Hearthstone is heading to the Darkmoon Faire in its next expansion

Hearthstone is taking an excursion to the Darkmoon Faire in its next expansion, but the already very weird carnival has taken a turn for the even weirder, as it's been corrupted by "unspeakable horrors". Those unspeakable horrors are actually the Old Gods, who are making their return.

C'Thun, Yogg-Saron, Y'Shaarj and N'Zoth—the whole gang—are being squeezed back into Hearthstone for Madness at the Darkmoon Faire as revamped legendary cards. This group of impossibly powerful and evil cosmic entities have all been foiled in World of Warcraft, but they're back to cause terror for card-slingers. If you played Hearthstone during the Whispers of the Old God era, you might be glad to see your old pals returning, or worried about facing them again.

The Old Gods are joined by a new keyword, too. Corrupt cards can be upgraded after you play a card with a higher Mana cost. When you corrupt your card, it becomes stronger, and you'll also get to enjoy some new artwork with far too many tentacles and eyeballs. Just what you want wriggling away in your hand. If you've got a bunch of them, you'll definitely want to use the Old God Y'Shaarj, which adds a copy for each that you've got in your hand. And reduce the cost to 0 this turn.

Old god? More like oh god.

You can't have ancient evil deities and not also have some weird artifacts, too. Thankfully, there are indeed artifacts, which can apparently have unpredictable effects on your matches.

Pre-purchasing the expansion nets you early access to the Hearthstone: Duels mode, and everyone can get the Silas—the fella the runs the faire—card for free today. His rotational Battlecry effect looks to be very situational, but there are going to be occasions when it's very powerful. (Think about it in terms of swapping some trash minion on your board for an incredibly powerful one on the opponent's side.)

Below you'll find a gallery of all the new cards announced today. Pay particular attention to Yogg. His Battlecry triggers a wheel of fortune that will eventually land on one ridiculous effect. We're talking stuff like destroy every minion on board and gain their stats, and even more absurdly the 'Rod of Roasting' effect which sees the spell Pyroblast cast until someone wins the game. That's sure to be very popular amongst high-level esports competitors who love RNG deciding their careers.

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Here's everything else you get with the pre-purchase and mega bundles:

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire pre-purchase ($40)

45 Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs
1 random Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Legendary card (non-golden)
The N'Zoth card back
Early access Duels mode

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire mega bundle ($80)

80 Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs
5 golden Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs
1 random golden Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Legendary card
Playable N'Zoth Warlock hero
The N'Zoth card back
Battleground perks
Early Access Duels mode

Madness at the Darkmoon Faire will add all this, and 135 new cards, to the roster on November 17. A progression system update is also on its way, landing on November 12, promising changes to the achievements system, the reward track and quests. We'll have more details for you on that soon.

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Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.