Hearthstone’s Battlegrounds Season 3 has landed with a stack of new content. Fans of the popular Blizzard strategy deck-building games can expect a whole lot more to play with in the latest expansion. With that said, time to delve deeper into what makes Battlegrounds Season 3 a strong new addition to the already stellar Hearthstone lineup.

Season 3 brings in a bunch of goodies, including the revival of the eccentric Professor Putricide and heaps of new cards. Summon your army with the new “Undead” class, and in true mad scientist fashion, use the Professor’s new hero skill, Build the Undead, to make them your very own Undead creations. With 32 new minions: 16 Undead and 11 of the new dual-type, there are plenty of new ways to face off on the battlefield.

Most Undead are able to use Reborn, which allows them to reanimate, and Deathrattle to activate another ability when a minion card is destroyed, making for strong team compositions. Dual-type minions are a hybrid of two different minion classes into one card. Think Undead Murloc or Undead Pirates, and perks from each merged into one. The latest rewards track, Battle for Silvermoon introduced Silvermoon and Scourge-themed cosmetics. With the Season Pass there’s upcoming access to 2+ hero selection options each Battlegrounds game, unlock new stages of Legendary Strike through the track and 15 more hero skins during the season.

Traditional Hearthstone has combatants take turns to draw cards from their deck to fight the opposing player. There’s a strong focus on tactics, taking the time to use the minion card’s abilities to overpower adversaries. Playing one versus one, there’s time to craft a tailor-made plan of attack at a leisurely pace. Battlegrounds, however, takes traditional Hearthstone and throws players into a rapid turn 8-player auto-battler.

Battlegrounds mode mixes up how the original Hearthstone formula works. Each round is against a rotating roster of players each with their own hero with unique hero abilities. Between each round, there’s a buying phase where you can purchase minions and upgrades from the Taverner. Instead of drawing from your own pre-built decks, a random assortment of minions are available in each competition, each with perks and attacks to set yourself up for victory. Once battle formations are set it’s a matter of watching the fight unfold automatically.

I found Battlegrounds a steep learning curve after becoming so used to the usual game mode. It’s daunting going up against 8 players back-to-back and not knowing what I was up against. Early on, I struggled with my strategy. Anticipating and planning counterattacks is easier said than done here. The turning point for me was finding cards that complemented each other, boosting attacks, and using passives to boost my squad. Relying on the AI to choose their targets and watching it unfold turned out to be surprisingly satisfying though, especially not knowing who would be the last one standing and whose hero would take a hit.

At first look, it seems like a lot of the player’s work is handled by the AI, but the big challenge is putting everything into motion. The game economy of buying and selling cards or upgrades from the tavern becomes a balancing act. I found resource management to be a huge predictor of success or failure, too few minions or upgrades are enough to seal your fate. Once I got into the swing of what to invest in, I felt a lot more in control of the outcomes of the battle. Hoarding gold isn’t an option though. There’s no option to save your hard-earned money, so against better life advice, spend it all and get as many optional extras as you can.

As expected of Hearthstone, the Battlegrounds hero and minion art are stunning as ever. All cards are illustrated by dedicated artists in varied art styles and capture that genuine World of Warcraft feel. The game boards are vibrant and interactable, so there’s plenty to look at while you wait for the timer to wrap up. Music delivers the fantasy of playing the game on a tavern table with some lively flutes and fiddles playing in the background. Art design and audio bring the charm of the Hearthstone universe to the forefront, bringing it from a card game to a full gameplay experience.

Multiple opponents and rounds were daunting, and easily the biggest challenge I faced once I understood how the gameplay worked. Most of the time it wasn’t difficult so much as it was out of my control. Not knowing what moves to prepare for became a gamble, and a few bad draws were enough to ruin a good winning streak. Trying to have a nice distribution of offence and defence with such limited resources is rough, especially when investing additional coins to redraw choices. Often a feeling of dread would hit once I saw my adversary had a huge lineup of game-breaking and overpowered cards, which left me watching my minions get obliterated. I had some rounds where I was dominating, but it doesn’t take much to get overthrown. My biggest gripe is how hard it can be to regain footing. Thankfully, Battlegrounds is generous and gives the top four a victory, so there’s technically a fighting chance to win, which I appreciated; it prevented me from feeling like flipping a table if I wasn’t top rank.

Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 3 shuffles up the traditional formula and most of the time it works. Blizzard’s concoction of Hearthstone mixed with an auto-battler is addictive but also bizarre. It shouldn’t work, but the gameplay suits a different gaming mood; I feel like I’m in auto-pilot most of the time playing this mode versus the standard. In no way is this bad though. The streamlined approach is great for when you’re in a lazier gaming mood and want a swift but rewarding session, and I found myself playing it for a good hour or so at a time. For existing and new-coming players, it’s worth giving Hearthstone’s new gameplay mode a shot. Hearthstone Battlegrounds Season 3 is addictive, intriguing, and ready to play on PC and on mobile devices now.

Written by: Yasmin Noble