Our coverage of BlizzConline continues with the Hearthstone Deep Dive panel which we're covering live down below.


Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @OutOfCardsHS to get notified of new card reveals! You can also follow along with us on Discord.


Live Recap

  • There are 10 new characters being highlighted throughout the year.
  • Spell Schools - Like minion types but for spells!
    • Arcane, Fel, Fire, Frost, Nature, Holy, and Shadow are the schools.
  • Ranked Spells - Gain power as a match progresses. They grow in power at 5 and 10 mana.
  • Wrath of Air Totem replaced with Strength Totem. A 0/2 that at the end of the turn gives a random friendly minion +1 attack.
  • New Keyword: Frenzy Effects triggered the first time a minion survives damage.

Core Set

  • Basic & Classic get replaced by 235 cards in the new Core Set.
  • Some previously rotated cards are coming back into the Core Set to provide modern gameplay.
  • 29 of the cards in the Core Set are going to be completely new.
  • Everything in the Core set is completely free by leveling your classes.
  • Fireball and Tirion Fordring are sticking around for the Core Set.
  • Annoy-o-Tron is in the Core Set.
  • Tomb Pillager is in the new Core Set.
  • Menagerie Warden is in the new Core Set.
  • Assassinate is getting buffed and will be in the Core Set.
  • Feral Spirit, Earth Elemental, and Lightning Storm are each getting buffed.
  • Core Set card reveals are happening next week.

Battlegrounds

  • Year of the Gryphon is going to bring even more changes to Battlegrounds to keep it fun and thriving.
  • Some of the new mercenary heroes are going to be added to Battlegrounds.
  • New minion types are coming!
  • In Patch 20.2, Quilboar is a Battlegrounds-exclusive minion type that is being added.
  • Quilboars will generate a resource and take advantage of it. They have not finalized all the details yet.

Duels

  • More heroes are being added. You will not lose progress on your current heroes.

Book of Heroes

  • Stories are still being told this year.
  • Valeera is up next!

Book of Mercenaries

  • Like the book of heroes, we'll be getting to learn more about the stories behind characters.
  • This solo content will focus on the 10 mercenary heroes being added to Hearthstone.

Hearthstone Mercenaries

  • A new game mode that takes lots of different elements of other games.
  • They take elements of Roguelikes and Tactical RPGs.
  • Your three chosen characters have different abilities and you want to use them to create power combos against your opponents.
  • You'll progress through a map - combat and other interesting things to do.
  • Progression in Mercenaries is permanent. You keep the stuff you've earned.
  • If you fail to complete a level, you can come back and try it again.
  • It does not use your collection at all, much like Battlegrounds.
  • Hearthstone is becoming a platform for different types of card games. Mercenaries is just one type of game within Hearthstone.
  • A lot of the content is single-player but there are multi-player parts. They are hoping for high-skill games against other players.
  • The mode has less RNG than normal Hearthstone.
  • Tirion Fordring is one of the new characters being added.
  • The mode releases during Phase 1 of the Year of the Gryphon.

New Forged in the Barrens Cards

Mankrik Card Image
Olgra, Mankrik's Wife Card Image Bru'kan Card Image
Druid of the Plains Card Image

Spirit Healer Card Image
Sunscale Raptor Card Image
Razormane Raider Card Image
Peon Card Image

Desperate Prayer Card Image
Imp Swarm (Rank 1) Card Image
Imp Swarm (Rank 2) Card ImageImp Swarm (Rank 3) Card Image


New Core Set Cards

Novice Zapper Card Image
Vanessa VanCleef Card Image
Felsoul Jailer Card Image
Overlord Runthak Card Image


Year of the Gryphon Roadmap


Year of the Gryphon Expansion Teasers


Watch Live

You can watch BlizzConlive on the official site or the stream below.


Learn more about Forged in the Barrens

Head on over to our dedicated guide for Forged in the Barrens to learn more about the new expansion and to see all the revealed cards!


Support Out of Cards - Get Premium

Love what we're doing? Support the site for $2 a month to remove ads and get some site cosmetics! Discounts are available if you subscribe for multiple months at once!


Get Cheaper Hearthstone Packs with Amazon Coins

Learn more about how you can save money on Hearthstone packs for the new expansion with our guide on Amazon Coins!