Hearthstone's Year of the Phoenix is upon us. On April 7 the Standard rotation takes place and a whole new expansion cycle commences, with three new expansions shaking up Blizzard Entertainment's card game throughout the year. Today Hearthstone revealed the name of its first expansion: Ashes of Outland.
Ashes of Outland takes place in, as you may have guessed, the Outland region. It's a world in degradation, shattered by evil. There we find Illidan Stormrage, 'The Betrayer,' the first Demon Hunter, brother of Malfurion Stormrage, who is hunting down evil alongside his fellow Demon Hunters. And yes, Illidan himself is leading the battle: Demon Hunters are joining Hearthstone as the tenth playable class, and introduce the Outcast mechanic. More about that in our article here.
A total of 135 new cards will be introduced in Ashes of Outland. With them, a bunch of new mechanics joins Hearthstone. The first new keyword tied to the expansion is Dormant. Referring to the Warcraft lore, in which Illidan was locked away for a couple of thousand years, the Dormant mechanic is a long-term investment. Once you play a minion it becomes an untargetable, inactive token. Once the described amount of turns have passed, the minion wakes up from its hibernation and triggers a special effect.
The second new keyword affects legendary cards only: Prime. Prime legendary cards come in two parts. The first time you summon a Prime legendary it's a pretty solid card with a small effect. Upon dying, an upgraded version of the legendary—the Prime version—is shuffled into your deck. This half has incredibly powerful effects and can swing the board in your favor in a single turn. All classes except the new Demon Hunter class will have a Prime legendary in Ashes of Outland.
Enough blabbering: it's time to show some Ashes of Outland cards. Blizzard has shared fourteen cards that will be part of the next expansion, and you can see them all below.
As usual, these cards can be obtained by opening in-game card packs. Two pre-order bundles are on sale for the Ashes of Outland expansion. The first one is a regular 55-pack bundle which also rewards you with a free golden legendary card and a special card back. The second, more expensive bundle, the Mega bundle, throws in 45 extra cards, four Arena tickets, Battlegrounds bonuses, and Lady Vashj, an alternative Shaman hero portrait.
The Hearthstone team shared more news than they ever have today, and we've covered it all. Head over to our special articles covering the new Demon Hunter Class, buffs to seven Priest cards, and the Hall of Fame rotation!
Below you can see the roadmap Blizzard has planned for 2020, with all the new content coming to Hearthstone.
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Storyteller by heart. If something is competitive, I am interested in it.
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