In this guide, we will explain each individual Murloc from the Murloc comp, and go into a bit of detail on how they interact with the rest of the tribe, whether they are good enough, and how exactly you should play them.
This Hearthstone Battlegrounds Murloc Tribe overview is up-to-date with the latest Season 10 patch
Note that this is not an overall build guide since we have that in our main Battlegrounds strategy guide Murloc comp. Here, we will go into a bit more detail about Murloc comp and dissect (no pun intended) them for what they have to offer.
Tier 1 Murlocs
Flighty Scout
Flighty Scout is a new interesting murloc that works good in combination with other “hand murlocs” like Grimscale Elegist, and can be a decent tempo with the later combinations with Basgill. He isn’t by no means a substitution for Bream Counter, but it’s a good minion to get the hand murloc build up and running.
Bubble Gunner
Bubble Gunner is a very interesting warlock because he can still be very relevant in the late game. Getting him early game is fine and all, but what you have to keep in mind is the keyword bonuses that he can get, especially when combined with Young Murk-Eye and Brann. Keyword bonuses are essential for late-game warlocks because Hackerfin also gives you stats based on keywords, and the more keywords you have, the stronger you are, essentially. He also works very well with Implant Subject because for every keyword you lose, for example, Divine Shield, Reborn, and Venomous, Implant Subject will gain more stats. So keep in mind that this warlock is mediocre in the early game, but can be very powerful in the late game.
Tier 2 Murlocs
Blazing Skyfin
This minion is fine because you will probably find useful Battlecry minions in the next few turns, plus it is a nice minion to have in the later stages of the game. If you transition to full battlecry Murlocs, Blazing Skyfin will gain a lot of stats from it. He can be used in Dragon comps as well, especially if you are going for a full Dragon Battlecry comp.
Grimscale Elegist
Essentially Grimscale Elegist is only picked up if you already have Flighty Scout because of his special end-of-turn ability. You will get a lot of benefits if you combine these two because you essentially get plus two, plus two each turn and that is good in the early stages of the game. In the mid to late stages he is pretty useless.
Tad
Very good in the late stages when you need to just play Murlocs for Bream Counter, and it’s good for the classic scenario of turn 3, where you have 5 Gold, and you buy Tad, sell him, and buy one more minion. You essentially get a random Murloc for 2 Gold, which is fine.
Parched Wanderer
Parched Wanderer is one of those buy-use-sell Murloc minions. Its Battlecry ability is not super strong but it’s fine if you, for example, want to target Murcules early on and buff him up so that he can buff something in your hand.
Tier 3 Murlocs
Adaptive Ancestor
Adaptive Ancestor is pretty mediocre, if we’re being honest because it doesn’t really do anything for you in the mid-game. Sure, if he gets Venomous or the Divine Shield, it’s nice, it’s good for tempo a bit, but in the later stages, when you’re tier 4 or 5, you really should look for something more resourceful or “late-gamey” than this.
Puddle Prancer
We go over this minion in our Battlegrounds Duos guide, but we did want to mention him here too. Basically, he is very good for tempo and for just a few Gold, you can have a strong 20/20+ minion if you are lacking firepower in the mid-game. Do also note that Duos mechanics like Portal in a Bottle also count as a Pass and trigger his stat-gaining ability, which is very cool.
Shoalfin Mystic
Sholfin Mystic really stands out compared to other murlocs because the idea behind his mechanic is actually playing a menagerie spell build, not any other murloc build or murloc specific build. He is good with the combination of Bran and buffing up spells like Shiny Ring and leveraging the whole new spell build that is pretty meta in Battlegrounds Season 10.
Reckless Cliffdiver
Reckless Cliffdiver is pretty nice if you need that immediate firepower because chances are if you’re going for Murlocs, you already played a few Battlecries in the mid-game and that means that this guy has a decent amount of attack with Reborn. Keep in mind that after he is reborn he still gets the bonus attack from the effect. This is because it says “wherever this is”. In the late game he is also extremely powerful if you’re going for Battlecry build, but keep in mind that things are very crowded on the board with Murlocs in the later stages of the game.
Tier 4 Murlocs
Bream Counter
The bread and butter of your army IF you are focused on the “hand murloc” build, not the Keyword one. This Murloc is the key minion that everything else revolves around. Basically, if you have two of these in your hand, Brann Bronzebeard, Primalfin Lookout, and Young Murk-Eye, you can start printing Murlocs and just playing them and gaining massive stats on your Bream Counters in your hand. Finally, finding Choral Mrrrgl is the key as he copies all the stats in your hand (your two buffed Bream Counters) and Bassgills to summon the buffed Bream Counters.
Gromling Gourmet
Gormling Gourmet generates a lot of Seafood Stew spell that works extremely well with the keyword mechanic This is one of the newest additions to Murlocs and works well with the keyword build that is an interesting way to play Murlocs and much more dynamic compared to hand builds. With the combination of minions like Apprentice of Sefin and other Murlocs that have keywords, you can get a lot of stats up and running in the mid game with this combination.
King Bagurgle
King Bagurgle works very well with Brann and Young Murk-Eye, there is no doubt about that. The problem is that you can easily get “stuck” in this Battlecry stat gain route, which somehow always ends up being inferior to the “hand build”. Since you only have so much space, getting Primalfin Lookouts besides Young Murk-Eyes is more than likely a better route to go. Nevertheless, this is a good minion and you should pick it up, especially if you have Brann.
Tier 5 Murlocs
Apprentice of Sefin
Apprentice of Sefin is one of the core new murlocs that revolve around the keyword build and he was pretty controversial when he was first introduced because his effect was triggered by a battlecry and now he’s a bit nerfed but the concept still remains the same. You get him and for example Drakkari and then you get two keywords on your murlocs. After that you leverage things like Seafood Stew or Hackerfin to boost stats depending on the number of keywords you get on each of your murlocs. Essentially if you’re looking to play a keyword build this is a core card.
Operatic Belcher
Murlocs seem to lack the scam potential they once had, and Operatic Belcher is the only Murloc with this power, with the additional Deathrattle effect to grant someone else Venomous also. It is bad against stuff like Divine Shields, Undeads, and Summoning Beasts. On the other hand, it is pretty good if you have empty space on the board, and if the enemy is playing something like Demons (pure stats, no summons, Divine Shields, etc.).
Hackerfin
Hackerfin is pretty much the bread and butter of the Battlecry build because he relies on your Murlocs having a decent amount of bonus keywords. As we already mentioned, he works extremely well with Apprentice of Sefin because of the keyword mechanics. This is also why Bubble Gunner is so powerful because you can essentially have up to 5 different keywords on Bubble Gunner and then boost him up with Hackerfin in combination with Brann and Young Murk-eye.
Primalfin Lookout
This is the key minion to get a lot of Murlocs. He alone isn’t anything special, especially at Tier 5 with those stats, but combining him with Young Murk-Eye and Brann is where the real fun begins. You will be able to have 15+ Gold each turn and buff up your Bream Counters in your hand a lot.
Tier 6 Murlocs
Murkbrine Expeditioner
Murkbrine Expeditioner is a very interesting card that is essentially meant to be a synergy card between hand murlocs and keyword murlocs. You can buff this card up with a few more keywords and then leverage it to cast either Seafood Stew or just play Hackerfin in the field. He will get the bonus stats based on the keywords and he will also buff up your hand murloc that you’re holding in your hand. This is a play between two different styles and he does the job extremely well.
Murky
Note: Murky received a buff in Season 10 (from +3/+3 to +4/+4). He specializes in the Murloc “Battlecry build”. The ability is pretty straightforward, and the main problem with Murky is that he is Tier 6, meaning that you will need to find a few of these and perhaps a Golden Young Murk-Eye + Brann, in order to be actually competitive in the late-game. The problem is that if you’re using both spaces of Young Murk-Eye for this, you won’t have resources as you would with Primalfin Lookout to find more key minions and more Gold, which is a big minus.
Choral Mrrrgl
This card is just straight-up very good. Having two Bream Counters in your hand isn’t anything too difficult to get, and just by getting Choral Mrrrgl, you will get all those juicy stats from your hand. He is the top priority in the “hand Murloc” build. He is also just buffed and synergized with Murkbrine Expeditioner because Murkbrine buffs up the minion in your hand and Troil actually gets these stats.
Young Murk-Eye
We mentioned this Murloc a lot in this guide, and rightfully so. He is the core of late-game Murlocs because the “trigger the Battlecry of the left minion” ability is essential and just too good to pass on, even if you are not playing a Murloc comp. He got a pretty rough nerf in Season 9, and now the whole Battlecry build doesn’t really feel that powerful. Nevertheless, he is still essential, but your build will be a bit slower than before the patch.
Tier 7 Murlocs
Tide Oracle Morgl
At the risk of stating the obvious, this Murloc is rarely seen in the game because the only way to get him is with Thorim, Stormlord. He is the only minion that has Poisonous, which means he will kill anything that he hits (unlimited charges), unlike Venomous, which triggers only the first hit (has only one charge). The special ability is very interesting because it can boost the Murlocs in your hand (eg, Bream Counter) by a ridiculous amount. If he happens to attack a 200/200, suddenly, your Bream Counter in your hand will gain +200/+200 permanently, which just feels very powerful. All that said, he is Tier 7, so you won’t see him in most of the games.
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