Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
On Tuesday, Hearthstone released its 17.2 update and brought out a trio of new heroes for the game's Battlegrounds mode. Those familiar with this game mode know that it isn't the usual game of Hearthstone. This auto-battler introduces a whole different set of strategies. These strategies can change depending on the hero used. So let's take a look at new hero Maiev Shadowsong and how players should approach her.
Maiev's Hero Power is not something you can really grasp the first time out. There are a few things you need to know going into a game with Maiev. The first thing is, if you single out a minion to make Dormant, it stays in that slot. There's no freezing necessary, but it also means that your refresh slots are reduced by one. Take that into account. The other thing to note is, when those two turns are up, that minion is yours and you are not charged Gold. You're essentially getting a minion with +1/+1 for just 1 Gold, which is great... provided that you can wait those two turns.
As Maiev, you're not playing to a specific minion type. However, it should be noted that you're essentially running behind most of the time. Your sense of timing is going to be what carries you through games. Tag minions that can't be typically be buffed to go Dormant, like Soul Juggler or Waxrider Togwaggle. Meanwhile, use minions like Zoobot or Spawn of N'Zoth to buff up what's already on the board. Time your Tier Upgrades to coincide with minions coming out of the Dormant state, so that you can upgrade Bob's Tavern while continuing to rack up your minion count.
Your strategy from here will depend on what minion types you're running, but it should all be fairly standard. Don't rely on Maiev's Hero Power in the late game, beacuse by then you should be looking for game-winning Tier 6 minions like Kalecgos, Arcane Aspect or Ghastcoiler.
The only other note for Maiev is to use her Hero Power to aim for minions you want Triples for later down the line. If you can time those Triples to show up just as it's time to upgrade Bob's Tavern, you can come out with a higher-tier minion earlier than you might expect.
These strategies should help you get started with Maiev Shadowsong. We'll have more Hearthstone Battlegrounds guides in the future, so keep it on Shacknews for the latest.