Nefarian


 * ''For the other representations of Nefarian, see Nefarian (disambiguation)

Nefarian is a legendary neutral minion card, from the Blackrock Mountain set.

Strategy
Since Nefarian is a costly 9-drop it would be ideal if the player were to play him while having control of the board, while the opponent is low on cards, or use cards that reduce his cost. Nefarian is exceptionally good should the opposing class cover a weakness of the player's class, for example a Mage against a Warrior, as Warriors have few high-damage removal spells, and very few board clearing spells. Options such as taunt, healing, and overall control of the board will, much like other expensive cards, allow Nefarian to be played more easily. Druids can also use options such as Wild Growth in order to play Nefarian earlier. Paladins also have Dragon Consort as a means of lowering Nefarian's cost to seven. Nefarian's effect makes it unlikely that he will ever be entirely useless, and while it is possible that a player may gain two copies of Totemic Might while not playing Shaman, even cards such as Moonfire are capable of being useful.

Nefarian is also a good addition to a Yogg-Saron deck for adding more spells to use. He is also useful for Rogue decks that use Ethereal Peddler against 8/9 classes.

Certain classes are more likely to have better results than others (though this list is subjective);

Best:
 * Mage, as Mages have extremely good spells such as Frostbolt, Flamestrike, and Pyroblast. Most spells are usable regardless of the situation.
 * Priest, as Priests have excellent single-target removal such as Shadow Word: Pain, strong health boosts, and some good board-clearing spells, such as Lightbomb.
 * Warlock, as many spells are usable, largely self-damaging ones, such as Hellfire.

Average:
 * Shaman, as many of their spells are useful, such as Lightning Bolt, though some spells are borderline useless outside of Shaman, such as Totemic Might.
 * Druid, as Druid has some strong buff spells, good healing spells, and moderately good single-target removal, such as Starfire.
 * Rogue, as Rogue has some exceptionally good spells such as Eviscerate, though some spells may be useless outside of weapon classes.
 * Hunter, with various good secrets, some good damaging spells such as Multi-Shot, few spells are likely to be entirely useless.
 * Demon Hunter, a good chance for high-impact spells like Metamorphosis or Skull of Gul'dan, although there are a few potential duds.

Poor:
 * Paladin, as while Paladin has excellent buff spells, there are many negligible secrets, or minor effect spells.
 * Warrior, as many Warrior spells have poor efficiency, such as Mortal Strike, or simply do not do enough, such as Whirlwind.

Quotes

 * Druid
 * Druid! The wild is mine to control!


 * Hunter
 * The hunter becomes the hunted!


 * Mage
 * Mage! You should be more careful when you play with magic!


 * Paladin
 * Paladin! Does the Light forsake you?


 * Priest
 * Priest! The Light serves me now!


 * Rogue
 * Rogue! Stop hiding and face me!


 * Shaman
 * Shaman! The elements obey me now!


 * Warlock
 * Warlock! You play with magic beyond your understanding!


 * Warrior
 * Warrior! Your strength becomes your weakness!


 * Other
 * Your magic is mine!


 * Attack
 * Let the games begin!

Blackrock Mountain
For details of Nefarian's exploits in the Blackrock Mountain adventure, see Blackrock Mountain.


 * , AKA, Blackwing, AKA Victor Nefarius, Lord of Blackrock. When he’s not smashing intruders with his sorcerous might, he enjoys long walks through his domain, the sound of victims sniveling in fear, and quality time on his throne. His family is known across the land for their wisdom, restraint, and humility. Psyche! His family tree includes some of the most hideously evil dragons Azeroth has ever known, including his sister Onyxia and their father, Deathwing. They’re all pretty much the worst kind of awful, but true to his name, Nefarian is, well, nefarious. Not only does he have that being a huge dragon deal going for him, he’s also cunning and manipulative, as evidenced by his not-so-friendly rivalry with the elemental Firelord Ragnaros (probably because they’re both really terrible neighbors). Neighborhood watch? More like neighborhood watch your back''!


 * You need magic? Nefarian’s got magic aplenty, and he delights in using his enemies’ tools against them.


 * ''Nefarian really, really loves experiments—specifically mad experiments. He loves them so much that he’s had himself re-animated and is now back from the dead, fully ready to resume his twisted work. Being a very goal-oriented dragon, he’s outfitted another secret laboratory deep inside Blackrock Mountain, complete with sparking lightning coils, vats of questionable substances, and the sounds of draconic agony. Nefarian spared no expense in decking this place out with all the tools, materials, minions, and victims he needs to succeed. He even had his pad tricked out with amazing Dark Iron technology (Hint: It’s not a sound system, though that would be totally sweet).


 * The black dragon Nefarian, son of Deathwing, claims the upper reaches of Blackrock Mountain as his own. Ruthless and cunning, Nefarian built as a home for the black dragonflight and his various experiments. It was also here that he concocted the ultimate army of home-cooked s, perfect for thwarting Ragnaros and his fiery minions that lurked under the mountain (Nefarian’s favorite pastime.)

World of Warcraft

 * '', also known as Blackwing, was the eldest son of Deathwing and his Prime Consort . Like his father and his sister Onyxia, he had a human guise, appearing as, Lord of Blackrock. Holding the and various clans of ogres under his control, Nefarian ruled from  at the top of  until he was defeated by . Upon the return of his father and the  that resulted, Nefarian was brought back to life as a rotted abomination, and  into , where he set up a laboratory full of new (and mostly failed) experiments - including reanimating his sister Onyxia. Ultimately, he was destroyed once again by Azeroth's champions.


 * History
 * ''Since 's departure to during the aftermath of the, his eldest children have arisen to lead their brethren and recoup their failing numbers. Deathwing's eldest son, the malicious and cunning Nefarian, has claimed the burning fortress of  — and  as his aerie as Deathwing commanded.


 * ''Nefarian has been experimenting with the blood of all of the various dragonflights to create a of unstoppable warriors. In this task he has succeeded his father, and aided by his, he plans to use them to rally the  to his command.


 * ''In Blackrock, aided by his loyal, he fights a constant battle with Ragnaros and his forces for control of the mountain, and ultimately control of the entire region. To this end, he made efforts to bolster his forces like his father Deathwing in ages past. Nefarian delights in capturing Ragnaros' elemental minions and using them for his own insidious purposes.


 * ''He has struck up an alliance with Rend Blackhand, though he only uses him and his to further his own goals. Nefarian's mad bid for dominance has even attracted the ire of the  — in the form of the red dragon Vaelastrasz — which has always been the Black flight's greatest foe. Though Nefarian's intentions are known, the methods he is using to achieve them remain a mystery.


 * ''With the black dragonflight once again under solid leadership, and with the support of these new chromatic dragons, he plans to strike back against the other dragonflights, as well as the mortal nations of the world.


 * Cataclysm
 * ''After his death in Blackwing Lair at the hands of adventureres, Nefarian was reanimated and charged by Deathwing to continue his insidious endeavours within Blackwing Descent.


 * ''Nefarian, the eldest son of Deathwing the Destroyer, has been bested by the heroes of Azeroth in the past, most recently in Blackwing Lair. Hubris and arrogance have ever been the great dragon's weak points - but returning from beyond the veil of death has made him cautious. Where another wyrm might strike back with brutish anger against the tiny insects who disrupted his plans, Nefarian has retreated.


 * ''Dwelling on the lessons learned from his defeat in Blackwing Lair, he has burrowed deeper into the heart of Blackrock Mountain, and rebuilt his sanctuary. The, a deep pit of cascading magma, is the heart of Blackwing Descent, and the location of horrific new experiments in undeath and magical augmentation, including a triumph dear to even Nefarian's cold, wrathful heart.


 * ''He had continued his experiments along with his minion Maloriak, which yielded results such as, Atramedes, and the reanimation of his sister, Onyxia, until he was slain yet again by adventurers in.

Trivia

 * Nefarian uses a different summoning quote depending on the opponent's class. However, he did not have a voice line added for Demon Hunters, and uses his generic summoning quote against them instead.
 * Nefarian is the theme for the "Nefarian" card back, obtained by defeating all Blackrock Mountain bosses in Heroic mode. While not especially clear from his Hearthstone incarnation, the card back looks very similar to how Nefarian looks in in World of Warcraft.
 * The artwork for this card comes from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game "Twilight of the Dragons" series, for the card Nefarian.

Patch changes

 * Added.