Token is an unofficial term for most uncollectible minions that are summoned directly into play by other cards. Those cards may include minions with triggered effects or Battlecries such as 
Violet Teacher and Cenarius, or spells such as 
Imp-losion and Force of Nature. They are usually weak in statistics with simple or no special abilities.
The term "token" originally comes from Magic: The Gathering, in which physical tokens are used to represent creatures that are not represented by cards, but are created by other cards. For this reason, "token" is generally used in collectible card games as a term for small generated creatures.
Where the definition of "token" ends is a gray area. Minions summoned in multiples or by a variety of sources are clear examples; in contrast minions only created once by a single collectible card are often excluded. Those may be categorized under other names, such as Gelbin Mekkatorque's "inventions" and Animal Companion's "beast companions". Copies of collectible minions and cards generated into the hand are almost never included. These distinctions may be due to the strategies typically associated with use of tokens, which rely on having a number of expendable minions in play.
Token summoning[]
Token summoning effects of minions generally summon tokens immediately adjacent to the minion.
- For minions that summon single tokens, such as
Wrapped Golem, they summon their token immediately on the minion's right. - For minions that summon multiple tokens, such as Onyxia, they summon their tokens alternating first on the minion's right side, then the minion's left.
Bugs[]
The consistency of these rules for token summoning deviated in the following certain situations and was caused by underlying bugs.
- Bugs which should be fixed
The following bugged interactions should be fixed with Patch 15.6.0.35747 on November 5, 2019.
- September 2019: For example, Green Jelly summons its tokens to its immediate right, but Wrapped Golem summons its tokens on the far right.[1]
- A minion that is resummoned by Reborn will sometimes be summoned in-place, but also sometimes on the far right. Compare Psychopomp with Embalming Ritual.
The following bugged interaction should be fixed with Patch 16.0.0.37060 on December 5, 2019.
- October 2019: For example, a Brawl is played with two Mechano-Eggs situated to the left of a Silver Hand Recruit (one was Facelessed). The Silver Hand Recruit survives the Brawl. One Robosaur is summoned to the left of the Recruit, but the other is summoned to the right.[2]
- Bugs that might or might not be fixed
The following bugs in token summoning might or might not still exist:
- May 2020: For example, Psychopomp is played, summoning a Grandmummy to the right of two minions which are to the right of Psychopomp, a dormant Imprisoned Homunculus and a Shadowy Figure.[3]
References[]
- ↑ I just found another weird inconsistency. (September 16, 2019). Retrieved on 2019-09-25.
- ↑ Trolden (October 4, 2019). Funny And Lucky Moments - Hearthstone - Ep. 468 (05:48). YouTube. Retrieved on 2019-10-05.
- ↑ Hearthstone Esports (2020-05-23). Hunterace vs Bunnyhoppor - Division A - Hearthstone Grandmasters Europe 2020 Season 1 - Week 6 (41:20). YouTube. Retrieved on 2020-08-02.