Scholomance Academy, Hearthstone‘s (Free) next expansion, is taking us back to school. And given the times we live in, this school will be, unsurprisingly, a virtual one. Let me start by saying that I love the theme of this expansion; school shenanigans are often the best shenanigans, and this kind of theme isn’t one we’ve seen a lot in Hearthstone. This new expansion brings dual-class cards, a new keyword, and new spells. And with such a fresh theme, I expect this expansion to be a fun one to play, even if you haven’t done your homework.

Scholomance Academy isn’t Hogwarts; in World of Warcraft, this academy’s students were prospective necromancers, so the expansion’s emphasis on spells shouldn’t be that surprising. The new keyword is Spellburst, and minions and weapons with this keyword trigger a one-time powerful effect the next time you cast a spell. I like cards that reward multi-turn strategies, so I expect Spellburst to be a strong weapon at the hands of good players. Studies, Scholomance’s new spells, let you Discover a card but also reduce the mana cost of the next card of that type. Thematically, these new spells work great since studying a subject consistently definitely helps. It remains to be seen how powerful these new spells are and whether they’ll find a place in any strong decks. The other big feature that introduces all kinds of exciting possibilities is the 40 dual-class cards, usable by t...