Last week we talked about spreading the holiday cheer with Winter Veil, and all about how terrible and evil reindeer are. This week, I want to look at some cards that are designed to be more interactive, and further capture the spirit of Winter Veil! Naturally, there¡¯s a lot of spirit go around, so let¡¯s get right down to business.
 

Snowballs. Growing up in Wisconsin, I know a thing or two about how to turn seemingly innocent snow into a weapon of mass destruction (at least as far as the playground was concerned). Around the time of Winter Veil in the MMO, players can run around in the snow-covered parts of Azeroth and find piles of snow that are perfect for making snowballs! Throwing the snowballs back and forth makes for some fun times, but they don¡¯t really do anything aside from occasionally knocking someone down where they stand. That is, until a player brings them into the Alterac Valley battleground.

The stories of battles with hardpacked snowballs are legendary in Alterac Valley. While normal snowballs only knock a player over where they¡¯re standing, the hardpacked variety actually knock the character back several feet. This meant that players could defend buildings¡ªor the Alliance¡¯s ¡°bridge of fairness¡±¡ªwith snowballs! There¡¯s nothing funnier than watching a Horde player take a snowball to the head and fall to his or her death. Unless of course you¡¯re a Horde player. Then it¡¯s probably not as funny.

Well, as the orc in the picture would say if he could: ¡°Say hello to my little friend!¡±

Look at all that stuff rolled into the Snowball! As soon as these things start flying around, allies and heroes alike are going to have a harder time focusing on the battle at hand. Why not hit Onyxia with a Hardpacked Snowball? The one thing you can be sure of is that the more players involved in the game, the more fun you¡¯re going to have with Hardpacked Snowballs sailing through the air.

Adding more to multiplayer play is a great way to give depth to a game. A lot of people prefer all-out brawls to standard one-on-one games, so it stands to reason that we¡¯d want to make some cards to give everyone a little gift for Winter Veil.

Speaking of giving gifts, it¡¯s time to introduce you to the master of gift-giving himself, Greatfather Winter.

Not to be confused with his Orc counterpart, Great-father Winter, this spreader of Winter Veil cheer goes one step further than his Horde buddy, taking a card out of his hand and putting it in another player¡¯s. While he doesn¡¯t have as many applications as Great-father Winter in one-on-one play, he¡¯s amazing in Raids. Imagine being able to work with the other players in the raiding party to swap cards as needed throughout the game. About to miss playing a quest? Why not ask your buddy to give you one?

Since you¡¯re allowed to give a gift every turn, this opens up possibilities for other interactions. Is one of the party members in need of more equipment? Time for a present. If another teammate is in need of something the next turn, then why not help them out, too? And why not try Jin¡¯do¡¯s Bag of Whammies at the same time? Not only will it limit the Raid pilot¡¯s options, but players will also be able to empty and refill their hands at will with incessant gift-swapping. Give away the cards that you don¡¯t need every turn, play what you need to, and have your partners re-gift your cards back to you before it¡¯s their turn to draw with the Bag of Whammies. Giving back a gift that someone gave you is usually frowned upon, but in this case, I think everyone will be okay with it!

Are you starting to feel the love by now? Well, watch out, because we also have some booby traps built into the set. Mistletoe can either be seen as a trap or an enabler depending on whether or not you¡¯re the one kissing or the one being kissed. Thankfully, the card doesn¡¯t include any of the awkward moments that may result from an unexpected smooch!

Two-Headed Ogre games will be a hot spot for this action, as Mistletoe allows the players to use their heroes in strategies where they would normally just sit there at the ready without anything worthwhile to do. Now, they¡¯ll be able to get exhausted together and get something out of it! While it might seem a little out of place on Raids, don¡¯t worry, as it will work out a little better than you think. While one would think that Mazar and Dizdemona shouldn¡¯t be putting the moves on each other in the middle of an Onyxia Raid, it sure beats spamming DPS.