Elusive
- Elusive
Can't be targeted by spells or Hero Powers.
Elusive is an ability that prevents the character from being targeted by spells or Hero Powers.
Prior to Patch 29.0.0.195635 where the ability was keyworded, it was represented by the text Can't be targeted by spells or Hero Powers.
Notes[edit | edit source]
- Elusive minions cannot be targeted by spells or Hero Powers from either player, such as
Kill Command or Lesser Heal. - Elusive minions can be targeted by Battlecries and any other on-play minion keywords, such as Temple Enforcer or SI:7 Agent.
- Elusive minions can be affected by area of effect and randomly targeted effects, such as Lightning Storm or Arcane Missiles.
- Elusive minions can be targeted by both minion and hero attacks, even if the attack involves using a spell (such as Heroic Strike or Blessing of Kings) or Hero Power (such as Dagger Mastery or Shapeshift).
- Elusive minions can be targeted by locations.
Strategy[edit | edit source]
Elusive is generally considered a valuable ability, which substantially increases the survivability of a minion. As a result, elusive minions are usually mana-inefficient for their stats and other effects.
Elusive prevents the opponent from removing or affecting the minion using spells or Hero Powers. The opponent is forced to tackle them using combat, or untargeted effects. This can prevent the opponent from being able to counter the minion, either forcing them into disadvantageous trades, or leaving them powerless to stop your attacks. It can also catch them by surprise, rendering otherwise effective strategies ineffective.
Elusive minions are therefore most effective against spell-heavy decks and those which rely on targeted Hero Power usage (primarily mage). Decks such as Zoo which rely on filling the board with minions and contain few spells, are minimally impacted by elusive minions, and these are generally less than optimal choices against such decks.
While elusive is mostly advantageous to the controlling player, by preventing the player from buffing or otherwise targeting the minion it can end up a hindrance. This is most significant for decks which focus on useful spell buffs, such as Blessing of Kings and Mark of Nature, and those with friendly Hero Power usage (almost exclusively priest), preventing elusive minions from being granted useful effects, or being healed using Lesser Heal. However, note that Battlecries can still be targeted on the elusive minion.
Cards with Elusive
- For Wild format listings, see Elusive/Wild format.
Collectible
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Uncollectible
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Sources of Elusive
- For Wild format listings, see Elusive/Wild format.
Elusive-granting cards
This section lists cards which grant the Elusive ability to other minions or to itself.
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Elusive-generating cards
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Keyword[edit | edit source]
While many consistent abilities such as Taunt, Stealth and Divine Shield are denoted by a specific keyword, the "elusive" ability did not for many years. This was due to the developers' desire to balance the pros and cons of keyword use; while keywords make it easier in cases where they are frequently encountered, when such examples are rare, keywords can actually serve to make understanding cards harder, requiring players to mouse over cards to examine their abilities.[1] Elusive is particularly tricky because it has more than one effect,[2] protecting the minion from both spells and Hero Powers, but not Battlecries or attacks.
Ben Brode has stated that the elusive ability was "right on the razor's edge" regarding whether or not to create a keyword for it.[2] Yong Woo has also stated that it is possible in the future that a keyword will be added for the "elusive" ability - should there come to be a sufficient number of minions with that behaviour in the game.[3] The team have considered names including "Shroud", "Untargetable" and "Ethereal".[2]
The ability was officially keyworded as "Elusive" in the Year of the Pegasus with the launch of its first expansion Whizbang's Workshop. Developers decided to give the ability a keyword due to "planning to use the effect more frequently."[4]
For more information on why some abilities have keywords and others do not, see Abilities#Keyword creation.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- The removed card Grounding Totem had the text, "Your other minions can't be targeted by enemy spells or Hero Powers." This would have made it the most powerful Elusive card at the time, with its ongoing effect capable of granting the effect to a whole board of minions. Notably the text appears to either be in error (specifying only enemy spells and Hero Powers), or represent an earlier version of the ability.
Patch changes[edit | edit source]
Patch 29.0.0.195635 (2024-03-11): Now keyworded.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ ChanManV (2014-04-24). Value Town #27 w/ ChanManV, Trump, Gnimsh, and Ben Brode Pt. 1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Blizzard Hearthstone Developer AMA - Ben Brode, Yong Woo and Christina Sims!. (2014-12-15).
- ↑ GamesCom Interview: Hearthstone Observer Mode Coming Soon. (2014-08-25).
- ↑ Year of the Pegasus Core Set Update. (2024-02-12).
