Discard effect

Discard effects are effects which cause the player to discard cards from their hand. Discarded cards are removed from the game, without activating Deathrattles. Discard effects are most commonly found on warlock cards.

Discard effects are distinguished from overdraw, Tracking, and other remove from deck effects, all of which remove cards directly from the deck without being in the hand; which in fact removes cards directly from a special display zone without entering the hand. While similar to discard effects, neither is considered a discard for game purposes, and will not activate related effects.

Notes

• Discarded cards are revealed to the opponent.
• Discarded minions are not considered to have died, and therefore cannot be summoned by resurrection effects.
• Effects that trigger from discards trigger only when discarded from the hand, not when removed from deck.
• Cost-related discard effects consider enchantments that modify costs of the card.
  • For example: You have a 6-cost Hand of Gul'dan and a discounted 5-mana Mana Giant in your hand. When you play Nightshade Matron, Hand of Gul'dan is guaranteedly discarded.
• If there are more than 2 cards that met the cost requirements, Cost-related discard effects will discard randomly one of them.

Strategy

The negative repercussions of a discard effect can be removed entirely by not playing that card until your hand is otherwise empty. If this is not possible, they can be minimised by making sure your hand contains only cards you are willing to lose, such as by making sure to first play your most valuable cards.

Discard effects are mostly found on warlock cards, serving as an additional cost to playing a card at an otherwise unusually low price. This may allow the warlock to put out powerful minions at an early stage of the game, or deal strong damage on demand. While the card loss is undesirable, warlocks are able to easily compensate for this using Life Tap, especially in later rounds when mana is more plentiful. While the total cost of playing such a card is therefore in fact unusually high, the ability to delay paying that price until a later round can offer a strategic advantage.

The order in which discard effects are activated is of great importance. A warlock whose hand comprises two Doomguards and a Soulfire has two ways of playing their hand. Playing a Doomguard first will guarantee both other cards will be discarded, while playing the Soulfire first will guarantee that one Doomguard is retained. In most cases the player's hand will contain a variety of cards, making it impossible to entirely predict the outcome. However, the player can still control events to some degree by choosing which cards to play before the discard effect, ensuring that those cards will not be discarded.

When it is not possible to empty the hand of all important cards before playing a discard effect, warlocks can also choose to use Life Tap to add more cards to the hand, reducing the likelihood of a specific card from being discarded. For example, a warlock with a Soulfire and a Loatheb in their hand may use Life Tap to draw an Abusive Sergeant, in the hopes that playing the Soulfire will discard the latter card instead of the Loatheb. However, if an even more valuable card is instead drawn, the warlock may regret having used Life Tap before playing Soul Fire.

Starting with The Grand Tournament, warlock cards with discard synergy effects have been added, which aid in mitigating or removing the disadvantages of discarding cards. Fist of Jaraxxus and Silverware Golem are played when discarded and have more value if doing so, while Malchezaar's Imp and Clutchmother Zavas make the warlock's hand more powerful as cards are discarded. Discard effects are the focus of the Warlock quest, Lakkari Sacrifice.

Cards

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Wicked Whispers	Rare	Spell	Shadow	Warlock	1			Discard your lowest Cost card. Give your minions +1/+1.
Evocation	Legendary	Spell	Arcane	Mage	2			Fill your hand with random Mage spells. At the end of your turn, discard them.
Fungal Fortunes	Rare	Spell	Nature	Druid	3			Draw 3 cards. Discard any minions drawn.
Lakkari Felhound	Common	Minion	Demon	Warlock	4	3	8	Taunt Battlecry: Discard your two lowest-Cost cards.
Nightshade Matron	Common	Minion	Demon	Warlock	4	5	5	Rush Battlecry: Discard your highest Cost card.
Felsoul Jailer	Epic	Minion	Demon	Warlock	5	4	6	Battlecry: Your opponent discards a minion. Deathrattle: Return it.
Deathwing the Destroyer	Legendary	Minion	Dragon	Any	10	12	12	Battlecry: Destroy all other minions. Discard a card for each destroyed.
Showing all 7 cards

Wild format

This section concerns content exclusive to Wild format.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Shriek	Rare	Spell	Shadow	Warlock	1			Discard your lowest Cost card. Deal 2 damage to all minions.
Soulfire	Free	Spell	Fire	Warlock	1			Deal 4 damage. Discard a random card.
The Soularium	Legendary	Spell	Shadow	Warlock	1			Draw 3 cards. At the end of your turn, discard them.
Book of Specters	Epic	Spell	Shadow	Mage	2			Draw 3 cards. Discard any spells drawn.
Darkshire Librarian	Rare	Minion	General	Warlock	2	3	2	Battlecry: Discard a random card. Deathrattle: Draw a card.
Expired Merchant	Rare	Minion	General	Warlock	2	2	1	Battlecry: Discard your highest Cost card. Deathrattle: Add 2 copies of it to your hand.
Felstalker	Free	Minion	Demon	Warlock	2	4	3	Battlecry: Discard a random card.
Chaos Gazer	Epic	Minion	Demon	Warlock	3	4	3	Battlecry: Curse a playable card in your opponent's hand. They have 1 turn to play it!
Howlfiend	Common	Minion	Demon	Warlock	3	3	6	Whenever this minion takes damage, discard a random card.
Reckless Diretroll	Common	Minion	General	Warlock	3	2	6	Taunt Battlecry: Discard your lowest Cost card.
Astral Communion	Epic	Spell	Arcane	Druid	4			Gain 10 Mana Crystals. Discard your hand.
Cataclysm	Epic	Spell	Fire	Warlock	4			Destroy all minions. Discard your hand.
Lakkari Felhound	Common	Minion	Demon	Warlock	4	3	8	Taunt Battlecry: Discard your two lowest-Cost cards.
Doomguard	Rare	Minion	Demon	Warlock	5	5	7	Charge. Battlecry: Discard two random cards.
Dark Bargain	Epic	Spell	Shadow	Warlock	6			Destroy 2 random enemy minions. Discard 2 random cards.
Furnacefire Colossus	Epic	Minion	General	Any	6	6	6	Battlecry: Discard all weapons from your hand and gain their stats.
Deathwing	Legendary	Minion	Dragon	Any	10	12	12	Battlecry: Destroy all other minions and discard your hand.
Showing all 17 cards

Related cards

All current discard-related effects activate only when discarding from the hand, and not removed from the deck or other zones.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Boneweb Egg	Rare	Minion	General	Warlock	2	0	2	Deathrattle: Summon two 2/1 Spiders. If you discard this, trigger its Deathrattle.
Tiny Knight of Evil	Rare	Minion	Demon	Warlock	2	3	2	Whenever you discard a card, gain +1/+1.
Hand of Gul'dan	Common	Spell	Shadow	Warlock	6			When you play or discard this, draw 3 cards.
Showing all 3 cards

Wild format

This section concerns content exclusive to Wild format.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Lakkari Sacrifice	Legendary	Spell	General	Warlock	1			Quest: Discard 6 cards. Reward: Nether Portal.
Malchezaar's Imp	Common	Minion	Demon	Warlock	1	1	3	Whenever you discard a card, draw a card.
Clutchmother Zavas	Legendary	Minion	Beast	Warlock	2	2	2	Whenever you discard this, give it +2/+2 and return it to your hand.
Tiny Knight of Evil	Rare	Minion	Demon	Warlock	2	3	2	Whenever you discard a card, gain +1/+1.
Silverware Golem	Rare	Minion	General	Warlock	3	3	3	If you discard this minion, summon it.
Fist of Jaraxxus	Rare	Spell	Fel	Warlock	4			When you play or discard this, deal 4 damage to a random enemy.
High Priestess Jeklik	Legendary	Minion	General	Warlock	4	3	4	Taunt, Lifesteal When you discard this, add 2 copies of it to your hand.
Blood-Queen Lana'thel	Legendary	Minion	General	Warlock	5	1	6	Lifesteal Has +1 Attack for each card you've discarded this game.
Cruel Dinomancer	Rare	Minion	General	Warlock	6	5	5	Deathrattle: Summon a random minion you discarded this game.
Soulwarden	Epic	Minion	General	Warlock	6	6	6	Battlecry: Add 3 random cards you discarded this game to your hand.
Showing all 10 cards

References

	Cards
By type	Hero card Minion (Permanent) Spell Weapon
By class	Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Death Knight Neutral Multi-class
By minion type	All Beast Demon Dragon Elemental Mech Murloc Pirate Quilboar Totem General
By spell school	Arcane Fel Fire Frost Holy Nature Shadow General
By ability	Evergreen keywords	Battlecry Choose One Combo Deathrattle Discover Divine Shield Freeze Lifesteal Outcast Overload Poisonous Rush Secret Silence Spell Damage Stealth Taunt Windfury
	Other keywords	Adapt Casts When Drawn Charge Choose Twice Corrupt Dormant Echo Frenzy Immune Inspire Invoke Jade Golem Lackey Magnetic Mega-Windfury Overkill Passive Quest Reborn Recruit Sidequest Spare Part Spellburst Start of Game Twinspell
	Other abilities	Can't attack Cast spell Copy Deal damage Destroy Discard Draw cards Elusive Enrage Equip Force attack Forgetful Gain Armor Generate Highlander Joust Modify cost Put into battlefield Put into hand Recurring Refresh Mana Remove from deck Replace Restore Health Return to hand Shuffle into deck Spend mana Steal Summon Take control Transform Unlimited attacks Upgradable
	Non-Constructed	Auto-Attack Auto-cast Shrine Start of Combat
By effect type	Area of effect In-deck effect In-hand effect On-discard effect On-draw effect Ongoing effect Positional effect Random effect Resurrection effect Triggered effect
By card set	Standard	Basic Classic Rise of Shadows Saviors of Uldum Descent of Dragons Galakrond's Awakening Demon Hunter Initiate Ashes of Outland Scholomance Academy Madness at the Darkmoon Faire
	Wild	Hall of Fame Curse of Naxxramas Goblins vs Gnomes Blackrock Mountain Grand Tournament The League of Explorers Whispers of the Old Gods One Night in Karazhan Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Journey to Un'Goro Knights of the Frozen Throne Kobolds & Catacombs The Witchwood The Boomsday Project Rastakhan's Rumble
By rarity	Free Common Rare Epic Legendary