Hearthstone: Battlegrounds update adds four new Heroes

Hearthstone: Battlegrounds has received its first major update since launch, adding four new Heroes while saying bye to four others.

Blizzard has released the first content update for Hearthstone: Battlegrounds since the auto-battler game mode launched last week.

Still technically in open beta, Hearthstone: Battlegrounds is a fresh take on the strategy card game, introducing new mechanics akin to games like Dota Auto Chess and Teamfight Tactics. Of course, Blizzard did manage to keep the soul of Hearthstone very much ingrained within the game mode — such as the use of Heroes with special powers.

Today’s update introduce four new ones: Sindragosa, Elise Starseeker, Brann Bronzebeard and Sir Finley Mrrgglton. Each comes with a unique power.

"Sindragosa – Stay Frosty: At the end of your turn, Frozen minions get +1/+1.Elise Starseeker – Lead Explorer: When you upgrade Bob’s Tavern get a Recruitment Map.Brann Bronzebeard – Battle Brand: When you play a Battlecry minion, give a random friendly minion +1/+1.Sir Finley Mrrgglton – Power Up!: Give a random friendly minion +1/+1. After you sell a minion, refresh this."

Personally, I like the mechanic of Sir Finley Mrrgglton as it actually encourages you to sell minions, which is part of the game anyway. To be rewarded for upgrading and swapping cards seems like a pretty powerful ability.

To make room for these new Heroes, four previous ones have been removed: King Mukla, Giantfin, Milificent Manastorm and Lich Baz’hial. King Mukla and Milificent Manastorm are generally considered to be among the more powerful heroes, so it’s a little sad to see them go.

It may seem a little fast to introduce four new Heroes while rotating out another four — especially after just one week of open beta. I can’t imagine Blizzard will keep up this pace, however.

Rotating in and out Heroes too frequently can result in the meta changing too often, making it harder for players to learn and master. I’d rather see fewer updates and a more balanced game in general so that the meta includes multiple viable winning strategies.

Of course, Hearthstone: Battlegrounds is still technically a beta, so I would expect more frequent updates early on. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Blizzard slows down once they’ve fine-tuned the mechanics and balanced the Heroes and minions.