A new leak has appeared today and we've been able to confirm the validity of it. Blizzard accidentally pushed a promotional post to the official PlayHearthstone Facebook account.
Highlighted by Ridiculous Hatter from Coin Concede, the image below was taken by junkdonut. We believe this has ties to Outland, the location of World of Warcraft's first expansion, The Burning Crusade.
The Year of the Phoenix - Kael'thas and Al'ar
Last week, Blizzard accidentally pushed an asset live to the official Hearthstone site which showcased the new emblem for the 2020 Hearthstone Year. Resembling a Phoenix, it led to speculation on our part that the Blood Elves may be involved in the upcoming expansion. Kael'thas Sunstrider, Lord of the Blood Elves as he was once known, had a pet Phoenix himself named Al'ar which also makes for a nice tie-in.
Both Kael'thas and Al'ar were both featured as raid bosses in World of Warcraft within the Tempest Keep 25-player raid.
Tempest Keep as it appears in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
You have to admit, we've already got an interesting connection to Outland, though that isn't what made us think this at all.
Why Outland? The Proof is in the Blurry Image
If you look at the leaked image, there are two interesting bits of information that connect to Nagrand, one of the geographical areas of Outland.
- The phrase "A Storm is Coming"
- The image is instantly recognizable as "The Throne of Elements"
No, not that part of Nagrand. Turn around! Though, it is quite a nice skybox...
The Throne of the Elements as it appears in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
The image is spot-on! We've got waterfalls in the background, luscious green fields, crystal clear water, and the big giveaway, henge-like structures. This tied together with a "Storm", the "elements" want to say hello, solidifies the location as our teaser target - Northern Nagrand. This is the location where the first Orcish Shaman learned how to wield the power of the elements and was created from the head of the fallen elemental giant known as Grond.
Simply doing Nagrand itself as an expansion though isn't very interesting which is why we think Outland may have a larger involvement.
Illidan Stormrage, Lord of Outland
The big baddie of Outland, Hunter of Demons, is none other than Illidan Stormrage. After he defeated Magtheridon in battle and imprisoned him under Hellfire Citadel, Illidan became the Lord of Outland. If he does end up playing a major role in the new expansion, it is well-deserved respect from Blizzard considering the treatment he received as a Classic Legendary. Having a major lore character take part in the theme would make for a very exciting start to the year and undoubtedly bring players back.
Plus, wouldn't it be cool if they pulled another Death Knight and turned all our Hearthstone Heroes into Demon Hunters? On second thought, maybe we don't want an army of Demon Hunters to define the meta for two years...
Hellfire Citadel as it appears in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Prison of Magtheridon the Pit Lord.
The Black Temple as it appears in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Home of Illidan Stormrage, Lord of Outland.
Gruul the Dragonkiller, Friend of the Illidari
An ally to Illidan and his Illidari, Gruul is also present in Outland. Although he was more playable in Hearthstone than his pal Illidan, he, unfortunately, died in Outland before the siege of the Black Temple which ultimately resulted in the imprisonment of Illidan.
Gruul's Hole in a Huge Rock Lair, as it appears in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
With plenty of cool bosses available from The Burning Crusade, including Lady Vashj who was not mentioned here, it would certainly set a great stage for an adventure, assuming, of course, Blizzard is planning on giving us another one alongside this expansion.
Whether we end up being right about the location being Outland or Nagrand doesn't matter. This was a fun topic to explore and we're eagerly awaiting Blizzard's upcoming announcement of the Year of the Phoenix and the first expansion of 2020, a set that clearly has left some of the community in shock. We'll just have to wait until March 17 to find out!
What do you think about the leak? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Comments
They're turning Hearthstone into an MMO ;)
Instead of queuing, you will have to run around and find someone to play against. If you can't find anyone you can kill boars in the forest or gather herbs.
Blizzard: A storm is coming. March 17th.
... (players making crazy speculations about new expansion)...
March 17th, Blizzard: The second of the 18 reverted nerfs will be announced today!!!
Nice.
If all of these speculations and leaks are correct than this will be an awesome year.
I am getting very antsy for an official announcement from Blizzard.
I guess why Maiev is the only alternate free hero missing, maybe she's pursuing Illidan now?
The mage bundle is another hint, because Kael'thas is a fire mage. Everyone remember that the welcome bundle was changed before the year of the dragon, like 6 months before (I don't remember dates exactly), and now gives a legendary dragon?
Now take into account Illidan entrance, changed some time ago, sincerely I'm hoping a buff on him.
Maybe those things are related?
Only time will tell.....
I'm concerned. Why are there Classic cardbacks floating around?
Illidan and Gruul are both from classic. Maybe an emphasis on characters like this
Don't the classic Cardbacks always float around in the promo materials and key artwork ?
That lingering hope of a change to the classic set is in all of us
Pros already saw the HoF rotation, it's very unlikely that they are going to rework the classic set
Yes. But maybe the HOF rotation IS the classic set.
Hold on...
Lunara? Medhiv? MORGLE? Is hearthstone actually using the ALTERNATE hero skins in promotional art?
Wow I never thought I'd see the day!
Or maybe it's like that Stormrage novel where everyone thought about Illidan Stormrage.
But no! It had to be fucking Malfurion.
I am not sure the leaked image is so much of a spot-on for the Throne of Elements?
While year of the Phoenix strongly recalls of Al'ar and Outland in general, the given image is so generic that yes, you could be right, but it it could also be literally anything...
Eg. The Rise of Vashj'r (from the bottom of the sea), or The Rage of Proudmoore, or The Maelstrom. Etc.
Afterall, the Dragon had nothing to do with the themes in RoS, so the Phoenix doesn't necessarily lead to Outland/Nagrand.
The exact opposite can be said with the Year of the Raven and The Witchwood and the Year of the Kraken and Whispers of the Old Gods.
If we really want to push this pattern, RoS had nothing to do with Dragons because the whole Year was a single story narrated throughout multiple expansions, so Ros, but not even SoU or DoD we complete by themselves.
I personally don't like the idea to always trying to find some sort of like between themes and expansions (I mean, it's there, but I don't get crazy trying to think about it), so how about we just see what will come? After all, we're never gonna be prepared.
In fact, my point was exactly that the image is too unclear, as it is the "storm", and the Phoenix does not necessarily help.
It could be anything so far.
They sure are prone to "accidents".
Yeah, "accidentally", sure
My body is ready for some sweet sweet Elementals
I wonder if there is a Reason they put alt Skins (Lunara, Medivh and Morgl) in this Picture. Maybe they wanna put them into the Shop after the Announcement?
... Or maybe they thouhgt „Lol, let's just take some Randos and make them team up!"
Edit: Am I seeing this wrong? Have they really turned into Stone?
I am not sure about the others, but Morgl is definitively paralyzed/stoned. Good catch @Koeti