Hearthstone’s next expansion pack, Journey to Un’Goro, is still a little ways out, currently planned for launch some time in April. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start preparing now.
Today, Blizzard launched the latest Tavern Brawl in the game, and it’s a repeat of one we’ve seen a bunch of times in the past: “Encounter at the Crossroads.” In this Brawl, players choose a class and then are given completely randomized decks including cards specific to that class. Pretty simple stuff, and not a lot of strategy beyond playing over and over until you manage to get a less terrible random deck than your opponent.
There’s a catch, though. In most weeks, the reward for Tavern Brawl is a single classic pack, which is useful for players new to the game but arguably less so for anyone who’s been playing for an extended period and already has a ton of classic cards. This week, Blizzard is offering winners a single Journey to Un’Goro pack. Of course that pack cannot be opened until the expansion launches, so you’ll have to get used to seeing a big “1” next to the “Open Packs” button for the next month or so.
If you’re looking to score even more cards in the run-up to Journey to Un’Goro, Blizzard is running a pre-order program right now where players can purchase 50 packs (and a special card back) for $49.99. Blizzard has also promised further freebies as it switches over to what it’s called the Year of the Mammoth. At some point in the near future, the developer will implement daily login rewards for Hearthstone, which will include gold, arcane dust and full card packs.
If you’re interested in finding out what cards you’ll be fishing out of those Journey to Un’Goro packs, stay tuned. Blizzard is running a stream this Friday on the official Hearthstone Twitch channel where cards from the new expansion will be revealed.
Update: For the second week in a row, you can win a Journey to Un’Goro pack for getting one win in this week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl. It’s even easier this week, as well — the Brawl in question is a single-player challenge where you attempt to get as many hits on the computer-controlled opponent as possible before they wipe you out. As long as you do at least 30 damage to the enemy, you will win and earn your free pack.
As with last week’s free pack, this will be added to the “Open Packs” area of the game, but you won’t be able to open it until Journey to Un’Goro’s release some time next month. Polygon has reached out to Blizzard to see if they intend to continue rewarding Un’Goro packs for Tavern Brawl victories in the future.