Hearthstone Battlegrounds update adds four new heroes

Blizzard looks to be getting a lot of mileage out of its new Battlegrounds mode for Hearthstone. The new game mode is officially entering its second week of open beta, following a one-week early access period, and it's set to receive a handful of new changes. These changes include all-new heroes that will be rotating into the tavern. On Tuesday, Blizzard outlined all of the changes for Hearthstone Battlegrounds set to take effect today, as well as a few things to expect down the road.

The following heroes are making their way into Hearthstone Battlegrounds, starting today:

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.)

This puts three of the League of Explorers into Battlegrounds. As for Reno Jackson, he was tentatively set to be among the new heroes, but Principal Game Designer Mike Donais acknowledged on r/Hearthstone that the fourth explorer needed to be cut due to design and visual effects issues. Instead, the fourth new addition is the icy dragon Sindragosa, who specializes in frozen minions. So if you freeze any minion at the end of your Recruit phase, it will get +1/+1 after your next turn.

You might notice in the opening of this story that the word "rotating" was used. That does indeed mean that while these four new heroes are stepping in, four others are leaving. Say goodbye to King Mukla, Giantfin, Millificent Manastorm, and Lich Baz'hial. They are leaving the tavern, though Blizzard notes that there's room for them to return in the future.

Look for balance tweaks to take effect today, as well. Primalfin Lookout is moving down a spot to Tier 4, in case anyone needs to discover a helpful Murloc. Voidlord's power has been greatly overestimated, so it's going down a spot to Tier 5. Coldlight Seer is likewise proving a bit underpowered, so it's going down a spot to Tier 2. The only minion actively receiving a nerf is Junkbot. Junkbot has proven to be a menace, thanks to the multitude of Mechs provided by minions like Replicating Menace.

The pool of minions is set to be updated soon. Blizzard is eyeballing some new minions for early December. Floating Watcher will make his debut as a new Demon. A second minion will be exclusive to Battlegrounds. Look for more details on King Bagurgle in the December update.

Hearthstone Battlegrounds is available as part of Hearthstone right now. It's still in open beta, so look for more features to be implemented in the future, including a full stats feature. If you haven't jumped into Battlegrounds yet, maybe take some time to learn how to play.