Blizzard is planning to revamp the in-person tournament model for its Fireside Gatherings Hearthstoneevents.
Anyone familiar with the trading-card-game scene has probably heard of Friday Night Magic. This is a weekly in-person tournament series held by card shops across the world where Magic players can compete to earn prizes. Fireside Gatherings are kind of Hearthstone’s version of this. Blizzard will be implementing a variety of improvements to Fireside Gatherings this year, some of which will be related to the overarching story introduced in the new Rise of Shadows expansion.
Blizzard sent out care packages full of plushies and other Hearthstone related goodies for previous Fireside Gatherings. This year, care packages available at Fireside Gatherings will include items themed around the latest expansion. You can expect the packages to be related to the story associated with the Year of the Raven. The new care packages will be of limited quantity, but you can find them at Fireside Gatherings worldwide.
The Tavern vs. Tavern tournament, meanwhile, will be bigger this year and will allow participation from around the world. More details about Tavern Vs Tavern will be revealed later this year, including the ruleset for 2019.
Blizzard will also be partnering with Microsoft as a way to bring Fireside Gatherings to as many people as possible. The Microsoft store’s Fireside Gatherings program kicked off earlier this year during the Rise of Shadows Pre-Release. The program will continue at participating stores and they will run Fireside Gatherings the first Wednesday of each month.
You can see if your local Microsoft Store is hosting a Fireside Gathering by checking the event schedule here.
