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Hearthstone is a game that is ever-expanding, and ever-changing. Everything from the available cards in Standard, to the cards found in the Base Set, seem to change on the regular, and whilst this can stretch the wallet, it is ultimately good for the long-term health of the game. It has been around for nearly a decade, after all.

Related:Hearthstone: The Most Played Cards In Standard

The Murder At Castle Nathria expansion brought all manner of interesting cards and mechanics to the fray, with Infuse and Locations being the big draws. Today we are going to go over Locations, but if you want some tips on Infuse, we have a guide for that too. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

What Are Locations

Hearthstone Nightcloak Sanctum

Locations are a new card type that joins the ranks of Minions and Spells (etc.). They are summoned to the battlefield like any other card, however, they come with a bunch of unique interactions and rules that make them stand out from the pack (or deck).

Locations cannot be targeted, damaged, or attacked in any way, making them near-permanent inclusions to your board. They do, however, have a Durability stat similar to Weapons. Locations are powerful boons to your side that grant a variety of effects in exchange for their Durability. Once a Location runs out of Durability, they are destroyed.

Locations cost Mana to play, but once they are set up, they are free to use. Their effects can be activated the turn they are summoned, but unlike most cards, they cannot act on the turn after their last activation. This basically means their powers can be used every other turn. Important to note that you have the choice to activate their ability - it’s not automatic.

Each Class’s Locations

Hearthstone Cathedral Of Atonement

Every Class has access to ONE Location, and not all Locations are made equal.

Class

Location

Effect

Demon Hunter

Relic Vault

The next Relic you play this turn casts twice.

Druid

Hedge Maze

Trigger a friendly minion’s Deathrattle.

Hunter

Castle Kennels

Give a friendly minion +2 Attack. If it’s a Beast, give it Rush.

Mage

Nightcloak Sanctum

Freeze a minion. Summon a 2/2 Volatile Skeleton

Paladin

Great Hall

Set a minion’s Attack and Health to 3.

Priest

Cathedral Of Atonement

Give a minion +2/+1 and draw a card.

Rogue

Sinstone Graveyard

Summon a 1/1 Stealthed Ghost. This Ghost gains +1/+1 for each other card played this turn.

Shaman

Muck Pools

Transform a friendly minion into one that costs (1) more

Warlock

Vile Library

Give a friendly minion +1/+1 for each Imp you control

Warrior

Sanguine Depths

Deal 1 damage to a minion and give it +2 Attack.

As you can see, cards like the Cathedral Of Atonement and Hedge Maze can be pretty darn amazing, granting powerful effects like Draw. Other cards like, say, Sinstone Graveyard, whilst powerful, have the potential to be rather slow and are incredibly hand-reliant if you want to get any value out of it at all.

Tips For Using Locations

Hearthstone Standard Nightcloak Sanctum Freeze

We mentioned that Locations cannot be targeted, attacked, or damaged by regular means. This is true, but there is actually more to it than that. Because Locations exist on the board like a Minion, they take up one of your available summon slots. You can use Locations to block enemies from using Adjacent effects. For example, Shooting Star. Just make sure to place your minions on opposite sides of the Location.

Since Locations are a unique card type, many cards simply don’t affect them. Powerful board clearing Spells like Twisting Nether, for example, will not remove a Location as it specifies Minion. AOE Spells like Blizzard won’t harm your location, etc.

Downsides To Locations

Hearthstone Standard Sinstone Graveyard stealthed ghost

Locations do come with some downsides. For example, they are not completely immune to destruction. Demolition Renovator for example destroys Locations instantly, which can be a bit of a pain to deal with if you had plans for that fancy new card.

In addition, not all classes have great Locations. Some Locations are simply not worth bringing, and not all Locations (even the good ones) are worth using in every deck. Not only that, Locations can be pretty slow depending on the Location in question, potentially losing your vital tempo advantage.

Next: Hearthstone: What Is The Wild Format?