Poisonous

Poisonous
Destroy any minion damaged by this.

A Poisonous minion

The special damage indicator for damage dealt by a Poisonous source

Poisonous is a minion ability that causes any minion damaged by them to be destroyed. Poisonous minions on the battlefield are marked by a bubbling vial of poison at the bottom of their portraits. Poisonous is a type of triggered destroy effect.

Prior to Patch 7.1.0.17720, the Poisonous ability was represented by the text "Destroy any minion damaged by this minion".

Notes

Granting Poisonous to minions with triggered effects that deal damage to minions will cause those effects to become Poisonous themselves.

Example: A Wild Pyromancer is adapted with Poison Spit. When its triggered effect activates, all minions dealt damage by the effect are destroyed, including itself.

Example: An Abomination is adapted with Poison Spit. When its deathrattle effect triggers, all minions dealt damage by the effect are destroyed.

Example: A Knife Juggler is given Poisonous by Plague Scientist. Minions damaged by the Knife Juggler's knives will be destroyed.

Example: An Imp Master is given Poisonous by Plague Scientist. At the end of the turn, the Imp Master will be destroyed.

Betrayal can be especially effective when used on a Poisonous minion; any adjacent minion without Divine Shield will be killed by the Poisonous effect.

Minions which deal damage as a Deathrattle which are adapted to be Poisonous will destroy every minion the Deathrattle damages. (Prior to Patch 9.0.0.20457, this did not happen if the minion died, but it did happen when the minion's Deathrattle was triggered by certain effects while it is still alive, such as Feign Death, Terrorscale Stalker, or Princess Huhuran.)

Example: A Fiery Bat gets the Poison Spit adaptation from Crackling Razormaw. Its deathrattle is triggered by Feign Death, and instantly destroys the minion it damages. Later the Fiery Bat dies and the deathrattle triggers again, again instantly killing the damaged minion.

Note: Before Patch 9.0.0.20457, a bug caused this interaction to work when triggering a Deathrattle without killing the minion, but not when the minion was actually killed.

Similar to poisonous minions, a Death's Bite that has been enchanted with Envenom Weapon will destroy all minions on the board, except those protected by a Divine Shield.

Strategy

While the stats of Poisonous minions are not always especially powerful, they offer a unique tactical advantage. Poisonous minions can destroy any opponent in a single strike, and can be used to single-handedly dispose of giants such as Ysera or Deathwing.

Poisonous minions are generally disposable, intended for a single swift strike. However, abilities such as Divine Shield can allow you to make more extended use of them.

Poisonous minions only destroy minions to whom they have caused damage. Minions shielded with Divine Shield will not actually take damage, and will not therefore be destroyed. Reducing a Poisonous minion's Attack to 0 through means such as Shrinkmeister will likewise prevent the Poisonous effect from occurring.

Opponents will generally want to destroy Poisonous minions as quickly as possible, especially if they already have a powerful minion on the battlefield. The presence of a Poisonous minion, especially a Stealthed one, is a great deterrent to summoning any valuable minions, since they will likely be immediately removed from play by the Poisonous minion.

Adapt

Any card with the Adapt ability may become (or grant) the Poisonous ability with this choice:

See Adapt for full listings.

Cards with Poisonous

This section lists minions which are Poisonous or have the ability to become Poisonous when played.

Collectible

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Evasive Chimaera	Common	Minion	Beast	Any	2	2	1	Poisonous Can't be targeted by spells or Hero Powers. One head only tells the truth, while the other head only tells lies. But they both spit poison.
Primordial Explorer	Common	Minion	Dragon	Hunter	3	2	3	Poisonous Battlecry: Discover a Dragon. "We're letting the poisonous dude carry the bags?"
Wasteland Scorpid	Common	Minion	Beast	Any	7	3	9	Poisonous After they get to a certain size, it doesn't matter if they're poisonous or not.
Emperor Cobra	Rare	Minion	Beast	Any	3	2	3	Poisonous The Sholazar Basin is home to a lot of really horrible things. If you're going to visit, wear bug spray. And plate armor.
Patient Assassin	Epic	Minion	General	Rogue	2	1	1	Stealth Poisonous He’s not really that patient. It just takes a while for someone to walk by that he can actually reach.
Darkmoon Rabbit	Epic	Minion	Beast	Any	10	1	1	Rush, Poisonous Also damages the minions next to whomever this attacks. That's no ordinary rabbit! That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!
Showing all 6 cards

Wild format

 This section contains information exclusive to Wild format.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Pit Snake	Common	Minion	Beast	Rogue	1	2	1	Poisonous It could be worse. It could be a Snake Pit.
Stubborn Gastropod	Common	Minion	Beast	Any	2	1	2	Taunt Poisonous Stubbornly pursuing its dream to become Azeroth's fastest animal!
Venomizer	Common	Minion	Mech	Hunter	2	2	2	Magnetic Poisonous Keeps getting banned for toxic behavior.
Giant Wasp	Common	Minion	Beast	Any	3	2	2	Stealth Poisonous Float like a butterfly, sting like a giant wasp!
Stoneskin Basilisk	Common	Minion	Beast	Any	3	1	1	Divine Shield Poisonous He got that way from looking into a mirror.
Trogg Gloomeater	Common	Minion	General	Any	5	1	5	Taunt Poisonous His breath smells like agony and despair, which is still better than most troggs.
Venomancer	Common	Minion	General	Any	5	2	5	Poisonous Eight times the death of regular-mancers.
Vilebrood Skitterer	Common	Minion	Beast	Hunter	5	1	3	Poisonous Rush It aspires to be a Vilebrood Dancer, but it has eight left feet.
Maexxna	Legendary	Minion	Beast	Any	6	2	8	Poisonous Maexxna gets super mad when people introduce her as "Maxina" or "Maxxy".
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Uncollectible

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Plagued Knife	None	Weapon		Rogue	1	2	2	Poisonous
Broken Ambusher	None	Minion	General	Rogue	2	2	3	Poisonous
Dancing Cobra	Common	Minion	Beast	Hunter	2	1	5	Corrupted Poisonous
Transfer Student	Epic	Minion	General	Any	2	2	2	Stealth Poisonous
Showing all 4 cards

Wild format

 This section contains information exclusive to Wild format.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Drakeslayer	None	Minion	General	Any	1	2	1	Poisonous
Frost Widow	None	Minion	Beast	Druid	1	1	2	Poisonous
Radioactive Ooze	None	Minion	General	Rogue	1	1	1	Poisonous Rush
Druid of the Swarm	Rare	Minion	Beast	Druid	2	1	5	Taunt Poisonous
Druid of the Swarm	Rare	Minion	Beast	Druid	2	1	2	Poisonous
Wardruid Loti	Legendary	Minion	Beast	Druid	3	4	6	Taunt, Rush, Poisonous, Stealth, Spell Damage +1
Wardruid Loti	Legendary	Minion	Beast	Druid	3	1	2	Poisonous, Stealth
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Sources of Poisonous

Poisonous-generating cards

This section lists cards which generate Poisonous minions or weapons.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Dancing Cobra	Common	Minion	Beast	Hunter	2	1	5	Corrupt: Gain Poisonous. Snakes are just tentacles with fangs.
Plague of Madness	Rare	Spell		Rogue	1			Each player equips a 2/2 Knife with Poisonous. Don't bring a candle to a knife fight.
Ambush	Rare	Spell		Rogue	2			Secret: After your opponent plays a minion, summon a 2/3 Ambusher with Poisonous. Clip-clop clip-clop CLIP-CLOP STAB!
Transfer Student	Epic	Minion	General	Any	2	2	2	This has different effects based on which game board you're on. Oh, the places you'll go! There is so much to fight! There are boards to be explored. There are dreams to take flight.
Assassin's Contract	Epic	Spell		Rogue	6			Destroy a minion. Summon a 1/1 Patient Assassin.
Showing all 5 cards

Wild format

 This section contains information exclusive to Wild format.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Marsh Drake	Common	Minion	Dragon	Any	3	5	4	Battlecry: Summon a 2/1 Poisonous Drakeslayer for your opponent. She would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for that meddling Drakeslayer.
Webweave	Common	Spell		Druid	5			Summon two 1/2 Poisonous Spiders. O, what a tangled web we weave, hoping spiders dodge the cleave.
Druid of the Swarm	Rare	Minion	General	Druid	2	1	2	Choose One - Transform into a 1/2 with Poisonous; or a 1/5 with Taunt. The Druid awoke from troubling dreams to find herself transformed into a giant spider.
Venomstrike Trap	Rare	Spell		Hunter	2			Secret: When one of your minions is attacked, summon a 2/3 Poisonous Cobra. Snakes on a frozen plain.
Blightnozzle Crawler	Rare	Minion	Mech	Rogue	4	2	4	Deathrattle: Summon a 1/1 Ooze with Poisonous and Rush. "Well we HAD it contained. Then you went and gave it legs!"
Wardruid Loti	Legendary	Minion	General	Druid	3	1	2	Choose One - Transform into one of Loti's four dinosaur forms. “Ravasaur!” “Pretty scary” “…Blammodax!” “Is that a thing?” “SMAXODON!” “….now you’re just making those up.”
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."
Showing all 7 cards

Poisonous-granting cards

This section lists cards which grant the Poisonous ability to other minions or to itself.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Plaguebringer	Free	Minion	General	Rogue	4	3	3	Battlecry: Give a friendly minion Poisonous. One sip and you've got the grippe.
Toxfin	Common	Minion	Murloc	Any	1	1	2	Battlecry: Give a friendly Murloc Poisonous. I'm addicted to him, but I know that he's Toxfin.
Professor Slate	Legendary	Minion	General	Hunter	3	3	4	Your spells are Poisonous. "Don’t worry, this will be over in a second. It might FEEL like an eternity, but I assure you, it’s quite quick!"
Showing all 3 cards

Wild format

 This section contains information exclusive to Wild format.

Name / Desc	Rarity	Type	Subtype	Class	Cost	Atk	HP	Description
Venomizer	Common	Minion	Mech	Hunter	2	2	2	Magnetic Poisonous Keeps getting banned for toxic behavior.
Plague Scientist	Common	Minion	General	Rogue	3	2	3	Combo: Give a friendly minion Poisonous. The excruciating pain means it's working!
Envenom Weapon	Rare	Spell		Rogue	3			Give your weapon Poisonous. Like Deadly Poison, but deadlier.
Carrion Drake	Rare	Minion	Dragon	Hunter	5	3	7	Battlecry: If a minion died this turn, gain Poisonous. Fits easily into overhead luggage bins.
Toxic Arrow	Epic	Spell		Hunter	2			Deal 2 damage to a minion. If it survives, give it Poisonous. What doesn't kill you makes you toxic.
Toxmonger	Epic	Minion	General	Hunter	4	2	4	Whenever you play a minion that costs (1), give it Poisonous. Not all spiders are born poisonous. That's where he comes in.
Showing all 6 cards

Trivia

Keyword

Poisonous is actually a triggered effect, but does not display the lightning-bolt icon found on all other triggered effects. However, when the Poisonous minion deals damage, the lightning bolt icon is revealed.

Before Patch 7.1, 'Poisonous' was not a keyword, but was represented by the text "Destroy any minion damaged by this minion", as well as a unique animated icon depicting a green bubbling flask. The case of the Poisonous ability was cited in 2014 by Ben Brode as an example where the developers could have added a keyword, but chose instead to simply describe the ability in full, since it was only found on 4 cards. This was changed in Patch 7.1.0.17720 during the lead up to Journey to Un'Goro, with the addition of the Poisonous keyword. The change was purely cosmetic, but appears to have been due to the introduction of a number of new Poisonous cards with Un'Goro, therefore justifying the creation of a keyword for the long-standing effect.

Poison vs Venom

At the time of its introduction, the keyword itself, Poisonous, was arguably technically incorrect for all four of the playable cards involved. This is because 'poisonous' animals such as snakes and spiders are in fact venomous, rather than poisonous; venom is injected whereas poison must be absorbed or ingested. For example, a venomous spider injects its prey with venom, while a poisonous frog is dangerous if eaten.

However, Ben Brode explains that the term "Poison" is inherited from World of Warcraft, where the term has long been used by the rogue class for a range of abilities and items used to deal additional effects when applied to their weapons. Hearthstone itself already contained a few such cards at the time, with more planned for the then-upcoming Journey to Un'Goro.

Patch changes

• Patch 18.0.0.54613 (2020-07-30): Poisonous has a new damage icon.
• Patch 9.0.0.20457 (2017-08-08): Poisonous will work with Deathrattles.
• Patch 7.1.0.17720 (2017-02-28): Poison effect is now named as Poisonous.
• Patch 1.0.0.3890 (2013-10-02): Poison icon and triggering flash added. Prior to this, cards with Poison had no icon, and did not flash when triggering their ability.

References

	Cards
By type	Hero card Minion (Permanent) Spell Weapon
By class	Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior
By minion type	All Beast Demon Dragon Elemental Mech Murloc Pirate Totem General
By ability	Evergreen keywords	Battlecry Choose One Combo Deathrattle Discover Divine Shield Freeze Lifesteal Outcast Overload Poisonous Rush Secret Silence Spell Damage Stealth Taunt Windfury
	Other keywords	Adapt Casts When Drawn Charge Choose Twice Corrupt Dormant Echo Immune Inspire Invoke Jade Golem Lackey Magnetic Mega-Windfury Overkill Passive Quest Reborn Recruit Sidequest Spare Part Spellburst Start of Game Twinspell
	Other abilities	Can't attack Cast spell Copy Deal damage Destroy Discard Draw cards Elusive Enrage Equip Force attack Forgetful Gain Armor Generate Highlander Joust Modify cost Put into battlefield Put into hand Recurring Refresh Mana Remove from deck Replace Restore Health Return to hand Shuffle into deck Spend mana Summon Take control Transform Unlimited attacks Upgradable
	Non-Constructed	Auto-Attack Auto-cast Shrine Start of Combat
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	Standard	Basic Classic Rise of Shadows Saviors of Uldum Descent of Dragons Galakrond's Awakening Demon Hunter Initiate Ashes of Outland Scholomance Academy Madness at the Darkmoon Faire
	Wild	Hall of Fame Curse of 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 Journey to Un'Goro Knights of the Frozen Throne Kobolds & Catacombs The Witchwood The Boomsday Project Rastakhan's Rumble
By rarity	Free Common Rare Epic Legendary