14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard Entertainment has just opened Blackrock Mountain's third wing, Blackrock Spire, so I've naturally jumped right in in order get a handful of new cards and beat up some poor AI-controlled opponents.
Hearthstone, the company's first foray in the realm of free-to-play and collectible card games, is a hybrid between a casual experience and a strategy game.
It's well polished, and it offers plenty of exciting actions for those willing to give it a try. The latest offering from the company is the second single-player adventure, Blackrock Mountain, inspired, as the name would imply, by one of World of Warcraft's most famous zones.
The third wing is now open, patiently awaiting brave souls to venture in and defeat three new bosses and undertake two new class challenges.
As always, going through all the content will reward you with a handful of new cards, namely Volcanic Lumberer, Core Rager, Dragon Consort, Twilight Whelp, Dragon Egg and Rend Blackhand.
The three new bosses
The first boss that needs a good beating is Highlord Omokk, a brutish ogre whose Hero Power, Me Smash, can destroy one of your damaged minions at random. He's pretty easy to take out and doesn't put up too much of a fight, especially if you can avoid getting hit by his power.
The second encounter is much more interesting, as you go against none other than General Drakkisath himself. His unique Hero Power is a passive titled Intense Gaze, making all cards cost only 1 point of mana.
However, players are also capped at 1 Mana Crystal per turn, which pretty much means that each of the parties only gets to play one card each round. The fight is easy if you bring a lot of heavy hitters that you can sneak in at 1 mana.
The third boss, Rend Blackhand, is a ruthless orc guarding the entrance to Nefarian's lair. His Hero Power, Open the Gates, can summon three 1/1 Whelps for 2 mana.
Although this may not seem like much at first, after each activation, his Hero Power changes, cycling through a series of summoning abilities ending with putting a very powerful drake on the table.
This encounter might prove a little more difficult at first, but fortunately, his patterns become quite predictable, and as long as you're ready to deal with his bigger minions, it shouldn't pose any challenge.
Two more class challenges
Speaking of which, there are two new class challenges, pitting you against two of the bosses with a custom deck. This week, you will be able to pilot a Priest and a Druid deck, and should you emerge victorious, you will be able to grab two new class-specific cards.
You can see all the cards that can be earned by completing Blackrock Mountain's third wing, Blackrock Spire, in the gallery below.
You can also watch me blitz through the encounters without breaking a sweat using my trusty Paladin deck in the attached video.
Next week, a new wing of the encounter will open, and we'll get to bully three more bosses in the Blackwing Lair. My Paladin deck will be ready.
All in all, the entire Blackrock Mountain adventure delivers 31 new cards, 18 of which are class specific. Some of them even look like they might have the potential to be playable.
