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 8!
Tavern Tier 1 Naga Minions
Snail Cavalry
Snail Cavalry is in a really strange spot and it has been for a few seasons now. Sure, the unit will get buffed over time and you can get it on turns 3,4 or 5 but overall, after that, there are better options to go for. It’s just that, like the name implies, the buffs that it gets are in snail-pace and other units will be much stronger than it. Generally speaking, this unit is not worth buying unless you are very early phase of the game.
Deep-Sea Angler
A much better Tier 1 alternative to Snail Cavarly when it comes to Nagas in Battlegrounds is Deep-Sea Angler. The thing is, most of the players will choose Reborn/Divine shield units on lower tiers and Deep-Sea Angler has 4 defenses (when its Spellcraft is cast) which means that it can put up a fight with most of those. Furthermore, 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.
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 8 of HS BG. Although this unit is still really good and can provide both sustain and late-game capabilities, the old/new Lord of Gains minion can be an alternative for it. That being said, if you see Lava Lurker early on and have any spellcraft Naga on the field (especially Deep Blue or Reef Riffer), you should grab it and cast spellcraft on it at least as a part of your sustain tactic in order to survive mid-game.
Reef Riffer
Reef Riffer is a versatile Naga unit that is not crucial for any build or comp but has its usage in mid-game, especially combined with Lava Lurker and to some extent, with Lord of Gains. Although the minion has been nerfed and has just 1/1, to begin with, the fact that it has a unique spell that does provide some survivability early on makes it useful.
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
Deep Blue Crooner
Singing the Deep Blues! Deep Blue Crooner was a must-have for most Naga comps and builds in previous seasons (even in previous patches). Now, this unit is in a strange place – sure, it can be good if you pick it early on an pair it with Zesty Shaker but the problem is that current meta build focuses on Lord of Gains and for that one, you need various spells to be cast, not just the Deep Blue.
Shell Whistler
Shell Whistler is an useful minion to have but only to some extent. There are situations in which it can be useful (if somehow have Bran and you are still in mid-game) but overall, spending 3 gold for a random Tier 2 Tavern Spell is not a good idea. Of course, keep in mind that there are several economy spells in this Tier so Shell Whistler can be used as a buy-use-sell minion when you are cycling minions while you have Lord of Gains on the field.
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
Soft-hearted Siren
Soft-hearted Siren is was introduced in Season 7 of BG. Although it’s a fun minion to have, the RNG element is pretty strong in this one. Furthermore, if you can’t buff her defense somehow, the unit will pretty much just give you one random spell per turn, which for Tavern Tier 4 unit, is not really good. Keep in mind that once you buy it, you will get the spell in the next turn (once it gets hit) so the tempo moment in this minion is not really one of it’s strongest sides.
Zesty Shaker
Zesty Shaker in Season 8 of HS BG has the same fate as Deep Blue Crooner – it was a key minion but now, it’s just strange to have it later on (unless you are going for full Deep Blue Naga build with Lava Lurker and Zesty Shaker portrait). It is useful to have early on but later, if you are going for the Gym build, you should have something better instead of Zesty Shaker (even a random Naga that casts any spell can be more useful then Zesty).
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.
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.
Tidemistress Athissa
Tidemistress Athissa is a good minion but … can sometimes feel a bit clunky and unpredictable. The fact is that you need Lord of Gains or Zesty/Crooner combo and although Tidemistress will increase the power of their spells, it’s still not enough. Generally speaking, it’s great to have in case you have Corrupted Murmidon on the field because you really want him to grow big and she can help with that.
Tavern Tier 6 Naga Minions
Slitherspear, Lord of Gains
Slitherspear, Lord of Gains, in the current game meta, is simply the best Naga minion to have. However, he alone won’t do much unless you set up the board so that he can give the buffs. We wrote about it in our strategy guide so here we will just say that you need as many Tavern Spells and Spellcrafts as you can find each turn to be casted and you want to have Corrupted Murmidon (for the stats) and Drakkari Enchanter (for doubling/tripling Lord of Gains effect).
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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