14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard Entertainment opened the penultimate wing of the Blackrock Mountain single-player adventure, enabling Hearthstone players to earn a couple of new cards and face some new challenges.
Blackrock Mountain is the second Hearthstone dungeon adventure pack, following in the footsteps of last year's The Curse of Naxxramas: A Hearthstone Adventure.
The content packs five different wings, a total of 17 bosses to face on the battlefield, and 31 new cards for those who can rise to the task of defeating all the evils, the dragons, and the evil dragons hidden within.
The wings each open at a rate of one per week, and this time around, we get not three but four new bosses to defeat, namely Razorgore, Vaelastraz, Chromaggus, and Lord Victor Nefarius himself, waiting at the end of the Blackwing Lair.
In addition to this, after completing the story encounters, you will also be able to experience two new class challenges, and pilot custom Warlock and Rogue decks against two of the bosses.
Seven new cards await
The hostilities kick off with Razorgore, a black dragonflight dragonspawn that begins the encounter with one 0/1 Corrupted Egg minion. His Hero Power, called The Rookery, gives all existing Corrupted Eggs +1 health, and then summons a new one.
Each of the eggs, upon reaching 4 health points, will hatch into a 7/3 Chromatic Drake, so you would do well to try and keep things under control. Establishing and maintaining board control is a little challenging, since Razorgore also summons regular minions, but overall, the fight isn't too difficult.
The second encounter is a little different. You go against Vaelestrasz, a powerful dragon, whose Hero Power, Essence of the Red, makes each player draw two cards.
While this may sound like a good thing in theory, he also uses Naturalize, the Druid spell that destroys one of your minions and makes you draw two cards, which means that you can quickly get your hand swamped.
Furthermore, he uses the fact that you have a full hand by laying down things like Clockwork Giant, a lumbering 8/8 gargantuan that costs 12 mana minus the number of cards in your hand. This fight can be a little tricky, but if you use a fast zoo deck, fueled by your enemy's ability, you'll be able to take him out in no time.
The third opponent, Chromaggus, is an even more challenging adversary. His Hero Power, Brood Affliction, puts a random card into your hand, giving him certain bonuses as long as it remains there.
From making his spells cost 1 mana point less to healing him for 2 health at the beginning of each turn, those advantages quickly add up if you don't keep them in check.
Of course, you can always play the cards at the cost of 1 mana point in order to get rid of their effect, but the fact that he also plays an annoying dragon that grows whenever an opponent (you) casts a spell makes it a bit more tricky than simply dumping them as soon as you receive them.
The challenge here is getting rid of the Brood Affliction cards, which effectively render you one turn behind in terms of what you can play. As long as you have either a fast deck with some removal or one with strong minions that offer a lot of value, you will be safe.
Nefarious himself faces you
The confrontation against Lord Victor Nefarious is another exciting and somewhat difficult battle. Right off the bat, his Hero Power, True Form, turns him into a dragon, giving him 30 health, 30 armor, and 10 mana.
His new Hero Power, Wild Magic, draws him a random spell from the class you're playing each turn. However, in order to offset this unfair advantage, Ragnaros the Firelord himself will come to your aid, lending you his minions.
Each turn, you'll get a random 0-cost custom minion, or a 0-cost spell that deals 8 damage to a random opponent. With a bit of luck, and a good control deck, you'll be able to hold Nefarious off until you're on more equal footing, and then secure the win.
After you're done with the four new bosses, you can head to the challenge area and earn two new Rogue and Warlock cards.
In total, the new wing offers seven new cards, Revenge, Flamewaker, Hungry Dragon, Fireguard Destroyer, Demonwrath, Dark Iron Skulker, and Chromaggus, a Legendary minion. You can check them all out in the gallery below.
Next week, Blackrock Mountain will open its fifth and final wing, The Hidden Laboratory.
