Hearthstone Details Reign of the Black Empire Expansion and Monk Class at BlizzCon
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Blizzard announced the Reign of the Black Empire expansion and the upcoming Monk class for Hearthstone during its BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony.
Blizzard used its BlizzCon opening ceremony to chart a massive year ahead for Hearthstone, starting with the upcoming Reign of the Black Empire expansion. Set during the ancient era when Warcraft's Old Gods ruled, the expansion leans heavily into lore through an overhauled Journal that will host narrative vignettes and limited-time events, including a brand-new 2v2 mode. Alongside the story focus, players are getting a fresh minion type called Aberrations, which tie into mechanics where defeated units awaken the gods, and a game-changing keyword named Assemble that lets players merge the text boxes of two minions for wild deck-building potential.
Looking further ahead to March 2027, the free-to-play digital card game on mobile, PC, and tablet platforms is finally adding a brand-new hero class. The iconic World of Warcraft Monk class is making the jump to the tavern, marking the first major class addition to Hearthstone in several years. While Blizzard has not yet announced plans to bring other modern classes like the Evoker into the digital card game, the introduction of the Monk promises to shake up the competitive meta and give content creators plenty of new deck archetypes to experiment with when it arrives. Reign of the Black Empire itself launches on October 20, bringing fresh cards and mechanics to keep the community engaged.
Tags: Hearthstone, Blizzard, Card Games, BlizzCon, PC Gaming
Original article: Polygon