The new Goblins vs Gnomes (GvG) expansion brings a lot of new fun to Hearthstone! With the expansion releasing on December 8th, it is important to be prepared for the big changes the expansion will bring. The expansion has two very important themes: Type matters and RNG matters. In this article, the first in a series of 3 primers for the expansion, both themes will be discussed, so you can be ready for the new changes when the expansion is released.

Type Matters

Before the expansion, a card’s type did not have very many gameplay implications. Whether a card was a minion or spell was the biggest concern, and occasionally a minion’s type was a concern. With GvG, simply put, type matters.

With the Naax update, decks revolving around deathrattle synergy became very powerful and were frequently used. Many of those decks are about to see significant changes. The GVG expansion is introducing a brand new minion type, Mechs. Many of the Mech cards have beneficial abilities for other Mechs, so Mech oriented decks are going to be in direct competition with the deathrattle decks; however, there are new cards that have good deathrattle effects, so decks revolving around deathrattle are not going to disappear.

I expect to see some aggressive decks to mix both the Undertaker-fueled deathrattle synergy with the Mech-buffing synergy to provide a very potent, aggressive battle plan. Mechs are a huge addition, but Blizzard didn’t stop there. They decided to give some old minion types some attention too, as we will have new Murloc, Pirate, Demon, and Beast cards. Who didn’t want a legendary card that revolves around Murlocs, and another that revolves around Demons? Fear not, Hunter haters! Some of the Druid cards are being changed to have the Beast minion type to help with the new synergy! Blizzard will be changing other cards as well to aid in the Mech synergy, including Harvest Golem, Demolisher, and Alarm-o-Bot.

Additionally, whether a card is a spell or a minion is going to be more emphasized with GvG. Several of the new minions, including a Legendary or two, have abilities that trigger when a spell is played. The expansion is also introducing cards that interact with secrets, which was a much-needed addition to the game! We can also never forget about the spell combo synergy with Rogue, which will be getting a power boost with GvG. Every decision will be more difficult knowing that there may be a consequence for playing a spell over a minion!

RNG Matters

RNG have always been part of Hearthstone, as for some, it adds to the appeal of the game. For very competitive players, many hours have been spent tweeking decks and improving strategy to try to improve outcomes and limit the negative effects of random effects and cards. There are tons of cards in the expansion having random benefits and consequences that will make Hearthstone flood with RNG. With GvG, it will be back to the drawing board! Dealing a random amount damage to random minion to trigger a deathrattle than can do another random effect is something that can now happen. Don’t be frustrated if it is hard to wrap your head around the events that last sentence, because it can be terrifying; however, competitive players and casual players alike will have to learn and deal with it on a regular basis.

The new expansion will require harder decisions relating to board control and deck construction. The new synergies with minions will be making board presence easier and stronger, so RNG will require a lot more work to manipulate. Some players will learn to have faith in RNG, as some of the new random effects are extremely powerful. Bouncing Blades is a great tool for Control Warrior decks. The new Shaman card, Ancestor's Call, is the Hearthstone RNG version of an extremely powerful Magic: the Gathering card known as “Show and Tell.” If the history of the Ancestor's Call’s MTG counterpart is any indicator of the effects the card could have on the meta, expect big changes for the Hearthstone meta-game. If anything, it is almost guaranteed that Hearthstone will be greatly more entertaining to watch after the expansion.

Thanks for reading part 1 of my GvG series. I hope it was helpful in introducing the major changes to the game that will happen with the release of the expansion. In part 2, I will be rating and ranking EVERY card in the expansion, as well as providing some insight to their play! Let us know what crazy RNG moments you’ve had in Hearthstone in the comments and on Facebook! –Yusnaan