Articles

Drew Walker

Well, well, well. It's that time of year again! Beaches, BBQs, baseball, big budget blockbusters, and basketball playoffs. Let's be honest, who really cares about any of those things when it also means that it's preview time!

First things first, we must dispense with the pleasantries. My name is Drew Walker, and I was the lead designer of Tomb of the Forgotten, with Patrick Sullivan once again ruining all my fun as development lead. Tomb of the Forgotten is set in Uldum, one of the five new leveling zones that was added to the World of Warcraft® with the Cataclysm expansion. This final set in the Aftermath Block continues a lot of the themes from the previous two sets with Empower, Eternal, Harmonize, and Murlocs to name a few. The biggest new additions, as you might expect, are a full dose of the featured Monster race, the Tol'vir, as well as some other goodies for all the Monster lovers out there.

Without going into too much detail about what the Tol'vir are, let's just say that they are responsible for guarding the titan technology that is housed within Uldum. The most striking thing to note about the Tol'vir allies, as they are represented in the trading card game, is that they are all dual-class! That means that these allies will help your Empower effects go off more easily.

The next thing to note is the new keyword Sentinel. An ally or hero with this keyword gains the following effect:

"When this ally exhausts for the first time each turn, you may ready it."

If you have someone special, like General Husam, that has Protector AND Sentinel, you could attack twice, protect twice, or attack once and protect twice! Think that's nuts? Slap an attachment on this guy (like Essence of Aggression, since playing any of the Essence abilities is much easier thanks to the Tol'vir) and just see how insane it can be.

The last piece to note about the Tol'vir is their love for equipment, as you can see on the Neferset Bladelord. Since, as I mentioned earlier, they were charged with the safe-keeping of ancient technologies, it seemed only fitting that they would care about equipment in the trading card game.

Speaking of equipment, are any of you fans of solo equipment decks? Well if you weren't before, I guarantee you that Uldum will get those gears, weapons, and armor going again. I think this card is pretty self-explanatory, so do I really need to say more about it?

MONSTURS ROOL

With the previous two sets of the Aftermath Block, we saw seven of the ten classes get a Monster hero to play with. For all you patient Paladin, Priest, and Rogue fans out there, your wait is almost over!

Dark Pharoah Tekahn is one of the leaders of the Neferset, so if you enjoy manipulating the minds of your followers, then has he got a deal for you! As for the Paladin Monster hero...check back for our Paladin preview next Sunday!

Many of you may have been wondering what race the Rogue hero was going to be. The treasures and secrets of Uldum have lured all manner of beings from far and wide that seek to uncover the mysteries of the sands. Nexus-Thief Asar hopes to find some rare artifacts that he can sell on the black market, where he hopes to make a hefty profit from his excavations.

You didn't think you'd get away from the swarm did you? Uldum just so happens to be on the southern tip of Kalimdor, and where there's water, there's bound to be some Murlocs! The featured and some of the lesser races from the previous sets will all get a little bit of love in Tomb of the Forgotten, so whether you love to Smash, hear whispers of Azshara in your head, claim Sargeras as your lord, or are a son or daughter of Cenarius, Tomb of the Forgotten will surely cures what ails you.

Red and Blue

The last time I checked, this was still World of Warcraft, right? And what would World of Warcraft be without the Horde and the Alliance! We haven't forgotten about all those fans who rep for Blood and Thunder, or for those who stand for the Glory of the Alliance.

You'll notice that Zindalan has Harmonize, and Aaron Goodchilde has Eternal. These two mechanics from Throne of the Tides and Crown of the Heavens will continue in Tomb of the Forgotten. These two cards make you wonder, is Horde the only side that gets Harmonize in this set? Is Alliance the only side that gets Eternal? Only time will tell!

Forgetful

Oh silly me, I seem to have forgotten one last little piece of information that you may or may not find exciting…

No my faithful fans, that is not a typo. Other than the basic restriction of “no Talent cards”, that is a full-blown dual-class hero in all its gloriousdeckbuildingdeliciousness (it's a real word, check the dictionary). Mistress Nesala can mix together all the equipment and abilities that both Rogue and Warlock have available. Want to Invoke the Nether and then go beatdowns with your two Maimgor's Bites? I'm sure not going to stop you. Want to Empower both your Rogue AND Warlock cards? You certainly can in Tomb of the Forgotten because we are also adding Monster allies with Empower in this set! Or maybe you just want to Poison the Well and then drop a Shroud of the Nethermancer to get an army of Vylokxes online.

There are five total dual-class heroes, and while I'd love to show you them all, that wouldn't be nearly as fun as seeing the speculation! I'll give you one last hint before I send you on your merry way: one of the other dual-class heroes has the same combination as an Empower card from Crown of the Heavens. The other three don't.

I hope you've enjoyed this first preview of Tomb of the Forgotten. The rest of the World of Warcraft TCG team and I are looking forward to seeing the reactions of fans at the North American Continental Championship in Las Vegas in a few weeks! Until then, stay frosty! (And check back tomorrow for a look into the bluest of the blue team leaders!)

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