Hearthstone Battlegrounds patch 16.6 brings Flurgl, hero pool updates

Hearthstone announced its newest expansion, Ashes of Outland, today. Alongside the new expansion reveal, Hearthstone also announced changes to Hearthstone Battlegrounds that arrive today in the latest game update, patch 16.6. The game update includes the all-new hero Fungalmancer Flurgl. Besides this, there are changes to the strength of various heroes in Hearthstone Battlegrounds, and Illidan Stormrage is on the way.

Battlegrounds hero pool updates

Hearthstone patch 16.6 retires Ragnaros, Sylvanas, and Patches the Pirate from the active hero pool. These heroes were among the lowest win-rate heroes currently available in Hearthstone Battlegrounds, according to Firestone’s statistics. Replacing these heroes are Sir Finley Mrrgglton, Professor Putricide, and the new hero Fungalmancer Flurgl.

In the past, Sir Finley Mrrgglton and Professor Putricide got removed from the hero pool due to having too little of their own identity. This problem, in addition to a lack of strength compared to the other available heroes, made them clear choices to be removed. Today, however, they return to the game with some small adjustments.

Sir Finley Mrrgglton gains an all-new passive hero power, “Adventure!,” which allows him to discover a new hero power at the start of the game. While this is likely much weaker than your alternative hero choices, it does create a novel mechanic. The other returning hero, Professor Putricide, now targets its hero power to any friendly minion, rather than the right-most minion.

Finally, the latest addition to the Hearthstone Battlegrounds universe is Fungalmancer Flurgl.

NEW HERO – Fungalmancer Flurgl added to the pool.

Gone Fishing:

[Passive] After you sell a Murloc, add a random Murloc to Bob’s Tavern.

From the initial community response, we should expect Flurgl to be among the stronger heroes in Hearthstone Battlegrounds. This expected strength is mainly made possible due to the card Murloc Tidehunter, which creates various potent early-game possibilities. The way to go about this is by selling two of the weak Murlocs early on. If you purchase Murloc Tidehunter on round one or two, you can gain access to the higher-tier Murlocs early on in the match.

Further balance updates for Hearthstone Battlegrounds heroes

A total of eight heroes received a balance update in patch 16.6. The most notable changes include the ones to Milificient Manastorm, Deathwing, and The Rat King. Milificient Manastorm now grants all Mechs in Bob’s Tavern +2 rather than +1 attack. Deathwing, on the other hand, now only gives +2 attack, in place of +3 attack to all minions throughout the battle.

The Rat King returns to its previous form of granting the typing +1 attack +2 Health, rather than the current +1/+1. This buff is made due to The Rat King now including a 5th typing, Dragon, which the developers expect to keep the hero balanced.

Illidan Stormrage arrives March 26

The final note of the announcement blog mentions that the next Hearthstone Battlegrounds hero is coming March 26. This hero is the new Demon Hunter class of Hearthstone, Illidan Stormrage. Illidan Stormrage’s hero power is the passive “Wingmen,” which allows the most left and right units to attack before the battle starts.

For more Hearthstone news, be sure to read all about the new class, Demon Hunter, coming soon.