InHearthstone BattlegroundsSeason 4, theUndead typegot an unusual selection of minions. Perhaps because they are relatively new when compared to the game mode’s other minion types, they didn’t get a new playstyle to mess around with.
Related:Every New Elemental From Battlegrounds Season 4, Ranked
Instead, Season 4’s Undead either fit into already existing Undead builds, or are general support minions that can suit multiple different strategies. This list will help you decide which ones you should consider buying from Bob’s Tavern.
4Incorporeal Corporal
Since the launch of Season 4, Incorporeal Corporal has been removed from the Battlegrounds, but it can still be selected as an option for Professor Putricide’s Hero Power, Build-An-Undead (although its tendency to kill itself makes it an underwhelming choice). There’s always a chance it will come back in a later patch, so it’s worth talking about.
Incorporeal Corporal has ludicrous stats for a Tavern Tier 1 minion. As a result, it should theoretically beat most minions in the first few rounds of combat. However, that theory doesn’t quite hold up in reality, since the Corporal is one of the only Battlegrounds minions with negative text.
Thanks to its unique effect, the outcomes of early combats can depend a lot on whether the Corporal attacks first. If it does, it will almost guarantee a draw (or a loss against Deathrattles). But if the opposing minion attacks into it, the Corporal will almost always win.
Interestingly, Incorporeal Corporal can actually be stronger in the midgame, when you can give it Taunt and put it at the end of your attack order. That allows you to take advantage of its stats by forcing your opponent’s minions to attack into it, without giving it the opportunity to kill itself by attacking.
3Xylo-Bones
One of the unique features of Undead as a minion type is their ability to buff the attack of every Undead you play or summon for the rest of the game. Many of the Undead in Battlegrounds are designed to re-summon themselves with the Reborn ability, so they can take advantage of that game-wide attack boost. Xylo-bones takes a different approach to this strategy. It can still utilize the attack buffs, but rather than being re-summoned, it wants to gain enough health that it can survive multiple hits.
Related:Hearthstone Battlegrounds: Every New Pirate From Battlegrounds Season 4, Ranked
And the fact that other Undead have a lot of ways to re-summon themselves means Xylo-bones can rapidly boost its health. While it can take some time to ramp up, it can eventually reach such high health totals that only the largest minions can kill it without some sort of special effect.
Take the attack and health boosts Xylo-Bones can get together, and you’ll end up with an absolutely massive minion. However, the fact that it requires being buffed from multiple sources means it won’t ramp up nearly as quickly as some other minions in Battlegrounds.
2Plagued Tidewalker
Plagued Tidewalker is an unusual minion. Ithas two types, being both a Murloc and an Undead. However, it is much less useful in Undead builds, to the point where you could argue that it has anti-synergy. The main thing Undead do is gain attack, and the whole point of Venomous as a keyword is to make it so you don’t need high attack to kill opposing minions.
Related:Every New Naga From Battlegrounds Season 4, Ranked
However, the Tidewalker fits more easilyinto Murloc builds, since you can summon it from your hand with Bassgill. Murlocs would rather have raw stats, but Venomous is the next best thing. Additionally, as with any Venomous minion, if you need a random body to fill a slot on your board, the Tidewalker will be one of your better options. It’s not exactly a build-definer, but it can be a solid contributor in a pinch.
1Radio Star
Radio Star was so powerful when Battlegrounds Season 4 released that it has been nerfed twice since then, dropping from three attack down to one. Naturally, that makes the minion much worse, but you shouldn’t underestimate the amount of value it can provide in the right situation. On a basic level, getting a free minion every round is already decent, even at the cost of underwhelming stats.
However, the golden variant of Radio Star’s Deathrattle gives you two copies of the minion that killed it. When combined with Titus Rivendare to double that Deathrattle, you’ll generate free triples every round, along with an extra copy just for fun, giving you a significant amount of gold and access to higher-Tier minions.
Value doesn’t win games on its own, but you can surround the Radio Star with other Undead, buffing it in various ways. Alternatively, you could play it for a short time to get the triples, then sell it and transition into a powerful endgame build using the advantage it gave you.
