With more than 300 players, Masters Tour events are full of new competitors to follow. For every returning player at each event there is someone new hoping to make a name for themself, and everyone is playing for their shot at joining Hearthstone Grandmasters. There are also players who qualify for their one shot at making a name for themselves. It is this mix of players that makes the Masters Tour so exciting to watch.

Although Grandmasters also participate in the Masters Tour, I’m going to introduce you to regular players who have incredible stories you may not be familiar with, all of which you should keep an eye on. This is the last of four Tales from the Tavern explorations for Masters Tour Online: Montreal, live beginning this Friday only on YouTube.

Pizza

Andrew “Pizza” Denniser has been playing card games all his life, so it was only natural that he would discover Hearthstone. Players he met while travelling in and around New York were winning ESL events in the Hearthsto...

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With more than 300 players, Masters Tour events are full of new competitors to follow. For every returning player at each event there is someone new hoping to make a name for themself, and everyone is playing for their shot at joining Hearthstone Grandmasters. There are also players who qualify for their one shot at making a name for themselves. It is this mix of players that makes the Masters Tour so exciting to watch.

Although Grandmasters also participate in the Masters Tour, I’m going to introduce you to regular players who have incredible stories you may not be familiar with, all of which you should keep an eye on. This is the third of four Tales from the Tavern explorations for Masters Tour Online: Montreal, live beginning this Friday only on YouTube.

Gaby

As if there were not enough French promotions to Grandmasters in the last two seasons, the best ladder player of the year is still to qualify—and he’s French.

Gabriel “Gaby” Jeanne first played Hearthstone when he was e...

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With more than 300 players, Masters Tour events are full of new competitors to follow. For every returning player at each event there is someone new hoping to make a name for themself, and everyone is playing for their shot at joining Hearthstone Grandmasters. There are also players who qualify for their one shot at making a name for themselves. It is this mix of players that makes the Masters Tour so exciting to watch.

Although Grandmasters also participate in the Masters Tour, I’m going to introduce you to regular players who have incredible stories you may not be familiar with, all of which you should keep an eye on. This is the second of four Tales from the Tavern explorations for Masters Tour Online: Montreal, live beginning this Friday only on YouTube.

GameRVG

Montreal will be the seventh Masters Tour for Zack “GamerRVG” Kannss. He began playing Hearthstone in 2014, just before the release of the Curse of Naxxramas expansion. He always enjoyed being competitive when playin...

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LoWith more than 300 players to keep an eye on, Masters Tour events are full of new competitors to follow. For every returning player at each event there is someone new hoping to make a name for themself, and everyone is playing for their shot at joining Hearthstone Grandmasters. There are also players who qualify for their one shot at making a name for themselves. It is this mix of players that makes the Masters Tour so exciting to watch.

Although Grandmasters also participate in the Masters Tour, I’m going to introduce you to lesser known players who have incredible stories you may not be familiar with, all of which you should follow along with. This is the first of four Tales from the Tavern explorations for Masters Tour Online: Montreal, live beginning this Friday only on YouTube.

Eggowaffle

Jake “Eggowaffle” Christoforo is one of those people that many of us aspire to be: he’s calm, hard-working, and good at Hearthstone.

Eggowaffle started off his Hearthstone journey all t...

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The Hearthstone Masters Tour Online: Montreal is hitting your screens this weekend! With over 300 invited players from more than 40 countries, the field is wide open for whoever has mastered the lessons of Scholomance Academy. The champion will take home their share of the $3,000,000 (USD) total prize pool for Hearthstone Masters Tour 2020, the Masters Tour trophy, and will be one step closer to earning an invite to Grandmasters. Join us this weekend for all of the competitive action only on YouTube Gaming!

Details

• Venue: Online - YouTube.com/HearthstoneEsports
• Dates: Friday, September 11, 2020 – Sunday, September 13, 2020
• Broadcast Start Time: 9:00 AM PDT Friday– Sunday
• Casters: TJ “Azumoqt” Sanders, Darroch “Darroch” Brown, Dan “Frodan” Chou, Alex “RavenCasts” Baguley, and Simon “Sottle” Welch
• Prize Pool: $250,000 (USD) in base prizing, out of a total US $3,000,000 prize purse for 2020
• Format: 4-deck, best-of-5 Conquest with a ban
• Language Streams on YouTube: ...

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Deep beneath the campus grounds lies the cobweb-ridden inner sanctum of Scholomance Academy, where Headmaster Kel’Thuzad has sealed away many a leather-bound chronicle and magical “experiment” gone awry. With powerful forces of dark magic in proximity, only brave (foolish?) souls dare meddle in the midst of this Forbidden Library!

The Forbidden Library is a limited-time event with new content unlocking weekly!

September 8 – Battlegrounds Parties, New Heroes, and More!

We’re excited to announce that starting September 8, you’ll be able to queue Battlegrounds with up to 7 friends! If you want to play a Private game, simply queue with 5 or more players—if you want to play Ranked, queue with 4 or fewer!

We’ll also be mixing things up with the introduction of Lord Barov, Jandice Barov, and Forest Warden Omu to the Hero Pool, and adding Micro Mummy as a Tier 1 minion! Read the patch notes for details.

September 15 – Hearthstone Book of Heroes, Jaina

After some light dusting...

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The 18.2 patch kicks off the Forbidden Library limited-time event on September 8 and includes a new Battlegrounds feature and update! On September 15, the all-new Hearthstone Book of Heroes solo experience will unlock, and on September 23 players can duke it out for big rewards in the Heroic Brawliseum!

Battlegrounds Updates

NEW FEATURE – BATTLEGROUNDS PARTIES

With the introduction of Battlegrounds Parties on September 8, players will be able to queue up for Battlegrounds matches with more than one other player! Battlegrounds Parties will allow groups of players to queue Battlegrounds together, and it supports a full lobby for private games! Here’s how it works:

• Up to 4 players will be able to queue for a normal ranked Battlegrounds match together.
• Once the group lobby exceeds 4 players, the game type will automatically switch to a private Battlegrounds match for 5-8 players.

Climb in rating with a handful of friends or invite the whole family to determine, once and for all...

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Since Blizzard began working from home full-time in March, the Hearthstone team hasn’t missed a beat, delivering regular content and updates to our players, and launching two full expansions, including the recently-released Scholomance Academy.

Undertaking a project as complex and involved as a Hearthstone expansion while working remotely requires adapting to uncertainty on the fly, and often wholly reinventing familiar processes. We spoke with a few members of the team to get insights on how they made it work, and asked them to share some advice on wrangling big projects while working from home. Of course, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to also ask them about their personal favorite Scholomance Academy cards. Check out their responses below.

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What were the biggest challenges you encountered while launching an expansion while working remotely? What advice would you give to someone in a similar situation?

Linus Flink, Senior Game Producer, Art

The biggest technical challenge for...

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Ready your wands, the Scholomance Inn-vitational is upon us! Taking place on August 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PT, the Scholomance Inn-vitational will split 20 Hearthstone personalities into 10 teams of 2 players, each representing a Dual-Class pairing! $100,000 in prizing is on the line, along with the bragging rights that come with being the Scholomance Inn-vitational champions!

How it works:

• Each team will prepare four decks using cards from their Dual-Class pairing and at least 10 Scholomance Academy cards overall.
• Each player will independently play through 4 rounds of best-of-three matches, with each game victory awarding their team 1 point.
• If both players on a team win their match with a 2-0 game score, that team will earn an additional 2 points.
• The final team placements and respective prizing will be determined by the total team point score after all 4 rounds have been completed.

All participants will stream their own perspective of the competition on their o...

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On August 18, we’ll be releasing a balance patch that includes a slew of Battlegrounds updates, adjustments for two minions in Standard, and handful of bug fixes.

Standard Balance Updates

Kael’thas Sunstrider

• Old: Every third spell you cast each turn costs (0). → New: Every third spell you cast each turn costs (1).

Mindrender Illucia

• Old: [Cost 2] → New: [Cost 3]

Mindrender Illucia will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks after the 18.0.2 patch goes live.

Battlegrounds Minion Updates

• Gentle Megasaur has been removed from the Battlegrounds minion pool.
• Arcane Cannon has been removed from Battlegrounds minion pool.

Rabid Saurolisk

• Old: 3 Attack, 2 Health → New: 4 Attack, 2 Health

Rat Pack

• Old: [Tier 2] → New: [Tier 3]

Pack Leader

• Old: [Tier 3] → New: [Tier 2]

Monstrous Macaw

• Old: 3 Attack, 2 Health → New: 4 Attack, 3 Health

Pri... Read more

Hearthstone Grandmasters returns for Season 2 beginning August 14! Season 2 will run every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through September 6, with a break for Masters Tour Online: Montreal before picking back up starting Friday, September 18 – October 11. Ten new competitors have advanced to Grandmasters Season 2, including a promotion to Americas for Killinallday. Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with this season’s Grandmaster action!

Details

• Dates: Friday, Saturday, Sunday - August 14 – September 6 and September 18 – October 11, 2020
• Broadcast Start Time: Broadcast kicks off with the Asia-Pacific region playing at 2 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. CEST / 6 p.m. KST on Friday, August 14
• Where to Watch: YouTube.com/HearthstoneEsports
• Casters:
  • AMERICAS: Dan “Frodan” Chou and TJ “Azumo” Sanders
  • ASIA-PACIFIC: Jia “Jia” Dee and Darroch “Darroch” Brown
  • EUROPE: Simon “Sottle” Welch and Alex “Raven” Baguley
• Prize Pool: Over $500,000 in prizing globally for Grandma...

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On behalf of Headmaster Kel’Thuzad and the rest of our faculty, we’re thrilled to welcome you to Scholomance Academy, the fabled college of magic where knowledge is power, students are brimming with magical potential, and rumors abound of vile things lurking beneath the school grounds…

Take your seats, class is officially in session.

What’s Included: Dual-Class Cards

Dual-Class cards embody a cross-pollination of learnings by mashing up unique mechanics inspired by both classes’ strengths, unlocking a whole new spectrum of gameplay possibilities. These Dual-Class cards make up 40 of the 135 cards releasing with Scholomance Academy. Each Dual-Class combination also includes a shared Legendary minion—that course's professor!

New Spellburst Keyword

Scholomance Academy introduces a new keyword: Spellburst, a one-time only effect after you cast a spell! With a Spellburst minion or weapon in play, casting a Spell will activate its Spellburst effect.

Studies

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Today’s 18.0 patch includes a smattering of Battlegrounds updates and game improvements. Its arrival means Hearthstone’s newest expansion, Scholomance Academy, is almost here! All Scholomance Academy cards have officially been revealed and while you can't use the new cards until they’ve unlocked on August 6, you can get a head start on building your launch day decks with our online deck builder!

Battlegrounds Updates

NEW HERO

Mr. Bigglesworth

• Kel’Thuzad’s Kitty [Passive]
  • When a player dies, Discover a minion from their warband. It keeps any enchantments.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Mr. Bigglesworth before the hero is formally released on August 13.

NEW MINIONS

Menagerie Mug

• [Tier 2] 2 Attack, 2 Health
  • Battlecry: Give 3 random friendly minions of different minion types +1/+1.

Menagerie Jug

• [Tier 4] 3 Attack, 3 Health
  • Battlecry: Give 3 random friendly minions of different minion types +2/+2.

REMOVED MINION...

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As we enter the second half of 2020 and still in the midst of the global pandemic, we are restructuring Masters Tour Madrid to an online-only event. While we are saddened to still be unable to gather this incredible community of Hearthstone competitors together in one place, we have also decided to lessen the time between Masters Tour Online: Montreal and Masters Tour Online: Madrid by moving the tournament up from December to October 23-25!

Ready for a chance to compete at Masters Tour Online: Madrid? Qualifiers begin August 6, and starting today players hoping to earn an invite will be able to sign-up on Battlefy. In addition to competing for their share of the $3,000,000 total prize pool for 2020, Masters Tour Online: Madrid will be the final opportunity for invited players to reach the top of the winnings leaderboard for their Regions to earn a spot in Grandmasters 2021! 

Here are some of the ways you can snag an invite to Masters Tour Online: Montreal:

• Win one of 90 online ...

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In light of the ongoing global health risks associated with in-person gatherings, we’ve canceled official Fireside Gatherings for the near future and disabled the ability to create public events.

We do, however, want individuals at home to have an opportunity to partake in the upcoming Pre-Release weekend, so we’ll be keeping private event functionality intact. Players can register their own one-person event to enjoy opening Scholomance Academy card packs from July 31 – August 3.

Thank you all, innkeepers and patrons, for understanding.

Private Fireside Gatherings will:

• Be eligible to receive Nemsy Necrofizzle if they fulfill all hosting prerequisites. This means having an established Tavern - Learn more about how to establish your tavern here.
• Be eligible for the Fireside Gatherings card back.
• Allow event listing creation the same day it is meant to be hosted.
• Have the same Fireside Brawls as public Fireside Gatherings.
• Be visible on the website only to the innkeeper ho...

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Following another incredible weekend of Hearthstone action, Simone “Leta” Liguori is the newest Masters Tour champion! Leta, continuing the streak of European champions, defeated Nozomi “Alutemu” Yashima in the finals 3-1. With his victory, Leta finishes the weekend with $32,500 in champion prizing, the Masters Tour champions trophy, and one step closer to securing a promotion to Grandmasters at the end of 2020!

Leta’s run at the championship began after he secured his Top 8 spot with an 8-1 record in the initial swiss rounds. Leta started off the third day of Masters Tour Online: Asia-Pacific facing Americas Grandmaster David “JustSaiyan” Shan in the first round of the Top 8. Following the 3-1 defeat of JustSaiyan, Leta moved onto face European Grandmaster and former teammate Raphael “Bunnyhoppor” Peltzer in the semifinal, where he triumphed 3-2. With only one Grandmasters region left to conquer, Leta went up against Asia-Pacific Grandmaster Alutemu in the final match. It was an in...

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With more than three hundred different players to keep an eye on, following Masters Tour events can be a blur of names. There are many regulars on the Tour, and some of those regulars will be future Grandmasters. There are also players who qualify for their one shot. It is this mix of players that makes the Masters Tour so exciting to watch.

Although Grandmasters also play in the Masters Tour, I’m going to introduce you to regular players who have incredible stories you may not be familiar with, all of which you should keep an eye on.

NaySyl

Nayara “NaySyl” Sylvestre started playing Hearthstone in 2015 when her friends all started to compete. She was the only one who did not know anything about the game, so she started to play casually so she could join in on their conversations. She immediately took to Hearthstone and started to play for “hours and hours”.

At the time, she was running a struggling lawyer’s office, and in 2016, she closed the office and began to work from home....

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ANNOUNCING

SCHOLOMANCE ACADEMY

HEARTHSTONE’S NEWEST EXPANSION

Greetings, aspiring adept! We’re thrilled to welcome you to Scholomance Academy! Within the lofty halls of this fabled magic college, the (mostly) good Headmaster Kel’Thuzad and the rest of our faculty are here to guide the next generation of greats, from Warlocks to Warriors and everything between. We encourage the pursuit of double majors and offer a plethora of cross-over studies. Whatever flavor of major you favor, Scholomance has the training grounds to suit your needs!

Just . . . don’t go exploring those dusty crypts beneath the schoolgrounds. There’s no reason at all to be concerned about what Kel’Thuzad and the Cult of the Damned are stirring up down there . . .

Scholomance Academy will launch worldwide on August 6! You can find the full schedule for card reveals here. Be sure to visit the card library to see which cards were announced today and check back frequently—it’ll be updated with ...

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Today’s 17.6 patch brings pre-purchase for Hearthstone’s newest expansion, Scholomance Academy! With it comes a handful of Battlegrounds updates, balance changes, and game improvements.

Battlegrounds Hero Pool Updates

NEW HERO

Tess Greymane

• Bob’s Burgles [Cost 1]
  • Refresh Bob’s Tavern with minions from your last opponent’s warband.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Tess Greymane before the hero is formally released on July 28.

RETURNING HEROES

King Mukla

• Bananarama [Cost 1]
  • Get 2 Bananas. At the end of your turn, give everyone else one.

Dinotamer Brann

• Battle Brand [Cost 1]
  • Refresh Bob’s Tavern with Battlecry minions.

UPDATED HEROES

Aranna Starseeker

• Demon Hunter Training [Passive]
  • Old: After you Refresh 7 times, Bob always has 7 minions. → New: After you Refresh 5 times, Bob always has 7 minions.

Captain Hooktusk

• Trash for Treasure [Cost 0]
  • Old: Remove a friendly minion...

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The Hearthstone Masters Tour returns this weekend for Hearthstone Masters Tour Online: Asia-Pacific! We recently announced the decision to restructure this tournament into an online-only Masters Tour to protect the health and well-being of all players and staff. Over 320 invited players from over 40 countries will be competing for their share of the USD $3,000,000 total prize pool for Hearthstone Masters Tour 2020 and the title of Masters Tour Champion!

Please join our casters—Jacinta Patricia “Jia” Dee, Darroch “Darroch” Brown, Alex “RavenCasts” Baguley, Simon “Sottle” Welch, and Neil “l0rinda” Bond—as they take us through all of the exciting Hearthstone action live on YouTube.

Details

• Venue: YouTube.com/HearthstoneEsports
• Dates: Thursday, July 16, 2020 – Sunday, July 19, 2020
• Broadcast Start Time: 5:00 PM PDT Thursday - Sunday
• Prize Pool: US $250,000 in base prizing, out of a total US $3,000,000 prize purse for 2020
• Format: 4-deck, best-of-5 Conquest with a ban...

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