Twinspell Explained (Hearthstone)

Featured Image for Twinspell Article (Pictures of 10 Twinspell Cards)

What is Twinspell?

Twinspell is a keyword ability in Hearthstone that was introduced with the Rise of Shadows expansion in 2019. Twinspell cards are all spells that add a copy of the spell (without twinspell) to your hand when cast. Eight twinspell cards were released initially, and since then, three additional twinspell cards have been released.

List of Twinspell Cards

Card Name Expansion Class Card Text
Air Raid Galakrond’s Awakening Paladin Twinspell
Summon two 1/1 Silver Hand Recruits with Taunt
Blessing of the Ancients Rise of Shadows Druid Twinspell
Gives your minions +1/+1
Conjurer’s Calling Rise of Shadows Mage Twinspell
Destroy a minion. Summon two copies of the same cost to replace it.
Desperate Measures Rise of Shadows Paladin Twinspell
Cast a random paladin secret.
Fresh Scent Galakrond’s Awakening Hunter Twinspell
Give a beast +2/+2
Lightforged Blessing Rise of Shadows Paladin Twinspell
Give a friendly minion lifesteal
Rapid Fire Rise of Shadows Hunter Twinspell
Deal 1 damage.
Ray of Frost Rise of Shadows Mage Twinspell
Freeze a minion. If it’s already frozen, deal 2 damage to it.
Rising Winds Galakrond’s Awakening Druid Twinspell
Choose One – Draw a card; or summon a 3/2 eagle.
The Forest’s Aid Rise of Shadows Druid Twinspell
Summon five 2/2 treants.
Unleash the Beast Rise of Shadows Hunter Twinspell
Summon a 5/5 wyvern with Rush.

Which Twinspell Cards are Found in Ladder or Tournament Winning Decks?

Most of the twinspell cards have appeared in successful decks since the keyword was created. The only twinspell cards that have not seen success (even if niche success in a specific deck construction like Highlander decks) are Desperate Measures, Fresh Scent, and Lightforged Blessing. Rapid Fire sometimes appears in highlander decks, but I don’t personally consider it worth running.

Air Raid

Air Raid currently appears in Libram Paladin. It allows Paladin to quickly get on board with a minion, which can then become a target for the buffs (the linked article runs 9 buffs) the deck runs.

Blessing of the Ancients

Blessing of the Ancients had shown up infrequently prior to the Schoolmance Academy expansion. That expansion’s release, though, brought the card Gibberling and an associated deck that looks to flood the board in the first couple turns with small minions. And then uses mass buffs like Blessing of the Ancients to make them more formidable.

Example:

Conjurer’s Calling

Conjurer’s Calling is actually of my favorite cards. This could be because Alliestrasza is one two streamers (Kibler being the other) I tend to watch, and she’s often playing mage. Conjurer’s Calling allows mage decks to run high-value minions (e.g., Jandice Barov, Dragoncaster, Kalecgos), and then cash them in for two minions that are most likely going to have better stats. And sometimes immediately impact the board (via taunt or rush).

Example:

Ray of Frost

I will admit that I initially underestimated Ray of Frost by a good margin. I understood it’s ability to stall, but I did not understand how important that is until I started playing more Mage decks in standard. Doomsayer + Ray can potentially rid yourself of pesky minion. Double Ray of Frost can stall hunter long enough to get to your swing cards. Or it can be used for tempo in speedier Mage decks. And now with the emphasis on spell damage in Schoolmance Academy, it is relatively easy to even buff the 2 damage to take down higher toughness minions.

Two decks to consider: Small Spell Mage and Highlander Mage.

Rising Winds

Rising Winds is most commonly founds in Spell Druid decks right now. I don’t play much Druid, so I’m not exactly qualified to make this judgment. But in looking at hsreplay.net data for Spell Druid, Rising Winds is near the bottom for both drawn win rate and played win rate (bottom 4 for each). In my experience some cards are “glue” cards. They don’t do much and are not instrumental in winning, but they are good for keeping you on board. Or for finding an answer. Or both in Rising Winds case (thanks Choose One, a useful Druid keyword).

The Forest’s Aid

Another Druid twinspell card. Another appearance in Spell Druid. And another “perhaps there’s a better card” shoulder-shrug. This one shows up as the worst-performing card when played. A more experienced Druid player could perhaps unpack this better, but as someone who has played against druid in the diamond ranks, this card is not one I’m ever worried about. Depending on the deck I am playing, the wide board either does not worry me or I already have the game won before this card can be played (or effectively used). Or would lose no matter.

Unleash the Beast

I include Unleash the Beast in the tournament/ladder section perhaps a bit out of nostalgia. It does appear sometimes in Hunter Highlander decks, but this was a useful card in the Hunter Rush decks that played both Unseal the Vault (quest: summon 20 minions) and Clear the Way (sidequest: summon 3 rush minions) prior to the Schoolmance Academy expansion.

Common Questions about Twinspell

How is twinspell different than echo?
Twinspell Echo
Generated card disappears at end of turn? No Yes
Do “cast spell” effects replicate card? Yes No
How do cost modifications impact twinspell cards?

Cards like Incanter’s Flow can reduce the cost of spells in your deck. Unfortunately, the twin-spelled version of the spell will not retain the cost discount. In other words, playing Incanter’s Flow will reduce the cost of a Conjurer’s Calling in your deck by 1 mana (now 3 instead of 4). Once you draw and play Conjurer’s Calling, the duplicate copy (sans twinspell) will cost 4.

When cast, where does the twinspelled-version of the card appear in hand?

Twin-spelled versions played from hand will appear in the same hand slot as the original copy. This is different than other cards which add copies to your hand (e.g., echo cards).

It is important to note that if a twinspell card is played via a “cast spell” effect, then the twin-spelled version will appear in the rightmost hand slot.

About Wesley Lyles 117 Articles
Wesley is a jack of all trades hobbyist. Though much of his spare time is spent playing board games (especially solo card games like Legendary), Hearthstone, Rocket League, and MLB The Show.e He also enjoys most sports, but pays way too much attention to baseball and football.

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