Blizzard announced that in-game tournaments are finally coming to Hearthstone in the Year of the Raven. We’ve got a list of features we want to see eventually make it into this new mode.

As the Hearthstone Year of the Raven approaches, players are itching to get their hands on the newly announced in-game tournament feature. This has been one of the most highly asked for features over the past several years, and Blizzard is finally launching it sometime in the middle of this year. However, the feature will be only launching in beta to start with and is meant to be a continually evolving mode as Blizzard gathers feedback from players.

To start with, players will be able to create, join, and invite others to custom tournaments within the game client itself. The client will handle the core functionality of running tournaments with basic features like deck checking and matchmaking. For now, Last Hero Standing and Conquest modes will be supported, giving players the ability to experience the game like they see professionals do in sponsored eSports tournaments.

This is a great step forward for the competitive Hearthstone community, but as mentioned, it’s just the beginning. In-game tournaments have a ton of potential and could lead to a number of other new features making their way into the game. We’ve compiled five different features we want to see eventually make it into Hearthstone to better support these new in-game tournaments.

Allow Deck Bans

When released in beta this summer, Hearthstone in-game tournaments will support Last Hero Standing and Conquest events, which are frequently used in competitive professional play. However, one rule that professional tournaments often employ is that of deck bans. This means tournament players typically bring an extra deck than the required minimum used per match. Each match you and your opponent ban one class you don’t want to face, then each of you blindly picks your decks for the first match. These bans are done per class, not per card.

So for example, say your Warlock control deck focused on stalling until the late game has a really bad win rate against a Tempo Mage that is constantly applying pressure to its opponent every turn. Depending on your other decks, it might be in your best interest to ban Mage during a tournament match. This helps prevent you from being immediately countered if you play against a Tempo Mage, especially in the first round.

While it might seem counterintuitive, bans actually open up strategies when it comes to deck building for tournaments. You don’t have to worry about building decks that do okay against most decks, but instead, you have more room to build the decks you want to play or that you are best at playing with. It also allows you to remove overpowered decks from play, which no one wants to see, but realistically happens. Adding the ability for tournament organizers to enable deck bans would promote a more well-balanced tournament experience.