Blizzard announced today that the next Hearthstone expansion, United in Stormwind, will arrive in August with 135 new cards, the new Tradeable keyword, Profession Tools, Mounts, and more. But that's not the only big Hearthstone news of the day: A major update to the Hearthstone Battlegrounds autobattler is also on the way that will make big changes to the minion pool—including 25 new ones—and usher in the game's first batch of optional cosmetics.
First, the cosmetics, because we all like to look good. Two bundles will be available:
- The Battlegrounds Bundle: Beach Party – Seven new portraits of Hearthstone heroes having some fun in the sun, including Grill King Bovar and Chillin' Vol'jin, plus Tikilord Ragnaros (top) as a fully-voiced alternate Bartender "who serves up drinks with a scorching attitude." Get it? Because he's on fire.
- The Battlegrounds Heroes: Shadowlands bundle – Get eight heroes reimagined as members of the Covenants featured in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, including Finley of the Kyrian and Ysera of the Night Fae.
Note also that the larger of the United in Stormwind pre-order bundles comes with another alternate barman—the Ven'ari—in addition to the usual Battleground perks, such as being able to select from four heroes at the start of each match.
Details on the minion changes haven't been revealed yet, beyond an example given that Pirates will lean even more into acquiring gold, but Blizzard said it will be "the largest minion pool shakeup" since Hearthstone Battlegrounds went live, so players can expect a substantial meta shift.
Somewhat frustratingly, the rollout date for the Battlegrounds update hasn't been made public yet, but the United in Stormwind expansion will go live on August 3. Get the full details on what's coming for the base game right here.
