The Murder at Castle Nathria expansion will release on August 2nd, but before then, it’s time to theorycraft!

Hearthstone players have celebrated the upcoming Murder at Castle Nathria expansion with theorycrafting livestreams and giveaways. Take a look at some of the highlights from across the Hearthstone community:

Murder at Castle Nathria Decks and Shenanigans 

Members of the Hearthstone community, including Wild players like Zeddy and Theo, went live on Twitch to experiment with Murder at Castle Nathria cards on July 21st. Some of these channels also had Murder at Castle Nathria Mega Bundle giveaways, with winners receiving codes ahead of the expansion’s August 2nd launch date. 

In addition to featuring his cat, Nova, Zeddy showcased a Wild Beast Hunter deck and went over the Enraged Warrior plus Imp Warlock ones. 

The Imp Warlock deck, in particular, leveraged cards such as the Mischievous Imp minion alongside its Infuse keyword, Imp King Rafaam, the classic Imp Gang Boss, Flustered Librarian and the Location card called Vile Library. Meanwhile, Enraged Warrior included cards such as Sanguine Depths, Acolyte of Pain and Grommash Hellscream. 

Murder at Castle Nathria theorycrafting gameplay screenshot featuring the Imp Warlock deck. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Murder at Castle Nathria theorycrafting gameplay screenshot featuring the Imp Warlock deck. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.

BabyBear was one of the Standard theorycrafting streamers, and one of the decks she played was Totem Shaman. This deck made the most out of cards like Anchored Totem and Flametongue Totem for board control. It also had the new Sinstone Totem minion, which gained health at the end of the player’s turn. 

The Sinstone Totem minion from the <a href="https://esports.gg/news/hearthstone/hearthstones-rewards-track-rcastle-nathria-expansion/">Murder at Castle Nathria expansion</a>. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
The Sinstone Totem minion from the Murder at Castle Nathria expansion. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
The Stonewright Legendary can also give Totem Shaman an edge. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
The Stonewright Legendary can also give Totem Shaman an edge. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.

Meanwhile, Trump experimented with Murloc Holmes in his Identity Theft Priest deck. When played on the board, Murloc Holmes prompted him to solve three clues about his opponent’s deck to get a copy of them. Trump not only selected the mulligan card correctly, but also a card in his opponent’s hand and a card from their deck. This awarded Trump with the Anchored Totem minion plus two Schooling spells. 

Trump played Murloc Holmes and guessed all the cards correctly. Image via Trump and Blizzard Entertainment.
Trump played Murloc Holmes and guessed all the cards correctly. Image via Trump and Blizzard Entertainment.

Infuse Keyword and Location Card Type

Thijs also went live on Twitch, testing out the Nightcloak Sanctum card and freezing minions while summoning Volatile Skeletons. As a Location card, Nightcloak Sanctum lost one durability with each activation. Each Volatile Skeleton dealt damage to a random enemy upon Deathrattle. 

The strategy for this Skeleton Mage deck was to summon enough skeletons so that Kel'Thuzad, the Inevitable will deal massive damage when played in the late game. The new Kel’thuzad card resurrects a player’s Volatile Skeletons, and any that cannot fit on the board would instantly explode.

Thijs playing Skeleton Mage and showcasing the Nightcloak Sanctum card. Image via Thijs and Blizzard Entertainment.
Thijs playing Skeleton Mage and showcasing the Nightcloak Sanctum card. Image via Thijs and Blizzard Entertainment.

Thijs made use of the Infuse keyword as well when he showcased his Infuse Seed Hunter deck. Cards such as Frenzied Fangs and Huntsman Altimor got upgraded in the player’s hand after the death of friendly minions. Meanwhile, thanks to cards such as Wild Spirits and Ara'lon, Thijs summoned Dormant Wildseeds for high-synergy gameplay. 

Wild Spirits card from Hearthstone's Murder at Castle Nathria expansion. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
Wild Spirits card from Hearthstone's Murder at Castle Nathria expansion. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
The Ara'lon Hunter Legendary from Hearthstone's <a href="https://esports.gg/guides/hearthstone/create-fireside-open-murder-at-castle-nathria-hearthstone-packs/">Murder at Castle Nathria expansion</a>. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.
The Ara'lon Hunter Legendary from Hearthstone's Murder at Castle Nathria expansion. Image via Blizzard Entertainment.

The Hearthstone category on Twitch was active for hours as invited Hearthstone community members tested out their Murder at Castle Nathria decks while viewers visited streams to support their favorite players. Viewers also had the opportunity to earn card packs by watching the theorycrafting action.


That’s all for the theorycrafting event! The Murder at Castle Nathria launch date is scheduled for August 2nd. For more Hearthstone content, stay tuned on Esports.gg for news and updates.