Death Knight

Death Knights are a diverse class that can harness the powers of Blood, Frost, and the Undead to devastating effects. They also have a unique class mechanic and special deck building rules. Master them all as you prepare to make the most out of your Undead army!^[1]

Death Knight is one of 11 classes in Hearthstone.

Heroes[]

Death Knight is represented by the following heroes. The Lich King is the default hero of Death Knight.

Heroes

Alternate portraits

Background[]

Main article: Death Knight

When the Lich King’s control of his death knights was broken, his former champions sought revenge for the horrors committed under his command. After their vengeance was won, the death knights found themselves without a cause and without a home. One by one they trickled into the land of the living in search of a new purpose. Frost sharpens their strikes; blood fortifies their bodies; and undeath allows them to erupt in unholy rage in the heat of battle. A thousand atrocities are etched in the eyes of every death knight, and foes who gaze into them too long will feel the warmth pulled from their bodies, replaced with cold steel.^[2]

Hero Power[]

Main article: Ghoul Charge

Use it or lose it—the shambling Ghoul falls apart at the end of your turn. Luckily, Death Knights can make good use of minions that die in combat...^[1]

Ghoul Charge, the class' Hero Power, is a two-mana minion-based small damage output that must be used on the same turn. It fits well with death knight's unique mechanic, Corpses, and the general theme of minion deaths.

The hero power summons Frail Ghoul, an Undead minion which can also be used for different Undead synergies.

Replacement Hero Powers[]

Ghoul Frenzy is the upgraded Hero Power of Ghoul Charge.

Traits[]

Corpses[]

Main article: Corpse

Whenever a friendly minion dies, the Death Knight gains a Corpse. This special, class-specific resource can then be used to fuel and power up some of your cards. Each friendly minion leaves a Corpse behind, including minions you play, minions you summon with other cards, minions that are resummoned through the returning Reborn keyword, and the Ghouls summoned by your hero power!^[1]

Death Knight introduces a new class-specific secondary resource and mechanic, Corpse. While playing as death knight, each friendly minion produces a Corpse that increments the Corpse counter under the player's mana crystals. Many cards then spend these Corpses to produce powerful effects.

Featured cards

Runes[]

Main article: Rune

You may have noticed the colored symbols around the mana costs of some Death Knight cards. These are called Runes. There are three Runes, one for each Death Knight spec: red is Blood, blue is Frost, and green is Unholy. These Runes dictate which Death Knight cards can be added to your deck during deckbuilding.

When building your deck, you select a combination of three Runes, which determines which Death Knight cards you can add to your deck. You can choose to fully devote to one Rune (such as triple Blood) or you can go primarily into one Rune, while dipping into another (such as double Unholy, single Frost). This Rune system allows for incredibly varied and powerful Death Knight cards, while making sure any particular deck isn’t just the best at everything. Instead, each of the Runes specializes in certain types of cards and effects.

Generally speaking, the deeper you go into a particular Rune, the more you can tap into the types of things that Runes specializes in. Some of Death Knight’s most powerful cards require you to fully commit to one Rune, but sometimes tapping into a secondary Rune is a great way to cover your primary Rune’s weaknesses. For instance, the Blood Rune tends to play a few big minions and not many small ones, so you need to decide whether you want to run the very powerful triple Blood cards or if you’d rather add a single Unholy Rune for some Corpse generators.

Finally, there are also some Death Knight cards that don’t have any Rune restrictions. These cards tend to be general-purpose, workhorse cards that can go into just about any type of Death Knight deck.^[1]

Blood[]

Main article: Blood (Rune); The Blood Rune is the tankiest Rune. Blood cards tend to have board control effects, large minions, and cards that manipulate life totals.^[1]
Featured cards

Frost[]

Main article: Frost (Rune); The Frost Rune has powerful burst potential. Frost cards tend to have lots of spell synergies, with direct damage, card draw, mana manipulation, and Freeze effects.^[1]
Featured cards

Unholy[]

Main article: Unholy (Rune)

The Unholy Rune has the greatest command of the Undead armies. Unholy cards tend to be very good at summoning Undead minions, summoning swarms of minions, and generating and spending Corpses.^[1]

How to get cards[]

Core cards[]

Completing the Death Knight Prologue mission awards 32 Core Death Knight cards (59 copies), while winning up to 500 games in Ranked, Arena and Duels awards golden copies of existing cards. All Core cards are uncraftable and cannot be crafted or disenchanted.