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Original cards in Hearthstone

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While Hearthstone is set firmly in the Warcraft universe, many characters, abilities and weapons have made their debut with Hearthstone itself. Hearthstone has also introduced numerous new character types, and titles for existing types.

This page provides a list of named characters original to Hearthstone. For an overview and history of new lore, see Hearthstone lore. For a list of Hearthstone cards inspired by the WoW TCG, see World of Warcraft Trading Card Game.

History[]

The vast majority of the characters, abilities and weapons in the game's early card sets came from World of Warcraft, with even generic character types in most cases corresponding to specific mobs within the latter game. Innovation was initially confined to variations in art and personality, with bosses like Kel'Thuzad featuring a notably comic streak compared to their original World of Warcraft incarnations. Many of each class's core Basic (and some Classic) cards are based on core or iconic abilities from World of Warcraft, such as Polymorph, Bloodlust, Blessing of Kings, Innervate and Mind Control.

However, with each new release the developers began to introduce more and more original characters and card concepts. Goblins vs Gnomes notably saw an increase in the proportion of original cards, with distinctive personalities like Annoy-o-Tron and Snowchugger marking the first truly original Hearthstone characters. The first original named Hearthstone characters didn't come until The Grand Tournament, with a smattering of characters like Skycap'n Kragg and Bolf Ramshield, although there is one exception: the Innkeeper, who has been part of Hearthstone since its inception.

As of Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, most cards featured in new releases are now original to Hearthstone, with most new releases also featuring a cast of original named characters. Some new spells and weapons are still based on World of Warcraft, and many minion types are often familiar to players of that game, although they are still usually given a new title or fresh twist compared to their World of Warcraft equivalents. Adventures remain the strongest tie between the two game, with most bosses modelled on familiar characters, but even here the subjects usually undergo substantial reimagining, and most other cards tend to be original. Alternate heroes are also usually drawn from the established Warcraft universe, although there are a number of exceptions.

Named characters[]

Below are listed all named original characters to appear in Hearthstone. Characters marked with a * have subsequently appeared in World of Warcraft, but are original to Hearthstone. Characters marked with a ** originally appeared in Hearthstone but were first named in World of Warcraft.

Heroes[]

Play mode
Adventures

Minions[]

Forged in the Barrens
Madness at the Darkmoon Faire and Darkmoon Races
Scholomance Academy
Ashes of Outland
Galakrond's Awakening
Descent of Dragons
Battlegrounds
Saviors of Uldum
Rise of Shadows
Rastakhan's Rumble
The Boomsday Project
The Witchwood
Kobolds and Catacombs
Knights of the Frozen Throne
Journey to Un'Goro
Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
One Night in Karazhan
Whispers of the Old Gods
  • Shifter Zerus
  • The Ancient One - despite being described as the Old Gods' greatest creation, this minion is not seen outside of Hearthstone
  • The Boogeymonster[4] - this could be the name of an individual, or a mistaken term for an entire race of creatures. If the latter, the race also appears to be original to Hearthstone, although it may be related to the mistlurkers.
The League of Explorers
The Grand Tournament
Mentioned

New versions[]

While many established characters are given a new lease on life in Hearthstone, the following are significantly and explicitly changed from their previously known forms, due to specific causes. As such, they represent new versions of those characters.

Corruption[]

Whispers of the Old Gods

Introduced with Whispers of the Old Gods, the following characters were corrupted, transforming them into new, twisted forms.

Knights of the Frozen Throne

Introduced with Knights of the Frozen Throne, the following characters have been transformed into undead death knights by the Lich King, granting them unholy powers.

Ashes of Outland

Introduced with Ashes of Outland, the following characters show signs of receiving mechanical augmentations by the Rusted Legion.

Other

Various other sets have included scattered numbers of corrupted characters.

Pre-Corruption[]

Like the corrupted characters above, some characters who are only known in their altered form are depicted as they originally appeared.

One Night in Karazhan

Introduced in One Night in Karazhan, the following characters appear before Medivh's corruption.

Scholomance Academy

Introduced in Scholomance Academy, the following characters are the original teachers at the school before being experimented on and risen by the Cult of the Damned.

Advancement[]

While not original to Hearthstone, these characters have significantly and explicitly risen in status or power since their previous appearances.

  • Auctionmaster Beardo - Apparently the same as Auctioneer Beardo, this character appears to have acquired far more wealth and renown than his fairly unremarkable World of Warcraft incarnation, and is now hailed as "Gadgetzan's King of Bling" and "a one-goblin financial advice powerhouse".[6]
  • Prince Liam - Prince Liam Greymane has been long dead in World of Warcraft (and remains dead to this day), but in The Witchwood his ghostly spirit is seen aiding Gilneas in its time of need.
  • Dr. Boom, Mad Genius - Dr. Boom is an extremely minor character in World of Warcraft, but since his first appearance in Goblins vs. Gnomes, he built a secret laboratory in the Netherstorm and is the lead scientist of The Boomsday Project, a research project of sorts with no given goal.
  • Mecha-Jaraxxus - Lord Jaraxxus seems to have received mechanical enhancements from Dr. Boom- although how and what led to his creation is unknown.
  • Mecha'thun - This being is a mechanical recreation of the Old God C'Thun, created as part of the Boomsday Project for reasons not even Dr. Boom himself knows.
  • Subject 9 - In World of Warcraft, Subject Nine was last seen departing from Azshara with her offspring in a rocket. In Hearthstone lore, she ended up in Boom Labs, where she received a number of robotic new body parts. As a result, the Hearthstone version of Subject 9 is far more mechanical in appearance than her World of Warcraft incarnation.[7]
  • Zai, the Incredible - Originally an outcast jinyu and simple world boss in World of Warcraft, Zai has become a performer at the Darkmoon Faire and a full-bodied Demon Hunter between appearances.
  • Cap'n Hoggarr, Nat Pagle, Extreme Angler - Two Classic legendaries, Hogger and Nat Pagle, are depicted here as having adopted the pirate's life and swashburgling in Battlegrounds.

First depictions[]

While these characters are established in Warcraft lore, this is the first time they—or at least certain versions of them—have been depicted, making them in a sense original to Hearthstone.

  • Nozari - She previously appeared in the Caverns of Time split between a shapeshifted adult and child form. This is the first time her dragon form has been seen.
  • N'Zoth, the Corruptor - this is the first time N'Zoth been depicted, revealed or even described in detail.[8][9] The depiction is intended to be canonical.[10] The title "the Corruptor" is also original.
  • Shirvallah, the Tiger - Despite having been first introduced in classic World of Warcraft and referenced at various points throughout WoW's history, Shirvallah has previously never been directly seen or depicted in Warcraft media. Her overall personality and especially her association with paladins is entirely unique to Hearthstone, as she is described only sparingly in previous material.
  • Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound - Y'Shaarj has previously been very sparingly described, and illustrated in a single mural in World of Warcraft, but this is the first time he has been properly depicted. This appearance also differs significantly from earlier descriptions and the mural. The title "Rage Unbound" is also original.
  • Zzeraku the Warped - Zzeraku first appeared in the manga Nexus Point and the novel Night of the Dragon, as the progenitor of the twilight dragonflight. Hearthstone marks his first appearance in a Warcraft game. The title "The Warped" is also original.

New titles[]

The following characters feature titles which are original to Hearthstone, but do not feature any other innovations. For characters with new titles alongside other differences, see the above subsections.

Bosses[]

The following Boss encounters are original to Hearthstone. Bosses with card equivalents are listed above.

Book of Heroes
Trial by Felfire
Galakrond's Awakening
Tombs of Terror
The Dalaran Heist
Puzzle Lab
Monster Hunt
Dungeon Run
One Night in Karazhan
The League of Explorers

Other cards[]

Tortollans were an entirely new race original to Hearthstone before the expansion Battle for Azeroth.

The Feral Gibberer is unique to Hearthstone and does not closely resemble any previously known creature from the Warcraft universe.

With the majority of new cards now original to Hearthstone, there is little point in listing all such cards. Information on the origins of specific cards can be found in the Lore section on each card page.

An incomplete list of original cards of all types released prior to Mean Streets of Gadgetzan can be found in the history.

Lore[]

Main article: Hearthstone lore

Original characters comprise a substantial part of the emerging Hearthstone lore. However, since most of these characters exist purely within the Hearthstone card game itself, it is not certain whether they are intended to be modelled upon "real" people and classes in the Hearthstone universe, or are simply fictional characters invented by the makers of the game for the purpose of entertainment. Some original characters do exist beyond their appearances as cards, such as in The Innkeeper's Journal or the Gadgetzan Gazette, which could be taken as confirming their presence as real characters within the larger Hearthstone canon.

References[]

 
  1. ↑ Ben Brode quoted on reddit. (2016-10-03).  - I love Morgl. I think its cool because it feels very hearthstoney. Morgl was created by our team, and it was really cool to add something to the universe of Warcraft.
  2. ↑ https://twitter.com/Celestalon/status/1289732567990595586
  3. ↑ Peter Whalen on Twitter. (2017-11-30). 
  4. ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-07-19). 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ben Brode on Twitter. (2015-08-15). 
  6. ↑ Gadgetzan Gazette
  7. ↑ Peter Whalen on Twitter. (2018-11-17). 
  8. ↑ So... N'zoth.. (2016-03-21). 
  9. ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-03-20). 
  10. ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-03-29). 
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