The best heroes to play if you want to win your Hearthstone games with the new Excavate keyword.
The latest Hearthstone expansion, Showdown in the Badlands, revealed a brand new keyword: Excavate. To help you win your games and build the best Hearthstone deck, here is a guide on how to use the new Excavate keyword in Hearthstone.
How Does the Excavate Keyword Work in Hearthstone?
Excavate: Dig for increasingly rarer treasures. Resets after the highest rarity.
The new Excavate keyword is a brand new mechanic in Hearthstone. Each time you trigger the Excavate keyword, you get a treasure with an increased rarity. The first time you Excavate a treasure, you will get a common 1-mana treasure among five available. The second Excavate grants a Rare 2-mana card with better rewards, with the highest level being Epic 3-mana cost treasures. Once you reach this third tier of Excavate card, the rarity resets back to 1-mana cost treasures.
Only five classes have access to a higher tier of Excavate treasures: Death Knight, Mage, Rogue, Warlock, and Warrior. Each one of these classes has a specific 4-mana treasure that gives a Legendary minion with a powerful Battlecry.
The new Excavate keyword in Hearthstone is an easy way to access powerful rewards and get a step ahead of your opponents.
Best Cards With the Excavate Keyword in Hearthstone
Showdown in the Badlands, the latest Hearthstone expansion, introduced a variety of new cards. Most of the Excavate minions are exclusive to a specific class, with only three neutral cards that all classes can pick. The Kobold Miner and Burrow Buster both offer to Excavate a treasure as their Battlecry, giving players a chance to get a powerful spell at a reduced mana cost. The third card available to all classes is the Bounty Board, which makes your Excavate, Quickdraw, Tradeable, and Legendary cards cost one less mana.
Death Knight Excavate Cards
Death Knights get free minions with the new Excavate cards introduced with the release of Hearthstone’s expansion Showdown in the Badlands. One of them is a minion which comes back to life once after you Excavate, another gives you a free treasure, while the Legendary Harrowing Ox reduces the mana cost of the next card you play this turn by 7 if you’ve Excavated twice.
- Piles of Bones (2 mana -2/1): Deathrattle: The next time you Excavate, resummon this.
- Reap What You Sow (3 mana): Deal 3 damage. Excavate a treasure.
- Skeleton Crew (4 mana – 3/3): Battlecry: Excavate a treasure. It costs (0).
- Harrowing Ox (7 mana – 7/7): Taunt. Battlecry: If you’ve Excavated twice, your next card this turn costs (7) less.
Mage Excavate Cards
The class-specific Excavate cards for Mages aim to control the rhythm of the game and prevent enemy minions from killing you before you can ramp up and play your late-game cards.
- Cryopreservation (2 mana): Freeze an enemy. Excavate a treasure.
- Reliquary Researcher (4 mana – 3/5): Battlecry: If you’ve Excavated twice, cast two random Mage Secrets.
- Blastmage Miner (6 mana – 4/4): Battlecry: Excavate a treasure. For each card in your hand, deal 1 damage to a random enemy.
Rogue Excavate Cards
Playing with Excavate cards as a Rogue can prove deadly with Antique Flinger, a minion whose Battlecry destroys an enemy minion if you’ve Excavated twice. Considering that Drilly the Kid can Excavate three times, this combo allows you to counter a powerful enemy minion while benefiting from increasingly powerful treasures.
- Bloodrock Co. Shovel (1 mana weapon 1/3): Deathrattle: Excavate a treasure.
- Antique Flinger (4 mana – 5/4): Battlecry: If you’ve Excavated twice, destroy an enemy minion.
- Drilly the Kid (4 mana – 4/3): Battlecry, Quickdraw and Deathrattle: Excavate a treasure.
Warlock Excavate Cards
Warlocks get three Excavate cards, including a Legendary minion that summons six 3/3 Tram Cars with Rush to clear the enemy board and win the game.
- Smokestack (1 mana): Deal 1 damage to a minion. Excavate a treasure.
- Mo’arg Drillfist (4 mana – 4/5): Taunt. Deathrattle: Excavate a treasure.
- Tram Conductor Gerry (7 mana – 4/4): Battlecry: If you’ve Excavated twice, summon six 3/3 Tram Cars with Rush.
Warrior Excavate Cards
The Showdown in the Badlands Hearthstone expansion brings powerful cards for Warriors, including a Legendary minion that can wreak havoc if properly combined with Excavate cards.
- Blast Charge (3 mana): Destroy a damaged enemy minion. Excavate a treasure.
- Reinforced Plating (3 mana): Gain 6 armor. Excavate a treasure.
- Slagmaw the Slumbering (4 mana – 16/16): Rush, Taunt. Dormant for 8 turns. (Excavate to awaken 2 turns sooner!)
- Badlands Brawler (7 mana – 4/4) Battlecry: Start a Brawl! If you’ve Excavated twice, this always wins.