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Reviewed by Jeffrey Hsu
In Hearthstone, beyond the normal deck archetypes, each class has certain sub-themes/mechanics that they specialize in, and Warrior is no exception. In this guide, we’re going to look at the top-tier Hearthstone Warrior deck for standard, which uses a deadly combination of two of the most famous Warrior themes – aggro and enrage.
Watch out, or this deck will run right over you.
Enrage Warrior Deck Strategy
For those who are unfamiliar, Enrage used to be a keyword in Hearthstone that has since been removed from cards, though it is still commonly used in Hearthstone slang (especially in reference to Warrior). Enrage cards were cards that got benefits when they were damaged.
Similarly, a while ago, Hearthstone introduced the keyword Frenzy. Frenzy abilities trigger when the unit with Frenzy takes damage but survives. Unsurprisingly, this Enrage Warrior deck focuses on damaging our minions to pile on damage to our opponents. Once we get into the decklist and start talking about the individual cards, you’ll see just how effective this strategy can be.
Enrage Warrior Deck List
As per usual, we’ll start you off with a list of each card in this deck. Then, we’ll go in depth on each card choice by rarity, starting with the legendary cards and working our way down from there.
Here’s the list:
- Sanguine Depths x2.
- Sunfury Champion x2.
- Warsong Envoy x2.
- Anima Extractor x2.
- Crazed Wretch x2.
- Crooked Cook x2.
- Cruel Taskmaster x2.
- Embers of Strength x2.
- Imbued Axe x2.
- Rokara x1.
- Hawkstrider Rancher x2.
- Blademaster Okani x1.
- Blademaster Samuro x1.
- Light of the Phoenix x2.
- Thori’Belore x1.
- Whirling Combatant x2
- Decimator Olgra x1.
- Rokara, the Valorous x1.
Legendaries
Rokara (Minion)
The first legendary in our deck is Rokara, a 2/3 with Rush for three mana. As long as it is on the battlefield when any of our minions attack, if they survive, they get a permanent +1/+1.
Rokara can come out as early as turn three (or turn two with The Coin), and this ability is incredible for our deck. Whether our Rush minions are attacking enemy threats, or we are just going face, the buffs are going to pile up quickly. Rokara is a must-have for this deck.
Blademaster Okani (Minion)
Blademaster Okani is a 2/6 for four mana with a Battlecry where you secretly choose a minion or spell. The next card your opponent plays of the chosen type is countered (as long as Okani is still on the field).
Blademaster Okani (Minion)
Blademaster Okani is solid in most decks and can definitely provide us with some nice tempo (or more accurately ruin your opponent’s tempo). That being said, I would not personally list Blademaster Okani as a must-have for this deck. While very good, he doesn’t help our aggro/enrage strategy.
Blademaster Samuro (Minion)
Blademaster Samuro is much more on-brand and ready to give us some great value. He is a 1/6 for four mana with Rush, and Frenzy: deal damage equal to this minion’s attack to all enemy minions.
This lets him either get a bunch of damaged minions on the board to synergize with various cards in our deck, or if you buff him first, he can straight up wipe our opponent’s board with one attack. Either way, we definitely want Blademaster Samuro in our deck.
Thori’Belore (Minion)
Thori’Belore is our next legend in the deck. This phoenix is a 4/4 for four mana with Rush. When it dies, it goes dormant and revives when we cast a fire spell. It can be revived twice per game this way.
This can be a solid tempo play. However, the deck only runs a total of four fire spells out of thirty cards. Sure, you only need two for Thori’Belore, but that does mean triggering the revive ability is not as consistent as you might like. Overall, I would say Thori’Belore is a very solid card in our deck, but not absolutely essential, so if you don’t have the legendary slot, then it is probably okay.
Decimator Olgra (Minion)
The above statement is not true for Decimator Olgra. Olgra is a 3/7 for six mana with a Battlecry: gain +1/+1 for each damaged minion, then attack all enemies.
In our deck, we can easily get four or more damaged minions on the board when we trigger this effect, which would mean we are paying six mana to deal seven damage to all enemies. That most likely wipes the enemy board while also doing seven damage to face, and it could be even more.
Remember, this ability counts our damaged minions and our opponent’s damaged minions. Without a doubt, Decimator Olgra is a must-have for this deck.
Rokara, the Valorous (Hero)
Our final legendary in the deck is the hero card Rokara, the Valorous. For seven mana, we get a new hero that gives us ten armor and equips a 5/2 weapon named Unstoppable Force. When this weapon attacks an enemy minion, that minion is flung into the enemy hero, dealing them damage equal to the minion’s attack. This weapon is super flexible, allowing us to either go face directly for five, or control our enemy board without missing out on damage to face.
Rokara, the Valorous also comes with a fancy new hero power called Grand Slam. For two mana, we deal two damage to any target we want. And if we get an honorable kill (deal the exact health of the target as damage), we gain four armor. Talk about versatility. We can either go face, control our opponent’s board, or damage our own minions to trigger our enrage/frenzy abilities. Rokara, the Valorous is so strong in our deck that it would be foolish not to run it.
Gromash Hellscream (Minion)
This card is not officially on our list, but I wanted to add it as an honorable mention as it could be very strong and is worth considering. Grommash Hellscream is a 4/9 with charge for eight mana, but if he takes damage, he gains +6 attack.
At eight mana, he is a bit pricey for an aggro deck. However, we have so many ways to deal damage to Grommash in our deck that he will often be an eight-mana burst of ten damage to the enemy hero, which is a great way to kill your opponent out of nowhere.
Now, I will admit that aggro is not my main deck archetype for TCGs and OCGs (for those paying attention to my deck guides, you’ve probably guessed I am a control player at heart), but I do think Grommash Hellscream might be worth subbing into the deck. I sure know I’ve died far too many times to an unexpected Grommash Hellscream.
Epics
Sunfury Champion (Minion)
Sunfury Champion is our first epic, a 1/3 minion for one mana. Whenever a fire spell is cast, Sunfury Champion deals one damage to all minions. Although this deck has only four fire spells, we want all the damaging minion effects we can get in our deck. And at only one mana, Sunfury Champion is such a good enabler that we need to include it in the deck.
Hawkstrider Rancher (Minion)
Our other epic is Hawkstrider Rancher. For three mana, we get a 2/5 minion. While Hawkstrider Rancher is on the battlefield, any minion we play gets a permanent +1/+1 and a Deathrattle that summons a 1/1.
This ability does not interact directly with our enrage mechanic, but Hawkstrider Rancher is a mainstay of standard aggro decks for a reason. A +1/+1 buff as well as giving us a new minion on death is great for any aggro deck. This will let us put on the pressure and keep it on. Don’t underestimate those 1/1s.
Rares
Sanguine Depths (Location)
Sanguine Depths is the poster child for the rares in this deck (hence the above screenshot). For one mana, we get a three-durability location. Sanguine Depths’ ability is to deal one damage to a minion and give it +2 attack. This is our best enabler in the deck for several reasons.
First off, dealing one damage to a minion lets us safely trigger any enrage/frenzy ability we might have, and the +2 attack is a very nice bonus. Second, as a location, we can activate Sanguine Depths immediately when played or wait until we have a good combo, making it very flexible and a great turn one play in our deck. Finally, as a location, it is hard for our enemies to remove it. If you are not running Sanguine Depths, then you do not understand this deck.
Warsong Envoy (Minion)
Warsong Envoy is our next rare. Warsong Envoy is a 1/3 for one mana and has Frenzy: gain 1 attack for each damaged character. Not only does that count himself, but also both heroes. He easily gains insane damage for a one-mana minion and is a definite auto-include in our deck.
Embers of Strength (Spell)
Embers of Strength is the first fire spell in our deck. For two mana, we summon two 1/2 guards with Taunt. However, if we get Manathirst (6) (play it when we have six mana crystals or more), then the guards get +1/+2. This card is solid and flexible tempo in addition to enabling our fire spell synergies. Definitely worth including.
Crooked Cook (Minion)
Our final rare (while not Sanguine Depths) is an all-star in their own right. Crooked Cook is a 1/4 for two mana. At the end of our turn, if we dealt three or more damage to the enemy hero, we draw a card.
One of aggro’s biggest weaknesses (or balancing factors depending on how you want to look at it) is running out of gas early. Any card draw is appreciated, especially a solid source like this.
Commons
Anima Extractor (Minion)
Anima Extractor is our first common and a perfect example of this deck’s theme. For two mana, we get a 1/4 that gives a random minion in our hand +1/+1 whenever one of our minions is damaged. I don’t need to tell you why this card is great in our deck.
Crazed Wretch (Minion)
Crazed Wretch is also amazing for us. For two mana, we get a 1/4 that has +2 attack and Charge while damaged. Charge is rarely printed on cards these days, making Crazed Wretch a super valuable piece of burst damage to the face.
Cruel Taskmaster (Minion)
Cruel Taskmaster is a 2/3 for two mana that has a Battlecry that deals one damage to a minion and gives it +2 attack. Sound familiar? That’s because it is identical to Sanguine Depths’ ability, and boy, do we love that redundancy.
Imbued Axe (Weapon)
Imbued Axe is our next common. For three mana, we get a 2/3 weapon. Whenever we attack with it, we give our damaged minions +1/+2. This is good enough to include on its own, but if our axe triggers infuse (2) (i.e., it was in our hand while two of our minions died), then we boost that to +2/+2 to our damaged minions.
Imbued Axe lets us go face (or kill enemy minions if we absolutely have to) and rewards us for it with more damage. Yes, please.
Light of the Phoenix (Spell)
Light of the Phoenix is our other fire spell in the deck. It costs four mana and draws us two cards. However, it costs (1) less for each damage friendly character. Draw two for zero mana? Can I get another yes, please?
Whirling Combatant (Minion)
And finally, we have Whirling Combatant, a 3/6 for four mana, Whirling Combatant deals one damage to all minions on Battlecry and on Frenzy, making for a stellar enabler to round out our deck.
Join the High Ground!
And there you have your Enrage Warrior deck, widely considered the best Warrior deck in Hearthstone. Let us know in the comments how the deck works out for you, and whether or not you would swap out any cards. We’re always looking to update our guides with better strategies!
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Happy gaming!
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