During the opening ceremony for BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard Entertainment detailed what’s next for its long-lasting collectible card game Hearthstone. Its next expansion, Reign of the Black Empire, will put a greater emphasis on narrative than ever before. Then, in 2027, a brand-new class is coming to the game.
What to expect from Reign of the Black Empire
Reign of the Black Empire’s narrative is set tens of thousands of years in the past, and is themed around a time when Warcraft’s Old Gods were at the height of their power. While lore in CCGs isn’t for everyone, this new expansion is overhauling the Journal. It will become the home of Hearthstone’s narrative vignettes and some upcoming limited-time events, like a 2v2 mode.
For those who care more about the gameplay side of things, there will, of course, be new cards and a new keyword to look forward to. A new Aberrations minion type is being added, with Blizzard teasing that every Aberrations that dies will potentially awaken the gods.
Meanwhile, the new keyword is called “Assemble” and will let players merge the text of two minions to create a new text box for their card.
As you’d expect from that description, Assemble should open up some pretty wild deck-building and combo opportunities that simply weren’t possible before in Hearthstone. I may reinstall the game to check out this new keyword when Reign of the Black Empire launches on October 20.
As mentioned, Blizzard is also giving Hearthstone players something to look forward to in 2027. Next March, Hearthstone will get its first new card class in several years. It’s World of Warcraft’s Monk class, and I can’t wait to see how Hearthstone reinterprets it. Hopefully, Evoker can come to Hearthstone at some point in the future, although Blizzard shared no plans for that.
Hearthstone remains free-to-play on Android, iOS, and Windows PC.
