What is Adapt in Hearthstone?

Hearthstone has many card effects that are common enough that they get their own keyword - a word or two that immediately tells you how the card works. Let's take a look at the Adapt keyword.

Choose one of 3 bonuses.

Similar to Discover, Adapt is a keyword that gives you a choice of a random pool. Unlike Discover however, the pool is always exactly the same. When you play an Adapt card, it will have 3 of these 10 options chosen at random available for you to choose:

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

Adapt appears exclusively in Journey to Un'Goro.

Keywords that Work Great with Adapt

Nearly every passive keyword can work great with Adapt, giving it a synergistic ability (ie, putting Crackling Shield on a Taunt minion). In a sense though, it can also work against it since it will not detect keywords already on the minion, therefore giving you chances of getting an Adapt option for a keyword the minion already has. Although you can simply just not pick that choice, it does at the same time, effectively limit your choices to 2.

Adapting a Rush or Charge minion can also allow you to take advantage of the effect chosen that turn, without having to wait for the minion to survive a turn.

Playing Against Adapt in Hearthstone

Playing against Adapt ultimately amounts to hoping that your opponent doesn't get the Adaptation they want, as the keyword revolves around some amount of randomness, and the effect is granted right away.

But while there isn't a way to play against Adapt as a keyword, there are ways to play around certain Adapt minions. If your opponent plays a Vicious Fledgling, it may be in your best interest to kill it as soon as you can as it will otherwise gain several Adaptations, which will result in making it even harder or sometimes even outright impossible to kill. Against a Paladin deck focusing on Silver Hand Recruit synergies, clearing them as soon as you can will make Lightfused Stegodon weaker, and the same thing applies to Gentle Megasaur for Murloc decks.

Example Hearthstone Adapt Cards

Verdant Longneck was the very first Adapt minion revealed in Journey to Un'Goro, and was one of the first 5 cards revealed of the entire set in the initial reveal. Fitting to this, it's a basic representation as to what Adapt effects are. When you play it, it will Adapt itself with the one of the 10 Adapt options.

Crackling Razormaw is an Adapt minion that doesn't Adapt itself, but instead to another friendly Beast. Thanks to premium stats and curve potential with a strong (albeit random) upside, it saw play as a staple card in Hunter.

Gentle Megasaur interacts with other minions in a similar vein to Crackling Razormaw, but without the single choice. It Adapts ALL Murlocs you control, not just one. Strong card in aggressive Murloc decks (which is what they're supposed to be unless you're Paladin).

The Last Kaleidosaur is not a card that has anything to do with Adapt itself. Instead, it gives you a reward, Galvadon which Adapts itself 5 times. Due to the awkward difficulty of completing the Quest, as well as Galvadon's potential to die before it impacts the game, it is often thought of as the worst Quest in the game. Or at least it was until Raid the Sky Temple came along.