{"rewrite":{"id":"r_57eaa03cfc1b7cfeb7cb19b6","clusterId":"c_3b03d8f7826655eeda454d63","slug":"hearthstone-adds-monk-class-next-year-reign-of-the-black-empire-revealed-at-blizzcon","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Hearthstone Adds Monk Class Next Year, Reign of the Black Empire Revealed at BlizzCon","summary":"Blizzard detailed Hearthstone's next expansion, Reign of the Black Empire, at BlizzCon 2026, held September 12 and 13 in the United States. Senior game design manager Brenden Sewell and executive producer Nathan Lyons-Smith said the expansion returns to the Old Gods with an adjusted Yogg-Saron and a new Assembly keyword, and that the Monk class arrives with next year's first expansion.","whyItMatters":"Blizzard is pairing a new class with an Old Gods expansion, and the Monk's placement in the first expansion of next year gives the team a fixed date to build toward while it finishes this year's rollout.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe Monk is not tied to any current Hearthstone release. Lyons-Smith said the team is focused on this year\u0026#39;s rollout, so a detailed introduction of the class comes next year, with implementation starting with next year\u0026#39;s first expansion. Sewell pointed to Chen Stormstout, a key figure in World of Warcraft\u0026#39;s Mists of Pandaria expansion, as the character who anchors the Monk in Hearthstone, and described the class as agile, built to answer an opponent\u0026#39;s strategy rather than commit to one line.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSewell also said the Hearthstone team does not coordinate its storyline with World of Warcraft. Expansions are settled about a year and a half ahead through internal brainstorming, and the Old Gods return because the team likes the concept, with the timing against WoW called a coincidence.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Hearthstone's Monk arrives with next year's first expansion, not Reign of the Black Empire. Blizzard is splitting the Old Gods return and the class launch across two releases.","twitterPost":"Monk ships with next year's first expansion, not Reign of the Black Empire. Two releases, two paydays for Blizzard.","threadsPost":"Reign of the Black Empire brings the Old Gods back with an adjusted Yogg-Saron and the new Assembly keyword. The Monk class waits for next year's first expansion, so Blizzard is spreading the expansion and the class across separate releases.","newsletterBlurb":"At BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard outlined Hearthstone's Reign of the Black Empire and confirmed the Monk class for next year's first expansion. The team said the Old Gods return because it likes the concept, not to sync with World of Warcraft, and that Assembly was trimmed to four options to keep thinking time down.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/09/14/172242.html\",\"title\":\"New Monk Class Coming to Hearthstone! Devs Discuss New Expansion \\\"Reign of the Black Empire,\\\" the Journal, and the Road Ahead at BlizzCon 2026\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4671,"outputTokens":641,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1789381769,"createdAt":"2026-09-14T10:24:31.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T10:28:22.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-14T10:28:22.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_3b03d8f7826655eeda454d63","canonicalTitle":"『ハースストーン』に新クラス「モンク」参戦へ！新拡張「黒の帝国」や“ジャーナル”で変わる今後の展望を開発陣に訊いた【BlizzCon 2026】","representativeArticleId":"a_60381b55613aaa80eae082e1","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Hearthstone\"],\"studios\":[\"Blizzard Entertainment\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-14T09:45:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-14T09:45:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-14T10:28:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/09/14/172242.html","title":"『ハースストーン』に新クラス「モンク」参戦へ！新拡張「黒の帝国」や“ジャーナル”で変わる今後の展望を開発陣に訊いた【BlizzCon 2026】"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Hearthstone"],"studios":["Blizzard Entertainment"],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}