The Hearthstone 2025 rotation will likely kick in March, and it’s time to push the following expansions out of Standard:
- Festival of Legends
- TITANS
- Showdown in the Badlands
So let’s take a quick look at the key cards that each class is losing and how it could reshape your crafting and deckbuilding plans for the first months of the year.
For each class, I’ve highlighted the 10 most notable cards that will have the biggest impact on both the class and the metagame. Share your thoughts on what you will miss most on our social media platforms, especially on CardGamer’s X.
Neutral Cards
As in past rotations, these departures will drastically reshape how we build our decks — but the biggest shake-up by far is losing E.T.C., Band Manager. This card let us put in those must-have tech pieces without a need to fit them into the main 30 cards. Now that it’s rotating, we’re virtually losing one of the most flexible and commonly used Standard cards in years.
And, well, bye-bye, Highlander. Unless Blizzard prints a new wave of singletons, that format is going dark in Standard…
Plus, don’t forget that, with Core Set rotation, we might also lose a bunch of really good tech cards like Cult Neophyte, Dirty Rat, and Royal Librarian (though not confirmed).
On the other hand, Zilliax Deluxe 3000 gets to stay in Standard. If the power level across the board drops enough, don’t be surprised if you see Zilliax popping up in every deck under the sun. It might be a blast, or might drive us all crazy until it rotates. You know how it goes in Hearthstone.
Death Knight
Death Knights are taking a serious hit in Hearthstone 2025 rotation, and I’m not exaggerating here – they’re basically losing their bread and butter across every archetype. That means whether you’re the kind of player who loves a mindless Aggro rush, a grindy Control deck, or something a bit more balanced in the midrange territory, you’re going to feel this loss.
Let’s start with the big names: Helya is gone, so say bye-bye to the entire Plague archetype (yep, that was the main catalyst).
Climatic Necrotic Explosion? Adios, Rainbow DK.
Then there’s the Staff of the Primus, The Primus himself, Mining Casualties, Quartzite Crusher, Reska, The Pit Boss, Mosh Pit, and Yelling Yodeler. If that list feels like basically everything holding Death Knight together, well… you’re not wrong.
The saddest part is we haven’t really seen any standout Death Knight cards from the last two expansions to fill that power vacuum. Sure, there’s this whole Handbuff concept floating around, but as it stands, it’s just not making enough noise in the meta.
Demon Hunter
Demon Hunters aren’t losing quite as many crucial tools this time around. However, the few that do rotate out could still leave a dent — especially for those who like to push the class in new directions.
But hey, all the Pirate shenanigans will stay in the game for 2025! That’s really worth celebrating for all DH lovers, since virtually every new neutral Pirate in future sets can breathe fresh life into this archetype. We’ve seen it many times with archetypes like or Pirate Warrior or Aggro Shaman, somehow always having enough fuel to prosper in the meta back in the days.
Unfortunately, though, we’re likely to see Illidari Studies leave the Core Set as well (and we all know how toxic that card can be). Even if Blizzard decides to keep a couple of strong freebies for Demon Hunter, it’s probably not going to be on the same power level we’ve seen in the past.
Druid
So, Druid’s losing quite a few notable cards, and it will hurt basically every playable archetype. However, let’s be real: Druid has always found ways to stay relevant, whether through mana-cheating combos or just playing high-cost minions (anyone remember the EZ BIG DRUID EZ times?).
Sure, the departure of Treant and Dragon support stings a bit (so long, synergy), and Summer Flowerchild will be surely missed. But, come on, this is Druid we’re talking about – they’re not exactly starved for more ways to draw into their goodies. Mana refreshing effects are also going away, yet I wouldn’t be surprised if Blizzard pulls another “surprise; we gave Druid an even better ramp card” in upcoming expansions. They’ve been doing it for more than a decade, lol.
Hunter
Hunter players, brace yourselves – this rotation hurts. Highlander Hunter is basically done, and aggro variants lose enough critical pieces that keeping pressure on opponents just got a lot harder.
Sure, Hunter always gets a strong Core Set, but let’s be honest: “strong” is relative. The Dark Beyond set didn’t really give the class a specific direction, and this whole Battlecry stuff isn’t quite cutting it compared to other classes’ synergies. And losing the ź alone takes a chunk of potential out of Hunter’s arsenal.
Mage
Okay, Mage is losing a handful of key cards, but honestly, even after Hearthstone 2025 rotation, Mage will still have plenty of:
- mana-cheating shenanigans
- efficient board clears
- good Elemental cards
Yeah, you’ve read it right; even though a good chunk of the Elemental package is going away, it’s likely that the future sets will more or less continue to buff this archetype. Like, just check out the Hearthstone 2025 expansion schedule – the second expansion of the year will basically be Un’goro-themed.
Paladin
This one is rough. The much-loved (and currently super powerful) Handbuff archetype is going to Wild.
So, what’s left for Paladin? Honestly… not a whole lot. Paladin still has Librams, but beyond that, you’re left with a random assortment of “Arena-tier” cards that don’t really share a reliable strategy. Handbuff Paladin was basically the class’s defining feature these days, so without it, we’re in wait-and-see mode.
Priest
Yeah, Priest class is saying goodbye to some big power plays (Aman’thul, Elise) and some solid board clears (Harmonic Pop).
What’s left? Well, there’s talk of a Draenei-focused build, but let’s keep our expectations in check – the current version of that archetype is simply too “fair”; there’s nothing broken / OP about it.
Plus, as of now, we really don’t know what the Core Set might bring. Currently, Priest has access to Holy Nova, Lightbomb and cards like Ship’s Chirurgeon that can carry you through plenty of matchups.
Rogue
Alright, Rogue is another class where there’s absolutely no mercy. There’s a lot of potential going away as we’re basically losing:
- Weapon package
- Mech package
- Excavate package
However, the real deal here is Breakdance rotating out. Rogue just thrives on cheap bounce effects, and while Shadowstep is still around, losing another one-mana bounce option definitely tones down Rogue’s classic combo potential. And with Velarok going away… okay, that’s a bit brutal.
Shaman
Shaman’s about to lose a fair chunk of its Overload and spell-heavy goodies (Jam Session, Lightning Reflexes, Flash of Lightning). And let’s not underestimate the impact of losing Golganneth; it’s been an auto-include in virtually every Shaman list for quite some time, so we’re definitely going to feel its absence.
Still, the class retains a pile of fantastic board clears and control tools – all it needs is a little synergy to tie everything together. Plus, we still have one mini-expansion (Hearthstone Starcraft mini-set) before the rotation hits, and rumor has it Shaman could get more control-oriented cards.
Translation? Don’t count the class out just yet; a few new spells or minions might just bring the storm back (pun intended) to Standard in a big way.
Warlock
The biggest deal for Warlock in Hearthstone 2025 rotation is the complete loss of its Fatigue and Imp packages. With Warlock losing a bunch of board clears and responders, you might think the class would be doomed, but thanks to new tech like Black Hole (effectively a buffed Twisting Nether), this class still retains a lot of potential. Even better, tools like Wheel of Death and Wretched Queen remain in Standard, so there’s still some foundation for a control-style Warlock.
Of course, the Fatigue package came with a decent chunk of healing to offset Warlock’s self-damaging mechanics. Now that it’s rotating out, any slow Warlock deck that tries to capitalize on big clears will have to manage that pain without as much reliable life gain, which… yeah, we’ll see how that goes.
Warrior
The whole Riff package and a large part of the class’s armor-based combos are basically gone with this Standard rotation. And Odyn, one of the best cards for capitalizing on stacked-up Armor… out. Combine that with the departure of multiple Highlander options, and yeah, Warrior’s definitely going to need a new identity.
Word on the street is that we might see a comeback of old-school Control Warrior, with the rumored Starship introduction hinted for the class in an upcoming set. No one knows yet if that means a new wave of heavy armor gain and giant finishers, or something completely different. But honestly, let’s hope for the latter.
So, if the departure of some of these cards made you want to download Hearthstone again, remember that you’ll be greeted with some freebies. But yeah, I know plenty of players who can’t wait for this Hearthstone 2025 rotation to finally arrive.
And if you really don’t feel like playing HS until then, go ahead and check out Steven’s Mono-Red Aggro guide for MTG Arena in the meantime. This archetype is basically MTG’s equivalent of the old-school Face Hunter.
