Hearthstone's Monster Hunt Mode Now Available

The single-player component of the latest Hearthstone expansion is now available. The Witchwood cards released two weeks ago, but Blizzard staggered the release this time to offer the single-player Monster Hunt mode a little later. It's open now, so you can go hunt some monsters and earn yourself some card packs and an exclusive card back.

Unlike the Dungeon Run mode from Kobolds & Catacombs, Monster Hunt doesn't have you trekking through the series of boss fights as one of the nine main Hearthstone classes. Instead, it introduces four new monster hunters, each with their own special abilities that are custom-crafted for the mode.

The unique classes are Tess Greymane, the Tracker, who can use a Discover ability on any spell cast during the game; Darius Crowley the Cannoneer who can fire a series of cannons in succession; Houndmaster Shaw who summons an endless army of bloodhounds with the new Rush ability; and Toki the Time-Tinker who can start a turn over if things go awry.

Each monster hunter has their own Nemesis boss, special characters who also have their own special abilities. Tess faces off against Captain Shivers, who can can always draw a weapon from his deck. Darius goes up against Lord Godfrey, whose pistols hit two damage to a minion and those next to it. Houndmaster's nemesis is Glinda Crowskin, who is always Immune as long as she has a minion on the board. Finally, Toki's nemesis is Infinite Toki, another version of herself, who can give a single minion Mega-Windfury for a turn before it dies of exhaustion.

If you can defeat all four nemeses, you'll open up the battle against Hagatha the Witch herself. She starts with 100 Health, has her own exclusive cards, and a passive power that refreshes her with Shaman spells for each minion played. You'll start that battle as Houndmaster Shaw with your choice of a separate passive power, and the other three heroes will be available to play as Hero cards. Each of them enter the battlefield with their own bonuses and powers to take down Hagatha.

This being Hearthstone, the task comes with some rewards. Each of the monster hunters will come with a quest to defeat ten monsters and receive a Witchwood card pack. Completing all four and then defeating Hagatha will get you the Monster Hunt card back.