Forged in the Barrens

For a hero of the Horde, all roads lead to the Crossroads. You have come for adventure, but the Barrens wants to break you. Your axe... must be sharp! Your wits... must be keen! And your heart... must be mighty! Strength, and honor! This is who we are!

FOR THE HORDE!

Wild format
Since the arrival of the Year of the Wolf, Forged in the Barrens is a Wild format card set, which means its cards are no longer be playable in Standard format matches. For more information, see Game format.

Forged in the Barrens is Hearthstone's seventeenth expansion, featuring 135 new collectible cards. The expansion was released on March 30th, 2021.

Set in the dusty savannah territory of the Barrens, a literal crossroads where tauren, troll, and orc adventurers gather to prove their worth. Mercenaries of old and newcomers alike train for an upcoming conflict with the Alliance. This set introduced the new keyword, Frenzy, which causes a minion to do something the first time it takes damage as long as it survived the attack. Additionally, it added seven Spell schools to the game; Arcane, Fel, Fire, Frost, Holy, Nature, and Shadow. This applies to new spells but also old ones, opening up many new synergies. It also added Ranked Spells that become more powerful as you gain mana, and Mercenaries that will have their stories told throughout the year.

As the first expansion of 2021, the release of Forged in the Barrens ends the previous Standard year, the Year of the Phoenix, and begins the Year of the Gryphon.

How to get

Forged in the Barrens craftable cards can be obtained by one of the following methods:

• Opening card packs with the usual prices and purchasing options
  
  

  

  

  

  
• Crafting for the usual amounts of Arcane Dust depending on the cards' rarity

Uncraftable cards

These specific cards can be obtained through other means. For more information, see their respective articles.

• Shadow Hunter Vol'jin
• Regular Mankrik
• Golden Peon
• Golden Hog Rancher
• Golden Horde Operative
• Golden Mor'shan Watch Post
• Golden Venomous Scorpid
• Golden Burning Blade Acolyte
• Golden Primordial Protector

Pre-order

• Prior to the expansion's release, players were able to purchase one or both of the following bundles:
  • Forged in the Barrens Bundle costs $49.99 USD; it comes with 60 Forged in the Barrens card packs, two random Legendary cards from Forged in the Barrens, and the unique Hamuul Runetotem card back.
  • Forged in the Barrens Mega Bundle costs $79.99 USD; it comes with 80 Forged in the Barrens card packs, 5 Golden Forged in the Barrens card packs that guarantee Golden cards, two random Golden Legendary cards from Forged in the Barrens, the unique Hamuul Runetotem card back, and the alternate druid hero Hamuul Runetotem.

Cards

This expansion features 135 collectible cards. Forged in the Barrens cards can be recognized with a special watermark (the Horde symbol) behind the card text, not found on other cards.

The Mini-set, Wailing Caverns, is also considered part of the Forged in the Barrens set, and all 35 cards are organized with it in the Collection manager.

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Neutral

Related cards

Choice cards

Demon Hunter

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Druid

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Hunter

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Mage

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Paladin

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Priest

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Rogue

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Shaman

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Warlock

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Warrior

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Themes

Frenzy

The dangerous conditions of the Barrens can turn even the docile plainstrider into a deadly whirlwind of talon and feather. Minions with the Frenzy keyword will trigger powerful effects the first time they survive damage.

• Sunscale Raptor
• Oasis Thrasher
• Gruntled Patron
• Barrens Blacksmith
• Warsong Envoy
• Barrens Blacksmith
• Sunwell Initiate
• Blademaster Samuro
• Whirling Combatant
• Peon
• Stonemaul Anchorman
• Razormane Raider
• Taurajo Brave
• Gold Road Grunt
• Druid of the Plains

Ranked Spells

Take your magical mastery from apprentice to artisan! With a new card for every class, Ranked Spells will level up as you reach 5 and 10 Mana Crystals.

• Fury (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Living Seed (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Tame Beast (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Flurry (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Conviction (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Condemn (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Wicked Stab (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Chain Lightning (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Imp Swarm (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)
• Conditioning (Rank 1) (Rank 2, Rank 3)

Mercenary Minions

There’s no shortage of swords-for-hire within the Alliance and Horde. These class-specific Legendary minions are itching to show their worth in a scuffle and in the Tavern.

• Kurtrus Ashfallen
• Guff Runetotem
• Tavish Stormpike
• Varden Dawngrasp
• Cariel Roame
• Xyrella
• Scabbs Cutterbutter
• Bru'kan
• Tamsin Roame
• Rokara

Caravans

All roads lead to the Crossroads.

• Prospector's Caravan
• Soldier's Caravan
• Soothsayer's Caravan
• Tinyfin's Caravan
• Apothecary's Caravan

Trailers

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Lore

In World of Warcraft

The Barrens in the Cataclysm cinematic.

This section uses content from the Warcraft Wiki.

The Barrens is a large zone in central Kalimdor controlled mostly by the Horde. It is a massive savanna, with a few oases in the north-central region around the Crossroads. Before the upheaval, several large kaldorei cities stood here. Now, those brave few willing to scrape out a life on the arid plains inevitably run afoul of centaur warbands or quilboar raiding parties. Despite its often uninviting terrain and hostile inhabitants, the Barrens receive a good deal of interest from Alliance and Horde alike, as well as races native to Kalimdor. Trade routes crisscross the landscape leading to and from more inviting regions, and the most notable route is the Gold Road that runs north-to-south through the Barrens and beyond. Rumours suggest that precious minerals and treasure-filled ruins await those with the courage to investigate.

The day before the Cataclysm, Alliance forces streamed out of Northwatch and marched up the Gold Road, besieging Crossroads as dusk fell. Then, in the heart of the night, they force-marched southward, leaving their campfires burning behind in order to surprise attack Honor's Stand at dawn's first light.

After the Cataclysm, the Barrens was split in two with a lava river separating the Northern Barrens and Southern Barrens. Southern Barrens is a generic term for all the lands on the southern part of the Great Divide. This region is not only one of the most hardest hit by the Cataclysm, but also is one of the biggest war zones in the escalating conflict between the Alliance and Horde. In the wake of the Cataclysm, the Alliance has been pushing into the Barrens in retaliation to the aggression of the Horde's new Warchief.

In Hearthstone

Gather your gear and hold fast to your ambition, newcomer. This is the Barrens. The road before us winds through vast, sun-scorched lands, bringing danger and discovery beyond imagination’s grasp. Thorned dens of bristling quilboar, rampaging tribes of furious centaur, and treetop nests of soaring harpies separate the champions from the weak. The Barrens are the anvil upon which the Horde as we know it was founded: A literal crossroads where the tauren, trolls, and orcs came together for the first time. Heroes are made here. Perhaps you, too, shall be Forged in the Barrens.

Meet the Mercenaries

There’s no shortage of swords-for-hire within the Alliance and Horde. Forged in the Barrens introduces 10 Legendary Mercenary minions, each representing a different class, whose stories will play out across the Year of the Gryphon in an all-new year-long narrative!

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  Forged in the Barrens, key art