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Getting to Know Hearthstone’s Alternate Heroes: Tyrande Whisperwind

We’re back with another feature on one of Hearthstone’s alternate heroes. This time we’re turning the spotlight toward alternate priest hero, Tyrande. As we mentioned in our feature on Khadgar, it can be hard for newcomers to digest the dearth of information that is out there about World of Warcraft and its universe, even more so for players who are only familiar with the Hearthstone side of things.

Trying to dive into the lore and sort through it is a daunting prospect. So, with that in mind, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to help those players learn a little bit more about the heroes they play as – or against – that haven’t been featured officially, as the main heroes have. Have you been curious about who Tyrande is and how she fits into the world you’ve become acquainted with through Hearthstone? Let’s dive in!

Tyrande in Hearthstone

Tyrande is currently unavailable if you don’t already have her, but don’t despair! There is some speculation that she will be made available again.

She was available for a limited time to Twitch Prime members (from September 30 to November 5, 2016). By linking your Amazon Prime account to your Twitch account, you were able to unlock both the character and a special card back that came with her. 

She was also available for a limited time for players in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. From January 25 to February 10, 2017, players in those countries could earn Tyrande if they purchased a 40 card pack bundle.

Quite understandably, a lot of players were upset that they were left in the lurch and unable to acquire Tyrande. Here’s hoping she makes her way back again so more players have the chance to unlock her!

As with other alternate heroes, when Tyrande is unlocked she comes with a new portrait and new voice lines (with a lot of references to the goddess). Tyrande also has a new animation that's seen when she uses her hero power. 

She also has a couple of special interactions with other heroes and cards. She and Malfurion have a special greeting at the start of the match when they face off against each other, and Fandral Staghelm has a special voice line just for her.

But what about Illidan and Maiev? There are no special interactions for them, which is a bummer. What a missed opportunity! Tyrande and Illidan have a long history and Maiev (as you can read below) has beef with Tyrande, so you just know she would have something to say coming face to face with her across the board. Ah well, maybe some day?

Another interesting little tidbit is Tyrande’s flavor text: “Unlike some people, this leader didn’t fall asleep on the job. We’re looking at you, Malfurion.”

Not pulling any punches there. 

Who Is Tyrande?

Tyrande Whisperwind is the chosen High Priestess of the goddess Elune and the head of the Sisterhood of Elune. Along with Malfurion, she leads the night elves. She is one of the most powerful priestesses on Azeroth, was once the general of the Sentinels (an elite guard of the night elves), and is a fierce and powerful warrior in her own right. Oh yeah, and she also rides a tiger into battle. 

She grew up alongside Malfurion and Illidan Stormrage. They were extremely close throughout their childhood, and when they went their separate ways, they supported each other's choices — she went to become a priestess, Malfurion went to study under Cenarius, and Illidan... went off and got addicted to magic. The three of them would eventually take part in events that shaped the fate of Azeroth for thousands of years, and as such, all three are major players in the history of the Warcraft universe. 

Both Malfurion and Illidan loved her, which, unsurprisingly, is the cause of a lot of drama. Tyrande, however, only ever returned the affections of Malfurion, who has been her lifelong mate.

Why Is She Important?

Well, she was the sole leader of the night elves for 10,000 years while Malfurion was in the Emerald Dream, so that alone makes her pretty important. That being said, let’s take a look at some of the other important events in her life. 

War of the Ancients and The Sundering

During the War of the Ancients (a huge conflict that came about as a result of the Burning Legion’s first arrival in Azeroth), she proved herself to be a capable warrior, demonstrating enormous potential thanks to her connection to the goddess, Elune. During the war, the Burning Legion killed the current High Priestess and Tyrande was named her successor. She wasn’t too happy about this, but her sense of duty led her to accept the role and do her best to be a strong leader for her people. 

The war ultimately lead to The Sundering, which permanently changed the world... by literally tearing the land apart. The Sundering came about as the result of Tyrande and her allies' efforts to end the war and repel the forces of the Burning Legion.

Back then, there was something called The Well of Eternity (one still exists but is different from this one, as you will soon learn). The Well was a lake of arcane energy and the source of great power, not to mention the night elves' immortality. Malfurion figured out that the portal the Burning Legion was coming through was actually in The Well and in order to stop the invasion, they needed to destroy it. 

Tyrande agreed with Malfurion, but Illidan didn’t, and he was furious about the plan. Illidan was so mad that he secretly stole vials filled with water from the well and betrayed his allies by warning their enemies about Malfurion’s plan. 

During the ensuing battle, Tyrande launched a failed sneak attack and nearly died. Malfurion was pretty upset by this and attacked the enemy with renewed vigor. One thing lead to another and BOOM! The portal collapsed and destroyed The Well along with it. Unfortunately, this also tore the land apart and sent massive floods everywhere. 

Tyrande and Malfurion both managed to survive this catastrophic event and lead the survivors to Mount Hyjal where they discovered, to their horror, that a new Well had been created by Illidan (remember those vials he stole?)

They were all extremely mad at Illidan for this, so they threw him in prison for a really, really long time. However, nobody wanted to risk a repeat of The Sundering, so instead of destroying the new well, they covered it with a tree. Obviously this was not just any tree; they covered it with Nordrassil (the World Tree) and with the help of some of our favorite dragons (Alexstrasza, Ysera, and Nozdormu) the tree served to give the night elves many of the same blessings that The Well did (such as strength, vitality,  and immortality). Thanks to Ysera, it also gave them a link to the Emerald Dream. 

After the World Tree was created, Malfurion and the other druids agreed to help Ysera rebuild the Emerald Dream. Unfortunately for Tyrande, this meant that they would all be sleeping for hundreds of years, leaving her all alone. She ruled and lived alone for 10,000 years while Malfurion slept, taking care of business and keeping her people safe all by herself — until a new threat forced her to awaken the druids, that is.

The Third War

During the Third War, a new enemy reared his head. Archimonde (a pretty bad dude who served none other than the fallen titan Sargeras… yep, the same guy from Khadgar’s story). Fearing that Archimonde’s plan was to steal the energy of the World Tree to become a god, a newly awakened Malfurion set out to stir the remaining druids and stop him. At this point, Malfurion decided it was a good idea to mention how much Tyrande has changed…

To which she replied that she has not had “the luxury of sleeping through times of peril”. Burn.

Realizing the magnitude of the threat facing them, Tyrande had the brilliant idea: that they should free Illidan because he could help them defeat Archimonde. Malfurion was so against this plan that he actually forbade it, which did not fly with my girl Tyrande. Apoplectic that he thought he could forbid her to do anything, she replied, “only the Goddess may forbid me anything. I will free Illidan whether you like it or not.”

So she did just that, which… yeah… eventually, she realized was a mistake — but at the time, she thought she was making the right decision for her people. Oh, and FYI, Maiev Shadowsong is not a big fan of Tyrande because of this (keep an eye out for her feature article soon to learn more).

During the battle that followed, Malfurion and Tyrande heard that Illidan was being overwhelmed by enemy forces, and went to assist him. When they arrived, they found that he had defeated his enemies by transforming into a demon. Completely horrified, Malfurion banished him and this time Tyrande made no objection. 

All of this conflict culminated in the Battle of Mount Hyjal, where Tyrande fought alongside Jaina and Thrall to defeat Archimonde once and for all. They managed to win, but in the process the World Tree was badly damaged. After the war, Tyrande and Malfurion set about rebuilding for their people as best they could — at least until Malfurion got lost in the Emerald Dream, and Tyrande had to go rescue him. Now they are married and rule their people together. Aww, a happy ending? We’ll see, but judging from how her life has played out so far… I doubt it. We’ll have to see what the next World of Warcraft expansion, Battle for Azeroth, has in store for her.

Phew! That’s a lot. There’s more to the story with Tyrande and Illidan, which we went into with our piece on Maiev. For those of you who snagged Tyrande when she was available, do you like playing as her, or do you prefer Anduin? For those of you who missed out, do you hope there’s a second chance to grab her? And of course, for our World of Warcraft veterans, do you have any other Tyrande tidbits you want newbies to know? Let us know in the comments below!