(Images and sources from new.blizzard.com and gamepedia.hearthstone.com)
Blizzard announced their next Hearthstone expansion, titled The Witchwood.
For those of you that play World of Warcraft, Witchwood is a forest near the northern part of Highmountain.
The expansion features new key words such as Echo and Rush. Echo allows the player to play the card again on the field if there is enough mana remaining. This works similar to Unstable Evolution. Rush, on the other hand, works like Charged Devilsaur where the minion cannot attack the opponent hero the turn they are played.
In addition, cards that shift and swap stats each turn are introduced in the mix. These can be played for offensive or defensive positions depending on your situation.
New cards that create templates for new archetypes, possibly dubbed Oddlander and Evenlander, were included in today's announcement.
The Start of Game keyword was last seen on Prince Malchezaar.
The Witchwood will feature Solo Adventure mode with the name Monster Hunt. Blizzard has yet to release detailed information of this single-player format.
The pre-purchase is available to players right now at its usual price of 50 packs for $49.99 USD. This time, your purchase will include (again) a special card back AND another 20 packs of the Witchwood expansion.
That's 70 packs for $49.99 USD, or ~$0.72 per pack. Blizzard does not often sell packs below the $1.00 mark. In a recent promotion, the company sold Year of Mammoth Bundle at $20 for 30, which is ~$0.67 per pack.