With the recent Goblins vs. Gnomes expansion to Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, the mech known as V-07-TR-0N has been added to the game. If you don’t read “leet speak,” that’s Blizzard’s nostalgic nod to the 1980s cartoon series, Voltron: Defender of the Universe. While the addition of the card got a lot of players excited, once the new expansion hit, it became clear that summoning V-07-TR-0N was easier said than done.
There are a number of very good cards in Hearthstone, but V-07-TR-0N is the first card to feature Mega Windfury. This allows the minion to attack four times in a single turn. In addition, the minion has charge, which means as soon as V-07-TR-0N is summoned, you can attack with it. While the minion only has four attack (and eight health), there are numerous ways to buff the attack value to create a devastating combo. Even with the default four attack, that’s 16 damage V-07-TR-0N can dish out. When each hero only starts with 30 health, 16 damage is a big deal.
In order to summon V-07-TR-0N, you need to have two mech cards on the board, as well as the Mimiron’s Head legendary card. Once all three minions are in play, at the start of your next turn V-07-TR-0N replaces the three minions and is ready to attack. Mega thrusters are go!
The biggest concern is how to keep all three minions alive long enough for V-07-TR-0N to appear. Most heroes have some to clear an entire board, or a vast majority of your board. If they have that card in-hand, then there isn’t much you can do. In addition, some heroes have ways to stop the Mimiron’s Head, such as a simple silence or something along the lines of a Polymorph or Hex. Any of these options will all but stop your ability to summon V-07-TR-0N.
The only way around a Polymorph or Hex is to use a Faceless Manipulator minion immediately after playing Mimiron’s Head. Unfortunately you can’t do that until at least turn 10, and even with two Mimiron’s Head minions in play (meaning you only need one additional mech), it’s still possible your opponent has saved both Hex or Polymorph cards. Basically, there are some situations in which it’s impossible to form V-07-TR-0N.
With that fact out of the way, let’s look at the ways you can score a near guaranteed V-07-TR-0N. Rogue is the easiest hero to do this. Add a few cheap mechs to your deck, such as Mechwarper, Target Dummy or Clockwork Gnome. This allows you to play multiple mechs in a single turn, alongside Mimiron’s Head. For instance, if you have two Target Dummy minions in your Rogue deck, they cost 0-mana. Add the 5-mana cost of Mimiron’s Head and you can play all three on turn five.
To give yourself an even better chance to summon V-07-TR-0N, wait until turn six and use Conceal to stealth all three mechs (and any other minion on your side of the board). Unless the opponent has a spell that will clear the board without directly targeting a minion, you’re guaranteed to summon V-07-TR-0N on your next turn. This is by far the easiest and most reliable way to summon V-07-TR-0N. Add Cold Blood to the mix, which gives a minion +2 attack (or +4 when used as a combo) and you have a devastating V-07-TR-0N that can inflict up to 32 damage.
If you’re not using a Rogue, you can use taunt cards to protect your minions from everything except direct damage spells and board clears. This works best if you have a taunt with a lot of health that can withstand a few attacks from most minions. Minions such as Sunwalker, Fen Creeper, Sludge Belcher, Mogu’shan Warden and Deathlord work well because it takes a bit of work to clear them from the board, offering additional protection for your three mechs.
When everything is said and done, summoning V-07-TR-0N is not something you’ll see a lot of in high-level matches. It’s more of a fun nod to a cartoon that brings back memories of youth. Still, if you’re playing Hearthstone to have fun and not necessarily hit legendary rank every month, summoning V-07-TR-0N and then taking down your opponent with Mega Windfury can be extremely entertaining.
