Hearthstone goes old-school with Classic Format and Core Set updates

If you were a fan of the original Hearthstone experience – how the game looked and felt at launch – you're going to love Blizzard's plans for the coming year.

Back when Heartstone launched in 2014, Blizzard brought the collectible card game genre kicking and screaming into the mainstream with a 240-card set that proved anyone could enjoy the once-niche genre.

Safe to say that the game has changed a lot since then, with myriad rotations and sets coming and going over the past six-plus years. If you're eager to go back to the way things were in the beginning, you'll be pleased to know Blizzard is introducing Classic Format: a mode that allows you to craft decks and play games using Hearthstone's original card set.

As per a post on Battle.net, Classic Format will replicate your entire collection of Basic, Classic, and original Hall of Fame cards in a cordoned-off portion of the game that will mimic the balance changes of the June 2014 version of the game (so that's only one big balance patch in, per the Android launch of the game, not the iOS one).

Here's hoping, then, that our nearly seven-year-old original Hearthstone strategy guide will get some more love in the coming months.

What's more, Blizzard also intends to introduce a Core Set to the game. Consisting of 235 cards, the Core Set is "intended to provide a modern collection of starting cards to players of all types and make Hearthstone even more approachable for newcomers."

Fair enough; there's a lot to get your head around if you're a brand new player approaching the game today. You can earn more Core Set cards by leveling each character class up to level 10, and your whole account up to level 60. Core Set cards will refresh at the end of Hearthstone each year, and you'll get gifted anything you haven't unlocked at that point, too (although old cards will be moved to the 'Wild' format).

Get all that? We're likely going to hear more about these big plans at BlizzCon on February 19.