Captain Hooktusk is back to her throne of being one of the best heroes in Battlegrounds as of Patch 20.2.2. After her numerous changes, we are now at the fourth iteration of her hero power.
The strength of Trash for Treasure is its ability to create value and potential triples. The key to this hero power is using it on Murloc Tidehunter and Alleycat tokens and finding either another one of those minions or value cards such as Sellemental, Deck Swabbie, or Sun-Bacon Relaxer. Its other strength is being able to find triples from the small minion pool of tavern-tier one. Demons are one of Hooktusk’s best tribes simply because of her ability to find Wrath Weavers and triple them easily.
Looking for something different? Why not read Mewwy’s guide to Xyrella, or HZs guide to Guff Runetotem instead. Two of the most powerful heroes that got added to Battlegrounds in the 20.2.2 expansion.
What tribes are most important for Captain Hooktusks’ success and how to utilize each
Captain Hooktusk performs best with the following tribes. Murlocs and Beasts are the obvious two, with Demons, Elementals, Pirates, and Quilboars having some of the most desirable outcomes with Trash for Treasure.
The Murloc and Beast tribe are vital to playing Captain Hooktusk due to their so-called “token” minions. Murloc Tidehunter and Alleycat both create an additional target for Trash for Treasure and assist you in finding triples much more consistently in the early game.
Another benefit these minions allow for is a strong turn one. By using Trash for Treasure on your first turn, you get the chance at becoming stronger than the majority of Battlegrounds heroes in the first one to three turns.
The strength of Pirates for Captain Hooktusk
As you discover these minions with your hero power, you also have the option of not playing a unit like Deck Swabbie on your first turn. (Note: That only applies in situations where you already utilized your hero power) Sometimes you get the option to discover Deck Swabbie multiple times from Trash for Treasure, which allows you to get ahead in the tavern-tier or to have more gold available to you throughout the game.
Captain Hooktusk also benefits from the Pirate tribe through the Dread Admiral Eliza build, which utilizes Scallywag. Finding Scallywag is sometimes difficult due to many available units when you reach Tavern-five and above—because of that, utilizing Trash for Treasure here again makes your game plan more consistent.
The Tavern-tier one strength of Demons, Quilboar, and Elementals.
Demons, Quilboar, and Elementals all have a similarity. Each of these tribes has one or more uniquely powerful tier-one units. Since Trash for Treasure allows you to target tier-one units to create new tier-one units, you get to utilize each of these extremely efficiently. For example, the Demon Tribe has Wrath Weaver, arguably one of the best one-drops in the game. But that isn’t all, as both Vulgar Homonculus and Fiendish Servant are also tier-one units, both of which enable future discoveries and grow your Wrath Weavers.
Another example would be the Quilboar tribe. Whether you are simply building mid-range Quilboar or if you find yourself with an Aggem Thorncurse build, you want to use Trash for Treasure to create additional Razorfen Geomancer or Sun-Bacon Relaxer’s to increase your supply of Blood Gems.
Elementals are one of the “weaker” Tribes, but it is always nice to find additional Sellemental or even Refreshing Anomaly. Generating additional income is immensely powerful in Battlegrounds and should never be underestimated.
Getting started with Captain Hooktusk, the early rounds.
Turn one is very important for Captain Hooktusk, so prepare to make these decisions before getting into a game. The two best units to find, as mentioned before, are Murloc Tidecaller and Alleycat. Finding either of these is ideal but not always an option. If you happen to miss out, look for minions with a helpful Battlecry such as Deck Swabbie, Razorfen Geomancer, or Refreshing Elemental. Unless you happen to find a Sellemental as your best choice, you should always utilize Trash for Treasure to improve your overall chances at finding an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter.
On turn two, you have two options. Either follow the standard Battlegrounds leveling curve by spending your gold on raising your Tavern and utilizing Trash for Treasure to improve your overall board. The other option is preferred if you find an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter in your shop. Buy them, and forgo the tavern upgrade if you don’t have the gold.
It gets a bit complicated to articulate what you are supposed to do next. As a rule of thumb, you want to reach Tavern-tier three by turn five. Depending on your gold at turn six, you can reach tier four early by using all of your gold next turn. In Patch 20.2.2., if you are waiting to triple a minion, you should wait until you reach Tavern-tier five and try to find a win condition by discovering a tier six.
The midgame with Captain Hooktusk.
As with all heroes, there are a near-infinite number of options in the midgame. To decide your best approach to the game, you need to understand how well you are doing in your current lobby. To assess your strength, here are a few questions you should ask yourself throughout the midgame.
- How much health do I have left?
Think about it, can you take the time to look for a higher tavern minion, or should you try and find tier-four minions to preserve your health.
- If I triple my units right now to find a higher tavern-tier minion the following turn after raising my Tavern, do I take a lot of damage? Am I strong enough to survive the attack(s)?
Another way to think about this is deciding how much health you are willing to sacrifice to find a higher tavern unit. Are you at near forty life? Then it’s probably safe to take some massive risks. Are you at 25 or less? Then you might not have that same luxury.
- How good are the Tavern five or Six units for me right now?
Look at your current board, are there any units that move you to a winning position. Then separate the minions you are thinking of into two groups, the one(s) that allow you to take first place and the ones which allow you to reach the top four spots comfortably. Now think about what would happen if you don’t find these units. Do you have any comeback plan, or is the game over if you miss? Understanding this risk and reward balance is one of the toughest aspects of Battlegrounds and something you will get better at with time.
Captain Hooktusks curves for Battlegrounds
The standard curve is used commonly if you want to buy strong T2 minions, it’s one of the simpler ones, but weaker than the ones below if you want to prioritize reaching T3, or if you want triples to find a game plan earlier.
Turn one (3g): Buy a battlecry minion and hero power it. Ideally, if you got an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter, use your hero power on the main body so you have a higher chance of finding them again.
Turn two (4g): Upgrade to T2. Hero power again if necessary. If you made a triple through Murloc Tidehunter or Alleycat’s tokens, then hold onto it until you find a good time to get a T4, T5, or T6.
Turn three (5g): Hero power again. Sell a minion that you do not need, and buy two minions.
Turn four (6g): Hero power again if necessary. Buy two minions. If you made an early triple, feel free to upgrade for a T=4 minion.
Turn five (7g): Upgrade to T3. Buy any minion. Hero power if necessary.
Turn six (8g): Since you make a lot of gold with your hero power, you could choose to upgrade again to T4 and use your gold to purchase one minion. Staying behind at T3 is fine if you need to for safety, finding triples, or looking for specific minions.
Captain Hooktusk Warrior Curve
Turn one (3g): Buy a battlecry minion and hero power it. Ideally, if you got an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter, use your hero power on the main body so you have a higher chance of finding them again.
Turn two (4g): Buy another minion. Hero power and reroll if necessary.
Turn three (5g): Sell one minion. Buy two minions. Hero power if necessary.
Turn four (6g): Buy two minions. Hero power if necessary.
Turn five (7g): Upgrade twice to T2 and T3. Sell one minion to make sure you can upgrade unless you have already played Deck Swabbie.
After this, you can choose to either upgrade again to T4 or stay behind at T3 to form a game plan or find triples. The Warrior curve helps your consistency by making sure you can find all of the triples you need to high roll.
Captain Hooktusk Jeef Curve
Turn one (3g): Buy a battlecry minion and hero power it. Ideally, if you got an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter, use your hero power on the main body so you have a higher chance of finding them again.
Turn two (4g): Buy another minion. Hero power and reroll if necessary.
Turn three (5g): Buy another minion. Hero power if necessary. Sell one minion and upgrade to T2, unless you played a Deck Swabbie then you do not need to.
Turn four (6g): Upgrade again to T3. Hero power if necessary.
Turn five (7g): Buy two minions. Hero power if necessary.
This curve is normally done when you find an early triple. For example, when you find three Sellementals or complete an early Murloc Tidehunter or Alleycat token triple. It’s the fastest way for you to get to T3 to triple for a T4. You can even choose to upgrade again at turn 5 to T4 so you can instead triple for a T5 minion.
The best uses for Trash for Treasure in various Battlegrounds Tribes
Murlocs:
Use Trash for Treasure on Murloc Tidehunter to find key Tier-1. Seafood Slinger or Hamuul is a great usage of your hero power, as it can find you Brann Bronzebeard, SI:Sefin, or King Bagurgle. Using your hero power of King Bagurgle can help you find Primalfin Lookout. Using it on Primalfin Lookout lets you have a chance at finding more Coldlight Seer or Felfin Navigator.
Beasts:
Using Trash for Treasure on Alleycat is key to finding strong T1s. Later, use your hero power on T6 minions like Hamuul or failed Amalgadon’s to find important T5 cards like Reanimating Rattler, Mama Bear, Baron Rivendare, or Palescale Crocolisk.
Mechs:
Important cards that you want multiple of include Screwjank Clunker, Metaltooth Leaper, Replicating Menace, and Annoy-o-Module. Keep these in mind when using your hero power and what you want to be looking out for.
Demons:
Use your hero power to find more Wrath Weavers, Soul Devourer, and Nathrezim Overseer.
Elementals:
Captain Hooktusk synergizes quite well in the mid-game with both primary Elemental builds. However, the Nomi, Kitchen Nightmare build performs far better with ToT than the Lil’Rag version of the Tribe. The main reason is that you frequently get low-tier Elementals from your ability, which simply aren’t as impactful for Lil’Rag Elemental Warbands.
On the other hand, Nomi utilizes these same small elementals extremely well. The main unit you are looking for is Sellemental and Refreshing Anomaly, which generates an additional gold and buffs the elementals in Bob’s Tavern twice.
Pirates:
Generally, you will use your hero power on T3 minions to try to find Freedealing Gambler. For specifically Eliza pirates or even APM Pirates, you can hero power a T1 or T2 minion to try to find Scallywag or Deck Swabbie.
Dragons:
A Kalecgos composition works well for Captain Hooktusk. All tiers have a good amount of battlecries but you want to look for the battlecries that have an additional use. For example, at T1 you can find Deck Swabbie, Alleycat, Murloc Tidehunter, Refreshing Anomaly all give extra value by generating a gold, or another form of resource. Primalfin, Murozand, and Tavern Tempest all could give you another battlecry if you hero power a T5 and T6 respectively.
Quilboars:
Unless you’re looking for a specific card, like your third Tough Tusk, you generally are only using your hero power to find SunBacon Relaxer.
Closing thoughts for our favorite Captain
Overall, Captain Hooktusk is an extremely versatile hero, with Trash for Treasure simply being an incredible ability. Captain Hooktusk’s ability to find triples allows her to synergize with nearly every Tribe in Battlegrounds, particularly those with strong Tavern-six units such as Quilboars, Dragons, Pirates, and even Elementals. It is important to remember that you NEED the Beast and Murloc tribe for the optimal Captain Hooktusk game. While it is technically playable without, it very significantly hurts the winrate of the hero overall.
Mechs may not be as effective on Captain Hooktusk due to her inability to create her own stat buffs, but that should not discourage you from playing Mechs if Bob offers the right cards for you to start the build. Her hero power is versatile enough that is can still help out by searching for key cards.
Try and use this guide to understand how Captain Hooktusk works and why she is just so effective right now. I hope to see you all climb, get better, and stay away from Bob’s disgusting pretzel mustard.
For more of Mewwy’s Battlegrounds content, follow on Twitch, Twitter, or join our discord! The Captain Hooktusk guide is part of AceGameGuides’ Battlegrounds heroes series. Find more of our recent coverage on heroes including Deathwing, C’thun, and Maiev Shadowsong. For something different, find our latest guide to Dancin’ Deryl, a hero returning to popularity in patch 20.2.2.
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Captain Hooktusk is back to her throne of being one of the best heroes in Battlegrounds as of Patch 20.2.2. After her numerous changes, we are now at the fourth iteration of her hero power.
The strength of Trash for Treasure is its ability to create value and potential triples. The key to this hero power is using it on Murloc Tidehunter and Alleycat tokens and finding either another one of those minions or value cards such as Sellemental, Deck Swabbie, or Sun-Bacon Relaxer. Its other strength is being able to find triples from the small minion pool of tavern-tier one. Demons are one of Hooktusk’s best tribes simply because of her ability to find Wrath Weavers and triple them easily.
Looking for something different? Why not read Mewwy’s guide to Xyrella, or HZs guide to Guff Runetotem instead. Two of the most powerful heroes that got added to Battlegrounds in the 20.2.2 expansion.
What tribes are most important for Captain Hooktusks’ success and how to utilize each
Captain Hooktusk performs best with the following tribes. Murlocs and Beasts are the obvious two, with Demons, Elementals, Pirates, and Quilboars having some of the most desirable outcomes with Trash for Treasure.
The Murloc and Beast tribe are vital to playing Captain Hooktusk due to their so-called “token” minions. Murloc Tidehunter and Alleycat both create an additional target for Trash for Treasure and assist you in finding triples much more consistently in the early game.
Another benefit these minions allow for is a strong turn one. By using Trash for Treasure on your first turn, you get the chance at becoming stronger than the majority of Battlegrounds heroes in the first one to three turns.
The strength of Pirates for Captain Hooktusk
As you discover these minions with your hero power, you also have the option of not playing a unit like Deck Swabbie on your first turn. (Note: That only applies in situations where you already utilized your hero power) Sometimes you get the option to discover Deck Swabbie multiple times from Trash for Treasure, which allows you to get ahead in the tavern-tier or to have more gold available to you throughout the game.
Captain Hooktusk also benefits from the Pirate tribe through the Dread Admiral Eliza build, which utilizes Scallywag. Finding Scallywag is sometimes difficult due to many available units when you reach Tavern-five and above—because of that, utilizing Trash for Treasure here again makes your game plan more consistent.
The Tavern-tier one strength of Demons, Quilboar, and Elementals.
Demons, Quilboar, and Elementals all have a similarity. Each of these tribes has one or more uniquely powerful tier-one units. Since Trash for Treasure allows you to target tier-one units to create new tier-one units, you get to utilize each of these extremely efficiently. For example, the Demon Tribe has Wrath Weaver, arguably one of the best one-drops in the game. But that isn’t all, as both Vulgar Homonculus and Fiendish Servant are also tier-one units, both of which enable future discoveries and grow your Wrath Weavers.
Another example would be the Quilboar tribe. Whether you are simply building mid-range Quilboar or if you find yourself with an Aggem Thorncurse build, you want to use Trash for Treasure to create additional Razorfen Geomancer or Sun-Bacon Relaxer’s to increase your supply of Blood Gems.
Elementals are one of the “weaker” Tribes, but it is always nice to find additional Sellemental or even Refreshing Anomaly. Generating additional income is immensely powerful in Battlegrounds and should never be underestimated.
Getting started with Captain Hooktusk, the early rounds.
Turn one is very important for Captain Hooktusk, so prepare to make these decisions before getting into a game. The two best units to find, as mentioned before, are Murloc Tidecaller and Alleycat. Finding either of these is ideal but not always an option. If you happen to miss out, look for minions with a helpful Battlecry such as Deck Swabbie, Razorfen Geomancer, or Refreshing Elemental. Unless you happen to find a Sellemental as your best choice, you should always utilize Trash for Treasure to improve your overall chances at finding an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter.
On turn two, you have two options. Either follow the standard Battlegrounds leveling curve by spending your gold on raising your Tavern and utilizing Trash for Treasure to improve your overall board. The other option is preferred if you find an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter in your shop. Buy them, and forgo the tavern upgrade if you don’t have the gold.
It gets a bit complicated to articulate what you are supposed to do next. As a rule of thumb, you want to reach Tavern-tier three by turn five. Depending on your gold at turn six, you can reach tier four early by using all of your gold next turn. In Patch 20.2.2., if you are waiting to triple a minion, you should wait until you reach Tavern-tier five and try to find a win condition by discovering a tier six.
The midgame with Captain Hooktusk.
As with all heroes, there are a near-infinite number of options in the midgame. To decide your best approach to the game, you need to understand how well you are doing in your current lobby. To assess your strength, here are a few questions you should ask yourself throughout the midgame.
Think about it, can you take the time to look for a higher tavern minion, or should you try and find tier-four minions to preserve your health.
Another way to think about this is deciding how much health you are willing to sacrifice to find a higher tavern unit. Are you at near forty life? Then it’s probably safe to take some massive risks. Are you at 25 or less? Then you might not have that same luxury.
Look at your current board, are there any units that move you to a winning position. Then separate the minions you are thinking of into two groups, the one(s) that allow you to take first place and the ones which allow you to reach the top four spots comfortably. Now think about what would happen if you don’t find these units. Do you have any comeback plan, or is the game over if you miss? Understanding this risk and reward balance is one of the toughest aspects of Battlegrounds and something you will get better at with time.
Captain Hooktusks curves for Battlegrounds
The standard curve is used commonly if you want to buy strong T2 minions, it’s one of the simpler ones, but weaker than the ones below if you want to prioritize reaching T3, or if you want triples to find a game plan earlier.
Turn one (3g): Buy a battlecry minion and hero power it. Ideally, if you got an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter, use your hero power on the main body so you have a higher chance of finding them again.
Turn two (4g): Upgrade to T2. Hero power again if necessary. If you made a triple through Murloc Tidehunter or Alleycat’s tokens, then hold onto it until you find a good time to get a T4, T5, or T6.
Turn three (5g): Hero power again. Sell a minion that you do not need, and buy two minions.
Turn four (6g): Hero power again if necessary. Buy two minions. If you made an early triple, feel free to upgrade for a T=4 minion.
Turn five (7g): Upgrade to T3. Buy any minion. Hero power if necessary.
Turn six (8g): Since you make a lot of gold with your hero power, you could choose to upgrade again to T4 and use your gold to purchase one minion. Staying behind at T3 is fine if you need to for safety, finding triples, or looking for specific minions.
Captain Hooktusk Warrior Curve
Turn one (3g): Buy a battlecry minion and hero power it. Ideally, if you got an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter, use your hero power on the main body so you have a higher chance of finding them again.
Turn two (4g): Buy another minion. Hero power and reroll if necessary.
Turn three (5g): Sell one minion. Buy two minions. Hero power if necessary.
Turn four (6g): Buy two minions. Hero power if necessary.
Turn five (7g): Upgrade twice to T2 and T3. Sell one minion to make sure you can upgrade unless you have already played Deck Swabbie.
After this, you can choose to either upgrade again to T4 or stay behind at T3 to form a game plan or find triples. The Warrior curve helps your consistency by making sure you can find all of the triples you need to high roll.
Captain Hooktusk Jeef Curve
Turn one (3g): Buy a battlecry minion and hero power it. Ideally, if you got an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter, use your hero power on the main body so you have a higher chance of finding them again.
Turn two (4g): Buy another minion. Hero power and reroll if necessary.
Turn three (5g): Buy another minion. Hero power if necessary. Sell one minion and upgrade to T2, unless you played a Deck Swabbie then you do not need to.
Turn four (6g): Upgrade again to T3. Hero power if necessary.
Turn five (7g): Buy two minions. Hero power if necessary.
This curve is normally done when you find an early triple. For example, when you find three Sellementals or complete an early Murloc Tidehunter or Alleycat token triple. It’s the fastest way for you to get to T3 to triple for a T4. You can even choose to upgrade again at turn 5 to T4 so you can instead triple for a T5 minion.
The best uses for Trash for Treasure in various Battlegrounds Tribes
Murlocs:
Use Trash for Treasure on Murloc Tidehunter to find key Tier-1. Seafood Slinger or Hamuul is a great usage of your hero power, as it can find you Brann Bronzebeard, SI:Sefin, or King Bagurgle. Using your hero power of King Bagurgle can help you find Primalfin Lookout. Using it on Primalfin Lookout lets you have a chance at finding more Coldlight Seer or Felfin Navigator.
Beasts:
Using Trash for Treasure on Alleycat is key to finding strong T1s. Later, use your hero power on T6 minions like Hamuul or failed Amalgadon’s to find important T5 cards like Reanimating Rattler, Mama Bear, Baron Rivendare, or Palescale Crocolisk.
Mechs:
Important cards that you want multiple of include Screwjank Clunker, Metaltooth Leaper, Replicating Menace, and Annoy-o-Module. Keep these in mind when using your hero power and what you want to be looking out for.
Demons:
Use your hero power to find more Wrath Weavers, Soul Devourer, and Nathrezim Overseer.
Elementals:
Captain Hooktusk synergizes quite well in the mid-game with both primary Elemental builds. However, the Nomi, Kitchen Nightmare build performs far better with ToT than the Lil’Rag version of the Tribe. The main reason is that you frequently get low-tier Elementals from your ability, which simply aren’t as impactful for Lil’Rag Elemental Warbands.
On the other hand, Nomi utilizes these same small elementals extremely well. The main unit you are looking for is Sellemental and Refreshing Anomaly, which generates an additional gold and buffs the elementals in Bob’s Tavern twice.
Pirates:
Generally, you will use your hero power on T3 minions to try to find Freedealing Gambler. For specifically Eliza pirates or even APM Pirates, you can hero power a T1 or T2 minion to try to find Scallywag or Deck Swabbie.
Dragons:
A Kalecgos composition works well for Captain Hooktusk. All tiers have a good amount of battlecries but you want to look for the battlecries that have an additional use. For example, at T1 you can find Deck Swabbie, Alleycat, Murloc Tidehunter, Refreshing Anomaly all give extra value by generating a gold, or another form of resource. Primalfin, Murozand, and Tavern Tempest all could give you another battlecry if you hero power a T5 and T6 respectively.
Quilboars:
Unless you’re looking for a specific card, like your third Tough Tusk, you generally are only using your hero power to find SunBacon Relaxer.
Closing thoughts for our favorite Captain
Overall, Captain Hooktusk is an extremely versatile hero, with Trash for Treasure simply being an incredible ability. Captain Hooktusk’s ability to find triples allows her to synergize with nearly every Tribe in Battlegrounds, particularly those with strong Tavern-six units such as Quilboars, Dragons, Pirates, and even Elementals. It is important to remember that you NEED the Beast and Murloc tribe for the optimal Captain Hooktusk game. While it is technically playable without, it very significantly hurts the winrate of the hero overall.
Mechs may not be as effective on Captain Hooktusk due to her inability to create her own stat buffs, but that should not discourage you from playing Mechs if Bob offers the right cards for you to start the build. Her hero power is versatile enough that is can still help out by searching for key cards.
Try and use this guide to understand how Captain Hooktusk works and why she is just so effective right now. I hope to see you all climb, get better, and stay away from Bob’s disgusting pretzel mustard.
For more of Mewwy’s Battlegrounds content, follow on Twitch, Twitter, or join our discord! The Captain Hooktusk guide is part of AceGameGuides’ Battlegrounds heroes series. Find more of our recent coverage on heroes including Deathwing, C’thun, and Maiev Shadowsong. For something different, find our latest guide to Dancin’ Deryl, a hero returning to popularity in patch 20.2.2.
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