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.

TIME TO GET TROPICAL!  

Get packed and plan your itinerary, because on July 23, it’s time for Perils in Paradise. Tucked away in the beautiful Spiral Isles, The Marin is Azeroth’s newest vacation getaway, and it has everything: exciting entertainment, tourist traps, and even some of Marin’s old pirate buddies.

Pre-purchase is now live for Perils in Paradise, the second expansion in the Year of the Pegasus, with 145 brand new cards, including Marin the Manager legendary card, a new Keyword: Tourist, plus refreshing drinks and exciting destinations!

WELCOME TO PARADISE

• New Keyword: Tourist. The Marin is Azeroth’s hottest new Tourist attraction! Each class gets one Legendary Tourist card that lets them vacation to another class during deckbuilding. Put your Tourist into your deck and their destination class’s Perils in Paradise cards get instantly added to the deckbuilding interface, letting you put them into your deck like your main class cards.
• Drinks and Destinations. The Marin has six different drink spells to choose from, and each spell can be cast up to three times for repeat sipping.Grab a tasty drink and keep cool while you soak up the sun in paradise. The Marin also has six tourist attraction Locations around the island, that even open early if you meet their condition.
• Marin the Manager Login Reward. That old scamp Marin has put his questing days behind him and is setting off on a new adventure: resort management! Login now to receive this free Legendary minion. 
• Buddies are back in Battlegrounds. Buddies return to the Battlegrounds and Duos! Each Hero has a special Buddy that is unique to them and synergizes with their Hero Power. There are 12 all-new Buddies, 23 updated Buddies, new and returning minions, minion pool changes, and more—check out our dedicated Battlegrounds preview blog for all the details.

TRAVEL BUNDLE OPTIONS The Perils in Paradise Mega Bundle ($79.99 USD) includes 80 Perils in Paradise card packs, 10 Golden Perils in Paradise card packs, 1 random Perils in Paradise Signature Legendary card, 1 random Perils in Paradise Golden Legendary card, and the Hakkar the Houndmaster Card Back and Hero Skin. The Perils in Paradise Bundle ($49.99 USD) includes 60 Perils in Paradise card packs, 2 random Perils in Paradise Legendary cards, and the Hakkar Card Back.

Hearthstone is available for Android, iOS and PC.