Electric Nightmares

Our four part series about generative AI and its use in video games

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Hearthstone: Time-Tinker guide - Best cards, treasures and equipment (Monster Hunt)

Everything you need to know about Monster Hunt's Time-Tinker hero in Hearthstone.

Hearthstone’s Monster Hunt mode has arrived, and it offers an interested expansion on the addictive Dungeon Run formula that was first introduced with Kobolds and Catacombs.

Fundamentally, it works similar to Dungeon Run. Players face off against bosses that become stronger the further you progress, you collect cards to build a deck and pick out exceptionally powerful trinkets that give your decks a huge performance boost.

Monster Hunt mixes things up by giving us four unique heroes to play, each with their own hero powers, play styles and personalities. Of course, there are plenty of surprises in store too that make it a highly entertaining PVE experience - one we’ve really been getting stuck into since release.

One of these playable heroes is called Time-Tinker, who’s based on the Mage class. In this article we’ll be outlining everything you need to know about the character, as well as some of the cards and treasures you’ll want to consider on your quest to create the most powerful deck possible.

For help with bosses make sure you look through our main Monster Hunt guide!

Time-Tinker: FAQ

  • Time-Tinker is based on Hearthstone’s Mage class.
  • Time-Tinker’s hero power is called Temporal Loop. It costs 0 mana and it allows you to start your turn over from scratch.
  • As the Time-Tinker, you'll be playing as Toki, Time-Tinker in this Monster Hunt mode.

Other Monster Hunt guides

Time-Tinker: Card buckets

Each time you beat one of Monster Hunt’s bosses, you’ll be presented with the opportunity to pick from a selection of card buckets. These stacks of cards share a thematic connection and allow you to build your deck in unique and interesting ways over the course of the Hunt.

As the Time-Tinker relies so heavily on spells, there are a handful of potential buckets that can fill your deck with Mage cards that take advantage of the treasures you can earn throughout the Monster Hunt. We’ve picked out some of the best below:

Spells

Put simply, Wild Magic, Chaos and BOOM! are the ones you’re looking for here. The first two buckets are packed full of the Mage’s random effects – whether that’s damage through Arcane Missiles and Flamecannon or spell generation from Primordial Glyph and Cabalist’s Tome.

The added bonus of having a free hero power that can restart your turn makes these cards even more powerful as you can rewind if the results are less than satisfactory. There are many synergies with treasures too, which we’ll discuss later.

The other available spell sets, Knowledge and Frosty are much less useful. The former is good if you think your deck is going to need some card draw, whereas the latter features too many random freeze effects that only work well together in a very specific deck list.

Minions

Get Magical Friends. The minions in this bucket are generally high power level and synergise with all the spells you’ve been adding to your deck, so we’re talking about everything from Mana Wyrm to Archmage Antonidas. You’ll want to pick this one up a lot – almost always.

Other buckets stick with a particular minion type, including Elementals or Mechs, which can offer some high quality cards. Just know that you’ll need to invest more heavily in these throughout the entire run if you want to take better advantage of them. This is usually at a detriment to your overall deck strength, though, as you risk missing out on some of the more universal cards.

Lastly, Erratic Creatures can be OK, with some of their random downsides negated by your hero power. Lost Secrets, on the other hand, is best avoided, unless you stumble upon a surprisingly strong trio of cards.

Time-Tinker: Best Treasures

In addition to card buckets, you’ll also be offered powerful items that’ll give your entire deck a powerful boost. These can affect certain mechanics like Battlecry, Deathrattle, Rush and Echo for example, or emphasise some of the deck’s core strengths.

Here are some of the Treasures you'll want to look out for when playing the Time-Tinker:

  • Crystal Gem: The extra mana crystal allows you to get on the board faster and take advantage of spell combinations with Mana Wyrm and Sorcerer’s Apprentice much earlier.
  • Pristine Compass: Can offer a huge tempo boost if it lands on the right card, something you can correct using your hero power if needed.
  • Enhance-a-matic: A ridiculous card that will refill your hand in an instant.
  • Khadgar’s Scrying Orb: With all the spells in your deck this one mana discount can offer some huge tempo plays.
  • Robe of the Magi: Again, it serves as a perfect pairing with all the spell cards you’ll be adding to the deck.
  • Double Time: Allows you to gain another huge tempo advantage during your turn. Temporal Loop can be used to redo any turn where the results don’t go your way.
  • Stroke of Midnight: A very powerful removal tool for very little mana that can be exploited even further thanks to the Echo effect.

Rock Paper Shotgun is the home of PC gaming

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

In this article

Hearthstone

Video Game

Related topics
About the Author
Ed Thorn avatar

Ed Thorn

Reviews Editor

When Ed's not cracking thugs with bicycles in Yakuza, he's likely swinging a badminton racket in real life. Any genre goes, but he's very into shooters and likes a weighty gun, particularly if they have a chainsaw attached to them. Adores orange and mango squash, unsure about olives.

Comments