This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl is an oldie, but still a goodie. “Gift Exchange” was last year’s Winter Veil Brawl, full of Christmas cheer and Santa Claus. It’s a bit weird for Blizzard to dump this on us in February, but I’ll never complain about opening presents.
At the start of the game, the Great Father, in his sleigh up high, drops 0/4 Crates on the battlefield. When you destroy your opponent’s crate (or your own care), you get a one-mana gift that allows you to discover any powerful card that’s available in your class. These cards cost five mana less, which is where the real fun begins. Dropping a Tirion Fordring or Ragnaros The Lightlord on turn three never stops feeling awesome.
The only unique card to the Brawl you can Discover is a zero-mana spell called Hardpacked Snowballs. This card returns a random three minions your opponent has on the field to their hand, allowing you to regain some board control. Your enemy staring you down with a Cairne Bloodhoof, N’zoth and Sylvanus? Throw some snowballs at their face and watch your opponent’s hand get filled up with cards they don’t have the mana to play.
Picking the right deck is entirely up to you, there’s no perfect way to play this Brawl. If you want to pick Mage and have play a two-mana Archmage Antonidas and just spam Fireballs , that’s an entirely viable strategy. I play the same deck that I do in all of these Brawls where I just want to win, Secret Paladin. If you don’t feel like cheesing your opponents with secrets, N’Zoth Paladin, Aggro Shaman or Ramp Druid can all get you wins as well.
“Gift Exchange” is a luck based Brawl, so you won’t win without good Discovers.
