In Hearthstone Rise of Shadows, a new threat looms, plotting their ascension in the darkest parts of Azeroth.
A team of supervillains calling themselves the League of E.V.I.L. are baddies from previous Hearthstone sets banding together. It appears that the Tavern will be overrun with their diabolical schemes as new cards come to Hearthstone.
Arch-Thief Rafaam has rallied after his defeat at the hands of the League of Explorers and the League of E.V.I.L. has set their eyes upon world domination. Taking centre stage alongside Rafaam is King Togwaggle, Madam Lazul, Dr Boom and Hagatha the Witch.
Hearthstone Rise of Shadows promises to be the most sinister set since Whispers of the Old Gods. Rise of Shadows features 135 new cards and is set to release on April 10, 2019.
Hearthstone Rise of Shadows
But it’s not all just old baddies and rad new artwork. Even though the art is rad, as always.
New card mechanics and new spins on old mechanics will be gracing the Tavern’s tables. As well as a new solo adventure, which is being kept very hush-hush at the moment.
However, the thing you really want to know is the new mechanics right? Well, let’s get stuck in then.
New Cards, New Mechanics, New Meta?
New Keyword
Twinspell
It’s like Echo but for big spells, sort of.
Whenever you cast a spell with the Twinspell keyword, it adds another copy of itself to your hand. This copy DOES NOT feature the Twinspell keyword.
Unlike Echo, you don’t need to cast this copy in the same turn. I anticipate some big board clears and board fillers, so far the only Twinspell we’ve seen is The Forest’s Aid.
But if that’s a preview to benchmark against, then I’m pretty hyped for Twinspells saving me and dragging out the game.
New Token Cards
Lackeys
What’s an E.V.I.L. genius without their waves of loyal followers?
Themed around each bad-guy council member, Lackeys are cheap minions you can drop in that have some great battlecries. Amp up your existing minions, discover spells or straight up nuke stuff with these disposable goons.
I love it.
Just don’t expect them to live very long afterwards. They are all dime-a-dozen chumps after all.
I am curious to see how Lackeys fair against the Overkill mechanic we saw introduced in Rastakhan’s Rumble. Since they are all prime targets to be munched in one hit. I’m not sure how many decks will rely on lackeys, but look for them to shake up Arena significantly.
New Mechanic
Schemes
Hey, do you like blowing stuff up? Do you like sitting on a card waiting for that exact moment where it blows stuff up better? Do you like that feeling when an opponent obviously gets their minion combo out and you’ve got some ungodly board clear that makes them GG out of the game?
If you answered yes, then two things, first you’re my people so add me to b.net and second, you’re gonna love schemes.
Schemes are spells that start weak and power up the longer you hold them. A classic example is Hagatha’s Scheme. It starts as a one damage AoE for five mana.
But hold that in for three turns and it’s a four damage AoE for five mana! Great for when someone keeps Throwing down Twinspell Treants if you ask me.
Callback Cards
These baddies have been kicking around the Hearthstone scene for a long time. As a result, some of them are reluctant to update some of their cards.
What this means for us as players isn’t clear at this time, but rumour has it some mechanics are coming back. The example floating around is the Priest’s ‘Forbidden’ mechanic. For those of you who didn’t play during Whispers of the Old Gods, Forbidden spent all of your remaining mana and acted on how much was spent.
That’s an exciting return to some old card interactions. I’m certain it is to break the current meta a little. Shake up the scene with some hidden aces up our collective sleeves. Will it succeed? Well, that is yet to be seen, but I’m hyped to see it in action.
Give Expansion Now Pls
Rise of Shadows is available for pre-purchase and there are two tiers that you can buy in. The first one will run you $66.95 AUD for 50 packs, the Rise of Shadows card back and a random legendary card. A sizable investment but still really good value.
The big bundle is going to set you back $109.95 AUD for 80 packs, the Rise of Shadows card back, a random golden legendary card and the new playable Priest Hero; the mysterious Madam Lazul.
You can pre-purchase these bundles on PC, Tablet or Mobile as the beauty of Hearthstone is its cross-platform play. You can also go deep and get both bundles, so if like me you’re going to throw yourself in the deep end then that’s the best value.
So that’s the basics we know so far about Rise of Shadows.
Will you be pledging your service to the League of E.V.I.L. or holding out for info on the upcoming Defenders of Dalaran? More details are yet to come, with new cards being revealed every couple of days.
For the moment though enjoy this Disney-esque villain cinematic trailer.
