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　　New game boards is a topic that is close to many a players heart. To wage tactical warfare over new plains and explore new lands, only to break every window and squash every squad, it's something primal that burns within us all. To this end we have some suggestions regarding which game boards deserve to be a part of Hearthstone due to their huge impact on Warcraft lore and because they'd just look visually stunning, and we'll start you off with one of those today.

　　For those that don't know, World of Warcraft has gone through four expansions, with a fifth looming on the horizon. Only content from one of these has been used to make up a board. The board with the beautiful Chinese architecture uses Pandaria as its source material, home of the Pandaren. The small garden in the right is inspired by a little time sink in WoW, where you grow crops to level your cooking skill.

　　Pandaria is a peculiar place, unlike any other in Azeroth, as up until recently the land had not been savaged by constant war. It had been surrounded by thick, impenetrable mists. Sure, there had been wars and conflicts, but none to the scale of the rest of the world. That was until the mist dispersed. The Horde and Alliance made landfall, forcing Pandaria to be the focal point of their war, as it had an abundance of natural resources and new treasures to discover.

　　Lei Shen by John PolidoraPandaria had not always been separated from the other continents. Long before the Sundering, which saw the single content of Azeroth split into the four known today, the Mogue were masters of Pandaria. They ruled through fear, enslaving the 'lesser races' and making sure to take steps to prevent uprisings. The emperor of the Mogu, Lei Shen, in fact forbid the Pandaren race from learning to read or write to help prevent a revolt. The Pandaren were not so easily beaten and over time were able to instigate a bloody revolution that overthrew their Mogu masters. They had to learn combat without weapons, as the Mogu had confiscated them, this was how the Monk class in World of Warcraft was born (a class that will also hopefully come to Hearthstone, but that's another article in its own right!)

　　When the demons of the Burning Legion attacked Azeroth, the Pandaren emperor, Shaohao, found a way to conceal his nation in a thick mist. This protected it from the devastation of the Sundering, the demons' wrath and isolated Pandaria from the rest of the world for 10,000 years. This protection however came at a cost...

　　This is the flavour behind the mystical continent of Pandaria, and it's about time we found out about another wondrous yet chilling place in Azeroth, that we believe should come to Hearthstone. The land that sits at the opposite end of the world to Pandaria; the cold and harsh continent known as Northrend.

　　The Lich King Encased in Ice by Raymond SwanlandNorthrend was the seat of power to one of the most powerful, evil and ruthless beings to ever plague Azeroth; The Lich King. From a block of ice, he held dominance over the force known as the undead scourge, which paved the way for the second, ultimately thwarted, attack of the Burning Legion. The Lich king was not content being a puppet however, so he devised a plan to escape his frozen tomb. He was able to thrust the rune blade Frostmourne from his cage. It was then found by Prince Arthas Menethil. The Lich King spoke to Arthas through the blade and turned the young prince mad. Arthas killed his father, betrayed his people and became the champion of the Lich King's. However the King's magic and his control over the dead had begun to wane because of the crack that had been made when he thrust Frostmourne from his tomb. Attacks against him had caused this crack to worsen and his power now flowed through it and away from him.

　　Sensing something was wrong, Arthas set out to aid his master. Once in Northrend he found the Lich King's seat of power being assaulted by the mighty Illidan Stormrage and his followers. With help from the hulking Anub'arak, Arthas drove them back, climbed the stairs of the Frozen Throne and smashed the Lich King's confines. Placing the helm on his head, Arthas and the Lich King became one and entered a deep sleep. While the new and improved Lich King slept, his minions built a construct around the frozen throne that would become known as Icecrown Citadel. If a Northrend game board were to be created this would be an absolutely essential landmark to include in one of the corners of the board. Its huge importance to the story of Warcraft is undeniable and the architecture has a grim, serrated beauty about it.

　　Icecrown CitadelIcecrown is the only monument that has a definite place but there are many other places in Northrend that could occupy the corners of this board: Wyrmrest temple would be a major contender, as it is the rumored birth place of the dragon aspects (Alexstrasa, Ysera, Nozdormu, Malygos and Neltharion who would later become Deathwing). Here the dragons received their tremendous powers from Azeroth's shapers, the Titans.

　　Azjol'Nerub or Nerubian architecture in general would be a hot contender for a corner. The Nerubians are a race of intelligent arachnoids who were the first to battle the Lich King in what became known as the War of the Spider. Ultimately the race was defeated and many became walking corpses in the Lich King's army, including King Anub'arak, who became an unwilling slave to his master's will and was dubbed the Traitor King by the surviving Nerubians. Not only would the Nerubians' buildings make for a great board corner but the race itself would make for great cards. Anub'arak is most certainly eligible for legendary status given his input into Warcraft lore and interesting mechanics could be made from the Nerubians' web abilities, possibly debuffing other minions.

　　Another two races native only to Northrend could also make for some great card characters and board corners. The Tuskarr, anthropomorphic Walruses with a love for fishing, could contribute a little fishing dock to the game board. This could come with a simple fishing mini-game much like the Pandaren farm. The Vrykul also have their own primitive architecture, these half-giants allied with the Lich King to drive the Horde and Alliance back when they finally assaulted Northrend to end his reign. Utguard Keep is one of the Vrykul's most striking monuments.

　　Anub'Arak by Wei WangNorthrend does not just contain primitive structures but also contains the ancient and the magical. The Titans built the massive Ulduar within the Storm Peaks, that acted as a prison for yet another of Azeroths's most sinister beings, the Old God Yogg-Saron (also deserving of legendary status if ever implemented). The Gods were horrifying beings that ruled Azeroth before the Titans came to reshape the world and seal them away in prisons like Ulduar. The Nexus is also found in Northrend, the lair of Malygos, which pulses with arcane energy, a pulse that the player could control with their clicks, occasionally shorting out and sparking.

　　So there you have it, why Northrend should be made into a game board. Not only is it where players of WoW had their confrontations with two of the most evil entities in the Warcraft universe, but it is also filled to the brim with unique races and architecture, which could make for great booster packs and a very unique game board. Are there any Northrend landmarks we missed, that you think deserved mentioning? What place would you like to see made into a game board? Let us know!