Best Free Decks in Hearthstone, Ranked

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

As of the most recent TITANS expansion for Hearthstone, both new and returning players alike can get a fully built deck for free! Currently, you can choose from six different free decks that are Standard-legal and up to par with modern cards. However, you can only choose one free deck. Naturally, that raises the question – out of all the decks, which one is the best free deck in Hearthstone?

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How to Get a Free Deck in Hearthstone

But first, let’s go over the qualification requirements to even claim one. As mentioned above, you can only claim a free deck if you’re a brand new player or are a returning player who’s been gone for a while.

If you meet either of the requirements, you can then try out the six free decks as “loner decks”. Once you decide on the one you like, you can acquire it permanently for free. But once again, you can only claim one free deck, so you’ll need to choose carefully.

New Player

For the new player route, you’ll (unsurprisingly) have to create a new account. Then you’ll need to complete the tutorial, starting quests, and graduate from the new player ranks. Finishing the tutorial and starting quests is rather self-explanatory.

As for the new player ranks, you’ll automatically be placed in a special beginner’s league where you will not lose rank stars. It will take you a while to win enough matches to graduate from it and unlock access to the normal ranked mode, but you should have a fairly decent grasp of the game by then.

Returning Player

If you are a returning player who hasn’t been active on their account for at least 90 days, you’re also eligible for a free deck. Simply log in, and you’ll be able to claim one.

Best Free Decks in Hearthstone, Ranked Worst to Best

We’ll be evaluating each free Hearthstone deck on three criteria:

1. How good we think the deck’s playability is overall. Rather self-explanatory.
2. How much “value” does the deck provide. Namely how many epic / legendary cards are you getting for free, and what’s the overall dust value of the deck.
3. How useful are those high value cards in other decks. Some cards are largely limited to either a single class or deck archetype, while others are more flexible and can be played across a large variety of decks.

Now without further ado, let’s get into the decks themselves.

Druid – Rampant Growth

Deck Code: AAECAZICBKCwBL/OBK/kBKvgBQ2JnwSunwTanwSuwATV3QTW3gT64gSs7QTL7QS7mAXuowX53wWt4QUAAA==

Deck List:

• 2x Aquatic Form
• 2x Innervate
• 2x Planted Evidence
• 2x Rake
• 2x Chitinous Plating
• 2x Hedge Maze
• 2x Wild Growth
• 1x Rhythm and Roots
• 2x Timber Tambourine
• 2x Nourish
• 2x Death Blossom Whomper
• 2x Masked Reveler
• 1x Colaque
• 2x Drum Circle
• 1x Sesselie of the Fae Court
• 1x Neptulon the Tidehunter
• 2x Stoneborn General

At number 6 on this list, we have the Druid deck (Rampant Growth). The reason this deck gets the lowest rank on our list is because it scores fairly “meh” across our entire criteria. The legendary cards aren’t bad, and most of them go into other decks reasonably well (especially Neptulon the Tidehunter), but that’s the only real selling point for this free deck.

At first glance, Rampant Growth may look like a run-of-the-mill ramp deck. The plan is to get extra mana crystals, play big things early, then stomp face. Simple and effective. However, the deck is bit gimmicky than it appears.

While you have some pretty stock standard big beaters (Colaque, Sesselie of the Fae Court, Neptulon the Tidehunter, and Stonehorn General), this deck is also trying to get some deathrattle shenanigans going at the same time (Hedge Maze, Death Blossom Whomper, and Masked Revealer).

This can be hard to pull off effectively and kind of muddles the identity/goal of the deck. If this free deck were polished a bit to commit more towards the ramp playstyle, it could do a lot better.

Hunter – Mister Mukla’s Beastly Band

Deck Code: AAECAR8GqZ8E4Z8E57kEsJMF6soF0/gFDOrpA4iyBMzkBNDkBKeQBaqkBa6kBebKBY/kBfPyBeT1BdL4BQAA

Deck List:

• 2x Bunch of Bananas
• 2x Thornmantle Musician
• 1x Tracking
• 2x Trinket Tracker
• 2x Vicious Slitherspear
• 2x Barrel of Monkeys
• 2x Conjured Arrow
• 2x Selective Breeder
• 2x Spirit Poacher
• 2x Wild Spirits
• 2x Star Power
• 2x Hollow Hound
• 1x Hope of Quel’Thalas
• 1x Mister Mukla
• 2x Faithful Companions
• 1x Hydralodon
• 1x Stranglethorn Heart
• 1x King Krush

At number 5, we have the Hunter deck (Mister Mukla’s Beastly Band). This free deck comes in a step above the Druid deck because we think it’s simply a stronger deck on its own. In terms of overall value, we would give this deck a similar rating to the Druid deck.

This free deck can start putting out pressure early on and keep it going. Even better, this deck can shift as need be between being more aggressive and dealing with your opponent’s board. Most notably though is that the titular Mister Mukla himself, Hollow Hound, and Hydralodon are all great at dealing with a nasty board state/stabilizing yourself.

As a plus, both Mister Mukla and Hydrolon also pose nasty threats to your opponent at the same time. Add onto that Stranglethorn Heart and King Krush (both of which can be very strong finishers or control pieces if need be), and you have a powerhouse of a deck.

Warrior – Embrace the Pain

Deck Code: AAECAQcGi6AEnNQEgdwEiN8EuMUFud0FDP/bBL7iBImDBc2SBY+VBaCZBZGjBerQBevQBezQBfTyBb+iBgAA

Deck List:

• 2x Foul Egg
• 2x Sanguine Depths
• 2x Sunfury Champion
• 2x Verse Riff
• 2x Anima Extractor
• 2x Embers of Strength
• 2x Frightened Flunky
• 1x Instrument Tech
• 2x Jam Session
• 1x Acolyte of Pain
• 2x Chorus Riff
• 2x Imbued Axe
• 2x Light of the Phoenix
• 1x Thori’belore
• 2x Bridge Riff
• 1x Decimator Olgra
• 1x Remornia, Living Blade
• 1x Grommash Hellscream

In the number 4 spot, we have the Warrior deck (Embrace the Pain). This deck is lower in terms of overall value than most of the other decks on this list, as it only give you four epics and three legendaries. However, it scores highly in our book on playability.

It’s a strong aggro deck (an archetype that is viable in pretty much any Hearthstone meta) and fairly straightforward to play, earning it the #4 spot.

The key to this deck is to use synergies with damaging your own minions to generate value and get explosive damage on your opponent. The most obvious example of this is Grommash Hellscream, a key finisher in the deck.

If you have a Sanguine Depths out, you can play Grommash Hellscream on turn 8 and go face for 12 damage. That’s almost half your opponent’s health in one swing. Decimator Olgra is the other big finisher that fits this bill, also being able to hit your opponent for massive damage as soon as they’re played.

On top of that, you also have cards like Acolyte of Pain, which can give you great value with self-damage effects, and Foul Egg, which really puts on the early game pressure when paired with Sanguine Depths. All in all, this is a very strong deck that is also fairly new player friendly. A solid pick.

Paladin – A Legendary Invitation

Deck Code: AAECAZ8FBrCyBIbiBMDiBK+TBYSWBYWlBQzJoATi0wSA4gS/4gTy7QSrkwWBlgWNlgXAxAXBxAX26AW1ngYAAA==

Deck List:

• 2x Righteous Protector
• 2x Sanguine Soldier
• 2x Sinful Sous Chef
• 1x Blood Matriarch Liadrin
• 2x Class Action Lawyer
• 2x Feast and Famine
• 2x For Quel’Thalas!
• 2x Hand of A’dal
• 1x Order in the Court
• 2x Boogie Down
• 2x Disco Maul
• 2x Muckborn Servant
• 2x Horn of the Windlord
• 1x The Purator
• 1x Anachronos
• 1x The Countess
• 1x The Leviathan
• 2x Lightray

Coming in at number 3, we have the Paladin deck (A Legendary Invitation). In some ways, this deck is the inverse of the Warrior deck. It’s arguably a little bit weaker, but has much better value (the most out of all the free Hearthstone decks actually) with its five legendary cards.

This deck is a fairly aggressive deck (just like its predecessor) with some powerful top end cards. It also falls into a fairly unique, but strong archetype – that being the “pure paladin” archetype.

What this boils down to is a paladin deck that has abilities that only work if your deck runs no neutral cards. The most notable example being The Countess. However, Lightray is also quite strong, being able to be played super early thanks to its cost reduction ability, and The Purator is just amazing card draw.

This deck is fairly straightforward and beats down your opponent’s super hard. While it does not have the explosive finishers that the Warrior deck does, The Countess can overwhelm your opponents. Being able to play some incredibly strong legendaries for no mana (or 3-mana, depending how you look at it) is hard to defend against to say the least.

Shaman – Totemic Mastery

Deck Code: AAECAaoIBLHZBPSgBebkBcKeBg36tATgtQSywQSG1ASq2QTy3QS95QS27QS88ASVqgXl5AXBngbXogYAAA==

Deck List:

• 2x Mistake
• 2x Schooling
• 2x Totemic Evidence
• 2x Tour Guide
• 2x Amalgam of the Deep
• 2x Anchored Totem
• 2x Carving Chisel
• 2x Flametongue Totem
• 1x Grand Totem Eys’or
• 2x Backstage Bouncer
• 1x The Stonewright
• 2x Bloodlust
• 2x Famished Fool
• 1x Magatha, Bane of Music
• 1x Rotgill
• 2x Thing from Below
• 2x Gigantotem

The number 2 free deck is the Shaman deck (Totemic Mastery). This deck scores really high on playability, solid on value, and admittedly bad on transferability of cards to other decks. That being said, we still think it strongly deserves the number 2 spot.

This deck is very persistent and able to flood the board really quickly. You might think at first glance that totems are fairly weak overall. While this is true, the deck runs enough buffs and strong cards to turn those totems into serious threats.

But what makes this deck truly strong is that it can keep generating minion after minion. Regularly having a full board is not that unreasonable of an expectation for this deck, and it can recover from multiple board wipes/clears and heavy control.

Totemic Evidence is the strongest card for this, as it’s so easy to get the infuse trigger in this deck that you’ll regularly be getting four minions for 1-mana. Tour Guide and Carving Chisel are also great cards to help you flood the board. Add in Mistake, Schooling, and Amalgam of the Deep, and you’ll almost never run out of minions.    

Plus, since the dawn of Hearthstone, experienced players have known to fear a shaman with a full board, even if that board has low attack power. Why? One word – Bloodlust.

If you have a full board, Bloodlust gives you 21 extra attack power for 5-mana. This wins you many games right there. Even without a full board of 7 minions, Bloodlust can demolish your opponents.

On top of that, you have some useful cards (Grand Totem Eys’or, The Stonewright and Anchored Totem) that grant permanent buffs and are all quite strong in this deck. They can turn your board of 0/2 and 1/1 minions into a serious threat in no time. Pair them with Bloodlust to really devastate your opponents.

And then there’s Rotgill. He doesn’t immediately buff your board, but he makes it so that each time one of your minions die, your other minions get stronger. This is a bit slower than the other buffs, but it punishes your opponent for removing your minions, making it very potent indeed.

The final thing that puts this deck over the edge is that it also sneaks in some raw power to go along with its buffs. Both Thing from Below and Gigantotem can be dropped super early and turn the tide almost instantly. Additionally, Backstage Bouncer can turn a weak board into pure unadulterated raw stats out of nowhere. All these factors come together to make this a nasty deck indeed.

Mage – Arcane Power

Deck Code: AAECAf0EBIvnA6neBKaTBdH4BQ3a0ATK3gTb3gT67ASCkwWEkwXFkwWqmAWrmAWCogWAwgXQ+AXe+AUAAA==

Deck List:

• 2x Arcane Artificer
• 2x Arcane Bolt
• 2x Arcane Wyrm
• 2x Suspicious Alchemist
• 2x Cosmic Keyboard
• 2x Frozen Touch
• 1x Infinitize the Maxitude
• 2x Prismatic Elemental
• 2x Arcsplitter
• 2x Nightcloak Sanctum
• 2x Solid Alibi
• 2x Cold Case
• 1x Commander Sivara
• 2x Volume Up
• 1x Aegwynn, the Guardian
• 1x Vexallus
• 2x Deathborne

Holding the number 1 spot is the Mage deck (Arcane Power). We’ll be honest, it was a tough call between the Mage and Shaman decks on which should be number 1.

Both are very strong, but the Mage deck edged out a win due to its cards having more flexibility across a range of Mage decks, whereas the cards in the Shaman deck are fairly specific to its archetype.

It should be no surprise to anyone who has read our previous Hearthstone articles that one of the things we value most in decks is, well, value. Especially in Hearthstone, value generation is king. Naturally, this leads to a bit of a personal bias for control decks, but that’s not our bias talking when we say that this deck is incredibly strong.

Practically every card in this free deck gives you more cards, doubles your cards, or gives you free minions. We’re glad you can’t see us drooling, but in all seriousness, this deck is most definitely lives up to its name. Arcane Power indeed!

Without a doubt, the best card in this deck is Infinitize the Maxitude. It just gives you so many spells over the course of the game that there isn’t much room for debate. But Commander Sivara, Volume Up, and Vexallus are the other MVPs of this deck. Oh, and Frozen Touch. We can’t forget about Frozen Touch, especially with the amount of times it has killed us…

Frozen Touch is often our finisher paired with all the value generation, as we can use it to go face and it’s repeatable. In theory, we can drop a Vexallus followed by double Frozen Touch in a single turn for 12 damage to face. And if infuse is triggered, we can end that interaction with two Frozen Touches still remaining in our hand.  

As stated above, this deck is a pure value engine that we love, but it also has solid defensive options outside of removal. This is key because the greatest threats to decks like this one are aggro decks rushing you down before you get to use all that sweat value you generate.

Arcane Artificer and Solid Alibi are specifically the anti-aggro tools that can save you time and time again. Arcane Artificer is a great source of armor, essentially giving Mage healing, which is something they rarely have access to. Plus, since Arcane Artificer is a 1-mana minion, you can start gaining that armor early, which can be crucial against aggro. As for Solid Alibi, it just shuts down a lot of aggressive decks. In many cases, it will limit them to a maximum of 7 damage, meaning they simply can’t kill you on their turn, and one extra turn against an aggro deck can be huge.

Additionally, the sheer value that Infinitize the Maxitude provides means you’ll want to run it in almost every Mage deck ever. For this reason alone, the free Mage deck wins the criteria of having the most transferability of cards. The fact that the most of the other cards in the deck are solid across the board doesn’t hurt.

While this free deck doesn’t have the highest pure dust value, it’s still rather good. Taking all of that into consideration makes this the best option out of all the free decks in Hearthstone.

Join the High Ground

We hope this article has helped you narrow down which of the free decks in Hearthstone is the best for you! Do you agree with our rankings and reasons, or do you think another deck should be ranked higher?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more gaming content!

Enjoy the free deck and have fun climbing that ladder!