Update: Three new Neutral and two new Legendary Class treasures have been added in the Delve into Deepholm mini-set.
Showdown in the Badlands expansion was released on November 14. The set introduces two main new mechanics – Quickdraw and Excavate. While Quickdraw is very simple and easy to understand, the second one – Excavate – is a tiny bit more complex. That’s why in order to make things clear, we’ve prepared this guide. I hope that I will be able to explain it quite clearly. Let’s get to it.
The simplest card using this mechanic is Kobold Miner. It reads “Battlecry: Excavate a treasure.”. Let’s start with what happens in every class whenever you Excavate a treasure.
- The first time you Excavate in a given game, you get a random 1 mana treasure (Common). There are 6 options in total.
- The second time you Excavate, you get a random 2 mana treasure (Rare). There are 6 options.
- The third time you Excavate, you get a random 3 mana treasure (Epic). There are 6 options.
You can find a full list of Treasures below, but for now, all you need to know is that they have a high power level for their mana cost (e.g. a 1 mana spell that adds 2 Coins to your hand, or a 3 mana spell dealing 3 damage to all enemies).
What happens next depends on your class. In 4 out of 11 classes (let’s call them non-excavate classes), you simply repeat the cycle. Fourth excavate gives you a 1 mana treasure, fifth a 2 mana treasure, and so on (1-2-3, 1-2-3). Non-excavate classes are Demon Hunter, Druid, Hunter, and Priest. Those can still take advantage of Excavate cards e.g. when randomly generated, but they probably shouldn’t focus on this mechanic.
As you’ve probably guessed, the other 7 classes specialize in Excavate and get an extra step. Excavate classes are Death Knight, Mage, Paladin, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior. Instead of repeating the cycle after the third treasure, they get a special, powerful 4 mana Legendary treasure. This one isn’t random – every class has a unique Treasure only they can get. Then, after the fourth excavation, the cycle starts over just like with non-excavate classes. So your fifth will give you a 1 mana treasure, sixth a 2 mana treasure, and so on (1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4). Those Legendary treasures are generally powerful enough to build decks around – and we’ve already seen many successful Excavate decks.
Below, you can find a full list of Excavate Treasures + all of the currently revealed Excavate cards and their synergies.
1 Mana Tresures (Common)
2 Mana Treasures (Rare)
3 Mana Treasures (Epic)
4 Mana Treasures (Legendary)
All of the Legendary Excavate treasures have been revealed. Here’s how they look:
