Hearthstone patched this week with new minions and heroes for
Battlegrounds mode, adding long-awaited Dragons to the field. I’ve played a few
rounds with the new heroes and minions, and it’s significantly changed up the
meta, which is exciting. Though, right now, everyone is vying to try the new Dragon-type
minions, so it’s an extra tough competition right now.
New Battlegrounds Heroes
Galakrond
Hero Power: Replace a minion in Bob’s
Tavern with a minion from a higher Tavern Tier. Costs 1 Gold.
I played a game with this hero earlier today, and right now,
I feel that this is a very strong hero power. It’s better than Toki’s
Time-Turner ability that allows you to refresh the tavern, adding a minion of a
higher tavern tier to the board, because Galakrond’s ability allows you to
choose which minion you want to upgrade. It’s a lot like the Shaman’s Evolve
mechanic in regular gameplay. Now, it’s hit or miss on whether or not what you
upgrade to will actually be worth taking, but it’s very strong early game, and
has the potential to be a good gamble late game.
I’d rate Galakrond a Strong Pick.
Deathwing
Hero Power: Passive. ALL minions have +3
Attack.
This is a really interesting hero because the Attack bonus
doesn’t just work on your minions, but your opponents as well, buffing both
sides of the field. I’ve seen this hero do really well with Beasts, thanks to
cards like Rat Pack, because you could potentially summon five 4/1 Rats from a
basic Rat Pack, which is HUGE. Combo that with Pack Leader to give them another
+3 Attack as they are summoned, and Mama Bear for an additional +5/+5, and you’re
looking at a board of 12/6 Rats. WHAT. I had fun playing this one when I got the
chance, though I went with Dragons instead of Beasts.
I’d rate Deathwing an Always Pick.
Ysera
Hero Power: Refresh and add a Dragon to Bob’s
Tavern. Costs 1 Gold.
This is another interesting one, though I haven’t had the
chance to play this hero yet. The ability to make guarantee at least one Dragon
each turn can be really strong if you are running Dragons, which you would want
to with this hero. If you’re not running Dragons, there are still some Dragon
cards that are beneficial regardless of the makeup of the rest of your board, so
I feel like this is still a pretty strong pick. I’d like to play it to see if
my theories are correct.
I’d rate Ysera a Maybe Pick.
Nozdormu
Hero Power: Passive. Your first Refresh
each turn costs (0).
Yet another hero power based on the Refresh mechanic. I
haven’t had the chance to play Nozdormu, so I can’t really say the
effectiveness of the hero power, but being able to save 1 Gold each turn on a
Refresh means more buying power, which is never a bad thing.
I’d rate Nozdormu a Maybe Pick.
Malygos
Hero Power: Replace a minion with a random
one of the same Tavern Tier. Costs 0.
I haven’t had a chance to play Malygos yet, but the hero
power is very similar to Galakrond. Same with Galakrond, because of the
dependency on RNG, it’s a middling strength hero power, and without the added
benefit of being a tier upgrade as well. That said, it’s a free hero power, so
it has that going for it.
I’d rate Malygos a Maybe Pick.
Alexstrasza
Hero Power: Passive. After you upgrade Bob’s
Tavern to Tavern Tier 5, Discover two Dragons.
Compared to all the other new heroes, this hero power probably
feels the weakest. It takes a long time to get to Tier 5. And because I haven’t
played this hero yet, I’m not sure if the Dragons you are able to discover will
be of Tier 5, or if it is random. If they are Tier 5, then this is a very
strong late game move. If it’s random though, meaning you could potentially get
minions from Tier 1 to Tier 6, then it’s very average, with the potential to
really REALLY suck.
For now, I’ll rate Alexstrasza a Maybe Pick, only
because I haven’t played as her yet.
Reno Jackson
Hero Power: Make a friendly minion Golden (Once
per game). Costs 4 Gold.
Another interesting hero power, and with the potentially to
be very strong late game. Pick the right minion, and this could be a
major clutch power.
I’d rate Reno a Strong Pick.
New Battlegrounds Minions
Tier 1
Dragonspawn Lieutenant. Dragon. 2/3 Taunt.
Very strong first tier pick.
Red Whelp. Dragon. 1/2. Start of Combat: Deal 1
Damage per friendly Dragon to one random enemy minion.
This is such a strong minion for early game, and has
the potential to be strong later game as well, especially if you are running Dragons
and you manage to triple it into a golden version. You could potentially do 7
Damage to 2 minions at the beginning of the round.
Tier 2
Glyph Guardian. Dragon. 2/4. Whenever this
attacks, double its Attack.
A strong pick for Tier 2. The higher health helps with
survivability early game, but it really needs additional buffs to be truly
effective, and it can be useless against a minion with Divine Shield. The
golden version triples the attack.
Steward of Time. Dragon. 2/4. When you sell this
minion, give all minions in Bob’s Tavern +1/+1.
This is a really interesting minion in that its true value
is in selling it. Time it right, and you can purchase multiple buffed minions
in a single turn.
Waxrider Togwaggle. No Type. 1/2. Whenever a friendly
Dragon kills an enemy, gain +2/+2.
This is so strong compared with cards like Red Whelp and
Herald of Flame (below). Every time a minion dies by taking damage from
one of your Dragon minions, this dude gets a pretty significant buff. He gets
really big really fast. The golden version upgrades to a +4/+4 buff.
Unstable Ghoul. No Type. 1/3. Taunt. Deathrattle:
Deal 1 damage to all minions.
I think this can be a very good pick early game, when lots
of people have minions with only 1 Health, but it loses effectiveness quickly,
and you have the potential to screw yourself over early game.
Tier 3
Bronze Warden. Dragon. 2/1. Divine Shield. Reborn.
This is actually a really strong minion choice, despite the
low stats. If you are able to buff this guy at all, or triple it into the
golden version, you can end up doing a lot of damage with this guy. Divine Shield
and Reborn means it is going to do its damage up to four times before dying,
depending on what you are playing against.
Hangry Dragon. Dragon. 4/5. At the start of your
turn, gain +2/+2 if you won the last combat.
This is a really interesting card because of when and how it
gets its buff. If you win a round of combat, it gives itself +2/+2 once you’re
in Bob’s Tavern. If you’re winning, it’s a really strong card. If you’re
losing, not so much. But if you get two of these guys on your board, and you’re
on a winning streak, they can get really big. And the buffs don’t go away. They
keep stacking turn after turn as long as you continue to win. Then, if you are
able to triple it, it keeps all those buffs and now gains +4/+4 with every win.
Tier 4
Drakonid Enforcer. Dragon. 3/6. After a friendly minion
loses Divine Shield, gain +2/+2.
Another self-buffing card, but this one could work well in
multiple decks. It combos nicely with Bronze Warden, Selfless Hero, Bolvar
Fordragon, and the new Holy Mackerel (below). If you can
combo those cards with other Divine Shield minions, you’ll end up with a VERY
strong board.
Herald of Flame. Dragon. 5/4. Overkill: Deal 3 damage
to the left-most enemy minion.
This is such a good card. There is a high potential for
triggering the Overkill mechanic with its 5 Attack, and if the RNG is with you,
you can potentially take out multiple minions with this guy. I’ve seen it take
out a taunt minion, and then blast three minions in quick succession with its
Overkill, which the 3 Damage can also trigger. The tripled golden version is
just that much stronger. A really good choice, whether you are running Dragons
or not.
Cobalt Scalebane. Dragon. 5/5. At the end of your
turn, give another random friendly minion +3 Attack.
This was a fantastic card when it was in standard, and it’s equally
great in Battlegrounds. The +3 Attack buff remains from round to round, so you
can really buff up your side of the board over time, and it’s 5/5 stats mean it
has good survivability on its own.
Tier 5
Murozond. Dragon. 5/5. Battlecry: Add a minion
from your last opponent’s warband to your hand.
This is another interesting card, as you have the potential
to add a really strong card from your previous opponent’s board to your own. I haven’t personally seen this card in action,
so I can’t say how effective it is, but you would be relying on RNG to decide
which minion you get. Also, I’m not sure if you get an exact copy, buffs and
all, or if it’s only a basic copy.
Twilight Emisarry. Dragon. 6/8. Taunt. Battlecry:
Give a friendly Dragon +3/+3.
A strong pick for Dragons!
Razorgore, the Untamed. Dragon. 2/4. At the end of
your turn, gain +1/+1 for each Dragon you have.
If you’re running Dragons, this card gets really strong,
really fast.
Tier 6
Holy Mackerel. Murloc. 8/4. After another friendly
minion loses Divine Shield, gain Divine Shield.
Holy Mackerel indeed. This is a great way to buff cards like
Bolvar Fordragon and Drakonid Enforcer.
Imp Mama. Demon. 6/8. Whenever this minion takes
damage, summon a random Demon and give it Taunt.
This card is AMAZING. I’ve not had it on my own board yet, but
I have played against it, and it is such a strong card. I’ve been absolutely clobbered
any time I’ve gone against it.
Kalecgos, Arcane Aspect. Dragon. 2/8. After you
play a minion with Battlecry, give your Dragons +1/+1.
I haven’t seen this card in action yet, but I feel like it
has limited value. By the time you reach Tier 6, the likelihood of using
Battlecry minions goes significantly down. I’m not sure Tier 6 is appropriate.
Nadina the Red. No Type. 7/4. Deathrattle:
Give your Dragons Divine Shield.
I can see this card being very useful if you are running Drakonid
Enforcer and Bolvar Fordragon together. I’ve not seen it in play
yet, so I’ll have to test my theory at some point.
Battlegrounds Balance Changes
George the Fallen. Hero Power: Give a friendly
minion Divine Shield.
Hero Power cost has been reduced from 4 Gold to 3 Gold. This
will make him significantly stronger, especially with all the new Divine Shield
mechanic minions introduced in this patch.
Sneed’s Old Shredder. Mech. 5/7. Deathrattle:
Summon a random Legendary minion.
Moved from Tier 6 to Tier 5. This seems like a fair
adjustment. His Deathrattle still relies too much on RNG, so you’re likely to
get a 1/1 from it, which seems to happen to me a lot more often than probability
dictates.
Mama Bear. Beast. 5/5. Whenever you summon a
Beast, give it +5/+5.
Old: Beast. 4/4. Whenever you summon a Beast, give it
+4/+4. This change takes Mama Bear back to her original stats and ability.
Tavern Tier 6
Starting cost of Tavern Tier 6 has been reduced to 10 Gold
(down from 11). I’m interested to see how this plays out! It’s always been
really difficult to make the jump from Tavern Tier 5 to Tavern Tier 6.
Dev Insight: Tavern Tier 6 has a lot of exciting minions
and we’d like players to have more of an opportunity to reach it than they
have. We’re also trying to make Tavern Tier 6 more interesting by adding some
of these powerful new minions.
Removed Heroes
Professor Putricide.
Dev Insight: We’d like to go back to the drawing board
with Professor Putricide. We’re going to disable him for now to make way for
our new Heroes, but you’ll likely see him return in the future with some
changes.
Removed Minions
- Shielded Minibot
- Annoy-o-Tron
- Mounted Raptor
- Phalanx Commander
- Psych-o-Tron
- Tortollan Shellraiser
- Piloted Sky Golem
- Festeroot Hulk
- Boogeymonster
- Sated
Threshadon
These feel like some interesting choices. I’m curious to see
how it changes the meta.
Dev Insight: We're removing some minions to help make
room for the new minions. We also want to balance out the minion pool a bit.
For example, there were way more Mechs in Battlegrounds than any other minion
type. We're also removing some of the minions that aren't performing very well
and ones that have generally been less exciting to play with.
Summary
I’m having fun with the changes introduced in this patch and
can’t wait to play some more!
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