Al'Akir Battlegrounds Guide

Al'Akir crashes onto the scene in Battlegrounds as a unique hero with a powerful passive power. No matter the configuration of your board, Al'Akir will give the left-most minion on the board Windfury, Divine Shield, and Taunt. This tempo-focused passive can crush opponents and provide new strategies for certain minions that are otherwise not possible.

Al'Akir can realistically play any tribe of minions to success due to the Divine Shield and Windfury adaptations to your left-most minion, but certain archetypes have shown success over others due to specific minion interactions. Three tribes to consider are Dragons, Beasts, and Mechs.

Dragons find great synergy with Al'Akir due to the presence of Tarecgosa and the high attack stat of Evolving Chromawing after leveling. Tarecgosa will permanently copy the Windfury, Divine Shield and Taunt off the passive hero power, making it strong and viable in a pinch.

Beasts are also an interesting tribe to consider due to the specific minion interactions. Minions like Leapfrogger will be given Taunt if placed first, and minions like Monstrous Macaw, Cave Hydra and Baby Krush will be afforded an extra hit with Windfury.

Lastly, Mechs are your other viable composition with Al'Akir. Big synergy with this tribe comes later in the game with the likes of Holy Mecherel, Omega Buster, and Foe Reaper 4000. The extra Divine Shield afforded by the passive hero power also captures the boost from Grease Bot for a minion that does not naturally have shields.

Al'Akir looks to maintain tempo and level on curve or early to find and establish direction. Because of the power your passive provides, leveling early to Tier 3 on Turn 4 can be the right play depending on who you are fighting against in your lobby.

Always note that your hero power will only affect the minions on the left-most side of the board during combat unless it is Tarecgosa after a boost. Some minions that normally find themselves on the left-most side of the board like Selfless Hero are not as viable in that placement with Al'Akir in the late game.

Take a look at some videos produced by popular Battlegrounds streamers to get a good idea of what playing Al'Akir at a high level may look like!

• Kripparrian
• Slysssa