Issue #1Patch 35.2
MetaDigest #1: New global patch 35.2 and first observations
A few days have passed since patch 35.2 launched, and it's time for a first look at the new Battlegrounds meta. This issue covers heroes and the comps that have taken shape.
Weekly MetaDigest issue covering the state of the Hearthstone Battlegrounds meta for patch 35.2. Hero tier movements, strongest compositions, and author commentary on what to play this week.
Heroes
Best heroes of the week
Genn, Worgen KingAvg place: 3.58
Millificent ManastormAvg place: 3.72
MorchieAvg place: 3.78
ChenvaalaAvg place: 3.81
Overlord SaurfangAvg place: 3.88
Murozond, UnboundedAvg place: 3.89
ButtonsAvg place: 3.90
SneedAvg place: 3.91
The Great AkazamzarakAvg place: 3.92
Yogg-Saron, Hope's EndAvg place: 3.92By the end of the week we can draw conclusions from average placement across all games. By this metric a clear leader has emerged — Genn, Worgen King. First, he is a very strong hero; second, he was only added in the latest update, which has boosted interest in him.
Right behind him sit Millificent Manastorm and Morchie — both with over 20% first-place finishes, though the community picks Millificent half as often. The rest of the top-10 — Chenvaala, Overlord Saurfang, Murozond, Unbounded, Buttons, Sneed, The Great Akazamzarak and Yogg-Saron, Hope's End — all sit below 3.95 avg place; the gaps between them are within statistical noise, while Genn still leads by a wide margin on pick rate (59%).
Worst heroes of the week
YseraAvg place: 4.54
OzumatAvg place: 4.52
Zephrys, the GreatAvg place: 4.51
PyramadAvg place: 4.49
AlexstraszaAvg place: 4.47
Ragnaros the FirelordAvg place: 4.46
Tess GreymaneAvg place: 4.45
Death Speaker BlackthornAvg place: 4.45
Forest Warden OmuAvg place: 4.45
Kurtrus AshfallenAvg place: 4.44On the other side of the tier list ten heroes are stuck at the bottom — all of them sitting above 4.44 avg place.
The biggest flop of the week is Ysera: just 6.3% first-place finishes at 4.54 avg. That's the worst win rate in the meta — the hero needs a very narrow tribe rotation and collapses in anything else.
Zephrys, the Great and Alexstrasza get picked noticeably more than the rest of the outsiders, but the stats don't back it up: players reach for familiar names while the hero only carries the first half of the game. Ozumat, Pyramad and Ragnaros the Firelord have low pick rates — you rarely see them in the lobby, and when they show up, another pick is almost always better.
The rest of the lower half — Tess Greymane, Death Speaker Blackthorn, Forest Warden Omu and Kurtrus Ashfallen — sits in a narrow 4.44–4.45 band. Tess Greymane and Forest Warden Omu even hit 15% first-place finishes, but their overall avg place still sags: both lean heavily on clean rolls.
Heroes for rating preservation and climb — top-4 finishes
Millificent ManastormTop-4: 68.0%Genn, Worgen KingTop-4: 67.4%SneedTop-4: 66.1%ChenvaalaTop-4: 65.7%
Queen WagtoggleTop-4: 65.5%Overlord SaurfangTop-4: 65.1%MorchieTop-4: 64.8%
Inge, the Iron HymnTop-4: 64.7%
Jim RaynorTop-4: 64.5%
Dancin' DerylTop-4: 64.1%If the goal is MMR preservation, what matters is hitting top-4 — not first place. The leader here is Millificent Manastorm: 68% of her games end in the top half. Genn, Worgen King is right behind at 67.4%.
Next come the classic stable heroes — Sneed, Chenvaala, Queen Wagtoggle, Overlord Saurfang, Morchie, Inge, the Iron Hymn, Jim Raynor and Dancin' Deryl. All of them sit above 64% top-4 rate, which means roughly two in three games finish in the upper half. A ready-made pool for safe MMR grinding.
First places — for those chasing the crown and MMR
Genn, Worgen KingTop-1: 22.6%Millificent ManastormTop-1: 22.2%
Forest Lord CenariusTop-1: 21.8%ChenvaalaTop-1: 21.5%
Lord JaraxxusTop-1: 21.5%MorchieTop-1: 20.7%Murozond, UnboundedTop-1: 19.0%ButtonsTop-1: 18.9%
Trade Prince GallywixTop-1: 18.7%
Thorim, StormlordTop-1: 18.5%For players who only care about first place, the picture shifts. The leaders — Genn, Worgen King (22.6%) and Millificent Manastorm (22.2%) — are the same as in the overall tier list.
Right behind them come high-variance heroes with noticeably weaker averages: Forest Lord Cenarius (21.8% / 4.26), Lord Jaraxxus (21.5% / 4.06) and Trade Prince Gallywix (18.7% / 4.44). These heroes play "first or bust" — a strong ceiling, but no stable top-4. The rest of the top-10 — Chenvaala, Morchie, Murozond, Unbounded, Buttons and Thorim, Stormlord — carry a more balanced profile.
Community picks — most popular heroes
Genn, Worgen KingPick rate: 59.0%MorchiePick rate: 48.5%
Sire DenathriusPick rate: 47.9%Murozond, UnboundedPick rate: 46.8%
Marin the ManagerPick rate: 46.4%ButtonsPick rate: 43.8%
Mister ClocksworthPick rate: 42.4%Thorim, StormlordPick rate: 41.5%
Dinotamer BrannPick rate: 40.6%
A. F. KayPick rate: 37.9%Pick rate shows who the community actually chooses most often. The leader is no surprise — Genn, Worgen King at 59%: a new hero, a surge of interest, and a genuinely strong profile.
Second place goes to Morchie (48.5%) — a familiar face for anyone who played last season, and one of the strongest picks in the current tribe rotation thanks to her timewarp tavern access. From there it gets interesting: third is Sire Denathrius at 47.9%, but his average place is 4.30 — a classic trap pick. Mister Clocksworth sits in seventh: 42.4% picked for a 4.43 avg, though his popularity is at least justified by being a brand-new hero.
The rest of the popular pool (Murozond, Unbounded, Marin the Manager, Buttons, Thorim, Stormlord, Dinotamer Brann, A. F. Kay) land between 3.89 and 4.16 avg — a solid middle tier, not S-tier material.
Meta comps
Comps of the week
Top-5 comps of the week by average placement. Leading the list is Ancestral Automaton Mechs at 2.93 — tagged A-tier on the site, but its actual numbers beat both S-tier comps below. A friendly entry: low difficulty, works with most heroes.
Right behind it — this week's two S-tier comps: Elemental Cycle (2.95) and Pirate Exodia (3.01). Strong ceiling, but each demands precise play and the right opener in the right turn.
Rounding out the shortlist — two C-tier picks: Undead End-of-Turn (3.07) and Undead Attack Buff (3.14). Lower tier on paper, but their avg place is still solid — a reasonable entry point when you want to try something new without sacrificing rating too hard.
All about scam
The whole point of scam is switching to it near the end — when you see no other path to a win, or nothing came together. That's why the site rates it B-tier: fundamentally a Plan B, not a main gameplan.
An avg place of 2.53 — the best number across the 21 comps of this patch — suggests scam is noticeably more effective here than it was in season 12. One week of data isn't enough to call it settled though — a single spike can be a noisy sample, another week or two should confirm the trend.
Wrap-up
Two headline stories this week — the new hero Genn, Worgen King, undisputed leader on every metric (3.58 avg place, 22.6% top-1, 59% pick), and unexpectedly strong murloc scam at 2.53 avg — the best number across the 21 comps of this patch.
Among heroes the picture is clean: Genn with a wide margin, then Millificent Manastorm, Morchie and Chenvaala — all above 20% top-1. At the bottom: Ysera plus two trap picks, Zephrys, the Great and Alexstrasza, that the community keeps selecting out of habit while the stats don't support it.
Comps deliver a paradox: A-tier Ancestral Automaton Mechs beat the two S-tier comps on raw placement. Scam posts the best result in the pool, but a single week of data isn't enough — next issue will show whether it was a one-off spike or the real shape of the patch.
See you in a week.
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