Shaman

The  Shaman is one of the nine classes in Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, represented by Thrall.

Heroes

Background

Main article: Shaman

Shaman are spiritual guides and practitioners, not of the divine, but of the very elements. Unlike some other mystics, shaman commune with forces that are not strictly benevolent. The elements are chaotic, and left to their own devices, they rage against one another in unending primal fury. It is the call of the shaman to bring balance to this chaos. Acting as moderators among earth, fire, water, and air, shaman summon totems that focus the elements to support the shaman’s allies or punish those who threaten them.

These masters of the elements can also call upon elemental forces directly, unleashing torrents of lava and bolts of lightning against foes. The elements can create, destroy, support, and hinder. The experienced shaman balances the vast spectrum of these primordial forces into an array of diverse abilities, making shaman versatile heroes and valued members of any group.

Hero Power

Hero Powers are unique abilities, specific to each class, usable used once each turn.

The shaman's Hero Power is Totemic Call, which randomly summons 1 of 4 possible Totem-type minions, each with different stats and abilities: Healing Totem, Stoneclaw Totem, Searing Totem, or Wrath of Air Totem.

Totemic Call always summons a Totem the hero does not already have in play in the battlefield; if the shaman already has all 4 different Totems in play, the Hero Power cannot be used until one of them is removed. Enemy Totems and Totems in the hand are irrelevant to this determination. Totems are created directly by the Hero Power, not played from the hand or drawn from the deck. Most Totems start with 0 Attack but cards like Bloodlust or even Raid Leader can turn a board of weak Totems into a force to be reckoned with.

Strategy and gameplay

Shamans excel at field control with removal and crowd control spells such as Lightning Storm and Hex. Shamans can also play very strong spell and minion cards with Overload for very little mana at the cost of losing available mana the subsequent turn.

Bloodlust and Windfury are also very strong cards which will allow for game winning turns with buffed minions.

Counters

• Totems will be a continuous part of the game when playing against a shaman. Try to control the number of totems, since they can give the shaman strong beneficial effects along with minion count. The totems can range from being 1/1, 0/2, or 0/3 so they are quite fragile and nonthreatening by themselves, but totems like Mana Tide Totem which allow an extra draw per turn will give an enormous advantage if left unchecked. Totems are treated as minions and can be buffed with increased attack as well as health so leaving too many on the field at once may become dangerous if the shaman plays cards like Raid Leader or Bloodlust. You may also be able to use the totems against the shaman if you play cards like Sea Giant or Flesheating Ghoul which benefit with more minions on the field. Good methods of removing totems are low cost spells like Arcane Shot from hunters and Shiv from rogues or if there are a large amount of totems then field wipes like Hellfire or Holy Nova can be used. The druid's Swipe can also be extremely effective against totems, especially when paired with cards that boost spell damage.

• Bloodlust and Windfury can allow the shaman to abruptly win the game if they have lots of minions on the field, so make sure to keep the number of minions the shaman has to a minimum. This includes 0-Attack Totems and other seemingly unthreatening minions.

• When you play large drop cards, remember your opponent might have Hex. Try and bait out this card by playing threatening monsters before playing your big monsters or strong buffing spells, and keep in mind there are only 2 maximum in a deck (outside of Arena). Shamans also have Lightning Storm, so try to not have a large field when your opponent hasn't played them yet. Lava Burst is a strong low cost nuke that deals 5 damage for only 3 mana so in long games try to keep your health above 10 because they may be saving it for unexpected burst.

Unique mechanics

Overload is an ability which reduces the amount of mana available the next turn by the stated amount. Most cards with Overload have a lower printed mana cost than similar cards from other classes (for instance, compare Forked Lightning and Cleave). This allows powerful spells and minions to be played for a low mana cost, allowing the shaman to gain a great amount of value in a turn at the cost of being able to play fewer cards the next turn. The shaman has many cards allowing him to put massive power into the board in one turn, such as Bloodlust, Lightning Storm, and Lava Burst. You can also overload more mana than you will have the next turn. Cards with this ability are limited to the shaman class.

Spells

See Spell.

Minions

All classes can also use neutral minions in their decks. See Minion.

Uncollectible

The following minions are generated by other shaman cards or effects, and are uncollectible.

Weapons

Shamans have access to a limited range of weapons.

Leveling rewards

As a hero reaches various levels they are awarded new cards, with each class having its own rewards. All cards awarded by gaining levels are soulbound, and cannot be crafted or disenchanted.

Levels up to 10 award new basic class cards, while levels after this award only golden versions of existing cards.

Starting cards

All shaman start with the following class cards.

Level 2-10

Up to level 10, reaching each even-numbered level will reward the player with a new basic class card x 2. These cards are not obtainable through any other means.

Level 2	Level 4	Level 6
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Level 8	Level 10
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Level 11-60

Above level 10, reaching certain levels will award golden versions of existing basic cards. As they are soulbound, it is not possible to disenchant these cards, making the reward purely cosmetic. Reaching each required level will award one golden card. Levels after 10 award golden basic class cards, whereas levels after 50 award golden basic neutral minion cards.

Level 15/20	Level 23/26	Level 28/30
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Level 32/34	Level 36/38	Level 40/42
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Level 43/44	Level 45/46	Level 47/48
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Level 49/50	Level 51/52	Level 53/54
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Level 55/56	Level 57/58	Level 59/60
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