On March 14, 2019, Blizzard announced a new Expansion for Hearthstone. Rise of Shadows will be released with 135 new cards on Tuesday April 9. This will be the first expansion for Hearthstone's Year of the Dragon.
League of E.V.I.L. Details
The theme for Rise of Shadows revolves around the League of E.V.I.L.: a collaboration of the villains throughout Hearthstone lore who team up and attempt to cause chaos. The members of this League of E.V.I.L. are Rafaam, Dr. Boom, Hagatha the Witch, King Togwaggle, and Madame Lazul.
Rafaam
Rafaam is a Hearthstone original character. He is known to be an ethereal. According to World of Warcraft lore, ethereals are collectors of lucrative items and artifacts.
It is said that Rafaam travels across different worlds in search of powerful artifacts. In-game it is shown that he is in possession of three powerful artifacts: the Lantern of Power, Timepiece of Horror, and Mirror of Doom. Ethereals are also known to be chaotic neutral in WoW lore. With that being said, Rafaam's grand scheme is still a mystery.
Rafaam first appeared as a villain in the third adventure, called The League of Explorers. In his debut, he was the second-to-last and last boss in the fourth wing.
The first encounter was quite a treat for many. At the beginning of the boss battle against Rafaam, he would steal the player's deck and use it for his own.
Defeating Rafaam would reward you with the card Arch-Thief Rafaam. It was available to play in the standard format up until the beginning of 2017.
Dr. Boom
Originating in World of Warcraft lore, Dr. Boom resides in an area called Netherstorm. Originally, he was known as Sparky Uberthruster, but due to constant exposure to the Netherstorm, he transformed into Dr. Boom. Now he is known as an evil scientist still residing in the Netherstorm, conducting experiments, inventing mechs, and wreaking havoc upon those who are unfortunate enough to be in his presence.
Dr. Boom saw his debut in Hearthstone as a legendary Class card in the Goblins vs Gnomes expansion released in 2014. His ability to command and summon Boom Bots is portrayed in this version of his card.
His villainy was represented more thoroughly in the Boomsday Project expansion seen recently in August 2018 . This time around, he is a 7 mana Legendary hero card for the Warrior class, suited up in a mech and granting 7 armor. This may be a call back to his original card being 7 mana as well as the community calling him “Dr. Seven.”
Although his first card iteration is rotated out in standard mode, there is a good chance we'll see more of Dr. Boom in later expansions.
Hagatha the Witch
Hagatha is a witch who stays deep in a dark forest known as the Blackwald. Known to command and twist the trees to her will and to conjure dark magic, Hagatha torments the residents of Gilneas who are, to their dismay, located just north of the dark forest.
No one knows where she came or her true intentions. For now, Hagatha preys on the poor souls that happen to stumble into her domain.
Hagatha the Witch is a playable Shaman class hero card. Once played, her wicked presence is immediately known through her battlecry: “Deal 3 damage to all minions” – with no concern as to who is caught within her torment.
Her conjuring is displayed through her hero power Bewitch. With this hero power, you are given a random shaman spell to your hand after you play a minion.
She also makes an appearance as the final boss in the single player adventure mode. Hagatha the Witch will still be playable during the next expansion and will be represented primarily in the Shaman class.
King Togwaggle
The ruler over the cowardly race of kobolds, King Togwaggle is also a kobold himself. What makes him stick out above the rest is wielding a fire elemental known as Rakanishu. King Togwaggle resides in a network of underground tunnels where his subjects scavenge for treasure dropped by or stolen from weary adventurers.
King Togwaggle is featured as a final boss in the single player campaign, Dungeon Run. Like most of the villains, King Togwaggle is represented as a playable neutral card.
His thieving nature is demonstrated by his card effect. Once summoned, he forces the players to swap decks with each other. The player who didn't play King Togwaggle will receive a Kings Ransom card shuffled into their deck. Upon drawing the Kings Ransom, a player who wants to swap back decks can play the card (and fork over 5 mana) to do so.
King Togwaggle appeared during the Kobolds & Catacombs expansion and will see itself out of standard format once the Year of the Dragon arrives.
Madame Lazul
Not much is known about Madame Lazul. She made a character appearance during the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion. We will likely see more representation of Madame Lazul during the Rise of Shadows expansion through spell cards and possibly her very own hero card as well.
New Mechanics
Not only are the creators of Hearthstone providing exciting new cards to play with but also innovative mechanics to keep the gameplay fresh. Some of the most intriguing of them are:
Lackeys
So far, this mechanic has only been revealed for the Rogue class. It seems that this keyword will be found in classes that represent the villains of this expansion. Lackeys are 1 cost minions that offer different effects when played. There are five different types, one for each villain in League of E.V.I.L.
Twinspell
Revealed in the Druid class, this mechanic is potentially used by the “good guys” or Defenders of Dalaran. Twinspell gives you a copy of the card that contains the “Twinspell” text for the same mana cost. So far there is only one card revealed to have this effect, but there is still time from now until the expansion's release to see more of what this keyword has to offer.
Teased Cards
Though the majority of the cards in Rise of Shadows remain mysterious, we were teased some info on a small portion of what's in store. Blizzard will continue to reveal a few cards slowly during the lead-up to the April 9 release date.
Summary
There are many new and exciting aspects planned for the Year of the Dragon, such as the Hearthstone Masters Tour. As the first expansion of 2019, Rise of Shadows will set the tone for the rest of the year.
Baku the Mooneater and Genn Greymane will see themselves out in the next standard rotation. This gives more freedom for card designers to concoct new cards without the worry of taking into account odd and even cost cards. We look forward to the Rise of Shadows expansion and what will follow after.
Poker May Appeal to Hearthstone Players
If you enjoy the card-based strategic competition offered by Hearthstone, then maybe you would also appreciate the deep subtlety involved in successful poker play. Just as Hearthstone is, poker is mainly an online endeavor these days. You can learn about your options for getting into the game with our online poker guide for US players.
