Hearthstone 24.6 patch preview: drops, expansion announcement stream, loaner decks and new Battlegrounds cosmetics

Today Hearthstone released the classic announcement of the announcement with the 24.6 patch preview. The whole Hearthstone community is waiting for the next expansion and specifically for Death Knights to be in it. While this 24.6 Hearthstone patch preview does not reveal that, it brings some interesting features. Hearthstone is introducing Loaner Decks, an upgrade to the Free Deck system for new and returning players.

Furthermore, Battlegrounds is getting a new wave of cosmetics with Battle Bash. Also, Mercenaries is getting a Task rework and a solution to excess coins, we have written a specific article about that, check it out below. Let's go over all the news coming in this preview.

Blizzard will reveal "Hearthstone's next expansion and more" next week with a special stream for this 24.6 patch. The expansion announcement is scheduled for November 1st at 10 a.m. PT on Hearthstone's official Twitch channel.

As if this wasn't enough to be hyped about, there is more. You can get a free Murder at Castle Nathria pack by watching if you have your Battle.net and Twitch accounts connected. To get this free Hearthstone pack, you need to watch 15 minutes.

There have been many speculations about what could come with this expansion. Hallow's End event was delayed to match this announcement this year, so could it be something spooky related to it? The Hearthstone 24.6 patch preview promises they are "going big this year", including "the return of some old fan favorites", wink, wink.

This might be the one of the most relevant features for 2022, and I'm not kidding. The Hearthstone Free Deck system for new and returning players will see an upgrade with the new "Loaner Decks" feature coming in patch 24.6. Starting with the 24.6 Hearthstone patch, players eligible for Free decks, will first receive the option to test six "Loaner Decks" for a week.

This allows you to feel the decks before committing to one. New and returning players will not need to guess which is the best value deck for them blindfolded anymore. You can check out the current Free Hearthstone deck options in our dedicated article.

Remember that, to be eligible for a Free Deck, you need to create a brand new Hearthstone account, complete the tutorial, the Starter Questline, and graduate from the New Player Ranks (40-1). But wait, if you haven’t been active in the last 120 days, you will also be eligible for Hearthstone Free Deck.

Battlegrounds fans got some news in this 24.6 Hearthstone patch preview as well. As of the next patch, they will have an additional way to get cosmetic items: Battle Bash.

These Battle Bashes seem to be a kind of loot boxes that you can buy with money or Runestones 1000 and that you need to get Top 4 placements to unlock them. Each time you get a Top 4 finish in a game, you get a "Hammer" to Bash for a random prize.

Hearthstone will offer one free Battlegrounds Battle Bash for players with the 24.6 patch. We don't have a lot of information on what kind of cosmetics can you get but the Hearthstone 24.6 patch notes preview mentions "Legendary items", but no odds of getting them.

Each Battle Bash collection will be available for a limited time. However, individual items may be offered again at a later time.

While we don't know for sure when the 24.6 Hearthstone patch will hit, it is safe to guess that it would be either Tuesday 1st, or Thursday the 3rd. The 24.6 patches bring Hearthstone expansion pre-order bundles, and it would make sense for that to happen right after the announcement.

Save the date, November 1st, 10 a.m. PDT. That will be when all our questions will get answers or at least some. The hype levels are off the chart, especially with what people have been speculating about. Moreover, Hearthstone teased a "Cosplay Contest" for November 2nd? Could this have something to do with the Hallow's End event that usually brings Dual-Class Arenas?

That's all for now but stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Hearthstone news and updates. See you next time in the tavern.