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.

Battlegrounds is a game mode where eight players face off in 1v1 rounds, with the goal to be the last player standing. Each round consists of two phases. The Recruit Phase lets players purchase and sell minions, upgrade the tavern, use their hero power, and rearrange their minions' attack order. Combat Phase has minions automatically attacking the opponents' until one player (or both) has no minions remaining, at which point the victor attacks the loser.

The exploration goes even deeper!

Our noble outlaws tried to warn them, but the Bloodrock Mining Co. dug too deep and unearthed a portal to Deepholm in the Elemental Plane. As Therazane fights for her domain, new friends and unlikely allies fight for their lives! Get ready to dig in, this is the Delve into Deepholm!

Delve into Deepholm, launching on January 18, consists of 38 new cards: 4 Legendary cards, 1 Epic card, 17 Rare cards, and 16 Common cards. Those cards can either be opened in Showdown in the Badlands packs or purchased as a complete 72-card set.* Normal versions of the Mini-Set can be purchased for $14.99 or 2000 Gold. The all-Golden version of the Mini-Set can be purchased for $69.99 or 10,000 Gold. The Golden Mini-Set option also includes a bonus Diamond Legendary card!

* Includes one copy of each Legendary card and two copies of each other card in the Mini-Set.

The Stonemother Defends Her Holm

Therazane, the elemental lord, is not happy to see intruders in her domain, mining its resources and disturbing its denizens. She fights fiercely—and even when she falls in combat, her subjects are empowered by her raw elemental power!

But who will take her down?!

Familiar Faces Join the Fight

When the outlaws followed the Bloodrock Mining Co. down to Deepholm, they found some intrepid explorers had already joined the fray. One brash dwarf’s cries in battle could be heard echoing from below.

Deepminer Brann was far below the surface when Reno and Elise rode into town, unaware of the havoc the mining operation was causing. But once the elementals awakened, he turned his pickaxe to the new challenge. This was when Reno and Elise first fought alongside Brann and they were impressed with his tenacity; if they were going to make it out of Deepholm, they’d need to be in league with folks like him!

Brann is one of two new no duplicate cards in Delve into Deepholm! Brann is also the bonus Diamond Legendary card included in the Golden Mini-Set.

Even More Excavations

As the adventurers dug deeper, they discovered even more Excavated Treasures, one added to each of the Common, Rare, and Epic tiers.

That’s not all: two new classes will be delving into the Excavate keyword and their own Legendary Excavate treasures, too! We’ll be unearthing those soon, during the reveal season.

Unlikely Allies in Dual-Class Cards

Facing the dangers of Deepholm, the miners and outlaws need to team up to survive. Beyond sharing Excavate and no duplicate effects with classes that didn’t have them before, Delve into Deepholm brings back dual-class cards! Along with one class-specific card per class, each class gets four dual-class cards (two shared with each of two other classes), giving them a broad spectrum of new cards to try out across archetypes! Many of these dual-class combinations even pair a mining class with an outlaw class.

FEBRUARY TWIST SEASON

Get excited for a new Twist! The February season of Twist mode (starting February 1) adds a challenge by limiting your deck building to common cards only (includes all expansions through Year of the Dragon and Core cards). Discover new ways to stump your opponents without the power of rare, epic, and legendary cards!

LUNAR NEW YEAR EVENT

The Lunar New Year Event will be returning! Complete daily quests to earn a variety of rewards including two hero skins and three Signature cards! 

Hearthstone is available for Android, iOS and PC.