Lore of Hearthstone, Episode #18 - Knights of the Frozen Throne, Part 1

For Knights of the Frozen Throne, we'll cover the Lich King, then the adventure mode first, based on the final raid of Wrath of the Lich King and the climactic battle against the Lich King -- Icecrown Citadel. Several of the legendaries came from there, and since Knight of the Frozen Throne is the first expansion to use the 'expansion with free single-player content' model, this is how we're going to proceed in the future.

This got so long that I put the legendaries that didn't come from the Icecrown Citadel on a second article with the non-legendaries.

THE LICH KING

Oh boy, the Lich King. Where to unpack this dude? While perhaps not the most powerful villain, he's easily the most iconic character in all of Warcraft lore. And easily my favourite. The thing is, the 'Lich King' is a title, and three characters have held it -- Ner'zhul, Arthas Menethil and Bolvar Fordragon -- but Arthas is the Lich King that's depicted in this card, and the main Lich King for much of Warcraft III and World of Warcraft. For Bolvar's role after he succeeded Arthas as the Lich King, see his entry below. But Ner'zhul is important for a good chunk of Arthas's backstory, so let's begin our story with Ner'zhul.

Ner'zhul, a.k.a. Lich King I

Ner'zhul was one of the most powerful orc shamans left on the planet of Draenor, and after the Horde's utter defeat at the Second War, and the Alliance's invasion through the Dark Portal into Draenor, Ner'zhul attempted to flee Draenor. It's basically the plot of Warcraft II, but basically, he's a disgraced elder shaman that was fucked over by Gul'dan, and long story short, his attempt at creating a dark portal to escape to another world caused him to be consumed and captured by the mighty demon lord of the Burning Legion, Kil'jaeden. Kil'jaeden tortured Ner'zhul's spirit and body apart, completely breaking his spirit, before giving him a choice to serve. Ner'zhul was then granted a mighty power by Kil'jaeden, who transformed him into the Lich King. He was given mighty necromantic power -- the power to animate the dead bodies, a mockery of the shamanistic powers he once wielded when he was an orc. He was launched towards Azeroth, landing in Northrend and transformed into a massive icy structure called the Frozen Throne, reduced to a suit of armour. He was told to prepare for the demonic Burning Legion's invasion on Azeroth, yet he was watched over by the Legion's agents, the Dreadlords. Ner'zhul's whispers and necromantic powers created an undead army, devouring souls and growing more and more powerful -- even more so than the dreadlords -- yet his fear of Kil'jaeden kept him relatively in check. As the Lich King, Ner'zhul first subjugated the nerubian kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, starting the War of the Spider, ending ultimately with his victory. Much of the nerubian's asset and architecture was adapted by Ner'zhul into what would later be the undead Scourge. Ner'zhul would then spread his influence and cause a call to sound into Azeroth, and many powerful mages would listen to the Lich King's call... and most important among these is the mighty archmage of Dalaran, Kel'Thuzad. Kel'Thuzad would serve the Lich King and found the Cult of the Damned, a group of acolytes who serve the Lich King fanatically and are ready to give up their lives for the immortality of undeath.

And that brief backstory (believe me, Ner'zhul and Kel'thuzad -- who I covered in Curse of Naxxramas -- both can fill up as much space as Arthas's own backstory) of the Scourge will set us up for... Arthas Menethil.

Paladin Arthas

Prince Arthas Menethil was introduced to us in Warcraft III, and is the main character of both the human and undead campaigns of the base game, as well as the undead campaign of the Frozen Throne expansion. Arthas Menethil was crown prince of the mighty human kingdom of Lordaeron, born to King Terenas Menethil and Queen Lianne Menethil. As a youth, he befriended Prince Varian Wrynn of Stormwind and was trained by the dwarf Muradin Bronzebeard, brother to the king of the dwarves, Magni. He was raised and tutored as a paladin by Uther the Lightbringer, a war hero from the Second War, and briefly entered into a romantic relationship with the prodigal mage Jaina Proudmoore, although to better focus in their respective disciplines, they broke up their relationship. Arthas was a talented paladin, and was inducted into the Knights of the Silver Hand at the young age of 19, wielding the mighty hammer Light's Vengeance. When the human campaign in Warcraft III began, there was some trouble stirring in Lorderon, including a mass breakout of orcs from internment camps. While the majority of orcs wanted nothing to do with humans and left on boats under the leadership of Thrall, there were a group of demon-worshipping orcs of the Blackrock Clan who remained and raided the surrounding countrysides. In addition, there was rumours of a plague in the northern parts of Lordaeron. Arthas and his mentor Uther traveled to the town of Strahnbrad to deal with Blackrock orc raids, while Arthas himself helped several townspeople who asked for his help against bandits, gnolls, and other threats including the black drake Searinox.

(Several of the alternate Arthas hero's emotes and quotes are taken from his unit quotes in Warcraft III, specifically "For Lordaeron!" "For my father, the King!" "Justice has come!" and "You are past redemption!")

Arthas met up with Jaina to investigate the plague, but instead found something far more horrifying -- undead skeletons and ghouls, as well as blighted land. Jaina deduced that the grain shipments were the source of this plague, and they quickly met the man responsible -- the necromancer Kel'Thuzad. Arthas and Jaina led a force that pursues Kel'Thuzad from Brill to Andorhal, and Arthas would slay Kel'Thuzad with his hammer. Before his death, however, Kel'Thuzad told Arthas of impending doom, led by the dreadlord Mal'Ganis, leader of the Scourge, and dared Arthas to confront him. As Arthas traveled north, in the town of Hearthglen, he discovered that the infected grain was not merely meant to kill his people -- but to turn them into the undead. Arthas sent Jaina to teleport and gather reinforcements, while Arthas and his men were forced to defend against the undead forces there until Uther and the Knights of the Silver Hands arrived. 

Arthas' turning point was at the town of Stratholme, a place which in Azeroth will forever be connected to the harrowing event of the Culling of Stratholme. Seeing that the grain has already been distributed, Arthas ordered Uther and the Knights to purge and cull the entire population of the city, preferring to see his people dead than be undead. Uther was horrified that Arthas would give such an order, and refused to obey, causing Arthas to disband the Knights of the Silver Hand on charges of treason. Many soldiers left Arthas, among them Jaina, but enough remained behind to assist Arthas in attacking and culling the citizens of Arthas. Arthas killed both the living and the dead in Stratholme, and met Mal'Ganis, who teleported away, telling Arthas to meet him in Northrend.

Arthas' zeal led the expedition to Northrend, and met up with a group of dwarves from the Explorer's Guild led by Muradin Bronzebeard, an old friend of his looking for a mystical runeblade known as Frostmourne. Aided by Muradin's forces, Arthas would lead a swathe of destruction that destroyed several undead bases. However, an emissary sent by King Terenas ordered Arthas and his men to return home. Seeing his men ready to leave and are hacking through the forest to get to their ships, an angry Arthas recruited troll and ogre mercenaries and went around and burned his own ships. When his men arrived, Arthas pinned the blame on the non-human mercenaries, and then used the tragedy of losing their ships to rile his men to once more fight against Mal'Ganis and the Scourge.

Arthas returns home

Arthas and an increasingly-worried Muradin then used an ancient way-gate to finally arrive into a secluded grove where Frostmourne was laid. Arthas slew the Guardian -- a mighty revenant -- that tried to protect him from the cursed blade, and Muradin, upon reading the inscriptions on the blade, told Arthas to leave the cursed blade alone. However, Arthas pulled Frostmourne out of the pedestal anyway, tunnel-visioned into slaying Mal'Ganis above all else, and left Muradin for dead when the dwarf was struck by one of the ice shards that was unleashed when Frostmourne was pulled out. With the power of Frostmourne, Arthas was close to invincible, leading his men to cut through Mal'Ganis's army, and come face-to-face with Mal'Ganis. Mal'Ganis then revealed that the blade Frostmourne and the whispers within came from the Lich King himself, and that Arthas has been turned into the Scourge's pawn. However, the Lich King told Arthas to instead kill Mal'Ganis, and the fallen Paladin would slay a surprised Mal'Ganis, as this begun Ner'zhul's complex plan to free the Scourge from being servants of the Burning Legion.

After slaying Mal'Ganis, Arthas and Frostmourne would wander the wastes of Northrend, leaving his men to die and fend for themselves (some, like Falric, Marwyn and Thassarian, would be slain by Arthas himself and raised as Death Knights), until several months later, where he returned once more to Lordaeron. While a hero's welcome awaited the long-lost prince, Arthas headed straight to his father's throne room. He tells his father that he no longer needed to bear the weight of his crown, and then killed King Terenas. "Succeeding you." he says to his father as he killed him -- and in Lordaeron's empty throne room, the bloodstain and the echoes of this conversation still linger to this day (no, I'm serious. Go there in WoW and you can actually still hear it if you stand in the right place).

Arthas then unleashed the Scourge upon Lordaeron's capital, and truly became a Death Knight. He raised his dead horse Invincible as his steed, and began the undead invasion of Lordaeron. He would be approached by Tichondrius the Darkerner, another Dreadlord. Tichondrius congratulated Arthas, and noted that Frostmourne was a blade designed to steal souls, and Arthas's own soul was the first it claimed. Tichondrius tasked Arthas to gather the corpse of Kel'Thuzad, who had the magical skills to properly summon the Burning Legion's full force into Azeroth. Arthas would then kill his former paladin allies and mentors, among them Gavinrad the Dire, Ballador the Bright and Sage Truthbearer. The ghost of Kel'Thuzad would appear to him at this point, and tell him that the dreadlords are not to be trusted, for they are the Lich King's jailors and not true allies. Arthas also had to retrieve a magical urn used to house the ashes of his father, which was guarded by Uther the Lightbringer. A fierce battle between Arthas and Uther raged, but Arthas ultimately proved victorious, slaying Uther. Arthas used the magical urn to contain Kel'Thuzad's body and stop it from decomposing as he headed towards the high elven nation of Quel'Thalas.

Arthas would lead the Scourge and battle against heavy resistance from the elves, led by Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner, and despite the huge resistance, Arthas managed to slaughter his way through Quel'Thalas into the magical fountain that the high elves are based out of, the Sunwell. During this campaign, Arthas transformed Sylvanas and much of Quel'Thalas's population into banshees and corrupted the Sunwell. With the energies of the Sunwell, Arthas raised Kel'Thuzad from the death as a powerful lich.

Kel'Thuzad would explain the full extent of the Burning Legion's existence to Arthas, and the fact that they are mere pawns in a larger game. However, the Lich King has an eventual plan to break free. Arthas and Kel'Thuzad would purge numerous encampments of Blackrock orcs, securing a demon portal with which Kel'Thuzad uses to communicate with the mighty leader of the Burning Legion, the eredar lord Archimonde. Archimonde instructed Arthas and Kel'Thuzad to lay siege to Dalaran, to obtain the spellbook of Medivh. The mages of Dalaran attempted to repel the Scourge by enacting a magical field that damaged the undead, but Arthas and Kel'Thuzad were able to slay their way through the city, even killing the mighty Archmage Antonidas, who was guarding the book. Arthas then protected Kel'Thuzad from the massed army of the human nations as he summoned Archimonde. Upon his arrival, Archimonde proclaimed the Lich King to be now useless, and put the undead Scourge under the command of Tichondrius. Arthas was indignant, but Kel'Thuzad told him to be patient, as all is going as the Lich King foresaw.

Too small to be worth consideration by Archimonde and his lieutenants, Arthas and Kel'Thuzad disappeared, a wrench in the Legion's plans. Arthas would appear later in Kalimdor, and engaged the night elven demon hunter Illidan Stormrage in combat. The two were equally matched, and Arthas told Illidan of the existence of the artifact known as the Skull of Gul'dan. Thus, Arthas would cause Illidan to gain tremendous power, with which the demon hunter used to kill Tichondrius. Archimonde and his main lieutenants would be slain by the combined forces of the Alliance, Horde and the night elven Sentinels.

In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Arthas returned to the ruined nation of Lordaeron, and now that the Burning Legion's hold upon the Scourge is broken, Arthas challenged and drove away the trio of dreadlords -- Varimarthas, Detheroc and Balnazzar -- that Archimonde left to rule over Lordaeron -- and enforced Scourge control over Lordaeron. Arthas and his lieutenants, Kel'Thuzad and Sylvanas Windrunner (who has regained a corporeal body) would wipe out any remaining resistance in Lordaeron, killing many paladins and refugees. As he was doing this, Arthas felt his power drain away and felt that something was wrong with the Lich King in Northrend -- which, unbeknownst to Arthas, was caused by the machinations of Illidan Stormrage, acting under the orders of the Burning Legion to punish their wayward servant.

The Lich King's power has dwindled, and a large portion of undead gained independence from being mindless thralls to the Lich King -- among them Sylvanas. Sylvanas would attend a meeting with the three dreadlords, who assisted Sylvanas in causing a coup. This would lead to the formation of the modern-day Forsaken faction, who vowed to be free from the Scourge and to seek vengeance against Arthas. Arthas himself was nearly killed by Sylvanas during his escape from Lordaeron had Kel'Thuzad not interfered. As Kel'Thuzad was left behind to watch over Lordaeron and maintain a Scourge stronghold, Arthas traveled to Northrend to defend the Frozen Throne, which was being attacked by Illidan's mighty forces, consisting of naga, blood elves and broken draenei.


Arthas landed on Northrend, where the Illdari forces were already massing. He was aided by a mighty crypt lord -- Anub'arak, former king of the nerubian kingdom of Azjol-Nerub. Arthas and Anub'arak journeyed through the underground ruins of Azjol-Nerub to quickly reach the Frozen Throne, and on his way, Arthas slew the mighty blue dragon Sapphiron and raised him as a frost wyrm to aid him in pushing off Illidari naval forces as he journeyed to Azjol-Nerub's entrance. Arthas and Anub'arak fought their way through living nerubians, as well as the survivors of Muradin's expedition, both of whom were terrified of ancient horrors deep beneath the earth. These were the Faceless Ones, and Arthas and Anub'arak had to slay many of them, including their leader, a being only known as Forgotten One.

As they reached the surface, Ner'zhul, the Lich King, spoke to Arthas and told him that he was losing power due to the Frozen Throne being weakened by Illidan's forces. Arthas and Anub'arak led an epic battle against Illidan and his lieutenants. Arthas and Illidan eventually had a mighty battle, which left Illidan battered and beaten on Northrend. As Arthas ascended the steps leading to the Frozen Throne, he briefly heard the voices of Jaina, Muradin and Uther in his head -- those he had forsaken in his journey. As Arthas finally walked up to the Frozen Throne, Ner'zhul demanded that Arthas return the blade and release him from the prison of the Frozen Throne. However, Arthas instead shattered the Frozen Throne, destroying the icy throne. Arthas picked up Ner'zhul's Helm of Domination, and placed it upon his own head -- "Now... we are one." Arthas said, as he sat upon the Frozen Throne, now the Lich King.

However, this transition was not smooth. The Lich King remained seated upon the Frozen Throne in Northrend throughout much of World of Warcraft and Burning Crusade, and it was revealed later that the personalities within the Lich King's mind was vying for dominance. Arthas would eventually win out, and consumed Ner'zhul's spirit and banishing his own humanity (which took up the name of 'Matthias Lehner' within the shared psyche), and Arthas became the sole Lich King. Arthas rejected Ner'zhul's offer to merge into a single mind, and within their shared 'dream' mindscape, slew both of them and emerged as a single, dominant persona. This is actually reflected in-game, as the voice acting for the Lich King was initially two voices intertwined, before eventually asserting through several in-game events into a dominant, single voice.

In Wrath of the Lich King, finally whole, Arthas finally stood up from his throne and raised the mighty frost wyrm Sindragosa, as well as many new death knights, and instigated a new invasion of the Scourge, which involved a new plague spread through various parts of the Eastern Kingdoms, as well as an attack on Orgrimmar and Stormwind. The Lich King's efforts also caused the destruction of the Scarlet Crusade, spearheaded by a group of death knights led by Darion Morgraine... but unexpectedly, these death knights would end up breaking free from the Lich King's influence and form the Knights of the Ebon Blade due to the massive explosion of power from the holy blade Ashbringer. The Lich King himself had appeared, during the climactic battle in the Light's Hope Chapel, but was driven to retreat when a combination of Tirion Fordring's paladins consecrating the grounds, and the Knights of the Ebon Blade breaking free and turning against him.

This series of invasions caused various factions -- the Alliance, the Horde, the Argent Crusade and the Knights of the Ebon Blade -- to converge on Northrend and wage war against the Lich King's vast forces of the dead. However, this was all revealed to be a ruse by Arthas to have all the mightiest warriors of Azeroth to gather at his doorstep, for him to turn into his own personal army of death knights, while the weaker ones -- both living and dead -- would be weeded out by the fighting in Northrend. The Lich King would personally enter the battle in the iconic Battle of the Wrathgate, the massive gate around the Icecrown Citadel where the Lich King is based out of. The Lich King would face the vanguard of the Alliance/Horde forces, slaughtering Saurfang the Younger with a single strike, and was locked in combat with the paladin Bolvar Fordragon when blasts of plague that killed both the living and the dead was launched by the renegade forsaken Grand Apothecary Putress. The Lich King was forced to retreat within his own fortress.

Tirion Fordring recovered the heart of Arthas, and attempted to find if any of Arthas' humanity was left, but finding that the Lich King truly had none left, destroyed the disembodied organ -- the act of which hurt the Lich King temporarily. As the final battles against the Scourge dawned, Jaina Proudmoore and Sylvanas Windrunner, representing the Alliance and Horde, led a team of adventurers into the Halls of Reflection in an attempt to learn the Lich King's weakness. Both heroines would speak with the spirits within Frostmourne, and was greeted by the spirit of Uther -- who revealed two crucial information. The Lich King must be slain where he was created, which was the Frozen throne, and that "there must always be a Lich King". Someone must take Arthas's place, or the undead Scourge would run unchecked and consume Azeroth. The Lich King would arrive in the Halls of Reflection, and would nearly kill Jaina and Sylvanas if not for the arrival of gunships to help them retreat.

The champions of the Argent Tournament would be led by Tirion Fordring as they stormed Icecrown Citadel. One by one, the Lich King's mightiest servants (detailed below) are slain, and the adventurers ascended Icecrown Citadel and confronted the Lich King atop Icecrown Citadel. However, the Lich King easily frozen Tirion in a block of ice, and the champions battled the Lich King... and are easily slain by the mighty leader of the Scourge. He then gloats that now he has all the mightiest warriors of Azeroth ready to become his new death knights. However, in a last-ditch effort, Tirion broke free of the ice, and using his holy blade Ashbringer, shattered the Lich King's own blade, Frostmourne. The shattering of Frostmourne caused the large amount of spirits trapped within the blade to strike back against their killer. While the Lich King was thus distracted, the spirit of Terenas Menethil resurrected the adventurers, who were able to defeat the immobilized Lich King with the aid of Tirion.

As the Lich King -- the being that was once Prince Arthas -- died, he was held by the ghost of Terenas, and the being that was once a warrior of justice, then a warrior of death and destruction... died. With Arthas's permanent death, Bolvar Fordragon would succeed him as the new Lich King.

Arthas himself would make several brief cameos in other dungeons and missions in World of Warcraft, such as the Caverns of Time which had adventurers stop the Infinite dragonflight from killing Arthas during the Third War during the Culling of Stratholme. In Legion, the shattered remnants of Frostmourne was reforged into the Blades of the Fallen Prince, and the death knight who attempts to wield the Blades of the Fallen Prince had to do battle with echoes of Ner'zhul and Arthas. Visions of Arthas will appear throughout the Broken Isles and whisper to the death knight that wields the weapon. Whether this will hint at the return of Arthas in some way or form is unknown. Also, practically all the quotes spoken by the Lich King in the encounter that isn't a Hearthstone mechanic reference is a quote of something the Lich King says at one point or another... and some are even twisted to include Hearthstone references. I'm just too lazy to find every single one.

ICECROWN CITADEL

Lord Marrowgar:

Lord Marrowgar is the first boss in the Icecrown Citadel raid, the final dungeon in Wrath of the Lich King. Marrowgar is the first boss, and the first-ever bone wraith to be seen within Azeroth -- a whirling, multi-headed amalgamation of a thousand dead warriors who had dared challenge the Lich King. Lord Marrowgar is a hideous wraith-like figure made out of bones, with four skeletal heads and skeletal wings. Marrowgar was particularly famous with the WoW community due to the absolutely hammy voice acting of his "BONE STORMMMM!" ability, which became one of the top memes during the WOTLK era. There's really not much lore behind Marrowgar otherwise.

Marrowgar's boss battle includes the spell 'Bone Storm' and the minion 'Bone Spike', both abilities that Lord Marrowgar possesses in the WoW boss fight. Bone Storm is an AoE that has him whirl around while screaming BONE STORMMM loudly, while Bone Spike Graveyard is a massive bone spike that deals a huge amount of damage. In Hearthstone, Marrowgar is able to equip the weapon Bryn'troll, the Bone Arbiter, which is Marrowgar's personal weapon that's a two-handed epic weapon that drops from Marrowgar. In his boss fight, three of Marrowgar's quotes ("None may enter the master's sanctum", "BONESTORMMM" and "the only escape is death") are taken from the boss fight in WoW.

Deathbringer Saurfang:

Dranosh Saurfang (alive)

In life, Deathbringer Saurfang was known as Dranosh Saurfang, or often Saurfang the Younger. Son to the mighty war hero of the Horde, Varok Saurfang, Dranosh Saurfang was often hailed as one of the mightiest and best young warriors the Horde has to offer. Embodying both strength and honour, Dranosh was untainted by the fel corruption that gripped most orcs, hidden away by his father in Nagrand. Dranosh Saurfang first appeared in Burning Crusade, alongside Garrosh Hellscream, as one of the Mag'har, uncorrupted orcs spared from the fel curse that afflicted most of their race. Dranosh would be befriended by heroes of the horde, who helped the Mag'har battle against their Broken enemies, and would later join the Horde. In Wrath of the Lich King, Dranosh is reunited with his father, and joined the Warsong Offensive on the front lines of the Horde campaign in Northrend. Dranosh was given his father's iconic armour and axe, and led the Kor'kron Vanguard during the mighty battle of Angrathar the Wrathgate. Upon seeing the Alliance forces charge into battle, led by Bolvar Fordragon, Saurfang riled up his own forces of the Horde and fought side by side with Bolvar's forces. So fierce was this battle that the Lich King himself stepped out to challenge them. Dranosh charged the Lich King bravely, but the Lich King shattered Dranosh's axe with a single blow, pierced the orc and slew him, trapping his soul in Frostmourne. The rest of the horde forces under Saurfang's forces would be slain by the treachery of the treacherous Forsaken apothecary Putress.

Deathbringer Saurfang

Sarufang the Younger's death hit the Horde hard, especially his father. Horde players would be tasked by Alexstrasza to recover Dranosh's father and deliver it to his father. After hinted at during a vision shown by Yogg-Saron in the Ulduar raid, the true fate of Saurfang the Younger is revealed when Deathbringer Saurfang stood as the fourth boss in Icecrown Citadel, being risen as the Lich King's mightiest blood death knight. Varok Saurfang himself led the Horde assault to do battle against Deathbringer Saurfang, while the Alliance forces were led by the dwarven hero Muradin Bronzebeard. Saurfang was a fierce combatant, yet he was felled and his spirit released upon his second death. While Muradin initially refused to allow Varok to collect the body of his son, King Varian would order Muradin to stand down and let the grieving father collect his son's body.

Saurfang the Younger would be buried in Nagrand. While his death was ultimately avenged, Dranosh Saurfang's death hit the Horde hard, and many -- Thrall and Cairne among them -- lamented that Dranosh's death eliminated him from candidacy as the new warchief of the Horde. Saurfang's hearthstone mechanic reflects his WoW fight, where he would summon Blood Beasts (an ability that Blood Death Knights would eventually be able to do). Several of his quotes ("face the might of the Scourge!" "Feast, my minions!" and his iconic death quote, "I... am... released...") are also taken from his WoW boss fight.

Lady Deathwhisper:

Lady Deathwhisper

Lady Deathwhisper is the first known female Lich (or rather, a female Lich with a unique model -- they're all skeletons, after all). Holding the title of Supreme Overseer of the Cult of the Damned, Deathwhisper was the second boss of the Icecrown Citadel Raid, and presumably successor to Kel'Thuzad after the his death in Naxxramas. She's obsessed with transcending the weak, mortal fleshy bodies, which she sees as a curse (which... technically isn't wrong, considering the origins of flesh in Azeroth). There's actually not much lore behind Deathwhisper beyond that.

The Hearthstone fight mixes Deathwhisper's encounter with the second-to-last boss fight in Icecrown Citadel, the battle against Valithria Dreamwalker, a green dragon captured by the undead Scourge which was captured by the Cult of the Damned and the Vrykul minions of the Lich King. Unlike most boss fights, Valithria's fight involves healing her up to full health to win and progress through the raid, and the raid members have to withstand against waves of undead minions that try to damage Valithria. After being rescued, Valithria will appear briefly in the transformed form of a female high elf. Her rivalry with Deathwhisper is original to Hearthstone.

When beginning her fight, the Lich King notes how "this is Lady Deathwhisper before she got nerfed", and apparently Deathwhisper's fight in WoW was so hard that it actually did get nerfed. Several of her quotes ("What is this disturbance?" "Do you grasp the futility of your actions?" and Valithria's "I am renewed!") are taken from the boss fight.

Prince Keleseth:

Prince Keleseth

The three Blood Princes (Taldaram, Keleseth and Valanar) are fought as the seventh boss encounter in Icecrown Citadel as part of the Blood Prince Council, but all three are antagonists from earlier dungeons in Wrath of the Lich King. The three are members of the San'layn, the Darkfallen, a group of vampiric undead blood elves who were risen from the dead bodies of Kael'thas's blood elves that failed in their assault the Frozen Throne during Warcraft III. The Darkfallen are introduced in Wrath of the Lich King as high-ranking minions of the Lich King. Prince Keleseth would be one of the initial quest givers for starting Death Knights, being located in Acherus, and instructed the fledgling death knight to assassinate Quimby, mayor of New Avalon, and later ordered them to torture members of the Scarlet Crusade. Keleseth would also be responsible for raising the Archmade Arugal, the Archmage responsible for unleashing the Worgen upon Azeroth, as a Shade in Shadowfang Tower.

Prince Keleseth would be deployed by the Lich King to the Utgarde Keep, as an ambassador from the Scourge to get the Vrykul there to join the Scourge. Keleseth's mission was highly successful, and he turned the keep into a staging point to attack the Howling Fjord. Keleseth would menace Alliance and Horde forces in the Howling Fjord, and would attempt to get the Forsaken leader High Executor Anselm to rejoin the Scourge... who responded with a barrage of arrow fire. Keleseth teleported behind his Vrykul minions so the arrows killed them instead of him, drained the souls of Anselm's troops, before retreating high into Utgarde Keep. Prince Keleseth would be the first boss within the dungeon of Utgarde Keep, battling the heroes by summoning Vrykul Skeleton minions before being slain.

Yet this second death would not be the end of Keleseth. Alongside his brother Valanar, and Prince Taldaram, Keleseth would be raised by the Lich King once more to form the Blood Prince Council, where they stood blocking the way to their mistress, Blood-Queen Lana'thel, who empowers them with dark magics. Keleseth used powerful shadow magic in this encounter. Keleseth's quotes in Hearthstone, "truth is found in death" and "blood will flow", are both taken from the Blood Prince Council boss fight. All three Blood Princes would be slain by adventurers in Icecrown Citadel, this time for good.

Prince Valanar:

Prince Valanar

Prince Valanar is brother to Keleseth in life. One of the Lich King's mightiest Darkfallen, Valanar is the Scourge leader of the Borean Tundra, ruling from atop the necropolis Naxxanar. He is first chronologically seen being one of the Scourge leaders that led the novice death knights in their first starting quests, among them sending them to fight against the Scarlet Crusade, as well as sending them off to get quests from other Scourge captains like Gothik the Harvester or his brother Keleseth. He would also give a huge speech to the novice death knights, congratulating them for defeating the Scarlet Crusade fleet.

In addition to being leader in the Borean Tundra, He is also simultaneously disguised as the Alliance leader Counselor Talbot in Valiance Keep, manipulating the Alliance leadership to weaken it. This duplicity would be revealed by the Alliance-allied death knight Thassarian, explored in a quest chain as well as being retold in a manga tie-in adaptation. Thassarian would interrupt Valanar's communication with the Lich King, and would do battle against him and eventually defeat him with the aid of adventurers. In the battle, Valanar had the ability to use powerful shadow magic, but was ultimately defeated by adventurers and Thassarian.

Like Keleseth, Valanar would be resurrected by the Lich King as one of the Blood Prince Council. In this boss fight, Valanar uses force blasts that knocks adventurers around. Valanar's summoning quote in Hearthstone, "See now the power of the Darkfallen" is an abridged version of his quote during the boss fight when he kills a player. His attacking quote is original to Hearthstone. 

Prince Taldaram:

Taldaram

Prince Taldaram is the second boss in the dungeon of Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom, one of the areas in what was once the nerubian capital of Azjol-Nerub. Unlike Valanar and Keleseth, there's actually not much dialogue or lore behind Taldaram, and he appears to just be a Darkfallen that is sent to Ahn'kahet to search for lost nerubian relics to empower the Scourge. Taldaram would engage adventurers sent to battle him with fire magic, invisibility powers as well as the ability to drain his enemies' life force. Like the other Darkfallen, he was ultimately slain.

Taldaram would be resurrected alongside the brothers Keleseth and Valanar as part of the Blood Prince Council, where he would battle mainly by conjuring fiery spells. Taldaram's quotes in Hearthstone ("Tremble before Taldaram, mortals!" and "Beg for mercy!") are both taken from the Blood Prince Council fight. Note that it appears that Valanar and Taldaram's effects, if we're going by lore reasons, may be switched -- Valanar spent most of his career transformed/disguised as another character, while Taldaram is the only Blood Prince to use lifesteal-esque mechanics... not that it actually matters, mind you.

Blood-Queen Lana'thel:

Lana'thel (WoW)

In life, Lana'thel was once one of Kael'thas's most fervent followers, and leader of the San'layn. She was slain alongside much of her San'layn during the ill-fated campaign led by Illidan Stormrage against the Lich King, and was risen from the dead as one of the mightiest Darkfallen. It's noted that after Kael'thas and Illidan were driven to a retreat, Lana'thel made one brave last stand against Arthas, the Lich King as he rose the fallen blood elves into his ranks, using the sacred blade of Quel'delar to strike defiantly at the newly-crowned Lich King. Impressed by Lana'thel's resilience, the Lich King chose her to be the leader of the Blood-Queen of the Darkfallen. Lana'thel would fervently work as the Lich King's servant, but she was reminded of her past life every time she looked at her blade Quel'delar. Telling herself that she could not afford distractions, Lana'thel shattered the blade and flung the pieces as far as she could. Adventurers would be able to reassemble this blade and gain some insight into the backstory of the Darkfallen. While Lana'thel herself would appear and curse the blade, adventurers would be able to purify it.

Lana'thel would serve as one of the bosses in Icecrown Citadel, protected by the Blood Prince Council. After the princes are slain, adventurers would engage Lana'thel herself, who used powerful health-draining abilities that make her boss fight one of the tougher ones in the citadel. In addition, Lana'thel was able to temporarily transform adventurers into vampires, and these 'infected' adventurers must spread the curse to other players, or be mind-controlled by Lana'thel. This mechanic was replicated, to some extent, in Lana'thel's Hearthstone boss fight. Lana'thel's power was impressive, but she would ultimately meet her end in Icecrown Citadel. In Legion, it is revealed that Lana'thel had a daughter, Blood-Princess Thal'ena, who would be a boss fight in Violet Hold, captured by the forces of Dalaran.

Lana'thel's Hearthstone card quotes both reference her WoW boss fight ("You have made an unwise decision" and "know my hunger"). Her boss mode mostly made up new lines for her, which makes her a lot sassier, although those two, as well as her death quote ("but we were getting along so well...") are taken from WoW.

Professor Putricide:

Putricide (WoW, first stage)

Professor Putricide is the sixth boss encounter in Icecrown Citadel, and a particularly powerful mad scientist that's the leader of the Plagueworks wing of Icecrown Citadel. He doesn't actually have much lore behind him, other than being one of the main minds behind the Scourge's many blights and plagues. To reach Putricide, adventurers must slay his two mighty creations, Rotface and Festergut (covered below). Putricide's boss fight in WoW involves slimes, puddles, gas clouds and summoning oozes, and Putricide himself has three phases -- something replicated in the Hearthstone boss fight. In WoW, Putricide mutates at the beginning of the second fight, sprouting massive tentacles from his back. In Hearthstone, he does the same (this second-stage artwork is the one used for his collectible card), but adds a far-more mutated half-worm stage for Putricide's third stage that doesn't exist in WoW.

Putricide's mannerisms and voice lines are a homage to the character Professor Farnsworth from Futurama, particularly his summoning quote ("Good news, everyone! I've perfected the plague!" in Hearthstone, much-shortened from the full line from WoW) Many of his quotes in WoW ("So many delightful possibilities!" "That was unexpected!" "Whaaa? Where'd those come from?" "Great news, everyone!" "Bad news, everyone!" "Good news, everyone! I've fixed the poison slime pipes!" "Great news, everyone! The slime is flowing again!" "Oh, Festergut -- you were always my favourite... next to Rotface.") are reflected in his boss fight, or taken from his dialogue as he taunts the players during the Rotface and Festergut encounters. His unique card 'Growing Ooze' in his boss fight references his ability, Growing Ooze Puddle, while his weapon being 'Tentacles' references the tentacles he sprouts in his second phase in his WoW battle. His effect in Hearthstone, however, is a more internal effect, referring to the Mad Scientist card from Curse of Naxxramas which is the undead model that Putricide shares his model with.

Rotface (and Festergut):

Rotface (WoW)

Rotface and Festergut are a pair of mighty Flesh Beasts -- towering constructs of the Scourge that are upgraded versions of the common Abominations used by the Scourge, created by Professor Putricide. In addition to humanoid parts, the Flesh Beasts have bestial parts incorporated into them. These Flesh Beasts are few and far between, although since Wrath of the Lich King, several additional examples have been seen all over Azeroth. Rotface and Festergut are a pair of Flesh Beasts that are fought separately, guarding the way to their master, Professor Putricide. In Hearthstone, while Rotface is represented as a collectible legendary card, both of them only appear in the adventure mode as cards summoned by Putricide in his encounter.

Both Rotface and Festergut also have little 'pet' plague dogs, Precious and Stinky respectively. The battle against Fesetergut involves him unleashing gas spores and blight attacks that deal DoT. While in Hearthstone Rotface summons a legendary minion, in WoW he unleashes infections onto the adventurers, which will cause the adventurers to spawn Little Oozes, which will merge into Big Oozes. Rotface's card quotes ("Daddy make toys out of you!" and "Sleepy time!") are taken from his WoW encounter, while the effect quote ("I made a stinky") seems to be a more PG version of his WoW line "I made an angry poo-poo".

Apparently, in Legion, Putricide is revealed to have constructed a third powerful Flesh Beast, Festerface, which is captured and held in Violet Hold in Dalaran, called Festerface.

Sindragosa:

Sindragosa is the grand frost wyrm raised from undeath in this still-awesome cinematic trailer to Wrath of the Lich King. Sindragosa, in life, was one of the mightiest of the blue dragons, prime consort to the blue dragon aspect of magic, Malygos. During the War of the Ancients, however, the black dragon aspect Neltharion (more famously known after this event as Deathwing) betrayed the other dragons by creating the artifact known as the Dragon Soul, and massacred a huge amount of the blue dragonflight -- and among the casualties is Sindragosa. The blast from the Dragon Soul hurled Sindragosa far across the land, until she landed deep in the frozen north. Her attempt to reach the Dragonblight -- the place where dragons travel to die -- ended in a failure as she succumbed to her woundes and plummeted into the cold depths of Icecrown, and in her dying breath she succumbed into madness and vowed vengeance against everything in the world.

Thousands of years later, Sindragosa remained undisturbed deep within the depths of Northrend, until Arthas Menethil, the Lich King, rose from his slumber after the Third War. The Lich King traveled to where Sindragosa had fallen, and rose the mighty dragon's corpse into the mightiest of his frost wyrms, to lead his frostbrood into war. Sindragosa would lead other mighty frost wyrms throughout the Northrend campaign, and would personally appear in the Pit of Saron. After adventurers killed Scoureglord Tyrannus in the Pit of Saron, and liberated the slaves there, Sindragosa would descend upon them and kill a large amount of Alliance and Horde leaders, and would have killed the adventurer if he/she was not rescued by Jaina Proudmoore (for Alliance players) or Sylvanas Windrunner (for Horde players).

Sindragosa (WoW)

Sindragosa would roost atop the Frostwing Halls of Icecrown Citadel, and would serve as the penultimate boss of the Icecrown Citadel. The once-captive green dragon Valithria Dreamwalker would aid the adventurers in their battle against Sindragosa with life crystals. Sindragosa herself is protected by two lesser frost wyrms, Rimefang and Spinestalker, and herself commands mighty ice and arcane magic. After a mighty battle, Sindragosa would be defeated, and her essence taken to her descendant, the new aspect of magic Kalecgos, who would put her spirit to rest. Many of her quotes are considered memetic by the WoW fandom due to the rather... screechy voice acting used for her (Hearthstone uses a different voice actress), and several are reflected in the boss battle in Hearthstone ("The icy winds of Northrend will consume your souls!" "You are fools/a fool to have come to this place!" "Your pathetic magic betraaaays you!" and "Perish!") As reflected by both her Hearthstone boss fight and her card effect, Sindragosa's fight revolves around her attempting to freeze the raid party.

Click below for the Death Knight hero cards. 

DEATH KNIGHTS

There are two types of undead creatures known as 'Death Knights'. The first, seen only in the Second War (Warcraft II), were the result of Gul'dan killing all his necrolyte cultists, and transferring their souls into the bodies of slain human knights, creating powerful spellcasters with mightier bodies than the frail, fel-wracked orcish bodies. The death knights in this expansion and throughout WoW refer to the Death Knights of the Scourge, first introduced as one of the hero units of the Scourge in Warcraft III -- we've talked about death knights in Curse of Naxxramas before.

In the Wrath of the Lich King expansion in WoW, all playable races are able to become Death Knights of the Scourge, although they lose all powers of their previous classes and basically start off with brand-new Death Knight abilities. The three specializations of Death Knights in WoW are Unholy, Blood and Frost. There have been cases in lore where certain Death Knights (notably Sir Zeliek of the original Four Horsemen) that are able to still use their abilities from their original pre-death class, but... eh. All the Death Knight heroes are, needless to say, original to Hearthstone and none of these nine were ever affiliated with the Scourge in any way.

Prior to the release of Knights of the Frozen Throne, Hearthstone released three web-comics (Undeath Conquers All, Forest for the Weary and Freedom) that details a Pompous Thespian telling stories in a tavern about how these heroes are corrupted by the Scourge and turned into Death Knights, providing the lore behind these characters, as well as the rapid changes in character that he has to make in order to satisfy his patrons. In "Undeath Conquers All", the Thespian begins by telling the story of Arthas as he purged Stratholme, but changes the story when the audience complains that they already know the story, and in this version of the tale, Jaina helps Arthas purge Stratholme and was damned into undeath alongside Arthas, and the two would be the mightiest death knights of the Scourge. In this version of the tale, Thrall would journey to Icecrown to answer the elements' call, while Uther would go and track down his pupil. Arthas and Jaina would slay Uther together, but Uther would accept the power of darkness and be reborn as a Death Knight himself, seeking vengeance. Thrall's attempt to stop the three former heroes from killing each other to gain sole power over the Scourge caused him, too, to be slain and be risen as a Death Knight, leading to a four-way battle between them which was apparently won by Jaina.

In "Forest for the Weary", the Thespian describes how the hunter Rexxar, investigating that a great evil has descended upon his forest home, found the mighty corrupted druid Malfurion. now an undead monster that unleashes swarms of bugs to corrupt nature. Rexxar was unable to withstand Malfurion's death knight powers, and his faithful companions Misha and Huffer were slain. Rexxar, swearing vengeance, was approached by the mysterious hooded Gul'dan, who promised power in exchange for Rexxar's life, transforming him into a death knight. Stitching together his fallen companions including a 'sharkbear' (sic), Rexxar was able to use this power to defeat Malfurion... only for Malfurion to reveal that both of them were tricked by Gul'dan into accepting the power of the Frozen Throne to battle its own corruption, with the vampiric Gul'dan being a mere minion of the Scourge.

In "Freedom", the Thespian tells a tale about how Valeera Sanguinar marched towards Northrend in search of her companion Varian Wrynn and his son Anduin, who had disappeared when the undead Scourge attacked. Valeera was approached by Garrosh Hellsceam, who recruits her into his army, citing that he knew where the Wrynns are. Garrosh himself was apparently already enthralled to the Lich King at this point, and handed Valeera a pair of enchanted daggers, noting that they are hunting down a soul that was so 'broken' that he could not be controlled by the Lich King. Garrosh and Valeera soon faced this mighty Shadowreaper, a monstrous shadowy figure that was more than a match to both Garrosh and Valeera. And as Valeera became more and more corrupted with each strike of her corrupted blade, she realized the true identity of this Shadowreaper -- Anduin. Unable to kill Anduin, who Valeera had sworn to protect, Valeera instead turned onto Garrosh. Garrosh revealed that he was the one who kidnapped Varian and Anduin and offered them to the Lich King. Garrosh's speech about how Valeera's loyalty to the Wrynns is another form of slavery caused her to eventually turn her blade onto Anduin and end the Shadowreaper's life. Er, undeath.

During the 'campaign'/adventure mode, the heroes themselves, after defeating the Lich king, transforms into their Death Knight versions to replace Arthas as the new Lich King (instead of Bolvar doing so as in World of Warcraft).

Also note that I really appreciate how each Death Knight's artwork is basically the same pose as their normal hero pose -- it's a neat bit of detail that I really like.


Malfurion the Pestilent: While no WoW Death Knight abilities outright summons insects, Malfurion the Pestilent is apparently able to transform himself into spiders and scarabs instead of the traditional bears and panthers that druids turn into, as well as summon more spiders and scarabs. Both bugs are very much associated with the Scourge, with the Crypt Lords and Crypt Fiends being able to summon both types of insects, and the undead themselves breeding a large amount of spiders.


Deathstalker Rexxar: Like Malfurion, no WoW Death Knight ability embodies stitching together beast corpses to make Zombeasts. But stitching together corpses to make a more powerful undead has been seen with the many Abominations, Flesh Golems and Flesh Beasts in the Scourge's employ, and undead beasts have been seen in the Scourge's employ, notably with Gluth in Naxxramas, as well as the title 'Flesh Beasts' that are Rotface and Festergut. So it appears that, well, Deathstalker Rexxar is a unique take on the Abomination-creating powers of the Scourge, stitching the dead bodies of his own companions to give them immortality.


Frost Lich Jaina: Frost Lich Jaina is based on both the Frost Death Knight specialization, as well as Lich undead hero from Warcraft III, which was an undead sorcerer that was focused in casting ice spells as well (in particular, Frost Nova began life as a Lich spell before being imported to Frost Mages in WoW). No ability in WoW corresponds to 'Icy Touch', however, although Frost Lich Jaina's ability to summon Water Elementals seems to reflect her past career as a mage.


Uther of the Ebon Blade: We've talked about the Four Horsemen above, and Light's Vengeance in the rest of the KOTFT cards. Uther of the Ebon Blade himself draws his name from the Knights of the Ebon Blade. The Knights of the Ebon Blade is an organization of death knights who had broken away from the Lich King in Wrath of the Lich King, led by Highlord Darion Morgraine, and are allied with the Alliance and Horde against the undead Scourge. The Knights of the Ebon Blade would be instrumental in the downfall of the Lich King, and would also be the organization that playable death knight characters are allied to. Uther's colour scheme seems to indicate that he's a Frost-specialization death knight.


Shadowreaper Anduin: Shadowreaper Anduin is a type of undead that seems to be original to Hearthstone. I suppose you could call him a form of undead Revenant or Wraith? But all the hero cards are explicitly stated to be Death Knight, so I suppose Shadowreaper Anduin is just so powerful he's transformed to a new wraith-like form. Anduin's ability, Voidform, is actually an ability used by Shadow Priests in WoW, added in Legion, although there it's a passive ability that increases the shadow damage done by Shadowform and reducing the cooldown of Mind Blast.... which is honestly quite appropriate for Void-form's Hearthstone appearance. Many other shadow-using characters in WoW also have embraced the powers of the void and transformed into void creatures, in particular the Void elves led by Alleria Windrunner in Legion.


Valeera the Hollow: Valeera the Hollow is, well, just a death knight version of Valeera. I'm not sure if she corresponds to any of the three death knight specializations, although I guess by way of elimination she could be a Blood-spec death knight? Her artwork features three of the most common incorporeal undead types in WoW -- a banshee, two shades and two ghosts. Valeera's ability and flavour corresponds more to a super-powerful rogue. Shadow Reflection, the card generated by Valeera's passive hero power, shares its name with a now-removed WoW rogue talent in Warlords of Draenor, which summons a shadowy reflection of the caster and deals extra damage similar to a mirror image.


Thrall, Deathseer: Thrall, Deathseer is obviously a variant of Thrall's class in Warcraft III, the Far Seer. Thrall's clearly a frost death knight, coupled with his entrance animation and his dialogue about "frozen heart of the Scourge" and "shatter you" means that it's very likely that Thrall Deathseer was initially meant to focus more on the frost/freeze mechanics as opposed to evolution, which is a mechanic original to Hearthstone anyway. Note that Thrall's artwork has him tattoo a skull onto his face, which in orcish culture denotes a 'dead' apprentice, and iconically the facial-skull tattoo was used by the first Lich King, the orc shaman Ner'Zhul, prior to his transformation into the Lich King.


Bloodreaver Gul'dan: Blodoreaver Gul'dan is clearly based on a vampire theme, similar to the San'layn Darkfallen, although no orcish vampires have been seen in WoW. Bloodreaver Gul'dan is original to Hearthstone, of course. His ability, Siphon Life, shares its name with an Affliction Warlock talent added into WoW in Legion, which is one of the many damage-enemy-heal-self abilities that the Warlock has.


Scourgelord Garrosh: Scourgelord Garrosh is likewise just a death knight corrupted version of Garrosh, simply being a frost-death-knight version of Garrosh. There is a champion of the Scourge, Scourgelord Tyrannus, with the same title that acts as the final boss of the Pit of Saron, but it appears like just a coincidence. We've talked about Shadowmourne in the non-legendary-cards section, while Garrosh's hero power Bladestorm borrows its name from the ultimate ability of the orc Blademaster hero (iconically represented in the campaign by Garrosh's father Grom Hellscream) from Warcraft III, which, well, causes the Blademaster to spin around for a period of time and dealing lots of damage. In WoW, Bladestorm is added to the Warrior ability roster in Wrath of the Lich King and has gone through numerous iterations, currently spinning around and dealing lots of damage around the warrior, and being immune to movement-impairing effects.