Hearthstone announces Showdown in the Badlands expansion!

Amy Chen

Amy Chen

Tumbleweeds are rolling by and high noon draws near.

Hearthstone just announced the Showdown in the Badlands expansion that's set to launch worldwide on Nov. 14. Its Wild West theme boasts outlaws, townsfolk, a pony that you can ride off into the sunset with, and more! Read on for everything to know about the Legendary outlaws plus the Quickdraw and Excavate keywords!

Hearthstone Showdown in the Badlands key art (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Hearthstone Showdown in the Badlands key art (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Hearthstone gets Showdown in the Badlands expansion

Arriving this November, Hearthstone's next expansion features 145 brand-new cards alongside Legendary outlaws and the Quickdraw and Excavate keywords. The Legendary outlaw cards represent the Demon Hunter, Druid, Hunter, Paladin, Priest, and Shaman classes. Meanwhile, the corrupt townsfolk that can get Excavate treasures include the Death Knight, Mage, Rogue, Warlock, and Warrior classes.

Below are the details:

  • Legendary Outlaws: Demon Hunter, Druid, Hunter, Paladin, Priest, and Shaman classes. Each of these classes gets a Legendary minion that has a bonus effect if a player has no duplicates in their deck.
  • Quickdraw Keyword: Cards that have the Quickdraw keyword receive a bonus on the turn they're added to a player's hand.
  • Excavate Keyword: Cards that have the Excavate keyword grant a player treasures from the Azerite mine. Whenever a player uses Excavate, they'll get a random excavated treasure from the tier they’re on. Then, they'll move to the next tier.
    • Legendary Excavate Treasures: Death Knight, Mage, Rogue, Warlock, and Warrior classes. Each of these classes gets a Legendary Excavate treasure when they Excavate for a fourth time.

Hearthstone players get free Legendary pony

In an interview with esports.gg, lead narrative designer Valerie Chu revealed that players are getting a free log-in reward in celebration of the new expansion! Thunderbringer is a pony that's an Elemental and a Beast. Just login on Oct. 17 to receive this card.

"Our free log-in reward card is really fun this time. It is the Thunderbringer, an Elemental and Beast card type," Chu explained. "And the best thing about it is — it's a pony! So you go to the Wild West with us and you get your very own pony to ride out there. Honestly, just the way the card came together — the mechanic and the animations and art look so cool. I'm thrilled for people to get to enjoy that."

Here's the text for this free card:

  • Thunderbringer: Neutral. 8 mana 6/6. Elemental. Beast. Taunt. Deathrattle: Summon an Elemental and beast from your deck.
Thunderbringer in Showdown in the Badlands (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Thunderbringer in Showdown in the Badlands (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Hearthstone Twist in November and Hallow's End event

If a new expansion isn't enough, then Hearthstone Twist is also getting a new season in November. Remember Un'Goro? It returns in this upcoming season of Twist! Players can soon build decks using cards from both of the Un'Goro and Wonders sets. These sets include every class except for Demon Hunter and Death Knight.

As for Hallow's End, which is Hearthstone's version of Halloween, the Headless Horseman is returning soon. According to Blizzard, players can look forward to earning some Wild West cosmetics! Don't forget to check out the BlizzCon quests to earn a special card back.

BlizzCon Hearthstone items and more (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
BlizzCon Hearthstone items and more (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates!