Open the Waygate

Open the Waygate

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Gold

Set:	Journey to Un'Goro
Type:	Spell
Class:	Mage
Rarity:	Legendary
Cost:	1
Abilities:	Generate, Quest
Tags:	Arcane-generating, Deck-related, Spell-generating, Spell-related, Triggered effect
Artist:	Rafael Zanchetin

Quest: Cast 8 spells that didn't start in your deck.
Reward: Time Warp.

Although powerful, the incantation is simple. It’s just a jump to the left, and then a step to the right.

See this card on Hearthpwn

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Open the Waygate is a legendary mage spell card, from the Journey to Un'Goro set.

How to get

Open the Waygate can be obtained through Journey to Un'Goro card packs, or through crafting.

Card	Crafting cost	Disenchanting
Open the Waygate	1600	400
Golden Open the Waygate	3200	1600

Generated cards

Notes

• Spells that are cast by effects like Yogg-Saron's Battlecry are not counted for this quest's progress.
• Shifting Scroll does not trigger the quest since it technically doesn't generate a spell.
• A spell will count for this quest as long as the individual card did not start in the deck. A generated spell (including from Echo) will count even if it is identical to a spell that started in the deck.
• Time Warp replaces the "End Turn" button with an "Extra Turn" button, but does not end the current turn immediately. The player cannot cancel this effect once the spell has been cast. When the button is clicked, the current turn ends and the player plays a complete additional turn. More precisely:
  1. End-of-turn triggered effects occur for the original turn.
  2. Start-of-turn steps and effects happen including the refreshment of exhausted minions, drawing a card, gaining a mana crystal, and the replenishment of empty mana crystals.
  3. The player can play cards and make attacks as in any other turn.
• Multiple Time Warps stack. You take that many extra turns in a row.
• Loatheb and Millhouse Manastorm's effects remain active during extra turns granted by Time Warp, but Ice Block's immunity will wear off when the extra turn starts.
• The Coin counts for this quest's completion, since it is a spell that does not start in the player's deck.

Strategy

Spells and minions which generate spells are required for this Quest. Cabalist's Tome, Babbling Book, Kabal Courier, Evocation, Primordial Glyph, Mana Cyclone, Steam Surger, and Banana Buffoon are a few examples that can do this.

Timing is important once Time Warp is acquired. The effect is very powerful, but requires some set up. It can allow minions you played prior to starting the extra turn to attack, lets your active minions attack a second time, and allows a second trigger from end-of-turn effects like Ragnaros the Firelord and Emperor Thaurissan. At its most basic, this card grants the mage an extra turn's worth of mana, minus the cost of Time Warp itself - a total of 15 mana if saved until turn 10. This extra mana allows the use of card combos that would be otherwise too expensive to play without the opponent having a chance to interfere.

Time Warp can be notably exploited with Archmage Vargoth as early as turn 9, who can recast Time Warp to give you two extra turns, allowing you to deal even more damage to the enemy hero than usual or eliminate obstacles to your combos.

List of combos

• Arcane Giant x2 + Mana Giant x2 + Alexstrasza

Place two Arcane Giants with Time Warp, then on the extra turn use Alexstrasza's Battlecry on the opponent. Mana Giants can be added to add extra damage to this combo, which also synergize well with the deck. This is combo is relatively simple to pull off, but is preventable with Armor and Taunt minions.

• Sorcerer's Apprentice x2 + Molten Reflection x2 + Archmage Antonidas

Play two Sorcerer's Apprentices, followed by one Molten Reflection to copy an Apprentice, followed by Time Warp, for a total of 8 mana. On the extra turn, play Archmage Antonidas and then play the second Molten Reflection on a Sorcerer's Apprentice for 1 mana, generating a Fireball. This 5-card combo allows the player to have infinite 0-mana Fireballs, which is nearly guaranteed to kill the opponent and is completely uninterruptible by the opponent without Secrets already in play. This combo can be started on turn 8 (with the extra turn on 9). With the coin, this combo is available on turn 7, since the second turn also only requires 8 mana .

• Mimiron's Head + Target Dummy x2

Time Warp, Mimiron's Head, and two Target Dummies costs 10 mana to play, which will then summon V-07-TR-0N on the extra turn. While the combo itself isn't lethal, Spare Parts synergizes with the quest well and the combo can be combined with other cards to increase both flexibility and kill potential. A discounted Clockwork Gnome or Mechwarper via Emperor Thaurissan can be substituted for the Target Dummies, and V-07-TR-0N can be made lethal with Reversing Switch or Molten Reflection.

• Daring Fire-Eater x2 + Clockwork Automaton x2 + Baku the Mooneater

First you will use Baku the Mooneater in an Odd costed deck to upgrade your hero power to Fireblast Rank 2 at the start of the game. Play one Clockwork Automaton followed by Time Warp costing 10 mana. On the next turn play another Clockwork Automaton and two Daring Fire-Eaters for 7 mana. Leaving you with 3 mana to use your hero power, which now deals (2+4)x2x2=24 damage + the 4 attack of the Clockwork Atomaton you played the first turn of the combo. This in itself isn't lethal if the opponent has 29 or more health or 25 health and a minion with taunt but there are ways to make it lethal for up to 36 health. For example you could use Simulacrum to add an extra copy of Daring Fire-Eater to your hand at some point during the game. You can then play out three Fire-Eaters instead of two during your second turn of doing the combo. First you play one Clockwork Automaton followed by Time Warp costing 10 mana. On the next turn play another Clockwork Automaton and three Daring Fire-Eaters for 8 mana. Leaving you with 2 mana to use your hero power, which now deals (2+6)x2x2=32 damage + the 4 attack of the Clockwork Automaton you played the first turn of the combo.

Lore

The Waygate is a titan portal that leads from Sholazar Basin to Un'Goro Crater. It's been inactive for centuries, but players in World of Warcraft can reactivate it through a quest line. This card is probably inspired by that quest. It is unknown whether the Time Warp reward is specifically related to the bending of spacetime by the Waygate, or if it is generally an effect mages can achieve given an adequate source of magical power.

Trivia

• Open the Waygate's flavor text is a reference to "The Time Warp", a song featured in the 1973 rock musical The Rocky Horror Show.

Gallery

Open the Waygate, full art

The Un'Goro side of the Waygate in World of Warcraft

Concept art

Concept art

Patch changes

• Patch 19.4.0.71003 (2021-01-21): Fixed a visual bug where viewing progress would no longer highlight cards in hand that did not start in your deck.
• Patch 17.0.2.45932 (2020-04-20): Now requires 8 spells to be cast (Up from 6).
• Patch 9.2.0.21517 (2017-10-17): Will now correctly progress with spells that have been replaced by Lilian Voss.
• Patch 8.0.0.18336 (2017-04-04) Added.