What is Hearthstone Battlegrounds?
Hearthstone Battlegrounds is a standalone game mode that you can think of as Hearthstone’s take on an 8-player auto-battler. Instead of crafting a deck and battling it out with a single opponent, you’ll face seven other players, all fighting to be the last one standing.
So, to break it down:
- It’s you against seven other players
- The aim is simple: be the last one alive
- You improve your “team” of minions each turn
- Once the fighting starts each round, you just watch — your careful preparation and positioning of minions is what the game is about
- Turns are divided into two phases: Recruiting Phase and Combat Phase; no worries, I’ll discuss them later in this article
In essence, Hearthstone Battlegrounds’ mechanics are more or less the same as in other auto-battler games like Teamfight Tactics and Dota Underlords — you pick minions, arrange them, and then let them do the fighting for you.
Difference Between Battlegrounds & Traditional Hearthstone
Battlegrounds plays completely different from traditional Hearthstone. Like, even though it shares the game’s signature art style, cards, humor, and characters, it’s an entirely different game.
Instead of tactical card-by-card decisions, the focus in Hearthstone Battlegrounds is on:
- economy management
- long-term planning
- adapting to seven other players
To give you a better picture, here’s a quick breakdown of the main differences between traditional Hearthstone and Battlegrounds:
| Feature | Battlegrounds | Traditional Hearthstone |
| Gameplay style | 8-player auto-battler | 1v1 card strategy |
| Deck building | no pre-built decks; you draft minions during the game | you build your deck before the match |
| Primary resource | Coins | Mana |
| Combat style | automatic combat | draw cards from your deck each turn |
| Opponent dynamics | compete against seven players, but only one at a round | compete against one player |
| Win condition | be the last player standing | reduce your opponent’s health to zero |
| Key skills | economy management, positioning, adaptability | Mana usage, finding card synergy, hand management |
Even the card rarity aspect doesn’t really exist; in Battlegrounds, minions aren’t divided up by rarity at all. Instead, every minion you see in Bob’s Tavern comes from a shared, Tavern Tier-based pool.
Hearthstone Battlegrounds: How Do Heroes Work?
Before each Battlegrounds game begins, you’ll be presented with a choice of Heroes, where you’ll need to pick one. Depending on your perks, you may get two, three, or four options to choose from, and the pool of available Heroes may change over time.
Each Hero comes with a unique Hero Power, which can be either passive or require gold to activate, and that power can be a big hint at how you might want to shape your overall game plan. Many Hero Powers synergize with specific minion types, like Elementals or Murlocs, or with certain playstyles, such as tempo or late-game scaling.
However, picking a Hero that’s considered “top tier” doesn’t mean you just sit back and chill until late-game to 1st place; it’s more like having a particular angle to approach the game from. The effectiveness of Heroes often depends on:
- the current metagame
- the minion types available in your game
- your personal playstyle
Keep in mind that even after selecting a Hero, the game state and available minions might push you to adapt your strategy. For instance, while your Hero may favor a specific minion type, you could find yourself pursuing an entirely different approach based on the dynamics of the game.
Hearthstone Battlegrounds: Game Flow & Phases
Okay, you picked a hero, the game starts, and… yeah, “what’s next?” you may ask. Well, Hearthstone Battlegrounds operates on a super simple loop:
- Plan how your board will look during the Recruiting Phase
- Let the Combat Phase play out automatically
And this cycle basically repeats until only one player remains standing.
Recruiting Phase
The Recruiting Phase is where you shape your “build” (i.e., your team of minions) and lay the groundwork for success. Instead of drawing cards, you’ll interact with Bob’s Tavern, which is a shared minion shop that refreshes each turn.
Here’s everything you can do during the Recruiting Phase:
Position Your Minions
- The left-most minion attacks first during combat, so you usually want to place your strongest opener there.
- Proper positioning can make or break a fight. For example, putting a strong Taunt minion upfront can absorb hits and protect your other units.
Buying and Selling Minions
- You begin the game with three coins and receive one additional coin at the start of each new turn until you reach a maximum of 10.
- Buying: Each minion costs three coins, no exceptions. Drag them from the shop to your hero or your hand, then play them onto the board to strengthen your lineup.
- Selling: Want to make room or need extra coins? Sell a minion from your board back to Bob for one coin. Selling weaker minions is a big part of improving your build over time.
Upgrading your Tavern Tier
- Why upgrade?: Your Tavern Tier determines the quality and strength of minions available in the shop. Higher tiers unlock stronger units, better synergies, and late-game power plays.
- How to upgrade: Spend coins to increase your tier. It costs more coins at higher levels, so timing matters. When you do it too early, you might be too weak to survive against other players that decided to develop their builds with minions instead. If you do it too late, you risk falling behind in power.
Refresh and Freeze the Tavern
- Refreshing (one coin): Don’t like the options Bob offers? You can always spend one coin to see a new set of minions.
- Freezing (free): Found something you want but can’t afford this turn? Freeze the shop; it saves the current set of minions for your next turn!
Combat Phase
Once your minion preparations are locked in, it’s time to see how your decisions play out as your build automatically fights an opponent’s lineup. Here’s how the Combat Phase works exactly:
- You are paired with one of the “alive” players.
- Minions attack from left to right until one side is wiped out.
- You have no control during this phase, so your preparation and planning are what determine the outcome.
- The player with the most minions at the start of combat attacks first. If tied, it’s a coin flip.
At the end of combat, the winner’s surviving minions deal damage to the loser. The damage is equal to the winner’s Tavern Tier plus the combined Tavern Tiers of their surviving minions. As the game progresses, Tavern Tiers rise, and losing a single fight can cost you huge chunks of health, which of course escalates the stakes in later rounds.
Hearthstone Battlegrounds: Core Mechanics & Keywords
Tavern Tiers & Minion Quality
In Battlegrounds, Tavern Tiers are what define your access to stronger minions. You start at Tier 1, where the minions are simple and low-impact, and work your way up to Tier 6, where the most powerful and game-changing units live.
The higher your Tavern Tier, the better the minions you’ll see. Higher-tier minions usually have stronger stats, better abilities, and synergy potential that can scale into the late game.
Triples (Golden Minions)
Whenever you collect three identical copies of the same minion, they automatically fuse into a single “Golden” version. This buffed minion retains any buffs from the originals, effectively doubling base stats and often strengthening the associated ability. Here are some examples:
As a bonus, whenever you play a Golden minion onto the board, you receive a Triple Reward, which allows you to Discover a new minion from the next higher Tavern Tier (or the highest tier if you’re already at the top).
Common Keywords & Effects
Battlegrounds minions possess special properties and triggers that shape how combat plays out. Many of these keywords are familiar from traditional Hearthstone, but their impact often feels way (!) magnified in Battlegrounds.
| Keyword | Effect |
| Taunt | Forces enemies to target these minions first |
| Divine Shield | Negates the first instance of damage a minion would take |
| Windfury | Allows a minion to attack twice in one combat round |
| Mega-Windfury | Allows a minion to attack up to four times in a single combat round |
| Deathrattle | Triggers a special effect when the minion dies |
| Reborn | Allows a minion to return once with 1 health after it dies |
| Avenge (X) | Has a special effect after (X) friendly minions die in a single combat |
| Poisonous / Venomous | Guarantees a kill on any minion it damages without Divine Shield. Poisonous is permanent, Venomous applies only once |
Alrighty, you’ve got the basics down — high five! Now just download Hearthstone and show Bob who’s the boss in this tavern. And if “card games with a twist” like Battlegrounds are your thing, check out Josh’s article on how Balatro crushed 2024’s Game Awards, taking home three trophies!
