Hearthstone Patch 36.0: Escape from Violet Hold Launches July 7 with New Rewards, Arena Season, and Free Cards

Hearthstone Patch 36.0 goes live on June 30 and begins the final week before the Escape from Violet Hold expansion arrives on July 7. The patch brings a Pre-Release Tavern Brawl, a full Arena season reset, a new Rewards Track, multiple in-game events, and two free Catch-Up Packs for players whose Dream City Trial Cards are expiring.

Escape from Violet Hold: What the Expansion Contains

Escape from Violet Hold is a 135-card expansion set inside Dalaran's maximum-security prison. Each class receives a Legendary Rulebreaker minion. The set also introduces three new card mechanics: the Prepare keyword, Disguised minions, and Bribe cards. Cards are available in the official Card Library.

Vanessa VanCleef appears as the lead character of the expansion under the name Vanessa the Ringleader. She is a neutral Legendary minion that has seen widespread play since her early access release on June 2. The Signature version of Vanessa the Ringleader was added to the Pre-Purchase Mega Bundle at no extra cost after launch. Cards she generates match her own quality tier: Signature cards when available, Golden cards otherwise.

Players who purchased the Mega Bundle and logged in between June 2 and June 18 received Signature Vanessa automatically within 24 hours of Patch 35.6.3. Anyone who had not logged in by that date must log in before Patch 36.0 on June 30 to claim the card.

Pre-Release Tavern Brawl: June 30 to July 7

The Pre-Release Tavern Brawl opens on June 30 at 10:00 a.m. PDT and closes on July 7 at 10:00 a.m. PDT when the full expansion goes live. The format this year removes class and rune restrictions. Decks use only Escape from Violet Hold cards, and all players receive temporary free trial copies of every Common card from the set for the duration of the Brawl.

Entry costs:

• First entry: free
• Subsequent entries: 2 Tavern Tickets, 300 Gold, or 400 Runestones

A run ends at 6 wins or 3 losses. Two achievements are available:

• Escape from Violet Hold Pre-Release Champion (6 wins): 2 Tavern Tickets and 1 Escape from Violet Hold Pack
• Escape from Violet Hold Pre-Release Pro (6 wins, 0 losses): Jailbreak Brawler Card Back and 2 Tavern Tickets

Arena Season Reset and New Rewards

All active Arena runs close on June 30 when Patch 36.0 goes live. The new season uses seven sets:

• Escape from Violet Hold
• Across the Timeways
• Whizbang's Workshop
• Festival of Legends
• Murder at Castle Nathria
• Core Set
• Event Set

Escape from Violet Hold cards enter the pool on June 30, one week before the expansion's public launch. The 12-win reward in Underground changes to the Nefarious Nemsy Hero Skin starting June 30. After a player unlocks it, further 12-win runs pay out 2 Golden Escape from Violet Hold packs instead. All Arena and Underground pack rewards switch from CATACLYSM packs to Escape from Violet Hold packs when the expansion launches on July 7.

Five new Arena achievements tie into the expansion. Each has two parts: Part 1 requires opening a set number of Escape from Violet Hold packs (5, 10, 20, 35, or 50), and Part 2 requires finishing an Underground run with 6 or more wins. Each achievement pays out 2 Tavern Tickets. Sideboards are now draftable in Arena, with fixed contents. Two new Escape from Violet Hold Legendaries, King of the Underbelly and Commander Beatrix, both use sideboards.

Escape from Violet Hold Rewards Track

When Patch 36.0 goes live, the current Rewards Track closes. Any unclaimed rewards on the free track and on the Tavern Pass track are granted automatically before the new track replaces them.

The Escape from Violet Hold Rewards Track runs from July 7 until the next expansion releases. The free tier requires 155,200 cumulative XP to reach level 100 and includes:

The cards earned on the free track, including the 14 Golden cards and Warden Maiev, cannot be crafted or disenchanted.

Tavern Pass

The Escape from Violet Hold Tavern Pass grants a 10% XP boost immediately on purchase, plus all paid-track rewards up to the buyer's current level. Tavern Pass rewards include:

• R4T-C4TCH3R Diamond Legendary card (Level 2)
• Vanessa the Ringleader Golden Legendary card (Level 40)
• Warden Maiev Golden Legendary card (Level 55)
• 2 Golden Getaway Hogdriver Epic cards (Levels 10 and 25)
• 2 Signature Black Market Auctioneer Epic cards (Level 75)
• 2 Signature Defias Smuggler Common cards (Level 3)
• 2 Signature Soothsayer Rare cards (Level 30)
• 8 Hero Skins (various levels)
• 1 cosmetic coin (Dalaran Coin at Level 90)
• 1 card back (Millhouse Manastorm at Level 4)
• Additional XP boosts at Levels 20 (15%) and 70 (20%)
• 4 Escape from Violet Hold packs and 2 Golden Standard packs

All Tavern Pass card grants cannot be crafted or disenchanted.

Signature Card Achievements

Two Signature cards are available through the Legendary Collector achievement system: 2 copies each of Signature Judgment (Epic) and Signature Breakout Architect (Rare). Two cosmetic coins are also added: the Dalaran Coin (Rewards Track Level 90 with Tavern Pass) and the Contraband Coin (awarded for collecting 135 different Escape from Violet Hold cards via the "I'm Putting Together a Team" achievement).

In-Game Events Schedule

Violet Hold (July 7 to July 28)

Players pick one of three escaping inmates to follow through the arcane maze created by Warden Maiev's "Labyrinth Protocol": Beatrix, Godfrey, or Azalina. Completing event missions pays out:

• 6 Escape from Violet Hold card packs
• 2 CATACLYSM card packs
• 3 Across the Timeways card packs
• 1 The Lost City of Un'Goro card pack
• 1 Catch-Up Pack
• 1 Standard card pack
• 1 Hero Skin corresponding to the chosen inmate (Runebound Beatrix, Gaolbreaker Godfrey, or Unfettered Azalina)

The two unchosen Hero Skins go on sale in the shop after the event ends on July 28.

San'layn Medicine (July 28 to August 4)

Completing quests during this one-week event pays out 2 random Common, 2 random Rare, and 2 random Epic cards from Escape from Violet Hold, plus the Prison Doctor Thal'ena Hero Skin.

Darkmoon Faire Treasures: New Cosmetics

Three new prize lineups rotate through the Darkmoon Faire pull system between July and August:

• Maiev, Hand of Vengeance (July 14 to August 8): a Mythic Hero Skin with a unique appearance for each class, switching between Maiev's priestess of the moon form (Priest) and her warden form (Rogue).
• Q'onzu, Loa of Change (July 28 to August 18): a flying owl pet with XP-gated skins including Fire Q'onzu, Emerald Dream Q'onzu, and Warden Q'onzu. XP is earned by actions such as casting nature spells, discovering cards, playing Legendary minions, or reaching Tier 6 in Battlegrounds.
• Signature Violet Hold Villains (July 7 to July 28): a gallery of Signature cards from the set, topped by a three-card prize featuring Signature Legendaries for Azalina Soulsever, Mug'Zee, and Godfrey, the Betrayer.

The first pull in each Darkmoon Faire lineup is free. Subsequent pulls require Runestones. Every pull guarantees a prize.

What Happens to Dream City Trial Cards on July 7

The Dream City Trial Cards expire when Escape from Violet Hold launches. Blizzard confirmed two free Catch-Up Packs to replace the trial access:

• Catch-Up Pack #1: Log in any time after July 7 to claim it. Available until Patch 36.4.
• Catch-Up Pack #2: Complete missions in the Violet Hold in-game event (July 7 to July 28).

A Catch-Up Pack contains up to 50 cards. The exact number depends on collection size: players with fewer cards receive more from each pack.

Free Rewards Available at Launch

Shop Bundles for Collection Building

The Shop adds a "Get Caught Up" tab on July 7 with several bundle options:

• Escape from Violet Hold Catch-Up Starter Bundle: 10 Catch-Up Packs (cards from Into the Emerald Dream, The Lost City of Un'Goro, Across the Timeways, and CATACLYSM) plus 1 Escape from Violet Hold Pack. Availability depends on collection progress.
• Dream City Bundle: 10 Into the Emerald Dream packs, 10 The Lost City of Un'Goro packs, 1 random Legendary from each set.
• Golden Dream City Bundle: 20 packs per set, 5 Golden packs per set, 1 random Signature Legendary from each set.
• Dream City Meta Cards: Individual Legendary and Epic cards sold separately, including Nightmare Lord Xavius, Elise the Navigator, Toreth the Unbreaking, Amirdrassil, Shaladrassil, Fyrakk the Blazing, Wyvern's Slumber (x2), and Sigil of Cinder (x2).

Other Hearthstone Patch 36.0 Changes

New Legend Reward

The "Myth of the Scarab" achievement now grants the Eternal Scarab card back. Players who reach Legend rank six separate times during the Year of the Scarab across Standard and Wild complete the achievement. Those who already finished it can claim the reward on the achievement page.

Deck Recipe Updates

Each class receives a new Deck Recipe built around Escape from Violet Hold cards. The other two recipe slots per class stay filled by a Core-card deck and a CATACLYSM-card deck.

Selected Bug Fixes

Patch 36.0 addresses more than 30 bugs. Fixes include: Prepared cards copied by Zai the Incredible could be Prepared multiple times; Confront the Tol'vir could incorrectly target friendly minions; Red Aspect Essence could deal damage to already-dead minions; Bottom Feeder generated only Tavern Spells instead of minions; and Rod of Roasting did not apply Pyrobuff when triggered through Yogg-tastic Pastry.

Key Dates at a Glance

Full patch notes are available on the official Hearthstone website. The Rewards Track breakdown with level-by-level details is on the Rewards Track Refresh page.

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Feature image credit: Hearthstone

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