Blizzard revealed that Hearthstone’s Rise of Shadows expansion will go live on April 9—and a host of cards were also unveiled.
Here’s our first look at the new cards kicking off Hearthstone’s Year of the Dragon.
Arch-Villain Rafaam
Rafaam appears to be the ringleader of the newly-assembled league of villains that’s planning an attack on Dalaran. Rafaam played a huge part in the League of Explorers expansion, and it looks like he’s back to cement himself as the supreme archaeologist.
Chef Nomi
Chef Nomi is Dalaran’s premiere cook. Rafaan and his dastardly crew of cruel villains are foolish if they think this Pandaren is letting his kitchen go without a fight. Nomi is one of a few Legendary minions revealed, and his Battlecry seems game breaking.
Ethereal Lackey
Lackey cards can only be generated by other Rise of Shadows cards and can’t be placed into your deck. It will be interesting to see how these cards shake things up.
EVIL Miscreant
The EVIL Miscreant looks like he’ll play a big part in powering up the game’s new Lackey card type. Although we don’t yet know how many different Lackey cards there are, a number of them were announced alongside the expansion.
Faceless Lackey
The Faceless Lackey also has a very powerful Battlecry like its Ethereal counterpart. Lackey cards can only be generated by other Rise of Shadows cards and can’t be placed into your deck.
Forbidden Words
This spell is a throwback to the Old Gods expansion and features the Fortune Teller from recent expansion trailers. This is sure to be a powerful late game removal card, but we’ll have to see the rest of the expansion before we know exactly what kind of deck it might mesh with.
Goblin Lackey
Another new card for the Lackey archetype, Goblin Lackey has a Battlecry that looks like it would work perfectly with most aggro decks. Lackey cards can only be generated by other Rise of Shadows cards, though, and can’t be placed into your deck.
Hagatha’s Scheme
If you thought you’d seen the last of Hagatha, guess again. This card upgrades each turn and looks like it’ll be quite the powerful board clear going forward.
Kalecgos
Mages will be happy to see Kalecgos, Dalaran’s ultimate defender. This card has some crazy spell text and we can count on seeing him in whatever new version of Big Spell and Control Mage surfaces going forward.
Kobold Lackey
The Kobold Lackey will be joining his friends and bringing a pretty vicious Battlecry with him. Lackey cards can only be generated by other Rise of Shadows cards and can’t be placed into your deck.
Spellward Jeweler
The Spellward Jeweler looks to store your hero into a protective case with her unique Battlecry. Fan-favorite three drops like Tar Creeper will be rotating out upon the release of the new expansion, so it’s nice to see that some decent three drops will be coming to the game.
Witchy Lackey
The Witchy Lackey has a Battlecry that seems like it’ll be at home in any Zoo deck. Lackey cards can only be generated by other Rise of Shadows cards and can’t be placed into your deck.
The Forest’s Aid
The Forest’s Aid is our first look at the game’s new Twinspell mechanic. When you cast a card that has Twinspell, a copy of it will be added to your hand that you can cast immediately or save for a future turn. This new mechanic is sure to bring excitement to the meta and we can’t wait to see what other new Twinspell cards Blizzard has in store.
