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
Thx! :)
They will most likely not, for example you can get Morgl even today for fre
Completely forgot that you get him from that „Recruit a Friend"-Thing.
But, could still be possible though that they'll offer him in the Shop (and maybe rework the „Recruit a Friend"-Rewards?). I mean, Tyrande was a special Event Skin untill they made her available for Everyone. Same goes for Khadgar.
I dont have an extensive knowledge of WoW or the lore, but from the picture which is more than a little misty and the words 'A storm is coming', can the next expansion be based on Pandaria?
As we have seen from previous years, just because its probably year of the phoenix next, doesnt mean that the first expansions got to have anything to do with the zodiac.
So ...
March 12 New Year's announcement;
March 17 New Expasion's announcement ?
Or both on March 17t
unlikely, they always did the Year of the X announcement a few weeks before the expansion announcement. It would also be a information overload if they have a really big announcement for the year of the Phoenix.
Probably this
I'm a simple man. I see Gruul, I click.
We are not prepared...
Im just praying that this means demon hunter as a new hero, not like death knigts
New hero as in new class?
I don't think that we will ever see a new class. Imagine now many cards from wild expansions this class would be missing. I somehow can't imagine that Blizz will create new class and print Naxx cards for it. BTW Naxx is out.
well this comment didn't age well
Yep, fuck me plenty..:) Anyway, I am still waiting for Demon Hunter Naxx cards:)
Is Naxx out in all regions or just NA?
Maybe
No, Bizzard said even 9 classes are a bit too muc
Did they now?
"accidentally"