Hearthstone Announces Massive Expansion With New Mechanics

Hearthstone’s upcoming expansion, Into the Emerald Dream, is set to launch on March 25. It will bring a new storyline, the battle for Azeroth’s source of all Nature magic, two new mechanics and 145 new cards.

The setting of the content drop is The Emerald Dream, a mystical realm in Azeroth ruled by the powerful Dragon Aspect, Ysera. The story starts as the corruption threatens to turn the sacred land into an Emerald Nightmare. Players will have to choose their side in this battle, aligning with one of two major factions: the forces of nature or the agents of the Old Gods.

The expansion’s two new keywords are integral to this conflict. ‘Imbue’ empowers classes with the World Tree’s blessings, giving them Imbued Hero Powers that grow in strength as the game progresses. It will be available for such classes as Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, and Shaman.

On the other side of the confrontation are the ‘Dark Gifts of the Old Gods’. This keyword offers extra attack power, lifesteal, or even the ability to trigger Battlecries twice. It will be related to Death Knight, Demon Hunter, Rogue, Warlock, and Warrior.

The Wild Gods of Azeroth are ancient beings tied to the Emerald Dream, and they’ll play a key role in Into the Emerald Dream expansion as each class will gain a Legendary Wild God minion to fight for their side, some of whom have already been corrupted by the Old Gods.

Additionally, players will have access to the Choose One mechanic, previously exclusive to Druids. Now, every class can wield the power of the Emerald Dream with their own Choose One cards.

Before the expansion officially launches, players can dive into pre-release events. The official Theorycrafting Stream will showcase the new cards and mechanics on March 13. Community Days March 18-22 will allow players to earn free packs by engaging with their favorite Hearthstone content creators. The Pre-Release Tavern Brawl March 18-25 will give fans a chance to test their decks and earn more packs.

Blizzard Entertainment’s card game, Hearthstone was officially released on March 11, 2014, for Microsoft Windows and macOS. By the end of March 2014, the game had over 10 million registered player accounts worldwide.

By May 2015, Activision Blizzard reported that Hearthstone and Destiny had collectively generated nearly $1 billion in revenue and in 2018 estimates reported that Hearthstone had grossed over $660 million on mobile platforms worldwide since its 2014 launch.