Deceptively simple in design but epically engaging, Hearthstone will be instantly accessible to players regardless of their familiarity with Warcraft or collectible card games. Whether players prefer to wield magic or arms in battle, strike from the shadows or head on—or have never given any of that much thought—they’ll be able to jump right in, create a deck, and get in on the card-slinging action.

In addition to honing their skills in practice matches against the computer and taking on their buddies via their Battle.net friends list, players can challenge each other in two competitive game modes. “Play Mode” features traditional head-to-head battles, with players facing off for a chance to increase their medal ranking and earn card packs along the way. And for a different type of challenge, players can enter “The Forge,” where they start each match by building a deck from a new set of cards, and then use that deck to duel other Forge participants. Aside from winning new cards, players will be able to round out their collections by purchasing new card packs or disenchanting some of their existing cards to craft the ones they’re missing.

With hundreds of cards to choose from, featuring a wide range of colorful Warcraft spells, weapons, and characters, players will have limitless possibilities for developing and fine-tuning their deck-building strategies.

2015 has been an exciting year for competitive Hearthstone, and the action is far from over! Soon, the time for qualifiers, ladder play, and Fireside Gatherings tournaments in the name of the Hearthstone World Championship will draw to a close and the journey to the regional championships will begin!

Familiarize yourself with a list of the tournaments below, and watch all of the fun on the official PlayHearthstone Twitch.

• August 22 – The Fireside Gathering Championship will conclude with a series of epic duels in Burbank, California
• September 5 – The Last Call Tournament is where over 100 North American players will join together for a massive brawl to decide who will join 24 other pre-qualified players in the North America Qualifier Tournament. Pre-qualified players are determined by Hearthstone World Championship points, and include the winner of the Fireside Gathering Championship.
• September 11 to September 20 – The North America Qualifier Tournament is where 40 of the best players in North America will battle in an online qualifier tournament, to decide who will travel to San Francisco to meet up with two qualifying players from Latin America. The first half of the qualifier tournament will be viewable on select community streams.
• October 10 to October 11 – The Americas Championship is the final stop before the Hearthstone World Championship at BlizzCon 2015! Live from San Francisco, eight players from the Americas will attempt to secure a chance to meet up with 12 other players from Asia and Europe and duel for the title of Hearthstone World Champion!

 Key Features

• Collection Manager: Peruse your ever-expanding card collection and build a variety of custom decks to suit all kinds of strategies. If you’re new to deck-building, you can also get guided help here on how to fill out your deck for competitive play.
• Crafting: Disenchant those extra cards in your collection to receive arcane dust, the building block used to construct Hearthstone cards. You can then use this dust to craft the cards needed to complete one or more of your decks or your overall collection. 
• Friendly Duels: Want to challenge your buddy to a quick match (or just show off your shiny new cards)? Hearthstone is connected to Battle.net, so you’ll be able to fire up a game with a friend right from your friends list.
• Three Different Game Modes
  • Play Mode: Duel opponents online to boost your medal ranking and earn packs of cards. Whether you’re a grizzled veteran, curious newcomer, or fall somewhere in between, our matchmaking system will pit you against worthy competition.
  • The Forge: Put your skills to the test in this mode where deck-building is half the fun. You'll be presented with a series of card choices from which you must forge your deck, and then you’ll bring that deck into battle against other duelists. In addition to having a chance to win card packs as prizes if you duel well, all participants will keep the cards they selected for their Forge deck.
  • Practice Mode: Hone your skills and test out new deck ideas against basic or expert AI opponents, and unlock eight playable heroes in the process.