World of Warcraft Community Site -> World of Warcraft Trading Card Game

arrax, a mighty hero of the Alliance, looked over to Latro Abiectus, the elusive rogue, who nodded and disappeared into the darkness. Preparing to make his move, Warrax drew the Arcanite Reaper that had served him well in the past. “For Khaz Modan,” he shouted, as he and Latro surged forward to overcome their enemy, Ta’zo. Just as Warrax raised his Reaper to strike down the wounded troll mage, Kulan Earthguard stepped forward to defend him…

Fierce combat, abilities, allies, weapons, armor, quests…all these features familiar to players of World of Warcraft will also be found in the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game (TCG) from Blizzard Entertainment and Upper Deck Entertainment. With the World of Warcraft TCG, players will be able to take their online experience to an enjoyable offline social event and engage in TCG-based player-versus-player (PvP) fights and epic raid battles. We talked to Blizzard Entertainment’s creative development team to learn more about this new game that will be released on October 19th in Europe and October 25th in North America.

The following article offers an overview of the World of Warcraft TCG, but a much more in-depth preview of the game, including extensive rules information, can be found here. To purchase the game, go here.

Trading Card Games

Trading card games are played with specially designed card sets that players can assemble decks with to play the game. A trading card game has a rule-set that defines the objective of the game, how each card in the game can be played, and what consequences this will have. Each card often represents an ally or magic spell that a player can use to assist in combat, and rules that define that card’s properties are listed on the card itself. Prior to beginning play, players carefully compose their decks from an available pool of cards. Players can get more cards from 15-card “booster packs” or by trading with friends.

World of Warcraft Trading Card Game

The World of Warcraft TCG consists of many of the elements you can find in the World of Warcraft massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). These include the character classes and their abilities, as well as armor and quests. The artwork of the cards is created by some of the top artists in the fantasy field, including Darrell Sweet, Greg Hildebrandt, Dave Dorman, R.K. Post, and Todd McFarlane. Blizzard artists contributed some amazing artwork to the card game as well.

The World of Warcraft TCG will offer two different ways to play: traditional play, in which two players (or two even-numbered groups) try to defeat each other, and raid-deck play, in which one player takes on the role of a powerful enemy boss that all other players group up to battle against.

How to Play?

Staying true to Blizzard's motto for the World of Warcraft MMORPG, the trading card game is “easy to learn but challenging to master.” While it’s generally a very easy game to pick up, players will have fun developing and refining their strategies for the different tactical situations and also collecting the cards they want to use in their decks.

Card Types

The World of Warcraft TCG offers several different categories of cards. The most fundamental one is the hero card, which represents the player’s avatar in the card game. If a hero takes damage equal to his health, that player has lost. The first set of the TCG has sixteen heroes, one for each class and faction combination.

As in the online game, where players form groups to take on difficult encounters, heroes will want to recruit allies into their party in the TCG. Allies can attack the opposing hero or use a special ability to have some other effect on the game. While most allies represent the other players one might expect to see while looking for a group in Ironforge or Orgrimmar, there are also allies straight out of Warcraft lore, such as Warchief Thrall and Lady Jaina Proudmoore.

Abilities and spells from the online game make appearances in the TCG in the form of ability cards. Cards like Pyroblast and Frost Nova can be used in Mage decks, while Sinister Strike and Eviscerate can be used in Rogue decks. There are also generic abilities that any class can use, like Spirit Healer and Vanquish.

Weapon and armor cards are equipped directly by a hero, turning that hero into an offensive or defensive powerhouse. With a weapon equipped, a hero can pick off troublesome enemy allies, or go straight after the opposing hero. Armor offers defense against abilities and attacks, as well as granting special abilities to the wearer. For example, Herod’s Shoulder lets you search your deck for a weapon, and the Mooncloth Robes provide a repeatable source of card draw. The weapons and armor in the TCG come straight out of the online game.

Quests allow players to smooth out their resource development, and also serve to fill a player’s hand later in the game. Players will recognize the quests in the TCG from their experiences in the online game.

Click on the card type to view the card!

Loot™ Cards

Randomly inserted into some booster packs are the legendary Loot™ cards! Loot™ cards have a scratch-off code that can be used to obtain an exclusive cosmetic item in the online game, such as a unique pet, tabard or mount! These cards are very rare…a player who finds one will likely be the envy of his or her entire realm!

The Game

Gameplay in the World of Warcraft TCG is fast-paced and action-packed. Both players build up resources to put allies, equipment and abilities into play while striking at their opponent’s hero turn after turn. A single game takes about 15 minutes, but if it’s a paladin-vs.-paladin battle, both players should expect to be busy awhile. All it takes is two people to play a game, but the game was also built for team-based or grand melee battles as well.

For a full rundown of the turn structure, including more advanced play concepts, the official website offers a rule book and demo deck for you to try out the game.

In addition to player-vs.-player combat, the World of Warcraft TCG offers a unique experience in the upcoming raid decks. A raid deck comes with a preconstructed deck for a raid boss--for example, Onyxia. Three or four players challenge the player with the raid deck, which is tuned to be very difficult. If the challengers succeed, they get to open a “treasure pack,” which is included in the raid deck. Each treasure pack includes unique foil cards.

Organized Play

Although the World of Warcraft TCG is a great game for people who have never played a TCG before, it also offers a great deal for very experienced players. Upper Deck Entertainment is planning to have a very extensive tournament system with different organized-play programs. There will be tournaments for casual players and an ongoing hobby league, but there will also be big tournaments -- regional, countrywide, continental and even world championships -- for players who develop a high level of expertise with the game.

Experience the Fun!

If you're interested in trying out the game yourself you can download a demo deck from the official World of Warcraft TCG website and playing a basic version with your friends. You and a friend will be able to play with selected cards from the Warrax deck, featuring an Alliance dwarven warrior, and the Ta'zo deck, which offers a Horde troll fire-mage.

There will be several great events in Europe where you can take a first look at the game and see some playable demos in action. Players can play at LondonExpo from October 28th to 29th and Lucca Comics & Games beginning in November in Italy.

World of Warcraft MMORPG players will find it easy to take up the World of Warcraft TCG since many of the names and terms used are the same as in the online game. Equally, players who enjoy TCGs will find many elements from traditional trading card games that they will enjoy.

Be sure to try out the World of Warcraft TCG when it launches!