We've got two returning heroes to the Battlegrounds pool which is great news for Hearthstone achievement hunters! In addition to this, several minion updates are coming with the patch that sees some buffs to Elementals, Dragons, and Beasts!
Returning Battleground Heroes
- Queen Wagtoggle returns with a nerfed hero power.
- New: Give a friendly minion of each minion type +1/+1. (Was +2/+1)
- Captain Hooktusk returns with a hero power change.
- New: Remove a friendly minion. Choose one of two from a Tavern Tier lower to keep.
- Now costs 0 gold (Down from 1).
Battlegrounds Minion Updates
Dragons
- Steward of Time
- Now has 3 health (Down from 4).
- Gives minions in Bob's Tavern +2/+1 when sold. (Up from +1/+1).
- Herald of Flame now has 6 attack (Up f rom 5).
Beasts
- Pack Leader now has 3 attack (Up from 2).
- Monstrous Macaw now has 5 attack (Up from 4).
Elementals
- Wildfire Elemental now has 4 health (Up from 3).
- Lieutenant Garr now has 8 attack (Up from 5).
- Lil' Rag now has 6 attack and 6 health (Up from 4/4).
Quote From Blizzard RETURNING HEROES
Queen Wagtoggle
- Wax Warband
- Old: Give a friendly minion of each minion type +2/+1 → New: Give a friendly minion of each minion type +1/+1.
Captain Hooktusk
- Trash for Treasure
- Old: Remove a friendly minion. Discover a random one from a Tavern Tier lower. → New: Remove a friendly minion. Choose one of two from a Tavern Tier lower to keep.
MINION UPDATES
Steward of Time
- Old: 3 Attack, 4 Health. When you sell this minion, give all minions in Bob’s Tavern +1/+1. → New: 3 Attack, 3 Health. When you sell this minion, give all minions in Bob’s Tavern +2/+1.
Pack Leader
- Old: 2 Attack, 3 Health → New: 3 Attack, 3 Health
Monstrous Macaw
- Old: 4 Attack, 3 Health → New: 5 Attack, 3 Health
Herald of Flame
- Old: 5 Attack, 6 Health → New: 6 Attack, 6 Health
Wildfire Elemental
- Old: 7 Attack, 3 Health → New: 7 Attack, 4 Health
Lieutenant Garr
- Old: 5 Attack, 1 Health → New: 8 Attack, 1 Health
Lil’ Rag
- Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health → New: 6 Attack, 6 Health
Comments
Demons & Mechs too strong already?
Some of these changes are completely useless. When are these incompetents going to nerf the damage we receive from stupid boards?!
This is what "balance" means for blizzard...
“Hey! Elementals in BGs are pretty strong. Should we nerf any of them?”
”No, make them stronger!”
Steward of Time nerf will be noticeable, I dont think many ppl use it for the +1/+1, but rather the raw stats you can get from a Tier 2 minion. A 3/3 is pathetic, lots of stuff have 3-Attack, it could usually trade with two things, now it will not do that as often.
I agree, Steward is mostly picked up in early game now when you have no better options.
After the nerf it falls into "understated 3/3 minion with possible upsides" category, where the competition is strong: Warleader, Gambler, Packleader
The comparison to Freedealing Gambler is instructive. Same tier, and now same stats, but the flexibility of the Gambler (whether you're running pirates or not) is so much greater. The Gambler interacts with more synergies earlier. Now, buying Steward of Time means you're really hoping you can sell it at the right time instead of just in whatever flow you're in. Interesting.
Captain Hooktusk is a druid Pog