Scholomance Launch Guide – Release Time

With the release of Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy nearly upon us, I'm rounding up a bunch of information you might want to know ahead of the launch! We'll be going over release and launch times, free loot you'll be getting, and some other stuff to get you prepared for the new expansion.

Scholomance Academy is the second expansion in the Year of the Phoenix. While this isn't a Standard rotation, it should still be a pretty big shakeup to the meta after a bunch of nerfs have been tossed out in the previous months. The meta is ripe for change, and with all the wacky and potentially powerful cards coming in this expansion, I would expect to see some pretty interesting new decks making their way into the game.

What Time Will Scholomance Academy be Releasing/Launching?

These are the unconfirmed launch times, but are based upon previous launches that have all been pretty standard across the board. We'll update this section with the exact times that are given by Blizzard once they are revealed.

Scholomance Launch Dates & Times

• NA: August 6th, 10AM PT
• EU: August 6th, 7PM CEST / August 6th, 6PM BST
• Asia: August 7th, 2AM KST / August 7th, 1AM CST
• CN: August 7th, 1AM CST

Decks to Try

We've got a bunch of deck guides to take a look at if you're struggling to figure out what to play! We're compiling the Best Decks for Scholomance Academy, and have created pages for every class and what their currently best decks are below!

• Best Demon Hunter Decks
• Best Druid Decks
• Best Hunter Decks
• Best Mage Decks
• Best Paladin Decks
• Best Priest Decks
• Best Rogue Decks
• Best Shaman Decks
• Best Warlock Decks
• Best Warrior Decks

Free Stuff in Scholomance Academy

Logging into the game before October 20th, 2020 will get you two copies of Transfer Student . Once the expansion has released, you will recewive one random Scholomance Academy Legendary class card for logging in! You can also earn six free Scholomance Academy packs if you complete the chain of Legendary quests. Here's a look at the quests:

• August 6, 10:00 AM PT: Play 25 Cards in Play mode to earn 2 Scholomance Academy card packs.
• August 7, 10:00 AM PT: Play 20 Spells in any mode to earn 2 Scholomance Academy card packs
• August 8, 10:00 AM PT: Win 3 games any mode to earn 2 Scholomance Academy card packs.

Pre-Orders

There are two different packs of the pre-order that you can purchase early. One is the Scholomance Academy Mega Bundle, which will cost you $79.99 USD. These are always the best way to get into an expansion if you have any plans on spending money.

This is the more expensive of the bundles, so it includes quite a bit more than the next one.

• 80 Scholomance Academy Packs
• 5 Golden Scholomance Academy Packs
• 1 random Golden Legendary Card from the expansion
• 1 Kel'thuzad Mage Hero
• 1 Kel'thuzad Card Back
• Tavern Pass
• 4 Arena tickets

The other is the standard bundle which will cost you $49.99 USD.

• 55 Scholomance Academy Packs
• 1 random Golden Legendary Card from the expansion
• 1 Kel'thuzad Card Back

What's New in the Expansion?

As with every expansion, there's some new twists on the game and this one is no different. Dual Class cards will give classes a bunch of card types that they've only dreamed about getting to play with. The new Spellburst mechanic adds incentive to cast spells alongside minion cards once they hit the board to immediately get their bonus triggered!

Dual Class Cards

You will notice some of the cards have half colors on them, these are dual class cards and can be used by either class! Only certain classes will be paired together, here's a list of them: Druid/Hunter, Hunter/Demon Hunter, Demon Hunter/Warlock, Warlock/Priest, Priest/Paladin, Paladin/Warrior, Warrior/Rogue, Rogue/Mage, Mage/Shaman, and Shaman/Druid. Here are some examples:

New Keyword: Spellburst

If you have a Spellburst minion or weapon in play, an effect that is listed on that card will occur when you cast a spell. This can only be triggered one time, but can be quite powerful when you pair one of these cards with another spell. This will also incentivize the opponent to remove these cards from your board or face the consequences of the effect! Here are some example cards with the keyword: