Hidden Hearthstone Dragons with unusual stories behind them

There are characters in Hearthstone who are more than meets the eye. In fact, some of them are actually hidden Hearthstone dragons who have a rich history within the World of Warcraft universe.

As players anticipate the launch of Hearthstone Mercenaries, some players may notice familiar faces in the Mercenaries cinematic trailer. It starts off with Kazakus and Lady Prestor plotting together and singing about hiring mercenaries and paying bounties. However, there is more to Lady Prestor than you might think.

Although Lady Prestor is known as a Legendary minion and an alternative hero skin for the Mage class, she’s more than meets the eye. In the World of Warcraft universe, Lady Prestor is actually a dragon named Onyxia.

In the old comic books, Onyxia disguised herself as a noblewoman and infiltrated Stormwind City. Through her machinations, Varian, the former King of Stormwind, lost his memories and was split into two separate characters. One of them ended up fighting in an arena alongside Valeera Sangrina and Broll Bearmantle. During that time, this half of Varian was known as Lo’Gosh.

This gave Onyxia the chance to be a council member to the young Anduin Wrynn, who is Varian’s son. It also allowed the dragon to manipulate the other half of Varian. After both Lo’Gosh and Varian discovered the true identity of Lady Prestor, they merged back together as one character and defeated her with the also newly-merged Shalamayne.

In Hearthstone, the Lady Prestor minion transformers other minions in a player’s deck into random dragons. Meanwhile, the Lady Katrana Prestor portrait can replace Jaina.

As for Wrathion, he is a Legendary card from Hearthstone’s Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion. He has Taunt alongside a Battlecry that can draw cards.

Like Onyxia, Wrathion is another dragon who hails from the World of Warcraft universe. He is the son of Deathwing, but hopes that won’t be held against him. During World of Warcraft’s the Mists of Pandaria expansion, he became friends with Anduin while working with both Alliance and Horde champions.

Wrathion wanted to protect Azeroth and was at times ruthless in this endeavor. He wanted to take down the fearsome Garrosh Hellscream, who was the Warchief of the Horde at that time. Although the Siege of Orgrimmar didn’t go as Wrathion had wanted, the dragon continued to do what he believed was right.

During Garrosh’s trial in Pandaria, Wrathion continued his friendship with Anduin. He promised that when he’s a little older, he would take Stormwind’s prince on adventures “that will age your father ten years in one night.”

Later, the trust between Wrathion and Anduin was shattered when the dragon helped Kairoz, a dragon from the infinite dragonflight, free Garrosh and send the orc back in time. Wrathion believed that his actions will help prepare Azeroth to fight against the Legion. Wrathion met up with Anduin again during the Battle for Azeroth expansion. World of Warcraft champions also helped Wrathion save Azeroth by defeating N'Zoth, an Old God.

Despite being a dragon, Hearthstone doesn’t give Wrathion the dragon minion type designation. This is because the artwork for his card shows him in his human form. According to former Hearthstone Game Director Ben Brode, the developers wanted to synchronize the visuals and game mechanics.

In Hearthstone, Chromie is a neutral minion card that players can access in Arena mode. She appears as a gnome and she can also be found within the Galakrond's Awakening adventure as a Mage hero. But in World of Warcraft, she is a member of the bronze dragonflight. This particular dragonflight can time travel.

During Garrosh’s trial in Pandaria, Chromie worked in the court alongside prosecutor Tyrande Whisperwind. Another dragon, Kairoz, helped defender Baine Bloodhoof. The two dragons used the power of an hourglass to present the audience with memories from both sides.

When Kairoz took Garrosh to Draenor before the trial was over, Chromie was devastated and unsure of the future. Chromie later tracked down Kairoz and defeated his spirit with the help of Azeroth’s adventurers.

Chromie’s abilities also let her see that someone was messing with the timeline and trying to destroy her during Legion. She can travel to the past and future, giving her and Azeroth’s protectors an advantage when required.

Deathwing may be an alternate hero for the Warrior class in Hearthstone, but as a dragon, he’s also widely known as a card that causes destruction to the entire board. He’s no different in the World of Warcraft universe after the Old Gods corrupted him. Prior to that, he was known as Neltharion the Earth-Warder.

Deathwing once disguised himself as a human in an attempt to destroy the Alliance. In this form, he called himself Lord Daval Prestor. His machinations involved pitting Alliance kingdoms against the Kirin Tor, which is a council of Azeroth’s most powerful mages. 

When the whispers of the Old Gods got worse over the years, Deathwing became more powerful. He awoke from a slumber and tore open a rift that threatened all of Azeroth. This event, known as the Cataclysm or the Shattering, resulted in floods, earthquakes and volcano eruptions. However, the heroes of Azeroth united and ended his reign. 

From the well-known Deathwing to other dragons in disguise like Onyxia, Wrathion and Chromie, Hearthstone is rich with World of Warcraft references. All players have to do is look a bit more closely.