Hearthpwn

You're Invited to the Hearthstone Inn-vitational

Blizzard has announced details on the Blizzard Hearthstone Tournament, the Hearthstone Inn-vitational. See the 12 players, how it's going to work, and more below.

Did Blizzard Just Give us Clues for the Next Expansion?

Alright, hear us out for a second. We've got some really interesting stuff going on in this post.

Let's start off with the banner from the post. We've very clearly got a treasure map, an unknown landform that may or may not be present on Azeroth (we've checked!), and some cool skull in the water. All typical pirate stuff. This can only mean one thing. Sailing the seas! This turns out to actually be the art for Map to the Golden Monkey.

Things get more interesting though if you look closely at the four team names.

• Grimestreet Grifters - Refers to Gadgetzan Expansion
• Jungle Giants - Refers to Un'Goro Expansion
• Chillblade Crusaders - Refers to Frozen Throne Expansion
• Big-Time Buccaneers - ????

Yarr. Harr. Thar be Patches in thy future. Continuing onward, the post highlights lots of treasure which could mean we're going to get card reveals throughout the tournament, something that would truly test the deck-building skills of the players present, another mention.

If we go further back though to the recent patch which hit the servers, we did see a nice Pirate ship and some other pirate characters coming to us in the form of card avatars. It certainly wouldn't be the first time Blizzard has added in clues during a patch to hint toward the next expansion.

Keep in mind, this is all speculation but we don't think we're too crazy. It's also been rumored the next WoW expansion is going to be present in the South Seas, which would make for a very interesting cross between Hearthstone and WoW. We'll find out at BlizzCon on November 3rd for sure though, so stay tuned!

Announcement

Quote from Blizzard

Pull up a chair by the hearth, because you’re about to witness quite the event: Welcome to the Hearthstone Inn-vitational!

The Hearthstone Inn-vitational at BlizzCon 2017 will see 12 of the most intrepid adventurers set forth in search of treasures untold. The journey will be arduous, and they’ll need your fullest (moral) support.

Party Up!

Here are the brave souls who will compete in the Inn-vitational!

Jungle Giants	Big-Time Buccaneers	Grimestreet Grifters	Chillblade Crusaders
Kripparian	Disguised Toast	Reynad	Dog
Firebat	Ant	Thijs	RDU
J4CKIECHAN	Alliestrasza	Pathra	NaviOOT

 

The Inn-vitational Adventure

You don’t go to the tavern to sit by yourself, do you? In true Hearthstone spirit, each team’s players will gather around the hearth (or the desk, in this case!) and make decisions together while they play. The Inn-vitational’s matches will be played in round robin format, with three games per match. Each player on a team will play one game per match.

Challenge #1 - Wild

Our adventurers take on the challenge of the Wild! Teams will square off with preconstructed decks built exclusively for the Wild format. Will they fall prey to the likes of Reno Jackson and Azure Drake?

 

• Jungle Giants vs. Big-Time Buccaneers
• Grimestreet Grifters vs. Chillblade Crusaders

Challenge #2 - Standard

Ah, the tried-and-tested Standard competition. Don’t let this quintessential challenge catch you off-guard, though. There’s a lot to be feared out there in those dark dungeons.

• Jungle Giants vs. Grimestreet Grifters
• Big-Time Buccaneers vs. Chillblade Crusaders

 

Challenge #3 - Excavated Treasures

Our adventurers have stumbled across something shiny in the darkness—a stash of valuable cards! A tinny, hissing voice in the darkness warns that they shouldn’t take the precious cards, but what good adventurer leaves treasure behind? For this challenge, the intrepid explorers will be doing battle with the cards they’ve just found. Watch some of the best deck-builders in Hearthstone try to outwit each other!

• Jungle Giants vs. Chillblade Crusaders
• Big-Time Buccaneers vs. Grimestreet Grifters

Whenever a team wins one of these challenges, they’ll be awarded a mysterious treasure. What type of treasure, you ask? We won’t spoil the surprise, but rest assured they’ll need them for the hazards lurking in the dark. The most valiant party of the Inn-vitational will also earn an extra treasure.

No one ever finishes a daring adventure in just a day, so if you want to find out what happens to our intrepid heroes, remember to catch their exploits at BlizzCon 2017 at the Hearthstone Inn-vitational!

The Inn-vitational starts at 1pm PDT on Friday, Nov. 3, and 9.30am PDT on Saturday, Nov. 4.

P.S. If the adventuring life is not one you can stomach, you might be more interested in a Tavern vs. Tavern showdown.