Hearthstone Battlegrounds is the newest iteration in the surging auto-chess genre, but with a Hearthstone twist. The game sets itself apart from others in the genre, in large part, due to it’s 24 unique heroes who all possess a certain Hero Power, much like the heroes in the traditional Hearthstone mode. This offers players the opportunity to not only strategize with the cards they buy in-game but also with how their hero can interact with those cards.

But, as with anything else, there are always going to be the best and the worst, and the heroes of Hearthstone Battlegrounds are no exception. So, to help new players better navigate which they should choose in that initial draft, and to help more seasoned players increase their win-rate, here’s a tier list of the best (and worst) heroes in Heartstone Battlegrounds.

[11/21 Update: This tier list has been updated to include the four new champions, removing the four that have rotated out.]

S-Tier: Must-Pick Heroes With Optimal Synergies

A. F. Kay

The Curator

These two heroes have become the two clear choices for any player who wants to win their game because of both how well they scale into the late-game and how high their current win-rates are. One distinct thing, however, about each of these heroes is how they struggle through the early-game. A. F. Kay does for obvious reasons, but the Curator also doesn’t get a ton of value out of his Amalgam until two and three cost cards start rolling through Bob’s Tavern. But, by that point, each of these should begin to see a huge power spike and surge into the late game with ease.

[Related: The Best Minions of Each Tavern Tier in Hearthstone Battlegrounds]

A-Tier: Very Strong Heroes with High Win-Rates

Patchwerk

Infinite Toki

Brann Bronzebeard

These heroes are incredibly strong and can be just as viable as those in S-Tier, however, they sometimes require slightly more RNG and can be just slightly less optimal across a wide range of strategies. However, the buffed battlecry’s of Brann, the additional 20 HP of Patchwerk and the higher tiered cards from Infinite Toki make these three all but impossible to pass up in a draft. Each allows for solid scaling to late-game and can give players an edge in early rounds. Outside of those in S-Tier, look to these first.

B-Tier: Capable Heroes with Good Scaling

Nefarian

Bartendotron

Sindragosa

These three B-Tier heroes round out the last of the above-average heroes in Hearthstone Battlegrounds. Each has a niche ability that can allow them to compete with any of those in the top two tiers, with just a slightly higher barrier to entry. Take Nefarian, for example. The dragon can completely nullify a Divine Shield mech composition in the late-game, however, it cannot do much to otherwise affect the enemy team or it’s players’ team. The barriers are similar for Sindragosa and Bartendotron, with each having the ability to be very strong, with only a few situational limitations.

C-Tier: Average Heroes with Some Strong Synergies

Dancin’ Deryl

The Rat King

Yogg-Saron, Hope’s End

Shudderwock

The Lich King

Sir Finley Mrrgglton

These heroes are knocked down to C-Tier due to either their reliance on RNG or their situational strength. Great examples of this are with The Rat King and Shudderwock, who can each have incredibly strong ability usage, but require either a small number of cards to do so or a favorable rotation of cards in Bob’s Tavern. Dancin’ Daryl, Sir Finley Mrrgglton and Yogg-Saron have similar restrictions but, if fortune favors them, they can be devastating to deal with. The only one of these not specifically dealing with RNG is The Lich King, whose ability is simply underwhelming in most situations.

D-Tier: Subpar Heroes with Situational Usage

Lord Jaraxxus

Ragnaros the Firelord

Trade Prince Gallywix

The Great Akazamzarak

George the Fallen

Patches the Pirate

Professor Putricide

The reason such a large number of heroes fall into this tier is due both to the heavily RNG nature of them and also due to the strength of other hero’s abilities. For example, Nefarian can pay a single mana to deal one damage to each enemy unit, while Patches pays the same to deal three damage to two units. While this may sound like a similar amount, think about what value three damage adds in the late-game, versus being able to remove all enemy divine shields.

This is so often the case with units in this tier, they either drop off in the late-game due to poor scaling or their abilities just don’t have enough to get them off the ground in the early-game. Overall, they can win games, it will just take more creativity from the player to get them there.

F-Tier: Bad Heroes with Very Few Strengths Overall

Queen Wagtoggle

Pyramad

Elise Starseeker

As the game currently stands, these units are simply not good. There is not enough value in their abilities to give players much of an edge at all, despite whatever composition comes along. Perhaps the addition of new cards in later patches or some buffs to their abilities can one day make them relevant. For now, however, try to stay away from these heroes if at all possible.

As new patches arrive and new cards/heroes are released into Hearthstone Battlegrounds in the month of November, this piece will continue to be updated to reflect those changes. With each new month, check back at The Game Haus for a completely new tier list which will be linked from previous month’s lists.

Stay tuned!

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