We played one level of League of Explorers, and it’s like nothing Hearthstone has seen before

Only one level of Hearthstone’s newest expansion, The League of Explorers, is playable on the BlizzCon show floor. And if that one level is any indication, this expansion will be like nothing we have seen in the game before.

Instead of playing against a boss character, like in previous adventures Naxxramas or Blackrock Mountain, the demo level pits your deck against the Collapsing Temple. Rather than trying to defeat an opponent, the goal is simple: survive 10 turns as you make your way through the temple.

Each turn, the Temple’s hero power adds a random minion to its side of the board, making for some completely unpredictable encounters against massive minions that can single handedly ruin your run.

The level is fun for sure, but once you get through it and unlock the cards—what exactly are you getting?

It’s not clear yet which cards are available in each wing. But some of the cards in the pre-built demo decks expand on existing card mechanics. The more powerful of the two appeared to be the Murloc Shaman, driven by the new buff card Everyfin is Awesome. The card costs seven mana, reducing by one for each murloc on the field, giving all your Murlocs two attack and two health. Combine that with a couple of charge murlocs and a Murloc Warleader or two, and you’re unleashing a huge amount of damage.

In the Rogue deck, the three mana Unearthed Raptor, a 3/4 minion, allows you to copy a deathrattle power from a friendly minion, which makes for some crazy scenarios in the gimmicky deathrattle deck provided. The deck also contained a neutral creature, Tomb Spider, which uses the new discover mechanic to give players a choice of three random beasts.

How these cards will truly work in a competitive environment, or even on ladder, is impossible to tell in the restricted demo. But from the limited time we had with the cards it might be time to hide under your desk from the scourge of Murloc Shaman.