Hearthstone Wiki:Editor's Handbook/Adding new cards

If only making new pages was this simple

Adding a new card to the wiki is a complex process, but the basics need take only a few minutes per card. This page outlines the basic steps to create a new card, followed by a more in-depth explanation of some of the subjects involved. For an explanation of some basic terms, see Hearthstone Wiki:Editor's Handbook.

Cards are typically added either following a new patch, or in anticipation of upcoming content. The data and images needed can generally be found on Hearthpwn.com, although it may be necessary to wait for that site to be updated.

Cards should not be added based on speculation or assumptions. A known card can be added with details missing until they are confirmed, but a card should not be added without solid evidence of its existence (current, former or upcoming). Due to the work involved, it is much simpler to wait until the card is announced or confirmed before adding data pages or images to the wiki. However, card content pages can be created if necessary in order to add teasers or content prior to this point.

For additional steps and information related to adding new expansions, see Editor's Handbook#New expansions.
For an overview of the card import process, and additional notes for when adding cards following an import, see Editor's Handbook/Data imports.

Basic guide[]

The below guide covers the basics for any card creation. Note that uncollectible, boss and Tavern Brawl, alternate hero, and debug cards differ slightly; see the below sections for details.

The easiest way to add a new card is to start with the data page.

Open a page at Data:Cards/NAME(NUMBER), where NAME is the full name of the card, and NUMBER is the number assigned to the card on Hearthpwn.com (for example, Data:Cards/Twisting Nether(398)).
1. The Hearthpwn number can be found by searching for the card's name on Hearthpwn.com. Take care to find the correct version of the card: some cards have several different versions. The correct number is important to ensure that future imports update the correct images.
2. It's often easiest to copy data directly from Hearthpwn, so once you've opened the Hearthpwn page, leave it open.
  1. If creating card pages immediately after a reveal note that Hearthpwn may not yet have data for the card.
Copy the data page for a similar card or use a blank boilerplate.
Paste this into the new, empty data page.
Fill in the data for the new card. Be sure to enter every piece of data that is relevant. If you are copying a similar data page, be especially careful not to include incorrect data from the copied page.
1. One exception is the |abilities= line, which can be left blank - abilities are best added through the content page, along with tags (this makes it easier to check and change them later)
2. While Hearthpwn usually has the correct data, be aware that typos often creep in, especially with freshly added cards. Always check the text and images before saving.
Click 'Show preview' to make sure the data is correct, then 'Save page'.
A redlink to an image will be shown on the left of the data page. Either save the data page and click on this link, or open the link in a new tab.
Download the correct regular card image from Hearthpwn
1. If creating card pages immediately after a reveal note that Hearthpwn may not yet have an image for the card.
2. Very occasionally it may be necessary to source an image from elsewhere, but Hearthpwn is strongly preferred due to card image consistency
Upload the image to the wiki
This can be repeated for golden images if desired
1. The static golden image from Hearthpwn is slightly trickier to obtain: if your browser has an 'Inspect' function, this can be used to find the correct URL for the static golden image. This can then be downloaded and uploaded by clicking the right image link on the data page.
2. Note that golden images added with expansion patches should be uploaded automatically through a data import, which means it's often not worth spending time doing this manually. See Editor's Handbook/Data imports.
Now open a page with the desired title.
1. Take great care to check the title is correct. If there is more than one card with the same name, a subtitle should be inserted in brackets after the card's name, like "Venomous Blast (Tavern Brawl spell)". See below for a guide to this subject.
2. Use sentence case in the page title: only capitalise words that are the card's name, or keywords like "Tavern Brawl" or "Hero Power". Most words like "spell", "boss" and "card" are not capitalised.
Again, either copy a content page for a similar card or use a boilerplate for the right type of card.
Fill in the content for the new card, completing as many sections as possible. If you are copying a similar content page, be especially careful not to include incorrect content from the copied page.
1. Be especially careful to enter the correct information into the {{card infobox}} template at the top of the page. The |category property in particular must be set correctly, and will usually be either "Upcoming", "Boss" or "Tavern Brawl". See Editor's Handbook#Card infobox for details.
Click 'Show preview' and check the page thoroughly before saving, making sure that everything looks right. The infobox should be displaying the uploaded image/s along with the data from the data page. For a list of things to check, see Things to check.
When you're satisfied the content page is correct and complete, click 'Save page'.

The page will now automatically be included in searches, tables and lists, and can be displayed on other pages by using {{Card}}.

Note that depending on the card type, after creating a card it may be important to add it to related main pages, such as for an associated expansion, adventure or Tavern Brawl.

Things to check[]

Below is a list of things to check when adding a new card to the wiki. This can be useful when learning the process, to save time spent by yourself or other editors later on, correcting errors or adding missing information. Note that many of these tips don't apply to uncollectible or non-regular cards.

Data page

Check the title is correct, and matches the card image.
Check the description is correct. Note that Hearthpwn descriptions sometimes include typos, especially for newly revealed cards.
- Use <b> and </b> tags to make keywords bold Do not use the regular ''' wiki mark-up, as this can interact with other mark-up when displayed, producing errors.
Check the link is complete, and works. Only include the URL from "/cards" onwards, for example "/cards/398-twisting-nether".
General data: Health (if any), Attack (if any), Mana cost (if any), Type, Class (leave blank for neutral), Subtype (if any), Card set, Rarity (leave blank for new cards if no gem).
Leave |abilities= blank - add these on the content page instead.
Flavor text should be added if available (it is usually unavailable until after the associated patch is released).
- Flavor text is automatically italicised when displayed. To de-italicise specific words, use the standard '' wiki mark-up, rather than <i> and </i>.
Check the data matches the image, then save.

Content page

Make sure the card title is correct, and doesn’t clash with other pages with the same name. If it does, subtitles will be needed, and/or the other page/s may need to be moved.
Check the expansion or adventure’s banner is in place.
Make sure the card infobox category is set appropriately - this is important. Upcoming cards should be tagged as “Upcoming”, similarly for Tavern Brawl cards, Boss cards, Debug cards, etc. If the category is incorrectly set, the wiki will not recognise the card properly.
Check the card text and add abilities and tags to match. If the card has a triggered effect, add appropriate |hiddentags . This can be tricky and requires exact phrasing - if in doubt check a very similar card, or leave a message on the talk page.
Lead section: Check the title, rarity, card type, class and set.
How to get: Check rarity/correct template is being used.
Notes and Strategy can be set as stubs initially (using {{stub-section}}), but any pertinent info should be added.
Lore can be set as a stub initially, but it’s worth quickly checking Wowpedia for content to feature here. Wowhead may also have relevant NPC information.
- If the card is a named character, consider whether it should be added to Original cards in Hearthstone.
Artist and full art usually isn’t available when cards are created. Artist should be set to 'Unknown', and the Gallery section should be commented out.
- However, Wowpedia may have screenshots (or full art) available - if so, consider adding these.
Make sure there is a "Patch changes" section noting the patch in which the card was, or will be, added. If the card is not documented in that patch's patch notes, add it to the "Undocumented changes" section on the patch page.
If you add any references, make sure to add a "References" section.
Add card art categories, after carefully scrutinising the card art. If you're not sure, you can use Category:Uncategorised art, and/or add a message on the talk page. This helps other editors to add the card to the appropriate category later.
Add the page to the main page for that expansion or adventure. (Boss cards should not be added to the main page.)
Consider if the card needs adding to any other special lists, or if its addition is relevant to written content in specific articles.

Heroes[]

Playable heroes are handled very differently than other 'cards', due to their significance. For a guide, see Adding new heroes.

Non-playable heroes are considered boss cards: see Boss and Tavern Brawl cards.

Uncollectible and choice cards[]

Uncollectible cards are handled slightly differently to regular, collectible cards.

The most important thing is to set the |collectible= parameter for {{Card infobox}} to false. This ensures the card is recognised as uncollectible by the wiki.

In addition, the lead section focuses on the 'parent' card, and directs readers to that page for all other information. All other sections on the page are removed, except for the "Artist", "Gallery" and (if needed) "References" sections. This helps prevent duplication, with information getting scattered and shared between multiple pages, and allows readers to find everything they need on the one page; content added to uncollectible card pages is unlikely to be seen by many readers. In place of the removes sections is added a “Generated by” or “Summoned by” section, displaying the parent card/s.

Choice cards

Choice cards are a special type of uncollectible card, displayed only when choosing between possible effects, and have their own conventions.

Because choice cards are kept separate from 'real' cards, the most important thing is to set the |category= parameter for {{Card infobox}} to the appropriate value. This is usually "Choice", "Upcoming choice" (for upcoming cards), "Boss choice" (for boss cards), or "Tavern Brawl choice" (for Tavern Brawl cards). For a guide, see Editor's Handbook#Card categories.

In addition the |chosenfrom= parameter for {{Card infobox}} should be set to the name of the parent card. A "Chosen from" section is used to display the parent card.

Content page conventions are complex and change over time; the easiest way to ensure correct style is to copy that used on a similar, recently added card. A list of such cards can be found on Uncollectible and Choice card.

Boss and Tavern Brawl cards[]

Boss cards and Tavern Brawl cards are handled slightly differently to regular cards.

The most important thing is to set the |category= parameter for {{Card infobox}} to the appropriate value. This is usually "Boss" or "Tavern Brawl", or "Boss choice" or "Tavern Brawl choice" for choice cards. Note that "Upcoming Boss" and "Upcoming Tavern Brawl" are not normally used since there is no harm in including cards in the main boss and Tavern Brawl categories ahead of time. For a guide, see Editor's Handbook#Card categories.

Boss and Tavern Brawl pages also use subtitles far more often than regular cards, due to reuse of card names, and disambiguation pages are often needed - see Duplicate names.

For bosses an additional data page must be created, to combine the Normal and Heroic data and images for the boss. Note that because of this it is not necessary to manually create separate Normal and Heroic data pages for bosses.

Create a new data page at the base name of the hero.
- Do not use any numbers.
Use |health= and |armor= to set Normal mode values, and |heroichealth= and |heroicarmor= to set Heroic mode values.
For the regular image, upload a copy of the Normal mode image for the boss.
For the golden image, upload a copy of the Heroic mode image for the boss.
The infobox will then combine and display Normal and Heroic data correctly.
Note that because the data page is not numbered, the images will not be updated by future data imports.

Content page conventions are complex and change over time; the easiest way to ensure correct style is to copy that used on a similar, recently added card. Lists can be found at Tavern Brawl card or Boss card.

Alternate hero cards[]

Each alternate hero comes with a new version of most Hero Powers associated for their class, as well as some of the cards generated by them. Because these alternate versions are functionally identical to the default versions, and do not affect gameplay, for wiki purposes they are placed in a separate category. This prevents several cosmetic versions of each Hero Power from showing up alongside each other in lists, for example.

The most important thing is to include |category=Alternate hero in the {{Card infobox}} for each alternate hero card.

All alternate hero cards are also subtitled with the full name of the associated hero, for example Armor Up!. The default version (Armor Up!) is kept without a subtitle, since it is the 'main' version for that Hero Power or card.

Card data should be set normally for these cards (including card set, if any), but they should not be included in most other categories, such as Category:Standard format cards.

Content pages are very simple, directing readers to the main page for more information. For content page conventions, see a similar card, such as Dagger Mastery.

Debug cards[]

Debug cards are special cards designed for use by and exclusively available to the developers themselves. While included in the game data they are never available to players, and the wiki's knowledge of them is relatively slim. Nonetheless when datamined in patches by thirdparty sites they can be added to the wiki.

Adding debug cards is far simpler than most other cards, as they lack much content. As usual, copy the convention from a similar card when creating a new page, remembering to make sure |category= is set to "Debug".

Most debug cards either lack images, or use the standard Eric Dodds art. Simply copy the convention on a similar page to ensure compliance with the current systems.

New debug cards are rare, so when adding a new card, add it to the patch changes on Debug card. Also, because many debug cards lack images, the visual list on that page is maintained manually, and must be edited to add new cards.

Enchantments[]

Enchantments are not considered cards for game purposes, but are handled as cards by the wiki's data system. As such, they are handled differently to other 'cards'.

Since enchantments are normally only added as part of the data import process, steps for adding enchantments can be found in the data import guide.

Duplicate names[]

Not every card is named uniquely. Many cards share a name, which is problematic for the wiki. This is the reason for the use of numbers following card names for data pages and images - so that the system can distinguish between each version. However, these numbers are not suitable for use on content pages, and do not identify the role or purpose of the card.

Content pages are therefore distinguished by subtitles, for example "Echolocate (Normal)" or "White Knight (A Friendly Game of Chess)". Each content page then links to the corresponding data page (and thus images) by using |datapage= in its {{Card infobox}} call.

First, it must be decided which pages will need subtitles.

If the other card/s already have subtitles, add one for the new card.
If there is one other card and it does not already have a subtitle, you may need to add one to that page as well.
If there is a single 'main' version, it should take priority, and not use a subtitle.
- As a rule, regular and/or collectible cards take priority over non-regular/uncollectible cards. For example, Nefarian is the collectible card, while the various adventure and Tavern Brawl versions use subtitles.
- However, when there are multiple regular cards they will still need subtitles (this mostly happens with uncollectible cards such as Imps).
- If adding a Tavern Brawl version of a boss or boss card originally featured in an adventure, the adventure appearance can be left as the 'main' version, with no subtitle.
- Otherwise, the exact decision here is down to the individual editor, but subtitles should always be added unless there is a clear 'main' version of the card or title.

Then, a subtitle must be chosen for the new page/s. There are several standards:

For regular cards, use card type: "(spell)", "(minion)", "(weapon)", "(Hero Power)".
For bosses, use the name of the corresponding adventure/Tavern Brawl, such as "(Blackrock Mountain)".
- If the same boss appears multiple times within the same adventure with the exact same name, use the name of the wing or encounter, such as "Nefarian (Blackwing Lair)"
For boss cards, "(Normal)" and "(Heroic)" are the main divisions, and the most common subtitles.
For Tavern Brawl cards, where possible use the specific name of the Tavern Brawl, such as "Wild Magic". This helps save moving pages later when other versions are added.
- If the name is not yet known, simply use "(Tavern Brawl [card type])". However, note that this may require moving if another Tavern Brawl version is added in the future.
If necessary, subtitles can combine qualities, such as "(Heroic Hero Power)" or "(Tavern Brawl spell)". In a few rare cases, it is necessary to go further, such as with Immolate. Try to keep subtitles as simple and future-proof as possible.
Very rarely, "(removed)" may be used for removed cards.

Finally, make sure that the non-subtitled page exists (e.g. Jeering Crowd). This will prevent data imports from accidentally adding it as a card in its own right.

If a single version has clear priority, that should be placed at the non-subtitled page.
If there are multiple, more of less equally relevant versions of the card, the main page should be a disambiguation page. For example, Jeering Crowd is a disambiguation between multiple pages, including Jeering Crowd, Jeering Crowd, Jeering Crowd and Jeering Crowd. For a guide, see Disambiguation, below.
If multiple cards share a basic name, this should be created as a disambiguation page, or a redirect to the 'main' version if one exists.

When multiple data pages exist with the same name (but not number), use |datapage= in the card's {{Card infobox}} call to ensure the content page is linked to the right data page (and images). For example, |datapage=Essence of the Red(14552) . If multiple data pages exist for a name but |datapage= is not used, a warning message will appear at the top of the content page asking you to do so.

Disambiguation[]

Disambiguation pages are used when there are multiple versions of a card, with no clear 'main' version, and serve to link to all existing versions. They are easily created by using {{Disambig/Pagename}}, and simply entering the subtitles for each different version. Note that this template does not work for subtitled "(disambiguation)" pages, in which case a custom disambiguation page can be easily written. In some cases, such as Ragnaros (disambiguation), this is preferable anyway in order to provide additional information.

When there is a 'main' version, it is not usually necessary to link from it to other versions (such as adventure, Tavern Brawl and removed versions). However, if desired, a hatnote template can be used to link to the other version/s, or to a disambiguation page, such as {{For}}, {{For/Mode}} or {{For/DA}}. An exception is Normal and Heroic versions of boss cards, which commonly use {{For/Mode}} to link to each other.