Hearthstone Battlegroundsis a game mode inHearthstonewhere eight players battle against each other in a series of 1v1 head-to-heads. The mode mainly revolves around players recruitingminionsfor their warband, and then deciding on the right placement and strategy for their units, to ultimately end up as the last one standing.
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With new minion tribes being added regularly, it can be difficult for players to figure out which are the strongest. FromMurlocstoMechs, there’s a play style for everyone. However, as players become more experienced withHearthstone Battlegrounds, it’s clear that there are some tribes that undeniably shine more than others.
10Pirates
Pirates are in an interesting place inHearthstone Battlegrounds. After losing their most powerful minion, Cap’n Hoggarr, in Season 4, they have lost their ability to scale effectively. If players find themselves in a lobby with Pirates and Mechs, choosing Pirates in this lobby would almost be guaranteed an instant loss, as Mechs are able to outscale Pirates pretty easily.
They also have a major weakness in their inability to easily deal with Divine Shield minions, with no easy access to a minion with cleave.This makes Piratesespecially vulnerable to other strong tribes with access to Divine Shields, such as Mechs and Dragons.
9Demons
Demons are in a strange place in theBattlegrounds. On the battlefield, they focus on spawning minions through Deathrattles. In the Tavern, players can trade their health for more powerful Demon minions, or access certain buffs by taking damage. There is also a focus on Demons being able to consume minions in the Shop to increase their stats, which can really help to get a player’s board growing.
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However, one of their main downfalls is that most of their powerful minions aren’t available until the later Tavern tiers, meaning they can often get shut down before they even get started. The high-risk, high-reward gameplay with Demons just doesn’t pay off often enough to be worth playing regularly.
8Quillboar
Quillboars are one of the newer tribes inHearthstone Battlegrounds, and heavily rely on their Blood Gem mechanic. Unfortunately, Quillboars often struggle to keep up with the other tribes, and players typicallyneed a bit of luckto win with them.
Whilst they do have access to plenty of keywords, such as Frenzy, Divine Shield, Taunt and Windfury, they’re just very disjointed and lack the synergy that other tribes have. Blood Gem acquisition isn’t consistent, and players will find themselves relying on luck a lot more with this tribe than with others.
7Undead
Arriving in Season 3, the Undead’s main mechanic is their Reborn ability. Reborn will resummon a minion that has been destroyed, and bring them back to the battle with one health, which can be incredibly powerful when used with minions who have Deathrattle. The Undead also have plenty of late-game cards that can be unstoppable once they’re rolling, but reaching that late in the game is the tribe’s biggest downfall.
The tribe has very few ways to buff its cards in the earlier rounds, but if players getmultiple Eternal Knightsin their warband, they can potentially push their way through until they can access the stronger late-game cards.
6Naga
Naga are a tribe that sees very little play inBattlegrounds. They dohave access to valuable keywordssuch as Taunt, Windfury, and Divine Shield, and their Spellcraft mechanic means they have plenty of versatility each round. However, they struggle to scale. While they can hold their own in the early game, they have difficulty keeping up with other tribes in the mid-to-late game.
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This lack of scaling potential can be a real hindrance to players looking to run a Naga build, as they just can’t compete with other tribes who can build up their board quicker. While the Naga can work well when Quillboars are in the lobby, relying on another tribe to succeed is not ideal.
5Dragons
With theremoval of the Poisonous keywordin Season 4, Dragons have lost one of their main counters, making them all the more powerful. Their Divine Shields can be incredibly difficult to shut down for players without a cleave on their team, as the shields will tank a hit and keep the minions alive for an extra turn. They also have some impeccable scaling potential due to their focus on Battlecries.
Arguably, their only downfall is their lack of viability in the early game. Whilst dragons are a tribe that requires careful planning and strategy in the first few rounds to be played effectively, the payoff is certainly worth it.
4Beasts
MostBattlegroundsplayers know the agony of facing an oppressive Leapfrogger build. The animations and minion buffing can seem almost endless. New players especially can struggle to shut it down, making Beasts incredibly boring to play against. Many of the minions that they can spawn in even have Taunt, leaving players unable to shut down Rivendare, if they have one.
As a result of this, it can be a really frustrating experience for players trying to counter Beasts in the late-game. However, these builds do take a while to get set up, and many players trying to make a Leapfrogger build may find themselves getting stopped before they can even get started.
3Murlocs
As of Season 4, Murlocs have had a bit of a facelift, with their focus being shifted to the unique in-hand buffing mechanic. This has made Murlocs quite a lot more flexible than they used to be and gives them high levels of scaling, that other players in the game may not even be able to comprehend until it’s too late.
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As a result,Murlocs can quickly snowballout of control if left unchecked. Hand Murlocs in particular are insanely strong, and the tribe has access to some really powerful cards such as Magmaloc, Drakkari, and Young Murk-Eye, which provide great synergies.
2Elementals
Elementals have an incredible scaling capability in theBattlegrounds. They have access to some of the strongest minion buffs in the game, giving players the chance to produce minions with hilariously big stats. Many of their minions have powerful “trigger” abilities that will activate whenever another Elemental is played, allowing them to snowball their board quickly and effectively.
They also are one of three tribes with access to a minion with cleave. With the ability to hit multiple targets at once, Elementals can quickly take down minions with particularly annoying abilities such as Divine Shield and Venomous, making them an excellent counter to players trying to run tribes like Murlocs and Dragons.
1Mechs
Mechs are undeniably one of the most fun, and powerful, tribes to play with. Their unique Magnetic mechanic is incredibly satisfying and can be really addicting once players get their board rolling.The Mech tribealso has plenty of versatility. They have access to lots of powerful keywords, such as Divine Shield, Deathrattle, Taunt, and, of course, Magnetic.
If this wasn’t enough, they’re one of few tribes with access to a minion with cleave. With all of these incredible ways to buff minions, Mechs allow players to build powerful boards quickly and efficiently, climbing them to the top of the leaderboard.
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