Elise the Trailblazer

Elise the Trailblazer is a legendary neutral minion card, from the Journey to Un'Goro set.

Generated cards[]

Sounds[]

Play

▶️ VO_UNG_851_Female_NightElf_Play_01.wav This jungle hides many secrets.
▶️ Marsh_Play_Stinger_4.wav <music stinger>

Attack

▶️ VO_UNG_851_Female_NightElf_Attack_01.wav Aluth neladar!

Death

▶️ VO_UNG_851_Female_NightElf_Death_01.wav <death sound>

Lore[]

This card represents Elise Starseeker, specifically during her expedition to Un'Goro.

Elise's Darnassian attack phrase is a druidic attack spell commanding the plants to fight on her behalf.^[1]

Amongst the four children Elise was guiding ~1m21s into the reveal trailer of Journey to Un'Goro (they salute her at the end) three resembled adult mercenaries later seen in the Forged in the Barrens set:

the Orc on the left resembles Rokara
the Tauren on the lower-right resembles Guff Runetotem
the slingshot-wielder on the upper-right resembles Varden Dawngrasp

After this was highlighted on Reddit,^[2] Matt London initially replied to a "kids are all grown up?" question about this on Twitter stating it was non-coincidental, implying it was intended.,^[3] but later the day in response to a reaction^[4] stated he did not intend to confirm anything.^[5]

History[]

Elise the Trailblazer had a lot of design iteration. One earlier version of her effect saw her "Discover a Quest". Once the Quest was discovered, she'd also provide a package of helper cards in your deck to help complete it. However, the effect made Quests overall feel "less cool" and discouraged Quest-oriented deckbuilding. Around the same time, Elise's Un'Goro Pack was originally destined to be the Priest quest reward, but it didn't feel powerful enough for completing the Quest, leading designers to realize it was "a natural fit" for Elise instead.^[6]

Trivia[]

Elise the Trailblazer appears on the artworks of Frozen Crusher and The Last Kaleidosaur.

Gallery[]

Elise the Trailblazer full — Elise the Trailblazer, full art

Journey to Un'Goro concept art 1 — Concept art of Elise and one of her junior explorers.

References[]

↑ Peter Whalen on Twitter. (2017-04-17).
↑ TEnOTT. Mercenaries reminds me Ungoro adventure kids.
↑ "No coincidence ;-)" —Matt London on Twitter. (2021-03-22).
↑ "Update: Matt London now states that he did not intend to confirm this. We're leaving the article as-is, just take it with a grain of salt." —Journey to Un'Goro's Junior Explorers Have All Grown Up! Some Story of The Mercenaries Confirmed by Blizzard.
↑ "This was not intended as confirmation. Sorry! You’ll have to wait a little longer to learn more about the mercenaries." —Matt London on Twitter. (2021-03-22).
↑ Donais, Mike and Peter Whalen. Interview by Cam Shea (2017-05-14). Hearthstone: Designing Un'Goro's Most Innovative Legendary Minions.

[1] Peter Whalen on Twitter. (2017-04-17).

[2] TEnOTT. Mercenaries reminds me Ungoro adventure kids.

[3] "No coincidence ;-)" —Matt London on Twitter. (2021-03-22).

[4] "Update: Matt London now states that he did not intend to confirm this. We're leaving the article as-is, just take it with a grain of salt." —Journey to Un'Goro's Junior Explorers Have All Grown Up! Some Story of The Mercenaries Confirmed by Blizzard.

[5] "This was not intended as confirmation. Sorry! You’ll have to wait a little longer to learn more about the mercenaries." —Matt London on Twitter. (2021-03-22).

[IGN-6] Donais, Mike and Peter Whalen. Interview by Cam Shea (2017-05-14). Hearthstone: Designing Un'Goro's Most Innovative Legendary Minions.

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