now live on all servers. We’ll be working on a Hero tier list once we get some experience in the format and (ideally) stats.
Update #2: Some people found a way to cheat, but Blizzard is working on a fix. Here’s more info from the Patch 29.4 Known Issues post:
- [Added 6/2] [Twist] The team is aware that some players have been using an unauthorized cheating software that allows them to use illegal cards in Twist, resulting in instant wins and other improper play patterns. The team is working on a hotfix patch to block this exploit as soon as possible. In the meantime, the people who have used these cheats have been banned. We will do more ban waves throughout the day and after the fix is patched so that anyone who uses these cheats going forward will also be banned. Please continue to use the in-game reporting feature for any suspected cheaters you face. These cheaters are not welcome in the Tavern.
Twist has been down for the last two months, but luckily we won’t have to wait long for a new format. And it looks very interesting. Blizzard just published a lengthy blog post about the upcoming season starting on June 1.
Unlike the previous, “Constructed” Twist formats, this one is all about special, pre-built decks with unique Hero Powers and effects. The format will feature 19 Heroes (at launch, more will be added later). In order to unlock each Hero, you need to own their respective card (the first card they appeared on in Hearthstone). So, for example, in order to unlock Brann Brozebeard you need the League of Explorers Brann Bronzebeard card, and for Dr. Boom you need the Goblins vs Gnomes Dr. Boom card. However, the good news that 6 of the Heroes will be “F2P”. 4 of them are unlocked by the cards available in the Core Set, while 2 others are unlocked by the older, free login reward cards (players can still easily get them). I assume that unless you’re a new player, you should already own some of the other cards too, meaning that you should have plenty of choices.
Different Heroes have different starting HP and gameplay strategies. We have the classic Aggro, Midrange, and Control decks, but also more unique options like Xyrella (who starts at 30 out of 60 HP and wins the game once you reach 60 HP) or Nozdormu (who starts with an extra Mana Crystal, but has only 30 seconds to take a turn). Overall, everyone should find something interesting. You can find all of the available Heroes, Hero Powers, Passives and decks here!
Blizzard has also shared more general plans for the Twist game mode in the future. The current plan is for this format (Whizbang’s Heroes) to come back in July with 9 new Heroes. They will also play around with balance by adjusting the Heroes’ HP weekly (similarly to how they’re doing in Battlegrounds with Armor).
However, after the July season, Twist will go dark again. According to them, Twist is not meant to be an “always on” mode, rather it’s more like “extended events”. I’ve already talked about it multiple times – I don’t agree with this approach, but it looks like they haven’t changed their mind and that’s what we’re getting. They are also planning on doing some repeats – later this year, Wonders (the format we got last year with Caverns of Time) will be back for 2 months. After that, Twist will be dark again for the rest of the year. So it looks like we have four more Twist seasons planned for this year in total.
Learn more in the blog post below:
Twist returns soon for a massive new season: Whizbang’s Heroes! Jump right into the fun with one of 19 new Heroes, each with a pre-made deck and a unique Hero Power and Passive effect. It all starts when the next season begins on June 1!
What Makes a Hero?
In Whizbang’s Heroes, simply pick your Hero and play! Each Hero has three main characteristics: a pre-built deck, a unique Hero Power, and a corresponding Passive effect. Heroes can also have different life totals. The pre-built Hero decks don’t have to follow the normal deck construction rules of Hearthstone: some decks are different sizes, most decks feature a mix of cards across different classes, and many decks have no duplicates, for more varied play. Each Hero’s Hero Power and Passive effect are designed to match that character’s flavor and deck mechanics. Our goal is for each Hero to feel like a new class.
Unlocking Heroes
The June Twist season will kick off with 19 available Heroes:
- Illidan Stormrage*
- Al’Akir the Windlord*
- Arch-Villain Rafaam*
- Leeroy Jenkins*
- Kael’Thas Sunstrider**
- C’Thun**
- Nozdormu
- The Lich King
- Xyrella
- Patches the Pirate
- Sir Finley Mrrgglton
- King Krush
- Forest Warden Omu
- Dr. Boom
- Zul’jin
- N’Zoth, the Corruptor
- Brann Bronzebeard
- Guff Runetotem
- Arfus
Each Hero is unlocked while you have their corresponding Legendary in your collection. The specific card that unlocks each Hero is the card that matches the name of that Hero (with the exception of Illidan Stormrage, unlocked by Metamorphosis in Core).
If you already have the card in your collection when the season starts, the Hero will automatically be unlocked when the season begins. If you want to unlock a particular Hero you haven’t unlocked yet, you can go directly to that card in the collection from the Twist Hero selection screen to craft it. Getting the relevant cards through other means, like packs, will also unlock those Heroes.
*These heroes are unlocked by cards in Core, so they will be automatically unlocked for all players at the start of the season.
**These two cards were free login rewards for older expansions. If not already unlocked, C’Thun is automatically unlocked by having a Whispers of the Old Gods pack and going to the pack opening screen and Kael’thas is automatically unlocked by having an Ashes of Outland pack and going to the pack opening screen.
Checking the Details
Since each Hero’s deck is pre-built, you can access all the fun straight from the play screen! Swap over to Twist Mode from the Hearthstone screen to bring up all the Hero selections—whether or not they’re unlocked yet. From there, you can mouse over a Hero to see their unlock criteria. You can also select the Hero to see their Hero Power, Passive effect, life total, and decklist.
Heroic Style
The baseline quality of the cards in your Hero’s deck will match the quality of that unlock card in your Collection (Normal, Golden, Diamond, or Signature). So, if you have a Golden version of an unlock card, your entire deck will be Golden. If you have a higher quality (Diamond or Signature), any cards that can match that quality will match it and the rest will default to Golden. Individual cards in those decks can go above that baseline Quality of your deck if you have a higher Quality version of those particular cards in your Collection. For purposes of this deck construction rule, Signature is considered a higher Quality than Diamond.
Twist Plans Through the End of the Year
One of our main goals with Twist is to provide a space to try new things that we wouldn’t necessarily try in Ranked Standard. We try things, we break things, we learn lessons, and then we do it all again.
One of the things we’re trying with this Twist season is messing with balance cadence for the mode. Whizbang’s Heroes have variable Healths that we can quickly adjust, so we plan to make weekly Hero Health adjustments to respond to meta developments. The hope is that these weekly updates will help address the issue we’ve seen in the past where Twist seasons didn’t line up well with our patch schedule. We’ll still be taking a look at adjusting all other things (like Hero Powers, Passive Effects, and decklists) in our normal scheduled balance patches.
After the June season, we’ll be bringing Whizbang’s Heroes back for the July season—with nine additional new Heroes to try!
After the July season, Twist will be dark again for a while. We sometimes see players asking why there are seasons when Twist isn’t available. By design, Twist isn’t an “always on” Mode like most of the other Modes in Hearthstone; it’s more like an extended event. We want Twist to feel fun and fresh, rather something that quickly fades to background noise. We’ll do repeats or updates when we think they fit into that overall goal, but not as the default.
For instance, later in the year, we’ll be revisiting Wonders and the Caverns of Time set for two seasons. We’re hoping that bringing back Wonders and Caverns of Time will give players another chance to try out the cards from that set, or to enjoy them for the first time if they missed out on last year’s fun.
Once those two seasons have wrapped, Twist will be dark again through the end of the year. We’ll give you more updates on upcoming Twist seasons closer to when they go live. For now, we hope you enjoy Whizbang’s Heroes. The fun starts on June 1—we’ll see you there!
Anyone else having an issue with heroes not unlocking even though you have the cards? I have all of these and they are not in my selection menu.
Illidan Stormrage*
Al’Akir the Windlord*
Arch-Villain Rafaam*
Leeroy Jenkins*
Kael’Thas Sunstrider**
C’Thun**