The Masked Brawl is Hearthstone’s latest Tavern Brawl

This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl is The Masked Brawl, a brawl chock full of flavor:

At the SI:7 mansion in Stormwind they have a grand masked ball every year. Everyone is in disguise! When a minion dies, its disguise is revealed, showing the minion to actually be a different random minion that costs (2) less and ready for another fight!

Though a fancy description, it doesn’t express the actual mechanics of this brawl very well. More simply, whenever you play a minion from your hand, it gains Deathrattle: Summon a minion that costs (2) less.

It’s essential to remember you must play a minion from your hand for the Deathrattle to be applied. A minion summoned by the Deathrattle of another minion will not receive the new Deathrattle because it was not played from your hand. A Grim Patron, which summons an extra minion when he takes damage? Those minions he summons will not gain the Brawl Deathrattle. A minion summoned by a spell will not gain that Deathrattle, and unique cases like Malorne — where he doesn’t die upon hitting 0 health, but rather goes back into your deck — will not summon a new minion. Molten Giants, which have a default cost of 20 mana, will not summon a minion with its deathrattle at all. 2 less than 20 is 18, and no 18 mana minions exist in Hearthstone.

While a suite of badass legendaries will continue to be a threat in this Brawl, building decks of more easily accessible cards focused on Deathrattles will surely work well. Baron Rivendare is a legendary everyone who has completed the Naxxramas adventure will have, and his ability is to double Deathrattles. The Lil’ Exorcist will surely be a powerful early game card, and the Scarlet Purifier will be fun — even if it’s going to hit itself in the face, too. Beware the Hunter and their Feign Death.