Hearthstone's Reign of the Black Empire expansion is live, adding 135 cards, a keyword called Assemble and a progression feature called Journey.
The set's headline additions are the Old Gods, and they are playable by any class rather than split between them. Esports.gg names Mastermind Yogg-Saron, C'Thun, Eye of the Empire, Y'Shaarj, Titan Bane, and N'Zoth, Dream's End among them. Rogue gets a class-specific hook in the Drest'agath legendary, which either draws the player an Old God or hands them a random one.
Assemble covers 13 cards in the set and lets players create customised minions. Named examples include Shadow Sculpt for Shaman, Chisel for Warrior, Mismatcher for Priest, and F3TCH3R, a neutral minion available to every class.
Journey sits inside the Hearthstone Journal and pays out rewards over the course of the expansion, with progress bringing encounters with its characters and stories.
In an interview with Esports.gg, Hearthstone executive producer Nathan Lyons-Smith and senior design manager Brenden Sewell said the first chapter is built from lightweight, linear quests that unfold week by week, with card-based objectives such as fighting the Old Gods and knocking out the Titans.