Tea Master Theotar gives your Battlegrounds build precise direction and scaling. Here’s how to choose the best minions in your lobby for Theo to buff.
Menagerie has lingered in limbo ever since Lightfang Enforcer got power crept. One of the card’s downsides involved limited scaling due to the flat +2/+2 per minion type per turn. Another downside was the need for filler minions, as it made you buy inferior minions from other tribes to absorb additional scaling and justify the Lightfang Enforcer. But then came the savior, as Tea Master Theotar became one of Battlegrounds’ Tavern Tier 6 staple minions!
Theotar solved Lightfang Enforcer’s faults by adding more scaling per turn, as well as limiting the buffs to three minions. This way, redundant tribal minions that acted as mere statsticks could give way to important tech pieces. Mantid Queen, Leeroy the Reckless, as well as the classic Selfless Hero and (Baron) Titus Rivendare can turn a fight around.
With dual-type minions in, the Tavern is as full as ever, so it’s time to discuss which are the best Theotar buff targets in each lobby. Five out of ten tribes are banned each game, so your ideal setup is virtually never the same. Check out each tribe’s highlights below.
Beasts can offer the full pack(age)
Cave Hydra is an obvious choice for Tea Master Theotar builds, as it is one of the few cleaving minions in Battlegrounds. The early Tier 4 comes as a bonus, but its interaction with no minion type Houndmaster can sometimes be problematic. Honorable mention goes to Ghastcoiler, as one Reborn snake is nothing to scoff at. Its success, however, heavily relies on combat order and Deathrattle RNG. Not one for the ragers!
But the star of the show is Sinrunner Blanchy. Streamers dub it “Horsen” and it’s no mere show pony! Its Reborn can even act as a superior Divine Shield, since a Leeroy the Reckless causes it to respawn and not directly die. You can even properly Divine Shield it through Nagas or Hero Powers, and then it revives with Divine Shield. Buffing a minion that can reliably hit enemy minions four times might be the best interaction between a Tea Master and a Horsen ever since this funny reaction clip.
Demons not ideal for Tea Master Theotar
The Demon tribe suffers in the absence of Divine Shields or cleaves. Trading one for one is not ideal. However, Imp Trickster might circumvent this by transferring its health to another minion. Not to mention its synergy with no minion type superstar (Baron) Titus Rivendare. A beefy Annihilan Battlemaster can be good for a few turns, but late-game Mantid Queens and Leeroys will nullify it. You are more likely to use Mecha-Jaraxxus as support, since he can offer a unique perk in the form of Windfury. This works better with Mechs, as you'll see in the sections below.
Dragons: Divine Shields crucial for the Tea Master Theotar comp
Dragons received one of the most versatile minions of this set, Chronormu. Pair this with the synergistic no minion type card Nadina the Red to get a beefy Divine Shield. New dual-type minion Cyborg Drake also makes the cut. It’s a great stand-alone due to the shield, but it also buffs others? Get in! If you have an early Theotar and a Nadina or Selfless Hero available, even good old Tarecgosa can do the trick.
Elementals with the earliest staple
Crackling Cyclone is the earliest highlighted minion, as it provides Divine Shield and Windfury, two powerful keywords for Tea Master Theotar comps, at a mere Tier 3. A buffed Crackling Cyclone can nullify a Mech Taunt or Mantid Queen all by itself. Honorable mentions go to Wildfire Elemental, which can wreck badly positioned opponents, as well as the mrgrowing Magmaloc, also discussed in the Murloc section.
Mechs: Would you care for a spot of tea shields?
Mechs are ideal guests for Tea Master Theotar, as this Battlegrounds tribe seems to master its tea party etiquette. Have they been taking lessons from well-mannered butler Jeeves? Their strength lies in Divine Shield, which can be attached to any Mech, thanks to Annoy-o-module. This includes shielding the Tavern Tier 6 cleave machine, Foe Reaper 4000. New addition Mecha-Jaraxxus can further enhance this with Windfury and Reborn. This can wreck un-teched boards to shreds.
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Murlocs: Poisonous can always find a slot
Murlocs can talk (or Mrgl?) their way into any comp due to their Poisonous synergy, especially since Toxfin is now on Tavern Tier 5. Naturally scaling options such as Blazing Skyfin and Magmaloc are preferable.
Nagas: Support for your Carries
Nagas do not directly fare well in a Tea Master Theotar comp, but shine as a support tribe, as the Battlegrounds devs probably intended. Since their Spellcraft abilities can target any other minion, a Glowscale is very desirable due to the Divine Shield it can provide. Honorable mentions go to Waverider’s Windfury buff, Corrupted Myrmidon’s doubled scaling and Pufferquil's Poison. But overall, Nagas’ vanilla stats relegate them to support.
Pirates: No "arr" in Tea Master Theotar
Pirates are notorious for drinking other beverages, both at sea and in ports, so it’s no surprise that Tea Master Theotar is not the build for them. We shall use this section to highlight some Greta Gold-Gun tips instead. Its ability to Golden a Pirate or Naga can be best used either on Ball of Minions, whose Golden version donates its stats TWICE, either for making Glowscale Golden, which provides an additional Divine Shield Spellcraft for your board! Also, note that using Greta’s Spellcraft on Pufferquil requires an additional spell for it to gain permanent Poisonous.
So what if there’s no “arr” in Theotar? The APM Pirates build is one of the best current comps anyway!
Quilboar with the hidden (Blood) Gem
Quilboar is one of the losers of this patch, overall, but it’s got an actual winner in the Tea Master Theotar comp. A buffed Bristleback Knight works perfectly against a Risen Rider, as the Taunt’s Reborn copy will trigger the Quilboar’s Frenzy to gain Divine Shield. “No negotiations!” when you see this minion in the shop, to cite its voiceline.
Undead: Reborn for the win!
An early Colossus of the Sun buffed by Tea Master Theotar can ironically spell “Nighty night” for your opponents. A Divine Shield first and foremost, its Reborn remnant can clean up the aftermath of a fight and deal six precious additional damage if it survives.
Undead’s other highlight, Sinrunner Blanchy, has already been discussed in the Beasts section. I guess that’s one downside to dual-type minions. So we’ll follow up with a tip, instead. Do not ever Taunt this Horsen, as Sin’dorei Straight Shot can then directly counter it. Sin' counters Sin!
That’s about it for today’s teatime. With these minions gaining +6/+6 or more stats every turn, the game almost feels like cheating!
While we can’t compete with Theotar in terms of tea and stats, do stay tuned to esports.gg to quench your thirst for Hearthstone news and updates.