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Ragnrok

Mark it on your calendars folks, for today, the 4^th of October in the year 2011, Patrick J Sullivan has disappeared into the wilderness of New Jersey. Perhaps he decided to seek out the legendary New Jersey Devil. Or maybe he got caught up with some fellas from around-the-way. Or maybe he decided that Atlantic City was calling his name. Whatever the case may be, I prefer to think that he somehow got buried in garbage because that’s all I really know about Jersey. I’m sure when he gets back he will make some snarky comment about Boston, the Red Sox and their abysmal September performance, or Tom Brady’s sweet Uggs commercials. No one knows what the future holds, but as for the present, I do know that I have hijacked his blog and if he wants it back, he’ll have to at least ask politely. Now, on to more pressing matters…let’s talk about some Monsters!

Throne of the Tides adds a hefty dose of Monsters to the WoW TCG, more specifically it primarily adds Murlocs, Naga, and Ogres. You’ll also see a smattering of Faceless Ones, a dash of Giblins, a pinch of Ogres, a dabble of Merciless Ones (not to be confused with faceless ones…), and a touch of water elementals. Yes, yes, I know about the sea giant, kraken, leviathan, and demigod, too. But let’s take a little closer look, and see who these new Monsters are and why they do what they do.

*Insert Crazy Murloc Noise Here*

Murlocs are notorious swarmers, and countless adventurers on Azeroth have fallen victim to the “Oh, there’s only one of them. I’ll just take him out before I sit and drink.”  With their overwhelming nature in mind, we quickly all agreed that the Murlocs should have that same feel in the TCG. So be careful while you are out there when you see a Murloc standing all alone in front of you. You may soon find yourself completely overwhelmed in the blink of an eye.

Naga… Naga… Naganna Work Here Anymore

So obviously with any water-themed set, Naga would have to make an appearance….especially in a set that is named after a dungeon in which the Naga are attempting to usurp power from Neptulon. These twisted creatures (they remind me of dragons, and I do love dragons) are far more my cup of tea. These servants of the ODld gods used to be Night Elves, but they basically sold their souls. Now they serve their dark masters with unflinching resolve. The Naga have been living under the ocean for thousands of years, and they have learned a thing or two about the depths of the sea. Their mastery of frost and water magic is truly a sight to behold, but they are also capable of Delving (seewhatIdidthere?) deep as any capable diver should be. Cross these vile and wretched creatures, and you may find yourself face to face with the great leviathan Ozumat, and I can’t imagine that he isn’t always hungry for a snack.

Goblin? Gilblin? Gilgoblin? What?

For anyone who’s quested their way through Vashj’ir, the Gilblin should be all too recognizable. Like their relatives, the Goblins of the Horde, these mischievous scroungers love treasure. You can find them scouring wreckage, searching ruins, or even just kind of hanging out underwater, always in search of the bling bling. Their penchant for buried treasure pushed us to give them an equipment tie-in for the TCG. Who better to be doing things with equipment than these meddlesome buggers?

The Power of Pure Water!

Neptulon’s flavor text aside (hey, don’t blame me, it’s what he says in the MMO), a set called Throne of the Tides featuring Neputlon as the master hero would never be complete without including some of the water elementals that he rules. If you had to ask yourself, WWWWD (that’s What Would Water Elementals Do)? Wouldn’t the obvious answer be “something with frost damage”? Turns out, that’s what we thought too! Neputlon’s subjects really hammer home the fact that frost things matter to them, and they help feed into using Neptulon himself to finish off your opponents.

Ogres Have Feelings Too

So if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering what in the heck Ogres are doing underwater. We all know that fat floats, so how are they possibly staying down at the bottom of the ocean anyways?  Well, to be honest, they aren’t in the set for any sort of super-flavorful reasons. Ogres exist because we want to have good cross-set synergy within the block, and because they are one of the most recognizable Monster races in Warcraft. Did I use Neph’Lahim and his buddies that you kill for the quest Unplug L’ghorek as justification for including more Ogres underwater? You can’t prove that. That being said, we’ve always wanted to do Smash as a keyword, but we could never find the perfect spot to do it. Taurens would have been the best choice across Horde and Alliance, but why should Horde have all the fun (I’ve been accused of favoritism one too many times)? The introduction of Ogres gave us the perfect spot to introduce Smash and let everyone in the fun. Just don’t make too many Hulk Smash jokes please, unless you hate kittens, and let’s be honest, no one hates kittens.

Show Me What the Future Holds

The next set is called Crown of the Heavens, and if you’re a Lore-fiend like me, you probably know what or at least where that means. I expect to see a lot of smashing in the future, but make sure that you keep balance in your life and that you maintain the harmony that exists. If you don’t, you could lose yourself and become forgotten, wandering the sands as you are overcome with delusions of a civilization that was shrouded from the world for countless years.

The year of the Monster has arrived, so let loose your inner beast and embrace your wild side! If you don’t want to that’s cool too, but when I’m off riding on the back of my kick-ass dragon, don’t come crying to me.

Drew Walker
Creative Design Lead
LoreGuy