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.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Welcome to Year of the Raptor!

Three great Hearthstone expansions, Mini-Sets, and Battlegrounds seasons will continue to make up the core Hearthstone experience and our primary focus for the year.

Plus a big Arena update, the return of esports, and more!

UNLEASH THE RAPTOR

• Into the Emerald Dream. The Year of the Raptor begins with our first expansion of the year: Into the Emerald Dream. The official expansion kick-off blog and the start of card reveal season are coming next week! To celebrate the new year, there will be a special in-game event in the weeks leading up to the expansion launch. A new Year of the Raptor board will be added to the Hearthstone game board pool with the launch of Into the Emerald Dream as well.
• Core Set Update. This year’s Core Set update is specially curated to include a menagerie of old favorites—some of which have gotten some updates—and add a few brand-new cards, too! To make room for these updates, we’ve removed some stand-out cards from last year, including burst damage and some of the more frustrating effects.
• Esports is Back. We aim to inspire and entertain players of all levels, all around the world, to compete. Two Seasonal Championships and the World Championship will make up the backbone of our competitive system. We’re excited to once again partner with Netease Thunderfire for a total of at least $600,000 in prizing for Hearthstone Esports this year! 

YOU MENTIONED AN ARENA UPDATE? 

Looking a little further ahead in the year, we’ve been working hard on a big update to Arena mode. As we refine and polish the experience, we’re happy to share that it’s currently scheduled to launch in Patch 32.2, the first major patch after the expansion. Look out for more information about Arena closer to when it goes live, too.   

Hearthstone is available for Android, iOS and PC.