Saviors of Uldum


 * "The shadows are rising again, darker than they've ever been. As E.V.I.L. descends from the skies, the world cries out: 'How will we survive?' Out of the Hall of Explorers and up from the dusty tombs, they grab their whips and fedoras. These legends of the past know exactly what to do! There might be magic monsters, mummies in the markets, and ancient mysticism. There's surely scorching deserts, adventure, and much needed narcissism. High stakes, think annihilation, obliteration of civilization! Now's the time to be brave, E.V.I.L.'s come to enslave, but this League's going to save.... Uldum!"

Saviors of Uldum is Hearthstone ' s twelfth expansion. Featuring 135 new collectible cards, it was released on August 6, 2019.

Following the League of E.V.I.L.'s successful theft of the magical city of, the nefarious evil-doers have turned to the land of , a place of vast deserts and ancient secrets. While the villains' ultimate goals are still a mystery, all is not lost: the brave League of Explorers−Reno Jackson, Elise Starseeker, Brann Bronzebeard, and Sir Finley Mrrgglton−have returned to save the world from Arch-Villain Rafaam and his cohorts.

The expansion sees the introduction of the new keyword Reborn; devastating "Plague" spells that affect the entire board; and the re-introduction of the Quest mechanic, originally seen in Journey to Un'Goro.

How to get
Saviors of Uldum cards are available through the following options:


 * Saviors of Uldum card packs are purchasable through the Shop, with the usual prices and purchasing options.
 * Saviors of Uldum cards are craftable for the usual amounts of Arcane Dust.
 * For as long as Saviors of Uldum is the latest expansion, the guaranteed card pack from each Arena run is from the expansion. Once the next expansion comes out, second card packs will have a chance to be Saviors of Uldum packs.
 * The Highest Rank Bonus chest has a chance to award golden Saviors of Uldum cards.


 * Pre-order
 * Prior to the expansion's release, players are able to purchase one or both of the following bundles:
 * The Saviors of Uldum Bundle comes with 50 Saviors of Uldum card packs, the unique Elise Starseeker card back, and a random Saviors of Uldum golden Legendary card.
 * The Saviors of Uldum Mega Bundle comes with 80 Saviors of Uldum card packs, the unique Elise Starseeker card back, a random Saviors of Uldum golden Legendary card, and the alternate druid hero Elise Starseeker.

Cards
This expansion features 135 collectible cards. Saviors of Uldum cards can be recognized with a special watermark (the League of Explorers logo) behind the card text, not found on other cards.

Neutral

 * Common (22 cards)


 * Rare (9 cards)


 * Epic (9 cards)


 * Legendary (5 cards)


 * Uncollectible


 * Lackey minions


 * Choice cards

Druid

 * Uncollectible


 * Choice cards

Hunter

 * Uncollectible

Mage

 * Uncollectible

Paladin

 * Uncollectible

Priest

 * Uncollectible

Rogue

 * Uncollectible

Shaman

 * Uncollectible

Warlock

 * Uncollectible

Warrior

 * Uncollectible

The League of Explorers
The expansion stars the League of Explorers—originally seen in the adventure of the same name—as they oppose the League of E.V.I.L.'s plans. This time, all four members of the league have card mechanics centering on decks with no duplicate cards.


 * Dinotamer Brann
 * Elise the Enlightened
 * Reno the Relicologist
 * Sir Finley of the Sands

Plagues

 * The League of E.V.I.L. will stop at nothing to see their dastardly plans come to fruition… even if there's a little collateral damage along the way.

Plagues are powerful spell cards that affect every minion on the battlefield and are exclusively available to the five League of E.V.I.L. classes: priest, rogue, shaman, warlock, and warrior.


 * Plague of Death
 * Plague of Flames
 * Plague of Madness
 * Plague of Murlocs
 * Plague of Wrath

Quests

 * No matter if they're working to further the League of E.V.I.L.'s nefarious goals, or in cahoots with Reno's ramshackle rapscallions to dismantle those despicable evil-doers, every adventurer worth their sand needs a Quest…

Originally introduced in the Journey to Un'Goro expansion, Quests are Legendary 1-mana cards that start in the player's hand and track progress towards an objective once played. Unlike previous Quests, the Quests in Saviors of Uldum all grant a new Hero Power as the reward for completing their objective.


 * Activate the Obelisk - Obelisk's Eye
 * Bazaar Burglary - Ancient Blades
 * Corrupt the Waters - Heart of Vir'naal
 * Hack the System - Anraphet's Core
 * Making Mummies - Emperor Wraps
 * Raid the Sky Temple - Ascendant Scroll
 * Supreme Archaeology - Tome of Origination
 * Unseal the Vault - Ramkahen Roar
 * Untapped Potential - Ossirian Tear

Reborn

 * The magic of Azeroth's s and Tol'vir has seeped into the dunes of Uldum's ancient burial tombs. Now, death is more of a suggestion for the restless crypt-dwellers and temple-crawlers found within.

Minions with the new keyword Reborn return to life with 1 Health the first time they're destroyed.

Battlefield
Uldum's desert-themed battlefield has an Egyptian look and feel which can also be seen in the expansion's adventure, the Tombs of Terror. The battlefield includes a secret feature which when triggered plays the League of Explorers theme.

Tombs of Terror
''The League of Explorers reunite! Join them in their quest to secure powerful ancient treasures and save the world...''

In World of Warcraft
is a large desert region at the southern end of the continent of. Bordered by the verdant Un'Goro Crater to the north and the desert (home of the city of Gadgetzan) to the east, Uldum contains many facilities of the godlike, world-shaping s and has long been guarded by the catlike tol'vir. The tol'vir were originally stone-skinned constructs created to maintain titan machinery but were transformed into beings of flesh and blood due to the, an affliction created by the malefic Old Gods.

For millennia, Uldum was magically hidden and cut off from the rest of Azeroth, but when Deathwing emerged into and caused the, the land was revealed to the outside world. One of the tol'vir tribes, the, swore allegiance to Deathwing and his ally Al'Akir in return for regaining their original stone forms. In World of Warcraft, the first portion of the storyline in Uldum revolves around adventurers helping the tol'vir wage war against their former Neferset allies, while the second half of the zone sees adventurers accompany the famous explorer Harrison Jones and later Brann Bronzebeard as they explore ancient titan secrets and work to prevent minions of Deathwing from gaining control of a superweapon capable of destroying all life on Azeroth.


 * ''The region of Uldum was once a vast jungle, dotted with pristine lakes and waterfalls. During the ordering of Azeroth, and his followers — the anubisaths, the tol'vir and the mogu — installed the  in Uldum. The Forge would regulate the rhythms of the earth and fortify the 's form, but would also be able to completely reoriginate the planet in case of systemic corruption. After installing the Forge, Ra assigned some of the tol'vir and anubisaths to watch over the region, while he and the rest of his followers continued west to establish the prison of  to house the defeated Old God C'Thun.


 * ''Centuries later, Ra was imprisoned by Lei Shen, the Thunder King, who used the Highkeeper's powers to become the first emperor of the . Learning from Ra of the demise of the, Lei Shen declared that he would carry on the work of the titans and led an army of his mogu warriors and allies into Uldum, seeking to claim the Forge of Origination — believing it to hold the secrets of eternal life. The tol'vir knew they could not defeat the Thunder King and his armies in battle, and so instead turned to another tactic. While some of the tol'vir remained outside the fortress to hold off the invading armies, the ones inside activated the Forge. They knew that using the weapon to its full potential would wipe out all life on the planet, and so instead had configured it to only scour the nearby land. Waves of energy erupted from the Forge, bathing the surrounding lands in the powers of uncreation and instantly killing Lei Shen and his entire army; however, it also devastated the surrounding lands, turning Uldum into a barren desert. The surviving tol'vir then worked to ensure that no one would ever attempt to claim Uldum again, and shrouded the mountain passes leading into the region with magic, sealing the land off from the eyes of mortals. The illusion remained for many thousands of years, until the Cataclysm damaged the ancient titan device that separated Uldum from neighboring Tanaris.


 * ''The landscape of Uldum is predominately desert, with a surrounded by an oasis flowing through the center of the region, mostly populated by the tol'vir, with the largest settlement - the  located on the river delta. The western part of Uldum consists of a large expanse of the wind-swept dunes with half-buried Tol'vir settlements and pyramids, caused by the recent transgressions of Al'Akir's  minions. In the east lies a massive pyramid that houses the titan complex known as the . The northwestern part is the location of the  and  connecting the region with Tanaris desert. The southern part of the region besides the river delta is mostly cliffs, with settlements held by the Neferset. The southwestern part is being held by an expedition led by . The Cataclysm also brought the  towers into Uldum that serve as an entrance to the Al'Akir's domain - the elemental plane of air. Al'Akir sends his elemental minions to convince the Tol'vir to join his new liege Deathwing, even rewarding them with removal of the Curse of Flesh. Those who dared to oppose suffered dire consequences as exampled in the  settlement.


 * ''The animals that live there are s, s, s and more. Notable animals include the large scorpion himself,.

In Hearthstone
Saviors of Uldum picks up immediately where the preceding expansion, Rise of Shadows, left off and continues the ongoing multi-expansion storyline of the Year of the Dragon.


 * ''Now that the magical floating city of Dalaran is firmly within his kleptomaniacal clutches, Arch-Villain Rafaam and his crew of notorious ne’er-do-wells have travelled south to Uldum - the land of hidden treasures, plagues, mummies, and (thanks to the League of E.V.I.L.’s arrival) MAYHEM!


 * ''Though their ultimate goals are still shrouded in mystery, the next phase of their plan appears to be well underway. Now, if only there were a motley crew of courageous treasure hunters up to the task of thwarting these misguided malcontents…


 * Evil may be on the rise in the dusty deserts of Uldum, but hope is here in the form of the League of Explorers! Join Reno, Elise, Brann, and Sir Finley as they unearth treasures, battle bad guys, and take on the oh-so-simple task of saving the world in Hearthstone’s newest expansion, Saviors of Uldum!

For information on the League of Explorers' previous adventures and their first appearance in Hearthstone, see The League of Explorers.

Development
As Saviors of Uldum is the second installment in the three-part expansion story line started with Rise of Shadows, the development of the expansion saw a focus on furthering the vibe and story while also bringing back fan favorites in the form of the League of Explorers. Bringing back these characters and the familiar Quest mechanic, while still leaving room for new ideas such as plagues and Reborn, meant that Team 5 had a lot of fun during the design process. During development, the team made the decision to have all four members of the League of Explorers use the "If your deck has no duplicates" mechanic—originally seen on the Reno Jackson card in The League of Explorers and expanded on in Mean Streets of Gadgetzan—since it was one of the more memorable parts of The League of Explorers and was a mechanic that players really enjoyed.

The Reborn mechanic was added during the first few weeks of Saviors of Uldum's development. Team 5 knew early on that they wanted to include "plague" spells in Saviors of Uldum since they felt integral to the expansion's storyline, but a variety of different mechanics were tried before the developers settled on the current iteration of plagues. One of the earliest iterations was to have all the plague cards be 10-mana spells. Another version was that the spells would make the player lose two mana crystals when played as a way of making up for their big, impactful effects. The latter didn't feel great to play, however, so the team ultimately ended up going with the more straightforward solution of powerful spells that affect both players equally.

Teasers and announcement
On February 28th, 2019, Blizzard announced the changes and new content planned for the Year of the Dragon, the fourth year of standard format. The accompanying video included a teaser image for the planned three expansions of the year, with the second expansion being denoted with a scarab-like object accompanied by hieroglyphs and other design elements associated with Uldum, heavily hinting at an expansion set in the desert zone.

On June 27th, Blizzard released a short teaser video in which Heistbaron Togwaggle, following the League of E.V.I.L.'s takeover of Dalaran, sneaks into what appears to be Madame Lazul's personal office and discovers a card that blares the League of Explorers theme song when drawn, hinting at the league's return.

On July 1st, Saviors of Uldum was officially announced with a special reveal video in which developer Hadidjah Chamberlin introduced the central themes and mechanics of the expansion.

Card reveals
Following the set's initial announcement, cards from the expansion began being periodically revealed by Blizzard on social media. Starting on July 19, this was supplemented with regular card reveals from selected fansites and media.

July 10th saw the release of the Fire Fest-E.V.I.L., a limited-time event tying into the narrative of the Year of the Dragon by depicting the League of E.V.I.L. crashing into Blackrock Mountain on their way to Uldum. During the event, players could influence card reveals by defeating bosses in the PvE Tavern Brawl Blackrock Crash, with a total of 4 new cards being revealed via Twitter once players managed to collectively defeat a total of 25 million bosses in the Brawl.

On July 11th, Blizzard released a video in which game designer Alec Dawson showcased a handful of new cards. Three additional card reveals—Brazen Zealot, Salhet's Pride, and Sandwasp Queen—took place during the Hearthstone Grandmasters Season 1 Playoffs on July 14th.

On July 18, Blizzard hosted a Hearthstone panel at San Diego Comic-Con featuring the voice actors of three of the members of the League of Explorers—Terrence Stone (Sir Finley), Amy Walker (Elise Starseeker), and Carlos Larkin (Brann Bronzebeard)—along with game designer Dave Kosak and Blizzard voice director. The panelists shared insight on how they brought their characters to life, with the highlight of the panel being the reveal of the Saviors of Uldum card versions of the explorers themselves.

On July 25th, game designer Liv Breeden appeared in an official video delving into some of the expansion's story themes and showcasing a handful of new cards.

The expansion's final card reveal livestream—featuring Game Designer Peter Whalen, caster and streamer Brian Kibler, and Community Manager Chris Attalus—took place on July 31st.

Trivia

 * The song in the cinematic trailer of Saviors of Uldum strongly resembles the song Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler.

Gallery

 * Key art


 * Trailer