Can you believe that Hearthstone, the card game based on Blizzard’s Warcraft, has been around for ten years already? Man, time flies. Even as a casual player throughout its lifetime (especially to get the collab mounts for World of Warcraft), Hearthstone‘s regular updates have become a staple of Blizzard’s line-up. Let’s put into perspective just how many major content patches it has received to date. Thirty-six titled updates, two new classes, numerous new features, and over five thousand unique cards. And there’s no end in sight either, especially with its upcoming expansion, Perils in Paradise. I got to check out Perils in Paradise early, and I’m surprised just how much change there is in this latest update.
Going into the preview period for Perils in Paradise, I had the pleasure of not knowing anything new that’s been introduced so far. Creating several decks with all new cards came with lots of revelations that even seasoned fans may not expect come launch. Specifically for this preview, I went with two deck types that I’ve never really used before: a Demon Hunter deck and a Rogue deck. Both were fresh decks full of only Perils in Paradise cards.
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The new location and drink cards are really fun in practice and execution. The drink cards act as spells but can be used multiple times. These add an extra flair to any deck on top of adding new ways to spend extra mana during a turn. One in particular I used with my Demon Hunter deck was Divine Brew, a drink that gives any minion divine shield (or +1 attack if they already had divine shield). This was a great way to keep a taunt minion around if they were running low while also dealing out additional damage when your opponent was setting up a turn.
Location cards act similarly to drinks. Instead of being spells cast from hand, they passively add an effect from the field. After activation, they have a recharge period OR a clause that will make them available again quickly. Like Dangerous Cliffside. This card summons two 1/1 pirates upon use. After use, it takes a couple of turns before it can re-open. Unless you attack with your hero. Then, it can be reused again. As you may tell, this combo can lead to a lot of potential with some new pirate Demon Hunter decks.
Then there is the most crucial new addition: tourist cards. These minions allow you to access a different class’s Perils in Paradise cards. There is only one tourist allowed in your deck, but that is more than enough to open a whole world of new variety. For my Demon Hunter and Rogue decks, they could add a Priest and a Warlock tourist, respectively.
Especially with the Rogue deck, adding cards that focus more on damaging yourself for a major payoff may seem rough for a rogue deck. However, it all plays well together in the big picture with a couple of cards that pay off for even higher risk. Rogues excel at dealing quick damage to enemy minions.
Couple that with some of the new drinks and Warlock minions/spells, and you can rack up a lot of damage during a turn. These combos lead you to being able to summon some minions that are cheaper or even free depending on how much damage you’ve taken during your own turn while still remaining at full health. And this is just with a Rogue deck too.
For my Demon Hunter deck, there was a little less apparent synergy with the Priest cards. However, some players who are much more skilled than I am will find some effective ways to implement these combos, particularly beyond just adding a little extra obvious self-heal or defensive moves.
Perils in Paradise brings some R&R to the inn. And with some much-needed rest, this latest expansion has shaken things up in a really refreshing way. As someone who has played off and on during Hearthstone‘s ten-year lifespan, I feel that Perils in Paradise felt as intriguing with its new card types as the game did at launch. Especially with the new Tourist cards, the potential for deckbuilding and theorycrafting to make the most outrageous or fun decks has been increased exponentially.
Hearthstone: Perils In Paradise is available July 23rd on PC and Mobile.
