Hearthstone’s next expansion, Voyage to the Sunken City, set for April

The next HearthstoneExpanding takes players to Zin-Azshari in the heart of Azshara, home of Queen Azshara and the Naga. Blizzard has announced the expansion Voyage to the Sunken City with its global launch date set for April 12, and released a brief animated trailer on Thursday.

Trailer shows a ship that is small and navigates through deep ocean depths, with crew members including a Mechagnome Nightborne and murloc. The crew of hardy men make their way to the bottom of unknown territory, where they eventually find Zin-Azshari. There, they are attacked by Naga, and we get an idea of the sort of cards we can likely expect to see — Naga, pirates, murlocks, and other nautical sorts.

It’s a genuinely lovely trailer; Hearthstone’s announcements are often loud and silly, rolling information out through musical trailers. It’s a game where one of the most prestigious lore characters, Medivh, is portrayed as a silly ham of a man who hosts lavish parties out of his wizard tower. Journey to the Sunken City’s trailer is more thought-provoking and features ethereal music gradually rising into an incredible track.

World of Warcraft Zin-Azshari was visited by players during the Azeroth: The Battle Expanding, but Hearthstone’s card art often allows for alternate, more detailed perspectives on familiar locations. Naga is a new keyword for minions. These scaly creatures can be powerful when used with spellcasting. There’s a new spell mechanic called Dredge, which allows the player to see the bottom three cards of their deck and pick one to draw next, along with new cards with active effects to sink cards down to the bottom of your deck. Colossal minions, which are large enough to summon tentacles and limbs from the deck, can be used even though they weren’t played with hand.

Activision Blizzard continues to be in financial trouble following two years of investigation by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The suit alleges that Activision Blizzard allegedly fostered a “frat boy culture” that allowed for gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard for $68.7 Billion in January; however, the FTC is still reviewing the acquisition.