As the year begins to draw to a close, Blizzard Entertainment has revealed and announced the last expansion of the year for Hearthstone. March of the Lich King adds 145 new cards, the new Death Knight class, a new minion type called Undead, dual-type minions, the return of the Reborn keyword, the addition of the Manathirst keyword, and a new cosmetic quality called Signature.
The new Death Knight class is a new permanent addition to the game. Death Knights command the Undead with their hero power: Ghoul Charge. Death Knights can summon a 1/1 Ghoul with Charge that dies at the end of your turn. Whenever a friendly minion dies, Death Knights gain a Corpse which can be used to power up their cards. Death Knights also have a class deckbuilding mechanic called Runes.
There are three Runes, one for each Death Knight spec: Blood, Frost, and Unholy. Runes dictate which Death Knight cards can be added to a deck while deckbuilding. Blood Runes are the tankiest Runes. Blood cards tend to have board control effects, large minions, and cards that manipulate life totals. The Frost Rune have powerful burst potential. Frost cards tend to have lots of synergies, with direct damage, card draw, mana manipulation, and Freeze effects. The Unholy Rune has the greatest command of the Undead armies. Unholy cards tend to be very good at summoning Undead minions, summoning swarms of minions, and generating and spending Corpses.
Undead minions will appear in Neutral and in the classes that align with the Lich King. Many cards synergize with Undead, triggering bonus effects. Some minions will have two Minion types. For Undead, the second type might represent what they were before they became undead. These will be retroactive additions, with both Undead and second minion types being added to many older minions as well as those in this expansion.
Reborn is a returning keyword mechanic that is going to be a regular part of the game going forward. The first time a Reborn minion dies, it is resummoned with 1 Health remaining. Manathirst is the new keyword getting added to the game. Cards with Manathirst get more powerful once you reach a specified amount of mana. You don’t have to spend the mana to power up the cards, you just need access to it.
Signature is a new cosmetic quality that cards can have with stylized full-art images. The Signature cards for March of the Lich King will feature an icy sepia style, evoking the Lich King’s powers over Frost and the Undead. Signature card art styles will match their respective expansion’s style and the card frame for future Signature cards might also change from time to time. Signature cards can’t be crafted or disenchanted; they can only be opened in packs or earned through special means. 18 Signature cards are coming with the launch of March of the Lich King, including 15 Legendary cards. Below are all the cards that have been revealed so far for March of the Lich King.