So like many Hearthstone players, I also play the game that inspired it, World of Warcraft. Currently, the game has players exploring an underground area called the Zaralek Caverns, which include a new and cute mole-like race called the Niffen. Then, remembering Deepholm and another ground-dwelling race called the Drogbar, a bunch of ideas came to me in the form of a new expansion idea: Journey to the Center of Azeroth.
Since the idea (and the name) is based on the work of the great author, Jules Verne, I decided it should be inspired and themed after his work. And so this is the basic story idea:
Plot: Many secrets still lay underneath the surface of Azeroth, both great riches and dangerous secrets. Come join the legendary writer and amateur explorer, Joles Burns, as he takes his specially modified mole machine and digs deeper into Azeroth than anyone has before! He will not stop until he reaches the center of the planet! But will his expedition lead to untold treasures…or horrifying terrors that should not have been disturbed…?
Joles Burns will be a Dark Iron Dwarf and the MC of the expansion and a likely solo adventure. He can be a shaman potrait hero, but I see him also as a legendary neutral card. Which brings up the special new term introduced to this expansion: Collaspe
Jole Burns: Legendary. (Neutral) 7/8. 8-Mana. Battlecry: Collapse. three slots of your choosing for 3 turns. Entrance Quote: I am a dark iron dwarf and I DIGGY DIGGY A HOLE!!! (Reference to the Windrose song)
Collapse is a new mechanic I thought of that gives players the ability to manipulate the playing field itself. The targets are monster slots (Emptied or occupied), secrets, quests, multiple-turn spells (like the Alterac Valley spells), and even hero powers. When a slot is collasped, it can not be used (effects like spell damage for being out get nullified), have its effects activated (secrets remain unable to be triggered), or be progressed (quests can’t be fufilled until collaspe ends). You may choose your own field or the opponents. Now all collapse effects have a timer, but can be ended up earlier by giving up one mana to “dig it up”. This can never be lowered or effected by mana cost, so it becomes a matter of stragety (do you give up mana to get it out back but possibly run out before your full stragety works or do you save mana while waiting for it to end?) To counter this, there can be a neutral monster card or two can that dig up slots (all slots at once, so like if its three mana and you have four slots, it’d only cost you three mana instead of four)
The monsters and cards can be themed around the underground areas such as Deepholm, Neltharion’s Lair, and the Caverns. We can see niffen, drogbar, elementals, and maybe even bring back the Kobolds.
Now here’s the card themes I thought of for each class:
1: Death Knight. Mushrooms. I thought this would be a funny idea, as part of the Titan research faciulty that would be part of the solo storyline, that all the natural fauna were experimented on…and turned out horribly wrong. Mushrooms grow on dead things, and the magic infused into them could relate to blood, frost, and undeath (think fungus zombies!)
2: Demon Hunter. Underground demons. This was a tough one, but I came up with the idea that demons long ago tried opening a portal to Azeroth and got stuck in the center of the earth instead. They are slightly berserk after centuries of being able to find their way back out.
3: Druid. Giant plants of the jungle area. In Journey to the Center of the Earth, there was a major area that was a monstrous jungle filled with dinosaurs and various monsters. And one big thing were the giant man-eating plants, so i thought that should be the druid’s theme here.
4: Hunter. Giant underground beasts. These would be the same giant beasts of the jungle area. True, not very original for hunter, but most of their themes revolve around using animals like the wow class. We could have dinosaurs and giant worms for an example.
5: Mage. Lava area. I thought of this for the shaman or warrior originally, but better ideas for them came to me. Instead, I thought this would be good for the mage, focusing around fire elementals, monsters, and spells.
6: Paladin. Titanic constructs. Since many titan constructs use the light as a weapon similar to paladins, I thought this would be their theme here. Part of the story involves the underground titan faciulty Joles Burns discovers, and so would be fitting here.
7: Priest. Crystal monsters. Crystals were often believed to have healing and mystic powers, and naturally amplify light. So I thought crystal constructs and beasts would be good for the priest here.
8: Rogue. The Niffen. These guys are small, but sneaky, so I thought they’d match with the naturally stealthy rogue. Their spell cards could involve their odor-based warfare as rogue tools (such as stink bombs and explosives).
9: Shaman. Therazane and the earth elementals. This was easy to decide on after thinking about it slightly. They naturally work with the shaman’s abilities and Therazane herself can be a legendary for the shaman.
10: Warlock. Fel-infected. Going back to the demon theme of the Demon Hunter, I thought in their madness, they left fel wounds all over the underground and it infected the creatures and citizens here. So you can expect fel-influenced drogbar, sniffen, and even kobolds (“NO TAKE GREEN CANDLE!!!”) The legendary here can be Totswaggle, who returns after finding a strange and beautiful fel-flamed candle that messes with his already screwy mind.
11: Warrior. The Drogbar. A race of uber-chads obessed with pumping iron and building muscle? Sounds perfect for a muscle-focused class like the warrior! Here’s a weapon I thought of that could be fun.
Buff-U Weight. 1/4. (5 mana). Deathrattle: Give your hero 1 attack permantely if used at least four times previously (so no cheating by switch weapons or breaking your own weapon otherwise. No cheating on the road to fitness!)
One of the legendaries here could be Dargrul, who was the king of the Drogbar in Highmountain, until the adventurers of Azeroth killed him in Neltharion’s Lair as its final boss. His entrance or battle quote could be: “THE MOUNTAIN WILL GNAW AT YOUR BONES!!!” (A line he screams during the fight for one of his attacks)
So do you guys think this would be a fun expansion? Feel free to comment and add your own ideas.