At this year’s Blizzcon, Blizzard announced a new 120+ card expansion for Hearthstone Goblins vs Gnomes . We’ve already seen a heap of the new cards, and they’re certainly going to shake the wider game up, with a focus on crazy inventions and random elements - exactly what you’d expect from goblins and gnomes, really - not to mention a new minion type – the mech.

Amaz

Reynad

Gnimsh

Alchemixt

Chakki

ek0p

Trump

Kitkatz

Brian Kibler

Frodan

I couldn’t be more excited to start playing around with the new cards and see how they affect the game, but what about the people who understand Hearthstone on the deepest level? What – in other words – do the pros think?I approached a number of the most respected players to find out. What follows are some of their initial thoughts on the expansion and the cards that have been revealed so far. They are:Famous for being a true believer in the Priest class, Amaz is incredibly fun to watch on stream and has had a string of strong tournament performances this year. He recently formed team Archon, alongside Firebat (who went on to win the Hearthstone World Championship at Blizzcon) and Hosty, and is based in Hong Kong.A former Magic: The Gathering player and incredibly popular streamer, Reynad consistently performs on the ladder and likes to stay a step ahead of the meta. He’s known as a deck-builder, pioneering aggro Warrior, not to mention Zoolock and new variants of Hunter. He runs the Hearthstone team Tempo Storm , and is based in the United States.One of the real CCG veterans in the Hearthstone scene, with a background in Magic: The Gathering, the WoW TCG and others, Gnimsh is the captain of Cloud9 and known for a more aggro play style – particularly aggro Mage back in the game’s beta phase. He’s based in Poland.Another player with a Magic: The Gathering background, Alchemixt is a strong constructed player, hitting the high Legend ranks every season. He’s based in America and is currently a member of compLexity Gaming , a long-standing eSports team across LoL, Dota 2, Hearthstone and StarCraft II.A player known for his aggressive face-first style, Chakki loves aggro Hunter and Zoolock, and has had multiple high level Legend finishes on the ladder. Chakki is based in the United States.A huge personality in the Hearthstone scene, ek0p is a strong performer on the ladder, in Arena and in tournaments. He’s also a long-time friend of Gnimsh, a fellow member of Cloud9 (alongside heavyweights like Kolento and StrifeCro), and is based in Germany.With a background in streaming StarCraft II, Trump has since become one of the most popular streamers in the Hearthstone scene. Best-known as an Arena player, Trump also plays constructed, competes in tournaments and is a member of Team SoloMid . He’s based in the United States.A player famous for specialising in Control Warrior, and in reinventing the archetype as needed to combat the meta. Kitkatz is also strong on the ladder, a member of Tempo Storm and a Canadian native.To say Brian is no stranger to CCGs would be a massive understatement . He's one of the most successful Magic: The Gathering players ever - a two-time Pro Tour Champion and Hall of Famer - and he's a game designer by trade, having worked on the WoW TCG and now SolForge . Needless to say, he has serious Hearthstone chops too.A former StarCraft II caster, anyone who watches Hearthstone tournaments would know Frodan well. He has become one of the staples of the scene, from the days of hosting ESGN's Hearthstone Fight Night through to casting at this year's Blizzcon . He isn't just a caster, but a strong contender on ladder too.Now, on to the responses...

1) What do you think of the Goblins vs Gnomes theme?

Yes, Mega-Windfury... with charge for good measure.

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It's light-hearted and fun, and I think it's perfect for the spirit of Hearthstone. That said, I do want a more fantasy-based theme for the expansion after this one (big fan of dragons and demons, for example).I like the theme. It opens the door for a new card type to matter, and flavorful sources of card advantage in spare parts.At first I wasn't thrilled about Goblins vs. Gnomes being the theme of the expansion, but some of the sillier new cards definitely look like they'll bring a breath of fresh air into the game. Effects like "Mega Windfury" have me excited to create fun decks that win with ridiculous combos. I'm also pretty excited about more Pirates: ヽ༼ ಠ益ಠ ༽ﾉ ARRR, PIRATE DECK OR WALK THE PLANK! ヽ༼ ಠ益ಠ ༽ﾉ: I think it's very fun. While personally I would prefer something more mystic like Well of Eternity, I think GvG is a good pick for Hearthstone. It's something that we haven't seen in [the] World of Warcraft card game, so if people thought that Blizzard is just reusing the card game content it's a huge and explosive sign with a "No!".For Gnomeregan!Goblins and Gnomes are fun little fellas and the cards in the expansion that have been previewed so far represent the same amount of fun.Fantastic. Two of my favorite races duking it out. Science!I like it. I appreciate the fact that Blizzard works to balance serious epic fantasy with light-hearted fun.

2) How big an impact will 120 new cards have on the meta?

“ We've seen the buff or nerf of a single card change metagames before. Now imagine what 120 new cards will do for the game.

It will certainly change things up a lot as several of the "vanilla" cards have already been introduced. That means that most of the new cards are designed such that they counter existing top decks and strategies and the first players to adapt to this new environment will get substantially rewarded.Constructed Hearthstone will pretty much be an entirely new game.It'll be huge. Looking at the impact that just 30 cards had on the meta, things are sure to change in big ways with so many new cards.It will flip the metagame completely. 30 cards from Naxxramas adventure mode had a huge impact and now 120 cards with new mechanics and "mech" creatures will be too much to keep old archetypes.120 cards should have a huge impact on the meta-game regardless what the cards are like.We've seen the buff or nerf of a single card change metagames before. Now imagine what 120 new cards will do for the game.Gigantic. Nax had 30 and had a big effect.I imagine it will be huge. The card pool right now isn't that big, so that many new cards is sure to shake things up.It will completely change the game from what we know. Good cards can become weak and weak cards can become good. Deck building is always the most fun aspect of collectible card games!

3) What do you think of the cards revealed so far?

Reynad digs the new pilot concept but not Unstable Portal. Frodan feels differently!

A Frodan fave.

Create to destroy.

Most of the cards will have a place in popular decks right now, but I'm most interested in seeing a pure-mech deck and seeing how it compares to the top decks right now.Aside from Unstable Portal, I think that the developers incorporated RNG in a healthy way this time around. Cards like the piloted mechs are great design flavor and balance-wise, even though on the surface they seem very random. It's not as volatile of RNG as cards that are unhealthy for the game such as Animal Companion and Ragnaros.So far, the Mech theme looks like it could pretty strong. A lot of the cards revealed so far have been the bulk of the RNG cards from the set, and some look to be more "fun" cards than competitive ones (Mimiron's Head as an example).I LOVE several of the cards introduced including Ogre Warmaul, Unstable Portal, and the Piloted Mechs. I think it provides many unforgettable moments.The ones revealed so far are mostly designed to excite people and show the explosiveness of the set, but I doubt this trend will be visible across all the 120 cards in the set. Blizzard also tends to their competitive scene and my belief is that, when we see all the cards we can nod in agreement that it's well balanced.I think they look fun but it is really hard to tell how cards will be used without knowing the full set. I think the RNG aspect is fine. A lot of those cards will either not see tourny play or will have an expected outcome if used correctly.People complain about the RNG factor too much. I think it makes the game more exciting and fun to watch.Cool. Flavorful & Functional.The cards revealed so far look extremely fun and dynamic. There are some random effect cards that will spice up game play, preventing a stale, linear matchup. There are also really creative ways to use these cards, such as destroying weapons with the Blingtron 3000.They look pretty cool. I like that there's a big Mech theme, because it gives people incentives to play different minions than they otherwise might just based on their stats.

4) What’s your favourite card revealed so far and why?

Mekgineer Thermaplugg definitely appeals to Gnimsh's tastes.

Pain incoming!

Anti-aggro, pure chaos, life gain and late game value, respectively.

Recombobulator is my favorite because it enables so many strategies in the game. At worst it's a full heal, and at best, well, just look at the list of 5/6-cost minions! Turn a common minion into a legendary!My favorite card so far is probably the warrior card Bouncing Blades because of its flexibility and synergies.Mekgineer Thermaplugg - he spawns Leper Gnomes!!While it's not a collectible card, I love V-07-TR-0N. The first time I read "Mega Windfury" I just started laughing. Imagine throwing an attack buff on that guy and just jamming your opponent's face FOUR times! I just want to hear what his attack sound is that I'll be hearing four times in a row.Favorite card so far is probably Explosive Sheep.Madder Bomber, because his insanity level is off the charts.Sneed's Old Shredder. Late game super value.The card I am most excited for is Shield Maiden. The card gives warrior a strong, class minion card that it was so desperately lacking.Probably Shrinkmeister. I like that it promotes minion-focused Priest strategies, and that it combos well with Shadow Word: Pain.Ogre Warmaul because people don't realize how fun of a card it is at the moment. Not to mention, it feels like a big psychological experiment. "I'm pretty unlucky so I should attack this one because it's the one I would hit anyways."

5) What’s the weakest card revealed so far and why?

Take a bow.

Potentially good?

So far all of the cards seem viable, but Gnomish Experimenter seems really bad for its cost, stats, and effect."Weakest" is a hard adjective to apply in card games. The card that I believe will see the least play among the revealed cards is the 6 mana piloted mech, but that's because it's a worse version of Cairne rather than outright bad.Maybe Gnomish Experimenter? Though I could see that being played in a spell heavy arena deck if no better options exist. But I can't see that card in constructed play.The set of the spells that add +1 of something for 1 mana. Those seem like filler/combo cards. They can be used in specific decks, but on their own they seem pretty meek.Hard to say a weakest card when the whole set isn't revealed yet. Also, some cards could end up being better or worse depending on meta.Blingtron 3000. Very expensive 3/4 mirror effect.Clearly the spare parts! Time Rewinder looks like the worst of them. As far as actual collectible cards, they all look like they have some kind of role. Cobalt Guardian seems hard to use effectively, but it's the sort of card that seems like it would be really frustrating to play against in the instances when it is good.Impossible to say. Let's just wait :)

6) Beyond new cards, what else would you love to see Blizzard add to the game?

“ There should be an "end game" where veterans can play against each other in one way or another.

A puzzle mode can be interesting, especially if people can make them within the game!Tournament mode for us tryhards. I understand that they want Hearthstone to retain a casual feel, but if Blizzard is committed to keeping Hearthstone around 10 years from now like they say, then a huge part of their player base is going to be playing for a long time. Collections build up, and Arena begins to feel less engaging once the rewards are irrelevant. There should be an "end game" where veterans can play against each other in one way or another.Arena ladder, Blitz mode, really any kind of new format with a competitive ladder that I can chase #1 on! Daily or monthly tournaments would be cool, too.Alternative art codes for cards. Those can be given away at the events to attract more live audience, or sold for specific tournaments to increase the overall prize pool. For example a Dragon championship series, where each tournament every month players can buy alternative art for a dragon card (human form Deathwing/Alexstrasza/Malygos/etc) and the money goes partially to Blizzard and partially to increase the prize pool for the tournament next month. I think that would really help Hearthstone grow as an esport.Options to buy ($ or Gold) things like Hero Skins, Cardbacks, and more extra features that do not directly impact gameplay. Just for fun.More gamemodes like 2v2 or 3v1 raids, also a tournament lobby mode.Arena rankings and/or tournaments.The feature I would like to see most in Hearthstone is multiplayer. Commander and multiplayer formats are so huge in Magic. A more casual format would be great to have, and allow people to play with their friends, making the game more social.I'd love to see in-client support for tournaments modes, along with a wider variety of different tournament formats played in major events.I would like more ways to play with people in a sandbox environment. More than 30 card decks, more than 2 card limits, etc. Having fun in a ridiculous vacuum situation produces hilarious results!

Thanks to all the players that took part. You might also want to check out Amaz's thoughts on the new cards here and Trump's here and here . Oh, and Brian Kibler's here, Cam Shea is senior editor at IGN Australia and still loving Hearthstone, close to a full year on. He's on Twitter , but rarely tweets.