Sure the extra protection is nice, but the shield really reduces visibility.
COLLECTIBLE
Power Word: Shield is a priest spell card, inducted into the Legacy set, formerly from the Basic set.
Contents
Other versions[]
How to get[]
Regular and golden Power Word: Shield are uncraftable and cannot be crafted or disenchanted.
Type | Source | Premium | Q. |
---|---|---|---|
New player | Complete the Ranked's New player experience system | Regular | 2 |
New player | Complete the Ranked's New player experience system | Golden | 2 |
Previous availability[]
Prior Year of the Gryphon's rotation on March 30, 2021:
- Two copies of Power Word: Shield were automatically included in all players' collections upon unlocking the priest class.
- Two Golden copies of Power Word: Shield were a reward for raising a priest to levels 47 and 48.
Strategy[]
One of the Priest's many Health-boosting effects, Power Word: Shield is one of the earliest available Health-buffing cards that Priests have access to. While 2 extra Health may not be much, it can mean a difference between a living and dead minion in the early game and as a 0-cost card it can be played without sacrificing tempo. However, this card's low overall impact makes it difficult to include in a deck. On the other hand, combined with Gadgetzan Auctioneer it becomes an efficient way to draw cards from your deck, giving it utility in combo decks that need fast draw.
Lore[]
In World of Warcraft, Power Word: Shield (abbreviated PW:S) is a defensive Discipline Power Word available at level 5. It creates a protective shield around a friendly target which absorbs a set amount of damage. The spell additionally grants the Borrowed Time buff, increasing Haste gains from all sources for a few seconds. To prevent overuse, Power Word: Shield also gives the target the 15-second Weakened Soul debuff, which must elapse before another shield can be applied.
While Power Word: Shield is a valuable spell for any priest, Discipline priests have the opportunity to improve it far beyond its base effect, empowering it with their mastery and reducing its downtime. Power Word: Shield is undoubtedly one of the signature spells of the Discipline priest, protecting the target with a powerful shield that can seem unbreakable.
Trivia[]
- The artwork for this card comes from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game "Worldbreaker" series, for the card Wazix Blonktop.
Gallery[]

Power Word: Shield, full art
Patch changes[]
Year of the Gryphon rotation (2021-03-30): Moved from Basic to Legacy set.
Patch 20.0.0.77662 (2021-03-25): Now costs 1 mana (Up from 0). Now draws a card. Now has Holy spell school (previously: no spell school).
Patch 17.0.0.44222 (2020-03-26): Now costs 0 mana (Down from 1). No longer draws a card.
- Patch 1.0.0.3890 (2013-10-02): Give a minion +2 Health. Draw a card. [1 mana, Common]
- Previously: Give a minion +3 Health. [1 mana, Common]