Hearthstone's next expansion is themed around magical education provided by the Scholomance Academy, headed by Kel'Thuzad. A former servant of the Lich King and the final boss of the Curse of Naxxramas adventure, Kel is not only the educator of Azeroth's most impressionable minds, but is best known for raising the dead.

The Scolomance Academy will feature 135 new cards, including 40 dual-class cards that, as their name suggests, can be used in two classes. Ten of these dual-class cards will be Legendary Professor Minions. According to the press release, "All Hearthstone classes will be paired with the other two classes in a total of 10 different combinations.

This sounds a bit like the three-class "gang" cards that appeared in the Mean Streets of Gagdetzan expansion, but we expect the implementation of Scholomance to be a bit more interesting. For example, the Hunter and Druid dual class cards are all Beast-themed.

Some of the new cards have a Spellburst keyword that triggers a one-time effect the next time a spell is cast. For example, "Diligent Memorizer" returns the spell that triggered Spellburst to your hand, while "Wretched Tutor" more mundanely deals 2 damage to all other minions.

There is also a new spell called "Research," which allows you to choose one of three options to immediately discover a card and reduce the mana cost of the next card of that type you play.

In the gallery below, I'll show you 14 cards from the Scholomance Academy. [J. Allen Brack, President of Blizzard Entertainment, said, "We love bringing new innovations and mechanics to Hearthstone, and Scholomance Academy is one of our most creative expansions to date. The Scholomance Academy expansion will be available in early August, with a free epic neutral Minion card, "Transfer Student," available to log in starting July 14.

The Scholomance Academy Mega Bundle is priced at $80 and includes 80 Scholomance Academy card packs, 5 bonus Scholomance Academy Golden card packs, a random Scholomance Academy Golden Legend card, a Kel'Thuzad Mage Hero, a Kel'Thuzad card back, and a Tavern Pass that includes four Arena Tickets. and includes 55 Scholomance Academy packs, one random Scholomance Academy Golden Legendary card, and a Kel'Thuzad card back.

You can see more about it in the extended gameplay video below. More information can also be found at playhearthstone.com.