Blizzard has launched a new Hearthstone Battlegrounds update today that makes some big changes.
Some patches include just bugfixes and UI tweaks, however, today’s update goes much further than this.
Blizzard has confirmed that a wave of new content has been added to the game, including new Minions and seven additional Battlegrounds Heroes to choose.
One of the things fans will notice straight away is that Dragons are a new minion type.
And while that will be the standout addition, it should also be noted that 18 new minions will be added alongside them, 12 of which will be the new Dragon minion type.
And in a bigger change, Blizzard has also announced that two minions will be new to Hearthstone altogether and exclusive to Battlegrounds.
Blizzard is also making it possible to unlock new rewards for Hearthstone by watching Twitch, which fits into the game’s yearly celebrations.
“We’re celebrating the first new minion-type in Battlegrounds with Twitch Drops,” a message from the development team explains.
“From February 26 at 11 a.m. PT – February 29 at 5:00 p.m. PT, watch 3 total hours of any Hearthstone stream on Twitch to get 1 Descent of Dragons card pack.
“Watch for 6 hours (consecutive or non-consecutive) to get another one! Watch time accumulates across the entire Hearthstone category, so long as your Battle.net and Twitch accounts are linked.”
The new Battleground Heroes include:
- Galakrond: Hero Power: Galakrond’s Greed [Cost 1]: Replace a minion in Bob’s Tavern with a random one from a higher Tavern Tier.
- Deathwing: Hero Power: All Will Burn [Passive]: All minions have +3 Attack.
- Ysera: Hero Power: Dream Portal [Cost 1]: Refresh and add a Dragon to Bob’s Tavern.
- Nozdormu: Hero Power: Clairvoyance [Passive]: Your first Refresh each turn costs (0).
- Malygos: Hero Power: Arcane Alteration [Cost 0]: Replace a minion with a random one of the same Tavern Tier.
- Alexstrasza: Hero Power: Queen of Dragons [Passive]: After you upgrade Bob’s Tavern to Tavern Tier 5, Discover two Dragons.
- Reno Jackson: Hero Power: Gonna Be Rich! [Cost 4]: Make a friendly minion Golden (once per game).
The new minion types have also been revealed, with this list being provided by the folks over at Hearthstone Reddit:
- Dragonspawn Lieutenant [Dragon, Tier 1] 2 Attack, 3 Health: Taunt.
- Red Whelp [Dragon, Tier 1] 1 Attack, 2 Health: Start of Combat: Deal 1 damage per friendly Dragon to one random enemy minion.
- Glyph Guardian [Dragon, Tier 2] 2 Attack, 4 Health: When this minion attacks, double its attack.
- Steward of Time [Dragon, Tier 2] 2 Attack, 4 Health: When you sell this minion, give all minions in Bob’s Tavern +1/+1.
- Waxrider Togwaggle [Tier 2] 1 Attack, 2 Health: Whenever a friendly Dragon kills an enemy, gain +2/+2.
- Unstable Ghoul [Tier 2] 1 Attack, 3 Health: Taunt, Deathrattle: Deal 1 damage to all minions.
- Bronze Warden [Dragon, Tier 3] 2 Attack, 1 Health: Divine Shield, Reborn.
- Hangry Dragon [Dragon, Tier 3] 4 Attack, 4 Health: At the start of your turn, if you won the last combat get +2/+2.
- Drakonid Enforcer [Dragon, Tier 4] 3 Attack, 6 Health: After a friendly minion loses Divine Shield, gain +2/+2.
- Herald of Flame [Dragon, Tier 4] 5 Attack, 4 Health: Overkill: Deal 3 damage to the left-most enemy minion.
- Cobalt Scalebane [Dragon, Tier 4] 5 Attack, 5 Health: At the end of your turn, give another random friendly minion +3 Attack.
- Murozond [Dragon, Tier 5] 5 Attack, 5 Health: Battlecry: Add a minion to your hand from your last opponent’s warband.
- Twilight Emissary [Dragon, Tier 5] 6 Attack, 8 Health: Taunt, Battlecry: Give a friendly Dragon +3/+3.
- Razorgore, the Untamed [Dragon, Tier 5] 2 Attack, 4 Health: At the end of your turn, gain +1/+1 for each Dragon you have.
- Holy Mackerel [Murloc, Tier 6] 8 Attack, 4 Health: After another friendly minion loses Divine Shield, gain Divine Shield.
- Imp Mama [Demon, Tier 6] 6 Attack, 8 Health: Whenever this minion takes damage, summon a random Demon and give it Taunt.
- Kalecgos, Arcane Aspect [Dragon, Tier 6] 2 Attack, 8 Health: After you play a minion with Battlecry, give your Dragons +1/+1.
- Nadina the Red [Tier 6] 7 Attack, 4 Health: Deathrattle: Give your Dragons Divine Shield.
Blizzard has also announced the removal of one hero and a few minions, some of which need a revamp, while others are going to make way for the new minions being released today.
Removed Heroes include Professor Putricide, with Blizzard confirming: “We’d like to go back to the drawing board with Professor Putricide. We’re going to disable him for now to make way for our new Heroes, but you’ll likely see him return in the future with some changes.”
Removed Minions
- Shielded Minibot
- Annoy-o-Tron
- Mounted Raptor
- Phalanx Commander
- Psych-o-Tron
- Tortollan Shellraiser
- Piloted Sky Golem
- Festeroot Hulk
- Boogeymonster
- Sated Threshadon
Dev Insight: “We’re removing some minions to help make room for the new minions. We also want to balance out the minion pool a bit.
“For example, there were way more Mechs in Battlegrounds than any other minion type. We’re also removing some of the minions that aren’t performing very well and ones that have generally been less exciting to play with.”