Hearthpwn

The Hearthstone Hero After Tyrande - Who's Next?

In November 2015, a leak came out of Japan shortly after Hearthstone was released in the Japanese locale which named the voice actors who played certain cards. Unfortunately for Blizzard, this list contained the names of some currently unreleased cards!

On this list we saw cards which would be coming from the soon to release League of Explorers and a few Heroes that we've recieved this year.

Click image to expand. Image sourced from PlayParkeSports, Original article backup from Gamespark.

We're going to first take a look at which heroes were a part of the leak that we have already seen in the client... and then we'll talk about Maiev.

Lady Liadrin

March 14th saw the release of Hearthstone Patch 4.2.0 which included the first of the leaked heroes, Lady Liadrin the Paladin.

• Out of the blue! Nothing said we would be getting her other than the leak.
• Lady Liadrin is available to everyone who makes a new character on World of Warcraft and levels it to 20.

Khadgar

Back on April 14, 2016 we saw the release of a new mage hero, Khadgar.

• We had no idea this was coming, it was patched in when it went live.
• Proceeds of the purchase of Khadgar went towards the World Wildlife Fund.
• Khadgar was available for purchase on iOS from April 14th until the 24th.

Tyrande Whisperwind

Tyrande is the most recent hero to appear from the original leak. She was added in Hearthstone Patch 6.1.1.

• This is so far the only hero from the leak who has been patched in and hasn't gone live immediately.
• The only string that refers to her release states she is "Acquired from a special promotion".
• She is the first of the leaked heroes who comes with a card back.

Maiev Shadowsong

Finally, the reason why you're here - Maiev! She was the final hero which was shown through the Japanese voice acting leak and we haven't seen any mentions of her from Blizzard directly or in the client files yet. 

Maiev will most likely be a Rogue Hero due to her having a background in the arts of sneakiness and sharing many rogue-like abilities within her "Warden" class. With that being said, Hearthstone doesn't always follow up to date Warcraft lore and we could be getting a younger Maiev who was a Priestess.

Hero Release

• We have no idea when Maiev will be released.
• BlizzCon may have some information about her, but that's assuming Tyrande has been released by then.
• There's a good chance this will be tied to some kind of promotion. Both Khadgar and Lady Liadrin were released with promotions.
• We really hope she comes with a card back like Tyrande. Wardens represent!

Background

A very brief background on what Maiev has been through in her life. A more in-depth look is available on Wowpedia.

• Maiev was originally a Priestess, and member of the Sisterhood of Elune which was lead by Tyrande Whisperwind, High Priestess of Elune.
• She was appointed as the eternal jailer of Illidan Stormrage by Malfurion. This position was held for 10,000 years.
• Illidan was released by Tyrande so he could help with the second invasion of the Burning Legion. After, he was exiled and Maiev went to hunt him down as he went to Outland.
• Maiev was caught by Illidan through Akama, and was imprisoned in Shadowmoon Valley.
• Akama betrayed Illidan and release Maiev. The two worked together to assault The Black Temple and defeated him.
• Maiev fled to the Broken Isles with fellow Wardens where the third Burning Legion invasion is taking place. It is here that she had imprisoned his fellow Demon Hunters.

WoWTCG

Maiev made an appearance in the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game in the Hunt for Illidan expansion.

• She was an Ally card which is equivalent in a Minion in Hearthstone.
• You could only play Maiev if your chosen hero was Loyal. Any hero that was not marked as a Traitor was considered Loyal. Hero Faction did not matter as she was a Neutral Ally.
• Maiev had a long-ranged attack which dealt 5 damage. Long-range meant she was unable to take damage from enemy Allies she attacked.
• She is an epic card. Packs contained at most, 1 rare or 1 epic.
• Her flavor text was "My long hunt is finally over. Today, justice will be done!"

Trivia

• In WoW: Legion, you can fish up a silver coin with her name on it. The flavor text reads "Where's Illidan?"
• Perhaps ironically, the name Shadowsong is one of the random demon hunter names from Warcraft III.
• Starting with WoW: Cataclysm, Maiev is featured with Akama on the loading screen for Outland.
• Maiev had never been seen unmasked in any Warcraft game or in any official artwork until WoW: Legion.
• Priests in WoW: Legion have a Legendary Waist which features her namesake - Cord of Maiev, Priestess of the Moon.

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