Blizzard is teasing a new Hearthstone expansion

A new expansion will soon come to Hearthstone, though it probably won't be a new batch of cards. A tournament mode is a far safer bet.

In a recent Battlenet post, Blizzard playfully discussed armored combatants shuffling about the game's iconic inn. It's a well-humored memoire from the innkeeper, but a few facts stick out, not the least of which is the post's conclusion: "Of course, the Inn has a knack for putting itself right where the excitement is, so I reckon I'll be findin' out soon enough!"

Indeed, whatever is in the pipes won't remain secret for long. As Eurogamer reported in a recent video, an official Hearthstone teaser has pegged July 22, 2015 as the date to save. Whether it will prove to be the expansion's reveal or release date remains to be seen.

This comes on the heels of two cryptic teasers from the Hearthstone Twitter, both of which boast of "Champions." This lends credence to the gladiatorial context mentioned in the Battlenet post and, by extension, the addition of a tournament mode.

But the most telling bit of evidence yet is the image featured in the first teaser and Battlenet post—the “young dwarven lass leadin’ a majestic unicorn around”. The featured horse is no ordinary World of Warcraft mount, but the Quel’dorei Steed, which is directly tied to the Argent Tournament event in Icecrown.

Coupled with the prevalence of Hearthstone's Argent mini-archetype (see: Argent Protector, Squire and Defender), this suggests that Hearthstone’s next expansion will be a competitive mode dubbed the Argent Tournament. For now, we'll just have to keep following the breadcrumbs.

Source [Battlenet] and [Hearthstone on Twitter]