Hearthstone's Battlegrounds Gets a New Hero and Minion, Rebalancing, Future Minion and Tribe Overhaul

Patch 20.8, released today on July 1, is bringing us a lot of changes for Battlegrounds.

• A new hero: Kurtrus Ashfallen.
  • Final Showdown: [Passive] Buy 3 minions in 1 turn to give them +2/+2 and progress this.
  • Gain Momentum: [Passive] Buy 4 minions in 1 turn to give your hand and board +2/+2 and progress this.
  • Close the Portal: [Passive] Buy 5 minions in 1 turn to give ALL your minions this game +2/+2.
• A new minion: Archdruid Hamuul
  
  • [Tier 6] Battlecry: Refresh Bob's Tavern with your most common minion type.
• Re-balance of several existing heroes.
• Buffs to several existing minions.
• The Lich King has returned to the Battlegrounds Hero pool. There must always be a Lich King!
• Shudderwock has been temporarily removed from the Battlegrounds Hero pool.
• Darkmoon Prizes return! They will now appear in 25% of our games overall (not every 4th game).

After the end of Fire Festival on July 27, party will continue in Battlegrounds with new Battlegrounds-only Hero skins and alternate Bartender - Tikilord Ragnaros.

There will also be a huge archetype overhaul based on minion Types in a future patch. 30 minions will get swapped for new ones that will be specifically designed to 'play off the core fantasy of that Type and re-emphasize how the Types play'. For example, Pirates will be more focused on amassing Gold and loot, as shown in a preview of two future Pirates.

Quote From Blizzard

Battlegrounds Updates

NEW HERO

Kurtrus Ashfallen

• Final Showdown
  • [Passive] Buy 3 minions in 1 turn to give them +2/+2 and progress this.
• Gain Momentum
  • [Passive] Buy 4 minions in 1 turn to give your hand and board +2/+2 and progress this.
• Close the Portal
  • [Passive] Buy 5 minions in 1 turn to give ALL your minions this game +2/+2.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Kurtrus before it's formally released on July 15.

NEW MINION

Archdruid Hamuul

• [Tier 6] Battlecry: Refresh Bob's Tavern with your most common minion type.

RETURNING & REMOVED HEROES

• The Lich King has returned to the Battlegrounds Hero pool. There must always be a Lich King!
• Shudderwock has been temporarily removed from the Battlegrounds Hero pool.

Galakrond

• Galakrond’s Greed         
  • Old: [Costs 0] Replace a minion in Bob's Tavern with a minion from a higher Tavern Tier. → New: [Costs 1] Choose a minion in Bob's Tavern. Discover a higher Tier minion to replace it.

Trade Prince Gallywix

• Smart Savings
  • Old: [Costs 1] Add a Gold Coin to your hand. → New: [Passive] After you sell a minion, get 1 extra Gold next turn. (Can exceed 10)

Maiev Shadowsong

• Imprison
  • Old: Make a minion in Bob’s Tavern Dormant. After 2 turns, get it with +1 Attack. → New: Make a minion in Bob's Tavern Dormant. After 3 turns, get it with +1/+1.

UPDATED HEROES

Edwin VanCleef

• Sharpen Blades
  • Old: Give a minion +1/+1 for each minion you've bought this turn. → New: Give a minion +2/+1 for each minion you've bought this turn.

Dinotamer Brann

• Battle Brand
  • Old: [Costs 1] Refresh Bob’s Tavern with Battlecry minions. → New: [Passive] After you buy 5 Battlecry minions, add Brann Bronzebeard to your hand. (Once per game)

Illidan Stormrage

• Wingmen
  • Old: Start of Combat: Your left and right-most minions attack immediately. → New: Start of Combat: Your left and right-most minions gain +2 Attack and attack immediately.

Sindragosa

• Stay Frosty
  • Old: [Passive] At the end of your turn, Frozen minions get +2/+1. → New: [Costs 0] Freeze a minion in Bob's Tavern. Frozen minions get +2/+1 every turn.

Guff Runetotem

• Natural Balance
  • Old: Give a friendly minion of each Tavern Tier +2/+1. → New: Give a friendly minion of each Tavern Tier +1/+1.

Overlord Saurfang

• For the Horde!
  • Old: Give +1 Attack to the next minion you buy this turn (Upgrades each turn!) → New: Give +2 Attack to the next minion you buy this turn. (Upgrades each turn!)

N'Zoth

• Avatar of N’Zoth
  • Old: Start the game with a 1/1 Fish that gains all your Deathrattles in combat. → New: Start the game with a 2/2 Fish that gains all your Deathrattles in combat.

The Curator

• Menagerist
  • Old: Start the game with a 1/2 Amalgam with all minion types. → New: Start the game with a 2/2 Amalgam with all minion types.

King Mukla

• Bananarama
  • Big Banana rate increased to 50% (up from 33%).

MINION UPDATES

Deflect-o-Bot

• Old: Divine Shield. Whenever you summon a Mech during combat, gain +1 Attack and Divine Shield. → New: Divine Shield. Whenever you summon a Mech during combat, gain +2 Attack and Divine Shield.

Lieutenant Garr

• Old: 8 Attack, 1 Health → New: 8 Attack, 8 Health

Refreshing Anomaly

• Old: 1 Attack, 3 Health → New: 1 Attack, 4 Health

Bigfernal

• Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health → New: 6 Attack, 6 Health

Razorgore, the Untamed

• Old: 2 Attack, 4 Health → New: 4 Attack, 6 Health

Pack Leader

• Old: 3 Attack, 3 Health → New: 3 Attack, 4 Health

Mama Bear

• Old: 4 Attack, 4 Health. Whenever you summon a Beast, give it +4/+4. → New: 5 Attack, 5 Health Whenever you summon a Beast, give it +5/+5.

Soul Juggler

• Old: 3 Attack, 3 Health → New: 3 Attack, 5 Health

Nathrezim Overseer

• Old: 2 Attack, 3 Health → New: 2 Attack, 4 Health

DARKMOON PRIZES RETURN IN 25% OF GAMES

• Darkmoon Prizes are returning and will appear in one out of every four Battlegrounds matches! Games featuring Darkmoon Prizes happen at random and are not guaranteed to show up in every fourth match you play—it’s possible to have several games in a row with Darkmoon Prizes, or several games without.

DARKMOON PRIZES UPDATES

Might of Stormwind

• Old: Give your minions +1/+1. → New: Give 3 random friendly minions +1/+1.

The Good Stuff

• Old: Give minions in Bob's Shop +1 Health for the rest of the game. → New: Give minions in Bob's Tavern +2 Health for the rest of the game.

Great Deal

• Old: For the rest of the game, reduce the cost of upgrading Bob's Tavern by (2) at the end of your turn. → New: For the rest of the game, reduce the cost of upgrading Bob's Tavern by (3) at the end of your turn.

I'm Still Just a Rat in a Cage

• Moved to from Prize Turn 3 to Prize Turn 2.

Quote From Blizzard

The Afterparty!

July 27 – The Party Continues with Battlegrounds Cosmetics!

Right after the Fire Festival ends, we’re moving the party over to Battlegrounds! The first-ever Battlegrounds cosmetics go live on July 27 with the Battlegrounds Bundle: Beach Party! The Beach Party includes beach party themed skins for seven different Battlegrounds heroes, as well as the Tikilord Ragnaros alternate Bartender. Tikilord Ragnaros includes a new portrait AND NEW VOICELINES FOR YOUR BATTLEGROUNDS BARTENDER! AMAZING!

Don’t let the party die! Or do. You can also pick up Battleground Heroes: Shadowlands for eight more Battlegrounds hero skins, based on Warcraft’s afterlife. Grab either set, or both, and personalize your Battlegrounds experience to whatever strikes your fancy.

Stay tuned for more Battlegrounds cosmetics, including more alternate Bartenders and more Hero skins, throughout the year!

 

Next Major Battlegrounds Update

Finally, looks aren’t the only thing being updated in Battlegrounds! In an upcoming content patch, Battlegrounds will get all-new heroes and undergo a major rework of all minion Types. We will be swapping out over 30 existing minions for new ones specifically designed to play off the core fantasy of that Type and re-emphasize how the Types play, giving the entire mode a massive refresh! For instance, Pirates will have a bigger emphasis on amassing Gold and treasure, with new cards like Briny Bootlegger and Nosy Looter.

Keep an eye out for more about the changes that will be coming to Battlegrounds as we get closer to the launch.

Are you excited for the changes? Tell us in the comments!