What are the best free decks for the latest expansion?

They say you get what you pay for, and when it comes to free Hearthstone decks this expansion they are certainly right. Out of 10 possible decks, no single choice is amazing, and quite a few are outright rubbish, unfit for anything but providing you with a couple of choice Legendaries. This leaves us, the players, tasked with making the best of it, essentially panning for diamonds in the muck. Reading through these lists, keep in mind that we’re going for Legendaries and other over-performing cards instead of mechanically sound decks. Gentlefolk, grab your rubber suits: we’re going in.

5) Darkmoon Menagerie - Druid

Inside you, there are two wolves (sold separately).

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason to this deck apart from “ramp up, play big minions, maybe win.” The fact that it made it to this list should tell you what we’re working with. It has possibly the best value for N’Zoth, God of the Deep, and the 5-cost Beasts allied with Guardian Animals are a well-worn package in Clown Druid. If you’re looking to make Druid work then this is a great starting point, but quite a few Epics away from a meta deck. 

Why You Should Pick This Deck

• You should pick this deck if you really like Druid. Basically, that’s it. It’s not the most cost-effective pick, nor does the card choice really give itself to wild flights of imagination. 
• You get Guess the Weight and Guardian Animals, two Epics you’ll see a lot of if you run into any Druids while on ladder. Sadly, you only get one Guess the Weight, and Teacher’s Pet doesn’t really make up for it. 
• Moonfang! Moonfang is a great Neutral Legendary and a constant in all ramp Druid decks. Pairs great with Guardian Animals, and if your Claw Machines get a hold of him… 
• I don’t know why Blizzard has such a fascination with N’Zoth, and certainly in this deck it’s nicer to have him than not, but… He doesn’t really work. There’s more synergy in one-tribe cards than all-tribe cards, and even with Fizzy Elemental there’s little reason to run him in ladder. However, if you’re piloting this deck as-is, it’s probably the best value you can get out of the God of the Deep. 

Cards

2x (0) Lightning Bloom

2x (1) Nature Studies

1x (2) Guess the Weight

2x (3) Bogbeam

2x (3) Dreaming Drake

2x (3) Imprisoned Satyr

2x (4) Circus Amalgam

2x (4) Overgrowth

1x (5) Moonfang

1x (5) Teacher’s Pet

2x (5) Twilight Runner

2x (6) Claw Machine

2x (7) Umbral Owl

2x (8) Guardian Animals

2x (9) Fizzy Elemental

1x (10) N’Zoth, God of the Deep

2x (10) Scrapyard Colossus

4) Infinite Doomhammer - Shaman

As far as I can tell you just swing this thing around in a circle until everyone is dead.

Now we start to get into decks that share a passing resemblance with something we could find on ladder. Infinite Doomhammer is the free version of Aggro Shaman, the deck that takes your Hero and makes him into a whirlwind of doom and destruction. And this pick doesn’t give you just the basics; oh no. You get the essential Legendaries at the center of the hurricane.

Why You Should Pick This Deck

• Aggro Shaman isn’t among the best decks in the competitive scene, but it’s getting there. With just a few add-ons like Bloodmage Thalnos and cards from the Forged in the Barrens expansion, you can turn this rough draft into a powerhouse. 
• In fact, one of the most expensive cards, Devolving Missiles, is also one of the worst-performing cards in the deck. Get it for the value, trade it for something more aggressive. 
• Both Legendaries provided are excellent value for the deck and seem to fit into any Shaman archetype that rises up in the coming expansions. Instructor Fireheart in particular has no downsides and gives you something whenever she’s played. 
• The Doomhammer, Inara Stormcrash, and Rockbitter combo is a game-closing doozy, and you don’t need any more than what you’re given to make it work. Out of all the decks in this list, this one is probably the most synergistic. 

Cards

2x (0) Lightning Bloom

2x (1) Devolving Missiles

2x (1) Guidance

2x (1) Lightning Bolt

2x (1) Novice Zapper

2x (1) Primordial Studies

2x (2) Cagematch Custodian

2x (2) Diligent Notetaker

2x (2) Imprisoned Phoenix

2x (2) Landslide

2x (2) Rockbiter Weapon

1x (3) Instructor Fireheart

2x (3) Molten Blast

2x (3) Stormstrike

2x (5) Doomhammer

1x (5) Inara Stormcrash

3) Brainpower - Mage

Behind blue eyes there’s nothing but Devolving Missiles.

Speaking of decks that approach what we’re seeing in the meta, here’s the Mage deck. Mage certainly provides us with a couple of interesting picks, and, with the rise of the new Spell Damage deck, many of these might actually find a home in constructed. Mage also has the most expensive deck of the set, making it a good choice for those who are simply looking for a pile of d`Dust. 

Why You Should Pick This Deck

• Brainpower shares a whopping 20 cards with the current best-performing Mage deck, many of these class staples. 
• Among the useful Rares, we find Brain Freeze, Cram Session, and Mask of C’thun, great cards to have in all respects.
• In the Legendary and Epic cards that you can find in good decks, we have Ras Frostwhisper and Devolving Missiles.  Keywarden Ivory also has good filler potential for a Legendary, but currently sees little use. Yogg-Saron, Master of Fate is a nice Neutral Legendary that has figured in competitive decks in the past.
• If you’re actually looking for a deck you can climb the ladder with, you could do much worse than this deck. A few missing staples (Jandice and Kazakus come to mind) hurt its chances, however. 

Cards

2x (1) Babbling Book

2x (1) Brain Freeze

2x (1) Devolving Missiles

2x (1) Lab Partner

2x (1) Primordial Studies

2x (1) Shooting Star

2x (1) Wand Thief

2x (2) Confection Cyclone

2x (2) Conjure Mana Biscuit

2x (2) Cram Session

2x (2) Imprisoned Phoenix

2x (3) Firebrand

1x (5) Keywarden Ivory

1x (5) Ras Frostwhisper

2x (7) Mask of C’Thun

1x (8) Grand Finale

1x (10) Yogg-Saron, Master of Fate

2) Shattered Secrets

Psst. Hey, kid. Want some jewels?

After the recent nerfs, Rogue went from a position of power to one of relative instability. Right now, the class relies on the Secret package to stay alive, which makes this option more appealing than most. All the deck is missing is a few essentials (sadly expensive ones) and you’ll be raring to go. 

Why You Should Pick This Deck

• It shares 19 cards with the current Secret Rogue iteration, which puts you 11 cards away from a competitive deck.
• The Secret Package is almost complete, missing only Bamboozle and compensating with Plagiarize and Shadow Clone. 
• The Epic card Secret Passage is ubiquitous in Rogue Decks, and so is the Legendary Shadowjeweler Hanar. With its 4 health and low cost it can take a bunch of punishment and keep adding value to the board. C’thun is an interesting add as a Neutral Legendary that has been attempted in Spell Mage, for example.
• While the missing Legendaries are numerous enough to be painful (Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, Tenwu, Jandice and Kazakus again), the deck still provides you with enough tools to slowly work your way up to a functioning build.

Cards

2x (0) Backstab

2x (0) Preparation

2x (0) Shadowstep

2x (1) Blackjack Stunner

2x (1) Secret Passage

2x (1) Wand Thief

1x (2) Ambush

2x (2) Cult Neophyte

2x (2) Dirty Tricks

1x (2) Plagiarize

2x (2) Shadow Clone

1x (2) Shadowjeweler Hanar

2x (2) Swindle

2x (3) Sparkjoy Cheat

2x (3) Ticket Master

2x (5) Malevolent Strike

1x (10) C’Thun, the Shattered

1) Justice of the Deep - Paladin

Look, a good card! And this one actually does come in the deck.

Librams! Precious Librams! If you play Hearthstone at all, you know how painful these cards are to play against and how solid the entire package is. And while you don’t get the whole thing in this deck, you do get the vast majority, with Lady Liadrin as the only expensive missing card. As for the rest of the deck… Well, it’s there? 

Why You Should Pick This Deck

• It contains most of the Libram Package, one of the best cores to build a deck around right now.
• The best option for the current meta bar none. But, you say, Mage gets almost a whole playable deck! How can a few measly cards compare to that? Quite easily, actually, for the simple fact that Paladin is a monster right now and Mage is barely managing to keep its head above water. 
• The non-Libram portion of the deck includes Goody Two-shields and Equality as rares, which see play in a few decks.
• In the Legendary and Epic hang-out corner, we have Hammer of the Naaru, an unavoidable staple of the class right now, and Lord Barov, a Warrior-Paladin dual that has seen competitive play before. N’zoth, God of the Deep remains a meme Legendary.

Cards

2x (0) First Day of School

2x (1) Aldor Attendant

2x (1) Animated Broomstick

2x (2) Libram of Wisdom

2x (2) Redscale Dragontamer

1x (3) Equality

2x (3) Goody Two-Shields

1x (3) Lord Barov

2x (4) Circus Amalgam

1x (4) Crimson Hothead

2x (5) Aldor Truthseeker

2x (5) Carousel Gryphon

2x (5) Fleethoof Pearltusk

2x (5) Libram of Justice

2x (6) Hammer of the Naaru

2x (9) Libram of Hope

1x (10) N’Zoth, God of the Deep

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