Introducing Hearthstone Twist, a new Constructed game mode — now live!

A new mode has arrived in Hearthstone: the brand-new “Twist” mode allows you to play Constructed with cards from the past and a rotating set of special rules! Twist mode replaced Classic mode as a new way to play games using cards from assorted sets from the past and present, and each season will rotate which sets are allowed on this mode, as well as which rules will alter your deckbuilding, or gameplay itself.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Lead Modes Designer Matt London and Features Lead Chadd Nervig (aka Celestalon) to learn all about this new game mode — and ask them a few other questions as well.

What is Hearthstone Twist, and what does it play like?

Hearthstone Twist is a Constructed mode (like Standard and Wild) where you build decks of 30 cards and fight against other players — but with certain special rules to build said decks. The first set of rules the mode will have, upon launch is: all cards from Ashes of Outland and forward are allowed, but you can’t use any Neutral cards. You’ll try to win games so you’ll earn ranks and climb on the ladder, from Bronze to Legend — like you could do in Classic mode, which Twist is replacing. But those rules will change with each and every season.

When asked if Twist could also be used to offer variations in format, such as “best of three,” “last deck standing,” etc., London and Nervig answered “yes,” and added that while some of those ideas might have technical variations, “we are looking into making things like that.” They ensured that the developers are as enthusiastic about those types of crazy ideas as the community is. However, they specified that “things like that could happen, but probably not on the short term due to technical limitations.”

They also said that the intended power level of Twist mode is “higher than Standard, but lower than Wild” for now, but “future rotations might be different.” Balance updates for this mode should be more frequent than Wild but less frequent than Standard. However, if a situation arises where a card behaves differently between game modes (for instance, it’s unbalanced in Twist but balanced in Standard), the team is more likely to use card bans than to have two (or more) different versions of the same card in the game.

Another thing the developers added was that Twist isn’t really meant to become someone’s new main mode: it’s more of side attraction, like Wild is, or like Classic was. “It’s fine for players to try the new rules for a bit, then move away, and come back again once the set rotates and there are new rules,” they stated.

What else is already known about Hearthstone Twist — and other modes?

There’ll be no separate reward track for Twist: the game will work with the existing one. There will, however, be battle-ready decks exclusive to the new game mode. There’s no info yet on the pricing for those decks, or whether they will be purchased with in-game gold, Runestones, or real money.

Twist will have a beta period, currently planned for June and July. After the beta is over, the mode will be deactivated, and launched at a later date.

While talking about Hearthstone and its many modes, the developers were also asked if there are any future plans to introduce other new modes to the game — especially PVE modes. Their answer was that we’re getting an Audiopocalypse-themed Dungeon Run Tavern Brawl soon! However, they also confirmed that “Constructed is where the majority of players are engaged, so [they’re] trying to create opportunities for them.”

All in all, Hearthstone Twist sounds like a fun diversion — almost like a more robust, permanent version of Tavern Brawl. It should definitely allow players to find new ways to play with their old cards, solve the meta again, or simply breathe some fresh air from Standard, Battlegrounds, or whichever other mode is their “main” thing in the game.

What do you think of this new Twist on playing Hearthstone? Are you looking forward to trying it? If you are, I’ll see you in the beta, now live!

Originally posted June 20, 2023. Updated June 27, 2023.