The wait is finally over for Hearthstone’s newest solo adventure. Galakrond’s Awakening Chapter one is now live.
The first chapter of this adventure is called Battle of the Frozen Coast and has two playable sides. The chapter will have a Good and EVIL campaign. Defeating the EVIL side of this chapter will reward players with four new cards. Defeating the Good side of the campaign will award four cards, plus three bonus cards. This means defeating the entire chapter on both sides will reward you with 11 new cards, all of which are playable in Standard.
If you haven’t already, you can unlock the chapter individually for 700 gold or $6.99. Alternatively, you can purchase the entire solo adventure in a launch bundle for $19.99.
For this preview, we played through the normal difficulty version of both campaigns.
EVIL side bosses
Sir Finley
While playing as the EVIL squad, the first boss you face will be League of Explorer member, Sir Finley. The refined Murloc acts as a Paladin-esque Hero with a power called Lead the Charge. This power allows Finley to give a friendly minion Rush and Divine Shield.
During the battle against Sir Finley, you’ll be playing as Kriziki the Winged. Your Hero Power is called Wings of Rebirth and costs two mana. Wings of Rebirth means a minion can’t be targeted by spells or Hero Powers and gives them Reborn.
Both you and Finley will be using preconstructed decks. In the normal version of this fight, Finley will try to amass a board of minions to benefit from his Hero Power. The deck you’ll be using as Kriziki has more than enough board clear to help you get the job done.
Chenvaa’la
The second boss you’ll face while playing as the baddies is Chenvaa’la. Since Chen is an Ice elemental, Chen’s deck and Hero Power are freeze based. Chen’s Hero Power is called Snowstorm. This power costs three mana and allows Chen to summon a frozen 4/4 elemental for three mana.
During this battle, you’ll be playing as Puppetmaster Lazul. As her lore would have you expect, Lazul uses Priest cards. While playing as Lazul, your Hero Power is Fortune. This power costs one mana and allows you to discover a copy of a card from your opponent’s deck. If you have the extra mana, you should be using this power as much as possible.
A good card to steal from Chenvaa’la that will help you defeat him is Living Dragonbreath. This card makes it so that your minions can’t be frozen. This will greatly inhibit Chenvaa’la’s ability to control your board.
The Amazing Reno
Your final opponent while playing as the EVIL squad will be everyone’s favorite explorer, Reno Jackson. Reno has a passive Hero Power called Gatling Magic. This power says that once Reno casts a spell, it’ll cast a random spell of the same cost. Since this power is totally random, Reno can cause a plethora of things to happen that benefit him or you.
During this battle, you’ll be playing as Dr. Boom. As you can imagine, Dr. Boom’s deck is built around Mechs, Dragons, and explosives. Your Hero Power is called Summon the Bots and allows you to add a random Boom Labs Mech to your hand.
If you ever played as Bomb or Control Warrior, you’ll have a pretty decent idea of what Dr. Boom’s deck is trying to accomplish. You’ll be shuffling Bombs into Reno’s deck while you try to control the board with stacked Mechs. After defeating Reno, Dr. Boom will take him, prisoner.
Good side bosses
Dr. Boom
Though you get to play as him during the EVIL campaign, the first person you face while playing as the good guys is the Mad Scientist himself, Dr. Boom. Just like during the EVIL campaign, Dr. Boom’s power is Summon the Bots. This allows Boom to spend two mana to add a random Boom Labs Mech to his hand.
You’ll be facing off against Dr. Boom as League of Explorer’s member, Brann Bronzebeard. Brann will use cards that come from both the Warrior and Hunter classes. Brann’s Hero Power is called Trusty Whip. This power costs two mana and allows you to deal one damage to a minion and the minion to the right of it.
In Normal mode, you’re able to play fast enough that you don’t have to worry much about Boom’s strategy. As long as you play your deck somewhat like Face Hunter, you shouldn’t have an issue cutting Boom down.
Avalanchan
This fight is possibly the most interesting in the entire first chapter. During this battle, Avalanchan will have 150 health. His Hero Power is called Sculpted Ice and costs three mana. This power allows Avalanchan to make a copy of a minion and then silence it. This basically means he gets to summon a minion that copies another minion’s attack and health.
While facing off against Avalanchan, you’ll be playing as Archmage Khadgar. Khadgar is much more powerful than your average Mage, though. Khadgar’s Hero Power is called Summon Elemental. For two mana, Khadgar can summon a 2/3 elemental with an effect that causes your spells to cast an additional time.
You can use these elementals to get insane value out of your spells. This counterbalances the fact that Avalanchan has 150 health and makes the battle much easier than you’d first expect. You’ll also get help from a floating Khadgar head that intends to bend the rules in your favor.
Kriziki the Winged
Similar to the situation with Dr. Boom, here the tables have turned once again. The final boss you face in chapter one on the Explorers’ side of things will be Kriziki the Winged. Just like in the EVIL campaign when you play as Kriziki, he has a Hero Power called Wings of Rebirth. This power allows Kriziki to pay two mana to give a minion Reborn, as well as make it untargetable by spells and Hero Powers.
While facing Kriziki, you’ll be playing as Commander Elise. Your Hero Power will be called Plan Ahead. For two mana, this power allows you to look at the three cards on the top of your deck, then draw one. This is a great built-in way to give you additional resources to set up future turns.
Outside of her Hero Power, Elise has a deck that functions very similar to Standard Token Druid. You’ll be amassing a board of minions and beefing them up to bring in heavy damage when Kriziki least expects it. If things look grim, don’t worry. Elise has a Perfect Idea card that has an effect similar to Zephrys, awarding you the perfect card for the situation. Use this and cards like Silence to deal with Kriziki’s board if it gets out of control.
Unlocked cards
Air Raid
Eye of the Storm
Twisted Knowledge
Bomb Wrangler
Winged Guardian
Skydiving Instructor
Animated Avalanche
Licensed Adventurer
Shadow Sculptor
Dark Prophecy
Fresh Scent
