Hearthstone announces Heroes of StarCraft, Year of the Raptor expansions, and more

Hearthstone is known for featuring characters from the beloved Warcraft universe, but during the Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct event, Blizzard revealed that the card game is going to expand even further with Hearthstone: Heroes of StarCraft — The Great Dark Beyond’s Mini-Set! The Warcraft Direct event also revealed the rest of the Hearthstone 2025 roadmap, which includes three new expansions plus Mini-Sets galore. Read on for details.

The next Hearthstone Mini-Set is Heroes of StarCraft, and it's set to release in early 2025. According to Blizzard, this set within The Great Dark Beyond includes 49 new cards plus three StarCraft-themed factions. These factions are the Zerg, Protoss, and Terran.

Each of these StarCraft factions in Hearthstone have cards that can be used across multiple classes. There are also hero cards involved in all of this. For example, the Zergs pertain to Death Knight, Demon Hunter, Hunter, and Warlock. These classes are led by Sarah Kerrigan and have cards suited for aggo gameplay via swarming the board.

Meanwhile, the Protoss faction features Druid, Mage, Priest, and Rogue being led by High Templar Artanis. These classes make use of high-mana cards that can be discounted throughout a match.

Of course, let's not forget about the Terran. This Hearthstone StarCraft faction is represented by the Paladin, Shaman, and Warrior classes. Their leader is none other than Jim Raynor. "They will command Battlecruisers — a special take on the Starship mechanic from The Great Dark Beyond," Blizzard explained.

As for the rest of Hearthstone's 2025 roadmap, Year of the Raptor features the Into the Emerald Dream, The Shrouded City, and The Heroes of Time expansions. Of course, within each of these expansions are Mini-Set as well. They are Druids of the Flame, Festival of Devilsaur, and The End of Time respectively. For Hearthstone Battlegrounds fans, Year of the Raptor also includes Battlegrounds Seasons 10, 11, and 12.

In addition to the content featured in the 2025 Hearthstone roadmap, Blizzard also revealed that the Arena game mode is getting a significant overhaul. Instead of just one version of Hearthstone Arena, the mode is getting Normal Arena for quick runs and Underground Arena for more competitive players. The latter version has the new Re-Draft on Loss feature that allows a player to re-draft cards and edit their deck after a loss.

"Ratings will also be added to both Normal and Underground Arena," Blizzard explained. "Normal, skill-based matchmaking will be used for Normal Arena. Underground Arena throws caution to the wind and lets you face off against opponents of all skill levels."

This competitive version of Hearthstone Arena is launching in the first half of 2025.

That's all for now. Are you ready for another year of Hearthstone shenanigans? Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates!