HearthPwn's Battlegrounds Hero Tier List
Last Updated - 05/05/20 - Basic changes and reordering.
We've changed our approach for the Tier List this week, straying from the Innkeeper based list we've adhered to in the past. With Blizzard seemingly releasing constant patches and re-balancing, it's been difficult to time updates that include enough data to be statistically relevant. Once again we quickly received a large Hero rotation and many card changes in a short period of time.
While we're still using Win Percentages and Average Placement for reference, this week's list is in large part based on our experiences in the Battlegrounds.
We expect this to be a short-lived change and plan to return to the old format as soon as we're comfortable with the statistics we've accumulated. As we've previously mentioned, your use of the Innkeeper is what will power that Tier List. The more games you're able to log by running Innkeeper in the background, the better our Tier List can become!
A welcome addition to this week's list is a table of Top Heroes for users to quickly reference what we're considering your best picks. The usual list and Hero descriptions follow.
Top Heroes
1. Dancin' Deryl
Passive Hero Power: After you sell a minion, randomly give a minion in Bob's Tavern +1/+1 twice. Deryl is widely considered one of the strongest Battleground heroes, but also one of the most difficult to pilot. Knowing when to buy and sell and how to target the minions you want can prove tricky. However, mastering your "Dance" turns can lead to a giant board of hand-selected buffed minions.
2. Arch-Villain Rafaam
Hero Power: Next combat, add a plain copy of the first minion you kill to your hand. Rafaam can easily build a big board faster than many heroes by "stealing" minions from your opponents. It's important to check what build the next player you are facing is going for before deciding whether to devote the gold to your Hero Power. However, even if you steal a minion you don't want, it's basically free as you can just sell it in Bob's Tavern next round and get your gold back.
3. Nozdormu
Passive Hero Power: Your first Refresh each turn costs (0). Nozdormu's Hero Power is highly versatile and can save you a lot of gold over the course of a match. Getting a free refresh each round let's you eliminate a poor selection of minions and increase your odds of finding what you're looking for. You can also spend gold to upgrade your tavern and then refresh for free to a higher tier of minions before purchasing any.
4. Deathwing
Passive Hero Power: ALL minions have +2 Attack. Deathwing's Hero Power can be extremely powerful in token based strategies. Cards like Rat Pack and Replicating Menace can provide overwhelming boards of 3 attack minions. Other abilities such as Divine Shield can also lead to big power swings. The key strategy is to swarm your opponents with as many minions as possible. It's important to remember that your Hero Power will also be buffing the opposing minions.
5. Yogg-Saron, Hope's End
Hero Power: Hire a random minion in Bob's Tavern and give it +1/+1. Yogg Saron's Hero Power can fall victim to its' randomness at times. But if you can put the minions you get to use, he is most definitely one of the strongest heroes. Randomness aside, you're effectively receiving a buffed minion that's discounted by one gold. Praise Yogg!
6. Edwin VanCleef
Hero Power: Give a minion +1/+1 for each minion you've bought this turn. Edwin's ability proves useful throughout the entirety of the game. Buffing minions early can give you a stronger board than most opponents, while late game buffs can be used on your important minions that might other wise be hard to protect. Wisely balancing between purchasing minions and buffing your board is essential.
7. Infinite Toki
Hero Power: Refresh Bob's Tavern. Include a minion from a higher Tavern Tier. Toki not only refreshes the Tavern for one gold, you're also guaranteed one minion from a higher Tavern Tier. While it can be a bit random, it can also prove very powerful as you reach the later Tiers. Rolling into Tier 6 minions while you're only at Tavern Tier 5 can put your Comp over the top if you're lucky enough to find what you're looking for.
8. Alexstrasza
Passive Hero Power: After you upgrade Bob's Tavern to Tavern Tier 5, Discover two Dragons. Alex allows you to immediately discover two Dragons when you upgrade your Tavern to Tier 5. There are no restrictions as to what Tier the Dragons come from, so you're drawing from the entire pool. Several Dragons -- specifically the late game ones -- are very powerful and can swing you the game if you are lucky enough to get them.
9. Elise Starseeker
Passive Hero Power: When you upgrade Bob's Tavern get a 'Recruitment Map'. Elise's Map allows you to discover a minion from the Tavern tier you've just upgraded to. The spell costs 3 gold, but can prove to be very powerful -- especially when you're reaching higher tiers in the Tavern. Getting to choose from three Tier-5 or Tier-6 minions in the late game can provide big swings to your board.
10. Sir Finley Mrrgglton
Passive Hero Power: At the start of the game, Discover a Hero Power. Finley's all about flexibility. He can effectively become any Hero in the Battlegrounds through his ability to Discover their Powers. During Hero selection, if you're offered a strong choice it's usually best to pick it. However, if you're given weak options Sir Finley can often bail you out and save your run.
11. Pyramad
Hero Power: Give a random friendly minion +4 Health. Pyramad randomly buffs one of your minions by four Health. The recent move from 3 to 4 seems to have greatly increased this Hero's power level. At a cost of 1-gold, it's best to try to weave a Hero Power in every turn that you can.
12. The Rat King
Passive Hero Power: Whenever you buy a Beast, give it +1/+2. Swaps type each turn. Timing can be everything when it comes to utilizing The Rat King's Hero Power. Catching an early buff on a strong tribal minion or buffing several in the late game once you've committed to a Comp can lead to success. However, the constant changing power can lead to inconsistent buffs.
13. Malygos
Hero Power: Replace a minion with a random one of the same Tavern Tier. Maly's Hero Power rerolls a minion each turn for free. This is valuable throughout the game and gives you an extra chance to find the minion you're looking for. One overlooked value of the Hero Power is that you can use it on your own minions as well.
14. The Curator
Passive Hero Power: Start the game with a 1/1 Amalgam with all minion types. Curator's little 1/1 Amalgam can be one of the most consistent minions in Battlegrounds. With the addition of Dragons, menagerie builds have grown to another level and nobody benefits more than this hero. Transforming your Amalgam into a massive poisonous minion can often lead to easy top-4's.
15. Millhouse Manastorm
Passive Hero Power: Minions cost 2 Gold. Refresh costs 2 Gold. Tavern Tiers cost (1) more. Millhouse can seem like a totally different game of Battlegrounds from other Heroes. While minions are cheaper, this is offset by your Refresh and Tavern Tiers being more expensive. Being able to purchase a Minion on turn one, and then two additional Minions on turn two can sometimes out-tempo opponents.
16. Patchwerk
Passive Hero Power: Start with 50 Health instead of 40. Patchwerk's extra 10 Health won't grant you a lot of extra time in the later rounds. Not having a proactive Hero Power in the early turns proves detrimental and damage output as the game progresses generally erases the Health advantage very quickly.
17. Sindragosa
Passive Hero Power: At the end of your turn, Frozen minions get +1/+1. Sindragosa excels early on by abusing her Hero Power. The ability to effectively give all offered minions +1/+1 over the first few turns while spending no gold can lead to powerful early turn boards. This becomes less desirable as the game progresses and should be utilized heavily in the early game.
18. The Great Akazamzarak
Hero Power: Discover a Secret. Put it into the battlefield. Akazamzarak discovers a card from a large pool of secrets each time you use his Hero Power. While there is a high level of variance in your discover choices, some secrets such as Ice Block or Splitting Image are very powerful. If your secret isn't triggered during battle, it rolls over until your opponent activates it.
19. A. F. Kay
Passive Hero Power: Skip your first two turns. Start with two minions from Tavern Tier 3. A. F. Kay's success often depends on what two minions she's offered on turn 3. If your discover options are bad, things can spiral out of control pretty quick. However, discovering powerful options such as Soul Juggler, Pack Leader, or Hangry Dragon -- and then finding some supporting cards -- can be a huge boost and roll to victories.
20. Millificent Manastorm
Passive Hero Power: Mechs in Bob's Tavern have +2 Attack. Millificent can struggle much like Jaraxxus. Her Hero Power does offer a powerful buff, but can often fall flat if you don't receive the Mechs you need to succeed. Being that Cobalt Guardian is one of the most sought minions, they're often tough to come by. That being said, if you're lucky enough to land some Mechs, you're usually able to piece together a fairly strong board.
21. Queen Wagtoggle
Hero Power: Give a random friendly Mech, Demon, Murloc, Beast, and Dragon +2 Attack. Wagtoggle shines in Menagerie builds. Having a large board with a good mix of tribes can lead to many buffed minions.
22. Lich Baz'hial
Hero Power: Take 2 damage and add a Gold Coin to your hand. Baz'hial's Hero Power is free -- kind of. It won't cost you any gold, but you will sacrifice two Health each time you wish to gain a Coin in your hand. If you're able to get off to a fast start utilizing the ability, you might have some success. But, most times the life sacrifice is hard to overcome.
23. Nefarian
Hero Power: Start of Combat: Deal 1 damage to all enemy minions. Nefarian's Hero Power serves different roles as the game progresses. Early on it can often weaken or even kill your opponent's minions. However, it truly shines in the late game when its' primary function can be to eliminate any Divine Shields. A lot of compositions rely heavily on Divine Shields, and wiping them all out before the battle begins can be back breaking.
24. Bartendotron
Passive Hero Power: Reduce the cost of Tavern Tiers by (1). Bartendo's Hero Power reduced the cost of Tavern Tiers by one gold for the duration of the match. Through the course of the game this allows you to purchase minions before the rest of the competition. As one might think -- having access to higher Tier minions early on can lead to some snowballing wins.
25. George the Fallen
Hero Power: Give a friendly minion Divine Shield. While giving one of your minions Divine Shield is very powerful, George's Hero Power doesn't find much use in the early game due to its' cost of three gold. However, if you can build a solid board for the late game, being able to give one of your minions a Shield every turn can lead to a very strong Composition.
26. Ysera
Passive Hero Power: At the start of your turn, add a Dragon to Bob's Tavern. Ysera relies on focusing on a Dragon Composition. With the Hero Power being changed from 1-cost to passive, we would expect it to be much easier to establish a board full of Dragons.
27. Reno Jackson
Hero Power: Make a friendly minion Golden. (Once per game.) Reno has a unique Hero Power that allows you to make one of your minions into a golden version. You don't receive a discover a minion card like you normally would when tripling a minion -- but, it's still a powerful ability nonetheless. Choosing a minion can be tough, but it's usually best to upgrade in the early to mid-game.
28. Shudderwock
Hero Power: Your next Battlecry this turn triggers twice. Shudderwock's Hero Power seems to work best in conjunction with buffing Battlecries. The addition of Dragons has further solidified Menagerie Comps, and Shudder's power works well with Zoobot, Menagerie Magician, etc.
29. The Lich King
Hero Power: Give a friendly minion Reborn for the next combat only. Ideally, The Lich King's Hero Power is now targeted instead of limited to your right most minion. This can be fairly powerful when applied to the correct minion. High value targets are usually Divine Shield minions or minions with a Deathrattle effect.
30. Illidan Stormrage
Passive Hero Power: Start of Combat: Your left and right-most minions attack immediately. Illidan's Hero Power essentially gives your left-most and right-most minions charge. Before anything else happens at the start of battle they will randomly attack minions. If you're lucky enough to get the right minions to place on the outsides, this has potential to be powerful. However, it seems far too inconsistent for the Demon Hunter to be top tier.
31. Fungalmancer Flurgl
Passive Hero Power: After you sell a Murloc, add a random Murloc to Bob's Tavern. Flurgl's Power doesn't lend well to the overall goal of Battlegrounds. Players are trying to build big boards to kill their opponents, which can become rather difficult if you're constantly trying to sell minions off your board. For this reason, the Hero Power is in large part useless from mid to late-game.
32. Lord Jaraxxus
Hero Power: Give your Demons +1/+1. Jaraxxus' success is often highly subject to his offerings from the Tavern. Giving all your Demons +1/+1 is a very powerful tool -- if there are Demons available for you to buy. If you're able to build a strong Demon Composition, your Hero Power can sometimes lead you to a Top 4.
33. Professor Putricide
Hero Power: Give a friendly minion +10 Attack for the next combat only. The Professor's Hero Power seems like it should be strong in theory. However, giving a single minion +10 attack often falls short in the late game against giant boards. It should be noted that this can be very good when placed on a Cleave-type minion.
34. Galakrond
Hero Power: Replace a minion in Bob's Tavern with a minion from a higher Tavern Tier. Galakrond seems a little slow for the current Battlegrounds Meta. Upgrading minions in the early game doesn't often lead to anything very impactful -- unless your plan is to continually freeze and upgrade it again. By the time you reach the late game and are able to upgrade into meaningful minions, it's too late.
Look i get that you don't have someone to do the tier lists up to date. So why don't you just remove it so people don't waste their time coming to this page?
So out of date this hurts, Looking for a better list.
Tier list is out of date !! come on guys
Rafaam is still on the very top!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7_5TMalLK0
check out this cool play swinging from built to built with Rafaam and a golden Brann!
Could you guys please update the tier list?
much has changed in battlegrounds - definetly needs an update!
Wow this is out of date
A lot of straight up bad picks. AFK is nowhere this bad and fungalmancer as well.
Just got bartendotron and decided to try upgrading to tier 6 asap.
I lost 6 rounds in a row.
Then I won 6 rounds in a row, and came 2nd
Currently 22 games, 20 wins with Toki.. =)
Well, no hero is useless or unwinnable with, so I'll refrain from saying the list is completely wrong. But Nefarian and Shudderwock seem oddly low.
Really, there's a group of heroes where the expectation is top 4, then there's everyone else.
And sometimes playing a hero you rarely use you are likely to win with simply because they are a refreshing change of pace. Sometimes simply breaking the monotony is a plus.
Like all analysis, yes, that's what this is.
Fungalmancer Flurgl is a lot stronger than you give him credit for. Yes, every now and then I pick him and end up faceplanting early (as with almost any hero), but he has by far the highest rate of first place finishes for me.
The entire Murloc strategy is based around cycling strong battlecries with a Brann on the board. Normally this requires a lot of refreshes and quite a bit of luck, but Flurgl makes it super consistent. His hero power doesn't become useless mid to late, that's when it really shines! Being able to sell off a Coldlight Seer or King Bagurgle and immediately get another one added to the Tavern is great value. If it adds a useless Murloc, you can still buy and sell it off at a pinch, because it allows you to filter/tutor for more Murloc battlecriers.
Granted, it can be a little awkward to lock in your minion type right at the start of the game, but the same can be said for Ysera, Jaraxxus, Millificent and arguably Alexstrasza, and it didn't tank their rating in the tier list nearly as much.
I agree with everything you said, but he has one huge issue: Once you reach the board you described (murlocs + Brann + tavern 5) there's a very good chance you'll win anyway. The problem is getting there in the first place, which the hero power doesn't provide much help for.
He's probably best comparable to Alexstrasza: Useless untill you get a huge boost at tavern 5, except Alexstrasza gives the boost immediately and for free.
What is this? Just some dude's opinion?
George is totally underated here. With him I win mostly and and if I win I usually finish first place. At the last battle simply throwing in the tier 4 dragon to the open spot and put a Devine shield on, it becomes 15/15+ shielded minion which no other hero can.
AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT CARES BARTENDOTRON? WHERE IS IT?!
That fungal murloc guy is better than last
Statistically, he's last. But if you dig deep in HSReplay statistics, you will see that Flurgl as a lot of rank 7 and 8 losses gradually having more and more problems going up.... And then there's first first. His percentage of 1st wins is 14%, which is actually higher than Deathwing himself
What this tells us is that if you're able to survive to the last game, you become an absolute monster. Which is why I think they are absolutely wrong about their last sentence: Players are trying to build big boards to kill their opponents, [...] the Hero Power is in large part useless from mid to late-game.
That is so wrong on so many levels. The way you get large boards as a murloc is to abuse battlecries and churn out a lot of buying and selling. Problem is that most people try to build murlocs far too early with him and die before they can get to the good stuff.
How is Ysera only 2 stars?!