Archmage Vargoth


 * For the boss of the same name, see Archmage Vargoth (boss).

Archmage Vargoth is a legendary neutral minion card, from the Rise of Shadows set.

Previous availability
Regular Archmage Vargoth was given to each player the first time they log into Hearthstone from April 4 to July 9, 2019.

Strategy
Archmage Vargoth has immense potential, but also requires planning to make sure you get the most out of his effect. In general it's a smart idea to only cast one spell per turn when Vargoth is on the field; that way, you're 100% guaranteed to duplicate the spell you wanted. As for what spells to use, in order to minimize the odds of things going wrong, it's best to stick to either spells that have no target (such as Eureka! or Holy Nova), spells that can only target a friendly minion (such as Big Bad Voodoo or Power Word: Replicate) or spells that can only target an enemy minion (such as Assassinate or Execute). Spells that can target anyone, such as Fireball or Blessing of Kings, run the risk of accidentally hitting the wrong minion and proving even worse than useless. That being said, if your opponent controls no minions, buffing spells such as Ancestral Spirit and Blessing of Kings are safer to use.

If possible, try to combo a spell with Vargoth on the turn you play him in case your opponent is able to immediately kill him. If they fail to do so, though, you're free to use your most powerful high-cost spells to duplicate, such as Mass Resurrection or Flamestrike.

Using a spell to summon Archmage Vargoth, such as Dimensional Ripper, Eureka! or Mass Resurrection, can result in you ending your turn with multiple copies of Archmage Vargoth. While the second copy won't immediately activate its effect, this will make it harder for your opponent to deal with both, letting you utilize Vargoth's effect at least once on the next turn. That being said, if you use a cloning spell such as Vivid Nightmare to control two Vargoth's at the end of your turn and Vargoth is the only minion you control, both will cast that same spell on one of your Vargoths, resulting in you ending your turn with 4 or more.

Spells that summon minions with taunt, such as Feral Spirit and Rain of Toads, can help protect Vargoth from enemy attacks when doubled (in addition to providing solid board presence for a low Mana cost). However, note that recasting Overload spells will double your Overload requirements as well, possibly leaving you with little to no mana during your next turn.

Archmage Vargoth doesn't work with Secrets, because it is not possible to have the same Secret active twice at the same time. Worse, if he attempts to recast a Secret, that Secret will be revealed to the opponent. With that in mind, it's often best to save casting Secrets until after Vargoth has left the field and instead focus on spells that Vargoth can exploit.

Twinspell cards add an additional copy of that spell to your hand when recast by Vargoth. For example, if you activate the Twinspell version of Unleash the Beast, that will add another copy of Unleash the Beast to your hand, and at the end of your turn Vargoth will summon Unleash the Beast's 5/5 Rush minion while adding yet another copy of Unleash the Beast to your hand. Just keep in mind that this only works with the Twinspell version; in this instance, when casting the second copy of Unleash the Beast, while Vargoth will still summon another 5/5 Rush minion at the end of your turn, you won't get another copy of Unleash the Beast added to your hand.

In a similar fashion to Twinspell, if Extra Arms is cast, he will add an additional copy of More Arms! to your hand. If you utilize the combo from Headcrack with Archmage Vargoth in play, at the end of your turn he will add an additional copy of Headcrack to your hand.

Lore

 *  is a human mage located inside the in the contested territory of . Throughout most of the questline, he interacts with questers using a . 


 * ''Vargoth was the leader of the mages of the that accompanied the  to  and founded  in Farahlon, later known as Netherstorm. While there he worked with the mages to study the s and heard of the alliance between the human and orcs from the . At some point, he sent a report with General  to  with reports, apparently not knowing about the Alliance heroes that stayed here after the explosion of Draenor.


 * ''The village has survived the following years until the attack of and his blood elves that killed all people in the village except himself; since he was locked up in a magical way in the The Violet Tower and guarded by . He sensed that, his apprentice who he sent away with his staff during the attack, was still alive. Through his staff he worked with the s to free himself.


 * ''Vargoth took up residence in the of Dalaran, in . The room is accessible only via the book, from the achievement . Vargoth will give you a  if you talk to him.


 * ''Vargoth later sent his image to aid adventurers in during the quest, and then again on the  on the.


 * ''Vargoth sent various artifacts from the main timeline into the . Adventurers collected them and brought to, Vargoth's most trusted friend and confidant, who summoned Vargoth's image to Draenor. The image then joined the adventurers as a in their s in order to assist in his research of Draenor's past.


 * ''He notes that his image is still very "outdated" and that he has traded up those old robes for much better looking ones.


 * ''Vargoth appears in-person once more, having joined the . Vargoth voted in favor to allow the into the Kirin Tor and was present when the spell to teleport Dalaran to the  was cast. When  asked the council to allow him to rejoin the Kirin Tor, Vargoth voted yes.


 * ''Vargoth is later revealed to have ties with the, an organization of mages looking into forbidden magics such as . Khadgar states that because Vargoth has proven his loyalty to the Kirin Tor many times in the past, he will be given the benefit of the doubt. Nevertheless, Khadgar is obligated to share the concerns about Vargoth with the rest of the Council of Six. Kalecgos and , two other members of the council, also noted that they had seen Vargoth behaving oddly. As Vargoth has been absent for a while, the Conjuror of the takes a look through his room in the Violet Citadel alongside Kalec and discovers his journal, within which they find notes about the , which can channel the power of the souls captured within it.


 * ''The Tirisgarde later discover that Vargoth has been possessed by . He is freed and Kathra'natir is imprisoned in the Nightborne Soulstone that he had been using to drain . Vargoth has since been absent, not attending the Council meetings.


 * ''When Magni called upon the champions of the to draw the corruption out of the, Vargoth carried Aluneth, representing the Tirisgarde for non-mage players.

Trivia

 * Archmage Vargoth was the third card available in Play mode before the release of the expansion it belonged to. The two before Vargoth were Volcanosaur and Marin the Fox.

Patch changes

 * Rise of Shadows logo.png Server-side (2019-04-09): Now craftable.
 * Added.