History
How HEX changed over the years, from the game’s archived official announcements and, for the company’s story, the press.
Timeline
From the Kickstarter to the shutdown and the private server: the sets and the Campaign as the game’s own announcements dated them, what each release changed in Standard, the company’s milestones from the press, and the day the community’s server, Dingler, was first published. Each set links to its page.
Company
The Kickstarter ends with about $2.28 million from about 17,750 backers, against a $300,000 goal.
Sources: Engadget, 2013-06-07; Wikipedia, “Hex: Shards of Fate”
Set
The closed beta begins, played with set 1, Shards of Fate (it had no single launch date).
Source: Wikipedia, “Hex: Shards of Fate”
Company
Wizards of the Coast sues over copyright, patent and trade dress.
Source: Worthplaying, 2015-09-25
Set
Set 2, Shattered Destiny, is released.
Source: hextcg.com "Patch Notes – Shattered Destiny", Dec 9, 2014
date approximate
Campaign
Frost Ring Arena opens: the PvE gauntlet against Hogarth. Revamped as “Arena 2.0” with Frostheart (2017-06-29).
Source: hextcg.com "Arena Opens March 10th" (announced date)
Company
The lawsuit is settled “through a settlement and license”, its terms undisclosed.
Source: Worthplaying, 2015-09-25
Campaign · Campaign: Chapter 1
The Campaign, Chronicles of Entrath, opens with Chapter 1 (Adventure Zone 1).
Source: hextcg.com "Chronicles of Entrath Launch Patch 1/26"
Formats
The rotation plan is announced: “Set legality will update with each even numbered set, while gems will be updated on odd numbered sets.”
Source: hextcg.com/set-and-gem-rotation (archived 2020-11-08)
Set
Set 5, Herofall, is released. The first gem rotation: the Shards of Fate gems leave Standard.
Sources: hextcg.com "Herofall is now live!", Sep 7, 2016; hextcg.com/set-and-gem-rotation (archived 2020-11-08)
Campaign · Campaign: Chapter 2
Chronicles of Entrath Chapter 2 (Adventure Zone 2) goes live. It adds the Ranger class, mercenaries, naval missions and a level cap of 15.
Sources: hextcg.com "Chronicles of Entrath Chapter II is now live!", Dec 6, 2016; Bastion press release
Company
Gameforge, the publisher since about October 2013, leaves; HEX Entertainment publishes the game itself again.
Source: Game Developer
Set
Set 6, Scars of War, is released. Shards of Fate and Shattered Destiny leave Standard, and the Immortal format begins.
Sources: hextcg.com patch announcement, Feb 28, 2017; hextcg.com/set-and-gem-rotation (archived 2020-11-08)
Set
Set 7, Frostheart, is released. Its packs also hold the Frostheart Core Commons. Gem rotation: 10 Frostheart gems come in and 10 Herofall gems stay.
Sources: hextcg.com "Frostheart Out Now!", Jun 29, 2017; hexsets.com (archived 2017-12-27)
Set
Set 8, Dead of Winter, is released. Armies of Myth and Primal Dawn leave Standard.
Sources: hextcg.com Dead of Winter patch notes, Nov 17, 2017; the Dead of Winter patch notes, hextcg.com (archived 2020-10-22)
Set
Set 9, Doombringer, is released. Its packs also hold the Doombringer Core Commons, and it brings the 120 fusion-only Termini. Gem rotation: the final 20 Standard gems. It was the last set: no set 10 was ever released.
Sources: hextcg.com patch announcement, Mar 16, 2018; hexsets.com (archived 2018-04-14)
date approximate
Community
Dingler, a fan-made server emulator that “attempts to mimic how it ran prior to its shutdown”, appears on GitHub: its code is first published on this day, under the AGPL licence. It runs the original game client, with 1v1 Standard and Immortal matches, and everyone gets four of every card.
Source: github.com/Blitzkind/Dingler: its first commit and its README
Gem rotation
Standard’s gems changed with the odd-numbered sets, starting with the 20 Shards of Fate gems. The table shows which gems Standard had while each set was the newest; the lists below name them. Each list is the game’s own, checked against the archived announcements, its gems grouped by the set they came from: the new ones first, then the ones kept from earlier sets.
| Set | Released | Gems in Standard | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shards of Fateset 1 | 2014 (beta) | 20 gems: 20 Shards of Fate | The first gems. |
| Shattered Destinyset 2 | 9 Dec 2014 | 20 gems: 20 Shards of Fate | No change. |
| Armies of Mythset 3 | 21 Jul 2015 | 20 gems: 20 Shards of Fate | No change. |
| Primal Dawnset 4 | 26 Apr 2016 | 20 gems: 20 Shards of Fate | No change. |
| Herofallset 5 | 7 Sep 2016 | 20 gems: 20 Herofall | 20 new gems; 20 left Standard. |
| Scars of Warset 6 | 28 Feb 2017 | 20 gems: 20 Herofall | No change. |
| Frostheartset 7 | 29 Jun 2017 | 20 gems: 10 Frostheart + 10 Herofall | 10 new gems, 10 kept; 10 left Standard. |
| Dead of Winterset 8 | 17 Nov 2017 | 20 gems: 10 Frostheart + 10 Herofall | No change. |
| Doombringerset 9 | 16 Mar 2018 | 20 gems: 15 Doombringer + 3 Frostheart + 2 Herofall | 15 new gems, 5 kept; 15 left Standard. |
2014 (beta): Shards of Fate
Standard’s first gems: the 20 Shards of Fate gems, from the beta until Herofall.
New in Shards of Fate · 20
- Major Blood Orb of Brutality
- Major Blood Orb of Cruelty
- Minor Blood Orb of Deception
- Minor Blood Orb of Hatred
- Major Diamond of Endurance
- Major Diamond of Solidarity
- Minor Diamond of Duty
- Minor Diamond of Life
- Major Ruby of Destruction
- Major Ruby of Intensity
- Minor Ruby of Ferocity
- Minor Ruby of Flames
- Major Sapphire of Mind
- Major Sapphire of Subterfuge
- Minor Sapphire of Mischief
- Minor Sapphire of Sky
- Major Wild Orb of Dominance
- Major Wild Orb of Empowerment
- Minor Wild Orb of Conservation
- Minor Wild Orb of Primordium
Sources: the game’s own Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 gem lists (GemHelper.IsGemLegalInFormat); hextcg.com/set-and-gem-rotation (archived 2020-11-08)
: Herofall
Herofall brings 20 new gems, and the 20 Shards of Fate gems leave Standard.
New in Herofall · 20
- Major Blood Orb of Sacrifice
- Major Blood Orb of the Underworld
- Minor Blood Orb of Frenzy
- Minor Blood Orb of Intimidation
- Major Diamond of Hope
- Major Diamond of the Ardent
- Minor Diamond of Protection
- Minor Diamond of Wind
- Major Ruby of Impulse
- Major Ruby of Twinstrike
- Minor Ruby of Valor
- Minor Ruby of Zeal
- Major Sapphire of Enfeeblement
- Major Sapphire of Sorcery
- Minor Sapphire of Dread
- Minor Sapphire of Wit
- Major Wild Orb of Conjuration
- Major Wild Orb of Cultivation
- Minor Wild Orb of Brawn
- Minor Wild Orb of Vigil
Sources: hextcg.com/set-and-gem-rotation (archived 2020-11-08); the game’s own Chapter 3 gem list (GemHelper.IsGemLegalInFormat)
: Frostheart
Frostheart brings 10 new gems; 10 Herofall gems stay.
New in Frostheart · 10
- Major Blood Orb of Fleshcraft
- Minor Blood Orb of Tombs
- Major Diamond of the Seraph
- Minor Diamond of Fate
- Major Ruby of Galvanism
- Minor Ruby of the Arena
- Major Sapphire of Clarity
- Minor Sapphire of Lunacy
- Major Wild Orb of Growth
- Minor Wild Orb of Blossoms
Kept from Herofall · 10
- Major Blood Orb of Sacrifice
- Minor Blood Orb of Frenzy
- Major Diamond of Hope
- Minor Diamond of Protection
- Major Ruby of Twinstrike
- Minor Ruby of Zeal
- Major Sapphire of Sorcery
- Minor Sapphire of Wit
- Major Wild Orb of Conjuration
- Minor Wild Orb of Vigil
Sources: hexsets.com (archived 2017-12-27); the game’s own Chapter 4 gem list (GemHelper.IsGemLegalInFormat)
: Doombringer
Doombringer brings 15 new gems; five majors stay. These were Standard’s gems until the shutdown.
New in Doombringer · 15
- Major Blood Orb of Migraines
- Minor Blood Orb of Ghouls
- Minor Blood Prism of Leeching
- Major Diamond of Battalion
- Minor Diamond of Tactics
- Minor Diamond Prism of Blades
- Major Ruby of Pyromancy
- Minor Ruby of Savagery
- Minor Ruby Prism of Fury
- Major Sapphire of Vanishing
- Minor Sapphire of Mists
- Minor Sapphire Prism of Skies
- Major Wild Orb of Calling
- Minor Wild Orb of Festivity
- Minor Wild Prism of Toxin
Kept from Frostheart · 3
- Major Blood Orb of Fleshcraft
- Major Diamond of the Seraph
- Major Wild Orb of Growth
Kept from Herofall · 2
- Major Ruby of Twinstrike
- Major Sapphire of Sorcery
Sources: hextcg.com, “The Gems of Doombringer”, 2018-03-02 (archived 2020-11-09); hexsets.com (archived 2018-04-14)
The tournament archive’s eras
The Legacy Tournaments archive files each of its 1,550 events under a format era. Its dates line up with the official releases: only 3 of those events fall outside their era’s official period, from that set’s release to the next one’s.
| Era (the archive’s name) | Officially | The archive’s events | Events | Decks | Outside the official period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sets 1–5Constructed, after set 5 | 7 Sep 2016 – 28 Feb 2017 | 16 Oct 2016 – 26 Feb 2017 | 85 | 5,292 | none |
| Set 6Constructed, after set 6 | 28 Feb 2017 – 29 Jun 2017 | 5 Mar 2017 – 8 Jul 2017 | 71 | 4,811 | 8 Jul 2017 |
| Set 7Constructed, after set 7 | 29 Jun 2017 – 17 Nov 2017 | 6 Jul 2017 – 17 Nov 2017 | 112 | 6,892 | none |
| Set 8Constructed, after set 8 | 17 Nov 2017 – 16 Mar 2018 | 18 Nov 2017 – 29 Jul 2019 | 196 | 10,753 | 23 Apr 2019, 29 Jul 2019 |
| Sets 9+Constructed, after set 9 | 16 Mar 2018 – 31 Dec 2020 (the shutdown) | 17 Mar 2018 – 2 Apr 2020 | 972 | 18,205 | none |
| Immortal (early)Immortal, after set 6 | 28 Feb 2017 – 29 Jun 2017 | 9 Apr 2017 – 16 Apr 2017 | 4 | 221 | none |
| ImmortalImmortal, after set 9 | 16 Mar 2018 – 31 Dec 2020 (the shutdown) | 11 Apr 2018 – 31 Mar 2020 | 110 | 500 | none |
Ban and watch lists
Every change the archived announcements record, from the oldest list found to the shutdown; the final lists are on the Formats page. Each card, champion and set links to its page.
The lists as they stood on this date:
Standard banned Titania’s Majesty; Immortal banned Major Ruby of Destruction; Immortal watch list: Titania’s Majesty, Walking Calamity, Hideous Conversion, the champions Rutherford Banks and Angus the Arsonist, and the gems Minor Wild Orb of Conservation and Minor Sapphire of Mischief; Campaign banned Closed Coffins, Curse of Oblivion, Subtle Striker. Cressida and Azurefate Sorceress removed from the Immortal watch list.
Source: hextcg.com/watchban-list-updates-42717 (archived 2020-11-12)
Lazgar’s Vengeance added to the Standard and Immortal watch lists.
Source: hextcg.com/watchban-list-updates-82417 (archived 2020-11-12)
Lazgar’s Vengeance banned in Standard.
Source: hextcg.com/watchban-list-updates-91217, posted 2017-09-12: “As of Monday, September 18th” (archived 2020-11-12)
Armies of Myth and Primal Dawn rotate out of Standard (so Titania’s Majesty leaves Standard).
Source: the Dead of Winter patch notes, hextcg.com (archived 2020-10-22)
date uncertain
Immortal bans Hideous Conversion and Lazgar’s Vengeance; Cyclone Shaper added to the Immortal watch list, Walking Calamity and Angus the Arsonist removed from it; Rock format added with Choir of Lumos banned; Brink of Madness banned in Campaign (exact post date uncertain: between 12/04/17 and 1/08/18).
Source: the hextcg.com ban list page, “Effective 1/08/18” (archived 2018-01-28); the 12/04/17 and 1/08/18 posts were not archived
Spectral Acorn banned in Siege (defender).
Source: hextcg.com/watch-ban-list-updates-3-05-18 (archived 2020-11-09)
Doombringer release: gem rotation leaves 20 Standard gems.
Source: hextcg.com, “The Gems of Doombringer”, 2018-03-02 (archived 2020-11-09); the gems’ names from hexsets.com (archived 2018-04-14)
New Standard watch list: Exalted Pathfinder, Bride of the Damned, Wax Sacrament, Eternal Seeker, Mordrom’s Gift.
Source: hextcg.com/watch-ban-list-updates-4-02-18 (archived 2018-11-02)
Last update: Rowdy Piper and Scribe of the Flayed Man added to the Standard watch list; Mordrom’s Gift removed. No further changes until the shutdown.
Source: hextcg.com/watch-ban-list-updates-5-07-18 (archived 2018-11-02)
Official servers shut down.
Source: the shutdown notice of 2020-10-01/02 (“we are required to close HEX: Shards of Fate on December 31, 2020”), as reported by MMOBomb and MMOs.com