by JR Cook - 1 month ago     show comments

Hearthstone patch 36.6 dropped today, kicking off the countdown to Reign of the Black Empire with some genuinely interesting pre-expansion content. The highlight is the Black Market, a limited-time event running through October 13 that lets you earn Bloodstones in Ranked play and spend them on packs and cosmetics. The prices shift unpredictably, and during the final week (October 6-13) you can haggle for better deals if you’re a few Bloodstones short.

The Black Market stock includes four Reign of the Black Empire packs, the Taelan Fordring Signature Legendary, and hero skins for Demon Hunter (Broxigar), Mage (Yogg-Ramen), and Priest (Champion Tyrande). Your Bloodstones vanish when the event ends, so there’s no banking currency for a future Black Market, assuming they run this again.

Reign of the Black Empire Pre-Purchase Goes Live

Pre-purchase bundles for the next expansion are available now ahead of the October 20 launch. Reign of the Black Empire takes Hearthstone back to ancient Azeroth when the Old Gods ruled and the Titan-forged armies rose to stop them. The expansion introduces 135 new cards, a new Old Gods mechanic, and the Assemble keyword that lets you build custom minions.

The Mega Bundle ($79.99) includes 90 packs, the Golden Legendary C’Thun, Eye of the Empire, and the Signature Legendary Drest’agath, an aberration that draws an Old God from your deck or generates a random one if your deck is empty. Buying both the standard Pre-Purchase Bundle and Mega Bundle unlocks the option to purchase a third bundle featuring Diamond Isiset. If you grab all three, you also get the Way of the Monk Coin, an early preview of Hearthstone’s next class arriving in 2027.

Everyone who logs in gets the M.O.T.H.E.R. Legendary for free right now. After patch 37.6, you’ll need to own a Reign of the Black Empire pack to receive it instead.

Aberrations Arrive in Battlegrounds

Patch 36.6.1 on September 22 brings Aberrations, the newest Battlegrounds minion type, built around discard synergies and summoning a Deity. Each time a friendly Aberration dies, it advances progress toward summoning either C’Thun or Y’Shaarj (chosen randomly at the start of each game). After three sacrifices, your Deity joins the combat with a game-changing effect.

Aberrations will appear in every lobby for the first two weeks following their debut. To make room, Naga are temporarily rotated out of the minion pool, along with Naga-specific heroes and cards. If you’re deep into Battlegrounds strategy, a quality headset like the Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset or the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 makes a noticeable difference when you’re trying to theory-craft compositions on the fly.

War of Old & New Event and Legendary Quest Chain

The War of Old & New event runs from October 6-20, offering three Reign of the Black Empire cards you can play before the expansion launches: Arrival of the Old Gods, Arrival of the Titans, and Dark Terraforming (both regular and Golden versions of each). You’ll also earn two Tavern Tickets and the Zek’voz Hero Skin for Priest.

A new Legendary Quest Chain is live from now through October 20. Complete it by playing Ranked games to unlock an Escape from Violet Hold Pack (step one) and a Reign of the Black Empire Pack (step two).

Arena also received a small adjustment, with Azeroth’s Most Wanted Class Set cards returning to normal appearance rates after being boosted previously.

Source: hearthstone.blizzard.com