Hearthstone is preparing to launch its 12th year with a new Core Set and new expansion, this time based on one of World of Warcraft’s most iconic events. The expansion is called Cataclysm, named after the WoW expansion of the same name, but as usual Hearthstone is delivering a twist on what we’ve come to expect from the Warcraft lore. This time, the apocalyptic dragon aspect Deathwing wins. It will release on March 17.
In this story, Murozond pulled the victorious Deathwing into the Hearthstone universe, leaving its heroes to defeat the dragon. That effort will be led by Chromie and her Dragonflights, the dragon associated with protecting the timeline, who will pull heroes from across history to defeat this new version of Deathwing.
Appropriately, this expansion will bring Colossal minions back to Hearthstone. First introduced in 2022’s Voyage to the Sunken City, these minions spread out their effects across multiple bodies with huge effects. Each class will get its own Colossal minion, and six of them are designated as Deathwing’s lieutenants. Meanwhile, two new keywords will be introduced: Herald used by those allied with Deathwing with effects that stack the more Herald cards you play; and Shatter for the Dragonflights, which split into two halves to give you flexibility or the ability to combine them. There will also be powerful class-based Triumph and Last Stand spells associated with each class’s hero.
Players can start completing milestones to earn community rewards now, like a signature Cataclysm legendary card. Then on March 10, players will get access to trial cards for all of the Emerald Dream and Lost City of Un’Goro cards, for use during the Cataclysm expansion period. If you already have most of those cards, you’ll get a signature Ysera, Emerald Aspect from Emerald Dream and a signature Endbringer Umbra from Un’Goro, respectively.
Since this is the first expansion of the new year, it will also accompany a new Core Set rotation for Standard play. The new year has been dubbed the Year of the Scarab. Some staple cards like Brawl and Shadowstep are rotating out of the Core Set, while new ones will be added. As always, the Core Set is free for all players. Blizzard notes that between the free Core Set cards and the free trial cards, players will have access to 2/3 of the standard card pool for free. Blizzard says it is aiming this year to have stronger class identities and a more fluid meta.
The new year will also bring visual updates, music, and a new game board. And in a big change for long-time fans, players who hit Legend status in 2026 will get a new Legend cosmetic card back. The classic Legend card back has remained unchanged since the game’s launch, so this will encourage top-tier players to aim for collecting the new yearly card back as well. If it’s your first time hitting Legend, you’ll get both the 2026 version and the classic version.
