It's been months since Hearthstone launched its United in Stormwind expansion. A lot has happened in that time, much of it overshadowing anything happening on the game development front. However, Blizzard's Team 5 has quietly stayed working on the mid-season Deadmines Mini-Set and it looks like it'll be here tomorrow with the 21.6 patch, along with a whole lot of other stuff.
Cards for the Deadmines Mini-Set were gradually revealed over the weekend. On Monday, the set's four Legendary cards were revealed and they look to be doozies. Let's take a look:
(6) Mr. Smite (6/5) (Neutral)(Pirate) - Your Pirates have Charge.
(8) Goliath, Sneed's Masterpiece (8/8) (Neutral)(Mech) - Battlecry: Fire five rockets at enemy minions that deal 2 damage each. (You pick the targets!)
(4) Edwin, Defias Kingpin (4/4) (Rogue)(Pirate) - Battlecry: Draw a card. If you play it this turn, gain +2/+2 and repeat this effect.
(3) Cookie the Cook (2/3) (Shaman)(Murloc) - Lifesteal. Deathrattle: Equip a 2/3 Stirring Rod with Lifesteal.
Meanwhile, Hearthstone Mercenaries is getting one of its first content drops. New Pirate Mercenaries will be joining the game, as well as new Bounties and Bounty Bosses. Here's who players can look forward to seeing:
Edwin, Defias Kingpin (Legendary Fighter)
Pirate
13/80 maxed stats
Abilities:
Assassin’s Blade (5): Speed 5. Attack an enemy. If it hasn’t acted yet this turn, gain +5 Health and Attack it again.
Assisted Strike (5): Speed 5, Cooldown 1. Gain +5 Attack for each friendly Pirate and Attack a random enemy. Combo: Gain Immune while Attacking this turn.
Kingpin’s Bounty (5): Speed 4, Cooldown 2. Deal 10 damage to an enemy. Repeat for each other Pirate you control. Deathblow: Restore 25 Health.
Equipment:
Black Flag (4): Passive: Adjacent Pirates’ Abilities are (4) Speed faster.
Round of Drinks (4): Assisted Strike is (3) Speed faster and always has Immune while Attacking.
Even Shares (4): Kingpin’s Bounty restores 10 more Health and affects all friendly characters.
Sneed (Epic Protector)
Pirate
7/77 maxed stats
Abilities:
Bzzz!!! (5): Speed 6. Deal damage equal to your Attack. If Activate Saw is active, also damage target’s neighbor.
Activate Saw (5): Speed 3, Cooldown 1: Gain +6 Attack for 2 turns. Attack a random enemy.
Disarm (5): Speed 3, Cooldown 1: Attack an enemy. Give it –5 Attack permanently.
Equipment:
Skull Dust (4): Bzzz!!! Gains Bleed (5).
Titanium Blades (4): Activate Saw gives +4 Attack and lasts 1 more turn.
Extra Blades (4): Sneed starts with Activate Saw 5 active for 1 turn.
Eudora (Epic Fighter)
Pirate
10/78 maxed stats
Abilities:
Coup d’Etat (5): Speed 4. Attack an enemy. If it’s the left or right-most enemy, fire Eudora’s Cannons at it.
Prepare the Cannons (5): Speed 7, Cooldown 1. Summon a Cannon to the left or right of this Merc. (Starts off Cooldown.)
Covering Fire (5): Speed 7, Cooldown 1. Restore 12 Health to a friendly Merc and return them to your bench. Fire all your Cannons.
Equipment:
Shrapnel Shot (4): Cannons deal 5 more damage.
Primed Armaments (4): Battlecry: Summon a Cannon.
Briny Bracers (4): Passive: +2/+10.
Mr. Smite (Rare Protector)
Pirate
7/75 maxed stats
Abilities:
Smite Slam (5): Speed 8. Gain +5 Attack for each enemy with 40 or less Health. Attack an enemy.
Avast ye Matey (5): Speed 2. Gain Taunt this turn. After an enemy Attacks this Merc gain +5 Attack.
Overboard (5): Speed 3, Cooldown 1. After another friendly character is damaged this turn, gain +10 Health and Attack a random enemy.
Equipment:
Sailor’s Cap (4): Mr. Smite gains an additional +4 Attack from Smite Slam.
Heavy Anchor (4): Overboard grants +6 Attack if the damaged friend is a Pirate.
Sharpened Scabbard (4): Whenever another friendly Pirate Attacks, gain +4 Attack.
Cookie, the Cook (Rare Caster)
Murloc
6/70 maxed stats
Abilities:
Fish Feast (5) (Nature): Speed 2. Deal 10 damage to an enemy. Deathblow: Give +15 Health to all friendly characters.
Cookie’s Cooking (5) (Nature): Speed 5, Cooldown 1. Bleed (5) to all enemies. Restore 5 Health to friendly Murlocs and Pirates.
Go Fish! (5) (Nature): Speed 4, Cooldown 1. Summon a random fish for your opponent, with a Deathrattle that benefits you.
Equipment:
Seasoned Pan (4): Fish Feast gives +5 Attack as well.
Iron Ladel (4): Cookie’s Cooking restores an additional 5 Health.
Appetizers (4): Start of Game: Give friendly characters +9 Health.
Lastly, over in Battlegrounds and Duels, those game modes are getting a special treat. The terrifying Diablo is moving beyond Mercenaries for a limited time. Diablo will be a playable hero in Battlegrounds, where every four turns, all enemies will fight the Lord of Terror and your warband for loot. In Duels, Diablo will be the mode's first dual-class character, combining Warlock and Warrior. His Hero Powers in Duels will be unlike any others and can be unlocked over time.
Battlegrounds will also add two other new heroes, who will be sticking around a little longer. Sneed will have a 1-Cost Hero Power called Sneed's Replicator, which gives one friendly minion a Deathrattle that summons a random minion of the same Tavern Tier. Cookie the Cook's Hero Power is free. It throws a minion into Cookie's pot. Once he's gathered three, players can Discover from their minion types.
There's a lot to dig into, so check out the full 21.6 patch notes from the Hearthstone website. The Deadmines Mini-Set and all that comes with it will be available this Tuesday.