Get ready for some very welcome cold everyone because Hearthstone‘s (Free) latest expansion, Knights of the Frozen Throne, has gone live. A small caveat here, though: expect the servers to be smashed for the first hour at least. If you haven’t heard much about the expansion yet (which I’d find surprising given all the reveals), Frozen Throne brings the evil influence of the Lich King to the game, transforming the cards and even the heroes into abominations. We are getting for the first time alternate heroes (not skins) in the form of Death Knight cards. Cards like Deathstalker Rexxar, Malfurion the Pestilent, and Scourgelord Garrosh will add a fun twist to deck building and perfectly work with the theme of the expansion.
The expansion also adds a total of 135 new cards that add new mechanics into the game, including Lifesteal and some other smart new ideas. Overall, it feels like Blizzard is taking more risks, so it’s exciting to see how the expansion will change the game. And the expansion is adding Free Solo Missions as part of an expansion for the first time (although they’re not working for everyone at the moment), which is free single-player content that will let you get your hands on some new cards (more details in a follow-up story).
It’s also worth remembering that Blizzard has changed its card pack rules, so expect to see fewer duplicates and no duplicate Legendaries anymore. And you are guaranteed to get a Frozen Throne Legendary within the first 10 packs of the new sets. The expansion is live in the Americas (and coming soon in the rest of the world), so go enjoy the chill.