Update: Theorycrafting streams are now live for Europe & Americas! Twitch drops should also be active now across the whole Hearthstone category + players participating in theorycrafting streams might do giveaways for pre-purchase bundles!
Update #2: Pre-release weekend has just started. From now until December 5, you can host a private Fireside Gathering to open your packs early and participate in some special Tavern Brawls.
Update #3: So it looks like it didn’t start after all, you still can’t open the packs. Blizzard is aware and they just updated their Known Issues post.
Just like every expansion, a few days before the launch, Blizzard is inviting many Hearthstone content creators to participate in pre-release theorycrafitng event. This time is no different – next Thursday and Friday (December 1 & 2), you will be able to watch many of your favorite streamers live on Twitch, playing around with new cards. We don’t have a full list of participants, but people who were invited will definitely share that info on their social media.
Of course, to make things a bit more spicy instead of just playing the same decks with one or two new cards, there are some deck building restrictions. Each Standard deck needs to have at least 10 March of the Lich King cards, while each Wild deck needs to have at least 5 March of the Lich King cards and at least 1 Legendary from the expansion (a total of 6+ new cards).
Of course, the biggest attraction will be Death Knight – the new class will definitely be the most popular choice among streamers, and we’ll be able to get a bit better “feeling” of it. Plus, if the deck building rules for MotLK cards also applies to new Path of Arthas set, then DK will be built with basically no restrictions.
Twitch drops will be active across the whole Hearthstone category over the course of the event. Between December 1 at 9 AM PT (18:00 CET) and December 2 at 6 PM PT (December 3 at 3 AM CET), watch any Hearthstone Twitch stream for 2 hours to get one March of the Lich King Pack, and for two more to get a second pack (2 packs in total for 4h of watch time). I recommend double-checking whether your Twitch and Battle.net accounts are connected – for example, mine disconnected for some reason recently.
On December 1, the pre-release event will also start – while public Fireside Gatherings still aren’t unlocked (for some reason), you can create your own Private gathering and open your packs early + play in the special pre-release Brawls.
Read more in the official blog post below:
Join us starting on December 1 as your favorite content creators take the first steps into Hearthstone’s next expansion, March of the Lich King! In these theorycraft livestreams, Standard and Wild content creators will be coming together to give rise to what the new expansion has to offer.
Rules:
- Standard format: At least 10 or more March of the Lich King cards in each deck (this can be 10 unique cards, 5 duplicates, or anything in between).
- Wild format: At least 1 Legendary and at least 5 additional March of the Lich King cards in each deck (for a total of 6+ new cards in each deck).
How to Watch:
Invited players will be streaming their participation on their own personal streams, so make sure that you’re following your favorite Hearthstone content creators and tune in when they go live during the following time periods:
- Japan’s Standard players: December 1, 1:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m. PST
- Europe and Americas Standard players: December 1, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. PST or 3:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. PST*
- Other APAC Standard players: December 2, 1:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m. PST
- Wild players (all regions): December 1, 3:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. PST
* Players in these categories will choose one of the two six-hour time slots.
Twitch Drops and More!
From 9:00 a.m. December 1 to 6:00 p.m. PST December 2, watch a total of 2 hours of any Twitch steam across the Hearthstone category to earn 1 March of the Lich King card pack! Watch for another 2 hours and earn a second March of the Lich King card pack! Card packs will be locked until the expansion launches on December 6. You must link your Twitch and Battle.net accounts for your watch time to award drops.
In addition to category-wide Twitch Drops, players participating in the theorycrafting event have been given Pre-Purchase Mega Bundle codes to give away to their respective audiences during the theorycrafting event. So, make sure that you tune in to your favorite streamer during the time period listed for their region!
Pre-Release Weekend
You can open your Pre-Purchase packs early at a private pre-release Fireside Gathering before March of the Lich King goes live on December 6. Private Pre-Release Fireside Gatherings can take place between Friday, December 2, 10:00 a.m. (PST) and Monday, December 5, 10:00 a.m. (PST).
Head over to FiresideGatherings.com to register your private event!
In light of the ongoing health risks associated with in-person gatherings, the ability to create public in-person events is still disabled at this time.
Private Fireside Gatherings will:
- Be eligible to receive Nemsy Necrofizzle if they fulfill all hosting prerequisites. This means having an established Tavern. Learn more about establishing your Tavern here.
- Be eligible for the Fireside Gatherings card back.
- Allow event listing creation the same day as the event is meant to be hosted.
- Have the same Fireside Brawls as public Fireside Gatherings.
- Be visible on the website only to the Innkeeper hosting it. The Fireside Gathering itself will be visible in the game client and participants will be able to search for it and find it in the client as well.
Private Fireside Gatherings will NOT:
- Be visible on Tavern or upcoming event pages.
- Show up in the search function on the upcoming events page.
- Count towards any Tavern or Innkeeper progression. They will not count towards establishing your Tavern. You will still need to host public events in the future as part of establishing your Tavern.
