The coolest part of Hearthstone’s next expansion has to be the Death Knight-ification of all Azeroth’s best-known characters. Some might have been knights of virtue, but with the Lich King’s cold grasp, they’ve been turned into something between living and dead. Fans have been waiting patiently to see the nine different Death Knight hero cards that are coming in Knights Of The Frozen Throne . So far, there’s been Rexxar with his zombie pets, Jaina with Lifesteal Elementals and a Thrall that likes to evolve his minion play things. Savjz, the most savage Hearthstone streamer in the game, has just revealed the fourth member of the cabal, Valeera the Hollow.
Knights Of The Frozen Throne is adding an interesting, new type of Hero card. Like Lord Jaraxxus, your Hero transforms into an undead monstrosity, gaining a new Passive and Hero Power. So far, we’ve only seen normal Hero Powers that cost mana, but Valeera has a Passive ability unlike anything we’ve seen before. After playing her, you’ll get a Shadow Reflection card added to your hand every turn, which copies the last card you’ve played. So, say you play a Swahburglar, you’ll get another copy in your hand that costs the same.
Shadow Reflections does have a few limitations. If you use Mimic Pod or Preparation and then play a discounted card, the copy will not get the same discount. You also can’t stack multiple copies in your hand for the next turn, Shadow Reflections has a unique mechanic that causes it to disappear at the end of your turn. Think of it like a copycat rather than its own card, a useful tool to pull off some crazy combos. Since the card vanishes at the end of the turn, you can’t Shadow Reflections anything over five mana because it’ll just disappear into nothing or cost too much to play again.
Savjz believes Valeera the Hollow will be good in “tempo based decks.” Jade Rogue, an archetype that uses cards like Jade Shuriken to build up powerful Jades, and Burgle Rogue, which tries to steal as many cards from your opponent as possible to compensate for its lack of power, could be good with this Death Knight. Combine it with Lillian Voss, the newest Rogue Legendary revealed today, and these archetypes start to look less terrible. I see this card being used in Miracle Rogue, drawing tons of cards off of cheap spell copies and minions.
The Death Knight hero cards have me beyond excited for the new expansion. Knights Of The Frozen Throne is adding more new mechanics than the last two sets combined, completely changing the way we play Hearthstone . Do you play Valeera the Hollow, gain Stealth to avoid Lethal, or do you play the dagger queen to pull off a crazy turn of value with Gadgetzan Auctioneer? The possibilities are (nearly) endless, allowing players to come up with new ways to play.
My favorite combo I’ve managed to come up with involved playing two Edwin Van Cleefs off of Shadow Reflections . It’s dirty, cheesy and cheap, all my favorite ways to play Hearthstone . I’m so excited for the next five Death Knight reveals, how will Blizzard transform Anduin, Uther or Garrosh? I’m hoping Uther gets zombie Silver Hand Recruits, Anduin ends up in the Void and Garrosh just gets even angrier.
How do you like Valeera the Hollow? Tell us in the comments.
