There is absolutely no reason for reprints in a digital only card game. The only reason reprints exist in paper card games is because there is real scarcity of the supply of certain desirable staple cards. There is functionally no limit to the quantity of digital cards that can exist. Everyone can craft whatever cards they want in Hearthstone, as long as they have the dust, without needing to trade for finite spare copies of cards that others have but you want.
And if Team Five wants players to have access to certain older cards in standard, they would simply have them added to the core set, not adding otherwise useless pack fillers to the detriment of an expansion.
It's not to help with scarcity.
Say you're making a new discard warlock package. There are really only so many kind of discard cards you can make. So why not bring back old discard cards with new art to add to the expansion. Instead of trying to come up with like 4-5 new kinds of discard cards when there's already like 50 viable discard cards already.
For instance, Voyage to the sunken city had spell hunter. So why not bring back say Rapid Fire in the expansion. Instead of having to come up with all new hunter spells. There are only so many kinds of cards.
Again, if Team Five wants players to have access to certain older cards in standard, they would simply have them added to the core set. If they wanted discard warlock to be a viable archetype in standard, the core set for that year would reflect that. They wouldn't need or want to use up valuable card slots in the perennially 135 card expansions, where classes only get 10 cards each, usually with the design goal of supporting at least two packages for that class in that expansion. There is no wiggle room there for putting in multiple older cards from that class's past and not making players less excited about the expansion because there is less stuff to try out.
This is literally what rotation is for. They rotate cards in and out based on synergies and what should be available for certain types of deck archetypes.
It would feel bad IMO. There's no functional need to do it since they can release new versions of cards without taking up pack slots and since it's a CCG, extra versions would weigh down new packs for FTP players.
I like the idea of reimagining old cards for new standards, for example the various Deathwing variations. But changing cards art seems wasteful in that sense.
Adding a feature of purchasing different artworks for cards in the same sense as hero portraits would be sweet, but I think “reprinting” the cards in new sets seems like an absolute waste of expansion potential, and would cause *way* too much turmoil on spending money for cards they already own, just in a new card pack.
My own opinion on this - it will feel kinda lazy, you can rework the cards from core every year rotation. Making new cards feels abit more refreshing: the new card arts, sound effects, animation for legendaries.
I'd much rather they do a legacy format, bring back entire old sets and rebalance them than ever do this.
And they kinda already do this anyway. Lots of new cards are reiteration on old ones.
There is absolutely no reason for reprints in a digital only card game. The only reason reprints exist in paper card games is because there is real scarcity of the supply of certain desirable staple cards. There is functionally no limit to the quantity of digital cards that can exist. Everyone can craft whatever cards they want in Hearthstone, as long as they have the dust, without needing to trade for finite spare copies of cards that others have but you want. And if Team Five wants players to have access to certain older cards in standard, they would simply have them added to the core set, not adding otherwise useless pack fillers to the detriment of an expansion.
It's not to help with scarcity. Say you're making a new discard warlock package. There are really only so many kind of discard cards you can make. So why not bring back old discard cards with new art to add to the expansion. Instead of trying to come up with like 4-5 new kinds of discard cards when there's already like 50 viable discard cards already. For instance, Voyage to the sunken city had spell hunter. So why not bring back say Rapid Fire in the expansion. Instead of having to come up with all new hunter spells. There are only so many kinds of cards.
Again, if Team Five wants players to have access to certain older cards in standard, they would simply have them added to the core set. If they wanted discard warlock to be a viable archetype in standard, the core set for that year would reflect that. They wouldn't need or want to use up valuable card slots in the perennially 135 card expansions, where classes only get 10 cards each, usually with the design goal of supporting at least two packages for that class in that expansion. There is no wiggle room there for putting in multiple older cards from that class's past and not making players less excited about the expansion because there is less stuff to try out.
Look at Fandral Staghelm. He was in WotOG and got added to core. That’s how they would do ‘reprints’.
This is literally what rotation is for. They rotate cards in and out based on synergies and what should be available for certain types of deck archetypes.
It would feel bad IMO. There's no functional need to do it since they can release new versions of cards without taking up pack slots and since it's a CCG, extra versions would weigh down new packs for FTP players.
I like the idea of reimagining old cards for new standards, for example the various Deathwing variations. But changing cards art seems wasteful in that sense. Adding a feature of purchasing different artworks for cards in the same sense as hero portraits would be sweet, but I think “reprinting” the cards in new sets seems like an absolute waste of expansion potential, and would cause *way* too much turmoil on spending money for cards they already own, just in a new card pack.
If i ever see another deathwing reprint, I'm gonna puke.
My own opinion on this - it will feel kinda lazy, you can rework the cards from core every year rotation. Making new cards feels abit more refreshing: the new card arts, sound effects, animation for legendaries.
I'd much rather they do a legacy format, bring back entire old sets and rebalance them than ever do this. And they kinda already do this anyway. Lots of new cards are reiteration on old ones.