(special thanks to Chr2 for the logo)
Welcome to the Brawl'Gar Arena. People from all over Azeroth, Outland or wherever gather around to witness fearless combatants to put their mettle and their might in ruthless bloodshed to see who will survive in a battle to the death. But it's not only their lives at stake, it's also their glories. If you don't have the heart to put your life out there for killing, we're home to a large group of spectators and fans who come here for the thrill of the fight and death.
Everyone who fights is out there for blood! Blood is what fuels their fighting spirit and when it spills, the fight amps up. The fans are excited and the fighters become furious. But don't worry, not everyone in the arena dies. Sometimes they just get really big bruises. Bloodthirst is the first of two new keywords added to the set. The first time the enemy hero takes damage while you control a minion with Bloodthirst, you'll activate a special bonus. Sometimes these bonuses might scale based on the amount of damage you deal.
During the fight, some of our contenders may eventually start to lose their edge and this is where you go in for the final strike. Getting the first hit in is sometimes difficult but...
Overpower is the other new keyword in Gladiators of Brawl'Gar. When cards with Overpower deal more than enough damage to kill a minion, they deal the excess damage to the enemy hero. If the enemy's minions are going down, they're going down with them! This even works on your own minions! As long as the Overpower card deals excess damage, it doesn't matter how they dealt it, the rest goes to your opponent. If the face plays Taunt... me still go face!
We've seen a few cards with this effect over the course of Hearthstone's history which will be changed to have the keyword.
Some people like to fight fair. Others... they like to cheat. And good on them. It's tolerated at the arena as long as you don't get caught. Some Ethereals have started a black market around the arena to sell you some supplements or gear to help you win the fight or make some gold. Black Market cards encourage you to run as many different types of cards by giving you a payoff for each different type you run.
With cards that reward you for playing cards of each card type, there's going to be an inundation of locations and hero cards, right? Well, not necessarily, but we've got some cool cards of both types. Plus we've even got Neutrals of both types too. Upon launch of the set, you'll be able to choose between obtaining either Bizmo or Boss Bazzleflange for free right now, and then you'll get the other one for free later. They both use the same Hero Power. If you're feeling up to the challenge, you can try to design a deck that uses both! Or a deck that uses one plus one of the class hero cards!
Prior to the set launching, all players will also get Esme Sunshadow for free to experiment with in their decks, and if you pre-order the set, you'll get her in glorious diamond form!
Now who's ready to watch some blood get spilled!
Death Knight
Buff that hand!!! If you're a fan of holding your minions and watching them reach astronomically high Attack values, then this is the set for you. Watch as the minions in your hand get bigger and bigger until you push them all onto the field for the kill. Even better. You like your opponent's minion? Take it! Buff your Stitches and watch it hook your opponent's strongest minion into your own hand for you to turn on them. With a new hero, you can even cheat death and snatch victory when your opponent thought they had you!
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Demon Hunter
TAUNT, TAUNT, TAUNT!!!! Even though the class is almost 5 years old (yes, it truly has been that long. I'm sorry if I made you feel old), it still feels very one-dimensional compared to the other classes. Let's give them a new archetype! But which one? They have a lot of Taunt minions. Let's make Taunt Demon Hunter!
If you're tired of constantly getting hit in the face by your opponent's pesky minions, then it's time to get those rough demon scales out and play defensively. But for Illidan, playing defensively is also playing offensively! Taunt Demon Hunter is a new spin on other Taunt archetypes by combining defense and aggression. Hide behind your Taunts while you keep pushing face! But what about spells you ask? Those aren't affected by Taunts, so they can just hit me anyway. OR THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK, HAHAHA!
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Druid
Anyone who plays card games likes to see BIG NUMBER, and Druid is all about big numbers in this set. Remember the 5-Attack synergy from Un'Goro? Let's bring this back here! In a set that likes to push face damage, seeing those big Attack values are where it's at! You can choose between a more aggressive style of 5-Attack deck that likes to put minions on the board quickly and deal lots of damage, or a slower variant that keeps putting bigger minions on the board until your opponent can't deal with them anymore. Since we're dealing with large Attack values, why don't we throw in some Overpower as well!
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Hunter
Do you want to cast a spell? I want to cast a spell!
In a set that loves face damage, you know that Hunter is going to be excited to hunt that hero! But doing it with minions is old school. Let's go for some Spell Damage! As a Hunter in this set, you'll employ some spells that you can use to burst some faces down and some Spell Damage to make them burn even more. You can even give the spells Overpower to hit face AND the minions at the same time! Who wouldn't want that?
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Mage
Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?
If you like to play with Fire, then Mage's set this time around is once you'll have a blast with. In Mage, you'll have the tools to burn, and fry, and crisp your opponent into a charred-up carcass. We've got ways to give your spells more damage, and spells that deal damage that also give you more spells that deal damage. But not only can we destroy the face, but we can also destroy the WHOLE BOARD while we're at it! Isn't playing with fire so fun?*
*On that note, if you're a child of a parent who browses this website, then please do not actually play with fire. It's very dangerous. You might hurt someone or damage the house. Best to avoid taking chances.
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Paladin
Given that Paladins have been a weapon class since the very beginning of the game, it's very weird that we've never received weapon synergy for Paladin. Until today! Now is the time for Paladins to grab their hammers and rush into battle. In this set, Paladin gets some weapon synergy and some new design space to explore. Blizzard, if you're reading this, you know what to do.
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Priest
People die in the gladiator arena. But that's not a problem because we can just bring them back to life! Hey, don't look at me like that. We've gotta get talent from somewhere and live talent is expensive. Here in Priest, you've got the ability to resurrect past dead champions and put them back into the ring again! People say that a legacy never dies, and in this case, we mean that literally. They will not rest because we keep bringing them back.
Tokens
On-Site Hospital will also have dynamic card text to tell you exactly what minion it will resurrect. Example:
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Rogue
What if I told you that I already know who's going to win? A little bit of change goes a long way. Don't hate the player. Hate the game.
Rogues are running a gambling service in this set. Place your bets on who's going to win and hope that you can make some coins. But as you will come to see, not all games that Rogues are offering here are winnable. The organization is run by a sneaking group of pirates with a knack for trickery and bribery to ensure who's going to come out on top. You can mope around in your loses all day... or you can join in the fun and make some less-than-honest cash.
A shoddily-made image of what Blackmange Cannon would look like on board.
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Shaman
Every fighting organization's gotta have those flashy fighters that like to show off their style, and this colorful cast of characters provides exactly that.
In this set, Shaman is about mixing different spell schools together and benefitting off of casting multiple different types. The more you cast, the stronger they'll get! After all, matches would be pretty boring if you saw the competitors perform the same move over and over again. Shaman provides you with all the move variety you could ask for. Some will turn the heat of battle. Some will send an electrifying shock into the audience. Some will be left cold in disturbance as their conscious tries to render what they just watched.
Signatures and Diamond
Warlock
What devilishy evil scheme has Warlock cooked up this time today? Warlock is running a typical minion-flood strategy that it loves, but it's a little bit different this time. This time, we give it a solid 1/1 giving it a perfect score! Warlock is all about synergies with 1/1 minions this go around. Put those little minions onto the board and watch as we prove that how you use it matters more than the... Wait, nope. Uhhh... Don't underestimate the little guy is what I'm saying. But how do those little guys do so well? You didn't hear this from me, but I've heard that Warlock has been passing around some... suspicious substances if you catch my drift.
Singatures
Warrior
Warriors can never seen to make up their mind on if they want to be mercilessly aggressive or patiently tanky. Well in this set, it's much closer to the former. Warrior in this set loves to be aggressive and overpowering. Overpowering? Yes, it's only one of the set's keywords after all. If you like to go face with Warrior, then your time is now my friend! We've got the most Overpower cards of any class with these blood-colored red cards, and you've got ways to deal some damage!
Signatures and Diamond
Neutral Commons
But no matter who you are or who your favorite fighter is, you always have a place to watch here in the Brawl'Gar Arena!
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Other Neutrals
Signatures and Diamond
