Battlegrounds Duos

Battlegrounds Duos is a Hearthstone patch released on April 16, 2024. It was versioned 29.2.0 with the build number 198037. It was released during the expansion Whizbang's Workshop

Card Changes

Umpire's Grasp - Cost increased to 4 (from 3).

Quote From Blizzard

Patch 29.2, launching on April 16, brings Battlegrounds Duos and Season 7, Once Upon a Tavern!

This story has lots of chapters, so you can use this Table of Contents to help you find what you need:

Table of Contents

New Mode—Battlegrounds Duos

Battlegrounds Duos is a new Mode within Battlegrounds! In Duos, you and a partner team up against three other teams of two. Each team has a shared Health and Armor pool, can see each other’s boards, can communicate with each other using pings, and can Pass each other cards through the Portal.

Generally, Battlegrounds changes (like minion and hero updates, seasonal mechanics, etc.) will apply to both regular Battlegrounds and Battlegrounds Duos. If you know Battlegrounds, you can jump into Duos right away! But there are also a few features that make Duos special:

You can queue into Duos with a friend as a team or on your own to be paired with a random teammate of a similar rating. You and a group of friends can also create private Duos games, just like regular Battlegrounds.

In Duos, the cost to upgrade into each of Tavern Tier 4, Tier 5, and Tier 6 costs 2 more Gold than in regular Battlegrounds.

There are some special Duos-only minions and Heroes (see below).

During the Recruit Phase, you can click on the Portal on the right side of the screen to swap between seeing your board and your teammate’s board.

You can right-click (or two-finger tap on mobile) on any interactable card or button, including minions, spells, the Tavern upgrade button, your hero power, and more, on your side or on your teammate’s side when viewing through the Portal, to bring up a simple Ping menu–similar to Emotes on your Hero. Your teammate can see what you pinged and respond with their own ping, so you can implement your strategy together!

Drag any card from your hand to the Portal for your teammate, for the price of 1 Gold. They’ll instantly get the card added to their hand (or, if their hand is full, it will appear in their hand once they have the space). But choose wisely: you can only Pass cards from your hand through the Portal. Once you play a minion, you can’t send it from play to your teammate’s hand.

Battlegrounds Duos will have its own ratings and leaderboard, separate from regular Battlegrounds.

Once Upon a Time… There was a New Battlegrounds Season!

Make your wish come true with Battlegrounds Season 7, Once Upon a Tavern. This is a new chapter in the story of Battlegrounds, bringing a massive minion shakeup for solo Battlegrounds and Battlegrounds Duos!

On April 16, Battlegrounds Season 6 will end, and Season 7 will begin. That means ratings will be reset, Battlegrounds Quests will be removed, and the Battlegrounds Track will switch over. All rewards that were earned from the Season 6 Track, but not yet claimed, will be automatically claimed. Tavern spells are not being removed and are now considered a regular part of Battlegrounds going forward. Turn timers have been temporarily extended for the start of the new season; turn timers will be reverted in a later update.

Hero Updates

New Heroes (Duos Only)

Cho (6 Armor)

Passive. Whenever you play a Golden minion, both you and Gall get a Triple Reward.

Can only be selected if your partner chooses Gall.

Gall (6 Armor)

Passive. Whenever you play a Golden minion, both you and Cho get a Triple Reward.

Can only be selected if your partner chooses Cho.

The Nameless One (12 Armor)

Passive. Start of Game: Copy your teammate’s Hero Power.

Flobbidinous Floop (15 Armor)

[0 Gold] Choose a friendly minion. Start of Combat: Transform it into your teammate’s highest-Tier minion.

Madam Goya (8 Armor)

[2 Gold] Pass a non-Golden minion.

Dev Comment: This hero power can target minions in your Warband or in the Tavern.

These new heroes will be offered in every Battlegrounds Duos game for the first two weeks after Patch launch.

Hero Pool Updates

Murloc Holmes is not part of the Hero Pool for Battlegrounds Duos.

Dev Comment: His hero power leads to frustrating gameplay with the team system.

Illidan Stormrage is banned from Dragons games across all Battlegrounds.

Sire Denathrius and E.T.C., Band Manager have been temporarily removed from the Hero Pool for all Battlegrounds games.

Professor Putricide has been temporarily removed from the Hero Pool for Battlegrounds Duos.

Hero Effect Updates

Thorim, Stormlord

Passive. At the start of the game, Discover a Tier 7 minion to get after you spend 65 Gold.

Argent Braggart has been removed from the Discoverable options. Additionally, Papa Bear now summons three 4/4 Mama Bears that give +4/+4 (Mama Bear herself is not in the minion pool).

Malygos

[0 Gold] Replace a card with a random one of the same Tier. (Twice per turn.)

Dev Comment: This used to only target minions, now it can target Tavern spells, too.

Captain Hooktusk

[0 Gold] Remove a minion. Discover one from a Tier lower to get.

Patchwerk

Passive: Start with 30 extra Health.

Dev Comment: This is a text-only change to make Patchwerk werk properly in Duos.

The Great Akazamzarak

[0 Gold] Choose a Secret. Put it into the Battlefield.

Dev Comment: Instead of a Discover from a pool, it will now always be a choice from the same 4 Secrets: Venomstrike Trap, Pack Tactics, Autodefense Matrix, and Redemption. Street Magician (Akazamzarak’s Buddy) will use the same pool for its random Secret. Ice Block has been removed from Battlegrounds entirely.

Dinotamer Brann

Passive. After you buy 4 Battlecry minions, get Brann Bronzebeard. (Once per game.)

New Minions

Fire Dancer (Tier 2)

4/2. Deathrattle: Deal 1 damage to all minions.

Assistant Guard (Tier 4)

2/3. Battlecry: Give a minion Taunt. Then give your Taunt minions +2/+3.

Winged Chimera (Tier 4, All)

3/6. Whenever this takes damage, give a friendly minion of each type +2/+1.

Mooneater’s Champion (Tier 5)

7/8. After you play an odd-Tier card, give your other odd-Tier minions +1/+1.

Unforgiving Treant (Tier 5)

1/12. Taunt. Whenever this takes damage, give your minions +1 Attack permanently.

Greymane’s Champion (Tier 6)

6/5. After you play an even-Tier card, give your other even-Tier minions +2/+2.

Murgl Mk II (Tier 3, Mech/Murloc)

2/4. Avenge (3): Give minions in your hand and board +1/+1 permanently.

Timecap’n Hooktail (Tier 3, Dragon/Pirate)

1/5. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give your other minions +1 Attack.

Slimy Felblood (Tier 3, Elemental/Demon)

3/4. Battlecry: Minions in the Tavern have +2 Health this game.

Fiery Felblood (Tier 3, Elemental/Demon)

4/3. Deathrattle: Minions in the Tavern have +3 Attack this game.

Shellemental (Tier 5, Elemental/Naga)

5/4. Spellcraft: Choose a minion in the Tavern. Give its stats to a random friendly minion.

Draconic Deathscale (Tier 4, Naga/Dragon)

6/3. Spellcraft: Trigger a friendly minion’s Battlecry.

Nightbane, Ignited (Tier 4, Dragon/Undead)

6/3. Taunt. Deathrattle: Give 2 random friendly minions this minion’s Attack.

Untameabull (Tier 6, Mech/Beast)

10/16. Whenever this takes damage, gain Divine Shield.

Trusty Pup (Tier 1, Beast)

1/3. Whenever this takes damage, gain +1 Attack permanently.

Irate Rooster (Tier 2, Beast)

3/4. Start of Combat: Deal 1 damage to adjacent minions and give them +4 Attack.

Silver Goose (Tier 2, Beast)

2/3. Whenever this takes damage, summon a 2/2 Fledgling with Taunt.

Silithid Burrower (Tier 3, Beast)

3/1. Taunt. Deathrattle: Give your Beasts +1/+1 permanently.

Rampager (Tier 3, Beast)

8/8. Whenever this attacks, deal 1 damage to your other minions.

Goldshell Warden (Tier 4, Beast)

3/4. Battlecry: Give your other Beasts +1/+4.

Iridescent Skyblazer (Tier 4, Beast)

2/5. Whenever a friendly Beast takes damage, give a friendly Beast other than it +1/+1 permanently.

Trigore the Lasher (Tier 5, Beast)

6/2. Whenever another friendly Beast takes damage, gain +2 Health permanently.

Spiked Savior (Tier 5, Beast)

12/4. Taunt. Deathrattle: Deal 1 damage to your minions and give them +1 Health.

False Implicator (Tier 3, Demon)

1/2. At the end of your turn, consume a minion in the Tavern to gain its stats.

Crafty Aranasi (Tier 4, Demon)

1/8. Whenever this takes damage, deal 5 damage to a random enemy minion.

Misfit Dragonling (Tier 1, Dragon)

1/2. Start of Combat: Gain stats equal to your Tier.

Glim Guardian (Tier 1, Dragon)

1/3. Whenever this attacks, gain +2/+1.

Dev Comment: This is a redesign and updated art piece for Glyph Guardian, which had Undead/Dragon art, but which we wanted to keep just a Dragon.

Thousandth Paper Drake (Tier 2, Dragon)

2/3. Start of Combat: Give your left-most Dragon +1/+2 and Windfury.

Roaring Rallier (Tier 3, Dragon)

3/4. Whenever a friendly Dragon attacks, give it +2/+2.

Persistent Poet (Tier 4, Dragon)

2/3. Divine Shield. Adjacent Dragons permanently keep your enchantments from combat.

Yu’lon, Fortune Granter (Tier 5, Dragon)

8/8. Start of Combat: Make your lowest-Tier minion Golden (except Yu’lon, Fortune Granter.)

Hoarding Hatespawn (Tier 6, Dragon)

10/10. Start of Combat: Steal 10/10 from the highest Health enemy minion.

Marine Matriarch (Tier 5, Elemental)

3/9. Whenever this takes damage, get a random Tavern spell. (3 times per combat.)

Cord Puller (Tier 1, Mech)

1/1. Divine Shield. Deathrattle: Summon a 1/1 Microbot.

Zilliax: Claw Module (Tier 2, Mech)

4/3. Taunt. This minion can triple with any Zilliax Modules.

Dev Comment: Each different Zilliax Module has an appearance rate 1/3 that of a regular Tier 2 minion’s. Any combination of 3 Modules will combine into a Golden Zilliax: Assembled, which has all the keywords of the Modules used as the components.

Zilliax: Crystal Module (Tier 2, Mech)

4/3. Reborn. This minion can triple with any Zilliax Modules.

Zilliax: Defense Module (Tier 2, Mech)

4/3. Divine Shield. This minion can triple with any Zilliax Modules.

Zilliax: Smoke Module (Tier 2, Mech)

4/3. Stealth. This minion can triple with any Zilliax Modules.

Zilliax: Whirring Module (Tier 2, Mech)

4/3. Windfury. This minion can triple with any Zilliax Modules.

Zilliax: Bonding Module (Tier 2, Mech)

4/3. Magnetic. This minion can triple with any Zilliax Modules.

Charging Czarina (Tier 5, Mech)

4/2. Divine Shield. Whenever you cast a Tavern spell, give your minions with Divine Shield +3 Attack.

Very Hungry Winterfinner (Tier 2, Murloc)

2/5. Taunt. Whenever this takes damage, give a minion in your hand +1/+1.

Shell Whistler (Tier 3, Naga)

3/2. Battlecry: Get a random Tavern spell from Tier 2.

Soft-hearted Siren (Tier 4, Naga)

3/6. Whenever this takes damage, get a random Spellcraft spell. (3 times per combat.)

Long John Copper (Tier 4, Pirate)

4/6. Whenever this takes damage, get a Gold Coin. (3 times per combat.)

Bristling Buffoon (Tier 3, Quilboar)

3/4. Whenever this takes damage, get a Blood Gem. (3 times per combat.)

Pokey Thornmantle (Tier 6, Quilboar)

4/5. At the end of your turn, your Blood Gems give an extra +1/+1 this game.

Hateful Hag (Tier 3, Undead)

4/2. Whenever this attacks, give the minion to the right of this Reborn.

The Uninvited Guest (Tier 6, Undead)

3/2. Start of Combat: Give your other minions “Deathrattle: Summon a 3/2 Shadow.”

New Minions (Duos Only)

Passenger (Tier 1)

2/3. The first time your team Passes each turn, gain +2/+2.

Wanderer Cho (Tier 2)

4/3. 1 Pass each turn is free.

Friendly Saloonkeeper (Tier 2)

3/4. Battlecry: Your teammate gets a Gold Coin.

Generous Geomancer (Tier 2, Quilboar)

2/1. Deathrattle: You and your teammate each get a Blood Gem.

Puddle Prancer (Tier 3, Murloc)

3/3. After this is Passed, gain +3/+3.

Orc-estra Conductor (Tier 3)

2/2. Give a minion +2/+2. Improve your team’s future Orc-estra Conductors.

Plunder Pal (Tier 3, Pirate)

2/2. At the start of your turn, you and your teammate each gain 1 Gold.

Doting Dracthyr (Tier 3, Dragon)

4/3. At the end of your turn, give your teammate’s minions +1 Attack.

Mirror Monster (Tier 4, All)

4/4. When you buy or Discover this, get an extra copy and Pass it.

Grave Narrator (Tier 4, Undead)

2/7. Avenge (3): Your teammate gets a random minion of their most common type.

Storm Splitter (Tier 4, Naga)

5/5. Once per turn, after you Pass a Tavern spell, get a new copy of it.

Man’ari Messenger (Tier 4, Demon)

7/4. Battlecry: Minions in your team’s Taverns have +2/+1 this game.

Feisty Freshwater (Tier 4, Elemental)

6/4. Deathrattle: You and your teammate each gain 2 Refreshes that cost (0).

Magnanimoose (Tier 4, Beast)

5/2. Deathrattle: Summon a copy of a minion from your teammate's warband. Set its Health to 1 (except Magnanimoose).

Well Wisher (Tier 5)

6/6. Spellcraft: Pass a different non-Golden minion.

Support System (Tier 5, Mech)

4/5. At the end of your turn, give a minion in your teammate’s warband Divine Shield.

Sandy (Tier 7)

1/1. Start of Combat: Transform into a copy of your teammate’s highest Health minion.

Minion Pool Updates

63 minions have been removed from the Minion Pool:

Beleaguered Battler

Yrel

Strongshell Scavenger

Rendle the Mistermind

Menagerie Jug

Saloon Dancer

Living Constellation

The Walking Fort

Motley Phalanx

Mad Matador

Mantid Queen

Cogwork Copter

Hunter of Gatherers

Legion Overseer

Felemental

Emergent Flame

Silent Swimmer

Sore Loser

Hawkstrider Herald

Dancing Barnstormer

Manasaber

Hungry Snapjaw

Sewer Rat

Humming Bird

Free-Flying Feathermane

Eagill

Mystic Sporebat

Mama Bear

Banana Slamma

Dreadbeard

Imprisoner

Upbeat Frontdrake

Twilight Emissary

Emerald Proto-Whelp

Bronze Sandspewer

Outback Smolderer

Sandstone Drake

Peckish Feldrake

Razorgore the Untamed

Nether Drake

Warpwing

Ignition Specialist

Master of Realities

Micro Mummy

Lighter Fighter

Kangor's Apprentice

Omega Buster

Murcules

Wayward Grimscale

Felfin Navigator

Pashmar the Vengeful

Critter Wrangler

Surf n' Surf

Southsea Busker

Greta Gold-Gun

Bloodsail Cannoneer

Audacious Anchor

Briarback Bookie

Bristleback Knight

Paint Smudger

Corpse Refiner

Steadfast Spirit

Grave Gobbler

15 minions have been returned to the Minion Pool:

Reef Explorer

Leeroy The Reckless

Magmaloc

Octosari, Wrap God

Kindly Grandmother

Backstage Security

Tarecgosa

Prized Promo-Drake

Molten Rock

Scourfin

Heedless Hoarder

Mini-Myrmidon

Deck Swabbie

Defiant Shipwright

Gem Smuggler

Minion Updates

Kindly Grandmother (Tier 1, Beast)

1/1. Deathrattle: Summon a 3/2 Big Bad Wolf.

Octosari, Wrap God (Tier 5, Beast)

5/6. Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Tentacle. (It gains +2/+2 permanently after you summon a minion in combat!)

(Golden) Wrath Weaver (Tier 1)

2/8. After you play a Demon, deal 1 damage to your hero and gain +2/+1, twice.

Dev Comment: Only the Golden version has changed.

Malchezaar, Prince of Dance (Tier 3, Demon)

4/3. 2 Refreshes each turn cost Health instead of Gold.

(Golden) Backstage Security (Tier 1, Demon)

8/8. At the start of your turn, deal 1 damage to your hero, twice.

Dev Comment: Only the Golden version has changed.

Electric Synthesizer (Tier 4, Dragon)

4/3. Battlecry: Give your other Dragons +3/+1.

Prized Promo-Drake (Tier 4, Dragon)

5/4. Start of Combat: Give your other Dragons +3/+3.

Molten Rock (Tier 1, Elemental)

3/1. After you play an Elemental, gain +1 Health.

Sellemental (Tier 2, Elemental)

3/3. When you sell this, get a 3/3 Elemental.

Party Elemental (Tier 2, Elemental)

3/2. After you play an Elemental, give a friendly Elemental other than it +1/+1.

Deep-Sea Angler (Tier 1, Naga)

2/2. Spellcraft: Give a minion +2 Health and Taunt until next turn.

Shell Collector (Tier 2, Naga)

4/3. Battlecry: Get a Gold Coin.

Daggerspine Thrasher (Tier 5, Naga)

4/8. Whenever you cast a spell, gain Divine Shield, Windfury, or Venomous until next turn.

Defiant Shipwright (Tier 2, Pirate)

2/4. Whenever this gains Attack, gain +1 Health.

Gem Smuggler (Tier 5, Quilboar)

4/3. Battlecry: Play 2 Blood Gems on all your other minions.

Disguised Graverobber (Tier 3, Undead)

4/4. Battlecry: Destroy a friendly Undead to get a plain copy of it.

Mummifier (Tier 4, Undead)

5/2. Deathrattle: Give a different friendly Undead Reborn.

New Tavern Spells

Top of the Beanstalk

[Tier 5, 5 Gold] Discover a minion from Tavern Tier 6.

Eyes of the Earth Mother

[Tier 5, 6 Gold] Choose a friendly minion from Tier 4 or below. Make it Golden.

Recruitment Program (Duos Only)

[Tier 2, 2 Gold] Get a random minion of your teammate’s most common minion type, then Pass it.

Catch! (Duos Only)

[Tier 3, 2 Gold] Give your minions +3 Attack. (Upgrades by +3 Attack after this is Passed!)

Portal in a Bottle (Duos Only)

[Tier 3, 2 Gold] Pass a non-Golden minion.

The three Duos-only Tavern Spells have a 1.5x appearance rate compared to other Tavern Spells.

Tavern Spell Pool Updates

Brann’s Blessing and Primal Staff have been removed from the Tavern Spell Pool for traditional Battlegrounds and Duos.

Tavern Spell Updates

Boon of Beetles

[Tier 3, 2 Gold] When you have space during combat, summon a 3/3 Beetle. (3 left!)

Fleeting Vigor

[Tier 3, 1 Gold] Start of Combat: Give your minions +2/+1.

New Battlegrounds Track and Season Pass

The Season 7 Battlegrounds Track, with the Season Pass, features 40 levels of storybook rewards, including the Endless Fables Legendary Strike, 18 additional Hero Skins, a new Bartender, and more!

For more details about the Season 7 Battlegrounds Track, and the new Battlegrounds Season Pass, see the Season 7 Announcement Blog.

Hearthstone Updates

Umpire’s Grasp

Old: [3 Mana]

New: [4 Mana]

Dev Comment: Since our last balance patch, Demon Hunter has been a clear power and playrate outlier, warping the meta across all ranks. Pushing back its ability to cheat out powerful demons should bring it more in line with the rest of the meta. We’re accelerating our normal balance patch window to address this one outlier with Patch 29.2, but are keeping our normal post-patch hotfix balance window to give us a chance to make wider changes in the coming weeks, once the meta is less warped around one dominant interaction.

Arena Updates

On April 16, all ongoing Arena runs will end, and a new Arena season will begin. Like the current season, this next season will include cards across all Hearthstone expansions and each class will get their own curated list of cards in their card pool. Those curated card pools will be adjusted with the seasonal update. The first pick of each Arena draft will still be a Legendary card and the only Legendary card you will be offered during your draft.

Twist Update

Twist will return in June. We’re working on a huge new Twist season with several unique decks and new hero powers—all of which needs just a little more time to cook. We look forward to sharing more with you about the upcoming Twist seasons in the coming weeks, before the next season begins.

In-Game Event: Double Trouble

Celebrate the launch of Battlegrounds Duos with a special split-track in-game event! From April 23 to May 7, you can choose one of two rewards tracks to earn Event XP towards. One track focuses on Traditional Hearthstone, granting 4 Whizbang’s Workshop Packs, 2 Standard Packs, and the Yrel the Knight Paladin Hero Skin for completion. The other track focuses on Battlegrounds Duos, granting a Whizbang’s Workshop Catch-Up Pack, a Standard Pack, and a Golem Curator Battlegrounds Hero Skin for completion.

Heroic Tavern Brawl Returns

It’s back! Heroic Tavern Brawl returns for the week of May 1-May 8. Compete in fierce, high-stakes Standard games for your shot at glory and amazing prizes! Pay the entry fee and then play against other players until you get either 12 wins or 3 losses.

New Cosmetic Type: Diamond Hero Skins

Introducing new Diamond Hero Skins! Diamond Hero Skins include a 3D portrait and animations, new voice lines, and unique visual effects. Ner’zhul, our first ever Diamond Hero Skin, is for the Shaman class and will be available starting April 16.

Just like on the ladder, we see these Diamond Hero Skins as just below Legendary. Additionally, going forward, our plan is for Legendary Hero Skins to feel truly legendary, like C’Thun does.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

[General] Duels Mode has been removed from the game. Players who had ongoing Heroic Duels runs have had their runs prized out in the same way as is done during a seasonal reset. Tavern Tickets can continue to be used in Arena.

[General] We’ve updated the minimum specifications to run Hearthstone on iOS and Android, requiring 3GB of RAM and no longer supporting iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, or iPhone 8 base models.

[NEW] Rules update: cards that force spells to be cast (like duplication or recasting) now check for target legality. (Meaning, for example, you can no longer use cards like Conductivity to Altered Chord an Elusive minion or Promotion a minion that isn't a Silver Hand Recruit). If the would-be target is not a legal target, that portion of the spell won't have any effect.

[Hearthstone] Actually removed the tip that read, in part, “This tip was removed. Translators: please leave this blank.”

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Splendiferous Whizbang only used the basic hero skins.

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Queen Azshara’s Ring of Tides counted as a 1-mana card for purposes of cards like Pip the Potent and Skulking Geist, even before transforming.

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Astral Automaton would appear as a 0/1 when transformed into.

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where several totem-summoning cards still generated Strength Totem instead of Wrath of Air Totem.

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Khadgar’s Wisdomball could target friendly targets if all enemy targets were untargetable.

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where a High Priestess Jeklik discarded with Soularium would keep the Soularium discard enchantment, leading it to be discarded and multiply every turn.

[Hearthstone] Fixed various wording, text, and tooltip errors on several cards.

[Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Harth Stonebrew didn’t have his Golden animation or his Battlecry animation.

[Hearthstone] Whizbang the Wonderful has been reverted to its normal effect (it was temporarily changed due to March’s Twist season).

[Battlegrounds] General performance improvements and fixes for bugs causing crashes.

[Battlegrounds] Dinotamer Brann’s Hero Power will now wait until you have handspace.

[Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Plunder Seeker couldn’t be played if there were only Tavern Spells in the Tavern.

[Collection] Fixed a bug where there was only one non-golden Vampiric Blood granted in Core.

[Collection] Fixed a bug where players got an error message when attempting to craft certain Golden versions of Wild Demon Hunter cards.

[Solo Content] Fixed a bug where the Mechwarper change made an adventure encounter unable to be solved.

[Progression] Some Daily and Weekly Quests have been adjusted to be harder to complete but will grant more XP.

[Progression] Fixed a bug where Mini cards granted by Botface didn’t give progression for the “Play Miniaturize or Mini cards” weekly quest.