Hot off the heels of One Night in Karazhan, Blizzard unveiled a new expansion for Hearthstone at a BlizzCon panel today. Entitled Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, the expansion will hit the game in early December.
At the center of the story are three criminal factions – the Grimy Goons, the Jade Lotus, and the Kabal. Each of these factions introduce their own unique buffs and abilities to the game. The Goons fire out a Pirahna minion whenever your hero attacks, the Jade Lotus buffs its minions with stealth, and the Kabal brew healing potions for its minions. In addition to this, Blizzard will be unveiling additional cards throughout the convention.
The use of Gadgetzan as a setting is interesting. Astute World of Warcraft players might recall it being a desert outpost in that game. In Mean Streets, it is now a bustling and thriving oasis in the middle of the desert, and has become a major center of trade. The basic conceit seems to be that the three gangs pull strings from the shadow, and are vying for control of the city.
In addition, this expansion will introduce Tri-Class cards. That essentially means that certain cards can now be used in three different types of decks. Historically, this hasn’t been the case. A Mage card couldn’t go into a Warlock deck, for example. This will present a unique conundrum to Blizzard, then, considering that they already seem to struggle keeping the game properly balanced as is. It remains to be seen how this will play out in the long-term, or if it will end up being another component that the developer does away with entirely at some point.
For now, though, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan looks to be a significant expasion to Hearthstone, and one that’s coming out alarmingly soon. You can get your hands on it in early December,
