Blizzard Entertainment has finally revealed the official release date for Whispers of the Old Gods, the next expansion for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and it turns out that the new update is now only one week away and will be arriving on April 26.

Whispers of the Old Gods will add 134 new cards to the game, which includes several powerful new legendaries and a number of new minions and spells. Many of the new cards play on the theme of corruption, and several are meant to represent old Hearthstone cards that have been twisted by the Old Gods of the expansion’s title.

“The Old Gods are benevolent (we cannot stress that enough) entities of supreme power who have come to show everyone just how much fun everything can be when you relax, and stop worrying so much!” Blizzard said on its blog. “Some of your favorite adversaries and allies from the tavern have already met the Old Gods, and are much, much better for it!”

These include cards like the Polluted Hoarder (based on the Loot Hoarder) and the Corrupted Healbot (based on the Antique Healbot).

Players who pre-order 50 Whispers of the Old Gods card packs will receive a unique card back, but the reward will no longer be available after the expansion launches next week.

Out with the old, in with the new

Soon after releasing Whispers of the Old Gods, Blizzard will also be introducing one of the most major changes to arrive in Hearthstone’s two-year history. Beginning sometime this Spring, Blizzard will be launching two game formats – Wild and Standard – that will completely change the way Hearthstone is played, especially on the esports tournament circuit.

Wild will essentially be the same Hearthstone everyone knows today, but Standard will limit which cards can be used to build a deck, allowing only Basic and Classic cards, as well as cards from Adventures and expansions from the current year and the previous year.

That means that once the new Standard format goes live, cards from Goblins vs Gnomes and Curse of Naxxramas will no longer be playable.

“Whether you’re just getting into Hearthstone or you’re a seasoned veteran,” Blizzard said in a blog post, “the new Standard format will help keep Hearthstone fresh, exciting, and accessible for years to come, while the Wild format will preserve everything you already know and love about Hearthstone,”

Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment Inc