Sigil of Silence unveiled for Hearthstone’s Forged in the Barrens expansion

The latest card teased for Hearthstone’s Forged in the Barrens expansion will build upon the Sigil support that Demon Hunters are getting.

The newest card being added to the game is Sigil of Silence, a rare zero-mana Shadow spell for Demon Hunter that Silences all enemy minions at the start of your next turn.

Sigils are a new type of spell that goes into the Secret/Quest slot and activates at the start of the player’s next turn. While the first Sigil to be revealed, Sigil of Flame, deals damage to the entire board, this one provides an asymmetrical effect that removes powerful minion effects on the enemy’s board through Silence.

Since the Sigil of Silence costs zero mana, you can preemptively play this on a turn where you know your opponent is trying to play a key minion with a powerful ability. Alternatively, if your opponent has a massive board with strong effects, the Sigil of Silence will give you a board-wide Silence that can provide a ton of value. The downside to solely relying on the Sigil of Silence is that getting rid of a minion’s ability does nothing in terms of removing the actual minion, so you’ll still be behind on tempo if you’re unable to destroy the pile of stats left behind.

One aspect to consider when trying out Sigils is that your opponent knows in advance what Sigil effects are active. This means that your opponent will be able to play around your cards due to the knowledge that they’ll have of which Sigil ability activates next turn. While this can easily be considered a major downside at first, if you prevent your opponent from performing their power plays for a turn earlier thanks to Sigil, this makes your opponent play off curve, giving you more time to perform your strategies.

Even though the new Sigil cycle of cards provides another way for Demon Hunters to play a control style, the newest class has leaned more into its aggressive and midrange side. Forged in the Barrens has a chance to change that, though, if enough value tools are provided for Demon Hunter—and these Sigils look like a catalyst for exactly that.

Forged in the Barrens will become available at the end of the month on March 30. Players can pre-purchase the expansion in one of two different bundles from Blizzard’s online store or in the Hearthstone client.