News & Patch Notes

Announcing Battlegrounds Season 14: Dark Gifts of Dalaran!

Hearthstone

Something strange has been smuggled out of Dalaran, and it's about to reshape every lobby. Battlegrounds Season 14: Dark Gifts of Dalaran introduces powerful Dark Gifts, expands the Trinket pool, and adds new Heroes and mechanics. Join the action when the new season starts on August 4 at 10:00 a.m. PDT.

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New Gameplay System: Dark Gifts

Dark Gifts are coming to Battlegrounds! These mysterious boons infuse your minions with powerful enhancements steeped in dark magic. ‌You may already be familiar with Dark Gifts from Hearthstone, but we’re putting a new spin on them for Battlegrounds.

Starting on Turn 3, you can use the Dark Gift button to spend 3 Gold and Discover a minion with a Dark Gift. Each of the 3 minions offered will be paired with a unique Dark Gift.

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Big stat boosts. Powerful keywords. Game-changing effects. With more than 40 Dark Gifts available, every game offers new ways to power up your warband.

The Dark Gift button can be used once per turn, up to 3 times per game. The minions and gifts offered improve each turn, becoming more powerful the longer you wait. Will you grab an early boost or hold out for something a little more tempting?

Learn more about Dark Gifts in our Developer Deep Dive!

New Heroes

Nightmare Lord Xavius – Feel Devastation

As the lord of the Emerald Nightmare, Xavius beckons you with powerful Dark Gifts.

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Tras'tath, Soul Parasite – Void Power

Tras'tath latches onto a future powerhouse, allowing you to secure a Tier 5 minion with a Dark Gift well in advance.

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New Keyword: Activate

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Activate is a new keyword that gives certain minions a special ability you can trigger during the Recruit Phase by spending Gold, giving you a whole new way to invest your resources. While the minion is in your warband, simply click on it to activate its ability. Each Activate ability can be used once per turn, so choose your timing carefully and get the most value out of your Gold!

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Refreshed Minon Pool with New Minions

We’re refreshing the Minion Pool and adding in 60+ brand new minions! Here are a few of the new faces coming in Season 14:

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The new additions include a handful of new type-specific synergies. Here are just a few that will be coming:

New Pirate Synergy: Lockbox

Pirates can now uncover Lockboxes containing a Golden minion that's locked up until a later turn... unless you find a way to break it out early.

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New Beast Synergy: Fishbait

Fishbait lets your Beasts do something they've never done before: attack during the Recruit Phase! The minion that takes the bait gets a hefty reward for its meal.

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New Tavern Spells

Five new Tavern Spells are joining the pool this season:

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Trinkets

Trinkets are sticking around for another season and will be available alongside Dark Gifts! Discover 23 new Lesser Trinkets and 24 new Greater Trinkets, each offering new ways to power up your warband.

Take a look at some of the new additions:

Lesser Trinkets

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Greater Trinkets

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General Updates

Venomous

With Fishbait allowing minions to attack during the Recruit Phase, Venomous has been updated to destroy the first minion it damages each combat, ensuring the keyword remains effective once combat begins.

Venomous

  • Old: Destroy the first minion this deals damage to.
  • New: Destroy the first minion this deals damage to each combat.

Chromadrake

Chromadrakes have been removed from the Tavern pool but can still be generated by certain minions and Trinkets. Their keyword has been updated to reflect that they are now only available through these effects.

Chromadrake

  • Old: One of five Tier 3 Dragons with various Battlecries.
  • New: One of five Dragons with various Battlecries.

Easy-to-Read Stats

We all love seeing our minions reach absurdly high stats. To help keep your warband readable, numbers with four digits or more will now be condensed for a cleaner, easier-to-read display.

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New Battlegrounds Rewards Track

On August 4, Battlegrounds Season 13 will end, and Season 14 will begin! With that, Battlegrounds Ratings will reset, and the Battlegrounds Track will update. Any rewards that were already earned from the Season 13 Rewards Track, but not yet claimed, will be automatically claimed for you.

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The Season 14 Battlegrounds Track includes brand new cosmetics featuring Maiev, Vanessa VanCleef, and more. Pick up the Season Pass to instantly unlock +2 Hero options at the start of each game. Then, progress through the Season Pass track to earn the new Escape from Dalaran Legendary Strike, 13 additional Hero Skins, a new Bartender, and more! Or upgrade to the Season Pass + to get all the rewards from the Season Pass plus one included Hero re-roll per game.

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LevelXPCumulative XPFree TrackSeason Pass
1002x Hero Slots
22020
320402x BG Tokens
420605x BG Tokens
53090Rec Time A.F.KayRare Hero Skin
630120Dalaran Escape - Aya BlackpawEpic Emote
7301502x BG Tokens
830180Off Duty MaievLegendary Hero Skin
940220Prison Sous-Chef CookieRare Hero Skin
10402605x BG Tokens
1140300Death's Head BlackthornRare Hero Skin
1250350Arch-Warden RafaamEpic Hero Skin
1350400Dalaran Escape - Advocate CarielRare Emote
1450450Street Racer SneedRare Hero Skin
15505002x BG Tokens
1660560Escape from Dalaran Rare Strike
1760620Vanessa VanCleefEpic Bartender
18606805x BG Tokens
1960740Dalaran Escape - Prosecutor TamsinRare Emote
2060800Prison Warden OmuRare Hero Skin
2160860Smuggler HooktuskRare Hero Skin*
2260920Dalaran Escape - Aronist RakanishuEpic Emote*
2360980Carny SilasRare Hero Skin*
24601040Getaway GalewingEpic Hero Skin*
25601100Crime Master VooneRare Hero Skin*
266011605x BG Tokens
27601220Dalaran Escape - Judge JailerEpic Emote*
28601280Escape from Dalaran Epic Strike*
29601340Dalaran Escape - Lovestruck IllidanRare Emote*
30601400SewerwockRare Hero Skin*
316014602x BG Tokens
32601520Advocate CarielEpic Hero Skin*
33601580Dalaran Escape - Carny SilasRare Emote*
346016405x BG Tokens
35601700Prosecutor TamsinEpic Hero Skin*
36601760Inspector HolmesLegendary Hero Skin*
37601820Arsonist RakanishuRare Hero Skin*
38601880Dalaran Escape - A.F.KayEpic Emote*
39601940Jade Lotus GoyaLegendary Hero Skin*
40602000Escape from Dalaran Legendary Strike*

**These rewards will become available after the 36.6 patch update.*

Creator Early Access Event (with Drops!)

Watch your favorite content creators play the new Season live! Participating players will be streaming on their personal channels, so make sure you have notifications turned on. Time slots by region are:

  • Americas, LATM, EMEA: July 30 at 9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. PDT
  • JP: July 31 at 2:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. PDT
  • CN: July 30 at 9:00 p.m. PDT - Aug 1 7:00 a.m. PDT

Participating creators will be giving away Battlegrounds Season Pass + codes.

Drops will be enabled category-wide on Twitch. Watch for a total of 2 hours to earn 4 Battlegrounds Tokens (2 total hours, 1 hour per drop).

Upcoming Reveals Schedule

  • **July 27 on r/Bob'sTavern**: Trinkets
  • July 28 on Hearthstone socials: Beast, Pirate, Quillboar, Demon
  • July 29 on Hearthstone socials: Dragon, Mech, Murloc, Elemental, Naga, Undead
  • July 30 at 9:00 a.m. PDT: Early Access Event
  • August 3 at 10:00 a.m. PDT: Patch Notes
  • August 4 at 10:00 a.m. PDT: Patch 36.2, new Battlegrounds Season begins

Hearthstone Social Channels

Check out Hearthstone on your favorite social media platform of choice:

See the Hearthstone Card Library for updates during reveal season. Make sure you follow along with reveal season so you’re ready to play as soon as the patch drops! We’ll see you in the Tavern.

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