Preparation

Preparation

Regular

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Gold

Set:	EXPERT1
Type:	Spell
Class:	Rogue
Rarity:	Epic
Cost:	0
Abilities:	Increment attribute, Modify cost
Tags:	Spell-related
Artist:	Clint Langley

The next spell you cast this turn costs (2) less.

"Be Prepared" - Rogue Motto

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Preparation is an epic rogue spell card, inducted into the Legacy set, formerly from the Classic set.

Other versions

Core

Classic

How to get

Preparation can be obtained through Classic card packs, or through crafting.

Card	Crafting cost	Disenchanting
Preparation	400	100
Golden Preparation	1600	400

Core set

Two copies of regular Preparation (Core) are obtained for raising rogue to level 8.

Two copies of golden Preparation (Core) are obtained for winning 250 games as rogue.

Preparation (Core) is uncraftable and cannot be crafted or disenchanted.

Previous availability

• Regular Preparation could also be obtained as a first-time reward for first time reaching Platinum 10 and Diamond 10 in Ranked mode from April 1, 2020 to March 25, 2021 (or as a reward of Climbing the Ranks (6/10) and (8/10) achievements).

Notes

• This card's effect creates a cost-modification enchantment attached to your player: this means that it will not be cancelled if your hero is replaced by Ragnaros or Lord Jaraxxus. This enchantment reduces by 2 the mana cost of spell cards in your hand, but wears off as soon as you play a spell or at the end of your turn (whichever happens first).

Strategy

Preparation is one of the best Combo activators for Rogues, disregarding the state of the board unlike Backstab or Shadowstep on top of providing a mana discount for chaining more Combo cards. As a free spell used in combination with other spells, it is excellent for use with cards such as Violet Teacher and Gadgetzan Auctioneer, and in such decks is best saved for when one of these minions is on the board.

Preparation is also useful for making expensive spells much more accessible. Cards like Sprint or Vanish can be used without consuming all of your mana.

Trivia

• The artwork for this card comes from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game "March of the Legion" series, for the card Wound Poison.

Gallery

Preparation, full art

Fixed bugs

• Until Patch 5.0.0.12574 (WotOG patch), Preparation attached an enchantment to your hero, meaning that if you replaced your hero (such as by playing Lord Jaraxxus) the enchantment will be removed and lost. However, the enchantment can not be removed through Silences, such as by using Light's Champion on the Lord Jaraxxus hero, because it is explicitly set to be unsilenceable. (As of Patch 4.0.0.10833 (LoE patch), Light's Champion can no longer target the Lord Jaraxxus hero.)
• If you played Preparation, Summoning Stone then played a spell, you paid the Preparation-discounted cost but Summoning Stone summoned a minion according to the undiscounted cost. (Gazlowe also used the undiscounted cost to decide whether to trigger or not.) This bug was fixed in Patch 5.0.0.12574 (WotOG patch).
• Starting in Patch 4.0.0.10833 (LoE patch), if you played Preparation then a spell with Overload, you did not gain any Overload. In addition, Unbound Elementals would trigger as normal, but Tunnel Troggs would gain Attack only if played BEFORE the Preparation was. This bug was fixed in Patch 4.1.0.10956 (2015-12-04).

Patch changes

• Year of the Gryphon rotation (2021-03-30): Moved from Classic to Legacy set.
• Patch 14.2.2.31022 (2019-05-22): Now reads: ...costs (2) less. (previously: ...costs (3) less.).

Commentary:

All changes we make to the Basic and Classic sets are aimed at ensuring Hearthstone's long-term health. Preparation is currently seen as such a powerful card that it appears in nearly all Rogue deck archetypes. That said, the change we've landed on is a small one. While we do want the card’s power to decrease, we also think it's important for Preparation to remain a reasonable option, since it fits the Rogue class fantasy so well.

Preparation is regularly used to reduce the cost of cards like Sap or Eviscerate, and those interactions will remain unchanged. Reducing the cost of your next spell by 2 as opposed to 3 opens our design options up a little more to create higher cost Rogue spells without having to balance so closely around the assumption that they'll be cast alongside Preparation.

• Patch 1.0.0.3890 (2013-10-02): Now reads: ...costs (3) less. (previously: ...costs (2) less.).
  • Previously: The next spell you cast this turn costs (2) less. [0 mana, Epic]