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This content is only for Tavern Brawl.
Tavern Brawl
The subject of this article is only available in Tavern Brawls.
It is a part of limited content and does not appear in any other game modes.
The subject of this article is only available in Tavern Brawls.
Battle of Tol Barad
"Magical creatures are escaping from Tol Barad! Play a minion and get a random spell of the same cost, but for free!"

Battle of Tol Barad is a Tavern Brawl. It debuted on November 25, 2015. For exact times, see the schedule.

History[]

Tavern Brawl Start End
24 November 25, 2015 November 30, 2015
40 March 16, 2016 March 21, 2016
87 February 8, 2017 February 13, 2017
254 April 22, 2020 April 29, 2020
307 April 28, 2021 May 5, 2021
336 November 17, 2021 November 24, 2021
368 June 29, 2022 July 6, 2022
387 November 9, 2022 November 16, 2022
407 March 29, 2023 April 5, 2023

Additionally, Battle of Tol Barad was one of nine Tavern Brawls featured as part of the 207th Brawl, The 207th Brawl Spetacular!.

Overview[]

This Brawl sees players creating their own custom decks using any class. Each time a minion is played, a random spell of the same mana cost will be generated for the player, with the spell's cost reduced to 0. Spells may be of any class, and are not affected by the player's class.

Notes[]

Strategy[]

Playing minions on curve can be crucial, since it is good to have a spell each turn. Druid is a good class to select for this, since with LegacyInnervate and LegacyWild Growth a big minion can be easily played, allowing a powerful spell to come along with the big minion.

Spells in the constructed deck should probably be restricted to only what is absolutely necessary. Normally superb spells like LegacyFireball will simply fall behind the value of a 4 mana minion and its free spell.

Try to include minions that can take advantage of the many free spells you will accumulate. Blackrock MountainFlamewaker, LegacyQuesting Adventurer, LegacyGadgetzan Auctioneer, The League of ExplorersSummoning Stone, and LegacyArchmage Antonidas will all benefit from a large supply of free spells. You could also include counters to the rampant spell use, such as with Troggzor and NaxxramasLoatheb.

Another great strategy is to go with Priest and Whispers of the Old GodsEmbrace the Shadow or LegacyAuchenai Soulpriest, The Grand TournamentBolf Ramshield, and a 0-cost Goblins vs GnomesTree of Life will grant you a 100% chance to win the game, because if you would take 30 damage, Bolf intercepts it and you stay alive. (Old, now no longer Standard).

It is a good idea to bring lots of cheap high-health Taunt minions, as most players will mainly play their minions for their cost rather than their stats or abilities in this Brawl (though beware of your opponent managing to obtain silence or removal spells). Some Taunt minions who come with drawbacks for their high health are even more useful in this Brawl, such as Mean Streets of GadgetzanDirty Rat dragging out an enemy minion to deny your opponent a spell, or Saviors of UldumConjured Mirage generating free 4-cost spells every time you replay it after reshuffling itself.

Following the release of Ashes of Outland, Ashes of OutlandKael'thas Sunstrider can synergize with the free spells generated (and generate a free 7-cost spell himself) to let you use your expensive spells quicker. Also, Demon Hunters can use the generated 0-cost spells to thin out their hand to trigger Outcast cards or deal lots of damage using Demon Hunter InitiateAltruis the Outcast. In this Brawl, it is possible to play Combo Demon Hunter even quicker with both of its main components, Altruis and Kael'thas, having more free resources to activate their effects, allowing you to use LegacyInner Demon or Ashes of OutlandSkull of Gul'dan to gain a significant advantage sooner than in regular play.

Lore[]

Tol Barad WoW screenshot 1

The prison island of Tol Barad in World of Warcraft

Tol Barad is an island kingdom off the coast of Gilneas. Housing the mystical prison fortress of Baradin Hold, the central island is hotly contested by the Alliance and the Horde. But beneath the crumbling ruins something sinister is stirring, driving the prison's guards to madness and murder, as unholy forms stalk the island.

Tol Barad was added in Cataclysm as a PvP zone and questing hub. The island's peninsula provides a range of daily quests and PvE challenges, while the central island is a dedicated and persistent PvP zone, opened at regular intervals for battle between the two factions. Whichever faction currently controls the island gains access to the Baradin Hold raid and special vendors, as well as additional daily quests.

Wowpedia iconThis section uses content from Wowpedia.
Tol Barad, pronounced (Tohl BAR-ahd), is a ravaged island kingdom located west of Gilneas.
More than one thousand and two hundred years ago, Arathor built the citadel of Tol Barad. During the Second War, Tol Barad was a strategic staging area for Alliance forces. The Horde viewed Tol Barad as an obstacle in their path to the Eastern Kingdoms and mounted an assault on the island. Unprepared for such aggression, the Alliance were expelled from Tol Barad and the citadel was razed, a charred symbol of the Horde’s brutal victory. Some of the original Stromic population remained.
Tol Barad WoW world map
Following the Second War, what remained of the blackened, derelict battlements was left to languish until the wizards of Kul Tiras claimed the isle for a new purpose. Towering walls were again stacked high from the war-scarred stones, but in their cleverness, the arcanists turned the citadel’s defenses inward, designing a mystical prison to hold the most powerful criminals. Serving the Tirasian magi, the Stromic population formed the Baradin's Wardens: charged with ensuring that the deadly prisoners locked away in the mystic Baradin Hold never again walk free on Azeroth. Even the Kirin Tor imprisoned some powerful demons in the repurposed stronghold.
When Stromgarde started to suffer a series of catastrophes, the town of Rustberg was abandoned as its population were recalled home. This settlement later became the base of a group of pirates that struck the towns along the shores of Baradin Bay.
With the Cataclysm Tol Barad once again became a battleground between the Horde and the Alliance. Warchief Hero SkinsGarrosh Hellscream sent the elite warriors known as Hellscream's Reach to the island, charged with taking it from the humans. Defending it against them were the Baradin's Wardens, the army that originally guarded the prison. However, as the two forces fought for supremacy over the island, something sinister was taking over the prison fortress of Baradin Hold and the whole island in turn, with prison guards murdering each other or letting their charges free, insanity amongst Alliance soldiers, undead corpses rising from their graves, and spirits reliving their final battles.

References[]

 
  1. This seems to have changed at some point, probably Patch 5.0, and is now consistent with how Summoning Stone works with other discounted spells
  2. http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/forum/topic/20042824204


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