Magtheridon

Magtheridon is a legendary neutral minion card, from the Ashes of Outland set.

Strategy
With both immense stats for his 4-mana cost and a quick board clear, Magtheridon is basically a discounted Deathwing that costs 6 mana less but with a different drawback. Instead of discarding your hand as Deathwing does, Magtheridon starts Dormant and summons three Hellfire Warders that need to be defeated in order to awaken him, which can easily be done with powerful 3-damage board clears like Hellfire or Warglaives of Azzinoth. Brawl and any 3+ damage weapon equipped works well with Magtheridon. Once awakened, you can neutralize any enemy minions that pose a threat and also gain a 12/12 body with no other repercussions. The opposing player will not be able to get rid of the dormant Magtheridon when he is played, but it is possible to counter him by removing the Warders from play without killing them, such as returning them to their hand, shuffling them, transformation effects, or even forcibly summoning Magtheridon from your hand or deck with no way to wake him up.

Magtheridon can act as a Doomsayer-like tempo disruptor, preventing the opponent from dumping out big threats while there are Hellfire Warders in play and they have no way to remove them without killing them. Decks that are heavy in spells or weapons can stall with Magtheridon longer, since they are better able to choose when to kill the Hellfire Warders without needing to play a minion that can be traded into with a Hellfire Warder.

Do not play Magtheridon if your opponent has 5 or more minions, as there needs to be room for three Warders so that he can fully awaken. Avoid playing Magtheridon you've received randomly if you are using multiple Resurrection effects, as he will do nothing but take up space in your board.

Lore

 * '', the former Lord of, is a pit lord who conquered the ruins of the following its destruction. His reign was ended by the arrival of Illidan Stormrage, who took Magtheridon's throne at the  for himself. Deciding that Magtheridon would have a further part to play, Illidan had Magtheridon's body dragged to the  where he imprisoned the pit lord, leaving him at the mercy of the s. A group of adventurers entered the depths of Hellfire Citadel, released the former Lord of Outland from his bonds, and finally destroyed him, taking his head as proof of their prowess.

Trivia

 * Magtheridon's depiction in the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game was used for Pit Lord several years before his official debut. Incidentally, Pit Lord makes a cameo in Magtheridon's demonstration trailer.
 * Another image of him also appears on the artwork for Crush.

Patch changes

 * Added.