The Shaman is one of the ten classes in Hearthstone, represented by Thrall, Warchief Thrall, Morgl the Oracle, King Rastakhan, The Thunder King, and Lady Vashj.

Heroes [ edit ]

Background [ edit ]

Main article: Shaman

Shaman are spiritual guides and practitioners, not of the divine, but of the very elements. Unlike some other mystics, shaman commune with forces that are not strictly benevolent. The elements are chaotic, and left to their own devices, they rage against one another in unending primal fury. It is the call of the shaman to bring balance to this chaos. Acting as moderators among earth, fire, water, and air, shaman summon totems that focus the elements to support the shaman’s allies or punish those who threaten them.

These masters of the elements can also call upon elemental forces directly, unleashing torrents of lava and bolts of lightning against foes. The elements can create, destroy, support, and hinder. The experienced shaman balances the vast spectrum of these primordial forces into an array of diverse abilities, making shaman versatile heroes and valued members of any group.[1]

Hero Power [ edit ]

Hero Powers are unique abilities, specific to each class, usable used once each turn.

The shaman's Hero Power is Totemic Call, which randomly summons 1 of 4 possible Totem-type minions, each with different stats and abilities: Healing Totem, Stoneclaw Totem, Searing Totem, or Wrath of Air Totem.





Totemic Call always summons a Totem the hero does not already have in play in the battlefield; if the shaman already has all 4 different Totems in play, the Hero Power cannot be used until one of them is removed. Enemy Totems and Totems in the hand are irrelevant to this determination. Totems are created directly by the Hero Power, not played from the hand or drawn from the deck. Most Totems start with 0 Attack but cards like Bloodlust or even Raid Leader can turn a board of weak Totems into a force to be reckoned with.

Replacement Hero Powers [ edit ]

Justicar Trueheart Battlecry and Baku the Mooneater's Start of Game effect will replace Totemic Call with Totemic Slam.

Charged Hammer Deathrattle will replace the current Hero Power with Lightning Jolt.

Thrall, Deathseer will replace the current Hero Power with Transmute Spirit, as well as replacing the hero.

Hagatha the Witch will replace the current Hero Power with Bewitch, as well as replacing the hero.

Corrupt the Waters will replace the current Hero Power with Heart of Vir'naal once the Quest is completed.

Galakrond, the Tempest will replace the current Hero Power with Galakrond's Fury, as well as replacing the hero.

Strategy and gameplay [ edit ]

Shamans are highly flexible, boasting a wide variety of class cards that lend themselves to many different methods of achieving victory. With their unique mechanic Overload, Shamans can also play very strong spell and minion cards for little mana, at the cost of losing available mana the subsequent turn, but even their overloaded crystals can be used to their benefit with cards like Tunnel Trogg and Vessina. Their board control is excellent with removal and transform effects such as Lightning Storm, Hex, and Earthquake. Shamans also a wide range of powerful minions to choose from, ranging from low-cost (Flametongue Totem, Totem Golem), medium-cost (Flamewreathed Faceless, Earth Elemental), to the late-game (Fire Elemental, Al'Akir the Windlord).

Totems support the Shaman throughout a match, and can even be made into a fighting force in their own right. Totemic Call provides a steady stream of reinforcements, although their effects are random and they are unlikely to do much without more proactive minions to support. However, cards such as Bloodlust, Thunder Bluff Valiant, Totemic Surge, and Thing from Below reward a shaman for amassing totems.

Shamans have many ways to close out a game. Bloodlust and Windfury allow for game winning turns with super-buffed minions. The shaman can also deal huge burst damage with spells such as Lightning Bolt and Lava Burst, or even with their own weapon - a Rockbiter Weapon-enhanced Doomhammer is an iconic and devastating way to finish the game. Alternatively, a more control-oriented shaman can starve out enemies with massive heals (Healing Wave, Jinyu Waterspeaker, Hallazeal the Ascended), making them very difficult to remove.

As wielders of the elemental forces, Shamans have an affinity with Elementals, possessing more Elemental synergy effects out of any other classes. Shamans have access to both early-game Elementals with tons of utility like Fire Plume Harbinger and Hot Spring Guardian and synergy effects like Earthen Might, and late-game Elemental finishers like Stone Sentinel and Kalimos, Primal Lord for a huge tempo swing.

Another element unique to Shamans are cards that transform minions into an entirely new and random minion. Evolve, Unstable Evolution, Master of Evolution, Thrall, Deathseer, and The Storm Bringer transforms their own minions into a more costly minion, while Devolve does the opposite to their enemies. Although the effects are random, with proper setup their multiple high-cost, low-stat minions can turn into something else with stats and possible effects to better match their costs.

Shamans also have an affinity for murlocs. They can call upon lesser murlocs with cards like Primalfin Totem and Call in the Finishers and have cards that reward swarming with murlocs like Everyfin is Awesome and Unite the Murlocs. After all, the first murloc hero in Hearthstone is also a Shaman.

Battlecry is a common keyword that Shamans associate with. Along with their wide range of powerful Battlecry cards, the quest Corrupt the Waters, once completed, lets them double their Battlecry effects, making their already powerful cards even stronger. What's more, the dreaded Shudderwock repeats all the Battlecries they've played to create one incredibly devastating turn. Some more subtle related cards are cards that return minions back to the Shaman's hand, like Spirit Echo and Grumble, Worldshaker, so they they can be played again.

Counters [ edit ]

Totems will be a continuous part of the game when playing against a shaman, especially the slower kinds. Try to control the number of totems, since they can give the shaman strong beneficial effects along with minion count. This is especially important when playing against Totem Shaman/Bloodlust decks. The totems can range from being 1/1, 0/2, or 0/3 so they are quite fragile and nonthreatening by themselves, but totems like Mana Tide Totem which allow an extra draw per turn will give an enormous advantage if left unchecked. Totems are treated as minions and can be buffed with increased Attack as well as Health so leaving too many on the field at once may become dangerous if the shaman plays cards like Raid Leader or Bloodlust, or even Flametongue Totem for unexpected trades. You may even be able to use the totems against the shaman if you play cards like Sea Giant or Flesheating Ghoul which benefit with more minions on the field, but this is rarely worth the risk of leaving them in place. Good methods of removing totems include AoE damage like Hellfire or Holy Nova, or low-Attack minions that can trade with them without wasting too much face damage. The druid's Swipe can also be extremely effective against totems, especially when paired with Spell Damage.

Bloodlust and totem buffs like Thunder Bluff Valiant can allow the shaman to abruptly win the game if they have lots of minions on the field, so make sure to keep the number of minions the shaman has to a minimum. This includes 0-Attack Totems and other seemingly unthreatening minions. Remember that shamans often include a lot of burst damage spells like Lava Burst and Rockbiter Weapon, which when combined with a strong board can defeat even full-Health opponents.

When you play large drop cards, remember your opponent might have Hex. Try and bait out this card by playing threatening minions before playing your biggest minions or strong buffing spells, and keep in mind there are only 2 maximum in a deck (outside of Arena). Shamans also have Lightning Storm, so try to not have a large field when your opponent hasn't played them yet.

Unique mechanics [ edit ]

Overload is an ability which reduces the amount of mana available the next turn by the stated amount. Most cards with Overload have a lower printed mana cost than similar cards from other classes (for instance, compare Forked Lightning and Cleave). This allows powerful spells and minions to be played for a low mana cost, allowing the shaman to gain a great amount of value in a turn at the cost of being able to play fewer cards the next turn. The shaman has many cards allowing him to put massive power into the board in one turn, such as Bloodlust, Lightning Storm, and Lava Burst. You can also overload more mana than you will have the next turn. Cards with this ability are limited to the shaman class.

Spells [ edit ]

See Spell.





Minions [ edit ]

All classes can also use neutral minions in their decks. See Minion.

Uncollectible [ edit ]

The following minions are generated by other shaman cards or effects, and are uncollectible.

Weapons [ edit ]

Shamans have access to a limited range of weapons.

Name / Desc Rarity Class Cost Atk HP Description Rune Dagger Common Shaman 2 1 3 After your hero attacks, gain Spell Damage +1 this turn. Turns out being stabbed makes you more vulnerable to magic. Stormforged Axe Common Shaman 2 2 3 Overload: (1) Yo, that's a nice axe. Splitting Axe Epic Shaman 4 3 2 Battlecry: Summon copies of your Totems. The ancient shaman chant, "Control Axe, Control Vee." Boggspine Knuckles Epic Shaman 5 4 2 After your hero attacks, transform your minions into random ones that cost (1) more. I would NOT want to put my hand in there. It's... SQUISHY. Doomhammer Epic Shaman 5 2 8 Windfury, Overload: (2) Orgrim Doomhammer gave this legendary weapon to Thrall. His name is a total coincidence. The Fist of Ra-den Legendary Shaman 4 1 4 After you cast a spell, summon a Legendary minion of that Cost. Lose 1 Durability. The mighty Ra-den was known as the Keeper of Storms. Unfortunately, he could not keep his fist. Showing all 6 cards





Hero card

See Hero card.

Name / Desc Rarity Type Subtype Class Cost Atk HP Description Galakrond, Azeroth's End Legendary Hero card Shaman 7 Battlecry: Summon two 8/8 Storms with Rush. Equip a 5/2 Claw. Galakrond, the Apocalypse Legendary Hero card Shaman 7 Battlecry: Summon two 4/4 Storms with Rush. (Invoke twice to upgrade.) Galakrond, the Tempest Legendary Hero card Shaman 7 Battlecry: Summon two 2/2 Storms with Rush. (Invoke twice to upgrade.) Hagatha cried out over the winds: "Truly, you are as powerful as the Maelstrom!" To which the Tempest answered: "I AM THE MAELSTROM." Showing all 3 cards





Leveling rewards [ edit ]

As a hero reaches various levels they are awarded new cards, with each class having its own rewards. All cards awarded by gaining levels are soulbound, and cannot be crafted or disenchanted.

Levels up to 10 award new basic class cards, while levels after this award only golden versions of existing cards.

Starting cards [ edit ]

All shaman start with the following class cards.





Level 2-10 [ edit ]

Up to level 10, reaching each even-numbered level will award the player two copies of a new Basic class card. These cards are not obtainable through any other means.



Level 2 Level 2



Level 4 Level 4



Level 6 Level 6



Level 8 Level 8



Level 10 Level 10

Level 11-60 [ edit ]

Above level 10, reaching certain levels will award golden versions of existing Basic cards. As they are uncraftable, it is not possible to disenchant these cards, making the reward purely cosmetic. Reaching each required level will award one golden card. Levels after 10 award golden Basic class cards, whereas levels after 50 award golden Basic neutral minion cards.



Level 15/20 Level 15/20



Level 23/26 Level 23/26



Level 28/30 Level 28/30



Level 32/34 Level 32/34



Level 36/38 Level 36/38



Level 40/42 Level 40/42



Level 43/44 Level 43/44



Level 45/46 Level 45/46



Level 47/48 Level 47/48



Level 49/50 Level 49/50



Level 51/52 Level 51/52



Level 53/54 Level 53/54



Level 55/56 Level 55/56



Level 57/58 Level 57/58



Level 59/60 Level 59/60

References [ edit ]







