Attack


Info

This page describes the act of attacking. For the Attack attribute, see Attribute.

Attacking or combat is what occurs when a player commands one character Characters are representations of people, creatures, and certain objects and mechanical creations within Hearthstone. A character may be a minion or a hero. Each character has an Attack and a Health attribute, and can attack to attack another, causing them to simultaneously deal damage to each other. Combat is the source of the majority of the damage dealt in many Hearthstone The Hearthstone icon Hearthstone (formerly known as Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft 1] 2]) is a free-to-play digital collectible card game from Blizzard Entertainment. It was first announced in a presentation by Rob Pardo at the hearthstone matches, especially those involving a large number of minions Bloodfen Raptor, a simple minion card. A Beast-type minion, it has 3 Attack, 2 Health and a mana cost of 2. Minions are persistent creatures on the battlefield that will fight for their hero. Minion hearthstone . The core combat mechanics are quite simple, but the mathematics of multiple minions and heroes attacking each other can require deep strategic analysis. Attacking can also activate a variety of triggered effects The lightning bolt icon, explicitly indicating a triggered effect Triggered effects are effects that activate in response to specific events. Triggered effects may belong to minions, weapons or spells (in the form of Secrets), as hearthstone , making even a single attack a potentially complex process.

Some players use "attack" to describe any damage or negative action directed toward the enemy, but in game terminology only the standard combat action described here counts as an attack and triggers related effects. Attacking in Hearthstone is usually understood to represent physical combat, particularly melee combat, in contrast to combat via spells Fireball, a simple mage spell. It costs 4 mana, dealing 6 damage to a chosen target. Spell cards are cards that can be played to trigger a one time effect or ability, described in the hearthstone . "Hit" and "swing" are other informal terms for attacking, as in "hit the face" or "swing into a minion".

Strategy

Since minions take retaliatory damage when in combat with other minions, but not when attacking the enemy hero, a basic strategy is to kill enemy minions using one-time spells Fireball, a simple mage spell. It costs 4 mana, dealing 6 damage to a chosen target. Spell cards are cards that can be played to trigger a one time effect or ability, described in the hearthstone , weapons, and other removal Removal is the term used to refer to the elimination of minions from the battlefield. Hard removal describes cards and effects that can neutralize minions regardless of most defenses, such as high Health or Divine hearthstone effects whenever possible, preserving friendly minions by avoiding combat damage. The friendly minions can then hit the enemy hero over multiple turns, again avoiding combat damage to the lack of hero Attack. Be that as it may, combat between minions is common as well. Depending on the deck`s overall strategy, attacking can be used for board control Board control is an unofficial term usually referring to a player s ability to keep the opponent from building up minions on the battlefield, or "board". Control decks are named after this strategy, aiming to control by killing enemy minions or to aggressively attack See more: Hero The face is a slang term for a player s hero as the target for damaging attacks and effects, as opposed to minions. "Going face" or "attacking the face" refer to focusing one s the enemy hero, sometimes changing based on the current situation. When combat between minions is planned or expected from the enemy, players should usually look for favorable trades A trade is the loss of one or more cards in exchange for the elimination of one or more enemy cards. Most often, trading refers to minions dying in combat, but the term may be based on minion statistics and abilities. In same cases, particularly when an enemy Taunt minion is restricting attack options, it may be better not to attack at all.

Combat tactics are diverse, and cannot be summarized generally without knowing the specific cards, decks, or situations involved. Attack choices are a constantly changing reflection of the state of play at any time, in combination with a player`s overall strategy for the game.

Videos

Overview

When one character attacks another, each of the two participants deals damage equal to its Attack stat Sen jin Shieldmasta, a simple minion card. It has 3 Attack, 5 Health and a mana cost of 4. Attributes are key values which define a character or weapon s power, cost and survivability. Attributes of some hearthstone to the other. Combat is the primary way for most minions Bloodfen Raptor, a simple minion card. A Beast-type minion, it has 3 Attack, 2 Health and a mana cost of 2. Minions are persistent creatures on the battlefield that will fight for their hero. Minion hearthstone to affect the game, by attacking either the enemy hero or their minions. Minions deal their Attack damage both offensively and defensively, making them potentially dangerous on both sides of combat. Heroes A hero is a character in the Warcraft universe representing the player. In Hearthstone, this concept is expressed in three interrelated but distinct ways: Heroes are gameplay characters representing players or bosses within a match. hearthstone can be involved in combat as either an attacker or defender too, but all sources of hero Attack power only apply on their own turn. Therefore, enemy minions can hit the hero without harm during the opponent`s turn.

Weapons are also strongly associated with combat, since their primary purpose is to allow heroes to attack: during a hero`s turn, it gains the Attack power of any equipped weapon. Technically, a weapon does not attack an enemy, the hero using it does. When a hero using a weapon attacks, the weapon loses 1 Durability Sen jin Shieldmasta, a simple minion card. It has 3 Attack, 5 Health and a mana cost of 4. Attributes are key values which define a character or weapon s power, cost and survivability. Attributes of some hearthstone , eventually destroying it and thereby limiting its use. Heroes with weapons equipped have no option to attack without using their weapons, although they can choose not to attack at all to save weapon Durability. Weapons are "sheathed" during the opponent`s turn, bringing hero Attack back to zero during that time. Therefore, only minions hitting heroes on the heroes` own turns will take weapon damage in return. Weapons are the only persistent source of hero Attack, although other effects may boost a hero`s Attack attribute until the end of the turn. All Attack sources are added together for a final Attack value on a hero`s turn, not only that of weapons. For instance, a warrior with Fiery War Axe Fiery War Axe Set: Basic Type: Weapon Class: Warrior Cost: 2 Attack: 3 Durability: 2 During times of tranquility and harmony, this weapon was called by its less popular name, Chilly Peace Axe.See this card hearthstone equipped (+3 Attack) who has cast Heroic Strike Heroic Strike Set: Basic Type: Spell Class: Warrior Cost: 2 Give your hero +4 Attack this turn.Really, if you re a hero, this is every strike.See this card on Hearthpwn data page] Heroic Strike is a hearthstone (+4 Attack) would deal 7 damage in combat that turn, not just 3 or 4.

Combat damage and other sources of damage use the same rules for how damage affects Health Health, sometimes referred to as life, hit points or HP, is an attribute found on heroes and minions, reflecting the remaining survivability of the character. Health can be reduced, almost always by taking damage. If hearthstone and Armor A hero with 2 Armor Armor is a form of secondary Health available only to heroes, gained through certain spells, Hero Powers and minions. Damage taken will always be deducted from Armor before Health. Only hearthstone and interacts with special abilities. See Damage Damage in Hearthstone is a particular infliction of harm upon heroes or minions, measured by a number which is deducted from their Health and/or Armor (if they have any). If a character s Health is reduced for more details and relevant cards.

Combat example

The basic rules of combat can be illustrated with a demonstration. Suppose a warrior`s Chillwind Yeti Chillwind Yeti Set: Basic Type: Minion Cost: 4 Attack: 4 Health: 5 He always dreamed of coming down from the mountains and opening a noodle shop, but he never got the nerve.See this card on hearthstone with 4 Attack has taken 2 damage previously, leaving it with 3 remaining Health. It attacks the opposing mage`s Sen`jin Shieldmasta Sen jin Shieldmasta Set: Basic Type: Minion Cost: 4 Attack: 3 Health: 5 Abilities: Taunt TauntSen jin Villiage is nice, if you like trolls and dust.See this card on Hearthpwn data page] "Taz dingo!" Sen jin Shieldmasta is a hearthstone at full 5 Health, with 3 Attack. They simultaneously deal damage to each other: the Shieldmasta takes 4 damage from the Yeti`s 4 Attack, leaving it still alive at 1 Health, while the Yeti takes 3 damage from the defending minion`s 3 Attack, leaving it at 0 health and causing it to die.

Perhaps the warrior has 1 Health remaining, and also has 1 Armor. The warrior equips a Fiery War Axe Fiery War Axe Set: Basic Type: Weapon Class: Warrior Cost: 2 Attack: 3 Durability: 2 During times of tranquility and harmony, this weapon was called by its less popular name, Chilly Peace Axe.See this card hearthstone weapon and gains 3 Attack from it, allowing him to attack. He consumes one Durability from his axe hitting the Shieldmasta, which takes 3 damage for a new Health total of -2. The Shieldmasta will die, but not before dealing its 3 damage back to the warrior, leaving the warrior at -1 Health and causing him to lose the game. The attack may have been a bad idea...or maybe the warrior had no other options and chose to go out in a blaze of glory.

Summary:

  • Chillwind Yeti at 3 Health takes 3 damage (from 3 Attack of its enemy): 3 - 3 = 0 Health left. Sen`jin Shieldmasta at 5 Health takes 4 damage (from 4 Attack of its enemy): 5 - 4 = 1 Health left. The minions take damage simultaneously, but only the Yeti dies.
  • Warrior at 1 Health, 1 Armor takes 3 damage (from 3 Attack of its enemy): 1 + 1 - 3 = -1 Health left. Shieldmasta at 1 Health takes 3 damage (from 3 Attack of its enemy): 1 - 3 = -2 Health left. The hero and minion take damage simultaneously, so the warrior loses the game as the Shieldmasta dies.

Note that this example does not contain any triggered effects, which can complicate combat immensely.

Attackers

The friendly character from which the attack originates is called the attacker. Normally any character with an Attack value of 1 or more can be an attacker once per turn, except for a minion`s first turn in play. Characters that cannot attack due to a previous attack that turn or their first turn in play are called "exhausted". The Charge For the card of the same name, see Charge (card) Charge is an ability allowing a minion to attack the same turn it is summoned. Charge is available to all classes, but is most strongly hearthstone ability suppresses a minion`s first-turn exhaustion, allowing it to attack immediately, but has no effect once the minion has already attacked. Windfury A minion with Windfury A hero with Windfury For the card of the same name, see Windfury (card) Windfury is an ability which allows a character to attack twice per turn. Windfury is most commonly hearthstone and Mega-Windfury allow a character to attack twice or four times in a turn, respectively, before becoming exhausted. Freeze A Frozen minion A Frozen hero Freeze is an ability that marks a minion or hero as Frozen. Frozen characters miss their next possible attack. After this, the Frozen status is removed. Frozen status only hearthstone effects can freeze a character in place, preventing it from attacking. Some minions have restrictions in their card text preventing them from attacking under specific circumstances, attacking certain targets A target is a specific character that a player action is "aimed at". Targeted effects are those that require a target to play, while others are untargeted. A spell, Hero Power, or Battlecry may be , or attacking at all. Minions with Forgetful "Oops..." - Dunemaul Shaman Forgetful, previously known as clumsy, is an ability which grants a minion or weapon a 50% chance of attacking the wrong enemy. Forgetful is a type of triggered effect. While the hearthstone begin attacks normally, but may randomly change targets before finishing the attack.

Characters with 0 Attack cannot be ordered to attack. While most minions have an Attack value of at least 1, heroes by default have no Attack value. Be that as it may, heroes can make attacks as well by acquiring either long-term Attack power from a weapon Garrosh Hellscream ready to attack using an equipped Fiery War Axe For the equip ability, see Equip Weapons are special cards which can be equipped by heroes. Each weapon has an Attack value and a hearthstone , or one-turn Attack from certain spells Fireball, a simple mage spell. It costs 4 mana, dealing 6 damage to a chosen target. Spell cards are cards that can be played to trigger a one time effect or ability, described in the hearthstone , Hero Powers Anduin Wrynn with the basic priest Hero Power Lesser Heal A Hero Power is a special ability displayed to the right of each hero s portrait. Usually Hero Powers can be used once per turn and hearthstone , or triggered effects The lightning bolt icon, explicitly indicating a triggered effect Triggered effects are effects that activate in response to specific events. Triggered effects may belong to minions, weapons or spells (in the form of Secrets), as hearthstone . Similarly, minions with 0 Attack can initiate combat if their Attack statistic is increased to a positive number by an enchantment An enchantment, or buff or debuff, is a special effect gained by a minion. Enchantments may be generated by spells, minion texts or abilities such as Battlecries, or other sources, may be temporary or permanent, hearthstone or aura The welling of light indicating an ongoing effect Ongoing effects are minion, weapon, and boss Hero Power abilities which grant special effects on an ongoing basis. Ongoing effects are often referred to as auras, particularly hearthstone .

Defenders

The enemy character targeted for attack is called the defender. Normally any enemy character may be chosen by the attacking player, but Taunt The shield-like Taunt visual effect Taunt is a minion ability which forces the opposing player to direct any melee attacks toward enemy targets with this ability. Minions with Taunt (commonly referred to as Taunts) serve hearthstone prevents any character without Taunt from being targeted. Immune The immune effect from Bestial Wrath Immune is an ability that prevents a character from receiving damage from any source, and prevents the opponent from targeting it. Be that as it may, Immune does not prevent destroy, healing or hearthstone and Stealthed A minion in Stealth Stealth is a minion ability which prevents that minion from being the target of enemy attacks, spells and effects until they attack or deal damage. They can, be that as it may, be the target hearthstone characters cannot be targeted at all.

Some triggered effects The lightning bolt icon, explicitly indicating a triggered effect Triggered effects are effects that activate in response to specific events. Triggered effects may belong to minions, weapons or spells (in the form of Secrets), as hearthstone including Forgetful "Oops..." - Dunemaul Shaman Forgetful, previously known as clumsy, is an ability which grants a minion or weapon a 50% chance of attacking the wrong enemy. Forgetful is a type of triggered effect. While the hearthstone can redirect the attack to a different, random defender. If this happens, the combat proceeds normally using the new defender, as if the attacker had deliberately attacked it. The new defender could be one that would not normally be allowed, such as minions in Stealth or those "behind" Taunt. Forgetful-type effects will only choose enemies as new targets, but Misdirection`s possible targets even include the attacker`s own allies. Be that as it may, a minion can never attack itself. Redirection of attacks can lead to some surprising results - read about triggered effects below for more details.

Attack action

An attack is one of the few types of actions initiated directly by players, alongside playing a card or Hero Power or ending the turn. It is the only player action performed directly from a character already in play. The controlling player selects a friendly, attack-capable character in play, then selects the enemy target, which may be the enemy hero or a minion. During this process, a red targeting arrow appears to indicate the potential attacker and defender, visible to both players. When a valid target is selected, the attack commences. If the player selects empty space instead or right-clicks, the attack never begins and the player may choose a different action.

Sequence of events and triggers

See also: Advanced rulebook#Combat for more examples and comprehensive details.

Attacks occur in a sequence of phases and events to allow triggered effects to occur before and after the attack. For each event, triggers occur in order of play as usual. The following is a summary of these effects (as of the Whispers of the Old Gods card set) in the order they occur, along with their more common interactions.

Preparation

After the attack order is locked in, certain attack-triggered effects occur from the "proposed attack", primarily those that redirect attacks or kill or create minions. If an attack is redirected, triggers get another chance to activate based on the new defender. This can even happen multiple times with multiple redirection triggers. If the attacker or defender (almost always the attacker) is mortally wounded, destroyed, or leaves play during this time, some triggers may be cancelled, although the exact conditions vary from card to card. Once this event is complete, all attack redirections will be complete, and their result will be considered the sole defender for all remaining combat steps.

After the proposed attack triggers finish, other pre-attack triggered effects occur, primarily those that do not significantly affect the board. Note that the game does not process deaths resulting from the "proposed attack" before this new round of triggers, which may prevent the death entirely.

  • Cards that trigger at this time: Cutpurse, Truesilver Champion, Power Word: Glory, and Blessing of Wisdom.
  • Example of pre-attack trigger preventing death from proposed attack: A paladin at 2 Health wielding Truesilver Champion attacks a Hunter with Explosive Trap. The Explosive Trap brings the paladin to 0 Health, but the Truesilver Champion subsequently heals the paladin back to 2 Health. The attack completes and the match continues.

Any deaths from pre-combat triggers will be resolved at this point. If any player has lost all their Health, the game is over, without completing the attack. If the attacker or defender is no longer in play, the attack will be cancelled. If an attack is cancelled by the removal of the defender, the attacker will not be exhausted and may attempt to attack again. Be that as it may, the attack will still occur if the attacker has been reduced to 0 Attack power by the loss of a friendly aura.

Combat

The attacker and defender deal damage to each other at the same time, possibly triggering damage-related effects. Although the damage is simultaneous, any triggers from the attacker`s damage occur before those for the defender. If there are multiple triggers for the attacker`s damage, they occur in order of play, and the same for the defender`s damage. Additionally, any weapon used to attack loses one Durability at this point, possibly destroying the weapon.

The damage dealt by each character is equal to its Attack attribute at that moment. If the Attack value is 0 for a character, no damage will be dealt and no damage triggers will occur due to that half of the combat. Weapons and other hero Attack increases are only active during the controlling hero`s turn, and therefore do not contribute to Attack power or deal defensive damage on the opponent`s turn, when the hero is likely to be attacked. Be that as it may, if a redirection effect causes a hero to be hit on their own turn, any Attack power from weapons or other sources will cause damage to the attacker, which is usually a friendly minion. This does not cause the weapon to lose Durability.

Immediately after the damage exchange, a final set of attack-related triggers is resolved. Combat deaths and consequences are only handled after triggered effects complete.

A

All
Every possible target on the board for the spell or Ability.
Attack
To be on the offensive either by attacking an opponents card or your opponent himself/herself
Ability
There are a group of common keywords that are used on multiple cards that are collectively called abilities. They can for example specify when the action will happen, or how. These keywords are written in bold on the cards.
Aggro Deck
AoE
See Area of Effect
Arcane Dust
The ingredient used to craft new Hearthstone cards. Can only be obtained in two ways: as a reward for doing Arena or through Disenchanting an existing card in your possession. Crafting costs depend on the rarity of a card and whether it is Golden or not.
Common - 40 Dust
Golden Common - 400 Dust
Rare - 100 Dust
Golden Rare - 800 Dust
Epic - 400 Dust
Golden Epic - 1600 Dust
Legendary - 1600 Dust
Golden Legendary - 3200 Dust
Arena
A Hearthstone game mode. In this mode, players can choose to either pay 150 Gold or real money ($1.99/⃂⅁1.49/⃢₂ⅹ1.79) to enter. In Arena, you are given a random draft of three classes to pick then must pick cards individually out of a choice of three cards until you have completed your deck. Unlike Constructed, there is no limit to how many copies of the same card you may possess in your deck.
In an Arena run, you compete against other players to win as many games as possible. An Arena run will end when you either win twelve times, retire, or lose three times. Winning Arena games will upgrade the key in your possession, which will improve the spoils (You will receive five boxes of rewards, each having a chance to contain Gold, Arcane Dust or a Pack). You are always guaranteed to get a pack of cards, but if you do well enough it is possible to get two. Generally speaking, a Diamond Key (7 wins or above) is usually required to earn back the Arena entry fee in Gold while a Lightforge Key (12 wins) will earn you the greatest possible reward.
Area of Effect
Spells or attacks that affect more than a single target and either specifies a certain general area or an area emanating from a source point.
Armor
A resource similar to Health, that can be gained through the hero powers Armor Up! and Shapeshift, or spells like Shield Block, Ice Barrier and Bite. Armor gets removed before Health when taking damage, but you lose the game if your Health drops to 0 even if you manage to gain some Armor after taking the damage.
Attack Power
The attack power of a minion is the amount of damage it can do on each attack.

B

Battlecry
An ability that is triggered immediately, when a minion is summoned.
Burn
Powers and cards played with the purpose of lowering the health of the enemy hero, disregarding board control.

C

Character
A character is either your hero⃂₠or any minion on the battlefield.
Charge
This Ability lets a minion attack during the turn it is summoned.
Choose One
This Ability gives you the option to choose between two spell effects when playing a spell, or between two minion Battlecry effects when playing a minion. This ability is associated with the Druid class.
Combo
A card with the ability Combo gets the ability triggered it if is not the first card that is played that turn, i.e. it is played in a combo with another card. Playing The Coin does trigger the Combo ability. Hero Power does not enable Combo. This ability is associated with the Rogue class.
Constructed
Refers to any Hearthstone game mode in which the player is allowed to use decks they have built from their own card collection. In any constructed deck, the player is allowed a maximum of two of each common/rare/epic card and a maximum of one of each legendary card.
Control Deck
A deck that aims to win through board control. Usually these type of decks have high emphasis on removal spells and lack burn damage. Most notable archetypes are Handlock Control Warrior and Control Priest.
Coin
A card that is given to the player who is going second at the start of the match. It grants the player 1 extra Mana Crystal for one turn only when they use it.
Crafting

D

Deathrattle
Ability that is triggered when the minion dies.
Deck
The set of 30 cards that player uses in a game of Hearthstone. Player draws one card from the deck each turn until there are no cards left, after which the player will be Fatigued
Destroy
Remove a minion from the board. There is no damage dealt so Divine Shield is ignored.
Discover
When a Discover ability is activated player is presented with three random cards to choose from and to take into one`s hand.
Disenchant
Disenchanting cards will give you Arcane Dust. It`s good to use when you have many duplicates. Rarer cards provide more Arcane Dust. Basic cards cannot be disenchanted.
Common - 5 Dust
Golden Common - 50 Dust
Rare - 20 Dust
Golden Rare - 100 Dust
Epic - 100 Dust
Golden Epic - 400 Dust
Legendary - 400 Dust
Golden Legendary - 1600 Dust
Divine Shield
Absorbs one attack or spell/effect that deals damage before the minion itself takes any damage.
Dream Cards
Cards that a player draws at the end of each turn while having Ysera on the board.
Durability
Number of times a hero can attack with a weapon before it is destroyed.

E

Enrage
This Ability is triggered when a minion takes damage.

F

Fast decks
Typically all-out decks that play many small aggressive minions, trying to close out the game as early as possible, leading to fast victories or defeats.
Fatigue
When you are out of remaining cards in your deck and the start of your turn or a card effect makes you draw a card, you take fatigue damage. The first time you`re out of cards, it`s 1 damage, the second time, it`s 2 damage, and so on until you or your opponent is dead.
Freeze
Cannot attack for one turn, Hero abilities can still be used (although Rogues and Druids would be unable to attack with said Hero abilities.

G

Gold
Gold is the in-game currency. It cannot be directly purchased, but is instead won through arena matches and/or playing in matchmade constructed games.

H

Health
The amount of life a card or hero has left before it is discarded or, in the case of a hero, loses the game.
Hit Points (HP)
See Health

I

Immune
Everything is ineffective and damage cannot be inflicted to you.
Inspire
An effect that activates when the owner of the minion uses a Hero Power.

M

Mana
Mana is used to play cards. Your current mana is displayed in the bottom right of the screen. Each card requires a certain amount of mana to be summoned. You start with one Mana; at the start of each player`s turn mana is fully restored and the mana pool gets increased by one until both players have 10 Mana. Certain cards can increase a player`s mana pool.
Medal
Medals were an early ranking system in Hearthstone. Players started at Apprentice and based on their ladder performance in ranked games could work their way up to a higher medal. You did not lose Medals for losing games. This system was replaced with the current ladder system before launch.
Mill Deck
Milling is the act of flooding your opponent`s hand, making him discard cards due to drawing over the 10 card limit.
Minion
Minion is a character with health and attack values that players summon to the board by playing minion cards or certain spells such as Feral Spirit
Mulligan
To mulligan a card is to discard it from your initial hand and draw a replacement from the remaining deck. You are allowed to mulligan as many cards as you want from your initial draw, but this can only be done before turn 1.
Murloc Deck
Deck that focuses on Murlocs. One of the most aggressive decks in the game. Most commonly used by warlocks, since they can use Life Tap to draw a lot of cards to keep the aggression going. Very susceptible to Area of Effect.

O

One Turn Kill
A combination of cards that leads to killing an opponent in one turn.
OTK
See One Turn Kill
Overload
Reduces the amount of mana a player can use the next turn.

P

Pack
Hearthstone cards are purchased in packs. Each pack has five cards in them, at least one of them being Rare or of higher rarity. Packs may also contain Golden cards or multiples of same card. Packs are earned as rewards or can be bought from the in-game store.
Plain Card
A plain card is a minion which has no text on it, ie. it only has Mana Cost, Attack Power, and Hit Points.
Power
See Attack Power

R

Ramp
The act of playing cards that add mana crystals to your mana pool in order to play high mana creatures faster than your opponent. This includes cards that increase your mana pool temporarily (The Coin and Innervate) or permanently (Wild Growth, Nourish).
Rarity
In order from least rare to most rare: Common(White), Rare(Blue), Epic(Purple), Legendary(Orange). Although it mainly determines how uncommon certain cards would appear in a Pack, it also determines the crafting cost (in Arcane Dust) of a card. Rarity does not necessarily correlate to power.
Removal
A term applied to cards that deal damage or Destroy one or more minions on the turn they are played.

S

Secret
A Spell that is triggered when a certain action occurs (ex. attacking an enemy minion). The identity of a secret is hidden from the opponent until it is triggered, portrayed only as question mark graphic above the casting hero`s portrait.
Silence
This Ability removes any effects (ex. +1/+1, taunt) from the chosen target(s). This does not remove spells like Hex or Polymorph that turn the creature into something else, although it would remove the taunt from the Hexed creature. Casting silence on a creature that is silenced already does not remove the first silence. You can use silence on your own creatures however to remove enemy spells such as Humility that negatively affect your minions.
Slow decks
Decks that try to stall out the game until high mana turns where they can bring out impactful minions like Ancient of War, Ysera and Ragnaros.
Soulbound
Cards that belong to the Basic set. They cannot be disenchanted and are available for all players. Also Reward cards belong to this category.
Spell Damage
Each point of Spell Damage makes spells deal one additional damage. It also applies to some spells like Shadowflame and healing spells with Auchenai Soulpriest.
Standard Format
A type of game mode where only the recent 2 years of Hearthstone cards can be used. Classic and Basic cards are always usable in Standard.

After coming out of Standard rotation, cards are classed as Wild

Stealth
This Ability makes a minion untargetable by attacks or targeted spells/effects. They still take damage from Area of Effect spells/effects, and can still be hit from spells that hit a random target. They can also be hit by spells that target adjacent minions. An Explosive Shot that targets a minion will still do 2 damage to the stealthed minion next to it. Stealth is removed after the minion attacks.
Subtype
A Minion category that generally has synergies within its type and with some spells (example Timber Wolf and Kill Command). Currently, there are seven subtypes: Beast, Dragon, Demon, Mech, Murloc, Pirate and Totem.

T

Taunt
This Ability forces enemy characters to attack this minion before any other minion without taunt or your hero. If there are multiple minions with taunt you can choose which of them to attack.
TBD
To be determined - Something yet to be determined such as tournament participants, or release date. In terms of release dates, TBA (To be announced) can also be used.
Tempo
A general concept used not only in TCGs but also in other strategy games such as Chess and Starcraft that refers to who has the initiative in a game. If, for example, both players play some minions but yours can attack first, you are said to have tempo.
Tempo Deck
A deck designed to gain the initiative in a game, often through a lower Mana Curve, cards holding significant Value relative to their Mana cost, and a healthy dose of Control options. Not to be confused with a Rush Deck which will often aim to win the game outright in a short number of turns with a tiny Mana Curve.
Token
A card that is summoned by another card, such as Violet Apprentice, Gnoll, Silver Hand Recruit and Wicked Knife.
Token Deck
A deck that floods the board with small, weak minions using cards like Violet Teacher, Haunted Creeper or Muster for Battle to get high value from buffs such as Power of the Wild, Bloodlust, Hobgoblin and Savage Roar.
Top-Decking
Drawing a powerful card that turns the game around in your favor while faced with a major card disadvantage (i.e. either having no or very few cards on your hand or in play) compared to your opponent. A term often used in other card games (particularly YuGiOh where some deck archetypes were notorious for top-decking.)
Tribe
See Subtype

V

Value
Value can be defined in two different ways:
1. By the effects and stats of a card relative to its Mana and Card cost (if applicable.) For example, Novice Engineer is deemed to be a valuable card due to its "Draw a card" Battlecry, Knife Juggler can potentially provide great value each time you play a minion and the Dark Iron Dwarf is deemed very valuable for a 4 Mana 4/4 due to its Battlecry which grants an additional 2 Attack to a minion.
2. A metric used to describe the efficiency of a certain play. For example, the act of eliminating a Bluegill Warrior with an Elven Archer`s Battlecry can be deemed valuable both in terms of card advantage and Mana cost due to a 1 Mana 1/1 minion eliminating a 2 Mana 2/1 Charge minion with only its Battlecry (meaning the attacker who played the Archer did not lose the minion in the process.)

W

Windfury
This Ability allows a minion to attack twice in one turn.
Wild Format (game type)
A game type that allows any card in Hearthstone to be used in a deck. Standard decks are allowed, but not the other way round. See Standard Format above for information.