Hearthstone: United In Stormwind Expansion Is Like Starting Out In WoW

The latest expansion for Hearthstone will arrive on August 3, and it's focused on the Alliance. Dubbed Hearthstone: United in Stormwind, the titular city's expansion comes with 135 new cards, new questlines for every class, and powerful Mercenaries to join your side after completing them.

A Tradeable keyword is on some of the cards in the new expansion, letting you swap them out for one mana unit to simulate the commerce of the city--it's one of the Alliance's biggest cities in the Warcraft universe.

There are also new Profession Tools that simulate World of Warcraft's trades, letting you place things like gems in weapon slots to boost abilities, and even Mounts have made their way to the game, letting you first empower a minion before bringing the mount itself into play. The expansion as a whole is designed to replicate that early World of Warcraft experience, leveling up your character and acquiring gear.

"This iconic setting is the perfect place to continue the stories we've been telling during the Year of the Gryphon, and we think players are going to have a blast with all the new mechanics it's inspired," said Blizzard president J. Allen Brack.

There are a few different bundles available for preorder now. The United in Stormwind bundle is $50 and comes with 60 card packs, two random Legendary cards, and a Lady Katrana Prestor card back. That same content is also included in the United in Stormwind Mega Bundle alongside another 20 card packs, five Golden card packs, two random Golden Legendary cards in place of the standard Legendary cards, a Lady Katrana Prestor alternate hero, perks for Hearthstone Battlegrounds, and the Ve'nari Alternate Bartender for Hearthstone Battlegrounds. This bundle will cost $80.

In other Warcraft news, the new patch 9.1 just dropped in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, featuring a new raid and mega-dungeon along with a new playable zone.