Whispers of the Old Gods is the third expansion for massively popular digital trading card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, following Goblins vs Gnomes, released in December 2014, and The Grand Tournament, released August 2015.
A painting spotted recently on the side of a New York building hinted at the upcoming expansion's name, and the official announcement by Blizzard confirmed it.
The Old Gods, namely C'Thun, N'Zoth, Yogg-Saron and Y'Shaarj, are inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. It is said that the tentacled monsters have been sleeping deep beneath Azeroth, but now, they are beginning to awaken. Their whispers from underneath have corrupted mortals, which is the reference of the expansion's name and a trait that will be seen in its cards.
Whispers of the Old Gods will contain 134 new cards, including some cards that are corrupted versions of older cards. For example, Polluted Hoarder, a 4-cost 4/2 minion with a Deathrattle ability to draw a card, is the corrupted version of Classic's Loot Hoarder, which is a 2-cost 2/1 minion with the same Deathrattle ability.
Players are poised to add one of the Old Gods instantly into their collection, as Blizzard revealed that the first card pack from the expansion opened by each player will contain C'Thun and two Beckoner of Evil cards. C'Thun is a 10-cost 6/6 minion with a Battlecry ability that deals damage equal to its attack randomly split among all enemies. Supporting C'Thun, Beckoner of Evil is a 2-cost 2/3 minion with a Battlecry ability that give's C'Thun +2/+2, no matter where the Old God's card is located when the minion is summoned.
Beginning March 14, players will be able to pre-purchase 50 packs of Whispers of the Old Gods for a special price of $49.99. The deal will also add a new card back to the player's collection.
Blizzard added that players that log in to Hearthstone during the launch period of the expansion will be able to receive three Whispers of the Old Gods packs for free.
The official launch date of Whispers of the Old Gods has not yet been revealed, though Blizzard said that it will be sometime in late April or early May. Upon its release, the promotional price of the card packs for the expansion will be bumped up to the regular price.
Blizzard will be revealing more information on the new expansion on March 21, so players already hooked on the theme of Whispers of the Old Gods should check its official page that day.
