Blizzard has unveiled Knights of the Frozen Throne as the next expansion for Hearthstone, bringing back memories for longtime Warcraft fans of Prince Arthas and his descent into madness as the Lich King.
Knights of the Frozen Throne will add 135 new cards to the digital trading card game. It will also mark the first time that Blizzard will roll out two full-size expansions in a row, as part of the massive changes to Hearthstone announced earlier in the year.
Hearthstone: Knights Of The Frozen Throne Unveiled
The Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion was actually leaked through Hearthstone's Chinese website before Blizzard made the official announcement.
Knights of the Frozen Throne, which will be the first expansion to replace the game's story-driven Adventures, comes with single-player content that will include a prologue, two wings with three boss fights each, and the final boss. Players will be able to earn three packs from completing the two wings and beating the final boss.
Knights Of The Frozen Throne: New Cards And Mechanics
Knights of the Frozen Throne will introduce two new mechanics, one of which is a new card type while the other is a new keyword.
Hero cards represent the Lich King raising the game's nine heroes from the dead, granting them new abilities to serve as Death Knights. The legendary Hero cards are not considered as spells, minions, or weapons and, when played, replace your Hero and the Hero power, casts a Battlecry effect, and adds armor.
Only one Hero card has been revealed so far, and that is the six-cost Deathstalker Rexxar. It comes with a Battlecry effect that deals two damage to all enemy minions, grants five armor, and replaces the Hunter's Hero power with Build-a-Beast. Activating the new power for two mana allows players to choose a card from two sets of random Beast cards that will be combined into one minion.
Meanwhile, the new mechanic is Lifesteal, which is a familiar keyword for Warcraft gamers. Spells, minions, and weapons with Lifesteal heal the player for each point of damage dealt. Example cards with the new mechanic include the Paladin's Chillblade Champion, a common four-cost 3/2 minion with Charge and Lifesteal, and the Priest's Spirit Lash, a common two-cost spell with Lifesteal that deals one damage to all minions.
Blizzard revealed two other cards from the upcoming expansion. Prince Keleseth is a legendary two-cost 2/2 minion with a Battlecry ability that grants all the minions in the player's deck +1/+1 if it has no two-cost cards, while Shallow Gravedigger is a rare 3/1 minion with a Deathrattle ability that adds a random minion with Deathrattle to the player's hand.
Players will get to play with these cards in August, upon the launch of Knights of the Frozen Throne as the next expansion to the dinosaur-themed Journey to Un'Goro. More cards will be revealed beginning July 24, but players can now already preorder 50 packs of the expansion with a bonus card back for $49.99.
