What you need to know about Hearthstone Battlegrounds Duos mode, a new cooperative Battlegrounds experience — now live!

During BlizzCon 2023, the Hearthstone team shared a brand-new game mode called Battlegrounds Duos, which will allow you to play Battlegrounds as a tag team with another player — and this new game mode is now live!

For more on Battlegrounds Season 7, which launched with Duos, check out our rundown of this season’s Tavern Spells!

In Battlegrounds Duos games, rather than having eight individual players duking it out in the Battlegrounds lobby, players will be divided into four teams of two players. Each team shares their life total, essentially playing as a single unit against the other three teams.

So read on to find out all the differences and intricacies of this new game mode!

How to play Battlegrounds Duos

You can access Duos mode by clicking the icon on the top right corner of the main Battlegrounds menu, above your Rating — the crown icon. Clicking that icon will change you to Duos mode — depicted by two crowns — and clicking it again changes you back to Solo mode.

Within that new Duos menu, you’ll be able to either invite a friend to play with you or queue on your own and get paired with a random player. It’s also important to note that the ratings and leaderboards will be completely separate between Solo and Duos.

A big gameplay difference in Duos is that each player will be able to help out their partner by passing cards — minions and spells — to the other through a portal on the right side of the screen, for the cost of one gold. You’ll see this effect identified in cards by the new Pass keyword.

The other big difference is how combat happens. One of the players in the duo will go first against a player of the opposing duo. Once one of the players’ warband gets destroyed, the minions from the other player in their duo immediately jump in. So in order for a battle to end, the full warbands of both players of a duo — one after the other — must be eliminated.

Good players will be rewarded by paying close attention not only to their own warband, but to what their ally is building, and helping them find their key pieces. With two players to find cards rather than one, it’s likely that power levels in Duos games will be high — and since health is shared between both players, it’s important to Pass effectively in order to ensure that one of the two doesn’t become the team’s weakest link!

This new mode will also feature some exclusive content specifically designed around Duos:

• Four heroes
• 16 minions (plus one Tier 7 minion)
• Three tavern spells

Keep in mind that these new heroes, minions, and spells will not be available in Solo Battlegrounds!

Duos-exclusive heroes

One of the four heroes, Cho’gall, had already been presented for us in the official blog for Battlegrounds Duos, but we also have information on the other three (Madam Goya, The Nameless One, and Flobbidinous Floop).

Cho’gall

• Double Trouble
  • Passive. Whenever you play a Golden minion, both you and [your teammate] get a Triple reward. (3 left!)

It’s actually two heroes, Cho and Gall, who always play together (much like they do in Heroes of the Storm) — each player in the Duo takes control of one. And they get extra Triple rewards three times in the game.

Madam Goya

• Efficient Exchange [2 Gold]
  • Pass a non-Golden minion.
    

Her hero power allows the player to pass non-Golden minions that are already on on their boards or on the tavern, rather than just on their hands, once a turn.

The Nameless One

• [Nameless Hero Power]
  
  • Passive. Start of Game: Copy your teammate’s Hero Power.

This hero copies their partner’s hero power, so they need to be paired with a strong hero in order to hopefully double-dip into whatever that strong hero does!

Flobbidinous Floop

• Glorious Gloop [0 Gold]
  
  • Choose a friendly minion. Start of Combat: Transform it into your teammate’s highest Tier minion.

Floop will reward teams where both players can benefit from the same high Tier minion, so it’s likely that they’ll try to build Warbands with the same minion type — and then share the spoils.

Duos-exclusive minions

There are sixteen minions that are exclusive to Duos and normally available — plus a Tier 7 one — so let’s get right to them:

Tier 1

• Passenger [2/2]
  • The first time your team Passes each turn, gain +1/+2.

Tier 2

• Friendly Saloonkeeper [3/4]
  • Battlecry: Your teammate gets a Gold Coin.
• Generous Geomancer [1/1, Quilboar]
  • Deathrattle: You and your teammate each get a Blood Gem.
• Wanderer Cho [4/3]
  • 1 Pass each turn is free.

Tier 3

• Doting Dracthyr [4/3, Dragon]
  • At the end of your turn, give your teammate’s minions +1 Attack.
• Puddle Prancer [4/4, Murloc]
  • After this is Passed, gain +4/+4.
• Plunder Pal [2/2, Pirate]
  • At the start of your turn, you and your teammate each gain 1 Gold.
• Orc-estra Conductor [4/4]
  • Battlecry: Give a minion +2/+2 (Upgraded for each Orc-estra your team has played this game)

Tier 4

• Magnanimoose [5/2, Beast]
  • Deathratte: Summon a copy of a minion from your teammate’s warband. Set its Health to 1 (except Magnanimoose).
• Mirror Monster [4/4, All]
  • When you buy or Discover this, get an extra copy and Pass it.
• Feisty Freshwater [6/4, Elemental]
  • Deathrattle: You and your teammate each gain two Refreshes that cost (0).
• Grave Narrator [2/7, Undead]
  • Avenge (3): Your teammate gets a random minion of their most common type.
• Storm Splitter [5/5, Naga]
  • Once per turn, after you Pass a Tavern spell, get a new copy of it.
• Support System [4/5, Mech]
  • At the end of your turn, give a minion in your teammate’s warband Divine Shield.

Tier 5

• Man’ari Messenger [9/6, Demon]
  • Battlecry: Minions in your team’s Taverns have +1/+1 this game.
• Well Wisher [6/6]
  • Spellcraft: Pass a different non-Golden minion.

Tier 7

• Sandy [1/1]
  • Start of Combat: Transform into a copy of your teammate’s highest Health minion.

Tier 7 minions are unavailable in most games — they can only be accessed under special circumstances, such as when playing the Thorim, Stormlord hero, or when Anomalies are affecting the Battlegrounds.

Duos-exclusive spells

All three of these spells are centered around the Duos-exclusive concept of Passing cards to the other player in some form.

Catch!

• Give your minions +2 Attack. (Upgrades by +2 Attack after this is Passed!)

A spell made to be tossed around back and forth until one of the players really needs to use it — or the buff has already grown to a satisfactory level.

Portal in a Bottle

• Pass a non-Golden minion.

This is just like Madam Goya’s hero power, letting a Duo share minions that are already on their boards, or perhaps even in their taverns.

Recruitment Program

• Get a random minion of your teammate’s most common type, then Pass it.

This spell really rewards teamwork by having one player get a discount in order to purchase a minion for their teammate — and one that they can probably use.

Battlegrounds Duos is now live. Grab a friend (or queue solo and pray to be paired with someone good) and have fun!

Originally posted November 3, 2023. Updated May 23, 2024.