A few months ago, Hearthstone released its 22nd major update with the Fractured in Alterac Valley set. Recently, Hearthstone revealed Patch 22.4, which includes the next mini-set, themed around the iconic “Onyxia’s Lair” raid from World of Warcraft’s original release.
The “Onyxia’s Lair” mini-set was announced with a short trailer set to a catchy Disney villain-esque solo sung by none other than Katranna Prestor–the human guise of the dragon Onyxia. The Hearthstone mini-set, which includes 35 new cards, launches on February 15th.
In addition to the draconic mini-set, Patch 22.4 will also include updates for several other Hearthstone game modes. Three new heroes–the elf mage Varden Dawngrasp, the orc warrior Rokara, and Onyxia herself–are coming to the Battlegrounds mode alongside two new Boards and a new finisher animation used when damaging foes. In Mercenaries, the August Celestials–Warcraft's take on the Four Gods of Chinese legend–are being added, as well as Long’xin, a celestial dragon and character new to the game, for Hearthstone's ongoing Lunar New Year celebrations. Along with new Mercenary bounties and the second-to-last Book of Mercenaries story, the “Onyxia’s Lair” mini set has plenty to do.
Shattered in Alterac Valley is the third and seemingly final Hearthstone in the saga begun with Forged in the Barrens last march and continued with United in Stormwind in August. The “Onyxia’s Lair” mini-set joins the “Wailing Caverns” and “Deadmines” mini-sets in revisiting iconic locations from vanilla World of Warcraft. Each of these sets have featured characters and environments both new and familiar, and have gone back to the roots of what made Warcraft so popular–even more so than retail World of Warcraft has with Shadowlands.
Hearthstone fans are excited to play with the Fractured in Alterac Valley mini-set. New cards and new mercenaries means new combos and deck ideas, not to mention more fantastic art. Players are also excited to see the climax and conclusion of the popular Book of Mercenaries story, which is pointing towards many of the new Mercenary characters from both the Alliance and Horde teaming up to confront a greater threat.
However, there are plenty of Hearthstone fans who are not excited for “Onyxia’s Lair.” The next Masters Tour begins just days after the new mini-set drops, prompting confusion as to the legality of the new cards. Additionally, the new Hearthstone Mercenaries game mode is rife with problems, such as imbalanced characters, glitchy quests, and redundant currencies, so adding more mercenaries to the pool could complicate those issues. However, Hearthstone is decent at addressing player concerns and fixing bugs, even if it takes it a bit, so players should expect more fixes and clarifications before long.
Hearthstone is currently available for Mobile and PC. The "Onyxia's Lair" mini-set releases on February 15th.
Source: Hearthstone
