Hearthstone Battlegrounds Chess Set Guide: Board Setup and Clones

To trigger Chess Set trinkets in Hearthstone Battlegrounds, you must intentionally end your Recruit phase with open board space. Start of Combat effects cannot summon extra units onto a full seven-minion warband. Leaving the necessary board space creates room for duplicated attackers that retain all permanent enchantments, Magnetic attachments, and Divine Shields.

Board Space Requirements for Lesser and Greater Chess Set

The exact number of minions you can field depends entirely on which version of the trinket you hold:

• Lesser Chess Set: Requires one open slot. You must end the Recruit phase with no more than six minions. At the start of combat, it summons a copy of your leftmost minion into the empty space.
• Greater Chess Set: Requires two open slots. You must end the Recruit phase with no more than five minions. At the start of combat, it summons copies of your two leftmost minions.

Entering combat with a full seven-minion board completely prevents the trinket from triggering, resulting in zero combat value. Sacrificing low-value stat buffers or utility minions is required to let your highest-value anchors duplicate.

Recommended Left-Slot Duplication Targets

Positioning the correct minion on the far left determines the effectiveness of the duplication effect. Units with wide-cleave damage, Deathrattle multipliers, or hard removal provide the greatest immediate value.

Cleave minions such as Foe Reaper 4000 or Blade Collector excel in the mid-to-late game. Because clones inherit all modifications, a heavily buffed cleave minion duplicates its full attack value and Divine Shield, allowing you to strike twice across the opponent's frontline before their main threats can retaliate.

When facing opponents who scale enormous stats, such as Demons or Quilboar, switch to scam units. Cloning a Leeroy Jenkins or Transmuted Bramblewitch neutralizes massive health pools without requiring matching stat investments.

Combat Sequencing and Minion Positioning

Cloned minions spawn at the extreme left of the warband when combat begins. Because Start of Combat triggers resolve before the first attack:

1. The newly summoned duplicate takes the very first attack of the round.
2. Your original leftmost minion slides to the right and takes the second attack.
3. Your remaining units attack in standard left-to-right order afterward.

To safeguard this attack order, place your Taunt minions on the far right side of your board. Keeping defensive walls far away from the left wing prevents opposing cleave minions from hitting your duplicated damage dealers prematurely.

Tavern Economy on a Short Board

Playing with five or six minions alters how you spend gold in the Tavern during the Recruit phase:

• Focus on single-target enhancements: Prioritize Tavern spells that grant Divine Shield, Windfury, or concentrated stat boosts to your designated leftmost unit.
• Use Magnetic upgrades: For Mech compositions, attach Magnetic units directly to your primary duplication anchor to consolidate stats and keywords without occupying separate board slots.
• Cycle utility minions in a single turn: You can still buy economy, Discover, and Battlecry minions during the Recruit phase, but you must sell them before your turn timer expires to maintain your open board slots.

Adjusting for Late-Game Opponents

If opponents deploy counter-tech such as Sin'dorei Straight-Shot to remove Reborn and Divine Shield, adjust your leftmost placements between rounds. Moving a utility breaker or Transmuted Bramblewitch to the absolute left protects a secondary high-stat cleave minion from getting countered on the opening swing. When facing insurmountable health totals in the final rounds, pivot your leftmost slots entirely to scam units to secure direct trades.