Core

Collection

Watermark

Format:	Standard
Collection name:	Core
Ann. date:	February 20, 2021
Release date:	March 30, 2021

Total cards

Total:	235
By rarity:	128 , 55 , 27 , 25

Core is the primary card set of Hearthstone. It was first made available on March 30, 2021, along with Forged in the Barrens launch. It is the largest set in Standard format, featuring 235 cards.

The purpose of the Core is to provide a modern collection of starting cards to players of all types and make Hearthstone even more approachable for newcomers. Some of the Core cards are returning from previous sets, some are reimagined favorites, some are completely new. Regardless, all Core cards can be obtained for free through leveling up classes, while their golden cards can be obtained by winning in Ranked, Arena, or Duels games.

Unlike Basic and Classic, which were the main card sets of Hearthstone, Core will be refreshed each year. At the end of every year, a new Core Set will take the place of the previous, comprised of new and existing cards. When that happens, Core cards that are rotating will be swapped with new ones in the player's Collection automatically. The original versions of these cards can still be crafted and disenchanted, but the player will be unable to keep their Core versions.^[1]^[2]

Core cards can be used in Standard and Wild format, although you may still only have the normal number of copies of any given card in your deck (two for most rarities, one for legendaries).

Notes[]

All the old cards in the Core set will have two versions that exist in parallel: One from the original set, and one from the Core set.
- The original version can be crafted or disenchanted for Arcane Dust, while the Core version is uncraftable.
- The Core set version is temporary and can be removed depending on the announcement of the next year's Core set.
- In Wild format, both the original and Core versions are associated; therefore you can only bring either 2 copies of either of them. For example, you can only put:
  - 2 Annoy-o-Tron (Core)
  - 2 Annoy-o-Tron
  - or 1 Annoy-o-Tron and 1 Annoy-o-Tron (Core).
- Both versions are treated as the same cards for the Highlander cards' conditions.
- The Core set version functions like how Wild Event did.
Core version of Legacy cards are not usable in Classic format. Only their original Legacy versions can be usable.

How to get[]

Core cards are free to obtain without using gold or real money to purchase them.

Regular Core cards can be obtained by raising your class levels, up to 10 for class cards, and sum of them to 60 for neutral cards.
Golden Core cards can be obtained through the Progression achievements, which involve in winning Ranked, Arena, or Duels games.

Cards[]

Year of the Gryphon's core set consists of 235 collectible but uncraftable cards. They can be recognized with Year of the Gryphon's watermark behind the card text, not found on other cards.

Neutral[]

Common

Rare

Epic

Legendary

Uncollectible

Class cards[]

Demon Hunter[]

Uncollectible

Druid[]

Uncollectible

Choice cards

Hunter[]

Uncollectible

Mage[]

Paladin[]

Uncollectible

Priest[]

Uncollectible

Rogue[]

Shaman[]

Uncollectible

Warlock[]

Uncollectible

Warrior[]

Breakdown[]

Year of the Gryphon's Core set includes:

88 cards from Classic (54 class cards, 34 neutral cards).
52 cards from Basic (41 class cards, 11 neutral cards).
55 cards from Wild (36 class cards, 19 neutral cards).
4 cards from Ashes of Outland (4 demon hunter cards).
4 cards from Demon Hunter Initiate.
1 card from Hall of Fame (Shadowform).
31 new cards (20 class cards, 11 neutral cards).

Design[]

At the time of the Core set's introduction, the Classic set comprised 240 cards while the Basic set had another 143, for a total of 383 evergreen cards. With 148 less cards each year, the dev team can focus on making each set of evergreen cards more consistently impactful and relevant to the current meta.^[3]

Retired[]

Stonetusk Boar and Bluegill Warrior were originally part of the first Core set, but both were changed from Charge to Rush in exchange for 1 more attack. Due to player feedback, the two minions were left unchanged for the Legacy set, while the new minions Emerald Skytalon and Redgill Razorjaw took their place with the intended changes.^[4]