Heroic Brawliseum (2024)

The subject of this article is only available inTavern Brawls.

"Make a Standard deck to compete with the best! Stakes are high, the competition intense. More wins means more rewards. Can you make it to 12 wins, or will 3 losses end your run?"

Heroic Brawliseum (sometimes called Heroic Tavern Brawl) is a Tavern Brawl. It debuted on November 16, 2016. For exact times, see the schedule.

History[]

Tavern Brawl	Start	End	Format	Notes
75	November 16, 2016	November 21, 2016	Standard
91	March 8, 2017	March 13, 2017	Standard
99	May 3, 2017	May 8, 2017	Wild	For the first time, Wild format was used instead of standard and a free run was given out.
276	September 23, 2020	September 30, 2020	Standard	Renamed the brawl from Heroic Tavern Brawl to Heroic Brawliseum.
363	May 25, 2022	June 1, 2022	Standard
379	September 14, 2022	September 21, 2022	Wild
399	February 1, 2023	February 8, 2023	Standard	Achieving 3 wins (across any number of runs) awarded the Ghoul Queen Scarlet hero skin.
415	May 24, 2023	May 31, 2023	Standard	Playing 3 games awarded the Frostmonger Sai hero skin. Achieving 12 wins in a single run awarded the Crimson Knight Sai hero skin.
430	September 6, 2023	September 13, 2023	Wild

Overview[]

This unique Tavern Brawl resembles an Arena run, and unlike other Brawls has an admission fee, which may be paid in gold or Runestones (see below). At the start of each run, players must first construct a special deck from their collection (using Standard format or Wild format cards, depending on the type of Brawliseum), which will be used for all games in that run. The player is then matched against other Brawlers in a series of games until the player has lost 3 games or won 12 (draws count as neither),^[1] after which they will receive semi-random rewards based on their number of wins (see below). Each player can only participate in 100 runs in total.^[1] There are no special rules for this Brawl.^[2]

A high-risk, high-reward experience, this Brawl is intended for the most experienced and competitive of players, with a tournament feel. In contrast to most Brawls, Heroic Tavern Brawl is "definitely not for the average player".^[3]

Admission fee[]

Heroic Brawliseum is the first Brawl to have an admission fee, which may be paid in gold or Runestones. The fee is charged for each run.

Currency	Amount
Runestones	1000
Gold	1000

Previous pricing[]

Prior to Patch 24.2.0.148211 and the introduction of Runestones, entry to Heroic Brawliseums could also be bought with the following real money prices:

Closing times[]

Due to the admission fee for purchasing each run, admissions for new Heroic Brawliseum runs close 8 hours before the Brawl closes in each region, in order to give players time to complete their runs. The Brawl itself will close at the usual time for its region.^[1]

If the player has an unfinished run in progress when the Brawl ends, they will earn rewards equal to their current number of wins at that time.^[4]

Rewards[]

Meant for the "extremely competitive and experienced Hearthstone player",^[5] Heroic Brawl is a high-risk, high-reward experience, and the rewards on offer match the high price of admission, far exceeding those available through the Arena.

Once the player has won 12 games in total, lost 3 games, or retired their deck, they will be presented with a number of individual rewards, based on the number of games the player has won that run. The rewards are "weighted heavily towards the high end of wins", with minimal rewards for less successful runs but "ludicrous" rewards for those near the top end.^[6]

This Brawl normally offers four types of reward: card packs, gold, Arcane Dust and individual golden legendary cards.

• All card packs are from the latest expansion (currently TITANS).^[7]
• All legendary cards are random selections from current Standard format expansions:^[7][8]
  • TITANS
  • Festival of Legends
  • March of the Lich King
  • Murder at Castle Nathria
  • Voyage to the Sunken City

• Duplicate copies of golden legendaries may be rewarded.^[9]
• Occasionally, additional rewards may be awarded, other than the ones listed in the chart.

Chart[]

The following official chart shows the rewards granted by achieving each number of wins in a single run.

Statistics table[]

Assumption

• 1 gold converts into 1.1 dust.

Results

• The average payout is 696 "gold" per person, for each 1000-gold Heroic Brawl buy-in.
• 8192 is the minimum number of players required to participate for each player to end up with a real score.
  • This is assuming no drawn games and no early retires.
• Of the 53 out of 8192 players with 12 wins:
  • 39 will go 12-2
  • 12 will go 12-1
  • 2 will go 12-0
• Refer to the match-sequencing table provided on the Arena article for extended details.

Notes[]

• Players are free to choose any class for their Brawl deck.^[10]
• As with Arena, the system will "try" to match players against others with a similar win:loss record for the current run.^[11]
• Also as with Arena, once the deck is finalised it cannot be changed. However, a new deck can be made for each run.
• As with Ranked play, a match that ends in a draw (both players being defeated at the same time) will not count as a win or a loss for either player.^[1]
• There is no free run.^[12]
• A free pack was not awarded for this Brawl^[12] until its 7th iteration, where players were awarded 1 Standard pack for winning one game in any game mode.^[13]
• On November 16-17, 2016, there was a maximum limit of 5 Heroic Tavern Brawls that could be played for that week.^[14][15] However, on November 17, the cap was increased from 5 to 100.^[1]
• The May 3, 2017 version is the first Heroic Brawl to feature the Wild format.^[16]
• The 7th iteration of Heroic Brawliseum (February 1, 2023), was the first to feature an additional reward besides the ones listed on the chart: Ghoul Queen Scarlet.

Should I play?[]

Following the announcement of this Brawl there have been various attempts to determine who should be participating in this Brawl. Even the most generous estimates suggest only highly-skilled players should consider spending the gold necessary to enter the Brawl, with some stating that only those able to regularly hit Legend rank should enter. The reason for this is the relatively small rewards on offer at lower win rates, with between 5 and 7 wins needed (depending on the estimate) to 'break even' and recoup the entry fee.

It should also be noted that the Brawl is likely to attract a far higher calibre of player than the Arena, with the result that the competition will be far fiercer. Players can therefore expect a far lower winrate than they might normally enjoy. That said, while similar in format to Arena, the Brawl will offer an advantage to players who perform well on the Ranked ladder, as opposed to those skilled at Arena play.

As a result, the vast majority of players are advised not to participate in this Brawl, although they are encouraged to enjoy the spectacle through spectating players on their friends list, or watching streamers on Twitch.

However, it is worth noting that the above estimates are based upon the likelihood of a profitable outcome, not the likelihood of having a fun, challenging and exciting experience. If the Brawl is entered into with the aim of enjoyment and competition rather than simply as a profit-seeking venture, it is up to the player to determine how much they are willing to spend to try a run. This Brawl represents a unique, time-limited opportunity to test your skills against the rest of the region. For some, this challenge will outweigh concerns over the cost of the experience, especially for a single run.

Strategy[]

With no special rules involved, the best strategy for this Brawl will involve a combination of choosing a currently powerful deck, and in correctly anticipating the unique meta of the Brawl. Note that while featuring an Arena-like run, the matches played will not follow the usual patterns of that game mode in that players will not be dealing with random decks or restricted choices; as a result it should match regular ladder play, although likely with a slightly different meta.

History[]

This Brawl was first previewed on October 17, 2016, a month before it would eventually be released. The preview was met with considerable criticism, largely centred around the relatively low rewards offered in exchange for the high entry price, as well as from players preferring more casual Brawls.

It was initially stated that the Brawl would be released prior to BlizzCon 2016,^[17] indicating that it would run November 2-7. However, the Brawl was later postponed until November 16-21, possibly due to the criticism its preview received. The Hearthstone panel at BlizzCon 2016 suggested that the developers might be adjusting the Brawl in response to the community's feedback,^[18] but following the Brawl's debut no changes appear to have been made.

On the second day of the Brawl, the previously stated limit of 5 runs per player was increased to 100 runs per player. Avarius stated that the initial cap was only temporary, to allow the devs to "keep an eye on the Brawl to ensure things were working properly for participants".^[1] The rules were also tweaked slightly, with draws, originally counting as a loss for both players, no longer counting as either wins or losses, and an early close to admissions was announced, in order to allow time for players to finish their runs before the Brawl closes.^[1]

After being retired for three years, Heroic Tavern Brawl was brought back under the name Heroic Brawliseum, which matches the naming scheme established by the more lax spinoff brawls The Wild Brawliseum, Your Standard Brawliseum, and Brawliseum - Miniature Warfare.

Trivia[]

• Intended to feel "like a tournament",^[7] this Brawl could represent an experiment in the direction of a new tournament game mode, something that has been requested for a long time.
• This is the first Brawl to charge an admission fee, the first to use Standard format, the first to offer rewards beyond the usual card pack for the first win, and the first to feature a 'run' of successive games.
• Heroic Brawliseum does not use the standard Tavern Brawl music on its selection screen, but instead uses some of the music from the Blackrock Mountain selection screen. It is the first Brawl to feature different music.

Gallery[]

Patch changes[]

• Patch 24.2.0.148211 (2022-08-30): Paid entry can now be purchased using Runestones only. Option to buy directly with real money no longer available.

References[]

External links[]

• Introducing Heroic Tavern Brawl! (2016-10-17)