Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Platform: PC, iOS, Android
Tested on: PC
Hearthstone: Scholomance Academy – Review
The beloved TCG Hearthstone is still going strong with three expansions a year and a thriving community to back it up. With their newest expansion, they send you off to the Scholomance Academy to brush up your skills and learn some new tricks along the way. Scholomance Academy will introduce you to the next generation of great fire flingers, axe swingers and doom bringers. This adventure will take place under the watchful eyes of Headmaster Kel’Thuzad, so beware travelers, you won’t be getting an easy A+ this time. The academy features a wide range of possibilities so whether you want to pursue magical or martial arts the training grounds and study halls will be there at your disposal.
With the release of Scholomance Academy, Hearthstone features 135 new cards, which include 40 new dual-class cards, which we will come to in a moment. Among those cards, there will also be a new keyword, Spellburst, which will spell-trigger minion effects and new spells that go by studies. Spellburst is a one time effect that takes place after you cast a spell. This means that if you cast a spell for the first time, and only the first time, it causes a minion or weapon to do something. There are also new spells that go by studies, those are cost-reducing abilities that will grant you to pay less mana for certain cards.
The addition of the dual-class cards is maybe the single-biggest change Hearthstone has ever introduced. For those who aren’t familiar with the deckbuilding in Hearthstone, the game uses class-based decks. So you are limited to the cards from the class you are building a deck for. Then there are the ‘impartial cards’ which can be played in all available decks. However, dual-class cards will be available for both of the classes they feature and Scholomance Academy will bring at least ten class combinations for you to try out.
The expansion gives players the chance to buy the Scholomance Mega Bundle which is fairly expensive but definitely worth its money. It contains 80 normal and 5 golden Scholomance packs, a fancy card back and a hero portrait of the Archlich Kel’Thuzad. Last but not least, it features a tavern pass which includes 4 arena tickets. Those arena tickets can be used to enter the draft mode of Hearthstone, here you can draft a 30 card deck to wreck your opponents and win some nice prices along the way.
Scholomance Academy does not feature a solo adventure on the day of release and our guess is that it will not be added for Hearthstone’s latest expansion. This we find a shame because Scholomance is a fan favorite dungeon that we could grind for hours on end in World of Warcraft. The Scholomance Academy has a history that dates back from before the Third War.
After the Second War which took place in the Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, the Manor in Caer Darrow was restored and became the primary residence of the Barov family. In the years right before the Third War the family became greedy and wanted to preserve their wealth and even keep their lands way after their deaths. In order to do that, they made a deal with Kel’Thuzad, leader of the Cult of the Damned. This is how the once luxurious keep became the horrific Scholomance, a school of necromancy, the vile home for the prospective necromancers of the Scourge.
Conclusion
Luckily for us, we can still enjoy various deck builds with the new additions mentioned above even without the adventure mode. The metagame will change drastically and we are curious to see what the 135 cards will add to the immersive fights we take part in. For the first time in forever, Hearthstone tries something new in their gameplay and we can only hope it will add some valuable change to the game.
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