Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Seasoned Hearthstone Battlegrounds players were either excited to see the reveal of the new Naga update (released with Hearthstone's 23.2 patch) or they were slightly confused. With some exceptions, playing spells has never really been a major component of Hearthstone's auto-battling game mode. However, after a few sessions with the mode's newest tribe, I can say that it's actually pretty easy to pick up. Shacknews is here to show Hearthstone newbies and veterans how to pick up and play with the Naga.
The new Naga tribe has one new keyword at work: Spellcraft. How does Spellcraft work? Any Naga with the keyword Spellcraft will put a spell matching the stated effect in the player's hand. The spell only lasts for that turn, so it has to be used right away. This will happen upon playing the Naga (like a Battlecry) and also at the start of every buying phase. Once you have this idea down, success with the Naga comes down to knowing where to best use those spells.
To help determine this, it's worth looking at the first batch of Naga that have been added to the game. Let's take a look:
The first Naga to watch is the Tier 2 Lava Lurker. While Spellcraft cards are temporary effects, Lava Lurker can take the first of these spells cast on it and keep the enchantment permanently. Give the Lava Lurker the Taunt effect from Deep Sea Angler, the Divine Shield from Glowscale, and amplify its attack with Eelbound Archer and Lava Lurker becomes a massive force on the board. Combine it with the Tier 5 Critter Wrangler to make it even bigger.
The Tier 2 Snail Cavalry can also grow rapidly, especially once you get a Golden one. Keeping its stats even with attack-boosting Spellcraft can make it a surprisingly big body on the board. Start off with the Tier 1 Mini Myrmidon until you can go bigger with the Eelbound Archer and you'll have everyone's attack values skyrocketing before long.
The potent combo to look out for is the Tier 3 Stormscale Siren and the Tier 5 Glowscale. Glowscale will grant a spell that allows players to give a minion Divine Shield, but Stormscale Siren will also allow Glowscale to use that same effect on itself. That means there's suddenly a large Taunt body on the board that can take an extra hit.
Spell management is key to winning with Naga. Keep arming yourself with more and more Naga through the Tier 3 Pashmar the Vengeful and strategically matching spells with minions that make the most of those effects. You can even use a throwaway Shell Collector here and there to give yourself a Coin to help ramp up faster.
Those are the basics to using Naga in Hearthstone Battlegrounds. Whether they'll overpower Murlocs, Beasts, and Elementals in the long run remains to be seen, but from the looks of these card effects, expect the Naga to be a big part of Battlegrounds going forward. We're occasionally checking in with Blizzard's auto-battler, so for the latest updates, be sure to click on the Hearthstone Battlegrounds topic page. For more on the other changes that hit Battlegrounds with the 23.2 patch, be sure to visit the Hearthstone website.