This guide will focus on Naga minions in Battlegrounds. We have already described meta builds and comps in Hearthstone Battlegrounds so you should check that one if you want to see the actual builds – here, we will analyze each minion and provide tips and tactics for you to use. Without further ado, check out the Naga Tribe in HS Battlegrounds Season 9!
Tavern Tier 1 Naga Minions
Deep-Sea Angler
Having Taunt options can be really useful not just for your Lava Lurker (although it is tempting to buff the defense of Lava Lurker, try to cast something else instead because you really don’t want your strongest minion to be the one with Taunt since this season there are a lot scam minions, even in a tavern withouth Murlocs), but also if you are opting for Taunt build and comps focusing on Assistant Guard in general.
Mini-Myrmidon
Mini Myrmidon is generally an okay starting Naga because it has decent stats and if you happen to find Lava Lurker a bit later on, it can scale him pretty well. So overall, it’s not great, but it’s not terrible either.
Tavern Tier 2 Naga Minions
Lava Lurker
Lava Lurker has been a key minion in Naga tribe for ages – things are a bit different in Season 9 of HS BG. Although this unit is still really good and can provide both sustain and late-game capabilities. That being said, if you see Lava Lurker early on and have any spellcraft Naga on the field (Thaumaturgist), you should grab it and cast spellcraft on it at least as a part of your sustain tactic in order to survive mid-game.
Thaumaturgist
This new Naga is very interesting because it essentially scales with all the spellcrafts and regular spells in the game. So he is pretty good in basically every stage of the game, especially when you combine it with a Lava Lurker or a Zesty Shaker. The key here is to have a lot of spells and just play around the Nagas if you are going to have a few Thaumaturgists on the field.
Zesty Shaker
Zesty Shaker has had a couple of changes over the past few seasons and in the current season 9, he is pretty weak. The reason being is that there is no Deep Blue in the game anymore and he is essentially used in combination with some other spellcrafts that don’t really have the same impact as Deep Blue Naga builds. Nevertheless, he is a nice pick-up on tier 2 if you are already going for Nagas.
Shell Collector
Shell Collector is a great minion overall. Having an initial cost of basically just two gold (1 if you sell it), makes it really useful in many situations. Even later on, this unit can be combined with Bran and/or Draconic Deathscale in order to boost the economy, especially in Battlegrounds Duos. There is nothing better than seeing Shell Collector on turn 3 in the Tavern. Also, note that the coin counts as a spell so it will work with Lord of Gains and Drakkari Enchanter.
Tavern Tier 3 Naga Minions
The Gladi-ator
The Gladi-ator is one of the best offensive Naga minions in Battlegrounds. Having Divine Shield and bonus on Attack is always a good thing to use, especially in mid-game. If you see this minion while you are on Tavern Tier 3 and have some Nagas on the field, you should grab it as it can provide a nice boost that you need at that phase until you get your key minions.
Volcanic Visitor
Similarly to Deep Blue Crooner, Volcanic Visitor doesn’t really offer much early on. It is an okeish minion to have in mid game, especially if you have several Gladi-ators on the field, but other than that his power really falls off later on.
Warden of Old
Warden of Old is the only pure economy minion that Nagas have and it does have it’s uses in mid-game phase. Basically, if you have space and you are in mid-game, you should get it and use it for several turns until you pay him off and then just sell it. In that way, he can provide a nice tempo boost.
Tavern Tier 4 Naga Minions
Slippery Slider
Slippery Slider is an the key minion to have if you are going for the Gym build with Lord of Gains. It’s spellcraft will allow you to cast tavern spells and refresh every turn and this is just so OP at the moment. If you can get your hands on two Slippery Sliders that would be great, even without Lord of Gains because you still get free refreshes every turn (thus increased chance to find Lord of Gains).
Critter Wrangler
Slippery Slider is an okeish tempo minion that should never be used later on, not even if you are playing the Deep Blue Build. The buffs that it gets are simply not strong enough to provide sustain during late game phases and, although it’s fine to have it in mid-game, especially if you have Corrupted Murmidon on the board, later there are more useful minions to have.
Arcane Cannoneer
Arcane Cannoneer is a very interesting new Naga that essentially works similarly to Obsidian Ravager, the tier 7 dragon, but only on the target it is attacking. So basically, when it attacks, it first fires a missile that deals damage and then it clashes with the minion. So basically, it’s good for Divine Shields or midgame tempo. Nevertheless, it’s not really an amazing minion that you can rely on in the mid-late game. It just has a cool gimmick that you can utilize in certain situations. So don’t count on Arcane Cannoneer to do the heavy lifting.
Tavern Tier 5 Naga Minions
Corrupted Murmidon
Without any support, this unit is weak. However, Corrupted Myrmidon is a late-game unit that gets buffed really fast considering his Start of Combat ability. Depending on your board, you can decide to take this unit and add it as it will probably be your main source of both offensive and defensive capabilities in the late phases of the game. Works great with Lord of Gains.
Daggerspine Trasher
Daggerspine Thrasher is an all-around Naga minion that is equally useful in the early, mid, and late phases of the game. Even if you are not opting for a full Naga build, having Divine Shield and Venomous is not something that many minions have and is pretty useful, especially in Duos when you need a quick scam build done. However, Daggerspine Trasher doesn’t actually “give” anything in terms of spellcrafts and buffs so your board might get a bit clunky if you have two of those on it.
Glowscale
Glowscale is one of those straightforward units – it has Taunt and it gives Divine Shield. There’s nothing fancy about this minion but if you have Lava Lurker on the field and it doesn’t have Divine Shield yet, you can utilize Glowscale to give him one.
Darkcrest Strategist
Darkcrest Strategist is the bread and butter of the late-game Naga build because you will want to have as many Nagas, resources, and Spellcrafts as you can in order to make your Tier VI Groundbreaker scale as much as possible. So if you’re going for late-game Naga builds, Dark Crest Strategist is a must-have.
Showy Cyclist
Showy Cyclist is really a curveball in this whole Naga build because he really only scales with spells and is triggered by Deathrattle. Usually, you will want to go for either Showy Cyclist or Groundbreaker build because you won’t have too much space for every Naga in this game. If you’re going for Showy Cyclist build, Darkcrest Strategist, and all the other spell-generating Nagas are the go-to. You also have to taunt the Showy Cyclist and you need a Titus Riverdale in order to double or triple the Deathrattles. It’s a pretty neat strategy, but it’s not bulletproof.
Tavern Tier 6 Naga Minions
Groundbreaker
Groundbreaker is the minion that all of the current Nagas revolve around and he scales by far the best. Because of the nature of his ability, Darkcrest Strategist is the ideal combo with Groundbreaker, so getting a lot of them would be a sign that you can take the path and go for the full Naga builds. You will also need a few of gimmicks like Poison and Divine Shield because Groundbreaker doesn’t really have any innate keywords, so you really have to play around with that weakness also.
Silivaz the Vindictive
Silivaz the Vindictive is a classic Naga minion. There is nothing really too much to say about this Naga. It’s a must pick if you’re playing any Naga build, and it’s even a very good pick when you’re playing other builds because the “Discover a Tavern Spell” Spellcraft is just so useful. So if you’re playing Nagas, just don’t skip Silivaz, and if you’re not, you should also consider him to be on your board at least a few turns.
Tier 7 Naga Minion
Sea Witch Zar’jira
Sea Witch Zar’Jira is a great minion to have, even later on. There is nothing fancy about this one – basically you get one free card each turn by using her power on a minion in Tavern. That being said, when cast on Zesty Shaker, you get one more (because of Zesty’s ability) so keep that in mind if you are using Sea Witch Zar’Jira.
Image Credits: Blizzard Entertainment, Hearthstone
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