A few weeks after WoW Classic, it's Hearthstone's turn to turn to one of the most charismatic villains in the history of the Warcraft franchise: the Lich King. Blizzard unveiled during a special broadcast the contours of the next expansion of its TCG. The set will be called March of the Lich King, and will introduce an 11th class to the game, with the Death Knight, more commonly referred to as DK.
The extension in brief
- Expansion release on December 6, 2022
- 145 new cards
- When the expansion is released, you can complete a PVE prologue adventure to acquire the 32-card Death Knight Core Set for free.
- When the expansion releases, an additional set of 26 cards for the DK class will be available for 2,000 gold or 1,500 runestones.
New class: the DK
The Death Knight will definitely join the Hearthstone ranks and make an appearance with March of the Lich King. Death Knights control the undead with their new Hero Power. For 2 Mana Crystals, summon a 1/1 Ghoul with Charge that dies at the end of your turn! This ghoul has another advantage: death knights gain a corpse each time an allied minion dies. They can then use these corpses to strengthen their other cards!
Class Mechanic: Corpses
Whenever an allied minion dies, the death knight spawns a corpse . This resource specific to the death knight class allows you to use and strengthen some of your cards. Each dead friendly minion leaves a corpse behind. This concerns the minions you play, the minions summoned through other cards, the minions that return to the board thanks to the Reincarnation keyword as well as the Ghouls of your heroic power!
DK runes
The Death Knight class is powerful, versatile, and powered by three runes: Blood, Frost, and Unholy . The death knight's willful devotion to these runes determines which cards he can put in his deck.
When building your deck, you must select a combination of the three runes, which will determine which death knight cards can be added to your deck . You can opt for full devotion to a single rune (eg three blood runes) or a combination of several types (eg two unholy runes, one frost rune). This rune system allows for the use of incredibly powerful and varied death knight cards, while ensuring that a specific deck cannot be the best in all areas. On the contrary, each rune is specialized in certain types of cards and effects.
Generally speaking, the more you engage with a specific rune, the more you will be able to harness the different aspects of that rune. Some of the best death knight cards require total devotion to a single rune. However, using a secondary rune can be a great way to compensate for weaknesses in your primary rune. For example, the Blood Rune allows for a few powerful minions to be played, but doesn't offer many small minions. It's up to you whether you prefer to play the powerful cards that require three blood runes or add an unholy rune in order to spawn corpses.
Finally, there are also death knight cards that have no rune restrictions. These cards are generally versatile and can be used in any type of Death Knight deck.
New minion types: undead and two-type minions
The Lich King controls the Undead Scourge, and this unholy cohort is Hearthstone's new minion type: Undead! In March of the Lich King, undead minions will spawn as neutrals and in classes serving the Lich King. Many cards synergize with Undead, triggering the "if an ally Undead dies after your last turn" bonus effect, i.e. either on your opponent's last turn or sooner on your current turn.
In March of the Lich King, some minions will have two types! For undead minions, this can be a second type to represent what they were before becoming undead. These additions will be retroactive, so Undead and the second types of minions will be added to many old minions as well as those in this expansion.
Return of the keyword: Reincarnation
Some undead have Reincarnation, a returning keyword that will be part of the game from now on. those pesky undead minions, and to blow up your corpse counter!
New Keyword: Mana Thirst
The longer the Blood Elves resist the advancing Scourge, the more power they can draw from the Sunwell. Cards with Mana Thirst gain power when you reach a certain amount of Mana Crystals. You don't need to spend that mana to empower cards, you just need to have access to it.
Neutral spells
Blood Elves aren't the only ones who can draw power from the Sunwell. Log into Hearthstone and prepare for The March of the Lich King with your free Legendary Spell "The Sunwell"!* The Sunwell is Hearthstone's first collectible neutral spell. Although some struggle to control its power, the Sunwell's wild magic can give you anything your heart desires. Add it to your collection and find out what the Sunwell has in store for you!
New Signature Cards and Golden Signature Packs
Starting with Update 25.0, maps will be able to have a new ornamental, "signature" quality (e.g. gold or diamond), with stylized artwork that covers the entire map. In March of the Lich King, the signature cards will all feature an icy sepia style to reflect the Lich King's powers over Frost and Undead. The art style of each set's signature cards will match the style of their respective set, and the frame of future signature cards may also change from time to time. This means that the signature cards of future sets will be different from these, in order to evoke different tones and styles.
Signature cards cannot be crafted or disenchanted; they can only be obtained from card packs or by special means. A total of 18 signature cards will accompany the release of March of the Lich King, including 15 legendary cards. Two of the Legendary cards will be available with the Tavern Ticket, and the three non-Legendary cards can be obtained for free through an event when the expansion releases. After the release of March of the Lich King, the remaining 13 Signature Legendary Cards will be obtainable from Standard Packs, Class Packs, March of the Lich King Packs, and the new March of the King Golden Signature Packs -lich. Golden Signature Decks are similar to current Golden Decks, but have a chance of including Signature Cards rather than just Golden Cards, and have a much better chance of containing a Legendary Card!
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