Hearthstone is going back to its World of Warcraft roots this year, first in the Horde-aligned Barrens and next in the Alliance-themed expansion, United in Stormwind. The new expansion introduces questlines, multi-step quests that pay off with a big reward. And given that this expansion is Stormwind focused, it only makes sense that the Paladin’s quest is all about marshaling the forces of the light.
The Rise to the Occasion quest rewards you for playing various 1-cost cards. Like all of the quests, the first reward is fairly minor, simply giving you a 1/4 Light’s Justice weapon. As you proceed to stage two, Pave the Way, you’ll earn an upgraded hero power that summons two Silverhand Recruits instead of just one. The final step, Avenge the Fallen, will earn you Lightborn Cariel. After you play this 5-Mana 7/7, you’ll get a dramatic +2/+2 boost to your Silver Hand Recruits for the rest of the game. This could mark the return of “Dude Paladin,” a formerly popular archtype that relies on overwhelming your opponent with tons of powered-up Silver Hand Recruits (aka dudes).
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It’s notable that the quest demands you play three different 1-cost cards in each step, which means you need nine different 1-cost cards in total. You can’t, for example, bounce a Pen Flinger back into your hand to use it in the next quest phase. Still, this questline is relatively easy to complete compared to some others we’ve seen thanks to Paladin’s many 1-cost options. First Day of School is a 1-cost spell that gives you two more 1-cost minions. If you use an Aldor Attendant to make your Libram of Wisdom cost one Mana–a very common early-game Paladin play–that’s two steps in the quest down already.
You may even be able to actually complete the quest by turn five and then play Cariel on-curve, making for a huge tempo play. Once you’ve completed the quest, your 2-Mana Hero Power will be able to generate two 3/3 Silver Hand Recruits in perpetuity.
You can pair this with other Silver Hand synergy cards as well. Lothraxion the Redeemed, a Legendary card from the Barrens expansion, will give those Silver Hand Recruits Divine Shield for the rest of the game. You can also summon the Silver Hand en masse using cards like Day at the Faire and Stand Against Darkness. Dude Paladin saw a brief re-emergence during the Forged in the Barrens meta based on some of these tools, and this new questline could be what it needs to push it to a powerful mainstay.
United in Stormwind launches on August 3. Two preorder bundles are available now–a standard bundle with 60 packs, one random Legendary, and a Lady Katrana card back for $50; and a mega bundle with 80 packs, two random Legendaries, five golden packs, the Lady Katrana Mage hero and card back, and a Ve’nari Battlegrounds Bartender cosmetic for $80.
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