Removed card
- For a list of removed boss cards, see Removed card/Boss cards.
- For a list of removed Battlegrounds cards, see Battlegrounds/Removed card.
- For a list of removed Mercenaries cards, see Mercenaries/Removed card.
Removed cards are valid Hearthstone cards which have been removed from play. These cards can no longer be collected or found in-game (or can be only found in the client).
To be included on this page, cards and heroes should have a strong basis of factual existence prior to removal. Ideally, card data from the game itself; otherwise screenshots, or at the very least a concrete reference from a reliable source stating its existence.
Cards[edit | edit source]
Alpha[edit | edit source]
These cards were in the game during its alpha.
Replaced identifier[edit | edit source]
These cards used to have an identifier, which was then occupied by a different currently available card.
Unknown identifier[edit | edit source]
These cards existed in the client, but were removed during the alpha. They have unknown identifiers due to the lack of developing tools at that time to get the card data.
Non-client cards[edit | edit source]
These cards have never existed in the end-user client, but were confirmed to have existed during the initial development by Team 5 members.
Known identifier[edit | edit source]
These cards had their own identifier, and were made unavailable from the game at some point. Their data wasn't removed from the client until Goblins vs Gnomes's launch.
Constructed experiments[edit | edit source]
These cards were experimented with or considered during the making of new card sets, but never made it into the live game.
Lackeys[edit | edit source]
These cards were the original Lackey cards before they were even known as Lackeys.
Removed later[edit | edit source]
These cards were playable in-game for a considerable amount of time, but were removed later due to varying reasons.
Unused[edit | edit source]
These cards have not been directly removed from the game, as they still exist in the client. However, they have either not been used publicly in-game in any scenario, or have been archived after being used.
Arena[edit | edit source]
These cards had a chance to be in the Arena unique set, but lost to other choices.
Wild event[edit | edit source]
These cards were a part of the Doom in the Tomb Wild event.
Tavern Brawl[edit | edit source]
This section includes boss cards, Hero Powers, and bosses and replacement heroes that were removed from Tavern Brawls during development or from live servers. Only cards which remain unused in-game or have been directly removed from the game data are listed here; for Tavern Brawl cards of currently unknown purpose, see Unknown Tavern Brawls.
Debug[edit | edit source]
These are removed debug cards.
Replaced debug cards[edit | edit source]
These debug cards were replaced with another real or debug card. For more information, see the cards' individual pages.
Unknown[edit | edit source]
These cards have been in the game and later removed, but the reason for their usage is unknown.
Without images[edit | edit source]
- Designer Dean Ayala "tried to sneak in" a "magical liopleurodon" to the Journey to Un'Goro set,[1] but the card was cut.[2]
- Sanctum Spellbender also shares a similar concept
- Ozumat: Removed in the alpha, this card's design ultimately went into making Deathwing.
- Unknown druid card: "Choose One: Change a minion's Attack to 0 this turn; or deal 2 damage to a minion that attacked last turn."[3] This card was removed "in early development".
- An unknown 10 mana Legendary minion with "Battlecry: Cast all spells you've played this game" was considered for Rastakhan's Rumble. However, the card being a minion meant it couldn't fit neatly into Spell Hunter decks, and so the card's effect was eventually given to Zul'jin instead.[4]
- Curse of Naxxramas
- Necro Knight: 4 Mana 5/6, "Deathrattle: Destroy the minions next to this one as well."[5]
- Giant Maggot: 2 Mana 3/1, "Charge. At the end of your turn, destroy this minion."[5]
- Spore: 2 Mana 0/1, "Deathrattle: Give adjacent minions +2/+2."[5]
- Rotting Knight: 2 Mana 2/3, "Taunt. At the start of your turn, Silence this minion."[5]
- Stitched Giant: 12 Mana 10/10, "Costs (1) less for each minion that died this turn."[5]
- Tomb Horror: 1 Mana 1/3, "At the start of your turn, you have a 50% chance to return this minion to your hand."[5]
- Deathcharger: 5 Mana 3/5, "Charge. Deathrattle: Deal 2 damage to the enemy hero."[5]
- Sapphiron: 9 Mana 8/8 Legendary, "Battlecry: Deal 3 damage to a minion and the minions next to it, then Freeze them."[5]
- Patchwerk: 10 Mana 14/14 Legendary. [5]
- Mr. Bigglesworth: 0 Mana 0/1 Legendary, "Charge"[5]
- Instructor Razuvious: 5 Mana 8/8 Legendary, "At the start of your turn, summon a 2/2 Understudy with Taunt for your opponent."[5]
- Plagueshroom: 2 Mana 0/2 Druid minion, "Taunt. Deathrattle: Deal 5 damage to a random enemy."[5]
- Turn Evil: 3 Mana Paladin spell, "Give a random friendly minion +2/+2 and give a random enemy minion -2/-2."[5]
- Tank Swap: 1 Mana Warrior spell, "Silence all enemies with Taunt. Give your minions Taunt."[5]
- Plague Vents: 3 Mana Warlock spell, "At the start of your next turn, deal 4 damage to all minions."[5]
- Void Zone 4 Mana Priest spell, "Choose a minion. At the start of your next turn, deal 3 damage to it and the minions next to it."[5]
- Plaguebat 1 Mana 2/2 Hunter Beast minion, [5]
- Polarity Shift 4 Mana Shaman spell, "Deal 4 damage to each minion that has two minions next to it."[5]
- Poison Fang 3 Mana Rogue spell, "Give your minions "Destroy any minion damage by this minion""[5]
- Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
Several cards for the Kabal faction in Mean Streets of Gadgetzan were originally designed around the idea of gaining benefits based on how much spent or unspent mana the controlling player had. When that design idea was abandoned, the cards that interacted with the mechanic were removed as well.[6]
- Cabal Leader: 6 mana 4/8 Legendary, "At the end of your turn, if you have unspent mana fire an arcane missile for each unspent mana." According to Mike Donais, the Cabal Leader was "kind of an early version of Kazakus".[6]
- Dios: 9 mana 12/12 Warlock Legendary, "Battlecry: If you have no remaining mana, shuffle two copies of this card into your deck." By experimenting with this card, Blizzard learned some more about "infinite decks", like the Jade Idol theme and got a little bit more learning in that direction. Jade Idol may have been inspired by Dios.[6]
- End Bringer: 8 mana 9/9 Warlock Legendary, "Battlecry: Discard your hand. Summon any demons you discarded." The "best part" of End Bringer's mechanic was repurposed for Krul the Unshackled. Appears to have been intended as a nathrezim, a member of the same demonic species as Mal'Ganis.[6]
- Pang, The Unthinkable: 8 mana 4/8 Mage Legendary, "When your spells deal damage to enemy minions, this minion deals that much damage to the enemy hero."[6]
- Sin-Sor: 7 mana 4/4 Priest Legendary, "Battlecry: Swap a random enemy minion with a random friendly one." The design for Madam Goya was inspired by this idea. Blizzard talked a lot about how Priests can steal an opponent's cards or minions without it feeling too bad for the opponent, leading to the creation of Potion of Madness.[6]
- Journey to Un'Goro
- Excited Lookout: 2 mana minion which shuffled the highest mana card in your hand back into your deck, and drew a new card to replace it. The card was intended to help with "smoothing out your draws", but was removed around week two of the final design process because designers were worried about the interaction between it, Hemet, Jungle Hunter, Holy Wrath, and Molten Giant.[7]
- Kobolds and Catacombs
- Mindrot Blade: 3 mana 3/3 Legendary Warrior weapon with "Battlecry: Discover a card. Also replace cards you draw with copies of it." This card's effect was also used on an early version of Kingsbane. [8]
- Grinning Lucy: 6 mana 6/6 Neutral Legendary with "Battlecry and Deathrattle: Swap decks with your opponent." This minion's effect eventually evolved into King Togwaggle[8]
- Amulet of Zot: 3 mana 0/2 Legendary Warlock weapon with "Your hero can't die. At the start of your turn, this loses 1 Durability."[8]
- Julie's Dagger/Linn's Invisible Blade: 4 mana 1/x Rogue Legendary weapon with "Immune while attacking. Dual-Wield (replaces your hero power)"[8]
- Chaos Dungeoneer: 4 mana 3/3 Demon Hunter minion with "Battlecry: Draw a spell. If it was a Chaos spell, give your hero +3 Attack." Chaos was the initial name for Fel.
- Nature Dungeoneer: 4 mana 4/2 Druid minion with "Battlecry: Draw a spell. If it was a Nature spell, Nature Dungeoneer gains +2/+2."
- Fire Dungeoneer: 3 mana 2/3 Mage minion with "Battlecry: Draw a spell. If it was a Fire spell, deal 1 damage to all other minions." Replaced with Frostweave Dungeoneer.
- Holy Dungeoneer: 3 mana 2/3 Priest minion with "Battlecry: Draw a spell. If it was a Holy spell, copy it." Redesigned into Devout Dungeoneer.
- Frost Dungeoneer: 2 mana 1/1 Shaman minion with "Battlecry: Draw a spell. If it was a Frost spell, freeze a random enemy minion." Replaced with Primal Dungeoneer.
- Turtleshell Maul: 1 mana 2/3 Paladin weapon with "Deathrattle: Summon a 2/1 Turtle for your opponent."
- Mysterious Brawler: 2 mana 1/4 Paladin minion with "Frenzy: Draw a Secret from your deck."
- Order of Order: 4 mana Priests spell with "Destroy all odd-cost minions." Redesigned into Against All Odds.
- Order of Chaos: 4 mana Warlock spell with "Destroy all even-cost minions."
- Burning Hot: 4 mana Mage spell with "Draw a spell. If it was a Fire spell, cast this again."
- Flame Snap: 2 mana Mage spell with "Deal 1 damage. Shuffle a Flame Snap into your deck with +1 damage." Redesigned into Ignite.
- Arms Warrior: 2 mana 2/3 Warrior minion with "After you equip a weapon, gain +2/+2." Redesigned into Man-at-Arms.
- Sharpened Axe: 1 mana 1/2 Warrior weapon with "At the start of your turn, Sharpened Axe gains +1 Attack."
- Battlegrounds
- Master Demonologist: Tier 4 4/6 minion (internal cost of 7 mana) with "Whenever you summon a Demon, gain +1/+1". Its artwork comes from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game "Icecrown" series, from the card Metamorphosis. Master Demonologist could be briefly seen in a video on the Korean Hearthstone YouTube channel. It ended up scrapped, but its regular and Golden forms are still in the game's files.[14]
- The art was later used for Soul Devourer.
- Death Knight
These cards may have been part of Death Knight's Core set, Path of Arthas, or March of the Lich King. The names and costs of these cards are all unknown, and the Rune types are assumed based on their applied Plague or effect type.[15]
- 2/2 Blood rune minion with "After attacking a minon, infect them and adjacent minions with Leeching Plague."
- 2/5 Blood rune minion with "Taunt. Whenever this deals damage to a minion, infect them with Leeching Plague."
- Frost rune Spell with "Freeze all enemy minions and infect them with Brittle Plague. Draw a card."
- 2/4 Frost rune minion with "Whenever you cast a spell, infect a random enemy minion with Brittle Plague."
- Unholy rune spell with "Infect a minion with Undeath Plague. Deal 1 damage to it."
- 4/5 Unholy rune minion with "After an enemy minion is played, infect it with Undeath Plague."
- Blood rune spell (assumed) with "Deal 3 damage to a minion, or restore 6 Health to an Undead minion."
- Blood rune spell (assumed) with "Deal 3 damage to a minion. If the target is Plagued, Lifesteal."
- Blood rune spell (assumed) with "Deal 4 damage. Lifesteal."
For more information about Plagues, see Leeching Plague, Iceshard Plague, or Undeath Plague.
"SLUSH" set[edit | edit source]
In April 2018, dataminers found many prototype cards within the game's files, which were all grouped in an unused set labelled "SLUSH". They were all created during the development of different sets, though some rejected designs were recycled into finalized cards.[16][17][18]
Whispers of the Old Gods[edit | edit source]
- Haunt: 4 mana epic Warlock spell, "Choose an enemy minion. At the start of your turn, destroy it and afflict another at random."
- Twilight Corrupter: 4 mana 3/3 rare Neutral minion, "Enemy minions have 1 less Attack (minimum 1)."
- Randofaceless: 4 mana 3/3 epic Neutral minion, "Battlecry: Transform into a copy of a random minion."
- Giant Klaxxi: 15 mana 8/8 epic Neutral minion, "Whenever you play a card, reduce the cost of this minion by 1". Uses Klaxxi Amber-Weaver's art.
- Qiraji Devourer: 5 mana 7/7 epic Neutral minion, "Battlecry: Destroy your other minions."
- Hallazeal the Ascended: 7 mana 6/6 Shaman Legendary, "Whenever you play a minion, summon a copy of it." Effect was reused for Ixlid, Fungal Lord.
- Garalon: 8 mana 10/10 Hunter Legendary, "Whenever this minion kills another minion, it may attack again." Possible beta version of Giant Sand Worm.
- Harbinger Aphotic: 7 mana 6/4 Hunter Legendary, "Deathrattle: "Your Hero Power becomes 'Summon a random Beast.""
- Ishtara Umquah: 4 mana 4/4 Warlock Legendary: "Whenever your hero takes damage on your turn, also deal that amount to the enemy hero."
- Overload McTemp: 4 mana 3/5 epic Shaman minion: "Whenever you play an Overload card, add a random Shaman card to your hand."
- Rain of Frogs: 5 mana epic Druid spell, "Deal 2 damage to any enemy minions. If any die, summon a 3/3 Frog with Taunt." Possibly recycled into Rain of Toads.
- Forbidden Healing: Identical to final version, except its class is shaman instead of paladin.
- Qiraji Guard: 2 mana 2/3 rare Hunter minion, "Deals double damage to minions."
- Feral Rite: 2 mana epic Hunter spell, "Destroy a friendly Beast. Summon a 5/5 Blood of C'Thun."
- Smash: 6 mana epic Warrior spell, "Destroy a minion. If you have at least 10 Armor, this costs (5) less." Uses Crush's art.
- Kil'ruk, the Wind-Reaver: 5 mana 4/5 Paladin Legendary, "Battlecry: Destroy your opponent's highest Attack minion."
- Spellbinder: 3 mana 1/4 rare Mage minion, "Has +1 Attack for each spell in your hand." Possibly recycled into Violet Spellsword.
- Faceless Sorcery: 5 mana epic Priest spell, "Add two copies of your opponent's last spell to your hand."
- Simulacrum: 4 mana 2/8 rare Warlock minion, "Your Hero Power damages this minion instead of you."
- Burning Knight: 3 mana 3/3 epic Neutral minion, "Battlecry: Gain +2/+2 for each Frozen minion then unfreeze them." Uses Blood Knight's art.
- Scarlet Purifier: 4 mana 4/3 epic Neutral minion, "Battlecry: Silence ALL minions with Deathrattle." May have been a prototype of the existing minion.
- Ka'roz the Locust: 7 mana 7/4 Neutral Legendary, "Deathrattle: Summon a 7/4 Korven the Prime."
- Ka'roz the Locust: 7 mana 5/5 Warrior Legendary, "Battlecry and Deathrattle: Equip a random weapon." Possible beta version of Malkorok.
- Twilight Suppressor: 3 mana 3/4 rare Warlock minion, "Battlecry: Silence all minions in your hand."
- Hisek the Swarmkeeper: 5 mana 5/5 Rogue Legendary, "Battlecry: Return your other minions to your hand. They cost (1)." Effect was reused for Grumble, Worldshaker.
- Azshara's Chosen: 4 mana 4/4 epic Neutral minion, "Your Murlocs cost (1) less."
- Nerubian Conquerer: 8 mana 7/7 epic Neutral minion, "Deathrattle: Summon a 7/7 Nerubian."
- Unnatural Selection: 3 mana epic Hunter spell, "Replace a minion with a random minion that costs (1) more." Possibly a prototype of Evolve and its variants.
- K'laaz, the Devourer: 16 mana 20/20 Neutral Legendary, "Costs (4) less for each Acolyte of K'laaz you have."
- Acolyte of K'laaz: 2 mana 2/3 common Neutral minion, "Ritual: Give C'Thun +1/+1. You may have any number of this minion in your deck."
- Herald of K'laaz: 5 mana 4/5 rare Neutral minion, "Your Acolytes of K'laaz cost (0)."
- K'laaz Weaponsmith: 3 mana 3/3 epic Neutral minion, "Your Acolytes of K'laaz have +1 Attack"
- Cult Warlock: 2 mana 2/3 rare Warlock minion, "Ritual: When you draw C'Thun, summon a Cult Warlock."
- C'Thun Matriarch: 5 mana 3/5 epic Neutral minion, "Battlecry: Add a random Ritualist to your hand."
- Serve C'Thun: 3 mana rare Priest spell, "Summon two Ritualists that died this game and trigger their Rituals." Uses Resurrect's art.
The Witchwood[edit | edit source]
- Genn Greymane: 4 mana 3/6 legendary Neutral minion, "Charge. If this is in your hand at the end of your turn, transform into a Human."
- Genn Greymane (human form): 4 mana 6/3 legendary Neutral minion, "Taunt. If this is in your hand at the end of your turn, transform into a Worgen."
- Curio Peddler: 2 mana 2/3 rare Rogue minion, "Battlecry: Discover a spell from your opponent's class. If your opponent guesses your choice, they also get it."
- Crafty Blacksmith: 3 mana 3/4 rare Warrior minion, "Battlecry: Discover a spell from your opponent's class. If your opponent guesses your choice, they also get it."
Renamed cards[edit | edit source]
The following are former names of existing cards.
- Alchemist - Crazed Alchemist[19]
- Atonement - Burden of Pride[20]
- Blacksilt Shorestriker - Murloc Tidehunter[19]
- Chaos Bolt - Demonfire[19][21]
- Chaos Energy (enchantment) - Demonfire[21]
- Death Coil - Mortal Coil[22]
- Fel Addiction - Deal with a Devil[23]
- Grimoire of Sacrifice - Sacrificial Pact[22]
- Investigator - Drakonid Operative[6]
- Khajakus the Banished - Kazakus[6]
- Ramkahen Roar - Pharaoh's Warmask
- Swashbuckler - Small-Time Buccaneer[6]
- Wilderness Support - Tracking[24]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Dean Ayala on Twitter (X). (2017-03-31).
- ↑ Peter Whalen on Twitter (X). (2017-03-31).
- ↑ Designer Insights with Ben Brode: Consistency. (2015-12-22).
- ↑ Cam Shea (2019-02-04). Hearthstone's Peter Whalen on Designing Zul'jin and Moving Away From Infinite Late Game Value. IGN. Retrieved on 2019-02-05.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 Ben Brode on Twitter.. (2017-06-05).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Cam Shea (2017-01-12). IGN - Hearthstone: Blizzard on designing Jade, testing red mana and leaving Reno behind. Retrieved on 2017-01-13.
- ↑ Donais, Mike and Peter Whalen. Interview by Cam Shea (2017-05-14). Hearthstone: Designing Un'Goro's Most Innovative Legendary Minions.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 IGN (2018-01-17). The Hearthstone Team on Designing Cubelock and Why They Like Big Priest. Retrieved on 2018-01-22.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/IksarHS/status/1412948479555510274/photo/1
- ↑ https://twitter.com/IksarHS/status/1412948818174251010/photo/1
- ↑ https://twitter.com/IksarHS/status/1412949329485074434/photo/1
- ↑ https://twitter.com/IksarHS/status/1412948978971209728/photo/1
- ↑ https://twitter.com/IksarHS/status/1412949585652162560/photo/1
- ↑ https://outof.cards/hearthstone/850-a-new-demon-synergy-has-been-datamined-for-hearthstones-battlegrounds-master-demonologist
- ↑ The Story Behind Hearthstone's New Death Knight Class. (2022-11-01).
- ↑ https://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/hearthstone-monster-hunt-patch-data-mining-test-cards-slush-cards-more-arena-exclusives/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/8f72ey/image_gallery_of_the_slush_cards_cards_that_were/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/8f7rnh/spoilers_all_remaining_slush_cards_w_art_new/
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 File:Development - collection4.jpg
- ↑ Burden of Pride is referred to as "Atonement" in some in-game data files.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Alpha patch (unknown date)
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Patch 1.0.0.3388
- ↑ Deal with a Devil is referred to as "Fel Addiciton" in some in-game data files.
- ↑ File:Development - Forge.jpg