Hearthstone-themed Cryptic Crossword

If you like solving crosswords, then you may be interested in the Murlocryptic Crosswhrlgrl - a fully-set cryptic crossword themed around Hearthstone!

You can solve it HERE (hosted on Crosshare)

What does it mean to be Hearthstone-themed? Well, Hearthstone is referenced in the clues, and sometimes, game knowledge is required to connect the clue to the answer. Furthermore, every answer is either:

• the full name of a collectible Hearthstone card
• a word from a collectible Hearthstone card's name (which may include generic words, so beware)
• a common word in the Hearthstone lexicon: classes, keywords, rarities, card types... This may be useful to know as it's not so straightforward to find the answer in a Cryptic Crossword!

So... what exactly makes a crossword cryptic? In a cryptic crossword, clues aren't direct 1:1 definitions of the answer you're supposed to fill in. Instead, they most often consist of two parts: the definition itself (that you'd find in a regular crossword), and a "wordplay" part that tells you how to get the correct sequence of letters that is the answer in a roundabout, punny way. The trick is, you don't actually know which part of the answer is which, or even where the split between them is! Let's take a look at an example:

Concealing Zealot intimidates a Druid. (4)

The answer to this clue is >!LOTI!<. Why? >!The definition is "a Druid", "Concealing" tells us that "Zealot intimidates" is hiding something, and, if you look closely, you'll find the concealed Archdruid: Zealot intimidates.!<

There are many established types of wordplay that I can't but recommend to read up on and then find in the crossword even if you have to use Crosshare's tools to fill it in for you. For a handy intro, there is TFE's Murlocryptic guide, conveniently also themed around Hearthstone.

Whether you eat cryptics for breakfast or are just seeing the for the first time, I wish you a happy solve!