Kobolds Expansion Releasing December 7
Say what? Thanks to a small line noted on a recent Hearthstone Blog post, we're ready to make a bold release prediction. Kobolds and Catacombs will release on December 7.
Quote from BlizzardFrom December 10 to 11 (December 9 to 10 PST)
All new expansion cards will be allowed
What is This? I Don't Even.
Allow me to explain.
When tournaments have allowed new cards in the past, it's always meant the expansion has already been out prior to the event's beginning. It should also be noted that in the history of Hearthstone, all December expansions so far have released in early December.
- Goblins vs Gnomes released December 8, 2014
- Mean Streets of Gadgetzan released December 1, 2016
With card reveals starting up again on November 20, we're certainly in for a quick reveal phase. Looking back on history for this year only, Un'Goro and Frozen Throne had 14 day card reveal periods.
- Un'Goro began on March 17 with a reveal stream and ended on March 31 with the final reveal stream.
- Frozen Throne began on July 24 with Ticking Abomination and ended on August 7 with the final reveal stream.
If history is going to repeat itself, and it will, we're in for another two week long event. With set releases historically taking place on a Thursday, you can mark the following dates on your calendar.
- Monday, December 4 - Kobolds and Catacombs Final Card Reveal
- Thursday, December 7 - Kobolds and Catacombs Release
Here's to another great card reveal season! Stay tuned for all of our coverage beginning in just 12 days on November 20. Dates on this post are assuming the Americas region. They'll likely differ in other parts of the world, so don't shoot the messenger!
The Hearthstone Inn-vitational Travels to Australia
G'day!
Quote from BlizzardIt’s time slip on some sunscreen and slap on some cork hats, because this December, Australia will say g’day to the country’s first Hearthstone Inn-vitational, set to play out in the heart of beautiful Sydney!
Four of the world’s most accomplished Hearthstone players will be heading down under to test their skills against some of Australia’s best.
If you live in the region or simply are looking to witness this tournament, c’mon in!
The Competition
The Inn-vitational pits globally-recognised Australian and New Zealand players against top tier international opponents to battle for treasure and glory!
Representing the Aussies and the Kiwis are players who have competed at some of the highest global levels of Hearthstone.
The Thunder From Down Under
The following challengers need no introduction. Put your hands together for some of the finest Hearthstone players from around the world!
The World-Wide Winners
Tournament Format
- Single elimination bracket with each ANZ player paired with a visiting player
- Each match will be best-of-five Conquest with one ban
- All new expansion cards will be allowed
When
From December 10 to 11 (December 9 to 10 PST), the eight players will compete for a prize pool of $10,000 AUD and the bragging rights of being Sydney’s first Inn-vitational winner. All the action will be broadcast live on twitch.tv/PlayHearthstone at 12:00 p.m. AEDT (5:00 p.m. PST) on both days.
Join Us!
It’s not all about the competition. We’ll also be throwing an epic gathering for you budding adventurers! Leading the charge in the historic Intercontinental Sydney hotel will be two very special adventurers–you’ll find out who in the coming weeks! You should also expect to see familiar faces like Jackson ‘JD’ Davey, Jia “Jia” Dee, and Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk.
This party, happening December 9 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. AEDT, is one for the ages. Keep an eye on the Blizzard Australia and New Zealand Twitter and Facebook for ticket details. More tournament information will also be shared on the Hearthstone Esports social channels.
It’s going to be a great arvo at the Sydney Inn-vitational. We’ll see you there!
Guys it's been around 4 years, it's time to stop crying about EU release times.
No hype.
Cramming the reveals over a short period is a huge, huge mistake.
Lit
Nice!
Aka, friday the 8th for Europe
I also predict more random spell-generation for mage!
interesting how the three expansions of year of the Mammoth are defined with 3 new legendary mechanics: Legendary Spells, Legendary Hero Cards and finally, Legendary Weapons.
Next year:
First expansion: This card costs (X) dust to play.
Second expansion: Winning a game disenchants a random card in your collection.
Third expansion: Whenever you launch Hearthstone, deduct $19.99 from your PayPal.
I was thinking about buying a pre-order, but seeing as they increased the price to $69.99 from $49.99, I won't be buying it. Oddly enough, the 40-pack lots are still $49.99 though.
Canadian dollars, most likely.
one month left and i have only 6k gold sigh
I only have about 600 so needless to say i've been caught off guard as well.
If this is true, I'm happy that we will be getting the expansion pretty quickly. However, I would also be upset that we are getting no card reveal until the 20th if the expansion is going to be released so soon. Why not give people some cards to look at and theory craft with at a steady pace up until the release? I personally hate dead times between expansion announcements and card reveals, but I also dislike huge dumps of cards because I like going through every card and seeing how viable/fun it is.
If the expansion was to release halfway through December, I could understand the delayed reveals, but if this early date is to be believed, then there doesn't seem to be a point for it.
This is an example of "the hearthstone community never being happy", with the loudest voices always being the complaints (and I don't mean the two of you specifically, just as an answer to your question).
For Whispers of the Old Gods,the expansion was announced on March 11th and released April 26th (45 days). Over the course of 45 days, there was a steady "drip feed" of a few cards per day, usually 2-3 (135 cards / 45 days = an average of 3 cards per day). The community reacted very poorly to this, as it was too slow to be interesting and many players said that by the time the expansion launched, they were no longer excited about it.
For Gadgetzan, this process was refined, and starting this year with Un'Goro and Knights, Blizzard has made a point of announcing the expansion closer to the actual launch (in this case, likely just ~34 days) and also shortening the window of the "drip feed" (likely just ~two weeks). The two-week drip-feed gives you an average of 10 cards per day (135 cards / 14 days = an average of ~10 per day), rather than 2-3 which can keep the excitement high, and also allows that excitement to persist through launch.
Releasing Marin a month early also takes a queue from Un'Goro, after the positive community reaction to getting Volcanosaur in advance of the release.
I'm not sure if you guys were around for the WOTOG drip feed, but I can tell you personally, the two week surge of card releases is much more enjoyable for me.
EDIT: I know the math on average cards-per-day is flawed because (1) they release fewer cards on weekends (2) there are cards revealed in the annoucnement (3) there is a surge of cards at the end in the "final reveal stream". That being said, "average" means "average".
I remember League of explorers was announced less than a week (6 days) before it was released. Although the amount was only a third of a normal expansion, they revealed all 45 cards at the announcement giving players a week to discuss and theorycraft new cards. I preferred this announcement/reveal since 1. The expansion was released mid Nov instead of early Dec 2. they revealed all the cards so there was no hype train to ride 3. I didn't have to wait 2 weeks for at least one more card announcement. And it was a great reveal since BlizzCon was a big deal and then BAM! Hearthstone expansion. In the end, I don't mind an early Dec release. I would prefer a daily card reveal instead of a 2 week gap and then a 2 week chunk of reveals.
They already did. Quests were spells. But yes I’d like to see more, and I’d honestly like to see more hero cards. Monks? Demon hunters? Or just lore heroes.