John is Metabomb's Editor in Chief, and is responsible for all of the Hearthstone news, features and guides content on the site.

Our Hearthstone Rise of Shadows guide contains the release date, cards, Twinspell and Callback details, and everything else we know about 2019's first expansion.

The next Hearthstone expansion - and the first of 2019 - is called Rise of Shadows. The news was confirmed by Blizzard towards the middle of March.

Rise of Shadows will see Hearthstone's roster of heroes seperated into two competing factions: The League of EVIL and the Defenders of Dalaran. There'll be the usual 135 cards to collect, as well as a new Twinspell keyword for Defenders, and a series of "callback cards" for League heroes which will reference keywords from Hearthstone's history.

In our comprehensive guide to Rise of Shadows we've pulled together all of the information that's been released by Blizzard so far. As card reveal season gets under way we'll add all the new cards to this article, and expand on any other information that's confirmed in the run-up to launch as well.

UPDATE 5th April: We've now got more than 30 decks for you to try out when the expansion goes live on Tuesday! We'll be converting all of the articles linked below into full guides once the lists have stabilised a little bit, but this should be plenty for you to get started with.

Overview Here are all of the headline announcements that have been made for Rise of Shadows so far. After this section, we go into greater detail on each point. Release Date: Hearthstone's Rise of Shadows expansion will launch on Tuesday 9th April 2019.

Hearthstone's Rise of Shadows expansion will launch on Tuesday 9th April 2019. New cards: There will be 135 new cards in Rise of Shadows, with the usual distribution across rarities and classes.

There will be 135 new cards in Rise of Shadows, with the usual distribution across rarities and classes. League of EVIL: The bad guys of the expansion will each field a representative across the Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior and Warlock classes.

The bad guys of the expansion will each field a representative across the Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior and Warlock classes. Callback Cards: Each League of EVIL character will re-introduce a keyword from the expansion they first appeared in.

Each League of EVIL character will re-introduce a keyword from the expansion they first appeared in. Lackeys: The League of EVIL classes will also have access to Lackey minions. They have minor stats but huge Battlecry effects.

The League of EVIL classes will also have access to Lackey minions. They have minor stats but huge Battlecry effects. Schemes: The same classes will also gain access to Scheme cards, which grow in power for each turn they remain unused in your hand.

The same classes will also gain access to Scheme cards, which grow in power for each turn they remain unused in your hand. Defenders of Dalaran: These are the good guys in Rise of Shadows, represented by the Mage, Druid, Hunter and Paladin classes.

These are the good guys in Rise of Shadows, represented by the Mage, Druid, Hunter and Paladin classes. New Twinspell Keyword: Cast a Twinspell card and a second copy will be added to your hand for use either right away, or on a later turn. These cards are exclusive to Defenders of Dalaran heroes.

Hunter cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary Rapid Fire Shimmerfly Nine Lives Oblivitron Ursatron Hunting Party Arcane Fletcher Vereesa Windrunner Marked Shot Unleash the Beast

Mage cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary Ray of Frost Magic Trick Mana Cyclone Khadgar Magic Dart Frog Conjurer's Calling Power of Creation Kalecgos Messenger Raven Kirin Tor Tricaster

Paladin cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary No Surrender Desperate Measures Dragon Speaker Commander Rhyssa Lightforged Blessing Call to Adventure Duel Nozari Bronze Herald Mysterious Blade

Priest cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary EVIL Conscripter Forbidden Words Lazul's Scheme Madame Lazul Hench-Clan Shadequill Convincing Infiltrator Shadowy Figure Catrina Muerte Unsleeping Soul Mass Resurrection

Rogue cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary Daring Escape Togwaggle's Scheme Waggle Pick Heistbaron Togwaggle EVIL Miscreant Underbelly Fence Unidentified Contract Tak Nozwhisker Hench-Clan Burglar Vendetta

Shaman cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary Mutate Sludge Slurper Witch's Brew Scargil Soul of the Murloc Underbelly Angler Muckmorpher Swampqueen Hagatha Walking Fountain Hagatha's Scheme

Warlock cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary EVIL Genius Plot Twist Darkest Hour Arch-Villain Rafaam Rafaam's Scheme Impferno Jumbo Imp Fel Lord Betrug Aranasi Broodmother Eager Underling

Warrior cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary Improve Morale Sweeping Strikes Omega Devastator Blastmaster Boom Vicious Scraphound Clockwork Goblin Wrenchcalibur The Boom Reaver Dr. Boom's Scheme Dimensional Ripper

Neutral cards - Rise of Shadows Common Rare Epic Legendary Potion Vendor Arcane Watcher Magic Carpet Archmage Vargoth Toxfin Spellward Jeweler Hench-Clan Hag Barista Lynchen Arcane Servant Hecklebot Portal Overfiend Chef Nomi Dalaran Librarian Portal Keeper Unseen Saboteur Archivist Elysiana EVIL Cable Rat Recurring Villain Batterhead Jepetto Joybuzz Hench-Clan Hogsteed Sunreaver Warmage Whirlwind Tempest Mana Reservoir Mad Summoner Big Bad Archmage Spellbook Binder Exotic Mountseller Sunreaver Spy Tunnel Blaster Faceless Rager Underbelly Ooze Flight Master Hench-Clan Sneak Proud Defender Soldier of Fortune Travelling Healer Violet Spellsword Dalaran Crusader Eccentric Scribe Safeguard Violet Warden Heroic Innkeeper Burly Shovelfist

League of EVIL Five of Hearthstone's classes will be members of the League of EVIL, and each will have its own special ringleader. Here's how the bad guys look in Rise of Shadows: Warrior - Dr. Boom

Rogue - Togwaggle

Warlock - Rafaam

Shaman - Hagatha

Priest - Madame Lazul Note that Madame Lazul is the character more commonly known as the Fortune Teller from the recent expansion teasers, as well as the cinematic trailer for 2016's Whispers of the Old Gods. Callback cards Each of the above characters will be getting something known as “callback cards”, which are drawn from the expansion in which they made their first appearance. In the case of Madame Lazul (who first appeared as the Fortune Teller in the Whispers of the Old Gods trailer), this will be the Forbidden-related word. Think of old cards like Forbidden Ritual or Forbidden Healing in this context. The Warlock's Arch-Villain Rafaam has a similar effect to the Golden Monkey from League of Explorers, for example, replacing your hand and deck with Legendary minions when played. You can expect similar effects for the other EVIL characters, and they'll be announced in a future reveal. Lackeys The League of EVIL will have access to a special kind of token minion called Lackeys. These are very low-statted minions which nevertheless have a high-impact Battlecry. They can't be collected, and are instead spawned by other cards. They work a little like the Spare Parts from Goblins v Gnomes, or the Dream cards created by Ysera. EVIL Miscreant is one example that's been provided for the Rogue class. Schemes Schemes are a new kind of card available to the League of EVIL heroes. They start off very low in power, but grow steadily in strength for each turn that they remain in your hand. Hagatha's Scheme, for example, damages enemy minions. If you're facing a aggro deck you can play this quite early on in order to do the minor damage that's required. Alternatively, against slower decks, you can play it in the late-game for potentially massive damage.

Defenders of Dalaran The Defenders of Dalaran are the good guys in Rise of Shadows, and are represented by the four remaining classes in Hearthstone: Druid, Hunter, Paladin and Mage. Much less detail has been provided on these four characters so far, but we do know that the Mage will be represented by Kalecgos. This mighty Dragon adds an effect which makes the first spell you cast each turn free. It also has a Battlecry which lets you discover a spell - which you can then cast for free if it's your first spell of the turn in question! We understand that there'll be lots of Neutral cards to support the Defenders of Dalaran in particular. Chef Nomi is one such card that's been revealed so far. New Keyword: Twinspell Each of the four Defenders of Dalaran will receive two cards which feature the new keyword called Twinspell. When you play a card that features the Twinspell mechanic, you'll receive a single extra copy of that card in your hand. This replacement card can be played on any future turn. Note that the duplicate card does not feature the Twinspell mechanic, and so can't be duplicated further. One example that's been confirmed so far is The Forest's Aid. Twinspell cards will have a real mix of Mana costs too. Some will be extremely cheap at one or two Mana, while others will be considerably more expensive.

Cinematic Trailer A new Hearthstone cinematic trailer has also been released for the Rise of Shadows announcement.

Pre-order Bundles and Card Back There'll be two different pre-order bundles on offer for Rise of Shadows, and you can buy both if you wish. Here's what each one contains and how much it'll cost you. Rise of Shadows Bundle 50 Rise of Shadows card packs

Jewel of Lazul card back

1 x Legendary Card

Cost: GBP 44.99 / EUR 49.99 Mega Bundle 80 Rise of Shadows card packs

Jewel of Lazul card back

Madame Lazul Priest Hero

Priest Hero 1 x Golden Legendary Card

Cost: GBP 69.99 / EUR 79.99 Here's how the Jewel of Lazul card back looks. We don't yet have images for the new cosmetic Priest Hero, however.