Blizzard
Trailer Description
The city of Gilneas once lived in uneasy peace with the sprawling, ancient forest that looms beyond its walls. That was before a darkness began to fester in the heart of the forest. . . .
Before the curse of The Witchwood!
A sunless gloom now cloaks winding trails as gnarled branches claw hungrily at passersby. Terrified travelers speak of misshapen shadows flickering in an unearthly mist. In the witching hours, eerie figures are seen stalking the narrow alleys and foggy, cobble-stoned streets of the city itself!
Join Gilneas’ bravest heroes they hunt for the source of the dreadful curse in Hearthstone’s latest expansion! Whatever lurks in the heart of The Witchwood will soon discover that it has bitten off more than it can chew—the people of Gilneas bite back.
Much awaits the valiant hunters who will brave the The Witchwood:
• Legendary minions that empower your Hero Power—if you dare to build a deck containing only even- or odd-cost cards.
• Two new keywords: Echo and Rush
• Monster Hunt: FREE repeatable single-player experience where everything you need is provided!
• In total, 135 new cards to add to your collection!
Pre-purchase The Witchwood to receive a special 50 card pack bundle, as well as the In a Dark Wood card back and 20 more The Witchwood card packs as a bonus!
Claim a random Class Legendary and three card packs for free just for logging in after The Witchwood arrives!
Prepare for the hunt—The Witchwood releases mid-April 2018!
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Hush, brave heroes, and take heed; you tread on dangerous ground. See how the light dims all around, and moving shadows creep? The Witchwood calls, but I implore: do not its treasures seek! Stay where it’s safe, pull up a chair, let’s play another round! I see, your minds are quite made up; please hear me importune: Keep your decks close, and your wits sharp…
lest the Witchwood be your doom!
Cards
Those who have ventured into the Witchwood (and made it back in one piece) whisper of creatures twisted by terrible curses, of dark magics practiced under a gibbous moon, and unearthly howls that chill the blood of even the most stalwart heroes. Here, have a taste of what’s in store for you in this most accursed place.
Keywords
Echo: Echo cards can be played multiple times on the turn you play them. Each time, it’ll add a ghostly copy of the card back to your hand that disappears at the end of your turn.
Rush: Minions with the Rush keyword can attack other minions immediately after they hit the board, either by being played or summoned. They cannot attack heroes until the turn after they enter play, however.
Monster Hunt
Deep within the woods, an evil presence stirs. A curse has fallen on the Witchwood. You must venture into the forest and root out this foul darkness once and for all. But, beware; strange howls pierce the moonlit night, and fearsome creatures prowl the gloom among the ancient trees and gnarled firs. Hold fast, and let courage see you through this night!
Explore the Witchwood: When you start a new Monster Hunt, you venture into the Witchwood as one of four unique new heroes exclusive to this game mode. Your goal is to fight through a series of eight ever more challenging encounters culminating in an epic showdown with a challenging boss fight.
Unique Heroes: Each of the four new heroes has access to a special hero power and cards that create completely new playstyles and strategies. Their powers are great, but you will need all the help you can get against the Witchwood’s fiendish foes.
Gear Up: After you beat an encounter, you choose loot to improve your Monster Hunt deck. Your choice is between three sets of three cards picked randomly from a number of different thematic buckets available to your current hero. Additionally, at certain intervals you get to add special cards to your deck that improve your unique hero power or otherwise synergize with your hero in a powerful way.
The Witchwood Calls
Four heroes to the Witchwood went
To hunt a monstrous foe
So brave and true was their intent
And still they were brought low.
One brought his guns, one brought his hounds
One brought a bag of tricks
One twisted time, round after round,
And still their plan was nixed.
Four heroes to the Witchwood went
But darkness soon did fall
The hunters now the hunted were
And the Witchwood claimed them all.
Press Release
Something spooky is stirring in the heart of The Witchwood™, the next expansion for Hearthstone®, Blizzard Entertainment’s smash-hit digital card game. Next month, those cunning and courageous enough to hunt down monsters and outwit witches can claim their bounty in the form of 135 hair-raising new cards, complete with some uncanny new gameplay mechanics.
Dark magic has twisted the creatures of the forest and set them loose upon the Gilnean capital in Azeroth, but King Genn Greymane and his lycanthropic subjects won’t make for easy prey. The citizens of this proud kingdom, who can shapeshift into ferocious wolf-beasts known as worgen, are bringing the fight to The Witchwood with tooth and claw—and soon, Hearthstone players will join the pack and help them face down the horrors within.
To help them survive the night, players can draw on an arsenal of new tricks, including the eerie new Echo keyword. Cards with Echo can be played over and over again, allowing players to call upon a minion or cast a spell multiple times in a turn as long as they have enough mana. In addition, crafty deck-builders can employ powerful minions that challenge them to use only odd- or even-cost cards in exchange for a potent advantage.
Once the expansion is released, players will have two weeks to arm themselves before embarking on Monster Hunts—the thrilling new single-player Hearthstone experience that will send players deep into The Witchwood to stamp out the evils that lurk within. The leaders of Gilneas are finalizing preparations for these expeditions, and will share more details in the weeks to come.
Coming in April to Windows® and Mac® PCs; Windows, iOS, and Android™ tablets; and mobile phones, The Witchwood card packs will be winnable in Hearthstone’s Arena mode, and players can purchase them with in-game gold or real money at the same prices as Hearthstone’s other card packs. Starting today and up until the expansion is released, allies of Gilneas can pre-purchase The Witchwood card packs in a special 50-pack bundle that also includes 20 bonus packs, as well as the “In a Dark Wood” card back for free. This one-time-only bundle is available on any platform for $49.99 (one purchase per account).
Prepare for the hunt at TheWitchwood.com.
Gilneas, once a human kingdom, was isolated from the rest of the world ever since the Second War. It is now home of Genn Graymane's worgen who have re-joined the Alliance once again since the Forsaken invasion and the Cataclysm wrecked their kingdom.
Gilneas is a worgen-only leveling zone that relies heavily upon phasing. The starting zone covers how the player transforms into a Worgen, later aiding Graymane in trying to protect his kingdom from Sylvanas.
