Calling all gladiators - Hearthstone's new expansion is taking us to the arena

Some of the announcements coming out of BlizzCon 2018 this weekend may have been a bit divisive, but Hearthstone players have something to celebrate at the very least. Blizzard just revealed the latest Hearthstone expansion—Rastakhan’s Rumble—and it’ll be launching in early December.

The expansion transports players to an epic gladiatorial event hosted by King Rastakhan, all-powerful leader of the Zandalari trolls. It’s a once in a lifetime event pitting nine teams that represent each of Hearthstone’s classes against each other.

Rastakhan’s Rumble introduces 135 new cards into the mix, 16 of which you can check out right now (we expect Blizzard to tease out the rest as we draw closer to the expansion’s release date). On top of that, the developers have introduced some new mechanics to make things truly interesting.

Each team has a Primal Loa, a powerful guardian spirit that, when called upon, will unleash its powers onto the battlefield. Teams will also be able to call upon ancient Spirits to activate highly useful passive abilities. For example, the Spirit of the Shark grants you Stealth for one round to help you get the jump on the opposing team. New Overkill cards add to the drama of arena battles, too. When a card with Overkill does more damage than the enemy’s remaining health, it activates a bonus effect, like an extra attack.

Players can pre-order two bundles ahead of the expansion’s launch. The Challenger’s Bundle is a budget, jumping-off point that starts you with 17 Rastakhan’s Rumble card packs and the Ready to Rumble card back, while the Rastakhan’s Rumble bundle sets you up with 50 card packs, a Ready to Rumble Card back, and new Shaman Hero King Rastakhan. Rastakhan’s Rumble launches on mobile on December 4.