All of the Anomalies in Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 9 — and how to make the most of them

Hearthstone patch 31.6 returned Anomalies to the Battlegrounds, and the Anomaly pool received a big shake-up. Like before, Anomalies are still a mechanic that adds crazy effects that change the rules of a match before it even begins, but many of the old Anomalies that players didn’t like too much were removed, with new, better ones being introduced, and some of the ones that stayed being slightly changed.

Only one Anomaly will be active per game, and it’ll be shown to every player before they even select their Hero. So let’s learn about those Anomalies, and discuss how each of them could affect the game — and how you can make the most of them.

Anomalies in Hearthstone Battlegrounds

These Anomalies will also show up on Duos mode (except for Eleventh Hour, as noted below).

A Faire Reward

• Instead of a minion, Triple Rewards Discover a Tier 1 Darkmoon Prize. (Improves in 4 turns!)
  • Treasure-Seeker Elise banned with this Anomaly.

In normal games that have them, Darkmoon Prizes are powerful but rare. This Anomaly makes them much more common, allowing players to really take advantage of their powers. Remember that the longer games go, the better getting triples becomes — and it doesn’t matter what you triple, even Tier 1 minions will work!

Anomalous Evidence

• At the start of your turn, choose from 2 new Quest Rewards.

You’ll need to constantly re-evaluate the state of your board, much like when playing Master Nguyen. Pick whichever Quest Reward of the two will fit your current situation the best, and prepare to do it again every turn.

Anomalous Wisdomball

• You occasionally get helpful Refreshes! (Unlocks on Turn 6.)
  • Wondrous Wisdomball and Knockoff Wisdomball are banned with this Anomaly.

Sometimes this one will be very helpful, and other times it’ll offer you stuff you really don’t need — essentially wasting a Refresh. That’s by design, so embrace the chaos, and have fun!

Audience’s Choice

• At the start of each turn, one player chooses a card for ALL players to get at end of turn.

Try to pick something that will benefit the least amount of players — for instance, if everyone is playing Mechs, don’t give them a Mech! Also, try to give people lower Tier cards.

Bring Home the Bacon

• Start with two upgrading ‘Piggy Banks’. Break them open to gain Gold!

Save your first banks for the early-to-middle stages of the game, around Tavern Tier 3 or 4, and the other for later, at 4 or 5. Use them immediately after upgrading your Tavern to find strong minions you can build around.

Bring in the Buddies

• Buddies are in the Tavern!

Players will need to be attentive so that they don’t miss out on a good Buddy when it’s offered to them. Buddies can have game-changing effects, so good knowledge of what they do and how to use them will be crucial.

Continuing Education

• At the start of each turn, get an Evolving Scroll. Each turn, it transforms into a Tavern spell from a higher Tier.

You need to strike a good balance between hoarding your Scroll for a bigger payoff later, or using it as soon as you see a Spell you like. It’s usually better to hold at least one Scroll in your hand until it reaches its maximum potential, while being more liberal with extra ones.

Cosmic Duality

• At the start of the game, Discover a second Hero Power.

This is one of the most fun Anomalies in the game, in my opinion. Don’t sweat too much about trying to pick a second Hero Power that pairs well with your first: it’s very rare that you’ll be able to. If you’re having trouble, try to pick a good passive option that you don’t have to think about much.

Denathrius’ Anima Reserves

• Quests and Rewards are in this game. All heroes are Sire Denathrius.

Your Quest and Reward are selected right at the start. When evaluating your opponents, it might be harder to remember who’s who, so be careful!

Double Header

• The first time you buy a card each turn, get an extra copy of it.

Every player gets a guaranteed double each turn, meaning that everyone will be swimming in golden minions and triple rewards. Freezing becomes a crucial skill — if you see a double, just wait one turn and you have a guaranteed triple.

Eleventh Hour

• The first time your hero takes fatal damage in combat, prevent it and gain 11 Gold next turn.
  • Banned in Duos.

It’s hard (if not almost impossible) to plan around using this. Just play a normal game, and know that you’ll get a second chance and a hefty bonus. However, this does allow you to be a little more daring and take some risks you otherwise wouldn’t.

Elven Elite

• The Tavern only offers cards of your Tier.

Power levels will probably be high, but make sure you have all the cards you need from a certain Tier before upgrading! Certain compositions depend on lower Tier minions that you could regret not getting the chance to buy.

Emergency Landing

• Twice per turn, you can remove all copies of a minion in the Tavern from your pool.
  • Knockoff Wisdomball is banned with this Anomaly.

The idea of this Anomaly is to let you filter out stuff you don’t want from your Tavern, so you’ll want to decide what you want to play as early on as possible. Just keep removing the trash, and know that power levels will scale a little faster than normal for everyone because of that.

Factory Line

• At the end of every 2 turns, get a plain copy of your left-most minion.
  • Knockoff Wisdomball is banned with this Anomaly.

Plan your triples well. Remember that these are plain copies, so buffs don’t matter — the goal is really to find your triples.

False Idols

• You only need 2 copies of a minion to make it Golden. Instead of a Triple Reward, get a Gold Coin.

The abundance of golden minions will make power levels a bit higher, but the real winner here is the economy. Be smart about how you spend all that extra gold: upgrade your Tavern earlier, and reroll more to find the minions you need.

Gladiator’s Spoil

• After you win a combat, Discover a minion of your Tier. Otherwise, get a random one of a Tier lower.

Try to ensure your board is strong — so take fewer risks with leveling up your Tavern too early. It’s better to focus on spending your gold on your warband and not lose too much tempo. The payoff will come later.

Golden Arrow

• Every 3 turns, get a ‘Golden Arrow’.
  • Golden Arrow [Spell]: Choose a minion in the Tavern. Make it Golden.

Triples galore! Not only will this greatly improve your economy, it’ll also allow your boards to become considerably more powerful once you find your key minions. Be wise about using it, and remember that power levels in the game will be very high.

Golganneth’s Tempest

• Minions cost 2 Gold. You cannot Refresh the Tavern. It Refreshes itself after you buy a card.
  • Chromie, Treasure-Seeker Elise, Malchezaar, and Bloodsoaked Tome are banned with this Anomaly.

This is a very fun Anomaly, and especially good for “APM” builds — that is, compositions that want to keep buying and selling a lot of minions every turn, such as Pirates, Murlocs, and Elementals. Pirates, in particular, really shine in these games.

Grapnel of the Titans

• The first minion you buy each turn is free.

This one will likely have a bigger impact in the early game, since players can buy two minions on turn 1, or upgrade their tavern and immediately buy a minion. Still, it seems less exciting than other Anomalies.

Incubation Mutation

• Minions with no type have all minion types.
  • Neutral minions that were turned into All type minions are still not included in type-specific random generation/Discover pools. Knockoff Wisdomball is banned with this Anomaly.

These are good games to play compositions that hinge on playing minions of a certain type to get buffs — Elementals and Demons are good examples. Remember that you can do stuff like Magnetize on these minions, no matter what you’re playing.

Instant Warband

• Start with 3 different Tier 1 minions in hand.

Hope you’re lucky! You might consider selling two of those minions and upgrading to Tavern Tier 2 on Turn 1 if you’re feeling extra confident.

Lay of the Land

• The Tavern offers 1 extra Tavern spell after each Refresh.

Make sure to pick Heroes like Tae’thelan and buy minions like Arcanotron, that benefit from Tavern spells, if you can.

Light the Way

• After you Refresh two times, gain 1 Gold next turn.

Essentially, this means that every other Refresh is “free,” although delayed — however, you can also bank on some gold for an early Tavern upgrade every now and then.

Magic Shop

• Spell Tickets are in the Tavern! Get 3 to Discover a Tavern spell of your Tier.

It’s okay to hunt down those tickets for free spells, but don’t invest too much gold into minions you don’t need. Focus on your board first, and tickets second.

Marin’s Treasure Box

• Trinkets are in this game. All heroes are Marin the Manager.

Just play the game normally as you would as Marin — perhaps you already have your favorite Trinkets, or know which ones work well for you. Remember that it’s harder to tell which player is which!

Match Fixing

• Guess which player will win your next combat. If you’re correct, get 3 Coins.

Pay close attention to your opponents: try to see who’s ahead, who’s been winning their last few games, and who’s on a higher tavern tier at the moment. All of those can be indicators of who’ll probably win the next bout.

Mimiron’s Clockwork Stadium

• You cannot upgrade the Tavern with Gold. It upgrades itself every 2 turns.

Gold is only for rerolls and buying minions, so players are likely to find the minions they need sooner rather than later. Once you have a full board, don’t settle for the first minions you’re offered.

Money Match

• Start at 10 Gold.

The optimal strategy might be to upgrade to Tavern Tier 2, reroll (up to twice) and buy a minion right at the start — but maybe buying three Tier 1 minions could work as well. Players will definitely upgrade their Taverns much earlier in these games.

Mystical Blossom

• At the start of each turn, Discover a Tavern spell. (Unlocks on Turn 3.)

It’s hard to plan too much around this; this is the kind of Anomaly that will simply make you a little stronger naturally as you go. Once you reach the later stages of the game, you can save a lot of gold from Discovering expensive spells for free.

No Face, No Case

• Every 4 turns, get a Faceless Manipulator.

Every four turns you get to duplicate your best minion, so plan accordingly. Early in the game, buff up a minion as much as you can, and double that one. Once you find key minions for your composition, you might consider doubling those instead.

Packed Stands

• The Tavern always has 7 cards.

Another one that will reward attentive players. Finding doubles and triples is easier, so power levels will be higher overall — take advantage of that. Finding key pieces for your composition becomes easier as well, so falling behind in these games will be devastating.

Path of the Treasure-Seeker

• After you Refresh 5 times, find the Golden Monkey!

Upgrading your tavern as early as possible is important, so that the Golden Monkey will offer you better minions from its reward.

Perfected Alchemy

• Start with a Goldenizer.

Adopt the same strategy you would when playing as Reno Jackson: save this “goldenize” power to a key minion once you find it — but don’t take too long to do it, or you might fall behind the competition!

Planar Alignment

• At the start of each turn, get a random minion of your most common type. (Unlocks on Turn 2.)

This one will make everyone’s warbands far more powerful: getting extra random minions of a certain type is one of the most powerful effects on Battlegrounds. It also makes it easier to build whichever composition you want without competing as much with other players over the Tavern offerings.

Prudence of Amitus

• Unspent Gold carries over to your next turn. If you saved at least 5, gain 1 extra.

This will allow players some interesting turns where they can level their tavern tiers very aggressively at the cost of possibly falling behind on the current turn. Optimal strategies will certainly take some time to arise.

Rising Current

• After you upgrade the Tavern, Discover a Tier 1 spell. (Improves every 2 turns!)

Don’t delay your upgrades too much over this — it’s usually not worth it. Just play the game normally, and reap some extra rewards along the way.

Scout’s Honor

• Start with a Patient Scout in play.

Since you won’t have to actually pay for this one, it’s much easier to justify keeping it on your board until it can sell for a Tier 6 minion. Consider building your board around whatever you find here — but remember that it’s not always possible.

Secrets of Norgannon

• Tavern Tier 7 exists. Start with 10 extra Armor.

These games can often become a race to see who reaches Tavern Tier 7 first — there are only five copies of each Tier 7 minions for everyone. The extra armor means longer games to ensure players get there.

Sin’dorei Mirror

• After you buy your first Tavern spell each turn, get an extra copy of it. (Unlocks on Turn 5.)

Super fun Anomaly, but try not to forget that you have it and buy some cheap or weak spell first thing on the turn! Trust me, it’s an easy mistake to make. Aim for expensive and powerful spells that you could benefit from doubling.

Summoning of Champions

• At the start of the game, all players Discover a Tier 6 minion from the same choices.

Remember that the other players are choosing from that same selection, and plan accordingly! If you see something like an Ultraviolent Ascendant in there, it’s safe to assume that many players will pick it, and play Elemental for that game — which might mean more competition for that minion type, so you could want to go a different way — or join them and fight to secure a fourth place.

Tavern Special

• All minions types are in the Tavern. It always has 7 cards.

It becomes slightly easier to find a composition that no one else is playing so that you have less competition for finding minions in the Tavern, so keep that in mind. Always having seven cards also helps you with this.

Temperance of Aman’Thul

• Start of Tavern Tier 3 with 9 Gold. All cards in the first shop are Tier 3.

You can already start planning your game right on the first turn, depending on what you’re offered. More often than not, though, you’ll just buy the strongest Tier 3 minions you find and go from there.

The Golden Arena

• ALL minions are Golden, but you do not get Triple Rewards.
  • Treasure-Seeker Elise, Captain Sanders, Upbeat Impressionist, Elemental of Surprise, Festergut, Stolen Gold, Pilfered Lamps, The Golden Hammer, Kidnap Sack, Doppelganger’s Locket, Golden Touch, and Eyes of the Earth Mother are banned with this Anomaly.

Minions that have powerful Battlecry, Deathrattle, or “end of turn” effects will be particularly effective in these games, since they’re more likely to make an impact than others that just have increased stats. But the lack of triple rewards will make it harder for players to find the strongest pieces of their compositions, so these games might have slower (or “wonkier”) final boards.

The Yogg-iseum

• At the start of each turn, spin the SAME Wheel of Yogg-Saron.

Remember that Freezing your Tavern will sometimes not work: one of the possible effects of the Wheel is having all your minions consume the minions in the Tavern at the start of the turn. Other than that, not much you can plan around. Yogg take the Wheel!

Treasure Hoard

There are five different versions of this Anomaly:

• On Turn 5, Discover a Golden Tier 3 minion.
• On Turn 6, Discover a Golden Tier 4 minion.
• On Turn 7, Discover a Golden Tier 5 minion.
• On Turn 8, Discover a Golden Tier 6 minion.
• On Turn 9, Discover a Golden Tier 7 minion.

The first two won’t affect your game all that much unless you get very lucky. A Golden Tier 5 (or above) minion, however, can be the difference between your game plan working at all or not.

Uncompensated Upset

• Start at 1 Gold. Minions cost (1) but sell for (0). Upgrading the Tavern costs (2) less.
  • Freedealing Gambler, Tortollan Blue Shell, Corpse Refiner, Time Saver, and Bloodsoaked Tome are banned with this Anomaly.

You could potentially upgrade to Tavern Tier 2 right on turn 1, though you’d have no minions. You could also just buy three minions at the start. On later turns, being skilled at buying and selling fast will be a factor.

Up-Prizing

• After you upgrade the Tavern, Discover a Tier 1 Darkmoon Prize. (Improves in 3 turns!)

Early on, delaying your Tavern upgrades is not generally advised; the Prizes aren’t good enough to risk falling behind. During the later stages of the game, if you’re stabilized and in a good position, you might consider doing that.

All the Duos-exclusive Anomalies

These four Anomalies will only show up on Duos mode.

All Bottled Up

• At the start of each turn, get a ‘Portal in a Bottle’.

You and your teammate each get a free Pass each turn, so don’t be shy about it. Pay good attention to what board they’re building at all times.

Golden Friendship

• Once per game, you can Goldenize and Pass a minion.

Similar to Perfect Alchemy (see above), but you need to pay good attention to what composition your partner is building.

Line in the Sand

• Start with Sandy in play.

Both players should focus on making one big minion early on. Use your Battlecries, Tavern Spells, etc. to that end.

Pooled Resources

• You can send your Gold to your teammate.

I hope you’re good at communicating! The ability for the team to fuel resources to whichever player is ahead can be huge. If you notice your partner is doing better than you, don’t be afraid to give them a gift.

Originally posted August 22, 2023. Updated March 25, 2025.