Let's Talk About Hearthstone's Funnel Cakes Obsession

We're celebrating Out of Cards' first birthday, and do you know what's a classic birthday trope? Cake. Do you know what Hearthstone references a lot? Cake, more specifically, funnel cakes. Funnel cakes have been a running gag in the game for several years now, and to fit the occasion, I thought I'd look at every card in the game which makes use of the gag in some way.

Here is where the gag began, all the way back in The Grand Tournament. Refreshment Vendor states the classic line, "Funnel cakes, get your funnel cakes here" when you play him. When he dies, he whimpers "But I have more cakes" (to be honest, I'm not sure he's actually dying).

What is odd though is that despite his emphasis on the funnel cakes, his Battlecry animation doesn't actually throw funnel cakes. When he was first added to the game, he threw carrots. One month later on patch 3.1.0.10357, he was changed to throw chicken drumsticks instead.

The second card in the game to use the gag is one of the classic Burgle Rogue cards, Undercity Huckster from Whispers of the Old Gods, who tries to whisper to you "Hey, hey, do you wanna buy a funnel cake?" when you play him. Then, when you attack with him, he tries to shout at you, "Buy one!"

It's sometimes theorized that "funnel cake" doesn't refer to an actual funnel cake, but instead refers to an illegal substance and Undercity Huckster is a dealer in that substance given that there shouldn't be a reason for the funnel cakes to be sold in secret.

Sticking with Whispers of the Old Gods, we come to Darkshire Alchemist for our next card. Darkshire Alchemist herself doesn't directly mention funnel cakes in any of her soundbites, but instead, her flavor text reads "The secret ingredient: liquified funnel cake". I don't even want to know what it's doing to the potion.

Arguably one of the more direct allusions to an (actual) funnel cake is on Priest of the Feast, stating "Blessed be this funnel cake" when you play him. Don't take his funnel cake though or you'll get an "Oi, that's my cake" from him. Even in death, he's still eating that cake exclaiming "One last bite".

Despite his mention of funnel cakes, no funnel cake is seen in the artwork, but instead a cheesecake. This is a reference to Sebastian Engwall, better known as "Ostkaka" (the Swedish word for cheesecake), the 2015 Hearthstone World Champion. This is also referenced in its flavor text, "Now that's a world champion cheesecake!". Other cards which serve as tributes to Hearthstone World Champion winners include Fiery Bat, Phantom Militia, and Mok'Nathal Lion.

Kabal Trafficker's flavor text states the "She ships illicit Mana Crystals around the world in packages marked: FUNNEL CAKE.", supporting the theory that "funnel cake" is actually an illegal substance and not an actual funnel cake (at least in the context of Undercity Huckster and this card). During a reveal for the expansion, Matt Place mentions that she not only deals with potions but also has a "mean red sauce" that is fantastic on funnel cakes.

Funnel cakes are referenced again in Mean Streets of Gadgetzan in page 6 of the Gadgetzan Gazette, discussing how "Tuskkar Bros." is under investigation for selling fraudulent foods, one being funnel cakes, further supporting the earlier theory.

Devilsaur Egg's flavor text states that it's "A key ingredient in all discerning Funnel Cake recipes".

A little grotesque but what's rather unusual is how this card references funnel cakes spelled "Funnel Cake" as a capital letter with each word as opposed to every other card which doesn't. Does this have any significance, or is this simply a grammar mistake on Team 5's part?

Exploding Bloatbat references the funnel cake gag is a funny way, "We've all been there after a night of one-too-many funnel cakes", insinuating that he's bloated because he ate too many funnel cakes.

Benevolent Djinn also references the gag in her flavor text, "Wish 1: funnel cakes. Wish 2: funnel cakes. Wish 3: FUNNEL CAKES."

This person clearly has their priorities set straight.

Mushhuckster Max doesn't directly mention funnel cakes, but his quote when you start the fight against him is "Hey, hey, wanna buy some fungus", referencing Undercity Huckster.

Predatory Instincts references the gag in its flavor text, "Somebody's been eating their funnel cakes".

This could possibly be a reference to Bethesda, in which sweet rolls are often used as a running gag in their games. In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a guard might ask "Let me guess, someone stole your sweet roll?", which appears to be the most directly comparable to the flavor text.

Blood Troll Sapper's flavor text states that she is the "Main supplier of Blood Troll Syrup to the Intercontinental Hut of Funnel Cakes".

This appears to be a callback to what Matt Place said about Kabal Trafficker during the MSoG reveal, describing the "mean red sauce" being fantastic on funnel cakes. It also seems to be a reference to IHOP (International House of Pancakes), which is an American restaurant chain specializing in breakfast, most notably pancakes.

Sticking with Rastakhan's Rumble, funnel cakes are mentioned twice in the expansion's promotional materials. It's first mentioned in Be Ready to Rumble, where one line that states, "You’ll savor the scent of fresh funnel cake on the air!".

The second part of A New Challenger Approaches also states that "The usual funnel cake vendors were absent. Instead, enterprising Tuskarr were competing with the trolls peddling magically frozen ice cream to sell steaming bowls of stew with unidentifiable chunks floating in it", and then further references it again by stating "It seemed that the Tuskarr Bros. had mistakenly shipped a huge surplus of soup to Stranglethorn instead of Northrend, but they were making the most of it", calling back to the Gadgetzan Gazette.

During the Battlegrounds, one of Bartender Bob's idle quotes is "How do I attract all these minions? Two words: Funnel. Cakes."

That's it for the funnel cakes. Happy birthday to Out of Cards! If you want to celebrate the site's birthday, you can always make your own cake. More specifically, a funnel cake. If you do, feel free to shoot us a picture in the comment section or on our twitter :)