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Know Your Lore: The fascinating implications of the WoW TCG
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how, but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. The Cataclysm expansion set out to do what prior expansions tried to do, and improve upon it in a significant way -- significantly inject lore into gameplay. And to some degree it worked; players found themselves working their way through zones both new and old by taking part in an interactive story. In between, we had short stories and novels that tied directly into that gameplay, weaving each part of the Warcraft franchise together into a solid storytelling tool. But it also had its flaws. Storytelling in zones was fantastic upon first playthrough, repetitive upon repeated play. The story of Cataclysm was so widespread that it didn't seem to have the kind of dramatic impact it was intended to have. And Cataclysm introduced so many loose threads of story that trying to pick a clear resolution out of the tale was difficult, to say the very least. And then we have the ending, signifying the dawning of the "Age of Mortals" with no clear definition as to what that really meant. We've got a little more definition now, and it's from an incredibly unlikely source, the last part of the franchise that didn't seem to have any significant lore tie-ins at all: the WoW Trading Card Game. Please note: Today's Know Your Lore contains some minor spoilers for Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War. If you're looking to avoid all spoilers, you may want to come back when you're done with the book!
WoW TCG's Timewalkers: War of the Ancients coming October 2
Set 19 of the WoW TCG, releasing next month, will take players back to one of the momentous events in Warcraft history: the War of the Ancients. The set will feature heroes from the era, including Queen Azshara, Malfurion Stormrage, and the novel fan-favorite Broxigar the Red, all as playable characters. This isn't restricted to your favorite humanoids, either. The ancients themselves, such as Malorne pictured in our exclusive art preview seen to the right, will be making their presence known in the upcoming TCG set. If, due to the nature of the War of the Ancients, you're afraid this set will place restrictions on the races playable in the set, worry not. You will be joining a faction of adventurers known as the Timewalkers, heroes who have traveled to the era of the Ancients via the Caverns of Time. Orcs and humans will be represented alongside the elves and tauren of yore. If you're the loot-hunting type, War of the Ancients will provide with the common Eye of the Legion, uncommon Demon Hunter's Aspect, and rare Feldrake mount, which were discovered in the World of Warcraft game files as far back as patch 4.3.2. Timewalkers: War of the Ancients releases nationwide October 2, 2012, at a retailer near you. Keep an eye on the official WoW TCG website, as they'll be starting their own previews beginning next week.
