We’ve known that Hearthstone is owed a new expansion, and we’ve pretty much known that it’s going to be based on the prehistoric homage that is Un’goro. Blizzard finally let us in on the opening act of the Year of the Mammoth in Journey to Un’goro.
Breaking down the big mechanical shake-ups, we’ve got Adapt. Reminiscent of the Discover mechanic from League of Explorers, this allows you to give your minion one trait from three random ones. Your 5/4 for four mana all of a sudden could get a divine shield, windfury, taunt, +3 attack, you name it.
In more exciting Hearthstone news, we have our legendary spell equivalent in Quests. Showcasing the Priest quest, objectives have to be fulfilled while you’re playing, and if they are, you get an incredibly good reward. In Priest’s case, your health is restored to 40, and you get an 8/8 with taunt for five mana.
Dinosaurs and Elementals seem to be the focus of this expansion. Elementals were previously your run of the mill minions, but it’s being made a minion archetype, like Beast or Mech. Elementals will also be retconned. Minions like Magma Rager or Ragnaros will be made into Elementals.
With 135 slated for Journey to Un’goro, early April can’t get here soon enough, and the hastened drip-feed of cards starting in mid-March will make us crave these new cards even more.