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Card pack

Card pack concept art

Card packs are items that players can open to acquire cards for filling a player's collection.

Every expansion has its own type of card pack with unique artwork, and each card pack contains 5 cards from that card set. Each card opened has a chance to be of common, rare, epic or legendary rarity, but each pack is guaranteed to contain at least one card of at least rare rarity.[1] Each card opened also has the chance to be a golden version of that card. The chances for rarities and golden versions are the same for all types of card packs,[2][3][4][5] and is well-documented in the statistics section below.

Card packs are the most cost-efficient means of obtaining cards. They offer the quickest way of expanding the player's collection for a particular set, but when wishing to obtain a specific card, players will generally find it cheaper and quicker to craft the card instead.

As of patch 27.2.2.184727, all card packs, Standard and Wild, are available for purchase in the in-game Shop. However, only Standard card packs are awarded from in-game rewards, such as Ranked rewards, Arena rewards, and heroic Duels rewards.

Opening a pack[]

Gnome pack

A gnome opening a new card pack.

Functionality[]

Card packs can be opened by clicking on the "Open Packs" icon from the main menu screen. The number underneath the icon indicates how many unopened card packs you currently possess.

Once the Open Packs screen has been reached, all current unopened packs will be displayed on the left-hand side. Drag a pack over to the right-hand section or hit the space bar to open it. Once you open a pack, 5 cards appear face down. This forces you to turn each card individually either by hitting the space bar or clicking each card.

Hovering over a card shows a border depending on the rarity of the card. Hearthstone uses quality colors based on World of Warcraft's gear system.

  • No color means the card is of common rarity
  • A blue glow means the card is of rare rarity
  • A purple glow means the card is of epic rarity
  • An orange glow means the card is of legendary rarity

Card Drop Rates and Rules[]

There are two main types of card packs: Normal and Golden. Normal packs give the player craftable cards of any quality, with regular being the most common, while Golden packs give the player Golden or Signature cards.

As of March 14, 2023, all card packs follow these rules to determine their cards:[6]

  • Duplicate protection
    • You will not receive more than one copy of a Legendary card until you have received every Legendary card in that card set. Similarly, you will not receive more than two copies of any Common, Rare, or Epic card until you have received two copies of every card of that rarity in that card expansion.
    • Crafting a card counts towards receiving it, and any cards you disenchant (whether golden or non-golden) count as well. This means that if you get a card you don't want, you can disenchant it and you will not receive it again until you have all cards of that rarity from that card set.
  • Pity timer
    • Each rarity has an average probability to be obtained, which increases every time you open a pack that does not contain a card of that rarity. Eventually, you are guaranteed to get a card of that rarity in a determined number of packs, which is informally called the Pity timer. Once you get a card of that rarity, that probability is reset.
    • One Legendary card is guaranteed within the first 10 packs of any type. Subsequent Legendary card drops will follow the above rule.

Normal packs[]

This table documents details of the probabilities and Pity timers of Normal packs, as stated by Blizzard Entertainment.[6]

Card quality Signature
Legendary
Golden
Legendary
Golden
Epic
Golden
Rare
Golden
Common
Legendary Epic
Average probability 0.6% 0.6% 1.4% 7.1% 8.1% 5.0% 21.0%
Pity timer 361 361 142 29 25 40 10
First pity timer - - - - - 10 -
Notes
  • Each card pack is guaranteed to contain at least one Normal Rare card or better.
  • Remaining cards will be normal Common cards with an average of 3.5 cards per pack.

Golden packs[]

This table documents details of the probabilities and Pity timers number of Golden packs, as stated by Blizzard Entertainment.[6]

Card quality Signature
Legendary
Golden
Legendary
Golden
Epic
Average probability 5.0% 5.0% 21.0%
Pity timer 40 40 10
First pity timer - 10 -
Notes
  • Each Golden card pack is guaranteed to contain at least one Golden Rare card or better per pack
  • Remaining cards will be Golden Common cards on average of 3.7 cards per pack
  • A sub-type of Golden packs, Signature Golden packs (only used for March of the Lich King), had an additional chance of 15.1% to contain a Signature Legendary card and had a pity timer of 14 packs for Signature Legendaries.

How to get[]

Standard format card packs can be obtained in many ways. They can be gained from competing in Arena or Heroic Duels, for your first Tavern Brawl win each week, from Ranked rewards, from certain quests, or they can be purchased from the in-game Shop, either for gold or for real money. Standard format card packs can also be purchased from the online shop. Standard card packs can also be obtained as rewards through the Recruit A Friend system.

Wild format card packs are never granted as rewards. However, Wild format card packs can be bought from the in-game Shop. Players who had packs left over when the set moved to Wild format can still open them and receive cards as normal, and players can still obtain Wild format cards through crafting.

Types of card packs[]

Classic Pack
Goblins vs Gnomes Pack
The Grand Tournament Pack
Whispers of the Old Gods Pack
Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Pack
Journey to Un'Goro Pack
Knights of the Frozen Throne Pack
Golden Classic Pack
Kobolds & Catacombs Pack
The Witchwood Pack
The Boomsday Project Pack
Rastakhan's Rumble Pack
Rise of Shadows Pack
Saviors of Uldum Pack
Descent of Dragons Pack
Ashes of Outland Pack
Scholomance Academy Pack
Hunter Pack
Year of the Dragon Pack
Mage Pack
Forged in the Barrens Pack
United in Stormwind Pack
Golden Scholomance Academy Pack
Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Pack
Mercenaries Pack
Druid Pack
Paladin Pack
Warrior Pack
Priest Pack
Rogue Pack
Shaman Pack
Warlock Pack
Demon Hunter Pack
Golden Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Pack
Fractured in Alterac Valley Pack
Golden Forged in the Barrens Pack
Year of the Phoenix Pack
Voyage to the Sunken City Pack
Standard Pack
Wild Pack
Golden Standard Pack
Murder at Castle Nathria
Golden United in Stormwind Pack
TITANS Pack
March of the Lich King
Golden Fractured in Alterac Valley Pack
Golden Voyage to the Sunken City Pack
Festival of Legends
Golden Murder at Castle Nathria
Golden Wild
Death Knight Pack
Signature Golden March of the Lich King
Golden Festival of Legends
Golden TITANS Pack
Golden Year of the Phoenix Pack

Available in Shop[]

NameCard setsClasses
TITANS - Golden pack
Golden TITANS Pack

TITANS

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Wild - Golden pack
Golden Wild

Fractured in Alterac Valley United in Stormwind Legacy Forged in the Barrens Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Scholomance Academy Ashes of Outland Descent of Dragons Saviors of Uldum Rise of Shadows Rastakhan's Rumble The Boomsday Project The Witchwood Kobolds & Catacombs Knights of the Frozen Throne Journey to Un'Goro Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Whispers of the Old Gods The Grand Tournament Goblins vs Gnomes Legacy

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Festival of Legends - Card pack
Festival of Legends

Festival of Legends

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

March of the Lich King - Card pack
March of the Lich King

March of the Lich King

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

TITANS - Card pack
TITANS Pack

TITANS

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Murder at Castle Nathria - Card pack
Murder at Castle Nathria

Murder at Castle Nathria

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Wild - Card pack
Wild Pack

Fractured in Alterac Valley United in Stormwind Legacy Forged in the Barrens Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Scholomance Academy Ashes of Outland Descent of Dragons Saviors of Uldum Rise of Shadows Rastakhan's Rumble The Boomsday Project The Witchwood Kobolds & Catacombs Knights of the Frozen Throne Journey to Un'Goro Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Whispers of the Old Gods The Grand Tournament Goblins vs Gnomes Legacy

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Standard - Card pack
Standard Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Voyage to the Sunken City - Card pack
Voyage to the Sunken City Pack

Voyage to the Sunken City

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Fractured in Alterac Valley - Card pack
Fractured in Alterac Valley Pack

Fractured in Alterac Valley

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Mercenaries - Card pack
Mercenaries Pack

Mercenaries

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire - Card pack
Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Pack

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

United in Stormwind - Card pack
United in Stormwind Pack

United in Stormwind

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Forged in the Barrens - Card pack
Forged in the Barrens Pack

Forged in the Barrens

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Scholomance Academy - Card pack
Scholomance Academy Pack

Scholomance Academy

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Ashes of Outland - Card pack
Ashes of Outland Pack

Ashes of Outland

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Descent of Dragons - Card pack
Descent of Dragons Pack

Descent of Dragons

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Saviors of Uldum - Card pack
Saviors of Uldum Pack

Saviors of Uldum

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Rise of Shadows - Card pack
Rise of Shadows Pack

Rise of Shadows

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Rastakhan's Rumble - Card pack
Rastakhan's Rumble Pack

Rastakhan's Rumble

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

The Boomsday Project - Card pack
The Boomsday Project Pack

The Boomsday Project

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

The Witchwood - Card pack
The Witchwood Pack

The Witchwood

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Kobolds and Catacombs - Card pack
Kobolds & Catacombs Pack

Kobolds & Catacombs

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Knights of the Frozen Throne - Card pack
Knights of the Frozen Throne Pack

Knights of the Frozen Throne

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Journey to Un'Goro - Card pack
Journey to Un'Goro Pack

Journey to Un'Goro

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Mean Streets of Gadgetzan - Card pack
Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Pack

Mean Streets of Gadgetzan

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Whispers of the Old Gods - Card pack
Whispers of the Old Gods Pack

Whispers of the Old Gods

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

The Grand Tournament - Card pack
The Grand Tournament Pack

The Grand Tournament

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Goblins vs Gnomes - Card pack
Goblins vs Gnomes Pack

Goblins vs Gnomes

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Legacy - Card pack
Classic Pack

Legacy

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Class[]

NameCard setsClasses
Death Knight - Card pack
Death Knight Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Death Knight

Demon Hunter - Card pack
Demon Hunter Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Demon Hunter

Warlock - Card pack
Warlock Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Warlock

Shaman - Card pack
Shaman Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Shaman

Rogue - Card pack
Rogue Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Rogue

Priest - Card pack
Priest Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Priest

Warrior - Card pack
Warrior Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Warrior

Paladin - Card pack
Paladin Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Paladin

Druid - Card pack
Druid Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Druid

Mage - Card pack
Mage Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Mage

Hunter - Card pack
Hunter Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Hunter

Year[]

NameCard setsClasses
Year of the Phoenix - Golden pack
Golden Year of the Phoenix Pack

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Scholomance Academy Ashes of Outland

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Year of the Phoenix - Card pack
Year of the Phoenix Pack

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Scholomance Academy Ashes of Outland

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Year of the Dragon - Card pack
Year of the Dragon Pack

Descent of Dragons Saviors of Uldum Rise of Shadows

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Golden[]

These packs always contain golden or signature cards.

NameCard setsClasses
Year of the Phoenix - Golden pack
Golden Year of the Phoenix Pack

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Scholomance Academy Ashes of Outland

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

TITANS - Golden pack
Golden TITANS Pack

TITANS

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Festival of Legends - Golden pack
Golden Festival of Legends

Festival of Legends

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Wild - Golden pack
Golden Wild

Fractured in Alterac Valley United in Stormwind Legacy Forged in the Barrens Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Scholomance Academy Ashes of Outland Descent of Dragons Saviors of Uldum Rise of Shadows Rastakhan's Rumble The Boomsday Project The Witchwood Kobolds & Catacombs Knights of the Frozen Throne Journey to Un'Goro Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Whispers of the Old Gods The Grand Tournament Goblins vs Gnomes Legacy

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Murder at Castle Nathria - Golden pack
Golden Murder at Castle Nathria

Murder at Castle Nathria

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Voyage to the Sunken City - Golden pack
Golden Voyage to the Sunken City Pack

Voyage to the Sunken City

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Fractured in Alterac Valley - Golden pack
Golden Fractured in Alterac Valley Pack

Fractured in Alterac Valley

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

United in Stormwind - Golden pack
Golden United in Stormwind Pack

United in Stormwind

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Standard - Golden pack
Golden Standard Pack

TITANS Festival of Legends March of the Lich King Murder at Castle Nathria Voyage to the Sunken City

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Forged in the Barrens - Golden pack
Golden Forged in the Barrens Pack

Forged in the Barrens

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire - Golden pack
Golden Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Pack

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Scholomance Academy - Golden pack
Golden Scholomance Academy Pack

Scholomance Academy

Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Legacy - Golden pack
Golden Classic Pack

Legacy

Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Signature Golden[]

Used only for March of the Lich King, these packs always contained golden or signature cards, but with a higher chance to contain signature cards than Golden packs.

NameCard setsClasses
March of the Lich King - Golden pack
Signature Golden March of the Lich King

March of the Lich King

Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral

Purchasing[]

The following purchasing options are available. Only the single pack option is available for gold (although players can buy more than one pack at a time); all other options require real money or Runestones. Players can use any of the payment methods that are also available for buying games and goodies from the Blizzard store.

Card packs can only be bought using real money from the Blizzard store. In-game, the only options are gold or Runestones.

Some of these prices were subject to changes on March 22, 2017 and may no longer be accurate.[7]

Packs Gold Runestones* USD GBP EUR RUB** BRL AUD
1 100
2 300 Runestone $2.99 ($1.495 per pack, $0.299 per card) £2.99 (£1.495 per pack, £0.299 per card) €2.99 (€1.495 per pack, €0.299 per card) 149.00 р. (74.50 р. per pack, 14.90 р. per card) R$ 7,00 (R$ 3,50 per pack, R$ 0,70 per card) A$3.95 (A$1.975 per pack, A$0.395 per card)
7 1000 Runestone $9.99 ($1.427 per pack, $0.285 per card) £8.99 (£1.284 per pack, £0.257 per card) €9.99 (€1.427 per pack, €0.285 per card) 499.00 р. (71.28 р. per pack, 14.25 р. per card) R$ 21,00 (R$ 3,00 per pack, R$ 0,6 per card) A$13.50 (A$1.929 per pack, A$0.386 per card)
15 2000 Runestone $19.99 ($1.333 per pack, $0.267 per card) £16.99 (£1.133 per pack, £0.227 per card) €19.99 (€1.333 per pack, €0.267 per card) 999.00 р. (66.60 р. per pack, 13.32 р. per card) R$ 39,00 (R$ 2,6 per pack, R$ 0,52 per card) A$26.95 (A$1.797 per pack, A$0.359 per card)
40 5000 Runestone $49.99 ($1.250 per pack, $0.250 per card) £44.99 (£1.125 per pack, £0.225 per card) €49.99 (€1.250 per pack, €0.250 per card) 2500.00 р. (62.50 р. per pack, 12.50 р. per card) R$ 99,00 (R$ 2,475 per pack, R$ 0,495 per card) A$66.95 (A$1.674 per pack, A$0.335 per card)
60*** 7000 Runestone $69.99 ($1.167 per pack, $0.233 per card) £59.99 (£1.000 per pack, £0.200 per card) €69.99 (€1.167 per pack, €0.233 per card) 3500.00 р. (58.33 р. per pack, 11.66 р. per card) R$ 145,00 (R$ 2,417 per pack, R$ 0,483 per card) A$94.95 (A$1.583 per pack, A$0.317 per card)
* Runestones available only in-game. Real money purchases available only in the Blizzard store.
** Russian Ruble prices are frequently changing due to unstable exchange rate.
*** Only available on PC and Mac.

Note that a discount is offered when buying in bulk. Purchasing 40 packs of cards at once presents a 12-16% discount compared to buying cards in sets of 2. Exact prices and discounts vary by currency.

While no bulk purchase option is presented for gold transactions, players can double-click on the '1 pack' option to instantly order multiple packs by entering a number from 1 to 50. No discount is offered. Players are informed of this option upon entering the shop for the first time with a sufficiently large amount of gold.[8]

History[]

Statistics[]

Note: This section contains information in between 2014-2020.
Epiccard

Hovering over an Epic card.

Main article: Card pack statistics

Various attempts have been made to establish the chances of receiving each rarity of card when opening card packs. Note that all types of card pack have the same chances at rarities and golden cards.[2][3]

The following numbers combine data from several other studies. Since the numbers provided by each study are relatively similar, this is mostly for the convenience of a single overview of the statistics, as well as improved accuracy in the rarer cases. The original studies can be found in the linked article.

Currently included studies: Steve Marinconz (June 2014), E. R. Kjellgren (August 2014), Amaz (February 2015), HearthSim (August 2015). This produces a total sample size of 27,868 card packs, describing 139,340 cards in total.

Common Rare Epic Legendary
Percentage of total 71.65% 22.84% 4.42% 1.10%
Count per 27,868 packs 99,836 31,821 6,152 1,531
Probability of at least 1 per pack 99.81% 72.64% 20.21% 5.37%

In April 2017, in compliance with Chinese law, Blizzard published official probablities of card drops.[9] Though the official announcement applies to the Chinese region only, it is likely that the drop rates are across all regions.

The officially announced drop rates are:

  • RARE - At least 1 rare or better in each pack. (This was already known).
  • EPIC - Average of 1 every 5 packs. (This implies that at least 4% of all cards are epic).
  • LEGENDARY - Average of 1 every 20 packs. (This implies that at least 1% of all cards are legendary).

The reported drop chances are slightly lower than the observed drop rates. This is likely an indication that the announcement drop rates have to be read as "at least 1 epic every 5 packs", and "at least 1 legendary every 20 packs".


Golden cards

Golden card data gathered prior to The Grand Tournament show significant differences from that gathered after. For this reason the below information is currently taken solely from the most recent study: HearthSim (August 2015).

Common Rare Epic Legendary
Percentage of total Regular 70.36% 21.60% 4.08% 0.94%
Golden 1.48% 1.27% 0.19% 0.07%
Count per 15,109 packs Regular 53,151 16,319 3,086 710
Golden 1,120 957 146 56

The following table describes the likelihood of getting at least 1 golden card in a given pack.

Common Rare Epic Legendary Any rarity
Probability of at least 1 golden per pack 7.4% 6.35% 0.95% 0.35% 15.05%

The following table describes the percentage of cards of each rarity which will be golden.

Common Rare Epic Legendary
Percentage golden 2.06% 5.54% 4.52% 7.31%
Rough probability 1 in 48.5 1 in 18.1 1 in 22.1 1 in 13.7

Signature Golden packs[]

Signature Golden packs are essentially the same as Golden packs, with some differences:[10]

  • Signature legendary cards drop from these packs at triple the golden legendary rate
  • This means the legendary drop rate is quadrupled in Signature Golden packs
  • Effecitvely, the total drop rate for one legendary (Golden or Signature) is 1 per 5 packs on average

Duplicate protection[]

Duplicate protection in Hearthstone pack opening refers to the protection given to a player that prevents them from opening a card which the player has acquired more than one copy of (for legendaries) or more than two copies of (for commons, rares, and epics). Duplicate protection arises from the fact that normal game rules prohibit players from using more than one copy of a legendary card, or more than two copies of a common, rare, or epic card, in a typical playing deck. With duplicate protection, players are able to collect cards without having to worry about frequently getting useless duplicate and triplicate cards from card packs. Duplicate protection did not exist as a rule in Hearthstone before August 10th, 2017.

On June 22nd, 2017, Blizzard announced the brand new rule of duplicate protection would be implemented for legendary cards opened from card packs.[11] The announced duplicate protection rule and some additional rule changes to pack opening were officially implemented on August 10th 2017 with the launch of the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion and were as follows:

  • When you open a Legendary, you are guaranteed to find a Legendary that you do not yet own a (non-golden or golden) copy of, unless you already own all Legendaries of the set.[12]
    • At this time, this meant that if a player owned all Legendaries in a set and disenchanted one of them, they were guaranteed to open the disenchanted Legendary in their next card pack containing a Legendary.
  • A single pack will never contain more than two copies of the same Common, Rare, or Epic card, or more than one copy of the same Legendary card.
  • Within each new set, you are guaranteed to get at least one Legendary within the first ten packs.
Duplicate protection Phoenix

In-game notification of duplication protection after March 26, 2020

On March 17th, 2020, Blizzard announced that duplicate protection would be extended to all rarities when opening card packs, meaning that commons, rares, and epics would now be given triplicate protection, in addition to legendaries having duplicate protection.[13] The new triplicate protection rules and some additional rules of card tracking were officially implemented on March 26th 2020, about two weeks prior to the launch of the Ashes of Outland expansion, and were as follows:[14]

  • When a Legendary card is opened, you are still guaranteed to find a Legendary card that you do not yet own a copy of (non-golden and golden inclusive), but now only if you have not yet opened a copy of all Legendary cards in the set.
    • A Legendary card is still guaranteed within the first ten packs of an expansion.
  • When a Common/Rare/Epic card is opened, you are guaranteed to find a card of that rarity that you do not yet own two copies of (non-golden and golden inclusive[15]), but only if you have not yet opened two copies of all cards of that specific rarity in the set.
  • For tracking purposes, cards are marked as "collected" whenever a player acquires a card (golden or non-golden) through any means, and cards which are disenchanted still remain marked as being "collected".[16] This means that disenchanted Legendary cards, as well as disenchanted Common/Rare/Epic cards, are not guaranteed to show up in card packs after a player has "collected" all copies of cards of that rarity, but they will continue to show up as normal per the rarity distribution of card packs.[17] Once a card is marked as "collected", it is forever marked as such.[16] Tracking for such disenchanted cards began when the patch went live on March 26.[18]
  • Chadd Nervig also explained on Twitter that, for example, when a player has obtained 2 of all Commons, future Commons will be random but non-goldens will be ones which the player still hasn't gotten non-golden of, and goldens will be ones the player still hasn't gotten golden of.[19] This means that non-golden and golden cards are marked separately, as well as individually, for the purposes of card tracking.[20]
  • Additionally, outside of card pack openings, if players receive single-card rewards from elsewhere in the game, such as from Ranked rewards, these cards will also obey the duplicate protection rules afforded to card pack opening.
  • On December 6, 2022, rerolling possibilities were also added for duplicate cards obtained from packs. If a player opens a card but already owns a craftable version of lower quality, a pop-up will appear asking the player if they want to reroll that lower quality copy for free. If requested, it rerolls it into a different card of the same card set, rarity, and quality.[10]

Notes[]

Cardpacks

Purchasing options in the Americas region.

  • All types of card pack feature the same chance of producing cards of any given rarity, and of golden and regular versions.[21][22] This suggests that the internal process for the selection of each card functions by first determining a rarity, then randomly selecting a card of that rarity to produce. There is evidence suggesting that cards can have "predetermined rarities", experienced when opening packs "again".[23]
  • The contents of each pack are decided at random, at the time of opening.[24][25]
  • Buying options do not in any way affect the contents of packs.[26]
  • Players can only use 2 of each card in a deck (and only 1 of each Legendary), meaning additional copies of cards beyond these limits are of no value. When receiving unwanted cards from card packs, the disenchant option can be used to destroy unwanted cards in exchange for Arcane Dust, which can then be used to craft new cards. This process allows players to convert unwanted cards into more desirable options.
  • When opening packs, cards are displayed using the player's currently selected card back.
  • As of Patch 23.4.0.139963, every craftable card in the game can now be opened from card packs. Wild card packs can even contain those that were previously craftable-only, such as true Legacy cards.

Trivia[]

Goblins vs Gnomes pack - dev

Concept art for the Goblins vs Gnomes card pack opening animation

The Goblins vs Gnomes card pack and its opening animation was originally designed by Jomaro Kindred,[27] and animated by John Zwicker.[28]

Videos[]

Gallery[]

Pack SS 1

1 pack to open

Pack SS 2

Picking up the pack

Pack SS 3

Placing it in the center

Pack SS 4

The pack bursting open...

Pack SS 5

…to reveal...

Pack SS 9

…5 brand new cards

Pack SS 6

Mousing over cards reveals their rarity

Pack SS 7

Another pack down

Pack SS 8

The player's current card back is used when opening packs

Card pack granted screenshot

Gaining card packs from an external source

Variety pack: One each Legendary, Epic, Rare, Common and Golden Common.

Variety pack: One each Legendary, Epic, Rare, Common and Golden Common.

Patch changes[]

References[]

 
  1. It is possible to open a pack with no Rares in it, if it has Epics/Legendaries instead: Imgur link. Tested in Patch 2.7.0.9166 (Tavern Brawl patch). Also see Card pack statistics#Notes.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Hearthstone Fireside Chat Goblins vs Gnomes. (2014-11-07). 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Ben Brode on Twitter. (2014-12-04). 
  4. Ben Brode on Twitter. (2015-08-15). 
  5. Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-04-20). 
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Blizzard Entertainment (2023-03-17). Blizzard Support - Hearthstone Shop. Retrieved on 2023-03-19.
  7. Price adjustments for PC, Mac and Android - Battle.net Forums. (2017-03-10). 
  8. Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-04-19). 
  9. Official Card Rarity Drop Probabilities from Packs. (2017-05-05). 
  10. 10.0 10.1 Kurt Ocher (2022-11-02). Additional Details on Signature Cards
  11. Hearthstone Update: Upcoming Card Pack Changes. (2017-06-22). 
  12. Chadd Nervig on Twitter. (2020-04-20). 
  13. Blizzard Entertainment (March 17, 2020). Welcome to the Year of the Phoenix!. Retrieved on 2020-03-31.
  14. Blizzard Entertainment (March 26, 2020). Ashes of Outland – 17.0 Patch Notes – March 26. Retrieved on 2020-03-31.
  15. Chadd Nervig on Twitter. (2020-03-17). 
  16. 16.0 16.1 Liv Breeden on reddit. (March 18, 2020). Retrieved on 2020-04-07.
  17. Chadd Nervig on Twitter. (2020-03-18). 
  18. Chadd Nervig on Twitter. (2020-03-26). 
  19. Chadd Nervig on Twitter. (2020-03-26). 
  20. Tested by User:Aegonostic. Disenchanted a few commons and rares that only one copy had been opened, and the result is that the same card can be easily opened in subsequent packs, meaning that the cards are marked individually.
  21. Ben Brode on Twitter. (2014-11-19). 
  22. Ben Brode on Twitter. (2017-02-03). 
  23. Hearthstone Packs Hypothesis for "Predetermined Rarity" - Reddit. (2017-01-19). Retrieved on 2017-01-19.
  24. Ben Brode on Twitter. (2015-06-15). 
  25. Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-08-29). 
  26. Ben Brode on Twitter. (2014-12-13). 
  27. John Zwicker on Twitter. (2014-12-09). 
  28. Yong Woo on Twitter. (2014-12-08). 
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