Hearthstone fans won’t have to wait much longer to find out about the game’s next expansion. A new blog post on Battle.net says on Thursday, July 7 at 10 p.m. EST, members of Team 5 will unveil the new expansion. It will be broadcast live from the HCT Summer Championship in Shanghai, followed by the tournament.
You can watch the reveal on the Hearthstone Twitch channel and watch chat go wild with excitement.I will be in China covering the event, dissecting every single card that Blizzard announces.
Now that we are only a few days away from the expansion’s announcement, what will it be? The last few Hearthstone sets have focused on physical locations in Azeroth like Karazhan, Gadgetzan and Un’Goro crater. Blizzard can either keep the trend alive, perhaps bringing players to the capital city of Stormwind. Or they could go in an entirely different direction, one that actually affects World Of Warcraft’s story by bringing back one of the game’s baddest villains.
Internet sleuths are convinced the next expansion will be “Return Of The Lich King.” Blizzard has already bought the domain, registered the trademark and hinted at a death knight-themed set during the Year Of The Mammoth announcement . Bringing players to the cold tundras of the Frozen Throne, playing zombie-themed cards and death knights could be amazing. It’s a departure from the usual “go somewhere and make cards about that” theme that Hearthstone loves to use, but I think fans would appreciate something new.
If you look at the picture alongside the blog post, you see the outlines of four or five shadowy figures. Even the most dedicated World Of Warcraft fan could only see blobs, but there could be something there. Users on reddit have been having fun tracing over these backdrops. Here’s my personal favorite from user Sighma.
Memes aside, there seem to be five figures standing in the tavern. They could be the four horsemen, the most powerful death knights in Azeroth and members of the Lich King’s entourage. According to Wowpedia : “Thane Korth'azz, holds the power of flame. The next, Lady Blaumeux, calls forth the power of shadows, drawing the souls of the living into the voracious embrace. Sir Zeliek, a paladin in life, so strong in his faith, that even in undeath, the power of the light still heeds his call, smiting his foes in battle. The final death knight, Lord Mograine, was the finest warrior that the death knights had ever seen.”
That’s some heavy theorycrafting since all we see are bits of arms and legs, but it seems entirely possible.
Hearthstone hasn’t had a lore-heavy set release since Whispers Of The Old Gods showed us the first images of Yogg-Saron, C’thun and Y'Shaarj. As much as I enjoyed the gangster cards from Mean Streets Of Gadgetzan and the dinosaurs in Journey To Un’Goro , I’d prefer something with a bit more lore behind it. I’ve never played World Of Warcraft but I know all about it’s important mages, wizards and deathwings. I’d love to learn more about Arthas and the Lich King without playing the WoW Wrath Of The Lich King expansion that’s nearly 10 years old.
What do you think the next Hearthstone expansion will be? Tell us in the comments.
