If you’ve been wondering what’s next for Heroes of the Storm now that the game has officially been launched, you might want to pull your chair a little closer to your computer screens for this announcement. The folks at Blizzard have unveiled their post-launch support agenda today, and are bringing a series of franchise-themed expansions to the game starting this month. The first expansion on the docket is a Diablo-themed content set by the name of Eternal Conflict, and it’s coming to the Nexus on June 30.

Eternal Conflict will include the first Blizzard franchise-themed battlegrounds to enter Heroes of the Storm as well as a host of Diablo characters. Today we get our first look at the battleground and Hero that will be kicking off Eternal Conflict: a new play area called Battlefield of Eternity and the frighting and formidable meat-monger himself, The Butcher.

Battlefield of Eternity features two outside lanes that surround an expansive central combat area. Each team gets an Immortal warrior and must defend theirs while attacking the opposing team’s. The Immortal that wins out will shift into the opposing team’s strongest lane and begin to knock down forts and make way to their core. As you can imagine, this map is quite heavy on team battles, and you’ll want your team compositions to be as cohesive as ever, with a fair amount of support play to keep your team in the battle as long as possible.

The Butcher is a vicious melee assassin who can increase his damage output by collecting the remains of fallen enemies on the battlefield — hence why his trait is called “Fresh Meat”. He comes with a host of abilities that correspond to both his Diablo and Diablo III variations, like a dash move that allows him to cover massive ground in a short time, startling his opponents, and Furnace Blast — a move that engulfs a targeted area of the battleground in flames. His “Butcher’s Brand” ability allows him to not only target an enemy for double damage, but it also replenishes his health for 75% of the damage he deals. Yikes!

Quite possibly the most threatening one-on-one damage dealer in the game if properly built. You’ll witness lots of situations where players scamper away any time The Butcher is spotted, which quite is reminiscent of our reaction the first time we met this scary dude. Well played, Blizzard.

Eternal Conflict is the first of many franchise-themed content sets coming to Heroes of the Storm. This one definitely hits close to home for me since Diablo was my most-played Blizzard franchise during the days of my childhood.

Is Eternal Conflict exactly what the Witch Doctor ordered for Heroes of the Storm? What Diablo characters would you like to see enter the HotS battleground next? Take a town portal down to the comments and leave your thoughts below.