Hearthstone really wants new players to feel welcome.
Blizzard announced a new feature — Deck Recipes — for the digital card game today. Deck Recipes are preselected decks that players can create with the in-game deck-builder. If players do not have the cards needed to make the Deck Recipe, Hearthstone will recommend replacements based on the ones you do own. The digital card market is a $1.2 billion business. Hearthstone tops the competition, making more than $20 million every month, according to research firm SuperData. Tools like this that help new players can bring even more money into the free-to-play game.
Each class will have three Deck Recipes. One of them will be a plain set that only uses Basic and Classic cards, but the other two will use expansion cards and focus more on unique styles of play and card synergies. For instance, Mages can make a deck that focuses on spells, and Shamans can make one that centers around Murloc cards (these are fish-like humanoids that favor a fast, aggressive playstyle). This will help new players learn about the game’s complexities and help them think more creatively when making their own decks.
A lot of other changes are coming to Hearthstone soon, including the creation of Standard (which will only allow the use of certain cards) and Wild (which allows every card) formats. Blizzard hopes that the introduction of Standard will also attract new players, since beginners won’t have to worry about owning cards from older expansions in order to play competitively. Blizzard will also announce the game’s third expansion on Friday, March 11.