Image: Blizzard via HGG / Jeffrey Hsu
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Reviewed by Jeffrey Hsu
In Hearthstone, the cards you acquire are broken down by rarity (ranging from common to legendary). As you would probably expect, the higher the rarity of the card, the better it is – and this is true in most cases. However, the exception to this rule in Hearthstone is epic cards.
Most epic cards are highly specialized, good for a specific strategy or gimmick, but lackluster otherwise. However, some epics are just generally good or possess a gimmick relevant to the current meta. Those are the cards we’ll be discussing in today’s article, as we go over the top 10 best epic cards in the current Standard Hearthstone meta.
Foreword
Before we dive into the top ten list, we want to mention a few things.
- This list is specifically for Standard, not Wild.
- We will only be looking at neutral epics for this list. As class-specific cards require evaluating more factors unique to each class, it’d be best to do a separate list for them. For now, we’ll focus on epic cards that any class or deck could run in Hearthstone.
10 Best Epic Cards in Hearthstone (Standard), Ranked
Let’s begin! We’ll be working our way down to the best epic card.
Audio Amplifier
The first entry on our list is the card Audio Amplifier – a 2/3 mech for 2-mana with a battlecry that sets your maximum hand size and mana to eleven.
Its stats are passable for its mana cost; a vanilla 2/3 for 2-mana wouldn’t normally be run in a deck, but it’s not terrible. Ability-wise, an extra hand slot and mana crystal are good for any class, but it’s not anything particularly amazing. Additionally, certain decks just don’t gain any real value from the effect.
For example, aggro decks do not care about the extra card or mana, as said bonuses will rarely (if ever) factor into any decisions. Plus, an aggro deck would want something with better and more aggressive stats.
Since Audio Amplifier is good most of the time, but never great, it gets the #10 spot on this list.
Big Game Hunter
Coming in at #9 on our list is Big Game Hunter – a 4/2 for 4-mana with a battlecry that destroys a minion that has 7 or more attack.
Big Game Hunter’s stats are low for its mana cost, but it makes up for it with a solid ability. That being said, most classes will just have access to better removal than Big Game Hunter, but he’s still a solid pick for getting rid of big threats and putting a 4/2 body on the board.
Additionally, the aforementioned better removal options won’t always fit into your deck. Since Big Game Hunter is a neutral card, he’s a reliable pick for removal regardless of what deck you’re playing, securing him the #9 spot.
Storm Giant
Coming in at #8 (fittingly), we have from the most recent TITANS set – Storm Giant, an 8/8 giant for 8-mana with taunt. She also makes use of the new forge keyword ability, which lets you spend 2 mana to upgrade the card by dragging it from your hand to your deck.
In the case of Storm Giant, her upgrade is that she costs 2 mana less. However, unlike most forge cards which can only be forged once, she can be forged any number of times.
Now, an 8/8 taunt for 8-mana is a perfectly fine card, but that alone would be more in line with a strong common or a weaker rare, not an epic. What makes Storm Giant good is the versatility in when you can play her.
Simply hold her in your hand and reduce her cost on any turn that you have two spare mana leftover. It’ll let you efficiently use your mana and enables dropping an early (or just cheap) 8/8 taunt. This flexibility more than warrants her spot on our list of the best epic cards in Hearthstone.
Primordial Drake
At #7, we have Primordial Drake – a 4/8 dragon for 8-mana with taunt and a battlecry that does 2 damage to all other minions.
Let’s compare this card to Storm Giant above. Both have the same base cost and have taunt, but Storm Giant has 4 more attack and can reduce its own mana cost. So why does Primordial Drake’s battlecry make it a whole rank higher on this list? To answer that we need to look at the purpose of a taunt minion.
Taunt of course is the keyword that says minions with taunt must be attacked before any other targets. It’s primarily a defensive ability, more specifically, taunt minions are most commonly run as an anti-aggro tool. In this respect, Primordial Drake is far better than Storm Giant.
Against a lot of aggressive decks, Primordial Drake’s battlecry is an effective board wipe/clear. Its 4 attack is more than enough to trade with a majority of minions in an aggro deck, so the loss of 4 attack compared to Storm Giant isn’t much of a downside.
Thanks to doing its job better as a taunt minion, Primordial Drake secures the #7 spot.
Razorscale
Coming in at #6, we have Razorscale – a 2/4 dragon for 3-mana with an effect that prevents cards from costing less than 2-mana.
This is one of those gimmicky epic cards that we mentioned earlier, but its gimmick is specifically relevant to the current meta. In this case, Razorscale is known as a tech card – a card that you run as an answer to a specific card or deck archetype that you’re likely to encounter.
In the current meta for Standard, mechs are a highly supported tribe. They’re also a highly aggressive tribe, often coming with abilities that reduce their cost – enabling a player to flood the board early and overwhelm their opponent. That’s where Razorscale comes in.
You can play Razorscale as early as turn 3 and really force mech decks to slow down for a bit. Given how much mechs are supported across multiple classes (Paladin and Mage especially), it’s incredibly useful and pertinent to have an answer to them.
Razorscale is also strong against other types of aggro, but its main usage against mechs in the current meta is what grants it the #6 spot for best epic cards in Hearthstone.
Hawkstrider Rancher
Taking the #5 spot is the card Hawkstrider Rancher – a 2/5 minion for 3-mana. While she’s on the board, dhe gives minions you play +1/+1 and a deathrattle that summons a 1/1 Hawkstrider.
We’re moving away from anti-aggro cards like Razorscale and Primordial Drake to one of aggro’s best friends. Hawkstrider Rancher is especially good for any of the go-wide aggro strategies that rely on always having a full board to get their early kills. This can go well in the aforementioned mech deck, as well as murlocs and silver hand recruits to name a few more.
Unfortunately, it only triggers on minions you play, not minions you summon. This is to prevent it from going infinite with itself.
Despite the lack of synergy with your other token generators, Hawkstrider Rancher is still great in most aggro builds. It’s also worth noting that its rather generous 5 health can make it a pain to remove, something that you shouldn’t neglect to account for.
Since aggro has a place in nearly any Hearthstone meta (with the current Standard being no exception), Hawkstrider Rancher snags the middle spot on this list at #5.
Vulpera Scoundrel
At number 4, we have Vulpera Scoundrel – a 2/3 minion for 3-mana with a battlecry that lets you discover a spell. However, if you don’t like any of your three options, you can choose the mystery choice and get a random spell from your class that wasn’t listed as one of your options.
It is worth noting that the spells you can chose from are all Standard legal, so no hoping for Wild cards. Even with these limitations, Vulpera Scoundrel is quite strong. Value generation, either from drawing cards or literally generating new ones (such as this case) is one of the strongest things you can do in Hearthstone.
This is true for anyone, but control decks especially love this – even more so with Vulpera Scoundrel, since it gives them spells. Death Knights in particular can get incredible value out of Vulpera Scoundrel.
Normally, Death Knight decks are limited by the rune system. They have account for which rune slots they’re running, and which cards can be respectively slotted into their deck to match said runes, limiting their options.
However, the spells Vulpera Scoundrel generates are not bound by the runes you built your deck with. For example – in an all frost rune deck, you could get a spell that typically requires having three blood runes, leading to some truly nasty combos.
Since Vulpera Scoundrel is a great source of value generation and can be arguably broken in Death Knight decks, it has a well deserved spot at #4.
Insatiable Devourer
We’re now moving into the coveted top three positions. At #3, we have Insatiable Devourer – a 4/4 minion for 9-mana. Its default battlecry lets you devour an enemy minion and give Insatiable Devourer its stats.
However, it also has an infuse (5) mechanic. If it was in your hand and “saw” five of your minions die before being played, Insatiable Devourer will also devour the neighbors of the targeted enemy minion.
No matter how you look at it, Insatiable Devourer is just a strong card. Yes, it’s expensive as a 9-mana card, but not only can you shut down an opponent’s scary board state, but it can also immediately become a massive threat.
We’ve been subjected to that reversal of fortunes many times, and not only is it nasty, it’s incredibly hard to deal with. If you don’t have a way to remove an Insatiable Devourer immediately, then you’re probably just dead. That more than warrants its position as one of the top three best epic cards in Hearthstone.
School Teacher
Coming in at #2 on our list is School Teacher – a 4/4 naga for 4-mana (for your knowledge, that was four fours if you count “for” as a four).
It comes with a battlecry that adds a 1/1 Nagaling for 1-mana to your hand. It then discovers a spell that costs 3 or less and “teaches” it to the Nagaling in your hand. This means that when you play the Nagaling, the spell you discovered will be cast as well.
This card is similar to Vulpera Scoundrel, only better, as it gives you a 4/4 body for 4-mana and a free spell off of a 1/1. The stats here can actually be quite nasty, and you have the chance to cast a 3-mana spell for only 1-mana (while getting another body on the board as well).
All in all, School Teacher is just a very efficient card, generating you value and giving you good stats for the cost. While it doesn’t have the raw power that the previous card on our list does, its relatively early play potential, solid value, and efficiency put it slightly ahead and give it the #2 rank.
Amalgam of the Deep
It should be no surprise that coming in at the coveted #1 spot is Amalgam of the Deep – a 2/3 minion for 2-mana that has all minion types. It also has a battlecry that lets you chose a friendly minion and discover another minion that shares a type with it.
Tribal decks such as murlocs, mechs, pirates etc. have been a staple of Hearthstone from the beginning of the game back in 2014, and they have only gotten more support as time has gone on. From a purely optimizing standpoint, Amalgam of the Deep should be played in every tribal deck you build.
First off, Amalgam of the Deep lets you discover a minion from your tribe. As we said before, value generation is king. Often times, tribal cards will generate more value for their tribe, making Amalgam of the Deep the king of kings as it were.
Remember when we said Amalgam of the Deep has all minion types? That’s right, not only will it give you more cards from your tribe, it will also trigger any tribal synergies you have as well. Another thing you shouldn’t overlook is that it can (and optimally should) slot into every tribal deck you build.
Using our earlier example, if you have murloc deck, a mech deck, and a pirate deck, then you have one card that can go in all three! Although you will need 800 dust to craft two Amalgam of the Deep cards, it’s well worth the cost.
Thanks to its sheer versatility and usefulness, Amalgam of the Deep reigns supreme as the #1 epic card in Hearthstone Standard.
Join the High Ground!
Now you know what epic cards to look out for in Hearthstone for the new Standard meta that came with the TITANS expansion!
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more gaming content!
Happy crafting!
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