Hero card

Deathstalker Rexxar, the first hero card revealed prior to the release of Knights of the Frozen Throne.

Hero cards are a type of card first introduced in the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion. Upon being played, a hero card will replace the player's hero, give them a small amount of Armor and replace their Hero Power with a new one. However, the player's current and maximum Health remains the same.

Notes

• When a hero card is played, the player's current and maximum Health remain the same, but they gain a specific amount of Armor and their Hero Power is replaced with a new one unique to each card. Their hero portrait changes to that of the hero card, and they gain a new set of unique emotes.

• Hero cards can be randomly generated and Discovered, just like any other collectible card.

• Similar to Lord Jaraxxus, playing a hero card will always transform the player into that hero card, regardless of their current class or hero. For example, a Hunter who plays Deathstalker Rexxar will always transform into Deathstalker Rexxar, regardless of whether they are using Rexxar or Alleria Windrunner as their hero, and a Priest can transform into another class' hero card if they obtain that card from Thoughtsteal or Mind Vision.

• If a player plays a hero card from a different class, the new class the hero card belongs to will replace the original class for the purposes of mechanics such as Discover. Experience and win count rewarded at the end of the match will also apply to the new class.

• After transforming their hero with a hero card, the player can still play Hero Power-altering cards such as Sir Finley Mrrgglton, Shadowform, and Lord Jaraxxus normally. However, as hero card Hero Powers are not starting Hero Powers, they cannot be upgraded with Justicar Trueheart.

• Hero cards will not be included in Arena picks. However, they can still appear in Arena games through random effects.

• While your hero is Frozen, if you play a hero card, your new hero will be thawed out. This also works with triggering Majordomo Executus's Deathrattle and playing Lord Jaraxxus.

Hero cards

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Bloodreaver Gul'dan	Legendary	Hero card		Warlock	10			Battlecry: Summon all friendly Demons that died this game. "Still you refuse to bend your knee? None can escape death, you old fool. And in death… all will serve me…"
Deathstalker Rexxar	Legendary	Hero card		Hunter	6			Battlecry: Deal 2 damage to all enemy minions. "You were too slow, old friend. The hunt began long ago. And now... it will never end."
Dr. Boom, Mad Genius	Legendary	Hero card		Warrior	7			Battlecry: For the rest of the game, your Mechs have Rush. "Of course I've gone mad with power. Ever try going mad without it?"
Frost Lich Jaina	Legendary	Hero card		Mage	9			Battlecry: Summon a 3/6 Water Elemental. Your Elementals have Lifesteal for the rest of the game. "Arthas was a spoiled child, playing with toys he could neither control nor understand. Come into the cold. I will show you the true power of the Frozen Throne."
Hagatha the Witch	Legendary	Hero card		Shaman	8			Battlecry: Deal 3 damage to all minions. Curse-bringer, tree-twister, mother of wretched things…Hanzo main.
Malfurion the Pestilent	Legendary	Hero card		Druid	7			Choose One - Summon 2 Poisonous Spiders; or 2 Scarabs with Taunt. "Cenarius once taught me about the precarious balance between life and death. I have come to understand: there IS no balance. Death always wins."
Scourgelord Garrosh	Legendary	Hero card		Warrior	8			Battlecry: Equip a 4/3 Shadowmourne that also damages adjacent minions. "You dare to challenge me? Come! Draw your last breath - and then, you are mine."
Shadowreaper Anduin	Legendary	Hero card		Priest	8			Battlecry: Destroy all minions with 5 or more Attack. "I will tell you what Velen never taught me. Whosoever stands before the Light… inevitably casts a shadow."
Thrall, Deathseer	Legendary	Hero card		Shaman	5			Battlecry: Transform your minions into random ones that cost (2) more. "Do not be afraid. Approach. The dead will sleep… for now."
Uther of the Ebon Blade	Legendary	Hero card		Paladin	9			Battlecry: Equip a 5/3 Lifesteal weapon. "Step forward. Confess! Once I was a mere servant of the Light. Now I alone stand in judgement."
Valeera the Hollow	Legendary	Hero card		Rogue	9			Battlecry: Gain Stealth until your next turn. "Run away. Hide in your precious keeps, behind your walls and your bodyguards. Night always falls, and shadows will fill your hallowed halls. One day, one of those shadows will be me."
Zul'jin	Legendary	Hero card		Hunter	10			Battlecry: Cast all spells you've played this game (targets chosen randomly). If you can dodge an axe, you can dodge a ball.
Showing all 12 cards

Generated Hero Powers

Trivia

• While Knights of the Frozen Throne introduced one hero card for each class, they have since been more spaced out, with each new set normally only featuring a hero card for a single class. According to Principal Game Designer Mike Donais and Senior Game Designer Peter Whalen, making a character a hero card is an effective way of signifying that the character is the central focus of the set and draws attention to the fact that it is a character that players should know and care about. According to Whalen, however, this does not mean that they've completely settled on a precedent for how many hero cards they'll include in future sets; the team will likely continue to experiment and do whatever's right for the expansion in question.
• According to Peter Whalen, one design lesson learned since the introduction of the first hero cards is that ones that generate infinite late-game value through use of their Hero Powers (such as Deathstalker Rexxar and Frost Lich Jaina) tend to feel pretty repetitive and frustrating to play against, especially when they lead to one slowly losing a game over several turns. As a result, the developers have tried to create less of that sort of experience with later hero cards, with Hagatha the Witch and Dr. Boom, Mad Genius both having inherently random Hero Powers while Zul'jin has most of his power contained in his over-the-top Battlecry with his Hero Power made weaker and more mundane to compensate.
• While Lord Jaraxxus and Majordomo Executus work similarly to hero cards, they were not reclassified as such at the release of Knights of the Frozen Throne. This is due to the fact that they work slightly differently from hero cards; most notably, they set the hero's Health to a predetermined amount rather than retaining the hero's current Health.
• The Knights of the Frozen Throne death knight hero cards were originally available in the Arena, but on November 14, 2017, they were removed from the Arena draft pool since "while the Death Knight Hero Cards are exciting and powerful to play, their permanent Hero Power upgrades are hard to combat in a format where answers are limited".
• Hero cards are the only card type restricted to Legendary rarity. Furthermore, there are no neutral hero cards, a distinction shared with collectible weapons.

References

	Cards
By type	Hero card Minion Spell Weapon
By class	Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior
By minion type	All Beast Demon Dragon Elemental Mech Murloc Pirate Totem General
By ability	Adapt Auto-Attack Auto-cast Battlecry Can't attack Cast spell Casts When Drawn Charge Choose One Choose Twice Combo Copy Deal damage Deathrattle Destroy Discard Discover Divine Shield Draw cards Echo Elusive Enrage Equip Forgetful Freeze Gain Armor Generate Immune Inspire Joust Lifesteal Magnetic Mega-Windfury Modify cost Overkill Overload Permanent Poisonous Put into battlefield Put into hand Quest Recruit Refresh Mana Remove from deck Replace Rush Restore Health Return to hand Secret Shuffle into deck Silence Spell Damage Spend mana Start of Game Stealth Summon Taunt Take control Transform Unlimited attacks Upgradable Windfury
By effect type	Area of effect In-deck effect In-hand effect On-discard effect On-draw effect Ongoing effect Positional effect Random effect Resurrection effect Triggered effect
By card set	Basic Classic Journey to Un'Goro Knights of the Frozen Throne Kobolds & Catacombs The Witchwood The Boomsday Project Rastakhan's Rumble
	Hall of Fame Naxxramas Goblins vs Gnomes Blackrock Mountain Grand Tournament The League of Explorers Whispers of the Old Gods One Night in Karazhan Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
By rarity	Free Common Rare Epic Legendary