Hearthstone Battlegrounds Strategy Tips

Hearthstone Battlegrounds is a game with a lot of moving parts and random elements. This makes it so that each game will be very different from the last and there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. However, there are many techniques available, that are covered here, that can be used to aid your decision making to improve your chances of winning.

Freezing the board is a free action that can be done at the end of any Recruit Phase. Doing so will keep all minions available for purchase for your next Recruit Phase, but will also prevent the tavern from refreshing. You should look for Freeze the board when can:

• Pick up a 3rd copy of a minion
• Pick up multiple 2nd copies of minions
• Pick up a strategy-defining minion, such as Lightfang Enforcer or Mama Bear.

Conversely, there are also times you should generally avoid freezing the board. The most important of which is if you upgrade your tavern at the end of your turn. This is because you will miss the opportunity to get minions of a higher tier on the following turn without refreshing your tavern. However, an exception can be made if there is a high-value minion on offer.

Upgrading your Tavern is an essential part of Hearthstone Battlegrounds. As a general rule, you should try and upgrade your Tavern as quickly as possible, but picking the right time to do so is essential as there are benefits to delaying your upgrade such as:

• Upgrades will get cheaper each turn
• Some Tavern Tiers do not offer many synergies for some strategies
• It is easier to pick up specific minions at lower Tavern Tiers

On the other hand, there are some reasons to upgrade your Tavern prematurely. The most important of which is if you have an upgraded minion of your hand as playing the minion will always allow you to Discover a minion from the next Tavern Tier. This means that upgrading in the same turn you play the minion will essentially offer you a card from 2 Tiers higher.

Combining 3 of the same minion is an essential practice in Hearthstone Battlegrounds if you wish to be successful. Doing so will not only give you a stronger minion, but also allow you to Discover a minion from your next Tavern Tier.

Minions will always be instantly combined when you purchase your 3rd copy, regardless of whether they are in your hand or in play. Additionally, the new minion will retain any buffs placed on the first 2 minions. You should therefore always make sure to play the first 2 copies if there are passive buffs like Pack Leader or Mama Bear available before you purchase your 3rd copy.

After you have combined a minion, when you choose to play a minion is also a very important decision. This is due to the minion giving a card to Discover a higher Tier minion based on the Tier you are at when the cards is played, and not when it is initially combined. You should therefore consider holding onto a combined card if you can survive a round without it and plan on upgrading your Tavern Tier in the near future.

Due to the unique effect of Nightmare Amalgams, you should typically avoid combining them if you get a 3rd copy offered. The sheer value of having two minions with Divine Shield and Taunt will almost always outweigh any additional stats you would gain.

Hero Powers are what truly separates out the different Heroes in Hearthstone Battlegrounds and knowing when you should Hero Power is essential.

For Heroes Powers that will permanently affect your board, you should look to make use of these Hero Powers in the early game to get as much value from these Hero Powers as much as possible. An example of Hero Powers in this category are Queen Wagtoggle's Wax Warband and Pyramad's Brick by Brick.

Conversely, Hero Powers that have a one-time effect, such as Nefarian's Nefarious Fire and Ragnaros' DIE, INSECTS! should be used as late into the game as possible. Using these Hero Powers early in the game will greatly hurt your tempo, taking away gold that could otherwise be spent on purchasing minions.

Battlecry Token Minions are a very small, but very important part of the game. Any minions summoned from a Battlecry effect, such as Alleycat and Murloc Tidehunter, can be sold for 1 gold like any other minion. This provides you with more minions to sell and effectively gives you more gold to work with, which is especially powerful in the early game and can allow you to snowball out of control.

Changing and adapting your strategy throughout the game is an essential skill to master to be successful in Hearthstone Battlegrounds. For example, picking up several Demons in the early game and then seeing none for several rounds may mean it is more effective to change to Beasts, Mechs, or Murlocs. Being too stubborn to change will result in losing huge amounts of gold on Tavern refreshing and falling behind in the long run. This holds true throughout the entire game. For example, picking up a Lightfang Enforcer as you hit Tavern Tier 5 makes it very beneficial to diversify in the long run, even if it means you have to give up one of your powerful minions of another tribe to do so.

Minion positioning is an incredibly important skill the master and is essential for winning unfavourable battles. Your minions will always attack from left to right and you should use this information to maximise the value of your minions. For example, with a Scavenging Hyena in play, you should make sure it is to the right of your other Beasts to ensure it is as strong as possible when it finally gets to attack. Conversely, some minions like Goldrinn, the Great Wolf you will want to attack as soon as possible, so that their Deathrattle effect can be triggered to buff your other Beasts.

There are far too many variables in the game, therefore the right way to position your minions will vary from game to game. However, here are some things to think about when positioning your minions:

• Minions that benefit from other minions being killed or summoned, such as Scavenging Hyena or Mama Bear, should attack as late as possible.
• Make sure there is enough space on the board for new minions to be summoned. For example, with Rat Pack or Ghastcoiler.
• Make sure no high value minions are vulnerable to cleave damage from Foe Reaper 4000 or Cave Hydra. Place expendable minions next to your Taunt minions to avoid this.
• If you anticipate Divine Shields, position your weak minions to attack into them first.

When you reach the late game, you should start to notice what minions your opponents are playing as well as where they are positioned on the board. You can use this information to give yourself a huge advantage in the late game and it will play a huge role in whether you finish 1st or 2nd/3rd.

The first thing you should look to do is purchase minions to disrupt your opponent's strategy. For example, if your opponent is using Mechs, Zapp Slywick can be a great tool to snipe their Junkbots at the start of the game. Conversely, if your opponent is utilising huge Demons, adding poison effects from Maexxna and Toxfin will be very effective.

The second way you can improve your chances of winning is repositioning your minions specifically for your opponent. For example, if you know your opponent has a 29/29 Taunt minion, you may choose to make your first minion a weak 2/2 Lightfang Enforcer, followed by a 30/30 Nightmare Amalgam to efficiently take out your opponent's Taunt minion. This counterintuitive positioning will give you a huge advantage for the rest of the battle.