Everything New Coming With Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4

A closer look at everything new coming with the release of Season 4 in Hearthstone Battlegrounds.

The Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4 just got started and brought its share of heroes updates, balance changes, a new minion type and much more. To help you better understand everything new coming with Season 4 and the main differences with the previous Hearthstone Battlegrounds season, this article will go over the biggest changes and everything you need to know to get a good head start in Season 4.

Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4 launches on May 9 and resets the rankings of all players. All rewards players have not yet claimed from Season 3 will be automatically claimed, so you can start grinding the new season without having to worry about missing anything. But things aren’t exactly the same as they were with Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4: the Battlegrounds Buddies disappear, the minion pools will roll out in phases, some keywords don’t have the same effect as before, and new minions are coming to the battlefield. This article will describe everything new coming with Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4 and will let you know how to use it to make sure you win your games and quickly climb up the ranks.

New Hero: Rock Master Voone

The Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4 introduces a new hero: Rock Master Voone. His hero power is a passive ability called Upbeat Harmony that grants a plain copy of the left-most card in your hand every three turns, which can be extremely powerful to build a solid team and collect a golden minion faster than usual.

To make the best out of Rock Master Voone and his Upbeat Harmony hero power, make sure to always have at least one card in your hand. While this might often be the case late in the game, it may be tempting to throw all your minions to the board until it is full, but you shouldn’t do so with Rock Master Voone. Always keep a minion in your hand, or at least make sure to have one at the end of every three turns, so this new Hearthstone Battlegrounds hero can trigger his Upbeat Harmony ability and give you a copy of this minion.

Once your board and hand are a bit more full, usually after a few turns, pay a closer look at the order of the cards in your hand. Rock Master Voone copies the left-most card in your hand, so be sure this is the one you want to copy and not the last one you bought just to get rid of your extra coins.

Rock Master Voone will be available in all lobbies for two weeks after Patch 26.2 so you will have plenty of time to try him out and find out how to maximize his hero power.

New Keyword: Venomous

Poisonous has been removed from Hearthstone Battlegrounds with the launch of Season 4. A new keyword comes to replace it: Venomous. While minions with Poisonous killed every enemy they hit, Venomous is slightly less lethal. This keyword makes minions destroy the first opponent they damage, instead of all of their victims. This will prevent players from overpowering a minion with Poisonous, boosting their health so they never die and kill the entire enemy team.

Keyword Updates

The release of Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4 marks the end of the Mega-Windfury keyword. When a Windfury minion is tripled, it will keep Windfury and won’t evolve to Mega-Windfury, making this keyword work as all others.

Good news for Mechs enthusiasts: in Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4, mechs can now Magnetize even when the board is full. Using this keyword no longer requires an empty space on the board, so players can keep on improving their team even if it is already full.

Hero Bans

Some heroes are especially powerful with specific minion types, so Blizzard ban them from lobbies to make sure everyone has the same chances of winning their Hearthstone Battlegrounds games.

With Season 4, hero bans change as follows:

Shudderwock is no longer banned in Beast lobbies.
N’Zoth is no longer banned in any lobbies.
Mutanus is now banned in Naga lobbies.
Vol’jin is now banned in Naga lobbies.

Hero Updates

Lady Vashj

The hero power of Lady Vashj, Relics of the Deep, slightly changes with the release of Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4. Instead of making the first Spellcraft of each turn permanent, the new description of Relics of the Deep states that the effect of the Spellcraft discovered through this hero power is permanent.

Lich Baz’hial

Lich Baz’hial’s hero power, Graveyard Shift, used to cost 0 Gold, deal 4 damage to the player and grant 2 Gold. It has been completely reworked, with Graveyard Shift now costing 1 Gold to steal a minion from Bob’s Tavern. Besides the price in Gold, this hero power comes at a cost, as Lich Baz’hial takes damage equal to the stolen minion’s Tavern Tier.

Updated Armor Tiers

Some heroes have high win rate disparities between lower-MMR and higher-MMR players, so Hearthstone developers gave these heroes alternative armor values depending on the average play level of a Battlegrounds lobby to even the odds of winning.

The following heroes have their default armor going to a new value in higher-ranked games:

Captain Hooktusk: 15 > 10
Millhouse Manastorm: 10 > 8
Mutanus the Devourer: 10 > 13
Ysera: 5 > 8
Trade Prince Gallywix: 10 > 5
Vol’jin: 15 > 10
Xyrella: 15 > 10
Maiev Shadowsong: 18 > 10
C’Thun: 10 > 17
Ini Stormcoil: 8 > 10
Lord Barov: 19 > 10
Dancin’ Deryl: 18 > 15
Guff Runetotem: 10 > 15
Millificent Manastorm: 10 > 15
Deathwing: 18 > 14
Cariel Roame: 10 > 14
Fungalmancer Flurgl: 8 > 10
Patches the Pirate: 5 > 14
Lord Jaraxxus: 10 > 16
Ragnaros the Firelord: 10 > 15
Chenvaala: 12 > 16
Kurtrus Ashfallen: 17 > 15
Aranna Starseeker: 14 > 10
King Mukla: 14 > 18
Teron Gorefiend: 10 > 12

New Minions

At the start of Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4, all minion types won’t be available. On May 9, only six types are eligible in all games: Beasts, Murlocs, Dragons, Elementals, Naga, and Undead. Pirates join the minion pool on May 11, Demons on May 15, while Quilboar and Mechs fans will have to wait until May 22 to see these minion types eligible in Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 4.

On top of the minions already available in the previous Hearthstone Battlegrounds seasons, Season 4 brings plenty of new minions. However, these new minions come to replace 59 other minions, with the full list available on Hearthstone’s official website.

Tier 1

Mistake. All. 1 Attack, 3 Health.
Incorporeal Corporal. Undead. 5 Attack, 5 Health. After this minion attacks, destroy it.
Southsea Busker. Pirate. 3 Attack, 1 Health. Battlecry: Gain 1 Gold next turn.
Manasaber. Beast. 4 Attack, 1 Health. Deathrattle: Summon two 0/1 Cublings with Taunt.
Upbeat Frontdrake. Dragon. 2 Attack, 1 Health. At the end of every 3 turns, get another random Dragon.

Tier 2

Low-Flier. Dragon. 3 Attack, 2 Health. At the end of your turn, give +2 Attack to all your minions with less Attack than this.
Humming Bird. Beast. 0 Attack, 3 Health. Your other Beasts have +2 Attack.
Backstage Security. Demon. 4 Attack, 6 Health. At the start of your turn, deal 1 damage to your hero.
Soul Rewinder. Demon. 3 Attack, 1 Health. After your hero takes damage, rewind it and give this +1 Health.
Lullabot. Mech. 2 Attack, 2 Health. Magnetic. At the end of your turn, gain +1/+1.
Upbeat Flutist. Murloc. 2 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of every 2 turns, give a random minion in your hand +9 Health.
Flourishing Frostling. Elemental. 0 Attack, 4 Health. Has +1 Attack for each Elemental you’ve played this game (wherever this is).
Reef Riffer. Naga. 1 Attack, 3 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion stats equal to your Tavern Tier until next turn.

Tier 3

Zesty Shaker. Naga. 3 Attack, 4 Health. Once per Turn: After you cast Spellcraft spell on this, add a new copy of it to your hand.
Scourfin. Murloc. 6 Attack, 3 Health. Deathrattle: Give a random minion in your hand +5/+5.
Accord-o-Tron. Mech. 2 Attack, 3 Health. Magnetic. At the start of your turn, gain 1 extra Gold.
Malchezaar, Prince of Dance. Demon. 5 Attack, 2 Health. 2 Refreshes each turn cost Health instead of Gold.
Keyboard Igniter. Demon. 4 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: If you’ve taken damage since last turn, give your other Demons +1/+2.
Rylak Metalhead. Beast. 3 Attack, 4 Health. Taunt. Deathrattle: Trigger the Battlecries of adjacent minions (buffs awarded in combat are not permanent).
Banana Slamma. Beast. 2 Attack, 5 Health. After you summon a Beast in combat, double its stats.
Moon-Bacon Jazzer. Quilboar. 2 Attack, 5 Health. Battlecry: For the rest of the game, your Blood Gems give an extra +1 Health.
Gunpowder Courier. Pirate. 2 Attack, 4 Health. After you spend 5 Gold, give you Pirates +1 Attack.
Radio Star. Undead. 3 Attack, 1 Health. Deathrattle: Add a plain copy of the minion that killed this to your hand.

Tier 4

Xylo Bones. Undead. 5 Attack, 1 Health. After you summon a minion in combat, gain +3 Health permanently.
Lovesick Balladist. Pirate. 3 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Give a Pirate +1 Health for each Gold spent this turn.
Underhanded Dealer. Pirate. 2 Attack, 2 Health. After you gain Gold, gain +1/+1.
Blade Collector. Pirate. 3 Attack, 2 Health. Also damages the minions next to whomever this attacks.
Prickly Piper. Quilboar. 6 Attack, 3 Health. Deathrattle: For the rest of the game, your Blood Gems give an extra +1 Attack.
Upbeat Duo. 4 Attack, 2 Health. Battlecry: Choose a minion. At the end of every 2 turns, this gives you a plain copy.
Plagued Tidewalker. Murloc/Undead. 2 Attack, 7 Health. Venomous.
Scrap Scraper. Mech. 3 Attack, 6 Health. Avenge (4): Get a random Magnetic Mech.
Bassgill. Murloc. 6 Attack, 2 Health. Deathrattle: Summon the highest Health minion from your hand for this combat only.
Bream Counter. Murloc. 4 Attack, 4 Health. While this is in your hand, after you play a Murloc, gain +3/+2.
Dancing Barnstormer. Elemental. 4 Attack, 2 Health. Deathrattle: Elementals in Bob’s Tavern have +2/+2 for the rest of the game.
Upbeat Upstart. Elemental. 4 Attack, 4 Health. Taunt. At the end of every 2 turns, set this minion’s Health to the highest in your warband.
Deep Blue Crooner. Naga. 2 Attack, 2 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion +1/+1 until next turn. Improve your future Deep Blues.
Silent Swimmer. Naga. 5 Attack, 3 Health. Spellcraft: Give a minion +3/+5 and Stealth until next turn.
Stormbringer. Dragon. 1 Attack, 7 Health. After a different friendly Dragon gains Attack, this also gains it.

Tier 5

Disco Shuffler. Dragon. 4 Attack, 3 Health. Choose One – Trigger a friendly minion’s Battlecry; or Discover a Battlecry minion.
Sanctum Rester. Dragon. 5 Attack, 5 Health. Start of Combat: Give your other Dragons +8 Health.
Electric Synthesizer. Dragon. 3 Attack, 7 Health. Battlecry: Give your other Dragons +4 Attack.
Gusty Trumpeter. Elemental. 4 Attack, 5 Health. After you sell 6 Elementals, get another random Elemental.
Operatic Belcher. Murloc. 5 Attack, 2 Health. Venomous. Deathrattle: Give a friendly Murloc Venomous.
Utility Drone. Mech. 4 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, give your minions +1/+1 for each Magnetization they have.
Drakkari Enchanter. 1 Attack, 5 Health. Your end of turn effects trigger twice.
Imposing Percussionist. Demon. 6 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Discover a Demon and deal damage to your hero equal to its Tavern Tier.
Tichondrius. Demon. 4 Attack, 4 Health. After your hero takes damage, give your other Demons +1/+1.
Bongo Bopper. Quilboar. 5 Attack, 5 Health. At the end of your turn, get a Blood Gem and play 2 more on this.
Record Smuggler. Pirate. 7 Attack, 6 Health. At the start of your turn, gain 1 Gold. Repeat for each other friendly Pirate.
Upbeat Impressionist. Pirate. 8 Attack, 4 Health. At the end of every 2 turns, make a Pirate in your hand Golden.

Tier 6

The Boogie Monster. 3 Attack, 8 Health. After you play a Tier 1 minion, progress to the next Tier and give your minions +1/+2 (caps at Tier 6).
Octosari, Wrap God. Beast. 6 Attack, 7 Health. Deathrattle: Summon a 2/2 Tentacle. (Gains +2/+2 permanently after you summon a minion in combat!)
Polarizing Beatboxer. Mech. 3 Attack, 7 Health. Whenever you Magnetize another minion, it also Magnetizes to this.
Choral Mrrrglr. Murloc. 6 Attack, 6 Health. Start of Combat: Gain the stats of all minions in your hand.
Rock Rock. Elemental. 4 Attack, 4 Health. After you play an Elemental, give your minions +2 Attack. (Swaps to Health next turn.)
Elemental of Surprise. Elemental. 8 Attack, 8 Health. Divine Shield. This minion can triple with any Elemental.
Bristlebach. Quilboar. 2 Attack, 10 Health. Avenge (1): Play a Blood Gem on all your Quilboar.
Fleet Admiral Tethys. Pirate. 5 Attack, 6 Health. After you spend 8 Gold, get another random Pirate.