How to beat Icarax, Plague Lord of Wrath

The League of E.V.I.L. continue their strange and wicked machincations in the deserts of Uldum. What are they planning? Nobody really knows, but whatever they're planning, it involves freeing the four Plague Lords of Uldum. It'll take the combined might of the League of Explorers to contain the powerful Plague Lords, but they won't be easy to defeat. For single-player Hearthstone veterans, they'll act as one of their biggest challenges to date.

Fortunately, Shacknews has already thrown down with the Plague Lords and can assist with their defeat. Here are a few things to remember before heading into your big fight with the Plague Lords:

Plague Lords start with 300 Health, but if you are defeated, they will retain their current HP total. Wear them down over time, if necessary.
The Plague Lords will switch phases and Hero Powers after every 100 Health. Your strategies may need to change to account for their new abilities.
DO NOT look to Fatigue the Plague Lords. Once they change phases, they will receive new cards. You, on the other hand, will not, so don't play a control game and accidentally Fatigue yourself.
The treasures and cards you pick up over the course of your playthrough will vary. You may not be able to follow the advice of this guide to the letter, but you may get lucky and find a superior strategy to our own.

How to beat Icarax, Plague Lord of Wrath - Hearthstone

PHASE 1
(1) Commanding Scream
Hero Power
Your minions can't be reduced below 1 Health this turn.

Icarax will try and overwhelm you with numbers early. His Hero Power is essentially a discounted Commanding Shout, which will open the door for him to send out Rush minions that can't die. That could be trouble if you let that get out of control, especially given this chapter's Twist of giving minions +1 Attack whenever they take damage.

If you can help it at all, there are some Treasures that are going to help you through this battle easily. If you can use Disks of Legend to summon double Legendaries, you might be able to keep up with Icarax's numbers. And if you flash back to the battle against Vesh, Plague Lord of Murlocs, you'll recall that Amakir the Light was a big help in that battle, thanks to the free healing spells he offered. If you combine Amakir with Disks of Legend, you should have more than enough healing spells to keep you and your minions standing over whatever Icarax can bring out.

Your other top strategy will involve bringing out Rush and Charge minions by the plenty to either trade or to keep the board under control. Icarax won't have too many board clears until the next phase. Darius Crowley, Akali, the Rhino, and Oondasta are all excellent choices for this fight, especially when combined with Disks of Legend.

If you can maintain control of the board, you should have no trouble reaching the next phase.

PHASE 2
(2) Wrath Smash
Hero Power
Destroy a damaged minion. Costs (1) more for each damaged minion.

PHASE 2 (Heroic)
(0) Wrath Smash
Hero Power
Destroy a damaged minion. Costs (1) more for each damaged minion.

For his next trick, Icarax's Hero Power becomes Execute. And he has plenty of ways to damage your minions. If you thought you had the numbers advantage from the last phase, don't get used to it. Icarax will draw Brawl early on and wipe out your board, sending you back to the drawing board.

If you've racked up Legendaries, keep throwing them down to get your numbers back up. You'll need them to keep up with Icarax's deck, which now includes The Boomship and several Reborn minions. Armagedillo can also be a pest, so get rid of it as soon as you can.

You do have something going for you here and it's that Icarax will often exhaust his hand with no real way to refill it. Wipe his minions from the board to minimize the effect of Battle Rage. If you can keep his hand small or even empty, you'll have a decided advantage. It won't last long, though, as you head into Phase 3.

PHASE 3
(0) Hand of Defiance
Hero Power
Swap the Attack and Health of a minion.

Icarax's last trick is making his Hero Power into Topsy Turvy. He'll use it to minimize the power of your minions, but more importantly he'll use it to boost the power of his own. And just like last time, if you have a full board, expect his first play to be Brawl to clear it out. Have a good follow-up play at the ready, because things are about to get hairy.

Icarax will now have a full hand and he'll waste no time deploying The Boomship again. Only now, he has a slew of Legendaries at the ready, like Grommash Hellscream, King Mosh, and Akali, the Rhino. If you can withstand this flurry of minions, call forth the last of your Legendaries to get the numbers back on your side again. Keep going face and you should have Icarax seeing red in no time.

Best of luck with the Plague Lords over the course of this adventure. Keep it on Shacknews, because there's only one fight remaining and we'll have advice on that one shortly. Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum and the Tombs of Terror adventure are available now.