Area of effect

Area of effect (AoE) is the term for an effect which affects all characters of the specified type. Common targets for AoEs include all enemy minions, all minions, and all characters.

AoE is defined in contrast to 'single-target' and 'multiple target'. While AoEs may affect multiple targets, they have no limit to the number of targets affected, and their targets are determined by the nature of the AoE (e.g., "all minions") rather than by selecting a set number of individual targets. Positional effects function as limited-area AoEs, but in game terms are multiple target effects. AoEs are distinguished from multi-targets spells such as Arcane Missiles and Cleave, which are essentially multiple single-target effects.

The term AoE refers solely to the effect's target and does not describe its actual outcome. The most common types of AoE are healing and damage-dealing spells.

Notes

• AoEs affect all valid targets simultaneously. However, triggers resulting from each character affected are still applied one at a time, in the order the minions were played.
• AoEs affect all targets before any related triggers are activated. For example a Circle of Healing will heal all minions before any Northshire Clerics will begin to activate.

Strategy

The effect of an AoE on a given target is not diminished by the presence of more targets. This means that AoEs are generally more valuable the more valid targets are in play, since the AoE takes full effect on all of them. Damage-dealing AoEs can be very effective for tackling large groups of minions. AoEs tend to be most effective against large groups of weak minions, and least effective against small numbers of powerful minions.

AoEs can be very useful for dealing damage to targets with Stealth. Although stealthed minions cannot be targeted directly, AoEs will still affect them. Mage is a class with strong AoE damage abilities, but all classes have some form of AoE available.

Types

Below is a breakdown of the many types of AoE.

• AoE damage
  • Damage all characters
    • Hellfire, Abomination, Baron Geddon*, Dread Infernal*, Ysera Awakens*, Flame Leviathan, Felfire Potion, Abyssal Enforcer*
  • Damage all minions
    • Whirlwind, Wild Pyromancer, Unstable Ghoul, Death's Bite, Explosive Sheep, Lightbomb, Revenge, Elemental Destruction, Chillmaw, Dreadscale*, Excavated Evil, Tentacle of N'Zoth, Ravaging Ghoul*, Anomalus, Volcanic Potion, Primordial Drake*, Fatespinner**, Spirit Lash, Defile, Blood Razor, Bladestorm
  • Damage both heroes
    • Shadowbomber, Spawn of Shadows, Emerald Reaver
  • Damage all minions of a specific type
    • Scarlet Purifier, Demonwrath, Corrupted Seer, Dragonfire Potion, Sleep with the Fishes
  • Damage all enemies
    • Consecration, Holy Nova**, Explosive Trap, Swipe, Death and Decay
  • Damage all enemy minions
    • Arcane Explosion, Blizzard**, Flamestrike, Lightning Storm, Starfall, Shadowflame, Blade Flurry, Fan of Knives, Twilight Flamecaller, Maelstrom Portal, Sergeant Sally, Invocation of Air, Exploding Bloatbat, Deathstalker Rexxar, Despicable Dreadlord
  • Damage all enemy minions of a specific type
    • Dark Iron Skulker
  • Damage all friendly minions
    • Sea Reaver, Ticking Abomination
• AoE healing
  • Heal all characters
    • Tree of Life
  • Heal all minions
    • Circle of Healing
  • Heal both heroes
    • Refreshment Vendor, Mistress of Mixtures
  • Heal all friendly characters
    • Darkscale Healer, Holy Nova**
  • Heal all friendly minions
    • Healing Totem
• AoE destroy
  • Destroy all minions
    • Doomsayer, Deathwing*, Brawl*, Twisting Nether, Poison Seeds, Enter the Coliseum*, DOOM!, Doom Pact
  • Destroy all minions of a specific type
    • Shadow Word: Horror, King Mosh, Shadowreaper Anduin
  • Destroy all friendly minions of a specific type
    • Mimiron's Head
  • Destroy all enemy secrets
    • Flare**, Eater of Secrets
• AoE return
  • Vanish
• AoE Transform
  • Transform all minions
    • Kazakus Potion (10 mana)
  • Transform all enemy minions
    • Devolve
  • Transform all friendly minions
    • Evolve, Thrall, Deathseer
• AoE Enchantments
  • Targets all minions
    • Equality, Confuse, Corrupting Mist, Sunkeeper Tarim*, Fatespinner**
  • Targets all enemy minions
    • Eadric the Pure, Pint-Size Potion
  • Targets all friendly characters
    • Savage Roar
  • Targets all friendly minions
    • Conceal, Bloodlust, Power of the Wild, Cenarius*, Soul of the Forest, Enhance-o Mechano*, Mukla's Champion*, Competitive Spirit, Everyfin is Awesome, Spawn of N'Zoth, Wisps of the Old Gods, Infest, Mark of the Lotus, Spirit Echo, Evolving Spores, Anti-Magic Shell
  • Targets all friendly minions of a specific type
    • Totemic Might, Coldlight Seer*, Quartermaster, Metaltooth Leaper*, Thunder Bluff Valiant, Bolster, Rallying Blade, Crystalweaver, Lightfused Stegodon, Gentle Megasaur, Strongshell Scavenger
• Ongoing effects
  • Targets all characters
    • Mayor Noggenfogger
  • Targets all minions
    • Mogor the Ogre
  • Targets both heroes
    • Jungle Moonkin
  • Targets all friendly minions
    • Raid Leader*, Stormwind Champion*, Leokk*, Commanding Shout, Crystal Core
  • Targets all friendly minions of a specific type
    • Southsea Captain*, Timber Wolf*, Tundra Rhino, Grimscale Oracle*, Murloc Warleader*, Warsong Commander, Baron Rivendare, Mal'Ganis*, Warhorse Trainer, Frost Lich Jaina
  • Targets all Hero Powers
    • Mindbreaker

• AoE Deathrattle trigger
  • Feign Death
• AoE remove Stealth
  • Targets all minions
    • Flare**
  • Targets all enemy minions
    • Streetwise Investigator
• AoE remove Divine Shield
  • Blood Knight
• AoE Silence
  • Silence all enemy minions
    • Mass Dispel
  • Silence all friendly minions
    • Wailing Soul*
• AoE Freeze
  • Freeze all enemy minions
    • Frost Nova, Blizzard**
  • Freeze all friendly minions
    • Hyldnir Frostrider*

*Cards like Baron Geddon and Brawl exclude one minion from the effect, but hit all other targets as described. Ysera Awakens and Dread Infernal are two other examples of this type of targeting. Minions such as Stormwind Champion that provide ongoing AoE buffs similarly exclude themselves from the effect.

**Cards like Holy Nova and Blizzard have combined effects and thus falls into two categories.

Cards

For Wild format listings, see Area of effect/Wild format

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Bladestorm	None	Hero Power		Warrior	2			Hero Power Deal 1 damage to all minions.
Death and Decay	None	Spell		Death Knight	3			Deal 3 damage to all enemies.
Doom Pact	None	Spell		Death Knight	5			Destroy all minions. Remove the top card from your deck for each minion destroyed.
Kazakus Potion	None	Spell		Mage, Priest, Warlock	10
Kazakus Potion	None	Spell		Mage, Priest, Warlock	1
Kazakus Potion	None	Spell		Mage, Priest, Warlock	5
Ysera Awakens	None	Spell		Any	2			Deal 5 damage to all characters except Ysera.
Arcane Explosion	Free	Spell		Mage	2			Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions. This spell is much better than Arcane Implosion.
Bloodlust	Free	Spell		Shaman	5			Give your minions +3 Attack this turn. blaarghghLLGHRHARAAHAHHH!!
Consecration	Free	Spell		Paladin	4			Deal 2 damage to all enemies. Consecrated ground glows with Holy energy. But it smells a little, too.
Darkscale Healer	Free	Minion	General	Any	5	4	5	Battlecry: Restore 2 Health to all friendly characters. Healing is just something she does in her free time. It's more of a hobby really.
Dread Infernal	Free	Minion	Demon	Warlock	6	6	6	Battlecry: Deal 1 damage to ALL other characters. "INFERNOOOOOOOOOO!" - Jaraxxus, Eredar Lord of the Burning Legion
Fan of Knives	Free	Spell		Rogue	3			Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions. Draw a card. I wouldn't say I LOVE knives, but I'm definitely a fan.
Flamestrike	Free	Spell		Mage	7			Deal 4 damage to all enemy minions. When the ground is on fire, you should not stop, drop, and roll.
Frost Nova	Free	Spell		Mage	3			Freeze all enemy minions. Hey man, that's cold. Literally and metaphorically.
Grimscale Oracle	Free	Minion	Murloc	Any	1	1	1	Your other Murlocs have +1 Attack. These are the brainy murlocs. It turns out that doesn’t mean much.
Healing Totem	Free	Minion	Totem	Shaman	1	0	2	At the end of your turn, restore 1 Health to all friendly minions.
Hellfire	Free	Spell		Warlock	4			Deal 3 damage to ALL characters. It's spells like these that make it hard for Warlocks to get decent help.
Holy Nova	Free	Spell		Priest	5			Deal 2 damage to all enemies. Restore 2 Health to all friendly characters. If the Holy Light forsakes you, good luck casting this spell. Also, you're probably a jerk.
Raid Leader	Free	Minion	General	Any	3	2	2	Your other minions have +1 Attack. "That's a 50 DKP minus!"
Savage Roar	Free	Spell		Druid	3			Give your characters +2 Attack this turn. What do they roar? Nobody can quite tell, but it sounds like "Elephant Macho Breeze". It's probably not that, though.
Stormwind Champion	Free	Minion	General	Any	7	6	6	Your other minions have +1/+1. When Deathwing assaulted the capital, this soldier was the only member of his squad to survive. Now he's all bitter and stuff.
Swipe	Free	Spell		Druid	4			Deal 4 damage to an enemy and 1 damage to all other enemies. When a bear rears back and extends his arms, he's about to Swipe! ... or hug.
Tundra Rhino	Free	Minion	Beast	Hunter	5	2	5	Your Beasts have Charge. Tundra rhinos are often mistaken for kodos. Or am I mistaken?
Vanish	Free	Spell		Rogue	6			Return all minions to their owner's hand.
Whirlwind	Free	Spell		Warrior	1			Deal 1 damage to ALL minions. The way to tell seasoned warriors from novice ones: the novices yell "wheeeee" while whirlwinding.
Abyssal Enforcer	Common	Minion	Demon	Warlock	7	6	6	Battlecry: Deal 3 damage to all other characters. The Kabal print this on every package of illicit Mana Crystals: WARNING - DO NOT PUT WITHIN REACH OF ABYSSALS. THIS IS NOT APPROVED FOR USE BY FLAMING DEMONS OF ANY KIND.
Circle of Healing	Common	Spell		Priest	0			Restore 4 Health to ALL minions. It isn't really a circle.
Crystalweaver	Common	Minion	General	Warlock	4	5	4	Battlecry: Give your Demons +1/+1. The trick is soaking the crystals in warm milk to soften them up.
Explosive Trap	Common	Spell		Hunter	2			Secret: When your hero is attacked, deal 2 damage to all enemies. It traps your food AND cooks it for you!
Hyldnir Frostrider	Common	Minion	General	Any	3	4	4	Battlecry: Freeze your other minions. Don't be fooled, that polar bear's the one in charge.
Leokk	Common	Minion	Beast	Hunter	3	2	4	Your other minions have +1 Attack.
Mark of the Lotus	Common	Spell		Druid	1			Give your minions +1/+1. The mark of the Lotus is a little flower drawn in permanent marker on the ankle.
Mistress of Mixtures	Common	Minion	General	Any	1	2	2	Deathrattle: Restore 4 Health to each hero. Her favorite mixture is cola and lime.
Ravaging Ghoul	Common	Minion	General	Warrior	3	3	3	Battlecry: Deal 1 damage to all other minions. But goes by "Ravishing Ghoul" when he hits the club.
Soul of the Forest	Common	Spell		Druid	4			Give your minions "Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Treant." "Reforestation" is suddenly a terrifying word.
Spawn of N'Zoth	Common	Minion	General	Any	3	2	2	Deathrattle: Give your minions +1/+1. Who's a cute widdle N'Zoth? You are! Yes you are! Yes you're the cutest widdle N'Zoth in the whole world!!!
Spirit Lash	Common	Spell		Priest	2			Lifesteal Deal 1 damage to all minions. We've got spirit, yes we do! We've got spirit, stolen from you!
Streetwise Investigator	Common	Minion	General	Any	5	4	6	Battlecry: Enemy minions lose Stealth. "Hmmmm… Call it a hunch, but I'm starting to think that there may be some kind of criminal activity going on in Gadgetzan."
Tentacle of N'Zoth	Common	Minion	General	Any	1	1	1	Deathrattle: Deal 1 damage to all minions. Because EVERYDAY is the Day of the Tentacle of N'zoth.
Twilight Flamecaller	Common	Minion	General	Mage	3	2	2	Battlecry: Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions Make sure you summon a Twilight Marshmallowcaller too! Mmmm Mmm Mmm!!
Abomination	Rare	Minion	General	Any	5	4	4	Taunt. Deathrattle: Deal 2 damage to ALL characters. Abominations enjoy Fresh Meat and long walks on the beach.
Blade Flurry	Rare	Spell		Rogue	4			Destroy your weapon and deal its damage to all enemy minions. "Look, it's not just about waving daggers around really fast. It's a lot more complicated than that." - Shan, Rogue Trainer
Blizzard	Rare	Spell		Mage	6			Deal 2 damage to all enemy minions and Freeze them. This spell can be very Entertaining.
Blood Razor	Rare	Weapon		Warrior	4	2	2	Battlecry and Deathrattle: Deal 1 damage to all minions. For the close shave that you've always wanted. Caution: Very sharp.
Coldlight Seer	Rare	Minion	Murloc	Any	3	2	3	Battlecry: Give your other Murlocs +2 Health. The Coldlight murlocs reside in the darkest pits of the Abyssal Depths. So no, there's no getting away from murlocs.
Commanding Shout	Rare	Spell		Warrior	2			Your minions can't be reduced below 1 Health this turn. Draw a card. "Shout! Shout! Let it all out!" - Advice to warriors-in-training
Corrupted Seer	Rare	Minion	Murloc	Any	6	2	3	Battlecry: Deal 2 damage to all non-Murloc minions. For seers, it's very handy to have your crystal ball hanging right in front of your face.
Corrupting Mist	Rare	Spell		Warlock	2			Corrupt every minion. Destroy them at the start of your next turn. The most terrifying of Un’goro magics is both silent… AND deadly.
Despicable Dreadlord	Rare	Minion	Demon	Warlock	5	4	5	At the end of your turn, deal 1 damage to all enemy minions. He's deathspicable.
Devolve	Rare	Spell		Shaman	2			Transform all enemy minions into random ones that cost (1) less. Ragnaros looked down. He looked like some kind of War Golem. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME," he yelled. But all that came out was a deep grinding sound. He began to cry.
Eater of Secrets	Rare	Minion	General	Any	4	2	4	Battlecry: Destroy all enemy Secrets. Gain +1/+1 for each. You don't want to be around after it has eaten an explosive trap. You thought Sludge Belcher was bad...
Equality	Rare	Spell		Paladin	2			Change the Health of ALL minions to 1. We are all special unique snowflakes... with 1 Health.
Evolve	Rare	Spell		Shaman	1			Transform your minions into random minions that cost (1) more. So you say you want an evolution. Well, you know. We all want to change the board.
Evolving Spores	Rare	Spell		Druid	4			Adapt your minions. The most powerful mushrooms are commonly found in boxes marked with "?".
Exploding Bloatbat	Rare	Minion	Beast	Hunter	4	2	1	Deathrattle: Deal 2 damage to all enemy minions. We've all been there after a night of one-too-many funnel cakes.
Felfire Potion	Rare	Spell		Warlock	6			Deal 5 damage to all characters. Kazakus has a squad of imps bottling Felfire round-the-clock and he *still* can't keep up with demand.
Flare	Rare	Spell		Hunter	2			All minions lose Stealth. Destroy all enemy Secrets. Draw a card. Not only does it reveal your enemies, but it's also great for parties!
Lightning Storm	Rare	Spell		Shaman	3			Deal 2-3 damage to all enemy minions. Overload: (2) An umbrella won't be effective, I'm afraid.
Maelstrom Portal	Rare	Spell		Shaman	2			Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions. Summon a random 1-Cost minion. They bill this as a popular resort attraction, but they try and get your money up front.
Mass Dispel	Rare	Spell		Priest	4			Silence all enemy minions. Draw a card. It dispels buffs, powers, hopes, and dreams.
Pint-Size Potion	Rare	Spell		Priest	1			Give all enemy minions -3 Attack this turn only. I hope you didn't disenchant your Shadow Word: Horror!
Rallying Blade	Rare	Weapon		Paladin	3	3	2	Battlecry: Give +1/+1 to your minions with Divine Shield. As far as blades go, this one is pretty great in the motivation department.
Shadow Word: Horror	Rare	Spell		Priest	4			Destroy all minions with 2 or less Attack. It's more succinct than "Shadow Word: Suck Into Vortex."
Shadowflame	Rare	Spell		Warlock	4			Destroy a friendly minion and deal its Attack damage to all enemy minions. Start with a powerful minion and stir in Shadowflame and you have a good time!
Starfall	Rare	Spell		Druid	5			Choose One - Deal 5 damage to a minion; or 2 damage to all enemy minions. Is the sky falling? Yes. Yes it is.
Ticking Abomination	Rare	Minion	General	Any	4	5	6	Deathrattle: Deal 5 damage to your minions. Abomination. Emphasis on the second syllable.
Volcanic Potion	Rare	Spell		Mage	3			Deal 2 damage to all minions. The secret ingredient in Kazakus's award-winning chili recipe.
Wild Pyromancer	Rare	Minion	General	Any	2	3	2	After you cast a spell, deal 1 damage to ALL minions. BOOM BABY BOOM! BAD IS GOOD! DOWN WITH GOVERNMENT!
Brawl	Epic	Spell		Warrior	5			Destroy all minions except one. (chosen randomly) Do you know the first rule of Brawl Club?
DOOM!	Epic	Spell		Warlock	10			Destroy all minions. Draw a card for each. We ran out of space for "DOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!"
Doomsayer	Epic	Minion	General	Any	2	0	7	At the start of your turn, destroy ALL minions. He's almost been right so many times. He was sure it was coming during the Cataclysm.
Dragonfire Potion	Epic	Spell		Priest	6			Deal 5 damage to all minions except Dragons. No one was brave enough to fire the dragon in person… so they made the potion do it.
Fatespinner	Epic	Minion	General	Druid	5	5	3	Choose a Deathrattle (Secretly) - Deal 3 damage to all minions; or Give them +2/+2. Her clothing? Pure silk, of course.
Murloc Warleader	Epic	Minion	Murloc	Any	3	3	3	Your other Murlocs have +2/+1. Do Murlocs ever get tired of making the same old sound? Nope! Mrglglrglglglglglglgl!
Primordial Drake	Epic	Minion	Dragon	Any	8	4	8	Taunt Battlecry: Deal 2 damage to all other minions. Before he became a rap artist.
Sleep with the Fishes	Epic	Spell		Warrior	2			Deal 3 damage to all damaged minions. If you're sleeping with the fishes, we highly suggest not bringing an electric blanket.
Spirit Echo	Epic	Spell		Shaman	4			Give your minions "Deathrattle: Return this to your hand." I guess you can say they’re… “soul survivors.”
Twisting Nether	Epic	Spell		Warlock	8			Destroy all minions. The Twisting Nether is a formless place of magic and illusion and destroyed minions.
Anomalus	Legendary	Minion	Elemental	Mage	8	8	6	Deathrattle: Deal 8 damage to all minions. That's short for "Anomnomnomnomalus".
Baron Geddon	Legendary	Minion	Elemental	Any	7	7	5	At the end of your turn, deal 2 damage to ALL other characters. Baron Geddon was Ragnaros's foremost lieutenant, until he got FIRED.
Cenarius	Legendary	Minion	General	Druid	9	5	8	Choose One - Give your other minions +2/+2; or Summon two 2/2 Treants with Taunt. Yes, he's a demigod. No, he doesn't need to wear a shirt.
Kalimos, Primal Lord	Legendary	Minion	Elemental	Shaman	8	7	7	Battlecry: If you played an Elemental last turn, cast an Elemental Invocation. All that's missing is a little heart.
Sergeant Sally	Legendary	Minion	General	Any	3	1	1	Deathrattle: Deal damage equal to the minion's Attack to all enemy minions. "Who is she? Where did she come from? We don't even have a police force here in Gadgetzan!!" - Mayor Noggenfogger
Showing all 84 cards

	Cards
By type	Hero card Minion Spell Weapon
By class	Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior
By minion type	Beast Demon Dragon Elemental Mech Murloc Pirate Totem General
By ability	Adapt Auto-Attack Auto-cast Battlecry Cast spell Charge Choose One Combo Copy Deal damage Deathrattle Destroy Discard Discover Divine Shield Draw cards Elusive Enrage Equip Forgetful Freeze Gain Armor Generate Immune Inspire Joust Lifesteal Mega-Windfury Modify cost Overload Permanent Poisonous Put into battlefield Put into hand Quest Refresh Mana Remove from deck Replace Restore Health Return to hand Secret Shuffle into deck Silence Spell Damage Spend mana Stealth Summon Taunt Take control Transform Unlimited attacks Windfury
By effect type	Area of effect In-deck effect In-hand effect On-draw effect On-discard effect Ongoing effect Positional effect Random effect Triggered effect
By card set	Basic Classic Whispers of the Old Gods One Night in Karazhan Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Journey to Un'Goro
	Blackrock Mountain Grand Tournament The League of Explorers Goblins vs Gnomes Naxxramas Hall of Fame
By rarity	Free Common Rare Epic Legendary

	Game terms
General	Area of effect Attack Board control Buff Build-around Burst Card advantage Constructed Direct damage Drop Face Lethal Mana curve Meta Mill Mirror match Mulligan Nerf Overdraw Overpowered Reach Removal Soft taunt Sticky Target Tech card Tempo Top deck Trading Turn Win condition Win rate
Deck archetypes	Aggro deck Combo deck Control deck Midrange deck Zoo deck
Common deck types	Aggro Druid Jade Druid Beast Druid Ramp Druid C'Thun Druid Face Hunter Midrange Hunter Quest Hunter Secret Hunter Freeze Mage Control Mage Mech Mage Tempo Mage Secret Mage Elemental Mage Quest Mage Reno Mage Kazakus Mage Secret Paladin Midrange Paladin Hand Buff Paladin Holy Wrath Paladin Control Paladin Murloc Paladin Dragon Priest Silence Priest Control Priest N'Zoth Priest Highlander Priest Summoner Priest Miracle Rogue Water Rogue Quest Rogue Jade Rogue Mill Rogue Aggro Shaman Token Shaman Malygos Shaman Murloc Shaman Mech Shaman Elemental Shaman Discardlock Zoolock Reno Warlock Handlock Control Warrior Quest Warrior Patron Warrior Pirate Warrior Dragon Warrior Tempo Warrior