Blizzard revealed The Witchwood, the next Hearthstone expansion that will kick off the Year of the Raven and bring 130 new cards to the digital card game.

The Year of the Raven will be the new Standard season that will replace the outgoing Year of the Mammoth. Once The Witchwood is released, cards from the 2016 expansions, specifically Whispers of the Old Gods, One Night in Karazhan, and Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, will no longer be allowed in Standard.

The Witchwood: New Cards And Mechanics

The announcement trailer for The Witchwood gives off the expansion's horror vibes, while a promotional video that follows a found-footage format previews several cards and two new mechanics.

One of the first cards revealed from The Witchwood is the 3-cost 2/4 minion Pumpkin Peasant, which has the Lifesteal ability and swaps its attack and health each turn that it is in the player's hand. Meanwhile, two other minions showcase the two new mechanics from The Witchwood. Phantom Militia is a 3-cost 2/4 minion with Taunt and Echo, which allows players to cast a copy of the card as many as times as they want as long as they have the mana. Militia Commander is a 4-cost 2/5 Warrior minion with a Battlecry ability that gives it +3 attack for the turn and the Rush keyword, which allows it to attack the turn it comes into play, but only to minions.

The video also reveals three new legendary minions for players to build around. Two of them have abilities that trigger at the start of each game, namely the 6-cost 6/5 Genn Greymane that reduces Hero Power cost to 1 if the deck only has even-cost cards and the 9-cost 7/8 Baku the Mooneater that upgrades the hero Power if the deck only has odd-cost cards. The third legendary minion is the 7-cost 3/3 Azalina Soulthief with a Battlecry ability that replaces the player's hand with a copy of the opponent's hand.

The end of the promotional video also teases the return of Hero Cards, which were first seen in the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion.

New Hearthstone Mode: Monster Hunt

The Witchwood will also introduce a new single-player mode in Hearthstone named Monster Hunter. In the new mode, players will need to survive eight matches with increasing difficulty. Along the way, players will be able to augment their decks with upgrades.

If this sounds familiar, it is because it is a version of the popular Dungeon Run mode that was introduced in the Kobolds & Catacombs expansion. The main difference is that instead of being able to choose from the nine Hero classes of Hearthstone, players will only get to choose from four heroes made specifically for Monster Hunt.

The Witchwood Release Date

Blizzard did not announce a release date for The Witchwood. However, if the expansion will follow the timing that Hearthstone has used for the past two years, The Witchwood will launch within April.

Until then, players can pre-purchase 70 Witchwood card packs for $49.9 through the Hearthstone in-game store.