Year of the Gryphon

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Year of the Gryphon was the Standard format year from March 30, 2021 to April 12, 2022.

Card sets

These card sets are released as a part of Year of the Gryphon.

Expansion
March 30, 2021

Expansion
August 3, 2021

Expansion
December 7, 2021

• Forged in the Barrens
• United in Stormwind
• Fractured in Alterac Valley

Core set

For the first time ever, Year of the Gryphon introduced a new special card set named Core to replace Basic and Classic card sets. Each year has a different Core set of cards.

List of Year of the Gryphon's Core set cards can be found here.

Roadmap

Patches

These patches were released during Year of the Gryphon.

Version	Build	Release date	Highlights
22.6.0	134558	2022-03-22	Battlegrounds' Battlegrounds/Card changes
22.6.0	133923	2022-03-17	Voyage to the Sunken City pre-order, Battlegrounds' Armor system return, Battlegrounds' Battlegrounds/Card changes, Mercenaries update, Book of Mercenaries: Dawngrasp
22.4.3	133122	2022-03-03	Card changes, Battlegrounds' card changes, Mercenaries' card changes
22.4.0	131660	2022-02-15	Onyxia's Lair release, Battlegrounds updates, Duels' Card changes, Mercenaries first event, Arena rotation, Book of Mercenaries: Bru'kan
22.2.2	131337	2022-02-08	Battlegrounds' Battlegrounds/Card changes, Duels' card changes
22.2.0	130051	2022-01-25	Card changes, Battlegrounds update: Buddy introduction, Duels' card changes, Duels update, Mercenaries update
22.0.2	128654	2021-12-20	Card changes, Battlegrounds' Battlegrounds/Card changes, Mercenaries update, Arena ban
22.0.0	127581	2021-12-06
22.0.0	126807	2021-11-30	Fractured in Alterac Valley release, Arena rotation, Mercenaries updates, Duels updates, Battlegrounds' board skin introduction, Battlegrounds updates
21.8.0	126451	2021-11-16	Fractured in Alterac Valley pre-order, Card changes, Battlegrounds' new Armor system, Battlegrounds' card changes, Mercenaries' card changes, Arena: Deeprun Engineer ban, Book of Mercenaries: Scabbs
21.6.0	124497	2021-11-02	Deadmines release, Hallow's End event, Book of Mercenaries: Cariel, Battlegrounds updates, Duels updates and card changes, Arena rotation
21.4.4	121569	2021-10-21	Battlegrounds' card changes
21.4.0	95431	2021-10-12	Mercenaries release
21.4.0	94969	2021-10-01	Mercenaries early access
21.3.0	93849	2021-09-21	Card changes, Battlegrounds card changes, Duels' card changes, Arena changes
21.2.0	93227	2021-09-16	Mercenaries early access
21.2.0	91456	2021-08-31	Card changes, Battlegrounds revamp, Duels' card changes, Mercenaries pre-order, Book of Mercenaries: Tamsin
21.0.3	91040	2021-08-17	Card changes, Battlegrounds' card changes
21.0.0	88998	2021-07-27	United in Stormwind release, Rewards Track reset, Battlegrounds skins introduction, Arena rotation, Duels update, Book of Heroes: Illidan
20.8.2	86605	2021-07-15	Card changes
20.8.0	86601	2021-07-02	United in Stormwind pre-purchase, Battlegrounds' card changes, Duels' Card changes, Nozdormu Day implement, Darkmoon Prizes return, Book of Mercenaries: Kurtrus Ashfallen, Book of Heroes: Gul'dan, Fire Festival event
20.4.2	86314	2021-06-16	Wild format's ban introduction, Battlegrounds' card changes
20.4.0	84593	2021-06-03	Wailing Caverns release, Card changes, Battlegrounds updates, Arena rotation, Purchasable-with-gold card backs and alternate heroes, Book of Mercenaries: Xyrella and Guff, Book of Heroes: Malfurion
20.2.2	82994	2021-05-12	Card changes, Battlegrounds' card changes
20.2.0	81706	2021-05-04	New Quilboar minion type, Battlegrounds updates, Duels updates, Tavern Regular alternate portraits, Book of Heroes: Thrall, Battle-Ready deck introductions
20.0.2	79904	2021-04-13	Card changes, Arena changes, Battlegrounds' card changes, Duels' card changes
20.0.0	77662	2021-03-25	Year of the Gryphon rotation, Forged in the Barrens release, New Core set, New spell schools, New Classic format, Rewards Track reset, Card changes, Arena rotation, Battlegrounds updates, Duels updates, Book of Mercenaries: Rokara, Diamond card introduction

Notable announcements

Please add any available information to this section.

A sneak peek at the content released during the Year of the Gryphon.

• The first hint at the year's new features began on January 8th, 2021 as Alec Dawson and Cora confirmed that Edwin VanCleef would be rotated to Wild but would not be entering the Hall of Fame. Announcements for the sixth standard year begin on February 9th, 2021 with the announcement of the Core and Legacy sets, removal of the Basic, Classic, and Hall of Fame sets, and introduction of Classic format. While the year was currently unnamed, these were the headline features planned with its release. The year was officially announced at Blizzconline on February 19th along with the reveal of Forged in the Barrens.
• The introduction of the Core set greatly changes Standard. In place of the largely static Basic and Classic sets, the Core set contains 235 cards of various rarities that change yearly and are obtained for free. It reintroduces many cards from Wild format expansions, as well as a handful of entirely new cards like Novice Zapper, Deathwing the Destroyer, and Thrive in the Shadows. Some cards have also been buffed to make them more competitively viable.
• The Year of the Gryphon introduced Spell schools into the game as an analog to Minion types - Arcane, Fel, Fire, Frost, Holy, Nature, and Shadow. This allows for a new dimension of spell synergy and deck building, permanently changing how some spells interact with your deck.
• Similar to the Year of the Dragon, the Year of the Gryphon roughly follows a linear plot, concerning mercenaries of the Horde and Alliance who will have their stories told throughout the year. A new set of Missions called the Book of Mercenaries expands upon their stories.
• The Year of the Gryphon also introduces Hearthstone's third new game mode, Mercenaries, which was released on October 12, 2021. The player commands a party of mercenaries through a randomly-generated set of as well as PvP battles, permanently gaining experience and stronger mercenaries as they play.