Characters / Hearthstone Heroes Of Warcraft Hero Cards

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First introduced in Knights of the Frozen Throne, Hero Cards are a special card type that permanently replaces your hero, granting a Battlecry and a totally new Hero Power. Hero Cards also grant a small amount of armor over your current health pool instead of giving you a new health total.

General

• Badass Boast: All of their entry quotes are meant to be this, and their Greeting quotes are continuations of their entry, allowing them to chain together a pretty awesome boast.
• Discard and Draw: They involve you ditching your old Hero Power and gaining a new one, often one with a wildly different strategy.
• Purposely Overpowered: Their Hero Powers are absolutely gamebreaking. Take for instance, Bloodreaver Guldan's Hero Power that deals triple the damage of Jaina's default Hero Power, and it also heals him; even better than Instructor Razuvious' Hero Power (see Bosses), itself is already considered overpowered. But then again, becoming a new Hero is something only attainable lategame, so their Hero Power has to be game changing.

Death Knights

Clockwise from the middle: Jaina, Anduin, Gul'dan, Malfurion, Thrall, Garrosh, Rexxar, Uther, and Valeera.

"Power alone is not to be feared. Fear instead those who wield it!"

— Jaina Proudmoore

The first set of Hero cards. In an Alternate Universe, the Lich King Arthas Menethil succeeded in his ultimate goal of creating an army of undead super-warriors, sending them off to wreak havoc on the land. The cards depict the original 9 playable heroes as resurrected Death Knights who are content to destroy everything.

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General

• Anachronism Stew: The Pompous Thespian's story about the Death Knight heroes is full of blatant timeline impossibilities, like Anduin being an adult at the same time as Uther is alive, and Gul'dan somehow being alive even though his death is a large part of why The Lich King even exists. This is explained as the obvious story of a Con Man, except the ending of the comic implies that somehow the story was true.
• Ax-Crazy: Jaina's narration and actions in the Frozen Throne trailer present her as enjoying her newfound power and gleefully slaughtering Arthas' outdated forces. The rest of them aren't much better, being much more deranged and violent than their usual selves.
• Drunk on the Dark Side: All of them love the increase in power they gained after death.
• Face–Heel Turn:
  • In the case of the heroic Jaina, Rexxar, Anduin, Valeera, Malfurion and Thrall.
  • Not so true in the case of Gul'dan and Garrosh, who are more just shifting from one evil allegiance to another.
  • Uther is an exception, as he becomes a death knight to exact vengeance and justice upon Jaina and Arthas for their betrayal. After defeating the Lich King, he becomes the new one, but he does not exact judgment on those who lived worthy lives.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Being a Death Knight is far from "nobody", but after killing Arthas, they take a big step up on the undead food chain by taking his place as the Lich King.
• Evil Is Deathly Cold: As is standard with Warcraft undead.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: All of them, as shown at the end of the Frozen Throne trailer.
• Knight of Cerebus: Especially when compared to everything else in Hearthstone. Everything about their Death Knight-edness is played straight. Their flavour texts even reflect this; instead of being puns or jokes, they're completely serious quotes said by the now-undead heroes.
• What If?: They are the result of what would have happened if they, instead of Bolvar, took Arthas' spot as the Lich King.
• You Kill It, You Bought It: By the end of the adventure, the death knight who kills Arthas takes over as the Lich King, Some use their newfound power to Take Over the World, others use it to keep the Balance Between Good and Evil.

Malfurion the Pestilent

The circle of life is over.^note  The cycle of decay begins.

"Cenarius once taught me about the precarious balance between life and death. I have come to understand: there IS no balance. Death always wins."

A 7 mana Hero card that comes into play with either two 1/2 Poisonous Spiders or two 1/5 Scarabs with Taunt. His Hero Power is Plague Lord, which grants him a choice between +3 Attack that turn or +3 Armor.

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• Balance Between Good and Evil: Malfurion, in his ending atop Icecrown realises there is no balance. Life has numberless druids tending to it, but Death has none - thus he keeps the balance between life and death by tending to a garden of plagues and pestilence.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: His summons. It's also implied that that's what he now shapeshifts into with his Hero Power.
• Boring, but Practical: His hero power and battlecry aren't quite as much on the flashy or game-changing sides as the other Death Knight heroes, but they're reliable and useful for both aggressive and defensive styles of play.
• Canon Immigrant: Not the character himself of course, but the concept of Death druids, which would later be explored in Battle for Azeroth with the drust and the Thornspeakers, and in Shadowlands with the night fae.
• Jack of All Stats: Plague Lord is a more directly versatile version of his base Hero Power, allowing him to lean on either offense or defense on a turn-by-turn basis.
• Plague Master: Malfurion is usually a force for cleansing nature - after his animation, he is using his druidic gifts to concoct the worst poisons and plagues imaginable, and spreading them both through spiders and scarabs.

Deathstalker Rexxar

The eternal hunt has begun.^note Start running, prey.

"You were too slow, old friend. The hunt began long ago. And now... it will never end."

A 6 mana Hero card that deals 2 damage to all enemy minions when played and replaces your Hero Power with Build-A-Beast. Build-A-Beast allows you to construct a custom Zombeast by combining two other Beast cards in a Discover-like menu.

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• All Your Powers Combined: Build-A-Beast allows him to combine the cost, stats and all the abilities of 2 Beasts costing 5 Mana or less.
• Anti-Villain: He only accepts Gul'dan's deal for power to avenge and protect his animal friends, and is understandably creeped out when he discovers Malfurion was put into the same position.
• Developer's Foresight: He's the only Hero Card with a mirror opening quote in the game ("Go. I'll give you a head start."). It can't actually be heard on ranked, but is instead used for certain Tavern Brawls (namely Rise of the Zombeasts and Duel of the Death Knights).
• Flesh Golem: He picks apart his beasts and stitches them back together in this manner, and his flavour text has him in the middle of doing it to an 'old friend' - which means it is either Misha, Huffer, or Leokk. The placeholder art for the Zombeast card depicts all three of them stitched together into a hideous, three-headed abomination, though because of how the Zombeast mechanic works, Rexxar can't actually craft a Zombeast with any of them.
• Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: Upon defeating Arthas atop Icecrown, Rexxar shatters Frostmourne and releases all the souls trapped inside - he then immediately makes it clear that he's not offering mercy as he draws an arrow from his quiver and sets after the escaped souls.
• Mad Scientist: His new hero power Build-A-Beast allows him to combine the stats, effects, and mana cost of two beasts that cost less than 6. Flavor-wise, it's meant to resemble him dismembering his animals and putting them back together in a new, disgusting state.
• Multi Shot: Performs one on the opponent's board while played. Depending on the number of minions on the opponent's board, he can potentially do it with up to seven arrows.

Frost Lich Jaina

Do not fear power. Fear those who wield it!^note  You're shivering. Are you afraid?

"Arthas was a spoiled child, playing with toys he could neither control nor understand. Come into the cold. I will show you the true power of the Frozen Throne."

A 9 mana Hero card that summons a Water Elemental as a Battlecry and passively grants your Elementals Lifesteal for the rest of the game. Her new Hero Power, Icy Touch, deals 1 damage to a target and summons a Water Elemental if it kills it.

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• The Bad Guy Wins: Almost everyone was evil, but at the end of the battle to the last against Uther, Arthas and Thrall, Jaina was said to be the winner.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Ask any Hearthstone player what mages do and the answer is that they're Glass Cannons - Frost Lich Jaina turns these same glass cannons into Stone Walls.
• Cool Sword: Literally. She's wielding a frost-covered Runeblade (it's hard to tell from the angle, but it may actually be Frostmourne).
• The Dragon: Seems to be this among the Death Knights to Arthas. The fact that she is the only playable character in the Prologue cements this.
• Elemental Powers: Her Battlecry grant every Elemental you summon this game Lifesteal, as well as summoning a Water Elemental for you as well as whenever you kill off a minion with your new Hero Power.
• Fan Disservice: Jaina is still wearing her own Ms. Fanservice outfit that has suffered from Clothing Damage... but she is now a blue-skin Undead with visible frostbite all over her body and an army of Undead behind her.
• An Ice Person: Played up more than the standard Mage, since she summons Freezing minions, uses an ice-based hero power, and has plenty of new frost-based cards from Knights of the Frozen Throne.
• Life Drain: She passively makes all your Elementals have Lifesteal for the rest of the game.
• Summon Magic: Her Battlecry summons a Water Elemental, and her new hero power deals 1 damage and summons a Water Elemental if it kills the target.
• Undead Barefooter: The only Death Knight (in Hearthstone) that doesn't wear shoes. Rather grim looking at that, as her toes have turned purple and you can see the veins are frozen blue.
• Unholy Matrimony: According to the Pompous Thespian's story, Jaina accompanied Arthas to Northrend and together they waged war on the living. At least until the Lich King pit his champions against each other...
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Note that her hero power summons a Water Elemental if it kills a minion. One plausible tactic is to execute your own dying minion to raise it as a life draining Water Elemental.

Uther of the Ebon Blade

The Light's justice has failed.^note  There is only my justice now.

"Step forward. Confess! Once I was a mere servant of the Light. Now I alone stand in judgement."

A 9 mana Hero card whose Battlecry equips a 5/3 weapon with Lifesteal. His hero power, The Four Horsemen, creates a 2/2 Horseman. If all four Horsemen are on the board at the same time, the enemy hero is destroyed instantly.

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• Anti-Villain: After killing Arthas, Uther takes up the mantle as the Lich King. But like Bolvar, Uther continues to have his moral compass more-or-less aligned with his pre-Death Knight self. His ending implies that those who live worthy lives have nothing to fear; but if you've been wicked, you will face his judgment in death.
• Adaptational Villainy: While Uther is still firmly an Anti-Villain, The Knights of the Ebon Blade and the horsemen he summons are still in his service instead of breaking free and being the Well Intentioned Extremists they are known as from World of Warcraft.
• Fate Worse than Death: His ending is unspecific in what kind of judgement he passes onto the wicked once they die, though Barred from the Afterlife is very likely the minimum sentence judging by how it trails off.
• Four Is Death: If Uther summons all four Horsemen, his opponent instantly loses.
• Hearing Voices: One of his 'thinking' emotes states that he, too, hears the call of Frostmourne despite not wielding the blade himself.
• Heroic Sacrifice: After defeating the Lich King atop Icecrown there is only him and Tirion available to become such in his ending. Like Bolvar, he spares Tirion the fate and takes up the mantle as the Lich King. But where Bolvar became the Damned's Jailer, Uther became their Judge, Jury, and Executioner.
• Horsemen of the Apocalypse: What his Hero Power summons.
• Instant-Win Condition: Summoning all four of the Horsemen is the first alternate win condition in the game.
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner: What Uther has become, as shown by his flavor text, his entry quote, and his ending in the Icecrown solo adventure.
• Mechanically Unusual Class: As noted, the Four Horseman was the first way to destroy your opponent without bringing their health to 0.
• One-Hit Kill: If Uther manages to summon all four Horsemen on his side of the board, it's all over for the opponent. The hero is destroyed even through Ice Block and being Immune, so even being impervious to damage won't save you.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: In his ending after disposing Arthas, this is how he judges people. If you've been a good person and lived a worthy life, you're fine and can pass into the afterlife. If you've been wicked... then the hammer of the Judge, Jury, and Executioner of the damned is coming down on you.
• Stone Wall: While Uther's Hero Power merely receives a small upgrade from the original, insta-kill aside, his Lifesteal weapon provides a total of 15 extra health to work with, making it very difficult to bring him down. Additionally, his Instant-Win Condition forces the opponent to sink damage into his Horsemen rather than his face, and they're just tough enough that they can't be simply pinged down with hero powers.

Shadowreaper Anduin

The Light has betrayed me!^note  Total darkness will be my revenge.

"I will tell you what Velen never taught me. Whosoever stands before the Light... inevitably casts a shadow."

An 8 mana Hero card that destroys all minions with 5 or more attack when you play it and replaces your Hero Power with Voidform. Voidform deals 2 damage and can be used again that turn each time you play a card.

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• Casting a Shadow: Anduin has turned into the Void form. His Hero Power involves him firing deadly Void blasts.
• Hidden Depths: Several of his quotes imply that his loyalty lies with the void, not the Lich King.
• Glass Cannon: Even moreso than the default Priest, since Shadowreaper Anduin loses his ability to heal whenever he wants. However, when combined with Raza the Chained to reduce the cost of his hero power to 0, Anduin can realistically put out 6 or more free damage every turn, which, when combined with his other spells and minions, can overwhelm his opponent and their minions rather quickly.
• Necromancer: Many of his cards portray him as an especially powerful one, twisting the souls of the slain into servitude as revenants and ghosts while he raises their bodies as zombies or skeletons.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: His Hero Power is the only one that can be activated multiple times per turn by itself without any other card effects.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Summoning him essentially casts a mass Shadow Word: Death.
• Power Born of Madness: He is the only hero explicitly shown to be driven mad by his new powers.
• Spam Attack: Voidform is the first hero power in the game that can be used multiple times in a turn without the aid of another ability. With good mana management and a few cheap cards, Anduin can fire off two or three of them on each turn, and that's before taking into account Raza the Chained.
• We Will Meet Again: It is telling how far Anduin has fallen that his concede quote has become "No, your victory proves nothing!"

Valeera the Hollow

You cannot escape the shadow of death!^note  Where have you been hiding?

"Run away. Hide in your precious keeps, behind your walls and your bodyguards. Night always falls, and shadows will fill your hallowed halls. One day, one of those shadows will be me."

A 9 mana Hero card that enters play in Stealth for one turn. Her Hero Power, Death's Shadow, is completely passive. It gives her a Shadow Reflection on her turn that becomes a copy of whatever card she played last.

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• Despair Event Horizon: Killing (Shadowreaper) Anduin, the last person Valeera cared about. At least according to the Pompous Thespian who narrated the story.
• Living Shadow: If her flavour text is to be believed, this is what she has become after her death.
• Mirror Self: She doesn't copy herself per say, but any minions or spells she plays can be cloned.
• Mechanically Unusual Class: The first playable Hero with a totally passive Hero Power.
• Power Limiter: The Shadow Reflection only lasts a single turn before being replaced by a new one, including a cloned card, which means that she can't hoard cloned cards and she can't clone anything that costs more than 5 mana.
• The Sneaky Guy: Her Battlecry gives her Stealth for one turn. This is the first example of a Stealthed Hero.
• Stripperiffic: Somehow manages to wear even skimpier clothing than the original Valeera.

Thrall, Deathseer

I am the frozen heart of the Scourge!^note  Welcome the cold embrace of death.

"Do not be afraid. Approach. The dead will sleep... for now."

A 5 mana Hero card that transforms your minions into minions that cost 2 more, with the ability to evolve a minion by 1 cost with his new Hero Power, Transmute Spirit.

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• Evilutionary Biologist: The implied source of his ability, based on the other evil Shaman cards with similar effects.
• An Ice Person: Thrall was always in tune with the elements. After his death and reanimation he is in tune with one element: Ice. Which in Warcraft mythology is the impure, bastard offspring of Water and Air.
• Random Number God: His Battlecry changes your minions into new ones that cost 2 more. His Hero Power changes one minion into one that costs 1 more. Great trading power? Yep. Incredible potential? Oh yep. Serious luck-of-the-draw? Well, that Hot Spring Guardian would be pretty cool as a 4 mana 7/7, buuut it could also end up a useless 3/2 Arcanosmith. So, yep.
• Sense Loss Sadness: One of his 'thinking' quotes has him contemplate that the Elements are silent and no longer provide him guidance.
• Unstable Equilibrium: Deathseer Thrall is entirely dependent on you having minions for him to evolve. If you can keep your board stocked, Thrall can easily snowball, but if you run out of minions, he can't help you take back the advantage.

Bloodreaver Gul'dan

A bargain forged in blood and shadow.^note  Fear me.

"Still you refuse to bend your knee? None can escape death, you old fool. And in death… all will serve me…"

A 10 mana Hero card that summons all friendly demons that died this game. His Hero Power, Siphon Life, deals 3 damage and has Lifesteal.

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• Animate Dead: The demons that die during a match will rise again as his battlecry. They're no different from the living versions, though.
• The Corrupter: He appears in the Forest for the Weary comic to appear before Rexxar and Malfurion to give them corrupted power.
• Galactic Conqueror: In his ending atop The Frozen Throne, he uses the power bestowed upon him as the Lich King to reopen the Dark Portal. The ending trails off with the following words: "Worlds uncounted trembled before him."
• Good Wings, Evil Wings: His boney protrusions on his back have grown into scythe-like structures with tattered flesh spun between them. In case you're wondering, these are bad wings.
• Horror Hunger: A few of his lines — when idle or when running out of time — display a desire to feed. His new Hero Power emphasizes this.
• Life Drain: His Hero Power.
• Mass Resurrection: What his battlecry does, bringing back all the friendly demons that that died in the game (Or at least, until the board is filled).
• Our Vampires Are Different: While he's technically not a vampire, he certainly has the motif of one, with an emphasis on bloodsucking and a Hero Power that resembles a classic vampire bite. It is also telling that Gul'dan's legendary minion in Knights of The Frozen Throne is Blood Queen Lana'thel - the leader of the San'layn, which are as close to vampires as Warcraft gets.
• Sinister Scythe: His weapon of choice.
• Taking Up the Mantle: Villainous Example. The first Lich King, Ner'zhul opened a slew of portals when he was alive to conquer a multitude of worlds. The portal he stepped through led to him meeting with Kil'Jaeden and being tortured and warped into the Lich King. After Gul'dan defeats Arthas, the second Lich King, he opens up a portal to conquer worlds one at a time with his newfound power. Judging by the end blurb, he succeeded where his former Master failed. It's even more poignant that Ner'Zhul spirit remains in the helmet of The Lich King, and by becoming the next Lich King, Gul'dan has fused with his former master.
• Vampire Bites Suck: His Hero power is not a pretty Kiss of the Vampire. It might as well be a chomp.
• Vampiric Draining: His Hero Power is depicted as a chomp that deals damage and restores his health.

Scourgelord Garrosh

I will burn this world, and rule its ashes!^note  You will not be spared the wrath of Hellscream.

"You dare to challenge me? Come! Draw your last breath - and then, you are mine."

An 8 mana Hero card that equips Shadowmourne, a 4/3 weapon that damages adjacent minions. His Hero Power is Bladestorm, which deals 1 damage to all minions.

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• Area of Effect: His specialty, between his Hero Power and weapon.
• Bad Boss: His hero power doesn't discriminate between friend and foe. Of course, the Warrior class has a number of cards that benefit from taking minor damage, but still.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Hinted at by his hero power damaging all minions including his own, but it's his entry quote that cements it.

Galakrond

General

"You are too late. His return is nigh!"

—Kronx Dragonhoof

The progenitor of the dragons, and the most ancient and powerful creature to have lived on Azeroth. Although he was slain eons ago, the League of E.V.I.L. has invoked his power, and may have awakened him once more...

Each of the E.V.I.L. classes (Priest, Shaman, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior) received their invocation of Galakrond as a hero card in Descent of Dragons. Each form of Galakrond is a 7 mana hero card with a minor ability. However, they can be Invoked by support cards, triggering an effect based on their hero power and upgrading them before they're played. Each form requires two invocations to upgrade, transforming Galakrond from a tempo minus into a world-ending nightmare.

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• Absurdly Sharp Claws: Each third form also equips a 5/2 Weapon, representing his claws.
• Apocalypse Cult: The Invoke minions are cultists trying to summon Galakrond and end the world.
• Ascended Extra: Galakrond originally appeared in only one book, Dawn of the Aspects, and is long-dead by the present day. Descent of Dragons brings him to Azeroth's present as a major villain.
• Back from the Dead: Galakrond has been resurrected. Each of the League members seem to have brought him back their own way - for example, The Wretched is filled with fel magic, and The Unspeakable is infused with Old God power.
• Color-Coded Characters: Each of the Galakronds have skin colour evocative of their base class. This makes them easier to tell apart, even when unupgraded.
• Developer's Foresight: Each version of Galakrond has opening quotes and quotes for being selected in Arena, even though these are impossible to hear in actual gameplay due to him being a hero card.
• Flat Character: Each version of Galakrond has a basic one-note personality. The Nightmare talks about fear, The Tempest talks about storms, The Unbreakable talks about how tough he is, The Unspeakable talks about insanity, and The Wretched talks about his army of demons. It makes sense considering they have a limited number of quotes, so it's important to differentiate each version from the other in the simplest way possible.
• Giant Flyer: Galakrond is utterly massive and enters the board flying across it. He makes the Dragon Aspects, already serious examples of this trope, look like tiny flies.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Each of the Galakronds have their own properly-nightmarish title. On top of that, the second form is always named The Apocalypse, and the final form is Azeroth's End.
• Power at a Price: The Invoke cards are all pretty insane, but you do have to run Galakrond to use their effects. No Galakrond in your deck, and the cards fizzle. Given how slow he is, that means aggressive decks have a harder time using his powers.
• Rush Boss: Most versions of Galakrond are better for quickly ending games than prolonging them, in contrast to heroes like Frost Lich Jaina and Dr. Boom. The main exception is the Unspeakable, who is focused around out-valuing the opponent with a constant stream of minions.

The Unspeakable

I am beyond imagination! Succumb to your darkness!^note I see you...

Lazul called Galakrond’s name, her voice echoed by whispers from the deep. Both of Galakrond’s eyes opened… and then other eyes opened, as well.

The Priest invocation. His first form destroys a random enemy minion, his second form destroys two, and his final form destroys four. His hero power and Invoke, Galakrond's Wit, adds a random Priest minion to your hand.

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• Brown Note Being: Gazing upon him will apparently drive you insane (a common trait among Lovecraftian creatures).
• Cannon Fodder: The Unspeakable's main advantage is generating endless minions to keep throwing at the opponent turn after turn. They're random and the effect is very slow, but eventually he will grind his way to victory.
• Lovecraftian Superpower: The Unspeakable has been resurrected with the power of the Old Gods. Each form has progressively more eyes and tentacles growing out of him.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Summoning Galakrond destroys up to four random minions, which is usually going to be the whole board at that point in the match.

The Nightmare

Darken the skies. My nightmare reigns!^note Your fear is... delectable.

The enormous creature unfurled terrifying claws dripping with poisonous ichor. King Togwaggle was pleased, but inwardly disappointed the great Nightmare refused to wear the candle.

The Rogue invocation. His first form draws a card and reduces its cost to 0, his second form draws two, and his final form draws four. His hero power and Invoke, Galakrond's Guile, adds a Lackey to your hand.

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• Emotion Eater: He feeds on fear.
• Mood Whiplash: The Nightmare's flavour text ends on a joke, unlike the others. Makes sense, considering it is Togwaggle's version.
• Nerf: For a time in 2020, his Battlecry was nerfed to only reduce their cost to 1. This was reverted when the card rotated to Wild.
• Weak, but Skilled: The Nightmare has the weakest hero power and Invoke cards of all the Galakronds, as well as arguably the weakest Battlecry. He makes up for this by being the one most suited to immediately ending the game through extreme value generation.

The Tempest

The oceans stir, and the heavens cry!^note Can you weather the storm?

Hagatha cried out over the winds: "Truly, you are as powerful as the Maelstrom!" To which the Tempest answered: "I AM THE MAELSTROM."

The Shaman invocation. His first form summons two 2/2 Elementals with Rush, his second form summons 4/4s, and his third summons 8/8s. His hero power and Invoke, Galakrond's Fury, summons a 2/1 Elemental with Rush.

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• Elemental Powers: This version of Galakrond has been infused with the elements, though he favors wind and lightning with his hero power and summons.
• I Am the Noun: In his flavour text. He IS the Maelstrom.
• Mook Maker: Galakrond, the Tempest summons Elementals with Rush with his hero power and Invoke, letting him fight tooth and nail for board control throughout the game. If sufficiently upgraded, he'll also enter play with a number of 8/8 Elite Mooks that also possess Rush.
• Nerf: The Tempest itself wasn't changed, but every single Shaman Invoke card was. There's a fairly good reason for that, too. These nerfs were all undone in the 2021 rotation, and unsurprisingly Galakrond Shaman has seen some Wild play.

The Wretched

The endless legions are at my call.^note Burn in felfire!

Fel-flames slowly writhed around the skeleton, until the great bones knit themselves together into a demonic monstrosity. Rafaam shielded his face from the heat but could not hide his grin.

The Warlock invocation. His first form summons a random demon, his second form summons two, and his final form summons four. His hero power and Invoke, Galakrond's Malice, summons two 1/1 Imps.

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• Dracolich: More than the others, the Warlock Galakrond looks like a corpse filled with fel energy (especially in his third form).
• Mechanically Unusual Class: None of his actual mechanics are that wild, but the fact that he's designed around Zoolock is radically different from every other hero card.
• Mook Maker: Warlock Invokers summon two 1/1 Imps, and take advantage of that with swarm-based effects. Galakrond himself summons random demons when played and has that same Imp-summoning hero power.

The Unbreakable

I am unbreakable! I AM UNSTOPPABLE!^note Bow before the Unbreakable!

The ground quaked beneath the behemoth as Dr. Boom continued: "…with over 400 TONS of solid Storm Silver plate." Then he beeped a small remote. "And luxury spikes!"

The Warrior invocation. His first form draws a minion and gives it +4/+4, his second form draws two, and his third draws four. His hero power and Invoke, Galakrond's Might, gives your hero +3 Attack that turn.

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• Attack! Attack! Attack!: He's best used in a Tempo deck that wants to go face. His Invoke/hero power and Battlecry give extreme pressure and burst damage, but quickly fizzle out if the game drags on. This is in contrast to the previous Warrior Hero Cards (and just about every other Hero Card for that matter), which focused on control games and grinding things out.
• The Berserker: This version of Galakrond revolves around simply smacking the opponent around himself by granting your hero attack power.
• Cybernetic Mythical Beast: A cyber dragon.
• Cyborg: Given that this is Dr. Boom's reawakening, Galakrond has been resurrected with robotic parts. The original form is barely changed, but the final one is essentially a full-on robot.

Mercenaries

The protagonists of the Year of the Gryphon. Sets of hero portraits based on them are released as part of the Tavern Passes for the year's sets. As cards, they are also available in some form in each expansion of the year - first as a collectible minion in Forged in the Barrens, then as the final reward of United in Stormwind's Questlines, and finally as Hero Cards in Fractured in Alterac Valley. These cards, as well as the single-player adventure Book of Mercenaries, tell their stories.

General

• Early-Bird Cameo: The artwork for their alternate skins frequently showed up in the Book of Mercenaries before they could be obtained.
• Fire-Forged Friends: The Alliance mercenaries. Each of them started off with their own agendas and all wanted to work alone, but slowly grew as a team as they all saved each other's skins.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Both the Alliance and Horde teams are comprised of heroes that gathered together by circumstance, all related to or at least because of the Night of Falling Stars, an event where a shattered Naaru fell in the Barrens.
• Took a Level in Badass: By the time of Fractured in Alterac Valley, all of the mercenaries have gotten (close to) their maximum potential, as indicated by the fact that they're wearing their respective classes' armor from Classic WoW's Dungeon Set 1, also occasionally known as the Tier 0 item set... save for Kurtrus, whose class wasn't playable at the time.
• True Companions: In a fragmented sort of way. Xyrella, Tavish, and Scabbs are all indebted to each other after their adventures in the Barrens. Likewise, Cariel and Kurtrus have a close bond - even after they fight, Cariel forgives him and the two defeat Anetheron together. Finally, Rokara, Bru'kan, Varden, and Guff are friends for life after purifying the Wailing Caverns together. The only one who isn't a companion is Tamsin.

Kurtrus, Demon-Render

I have given up everything! What have you sacrificed?^note Welcome to the fight!

"I dedicated my life to vanquishing demons, but I never thought to face the demons in me. Maybe, in time, I can help quell the demons in you." -Kurtrus, to Cariel

Kurtrus Ashfallen led a modest life, tending to a moonwell and caring for his family. During the Third War however, the dreadlord Tichondrius corrupted Kurtrus' serene forest into the Felwood. Those who resisted were slain by demon armies led by Tichondrius' brother Anetheron, including Kurtrus' family. Illidan then took in the outcast, forging him and others like him into the Illidari. One day, Kurtrus had a vision of Anetheron, alive and biding his time in the Twisting Nether, as well as a warlock in Kalimdor determined to summon him. With this, he abandoned the Illidari. Although stripped of his armor and warglaives, Kurtrus was able to accomplish his goal of slaying Anetheron. It was thanks to Cariel Roame that Kurtrus could move on from his quest of vengeance, and now stands alongside her in Alterac Valley to try and aid her with her own personal demons.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Kurtrus appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Kurtrus Ashfallen is a 4 mana 3/4 Demon Hunter legendary that attacks the left and right-most enemy minions upon being played. If he was Outcast, he's also Immune that turn.
• In United in Stormwind, he is the central character of the Demon Hunter Questline Final Showdown. Completing the Questline's final step rewards you with Demonslayer Kurtrus, a 5 mana 7/7 that reduces the cost of all cards you draw by 2 for the rest of the game.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Kurtrus, Demon-Render is a 6 mana Hero card that summons two 1/4 Demons with Rush, which have +1 Attack for each time your hero attacked this game. His 1 mana hero power, Ashfallen's Fury, gives him +2 Attack this turn and refreshes each time a friendly minion attacks.
  
  Later, Kurtrus made a surprise return as Gunslinger Kurtrus, a 5 mana 4/6 Demon Hunter Legendary from Showdown in the Badlands. If your deck has no duplicates, Kurtrus fires 6 random 2 damage shots at minions in your opponent's hand.

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• Improvised Weapon: After being stripped of his rank for abandoning the Illidari, he was forced to build new warglaives out of scrap from the Barrens. By the time he reaches Stormwind, he's managed to acquire a pair of actual blades.
• The Lancer: He's the most aloof of the five Alliance mercenaries, with his own agenda unrelated to the Night of the Falling Stars. At the end of his chapter, he leaves the group behind and even duels Cariel to complete his own goals.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Why would a demon hunter, a Heroic Class that starts at a high level, have to go through all the low-level content with the other mercenaries? Easy, he's been stripped of his powers and has to regain them.
• The Gunslinger: In keeping with the theming of Showdown in the Badlands, Gunslinger Kurtrus trades traditional Demon Hunter attire and weaponry for a cowboy garb and a pair of fel-empowered, glaive-bladed six-shooters. Is it silly? Yes. Does he still look cool as hell? Also yes.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: Kurtrus only returned to Azeroth to stop a warlock from summoning Anetheron, and he had little care for the Alliance, Horde, or Shards of the Naaru. Although once Anetheron is slain, he's built enough comradery with his fellow Mercs that he chooses to stick around.
• Revenge Myopia: Used as a joke for his Oops quote, where he sheepishly says "Heh, blinded by vengeance."
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Altruis, another night elf who betrayed Illidan to further his own goals. Unlike Altruis however, Kurtrus left not because he saw Illidan as the very thing he was supposedly fighting, but because the dreadlord that had led him to Illidan is alive and looking to come back to Azeroth.
• Winged Humanoid: What he ultimately becomes as Trainer Kurtrus, although his Initiate form only has budding horns and no other demonic features. Since his hero card lacks those features, it's likely that Trainer Kurtrus depicts him in Metamorphosis.

Wildheart Guff

Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore (EN)

Growth and life and happiness and friends!^note May the Sun warm your face.

Guff faced his biggest challenge yet: making friends on a battlefield.

Guff Runetotem is a pacifistic tauren druid with a love of nature so grand that he's even issued funeral rites for a grass clipping. Don't assume he's a weak softie, though - harm nature or his friends and his animal instincts might just go wild. He's also the grand-nephew of the legendary tauren druid Hamuul Runetotem, who sent Guff out into the Barrens in an attempt to toughen him up. On his journey, Guff made a number of new friends in the form of Rokara, Bru'kan, Varden Dawngrasp, and (until she turned out to have dark plans for all of Azeroth) Tamsin Roame, who helped him prove himself to his great-uncle Hamuul. Although very much still a Gentle Giant, Guff will do what he can to assist his companions as they fight on the fields of Alterac.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Guff appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Guff Runetotem is a 3 mana 2/4 Druid legendary that gives a random friendly minion +2/+2 after you cast a Nature spell.
• In United in Stormwind, Guff is the central character of the Druid Questline Lost in the Park. Completing the final step of the Questline awards you with Guff the Tough, a 5 mana 8/8 Taunt that gives your hero +8 Attack that turn and 8 Armor.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Wildheart Guff is a 5-mana Druid Hero Card that sets your maximum mana to 20, gives you an empty mana crystal, and draws a card. His hero power is Nurture, a Choose One effect which either draws a card or gains an empty mana crystal.

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• Animorphism: Guff the Tough depicts him taking bear form to protect the squirrels in Stormwind Park.
• Berserk Button: He's normally as peaceful as they come, but hurting animals or hurting his friends will push him over the edge.
• Boring, but Practical: Guff the Tough is one of the least flashy of the Questline rewards, simply being a huge body and one-time effect. However, the combination of 8 Armor, 8 burst damage, and a body that can be manipulated with Mark of Spikeshell provides an overall very reliable card.
• Gentle Giant: He wouldn't hurt a fly, despite being an imposing tauren.
• Kindhearted Simpleton: He's not much in the brains department, but he is the most genuine of all ten Mercenaries.
• Literal-Minded: His Greeting emote on his Spelunker skin is "Hail!". In a mirror match, he responds with "No, it's sunny outside." Likewise, the same exchange on his Fangbound skin is "Peace, friend." "Piece of what?"
• Martial Pacifist: He normally wouldn't hurt a fly and only uses combat as a last resort. When he does have to resort to combat, he can be extremely powerful.
• Nerf: Wildheart Guff's Battlecry and hero power used to give full mana crystals instead of empty ones, which provided a risk-free source of rapid ramping.
• Nice Guy: Guff is so comically nice that his "evidence" that he isn't pure-hearted was an incident where he stepped on a bush and didn't apologize to it. His kindness is so infectious that even Tamsin likes him.
• Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Him taming Ivus the Forest Lord to unleash him in Bru'Kan's Book of Mercenaries happens entirely offscreen.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: He greets Tavish's pet crab Crabby as Rudolphus, which Guff says is his real name.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: All Guff wants is to prove to his uncle that he's worth something and can do something right. Hamuul finally trusts him after he saves Naralex from the Emerald Nightmare and purifies the Wailing Caverns.

Beaststalker Tavish

You better watch your step in this valley...^note Oi there!

Tavish left home to forge his own path. But it still led him back to Alterac to kick some Frostwolf butt.

A former member of the Stormpike clan of dwarves, Tavish Stormpike abandoned the wealthy clan due to being given the narrow end of the battle axe, as it were. He's become a mercenary as a way of forging his own path, seeking glory, loot, adventure, and more loot. After exploring Kalimdor under contract to find the shards of a mysterious glowing object that exploded in the skies of Azeroth, Tavish learned of the shards' true value from Xyrella, and has stood by her all the way to Alterac Valley, where he's reunited with his old clan and now fights alongside them for control of the valley.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Tavish appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Tavish Stormpike is a 3 mana 2/5 Hunter legendary. After a friendly Beast attacks, he summons a Beast from your deck that costs 1 less than it.
• In United in Stormwind, he is the central character of the Hunter Questline Defend the Dwarven District. Completing the final step of the Questline rewards you with Tavish, Master Marksman, a 5-mana 7/7 that, for the rest of the game, causes your hero power to refresh after you cast a spell.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Beaststalker Tavish is a 6-mana Hero Card that lets you Discover and cast 2 improved Hunter secrets, which are taken from whatever the available pool is in Standard and have enhanced effects. His Hero Power is Summon Pet, which summons a random Animal Companion.

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• Awesome, but Impractical: In theory, the original Tavish minion can fill your board with beasts in one turn. In practice, this requires a very specific deck with lots of Rush or Charge beasts of different costs. It's a bit easier in Wild with Tundra Rhino, but even then it's too inconsistent if Tavish isn't drawn.
• Balance Buff: His Hero Power used to cost 3 mana, making him a little too slow compared to the other Mercs.
• The Beastmaster: The original Tavish minion focuses on summoning Beasts from the deck, while the hero card gains Animal Companion as a hero power.
• Composite Character: The three versions of Tavish each represent a different Hunter specialization. The original is Beast Mastery, the Questline is Marksmanship, and the Hero card is Survival.
• Demon Slaying: The Questline features Tavish holding off an entire demonic invasion. In Cariel's chapter in the Book of Heroes, he's the only one able to shoot down the flying demons.
• A Dog Named "Dog": Tavish named his pet crab Crabby. Although according to Guff, Crabby's real name is Rudolphus.
• Hidden Depths: To the surprise and delight of his companions, Tavish is a pretty good cook. Even Scabbs, who prides himself on being a great chef, admits that Tavish's simple egg dish ended up better than he expected.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: His Quest implicitly gives these to you. Each step upgrades your hero power, first letting it target minions then setting its cost to 0, before finally adding the refresh effect.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Although the Horde mercenaries couldn't have known it beforehand, Tavish calls out Rokara's claims that the Frostwolves are above suspicion by pointing out that her group did lead Tamsin into Stormwind, which almost led to the city getting destroyed.
• Only in It for the Money: Downplayed, Tavish's heart is in the right place, but if he can get paid or loot stuff while doing the right thing, that's what he'll do!
• Redhead In Green: He wears predominantly green outfits to contrast against his wild orange hair.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: He was initially pursuing the shards of Mi'da for wealth. After Xyrella tells him she needs the shards to awaken her daughter, Tavish eventually decides she needs the shards more than he does. It's later revealed that Tavish does have a claim to the Stormpike clan's riches; he'd willingly abandoned it simply because he didn't see eye to eye with the clan, his cousin Vanndar in particular.
• Trap Master: Beaststalker Tavish puts two upgraded Hunter secrets into play.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Scabbs. They'll regularly insult each other, but both know they've got each other's backs and would willingly give up their life for the mission.

Magister Dawngrasp

You wish to match wits with me?^note Pleasure! Call me Dawngrasp.

Magister is a humble title for one who united warring armies against the greatest threat to Azeroth.

Varden Dawngrasp is a student of all things magical, having been noted for their preternatural gift for the arcane at a young age. Dawngrasp would have likely risen through the ranks to become a Magister if not for the Scourge destroying the Sunwell, leading to Prince Kael'thas betraying the blood elves. A mysterious troll, Kazakus, would come to Varden, seeking aid in gathering glowing shards that had fallen across the Barrens. Suspicious of Kazakus' intentions, Varden decided to figure out what power these shards might hold. Upon discovering that the shards were pieces of a shattered naaru, the newly-dubbed Magister Dawngrasp has resolved to halt their schemes with the aid of members of both the Alliance and Horde, even as they purportedly fight alongside the latter for control of Alterac Valley.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Varden appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Varden Dawngrasp is a 4 mana 3/3 legendary Mage minion that freezes all enemy minions and deals 4 damage to any minions that were already frozen.
• In United in Stormwind, they are the central character of the Mage Questline Sorcerer's Gambit. Completing the final step of the Questline rewards you with Arcanist Dawngrasp, a 5-mana 7/7 that gives you +2 Spell Damage for the rest of the game.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Magister Dawngrasp is a 7 mana Hero card that recasts one spell from each spell school you cast this game. Their hero power, Arcane Burst, deals 2 damage and has an Honorable Kill effect that permanently increases this damage by 1.

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• Anachronism Stew: Intentionally invoked on the developers' part. In canon, the Sin'dorei (AKA the blood elves) did not join the Horde until the time of the Burning Legion expansion, but as a part of the Year of the Gryphon's storyline, this was bumped up to roughly a year before the Invasion of Outland, during the events of Varian Wrynn's kidnapping.
• Balance Buff: Magister Dawngrasp was on the receiving end of a triple buff. They were bumped down from 8 to 7 mana, their hero power's starting damage was increased from 1 to 2, and Wildfire was changed to permanently apply its effect for the rest of the game so it wouldn't be lost when changing hero powers. The goal was to buff the ailing Big Spell Mage and Hero Power Mage archetypes.
• An Ice Person: In their original minion, they enter the battlefield by Freezing all enemy minions.
• Last-Name Basis: They're almost always referred to as Dawngrasp instead of Varden, with the Questline reward, hero card, and all four hero portraits being named [Title] Dawngrasp without mentioning their first name. Lampshaded by their Pyromancer skin, who asks "What's wrong with Varden?" in a mirror match.
• Literally Shattered Lives: Any minions that were already frozen when Varden is played take 4 damage, similar to the Mage spell Ice Lance.
• Nerf:
  • Arcanist Dawngrasp originally gave +3 Spell Damage. While Quest Mage was never a top tier deck, it was both ridiculously popular and entirely uninteractive. They were nerfed to give Control decks some breathing room.
  • Magister Dawngrasp's hero power used to gain +2 damage off the Honorable Kill. This made it too easy to build absurd amounts of damage and end the game through inevitability.
• Nice Guy: "Guy" is a misnomer, but the point stands that, alongside Guff, Varden is easily the friendliest mercenary, being nothing short of polite and charming in their interactions with other characters. Their willingness to see past the tensions between the Alliance and the Horde is what causes them to unite both parties in their efforts to reclaim the naaru shards, believing that misfits like them must stick together.
• Non-Human Non-Binary: Hearthstone's first non-binary character, and the second such character in the entire Warcraft franchise. Their flavor text specifically notes "Knowing how malleable reality could be, certain labels felt downright trivial."
• Playing with Fire: In contrast to their usual association with ice, Pyromancer Dawngrasp shows them as a fire mage while Magister Dawngrasp is prominently conjuring a huge fireball.

Lightforged Cariel

Voiced by: Nondumiso Tembe (EN)

Our hardships only strengthen our resilience.^note At ease, soldier.

Her faith, unshakable. Her shield, immovable. Her enemies, irredeemable.

Although in her youth Cariel Roame was friends with pickpockets and sellswords, she committed to straightening herself out after her sister Tamsin was presumed killed during the Scourging of Lordaeron, joining the Knights of the Silver Hand. Although stationed at Northwatch Hold in the Barrens to prove herself, she left her post upon hearing rumors that a Forsaken warlock, matching the description of her sister, was spotted. However, the sisters' reunion wound up being far from happy, as Tamsin committed acts against both Stormwind and their father so heinous, Cariel had no choice but to slay her. Having overcome many hardships over the course of her journey, Cariel now stands more resolute than ever on the snow-covered fields of Alterac.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Cariel appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Cariel Roame is a 4 mana 4/3 Paladin legendary with Rush and Divine Shield that reduces the cost of Holy spells in your hand by 1 when she attacks.
• In United in Stormwind, Cariel is the central character of the Paladin Questline Rise to the Occasion. Completing the final step of this Questline rewards you with Lightborn Cariel, a 5-mana 7/7 that makes your Silver Hand Recruits have +2/+2 for the rest of the game.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Lightforged Cariel is an 8-mana Paladin Hero Card that deals 2 damage to all enemies and equips your Hero with The Immovable Object, a 2/5 weapon that doesn't lose Durability and causes your Hero to take half damage, rounded up. Lightforged Cariel's Hero Power is Blessing of Queens, which gives a random minion in your hand +4/+4.

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• Always Second Best: She was always defeated by Tamsin in their sparring.
• Barrier Warrior: The original minion has Divine Shield, which she can make immediate use of thanks to Rush. Lightforged Cariel has a shield that halves incoming damage.
• Canon Immigrant: She was added to World of Warcraft in the Dragonflight expansion.
• Disney Death: She's dragged off the bridge while holding back the Horde at Dun Baldar. Just in case you were worried that she was dead however, she shows up in the Onyxia's Lair trailer with the other mercs.
• Honor Before Reason: All Cariel wanted was to find her sister, and sides with her against Kurtrus even after Tamsin openly admits that she is indeed trying to summon Anetheron. After she finds out how vile her sister really is, however, she dropped this.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Her hero card equips The Immovable Object, an indestructible shield that halves all incoming damage.
• Nerf: Lightforged Cariel was bumped from 7 to 8 mana to slow down her game-warping effect.
• This Is Unforgivable!: After holding out hope that Tamsin could be redeemed even after all she does, Cariel finally realises the monster her sister had become after she turned their father into a near-mindless Flesh Golem.
• Toxic Friend Influence: As a kid, she was apparently in with some Defias hoodlums. It's not clear if she joined them out of feeling abandoned by her father, or if her father abandoned her because she joined them. Either way, she left them and became a Paladin after Tamsin died.
• The Un-Favourite: Cariel's father favoured Tamsin much more than her, to the point where even after she finally won a duel with Tamsin fair and square, her father still declared her the loser.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: She just wanted her father to be proud of her. She even became a Knight of a Silver Hand, something she swore to never be as a kid, just to make him happy. Unfortunately, she never got that opportunity.

Xyrella, the Devout

Those we love are never truly lost.^note Blessings to the devoted.

Xyrella thought she was only saving her daughter. Her actions may very well have saved the entire world.

When the Exodar crashed into Azeroth, Xyrella's husband was killed and her daughter fell into a seemingly-unbreakable coma. One night, as she prayed for her daughter, a glowing object in the sky exploded into shards of fractured light in an incident the draenai called "The Night of Falling Stars". As the shards fell across Azeroth, Xyrella had a vision: the shards were the pieces of a shattered naaru named Mi'da, which spoke to her, telling her that by gathering the pieces and reforming her, she would save her daughter's life. Making the difficult decision to abandon her child, Xyrella followed the naaru's call across Azeroth, inadvertently mastering the powers of both the Light and its opposite, the Void, along the way. Her quest now brings her to Alterac Valley, where she hopes to finally make Mi'da whole again, even though she's gotten caught up in the Alliance and Horde's squabble over control of the valley.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Xyrella appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Xyrella is a 4 mana 4/4 legendary Priest minion that deals damage to all enemy minions equivalent to however much health you've restored that turn.
• In United in Stormwind, she is the central character of the Priest Questline Seek Guidance. Completing this Questline's final step rewards you with Xyrella, the Sanctified, a 5 mana 7/7 with Taunt that shuffles the Purified Shard into your deck, a 10 mana spell that destroys the enemy hero.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Xyrella, the Devout is an 8 mana Hero card that repeats all friendly Deathrattles that triggered this game. Each turn, she flips between two hero powers: Holy Touch, which restores 5 health; and Void Spike, which deals 5 damage.

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• Anachronism Stew: Intentionally invoked on the developers' part. In canon, the Exodar's crash- and the draenai subsequently joining the Alliance- did not occur until the time of the Burning Crusade expansion, but as a part of the Year of the Gryphon's storyline, both events were bumped up to roughly one year before the Invasion of Outland, around the time Varian Wrynn was kidnapped.
• Beware the Nice Ones: After Tamsin sends her into Shadowform by corrupting the Naaru shard, she's... less than happy.
  Tamsin: Oh, this is too good. Look at you!
  Xyrella: Look at me? Look at this!
• Casting a Shadow: She had a few Shadow spells in the Barrens, but they became more visible after she tapped into the corrupted Naaru shard in Stormwind.
• Desperation Attack: After Tamsin defeats Xyrella and corrupts the shard of the naaru, she taps into the corrupted Void magic instead (or is forced to). Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to stop Tamsin.
• Fun with Homophones: Upon playing Palm Reading, she remarks "My palm is purple, not really red."
• The Heart: Her role in the group. Tavish and Scabbs were initially after the shards of Mi'da for cash - personal gain and a mission from Lady Prestor respectively. Xyrella eventually convinces them to give the shards to her to save her daughter.
• Instant-Win Condition: The final reward of her Questline from United in Stormwind, the Purified Shard, destroys the enemy hero.
• Mama Bear: Her main motivation is to break her daughter from her coma.
• The Medic: Her Book of Mercenaries chapter sees her taking on the role of a Holy Priest. Her decks are largely made of healing and buff spells, while Tavish and Scabbs are meant to do all the actual dirty work.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: She attempted to confront Tamsin using the shard of the Naaru. Tamsin's magic ended up corrupting the shard, causing Xyrella to enter Shadowform and being able to use both holy and shadow magic. Her hero card continues this trend, switching between holy and shadow every turn (alternately restoring 5 health and dealing 5 damage).

Shadowcrafter Scabbs

Keep your enemies close... and your shadows closer.^note Psst. Hey.

Sneaking behind enemy lines isn't so different from being a line cook. People are hostile, something's on fire, and your only hope is to get out of there with all your fingers.

A gnomish short order cook-turned-agent of SI:7, Scabbs Cutterbutter was recruited after Matthias Shaw and the other spies of SI:7 caught wind of his unmatched talent with a knife. Times had become stressful for Stormwind, with King Varian missing, calls for help from Redridge and Darkshire going unanswered, and most mysteriously, a glowing object in the sky exploding and raining shards of light across the land. A concerned member of the royal court, the noblewoman Lady Prestor, had SI:7 dispatch Scabbs to the Barrens to find out more, but upon both finding out what those shards were and then and discovering Prestor's true identity and intentions, Scabbs had to go deep into the shadows. Although purportedly fighting alongside the Alliance for control of Alterac Valley, Scabbs' true objective is to halt whatever Prestor and her associate, the troll Kazakus, have planned for all of Azeroth.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Scabbs appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, he is a 4 mana 3/3 Rogue legendary with a Combo effect that makes the next two cards played that turn cost 3 less.
• In United in Stormwind, he is the central character of the Rogue Questline Find the Imposter. Completing the Questline's final step rewards you with Spymaster Scabbs, a 5 mana 7/7 that adds five different Spy Gizmos to your hand, each a 1-mana card with a different effect.^GizmosFizzflash Distracter; returns a minion to your opponent's hand and prevents the opponent from replaying it on their next turn, Spy-o-Matic; 3/2 Mech that looks at the top three cards of the opponent's deck and lets you choose one to put on top, Noggen-fog Generator; gives a minion +2 Attack and Stealth, Undercover Mole; 2/3 Beast with Stealth that adds a random card from your opponent's class to your hand after attacking, and Hidden Gyroblade; 3/2 weapon that throws itself at a random enemy as its Deathrattle.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Shadowcrafter Scabbs is an 8-mana Hero Card that returns all minions to their owners' hands and summons two 4/2 Shadows with Stealth. His hero power is Sleight of Hand, which is free and causes the next card you play that turn to cost 2 less.

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• Casting a Shadow: His hero card Battlecry makes everything vanish and summons two living shadows in their place.
• Chef of Iron: Scabbs was originally a cook before being drafted into the SI:7 for his skills with the knife.
• Devious Daggers: Inverted. Rather than using knives because he's sneaky, Scabbs is sneaky because he uses knives. SI:7 recruited him after hearing how amazing his knife skills were and trained him to be a spy.
• "Inescapable" Prison Easily Escaped: Spymaster Scabbs shows him already free of his manacles thanks to a hidden lockpicking tool. With the help of Varden, he easily defeats the guards and breaks the both of them out.
• I Work Alone: He's initially resistant to Xyrella and Tavish's help, but eventually teams up with them after they bail him out.
• Miscarriage of Justice: His Questline shows him snooping around Stormwind, and eventually learning that there's an imposter somewhere in the city, which is revealed to be Lady Prestor before she sics Stormwind guards drag him to the stockades, explicitly stating he'll be hung.
• Nerf: Shadowcrafter Scabbs was originally 7 mana, but the combination of effects made him a little too efficient.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: During the first boss of his Book of Mercenaries, Bob mentions that he's heard rumors that Scabbs can speak murloc. Six fights later, this turns out to be true, as Scabbs takes offense to Cookie calling him a shrimp.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Tavish. Scabbs constantly trades barbs and insults with Tavish, but after sampling Tavish's simple egg dish, Scabbs admits that it was pretty good and swears that he'll stand with Tavish to the end to save Xyrella's daughter.
• Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: His Spy Gizmos, which are presumably invented by him (he is a gnome afterall), although it's not clear how he has access to them while in prison.

Bru'kan of the Elements

My time has come... to give EVERYTHING I'VE GOT!^note Come now! Give ol' Bru'kan a hug.

The elements crackled through Bru'kan's veins and his life flashed before his eyes. He knew this moment would come, but he wondered, had he given them enough?

Once a great shaman, the Darkspear medicine man Bru'kan was, for a while... well, was a few totems short of a whole shaman, even if he still has a good heart and cares deeply for his tribe. Taking the falling of glowing shards of Light as a sign, he divined the future through Far Sight and saw a Horde triumphant in events to come. To that end, he returned to the fight, taught the young warrior Rokara the ways of being a champion of the Horde, and now, after mastering all the elements, stands ready to fight for the purpose of forging a new, better Horde.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Bru'kan appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Bru'kan is a 4 mana 5/4 Shaman legendary that gives your Nature spells +3 Damage.
• In United in Stormwind, Bru'kan is the central character of the Shaman Questline Command the Elements. Completing the Questline's final step rewards you with Stormcaller Bru'kan, a 5 mana 7/7 that makes your spells cast twice for the rest of the game.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Bru'kan of the Elements is an 8-mana Hero Card that lets you cast two of these four effects: Earth Invocation summons two 2/3 Elementals with Taunt, Fire Invocation hits the enemy Hero for 6 damage, Lightning Invocation deals 2 damage to all enemy minions, and Water Invocation heals all friendly characters for 6 health. His Hero Power is Elemental Mastery, which rotates between one of the four elemental invocations each turn.

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• The Atoner: He wants to teach Rokara as an atonement for all the time he spent slacking off.
• Badass Teacher: An Old Master that can still kick your ass with lightning, and is strong enough to give an utterly massive +3 Spell Damage (to the spells he is most proficient in).
• Big Eater: It seems like he became this during his time lounging in Orgrimmar. Tonnes of quotes across all of his hero portraits revolve around food or how hungry he is. His Dungeoneer hero skin even shows him chowing down on a haunch of meat. Should he be matched against himself, he'll interrupt himself to ask if he can finish eating before the fight.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Despite his wisdom and great skill, Bru'kan would much rather be relaxing in Orgrimmar than training new recruits.
• Call-Back: Each of his Invocations as "Bru'kan of the Elements" are based on Kalimos' respective Invocations.
• The Cameo: He's the Darkspear troll depicted in the card art for the Murder at Castle Nathria Shaman spell Convincing Disguise, with the card's flavor text explicitly confirming it's him:
  Okay gang, let's see who's really under the mask… *gasp* Old Man Bru'kan!?
• Dark and Troubled Past: While never explicitly explained, Bru'kan's motivations for taking Rokara under his wing hint at his failure to protect the Darkspear tribe, which Tamsin calls him out on when he attempts to stop her in Stormwind. In his Book of Mercenaries chapter, Bru'kan is forced to face these regrets in the form of visions as he seeks the power of Lokholar.
• Elemental Powers: He originally starts with just lightning, but learns to command all the elements in Stormwind and puts that to use for his Hero card.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He dies at the end of his Book of Mercenaries, taking Tamsin out with him, a fate spoiled via Onyxia's Lair's Raptor Mount card.
• Not So Above It All: After seemingly telling Hamuul they'll heed his warning and leave the Wailing Caverns, he immediately confirms to Rokara that they're still going in, before laughing with everyone.
• So Proud of You: He tells Rokara how proud he is of her should they be matched against each other.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: He's frequently seen without a shirt on, showing off how surprisingly buff he still is.

Dreadlich Tamsin

Voiced by: Kimberly Brooks (EN)

You know NOTHING of death! Allow me to teach you.^note I care not for pleasantries.

At a certain point, you stop mocking death and start becoming it.

In life, Tamsin was the older of two sisters and a superstar mage. She was accepted to the legendary Scholomance Academy... and then the Scourge came, cutting her down and turning her into one of theirs. After regaining her will, Tamsin grew to resent both her father and her people. Encouraged by Lady Prestor, Tamsin was goaded into summoning a demonic army to Stormwind for revenge. This ultimately led to her second death, as her sister Cariel, now a paladin, slew Tamsin for the terrible crimes she'd committed. Unfortunately for Azeroth, Prestor and her associate, Kazakus still needed her for their plans, and resurrected her as a powerful lich. She now fights on the fields of Alterac, still an unwitting pawn in Prestor and Kazakus' mysterious schemes.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Tamsin appears on (or is directly connected to) multiple notable cards from the Year of The Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Tamsin Roame is a 3 mana 1/3 legendary Warlock minion that, whenever you cast a Shadow spell costing 1 or more mana, adds a 0-cost copy of that spell to your hand.
• In United in Stormwind, Tamsin acts as the central character of the Warlock Questline The Demon Seed. Completing this Questline's final step rewards you with Blightborn Tamsin, a 5-mana 7/7 that, for the rest of the game, makes it so that any damage you'd take while it's your turn hits your opponent instead.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Dreadlich Tamsin is a 6-mana Hero Card that deals 3 damage to all minions, shuffles 3 Fel Rifts into your deck, and draws 3 cards. Her hero power is Chains of Dread, which shuffles another Rift into your deck, then draws a card. Each Rift is a 3-mana Cast When Drawn spell that summons a 3/3 Dread Imp.
• Also from Fractured in Alterac Valley, Tamsin's Phylactery is a 4-mana Legendary Warlock Shadow spell that lets you Discover a friendly minion with Deathrattle that died that game, then gives all of your minions its Deathrattle.

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• Affectionate Nickname: She refers to Guff as "my little funnel cake".
• Ascended Extra: The younger Tamsin seen in Cariel's Book of Mercenaries chapter shares her artwork and voice with the Scholomance Academy minion Judicious Junior, implying that the Junior was actually Tamsin all along. Going from an otherwise forgettable minion card to a main character of a storyline is a pretty big step up.
• Asshole Victim: After betraying the other Horde mercenaries, destroying Stormwind, Mind Raping her father and turning him into a Flesh Golem, it's hard to feel bad for her once Bru'kan finally kills her for real at the end of his Book of Mercenaries.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: When coming Back from the Dead as a Lich during Tarvish's Book of Mercenaries, she introduces herself with Kel'Thuzad's "Greetings from the cold dark".
• Big Sister Bully: Even before becoming undead, she constantly taunted Cariel. Not helped by the fact that she was unambiguously her father's favourite, meaning he did nothing to stop it, if not join in himself. She even says she let Cariel's pet rabbit into the wilderness as a kid for her Noblegarden greeting. Used to Be a Sweet Kid she did not.
• Cast from Hit Points: The ritual to empower the Demon Seed requires you to sacrifice a total of 30 health. The final reward prevents this for the rest of the game and makes it damage your opponent instead.
• Chekhov's Gun: Both facing against and as her, she tends to wield a perfume bottle, an Unusable Enemy Equipment that fully heals her and fills her hand with Warlock spells for 8 mana. Looking at the art of the card◊, it becomes very clear that that definitely isn't a perfume bottle.
  • Fractured in Alterac Valley reveals that, as a part of her resurrection, her perfume bottle has become, of all things, her phylactery.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Has quite a few contrasts with the Arc Villain of the Year of the Dragon, Rafaam. Both of them are warlocks who intend to revive a long-since slain villain (Galakrond for Rafaam, Anatheron for Tamsin) motivated by revenge, but that's where the similarities end.
  • Rafaam primarily uses treasures he has obtained for combat, while Tamsin uses her skills as a mage/warlock she's gained at Scholomance Academy.
  • In the EVIL storyline, Rafaam quickly loses his interest with Galakrond to the point where he turns on and kills him. Tamsin, on the other hand, keeps Anatheron around until he is killed by Cariel and Kurtus while she moves on to Cornelius.
  • During the EVIL storyline, Rafaam makes an aside implying he has a hilariously Abusive Mom, but doesn't really dwell on it. Tamsin's mom is dead, and her father is very clearly biased towards her, and her presuming the latter left her to die is her Start of Darkness.
  • Rafaam is the leader of the League of EVIL and thus has plenty of fellow villains to back him up, while Tamsin works alone.
  • Rafaam is almost always Laughably Evil, even his rampage with Galakrond was more Played for Laughs than anything. Tamsin starts the same way, but she quickly takes a nosedive into much more serious villainy.
  • Rafaam was always depicted to be the Arc Villain since the year began. Tamsin, meanwhile, is first a member of Rokara's Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits before United in Stormwind revealed her as the main villain.
  • Last but not least, Rafaam stays the Big Bad for the entire arc without anyone to upstage him, while Kazakus and Lady Prestor are the Greater Scope Villains for Tamsin's arc.
• Dem Bones: After resurrecting as a lich, Cariel's head is reduced to just her skull, with her hair and the rest of her body being composed of some kind of ethereal mist.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She first appeared in Scholomance Academy as the Paladin minion Judicious Junior.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From a Scholomance student (albeit an extremely good one), to a powerful necromancer following the Scourge attack, to a full-blown lich after her second death.
• Gone Horribly Right: Her corrupting the Naaru shard and sending Xyrella into Shadowform gives the priestess a Heroic Second Wind, and has the potential to lead to her defeat.
  My, my... that backfired, didn't it?
• Heroic Team Revolt: After Tamsin's allies figure out her real motives for sailing to Stormwind, they turn on her.
• Hidden Depths: During the fight against her allies, Tamsin is nothing but smug and condescending to her former friends... until she faces Guff, who she's genuinely sad to be fighting. She (unsuccessfully) tries to talk him out of fighting her, in stark contrast to her boastful behaviour to Bru'kan and Rokara.
• Locked into Strangeness: She has a streak of white through her hair like her sister, except hers only appeared after her death. It became purple when she was resurrected as a lich.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Because she was dead (again) during the time it was revealed, Tamsin is the only mercenary whe doesn't know of Prestor and Kazakus' plan.
• Killed Off for Real: After coming Back from the Dead as a Lich, she finally dies for real once Bru'kan takes her out with him at the end of his Book of Mercenaries.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Her original minion's outfit is an open shirt held together by two chains, which opens up to her exposed midriff. Downplayed or averted by her other outfits.
• Necromancer: She's practiced some necromancy in her time in Scholomance, taught by Kel'Thuzad himself. She uses it to turn her father into a Flesh Golem to kill Cariel. Considering that she's now a full-on lich following her second death, it's safe to say she's definitely experienced.
• Numerological Motif: 3. Her first card is a 3 mana 1/3, the first two rewards for her Questline deals 3 Lifesteal damage to the enemy hero, and her Hero Card deals 3 damage to all minions, draws three cards, and shuffles three Fel Rifts into your deck, which summons a 3/3 Imp when drawn.
• Our Liches Are Different: Following her death at the hands of Cariel during the events of United in Stormwind, Lady Prestor and Kazakus resurrect Tamsin as a lich as a part of their mysterious plan, with Tamsin's perfume bottle acting as her phylactery.
• Patricide: The final encounter in her chapter in the Book of Mercenaries is against her father, Cornellius Roame. Rather than outright kill him however, she destroys his mind and makes him into a People Puppet.
• Pet the Dog: Tamsin has exactly one redeeming quality: she genuinely likes Guff, even trying to lift his spirits when he seems down. When the two of them fight each other during Tamsin's chapter in the Book of Mercenaries, she's clearly not enjoying it the same way she likes hurting everybody else and struggles to justify attacking him. It's unclear, however, if this care for him still exists after coming back as a lich, as she seemingly doesn't care that he's present and tries to kill him alongside the other mercs.
• Punny Name: Impressive Tamsin, who is surrounded by imps.
• Revenge: Her goal, which is nearly accomplished in United in Stormwind. Having long been enraged at humanity- especially her father- for essentially leaving her to rot (quite literally), Tamsin acquires the Demon Seed, feeds it energy, and then uses it to open a portal that summons the dreadlord Anetheron, who leads a demonic assault on Stormwind. A number of Alliance heroes, including her own sister, who confronts and ultimately re-kills Tamsin, are able to fend off the invaders, although Stormwind is left worse for wear in the aftermath and her father is reduced to a mindless puppet.
• Still Wearing the Old Colors: Her outfit seems to be various states of a tattered and modified Scholomance robe.
• Token Evil Teammate: She's clearly sinister and cruel, and has her own motives. At first this was Played for Laughs, but it very quickly became much darker as her character was explored.
• The Undead: Tamsin was killed by the Scourge and resurrected as one of their undead army, then regained control of her self after the Lich King's power ebbed. That's not even the extent of it: after her sister Cariel slays her for summoning a demonic army to Stormwind and turning their father into a mindless, hulking monstrosity, Tamsin resurrects as a lich, making her somehow even more undead than she already was.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After Kurtrus has her dead to rights (redead?), she escapes through a portal to complete the ritual to summon Anetheron elsewhere.

Rokara, the Valorous

Voiced by: Courtenay Taylor (EN)

No force on Azeroth can stop me!^note What's goin' on?

As strong-willed and stubborn as her first day in the Horde, Rokara now wielded a weapon that rivaled even her tenacity.

A young orc warrior from the Frostwolf clan, having come of age in Alterac Valley and grown up on stories of Thrall and Grommash Hellscream, the latter inspiring her to take up the path of the warrior and leave her family to seek honor and glory. Upon arriving in Orgrimmar, she was tested and given to the elderly shaman Bru'kan for training. Through his teachings, Rokara would realize the brutal methodology of Grommash's son and the current warchief Garrosh was wrong, and ever since has continued to grow into a new, better kind of warrior. Although still as stubborn and strong-willed as ever, Rokara now fights on the fields of Alterac with grand valor.

Being one of the Mercenaries, Rokara appears in multiple notable cards from the Year of the Gryphon:

• In Forged in the Barrens, Rokara is a 3 mana 2/3 Warrior legendary with Rush that gives friendly minions +1/+1 whenever they attack an enemy and survive.
• In United in Stormwind, she is the central character of the Warrior Questline Raid the Docks. Completing the Questline's final step rewards you with Cap'n Rokara, a 5 mana 7/7 Pirate that summons The Juggernaut, a permanent minion that summons a random Pirate, equips a random Warrior weapon, and fires 2 cannonballs that deal 2 damage to enemies at the start of your turn for the rest of the game.
• In Fractured in Alterac Valley, Rokara, the Valorous is a 7 mana Hero card that gives you 10 armor and equips The Unstoppable Force, a 5/2 weapon that causes any minion it hits to smash into the enemy hero, dealing its attack damage to them. Her hero power, Grand Slam, deals 2 damage. If it gets an Honorable Kill, she also gains 4 armor.

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• Anachronism Stew: The Horde that Rokara is a part of is, as established by various context clues, the Horde of Classic WoW. However, Garrosh is acting as warchief instead of Thrall, and it is established that Thrall had already given the position to Garrosh, an event that would not occur until the time of Cataclysm.
• Balance Buff: Rokara, the Valorous wound up underperforming, so the amount of armor she gave was buffed from 5 to 10, making attacking higher-attack minions with her weapon less damaging and allowing for cards that synergized with armor to be more easily run alongside her.
• Broken Pedestal: At the start of her adventure, she idolized Garrosh. After coming face to face with a weakened foe who she couldn't bring herself to kill, she realized that Garrosh's brutal methods were wrong.
• Cool Ship: The Juggernaut, the reward for her Questline. It's an iron-plated behemoth of a boat that provides infinite value.
• Depending on the Artist: Rokara's muscle mass fluctuates between pieces of card artwork. She's commonly portrayed with an athletic physique, but she can just as easily jump between being fairly petite (like on the art for Rancor) or absolutely jacked (like in the Mercenaries trailer).
• Eager Rookie: Her driving motivation is proving herself to the Horde.
• Honor Before Reason:
  • She refused to finish Feegly, since he was gibberingly insane and terrified. Even though Kazakus immediately obliterated him, it managed to shake her conviction enough to challenge Warchief Garrosh and stand up for her ideals.
  • When Tavish points out that her group can't be trusted with the naaru shards on account of them helping Tamsin invade Stormwind - albeit unintentionally - Rokara defends her actions on the grounds that Tamsin was Horde, and that made her family.
• The Leader: Of the Horde mercenaries. She's the one who assembled the party, and is also the one calling the shots by the end. She does still take a healthy amount of advice from Bru'kan, however.
• Pirate Girl: In order to get into Stormwind and free Varden, she joined up with a pirate crew to raid the city harbors.
• Punched Across the Room: This happens to anyone hit by The Unstoppable Force, with some collateral damage to the enemy hero for good measure.

Reno Jackson

Reno Jackson

We're gonna be rich!

Reno Jackson is a bumbling, somewhat self-centered treasure hunter who requires the assistance of the player to collect the first piece of the staff and escape from the Temple of Orsis. Later on, he salvaged a "gatling wand" from the ruins of Dalaran and styled himself as a mage. Reno has appeared on a large number of cards, and uniquely two different Hero cards.

• The original Reno Jackson is a 6 mana 4/6 who heals your hero to full health as long as your deck has no duplicates.
• In Saviors of Uldum, Reno the Relicologist a 4/6 Mage Legendary for 6 that deals 10 damage randomly split between all enemy minions if your deck has no duplicates.
  
  

Information his Hero Card incarnations can be found below.

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• Adventurer Archaeologist: Why let danger get in the way of magical treasure? If it's dangerous, that just means it's worth more!
• Ascended Meme: Reno actually being a dragon is either this, or a long-con game of I Knew It!
• The Big Guy: Physically the largest of the league (being a human compared to an elf, a dwarf, and a murloc) and also has the highest stats (4/6, compared to Elise's 3/5, Brann's 2/4 and Finley's 1/3). then it turns out that he's an juvenile blue dragon, taking this trope up a notch whenever he shows his Shapeshifter Default Form
• Breakout Character: Reno, at the time of his printing, was the most extreme "build around me" card ever, demanding creative deckbuilding (no duplicates may be in the deck at the time of his summoning) in exchange for an awesome reward (restoring your hero to full health). This made him incredibly popular among professional and casual players alike, to the point where Mean Streets of Gadgetzan promoted his one-of-a-kind restriction to it's own archetype, adding several cards with the same limitation and similarly powerful payoffs. It got to the point where, when the team was brought back for Saviors of Uldum, they all used his signature condition.
• Doorstop Baby: He was apparently one of these. Also, he arrived in an egg.
• Foreshadowing:
  • The trailer for One Night In Karazhan featured Reno, Finley and a cow being splashed by The Curator^note Its Battlecry is that you draw a Dragon, Murloc and Beast from your deck. Guess who is the dragon?
  • Reno briefly appears as a minion twice in the Galakrond's Awakening campaign. His statline? 4/12. You know, the same one used by several Legendary dragons, including the big daddy blue dragon Malygos.
• Heroic Second Wind: The original card is one of the most powerful ones in the game, letting you undo all of the damage you've taken and often leaving the opponent in a precarious position. Relicologist can have a similar effect by nuking the opponent's board, buying you time to get back in the game.
• Hidden Depths: For all his Mr. Vice Guy persona, Reno loves magic. Finding magical treasure thus combines his two loves, and it's one of the reasons why he's an Adventurer Archaeologist, even he has no idea how to properly use it when he actually finds it. That would be because he's a blue dragon, even if he's too dumb to realize it.
• I Am Who?: During the final fight against Rafaam in Galakrond's Awakening, Reno learns he's been a blue dragon in human form this whole time. He never knew before, since he was given to an orphanage as an egg. Note that yes, he was aware that he came from an egg. He just never made the connection.
• Idiot Hero: Reno isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but his heart is definitely in the right place, even if he needs the other explorers to rein him in at times. He makes up for this with more bulk than the rest, an affinity for magical treasure, and being a dragon without realizing it. Yes, Reno realized that being born from an egg made him different - but not that that it meant he wasn't human.
• It Seemed Trivial: At the end of Galakrond's Awakening, Reno Jackson finds out that he's an orphaned dragon from the Blue Dragonflight. It has never once occurred to him that his affinity for treasure, magic, and being born from an egg would hint at that.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: On the one hand, he has a little too much fun recounting his exploits and tends to be greedy with treasure even when it's obvious that something bad might happen if he takes it. On the other hand, he saves the player from a collapsing ceiling and is legitimately grateful for them saving him.
• Large Ham: Imagine every single stock parody of treasure hunters you've ever seen and you've probably got a good idea of what he's like.
• Lovable Rogue: An unapologetic kleptomaniac. His antics release Zinaar to confront you, and during One Night in Karazhan he gets told off by Moroes for trying to steal the silverware. But he does save your life, both in his home adventure and as a card.
• Manchild: By far the most irresponsible, reckless, and carefree member of the League. Justified - by dragon standards, Reno would basically be a rebellious teenager in dragon years despite appearing as a fully-grown adult human. Elise remarks that This Explains So Much.
• Morphic Resonance: His dragon form, Renogos, retains Reno's bushy eyebrows and enormous cleft chin. He also has his hat stuck on one horn.
• Mr. Vice Guy: Reno has a greedy streak a mile wide and a huge ego, but he's also firmly a good guy at heart. Him being a blue dragon handily explains this desire for treasure, magic, and magical treasure.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much:
  • Blue dragons are very often Insufferable Geniuses, Reno is... not.
  • Blue dragons also tend to believe that mortals meddle in things beyond their understanding, or at the very least should be watched over so that they don't blow themselves up. Reno loves nothing more than being an Adventurer Archaeologist who hunts for lost treasure he doesn't really understand how to properly use.
  • Finally, blue dragons tend to be expert magic users that even the best mortals struggle to match, Reno has plenty of raw magical power.. but his grasp on channeling it into what he wants? That's more or less limited to aiming in the general direction and opening the floodgates, so to speak. He has much better control in his dragon form, but that form is exclusive to single-player mode.
• Rapid-Fire "No!": The death sound for the original minion is him rapidly saying "no".
• Sdrawkcab Name: "Reno" spelt backwards is "oner." Recall the activation condition for his minion cards.
• Younger Than They Look: He looks like a middle aged man. But being a blue dragon he's actually a juvenile. Elise notes that his explains so much about his behavior.

The Amazing Reno

Watch closely as I make everyone... disappear!^note Ha, I'm gonna be rich!

"Reno!" "Please address me by my proper title." "<sigh> Amazing Reno..."

The Amazing Reno is a 10 mana Mage Hero from Galakrond's Awakening with the Battlecry effect of making all minions disappear, silencing and destroying them without activating on-death effects and preventing them from being resurrected. His passive hero power, What Does This Do?, casts a random spell at the start of his turn.

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• Deader than Dead: The Amazing Reno's battlecry makes all minions disappear, which not only destroys them, but doesn't trigger Deathrattles and doesn't put the minions in the dead pool, meaning they can't be resurrected.
• Gatling Good: Relicologist and The Amazing Reno are wielding a runic machine gun. Said Gatling Wand can be acquired as a signature treasure in Tombs of Terror and Duels, which deals damage split between enemies and scales based on how many spells Reno has cast that game.
• The Magnificent: His flavour text has him demanding that the unnamed second person (probably Elise) call him by his proper title: Amazing Reno.
• Powerful, but Inaccurate: His hero power is simply nuts, casting any random spell for free every single turn. That said, it's completely unpredictable and impossible to aim, leaving him (and the player) at the harsh mercy of the Random Number God.
• Random Effect Spell: Casting any spell in the entire game for free every turn can be devastating for either player. It's up to RNG to determine whether his hero power is an upside or a downside.
• Written Sound Effect: The hero card's Battlecry has *Poof* written on it for flavour.

Reno, Lone Ranger

Looking for a standoff? Careful, it's against me. ^note Howdy partner!

With an uncertain past and a questionable future, Reno was lucky to find his home on the range.

Showdown in the Badlands depicts a younger Reno, who is unsure whether he should side with the Bloodstone Mining Co. or join Elise and the heroic outlaws. Reno, Lone Ranger is an 8-mana neutral Hero that, if your deck has no duplicates, removes all cards from your opponent's side of the board and limits them to one minion until your next turn. His hero power is Reno's Handcannon, which deals 2 damage and has a different bonus effect each turn.^note Arcane Bullet refreshes 2 Mana Crystals; Frost Bullet gives him 4 Armor; Fire Bullet deals 1 damage to all enemy minions; Nature Bullet discovers a spell; Holy Bullet gives a random friendly minion +2/+2; Fel Bullet draws a card; and Shadow Bullet summons a random 3-cost minion.

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• Heel–Face Turn: Although he originally sided with Bloodstone, he eventually decided to join Elise's outlaws. This is represented mechanically since he is neutral so he can be played in any class, but his effect is most beneficial to the non-Bloodstone classes that have other Highlander effects already.
• The Gunslinger: He's an anti-heroic lawman who wields a magic pistol.
• Random Effect Spell: Like his predecessor (chronologically successor) The Amazing Reno, his hero power has a random effect. It's less bad in his case since you can see what the effect will be and all of them are beneficial, but it's got a wider range of outcomes than other swapping hero powers like those of Bru'kan and Dr. Boom.
• Showdown at High Noon: His Battlecry is meant to represent this, limiting the opponent to a duel between Reno and one minion of the enemy's choice.
• Written Sound Effect: His effect ends with "It's high noon!" written in italics, solidifying its flavour.

Other Hero Cards

Lord Jaraxxus

Voiced by: Jamieson Price (EN)

YOU FACE JARAXXUS, EREDAR LORD OF THE BURNING LEGION!^note OBLIVION!!!

"TRIFLING GNOME! YOUR ARROGANCE WILL BE YOUR UNDOING!!!!"

Originally a raid boss from World of Warcraft more noteworthy for his voice acting than the fight itself, Jaraxxus appears in Hearthstone as the warlock's class-exclusive legendary minion from the Classic set, as a 3/15 minion that would destroy your hero and replace it with (a 15-health) Lord Jaraxxus. With the introduction of the Core set, Jaraxxus was instead reworked into a Hero card.

Lord Jaraxxus is an 8-mana Warlock hero card whose Battlecry equips Blood Fury, a 3/8 weapon. His hero power is INFERNO!, summoning a 6/6 Infernal.

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• Achilles' Heel: Originally he still counted as a demon while a hero, meaning that the warlock card Sacrificial Pact, which destroys any demon instantly, would kill him on the spot. A much rarer but equally hilarious scenario is if he triggers Sacred Trial, which can and will count him as the requisite fourth minion upon play and vaporize him AFTER he replaces the current Warlock hero, killing him instantly. Finally, Jaraxxus will trigger Repentance, which means you'll play what little is left of the game with a maximum health of 1 (the latter two were patched out in October 2017). Averted with his rework in 2021, which, being that he's a hero card, lacks any tribal tags whatsoever and does not trigger anything that specifically affects minions.
• Ascended Extra: His lore importance is minimal, as he only showed up once in World of Warcraft for a brief, if memorable, boss fight. Here, he acts as the Classic set legendary for the Warlock class over more logical choices such as the other Eredar lords.
• Big Red Devil: As a member of the Burning Legion, it's a given.
• Breakout Character: Among all the minor Warcraft characters who got bigger roles in Hearthstone, Jaraxxus got a lot of mileage out of it, with only Valeera getting a better deal. To wit, Jaraxxus is one of the few Classic cards to receive some kind of visual upgrade (with his Infernals getting a snazzy entrance), he got his own Hero Skin in The Boomsday Project, and finally, he ended up becoming the Big Bad of Trial by Felfire, complete with his own Villain Song. His extreme popularity likely contributed to the eventual decision to upgrade him to a Hero Card.
• Brick Joke: His karaoke skills are briefly mentioned in a gag during the first encounter of One Night in Karazhan. Later, if you summon Jaraxxus during the fight against Prince Malchezaar, you get to hear his singing in all its glory.
• The Cameo: Shows up to party at Karazhan, something Malchezaar is not happy about. But apparently his karaoke is amazing.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The original version of Jaraxxus can be seen as a very early equivalent of the hero cards introduced in Knights of the Frozen Throne and has several key differences from them: he was treated as a minion card (and as such could be cheated out without replacing your hero), reduced your hero's maximum health, and did not grant armor. Fittingly, he became a functionally-identical hero card that does not reduce your hero's maximum health and instead grants 5 armor, as other hero cards do.
• 11th-Hour Superpower: Summoning Jaraxxus can be seen as this, as you will most likely either summon him or play his hero card in the late game. It can also count as an Emergency Transformation to heal yourself, whether that's getting back up to 15 health in the case of the minion or gaining a 5-armor buffer with the hero card. At any rate, once Jaraxxus in play, the enemy typically has a few turns to finish the fight before his hero power creates an unsurmountable advantage.
• Elite Mook: His INFERNO! hero power can be used to summon one of these per turn. To put in perspective, Chillwind Yeti was already considered the most mana efficient minion in the original set when Jaraxxus came out, a 4/5 for 4 mana which you can stick two of in your deck. Jaraxxus summons a 6/6 for 2 mana every turn.
• Evil Laugh: Has a pretty epic one whenever he swings his weapon.
• Hidden Depths: Apparently a fixture at Medivh's parties for his amazing karaoke performances. Possibly a Shout-Out to the popular dance remixes his original boss fight dialogue spawned.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Apparently, singing karaoke according to Jaraxxus equals screaming at the top of your lungs. It fits the character
• Large Ham: Damn right.
  OBLIVION!
  INFERNO!
  IT JUST GOT HERE!
  JARAXXUS IS... sorry.
• Large Ham Title: He's an EREDAR LORD OF THE BURNING LEGION and he'll not let you forget it.
• Mythology Gag: If Wilfred Fizzlebang, who was responsible for summoning Jaraxxus in World of Warcraft, is played while either player is currently Jaraxxus, they recreate their original exchange.
  Wilfred: You are bound to me, demon! Uh, I think.
  Jaraxxus: TRIFLING GNOME! YOUR ARROGANCE WILL BE YOUR UNDOING!
• No Indoor Voice: Everything he says is in all caps, save for his "Sorry" emote. Even his dialogue when he's simply thinking is capitalized.
• Removed Achilles' Heel: 20 April 2020 patch changed Sacrificial Pact so it can only target friendly demons. Note that there's technically nothing stopping you from using Sacrificial Pact on yourself, accidentally or otherwise, since you, as Jaraxxus, count as a "friendly demon". This weakness was finally, truly averted with his current incarnation, since hero cards lack any tribal tags.

Hagatha the Witch

Dark spirits, twist the trees, foul the lakes, and curse this land!^note  Welcome to my domain.

Curse-bringer, tree-twister, mother of wretched things... Hanzo main.

The Big Bad of The Witchwood, Hagatha is responsible for the corruption of the forests. After her defeat, she was recruited by Madame Lazul and Arch-thief Rafaam for their League of E.V.I.L., which she joined.

Hagatha the Witch is an 8 mana Shaman hero card from The Witchwood that deals 3 damage to all minions as her Battlecry. Her Hero Power is Bewitch, which passively adds a random Shaman spell to your hand after you play a minion.

Hagatha has also been available as Legendary Shaman minions in two further expansions. In Rise of Shadows, Swampqueen Hagatha is a 5/5 for 7 that adds a Drustvar Horror to your hand and teaches it two Shaman spells in a Discover-like menu. The Horror is a 5 mana 5/5 whose Battlecry casts the spells it was taught in the order you picked them. In Whizbang's Workshop, Hagatha the Fabled is a 4/4 for 5 that draws 2 spells that cost 5 or more, then transforms them into Fairy Tale Slimes that cast the spell they were transformed from; the Slimes' costs and stats are equal to the cost of the spell as well.

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• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Her flavour text describes her as a curse-bringer, a tree-twister, the mother of all wretched things... and a Hanzo main.
• Bad Boss: Hagatha's ability damages her own minions as well, as does her Scheme card.
  "All shall suffer!"
  "But Hagatha, those are your minions..."
  "I said ALL!!!"
• Big Bad: Responsible for the desecration of the Witchwood.
• Easter Egg: Swampqueen Hagatha has a unique summon line if played while either player is Hagatha the Witch.
• Forced Transformation: Not an effect of hers, but implied by Witch's Apprentice. Witch's Apprentice is a 0/1 frog with Taunt that adds a random Shaman spell to your hand. This combines the ability of Hagatha with the statline of a Hexxed minion, implying either Hagatha hexxed the apprentice or the apprentice accidentally hexxed herself. Hagatha the Fabled, on the other hand, explicitly has this effect, turning two expensive spells in your deck into minions that cast said spells as a Battlecry.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Witch's Apprentice gives you a random Shaman spell. With Hagatha on the field, everyone is her apprentice.
• Golem: Swampqueen's Drustvar Horror is a wicker construct, which is a Kul Tiran creature made of wood and bones.
• Lady Looks Like a Dude: Hagatha's appearance is much closer to a male orc than the typical female. Just compare her to the likes of Grom Hellscream (male) and Warsong Commander (female), and you'll see much more of a resemblance to the former.
• Power Creep, Power Seep: In The Witchwood, Hagatha's very presence warped the Blackwald into a twisted nightmare, mutated the wildlife in hostile monsters, and created unspeakable horrors from nothing. In Rise of Shadows, she's only about on-par with Lazul and Rafaam, all of whom aren't portrayed as much more powerful than Togwaggle and Boom.
• Sadly Mythtaken: In-Universe example. Even though Hagatha is a witch and the wicker golems are made by Drustvar witches, the two stop there in terms of similarities. Drustvar witches are humans empowered by the drust, while Hagatha seems to just be a powerful (orcish) shaman. Really, summoning a Wicker Golem is more of a Mythology Gag and Rule of Cool.
• Steven Ulysses Perhero: Hagatha.
• Surrounded by Idiots: She expresses dismay and exasperation of having to work with Laughably Evil villains like Togwaggle, Dr. Boom and Rafaam.
• Wicked Witch: Goes without saying.
• Wolverine Claws: She's wearing two-pronged clawed weapons.

Dr. Boom, Mad Genius

Voiced by: John DiMaggio (EN)

I'm suitin' up!^note Here comes the BOOM!

^{Click here to see the original Dr. Boom}

"Of course I've gone mad with power. Ever try going mad without it?"

A mad scientist in charge of his top secret lab in the center of Netherstorm.

One of the most infamous cards in the earlier days of Hearthstone. Dr. Boom is a 7 mana 7/7 from Goblins vs. Gnomes that summons two Boom Bots - 1/1 Mechs that upon death detonate at a random enemy, dealing 1-4 damage at random. He saw almost ubiquitous play in decks while he was in Standard, ranging from control to tempo to even some aggro.

In The Boomsday Project, he returned as a Warrior Hero Card called Dr. Boom, Mad Genius. Mad Genius is a 7 mana hero card that grants 7 armor and gives your Mechs Rush for the rest of the game. His Hero Power is Big Red Button, which changes into something different every turn. It randomly chooses between Micro-Squad, summoning three 1/1 Microbots; Zap Cannon, dealing 3 damage; Blast Shield, gaining 7 armor; KABOOM!, dealing 1 damage to all enemies; or Delivery Drone, Discovering a Mech.

In Rise of Shadows, he returned again as Blastmaster Boom, another Warrior Legendary - this time a 7 mana 7/7 that summons 2 Boom Bots for each Bomb in your opponent's deck.

In Whizbang's Workshop, he returned as yet another Warrior Legendary in the form of Inventor Boom, an 8 mana 7/7 that resurrects two friendly Mechs that cost 5 or more, which then immediately attack random enemies.

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• Action Bomb: His Boom Bots. KABOOM! is represented by him throwing a Boom Bot out.
• Affably Evil: Dr. Boom is bafflingly friendly for a narcissistic, demolitions-obsessed lunatic. A few of his emotes as Mad Genius are sincere compliments towards his opponents, and he's one of the chummiest scientists within the Puzzle Lab, offering words of encouragement and playful ribbing when he thinks he's got you stumped. He also stands out as the least malevolent of the League of EVIL's leadership, being highly buddy-buddy with you during the Dalaran Heist while actively discouraging fighting inside of Bob's Tavern, instead suggesting that you "just hug it out in there".
• Ascended Extra: He was originally a one-note quest NPC from The Burning Crusade. Not very many people remember that version.
  • Doubly so as of The Boomsday Project - he has an entire expansion based on him.
• Big Red Button: How he activates his random hero powers. He doesn't actually know how to use his suit, but instead mashes a random button that does random things.
• Breaking Old Trends: Inventor Boom sadly breaks the gag of him being a 7 mana 7/7 each time by costing 8 mana instead. At least his statline's intact!
• A Day In The Lime Light:
  • The Boomsday Project is entirely based around him.
  • One for his Boom Bots. They got a starring role in a Tavern Brawl where one became a playable hero and faced off against the Annoy-o-Tron.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Unsurprisingly, he loves explosions, but even he tries to stop Boommaster Flark from setting off a massive bomb in the sewers of Dalaran during Heist Mode. Of course, it's only because he'd rather steal the city than destroy it and all its treasures.
• Evil Laugh: His summoning sound.
• Indy Ploy: His entire "Boomsday Project" turns out to be one of these. He gathered a bunch of mad scientists, built a secret lab, and tried to work it all into some kind of Take Over the World scheme on the fly. The player inadvertently foils this by defeating his Puzzle Lab.
• In the Hood: Hearthstone gives him a hood to play up the resemblance to his namesake.
• It's All About Me: At one point, when looking for a portrait of his "one true love," his mech assistant immediately picks up a portrait of Dr. Boom himself.
• Iron Butt Monkey: In the supplementary comic, the lack of safety protocol in his lab probably affects him more than his underlings, who actually know what they're doing most of the time. Over the course of a single supplementary comic, he's blown himself up twice, gotten electrocuted by Electra, was nearly eaten by one of Floop's plants, and drank one of Myra's concoctions which made him puke rainbows, but still came out of the ordeal no worse for wear.
• Luck-Based Mission: His Hero Power. All of the powers are ridiculously strong, but all have wildly different effects from each other. You might not get the one you need on a specific turn.
• Mad Scientist: He owns Dr. Boom Laboratories and works on incredible and deadly experiments (and Stuff Blowing Up).
• Mini-Mecha: Mad Genius is piloting one of these.
• Missing Steps Plan: According to promo and side material, everything he does is this. While he is a talented inventor, he doesn't really plan anything when builds stuff, he just throws things together. This is why his Hero card changes his Hero Power all the time - he doesn't know how the mech he built works, but the big red button does something. This even extends to the creation of Boom Labs; while he did get a mad science lab running he doesn't have much of a plan beyond that.
  "I'm too busy to formulate a plan! How can I possibly get anything done if I'm going to spend time knowing what I'm doing?"
• Mook Maker: The original Boom comes into play with two Boom Bots. Mad Genius can summon his Micro-Squad or Discover any Mech with Drone Delivery. In either case, they also count as Mecha-Mooks.
• Nerf: Dr. Boom, Mad Genius was nerfed to 9 mana from 7 during Saviors of Uldum. However, the nerf was undone at the start of the Year of the Phoenix to keep the meme alive.
• Numerological Motif: Seven. The minion is a 7 mana 7/7, and the Hero is 7 mana and gives 7 Armor (instead of the standard 5), with one of the effects of his hero power giving another 7 armor.
• Robot Master: Strongly related with various robots, and his effect empowers all Mechs you play from thereon by giving them Rush.
• Shout-Out: To Doctor Doom. In case it wasn't obvious enough, his flavour text is "Marvel at his might!" Blastmaster Boom even wears a very Dr. Doom-esque suit of armor.
• Suddenly Voiced: His original card had no actual dialogue beyond generic laughter and grunts. Once he became an Ascended Extra, he started getting actual lines in-game and in promotional material.
• Unskilled, but Strong: The gist of why the original minion was so popular. Dr. Boom doesn't add particularly much besides some efficient stats and a splash of damage. He also doesn't have any particular downsides, and his stats are extremely efficient. Because of his unique 3-minion spread, large base body, and strong Deathrattles, there is no card that can cleanly trade 1 for 1 with Dr. Boom (even another Dr. Boom doesn't do it, since the Boom Bots still get value). Plus, card quality in general was a lot lower when he was released, especially the 7 mana slot which was populated by nothing but terrible cards. To drive the point home, many Wild decks don't actually use him anymore, just because lists are so specialized that there's no need for a generically good card.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He built Mecha-Jaraxxus during The Boomsday Project For the Evulz. Without Boom Labs to keep things in check, Mecha-Jaraxxus took over all of Outland and rebuilt the denizens into cyborgs.

Zul'jin

Here comes da BIG axe!^note Ah, look who it is!

If you can dodge an axe, you can dodge a ball.

The Warlord of the Amani. Zul'jin was an ally of the Horde during the Second War, but left them when they broke their promise and failed to destroy Quel'thalas. He was then captured by the elves and tortured, losing his eye and forcing him to cut off his arm to escape. Now in the Rumble, he's the champion of Halazzi the Lynx.

Zul'jin is a 10 mana Hunter hero who recasts every single Spell you've cast this game. His hero power, Berserker Throw, deals 2 damage to any target.

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• Animal Motif: In a bit of art evolution, he's wrapped in cat pelts over his normal clothes, tying into his Loa god Halazzi.
• The Beastmaster: His ability looks like The Archmage, but given what most Hunter spells do, the typical result is calling in an army of animals.
• Boring, but Practical: Berserker Throw is pretty unexciting as far as Hero Card powers go (especially compared to Deathstalker Rexxar). It's still a huge boon and a direct upgrade over Steady Shot.
• Composite Character: He has the tall, spiky hair and prominent tusks featured in Warcraft II and Heroes of the Storm, but is the handicapped version seen in World of Warcraft.
• Handicapped Badass: He's missing his arm and eye but is no worse a fighter for it.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He recasts all spells you have cast this game, but it will be randomly targeted. Be very careful when you have used any direct damage spells, as it's not unheard for him to cast it on his own face.
• Lighter and Softer: Zul'jin isn't as overtly hostile as his other incarnations, as per the norm for Hearthstone.
• Spam Attack: Upon being played, he'll spam out every spell you previously played this game. If you're going Spell Hunter, it might take a while.

Al'Akir, the Winds of Time

You have earned the right to face Al'Akir, the Windlord!^note This will be a breeze.

Murozond sought unlikely allies in his fight against the Bronze Dragonflight.

Al'Akir the Windlord is the Elemental Lord of Air, and is known as the cleverest of the Old Gods' generals. Although the titans banished him to the Skywall for all eternity, he was able to break free and begin his conquest of Azeroth during the Cataclysm.

Al'Akir, the Winds of Time is a 7-mana Shaman hero card added in the Caverns of Time set that grants 8 armor and draws a Charge, Taunt, Divine Shield, and Windfury minion from your deck. His hero power is SWAT, INSECT!, which gives your hero +2 Attack and Windfury this turn and Divine Shield.

Al'Akir first appeared in the Classic set as Shaman's legendary, an 8 mana 3/6 Elemental with Taunt, Charge, Divine Shield, and Windfury.

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• Awesome, but Impractical: Tutoring four minions sounds like a pretty good effect, but the extremely limited number of good Divine Shield minions for Shaman, Charge minions for a value deck, and Windfury minions in general means that unless you severely warp your deck around this one-of card, you'll be drawing one minion if you're lucky.
• Balance Buff:
  • Al'Akir used to be a 3/5, but was buffed to a 3/6 with the introduction of the Core set.
  • The hero card was extremely underwhelming on launch, so it was buffed to grant 8 armor instead of the normal 5.
• Blow You Away: He is essentially a living tornado, which is represented mechanically by both his minion and Hero having Windfury.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: His hero power SWAT, INSECT pays homage to Ragnaros' DIE, INSECT, as well as Al'Akir's attack quote "Like swatting insects!".
• Elemental Embodiment: He is the living embodiment of wind on Azeroth.
• Single-Use Shield: Divine Shield prevents the first source of damage then pops. The minion's only works once, while the hero's can be reapplied every turn by his hero power. Interestingly, the original Al'Akir was the only card in the entire game to have Divine Shield that wasn't Paladin or neutral until the release of Mi'da, Pure Light in 2022.
• Weak, but Skilled: 3/6 is pathetic for an 8-mana minion, however the useful combination of keywords makes Al'Akir extremely flexible the turn he comes into play. Despite being considered something of a Joke Character in the early days (at least after Rockbiter Weapon was nerfed for how well it worked with certain Shaman cards, including him), he has managed to see occasional Standard play, particularly back in The Witchwood as a finisher for Even Shaman.

The Headless Horseman

Stand and fight, in darkest night!^note Hearken my verse, or feel my curse.

This flavor text, you would expect to rhyme and reference, to great effect! It starts out strong, but as you can tell it doesn't end very good.

Sir Thomas Thompson was once a Silver Hand knight, sworn to rid the world of undead blight. But driven insane by the Scarlet Monastery, he was forced into a fate most scary. Transformed into a death knight and relieved of his head, he now believes he is alive and all others are dead.

The Headless Horseman is a 6 mana hero card added in Whizbang's Workshop for Death Knight, with one Blood and Unholy rune needed for him to join in the fight. He destroys the enemy minion with the highest attack, and shuffles his own head into your deck. His hero power is Pulsing Pumpkins, which deals 3 damage to any hero or minions. However after his head has been drawn, his hero power also Discovers an Undead to serve as your pawn!

Before the Horseman was playable by all, he was the final boss in a Tavern Brawl.

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• Detachment Combat: When combatting the Horseman in his Tavern Brawl, one phase has you fight his head in a free-for-all.
• Evil Laugh: A sure way to know when the Horseman is near, is to see if his maniacal laughter reaches your ear.
• Headless Horseman: Naturally, although in this case his head is merely lost somewhere inside your deck. His portrait changes once you find it and get it back on his neck.
• Losing Your Head: His head was lopped off by Balnazzar, but both it and his body live on as an undead horror.
• Magikarp Power: His hero power gains the bonus of Discovering an Undead, as long as you've drawn through your deck for his head. Downplayed since dealing 3 damage is already quite strong, but adding extra value helps with games that go long.
• Rhymes on a Dime: Fitting with his portrayal in his home game, The Headless Horseman rhymes everything he's saying. Even his card text is written entirely in rhyme (which probably took the designers a bit of extra time)! This trope is also subverted however, as the designers opted for a joke when writing his text of flavor.