Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy expansion arrives next week and with it, 135 new cards are going to shake up the meta. We've compiled a quick recap of all the core mechanics you're going to see in the new set.
Dual-Class Cards - Everyone Gets Friends
Multiclass cards have made a return to Hearthstone for the first time since Mean Streets of Gadgetzan! Instead of 3 different crime families though, we have 10 sets of dual-class combinations.
Every class is paired with two other classes, so there's going to be some interesting overlap between your foes on the ladder.
Spellburst - New Card Keyword
Spellburst is a new keyword that is being added to the game. It describes an effect that will trigger upon casting a spell, though there is a catch; It will only activate once!
Here are a few examples of Spellburst cards. If you want to see more, you can either find all Scholomance Academy cards in our guide or visit our database to see all Spellburst cards.
Studies - New Card Theme
Studies are a new card theme coming out with Scholomance Academy that will reward you for your discoveries.
This overlaps with Discover in that each study card begins with Discover. You will be asked to Discover something, such as a Spell in the case of Druid, and then that next something that you play will have its mana cost reduced.
Being able to reap the discounted reward on a card that wasn't the one you Discovered is an interesting way to help cheat better cards out onto the board early on. Here are some examples of Study cards with all of them available over on our card database.
Soul Fragments - Flavor Overload for Demon Hunters and Warlocks
Although not officially spotlit as a mechanic by Blizzard, there's enough of these cards that it is important you'll understand how they work. Some cards from Demon Hunter and Warlock share Soul Fragment, a "Casts When Drawn" type spell which provides healing. In two classes that could certainly use a little bit of healing, especially on the Warlock side, the mechanic is a solid addition to the game and has plenty of demonic flavor!
This is the only type of Soul Fragment that exists, so the only RNG you're going to need to worry about it whether or not they can actually draw these cards from their deck. Here are some example cards that use Soul Fragments. If you want to see more, Blizzard did an entire showcase on Soul Fragments so check that out, or head on over to our card database.
Learn more about Scholomance Academy
Head on over to our dedicated guide for Scholomance Academy to learn more about the new expansion and to see all the revealed cards!
Support Out of Cards - Get Premium
Love what we're doing? Support the site for $2 a month to remove ads and get some site cosmetics! Discounts are available if you subscribe for multiple months at once!
Get Cheaper Hearthstone Packs with Amazon Coins
Learn more about how you can save money on Hearthstone packs for the new expansion with our guide on Amazon Coins!
Comments
I hope dual-class cards are revisited at least occasionally moving forward. It's fun and makes the game more interesting. We haven't had an "evergreen" concept added in a while - Rush from Witchwood? Given the UI work they did for this, I have some hope; there are certainly plenty more combinations for them to play around with.
The nice thing about them is that they both allow for more class cards each set AND allow more powerful cards to be printed since they're restricted to two classes. It's a brilliant way to deal with power-creep in a multi-year cycle without printing a bunch of busted neutrals. I think 10 class combinations is perfect per expansion, but it's exciting to think about how there are actually 45 combinations. It's a way better implementation than Gadgetzen or even the cross-class themes for EVIL and Explorers.
I may be a bit biased because I like the Warlock class so much, but I am seriously psyched about Soul Fragments as a part of the game. It seriously adds a bit of flavor to the game with how WoW retail developed the soul fragment shards that you collect but gives them a solid place in game play that allows you to add/subtract items from your deck to have an in play effect. I'm not totally sold on Soulciologist Malicia since more likely than not, Warlock will either want to burn them for the effects or draw them to get health back. Demon Hunter on the other hand, having a board of 3/3 rushers coming at your opponent is right up their alley. Either way, this mechanic has me Soul'ed.
I'd also like to gush about how much of a flavour win Soul Fragments are. Yes, they're based on Soul Shards, but their namesake is actually a Demon Hunter mechanic in WoW. Demon Hunters can make Soul Fragments when they kill enemies with certain spells, which will drop them on the ground. What do they do with Soul Fragments? If they pick them up, it heals them. Just like the Casts When Drawn effect.
So good.