Who's the Boss Now?

The subject of this article is only available in Tavern Brawls.

"Dungeon bosses want to help you play! Build your own deck but get a random boss power. Each time you use it, get a new one!"

Who's the Boss Now? is a Tavern Brawl. It debuted on October 21, 2015.

History

Tavern Brawl	Start	End
19	October 21, 2015	October 26, 2015
29	December 30, 2015	January 4, 2016
270	August 12, 2020	August 19, 2020

Overview

This Brawl sees players creating their own custom decks using any class. However, their Hero Power will be randomly selected from a range of possible boss Hero Powers, modified versions of those previously seen in adventures. Each time the player uses their Hero Power, it will be replaced by a new one.

Notes

• Justicar Trueheart's Battlecry has no effect on the boss Hero Powers.
• Sideshow Spelleater's Battlecry does not copy the boss Hero Powers.
• Sir Finley Mrrgglton's Battlecry will let you Discover a normal class Hero Power, instead of the available boss Hero Powers. Subsequently, using the Hero Power will swap it out for another boss Hero Power.
• Metamorphosis will swap to Demonic Blast on only the first use.
• Switching to a Passive hero power will lock you into that power permanently unless you switch to something else.
• Manafeeder Panthara cannot trigger, due to your Hero Power being replaced with another immediately after being used.

Strategy

Deck construction

Due to your Hero Power being replaced by another one each time you use it, the rules of this Brawl means that you can use your Hero Power multiple times during the same turn, making Inspire-based decks extremely powerful. Minions such as Tour Guide, Fencing Coach and Maiden of the Lake will help to reduce the Cost of your Hero Power and pull off multiple usages in the same turn. Since a good number of usable Boss Hero Powers allow you to fill your board, Mukla's Champion can help you build an army of cheap, yet sufficiently powerful minions by buffing the minions summoned. Frost Giant is a powerful minion to consider, since its cost will be drastically reduced due to the liberal usage of Hero Powers, to the point of costing no Mana at all by lategame. Notably, this effect cannot be canceled by Silence or returning the Frost Giant to the hand via Web Wrap.

Priest is one of the strongest classes for this Brawl. Battlecry of Raza the Chained provides almost infinite use of the hero powers. Since most of them summon the minions to the player's side or neutralize the opponent's ones, it is only a matter of time before a board is easily captured and further controlled with the support of cards in the hand and deck. It will also allows to quickly kill the opponent using Spawn of Shadows, and Violet Illusionist optionally.

Class spells that damage multiple enemy minions, such as Arcane Explosion, Spirit Lash, Swipe or Consecration will prove useful due to the number of minions with 1 Health that can be summoned by Hero Powers, or through usage of the Decimate Hero Power. This also applies to minions that can deal indirect damage such as Flamewaker or Altruis the Outcast. The Rogue's Poisoned Blade is very strong in this Brawl, mainly because you can spam your Hero Power, rapidly increasing its buff.

Hero Powers

The random generation of Hero Powers means that you have very little control over a consistent strategy, necessitating smart plays based on what powers you and your opponent have. As an example, using Open the Gates, Bone Minions or Jeering Crowd is very counterproductive if your opponent has Poison Cloud, since the latter will destroy any minions you summon via Hero Power and grant your opponent free 2/2 Fallout Slimes to use against you. Using Pile On!!! is similarly defeating if your opponent has Web Wrap to remove your summoned minion from the board while leaving their own untouched. It is also highly unrecommended to use Pile On!!! if you won't be able to instantly remove a recruited enemy minion because in this case you will summon on the enemy's board a minion that he can immediately attack with on his next turn, while yours probably will not do anything. This may be not dangerous only if your deck is mostly made up of Charge, Rush or Taunt minions. Playing Sir Finley Mrrgglton, Shadowform, Hero cards or quests with a reward of hero power can help with this by temporarily or permanently changing your Hero Power to another one and get around an otherwise unfavorable scenario.

Activate! in particular can be a rather risky power to use. Both Arcanotron and Electron benefit your opponent when summoned, and in the early game you're much less likely to benefit from their effects yourself with little mana to spare. Toxitron can help manage opposing swarms, but may be quickly removed during your opponent's turn and will destroy most of the friendly minions summoned via Hero Power. On the other hand, Magmatron is a devastating minion to have, especially during the early game when your opponent is less likely to have instant countermeasures and will also be taking damage for each card played.

In some cases, it may be necessary to use a Hero Power where possible to swap in another one, such as using Poison Cloud on an empty field. Note that ME SMASH, Decimate and Web Wrap all require the opponent to have at least one minion on the field to use.

If you are desperate to clear the board while it seems impossible, use your Hero Powers. Decimate followed by Poison Cloud can be your last chance.