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The Worgen of Gilneas!
The Witchwood itself takes place in Gilneas, the land of the worgen. For a primer on Worgens, click Episode Three of my Lore of Hearthstone series, in which I cover the backstory of the Worgen as a whole. Long story short...In the distant past, a bunch of night elven druids end up unlocking a "Pack Form" with a powerful artifact known as the Scythe of Elune in order to battle the Satyrs during a war. However, the form proved to consume the druids with so much anger and rage that they became uncontrollable, and Malfurion ended up putting these Druids of the Scythe into deep slumber.
Fast-forward a couple thousand years into contemporary Azeroth, and the First and Second Wars happened. One of the human nations that formed the Alliance, Gilneas, ended up seceding from the Alliance and building a gigantic wall to separate themselves from the outside world. During World of Warcraft, an archmage known as Arugal (more on him later) released the sleeping Druids of the Scythe into the wild, causing the Worgen curse to spread. During the events of Cataclysm, so wildly spread was the Worgen curse within the secluded nation of Gilneas that it crumbled under the combined forces of a Worgen assault as well as the forces of Sylvanas Winrunner's Forsaken fleet, intent on claiming Gilneas for the Horde. Practically the entire population of Gilneas was transformed into Worgens, but a combination of alchemy and help by night elven druids, the Worgen of Gilneas ended up retaining their sanity and has the ability to freely transform back and forth between worgen and human forms. (And thus, became a playable race during Cataclysm).
And now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the Witchwood itself. There is an actual area known as "Witchwood" in World of Warcraft, specifically a very minor sub-area of Highmountain populated by Harpies. However, the Witchwood in Hearthstone is actually based on a region of Gilneas known as the Blackwald, a wide expanse of dreary, dead forest located in Southern Gilneas, south of Greymane City. The Blackwald was where the Druids of the Scythe originally lived, and where they were originally transformed into Worgen. Worgen adventurers would journey through the Blackwald during Cataclysm, both in a journey to control their bestial forms and to push back against the forces of the Horde led by Sylvanas.In Hearthstone's Witchwood expansion, a vile orc witch, Hagatha, has moved into the Blackwald and spread a large amount of corruption, transforming it into the titular Witchwood. We'll cover a lot more about the actual named characters -- the Greymanes, Darius, Crowley and Arugal in particular are extremely instrumental in the story of the Worgen.
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The Gilneans!
King Genn Greymane
Between the time of the Third War and the Cataclysm, the worgen threat has grown so large that the Gilneans were forced to evacuate Gilneas City. Genn Greymane and his son Liam assisted in the evacuation of the citizens to Duskhaven. Despite the valiant efforts of the Gilneans, as well as the assistance of the released rebel Darius Crowley and some new worgen heroes (i.e. player characters) Gilneas would suffer even more as multiple threats arrived. Elsewhere in another corner of the world, the dread black dragon aspect Deathwing erupted from the elemental plane of earth, causing the mighty event known as the Cataclysm, collapsing the Greymane wall and a huge chunk of the Gilnean coast. The forces of Forsaken, loyal to the Horde, were led by Sylvanas Windrunner to take advantage of this and claim Gilneas for the Horde. Genn Greymane himself succumbed into the worgen curse as well, although like many others who were infected during the fall of Gilneas, he retained his sanity due to the efforts of alchemists among the Gilneans who managed to create a potion to control the transformations. While fighting the forces of Sylvanas Windrunner, Genn's heir Liam would take a poisoned arrow meant for Genn and die in the process, and his son's death broke Genn.
Finally
humbled due to his son's death and the devastation of his kingdom, Genn
Greymane accepted outside aid -- a group of night elven druids,
representing the Alliance, who offered to relocate the Gilnean survivors
to the night elven city of Darnassus. The night elves, having been
responsible for the original creation of the worgen millennia ago, also
helped the worgens of Gilneas control their newfound feral forms.
However, Genn was still a stubborn man, initially refusing to join the
Alliance, and later his attempts was rebuffed by King Varian Wrynn, who
was still furious at Greymane's cowardly acts of seceding after the
Second War. However, after spending some time with Greymane, Varian
relented and allowed the worgens of Gilneas entry into the Alliance.Acting as an atoner for his past sins, Genn Greymane was a staunch supporter of the Alliance, and the Gilnean people had come to view the worgen curse as their newfound strength, embracing it instead of shunning it. While initially leading his people in Darnassus, Genn would later move to the capital city of Stormwind to advise Varian Wrynn. While Genn did not participate in any major battles, he was present during the events of Mists of Pandaria among the Alliance leaders in witnessing the power of the Sha, and later the capture and trial of Garrosh Hellscream.
In Legion, Genn Greymane would have a lot more spotlight, having grown to essentially Varian's closest confidant. Genn Greymane was among the warriors on the frontline during the Battle for the Broken Shore, fighting in his worgen form alongside other Alliance leaders Varian Wrynn, Jaina Proudmoore and Gelbin Mekkatorque. The combined Alliance-Horde forces headed in to kill the mad warlock Gul'dan. However, Genn witnessed the Horde forces suddenly pull a retreat (unbeknownst to the Alliance forces at the time, it was due to the mortal wounding of their then-warchief Vol'jin), an act that Genn viewed as treachery. Pinned down by way too many enemies due to the lack of Horde backup, Genn urged Varian to order a retreat. The Alliance forces did so, retreating to their gunships, but Gul'dan summons a gigantic Fel Reaver who grabs onto the airship and threatened to crash it. Genn despereately yells for Varian Wrynn, hanging on to a rope bridge, to grab his hand, but instead Varian passes on a letter he wrote to his son, before bravely jumping off to slay the massive Fel Reaver to allow the Alliance forces to escape -- and eventually dying as he had a valiant last stand against the forces of the demons.
Genn would also instruct an adventurer to sneak around and spy on Anduin to make sure the new king's mental state is all right. Genn and the draenei leader Velen would then talk to Anduin near the site of his father's death, trying to help muster the young king's confidence. Genn encourages Anduin, telling him to never let fear prevail. Genn would continue to act in a mentoring manner to Anduin throughout the rest of Legion.
During the Battle of Azeroth, Genn and Anduin led the Siege of Capital City, personally battling alongside Anduin. Horde forces overwhelmed Genn Greymane for a while, but Anduin unleashed a massive healing wave that rejuvenated Genn and the other fallen Alliance soldiers. Genn would return to Stormwind and lead an army to drive out a group of Horde infiltrators -- although they did manage to free two Zandalari troll prisoners. Despite his reservations about the plan, Genn would accompany Jaina Proudmoore to the human naval nation of Kul Tiras and attempt to get it to join the Alliance.
Princess Tess Greymane
Tess Greymane rose to prominence during World of Warcraft: Legion, accompanying her father in various conflicts against the return of the Burning Legion to Azeroth, particularly stationed abroad the Alliance airship Skyfire after the first battle of the Broken Shore. Tess and Darius Crowley's daughter Lorna would discuss the bloodlust consuming Genn Greymane, fearing that it would lead to a lot of deaths in the name of vengeance. To most other members of the Alliance, Tess Greymane seemed like a mere princess and a royal, but Rogue players would find out that Tess Greymane is actually one of the rogues that were part of the Uncrowned -- a secretive organization of Azeroth's most powerful rogues, the "unseen blades that write the true history of the world". Members of the Uncrowned familiar to Hearthstone players include Valeera Sanguinar, Marin Noggenfogger, Lilian Voss and Vanessa VanCleef. The Uncrowned would welcome powerful rogue adventurers into their fold, and would venture in missions unknown to most of Azeroth's population in battling the Burning Legion's attempts at infiltration and incursion into Azeroth. Tess in particular would send the Rogue Champion to recruit the mighty veteran of the first war, Garona Halforcen. During the events of Legionfall, Tess engineered a plan to stop a large army of Burning Legion demons attempting to ambush the Alliance/Horde forces with fel-infused gun powder taken from the undead Blacksail pirates. Tess and the Rogue hero sneak into the Lost Temple and blow the cave up.
In Witchwood, Tess has apparently been spending her time hunting down the mysterious ghostly pirates that have been plaguing Gilneas's coastlines, and has taken a far more active role as a tracker and a rogue. She is one of the four heroes that venture into the Witchwood to hunt down the dread Hagatha and put her down.
Prince Liam Greymane:
Darius Crowley
Darius Crowley is perhaps one of the most important characters from Gilneas. Lord Crowley was a nobleman who was very vocal during the time of the Second War, and preached nobility and courage. While other older noblemen like Vincent Godfrey would have Gilneas put the interests of profit above honour and loyalty, the younger Darius Crowley beseeched King Greymane to honour the terms of the Alliance and send in the entire Gilnean army to participate in the Second War. While the Alliance would prove triumphant during the Second War, Crowley would be unable to stop King Greymane from seceding from the Alliance. Further conflict came when Greymane built the Greymane Wall, a massive barrier that would cut off Gilneas out from the rest of the world. However, due to influence from Godfrey, the Greymane Wall would cut away Darius Crowley and his land from the rest of Gilneas. This caused Darius Crowley to lead the Northgate Rebellion, an uprising that resulted in a civil war. Darius Crowley was eventually arrested on the grounds of treason, and held at Stoneward Prison. During the Third War and prior to the Scourge razing Lordaeron, Darius was responsible for sending a not insignificant amount of Gilneans as part of the Gilneas Brigade to join Jaina Proudmoore's exodus from Lordaeron to Kalimdor.
Darius would later assist the worgen hero in retrieving the Scythe of Elune from the hands of the Forsaken, and would be reunited with his daughter Lorna. The worgen hero would convince King Greymane to ask Crowley's faction of rebels and worgens in uniting against the threat of the Forsaken. The negotiations nearly fell apart due to Godfrey's influence and prejudices, but when King Greymane revealed that he, too, was a worgen, Darius would agree. Darius Crowley would participate in other battles, including retaking Gilneas City, and led the defense of Keel Harbour to once more buy time for the Gilneans to escape to night elven territory.
With the territory of Gilneas ultimately lost to the Forsaken, Darius would lead the Gilneas Liberation Front against the Forsaken in Silverpine Forest, and managed to gather allies from the previously neutral Bloodfang and Hillsbrad packs. With help from other Alliance forces, Darius's campaign through the Silverpine Forest seemed successful until the Forsaken revealed their trump card: a resurrected Lord Godfrey. Knowing all about Darius's weaknesses, Godfrey and a group of Forsaken agents kidnapped Darius's daughter Lorna and held her hostage, forcing Darius to surrender Silverpine Forest in exchange for his daughter. However, treachery from Godfrey -- who killed Sylvanas (she got better) -- ended up allowing Darius and his forces to leave Silverpine unmolested.
Darius would figure greatly during the Legion expansion, where Darius and Lorna would be among the forces that accompanied Greymane and the rest of the Alliance in battling the Burning Legion in the Broken Shore. Darius's participation in the battle is mostly unseen, and it would later be revealed that he was felled in battle and taken captive by the Naga on the broken shore. Alliance warriors would free him, and Darius would assist the Alliance heroes in defeating the Naga. After his rescue, Darius would be inducted as a champion in the Warrior organization, the Valarjar. In Battle for Azeroth, with all the increasing hostilities between Alliance and Horde, Darius Crowley would return to Gilneas, leading a renewed Gilnean assault into the Forsaken-controlled territory of Hillsbrad.
In Hearthstone's Witchwood expansion, Darius Crowley has apparently gained a high appreciation of cannons and is one of the four heroes sent to brave the Witchwood alongside Tess Greymane, Shaw and Toki. Crowley would venture into the Witchwood and defeat multiple bosses, eventually battling and slaying his old nemesis Lord Godfrey before joining the other heroes in battling Hagatha.
Lord Vincent Godfrey
In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Lord Godfrey would still act as Greymane's advisor during the Worgen crisis, assisting the king as best as he could regarding the dual threat of the feral worgen and the Forsaken fleet besieging their lands. Godfrey scoffed at the idea that Greymane wanted to set up a curfew, instead demanding that he be allowed to bring a small hunting group to the Blackwald to hunt down the worgens. This dismissive tone caused Greymane to dismiss Godfrey from the meeting. Despite his big talk, Godfrey was one of the first to take up arms against the beasts, assisting the Greymanes and other Gilneans in shooting down the Worgen during the evacuation of Gilneas. However, Godfrey argued strongly against the rescue of his old rival, the former rebel Darius Crowley. Godfrey was extremely dismissive of anyone afflicted with the Worgen curse, heartlessly gunning down any fellow Gilnean afflicted with the curse. Godfrey was particularly insistent that the worgen hero (a.k.a. you) be executed after his/her transformation, something that Genn Greymane refused to do. As the worgen hero regained control of his/her form, Godfrey begrudgingly assisted the hero in fending off the Forsaken dark ranger.
As
the conflict between the Gilneans and the Forsaken reached a tipping
point, Godfrey ended up chafing over Darius Crowley being accepted back
into the fold, as well as the revelation that even King Greymane has
been afflicted with the worgen curse. Godfrey ended up holding Greymane
at gunpoint, believing that he could negotiate with the Forsaken by
handing over the king (while, of course, simultaneously ensuring his own
place as a candidate). However, the worgen hero was alerted to
Godfrey's treachery, and he/she kills Godfrey's allies, Baron Ashbury
and Lord Walden. The Worgen hero and Genn Greymane demanded that Godfrey
surrender, but Godfrey instead leaped to his death from the edge of a
cliff, with his last words telling that he'd rather die than have a
worgen for a king.However, that would not be the end of Vincent Godfrey. The Forsaken queen Sylvanas Windrunner would realize what has transpired, and sent his own agents to recover Lord Godfrey's body. Her Val'kyr would resurrect Lord Godfrey and his two allies, Ashbury and Walden, as Forsaken. Godfrey is accompanied by several Horde heroes in battling against the enemies of the Forsaken, and Godfrey would succeed in kidnapping Lorna Crowley, Darius's daughter, holding her as ransom. Darius Crowley ended up surrendering, but Lord Godfrey, refusing to be a pawn of anyone, shoots and kills Sylvanas Windrunner, before escaping. Sylvanas would be resurrected with the sacrifice of some of her Val'kyr, but this crime has caused Lord Godfrey to be wanted by the Horde as well. Now wanted by both Alliance and Horde, Lord Godfrey and his remaining allies made a run for the nearby Shadowfang Keep, formerly the base of the mad archmage Arugal. Lord Godfrey would be the final boss of the revamped Shadowfang Keep (circa Cataclysm), and both Alliance and Horde would send heroes to slay the treacherous undead noble. Godfrey would eventually meet his end at the hands of these adventurers. His Hearthstone card effect is based on his iconic 'pistol barrage' ability in World of Warcraft, a devastating area-of-effect blast of bullets.
In Hearthstone, it is noted that Lord Godfrey has left his base of Shadowfang Keep and journeyed close into the Witchwood and Gilneas for some nefarious (and possibly treacherous) purpose.
Archmage Arugal
Arugal and his worgen cult would be permanently driven out of Shadowfang Keep prior to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, and Lord Godfrey would move in as part of a revamped Shadowfang Keep dungeon in the Cataclysm expansion. Arugal is canonically beheaded by Horde adventurers, and his body was buried in a patch of land near Shadowfang Keep. Agents of the Scourge, the Darkfallen Princes Keleseth, Valanar, Theraldis and Atherann would resurrect Arugal as a powerful Shade, placing him at Shadowfang Tower in Grizzly Hills. Under Theraldis's command, Arugal was sent to Solstice Village and Silverbrook to convert the population into worgen loyal to the Scourge, and converted others to join his wolf-cult. Adventurers would besiege Arugal's attempt at revitalizing his wolf cult, and slay the Shade of Arugal for good.
While Arugal was never revived, his dark legacy remains. Worgen death knights are noted to be former servants of Arugal, and during the Legion expansion, the death knights of the Ebon Blade will venture to the Shadowlands to do battle with the soul of Arugal to drain the darkness from his soul as part of a series of Unholy Attainment quests where the death knights would have to confront dead villains to drain their essences.
Blackhowl Gunspire:
Yeah,
the Blackhowl Gunspire is actually canon! Sorta. The Gunspire is
clearly a cannon tower. Cannon Towers were first seen in Warcraft II,
where the help of gnomish and dwarven engineering allowed the forces of
the Alliance to upgrade their Scout Towers into Cannon Towers. The
Alliance forces in Warcraft III were also able to upgrade their scout
towers into Cannon Towers. Both Cannon Towers in WCII and WCIII are
extremely powerful, able to deal splash damage, but is unable to strike
flying units. In World of Warcraft, cannon towers are often seen among
Alliance architecture.
The Blackhowl title is a reference to the Blackhowl, an organization formed by humans and worgens of Gilneas that has fallen prey to the machinations of the black draknoid Lord Hiram Creed, who disguises himself as a human noble and fed the members of the Blackhowl his own draconic blood to enhance their strength and keep them bound to his will. In Cataclysm, the uncorrupted black dragon, Wrathion, sent a Rogue adventurer to assassinate Creed in his quest to annihilate all of the other evil black dragons on Azeroth -- something that the Rogue would succeed in doing. The Blackhowl was never seen again after this mission, but in Hearthstone, apparently the Blackhowl has thrown their lot in to help defend Gilneas after the 'retirement' of their leader Creed.
The Blackhowl title is a reference to the Blackhowl, an organization formed by humans and worgens of Gilneas that has fallen prey to the machinations of the black draknoid Lord Hiram Creed, who disguises himself as a human noble and fed the members of the Blackhowl his own draconic blood to enhance their strength and keep them bound to his will. In Cataclysm, the uncorrupted black dragon, Wrathion, sent a Rogue adventurer to assassinate Creed in his quest to annihilate all of the other evil black dragons on Azeroth -- something that the Rogue would succeed in doing. The Blackhowl was never seen again after this mission, but in Hearthstone, apparently the Blackhowl has thrown their lot in to help defend Gilneas after the 'retirement' of their leader Creed.
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Other WoW-Canon Characters!
Duskfallen Aviana:
Emeriss
Emeriss
is a relatively important lore character, all things considered, but
has absolutely nothing to do with Worgens or Gilneas. Emeriss is one of
the four Dragons of Nightmare, four mighty members of the green
dragonflight that served as one of the world bosses in the original
World of Warcraft. The arrival of these four dragons, originally four of
Ysera's mightiest lieutenants, heralded the fact that there was
something seriously wrong to twist this mighty beings to madness
and decay. The four Dragons of Nightmare would appear outside of the
Great Trees of Azeroth, and would spread madness and terror throughout
the mortal realm if not stopped. Throughout the subsequent expansions
adventurers would reveal the existence of the Emerald Nightmare, a
corruption of the Emerald Dream caused by the Old Gods N'Zoth and
Yogg-Saron, and spearheaded by the Nightmare Lord Xavius.
The
four Dragons of Nightmare -- Lethon, Ysondre, Emeriss and Taerar --
were the earliest and most notable victims, transformed from guardians
of nature and the Dream into beings of corpulent decay. These dragons
would spawn outside of four Great Trees, located in Duskwood,
Hinterlands, Feralas and Ashenvale. Lethon was transformed into a being
with the ability to suck in energy from his enemies with the aid of
shades. Emeriss was a being of rot and disease, transforming her victims
into erupting mushrooms that further wound those around him. Taerar was
a nightmarish creature who manifests in the physical realm as a series
of specters. Ysondre unleashes lightning blasts and puts her victims
into deep sleep, a perversion of her charge over the Emerald Dream in
the past.
During the Cataclysm
expansion, the Dragons of Nightmare were removed from the game. The loss
of two of these was explained in the World of Warcraft: Stormrage
novel. Emeriss and Lethon were two of the primary antagonists serving
under Xavius as the druids of Azeroth attempted to uncover the true
masterminds of the corruption tainting the Emerald Dream. Lethon was
slain by Eranikus, Ysera's primary consort, in an explosion of energies
that killed them both. Emeriss battled Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion
Stormrage, but when Tyrande attempted to channel the power of Elune to
heal Emeriss's corruption, the green dragon was so far gone that when
the corruption was removed, nothing remained. A questline in Cataclysm
would reveal the fate of the other two dragons, where Ysondre would
regain her sanity and ask adventurers to help slay the final Dragon of
Nightmare, Taerar, permanently.
However,
this didn't last very long, as in Legion, the Emerald Nightmare has
spread to consume nearly the entirety of the Dream. Ysondre was drawn
back in and transformed once more into a Dragon of Nightmare, while
Emeriss, Lethon and Taerar were resurrected. The Dragons of Nightmare
then served as the fifth encounter in the Emerald Nightmare raid, being
ultimately slain and put to rest permanently by adventurers. After the
Emerald Nightmare was cleansed, the spirits of the former Dragons of
Nightmare were apparently purified.
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Hearthstone-Original Legendaries
As with most of the post-League-of-Explorers expansions, Witchwood contains a sizable chunk of characters original to Hearthstone, notably the titular witch of the Witchwood, Hagatha, as well as many of her creations. Many of the legendary minions in this expansion are also featured in the Monster Hunt story mode, either as playable heroes or as bosses.
Hagatha The Witch:
Hagatha
the Witch is the being whose moniker gave the Witchwood its name.
Hagatha is the being that is apparently behind the mysterious
transformation of Gilneas's Blackwald Forest into the Witchwood, and
it's not entirely clear whether the curse that transformed the Witchwood
and its inhabitants was solely Hagatha's doing, or if Hagatha is merely
another one of the Witchwood's victims. The Mysterious Missives, a set
of 'bios' apparently gathered by a mysterious organization and posted on
the Hearthstone website, give us some other possible origins for
Hagatha, speculating that she is "a survivor of some great battle who
dragged herself deep into the forest and fell prey to dark magic", "the
manifestation of the forest's anger" or an extremely skilled shaman
whose ambition and desires have outstripped normal sense.Whatever the case, Hagatha is a female orc shaman who resides deep in the Witchwood. Dialogue from the Monster Hunt mode implies that she was saved at one point by the monstrous bog creeper known as Groddo the Bogwarden, and she is at least responsible for a good majority of the monsters and bosses in the Witchwood. Waiting deep within the Witchwood, every breath that Hagatha makes causes every evil creature in the woods to listen, and her mere presence causes dead spirits to rise, the plantlife itself to be corrupted into giant lumbering monsters and even the sides of hills itself to lumber into the night. She is at least directly responsible for the creation of the strange entity Shudderwock and the monstrous dream serpent threatening to eat the moon.
And while Hagatha is terrifying and a powerful being, she isn't just a mindless force of nature. She is extremely sane, and she plots. No one knows why she targets the Witchwood or Gilneas, but it might seem that it's merely circumstantial -- it's an obstacle for a larger goal, and only the brave monster hunters of Gilneas can take her down, defeat her mighty monstrous minions, and return the Witchwood to what it was. Eventually, after fighting through her hordes of minions, the brave heroes Tess Greymane, Darius Crowley, Houndmaster Shaw and Toki the Time-Tinker managed to bring the fight to Hagatha herself and finally put the mad witch down, saving Gilneas and the rest of Azeroth from the encroaching Witchwood curse.
Baku the Mooneater:
Baku the Mooneater shares the visual appearance with the sea serpents of Azeroth, which first made their appearance in World of Warcraft in Cataclysm, native to the deeper oceans of Azeroth. But the visual appearance is where the similarities end, for Baku is a land-dwelling creature whose size is tremendous -- large enough to coil around the town of Gilneas itself. The Mysterious Missives note that no being akin to Baku exists in records that detail the likes of serpents, dragons and dragonhawks. And Baku himself has not been seen physically by anyone, but everyone in Gilneas is haunted and wracked with shared dream visions of a gigantic kaleidoscopic serpent reaching up into the sky and devouring the moon.
The author of the Mysterious Missives theorize that Baku may be the tormented psyche of a dragon whose physical form is trapped within the bounds of the Witchwood, and the dream projection of this dragon's mind (remember that green dragons are tied to the dream-realm of the Emerald Dream) is wraped and twisted by Hagatha's own nightmares. This seem to be mere speculation, however, and might prove true or false. Those affected by dreams of Baku descend into a fugue state of neither waking nor dreaming, and develop the ability to manifest their will in surprising ways, yet are haunted by inexplicable dread as they all dream of fanged serpent jaws devouring the moon. Baku's nature is a mystery for the moment, a mysterious dream being that may be fully malicious, or merely yet another symptom of Hagatha's curse over the Witchwood.
Note that while Baku's artwork features the Moon prominently in the sky... Azeroth is supposed to have two moons, so Baku apparently already ate one of them.
The Shudderwock:
The mysterious Shudderwock is a bizarre entity unique to Hearthstone, a rhyming being first seen in children's rhymes. The mysterious Shudderwock seems to exist somewhere on the edge of reality, defying description, physical and arcane laws, and some people even question if the Shudderwock is 'real' in the way that one generally uses the word, although it certainly exists. The Shudderwock appears to warp reality wherever it walks, leaving those who meet it as mere jabbering wrecks, turning those who meet it into rhyming lunatics -- which is the fate that befell the agent who wrote the Mysterious Missive for the Shudderwock.
The Shudderwock is, of course, a reference to the Jabberwock, a creature featured in the nonsensical poem Jabberwocky written by real-life Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass. Shudderwock's card illustration is an obvious reference to the John Tenniel illustration, and the Shudderwock's entrance quote is taken from a description of the Jabberwock. The Shudderwock's hero power in Monster Hunt, Frumiousity, is taken from another nonsense word in the poem.
Glinda Crowskin:
The mysterious Glinda Crowskin is a witch living deep within the Witchwood, and was apparently around in the Witchwood even prior to its corruption. Before even the curse existed, there has been tales in Gilneas of a sinister crone that can grant wishes for the modest price of a human heart -- something that is reflected in the boss battle against Glinda, where she is able to cheat death by using her minions as extra hearts. As noted in various Mysterious Missives, Glinda Crowskin is the mastermind behind the Crowskin Cult that has surfaced after the advent of the Witchwood's creation. The Crowskin Cult has infiltrated the population of Gilneas, and Crowskin and her followers believe that Hagatha will grant them power in exchange for devotion. Breaking the Greymane family's curfew, Crowskin's followers sneak into the forest in the dead of night to perform profane rituals under the crone's direction. Most disturbingly, more of the cultists return to the city than has left -- a reference to how Glinda Crowskin is able to replicate minions via the Echo mechanic in the game. The Crowskin cult is clearly responsible for some of the bosses in the monster hunt like Cultist S'thara and the treasure Cult of the Wolf, and Crowskin is noted in various sources as being a mere pawn, she seems pretty happy with the arrangement, all things considered.
Azalina Soulthief
The
enigmatic Azalina Soulthief is a mysterious night elf (who may also be
undead) who resides in the depths of the Witchwood. Azalina is described
by the residents of Gilneas as a vengeful spirit who knows their
thoughts, and "speaks lies in the voices of friends and allies". During
the boss fight against her in the Monster Hunt mode, Azalina, despite
being twisted by the Witchwood, is driven by a goal to 'protect' her
children, an army of Wisps, from the clutches of Hagatha. However, in
doing so she also seems to be lashing out against everything and
everyone, forcing the heroes to put her down.
Face Collector
The mysterious plant being known as the Face Collector is one of the many, many creatures corrupted and summoned from the depths of the Blackwald by the curse. The Face Collector is apparently a being who 'steals the faces of men', a strange swamp creature given sentience and power by Hagatha. He clearly has a morbid selection of faces of many races on his possession, and appears to be able to impersonate others. There are apparently rumours that the Face Collector was once a bounty hunter, with his past purpose twisted and transformed by the Witchwood. The Face Collector might be a plant creature similar to the Bog Creepers and Fen Creepers? Hard to tell, though. During the boss fight against the Face Collector in the Monster Hunt, he appears to be trying to impersonate the hero he is facing.
Splintergraft:
Among the many tree creatures (corrupted Ancients?) brought to unholy life by the Witchwood's curse is the mighty Splintergraft, mightiest among the corrupted treants seen in the Witchwood. Splintergraft is a being driven by vengeance against the Worgens, angered at the huge amount of woodcutting done by the Gilneans in their war effort, with the writer of the Mysterious Missives citing Darius Crowley's cannon-making projects as one of the biggest sources of woodcutting. Splintergraft is formed from all the splintered stumps of fallen trees, assembling itself into a humanoid form wielding a woodcutter's axe. Splintergraft is 'the closest thing to an undead treant', and other than being a big tree monster she is also able to infect other creatures, turning them into wooden creatures -- it increases the victim's strength and toughness, but makes them fall in sway to the Witchwood's corruption. This is seen in both Splintergraft's collectible card effect and her boss fight.
Houndmaster Shaw:
Houndmaster Shaw is one of the heroes of Gilneas original to Hearthstone. He and his army of bloodhounds and mastiffs join alongside Tess Greymane, Darius Crowley and the mysterious Toki as one of the heroes that venture into the Witchwood to hunt down and put down Hagatha and her monstrous minions. Shaw was born from humble roots, apparently rumoured to be raised by a pack of hounds on the streets of Gilneas. While that story is dubious, Shaw is a very skilled hound-master, ascending from a thief-taker into Genn Greymane's master of hounds. Shaw doesn't get along well with people, and prefers the companion of his hounds -- particularly his favourites, Princess, Butch and Bubba. All three of his prize hounds are possible 'treasures' that players can pick up when playing as Houndmaster Shaw. Renowned as a powerful force against Gilneas's criminals, the unflappable Shaw has joined in the quest to take down the evils of the Witchwood, and has particular beef against the Crowskin cult -- which is why he has Glinda Crowskin as his final boss in the Monster Hunt mode.
Toki, Time-Tinker:
The Time-Tinker Toki (Toki means time in Japanese) is a little happy gnome who is apparently able to travel back and forth through time, apparently via "bargaining with Nozodormu" according to the Mysterious Missives. Toki is one of the four heroes that brave the Witchwood alongside Tess, Darius and Shaw, and while nominally on the side of good, she is also rather erratic and unpredictable. She apparently channels her powers through arcane devices of her own dimension instead of casting spells, which is why she can turn back the time (as seen in Monster Hunt) or rip out beings from the past (seen in her collectible card). Toki is noted by Genn to be 'extremely lucky', and this willingness to brave risks due to the ability to manipulate time to make events favourable to her make her particularly useful as a hunter. Her disregard for the consequences that her magic has on the fabric of time might just cause her undoing, however, because apparently her future self (see Infinite Toki below) has appeared in the Witchwood, intent on stopping her. Toki herself isn't actually aligned with the Gilneans per se, having a cheerful apathy towards both Gilneas and the curse, and only helps Gilneas because she wants to stop Hagatha from influencing a certain event in her own future.
It is possible that Toki is a bronze dragon in disguise -- the most notable bronze dragon other than Nozdormu is Chronormu, who often materializes as a little bronze-haired gnome girl called Chromie. However, it's really just conjecture and she might just be just a gnome with time powers, because unlike Ashmore or Kazakus, we don't really have any real evidence to say otherwise. Who knows?
Dollmaster Dorian:
Dorian's
really weird, yeah? He's ostensibly on the side of the 'good guys', but
he clearly goes about it in a different direction. An agent sent by the
writer of the Mysterious Missives that investigated Dorian's possible
association with the Crowskin cult ended up going missing, and a
doppelganger created by Dorian returned with the simple report off how
"Master Dorian is a very nice man." Due to him not appearing anywhere in
the Monster Hunt, it's hard to say whether Dorian is actually evil,
working for a different organization or just good-but-creepy. He''s
clearly responsible for the creation of the Voodoo Doll and Clockwork
Automaton, as well as seemingly the Mute, a boss in the Monster Hunt. I
also really like his artwork -- look at how the green eye on the doll is
the same shade of green as Dorian's one single eye. Like some of the
other legendary cards below, Dorian's story is still mostly a mystery at
this point, one of the many mysterious characters in the Witchwood.Countess Ashmore:
The
enigmatic Countess Ashmore is an enigma. It's not clear on whose side
she is on, but one day, all the records of Gilneas show a noble Ashmore
line stretching all the way to Pre-Alliance days, written in a hand none
of the royal scribes recognize. Countess Ashmore has taken up residence
in an old manor that has been abandoned since before the first battle
of Gilneas, and witnesses tell tales of many voices coming from the
manor... but the Countess is the only one who has ever been seen leaving
or entering it. Countess Ashmore seem to be investigating the curse for
her own goals, and seems to have a vested interest in the appearance of
dragons in the woods. Countess Ashmore's entry animation in the game is
heralded by a dragon descending and folding into the Countess card. Of
course, we know that dragons in humanoid form don't have the dragon tag
(as evidenced with Wrathion and Kazakus), and Ashmore's dress appears to
be a colour-swapped version of Alexstrasza's human form's clothes. This
leads credence to Ashmore being a disguised member of one of the
dragonflights -- either black, blue or twilight based on her clothing.
As mentioned in the entry for Blackhowl Gunspire, it's not the first
time a dragon's infiltrated Gilneas as a noble. Time will tell if the
mysterious Countess's story will be explored in future Hearthstone
updates.The Glass Knight:
The Glass Knight is a unique being to Hearthstone. In life, she was a human paladin who was grievously injured in battle, and instead had her spirit imbued into a glass golem on a Gilnean church, preferring this altered state of living as opposed to being unable to protect Gilneas at all. The Glass Knight normally remains in stasis as part of the Gilnean church's stained glass windows, but when the city needs defending, the Glass Knight will wake up and take up arms against it. There are no golem model in WoW that visually resembles the Glass Knight.
Lady in White:
The mysterious Lady in White is a ghostly apparition original to Hearthstone. While there are a lot of undead spirits risen from the dead due to the Witchwood curse, the Lady in White is mysteriously not as evil as the rest of the spirits, one of the few alongside Prince Liam's ghost to not be malicious to Gilneas's inhabitants. The Lady in White is treated as a symbol of hope, but her identity in life remains a mystery. The Lady in White appears only to those in deepest despair, and to each of them she appears in the visage of someone that they know well, seemingly to offer comfort from beyond the veil. This has led some people to doubt that she's a 'mere' ghostly spirit due to this strange aspect. One thing is common with all of her sightings -- she is always wearing white (even if the dress changes) and her expression is always kind yet sad. The Lady in White appears to be searching for something, but she takes her time to help out those in need that she comes by.
Chameleos:
Chameleos is clearly a chameleon... which is a creature that has never been seen in any Warcraft material. While some references to chameleons are made in the ability "Aspect of the Chameleon", actual chameleons have never appeared. Chameleos is thus unique to Hearthstone, and his shape-shifting ability is based on real-life chameleons' ability to change colour.
For monster run bosses, and the rest of the expansion, go click on the break.
Monster Run Bosses
There are also a bunch of bosses that only show up in the Monster Run. Most of them are just stronger versions of collectible cards, or are simple minions of Hagatha the Witch. In addition to these, the Shudderwock, Face Collector, Splintergraft, Lord Godfrey, Glinda Crowskin and Azalina Soulthief make appearances as bosses, and Hagatha stands as the final boss of the Monster Hunt. There's really not that much lore to go for some of these.
Gobbles: Gobbles is just an angry vulture. Vultures are commonly found in desert areas like the Barrens, but it appears that one has made it into the Witchwood. Gobbles's boss fight ability is a reference to the fellow vulture card, Starving Buzzard. The only Gobbles in World of Warcraft is the name of a turkey, not a vulture.
A Mangy Wolf: Mangy Wolf is definitely meant to just represent a generic wolf. The name Mangy Wolf is shared with a weak level 5 wolf mob found in Elwynn Forest, part of the starting area for human characters in World of Warcraft.
Rottooth: There is an orc NPC called Rot-Tooth
in World of Warcraft, found in the Tanaan Jungle, but that's likely a
coincidence. Rottooth appears to be the same kind of ethereal, ghostly
bear. While Rottooth originally shares the exact same artwork with the
collectible Witchwood Grizzly art, thanks to the recent adjustment,
Rottooh now looks relatively unique!
Ravencaller Cozzlwewurt: Ravencaller Cozzlewurt (sharing his card art with the collectible Ravencaller card) is one of Hagatha's minions, someone who apparently really likes ravens and crows and other assorted birds, if his deck is anything to go by.
The Mute: The Mute is a mysterious lady with stitched mouths and glowing green eyes, and while she doesn't say much to let us know of her true allegiance, the doll aesthetic and her glowing green eyes match those that Dollmaster Dorian has, implying that the Mute is one of Dorian's thralls. What that says about Dorian's real allegiance remains to be seen.
Inquisitor Hav'nixx: Inquisitor Hav'nixx is a Felsoul Inquisitor (sharing his art with the collectible card). We've talked about Inquisitors in general in the collectible cards section for the Witchwood, so I won't repeat myself.
Brushwood Centurion: Brushwood Centurion is a powerful druid that has had his mind taken over and mind-controlled by Hagatha, similar to the collectible minion Bewitched Guardian that he shares his card art with.
Crooked Pete: Crooked Pete is a Gilnean chimney cleaner who transforms into his worgen form, Beastly Pete, halfway through the fight against him. Not much to talk about here beyond him being a worgen that's thrown in his lot with Hagatha's forces.
Baran the Blind: Baran the Blind is a one-headed ogre whose eye was plucked away by Hagatha, driving the formerly-gentle brute into a frenzy. Not much to talk about here.
Gravekeeper Damph: Gravekeeper Damph is the ghost of a grave-digger, although the way he looks is a Casper-esque cartoon ghost, the likes of which hasn't been seen in World of Warcraft material before.
Garrow, the Rancorous: Garrow is an undead human, likely a Forsaken, who apparently was a tax collector in life -- and is intent on doing so even in death.
Forlorn Lovers: The Forlorn Lovers (or rather, lover, since there's only one of her) is a banshee who plays up the trope of 'undying love'. Not much to go on here -- she's just one of the many ghosts brought back to life by the Witchwood Curse.
Cultist S'thara: Cultist S'thara is a member of the Crowskin Cult, it seems, and is ready to 'recruit' the heroes to join the cult. Not much to go on about her, like nearly every other boss here, she's original to Hearthstone.
Niira the Trickster: Niira the Trickster is a Sprite, the same sort of elemental spirit that the collectible Blackwald Pixie and Greedy Sprite belong to. She is explicitly a minion of Hagatha here, although she doesn't let Hagatha's orders get in the way of her fun 'games'.
Sephira Dusktalon: The harpy Sephira Dusktalon shares her last name with a Hippogyrph found in Suramar, but that's likely just a coincidence. In traditional World of Warcraft, harpy wind-witches and naga sea witches tend to fill in the role of witches since WoW doesn't quite have a dedicated 'witch' template similar to Hearthstone. Sephira's just one of Hagatha's many minions.
Cutthroat Willie: Cutthroat Willie, sharing his art with the collectible Cutthroat Buccaneer, is one of the many members of the ghostly pirate crew of Captain Shivers, who, according to Hearthstone-unique lore, has been arriving and attacking Gilneas's coastal holdings, seemingly revived by the curse of the Witchwood.
Winslow Tobtock: Winslow Tobtock is a gnome hypnotist who uses a pocketwatch to hypnotize the hero... but also has appeared to hypnotize himself as well, based on his card art and how he also shuffles his own hand.
Manhunter Ivan: The Manhunter Ivan is a dwarven bounty hunter that was once allied with the Gilnean forces. At the very least, dialogue between Ivan and both Darius and Shaw implies that Ivan was a member of the Gilnean forces before being turned away by Hagatha -- although Ivan himself doesn't seem to particularly mind abandoning what he thought is a 'lost cause'.
The Whisperer: The Whisperer is actually the name of a Banshee mob found in Azsuna, an area added in World of Warcraft: Legion. There are also other non-undead enemies with the title 'the Whisperer', although none are wraiths. The Whisperer is clearly a wraith (and shares the same card art with the collectible Mistwraith) and original to Hearthstone.
Blood Witch Gretta: Blood Witch Gretta is original to Hearthstone, a gnome witch that's one of Hagatha's many acolytes. She, naturally, reuses the card art for Blood Witch.
Griselda: Another apprentice of Hagatha is the unfortunate Griselda, who, like the collectible card Witch's Apprentice, has been hexxed into a frog... although either this was Hagatha's fault or Griselda's own inexperience isn't particularly clear. Her ability seems to be an inversion of the children's folktale Princess and the Frog, where instead of a kiss returning a frog prince into human form, it turns other beings into frogs instead.
Chupacabran: The Chupacabran is a beast original to Hearthstone. It shares its artwork with the collectible Vicious Scalehide, but borrows its name and vampiric abilities from the real-life cryptid, the Chupacabra, a vampiric beast that supposedly drains the blood of goats. World of Warcraft does have a named animal named after the Chupacabra -- the raptor Chupacabros, found in the Swamp of Sorrows -- but he doesn't drain blood.
Gnarlroot: There is actually a World of Warcraft character called Gnarlroot, a hostile Draenor Ancient wandering the Everbloom in the alternate-timeline Draenor. Hearthstone's Gnarlroot is original, though, since prior to fighting Gnarlroot Hagatha actually makes a point of chanting an incantation to bring him to life, and Gnarlroot's appearance is a lot twisted compared to any Treant or Ancient in WoW.
Groddo the Bogwarden: The mysterious Groddo is one of the many bog creepers living in the Witchwood, and according to Hagatha, Groddo was the one who 'saved' her while she lay dying in the Witchwood's murks, seemingly a possible origin story of the Witch's origins.
Wharrgarbl: Wharrgarbl is a corrupted murloc gravedigger that's original to Hearthstone. He borrows the specific spelling of his name from an old internet meme about a dog drinking water from a garden sprinkler.
Sazzmi Gentlehorn: Sazzmi Gentlehorn is original to Hearthstone, and as described in my entry for Bewitching Piper, Sazzmi appears to be a female satyr who has the fortune to retain her elvish features and upper body.
Cragtorr: Cragtorr is a being of animated rock and roots animated by Hagatha, roughly resembling an earth elemental or a mountain giant. Like Gnarlroot, Hagatha is explicitly shown to summon Cragtorr, meaning that he's just strictly a creation of the vile witch and not a member of any pre-existing creature type.
Grum: Grum, sharing the art with the collectible Mossy Horror, is yet another creation of Hagatha, who causes the entire hills itself to sprout into unholy life and wreak havoc upon the people of Gilneas. Not much to go on here -- he's just one of the many vile creatures the Witchwood Curse brought to life.
Plaguemaster Rancel: Plaguemaster Rancel is a Forsaken alchemist who is noted by Hagatha to have left behind in Gilneas after the Forsaken war effort, and has given himself over to the Witchwood's curse in exchange for more power.
Ratcatcher Hannigul: Ratcatcher Hannigul, like the collectible Ratcatcher card, is a Forsaken who goes around capturing rats to eat them. Hannigul's hero power, Cannibalism, is actually an ability possessed by Ghouls in Warcraft III and World of Warcraft, where they are able to spend time to consume any corpse on the battlefield to recover their health.
Experiment 3C: Experiment 3C is a monstrous amalgamation of multiple races, and is able to create amalgamations of his own in his boss fight. And, of course, he shares his card art with Nightmare Amalgam. While originally it's unclear where Experiment 3C came from, there does exist an interaction if you manage to play Dr. Boom against Experiment 3C, where 3C says "Don't take me back to the lab!". When you play Unstable Portal, 3C mumbles something about a lab in Netherstorm, and the beginning of the fight has a confused Hagatha noting that 3C isn't "one of [hers]". While seemingly just an innocuous easter egg at the time, the release of the Boomsday Project expansion, as well as the fact that there are various other 'amalgamate' creatures created by the Boomsday Labs (the collectible Subject 9 and Loose Specimen, for example), it's clear that Experiment 3C is meant to low-key foreshadow the monsters the Boomsday Project.
Grubb the Swampdrinker: Grubb is a mighty Ettin living in the Witchwood, and one of the few bosses to not actually be under Hagatha's control -- but he's still a powerful obstacle in the way of the Gilnean monster hunters. The land of Gilneas is one of the first places where Ettins were first sighted, considering both Gilneas and Ettins were released during the same expansion -- Cataclysm. Grubb, of course, shares art with the collectible Furious Ettin.
The Scarecrow: The Scarecrow is clearly a mechanical golem similar to the Harvest Golems found in many places in Azeroth, although he has a unique appearance -- particularly the single eye and the smaller head, as well as prominently using a scythe as opposed to bladed fingers like Harvest Golems. Surprisingly, despite the large amount of Harvest Golems in WoW, none of them is named the Scarecrow.
Vitus the Exiled: Vitus the Exiled is a feral worgen who has apparently been exiled prior to the events of the Witchwood. He shares the same strange runes on his body as the Gnomenapper, implying that he, too, has fallen to the corruption of the Witchwood.
Gustave the Gutripper: Gustave the Gutripper is a mighty crocolisk that stalks the Witchwood, and apparently Hagatha's personal pet. Apparently it's the crocolisk that wasn't turned into Hagatha's fancy hoodie. While there are many named crocolisks in WoW, and crocolisks are some of the beasts found in Gilneas, none of them are named Gustave.
Raeth Ghostsong: The mighty Raeth Ghostsong is a powerful forsaken priest original to Hearthstone, who, like Rancel, seems to have willingly given in to the Witchwood's curse. Not much to say about him. His hero power, Desecrate, shares its name with Desecration, a since-removed talent for Unholy Death Knights.
Infinite Toki: The enigmatic Infinite Toki is a second Toki who has appeared in Gilneas. With pink hair, a monocle and far more scars, Infinite Toki appears to be Toki herself, from the future, with far more powerful control over time magic. The mysterious missives note that Infinite Toki seems to be unable to maintain her presence in the timeline for long, flickering in and out of existence, and has been hunting for her present-day counterpart, asking the people of Gilneas whether they have seen herself. Infinite Toki cares not for Gilneas or the curse, but cares only of stopping her present-day self for some unknown reason, noting that if she doesn't stop present-day Toki here and now, they are both going to 'regret it'. The present-day Toki would face Infinite Toki as her final challenge before battling Hagatha herself, and triumphed over Infinite Toki... although whether this would prove disastrous in the long run remains to be seen.
The Worgen and Gilneans:
Druid of the Scythe: The Druid of the Scythe were originally known as the Druids of the Pack. They were a sect of night elven druids who embraced the forbidden "Pack Form" during the War of the Satyr, despite the orders of archdruid Malfurion not to. The Pack Form embodied the uncontrollable fury of the Wolf Ancient, Goldrinn, and this caused the Druids of the Pack to turn them feral. The druid Ralaar Fangfire used the ancient artifact called the Scythe of Elune (pictured in the Hearthstone card art), created from a Fang of Goldrinn himself, to control their Pack Forms. However, the Scythe of Elune instead amplified their feral instincts, transforming the Druids of the Scythe completely into mindless Worgen. Ralaar Fangfire, now calling himself Alpha Prime, lead the Druids of the Scythe into battle, but in their rage, killed as many of their night elven kin as they did the satyrs. Malfurion and the other druids ended up banishing the druids of the scythe into eternal slumber in the Emerald Dream. These druids of the scythe remained asleep for millennia until Archmage Arugal unleashed them prior to World of Warcraft, unleashing the Worgen upon Gilneas and its surrounding areas. Most of these original night elven worgen are still roaming Gilneas as feral, uncontrollable beasts, or have since been killed through various in-game quests. In Legion, a particularly powerful druid player character would finally recover the Scythe of Elune and transform some of the remaining Druids of the Scythe in Val'sharah into their original night elven forms.
Duskhaven Hunter: Duskhaven Hunter borrows her name from Duskhaven, a small town located on the southwestern coast of Gilneas. During the Worgen starting experience in Cataclysm, after the feral worgen took over Gilneas City, the Gilneans evacuated into Duskhaven and used the town as their base while they fought back against the feral worgen and the Forsaken. Player characters would begin to learn how to use their new worgen from in Duskhaven, but Duskhaven would be completely destroyed when the Forsaken fleet bombarded the town, causing it to sink into the sea.Toxmonger: Toxmonger is original to Hearthstone, presumably just a worgen hunter with a poisonous spider.
Bellringer Sentry: Bellringer Sentry is original to Hearthstone. although bells are a relatively big part of Gilnean aesthetic due to being based on Victorian style architecture.
Town Crier: While no worgen town crier exists in World of Warcraft, the NPC known as the Town Crier exists in the town of Darkshire, a human that runs around announcing the current state of Stitches, a mighty abomination that was a wandering boss in the area. This NPC was killed during the Night Watch storyline in Legion.
Rabid Worgen: Most of the other non-Gilnean worgen probably count as 'rabid' worgen thanks to their uncontrollable anger, but the artwork for Rabid Worgen shows the worgen running with a trail behind his back, which is a reference to Darkflight, the worgen racial ability which causes a worgen character to immediately shift into worgen form and increasing speed by 40% for a brief period of time.
Militia Commander: Judging by her attire, the Militia Commander is a Gilnean as well. She seems to be original to Hearthstone, although there have been various other NPCs with the title Militia Commander.
Spellshifter: Spellshifter is original to Hearthstone, although there was an item in WoW with the name Spellshifter Rod. According to supplementary material provided by Blizzard, the Spellshifter is a member of the Gilnean Royal Guard, a group of elite soldiers devoted to the protection of the royal Greymane family.
Pumpkin Peasant: Pumpkin Peasant is original to Hearthstone. Peasants, however, are the name of the most basic workforce unit in Warcrafts I, II and III for the human race, and this is technically the first time that a card in Hearthstone represented a Peasant. The "job's done!" voice in Hearthstone since its inception is borrowed from the Warcraft 3 Peasant's voice line.
Swift Messenger: Like the Spellshifter, the Swift Messenger is original to Hearthstone, but is established as another member of the Gilnean Royal Guard by supplementary material.
Chief Inspector: Chief Inspector is original to Hearthstone, and, again, is inspired more by the worgens' Victorian inspiration more than the in-game worgens themselves.
Muck Hunter: The Muck Hunter, and the Mucklings she hunts, are both original to Hearthstone. The Mucklings appear to be some sort of mutated murlocs, but are clearly missing the murloc tags.
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| Royal Guard (Wow) |
Deranged Doctor: Deranged Doctor is original to Hearthstone.
Gilnean Royal Guard: The Gilnean Royal Guard is a force of elite Gilnean soldiers that protect the Greymane family, the royal family of the kingdom of Gilneas. They participated in various battles, including the battle against the Northgate Rebels, the battle against the feral worgen and the Forsaken invading Gilneas, and, when they have turned into Worgen themselves, continued to fight for the sake of Gilneas and the Alliance. Actual NPCs called Gilnean Royal Guards are often seen accompanying King Greymane in various missions, notably during the Worgen opening sequence in Cataclysm as well as forming part of the Alliance forces during the Battle for the Broken Shore in Legion.
Non-Worgen Humanoids/Undead:
Lost Spirit: There have been many, many 'lost spirit' style enemies, restless ghosts of fallen warriors or the like that act as enemies throughout World of Warcraft, particularly in undead-themed areas like Tirisfal Glades and Duskwood. The actual mob called "Lost Spirit" are level 64-65 draenei ghosts found in Terokkar Forest in Outland, and adventurers would have to slay the Lost Spirit to help them find eternal rest.
Curio Collector: Curio Collector is original to Hearthstone.
Paragon of Light: Paragon of Light is a human paladin original to Hearthstone.Coffin Crasher: Coffin Crasher is an undead dude in a coffin original to Hearthstone. His artwork is awesome.
Cutthroat Buccaneer: While many pirate mobs in World of Warcraft have the title 'Buccaneer', none are specifically called Cutthroat Buccaneer. The card art is also used for the Monster Hunt boss Cutthroat Willie.
Cursed Castaway: Cursed Castaway is original to Hearthstone, representing a ghostly pirate. Undead, ghostly pirates have been seen in World of Warcraft multiple times, notably recently in Legion, but none are called this title. Presumably, the Cutthroat Buccaneer and Cursed Castaway were all crewmates of the dread Captain Shivers.
Mistwraith: Mistwraith is clearly a wraith, sharing the same model with the likes of other Hearthstone cards like Fallen Hero and Wailing Soul, but the name 'Mistwraith' is original to Hearthstone. A powerful Mistwraith, called The Whisperer, is one of the bosses in the Witchwood, presumably a minion of Hagatha.
Ratcatcher: While rats are commonplace in WoW, the Ratcatcher is original to Hearthstone. He's apparently an undead dude who eats the rats he catches! The only WoW character with the title Ratcatcher are the Bluewax Ratcatchers, one of the mobs among the Bluewax kobold tribe. One Ratcatcher called Hannigul serves as a boss fight in Monster Hunt.
Witchwood Piper: The Witchwood Piper (and her boss counterpart, Sazzmi Gentlehorn) is a Satyr!. Judging by her night elven visage, her cloven feet, her demonic goat-tail and her goat-horns, she is a Satyr... but on the other hand, satyrs in WoW, both male and female tend to look relatively monstrous, with very few night elven features remaining (look at Karazhan's Terestrian Illhoof for a neat example of a classic WoW Satyr). If anything, the Witchwood Piper actually draws more on the original legends of the Satyrs instead of the actual Satyrs in Azeroth. While initially not classified as a demon, an update that recognizes the Witchwood Piper as a proper demon has since re-classed her as a Demon.Blood Witch: Blood Witch -- and honestly, 'traditional' witches, haven't been seen in World of Warcraft. Most witches in WoW are just troll witch doctors and naga sea witches. One of the Blood Witches, Gretta (using the same artwork), is one of the bosses in the Monster Hunt mode.
Baleful Banker: Baleful Banker is original to Hearthstone.
Mad Hatter: The Mad Hatter is obviously a reference to the Lewis Carol character from the famous novel Alice in Wonderland. Hearthstone's Mad Hatter is likewise a pastiche on the classic card Mad Bomber.
Ravencaller: Ravencaller is original to Hearthstone, although her inclusion is clearly based on ravens and crows being associated with witchery in pop culture. Like some of the other non-legendary cards, a boss equivalent of the Ravencaller, called Ravencaller Cozzlewurt, is one of the bosses in the Monster Hunt single-player mode.
Phantom Militia: Phantom Militia is original to Hearthstone, presumably representing the ghosts of the fallen Gilnean soldiers who has risen to defend their home.
Sandbinder: Sandbinder is a blood elf original to Hearthstone. Not much to really talk about, since even the dialogue is pretty generic.
The Beasts of the Witchwood:
The Witchwood expansion brings with it a large amount of brand-new beasts never before seen in Hearthstone, so I do have a fair bit more to talk about here than other beasts.
Gloom Stag: Stags are male deer. They first make their appearance in Warcraft games in Warcraft III, as some of the critter found in Night Elven areas -- critters are killable units that can't attack back, usually just being animals to spice up the setting. In World of Warcraft, stags and deers are graduated into actual mobs, grazing in numerous areas in Azeroth. They are particularly associated with the Ancient, Malorne, and are often associated with night elves, dryads and keepers of the grove. Hunters can tame stags as pets. In Warlords of Draenor, stags are added to the pool of beasts able to be tamed by hunters. While no mob called 'Gloom Stag' exists in World of Warcraft, Brown Stags do roam the forests of Gilneas.Night Prowler: The Night Prowler appears to be a night elf druid shapeshifted into cat form, based on its eyes and tattoos. Prowl is a skill druids can use while in cat form to help them sneak around.
Hunting Mastiff: Mastiffs were introduced in World of Warcraft during Cataclysm as the default pet for Worgen Hunters. Mastiffs are a breed of dog closely associated with Gilneas, with various mastiff NPCs being used by Gilnean-allied factions. In addition, several other factions like the Scarlet Crusade also empploy mastiffs to guard their bases.Ghostly Charger: Chargers are a type of horse mount used mostly by paladins of the Alliance or the blood knights, and the Chargers are notable due to the armour placed upon their body. Prior to Cataclysm, Paladins would have to undergo a quest chain in order to obtain a Charger to use. The Ghostly Charger is clearly an undead version of this breed of horse.
Vex Crow: Crows are a species of black-feathered birds, often confused with ravens. Night elves, particularly a subset called the Druids of the Talon, are able to shift into a form known as the Storm Crow. Crows are mostly critters in WoW (unlike Ravens, who are far more associated with the Guardian, Medivh), and Gilnean Crows are found in various parts of Gilneas, often around corpses. The Vex Crow has three eyes and is able to speak, though, which plays into various literature tropes about crows being harbingers of doom, and more specifically the Vex Crow's three eyes seem to be a reference to the Three-Eyed Raven, a character from the Game of Thrones series.
Blink Fox: Foxes are commonly found in various areas of Azeroth as critters or weak enemies. The Blink Fox appear to be a spectral version of a fox -- and while no undead foxes have appeared in World of Warcraft, spectral versions of other beasts have. The fact that the Blink Fox appear to have multiple tails might be a reference to the Japanese mythological creature Kitsune.
Witch's Apprentice: The Witch's Apprentice appears to be one of Hagatha's less fortunate apprentices, apparently being hex'd into a Frog. Note that the Witch's Apprentice has exactly the same statline as the Frog token created by the Hex spell. One such apprentice is called Griselda, who serves as a boss fight in the Monster Hunt mode.
Murkspark Eel: Eels originally appeared in World of Warcraft as items obtained from fishing without an actual model, but in Burning Crusade, eel enemies were added into the game, albeit reusing the Mana Wyrm model. Cataclysm would finally add a proper eel model into the game. Eels in Draenor are called "Morays" based on the real-life moray eel. While not all eels are able to conduct electricity, some eel mobs are able to, based on the real-life electric eel. No specific mob in WoW is called 'Murkspark Eel'.
Totem Cruncher: Totem Cruncher is a porcupine (or hedgehog, or quill rat -- the terms are used interchangeably in-game). Porcupines are added into World of Warcraft during Mists of Pandaria, as a type of beast and battle pet found native to Pandaria. There's really not much lore behind them beyond being the Azerothian version of real-life porcupines. None of the porcupines in WoW eat totems, either.
Duskbat: Duskbats are a group of level 1-2 bats found in Deathknell, Tirisfal Glades, and are likely the very first enemies found by a new Forsaken player. Duskbats are non-hostile and will not attack first. The Duskbats are the target of a quest from Novice Elreth, who tasks newly-risen Forsaken warriors to slay Duskbats and collect their wings to make armour. Other more powerful versions of the Duskbat, the Mangy Duskbat and the Vampiric Duskbat, will appear in other parts of Tirisfal Glades.
Glitter Moth: Moths of Azeroth are giant insects that were initially introduced in Burning Crusade, with some of the first moths seen being the moths native to Azuremyst Isle, where the Draenei ship, the Exodar, crashed. Thusly, Draenei hunters start with moths as their default pet. Moths are also commonly found in Outland, Draenor and Argus, and some are even found in Pandaria. Moths exist as both battle pets and as actual mobs. The Glitter Moth seems to share its name with the Glittering Mothling, a battle pet that can be encountered and tamed in Shadowmoon Valley.
Vilebrood Skitterer: Vilebrood Skitterers are level 7-8 spiders found in Stormglen Village in Gilneas. As the Gilnean evacuees arrived in Stormglen, they found that part of the city has been taken over by these giant spiders. The former mayor of Duskhaven, Gwen Armstead, tasks adventurers to slay the Vilebrood spiders in order to help secure their current living area. After slaying a group of Vilebrood Skitterers, Gwen will send the adventurer to slay the matriarch, Queen Rygna, in her lair. Both Rygna and the Vilebrood spiders use the 'venom spider' model.
Deathweb Spider: Deathweb Spiders are a special breed of spiders living in Talador, added in Warlords of Draenor, and are significantly different from the spiders in Azeroth. The Shadow Council in the alternate Draenor sent their warlocks to infuse the Deathweb Spiders with fel energy in ordder to corrupt them and their powerful venom, mutating their young into demonic mutations. The mutated Deathweb Spiders uses the previously-unique model used by the gigantic fire spider Beth'tilac, an inhabitant and raid boss in the Firelands.
Lifedrinker: The Lifedrinker is clearly a mosquito, but surprisingly enough, no mosquito enemies have made it into World of Warcraft yet, making this kind of the debut of an Azerothian mosquito.
Redband Wasp: The Redband Wasp appear to be a sort of a Silithid Wasp, but the artwork seems to stylize the shape and make it somewhat different from the regular Silithid Wasp (or Ravager Wasp) model. Regardless, no mob called Redband Wasp exists in WoW.
Swamp Leech: While there are no specific mob called 'Swamp Leech' in WoW, leeches do exist in WoW, represented by the Bloodworm model with prominent fangs. Not really much to talk about here, they're just bigger and meaner compared to real-life leeches.
Black Cat: Cats are critters found all over Azeroth, sold as pets or captureable for the battle pets mini-game. They basically behave similarly to real-life cats. No mob is specifically called Black Cat, however. Not really much to say about this.
Vicious Scalehide: The term 'Scalehide' is introduced in Legion into WoW to refer to big, quadrupedal dinosaurs with plates on their back, among them the Kodo Beasts, Thunder Lizards, Stegodons and Mushans. None of them actually match the shape of the Vicious Scalehide with the larger front legs and the almost theropodal gait, as well as the bunch of fur around the Scalehide's neck and shoulder horns. So the Vicious Scalehide may very well be a brand-new genus (species?) of the Scalehide group. Note that the artwork for Vicious Scalehide is also used for the Monster Hunt boss Chupacabran (clearly a reference to the real-life cryptid Chupacabra) so it might just be an original design.
Witchwood Grizzly: Witchwood Grizzly is just an (initially) spectral version of a normal grizzly bear, and is retconned to be merely a bear that glows blue. Obviously, it's original to Hearthstone. A powerful Witchwood Grizzly called Rottooth serves as one of the bosses in Monster Hunt.
The Dragons of the Witchwood:
Carrion Drake: Carrion Drake is a green drake with vegetation growing on her back. She's original to Hearthstone, although green dragons do favour forests and swamps.
Nightscale Matriarch: The Nightscale Matriarch is clearly a member of the twilight dragonflight, but no twilight dragon has been referred with the adjective 'nightscale' before. Not really that much to go on about her, honestly.
Swamp Dragon Egg: Swamp Dragon Egg is original to Hearthstone, although obviously dragon eggs are commonly found in dragon-themed dungeons like Blackrock Spire.
Marsh Drake: Marsh Drake is also original to Hearthstone, although she clearly is a member of the green dragonflight. Note that the actual full art for the card features the Drakeslayer Worgen in it.
Other Residents of the Witchwood:
Hench-Clan Thug: The Hench-Clan Thug is clearly a Quillboar, and the first 'traditional' Quillboar to make it into Hearthstone after the more divergent take of the Hogriders in Mean Streets of Gadgetzan. There's really not much beyond that, though, since the term "Hench-Clan" is never referred to anywhere in WoW.
Ghost Light Angler: The Ghost Light Angler is a ghostly version of the 'deep sea' variant of Murlocs that have anglerfish attributes, with the Ghost Light moniker probably being a derivation of Coldlight, the most notable deep sea murloc clan. Ghost Light Angler is original to Hearthstone.
Darkmire Moonkin: Moonkins are a sub-group of the Wildkin (a.k.a. Owlkin, a.k.a. Owlbeasts) which we covered before in League of Explorers. They're closely associated with druids and night elves. Darkmire is neither a tribe nor location in WoW, though, making this dude original to Hearthstone.
Tanglefur Mystic: The Tanglefur Mystic appears to be a gnoll fortune-teller. She's original to Hearthstone, and no gnoll has the title 'Tanglefur' in WoW.
Ferocious Ettin: The Ferocious Ettin is, well, an Ettin, the second to appear in Hearthstone after Hungry Ettin in Kobolds & Catacombs. No mob is called Ferocious Ettin in WoW, though the Ettin's inclusion in a Worgen-related set might be a reference to how part of the Worgen starting questline involves trying to get the attention of some local Ettin and drive their rampages to hinder Horde/Forsaken war efforts. A particularly ferocious Ettin is a boss in Monster Hunt, called Grubb the Swampdrinker.
Wyrmguard: The Death Talon Wyrmguard is a Drakonid mob found in Blackwing Lair. The term 'Wyrmguard' is also used as part of the name of a piece of equipment, but otherwise no undead skeleton has ever been called a 'Wyrmguard'. Many dragons do employ skeleton minions to guard their lairs, though, usually members of the black dragonflight.
Forest Guide: The Forest Guide is a creature original to hearthstone. It's not really clear if it's a humanoid like a troll wearing a weird mask, or if it's its own sort of creature. Whatever it is, it's original to Hearthstone.
Squashling: Squashlings are a special sort of plant creature with the head of a glowing Jack-o-Lantern that appear as seasonal enemies during Hallow's End, Azeroth's equivalent to Halloween, and are often associated with the Plaguelands -- seemingly connnected to the undead plague that runs through the area. They are often associated with the boss of Hallow's End, the Headless Horseman, who himself has made a brief appearance in Hearthstone during a Tavern Brawl. There are several Squashling battle pets too, added in future updates in WoW. While the game jumps back and forth between using the term "Pumpkin Soldier" or "Pumpkin Fiend", one of the more prominent Squashling pet is called "Sinister Squashling", and the name sort of stuck.
Cathedral Gargoyle: While Gargoyles exist in World of Warcraft, they have all been bat-like and associated with the Undead -- namely the sort similar to Stoneskin Gargoyle. Cathedral Gargoyle seem far more noble and made out of marble, and is based upon a gryphon instead of a bat demon thing. It's original to Hearthstone.
Blackwald Pixie: Blackwald is the very same dark forest in Gilneas that was turned into the Witchwood by Hagatha. The Blackwald Pixie is a sprite, nature sprites unique to Pandaria and Val'sharah made out of bark and leaves. While no sprites have been associated with the Blackwald, it's possible that they've simple remained unseen for the most part because sprites are known to use illusions to avoid detection by mortals. Blackwald Pixie's entrance quote is taken verbatim from the fairy Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Witchwood Imp: Witchwood Imp is original to Hearthstone, since, y'know, Witchwood itself is original to Hearthstone. His summon quote, "this was not in my contract", is one of the possible voice-over when a Warlock pet Imp is ordered to attack in World of Warcraft.
Felsoul Inquisitor: Inquisitors are a race of demons introduced during the Legion expansion, a group of powerful, humanoid demons with long, flowing robes, skeletal hands, goat-like horns and a face whose only features are a horrific, skeletal mouth. Inquisitors do battle by summoning Floating Eyes, which are used to spy on others and to channel their powerful fel energy. The Inquisitors are based on the prison world Niskara, with various lieutenants of the Burning Legion being Inquisitors. The Felsoul Inquisitors are a specific mob in Felsoul Hold that are the object of a repeatable reputation grind quest for the Nightborne faction. An Inquisitor called Hav'nixx serves as one of Hagatha's lieutenants and one of the bosses in Monster Hunt. Bogshaper: Bogshaper is original to Hearthstone. Note that despite being a bog beast like Fen Creeper and Bog Creeper, Bogshaper is classified as an Elemental in Hearthstone, suggesting taht he might be an 'earth elemental with vines growing out of him' similar to Ixlid. Or maybe Hearthstone is just really inconsistent. Bog Beasts are classified as 'elementals' in World of Warcraft for convenience's sake, but are often-times noted to being 'mere' plant monsters as opposed to being connected to the elemental realms like the fire, water, earth and wind elementals.
Quartz Elemental: Quartz Elemental is completely original to Hearthstone. As far as I can tell, no elemental model in WoW matches the shape or design of Quartz Elemental.
Cauldron Elemental: Cauldron Elemental is original to Hearthstone, and appears to be the same sort of 'composite' elemental similar to Kalimos and Servant of Kalimos... or at least, made up of fire, earth and water.Unpowered Steambot: Umpowered Steambot appears to be a type of mech that's original to Hearthstone, not really resembling any of the models from WoW.
Clockwork Automaton: Likewise, the Clockwork Automaton is is original to Hearthstone. His long nose and his wooden, puppet-like design seems to be a nod to popular children's folktale Pinocchio. Apparently, the Clockwork Automaton is one of the many creations of Dollmaker Dorian, who has gained sentience due to being made out of the Witchwood's wood (or maybe because Dorian's a creepy dude).
Witch's Cauldron: Cauldrons are often seen in World of Warcraft, but never really as specifically as this. Witches and cauldrons are often paired together in other popular culture, though. It's clearly associated with Hagatha the Witch.
Voodoo Doll: Voodoo and the act of cursing and hexxing is a huge part of the troll lore in World of Warcraft. While voodoo dolls have never been quite prominent, there are some vendor junk (items without an in-game model) like Zandalari Voodoo Doll, Torn Voodoo Doll, Frightening Voodoo Doll, et cetera. None have actually been relevant for a quest, though. It is naturally one of the creations of Dollmaster Dorian.
Festeroot Hulk: Festeroots are original to Hearthstone, seemingly a type of corrupted Ancient or a different sort of plant creature entirely brought to life by the corruption of the Witchwood.
Splitting Festeroot: Likewise, Splitting Festeroot is original to Hearthstone, as is all the little mini-Festeroots it spits out. While Festeroot Hulk and the Applebaum might be conceivably corrupted, leaf-less Ancients, no Ancient variant has ever had two heads like the Splitting Festeroot.
Rotten Applebaum: The Rottem Applebaum appears to be a corrupted tree or a corrupted Ancient that has been transformed by the curse of the Witchwood. It has apples!
Walnut Sprite: Walnut Sprite is original to Hearthstone. While there are creatures called Sprites in World of Warcraft, they are humanoid little fairy-like beings like Blackwald Pixie and Greedy Sprite instead of a ball with limbs.
Mossy Horror: Mossy Horror is original to Hearthstone, apparently some kind of humanoid giant monster comprised entirely of moss, plants, roots and earth. One of these Mossy Hororrs called Grum serves as a boss in Monster Hunt.
Nightmare Amalgam: Nightmare Amalgam (a.k.a. Experiment 3-C, according to the Monster Hunt mode) is original to Hearthstone, and owing to its "all the tribes" gimmick, Nightmare Amalgam's actual design reflects this, having the left arm of a totem, the right arm of a mech, the face of a fire elemental, the eyepatch (!) and hat of a pirate, murloc parts forming its back, either a demon or dragon horn, either demon or dragon wings, little cow arms sprouting out of its chest, and a lower body that could be any beast or demon. It is original to Hearthstone, but man, what an awesome looking art it got!
Abilities:
Witchwood Apple: Witchwood Apple is obviously original to Hearthstone.
Witching Hour: Witching Hour is original to Hearthstone.
Ferocious Howl: Druids don't actually have any abilities called "Ferocious Howl", although they certainly have abilities called "Roar" and "Ferocious Bite". Various wolf mobs have the ability "Furious Howl", and Warriors have the ability "Piercing Howl".
Wispering Woods: Wispering Woods (haha puns) is original to Hearthstone.
Rat Trap: Rat Trap is original to Hearthstone.
Wing Blast: Despite what the card art might imply, the WoW version of Emeriss doesn't actually have an ability called Wing Blast.
Dire Frenzy: Dire Frenzy is a Beastmaster Hunter talent added in Legion, which, when activated, will cause a Hunter's pet to enter a state of frenzy where it will perform five attacks instantaneously and gain increased attack speed. This ability can be stacked several times on the same pet.
Book of Specters: Book of Specters is original to Hearthstone.
Snap Freeze: Snap Freeze is original to Hearthstone.
Cinderstorm: Cinderstorm is a Fire Mage talent added in Legion, which unleashes several 'cinders' in an arc which will deal damage to enemies that it hits, as well as additional damage if the enemy is already ignited by a different fire spell.
Rebuke: Rebuke is a Paladin ability added in Cataclysm that, when activated, will interrupt a target's spellcasting and prevent any spell in that school from being cast in a period of time. Obviously, the Hearthstone card takes a slightly different spin on the spell-counter ability.
Sound the Bells: Sound the Bells is original to Hearthstone.
Hidden Wisdom: Hidden Wisdom is original to Hearthstone.
Vivid Nightmare: Vivid Nightmare is original to Hearthstone.
Holy Water: While no skill is called "Holy Water" specifically, it does play into the common trope of using Holy Water to ward off evil in horror fiction, and some quest items in WoW are variations of Holy Water.
Divine Hymn: Divine Hymn is a Holy-specialty Priest ability that heals multiple characters for a period of time, as well as increasing the percentage of healing received. It's introduced in Wrath of the Lich King and while it had gone through various revisions, it still remains a multi-healing spell.
Cheap Shot: Cheap Shot is a Rogue ability that has been around since the original World of Warcraft, allowing the Rogue to, well, deal a blow that stuns a target enemy for a brief period of time, but only if the Rogue is Stealthed. It also awards combo points.
WANTED!: Some quests in World of Warcraft takes the place by an adventurer walking across a WANTED: X sign, usually placed around towns, asking for adventurers to slay a named enemy for a certain bounty. Perhaps the most infamous among these posters is Hogger, whose Wanted poster is placed in Elwynn Forest's Westbrook Garrison, which could lead to the doom of many an unprepared beginner.
Pick Pocket: Pick Pocket is one of Rogue's original abilities, and one of the few abilities never to be removed from World of Warcraft at any point. Pick Pocket is a Rogue ability that allows the Rogue to pilfer money or items (usually junk items like potions and vendor trash) from mobs. The quality of the item pickpocketed depends on the level of the mob in question. The Rogue needs to be stealthed to successfully pickpocket, and only humanoid mobs can be pick-pocketed.
Zap: Zap isn't a Shaman ability in World of Warcraft, but rather an ability used by some pets in the Pet Battles minigame.
Blazing Invocation: Blazing Invocation is original to Hearthstone. Mages do have a spell called Invocation, though, which decreases mana regeneration but increases spell damage.
Earthen Might: Earthen Might is original to Hearthstone.
Dark Possession: Possession is an ability that is able to be learned by Banshee units in Warcraft III, where Banshees can permanently 'steal' an opposing unit, permanently putting it under the control of the Undead faction. Clearly, though, Hearthstone's Dark Possession is a completely unrelated ability.
Curse of Weakness: Curse of Weakness is one of Warlock's many Curse abilities. Originally introduced in the original World of Warcraft, Curse of Weakness is an ability that reduces the opponent's armour. It was removed in Mists of Pandaria, and later re-added in Legion, albeit designed to reduce physical damage dealt by the enemy for a brief amount of time.
Fiendish Circle: Fiendish Circle is original to Hearthstone.
Warpath: Warpath is a Protection Warrior talent added in the Legion expansion, causing targets around the Warrior to be stunned when the Warrior activates the Heroic Leap ability and charges onto a group of enemies.
Deadly Arsenal: Deadly Arsenal is original to Hearthstone.
Weapons:
Silver Sword: No specific weapon is called 'Silver Sword' in World of Warcraft, although obviously many weapons have 'Silver' somewhere in its name. Its inclusion here, of course, is based on the werewolf mythology, where silver bullets or silver blades can instantly kill werewolves. As far as I know, WoW's Worgens don't have the same weaknesses.
Spectral Cutlass: Spectral Cutlass is original to Hearthstone.
Spectral Cutlass: Spectral Cutlass is original to Hearthstone.
Woodcutter's Axe: Woodcutter's Axe is original to Hearthstone. Although you can loot several axes that are clearly meant to chop wood, none are called Woodcutter's Axe.
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