5 Best Budget Decks in Hearthstone

Image: Blizzard via HGG / Jeffrey Hsu

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Penned by Joel Stadler

I have loved video games before I even knew what they were. I also love writing (am working on becoming a successful fantasy author), anime, tablet... Read more

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Building a full competitive deck in Hearthstone can be problematic at times, especially given how expensive some cards are to craft. Luckily, there are some cheap, but equally viable, decks that you can craft. Join us as we go over some of the best budget decks in Hearthstone.

If you’ve already read our previous Hearthstone guides, you may have already seen our recommendations for the best Rogue and Shaman budget decks. Today’s guide will go over another 5 budget decks, using classes that we haven’t covered yet. Let’s begin!

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Frost Aggro Death Knight

Our first deck is a variant of one that has been popular pretty much since the Death Knight class came out. This budget deck makes great use of the Death Knight’s direct damage spells and value generation.

Deck Code: AAECAYjaBQLLpQXMpQUO9eMEguQEk+QE2fEEsvcEtvcEtIAFk4EFkpMFoJkFopkFrqEFnqoF+PkFAA==

Deck List:

• x2 Horn of Winter
• x2 Body Bagger
• x2 Bone Breaker
• x2 Skeletal Sidekick
• x2 Frost Strike
• x2 Harbinger of Winter
• x2 Acolyte of Death
• x2 Hardcore Cultist
• x2 Construct Quarter
• x1 Thassarian
• x2 Marrow Manipulator
• x1 Overseer Frigidara
• x2 Frostwyrm’s Fury
• x2 Arms Dealer
• x2 Foul Egg
• x2 Nerubian Vizier

The first thing we evaluate about these decks is how budget they actually are. In comparison to the other classes, Death Knight has a huge advantage when it comes to budget options, as it’s still a relatively new class. As such, most of the cards associated with the class are given to you for free.

You get both legendary Death Knight cards without having to spend a single dust, and most of the other cards in this deck are commons. You will need to spend about 800 dust to obtain the two Frostwyrm’s Fury cards, but that’s a minuscule price to pay.

Strategy

Now that we’ve covered the cost of the deck, what about its performance? Luckily, this is a very effective aggro deck. As is the case with any aggro deck, our goal is to hit the opponent hard and fast, before they can mount a suitable defense.

Compared to other aggro decks, this one also possesses a rather significant advantage by being half comprised of direct damage cards. Bone Breaker, Hardcore Cultist, Thassarian, Marrow Manipulator, Overseer Frigidara, and Frostwyrm’s Fury all have the ability to bypass taunt minions, which is typically the most challenging obstacle for aggro decks. On top of all of that, we have Nerubian Vizier, who grants us even more direct damage spells.

But this deck isn’t all burn; we have Arms Dealer and Skeletal Sidekick to combo with either our hero power or Foul Egg for devastating early game pressure. Sealing the deal for this deck is the value generation you get from cards like Frost Strike, Harbinger of Winter, and Acolyte of Death.

Possible Modifications

All in all, this is an aggro deck living its best life at a very affordable price. That being said, if you do have the wiggle room in your budget to add another legendary card, I would suggest you consider finding room for Lady Deathwhisper.

She has enough stats to put out respectable pressure and forces your opponent to deal with her, likely triggering her Deathrattle and giving you a copy of all the frost spells in your hand. The value generation speaks for itself, but this is a budget deck, so only go for Lady Deathwhisper if you already have her or spare dust laying around.

Aggro Demon Hunter

Next on or list of the best budget decks in Hearthstone is another aggro build. Aggro lends itself quite well to budget options, so don’t be surprised to see more. While considerably different in terms of strategy from our previous suggestion, this Demon Hunter deck is a fun option that can definitely compete with our frosty friend.

Deck Code: AAECAea5AwL0yAWongYOtp8E0p8Es6AEiLIEpeIEq+IExuIEve0EiJIFjaUFhaoF9MMF4fgFw/kFAA==

Deck List:

• x2 Dispose of Evidence
• x2 Battlefiend
• x2 Crimson Sigil Runner
• x2 Fierce Outsider
• x2 Illidari Studies
• x2 Shambling Chow
• x2 Bibliomite
• x2 Chaos Strike
• x2 Crystalline Statue
• x2 SECURITY!!
• x2 Magnifying Glaive2
• x1 Kayn Sunfury
• x2 Sightless Magistrate
• x2 Vicious Slitherspear
• x2 Hawkstrider Rancher
• x1 Pozzik, Audio Engineer

Strategy

While our Death Knight deck capitalized on direct damage to secure wins, this Demon Hunter deck puts on the pressure with raw stats. Bibliomite is the poster child for this deck – a 5/4 for 2-mana that makes you shuffle a card from your hand into your deck when played.

Yes, you do lose a card, but having a 5/4 on the board by turn two can be incredibly difficult for your opponent to deal with. Plus, there’s the chance for Dispose of Evidence on turn one/two (or both), which would you let be hitting for 11 damage by turn three. Yes, this is magical Christmas scenario, but the potential is there. Even without this golden play, this deck generates a lot of early pressure.

You’ve probably noticed that this deck shuffles away a lot of cards and plays out its hand very quickly. Normally, that would be a problem, but this deck actually makes that an advantage with certain cards.

First is Magnifying Glaive, which lets you draw until you have 3 cards in your hand when you attack with it. Next is Sightless Magistrate, which has both players draw until they have 5 cards in hand. Both these cards benefit greatly from emptying our hands and letting us refill almost immediately.

Combine that with our other cheap draw and value-generating cards (such as Crimson Sigil Runner, Illidari Studies, and Chaos Strike), and we can hand vomit as much as we want without much risk of running out of gas.

Not much more to say. This deck is all about hitting them hard and fast at its finest.

Treant Druid

As far as budget decks in Hearthstone go, this one can also be quite aggressive, but it’s much more of a resilient go wide build. It makes use of some of the most iconic Druid mechanics to great effect.

Deck Code: AAECAZICAtiBBqqeBg6unwSuwASy3QTW3gTB3wT53wX93wWw+gXx+gXZ/wWYgAb9jQapngasngYA

Deck List:

• x2 Aquatic Form
• x2 Innervate
• x2 Embrace of Nature
• x2 Forest Seedlings
• x2 Planted Evidence
• x2 Witchwood Apple
• x2 Lifebinder’s Gift
• x2 Natural Causes
• x2 Solar Eclipse
• x1 Kiri, Chosen of Elune
• x2 Disciple of Eonar
• x2 Widowbloom Seedsman
• x2 Summer Flowerchild
• x2 Drum Circle
• x2 Cultivation
• x1 Ignis, the Eternal Flame

Strategy

Who likes treants? Do you like treants? Of course you like treants. Everyone likes treants. Noticing a theme here? Well this deck is all about summoning a lot of treants and buffing them like crazy. Fittingly, this deck heavily focuses on nature spells and Choose One effects. Because of this, we’re able to get a ton of value and keep the 2/2 treants coming.

This deck features a simple yet elegant design in which the low to mid-end of our curve provides us with ample value and mana. This setup allows us to overwhelm our opponents with the top end of our curve. Obviously, our key finishers in this deck are Drum Circle and Cultivation.

Drum Circle populates our board with the aforementioned treants, and then Cultivation transforms them into a significant threat. Because Cultivation’s cost is reduced based on the number of treants we’ve summoned, we can play both cards in the same turn, potentially amassing up to 20 damage on the board instantly, or even more if we already have a few treants in play.

Moreover, if our board is already full, we can instead use Drum Circle to further bolster it. This high damage potential makes the deck capable of surprising opponents and potentially one-shotting them seemingly out of nowhere.

Alternatively, we can also adopt a more patient approach, steadily wearing down our opponents over the course of the game by consistently rebuilding our board until we secure a victory. Both strategies are viable options for this deck.

Alternate Win Condition

Let’s not overlook this deck’s secret alternate win condition. We include two copies of Embrace Nature in the deck. For just 1-mana, we can draw a Choose One card, which is already valuable. However, by forging the card (i.e., spending 2 mana to upgrade it), we can access a Choose One card for 3-mana that combines both effects. This flexibility works wonderfully in our deck, especially since it’s a nature spell, allowing it to synergize with our other cards.

Moreover, this setup enables us to include the legendary minion Ignis, the Eternal Flame in our deck. If we’ve forged at least one card during the game, playing Ignis allows us to customize a weapon to add to our hand. The 10-mana weapons are incredibly strong and have the potential to single-handedly win the game.

While Ignis offers the flexibility of providing weaker weapons earlier, I would argue that it’s almost always the right choice to craft a weapon from the 10-mana options. Obtaining a 5/6 with Windfury that summons a random 8-drop when you attack can often lead to an immediate victory.

Secret Hunter

Secret hunter! Secret hunter! Through the mountains. Secret, secret, secret, secret hunter! Here, we have one of the more distinct budget decks in Hearthstone, transitioning into a more spell-centric tempo strategy.

Deck Code: AAECAR8E/uwEp6QF9MgF7ZsGDYiyBMDTBMzkBNDkBKqkBejoBd/tBeryBeT1BZf2Bcj2BdL4Bfz4BQA=

Deck List:

• x2 Awakening Tremors
• x2 Bunch of Bananas
• x2 Trinket Tracker
• x2 Bait and Switch
• x2 Barrel of Monkeys
• x2 Hidden Meaning
• x2 Observer of Myths
• x2 Spirit Poacher
• x2 Titanforged Traps
• x1 ZOMBEEEES!!!
• x2 Ancient Krakenbane
• x2 Wild Spirits
• x2 Starstrung Bow
• x2 Costumed Singer
• x2 Vicious Slitherspear
• x2 Anonymous Informant
• x1 Pozzik, Audio Engineer

Strategy

The name speaks for itself. This deck revolves around playing secrets (and spells in general) and reaping the benefits. The biggest advantage of secrets is their ability to disrupt your opponent’s gameplay flow. This deck allows you to turn any disadvantage into your favor, and when successful, it’s not only immensely fun but also makes you feel like a master tactician.

But how does it achieve this? By skillfully utilizing tempo and generating value!

Cards like Costumed Singer, Trinket Tracker, and Titanforged Traps ensure that you always have a steady supply of spells at your disposal. Then, with cards like Ancient Krakenbane and Starstrung Bow, you can truly capitalize on your spell usage.

Ancient Krakenbane can deal 5 damage to any target of your choosing, provided you’ve cast three spells while it was in your hand. On the other hand, Starstrung Bow is a formidable 5/2 weapon that typically costs 6 mana but becomes (1) cheaper for each secret you’ve triggered during the game. Both of these cards can serve as potent finishers or control tools, adapting to your needs in any given situation.

The unsung heroes of this deck are Bunch of Bananas and Barrel of Monkeys, as both are spells that add more spells to our hand. This feature enables us to trigger spell synergy effects like Vicious Slitherspear and the previously mentioned Ancient Krakenbane with ease.

As with any tempo deck, there can be a bit of a learning curve. However, when played correctly, you’ll be able to run circles around your opponent.

Possible Modifications

Additionally, while I’m uncertain about which cards to remove, I would suggest considering an addition to this deck. Since we run two copies of Titangorged Traps, which feature the “Forge” keyword, I recommend contemplating the inclusion of Ignis, the Eternal Flame in your deck.

Ignis is a free legendary card, and as discussed in the previous deck, it can function as a win condition on its own. The choice is yours, but I strongly suggest you consider it.

Direct Damage Mage

Let’s end our list of the best budget decks in Hearthstone with a fun mage brew that slings spells like nobody’s business. If you’re like me and have a worrying obsession with value, then this is the deck for you (of course, it’s not a problem – I can quit drawing cards anytime I want… I just don’t want to).

Deck Code: AAECAf0EAovnA8WTBQ7a0ATK3gTb3gSCkwWEkwWrmAWAwgXz8gXQ+AXe+AW//gXL/gXY/gXxgAYA

Deck List:

• x2 Arcane Artificer
• x2 Arcane Wyrm
• x2 Discovery of Magic
• x2 Suspicious Alchemist
• x2 Cosmic Keyboard
• x2 Frozen Touch
• x1 Arcsplitter
• x2 Molten Rune
• x2 Nightcloak Sanctum
• x2 Solid Alibi
• x2 Cold Case
• x2 Inquisitive Creation
• x2 Volume Up
• x1 Aegwynn, the Guardian
• x2 Reverberations
• x2 Star Power

Strategy

Unlike our earlier Death Knight deck, this direct damage deck isn’t as overly fast. It makes up for being a bit slower by running more control and protection pieces, as well as a lot more value generation (and I mean a lot more).

As its name suggests, this deck wins by dealing damage directly to the opponent’s face by generating all the spells. All of them.

Arcane Wyrm and Arcsplitter both provide us with Arcane Bolts, which serve as excellent sources of damage. Molten Rune inflicts 3 damage and grants us a random spell (or 6 damage and two random spells if it’s forged).

However, the standout damage-dealer in this deck is Frozen Touch, our MVP. It costs 2 mana and deals 3 damage, but it has Infuse (3), which means that if three of our minions die while it’s in our hand, it grants another copy of Frozen Touch when cast. This lets us keep playing it over and over again, creating a beautiful cycle of damage.

However, the direct damage alone isn’t enough to win us games. All those aggro decks we looked at before will run right over us if we’re not careful. Good thing we are.

Arcane Artificer and Cold Case can both provide us with significant armor, which is crucial since Mage lacks class-specific healing options. As an additional safeguard, we have Solid Alibi. While it costs 2-mana, it restricts sources from dealing more than 1 damage to us at a time until our next turn. Most decks struggle to bypass this effect, making Solid Alibi an excellent panic button to ensure our survival until the next turn.

When combined with our other control tools, like Nightcloak Sanctum and Star Power (or any of our direct damage spells, which can also target minions if necessary), we become quite difficult to kill.

As I mentioned multiple times already, our deck races ahead of the competition on value generation, allowing us to truly outlast our opponents. Bring it all together and we have a stellar deck. Although it leans more toward a mid-range tempo strategy rather than a pure control deck, I still give this one an A+ as an avid control player.

Additionally, since this deck runs a Forge card, I am of course going to suggest considering adding Ignis, the Eternal Flame.