Cataclysm is Hearthstone’s next expansion, mixing old and new mechanics for exciting new gameplay

The Year of the Scarab has just been announced for Hearthstone, and its first expansion will be Cataclysm, which starts things out with a real bang. Deathwing has arrived to destroy the world, enlisting the help of figures like Cho’gall, Ragnaros, and Azshara. In their arsenal, we’ve got the Colossal keyword making its return with a new Herald mechanic to add to it, as well as the brand new Shatter keyword.

There are also a bunch of rewards for Hearthstone fans to pick up leading up to the launch, including two whole expansions worth of cards which will be temporarily available for everyone! There are some neat community events to add a bunch of free Legendaries and Signature cards to everyone’s collections, and we also have the usual pre-purchase bundles and free login Legendary.

Before we proceed, make sure to watch the cinematic trailer for Cataclysm, which releases on March 17, cause this one is a blast.

Returning keyword: Colossal and the new Herald mechanic

Debuting in one of the most beloved Hearthstone expansions, Voyage to the Sunken City, the Colossal keyword is back and stronger than ever. Colossal minions are still aided by one or more appendages that take up extra space on your board, which have powerful effects that complement the main minion.

The difference between Sunken City Colossals and Cataclysm Colossals is the new Herald keyword, which reminds us of the old C’Thun decks of yore. When you Herald twice, your Colossal’s effects, whatever they may be, get twice as strong. You can then Herald two more times to double those powers yet again!

In addition to that, Herald also instantly summons a Soldier, which has the same ability as one of the appendages of the Colossal of your class — so it will have immediate impact on the board. Herald upgrades the effects of both the Soldiers and the appendages of the Colossus itself.

This mechanic is tied to the six classes that are aligned with Deathwing, who aim to break the world: those are Death Knight, Demon Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior.

Colassals without the Herald mechanic

While those six aforementioned classes are aligned with Deathwing, the remaining five are empowered by the Dragonflights in order to stop him: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, and Priest each receive a Legendary Dragon Aspect card, as well as a Colossal of their own — though these are “regular” Colossals that can’t be upgraded with Herald.

Examples of these cards include the Dragon Aspect Ebyssian for Hunter, which gives Rush to your Dragons for the rest of the game, and the Colossal Chromatus for Paladin, with four heads, each with a different power like Elusive, Divine Shield, or Lifesteal.

New keyword: Shatter breaks your cards in half

For the five classes aligned with the Dragon Aspects against Deathwing, we also have a new keyword: Shatter. When you draw a card with Shatter, it breaks into two pieces, and each moves to an opposite end of your hand!

You can play each piece individually and it will work normally, each shattered card with its own effect. However, if you manage to move the pieces together in your hand and make them touch — usually by playing every card that was sitting in-between them — they’ll actually merge into a single card that combines both effects for the same cost!

More mechanics targeting cards in your hand

And speaking of caring about the position where cards sit in your hand, this expansion also brings new effects that can target specific cards you’re holding. The new location Chamber of Aspects, for instance, allows you to buff a specific minion in your hand with +2/+2. According to the developers, this hand targeting mechanic has been improved from how it worked before, and we should see even more cards using this effect in this expansion and future ones.

Become Deathwing himself to unleash one (or more) Cataclysms into the world

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of this expansion is the big dragon himself: Deathwing, Worldbreaker is a 10-mana Hero Card that gives you 12 armor, a 2-cost hero power that gives you +5 Attack for a turn, and a special Battlecry effect that unleashes Cataclysms onto the game.

By default, you’ll only unleash one Cataclysm, but the Hero Card can be upgraded by playing Herald cards. If you play two Heralds, you upgrade this Battlecry to unleash one extra Cataclysm, and then up to four Cataclysms in total if you Herald two more times after that. The Cataclysms are, of course, powerful effects:

• Topple: Destroy the highest Health enemy minion.
• Raze: Deal 4 damage to all enemy minions.
• Enthrall: Shuffle five random Legendary Dragons into your deck. They cost (1).
• Dragon’s Reign: Summon a 12/12 Dragon.

Any of those can be useful individually, but unleashing all four at once sounds pretty great.

Players will temporarily get full access to two expansions worth of cards

You can login right now to get the new Warmaster Blackthorn Legendary, giving you a small taste of messing with cards in players’ hands. That’s the usual gift with every new expansion, right?

Besides that, players are also getting temporary access to every card from the Into the Emerald Dream and The Lost City of Un’Goro expansions, starting March 10! This special feature will last for the entirety of Cataclysm, so players will get a huge head start on building their decks — in fact, the in-game deck recipes have even been updated to reflect this, featuring cards from those two expansions. This is a great idea that I really hope they carry forward for future expansions.

But you might be wondering: “I already own most (or all) of those cards! What’s in it for me?”

Fear not, intrepid collector, for players who already own those cards will also be rewarded: if you complete the collection achievements for each of those expansions, you’ll get some exclusive Signature cards starting March 10!

• Earning the “Only Missing A Few (Emerald Dream)” achievement for collecting cards from Into the Emerald Dream expansion grants you a Signature Legendary Ysera, Emerald Aspect.
• Earning the “Only Missing A Few (Lost City)” achievement for collecting cards from The Lost City of Un’goro expansion grants you a Signature Legendary Endbringer Umbra.

Participate in the Rally the Dragonflights event for even more freebies

To celebrate this expansion, the Hearthstone team has launched the Cataclysm Rally Point page, where you can participate in the Rally the Dragonflights event, which takes place from February 9 until the expansion release on March 17. Players can perform several activities to progress the event:

• Sign up by email
• Claim Drops by watching PlayHearthstone live streams (on YouTube or Twitch)
• Interact with Hearthstone content across their official social media channels (such as Instagram).

Once the event is completed, players will unlock the Ebyssian Legendary card and two copies of the Envoy of the End Signature card. So make sure to sign up!

As usual, there are pre-purchase bundles you might be interested in

Certain things never change, and the pre-purchase Bundle and Mega Bundle are among those things. You may once again jumpstart your Cataclysm collection and partake in the fun of opening packs on release day.

The regular Bundle, for $50, will include:

• 60 Cataclysm packs
• two random Cataclysm Legendaries
• the Sinestra Card Back

The costlier Mega Bundle, for $80, will include:

• 80 Cataclysm packs
• ten golden Cataclysm Packs
• one curated random Signature Cataclysm Legendary Colossal card
• one random golden Cataclysm legendary
• four Tavern Tickets
• the Sinestra Hero Skin and Card Back

Stay tuned for more card reveals over the next days, culminating in the theorycrafting event! You can check out all the details on the official blog. Cataclysm releases March 17.