This guide will focus on Darkmoon Prizes in Hearthstone Battlegrounds. This rare mechanic is sometimes seen in battlegrounds – and we will explain in detail what those instances are. For more specific info on the game, check our full guide for builds and tips in Battlegrounds as well as Lesser Trinkets and Greater Trinkets guides. Without further ado, let’s see how you can get those Darkmoon Prizes in Hearthstone Battlegrounds.
How to get Darkmoon Prizes in HS Battlegrounds?
Darkmoon prizes are not a usual game mechanic in HS BG. Currently, there are 4 ways to get the Darkmoon Prizes in Battlegrounds:
- Hero Power: Tickatus’s Prize Wall is the most obvious way in which you can get the Darkmoon prizes. There are several other options as well since some heroes may steal other heroes’ power but this is the most usual one; somehow you need to get the Prize Wall.
- Battlegrounds Buddy: Tickatus’s Buddy Ticket Collector is an alternative way in which you can get a Darkmoon Prize. Apart from Discover a Buddy spell, this might be challenging to get as there aren’t many ways to get a buddy right now.
- Lesser Trinket: There is a lesser trinket called Tickatus Sticker which will give you Tier 3 Darkmoon prize every 3 turns. It can be useful but it has been heavily nerfed in Season 8 of HS BG
- Wheel of Yogg Saron: There is a small chance that you discover 2 Tier 2 Darkmoon prizes when playing the wheel.
Tier 1 Darkmoon Prizes
Tier 1 Darkmoon prizes are pretty straightforward – most of them will just give a small stat buff or an economy buff. Probably the best option to go for is New Recruit as it will improve your whole mid-game and allow you to find your key minions faster. Check out the Tier 1 Prizes.
Banana Bunch
Banana Bunch is just a buff that will give you between +2/+2 and +4/+4 buff on your minion(s) depending on which Banana you get. It’s not much but it can be useful in some situations, especially if you have Divine Shield minion and require a tempo boost.
Gacha Gift
Gacha Gift is a pretty straightforward Darkmoon prize and not a very good one usually. You don’t need any Tier 1 minions at this point except as a tempo boost so you should look at other options as well.
Might of Stormwind
Similarly to Bananas, this is a stat boost reward that will give you a tempo boost, especially if you have minions that will benefit from this buff (Divine Shield, Goose, Pirate minions).
New Recruit
The New Recruit is probably one of the best Tier 1 prizes. When we say probably, we mean, this card is great but it will require some luck for it to work. You might end up not getting anything from it because it’s completely random but more often than not, you will get some value from it.
Pocket Change
Pocket Change is an economy reward that is useful in case you have something in Tavern that you want to get your hands on. Alternatively, if there is nothing good to pick, you can take this and save the coin for later – you will need it for sure.
Rocking and Rolling
Refreshing on low tier is not something you should spend money on, in general. At least in first couple of turns, you should always aim not to refresh if possible and with Rocking and Rolling prize, this changes a bit since you get 3 free refreshes. Money-vise, this equals 3 Gold so it is a pretty good thing to take if you need an economy boost.
The Good Stuff
The Good Stuff is .. an okey stuff. Generally speaking, especially on low tiers, you want to ramp up your defenses and utility minions as much as possible (especially the ones with Divine Shield). The Good Stuff will increase your offense potential but not much – it’s usually better to pick some other Darkmoon prize on this tier.
Tier 2 Darkmoon Prizes
At Tier 2, there are several very useful Darkmoon prizes. Brann’s blessing is probably the best one if you can use it correctly and buff up your board. That being said, some prizes are exectly the same like spells that cost 2-3 gold each so you won’t get much value from them.
Brann’s Blessing
It’s good. Moreover, it’s really good – Brann’s Blessing can be a stat boost or the economy boost (or both) if used correctly. Basically you get free Brann for one turn which you can use with real Brann (look at the card description, it’s EXTRA time which means it works with Brann). Just keep in mind what you have in the Tavern and what is in the game (which tribes) and based on that decide if you can use this Darkmoon prize effectively.
Evolving Tavern
Evolving Tavern is an okey card, but there is a Tavern Spell that does the same thing and it costs only 2 Gold. This means that you won’t get too much value from this one as it is completely random.
Great Deal
The Great Deal is really great – it gives you a great economy boost and you should definitely go for it, you can’t really make a mistake with this one. You will need the Tavern upgrade anyway so this will save you a lot of Gold.
Gruul Rules
Gruul Rules is something that you shouldn’t take unless you have a very specific build that focuses solely on one minion that needs this buff. Since this is very rare, you won’t get much value from this Darkmoon prize so our advice is to generally not take it.
I’m still just a rat in the cage
Apart from the wierd name, this Darkmoon prize has it’s usages, especially if you have anything with Divine Shield on board. It can be useful in late phases of the game as well, for example, you can throw it on Obsidian Revager and watch the enemy board getting obliterated by it.
The Bouncer
The Bouncer does exectly the same like the Tavern Spell that costs 3 gold so that’s pretty much what you get. If you are running an Undead build or Greatwolf Beast comp, you can use it but other than that, it doesn’t do much.
The Unlimited Coin
You get one gold per turn – that’s it. That’s what Unlimited Coin does – so as you can see, this Darkmoon prize is pretty limited. Considering that it’s a Tier 2 Prize, you probably don’t need that one Gold that much so you should take something else if possible.
Time Thief
Time Thief’s effectiveness depends solely on what kind of board you have and what did your last opponent have. If you determine that there are some key minions that your opponent had which you can use, go ahead and play the Time Thief. However, as there is a lot of RNG in this prize, we would deem the Time Thief as not so effective Darkmoon prize generally speaking.
Tier 3 Darkmoon Prizes
Tier 3 Prizes are probably the ones that you are interested in the most as players can get it from the Lesser Trinket. Keep in mind that in one of the last patches, the prizes have been nerfed and the one that gives you a Tier 6 minion has been replaced with Discover a minion from tier higher. Nonetheless, there are some pretty sweet prizes here so let’s check them out.
All that Glitters
All That Glitters is a heavily RNG influenced prize. There is no way for you to control it (except to buy the few minions that you don’t need and increase your chances of goldening the one that remains in the Tavern). Of course, since you can golden something in the Tavern that also means that you will get a triple reward once you buy that minion so just keep that in mind.
B.A.N.A.N.A.S.
B.A.N.A.N.A.S. is a stat boosting trinket that will fill you hand with Bananas. Now, in your hand you can hold 10 cards max and one banana gives you either +1/+1 or +2/+2. It can be good when played with Loc Prince for example or some other minion that benefits from each stat increase but over, the stat boost is not that strong for this Tier.
Buy the Holy Light
A very simple Darkmoon prize is Buy the Holy Light – you just get one permanant Divine Shield on one minion. It can be useful if you have an extremely strong minion that you know you will keep but other than that, there are better options.
Mindflayer Googles
Economically speaking, Mindflayer Googles are the best option to go for when it comes to Tier 3 Darkmoon prizes. Just think about it, if you are Tavern Tier 4, you will get at least 6 minions which you can at least sell for 6 gold. You can wait and use it for minions that you need and sell the rest (or use useful Battlecries and then sell them).
Repeat Customer
Repeat Customer is overall not a good card to play. Basically, you will get one free Battlecry and although Battlecries can be powerful, it is still not enough to justify the high tier of this card. Sure, sometimes in Battlegrounds Duos this can be useful as well because it will allow you to pass the card without spending money on Portal but that’s about it.
Top Shelf
Top Shelf is a newest card in Darkmoon prizes card pool as it replaced the previous one that gave a Tier 6 minion after 2 turns. As you can see this is quiet a nerf and this card is to be avoided – you will just get one minion and that’s it.
Training Session
Training Sessions does exactly the same thing like the Tavern Spell which costs 3 Gold. That fact alone shows how much this Darkmoon prize is worth – around 3 gold. Sure, if you are in a specific position in which you don’t need your hero power anymore and want to replace it, you can go for it. Other than that, it is very RNG and doesn’t do much.
Tier 4 Darkmoon Prizes
Tier 4 Prizes are very late, end-game cards that can be roughly divided into minion cards (goldening, getting a strong minion) and economy ones. Based on how late the game is, you should choose between those two types and see what fits your board the best.
Argent Braggart
Argent Braggart is a very late game Darkmoon prize that is pretty useful, especially if you want to slam it on the final fight. It stands to reason that you will have one or two minions that you don’t need for the final fight for your build to work and this is where Argent Braggart comes in as a huge reinforcement as he will copy your strongest minion.
Big Winner
Big Winner is a very niche and RNG reward as you will discover 3 Darkmoon prizes from Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3. It can be good, especially if you get Divine Shield or replacing Hero Power and similar ones, but usually there are other options that are better.
Fresh Tab
Fresh tab will give you a lot of gold and you should go for it if you are in a dire need of scam minions to play on the final few turns and can’t find them. It can be particularly useful if your economy is not the best or if you are playing with Brann and need more gold to keep Refresh-Battlecry-Sell mechanics going.
Family and Friends Discount
Family and Friends discount is great to use if you see that the game will last for few more rounds. It will drastically decrease the cost of the minions and you will be able to find something to complete your build.
Give a Dog a Bone
Another niche prize that you might want to use is Give a Dog a Bone. Basically, it works really well with Cleave minions as you get both Divine Shield and Windfury which can be devastating when played on cleave.
Open Bar
Open Bar is just an economy boost that, similarly to Family and Friends Discount, you can go for if you deem that the game (and you) will last for few more rounds. Keep in mind that it doesn’t stack so it’s always your first 5 Refreshes.
Raise the Stakes
Raise the Stakes really rases the stakes – this is especially useful if you are running any kind of Titus or Brann build (and you don’t have them golden). Be sure to use it on the key minion as chances are that you won’t be able to golden it otherwise in this late game phase.
Image Credits: Blizzard Activision, Hearthstone
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