# Build, Don't Play: Self-Improving LLM Research Agents Develop a Hearthstone Battlegrounds AI That Rivals Top Players > Source: > Published: 2026-10-27 04:30:27+00:00 Can LLM agents carry a hard real-world problem from raw data to a system that holds its own against people? We study this in Hearthstone Battlegrounds, an eight-player auto-battler with stochastic shops and battles, hidden information and nearly a thousand interacting cards. We present AutoTavern, a