Hearthstone League of Explorers Heroic Guide: Chieftain Scarvash, Mine Cart, Archaedas

Hearthstone's League of Explorers continues with its second wing, the Uldaman. Here's how to take on the toughest Heroic bosses and earn your way towards the Heroic card back.

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Completing Hearthstone's Adventures on Heroic is meant to be a challenge taken only by the toughest and most patient of heroes. But take heart, fellow Explorers. With a little deck editing, you can take them all down, earning your first step towards a special Heroic card back and all the bragging rights that come with it:

We've wrestled with the intense challenges of The League of Explorers on Heroic Mode, and outlined our winning strategies below. These strategies should largely work with the Normal bosses as well.

This week: the Uldaman.

Chieftain Scarvash 

Trogg Hate Minions: Enemy minions cost (2) more. Swap at the start of turn.
Trogg Hate Spells: Enemy spells cost (2) more. Swap at the start of turn.

Heroic: Powers bring Minion and Spell costs up to (11)

Scarvash is the toughest League of Explorers boss so far, starting the match with two Troggs who both gain strength as you use spells. What's worse, his hero power basically makes spells or minions inoperable in alternating turns, and even given the best plan you'd have to get a perfect draw order to make that curve work. What you need is a class that can take some punishment and largely sidestep the minion and spell hobbling, and for that, Warrior is your best bet. Weapons aren't impacted by either of his powers, and Warriors have the most versatile weapon sets around.

First off, you'll have to deal with the threats that he has from the start. A Doomsayer will do the trick, and you may want to pack two just in case you get overwhelmed and to increase your draw chances. Pack a few Taunts, and all the weapons you can. Once you've dealt with his initial threats, you'll want to efficiently use your weapons to clear his side of the board, while armoring up as often as you can. Packing Justicar Trueheart is also a good idea, since it will boost your armor ability and give you the extra edge. You can feel free to pack some spells like Shield Slam and Execute, too, even though you'll only have the option to use them every other turn. 

Recommended Class: Warrior
Recommended Cards: Doomsayer, Death's Bite, Justicar Trueheart

Mine Cart 

Flee the Mine!: Escape the Troggs!
Throw Rocks: Deal 3 damage to a random enemy minion.

Like the Temple Escape from the first wing, the Mine Cart challenge is all about surviving ten turns against tough opponents. Unlike the Temple Escape, though, the Mine Cart uses a pre-built deck, so there's no special deck-building tips for this one. Instead, this will be all about properly assessing the current board state and making smart plays to assure you last a little longer.

Don't bother with your 1-mana Hero Power, since it's far less effective than the cards you receive. You only have two mana to work with every turn, which means you'll be selecting two of the random 1-mana cards you get. As often as it's safe to do so, use the card that allows you to draw three cards. It's important to keep your options open. Try to save your cards that damage all minions for three until you have two in hand, because all of the Troggs have six health, so combining them will always be a handy board-wipe. Some of this will ultimately come down to luck, as you'll need to draw healing spells at the right time. Just keep a close eye on the board state and always calculate the current level of damage.

Recommended Class: N/A
Recommended Cards: N/A

Archaedas 

Stonesculpting: Summon a 0/2 Statue for both players.
Heroic: Summon a 0/5 Statue. 

Archaedas is actually very similar to Garr from Blackrock Mountain, in that he has a number of totems on the board and will destroy them to do stacking damage based on the number left. Unlike Garr, however, Archaedas puts his Statues on your side of the board too, so simply taking out the ones on his side won't be enough. You need to be able to buff your own statues to use them for trades and remove them from the board to survive. Secrets Paladin is perfect, given its combination of buffs and Secrets that will confuse Archaedas' attempts at attacking.

Chances are he'll hit you for heavy damage near the beginning of the match, but don't give up hope. After that initial volley you can easily stabilize, and he probably won't do it again for a while. Truesilver Champion is a helpful way to remove his 0-attack minions while also giving yourself some health back, and buff spells like Blessing of Kings makes your statues good for trades. If you can target a Coghammer, your statue will be given Taunt, forcing him to remove it himself.

The win condition is your Mysterious Challenger with the standard set of 3-5 secrets. Avenge and Noble Sacrifice are the must-haves, so pack two of each. You can fill out the other slots with Repentance, Competitive Spirit, and Redemption as you wish. With a little luck your Avenge will hit a statue, giving you another tool to trade them for board removal.

Archaedas also has a tendency to use his own Paladin Secret, the new Sacred Trial, which will automatically destroy a newly-played minion if you have any more than three on the board. With him loading you up with statues, this is bound to happen, so just be sure to play a lower-cost minion you don't mind sacrificing if you see that he has a Paladin Secret on the board.

Recommended Class: Paladin
Recommended Cards: Truesilver Champion, Blessing of Kings, Mysterious Challenger (with Secrets)

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