Shudderwock

“	My jaws that bite, my claws that catch!	„
	~ The Shudderwock's entry quote.

Shudderwock is one of the minor antagonists of the Hearthstone expansion, The Witchwood. It is one of the monsters lurking in the Witchwood under the command of Hagatha the Witch.

Biography[]

“	The earliest mentions of this bizarre entity were recorded in nonsensical children’s rhymes. As a result, initial reports of the Shudderwock in the woods were dismissed as the hysterical prattle of an unhinged mind. The poor soul was indeed unhinged, but the Shudderwock lurking in the Witchwood is nonetheless terrifyingly real. Our arcanists are as puzzled by this entity as they are by Baku the Mooneater. Like Baku, Shudderwock is unique to the Witchwood, and seems to exist somewhere on the edge of reality, defying easy description as well as physical and arcane laws. In fact, it is unclear if this creature is “real” in the way that one generally uses the word, though it certainly exists. Was it always so, or is the Shudderwock yet another testament to Hagatha’s power? Speculations as to its nature are immaterial; we would be wise to heed the oft-repeated warning to beware the Shudderwock! It is incredibly dangerous, warping reality wherever it walks, leaving those who meet it jabbering wrecks, pale shadows broken by darkest hex. They fail to understand they are out of time, when their speech begins to rhyme. Can they recover from this diminished state? Being devoured would be a kinder fate. (Note: It seems that there was supposed to be more in this report, but it ends abruptly mid-page. Nor have we had further contact with this agent after the report was delivered. Curiouser and curiouser…)	„
	~ The Witchwood - Mysterious Missives

The Shudderwock's origins are a mystery, but it's speculated that it was a green dragon before being transformed by Hagatha. It has appeared in children's rhymes, but it has been discovered to be very real, albeit being able to warp reality itself. Its presence drives people mad, causing them to speak and write in rhymes.

In the Monster Hunt adventure, Shudderwock appears as one of the bosses, where Hagatha comments that it is terrible to unleash, but also a joy to watch. In its boss encounter, it speaks in cryptic rhymes. If it defeats the player, it says "With each hero devoured, the woods are empowered."

Shudderwock appears as a collectible card as a legendary shaman minion. When played, it randomly repeats all of the Battlecry effects of minions the player has played.

Trivia[]

Shudderwock is a clear reference to the Jabberwock from Lewis Carroll's stories. Its quotes all reference the nonsensical poem: its entry quote "My jaws that bite, my claws that catch" references the warning about the Jabberwock, its attack quote "Snicker-snack" is the sound of the vorpal sword used to kill the Jabberwock, and its death sound is a "burble" which is the noise that the Jabberwock made.
- Its relative, Bandersmosh, is a reference to the Frumious Bandersnatch, whose flavor text also references Carroll by mentioning that Shudderwock finds him "particularly frumious".
Shudderwock has been one of the most controversial cards in Hearthstone due to its ability to copy every Battlecry being used for combos. A particularly infamous deck involved using self-duplicating minions to cause Shudderwock to clone itself, before returning the copies through the legendary Grumble, Worldshaker to make them cost 1 mana, which was used to clone Shudderwock as many times as possible and delay the opponent's turn with the Battlecries' animations. This issue was addressed by nerfing one of the deck's notable components, Saronite Chain Gang (whose Battlecry involved summoning a duplicate of itself) to only summon another Saronite Chain Gang, and doubling Shudderwock's animation speed, but decks made up for this by using the epic minion Doppelgangster instead.

Navigation[]

Villains

Old Horde/Iron Horde
Blackrock Orcs (Blackhand, Orgrim Doomhammer, Rend Blackhand, Jubei'Thos) | Warsong Clan (Grommash Hellscream) | Shadowmoon Clan (Ner'zhul, Dentarg, Teron Gorefiend/Gorefiend) | Stormreaver Clan/Shadow Council (Gul'dan, Garona Halforcen) | Bleeding Hollow Clan (Kilrogg Deadeye) | Shattered Hand Clan (Kargath Bladefist) | Dragonmaw Clan (Zuluhed the Whacked, Nekros Skullcrusher, Nek'rosh Skullcrusher, Overlord Mor'ghor) | Burning Blade Clan (Azuka Bladefury) | Bonechewer Clan | Amani Empire (Zul'jin) | The Twilight's Hammer

Knights of the Ebon Blade
Darion Mograine | Sally Whitemane | Nazgrim

Illidan's followers
Illidan Stormrage | Kael'thas Sunstrider | Lady Vashj | Mekgineer Steamrigger | Mennu the Betrayer

True Horde
Garrosh Hellscream | Nazgrim | Malkorok | Warlord Zaela | Siegecrafter Blackfuse

Pandaria
Pandaren: Suna Silentstrike | Widow Greenpaw
Mogu: Lei Shen | Shan Bu
Mantid: Grand Empress Shek'zeer
Sha: Sha of Hatred