The Innkeeper's Tale: A Mysterious Patron
Blizzard has posted another entry from the Innkeeper's journal today.
An interesting note, the file below is named "HeroTeaser01_HS_FB_CK_500x500.jpg". It may or may not be relevant.
"What this character lacks in height, he makes up for in ferocity!" (Source)
Quote from BlizzardIt was a busy night like any other as groups of adventurers and heroes huddled around a heated game of Hearthstone in the Inn’s common room. There was an air of tension as the game in progress began to go into its final rounds, both opponents staring into their hand of cards with intense focus. Spectators wrung their hands and watched each play with baited breath, hoping their favored player would emerge victorious.
A collective gasp and hearty applause accompanied the epic final plays by both opponents, followed by excited chatter and the sound of mugs clinking together in celebration. The winner boasted merrily to the gathered crowd while his opponent ponderously mulling over his plays, unsure as to where he went wrong. The innkeeper grinned broadly to himself, as he wiped down the bar; this night, like every night before it, was just the start to another rousing story these patrons would later regale to their friends.
Eyes flickered over to the door of the inn as it swung open, heads absently nodding in greeting to the visitor. Some gazes held at the door, and ever so slowly, the excited chatter that filled the inn with a buzzing din hushed to a whispering murmur. The innkeeper looked up; curious as to what could possibly calm the raucous energy that had previous filled the air.
An imposing, broad shouldered figure lingered at the door. Patrons squinted, their eyes adjusting to the light as they tried to make out the newcomer. Hesitation brought with it a mild tension as for a brief moment, no one moved or spoke.
The innkeeper’s warm, hearty laugh echoed throughout the common room as he gestured the newcomer inside, breaking the sudden silence. The patrons laughed along with his infectious guffaw. Mugs were hefted high, and cries of challenge were shouted, clamoring to be heard.
Oh, the stories that would be told tonight!
If we are getting new hero portraits, and they are opposite faction then who might they be?
Warrior - Muradin
Druid - Hamuul Runetotem
Hunter - Hemet Nesingwary
Mage - Some Belf, maybe Forsaken?
Paladin - Lady Liadrin
Priest - Troll would be suitable here, Shadow Priest. Maybe they'll use Vol'jin?
Rogue - Tough one. Valeria is not bound to any faction, and is only loyal to Varian. Maybe they'll counter with Garona Halforcen, since she's not bound by either side either?
Shaman - Nobundo seems the most likely
Warlock - WILFRED FIZZLEBANG. Has to happen, if only for the hilarious things they could do when you summon Jaraxxus.
Hemet and Vol'jin are cards.
Shaman is probably Rehgar.
About Vol'jin, are we assuming they're ok with having cards and heroes be the same? I guess Jaraxxus and Ragnaros violate this rule. You can also count a few others if you think about the tutorial and the adventures. This seems like a big stretch though, since those aren't playable class heroes.
Yeah, that's the flaw in the plan. They are the most iconic in their respective class though for the factions. There's eventually going to be overlap I think, so maybe Blizz will just say "screw it, they can be heroes too". That would in turn open up the current heroes as cards as well.
I think the main problem is one of confusion though, do you mean Vol'jin the card, or Vol'jin the hero? Blizzard is known to try and simplify things as much as they can, so this might just be one of the things they have on their list of "don't's".
I'd love to hear what other think could be possible heroes in their place though. It's hard to find iconic lore figures sometimes.
well Ragnaros hero can summon Ragnos, no?
How many other famous WoW rogues are there? I guess there's no reason for there to be an equal number of alternate portraits for all classes, but it's still weird that I can name a few important shaman/mages/priests/warriors/paladins, but not a lot of rogues/hunters/warlocks/druids
Tyrande is pretty much the only alternate hunter (Can't be Sylvanas, since she's a card). Teron Gorefiend or Ner'Zhul for warlock. I can't think of a single Rogue or another Druid (since Cenarius is a card).
For rogues, I would guess either Vanessa VanCleef or Garona Halforcen.
For hunters, I'd say Alleria Windrunner. For Druids, I'd guess Broll Bearmantle or Hamuul Runetotem. As for warlocks, I have no idea. Maybe Medivh, or Cho'gall?
Remember that they'd be eating into potential future cards by doing this.
Those all seem like lovely future legendaries.
Garona Halforcen is the obvious Horde rogue, Hamuul Runetotem for druid. Tyrande Whisperwind, Shandris Feathermoon, and Alleria Windrunner are all solid hunter options (even Maiev Shadowsong could work). Medivh is probably the most iconic warlock, and a strong counterpoint to Gul'dan.
My top picks for the other classes would be Sen'jin as priest, Nobundo as shaman, Lady Liadrin as paladin, and probably Rommath for mage. Kael'thas would work for the latter, but Rommath, while less iconic, does a better job sticking to the Alliance versus Horde theme. Cho'gall could also work.
What if this is how they introduce "specs" into hearthstone? Two heros, same card pool, separate hero powers. Maybe Muradin would be the control warrior and garrosh would be agro warrior or some such?
It would be interesting if they had portrait specific cards. So both portraits would have access to most cards in that class, but a few cards specific to each portrait. Maybe a alliance/horde portrait for each class!
The Twitter post talks about what he lacks in height he makes up for in ferocity.
That screams dwarf to me.
Me, I think it's Magni. Muradin brands a stylish horned helmet a bunch, unlike Magni, and his lefthand weapon has a leather strap at the bottom, similar to the shaft seen on the silhouette there.
So I'm betting that's Magni being the Alliance representative of Hearthstone warriors. :)
This was my thought as well.
New portraits isn't even on my list of enhancements Hearthstone should be adding. This just seems like a waste of developer's time.
I could not be more excited :D I've been waiting for new hero portraits for ages since blizzard said it was something they were working on! I guess now I need to finish getting 500 wins for Anduin and Thrall before the new ones come out!
finally! new additions!! :D
Finally, new portraits. I wonder if they'll be rewards or if they'll just be new, immediate additions. I'm betting in the former, though I wonder how they'd be acquirable.
Maybe 250 wins in ranked? Or getting to level 60 with you hero (looking at my hero levels, I hope not :/) ? Or maybe reaching a certain rank. I sure wonder...
You didn't mention an obvious method: Paying for them! (I certainly hope not but still an option sadly...)
I wouldn't be surprised of a $ only model if it's just customization. Just look at HOTS!
If the hero powers are different, then I anticipate a F2P grind with a $ option to fast track.
New Hero Portraits! Muradin for Warrior, so it seems. Who will be the other new heroes? :) Vindicator Maraad for Pally?