23 Cards Returning to Standard for a Limited Time

The Hearthstone development team have announced 23 cards returning to Standard for a limited time. Only two cards have been officially confirmed, but there is a rumored leak of the rest of the cards. This is sure to shake up the meta greatly, and means we could see more cards make a comeback in the future.

Ragnaros the Firelord

Ragnaros is making a return from the Hall of Fame. There was a reason he was put into the Hall of Fame, so his return could cause some trouble. He could be used in pretty much all decks regardless of overall strategy.

He is an 8/8 body for eight mana that does eight random damage on the turn that he is played. The immediate eight damage is huge because it gives aggressive decks a really strong mid to late game. This is due to the opponent being low on removal by the time he comes down.

Lastly, Ragnaros is the definition of RNG. Having games be decided by where Ragnaros shoots his eight damage feels neither fun nor interactive. This was the main reason why he was removed from Standard play. He sees little play in Wild, but Standard’s power level is very low so he will see a lot of play upon return.

N’zoth the Corruptor

N’zoth is the second confirmed card making a return to Standard for a short while. This card was never removed from Standard, it simply rotated out. This card is one of the healthier cards to come back.

N’zoth creates an additional win condition for Midrange or Control decks. For Midrange decks, you play big value Deathrattle minions and if your opponent can deal with all of them, N’zoth is a big value generator to try to finish the game. If they can remove the N’zoth board, typically the Deathrattle effects also give value to attempt to win the game.

For Control decks, N’zoth brings back an array of Deathrattle taunts, as there are many decent ones in the Standard meta game. N’zoth was a card that never felt particularly un-fun to play against, so many players welcome his return with open arms.

Possible Leak

Pictured above is an image shared to the r/CompetitiveHearthstone discord by a user that supposedly received information from unnamed Grandmasters players. Take this list with a grain of salt, but if this leak holds true, there’s bound to be some trouble in Standard. This all comes ahead of Masters Tour Bucharest and these cards are to be in effect for that tournament.

Sylvanas plus N’zoth is an extremely scary proposition that creates a deck all on its own. Emperor Thaurissan enables a ton of Combo decks to be resurrected which isn’t particularly fun. Both Babbling Book and Flamewaker create some issues with a form of Tempo Mage becoming too strong, especially with the current Cyclone Mage combo.

Though, a card like The Curator is a healthy draw tool. Swashburglar is a great card for Tempo Rogues to get some early game momentum. Thing From Below provides an invaluable Taunt to Shamans of all kinds. Imp Gang Boss is a great Zoolock tool.

If these leaks are not the correct cards returning to Standard, we will update the article to reflect an official announcement. Either way, most players are excited to see the return of some of their favorite cards to have been in the game.

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via their official website. 

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