A Less Friendly Game of Chess
- "Things have gotten a little underhanded at Medivh's Magical Chessboard. Bring 6 unique cards and hide them under the table, they could swing the match in your favor!"
A Less Friendly Game of Chess is a Tavern Brawl. It debuted on June 27, 2018.
Based on the 
Black King encounter from One Night in Karazhan and on the previous brawl A Friendly Game of Chess, all matches in the Brawl are played on the Karazhan battlefield.
History[edit | edit source]
| Tavern Brawl | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 159 | June 27, 2018 | July 1, 2018 |
| 216 | July 31, 2019 | August 7, 2019 |
| 292 | January 13, 2021 | January 20, 2021 |
| 349 | February 16, 2022 | February 23, 2022 |
| 375 | August 17, 2022 | August 24, 2022 |
| 435 | October 11, 2023 | October 18, 2023 |
Overview[edit | edit source]
This Brawl sees players recreating the Black King encounter from One Night in Karazhan. At the start of each Brawl the players are randomly assigned to play either the White or Black King heroes, each with only 20 Health. Both use identical premade decks of 15 special cards and 6 cards chosen by the player, as well as the Castle Hero Power, matching the encounter's Normal mode version. With most minions unable to attack directly - instead dealing damage automatically - players will have to think carefully in order to triumph in this Brawl.
Heroes[edit | edit source]
Hero Powers[edit | edit source]
Special cards[edit | edit source]
White King[edit | edit source]
Black King[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
Whizbang the Wonderful, 
Zayle, Shadow Cloak, and all Hero cards are banned.
Bugs[edit | edit source]
- As of the third reprisal, the player going second has
The Coin shuffled into their deck and replaced with another card.
Decks[edit | edit source]
Both decks are identical (colours aside), and are composed of only 15 cards and other 6 cards chosen by the player, matching the number of pieces in an actual game of chess (heroes included).
| Class | Card | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Boss | White Pawn/Black Pawn |
8 |
| Boss | White Bishop/Black Bishop |
2 |
| Boss | White Rook/Black Rook |
2 |
| Boss | White Knight/Black Knight |
2 |
| Boss | White Queen/Black Queen |
1 |
Strategy[edit | edit source]
For the most part, the strategy of this brawl matches that of A Friendly Game of Chess, with the best planning and smart board positioning determining the winner. However, the six extra cards both players bring can seriously shift the game.
Minions you bring will not have the rules of chess pieces, letting them freely attack any enemy minion or the opponent's hero. For this reason, Rush and Charge minions are fairly valuable. Taunt minions may also be a good pick - they won't stop chess pieces, but will still prevent your opponent's normal minions from attacking anything else.
There are a few good archetypes of cards to bring. Board clear cards like 
Twisting Nether and 
Plague of Death can be surprise recovery tools, letting you get back on even footing if you fall behind on the board. Cards with on-damage triggers or Enrage effects such as Armorsmith, Frothing Berserker, Gurubashi Berserker, and 
Gahz'rilla can be highly valuable, since your opponent will be forced to attack and power the minions up. Health gain is also very strong, particularly armor gain, since damage from chess pieces usually happens in very small increments over time. Consider using cards like Shield Block and 
Oaken Summons.
Be aware that buffs are not good cards to use. The chess pieces deal a fixed amount of damage with their Auto-Attacks, not an amount based on their stats.
Emotes[edit | edit source]
Both heroes' emotes match those from the original Black King encounter.
- White King
| Type | Emote |
|---|---|
| Thanks | How very kind. |
| Well played | Checkmate. |
| Greetings | Care for a game? |
| Wow | Ah, exceptional. |
| Oops | Oh, a blunder. |
| Threaten | I see a mate in 4. |
| Concede | Checkmate... |
| Opening remark | En garde! |
| Thinking [1] | Rook to A3... |
| Thinking [2] | Knight to F6... |
| Thinking [3] | Queen to E5... No, no... |
- Black King
Due to his original role as the enemy boss, many of the Black King's emotes are written as if in direct response to the matching emotes of the White King. The Black King also lacks Thinking and Concede emotes, for the same reason.
| Type | Emote |
|---|---|
| Thanks | Any time. |
| Well played | Not yet. |
| Greetings | Always. |
| Wow | Naturally. |
| Oops | Or a trap? |
| Threaten | I see one in 3. |
| Concede | <No emote> |
| Opening remark | None shall pass! |
Unused[edit | edit source]
- White King
| Type | Emote |
|---|---|
| Sorry | A necessary sacrifice. |
- Black King
| Type | Emote |
|---|---|
| Sorry | An unfortunate development. |