Hearthstone has been a huge smash for Blizzard since the deck-building card game was launched in March. Now the game is getting its first major expansion in the form of Curse of Naxxramas, or just Naxx for short. The expansion is launching today, with the first of five ‘wings’ of single-player content, the first proper single-player content the competitive online game has received, four more wings will launch at weekly intervals.

Although players are keen to get their hands on these new challenges, its the cards that you can win through competing them that are causing the great excitement, with fevered discussion about how they will affect the balance of online games. Blizzard were drip-feeding the cards out, but late yesterday unleashed a splurge of new cards, so that all 30 are now available to see.

You can see them all below, click the image to enlarge it, and then again to get the full hi-res version to make out every detail. With teh expansion themed around tombs and the undead, most of the cards here work around the Deathrattle mechanic, where effects activate when a minion dies, making for some powerful chained combos.

Now it’s very hard to predict which cards will have a huge impact on the game today, as the possible combinations are huge, but some of the newest cards stand out immediately.

KEL’THUZAD

Blizzard has already clarified that this monstrous card works at the end of both players’ turns. So it could benefit your opponent as much as you, but if played at the right time it could still turn a game. Combined with multiple Deathrattle minions, the game could quickly spiral out of control. Looks like fun.

FEUGEN AND STALAGG

This is a pair of Legendary cards, so you can only have one of each in your deck, but in combination you might just get a free summon of the monstrous Stalagg, a straight-up 11/11. Now the combo might be easily silenced or targeted by hard removal (Polymorph or Hex) but mix a couple of Faceless manipulators into your deck, and you have a hard to counter, but hugely powerful late game 10 mana play.

DEATHLORD AND ECHOING OOZE AND ZOMBIE CHOW

For those who like to make a fast start and grab board control early, looking at you Warlocks, both of these cards should appeal. The Deathlord is a monster at trading with the numerous 3/2 cards in the game, and should be hard removed you don’t then suffer his downside.

The Echoing Ooze is just dying for a buff, pop this down with an Abusive Sergeant, Argent Protector, Defender of Argus or any other buffing card and watch it pop out a doppelganger, with the buff included, at the end of the turn.

Finally Zombie Chow is a great first turn drop, trading well with anything your opponent could play, and with a deathrattle that's unlikely to benefit them at the very start of the game.

SPECTRAL KNIGHT

Not the most interesting of minions, but a more powerful Faerie Dragon was well overdue and very welcome. The stats are decent, it will kill Azure Drakes and survive, but the ability to put down a tough minion that can’t be targeted specifically and will survive board wipes too is too god to dismiss.

We’ll be adding to this article as thoughts about the new cards come to us.