Upcoming expansion, Scholomance Academy, and it’s already one of my favorite flavor concepts to date. After all, what could be better for the wizarding, magical world of Hearthstone than a Hogwarts-style school of magic? And what could be a more Hearthstone-like twist in the World of Warcraft tradition than taking a school of necromancy, intimately linked to the Scourge and the Lich King, and founded by Kel’Thuzad, and making it (above all) full of fun site? Check all the boxes, and Kel’Thuzad as director is the icing on the cake. So far we’ve seen 14 of the 135 new cards, and there are a ton of really exciting layouts in the mix. These are some of the new mechanics and concepts that come on set.
Dual-class cards
Scholomance Academy features 40 dual-class cards, each of which has two specific classes that can use them. There are ten combinations of classes in all, and what makes them exciting is that we can see what happens when classes can build decks that integrate key mechanics from another class. We found out what happens if Mage can return enemy minions, what Shaman can do with the ramp, and what it’s like for Mages to pull out Combos and for Rogues to use Mage spells.
Each class pair also receives a legendary teacher minion, such as Shan’do Wildclaw (below), which takes advantage of the fact that both Hunter and Druid have beast synergies.
Crossing the streams.
Spell Explosion
This new keyword is a bit like money in the bank. Any minion or spell with Spellburst activates its effect the next time you cast a spell. Goody Two-Shields’ Divine Shield, for example, can be reactivated, or you could wait your time waiting to activate the Miserable Tutor skill.
Diligent Notetaker has an intriguing combined potential.
However, what I love about this mechanic is the countergame. Unless you trigger Spell Blast on the same turn while playing its minion or associated spell, your opponent knows what’s coming, so he can try playing around him.
We’ve seen several other cool cards, including one from the new “Studies” cycle (below), which are spells that allow you to uncover a card but then lower the mana cost of the next card of that type you play.
Discovering never goes out of style.
Rattlegore offers incredible value, while Troublemaker is a solid anti-aggro tool.
Scholomance Academy is due out in early August, and there are a couple of pre-order packages available now. The Scholomance Academy Mega Bundle costs USD $ 79.99 (AUD $ 109.95) and includes 80 Scholomance Academy card packs, five additional Scholomance Academy gold card packs, a random legendary gold card from the set, Hero Kel ‘ Thuzad Mage and the reverse of the card, and a Pass Tavern, which includes four Arena tickets.There’s also the Scholomance Academy Pre-Purchase Bundle, which costs USD $ 49.99 (AUD $ 66.95) and includes 55 bundles of Scholomance Academy Cards, a random Legendary Scholomance Academy Gold Card, and the reverse of the Kel ‘card. Thuzad.Anyone logging into Hearthstone from today (until October 20) will receive two free copies of the epic neutral minion, Transfer Student, which is a 2/2 two mana, but “has different effects depending on the game board on which find “. It should be fun!
On one board, this card will be “Reborn”, on another “Discover a Dragon”.
Cam Shea runs the IGN studio in Sydney and would attend the Scholomance Academy in an instant. Take a look at her behind-the-scenes look at how Team 5 designed Demon Hunter here, and why not say g’day on Twitter.
