Overload: X
You have X less mana next turn.

Overload is an ability which reduces the amount of mana available the next turn by the stated amount, indicated in the user interface by padlock icons.

Cards with this ability are limited to the shaman class.

Notes

• Playing a card with Overload causes the stated amount of Mana Crystals to become pending Overloaded (a padlock icon appears beneath a permanent Mana Crystal for each point of Overload) and, at the start of the player's next turn, that number of Mana Crystals will become Overloaded: the padlocks will move up and block out the player's Mana Crystals, effectively preventing them from being refilled and used for that turn.

• Overload is only charged when the card with Overload is successfully played from the hand. In particular:
  • If a minion with Overload is summoned through a summon effect (such as Mounted Raptor or Hungry Dragon) the player will not gain any Overload.
  • If a spell with Overload is countered by Counterspell the player will not gain any Overload, and thus their Tunnel Troggs will not trigger (however, their Unbound Elementals will still trigger since they actually played a card with Overload).

• If a spell with Overload is played by a minion or weapon (i.e. Yogg-Saron, Hope's End, Electra Stormsurge, The Runespear, etc.), you will receive Overload despite not having directly played it.

• If a Battlecry with an Overload effect is triggered twice (i.e. Brann Bronzebeard, Murmuring Elemental, Heart of Vir'naal), it will not double the number of Overloaded crystals.

• A player's current and/or pending Overloaded Mana Crystals has no upper limit.

• In particular, a player can Overload more mana than they will have the next turn: even if the user interface will only display Overload equal to the player's maximum mana, the excess will still be registered and will affect mana-generating effects like The Coin and Innervate. Once the Overload has been matched, any further mana generated will be usable by the player, and will be reflected in the mana counter.^[1][2]

Example: If a player plays two Dust Devils on turn 2, the result will be an Overload of 4 mana on turn 3: despite only 3 Overload will show in the interface (since the player has only 3 maximum mana), if The Coin is used the player will still have 0 available mana, and will be unable to play 1-Cost cards.^[3]

Example: Overloading for 10 mana on turn 9 will only display 9 pending Overloaded Mana Crystals, but at the start of turn 10 a 10th padlock icon will appear to correctly indicate that all 10 mana are Overloaded.^[1]

• However, no amount of Overload will prevent the player from playing 0-Cost cards: since these cards cost no mana, the player's current mana total is irrelevant.^[1][3]

• Overload affects available mana only for the next turn: current Overload will disappear (regardless of its amount) at the beginning of the player's next turn, when it will be substituted by previous turn's pending Overload.

Example: If a player plays two Dust Devils on turn two, on the next turn they will have 4 Overloaded mana despite having only 3 Mana Crystals: this mana deficit will not carry over to subsequent turns, thereby allowing the player to avoid paying that part of the Overload cost at all.

• Overload sort of "splits" the "true" cost of a card over two turns: however, you cannot avoid it even if you have sufficient mana this turn to pay the "full" cost.

• Lava Shock and Eternal Sentinel unlock and refill all currently Overloaded Mana Crystals, increasing available mana accordingly, and clear any pending Overloaded mana.

• Cards that check for Overload like Cumulo-Maximus and Likkim will work with both Overloaded crystals and pending Overloaded crystals.

• Effects that destroy Mana Crystals have no effect on current and/or pending Overload, despite the visual appearance of destroying a pending Overloaded Mana Crystal.

• Overloaded and pending Overloaded mana are not displayed for the opponent directly: players trying to estimate the opponent's available mana next turn can either use the history to check the cards played that turn or hover over their opponent's Mana Tray to see how much are locked.

Strategy

Overload allows shamans to deal very effective burst damage, and to summon some powerful minions in the early game. Overload adds an additional strategic element to the game, with the shaman gaining tempo and presence in the current round in exchange for restricted activity in the next.

Used unwisely, Overload can leave the shaman starved of mana the next turn, causing them to lose pace and potentially drop behind in the game. Be wary of using Overload in early rounds to summon powerful minions which can be easily removed by the opponent next turn, since the additional Overload cost can cause the shaman to pay twice over. Used wisely, Overload can allow the shaman to respond to demanding situations with surprising momentum.

An additional strategic element is added through certain Overload-related cards. Cards like Lava Shock and Eternal Sentinel remove all Overload for the current and coming turn, allowing the shaman to free up mana and drastically reduce the overall cost of their Overload cards, especially if played after incurring a large amount of Overload. Other cards such as Tunnel Trogg and Unbound Elemental offer a simpler synergy, with triggered effects activating in response to Overload. Overload decks combine cards such as these with a large amount of Overload cards, using cards like Lava Shock to reduce their cost, while using the Overload-triggered cards for additional threats.

Cards with Overload

For Wild format listings, see Overload/Wild format

Collectible

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Uncollectible

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Sources of Overload

For Wild format listings, see Overload/Wild format

Overload generating cards

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Related cards

For Wild format listings, see Overload/Wild format

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Achievements

Name	Requirements	Rewards
Sensory Overload (1/3)	Play 15 cards with Overload.	10
Sensory Overload (2/3)	Play 50 cards with Overload.	10
Sensory Overload (3/3)	Play 150 cards with Overload.	10

Fixed bugs

• For a few weeks during Patch 4.0.0.10833 (LoE patch), playing a minion or spell with Overload caused you to become Overloaded the moment the card was paid for. For example, if Counterspell countered your Lightning Bolt, you were still Overloaded^[4][5] (normally Counterspell triggers before Overload, preventing the effect entirely).

Trivia

• During the game's alpha, Overload was known as "Recall". The name was changed in an unknown alpha patch prior to May 2013, but the keyword in the game's strings was not changed until Patch 4.0.0.10833.^[6] The change is not known to have otherwise altered any card text or the mechanics involved, but may have reflected a different concept behind the ability.

See also

• Mana
• Mana cost

Patch changes

• Alpha patch (unknown date, pre-May 2013): Keyword name changed from "Recall" to "Overload".

References

Cards By type Hero card Location Minion (Permanent) Spell Weapon By class Death Knight Demon Hunter Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Neutral Multi-class By minion type All Beast Demon Dragon Elemental Mech Murloc Naga Pirate Quilboar Totem Undead General By spell school Arcane Fel Fire Frost Holy Nature Shadow General By rune Blood Frost Unholy By rarity Free Common Rare Epic Legendary Mechanics Evergreen keywords Battlecry Casts When Drawn Charge Choose One Combo Deathrattle Discover Divine Shield Dormant Freeze Immune Lifesteal Mega-Windfury Outcast Overheal Overload Passive Poisonous Reborn Rush Secret Silence Spell Damage Start of Game Stealth Summoned When Drawn Taunt Tradeable Windfury Card set keywords Adapt Colossal Corrupt (Corrupted) Dredge Echo Finale Forge Frenzy Honorable Kill Infuse (Infused) Inspire Invoke Jade Golem Lackey Magnetic Manathirst Overkill Quest Questline Recruit Sidequest Spare Part Spellburst Titan Twinspell Non-constructed Allied Auto-Attack Auto-cast Avenge Once per Turn Revive Shrine Spellcraft Start of Combat Venomous Classification Adventurer Basic Hero Power Basic Totem Cat Classic Basic Totem Concoction Galakrond Imp Libram Poison Relic SI:7 Spy Gizmo Treant Upgraded Hero Power Watch Post Whelp Other mechanics Can't attack Cast spell Change Cost to Health Copy Corpse (Spend/Gain) Deal damage Destroy Discard Draw cards Elusive Enrage Equip Force attack Forgetful Gain Armor Gain Mana Generate Increment attribute Joust Modify cost Multiply attribute Permanent Playerbound Put into battlefield Put into hand Put on deck Recurring Refresh Mana Remove from game Replace Restore Health Return to hand Set attribute Shuffle into deck Spend mana Steal Summon Take control Transform (Transform in hand, Transform when drawn) Unlimited attacks Upgradable Effect types By range Area of effect Hero zone Positional Random Resurrection By condition Deckbuilding Highlander In-deck In-hand One-time On-discard On-draw Ongoing Triggered Card sets (Expansions / Adventures / Mini-sets) Standard Path of Arthas Core TITANS Festival of Legends (Audiopocalypse) March of the Lich King (Return to Naxxramas) Murder at Castle Nathria (Maw and Disorder) Voyage to the Sunken City (Throne of the Tides) Wild Caverns of Time Fractured in Alterac Valley (Onyxia's Lair) United in Stormwind (Deadmines) Forged in the Barrens (Wailing Caverns) Madness at the Darkmoon Faire (Darkmoon Races) Scholomance Academy Demon Hunter Initiate Ashes of Outland Galakrond's Awakening Descent of Dragons Saviors of Uldum Rise of Shadows Rastakhan's Rumble The Boomsday Project The Witchwood Kobolds & Catacombs Knights of the Frozen Throne Journey to Un'Goro Mean Streets of Gadgetzan One Night in Karazhan Whispers of the Old Gods The League of Explorers The Grand Tournament Blackrock Mountain Goblins vs Gnomes Curse of Naxxramas Legacy Classic Classic Removed Promotion Reward Basic Classic Hall of Fame Wild Event