Everything you need to know about Galakrond's Awakening chapter 2, Clash at Wyrmrest

For an entire week, Hearthstone fans have patiently waited for the arrival of the next installment in Galakrond’s Awakening. And now, it’s finally here.

Evil side

Dragoncaster Askaara

The first boss you’ll encounter when playing as the League of EVIL is Dragoncaster Askaara. As her name implies, Askaara is a big fan of Dragons. The Dragoncaster’s Hero Power is called Dragon Affinity. This Power is passive and causes your Dragons to cost one less. In addition, after using Dragon’s Affinity, Askaara’s Hero Power will swap to a random one.

Since the Normal version of the adventure is preconstructed, you won’t have any control over which cards or Hero you use. You’ll start things off against Askaara as Waxrider Togwaggle. Your Hero Power allows you to pay two mana and summon a 1/1 Living Candle. Your candles will be Deathrattle minions that allow you to equip a wax spear. In addition, if you already have a spear equipped, the Deathrattle gives it +1/+1 instead.

Waxrider’s deck plays similar to Pirate Warrior or Rogue. Askaara will be coming at you with Mage cards, so don’t get discouraged if you get hit by a few board wipes. Your deck has enough late-game value to bring the match home.

United Sr. Explorers

As you move into match two, you’ll face the United Sr. Explorers. This troupe of explorers has a Hero Power called Teamwork. This Power costs one mana and shuffles two random signature Treasures into their deck.

While facing off against the Explorers, you’ll play as someone you may recognize from Standard, Kronx Dragonhoof. In his Hero form, Kronx plays a deck similar to the ones you find him in. You’ll be using a variety of Invoke cards, but not to buff Galakrond. Instead, your cards with Invoke will empower Kronx by giving your Hero three Attack and Lifesteal.

Since your Hero Power provides you with so much sustain, this is another round where you’ll basically be rushing face. Kronx has a deck that feels like it was purposefully designed to literally stomp the Sr. Explorers. As long as you play cards with Invoke and abuse your Hero Power, this match shouldn’t be a problem.

Nithogg

Your third and final opponent while playing as the bad guys is the giant Dragon, Nithogg. This humungous drake has a three-mana Hero Power called Stormrage. It deals two damage to a random enemy minion. If the minion dies, Nithogg gets to summon a Storm Egg. These eggs are 0/3 minions that transform into a 4/4 Storm Drake with Rush at the start of Nithogg’s turn. But you can dictate how often Nithogg uses his Hero Power by ensuring you don’t have any juicy two-health minions for him to blast.

During this match, you’ll be playing as League of EVIL member Hagatha the Vengeful. In tandem with her Hearthstone lore thus far, Hagatha plays a Shaman deck. Your Hero Power while playing as Hagatha is called Swampqueen’s Touch. It costs two mana and allows you to transform a friendly minion into one that costs one to three more. This gives you the ability to amass a board full of strong-bodied bullies that Nithogg will struggle to deal with.

As long as you play around his Hero Power and abuse your own, Nithogg should be a breeze.

Good side

Puppetmaster Lazul

Over on the right side of the law, the Explorers’ campaign kicks off with a match against Puppetmaster Lazul. Most players will recognize Lazul as one of the primary members of the League of EVIL. Lazul’s Hero Power costs one mana and is called Fortune. This allows Lazul to Discover a copy of a card from her opponent’s deck. In addition to the Murlocs and Dragons she steals from you, Lazul will also use neutral and Priest cards. Lazul’s biggest threat is a beefed-up C’thun.

While facing off against Lazul, you’ll be playing as League of Explorers’ member Sir Finley. Like in chapter one, Finley’s Hero Power is Lead the Charge. For two mana, Lead the Charge allows you to give a friendly minion Rush and Divine Shield. This Hero Power is strong and allows you to easily board clear with your minions. Since Finley is a Murloc, his deck is also full of Murlocs. This means you won’t have any shortage of minions to beef up with a Divine Shield.

After getting Lazul to zero Health, she’ll go immune and transform into Go’rath. This new foe also has a different Hero Power called From Below. This Power summons a random tentacle. Go’rath’s Tentacles make it difficult to keep minions on the board. For this reason, your best bet is amassing a powerful board before defeating Lazul.

In the late game, you’ll be able to use Anyfin Can Happen to summon a plethora of your dead Murlocs. The Go’rath fight can be difficult, but only if you don’t prepare for it while facing Lazul.

High Cultist Dawnshatter

This adventure has no shortage of Dragon fans and this battle includes two of them. Dawnshatter’s Hero Power is passive and is called Dragonbone Ritual. It causes any Dragon played by Dawnshatter to get a Deathrattle that revives it in three turns.

This fight is much easier than the Lazul battle and will provide a nice break for those who were frustrated by Go’rath. During this duel, you’ll be playing as Dragonrider Talritha. While playing as Talritha, you’ll have a Passive Hero Power called Dragonblood. After a friendly Dragon dies, give all minions +1/+1. This will allow you to mostly discourage Dawnshatter from destroying your minions unless she has board control.

Since you’ll both be playing minion-heavy Dragon decks, this duel will primarily revolve around trading. Making smart trades will allow you to buff your minions with your Hero Power. Dawnshatter’s Hero Power isn’t fast enough to keep up with your own, so play your minions and trade intelligently.

Hagatha the Vengeful

Although you play as her during the evil side of this chapter, your final opponent on the good side of things will be Hagatha the Vengeful. Just like when playing as Hagatha, her Hero Power is Swampqueen’s Touch. This will allow Hagatha to pay two mana to transform a minion into one that costs one to three more. Hagatha will still act as a Shaman-like character, meaning she’ll have plenty of minions to summon for transforming.

Luckily, you’ll be playing as Alexstrasza. Hagatha isn’t the only one with a good Hero Power during this battle. While playing as Alexstrasza, your Hero Power is called Breath of Life. This two-cost Hero Power allows you to set a minion’s Health to five. Your deck will be full of Warrior and Druid cards, which means you won’t have any shortage of minions to beef up.

A victory here will revolve around trading appropriately and using your Hero Power to do so. If Hagatha doesn’t have minions to transform, her Hero Power can’t create an issue. Use Breath of Life to beef up your minions so they can survive and use them to clear Hagatha’s board. As long as you smash her health along the way, this match should be easy.