Hearthstone’s new game mode, Tavern Brawl, is now live, on North American severs at least. After playing a few games, I’ve got some first impressions to share.

First, the basics. Tavern Brawl is only available if you have at least one hero class up to level 20. This means that brand new players will have to wait a bit to give it a whirl. I can see the sense in this restriction as well. Since you play against other human opponents in this mode, without knowing the game basics, it would be very frustrating to play this mode.

Also, because you’re playing against other human opponents, you get 10 gold for every 3 wins. While it won’t be the case this week because of the format, Blizzard has also stated that you can complete your daily quests in this mode. Finally, for the first few weeks at least, you get a free pack of classic cards for winning your first game each week.

This week’s game mode uses premade decks and lets you play as two enemy bosses you fight in Blackrock Mountain, Ragnaros and Nefarian. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, including Nefarian’s extra mana crystal start and Ragnaros’s 2 mana for 8 random damage “Die, Insect” hero power. Which boss you play as is randomly chosen so you’ll get a chance to try both!

Probably the coolest thing about this mode right now is access to all the cool new cards. While each deck is premade and you don’t actually get to earn any of the cards, playing with the specialty cards is a lot of fun. For example, as Ragnaros, you get access to all his overpowered minions that he gives you in the fight against Nefarian from the Blackrock adventure. Or, as Nefarian, you can use the Omnotron Defense Golems to get all kinds of effects.

So, for a fun, quick way to enjoy some Hearthstone, Tavern Brawl is a hit in my opinion. It’s definitely a refreshing new mode and, even though for me the free pack was pure dust, the reward is worth giving it a try.

My only real criticism is that this particular mode doesn’t have much longevity to it. The first few games are very fun, but once you’ve seen all the new cards, I’m not sure how much people are going to want to play it then. Fortunately, the Tavern Brawl mode resets after 4 days, so a new challenge should help to keep things fresh.

If you’ve tried Tavern Brawl and want to share your opinion, drop me a line on Twitter @AGRitterific.