Journey to Un'Goro

 "We're almost there. Quiet down, everyone.

 "This is not like any of our previous expeditions. This will be far more... ambitious. We're stepping into a land of primordial wonders, infused with astonishing elemental energies. The plant life here holds very unusual properties. So don't, touch, anything. And while you may be excited to see the local fauna... you might want to make sure they don't see you. Because their powers of adaption are devastating. Make no mistake: we will be tested at every turn. But, if we stay on our guard, we might just survive.

 "Now then! Are you ready? Then let's journey into Un'Goro crater!"

Journey to Un'Goro (Un'Goro, JtU, UNG) is the fifth expansion to Hearthstone, featuring the ninth new card set with 135 collectible cards, and the new Maiev Shadowsong hero. The expansion was released on April 6, 2017 in the Americas region, and April 7, 2017 in the Europe and Asia regions. The expansion features the new Adapt mechanic, the new Quest card type, and adds the new Elemental minion type.

Set in the primordial mists of Un'Goro Crater, the expansion sees Elise Starseeker leading an expedition to explore the strange wonders of the region. The denizens of the region include dinosaurs, raging elementals and unusually active plants, many of whom have learned to adapt to the needs of the situation with impressive new powers.

As the first expansion of 2017, the release of Journey to Un'Goro ended the previous Standard year, the Year of the Kraken, and started the new one, Year of the Mammoth.

How to get

Journey to Un'Goro cards are available through the following options:

• Journey to Un'Goro card packs can be purchased through the Shop, with the usual prices and purchasing options.
• Journey to Un'Goro cards can be crafted for the usual amounts of Arcane Dust.
• For as long as Journey to Un'Goro is the latest expansion, the guaranteed card pack from each Arena run will be from the expansion. Once the next expansion comes out, second card packs will have a chance to be Journey to Un'Goro packs.
• The Highest Rank Bonus chest has a chance to award golden Journey to Un'Goro cards.

Pre-order

• Prior to the expansion's release, players were able to pre-order a bundle of 50 Journey to Un'Goro packs for $49.99 USD/€44,99 EUR/£34.99 GBP/$64.99 AUD or equivalent (non-US prices not yet confirmed). These are no longer available.
• The pre-order bundle came with a unique card back (see below).

Cards

The set contains 135 collectible cards in total - 45 neutral cards and 90 class cards (10 per class). There are in total 49 Commons, 36 Rares, 27 Epics, and 23 Legendaries.

Each class receives two Legendary cards: a Quest card and a Minion card. There are 5 neutral Legendary cards.

Regular card reveals took place in the buildup to the expansion's release, beginning on March 17th 2017.

Neutral

Common (22 cards)

Rare (9 cards)

Epic (9 cards)

Legendary (5 cards)

Uncollectible

Adaptations

The following choice cards are produced by the Adapt ability.

Summoned minions

Class cards

Druid

Uncollectible

Choice cards

Hunter

Uncollectible

Mage

Uncollectible

Paladin

Uncollectible

Priest

Uncollectible

Rogue

Uncollectible

Shaman

Uncollectible

Choice cards

Warlock

Uncollectible

Warrior

Uncollectible

Themes

Elementals

Nothing is more primal than the elements themselves, and Un’Goro’s ancient energies empower the resident elementals with a vigor and ferocity not seen anywhere else. Some of Hearthstone's familiar faces will gain the Elemental minion type, joining the ranks of Murlocs, Dragons, Pirates, and Beasts for exciting new synergies.

Brewing in the primordial mists of Un'Goro crater, the elementals here have grown to unprecedented levels. Their arrival in Hearthstone brought with them the new Elemental minion type.

The expansion contains around 25 new Elementals.

• Crystalline Oracle
• Fire Fly
• Flame Elemental
• Glacial Shard
• Tar Creeper
• Stone Sentinel
• Blazecaller
• Tar Lurker
• Fire Plume Phoenix
• Frozen Crusher
• Hot Spring Guardian
• Stormwatcher
• Shimmering Tempest
• Igneous Elemental
• Fire Plume Harbinger
• Volatile Elemental
• Air Elemental
• Radiant Elemental
• Tar Lord
• Steam Surger

• Servant of Kalimos
• Kalimos, Primal Lord
• Lyra the Sunshard
• Ozruk
• Pyros

Conversions

Many pre-existing minion cards that depict elemental beings became part of the new Elemental type. 18 collectible and some uncollectible minions were changed, listed below.

Collectible

• Water Elemental
• Anomalus
• Ragnaros, Lightlord
• Lightspawn
• Dust Devil
• Unbound Elemental
• Fireguard Destroyer
• Rumbling Elemental
• Earth Elemental
• Fire Elemental
• Neptulon
• Al'Akir the Windlord
• Arcane Anomaly
• Ice Rager
• Magma Rager
• Frost Elemental
• Baron Geddon
• Ragnaros the Firelord

Uncollectible

• Twilight Elemental

Flame of Azzinoth was rumored to be changed based on comments by developer Mike Donais before the expansion's release, but was observed to still be a "normal", un-typed minion afterward.

Quests

While we’re in Un’Goro, let’s be sure to see and document all we can. From the hottest volcano to the stickiest, bubbliest tar pits, there’s a wealth of new and exciting things to discover. Let’s make it a personal Quest to see them all!

Main article: Quest (ability)

Similar to Secrets, Quests are spell cards that are cast normally but have a delayed effect, which only takes place when a specific condition is met. Quests that have been played but not yet completed are displayed above the controlling hero's portrait, but unlike Secrets Quests can be seen by the opponent. The conditions to complete the quest can only be met by the possessing player, not the opponent.

Only one Quest can be included in each deck. In addition, Quest cards are automatically included in the player's mulligan. All Quests are legendary, making them the first legendary spell cards in the game. Unlike all other collectible cards, Quests cannot be Discovered or randomly generated by 'outside-of-game' effects.

The following is a list of Quest cards introduced with Journey to Un'Goro, alongside their card rewards and their respective classes.

• Druid — Jungle Giants — Barnabus the Stomper
• Hunter — The Marsh Queen — Queen Carnassa
• Mage — Open the Waygate — Time Warp
• Paladin — The Last Kaleidosaur — Galvadon
• Priest — Awaken the Makers — Amara, Warden of Hope
• Rogue — The Caverns Below — Crystal Core
• Shaman — Unite the Murlocs — Megafin
• Warrior — Fire Plume's Heart — Sulfuras
• Warlock — Lakkari Sacrifice — Nether Portal

Dinosaurs

The dense jungles of Un'Goro are home to a host of creatures from ancient times, most notably a wide variety of dinosaurs. While a few species, such as raptors and ravasaurs, are found in other parts of Azeroth, the dinosaurs found in Un'Goro are far more diverse - and in many cases larger - than those seen elsewhere, from towering devilsaurs and winged pterrordax to lumbering longnecks and peaceful megasaurs.

• Gentle Megasaur
• Raptor Hatchling
  • Raptor Patriarch
• Lightfused Stegodon
• Verdant Longneck
• Crackling Razormaw
• Ravenous Pterrordax
• Direhorn Hatchling
• Grievous Bite
• Ravasaur Runt
• Ornery Direhorn
• Sated Threshadon
• Charged Devilsaur
• Elder Longneck
• Vicious Fledgling
• Thunder Lizard
• Volcanosaur
• Stegodon
• Pterrordax Hatchling
• Ultrasaur
• Devilsaur Egg
• Tyrantus
• Barnabus the Stomper
• Galvadon
• King Mosh
• Swamp King Dred
• Queen Carnassa
  • Carnassa's Brood

Adapt

Main article: Adapt

The new Adapt keyword allows a minion to become infused with elemental power, granting it new properties. Similar to the Discover mechanic, you will be presented with three options when you play a card with Adapt. You can choose one of these three options to immediately buff your minion. There are ten total Adaptations to choose from, so you’ll have plenty of options to respond to threats presented by your opponent.

As if they weren't already fearsome enough, the dinosaurs within Un'Goro have recently found a way to incorporate the raw elemental energies of the region, granting them some fearsome adaptations.

There are 10 possible adaptations:

• Crackling Shield
• Flaming Claws
• Lightning Speed
• Liquid Membrane
• Living Spores
• Massive
• Volcanic Might
• Rocky Carapace
• Shrouding Mist
• Poison Spit

Silithid

Insectoid creations of the Old Gods, the silithid burrowed into the crater from nearby Silithus, and are eager to colonise this verdant new territory.

• Emerald Hive Queen
• Chittering Tunneler
• Emerald Reaver
• Clutchmother Zavas

Saurok

Where there are dinosaurs, there are dinomancers, and the reptilian saurok have some of the best.

• Cruel Dinomancer
• Terrorscale Stalker
• Dinomancy
• Envenom Weapon

Murlocs

Un'Goro is home to a tribe of primitive murlocs unlike any seen elsewhere in Azeroth.

• Unite the Murlocs
  • Megafin
• Hydrologist
• Primalfin Champion
• Primalfin Lookout
• Primalfin Totem
• Rockpool Hunter

Tol'vir

The tol'vir are a race of feline humanoids found primarily in Uldum. Originally stone constructs created by the titans, a group of tol'vir have recently established a new home in Un'Goro, bringing with them some powerful magics.

• Mirage Caller
• Tol'vir Stoneshaper
• Tol'vir Warden
• Sunkeeper Tarim

Tortollans

Original to Hearthstone, the never-before-glimpsed Tortollans are a mysterious race of primitive turtle people that dwell in the jungles of Un'Goro Crater.

• Tortollan Shellraiser
• Tortollan Primalist
• Stonehill Defender
• Shellshifter
• Tortollan Forager
• Eggnapper
• Spiritsinger Umbra

Plant life

Don't sniff the flora in Un'Goro...it may be the last thing you do.

Carnivorous plants?! Time to make like a tree and get out of here!

The plants in Un'Goro are more than overgrown - these sapient species have a mind of their own, and an appetite to match.

• Curious Glimmerroot
• Mana Treant
• Plant
• Vilespine Slayer
• Humongous Razorleaf
• Razorpetal Lasher
• Biteweed
• The Voraxx
• Sherazin, Corpse Flower

The perfume from these flowers will do more than just tickle your nose.

• Evolving Spores
• Bloodbloom
• Hallucination
• Mimic Pod

Primordial beasts

The dinosaurs and raging elementals aren't the only ancient denizens of the Crater. Many other beasts linger here, primordial versions of creatures seen elsewhere.

• Sabretooth Stalker
• Giant Mastodon
• Nesting Roc
• Giant Anaconda
• Golakka Crawler
• Gluttonous Ooze
• Primordial Drake

Battlefield

The expansion came with a new battlefield. A partial shot of the new board is shown below.

Card backs

A special card back was available as part of the expansion's pre-order bundle. The card back for Ranked play Season 36 is related, due to the end of the Year of the Kraken that was on the same day of the expansion's release, also Season 37 is related to the expansion's theme.

Fossil File:Card back-Fossil.png Pre-ordering 50 Journey to Un'Goro card packs Recent discoveries from the tar pits of Un'Goro have shed great insight on the evolution of card backs!

Year of the Kraken File:Card back-Year of the Kraken.png Achieving Rank 20 in Ranked Season 36 (March 2017) RELEASE THE CARDBACK!

Un'Goro Mystery File:Card back-Un'Goro Mystery.png Achieving Rank 20 in Ranked Season 37 (April 2017) These long-lost card backs require a machete to shuffle.

Launch history

Just don't call him a lumberjack

The theme of the expansion was first discovered through the credits of voice actor Lani Minella, on her personal website. Among many previously released titles, a user on reddit found the name of an unreleased Hearthstone expansion: "Lost Secrets of Un'Goro", along with working titles for several cards, and the name was widely reported on February 6.

On Friday, February 24, game director Ben Brode tweeted a picture of himself pulling a bemused impression in front of a row of flannel shirts, with the text, "MFW the director of this new video we're filming asks if I can wear a flannel on Monday". The next day, Brode tweeted an image of himself in a verdant, overgrown setting, carrying an axe over one shoulder, with the text, "Looking forward to Monday!" On the Sunday, he tweeted a screenshot from within World of Warcraft, showing a character sitting on top of what was recognised by players as a sand dune in Tanaris (the location of Gadgetzan and bordering zone to Un'Goro Crater), with the text, "Ready to jump!". These tweets were widely interpreted to confirm that an Un'Goro-themed expansion would be announced that Monday.

Indeed, on Monday, February 27, Brode and Production Director Jason Chayes appeared in a special reveal video, set in the steaming jungles of Un'Goro Crater itself.

On March 14 the first in a series of videos, "Wonders of Un'Goro", was released, revolving around the adventures of explorer Professor George Herbert Doyle IV (played by Danny Pudi) and his trusty cameraman Edward "Eddy" Malone. The video series was accompanied by a series of blogs, comprising entries in Malone's expedition journal. As well as introducing the elemental, murloc and tortollan inhabitants of the region, the series slowly revealed The Last Kaleidosaur and its reward Galvadon.

The in-game launch event for Journey to Un'Goro ran from March 15 to April 5. This event celebrated the expansion's release and the start of the Year of the Mammoth, featuring three special Tavern Brawls rewarding Un'Goro card packs. In the final week before release, bonus gold and cards were awarded for logging in each day.

The final live card reveal took place on March 31, with Ben Brode and Hearthstone caster Frodan. The expansion was released on April 6.

Tavern Brawls

The launch event saw three special Tavern Brawls released, each rewarding a Journey to Un'Goro card pack for the first win. The three Tavern Brawls all revolved around playing with the newly introduced Party Crasher minion.

• March 15 - 5th reprise of Encounter at the Crossroads, featuring the introduction of the Party Crasher minion.
• March 22 - Decorating Stormwind, a battle against a computer-controlled City of Stormwind hero.
• March 29 - A Mammoth of a New Year, a cooperative Tavern Brawl facing against Party Crashers and a Piñata Golem boss.

Login rewards

From March 29 to April 5, daily login rewards were given out to players when they logged into the game each day.

Day	Reward
March 29	50 gold
March 30	Mean Streets of Gadgetzan card pack
March 31	100 dust
April 1	Whispers of the Old Gods card pack
April 2	Journey to Un'Goro card pack
April 3	50 gold
April 4	Journey to Un'Goro card pack
April 5	Golden Volcanosaur *

* To receive the golden Volcanosaur card reward, players needed to log in with a Hearthstone client that was fully updated for Journey to Un'Goro. This golden Volcanosaur was immediately playable in decks, before the full release of Journey to Un'Goro cards occurred on April 6th.

Lore

Un'Goro Crater is a wild, jungle-filled crater teeming with life, strange energies, and dinosaurs. It sits between Tanaris (the location of Gadgetzan) to the east, and Silithus to the west; in both directions paths can be found winding up along the crater's mountainous edge to reach the higher altitudes of the neighbouring zones. In the centre of the zone is a huge volcano known as Fire Plume Ridge, and rivers and pools criss cross the crater's floor in many places, with the Golakka Hot Springs in the zone's west.

In World of Warcraft, it is a leveling zone memorable for questlines involving research on the strange crystals and pylons scattered around the area; various references to popular culture such as video games, music and TV shows (notable examples include Linken, Spraggle Frock, Ringo, J.D. Collie, Larion and Muigin); the creatures living in the Lakkari Tar Pits to the north; sinister silithid mounds invading in the south; and the gigantic devilsaurs, who continually roam the zone, surprising absent-minded players with a swift and merciless death.

This section uses content from Wowpedia.

The map of Un'Goro Crater

Lush Un'Goro Crater (pronounced uhn-GOH-roh) ("God Lands" in the Qiraji language) lies at the southern part of Southern Kalimdor, between Tanaris, Silithus and Uldum. Although the area is almost completely isolated from the rest of the world and sandwiched between three deserts, the region is filled with exotic plant life and even more exotic creatures. Ranging from peaceful earth elementals to raging devilsaurs, the locals are not to be trifled with.

When the Titans shaped Azeroth, Freya designed Un'Goro Crater to be an area for experimentation along with Sholazar Basin and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. All three locations were places where the power of the Well of Eternity had coalesced. The Wild Gods emerged from these cradles of life. According to Nablya you might call Un'Goro Crater the Titans' petri dish. This coincides with theories of Un'Goro being the home of the Titans when they inhabited Kalimdor. From the Shaper's Terrace Freya performed tests and experiments, though ever since she left Nablya has taken her place to observe and watch over Un'Goro. Normally the titanic watchers do not interfere with the matters of Azeroth, but here in Un'Goro, they are free to take a more direct approach. As Un'Goro is the experimental ground of the Titans, it is their right to do so. Many of the creatures in the crater existed long before the titans arrived, but some did not. Nevertheless, they observe them all, without prejudice. Like the Sholazar Basin, Un'Goro is unusual ecologically and geographically, contains crystal pylons, and has remnants of guardian constructs that protect the land.

Un'Goro is a massive crater full of amazingly lush jungle and teeming with life. Dinosaurs roam freely here, as the land is wild and unpredictable. At the center of the crater a volcano rises, and fire elementals prowl. In addition, many strange and beautiful crystals dot the landscape, their purpose unknown to most but an object of research for some of the adventurous scientists camped in the area.

Gallery

The crater is bathed in an eternal green hue, as the sunlight filters down through the dense greenery of the zone's massive plant life

The zone is home to a range of brightly coloured crystals

New developments

Un'Goro Crater was last glimpsed just following the Cataclysm caused by Deathwing's reawakening. In the years since the Cataclysm, the life within the zone has developed significantly - and in some startling directions. While the crater had always been home to elementals, dinosaurs, and some mysterious and powerful crystals, since adventurers last charted the zone it seems the three have begun to merge, with the area's reptilian inhabitants gaining strange new elemental powers, and even fusing with living crystals.

Some time in the last few years, a group of stone-skinned tol'vir wandered from Uldum into the neighboring region of Un'Goro and made a home for themselves there.

Expedition

The pre-release material for Journey to Un'Goro includes the live-action web series Wonders of Un'Goro and the weekly "E. Malone's Expedition Journal" blog posts, which both chronicle the adventures of the renowned explorer Professor George Herbert Doyle IV and his assistant "Eddie" Malone as they explore through Un'Goro Crater. The blog posts each feature a three-day poll allowing players to vote for one of two options pertaining to the story of next week's Expedition Journal.

Welcome to Un'Goro, the introductory first episode of Wonders of Un'Goro.

E. Malone's Expedition Journal - Week One

Day 1

City of Stormwind

I guess I'm on an expedition now!? I met this guy—Professor George Herbert Doyle the IV—down at the tavern. He was telling everyone a crazy story about Galvadon, a semi-mythical beast rumored to live in the misty depths of a place called Un'Goro Crater. I think he called it a dynamosore? (Not a dragon. My cousin dated a dragon.) He's convinced that Galvadon exists because every other expedition ever sent to find it has disappeared, which Professor Doyle says is obvious proof that it must be there. I don't know about all that, but he made this Un'Goro place sound very interesting—exotic jungle, ancient mysteries, and quest rewards at every turn! When I found out that he was looking for an assistant to film the trip, I jumped at the chance!

Day 5

City of Gadgetzan

Attacked by tiny pirates. Mugged. Kola is delicious. Voted for Kazakus. Interesting city, very big and modern, but smells like feet. Too busy to write. Glad to be leaving.

Day 6

Un'Goro Crater Rim

Finally arrived, and our first sight of Un'Goro was INCREDIBLE! From the crater rim we had a panoramic view of dense jungle carpeting miles and miles of the crater floor with the peak of a smoldering Volcano rising in the distance. This place is huge—you gotta see it to believe it. We followed the trail down but as we crossed into the forest, a flock of brightly colored parrots burst squawking from the trees overhead. The lady leading the expedition, Professor Starseeker, told us they were named Jeweled Macaws, and that their calls can attract dangerous beasts!

I wonder if I can catch one?!

Day 6 3/4

Expedition Camp

Macaws are way tougher than they look. We set up camp after the 'bird incident', and Starseeker gave us a speech about how beautiful, wondrous, and full of mysteries Un'Goro Crater is, and then spent a few more minutes talking about how it can kill us all.

The Professor was chasing a huge butterfly during the lecture, but I got the main points.

SAFETY RULES

#1 NO WANDERING! DANGEROUS

#2 DON'T TOUCH PLANTS DANGEROUS

#3 BE NICE TO NATIVES! DANGEROUS

#4 ELEMENTALS BAD! DANGEROUS

#5 DINOSAURS SCARY! VERY, EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!

I think she was really just trying to scare the younger members of the expedition so they wouldn't act up. Starseeker wants us to take shelter now because the sky looks weird, but the Prof wants to see if we can get a few quick shots in. Maybe we'll get a chance to look around!

I wonder what else I should bring?

Poll (March 7 - March 10)

I wonder what else I should bring?

• An umbrella – Those clouds overhead look ominous. Also, umbrellas are kind of shaped like swords. I wish I had a sword. (~40%)
• A compass – The professor’s G.G.P.S. is fancy but delicate. Also, I don’t think he knows how it works. Better have a backup. (~60%)

E. Malone's Expedition Journal - Week Two

DAY 8?

Lost in the Jungle

Disaster! We had just started filming when a massive storm hit. Howling wind, green and blue lightning, sheets of rain—then there was a flash so bright it blinded us inside the tent, then we were falling!

When I came to, we were in a small clearing. Everything was a mess, and there was no sign of the expedition. We fixed up the camp, and since the camera survived, Prof suggested that we do some filming. The Prof did some science on camera, which went great if you like getting shot in the face by venomous plant darts.

DAY 9 Probably

Still in the Jungle

The Prof can move today. He's totally uncoordinated and it's hard to understand him, but that's normal, so it's a good sign! I'm excited to explore, but we should try to find Starseeker's expedition. Not sure which way to go—and, of course, the Professor's G.G.P.S. was going haywire. I tried to use my compass to navigate, but the needle is spinning like crazy. Also, I'm not sure how to use a compass. We decided to press on.

DAY 10-ish

Jungle? Jungle!

Everything in Un'Goro is big, like it's grown for giants. The trees are MASSIVE—hundreds of feet tall, and even undergrowth is so big it makes us feel small. The vegetation here is fascinating but inconvenient. Professor said that these plants haven't been described by science. To aid the cause of science, I will describe them now: Big. Colorful. Bitey. Thoughtful gifts for enemies!

I got a good shot of a flower just as it was flinging razor sharp petals at us. Kept some that got stuck in the Professor—maybe I'll make a set of darts?

DAY 13

A Gross Marsh

We escaped the plants chasing us and now find ourselves in a misty and humid marsh. Don't like it much. It's ugly, hot, and muggy like the wrong side of an ogre's loincloth. We didn't get far before we were found by natives that looked like hideous lizard people. I remembered Rule #3, so I offered them my compass as a gift. They seemed impressed, then they tied us up and ate our provisions.

DAY 13 (cont.)

Before I found out what they were planning to do, we were rescued by turtle people! The Prof got excited about meeting an undiscovered tribe, but I'm just happy to meet something in Un'Goro that isn't trying to eat us (yet). At the campfire, I asked their leader for help finding the rest of the expedition. She just smiled (probably? it's hard to tell with turtles) and said, "The greatest virtue is patience." I think she's going to lead us to that hilltop village I spotted before we made camp.

Following Rule #3 didn't work out too well with the lizard people, I wonder if we can trust these turtles?

Poll (March 14 - 17)

I wonder if we can trust these turtles?

• Definitely! They rescued us. Also, I like turtles. Let’s see where this goes. (81%)
• Definitely not! EVERYONE knows that turtles cannot be trusted. We should ditch them. (19%)

Dinner Reservations, part two of Wonders of Un'Goro.

E. Malone's Expedition Journal - Week Three

DAY 15

Captives(?)

The tortollans (found out the turtles call themselves tortollans!) led us up a hill toward a village. When we arrived, it turned out to be a avillage full of strange, primitive looking murlocs! The tortollan leader who called herself Umbra, handed us over to them. They started drumming on driftwood totems that were decorated with shells and sounded like windchimes. Before long, more murlocs appeared. A LOT more.

We're safe for now, but I'm starting to wonder if trusting the tortollans was a mistake...

DAY 16

Murloc Village

The murloc village is decorated with all kinds of vines and shells, but the floor is unusual. It's firm to the touch and purple. I watched a team of murlocs polish it with some kind of fruity-smelling juice while the Prof was rummaging around in the tent. More murlocs showed up and started dancing around and singing(?!) while draping us in seaweed and painting our faces. I picked up a few words of nerglish back when I took some MMA classes, but I could only make out 'party', 'feast', and 'Megafin'. I was convinced that they were going to feed us to whatever a megafin is.

DAY 16 (cont.)

Of course, the professor thought it was a perfect time to start filming. We'd barely begun when he drank A LOT of murloc floor polish. He must be a light weight because he passed out fast. He almost missed the arrival of the biggest murloc I've seen in my entire life. Turns out we weren't destined for dinner—we were the guests of honor at a murloc fin-dig! That giant murloc, Megafin, ended up being really nice. We're going to be pen pals so I can practice nerglish!

When the Prof woke up and saw the murloc party, he made a little whimpering sound and went back for seconds of that floor polish. Maybe I'll give it a try.

Murloc Floor Polish

Un'Goro Crater

92 PTS — E. MALONE

Tasting Notes:

Tastes surprpisngly doog! Like pickleshoe meatpants algebra [illegible]

DAY 16 1/2

EVERYTHING HURTS

Dear future Me,

NEVER drink murloc floor polish EVER again.

Love, past Me.

PS why is the sun so loud?

PPS why am I wearing a wedding ring?

DAY 17

ON A FREAKING DINOSAUR!

THE FLOOR IS PURPLE BECAUSE IT'S THE BACK OF A GIANT DINOSAUR! The murlocs built their village ON A DINOSAUR. This is amazing! These murlocs are amazing! This dinosaur is amazing! Also, I finally met a dinosaur! This one seems really gentle—I don't get why Starseeker made such a big deal out of Rule #5? Megafin walks beside the megasaur murloc village and seems to lead it around.

Umbra shouted something to Megafin and pointed in the direction of the volcano we can see sometimes when there's a break in the trees. The whole village is moving in that direction now.

DAY 20

The Golakka Hotsprings

The Prof said that according to an old map, we have to be somewhere called the Golakka Hotsprings. It's at the base of the volcano in the middle of Un'Goro. The landscape is interesting--there are steaming springs, boiling geysers erupting everywhere, and the air smells of sulphur. It got very hot and dry when we arrived at the foot of the volcano, but the megasaur made a deep rumbling sound, and then all the murlocs were covered with a cooling mist. I wish I had a megasaur.

Umbra, the tortollan leader took use aside and told use to climb the 'fire mountain' to see 'the truth'. I don't know what that means, but maybe the rest of the expedition is waiting for us at the top?

We waved goodbye to our new friends and pitched a base camp at the base of the volcano. There seem to be two paths to the summit. One looks smooth and zig zags gradually upward. The other is a lot more jagged and might take some climbing, but should be a lot faster.

It's just the Prof and I now. I wonder which path we should take?

Poll (March 21 - March 24)

I wonder which path we should take?

• Take the smooth path! Slow and steady is best! (31%)
• The jagged path! Climb it fast and get off that volcano before it erupts! (69%)

HOT Springs, part three of Wonders of Un'Goro.

E. Malone's Expedition Journal - Week Four

DAY 23

Volcano Base Camp

The black rock of the volcano looms overhead. Professor has spent the last couple of days running around drawing sketches of the minor elementals that seem to be attracted to this place. The little guys are everywhere! There's all the rocky fiery ones you'd expect at a volcano but there are also water, wind, and a bunch of other elementals too. The Prof thinks that something must be drawing them here. Some of these little fire elementals are adorable though. I wonder if they'd make good pets?

DAY 23 1/2

Volcano Base Camp, Smoldering

Fire elementals make very bad pets. Sadly, most of the Professor's elemental sketches and all my underwear burned up. I will attempt to fashion new undergarments from local materials.

DAY 24

Preparing for the Ascent

I'm about to climb a volcano swarming with elementals. I thought this might be a good time to record my last wishes.

I, Eddie Malone, being of sound mind and slightly scorched body hereby bequeath all my worldy possessions to the best friend I've ever known: my cat, Reginald.
1 (one) compass
(forgot I gave this to lizard people. Sorry Reggie =()
1 (one) wedding ring, coral
1 (one) expired Kaza-Kola coupon
2 (two) used razorpetals
1 (one) pair rock boxers
(Reggie, watch out for these. They chafe)

DAY 24 3/4

Volcano Slope

We decided that speed was the most important thing, so we started out by hiking up the jagged slope today. I think it was a pretty smart choice, since most of the elementals seem to be traveling up the smoother trail. We made really good progress, especially if you don't count all the time the Professor spent with his eyes clenched shut muttering about danger being opportunity instead of climbing, or when we were almost broiled alive by that huge fire elemental.

We're camped near the caldera, but if Starseeker's expedition was here before, they're gone now. Here's the crazy thing: from here, we should be able to see all of Un'Goro, including the crater walls rising in the distance. There are no crater walls. Instead, there's jungle carpeting the land for as far as the eye can see in every direction. Even the Professor isn't sure what's going on, but maybe this is what Umbra was trying to show us?

DAY 25

Caldera Camp

We haven't been noticed by the elementals yet, but it's only a matter of time. There's a huge elemental that looks like it's made up of all the other elements, along with a lot of servants that look like smaller versions of it. The smaller elementals that are coming here seem fascinated with the big one. The servants copy something from one of the little elementals and then spin off a completely different elemental! The Professor says he's never seen or heard of anything like it.

Fascinating, but we're breaking Rule #4 big time. It's time to pack up and get out of here. I hope we can get off of this volcano quickly.

DAY 26

Lakkari Tar Pits, Cozy Nest

Good news: As I write this we sit safely in a nest full of huge eggs.

Bad news: according to the method we used to get here, it belongs to a huge flying dinosaur.

We had a busy day. We were trying to sneak past the elementals when the Professor tripped over a glowing crystal. That must have interrupted something important, because the elementals got real steamed and started chasing us. As fate would have it, that's also when the volcano started to erupt! Just as the elementals and lava were closing in, this huge pterrordax swooped down and snatched us right off the side of the volcano! The Prof was screaming pterrordax while it carried us away, so I think that's what it's called. We got a pretty good look at a landscape dotted with tar pits as it carried us away from the volcano.

The pterrordax could be back at any moment so we better get out of here. I saw a cave and what looked like some ruins on the way in. I wonder which one will be the best destination?

Poll (March 27 - March 31)

What's the best destination?

• Go for the cave! Nothing dangerous lives in caves. (27%)
• Head for the ruins! They’re probably not infused with ancient, dangerous magic. (73%)

Adaptation, part four of Wonders of Un'Goro.

The Last Episode, the fifth and final part of Wonders of Un'Goro.

E. Malone's Expedition Journal - Week Five

Day 26

Mysterious Ruins

Our stay in the safety of the nest was cut short when the Prof accidentally executed a pterrordax egg. We didn't have much breath to spare for conversation while running for our lives, so we just kind of ended up heading in the direction of the ruins we'd seen from the air.

The terrain in the tarpits was interesting, but mostly in a creepy lost-dino-graveyard kind of way. There was a low hanging mist everywhere, and we had to navigate around steaming tarpits with the bones of unlucky dinosaurs poking out of them. On a few occasions a tarpit got up and looked at us(!), but so long as we didn't get too close they seemed content to let us pass. We couldn't see far in the mist, but occasionally we'd hear a screech or a roar coming from somewhere in the haze surrounding us. The worst was when we heard what sounded like a dwarf(!?) screaming at us to get out of his jungle because we're scaring away all the game! He called us scrubs. :( :( :(

It was a huge relief when we finally made it into the shelter of the ruins. Un'Goro is a tough and dangerous place, but it's also incredibly beautiful! The architecture here is amazing. There are huuuuge towering pillars, even taller than the trees, with a massive stone ring at the top. The stone looks old—there are vines and plants growing all over it—but the marble itself looks brand new! The only problem with the ruins are the stone panther centaur guys who are guarding them. They let us set up camp, but told us that we could only enter if we brought enough crystals to awaken the Maker, whatever that means! Maybe there are crystals in that cave we saw?

Day 27

Crystal Cave

Fortunately, our hike to the cave was uneventful which is unusual in Un'Goro. This cave is breathtaking! There are clusters of glowing crystals lighting up the darkness in all manner of colors. When the prof saw the crystals he got super excited, and started talking about how Galvadon must be close. It turned out he was right! A bunch of Paladins who were part of a lost expedition had made friends with Galvadon, who lived in the cave. They were friendly people and when they introduced us to Galvadon, the Professor started crying, dancing around, and hugging everyone—which was pretty awkward. I might have teared up a little too.

The Paladins told us that Spiritsinger Umbra told them to expect us! I guess she's the one that sent that pterrordax to rescue us. We gathered some crystals, and tomorrow we're heading for something called a Way Gate!

Day 28

DINOSAUR BATTLE!

I RODE A DINOSAUR TODAY AND IT WAS AWESOME! We all mounted upon Stegodons that the Paladins had tamed, then we met up with the tortollans and the murlocs to head for the Titan ruins. On the way there we ran into a little trouble.

Starseeker definitely made Rule #5 for a reason! Those lizard people that ate our food and took my compass were in our way, and they had a terrifying army of dinosaurs and demons with them. Towering devilsaurs, vicious raptors, fel hounds dripping with tar, you name it. I don't remember much of the battle, but big dinosaurs got even bigger, and as they adapted, they'd spew lava, or poison, or generate energy shields. Galvadon was incredible. It charged roaring into the middle of the battle, the crystals on its back started glowing, and it adapted, then adapted, then adapted, then adapted, THEN ADAPTED! He was huge, and shining, and knocked around other dinos like toys! The real hero was Umbra though! She started singing in an eerie voice, then spirits rose out of our allies and went on to fight at our side!

Just when I thought things were getting crazy, an even crazier thing happened! I saw a flash of gold as one of the lizard guys held up my compass, then he started pointing at me, waving his arms around, and shouting to his allies—he must have been telling his army to surrender, because everyone stopped fighting soon after that! It was lucky that things settled down when they did, because after we worked out some translations, we all decide to head for the Way Gate together!

I got my compass back! The lizard guy also seemed sorry for tying up the Professor and I back in the marsh. He even replaced the sandwich he ate! I don't think lizard guys quite understand the sandwich concept since it was just a bunch of meat.

Pretty good sandwich though!

Day 29

The Way Gate!

Moving as a group, we had no trouble getting to the Way Gate, which turned out to be the ruins where we'd met the panther centaur stone guys before. The Tol'vir, the stone panther centaur people guarding the ruins, told us that we could only enter if we had power crystals. Well, guess what we had?

The Tol'vir performed a ritual using the crystals, and giant stone lady appeared. She was beautiful, and told us that we should return from where and when we came. Before long, she had everyone casting the spells that would help her open the Way Gate. Umbra kept looking at the sky and seemed anxious to get going, but the Prof and I decide to shoot one last bit of film before we went through.

That's when we spotted the Meteor. . .

Before we had time to panic, the Way Gate flashed with blinding light and the meteor was gone! It was very strange. . . we were still in Un'Goro, but it looked different somehow. After some celebration and a few farewells, everyone started going their separate ways. Before they left, Umbra and the tortollans thanked us solemnly, and she promised to help us get back to Starseeker's expedition.

The gate was still shining as we left. I wonder if that means that other things could come through?

Day 30? Day 8?

STARSEEKER'S CAMP!

Umbra made good on her promise to help us, and her pterrordax friend dropped us off near where our adventure in Un'Goro originally began. I think it dropped the Professor a little harder on purpose. The walk back to Starseeker's expedition was short, and everyone was there—Starseeker, her young explorers, and the other scientists!

The weird thing was that Starseeker didn't seem too surprised to see us! She said our clothes were a mess and that we must have gotten the worst of last night's storm? It was like no time had passed for them at all! We thought about telling her the whole story, but we didn't think that she'd believe us. Plus, she was nice enough to lend us new gear and we didn't want to spoil the moment. I wonder what the rest of the expedition will make of all the incredible things we've seen? It'll be interesting to find out.

I'm still a little confused about everything that's happened, but I'm not worried about it. It looks like we're about to make the journey into Un'Goro all over again, and honestly? I can't wait!

Trivia

• This is the first Hearthstone content release not to include a song in its cinematic trailer. While those for Curse of Naxxramas and Whispers of the Old Gods were spoken rather than sung, like all other trailers up to that point they featured a strong musical form, including rhyming words. In contrast, while the Journey to Un'Goro trailer has a drifting musical score in the background, the words are not rhyming or spoken in time to the score.
  • The lack of a song in the trailer led to a player-created thread on reddit entitled "Petition to make Ben Brode sing a song because we didn't get a musical trailer this time." The thread gained more than 5,000 upvotes in the first 24 hours after the trailer's release, and on the very next day Brode released "Un'Goro: The Journey", a video featuring himself rapping, on his personal YouTube channel. In the rap Brode explains his decision to respond to the reddit post; describes the various threats awaiting within Un'Goro; and encourages players to explore Elemental-based decks as well as the new Quest cards. Within a few hours the rap's reddit post had become the all-time most upvoted post on /r/Hearthstone, and soon the number one post on all of reddit at that time. The rap quickly saw a number of remixes from community members, setting Brode's voice to music ranging from hip hop and synthpop to the internet phenomenon "We Are Number One" and even tech metal, as well as overlaying Brode's rap over the original cinematic. Brode composed, performed and recorded the rap himself without assistance from other team members, taking him about 90 minutes to write.
• This expansion marks the first time that permanent cards have been made available in regular Play mode. Prior to the release of Un'Goro, permanent cards were only seen in the Netherspite boss encounter in One Night in Karazhan (i.e. Blue Portal and Red Portal) and in the three Tavern Brawls Party Portals! (Mark Moonwalker, Susie Sizzlesong and Wanda Wonderhooves), Yellow-Brick Brawl (Dorothee), and The Dark Wanderer (Enigmatic Portal).

Gallery

Key art

Key art

Unused card art

The following art pieces were featured on the official Journey to Un'Goro site, but seem to have gone completely unused in the actual expansion.

A saurok.	A longneck.	A fire elemental.
An earth elemental.	A saurok.

Concept art and sketches

Elise the Trailblazer and one of her junior explorers.	Various primal murlocs, a showcase of "the murloc test".	A baby Time-Lost Proto Drake and a Volcanosaur.
Various dinosaurs.	Sketches exploring different elemental transformations on the same dinosaur.	Sketches exploring how to represent various Adapt options from an anatomical point of view.
Various elementals.	Various environments, including the card art for Explore Un'Goro.	Various plantlife, including a specimen similar to the Curious Glimmerroot.
A tortollan shaman and brute.

External links

• Official Journey to Un'Goro site

Blogs

• The Journey Begins April 6! (2017-03-31)
• Hearthside Chat: The Art of Journey to Un'Goro (2017-03-29)
• E. Malone's Expedition Journal - Week Four (2017-03-28)
• Hearthside Chat: Adapt in Un'Goro with Dean Ayala (2017-03-27)
• Hearthside Chat: Un'Goro Quests with Peter Whalen (2017-03-22)
• E. Malone's Journal - Week Three (2017-03-21)
• Hearthside Chat: Elementals of Un'Goro with Mike Donais (2017-03-20)
• E. Malone's Expedition Journal - Week Two (2017-03-14)
• E. Malone's Expedition Journal - Week One (2017-03-07)
• ​Prepare to Embark on a Journey to Un'Goro! (2017-02-27)