Hearthpwn

I liked it when we could get it by buying packs. I wish they would have kept both models. 

wow, i literally bought it 2 weeks ago. 
An announcement in advance would have been nice i guess 

They have always been doing this since the tavern pass was introduced. Paying attention helps ;)

They didn't 'just announce' it. It was in the 18.4 patch notes article you already posted..

How much was it before\?

2.500 gold / 19,99 €

It is nice, yes, very nice. Maybe I should start to play Battlegrouds... like SERIOUSLY hehe

I saved some gold to buy this perk for Battlegrounds. I have to say I enjoy it a lot, especially with the new Elementals tribe. I started playing Battlegrounds even more than constructed but I still don't want to pay that much only for some emotes, 2 extra heroes and stats. Even if it's half price, the reason being that in a month or so, you'll have to buy it again when the new expansion arrives. At this point, Blizzard is just a money-making machine so I try as much as possible to enjoy it without paying real money or hard earned gold.

Do we have any info regarding how popular Battlegrounds are?

Because I don't want to be another "lol. Battlegrounds is shit. i dont play it" clown, but I gotta say.. I struggle to see the appeal of a game mode in a card game which doesn't involve playing cards?

I am pretty sure it's quite popular. Otherwise Blizzard wouldn't put that much energy into it. 

Fair enough you don't like it. A lot of other people do. Each to their own you know. 

Im a multiple legend player, started playing this game the week it was released years ago. I now only play Battlegrounds. Its honestly just an opinnion when people say BGs are crap. I think today's constructed is crap and Demon Hunters are the most horrible thing to ever enter HS and WOW. 

I gather that this sort of auto-battler is a whole genre of game? I've never played anything from that genre, but I guess it has its fans.

I do see the appeal of a game mode which doesn't require collecting a bunch of expensive cards (like constructed) and doesn't require paying gold or $$ to play (like arena)! No question about that!

When you buy a tavern pass you get access to perks only until the next expansion.

Since we are in the middle of the expansion, the cost has been adjusted since the benefits of buying it now are only half compared to the beginning of the expansion.

Is the tavern pass permanent or it's just effective for just the current expansion?

Thanks but still expensive

Not that much.

For 1250g you get 4 Arena tickets, that is guaranteed 4 packs and on average 150g + 150 dust. 150 dust are ca. 3 packs, so the gold value of 4 Arena tickets is about 850g. That means you pay 400g for the battleground perks. Quite not expensive if you want to play some BGs.