Blizzard Entertainment has released Reign of the Black Empire, the latest expansion for its popular digital card game, Hearthstone. Available since 20 October 2026, the expansion introduces 135 new collectible cards, the return of four legendary Old Gods, and a new Assemble mechanic that allows players to create customised minions.
The expansion brings this ancient conflict to life through powerful Legendary cards, new strategies, and mechanics that could introduce various possibilities for deck building.
The biggest attraction in Reign of the Black Empire is undoubtedly the return of C’Thun, N’Zoth, Yogg-Saron, and Y’Shaarj. These familiar names from Warcraft lore are represented as powerful Neutral Legendary minions, each with its own unique abilities and playstyle. And yes, we’ve had them in the old expansions many years ago. Players can only include one Old God in their deck though, so choosing which one to build around becomes an important strategic decision.
Each Old God comes with four special abilities and can activate two of them per turn instead of attacking. Once all four abilities have been exhausted, the Old God can finally attack directly.
C’Thun, Eye of the Empire rewards players who build their decks around fulfilling its dark objectives. N’Zoth, Dream’s End focuses on corruption and Deathrattle synergies. Meanwhile, Mastermind Yogg-Saron takes unpredictability to another level. When played, Yogg-Saron takes an entire extra turn on the player’s behalf, making all the decisions itself. Finally, Y’Shaarj, Titan Bane is designed for players who prefer overwhelming their opponents with massive minions.
Another major addition is Assemble, a new keyword that introduces more flexibility when building and playing decks. Rather than simply summoning a minion with predefined abilities, Assemble allows players to create customised minions by combining card effects from a curated selection. The mechanic adds a minion to your hand before replacing part of its card text with that of another minion. The result is a customised card that could offer new combinations of effects depending on the player’s strategy.
Of course, how effective these combinations become will depend on the available cards and how well they work together. Still, Assemble looks like an interesting addition that could encourage more creative deck-building strategies.
While the Old Gods receive much of the attention, Reign of the Black Empire also introduces the Titan-forged, ancient constructs created by the Titans to fight against Azeroth’s corruption. These powerful defenders bring their own collection of cards and abilities, offering players another approach to building their decks.
For example, we have Isiset, a Legendary Titan Watcher for Mage decks. Her Battlecry summons two enormous 10/10 Constructs, although both remain Frozen until the player has spent 15 Mana on spells. Once that requirement has been fulfilled, the two Constructs become available to attack, potentially putting enormous pressure on the opponent.
Other Titan-forged characters, including M.O.T.H.E.R., Mimiron, and Freya, also appear in the expansion, providing additional ways to approach the conflict between the Old Gods and the Titans.
Alongside the new cards, Reign of the Black Empire introduces an updated Rewards Track, giving players opportunities to earn card packs, Gold, experience boosts, and other in-game rewards as they progress. Players looking for additional cosmetic items and premium rewards can also purchase the expansion’s Tavern Pass. This includes two Diamond Legendary cards, Ammunae and Rajh, alongside other rewards such as cosmetics and card packs.
Blizzard has also introduced Tavern Rewards, a separate rewards programme that allows players to collect Tavern Tender from eligible purchases in the Battle.net Shop. These can then be redeemed through the Tavern Rewards Vault for various items, including card packs, cosmetics, and special cards. For players who prefer not to spend additional money, the regular Rewards Track still provides opportunities to collect resources and packs simply by playing the game.
With 135 new cards, powerful Legendary minions, and the ability to create customised minions, Hearthstone: Reign of the Black Empire offers plenty of new possibilities for returning players and those who are still actively battling their way through the Tavern.
The expansion is available now on PC and mobile devices, with further information and the full card collection available on the official Hearthstone website.
Here are the legendaries I’ve got for this Season by opening packs:
I also haven’t been playing Heartshtone for almost a year, so it’s really good to be back and have fun again. I’m quite surprised finding Ladder-ready decks where you can try out the decks for some days and actually pick one deck to own (with the complete cards, even if you haven’t got them). It’s great for those who don’t want to spend money to buy packs, or simply do not have good cards to participate in the ladder.
Everyone can now have fun!
