'It's about time!': Hearthstone is getting a Starcraft crossover set starring Raynor, Kerrigan and Artanis

It's pretty wild that over its decade-long life, Hearthstone hasn't done any major crossovers with other Blizzard games. Obviously it's based on the Warcraft universe, but given the liberties taken with that source material (the current expansion involves launching spaceships) it's a surprise that we haven't seen any significant team-ups. That changes next January, with the launch of the Heroes of Starcraft mini-set.

Aside from fitting perfectly with the current interstellar theme, Blizzard promised it includes as many iconic units as possible. Cards will be marked with an icon that designates their Terran, Protoss or Zerg affiliation, but will be playable across multiple classes. No surprise that the Zerg go for all-out aggro, while the Protoss is focused on mana cheating high-cost cards, and the Terrans will be able to build and launch Battleships.

Each faction is led by a Hero card, meaning that when played it replaces your current hero power. I'd be amazed if these aren't extremely flavourful and equally OP.

Here's the breakdown of which heroes and factions work with which classes:

• Jim Raynor (Terran): Warrior, Paladin, Shaman
• Artanis (Protoss): Druid, Mage, Priest, Rogue
• Kerrigan, Queen of Blades (Zerg): Death Knight, Hunter, Warlock, Demon Hunter

The Jim Raynor art has been done by Alex Horley, my all-time favourite Hearthstone artist, so I guess I'm getting the gold version of the set. On stream, senior game designer Leo Robles Gonzalez also hinted to expect to hear some classic Starcraft music, and confirmed that one card will be based on Grunty, the Terran-armored murloc who was given away as a WoW companion to BlizzCon attendees in 2009. So definitely don't expect the tone to suddenly shift to all business just because we're suddenly dealing with a high-APM intergalactic conflict.

Heroes of Starcraft was announced as part of today's Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct stream, which also included a look ahead at the next year of Hearthstone, including the names of the three major expansions and their corresponding mini-sets. Here's the roadmap.

Interestingly, the Year of the Raptor (for that is what it is called) will take players on a tour of iconic Warcraft locations, starting with the Emerald Dream, which sees druids battling the Old Gods for the fate of the World Tree. (I thought Sylvanas burned this down, but I'm not a WoW guy and brief google suggest there are multiple world trees. A world thicket, if you will). That's followed by The Shrouded City, which is being billed as the first sequel to a Hearthstone set, as it shares its theme with Journey to Un'Goro—a beloved expansion, to be fair. The year wraps up with The Heroes of Time. That set sees Chromie travelling through multiple realities to recruit alt versions of legendary Warcraft heroes, and ends with a battle against Murozond at the end of time.

To be honest I was laughing as I wrote the previous paragraph because for all the fun set dressing it's still going to be another year of smashing numbers into each other and praying your opponent doesn't kill you from full health with a degenerate OTK combo.

Blizzard also revealed a substantial update coming to the long-standing Arena draft mode, which has barely been touched in Hearthstone's history. Normal format will now be joined by the higher stakes Underground format. This will feature longer runs and the option to redraft your deck on loss. Ratings are also being introduced for your performance in both modes, and interesting Underground won't use any form of SBMM. Great news for those of you who are convinced matchmaking is the only reason you aren't a millionaire Call of Duty esports pro already.

The only downer is that there was no news for Battlegrounds players, despite its huge popularity. Blizzard did mention that since launch, Hearthstone has logged 160 billon games, not including Battlegrounds. I would love to know how many of those ended with a Leeroy Jenkins to the dome. I'm definitely excited for the Starcraft set. Magic: The Gathering has been making hay from unlikely crossovers for years—Monty Python-themed cards? Sure, why not!—so the appetite is clearly there. If Heroes of Starcraft is a success, don't be surprised if more tie-ins with other games from Blizzard and potentially even Microsoft or Bethesda happen. Hearthstone X Doom when?