Everything to know about the new Death Knight class in Hearthstone

The Death Knight class is making its debut in Hearthstone’s March of the Lich King expansion. Here are the details about the new class ahead of the March of the Lich King release on Dec. 6.

Death Knight class in Hearthstone

The new Death Knight class refers to a new type of hero for players in Hearthstone. It debuts alongside the March of the Lich King expansion.

Ghoul Charge is the Death Knight’s hero power, allowing a player to summon a 1/1 Ghoul with Charge for two mana. The Ghoul dies at the end of the player’s turn.

Ghoul Charge hero power and Corpse mechanic

That Ghoul then becomes a Corpse resource for the Death Knight player. Corpses are a class mechanic that lets a Death Knight player gain a Corpse whenever a friendly minion dies.

These Corpses can be used to power up some of a Hearthstone player’s cards such as the Corpse Explosion spell. Corpses can be left behind by minions that one plays, minions summoned with other cards and minions that get resummoned via the returning Reborn keyword.

As for keeping track of Corpses, there is a counter for them located underneath a Death Knight player’s mana bar.

While raising Corpses as minions with cards like Army of the Dead or Battlefield Necromancer, for example, those Risen minions won’t result in Corpses after their defeat. Hearthstone Game Designer Edward “Gallon” Goodwin and Hearthstone Features Lead Chadd “Celestalon” Nervig explained on Twitter.

Death Knights will commonly raise Corpses as new minions. But no double-dipping, "Risen" minions turn to dust when they die. https://t.co/dzWMVbjfii pic.twitter.com/7DcxteYjjj

— Celestalon (@Celestalon) November 1, 2022

How Runes work in Hearthstone

The Death Knight class also has a unique deckbuilding system involving Blood, Frost and Unholy Runes. These Runes can be spotted around the mana cost area of certain Death Knight cards. While Blood Runes are the color red, Frost Runes are represented by the color blue. Meanwhile, Unholy Runes are the color green.

Each type of Rune also has its own specialization, with Blood Runes typically having board control effects, life total manipulation, and big minions. Meanwhile, Frost Runes involve spell synergies, mana manipulation, card draw, Freeze effects and damage. As for Unholy Runes, they can help flood the board with minions. These minions are typically of the Undead variety, which are a new minion type arriving in March of the Lich King.

March of the Lich King release date

The March of the Lich King launch date is Dec. 6, according to Blizzard. Until then, Hearthstone fans can look forward to a bunch of card reveals and keep track of them via the game’s online library.

Hearthstone players can also experience the return of Knights of the Frozen Throne starting on Nov. 1. Cards for this old expansion are in the Standard game mode on a temporary basis. Knights of the Frozen Throne cards are also free to players as part of the Core Set until the launch of March of the Lich King.