Blizzard invites players to The Grand Tournament in the next Hearthstone expansion

By Kris Wouk July 23, 2015

If you’re an avid player of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, it probably feels like forever since the last major expansion for the game, Goblins vs Gnomes, was released. Two PvE expansions have been released in the meantime, sure, but whereas Goblins vs Gnomes added more than 120 cards, Curse of Naxxramas and Blackrock Mountain only added a measly 30 cards each.

Fear not, as Blizzard announced the second major expansion for Hearthstone yesterday. The Grand Tournament adds 132 new cards, including new spells, weapons, and Champions, all of which should bring a refreshing bit of change to players’ decks.

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With the new cards also comes a new ability known as Inspire. “Utilizing your Hero Power while a minion with Inspire is on the board will result in one of any number of effects,” Blizzard writes in the blog post announcing The Grand Tournament. These effects include gaining +1 to attack or adding a random spell card to your hand.

Also coming in the expansion is a new gameboard. This doesn’t change anything about how the game is played, but according to Blizzard, “you’ll be able to find all of the appropriate amenities to ensure that your tournament experience is a pleasant one!”

will be coming to every platform on which Hearthstone is available: Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Grand Tournament card packs can be bought either with real money or in-game gold for the same price as other card packs.

Even if you haven’t purchased any of the card packs, you can still manage a look at them. “As with previous expansions and Adventures, Grand Tournament cards will be included in the Arena on launch day, even if you still haven’t added them to your personal collection,” Blizzard writes. Arena rewards are changing too, rewarding players with Grand Tournament, Goblins vs Gnomes or classic card packs instead of just Goblins vs Gnomes packs.

If you can’t wait to start throwing money at Hearthstone again, Blizzard has a solution for you. Starting next week, players will be able to prepurchase a bundle of 50 Grand Tournament card packs for $50. The packs will remain sealed until the expansion officially launches, and the offer ends once The Grand Tournament is officially released.

The Grand Tournament opens next month. For more information, see Blizzard’s website for the expansion.

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Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

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