This article will focus on Greater Trinkets in Hearthstone Battlegrounds in Season 8. We have already spoken about Lesser Trinkets in a separate article and we have described in detail builds and comps in HS BG season 8 as well.
The Tier List is up-to-date with the new Hearthstone Battlegrounds 31.0 patch.
Be sure to check those two articles before proceeding to this one. They are all very connected and Greater Trinkets really do depend on your current board, your choice of Lesser Trinkets, and the current board. That being said, let’s see how Greater Trinkets in Season 8 are ranked in our Tier list.
S Tier
Surveyor Portrait
Surveyor Portrait is a generally very good trinket and works extremely good with Aggem Thorncurse. This build allows you to get a very high amount of blood gems on your menagerie build. Generally having this trinket alongside Aggem Thorncurse and a few other types is a sure way to victory and a good endgame build. One thing that this whole setup lacks is the actual gem stats and economy. So it would be wise to pick a lesser trinket that deals with these issues beforehand.
The Eye of Sargeras
The Eye of Sargeras is a very good Demon trinket that works well with late-game demons that involve multiple Insatiable Ur’zul. You will be able to cycle a lot of Demons with this setup and buff up your Ur’zuls to very high amounts of stats.
Slamma Sticker
Slamma Sticker is a game-changer and the reason why it’s in our S-Tier list of HS Battlegrounds Greater Trinkets is the fact that it’s super easy to use and quiet efficent – even if you don’t have the complete beast comp, you will still benefit from this one.
Manipulator Portrait
Manipulator Portrait is an interesting one and is usually picked if you already have a very powerful and impactful minion on your board. This can be two brands and the need for the third one or if you have for example a 100/100 minion with the divine shield. Remember, he copies everything from that minion so if the minion is golden or has any modifications on it he copies that too. On top of that, this trinket only costs 1 gold so you can continue the transition to your build more effectively and not lose a lot of gold on greater trinkets. All in all, it’s pretty good but it highly depends on the scenario and minions on your board.
Bob’s Tip Jar
There is no need to explain how Bob’s Tip Jar works – you will get the gold and if you already have a nice board and you just need to refresh and look for other minions, go for it.
Elementium Chest
Elementium Chest is probably the best Greater Trinket around to use when playing Sky Pirates. What you can hope for is that in mid-game, while you have several key minions, you will get around 4-7 gold per turn. Later on, once you assemble your whole build, you will be getting 10+ on each turn. Since the whole comp is based on just a few particular units that you need to find fast, gold is the most important thing – and Elementium Chest gives you exactly that.
Pagle’s Fishing Pod
There are plenty of useful Tier 7 Hearthstone Battlegrounds minions and Pagle’s Fishing Pod will get you some of those. If you are running Demons or any Deathrattle/Battlecry build, you can go for it. There are quiet a few options to consider here but overall, this trinket proved very useful.
Conductor Portrait
Conductor Portrait is a great Trinket if you have enough HP to survive couple of turns. The main issue is the fact that it’s super slow – you get some buffs, you get a lot of gold, but it will happen in the next turn. This, paired with the lack of sustain that Quilboars suffer from, can easily cost you the game.
Quilligraphy Set
Quilligraphy Set is yet another very late-game trinket that is risky to go for – if you survive long enough to see many of your Quilboars die, you will get your gems nicely buffed. However, keep in mind that this is like playing with fire – you will be very weak in mid-game so be sure to get some defenses up.
A Tier
Peacebloom Candle
Peacbloom Candle is very similar to Book of Medivh in terms of how and what it does – you will get semi-random spells (the ones that you can find) and should you get a good one, it will be great for you. Most of the time, this will be a tempo Trinket and you should use it as such.
Gilnean Thorned Rose
Gilnean Thorned Rose is primarily for the self-inflicting beast build with Skyblazer and Lasher. It works pretty well, but you will need a few summons to pull it off because the Avenge (4) is needed for the proc.
Redeemer Portrait
Redeemer Portrait is a 100% full commitment to the Nalaa the Redeemer build that involves spells. There are a few things to keep in mind here and the first one is that you kind of need a little bit of extra gold if you’re going to play this build and you will probably need to find a way to get a second or even a third Nalaa. Finally, you will also need the money to buy the actual menagerie minions that can scale well into the late game and have unique properties like cleave or immunity on attack.
Twin Sky Lanterns
Similarly to Karazhan Set, Twin Sky Lanterns works well with Mech Automaton builds as well as several other niche comps. It is a good trinket to have if you have units for it – but taking it randomly without any preset comp is not a good idea.
Karazhan Chess Set
There is simply so many combinations with Karazhan Chess Set that this trinket had to be in our A-Tier. Automaton, Scam, Neutral, Amalgam are just some of the niche comps that you can go for with this one. Furthermore, even if you don’t have any specific minion, you can use Karazhan Chess Set as a contingency trinket in order to survive (by duplicating your two most powerful minions).
Butcher’s Sickle
Butcher’s Sickle is overall a good trinket that will probably get you into top 4 combatants of Battlegrounds. The trick is to use it on higher Tier units to get the maximum value of it. Also, be sure to use it on units that have useful Deathrattles or Reborn if you want to duplicate a unit (you will be left the one without Reborn on the board though).
Ironforge Anvil
Although the build is not that strong, it is super fun to play and you can check out Battlegrounds Guide for more info on it – the key on no-type comp lies in having Ironforge Anvil (if possible, double one) as your Greater Trinket. The value is obvious as you will triple your no-type minions in the begging of the turn so the most important thing is to be able to buff them up before that. Good luck!
Rivendare Portrait
This one is simple – Rivendare Portrait will get you Titus Rivendare and if you are just lacking him in your Deathrattle comp, you should go for it. Not much to discuss here as this trinket is pretty straightforward.
Flagbearer Portrait
This one is pretty straightforward and it only works with the Sky Pirate Flagbearer build. This is a good choice if you already have something like Titus or another Flagbearer on the board and it is essentially a full commitment to this build. There is not much else to say about it.
Bronzebeard Portrait
Bronzebeard Portrait is again, a simple Trinket to use and works fine with Murlocs and Dragons (if you have Calecgos). The problem with this one is that it can be rather slow if you don’t know how to use him properly so be careful with this one.
Jar o Gems
This one is simply the best when going for any kind of Quilboar comp. However, since this is a Greater Trinket, you will need to buff up those Blood Gems in some other way – Jar o’Gems is more of a combat trinket. It will allow you to renew Divine Shield on Tough Tusk several times during the fight.
Dalaran Cheese Wheel
Dalaran Cheese Wheel is primarily good with Recycling Wrath and Elemental build. The issue here is that you really need some resource and economy setup in order to play this build fully. So the Lesser Trinket needs to be centered around economy for this one to work. Other than that, it’s good for Elementals.
Exquisite Dishware
Exquisite Dishware is one of those Greater Trinkets that can either be an S or an F tier. If you are committed to an all-type build this thing will give you minions, gold, key units and more and it will be an S-tier for you. If, on other hand, you have a regular tribe setup, Exguisite Dishware will be a total waste of money for you.
Charging Staff
Simply put, charging Staff gives you attack on 3-4 of your Mech or Dragon minions and it works fine if you have Drakkari Enchanter on the field. If not, it simply doesn’t bring much in terms of value to the board. All that said, it is very effective in fast-paced lobbies where the games are shorter. Plus, don’t underestimate high-attack, low-defense Divine Shield board, it generally is enough for the first few places.
B Tier
Kodo Leather Pouch
Kodo Leather Pouch is nice if you want to play any cycling build that involves buying a lot of cards. It requires you to have some kind of economy beforehand because it only works if you are really able to buy a lot of cards.
Precious Pearl
Precious Pearl is kind of good at the beginning of the later stages of the game but falls off pretty quickly. Sure, you will get 30/30 stats each turn, and you can do various things with it, depending on which Naga you have. But generally speaking, these stats won’t win you the game, unless it’s a very fast-paced lobby.
Primalfin Portrait
Primalfin Portrait is kind of a big gamble since you rely on its Discovery and the random spell you’re getting with it. But to make this much more efficient, you need to have a Brann in place if you consider this trinket, because it doesn’t really make much sense to pick it without a Brann, since that’s just bad value.
Promo Portrait
Promo Portrait is generally good tempo when you have a board of dragons and can get you decent stats every turn. On the other hand, it’s not really a build that scales exponentially and it falls off quicker rather than later. That said, it is a good build if you aim to just get to 3rd or 2nd place and if you have a full board of dragons already.
Felbat Portrait
Felbat Portrait is generally good, but only if you already have buffed up stats in the Tavern. If you don’t have buffed up stats in the Tavern, skip this. It’s also worth mentioning that the Felbat build is not really the most powerful, since usually in this current meta, Uzrul build is usually better, but Felbat Portrait can work pretty well, and if there are no other viable options and you’re playing demons, you should consider it.
Surprise Portrait
Surprise Portrait is an interesting one. It generally is extremely important to triple your key elementals like Recycling Wrath when you play an elemental build. And this trinket does exactly that. Moreover, the text on the trinket which says, “more appear when you least expect them” is a mechanic that is very RNG. Basically, you can get a random one in your hand after you buy something, or you can get a full shop of it if you refresh it. There is a chance of this happening, so it’s kind of based on RNG since it’s high cost and you don’t really know how many of them you’re going to get throughout the game.
Windrunner Necklace
Although nerfed, Windrunner Neclkace is still one of the best Pirate trinkets to have. The value of it lies in the fact that most of your Sky Pirates will attack from the far left side (most of the time) and in mid-game it is good to pair with cleave.
Alliance Keychain
Alliance Keychain is good for one thing – Dragon tribe. The problem with this Greater Trinket is the fact that it’s highly RNG and a bit counterintuitive as you want your highest stat minion to die (probably Tarecgosa) and that is usually the only minion that can receive buffs apart from the ones adjected to the Poet. Good luck.
Mug of the Sire
The alternative Undead comp focusing on buffing up minions by not summoning and utilizing Titus at the same time works well with Mug of the Sire. Simply, you will get more stats from this mechanic but the main problem is the fact that it doesn’t boost your economy or discovery potential – you will still need to find key minions for this to work.
Spitescale Sushi Roll
Apart from the fact that Spitescale Sushi Roll is good for Tempo and to some degree for your Deep Blue spells, there is really not much use of this one. It is pricy and chances are that you will still need those key minions for your Naga comp to be completed.
Enforcer Portrait
Although the build itself is not that strong, an all-type comp can scale pretty quicky if paired early with Drakkari Enchanter. Furthermore, if there are Mechs in play, you can put Divine Shield and Reborn on most of your units. Usually, this build won’t get you the first place but it will put you somewhere near the top.
Balladist Portrait
Balladist portrait has been buffed up and now it can be used very effectively in Pirate builds along with Brann and Murkeye. It will give you a nice tempo boost and has a good end-game potential – just be sure to find other key minions for it to work!
Mechagon Adapter
Mechagon Adapter is pretty powerful and there is no need to explain its effect. One thing you should consider is that you will need to put the most powerful minions first because they need to regain the Divine Shield. It’s not really good for economy and you can fall off if you don’t have momentum and pick it. It’s kind of a double-edged sword because you instantly become more powerful but you lose a lot of momentum with it, so choose it only when you have some kind of economy factor in place.
Lorewalker Scroll
Simply put, your spells are stronger and your Naga units will scale with Lorewalker Scroll. However, this trinket doesn’t offer any kind of economy or discovery boost so you will need to use it carefully and preferably with a lesser trinket that can offer some sustain.
Boom Controller
Due to its high cost, this trinket goes in the lower tier but it’s actually quiet useful if you go for Automaton based board. The trick here is to make Automaton die first so be sure not to leave any weak mech minions on your left side.
Blood Golem Sticker
Overall, this trinket is no good – if you are running Quilboars, you will need space for several key minions. Chances are that not all of them will be buffed up so you might end up summoning very weak minions from Blood Golem Sticker.
Belcher Portrait
Not great, not terrible either – that’s how we would summarize Belcher Portrait. You do get a good tempo with it and it will give you one of your key scam cards but apart from that, you are on your own. Skip, unless there is nothing better available.
Nether Pendant
Nether Pendant is great for self-inflicting Demons as it will upgrade the Tavern after few turns. However, due to the fact that it will take some time for this to work, this trinket is considered a slow one. You can go for it if you already have a solid Demon board.
Nomi Sticker
Nomi Sticker is great for Elemental shuffly-cycle-recycle mechanics but other than that, it’s completely useless. If you have a Recycling Wrath on the field, you can take this one; if not avoid it.
Fridge Magnet
Unless you are playing an Automaton niche build, you will need those Magnetic minions and you will need a lot of them. Fridge Magnet is the best way to get them as this thing can scale really fast, really quick. Prioritize getting Reborns first and this Greater Trinket will soon be giving you at least 3 Magnetic minions each turn. That said, it can be a bit slow and you really need Beatboxer to make it work.
C Tier
Shaker Portrait
Shaker Portrait is only good if you already have a deep blue Naga build setup and even then it’s not one of the best builds in the late game. That said if you have a few deep blue Nagas and are already committed, Shaker Portrait is a nice choice.
Designer Eyepatch
Designer Eyepatch is nice if you are trying to play a full pirate build and already have some pairs in place. This will make them instantly into a triple card and give you additional higher-tier Discovers. It’s a good off-ramp into a full pirate build, but it generally isn’t that powerful since pirates in general really need a few turns to get actual momentum. Moreover, the 4 gold cost of this trinket is also not to be overlooked. It’s a pretty niche trinket because you essentially take it only if you have pirate pairs on your board. Other than that, you should skip it.
Emerald Dreamwalker
Emerald Dreamcatcher is similarly to Alliance Keychain, highly dependable on how many Poets and Tarecgosa you have on the board. You want the attack of your highest minion to stay, not just to get a one time buff, so be sure to get the key minions before you take this Trinket.
Tiger Carving
Tiger Carving is good for self-inflicting beasts – and that’s about it. The issue is the fact that this comp is not that effective now and a bit outdated so that’s why we put Tiger carving in the bottom part of our Great Trinket tier list in Hearthstone Battlegrounds.
Nazjatar Postcard
This one is weird because you need to have this synergy between non-Naga minions and Spellcrafts. It usually isn’t really a good choice since getting a random Spellcraft is really not that good unless you have a board with 2 Slitherspears, which is unlikely at this stage of the game, and even then, it’s not that impressive because playing minions is costly.
Azerite Portrait
Generally speaking, Azerite Portrait works well if you already have one or two Living Azerites on the field and if you have some defenses up. The thing is, it will take some time for your Living Azerite to buff up the minions in the tavern and for you to triple the key ones, so sustain is the key with this one.
Glowing Gauntlet
Glowing Gauntlet is a niche Greater Trinket in Battlegrounds that works fine with Bat and Elemental comps (and to some degree with Mechs). Other than that, it doesn’t really do much – it offers a nice tempo but unless you are set for one of those three comps, you should avoid it.
Nerglish Phrasebook
Nerglish Phrasebook is fine for Murloc based boards and especially if you already have Bassgil or other hand-scam tactics in place. The issue is the fact that you will still need your key minions that are on higher tier in order to utilize this Trinket to it’s full potential.
Book of Medivh
Book of Medivh is completely RNG type of Trinket and there really isn’t much to say about it apart from – good luck! Try to level up to tier 5 as soon as possible and hope you get discover tier 6 unit or Eyes of the Earthmother soon.
Devour Sticker
Devour Sticker is a Greater Trinket that can be used with Nagas or niche builds. However, more often than not, players will choose this trinket for it’s low cost and instant usefulness (to get rid of a buffed up lower-tier minion). Consider other options if there are any.
Jarred Frostling
Jarred Frostling is one of those very late-game trinkets. It won’t do much in mid-game as your Frostlings will be pretty weak at this point but should you survive long enough and play enough Elementals, Jarred Frostling can scale quiet a bit.
Essence of Dreams
Essence of Dreams is only good with Bran Bronzebeard and builds associated with him. If you are running Calegos dragons, Murlocs or some niche battlecry comp, you should grab Essence of Dreams.
Tinyfin Onesie
Generally speaking, this trinket is only good if you already have your Murlocs in place, otherwise it’s just a waste of time to go for this build and force something at this point of the game. It isn’t a game-changing build, but it’s a low-cost option if your board already has a lot of key Murlocs in place.
D Tier
Mecha-Jaraxxus Sticker
Mecha-Jaraxxus sticker is an interesting concept, and getting two random magnetic mecha-demons sounds nice, but in reality they don’t really give you anything except for a bit of stats and Windfury and Reborn. You will probably not have multiple beatboxers at this stage of the game and thus it’s not a really good investment especially considering how powerful some other trinkets are.
Great Boar Sticker
Another nerfed trinket is the Great Boar Sticker and this one is really heavily nerfed. Now, unless other trinkets are high cost and totally useless for your Quilboar board, you shouldn’t go for this one. It simply doesn’t offer enough value.
Glowscale Portrait
Glowscale Portrait is a strange trinket – you can use it in two ways. You can either give your units Divine Shield with it (works well with Demons and Quilboars) but most often, players just use it to buff up Zesty Shaker. So.. it’s fine but it won’t really give you much value.
Artisanal Urn
Artisanal Urn is great for the mid-game tempo; that being said, later on, this trinket doesn’t have a great value. It’s okey to have it as it will for sure provide a lot of sustain and survivability but there are other options that are better for your Undead minions to go for.
Booty Bay Brew
Booty Bay Brew is problematic in terms of it’s randomness – you will get some stat buffs but those stats will be scattered all across your board and there is no way for you to control this. Also, this Greater Trinket works only with stat-based Pirate builds and is completely useless with Sky Pirates.
Comfy Coffin
Comfy Coffin is a slow, undead exclusive trinket that should be taken only if there are no better options. The issue is that Comfy Coffin doesn’t give much value to mid-game and is plain awful for late-game. Surely there are other options to go for.
Darnassus Pie
Another Elemental exclusive trinket is Darnassus Pie. It will give you a good boost to your minions in Tavern but you will need Recycling Wrath and a good economy to use it’s full potential.
Reinforced Shield
Reinforced Shield is again, another Mech exclusive Trinket that doesn’t really offer much unless you have a very specific comp. It works fine with some units such as Automaton but you should stay away from it if you are running a Deflect-o-bot based board as it won’t do much (and it can ruin your comp completely).
F Tier
Bronze Timepiece
Bronze Timepiece just doesn’t work well mainly because it focuses on Dragon based comps and is highly unpredicatable. Personally I have never seen anyone using this thing and actually winning the game.
Fancy Spellbook
There is nothing Fancy about this – you will get 1-3 random spells each turn and you can just pray that those spells are useful because if they are not, you wasted your Greater Trinket on this Spellbook.
Dragonwing Glider
Dragonwing Glider is fine if you have Calegos, golden Brann, good economy and several Divine Shield Dragon units on the board. It will work like a charm – but if you don’t have that and you usually won’t, it’s not going to do much except give random minions attack.
Feral Talisman
Simply put, Feral Talisman just doesn’t give enough stats to be picked. It will give you some mid-game tempo but that’s about it – it can work with some Undead comps but usually you should stay away from it.
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