Part 0: Intro

First off, I'd like to preface this with the fact that I wasn't quite sure where I should be posting this, as I couldn't find a Battlegrounds subreddit yet, or a post where one could discuss Battlegrounds strategy, so I hope this is appropriate.

Second, I'd like to verify that this is purely opinion based, and many people will likely disagree, so feel free to discuss! My experience with Battlegrounds is limited - I did play it several times at Blizzcon this weekend, and took 1st in 4/7 of the games, placing top 3 in the remaining 3 but by no means know everything for certain about the game. While I obviously don't have extensive knowledge yet, I feel that I can give some over-arching ideas to help people who are starting with Battlegrounds tomorrow.

Finally, let me introduce myself: I'm Roda, a player with extensive legend and tournament experience. I've been top 3 legend, and have competed in tournaments such as the Tespa Collegiate Series and the Challenger Finals in 2018 thanks to a Tavern Hero win. I'm by no means a professional, but I have played the game since beta and consider myself to have a great understanding of all things Hearthstone. Unfortunately, I have no other TFT/Autochess experience, so my strategy here is based solely on my previous Hearthstone experience and experience with Battlegrounds at Blizzcon. If you'd like, throw me a follow on my twitch where I'll be streaming tomorrow at 3:30pm PST!

If you don't know all the Battlegrounds jargon or the way it works yet, please check out HS Top Decks' articles on Battlegrounds as a whole, all Battlegrounds minions, and the list of Battlegrounds heroes.

Part 1: The Tier List

First and foremost in Battlegrounds, you have to pick a hero. The hero makes a HUGE difference as to how you're going to build your board and what synergies you're going to dig for, so this is an exceptionally important stage of the game. Below I am going to show you my own personal tier list with a brief description about each hero and why I put them where I did, based on what I saw at Blizzcon.

Heroes within each tier are in no particular order.

Tier 1:

A. F. Kay: Skip your first two turns. Start with a minion from Tavern Tier 3 and 4. (Passive)

The first two turns are typically spent buying tier 1 minions anyway. A tier 3 and a tier 4 puts you so far ahead, and lets you upgrade your tiers early rather than spending Gold on minions in the early game. Undoubtedly gives you an advantage going into the mid-game, but has no affect after that.

Millificent Manastorm: Mechs in Bob's Tavern have +1/+1. (Passive)

Mechs are inherently the best tribe due to their strong synergies and ability to magnetize, which are only bolstered by this hero power throughout the entire game. The buff only affects mechs purchased from Bob and isn't an aura during the actual combats, but having mechs start, combine, and magnetize with +1/+1 attached every time is insane.

Nefarian: At the start of next combat, deal 1 damage to all enemy minions. (1 Gold)

Divine Shield is one of the stronger effects in the game, and the ability to immediately clear all enemy divine shields will come in exceptionally handy at the start of later rounds.

Patchwerk: Start with 60 health instead of 40. (Passive)

An extra 50% health is an incredible bonus, given how little damage you take in the early game you can sacrifice early turns to upgrade Tiers much faster, and hit hard with stronger minions in the mid-early late game. However, this snowball falls off quickly and might not take you as far into the lategame as you'd hope. (I may have missed the mark on this one, as I didn't play with or against it; but this is my take given everything else I'd witnessed)

Ragnaros the Firelord: At the start of next combat, deal 8 damage to two random enemy minions. (2 Gold)

Often you'll fine yourself with 1-2 leftover gold, and while most of the time you'd use these to reroll and freeze when you find minions you like, two free early-mid game kills is an absolute advantage, and will be beneficial through the whole game. If your opponent towards the end uses a lot of divine shield, tho, you'll be in trouble.

Tier 2:

Patches the Pirate: At the start of next combat, deal 3 damage to two random enemy minions. (1 Gold)

Patches' hero power allows you to have much earlier game control at the expense of 1 mana, which again you'll very often be leftover with. This is also good for the chance at popping Divine Shields, so while it falls off in the lategame it isn't completely useless, and gives absolute control in the early game for very cheap, letting you upgrade Tiers early and not waste Gold on winning early rounds.

Shudderwok: Your next battlecry this turn triggers twice. (2 Gold)

Shudderwok's Hero Power doesn't seem inherently powerful, but gives a ton of flexibility and can work with most tribes. It can be especially exploited with Annihilan Battlemaster to create an absolute monster of a body, and with Pogo Hopper (even better when Upgraded, giving +4/+4 per previous Pogo).

The Curator: Start the game with a 1/1 Amalgam that has all minion types. (Passive)

Due to the importance of tribal synergies, starting off with a 1/1 that covers all types gives the player huge flexibility and the chance to dump Battlecries on this minion, building a huge body which will last the entire game.

The Lich King: At the start of next combat, give your right-most minion reborn. (1 Gold)

This hero power will be simple to abuse, given the occurrence of Divine Shield and Deathrattle minions, both which can gain massive value off of a simple 1 gold. However due to how common tokens will be, the remaining body has a good chance of being dealt with easily.

Trade Prince Gallywix: Add a Gold Coin to your hand. (1 Gold)

This seems like the highest skill ceiling hero power to me, allowing players to really think through the ability to store unused gold from earlier turns and skip later with huge spending turns on Tiers and minions to make massive jumps with saved up gold. (I never played with or against this hero either)

Giantfin: At the start of your next combat, give your minions "Deathrattle: Summon a 1/1 Murloc." (1 Gold)

Taking this hero power obviously is benefited by committing to the Murloc tribe, given the heavy synergy of Murlocs such as Warleader and Tidecaller. Even if you don't want to roll Murlocs, a 1/1 body is great with any strategy as it can soak huge enemy attacks and give stronger end-round hits thanks to surviving tokens.

Tier 3:

Professor Putricide: At the start of next combat, give your left-most minion +10 attack. (1 Gold)

Since the left-most minion attacks first, a 10 damage bonus permits a free kill - unless you get unlucky enough to hit a minion with Divine Shield and Taunt, a combo which will be very common and thus really hindering to this hero power.

Lord Jaraxxus: Give your demons +1/+1. (3 Gold)

Demons seem like the second strongest tribe, but unlike beast and mech, don't have deathrattle longevity (until Void Lord at Tier 6). Because of this, the raw stat bonus from this hero power is useful, but 3 mana is a sink that you'll only be able to spend in the late game.

Bartendotron: Reduce the cost of Tavern Tiers by (1). (Passive)

This hero power seems a lot more powerful than it is, as a turn up on single tiers loses value very quickly. After the first couple tier upgrades, hero powers that get continuous value outpace Bartendotron's slight early advantage.

George the Fallen: Give a friendly minion Divine Shield. (4 Gold)

While Divine Shield will be exceptionally important in saving low health minions and soaking early damage on taunts, 4 Gold is a huge sink for a payoff that can be easier achieved by minion effects. (I may have undervalued him, but in practice what I saw at Blizzcon wasn't utilized well.)

Infinite Toki: Refresh Bob's Tavern. The last minion will be from a higher Tavern Tier. (1 Gold)

This is barely better than the actual reroll and while it has continuous value until Tier 6, seems inconsequential most of the time. Other hero powers seem to have a much stronger consistent value, unless the higher tiered minion happens to be from the tribe you're committing to. (Maybe a High 3 or even a low 2)

King Mukla: Whenever you sell a beast, add a Banana to your hand. (Passive)

The beast synergy just does not seem as strong as the other tribes, so if you're using Mukla you're shoehorned into using the worst synergy. The payoff isn't terrible, but doesn't seem worth having to stick with beasts.

The Great Akazamzarak: Discover a Secret. Put it into the battlefield. (2 Gold)

For 2 Gold, a Secret doesn't seem like it will be all that effective. Maybe Splitting Image would be worth it, but I don't see any other secret really making a huge difference. We also don't know the secret pool that will be used, which could make this much worse, and not much better.

The Rat King: Whenever you buy a tribe, give it +1/+2. Cycles each turn. (Passive)

(In the actual text, tribe is replaced by a tribe and changes each turn) Typically you'd want to commit to a single tribe due to the nature of synergies, but Rat King encourages picking a new tribe every turn. While the buff will help, it almost forces you to pick a specific minion or have your hero power be completely negligible.

Tier 4: Don't pick unless you want a bad time

Dancin' Deryl: After you sell a minion, randomly give two minions in Bob's Tavern +1/+1. (Passive)

After selling a minion, buffing two random minions 1/1 is too many variables to really encourage consistent value from. I don't see this being especially useful as you only sell in the late game when necessary.

Lich Baz'hial: Take 3 damage and add a Gold Coin to your hand. (0 Gold)

Taking 3 damage is a pretty hefty price for a single gold, and while the effect may eventually pay off, it will take a lot of planning (and luck) to get the real swing turns to come from the sacrifice you're making in order to gain that saved up gold. This seems terrible for inexperienced players, and only okay for those who really are able to maximize its value.

Tier 5: Absolutely don't pick

Pyramid: Give a random friendly minion +2 health. (1 Gold)

Random, and only health. I saw this in practice and it's just as bad as it sounds, and costs 1 Gold to boot.

Queen Wagtoggle: Give a random mech, Demon, Murloc, and Beast +1 health. (1 Gold)

Similarly to other tribe-spreading heroes, not committing to a single tribe is just a massive hindrance, and a +1 health bonus is inconsequential for that commitment.

Yogg-Saron, Hope's End: Hire a random minion in Bob's Tavern and give it +1/+1. (2 Gold)

I played with yogg, and the random selection does not make the +1/+1 worth it. It's a 2 gold sink that you'll often find goes completely wasted.

Final Thoughts:

If you made it this far, thanks for the read! Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment your opinions on my tiers, with your own theories or experiences from this weekend. In just about 16 hours this post will probably be completely proven wrong, but I figured we could have a place to discuss here before then! Hope to see you all in Battlegrounds soon :)

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