An Underwater Expedition Awaits in the Newest Hearthstone® Expansion, Voyage to the Sunken City™, Live Today

The first expansion of the Year of the Hydra introduces 135 all-new cards and submerges players in the aqueous ruins of Zin-Azshari, the capital city of the Naga race from World of Warcraft^®

Also live today are updates to the Core Set, featuring 72 returning cards

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Voyage to the Sunken City^™, the latest expansion for Blizzard Entertainment’s smash-hit digital card game Hearthstone^®, is now live, kicking off the Year of the Hydra with an underwater odyssey to the remnants of Zin-Azshari—an ancient city that sunk in the Great Sundering over ten millennia ago. Local marine life has since flourished there, as illustrated in Voyage to the Sunken City’s 135 new cards that bubble up fishy friends, foes, and fauna of all sizes—and appetites.

To avoid becoming part of the Great Sea food chain, players will need to conquer and ally with creatures that lurk deep below the surface. Voyage to the Sunken City introduces Colossal Legendary minions for each class that come with monstrous appendages whenever they’re summoned. Locating these specimens can be helped with the new keyword Dredge, which enables players to choose one of the three cards on the bottom of their deck to put on top and draw next. Dredge also synergizes well with new Azsharan cards that send a powerful “Sunken” treasure to the bottom of the deck. Combining these splashy mechanics creates an excavation-type playstyle that encourages forward thinking and thoughtful deckbuilding.

Players should tread lightly in navigating this ocean floor, though, as it belongs to its cursed inhabitants: Voyage to the Sunken City also introduces the spell-focused Naga minion type, which often give bonuses for playing one or more spells while in hand. The Naga minion tag has also been applied to previously released Naga characters, such as Wrathscale Naga and Naga Sand Witch.

“Voyage to the Sunken City delivers a joyful Hearthstone twist on the fantasy of Nazjatar, which players will know well from Warcraft, and we think it'll make a huge splash as our first expansion for the Year of the Hydra,” said Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard Entertainment. “The vibrant art, nautical-themed mechanics, and introduction of the Naga minion type all add up to an immersive new experience that we're thrilled to be sharing with players today.”

Hearthstone Core Set Update & Set Rotation

Numerous changes for Hearthstone’s foundational Core set, which is free for all players to unlock as they level up, are live today in the game. With 57 cards rotating out of the Core set and 72 rotating in—some of which have been adjusted for the modern meta—the set now totals 250 cards, which is 15 more than last year.

Cards of note returning to the Core set are the original League of Explorers: Reno Jackson, Brann Bronzebeard, Elise Starseeker, and Sir Finley Mrrgglton. Other returning favorites include Voidwalker, Wild Pyromancer, Acolyte of Pain, Mossy Horror, Cloaked Huntress, and Fandral Staghelm.

Set rotation takes place today as well, sending card sets from the Year of the Phoenix—Ashes of Outland^™, Scholomance Academy^™, and Madness at the Darkmoon Faire^™—to the game’s Wild format. The Standard card pool now consists of sets from the Year of the Gryphon—Forged in the Barrens^™, United in Stormwind^™, and Fractured in Alterac Valley^™—along with Voyage to the Sunken City and Core.

Visit www.playhearthstone.com for details on Voyage to the Sunken City, the updated Core set, and set rotation.

For screenshots and other assets, visit http://blizzard.gamespress.com.

About Hearthstone

With more than 130 million players worldwide, Hearthstone is Blizzard Entertainment’s internationally acclaimed, free-to-play digital card game designed for novice and veteran card-slingers alike. Players can choose from 10 powerful hero classes and customize their decks with minions, spells, and weapons based on the unique fantasy of the Warcraft^® universe. Featuring a variety of game modes ranging from epic head-to-head duels to story-driven Solo Adventures, Hearthstone offers a vibrant and rewarding experience stacked with strategy, personality, and fun. Hearthstone is available globally for Windows and Mac PCs; Windows, iOS, and Android tablets; and iOS, and Android mobile phones.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft^®, Hearthstone, Overwatch^®, the Warcraft, StarCraft^®, and Diablo^® franchises, and the multifranchise Heroes of the Storm^®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes twenty-three #1 games^* and numerous Game of the Year awards. The company's online gaming service, Battle.net^®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

^*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distributors.