Hearthstone reveals new Dragon expansion and Autochess mode
During the opening ceremony for Hearthstone team revealed new cards for their newest expansion, Descent of Dragons, and also previewed their newest game mode.
It was a busy morning in Anaheim for Blizzard, as the opened their BlizzCon with an opening ceremony that was stuffed to the brim with announcements and reveals.
While titles like Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 dominated the headlines and social media, the Hearthstone team made big announcements too, starting with their new expansion Descent of Dragons.
Descent of Dragons will add a plethora of new content to the digital card game, starting with, of course, 135 new cards that will be added to the game. Chief among these cards is “the dragon to end all dragons,” Galakrond. Galakrond is playable as five new Hero cards for the Warrior, Warlock, Shaman, Rogue, and Priest classes.
Galakrond’s Battlecry allows the player to draw a card with no mana cost, and his Hero Power adds a Lackey to the player’s hand. DoD is also introducing a new keyword in Invoke, which works directly with Galakrond to power up his Battlecry, allowing the player to draw additional cards and increase his strength.
The new expansion is also introducing Sidequests, which are quicker versions of the Quest cards that offer powerful rewards to Mages, Druids, Hunters, and Paladins. New Dragon cards and Dragon spells are also being introduced.
Hearthstone fans can pre-purchase packs now, in bundles of 60 packs for $50, or a bundle of 100 packs for $80 that includes the new Deathwing Warrior Hero. Any player who logs in within the first 90 days of the launch of DoD gets all five Galakrond cards.
But the biggest inclusion in the pre-purchase bundles is the latest iteration of the autobattler trend, with Hearthstone’s own take on the genre in Hearthstone Battlegrounds.
Battlegrounds is an eight-player autobattler mode featuring 24 heroes from Hearthstone and Warcraft universe. Players will select their units and watch them fight it out.
Descent of Dragons pack pre-purchasers can get into Early Access on November 5th until November 11th, and there will be a Global Open beta for Battlegrounds on November 12th.
The BlizzCon opening ceremony began with Hearthstone, but not anything to do with the game itself. Blizzard President J. Allen Brack addressed the infamous Hearthstone scandal that began in October, when Hearthstone pro player Blitzchung was banned for showing support for Hong Kong protestors in a post-tournament interview.