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Kael'thas Sunstrider
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| Set: | Ashes of Outland |
|---|---|
| Type: | Minion |
| Rarity: | Legendary |
| Cost: | 7 |
| Attack: | 4 |
| Health: | 7 |
| Abilities: | Modify cost, Set attribute |
| Tags: | Spell-related, Triggered effect |
| Artist: | James Ryman |
| Voice actor: | Quinton Flynn |
Every third spell you cast each turn costs (1).
Descent of Dragons was merely a set back!
- For other appearances of Kael'thas Sunstrider, see Kael'thas Sunstrider (disambiguation).
Kael'thas Sunstrider is a legendary neutral minion card, from the Ashes of Outland set.
Contents
How to get[edit | edit source]
Regular Kael'thas Sunstrider was automatically given to each player the first time they logged into Hearthstone from March 17 to June 29, 2020.[1]
Golden Kael'thas Sunstrider is earned by completing the Trial by Felfire Challenge missions.[2]
Both regular and golden Kael'thas Sunstrider are uncraftable (cannot be crafted or disenchanted).
With Patch 18.2, Kael'thas Sunstrider became available to be granted for free again. Players must own an Ashes of Outland card pack and go to the Open Packs menu to claim their free non-golden copy of Kael'thas.
Notes[edit | edit source]
- Kael'thas will count cards whether he's in play or not. If the next spell you cast in a turn can be discounted with Kael'thas Sunstrider's ability and Kael'thas is playable, he will have a yellow border to signify his effect is active. However, if you cast exactly three spells before summoning Kael'thas, after playing him you won't be able to use his effect to cast a free spell. For example, if you use two Lightning Bloom and The Coin to summon Kael'thas on turn 3, you won't be able to cast a Survival of the Fittest for 1 mana.
- The effect triggers for every third spell cast, with no limit on the number of times it can trigger each turn. This means that the third, sixth, ninth, twelfth,... spell you play each turn cost (1).
Strategy[edit | edit source]
Kael'thas works best in Combo decks as a way to cycle through cards extremely quickly or enable large amounts of burst damage. When building a deck around Kael, you need to mix plenty of low mana spells with high cost ones, giving you ways to trigger Kael's effect reliably. Zero mana spells like Regenerate, Pounce, and Counterfeit Coin are highly effective at fulfilling Kael'thas' requirement.
Like most other Legendaries with Triggered effects, never expect Kael'thas to survive your opponent's turn. He is almost certainly a priority kill for your opponent, so it's best to make the most of his effect the turn he's summoned.
Most classes can take some advantage of Kael's effect.
- Demon Hunter has a handful of cost reduction spells like Skull of Gul'dan. Keeping the hand empty can also chain together plenty of Outcast effects, while combining a free Command the Illidari into Feast of Souls is lots of card draw to continue casting free spells. Inner Demon can also be included as a finisher.
- Druid has multiple ways to regain mana, extending their reach and letting them fuel Kael'thas. Kael's effect can be spent to cheat out huge cards like Nourish, Starfall, Overflow, Gift of the Wild and Ultimate Infestation. With the proper setup, a Druid can draw their entire deck in a single turn. In Wild, this card draw can be combined with King Togwaggle to easily set up an empty deck and prepare to combo your opponent, or a Strength in Numbers into Malygos for high damage with spells.
- Mage can use cheap spell-generating spells like Magic Trick, Tome of Intellect, and Ray of Frost to easily activate Kael'thas. Kael's effect can be used on larger spells like Pyroblast, or card draw like Arcane Intellect. Mage also has access to Sorcerer's Apprentice to make casting spells even easier.
- Paladin has Libram of Wisdom which becomes excellent fuel for Kael'thas once it's discounted to zero by Aldor Truthseeker, and Lady Liadrin will refill your hand with all the copies you need. Libram of Hope, Lay on Hands and, in Wild, Dinosize are then all nice cards to play. If you can make this work in a murloc deck, Tip the Scales and Anyfin Can Happen in Wild also work well.
- Priest in Wild can use Kael'thas to power a Raza the Chained deck with Shadowreaper Anduin, taking full advantage of free spells to deal massive damage with Voidform. They also have Radiant Elemental to cheapen spells and Lyra the Sunshard for additional fuel.
- Shaman has a few ways to reduce costs while drawing cards, such as Far Sight and Haunting Visions. The free spell can be Eureka! or Ancestor's Call, letting the Shaman summon an important card like Malygos and combo the opponent to death. Do keep in mind that Kael'thas will not remove Overload, meaning a large chain of Overload spells could mean skipping your next turn if your opponent isn't killed.
Quotes[edit | edit source]
- Summon
- Energy, power. My people are addicted to it!
- Attack
- Balamore shanal!
- Death
- Merely a setback.
Lore[edit | edit source]
From Wowpedia:
- Kael'thas Sunstrider was the Prince of Quel'Thalas, the last of the Sunstrider dynasty, as well as a senior member of the Kirin Tor. After the fall of Quel'Thalas, Kael'thas led what remained of his people, the sin'dorei, in the service of the Alliance. Striving to placate his people's addiction to magic, he later covertly allied with Illidan Stormrage, but betrayed him to the Burning Legion when its master, the demon lord Kil'jaeden, enticed Kael with the promise of salvation for the blood elves.
- He was branded a traitor after his allegiance to the Legion was revealed, losing the support of Quel'Thalas. Defeated in the Tempest Keep, he would be brought back by his demon masters and return to Azeroth a shadow of his former self. Kael'thas' purpose was to summon Kil'jaeden through the Sunwell, but his plans were foiled by the Shattered Sun Offensive agents and the sacrifice of Anveena Teague. He was defeated by their forces in Magisters' Terrace.
- His soul was confined to the plane of Revendreth within the Shadowlands for his misdeeds.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Kael'thas was the fifth card available in Play mode before the release of the expansion it belonged to. The others were Volcanosaur, Marin the Fox, Archmage Vargoth, and Sathrovarr.
- The card's flavor text is based on the World of Warcraft meme merely a setback, which originated from Kael'thas' speech in Magisters' Terrace. In this case, "merely a set back" is a pun on the fact that Descent of Dragons was the card set preceding Ashes of Outland.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Patch changes[edit | edit source]
Patch 18.0.2.56359 (2020-08-18): Now reads: "Every third spell you cast each turn costs (1)." (Up from 0).
Patch 17.0.2.45932 (2020-04-20): Now costs 7 mana (Up from 6).
Patch 16.6.0.43246 (2020-03-17): Added.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Blizzard Entertainment (2020-03-17). Hearthstone Updates – March 17 – Patch 16.6. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2020-03-17.
- ↑ https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/hearthstone/23440114/17-4-patch-notes
