How to win Hearthstone’s Encounter at the Crossroads Tavern Brawl

One of the simplest, most classic variations of Tavern Brawl Hearthstone has ever seen is back this week. Encounter at the Crossroads doesn’t ask much of you: all you have to do is pick a class, and you’re given a deck that is almost completely random!

Even though it may seem like a fully randomized Brawl is impossible to create a coherent strategy around, there are still a few things you can do to improve your odds of winning. So read on to find out what they are!

Tavern Brawl basics

• Name: Encounter at the Crossroads
• Description: Pick a class. Let’s see what’s in your deck this time!
• Fun level: 5/10
• Difficulty: 7/10
• Replayability: 4/10
• Format: Wild
• Type: PVP
• Deck: Provided (random)
• Rewards: One Cataclysm card pack

This is a random brawl, with random cards and no special mechanics at all. So the basic gameplay will feel like an early Arena game: lots of weird minions that you don’t see much in Constructed trying to make favorable trades. Removal spells are premium here. But after you win your pack, it’s tough to find motivation to keep playing this one unless you really enjoy that kind of super random environment.

What to do to win Hearthstone’s Encounter at the Crossroads Tavern Brawl

Since your deck is fully randomized and the only thing you can control before you start the game is choosing your class, you should choose a class that a) you’re familiar with and comfortable playing, and b) has strong cards on average. The former is up to you, but when it comes to the latter, we can tell you that classes like Druid, Warlock, and Rogue usually have some class cards that are pretty strong on their own, while classes like Warrior, Shaman, and Priest are on the opposite end, so you might consider avoiding those if you’re unsure.

You can’t really plan to play an aggressive strategy, trying to close the game quickly, since you’ll very likely run out of steam without a curated aggro deck. You also can’t plan to play a control strategy, since you can’t guarantee you’ll have enough board clears or healing/survival effects to fully stall your opponent. And you obviously can’t play a combo strategy since there is no combo to be played.

What’s left, then? Trying to play for tempo, midrange style. Try to make valuable trades, where your weaker or damaged minions take down the opponent’s bigger minions. Try to be a little conservative with your resources: don’t dump all of your minions at once, and don’t spend your precious removal too soon, instead saving it for when it’ll really make a splash. Try to wait a little, carefully considering your turns, while staying one step ahead of your opponent (that’s tempo). Good trades and good resource management will definitely help you on this Brawl.

So good luck on your games, may RNG favor you, and random BS, go!