Good Riddance Dire Wolf Alpha

Anyone who plays Hearthstone Battlegrounds knows that the first few turns can be tricky. If you get offered crappy minions on turn 1, it can quickly snowball into a 7th or 8th place finish. The dream is generally to get a token minion so that you can segue into an efficient turn 3. That said, the pool of tier 1 minions is pretty large, and sometimes Dire Wolf Alpha would be your best option. You’d think the +1 attack to adjacent minions aura effect would be useful, but unlike regular Hearthstone, the RNG in Battlegrounds means that the wolf would likely get sniped by an errant attack. In patch 17.2, we’re saying goodbye, and good riddance, to Dire Wolf Alpha.

New Beast!

There’s also other Battlegrounds news! Dire Wolf Alpha was replaced with Rabid Saurolisk, a tier 1 3/1 beast that gains +1/+1 for every Deathrattle minion you play.

I’ve drafted this lizard a few times and have been pleasantly surprised at how well it scales. I’m a big fan of deathrattle comps, and Rabid Saurolisk fits in nicely, especially with the Goldrinn beast deathrattle boards. 

New Heroes

Three new heroes have also been released. If you have the Tavern Pass, you can already play with and against these heroes. I haven’t been offered any of them yet, but I have seen positive first impressions from other players.

Lady Vashj looks like she can high roll and cheat out some higher rarity minions early, which is exciting. If nothing else, it’s a free reroll when you upgrade, so that’s at minimum 4-5 free mana. Just be make sure you upgrade after buying that triple!

I’ve been told that Maiev has an easy time setting up for triples. Paying one mana for a minion in two turns actually seems pretty exciting, provided that you survive. I look forward to trying her out.

There are some minions that can benefit heavily from the effect, such as Rat Pack, Mechano-Egg, or Holy Mackerel. If you finagle it just right, you can also get some good boosts onto fragile priority minions like Baron Rivendare or Soul Juggler.  Lately in Battlegrounds, it’s less about stats and more about deathrattles or repeating effects, so an extra 2/2 on a minion that will be able to attack multiple times can be really clutch.

Don’t tell the others, I’m rooting for you!

If you don’t have the Tavern Pass, the new heroes in Battlegrounds will be unlocked on May 26. Otherwise, they are already available. Looking for a date in the tavern? Add me on Battlenet: Fioyl #1549. Well met, and good riddance to Dire Wolf Alpha.

Looking for more content?

Was Digimon Cyber Sleuth Worth It?

Doomsday Clock Countdown: Play these 5 RPGs!

About fioyl

Independent researcher, former mensan, dog dad, social worker. Content writer for @GottaBeLegend and @aggregatorrev

View all posts by fioyl

Leave a Reply