Hearthstone Reveals Next Expansion – Rise of Shadows

Hearthstone revealed their next expansion, coming on April 9th, 2019 – Rise of Shadows. Rise of Shadows will feature 135 cards, and players will join a group of ne’er-do-wells, the League of E.V.I.L.. With Rise of Shadows comes a new mechanic, “Lackeys”.  Five new Lackeys will come in Rise of Shadows, which are 1/1 minions with Battlecries. An example of a Lackey card is Heistbaron Togwaggle. His henchman is the Rogue minion Evil Miscreant, which adds two random Lackeys to the player’s hand when Comboed.  In addition, Schemes are spells that grow in power each turn they’re held in hand. Hagatha’s Scheme deals 1 damage to all minions to start but will grow with every turn you keep it in your hand.

There are some Callback Cards as well, and some of the set may feel slightly familiar. Forbidden Words, a Priest spell spends a player’s mana to destroy a minion with that much attack or less is a callback to Forbidden Shaping from Whispers of the Old Gods. Twinspell will also shake the game up, by adding a copy of that card to the caster’s hand once cast. An example of this is The Forest’s Aid, which is a Druid Twinspell. It summons five 2/2 Treants and puts a copy of the spell into the player’s hand.

The accompanying PVE adventure will arrive in May for this expansion and is bigger than ever before. The first chapter of the upcoming solo adventure is free, and additional chapters will be unlockable for 19.99, or 700 gold per chapter. On April 5th, right before the Pre-Release, players will be able to claim a free LEgendary card and use it immediately in Play Mode and at Pre-Release events. At launch, a quest chain will become available that rewards multiple card packs for the Rise of Shadows and Year of the Raven expansions. Additionally, during the first week of the expansion’s release, the Shadow Bundle will be available, containing nine Rise of Shadows card packs and an Arena ticket for $9.99 (players can purchase the bundle only once per account).

Finally, players can also pre-purchase Rise of Shadows packs in two bundles. The first is the 50-pack Rise of Shadows bundle that includes the Jewel of Lazul card back and a Legendary card; and the 80-card pack Mega Bundle, which includes the Madame Lazul Priest Hero, the Jewel of Lazul card back, and a Golden Legendary card. These one-time-only bundles are available on any platform for $49.99 and $79.99, respectively (players can purchase each bundle only once per account).