Hearthstone 'One Night in Karazhan' Heroic Guide: The Spire

Hearthstone's "One Night in Karazhan" comes to a close as you find yourself at Medivh's tower spire, searching frantically for the host amid magical portals. Completing the regular adventure will net you all the cards, but the real bragging rights come with showing off your Heroic card back. That can only be gained by beating every single boss in Karazhan on the ultra-tough Heroic mode, meant to be taken on by the toughest challengers with the most powerful decks. 

Even if you've got a solid collection of Legendaries, it will probably take some clever deck editing to take down the bosses. We've battled our way through each of the bosses on Heroic, so check out our strategies below, and share your own in Chatty. Remember to set your decks as Wild when you're in the Collection Manager, since Wild decks can be used in Adventure and it opens up your options!

This week, the Spire: Shade of Aran, Netherspite, Nazra Wildaxe and Prince Malchezaar.

Shade of Aran 

Ley Lines (Passive): Both players have Spell Damage +5.

Shade of Aran is the easiest of this week's bosses, since his passive hero power boosts your spells too. Any class with heavy damage-dealing spells can do, but we recommend Mage since it has the greatest variety, along with Ice Block for survivability.

Don't worry about packing many minions in your deck unless they'll have an immediate board impact, because his power means that even low-powered spells will make for easy board wipes. Instead, hit his face with spells as much as possible. Even relatively low-cost ones like Frost Bolt and Ice Lance can do some serious damage. 

Recommended Class: Mage
Recommended Cards: Ice Block, Frost Bolt, Fireball

Netherspite 

Nether Rage: Give your hero +8 Attack this turn.

Netherspite is a tough boss, especially if you give him unimpeded access to the portals that give him extra power. One grants him windfury, while the other gives him an armor effect that reduces all damage to one. Placing minions next to these portals gives them the power instead, but it also makes them a target. 

It's very hard to survive his attacks for long, and he has enough removal to take care of minions with taunt and then go right back to hitting your face. Instead, make an effort to freeze him out entirely. Pack your deck full of freezing spells like Ice Lance, Frost Bolt, and minions like Water Elemental. Those should be enough to keep him frozen most of the time, and packing taunt minions like Annoy-o-Tron and Sludge Belcher will give you extra use out of the armored side. This is a strategy that really needs you to draw in the right order, 

Recommended Class: Mage
Recommended Cards: Ice Lance, Water Elemental, Annoy-o-Tron

Nazra Wildaxe 

The Horde: Summon a 3/3 Orc with Charge

The final battle is a two-parter, starting with Nazra Wildaxe. She's basically a super-aggressive rush deck, with low health. To survive both this battle and the next, you need heavy control class that can segue into heavy damage very quickly, and for that, we recommend a fairly standard ladder version of the Murloc Paladin. 

In the early game, just try to survive and take out her minions. You can trade your Bluegill Warriors and Murloc Warleaders at this stage, because it will help prepare for your combo later. You'll also want to pack Truesilver Champion for removal with the slight healing benefit, and any other heavy healing you can manage like Antique Healbot. Once you've gained board control and your health is comfortably stable, finish her off to trigger the second part. But be careful: as soon as it begins your previous board state will be destroyed, but you don't redraw your deck.

Prince Malchezaar 

Legion: Summon two 6/6 Abysmals.

With such a strong hero power, it's difficult to survive against Malchezaar for long. This is why it's important to have stabilized first. Tirion Fordring can help slow him down, but not for very long. If you've traded in your Murlocs, now is the time to break out your Anyfin Can Happen. Ideally, you'll be able to use it while you have Medivh's staff equipped, so it can summon a random 10-mana minion. Hit his face quickly, then kill off your murlocs and do it again. The longer this battle goes the lower your chances of survival, so it's important to have done the prep work with Nazra. 

Recommended Class: Paladin
Recommended Cards: Bluegill Warrior, Murloc Warleader, Antique Healbot, Tirion Fordring, Anyfin Can Happen