Blizzard has announced a new game mode for Hearthstone, which will be released in beta on November 17, called "Duels," and if you think that's basically an overall description of Hearthstone, you're right. But this mode is different! Duels is built around PvP-style Arena matches, but blended with the on-the-fly deck-building quirkiness of the "Dungeon Run" solo adventure.

Duels is played on a seasonal basis, with each season introducing unique themes and new heroes, hero powers, and treasures. In the first season, players choose one of ten legendary characters from the Scholomance Academy expansion:

Each season also features a new card pool based on current and past expansions, which players to build a starting deck consisting of 15 cards. This means that players with older wild cards will have a slight advantage, and players whose collections are not as complete will have an incentive to spend more money on older sets, which is definitely to Blizzard's advantage.

Season 1 includes Scholomance Academy, Curse of Naxxramas, One Night in Karazhan, and the Classic and Basic sets. As in the Arena, players will play against other human deckbuilders, with the ultimate goal of winning 12 games before losing three.

"Hearthstone Battlegrounds" has been a huge hit and may already be bigger than the main game in terms of playtime; Duels, which is clearly similar to the much-loved Arena, may take some air out of this announcement. Perhaps not, but the addition of deckbuilding is a pretty big twist, so we expect it to come together into a strong package.

We'll be able to judge for ourselves soon enough: all players will have access to this mode starting November 12, ahead of the official Duels beta launch on November 17. The "Casual" Duels mode is free, but the "Heroic" Duels mode, which will be implemented at the start of the beta, will require 150 gold or a $2 Tavern ticket, with special rewards for success Tavern tickets will replace Arena tickets and will be available in the Arena or Heroic Duels, allowing entry to the Arena or the Heroic Duels.

Players who don't want to wait until November can pre-purchase the Madness at the Darkmoon Faire bundle from October 22 (that's today!) to November 11 to get early access to the casual mode. More details on the new mode can be found at playhearthstone.com. There is also an introduction to the new Madness at Darkmoon Faire expansion.