In this article, we will go over all the Pirate minions in Hearthstone Battlegrounds and explain how they fit in making a good Pirate composition. For the full guide on the actual Battlegrounds gameplay, visit our Hearthstone Strategy Guide for in-depth information. We will be only focusing on each Pirate individually to create a different approach to explaining things.
Sure, the final composition is useful to know, but each minion has its strengths at different stages in the game, and that’s why it’s important to go over them individually also. That said, let’s start our analysis of the Pirate tribe.
Tavern Tier 1
Deck Swabbie
Deck Swabbie is an interesting value proposition at turn 1. Usually, you can hold him (especially if you have high starting Armor) and then on turn 2 level up, then play it in order to cut down the cost of upgrading to tavern tier 3. This play still depends on a lot of things, but it’s a legit one. Moreover, he works extremely well with Shudderwack because of his “Trigger a friendly Battlecry ability”.
Scallywag
Scallywag is a decent starting minion, but you always need to be aware of what kind of tribes there are. For example, no level 1 elemental can beat him (3/3 or 1/4), but a Skeleton undead can, so just be aware of the tribes in the game and pick him accordingly.
Tavern Tier 2
Defiant Shipwright
Probably the best tier 2 minion in the current meta. This Pirate is amazing for early-game tempo. If you can get a few buffs on Attack, and there are a lot of ways to do that at the moment, he will scale really well. The most notable combo is with Peggy, with no other Pirate on the board. This can make Defiant Shipwright a mid-game carry and make your tempo really good.
Freedealing Gambler
There isn’t too much to say about the effect of this card, but it can make for some interesting plays/decision-making. For example, if you want to just “hold” your gold when you’re on tavern tier 2, you can just buy Freedealing Gambler and sell him when you get to a high tavern tier and see an appropriate minion. He also works well as a cycling minion for things like Peggy and Tethys.
Ripsnarl Captain
Ripsnarl Captian is a nice pickup if you have Scallywags, otherwise, you should be careful about going for a full Pirate tempo build early on. Scallywag is really the key here and you should probably skip Ripsnarl if you don’t have Scallywag. It’s not a bad Pirate, but there are a lot of alternatives for a tempo play.
Tavern Tier 3
Gunpowder Courier
Gunpowder Courier is an interesting Pirate that can be played as a tempo unit as well as an endgame solution to getting your attack up. It’s generally very good if you reach that point in the game when you start to cycle minions and you also have a few cleaves on your board.
Plunder Pal
This Pirate is exclusive to Battlegrounds Duos (it’s a Duos-only minion), and while we are generally talking about regular battlegrounds here, Plunder Pal is a mansion and it’s a part of the Pirate family. he is very good at generating resources and should be picked up in most games, especially if you happen to get him early on.
Crow’s Nest Sentry
Crow’s Nest Sentry is a very good mid-game pirate where you really don’t have enough gold to start fully cycling, but have committed to a Pirate board. This Health boost is really helpful, especially if you play around Brann. Once the late-stage cycling minion stuff starts, he will provide you with nice additional stats for your board. So overall, this Pirate fulfills roles in different stages of the game.
Tavern Tier 4
Blade Collector
Blade Collector is pretty self-explanatory, but you should really know when to go for this minion. There are a lot of cases where just buying it straight up is not ideal because you don’t have enough resources or build-up to make him. he requires a good stat boost because his natural stats are awful, and he goes very well with the endgame Pirate build.
Land Lubber
Land Lubber is kind of only good if you play an actual spell build and usually not a core part of the Pirate composition. This is because you will need a lot of stuff in order to make your build work, like Peggy, Record Smuggler, Gunpowder Courier, etc. and Land Lubber doesn’t do much because spells are not really the core part of Pirates.
Prime Mate
This new Pirate is pretty good and should be picked up if you can get some Deathrattle minions going. Scallywags are good, and Rapscallion Recruiter is an ideal combo for Prime Mate. The Deathrattles from the summoned Scallywags will get you a ton of Gold in the next turn. Overall, a really good pick-up if you have Deathrattles.
Lovesick Balladist
This is one of the core Pirates that you will be cycling while you play around your endgame build. The point is to spend as much goal as possible and at the end of your turn buff up a Pirate. Brann obviously works with him very very well, and Pirates really lack health without this minion that’s why he’s considered a court part of the Pirate composition.
Peggy Sturdybone
Peggy is also one of the core Pirates, as she works very well when you are cycling minions with a lot of gold. One other thing to note is that she works extremely well if she and Defiant Shipwright are on the board (the Shipwright needs to be the only other Pirate), because each time you trigger Peggy, she will give stats to Shipwright, and his affect will also trigger. This can make Shipwright very big and carry you through the mid-game.
Tavern Tier 5
Rapscallion Recruiter
While this Pirate isn’t particularly good at the endgame composition or does really provide you with any resources, managing to pick him up relatively early will make your tempo very strong, because he is hard to deal with and encounters a lot of shenanigans that players have. Of course, he works extremely well with Admiral Eliza and Titus Riverdale, but that build is kind of old and played out.
Record Smuggler
Record Smuggler had some interesting changes and he still remains the core part of Pirates and probably the most valuable Pirate in the game, well at least if you’re trying to make a Pirate composition. He is pretty self-explanatory and getting him in the early-mid stages is a good “sign” that you can try to commit to a Pirate build.
Spellbound Seafarer
Spellbound Seafarer was pretty useless for a while, but it got a buff, and a pretty strong one – needs only 3 buys instead of 4 to get a spell. She is also considered a quarter Pirate and works especially well when you start cycling your minions.
Underhanded Dealer
At first glance, Underhanded Dealer isn’t anything special, but she can gain stats pretty quickly once you start to cycle minions. Often times she will be your biggest Pirate and can carry the game in the late stages.
Tavern Tier 6
Admiral Eliza Goreblade
As we mentioned above, Eliza works very well with Rapscallion Recruiter and Titus. He can be an extremely good tempo minion, as well as the ability to play him in the endgame with the mentioned build. But with all the shenanigans nowadays, this build isn’t that strong and doesn’t scale very well. That said, he is a pretty good pick-up if you need a bit of tempo.
Fleet Admiral Tethys
Fleet Admiral Tethys is one of the most important Pirates, and once you get him and Record Smuggler, your cycling can start. He also works well with other cycling builds like Elementals/Greyman’s Champion, but you need a way to get a lot of money because the more money you have the more effective this minion gets. Having only 10 gold and Tethys isn’t really a great idea and you shouldn’t be really picking up him without something like Record Smuggler or other “gold-gaining” minions.
Tavern Tier 7
Captain Sanders
Captain Sanders is pretty self-explanatory and as it’s tier 7, you won’t be seeing much of him in the game, but still we should mention. His Battlecry is extremely powerful and you obviously need to use it on a core minion. One thing to mention is the abuse potential of this Battlecry since Draconic Deathscale or Brann’s Blessing can also be used to trigger this effect and make more of your minions golden. Overall, it’s a pretty powerful minion that is always useful.
Photo Credits: Blizzard Entertainment
