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Hearthstone begins the Year of the Phoenix with Ashes of Outland

Jump into the Burning Crusade with Hearthstone's next expansion, as the Year of the Phoenix begins with Ashes of Outland.

Ozzie Mejia

March 17, 2020 10:05 AM

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The Demon Hunter isn't the only thing that's coming to Hearthstone. There's a whole new expansion coming, as well. To kick off the Year of the Phoenix, Blizzard is taking players into the Burning Crusade with Hearthstone's next expansion, Ashes of Outland.

As one might expect with the addition of Demon Hunters to the Hearthstone roster, it's time to follow World of Warcraft's classic Burning Crusade storyline, albeit with a Hearthstone twist. This version sees Illidan and the Demon Hunters take on the Rusted Legion. This will act as a bit of an introduction to the new Demon Hunter class, while other major additions will include new Prime minions for the other nine Hearthstone classes. These Legendary minions will have a vanilla version with a Deathrattle that sees a Prime version shuffled into the player's deck. The Prime version of the minion will unleash a much more powerful effect.

Players can also look for new Demon cards, but a few of these will have a twist. Imprisoned Demons are Demons who will start off in the dormant state. After two turns, these minions will come alive with a debilitating effect for the full field. It's a big risk, given that a lot can happen in two turns, but the payoff could be worthwhile.

It might be a while before Hearthstone: Ashes of the Outland arrives, but Blizzard has something for players right now. Kael'thas Sunstrider is an all-new Neutral Legendary card set to join the new set. However, players can use it right now by logging into Hearthstone. His effect makes every third spell free, which should be interesting if used in certain ways. We'll also have a guide on Kael'thas in just a bit, so stay tuned to Shacknews.

Hearthstone: Ashes of Outland is set to release on April 7 with pre-orders open from now through April 6. Those who pre-purchase will get a Serpentine Card Back and a random Golden Legendary, while those who go bigger with the Mega Bundle will also get Lady Vashj as a new Shaman Hero. Keep an eye on the Hearthstone website, which will have more information.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?