Hearthstone is the premiere online trading card game. Its developer, Blizzard Entertainment, has consistently produced stellar additions to the game called adventures. In addition, there are larger expansions that have added hundreds of cards to the game since its 2014 release. Today, we’re going to rank each of the 10 expansions and adventures based on the cards and content within.
10. Mean Streets of Gadgetzan (expansion)
The Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion debuted in late 2016 to a less-than-stellar reception. The cards inside forced players into using certain deck archetypes, and in the process, Hearthstone lost some of its creative flair. Players who want to adopt new strategies or use older cards are at odds with the popular decks, giving players using this expansion the feeling, ‘If you can’t beat them, join them!’
9. Knights of the Frozen Throne (expansion)
Knights of the Frozen Throne is the latest Hearthstone expansion. It features some of the most well-known characters in Warcraft lore – upon which Hearthstone is based – and was highly anticipated by all. When it debuted in August, players found out very quickly that the expansion suffers from some exceptionally devastating balancing issues. One or two decks currently comprise more than 50 percent of the playing field. In short: not fun.
8. Blackrock Mountain (adventure)
Blackrock Mountain offered players some exciting, powerful new cards with which to play; however, there were a few that proved far too defining and powerful. Blizzard Entertainment didn’t see just how game-breaking some of the card combinations in Blackrock Mountain were, forcing them to provide an update to the game soon after the adventure’s release. This hotfix neutered some of the cards and leveled the playing field, but players remember.
7. Journey to Un’Goro (expansion)
Journey to Un’Goro is a love-hate expansion for much of the Hearthstone community. On one hand, it included some really cool cards that add to the overall chance-based gameplay that Hearthstone loves to perpetuate. For those who don’t like seeing skill take a back seat to chance, the expansion isn’t quite up to par. But at its core, Un’Goro doesn’t do anything poorly – more than we can say for the previous entries on this list.
6. One Night in Karazhan (adventure)
From here, most of Hearthstone’s expansions are solid or downright beautiful. One Night in Karazhan offers players a great narrative through which to play, and the cards inside provide players multiple avenues of play. While there were obviously some classes or archetypes that came out ahead, this was a great time to play Hearthstone. The game is balanced, fair and most importantly, downright fun.
5. The Grand Tournament (expansion)
The Grand Tournament is something with which most every World of Warcraft player is familiar. The lighthearted – but sometimes frightening – festival translates well to trading card form and offers players a unique host of new gameplay mechanics. But unlike Blackrock Mountain, these mechanics and cards don’t break the game or otherwise maim Hearthstone’s sense of casual, magical whimsy.
4. Whispers of the Old Gods (expansion)
Far from the happy-go-lucky tournament grounds you’d find at The Grand Tournament, Whispers of the Old Gods takes players to a Lovecraftian horror show. The cards in this expansion feature tentacle-ridden monsters and other creatures that look like they came from Davy Jones’ locker. The cards match their grotesqueness only in power, which is what any Hearthstone player would say this expansion is known for.
3. Curse of Naxxramas (adventure)
Curse of Naxxramas was the first set of new cards to ever grace Hearthstone players’ collections. For this reason, most remember it fondly through the lens of nostalgia, but it’s not just these goggles that make Naxxramas so good. The cards in this expansion are all well balanced and create new strategies that don’t feel restrictive. The praise Naxxramas received allowed Blizzard to see what worked well moving forward.
2. League of Explorers (adventure)
While I wasn’t a huge League of Explorers fan, I understand the importance of this particular entry in the Hearthstone mythos. Cards were introduced that provide support for each different play style, and much like One Night in Karazhan, everything seems to flow evenly. What small power discrepancies might have existed between decks seems insignificant when faced with this adventure’s interesting characters and cards.
1. Goblins vs Gnomes (expansion)
If I caught flak for choosing this as my favorite expansion, I could understand. On the surface, it seems to have everything that I decried in the first few card sets on this list: swingy power levels, semi-forced deck archetypes and some truly broken cards. But what sets this apart is that every facet – while not good on its own – counters others in a tornado of perfection. Good cards fall prey to better archetypes, while these same archetypes lose the gamble to higher-powered decks. Goblins vs Gnomes is the epitome of great game design and a flag-bearer for what Blizzard should strive to achieve in future card sets.
