Despite the valiant efforts of the League of Explorers in Uldum, Arch-Villain Rafaam and the League of E.V.I.L.’s nefarious plans have come to devastating fruition. They’ve escaped Uldum with the Plague of Undeath and twisted its ancient power in order to resurrect the most powerful draconic force the world of Azeroth has ever known – the progenitor of dragonkind himself, Galakrond!

Read on for details on what to expect of Galakrond’s grand entrance into the world of Hearthstone before he’s added to your collection with the launch of Descent of Dragons on December 10.

What is Galakrond?

The resurrected proto-dragon Galakrond manifests as five unique Hero Cards for the League of E.V.I.L. classes: Rogue, Warrior, Warlock, Shaman, and Priest. Like existing Hero Cards, playing Galakrond will replace your current Hero and Hero Power, grant some Armor, and trigger the card’s Battlecry. However, there’s much more to Galakrond than a traditional hero card:

Upgrading Galakrond

Throughout a match, Galakrond can be upgraded into more powerful versions of himself by playing cards with the new “Invoke” keyword. Invoking Galakrond twice takes him from his base form to ‘Galakrond, The Apocalypse.’ Invoking two additional times will take him to his final, most powerful form, ‘Galakrond, Azeroth’s End.’ Upgrading to each new form doubles the power of Galakrond’s Battlecry effect and playing Galakrond in his final form additionally equips a 5/2 Claw weapon that you can use to swiftly lay waste to your opponent. Once Galakrond is played and his Battlecry has been unleashed, he can no longer be upgraded through Invoke cards, though they will still trigger the Invoke effect.

To give an example of what this winged terror brings to the board, here are the three transformations of ‘Galakrond, The Unspeakable,’ the Priest manifestation of the powerful progenitor of dragonkind.

Galakrond's Gifts

In addition to progressing towards his next transformation, whenever you play an Invoke card, Galakrond (wherever he may be) will also grant an activation of his Hero Power. As an example, casting [[Seal Fate]] will not only deal 3 damage to an undamaged minion, but also add a random Lackey to your hand, since that’s the Hero Power gained when you play the Rogue manifestation of Galakrond, ‘Galakrond, The Nightmare.’

Draconic Details

Now let’s go over some details to help you understand some interesting situations you may encounter with the new Galakrond cards. Hopefully this section doesn’t drag on.

• The first Galakrond you gain control of, either in your hand or deck, becomes your “main Galakrond”. Usually this is the Galakrond you included in your deck, but it can also be one you stole from your opponent or received through some other crazy shenanigans. This means any Invoke cards will upgrade this Galakrond and trigger its Hero Power effect. Note that, like Quests, cards with the Invoke keyword and the five collectible Galakrond cards cannot be generated by random effects, such a Discover.
• In cases where your deck contains multiple versions of Galakrond, such as Tavern Brawls that allow cards from multiple classes, your main Galakrond will be the one that matches your class, if possible. Otherwise it will be the first Galakrond detected by the game. Once determined, your main Galakrond remains the same for the rest of the game unless it’s destroyed, transformed, or you replace your Hero with a different version of Galakrond. Once you play a Galakrond, that becomes your main Galakrond until you replace it again.
• One final thing to note is that when you Invoke, it is Galakrond himself that is rewarding you for your efforts. If you don’t have a Galakrond as your Hero, or in your hand or deck, then Invoking has no effect. So, if you steal and play an Invoke card from your opponent, you won’t get any benefit from the Invoke effect unless you have a Galakrond.

We can’t wait to see what devastation you’ll unleash once you have your hands on Galakrond. Good luck, and we will see you in the Tavern!