I also have some sympathy with the Hearthstone team, which is clearly under quite a bit of pressure to find new things to sell, while also pumping out three expansions per year. My guess is not, based on the original art for the Grand Magister Rommath Signature card, which is black and white. Sitting here staring at the current crop of Signature cards, I wonder if the art was created in colour first and then had the monochromatic effect applied later, because I'd love for Blizzard to enable a toggle between the colourful and washed out versions if so.
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I do think it's easy to see how much potential there is in the flush art style, as shown by these great fan-made, full colour alternatives that were posted to the Hearthstone subreddit by user foxy1618. There's a good chance that whatever theme Blizzard picks for the next expansion will be more appealing (although count me out of the inevitable chibi Signatures). Which, in some ways, is a blessed relief. Still, as a self-confessed whale who's spent several thousand dollars in Hearthstone, I can honestly say I have no enthusiasm for collecting Signature cards right now.
Two specific ones can be found on the current Tavern Pass rewards track, two random ones come with the $79.99 Mega Bundle, and three (non-legendary) Signatures are available as part of an in-game event happening currently. There are some cheaper ways to acquire certain Signature cards. So yeah, I get that they're optional and only for collectors, but as the intended audience it's still an oof from me. Reminder: Signature packs still only contain a Signature once per every 60 or so that you open. For comparison, five Signature packs costs $24.99 (£20.99) compared to $9.99 (£8.99) for seven normal packs. (The game has been going hard on paid cosmetics in the last couple of years.) The Hearthstone shop now sells Signature packs which contain all-golden cards, but also have a 3x chance of containing a Signature card. Signatures getting such a rough reception must also be a worry for Blizzard's bean counters, because it's obvious that they were intended to be a money spinner. The rarity of finding a Signature card is equivalent to that of a golden legendary, which means it will take roughly 181 packs (which is $180 if you're buying at market rate) to snag one. These spiky little grey blobs look less cool than the most basic cards! Being boring is a real issue, given how sought after these Signatures are supposed to be.
They're bland in the hand, and boring on the board. Rather than showing the artwork off, all the vibrancy has been sucked out. To complement March of the Lich King, Blizzard has opted for an icy, monochromatic effect-and that's left these cards looking incredibly drab. And that's where the problem with the first batch lies. The cards use a relatively minimal frame, feature a bespoke piece of art (ie different to the regular version), and have a visual style themed around the set they're part of. The idea behind Signatures is that they're a new, extremely rare type of collectible card, designed to show off more of Hearthstone's often stellar artwork. Signature cards launched alongside the March of the Lich King expansion this week, and the reaction to the way they look has been overwhelmingly negative.
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