Cataclysm is an epic warlock spell card, from the Kobolds and Catacombs set.
History[]
Cataclysm was a part of discard warlock decks in Wild that relied on copying cards that dealt damage with their on-discard effects, such as Fist of Jaraxxus and Soul Barrage with cards like Expired Merchant and Grave Defiler. This type of deck initially caused Tome Tampering to be banned from the Wild format, but as that proved to not be enough, Cataclysm's effect was also later reworked to not discard the player's entire hand.
Lore[]
Cataclysm was originally a passive ability for Destruction warlocks that increased the Fire damage dealt by all of their abilities. It was removed in the Mists of Pandaria expansion, but in Warlords of Draenor it made a return as an active talent which, after a 2.5 second delay, conjures a cataclysm at a target location, dealing heavy Shadowflame damage to all nearby enemies and afflicting them with Immolate.
The spell appears to have thematical ties to Deathwing, who in the World of Warcraft expansion of the same name caused a worldwide disaster known as the Cataclysm, which caused great destruction across much of Azeroth.
Trivia[]
- Probably due to his involvement with the Cataclysm, when the player's hero is Deathwing, he will say "Azeroth will break!" when casting this card (Although Deathwing is a Warrior, meaning that you'd have to find a way to obtain a copy of Cataclysm to trigger this interaction).
- Cataclysm's original version (that discared the player's entire hand) was a reference to Deathwing's battlecry effect. After being changed, it is no longer a direct copy of Deathwing's battlecry.
Gallery[]
 Cataclysm, full art |
