Hearthstone expansion Forged in the Barrens is the first expansion for Year of the Gryphon

A new Hearthstone expansion is on the way, and it's called Forged in the Barrens, and it will be the first released for what's being called the Year of the Gryphon.

During the BlizzConline 2021 opening ceremony, Blizzard announced the latest expansion for Hearthstone.

Coinciding with the start of the Year of the Gryphon is the launch of the new Hearthstone Core Set, which replaces the existing Basic and Classic sets with a curated selection of 235 cards, including new and previously released. This will reinvigorate the game for both existing players and newcomers.

Launching alongside the Core set is the new Classic format, which will allow players to craft decks and compete using Hearthstone’s original sets of cards, as they were in 2014. The Core set will consist of 160 class cards and 75 neutral cards, among them reimagined Legendary minion versions of Warcraft’s dragons, including Deathwing, Malygos, and Ysera.

Coming later this year is Hearthstone Mercenaries, an all-new single-player and competitive game mode that where you will assemble and upgrade teams of heroes and villains and put them in a series of tactical battles.

Mercenaries gain experience, equipment, new abilities, and evolve into more powerful versions while battling through replayable, randomly generated roguelike missions.

Forged in the Barrens introduces 135 all-new cards. In addition to new keywords and game mechanics, the expansion will introduce 10 Legendary Mercenary minions, each representing a different Hearthstone class, with stories that will play out across the Year of the Gryphon.

Starting today, you can prepurchase the Forged in the Barrens Mega Bundle ($79.99), which comes with 85 card packs from the expansion (five of which are Golden Card Packs, which contain all Golden cards), and two random Golden Legendary cards; the Hamuul Runetotem card back and alternate Hero; and perks for Hearthstone Battlegrounds that last until the next expansion.

Also available is the Forged in the Barrens Pre-Purchase Bundle ($49.99), which includes 60 packs from the expansion, two random Legendary Cards, and the Hamuul Runetotem card back.