Scholomance Academy Expansion Introduces Hearthstone's First Dual-Class Cards

Players will be going back to school in Hearthstone's next expansion, Scholomance Academy, announced earlier today. It adds 135 new cards, with 40 of them being the first dual-class cards in Hearthstone -- as they say in the Academy, "We encourage the pursuit of double majors." 10 class combos are offered, with each having a legendary minion as that pairing's "professor." Oh, and the headmaster of the Academy is Kel'thuzad, whom we're sure isn't doing something nefarious beneath the schoolgrounds ...

The new keyword for this expansion is Spellburst, which is found on minions and activates once when a spell is cast while that minion is in play. An additional subclass of cards is "Studies," which let you discover a card and then grant a discount on the next card you play of that type.

The release of Scholomance Academy will coincide with the next phase of the Year of the Phoenix, which will herald new balance patches, new Battlegrounds Heroes and minions, a seasonal event, a new game mode, and "what was previously spell-locked -- a new solo experience and Battlegrounds feature!" Those are all expected to make their way into the game between the launch of Scholomance and the next expansion.

Log in between now and Oct. 20 to receive two copies of the neutral minion Exchange Student, which has the curious effect of having different abilities depending on what game board you're playing on -- 25 in total. Learn more about Scholomance Academy, and also pre-order one or both of the pack bundles, on the Hearthstone site.