The next Hearthstone expansion has been announced, and we also know when we’ll be able to dive into all the new cards. Called Rise of Shadows, the new expansion launches worldwide on April 9.
Rise of Shadows features 135 new cards for Hearthstone , along with new mechanics, Arena rotations and other game updates. New in the update are Lackey cards, which all are 1/1 minion cards. While that doesn’t sound too exciting, each Lackey also has a special ability. These range from dealing bonus damage, to transforming other minions into stronger threats.
Also new are Schemes and Twinspells. Schemes are spells that have pretty powerful effects to begin with, but become even stronger the longer they stay in your hand. Twinspells are special spell cards that once cast, create a copy that goes back into your hand. This means you can play the same card again next turn.
There are currently two Rise of Shadows packs players can pre-order. The first is the standard pack, and it comes with 50 Rise of Shadows card packs, a special card back and a random Legendary card. Also available is the Rise of Shadows Mega Pack, which comes with 80 card packs, the special card back, a random gold Legendary card and the Madame Lazul Priest Hero.
Along with all the new cards, Hearthstone is also shifting into the Year of the Dragon with the release of Rise of Shadows. Year of the Dragon moves nine cards into the Hearthstone Hall of Fame: Naturalize, Doomguard, Divine Favor, Baku the Mooneater, Genn Greymane, Gloom Stag, Black Cat, Glitter Moth, and Murkspark Eel. More information on all the changes coming in Year of the Dragon can be found here.
The Arena also starts a regular rotation of available cards with Year of the Dragon, giving players a number of different sets to select cards from. The first group of sets included in the revamped Arena are Basic, Classic, Naxxramas, Whispers of the Old Gods, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, The Witchwood, and the new Rise of Shadows cards.
Be sure to check out the Rise of Shadows announcement post on the Blizzard website to see more of the new cards coming on April 9.
So what do you think? Are you excited to start digging into all the new Hearthstone cards with the release of Rise of Shadows? Will you pre-order either of the card pack offerings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
