The next Hearthstone expansion is March of the Lich King, and it introduces the Death Knight class, Undead minions and the Manathirst keyword! The new Hearthstone expansion also features Runes for the Death Knight class plus 203 new cards.
Death Knight hero artwork. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Death Knight class arrives in Hearthstone with Corpses!
March of the Lich King introduces the Death Knight class in Hearthstone. When players complete a free prologue, they will unlock this 11th playable class. According to Blizzard, this class comes with 68 class cards, including 32 free Core Set cards.
The Death Knight class in Hearthstone has the Ghoul Charge hero power plus makes use of the new Corpse resource mechanic.
Here are the details:
Ghoul Charge: Summons a 1/1 Ghoul with Charge. It dies at the end of the turn. Corpse: Every time a friendly minion dies, it’s counted as a Corpse.
The Ghoul Charge hero power in Hearthstone. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Battlefield Necromancer features the Corpse resource. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
In addition to Battlefield Necromancer, here are some more Corpse cards from the new expansion:
Army of the Dead (5 mana, Shadow spell, Holy rune): Raise up to 5 Corpses as 2/2 Risen Ghouls with Rush.Corpse Explosion (5 mana, Shadow spell, Blood rune): Detonate a Corpse to deal 1 damage to all minions. If any are still alive, repeat this.Vampiric Blood (2 mana, Blood rune): Give your hero +5 Health. Spend 3 Corpses to gain 5 more and draw a card.Defrost (2 mana, Frost spell, Frost rune): Draw a card. Spend 2 Corpses to draw another.Lord Marrowgar (8 mana 9/7, Undead, Unholy rune): Battlecry: Raise ALL of your Corpses as 1/1 Risen Golems with Rush. For each that can’t fit, give one +2/+2.
Corpse Explosion. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Vampiric Blood. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Undead minion type in March of the Lich King
Undead minions in March of the Lich King emphasize the power of characters who just keep coming back. Minions from previous expansions have been updated with the Undead minion tag to showcase this. What this also means is that some minions are now dual types.
Arthas’ horse, Invincible, is in March of the Lich King. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Patchwerk is a Legendary and Undead minion. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Here are some Undead minions in addition to Invincible, Patchwerk and Lord Marrowgar:
Nerubian Flyer (2 mana 2/3, Undead): Battlecry: If a friendly Undead died after your last turn, summon a 2/2 Nerubian.Gnome Muncher (6 mana 5/6, Undead, Blood rune): Taunt, Lifesteal. At the end of your turn, attack the lowest Health enemy.Bone Flinger (2 mana 2/3, Undead): Battlecry: If a friendly Undead died after your last turn, deal 2 damage.Scourge Rager (3 mana 5/4, Undead): Reborn. Battlecry: Die.Unliving Champion (3 mana 3/2, Undead): Battlecry: If a friendly Undead died after your last turn, summon two 3/2 Zombies.Skeletal Sidekick (1 mana 1/2, Undead): Battlecry: Give a friendly Undead +2 Attack.
Meanwhile, as one can see from Scourge Ranger and Invincible, the Reborn keyword is returning and staying as a mechanic.
Scourge Rager features the Reborn keyword. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
The Graveyard Shift spell features the Reborn keyword. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Manathirst keyword in Hearthstone
Speaking of keywords, Manathirst is the new one arrive in March of the Lich King. Cards with the Manathirst keyword have additional powers when players have enough mana. Additionally, Mana is not consumed to trigger the bonus effect.
Silvermoon Sentinel has the Manathirst keyword. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
The Embers of Strength spell. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
A couple of other Manathirst cards include:
Arcane Bolt (1 mana, Arcane spell): Deal 2 damage. Manathirst (8): Deal 3 damage instead.Sunfury Clergy (3 mana 2/4): Battlecry: Restore 3 Health to all friendly characters. Manathirst (6): Restore 6 Health instead.
With March of the Lich King, the next expansion for Blizzard’s digital card game, players will take up the mantle of the new Death Knight class, plus apply a new layer to deckbuilding with Runes, exclusive to Death Knights.
Blizzard about Runes in Hearthstone
Runes in Hearthstone: a new system for deckbuilding
The Death Knight class also uses the all-new Rune system for Blood, Frost and Unholy abilities. While Blood has health manipulation for control gameplay, Frost consists of icy spells for direct damage. As for Unholy, it’s good for getting swarms of minions across the in-game board.
Defrost card in Hearthstone. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Frostwyrm’s Fury in the new Hearthstone expansion. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Here’s how these Runes can be used for building decks:
Blood Runes: Fight for board control and play big minions. These decks drain opponents thanks to health manipulation magic.Frost Runes: Blast opponents with icy and direct damage. These types of decks involve spell synergy and mana control. The icy part means freezing enemies as well. Unholy Runes: Make use of the new Corpse resource mechanic by raising Undead armies. These decks let players flood the board with minions.
Lord Marrowgar is Death Knight Legendary. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
The Sunwell is Hearthstone’s first neutral Legendary spell. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Below are more cards with rune indicators:
Blood Boil (5 mana, Shadow spell, Blood rune): Lifesteal. Infect all enemy minions. At the end of your turns, they take 2 damage.Dark Transformation (2 mana, Shadow spell, Unholy rune): Transform an Undead into a 4/5 Undead Monstrosity with Rush.Plague Strike (2 mana, Shadow spell, Unholy rune): Deal 3 damage to a minion. If that kills it, summon a 2/2 Zombie with Rush.Glacial Advance (3 mana, Frost spell, Frost rune): Deal 4 damage. Your next spell this turn costs (2) less.Horn of Winter (0 mana, Frost spell, Frost rune): Refresh 2 Mana Crystals.Obliterate (2 mana, Blood rune): Destroy a minion. Your hero takes damage equal to its Health.Overseer Frigidara (6 mana 5/6, Frost rune): Battlecry: Draw 2 spells. If they’re both Frost spells, deal 2 damage to all enemies.
Arthas hero art after 1,000 wins, according to Blizzard. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Legendary Cards and Knights of the Frozen Throne returns
“Upon logging in to the game, players will also receive the first ever neutral Legendary spell, The Sunwell, to help fight against the advancing Scourge,” Blizzard also revealed.
Lor’themar Theron is a Legendary card in the new expansion. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Blood Matriarch Liadrin in March of the Lich King. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
As Hearthstone players anticipate the March of the Lich King expansion, they can enjoy some Knights of the Frozen Throne shenanigans. Cards from the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion have returned to Standard on a temporary basis. These cards are also free to every player as part of the Core Set until the launch of March of the Lich King!
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