It may still be winter, but things are heating up in the world of Hearthstone. March 17 is the day the newest expansion, Cataclysm, will be available to all players. Fans can expect a mix of returning and new mechanics to spice up their gameplay as they seek to banish Deathwing once more.
Larger Than Life Gameplay
One returning mechanic is Colossals. Introduced in Voyage of the Sunken City, players can have truly massive moments in battle once again. Blizzard also plans on introducing two new ways to play, with the new Herald and Shatter keywords. Herald and Colossals go hand-in-hand; the more a player uses Herald, the stronger their Colossal becomes. Play it once to double your power and play it again to up the ante even more. Shatter allows spells to be split and dispersed to opposite ends of a player’s hand. These split pieces can be played separately or, if the cards between are played, can be recombined to be doubly strong.
The Darkest Timeline
Longtime lore-lovers may be wondering how something else returned — Deathwing. With the shattering of the Hourglass of time by Murozond, a portal was made. Through that portal was a timeline in which Deathwing was not vanquished, Azeroth bathed in fire. And through that same portal, Deathwing passed and is posing a threat once more. The heroes of Azeroth must attempt to rally the Dragonflights again with each class getting a new Legendary Dragon Aspect. Players can also play as Deathwing himself with the release of the Deathwing Worldbreaker hero card.
Rallying the Dragonflights isn’t just necessary to defeat Deathwing. Starting February 9 and running through March 17, Rally the Dragonflights, an online event, begins. Sign up for the Hearthstone email list, claim drops by watching live Hearthstone streams, and interact with Hearthstone social media content to slowly unlock all the Dragonflights. Successful completion unlocks a free Legendary Ebyssian and two Signature copies of Envoy of the End.
Free For All
Fans new and old can rejoice the introduction of the Dragon’s Hoard, as a trove of freebies is coming for all players. Log in and automatically receive the Legendary Warmaster Blackhorn card. And come March 10, just a few days before Cataclysm’s release, players will have access to every card from Into the Emerald Dream and The Lost City of Un’Goro, including the Golden Versions. These cards are playable (and free) through the entirety of Cataclysm.
But what if you already have these cards? Worry not, there’s something for those players, too. Unlocking the “Only Missing A Few (Emerald Dream)” achievement gives a Signature Legendary Ysera, Emerald Aspect. And completing “Only Missing A Few (Lost City)” comes with a Signature Legendary Endbringer Umbra. All of this releases March 10 at 10:00AM PDT.
Pre-orders are live now and can be found here. The Mega Bundle comes with 80 packs, including 10 Golden Packs from Cataclysm. Bonus is one random Signature Legendary card and Golden Legendary card as well as four Tavern Tickets, a Sinestra Rogue Hero Skin, and Sinestra Card Back. The Bundle comes with 60 packs, two random Legendary cards, and the Sinestra Card Back. Log in, claim your freebies, and be ready for an incredible release with Cataclysm on March 17.
