After the official announcement occurred during Blizzcon 2019, which we have covered in this article, the software house Blizzard has officially launched a new mode for its iconic card game. It is about Hearthstone Battlegrounds, a practically new title already present in the client of Hearthstone. The title is available for free for all old and experienced players, without the need for in-game purchases, even if it is in an open beta version. In honor of the beginning of this opening, we want to bring you guides that can help you in the mode and that allow you to dominate the battlefield.
This guide is dedicated to the heroes, and specifically to the tier list of these. Which heroes to choose? According to what criterion? Which are stronger and which are weaker? Everything will be explained in the next lines. We remind you that the choices were made by us based on multiple hours of play and various insights, and that everything could change with the course of the updates. By varying the meta with the addition of new cards and heroes we could see who is in the last tier splash up to the first, but we'll give you news about it when things change.
How does the selection of heroes work?
In conjunction with the start of the game, all players must necessarily choose a hero to play. There are currently 24 different playable characters available, but more will be added in the future through updates. Each player must choose one of the 3 heroes that is proposed to him, and since the games are made up of 8 players, currently all playable characters appear on the field, even if only 8 of these then join the fight.
Obviously the choice is not purely aesthetic, because each avatar brings with it a specific skill. This is the hero power that we have already learned about in the classic modes of Hearthstone, but that's completely different this time. Blizzard has indeed created 24 exclusive powers, designed only for this mode. Some hero powers are passive, others active, but that's not the difference between the strongest and the weakest.
Which heroes to choose from the three proposed?
Well this is certainly an important point, since it is the fundamental choice in every game. Don't forget that this mode is designed to have fun and choosing the hero you think is the most likeable isn't a crime. Furthermore, within Hearthstone Battlegrounds, much is given to chance and skill and this means that the weakest hero can win a game where even the strongest is present. We list all 24 heroes in order from weakest to strongest tier below. We will then deepen all the tiers, explaining in detail the problems and strengths of each hero, focusing on how to make the most of them.
Tier F
- Sire Jaraxxus
- Pyramad
- Patches the Pirate
Tier E
- Queen Cobolda
- Akazamzarak the Great
- Lich Baz'hial
- Sfrl the Unrestrained
Tier D
- Paul the Fallen
- Ciciazampa
- Pinnagrossa
- Prince Gallywix
- Yogg-Saron
Tier C
- Professor Putricide
- Ragnaros
- King Mukla
- The Lich King
Tier B
- Bartendotron
- The Rat King
- Pezzacarne
- The Curator
- Millefica Manalampo
Tier A
- Nefarian
- AF Kappa
- Toki of the Infinite
Tier F: the losers
Those who are chosen last when playing soccer, those you never want to have in front of you, those who guarantee the greatest chance of defeat, here are the 3 worst heroes present in Hearthstone Battlegrounds! Obviously in case you want to win we do not recommend choosing one of the following heroes, unless all 3 happen to you and consequently you cannot do without them, in that case give up immediately because someone cursed you in the previous game.
Sire Jaraxxus: + 1 + 1 to your demons at the cost of 2 coins. This power is rather scarce as it costs too much for the first few turns as well as the last ones, and it is quite useless in these. At some point in the game giving +1 + 1 is pretty irrelevant and spending two coins on this action doesn't make too much sense. Suffice it to say that he almost forced himself to take only demons, in order to at least try to exploit the hero power in question.
Pyramad: +2 health to a random ally for the cost of one coin. We don't find a particularly high entrance fee here as a single coin is quite accessible, and it is not even necessary to have a build exclusively of demons. This does not mean that giving +2 health to an ally can be useful perhaps in the first two game turns, since it then becomes a senseless waste of coins. Having powers that don't give a big advantage at the beginning and don't give any at the end is definitely not a good place to start.
Patches the Pirate: 3 damage to two random enemies for the cost of one coin. Nothing can make us forget the times when Patches came out of the deck of his own free will to cut the throats of enemies ... except his new power, that destroys memories without too much trouble. It is probably the strongest of the 3 seen in this tier, but it is still weaker than many others. At the beginning of the game he can make us win the first two rounds with ease it is true, but towards the end of this he particularly shows his side. It can indeed be useful to break the divine shields, but succumbs to that of Nefarian. It can be used to take out enemies, but 3 damage will never be enough like the 8 that Ragnaros inflicts ... well, a big fiasco!
Tier E: It could definitely have been better
This series of heroes should be chosen in case there are no better ones, which is quite unlikely. They have quite weak powers, but they are certainly more useful than those seen in the previous category. Playing a lot of games will make it quite difficult to only have Tier F heroes and have to take one, but Tier E will be more present in your battlefield experience, so get used to it and blame Mom Blizzard when you have no choice.
Queen Cobolda: +1 health to a mech, beast, demon and murloc for the cost of one coin. This power is certainly more interesting than those seen so far, but it is still not very strong. Generally in your configurations you will have at most two or three different types of creatures, and this power will only give +2 or 3 health in total, among other things chosen randomly. Using amalgams can make the effect more interesting, but nothing can ever make it strong.
Akazamzarak the Great: play a random secret for 2 coins. This power actually has a lot of potential, dulled by its extreme randomness. There are really strong secrets like block of ice that can save your life. There are secrets that sometimes will not even activate in the fight and will turn out to be rather useless and a useless waste of money. At least you can try your luck whatever the pace of the game.
Lich Baz'hial: You get a coin for 3 health. Here we have the only power that costs 0 mana and also has an overall decent effect. Obviously, also considering the reference tier, it is easy to understand that we are not in front of the strongest skill, because the negative side is really considerable. Losing 3 health every time you use it is really dangerous, also because in this mode there is no way, at least for the moment, to heal yourself or the troops. We are therefore not faced with an infinite mana generator, but what can be a little help when you have the urgent need for a single coin. We remind you that the use of Mal'Ganis is highly recommended to get a free coin every turn.
Sfrl the Unrestrained: After you sell a minion, give + 1 + 1 to two random Bob minions. This mechanic is certainly interesting, as it is passive and can often come in handy. However, it must be considered that the sale of minions is relatively rare, and when + 1 + 1 are assigned to random targets it is not certain that these are good for the build you are creating. It should also be noted that given the extreme randomness you can try to activate the ability on the correct minions, but you risk doing useless trading and losing coins without then getting any results.
Tier D: mediocre but not bad
We are now in the strength range in which the hopes of winning start to rise, already from the choice of the character. However, we can obviously wish for better, but we are certainly on other levels compared to the skills seen so far.
Paul the Fallen: provides divine shield at the cost of 4 coins. This is the power that has a higher cost, even if its effect is not always considered the strongest. Although in principle the divine shield can be considered as the best condition that can be activated, on some occasions this is useless and another ability would be preferred. Its medium-low ranking among the tiers, however, is given by the mana cost, which is really exaggerated both at the beginning of the game and in its final phase. Paolo is also known as George in the English language, and we hope that after deciding on the name Blizzard will also decide to enhance it!
Ciciazampa: Duplicate the next battle cry for two coins. After messing up the meta using other people's battle cries, this creature is back to dealing with them, fortunately in a less exaggerated way. Duplicate a battle cry in Hearthstone Battlegrounds it is not as effective as it seems, or at least not always. In fact, on some occasions it is a truly monstrous added value for two mana, in others you will end up not using this ability for full turns. It should also be noted that in some builds it is particularly effective, such as in the demon one, but in others such as the murloc one it is fundamentally often useless.
Pinnagrossa: Minions gain the "summon a 1/1 murloc" death rattle for one mana. This hero power is pretty meager when viewed from a general perspective, but in a murloc deck it is almost indispensable, as well as damn strong. What is the problem then? Why is this card not in the top tier? Because the murloc deck is currently the least effective in this mode. In addition, power is not absolutely versatile and it is often even harmful to use it in other synergies. However, if Blizzard upgrades the murloc fund, this card will become quite strong.
Prince Gallywix: provides a coin at the cost ... of a coin. It might seem that this effect is nonsense, a mockery, but it turns out to be a small portable bank. What does not raise the score of this card is the term "small", because getting a maximum of a single coin per turn is not transcendental. On some occasions having more than the maximum of resources available will be useful, but it will be necessary to accumulate wisely, and this will in any case be good only interesting only when they are used once. The freeze function that Bob guarantees for free also allows you to play without the need for additional coins, which are therefore not essential to win.
Yogg-Saron: recruits a random servant from the tavern and gives him + 1 + 1 at the cost of 2 coins. The God of death who has so much managed to upset this game is unfortunately not in great shape. Its power is in fact quite balanced but not particularly strong. Getting minions for 2 mana, with even a boost, is not a trivial matter, but these are precisely chosen randomly. When there are 6 Bob's servants in the inn it's almost useless, and in the early stages the choices must be well thought out to build the foundation of the build on which to continue. However, it should not be overlooked that trying your luck is always fun, especially when you can get an upgraded minion at a lower price.
Tier C: the middle ground with good potential
Characters ranked in our tier C are good enough to find, not good enough to make you happy, but continuing a run with one of them is certainly not bad. These heroes can all be strong enough in particular situations yes, but often you may find yourself in need of their hero power.
Professor Putricide: Gives +10 attack to the minion on the left for one coin. And here is one of the powers with the most potential as already mentioned. The situations in which it proves useful are not many, since it adapts to a few specific team configurations and even fewer cards. When it is fully exploited, however rare it may be, the effect is truly devastating. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain a good benefit both in the initial and in the final stages.
Ragnaros: Deals 8 damage to two random minions for the cost of two coins. Definitely better than what we've seen with Patches, as despite the fact that there are only two random targets left, the damage has almost tripled. In the last phases of the games there is a risk that the opponents play easily around this power, but in the intermediate ones above all it manages to take out even two enemy servants, and guarantees a guaranteed victory on many occasions. However, the cost of 2 coins does not guarantee a guaranteed victory, and we often find ourselves wasting money unnecessarily.
King Mukla: When you buy a beast, it adds a banana to your hand. We have a synergy here that obviously works best in beast-centric decks, and beyond. In fact, it can happen to buy some beasts even if it is not the main theme of the current configuration, and the passive hero power will certainly do its own. Her bananas provide +1 + 1, that's not a breathtaking figure, but if you focus all your efforts on a single minion, you can sometimes get an improved gem. Unfortunately, when mainly beasts are not played, the number of applicable upgrades will be quite limited, and you will need to consciously ration them.
The Lich King: Gives resurgence to the rightmost minion for one mana. The new rebirth mechanic has also been added thanks to Arthas in the mode Hearthstone Battlegrounds. Fortunately, we don't have random targets this time around, as the pick is basically selectable, although its position may force your setup to vary slightly. This ability is also quite versatile because a minion with the right death rattle can always be found, and thanks to this hero power it can be optimized to the fullest.
Tier B: No complaints
We are now ahead of all the strongest heroes within Hearthstone Battlegrounds, which are divided into this and the next tier. When you find at least one of these you can say you are lucky and you will start the game on the right foot, even if obviously what matters most is not the chosen hero but the player's skill.
Bartendotron: reduces the cost of the tavern tiers by 1. Here is the power that never fails, whatever combination of cards you have, whoever your opponents are. This passive ability allows you to optimize mana in several turns and to be the first to reach the upper tiers of the tavern. All of this results in more Bob's proposed minions and stronger, as well as additional damage when winning a match.
The Rat King: when you buy a murloc / beast / mech / demon it gives it + 1 + 2. No, sadly it's not as it might seem, not all creatures will receive power-ups. In fact, this ability changes every turn, with a new type of random creature among the 4 present in Hearthstone Battlegrounds. This does not mean that it is a passive power, which provides free upgrades to units, and is therefore quite strong as it does not require a waste of coins in any way. Its versatility is also considerable, in fact this adapts to every single configuration, especially if amalgams are used.
Pezzacarne: You start the game with 60 life instead of 40. This passive hero power is really strong, and is useful in all games. While having more life is quite akin to the demon build, all builds obviously receive an advantage as more games can be lost before being totally defeated. This hero is a guarantee, and when you are undecided because an additional tier A champion is available, it is never a mistake to choose it.
The Curator: You start the game with an amalgam (has all creature types) 1/1. This power is the icon of versatility, as is the amalgam that can be purchased, since it is always a guarantee. Whatever configuration you go to use a monster that can be upgraded over time, and with all the synergies, it is certainly the perfect start starting from turn 1. Of course, it is possible to find 3/4 amalgams from Bob and have a token with lower statistics useless, but it is a very rare situation.
Millefica Manalampo: Mechs in Bob's camp have +1 + 1. We are ahead of the last tier A hero, who is obviously very situational indeed, but has crazy potential. The robot build is in fact currently the best in many moments, and having this hero on your side is a considerable boost, without any money to invest. Each purchased mech will therefore have boosted stats, although the ability will obviously be useless when not playing with this type of creature. Taking heroes like this and being faced with "a build already written" is a test of fate, because the randomness of the minions generated by Bob can be in the player's favor as well as not.
Tier A: Best of the best in the inn
Here are the three strongest heroes, the ones to fear when you meet them and to select on the fly when possible. Having one of these among the eligible candidates is certainly synonymous with luck, having more than one is an extra step to win since it will not be available to anyone else. Always strong powers, in all situations, which manage to stand out hands down compared to those seen so far, even if obviously they are not synonymous with victory, the important thing is the skill of the player, not that of the hero!
Nefarian: Deal damage to all enemies at the cost of one coin. When it is against you, let go of the divine shields. What is perhaps the most powerful buff to give to a minion is annihilated by the legendary dragon, for only the cost of a coin. In some cases, doing just one damage isn't essential, especially if the enemies don't play divine shields early in the game, but in the late stages these are more than abused, and opponents will be forced to play around your hero.
AF Kappa: Provides one token for a tier 3 minion and one for a tier 4 minion ... at the cost of two full turns. That's right, playing this hero you will lose the first two rounds, you will be AFK enjoying the show, but fear not because you will start with a bang! You will have three choices for each of the tokens provided and you will be able to outline your composition with already advanced minions. At the cost of a little 'of life lost in the first sequences you will certainly get an edge over the others.
Toki of the Infinite: at the cost of two coins, it recharges Bob's tavern, adding a minion of the next tier. This is currently the strongest hero within Hearthstone Battlegrounds. Its power is versatile and always useful, for all configurations, and allows you to have a huge advantage both in terms of time and in terms of choosing minions. You will get higher tiers before your opponents and can therefore easily win against them, in all phases of the game. We do not doubt that this card will soon be weakened by the Blizzard.
