What could the next Hearthstone expansion be — Chromie weighs in from the future

Hearthstone follows a consistent release schedule. We get the first expansion of the new Hearthstone year in April, and the second in August. One Night in Karazhan, the second expansion in Year of the Kraken, launched August 11, 2016. The year of the Mammoth’s second expansion, Knight’s of the Frozen Throne, released August 10, 2017. The Boomsday Project in the Year of the Raven landed August 7, 2018.

In other words, we should hear about the second expansion in the Year of the Dragon soon. But what will it be? Turns out Chromie owed me a favor — seeing as I saved her life and all — and showed me three possible futures which I will share with you.

Where be the dragons?

Year of the Kraken kicked off with Whispers of the Old Gods, and Year of the Mammoth started with Journey to Un’Goro. Both exemplified the year’s theme. We haven’t seen that thus far. It’s called the Year of the Dragon, but right now, its more like the Year of the Mech, or the Reign of Valeera. Where are the dragons? Chromie showed me they won’t show up until the third expansion which will be themed around the Bronze Dragonflight and the Caverns of Time.

For the next expansion, we’re heading to…

Pandaria

All we have to go on for clues is a single image from the announcement of  the Year of the Dragon. The color of the orb is reminiscent of many Monk class abilities. The rune at the bottom looks a bit demonic but could also represent the ever-present Sha. The stars could be indicative of Elegon from Mogu’shun Vaults.

Pandaria is an often requested expansion location filled with many interesting lore characters. All the various Sha would become Legendary cards like the Old Gods in Whispers of the Old Gods. Taran Zhu, Chen Stormstout, and the Thunder King would also make good Legendary cards. The single player adventure could delve back into Mogu’shun Vaults or even better, the Throne of Thunder. I’d stay away from the later part of Mists of Pandaria and the Siege of Orgrimmar. It doesn’t fit the theme and players don’t have the fondest memories of that time.

While it would seem a natural time to therefore introduce the Monk as Hearthstone’s tenth class, I have my doubts. The beginning of rotation would be the better time to introduce new class. Second, Hearthstone has never added a class. Death Knights became Hero cards in Knights of the Frozen Throne rather than a new class.

Given how powerful the Death Knight cards were, I’d be surprised if they went this route with Monks. Rather Monks could be persistent board buffs. Bookmaster Bae Chao — interestingly enough from Pandaria — provides a good example in Shhh (after a minion is summoned, silence it). Dalaran Fountain Golem’s power — after a minion attacks your hero, freeze it — would be another good Monk buff.

That was just one possible future — Chromie had more time lines to show me. This time, we travel to…

Ulduar

The stars and the runes from the image are the best clues here. After the release of One Night in Karazhan, Ulduar became a frequent request for a future expansion. It is one of the most beautiful and exciting raids in World of Warcraft, filled with interesting enemies and allies. I still wake up in the cold sweat some nights hearing my raid leader shout “another one spawned” from the final phase of the Yogg Saron fight.

All the Keepers become Legendary cards and a second Yogg Saron card isn’t out of the question. Mimiron would support all the mechs running loose in the meta. Freya seems a shoe-in for either Druid or Priest. Alagon would have a board clear battlecry similar to Deathwing. The single player adventure could have us liberating Ulduar from a resurgent Old god threat.

One Night In Karazhan may provide a clue here as well. While the Dalaran Heist is more on the whimsical side, its been a minute since the developers have gone as “creative” as Karazhan. They could pull something completely out of left field for the setting.

Then Chromie had one last time line to show me. This time we go to…

Nazjatar

With World of Warcraft‘s patch 8.2 dropping tomorrow, how fitting to also make Nazjatar the setting for the next Hearthstone expansion. The color of the orb could be seen as a watery globe. If you squint you can almost see the cross in the center could be hinting at a trident, and there appears to be rust around the frame. The rune below the orb signifies something quite old.

Queen Azshara and her minions make ideal foils. More Naga cards would be included. The Eternal Palace makes sense for the single player adventure. All the new raid bosses are candidates for Legendary cards. They could even pull in some characters from Mechagon. Shaman would get even more Murlocs to terrorize the ladder with.

Those are the alternate futures I saw. We’ll know soon if we’re in one of those time lines — or a completely different one. But what about you?  Where do you do think we’re going next? Where do you want the expansion set, even if you don’t think your vision of the future will be the next expansion?