[Top 10] Hearthstone Best Standard Decks

Updated:

03 May 2024

10. Highlander Warrior (There Can Be Only One)

Shiny!

Might as well kick things off with one of the more controversial additions to this season's meta, Reno! Hearthstone’s first, and currently only, hero card. His board-clearing ability is one of the best in the game which combined with limiting the enemy to a single board slot for a turn makes Reno a devastating turn 8 option.

His hero power is nothing to sneeze at either. These effects do of course come at the cost of limiting your deck to a single copy of every card you want and avoiding adding any duplicates during play.

There are a few decks that suit this style of build particularly well, and none more so than the Highlander Warrior deck. Brann’s ability to double every Battlecry you play for the rest of the game is an almost guaranteed win with the right build *cough* Astalor *cough*.

Deck Strengths

Doubled Battlecries as early as turn 6. An absolute game-changer that makes decent cards into fantastic cards.
Reno. A devastating board clear if you can hold on til turn 8.
Odyn, Prime Designate. Still a powerhouse card especially combined with a windfury weapon.
Boomboss Tho’Grun. The card that you perhaps least wish to see as an opposing player. Devastates the hand, board AND deck of your opponent at the cost of adding duplicate cards to your deck (save for late game if possible)

Highlander Warrior Card List

1 Shield Slam
1 Slam
1 Astalor Bloodsworn
1 Bash
1 Bladestorm
1 Blast Charge
1 Dirty Rat
1 Kobold Miner
1 Needlerock Totem
1 Shield Block
1 Stoneskin Armorer
1 Asvedon, the Grandshield
1 Bellowing Flames
1 Gaslight Gatekeeper
1 Reinforced Plating
1 Rustrot Viper
1 Steam Guardian
1 Aftershocks
1 Craftsman’s Hammer
1 Igneous Lavagorger
1 Ignis, the Eternal Flame
1 Schoolteacher
1 Brawl
1 Sanitize
1 Deepminer Brann
1 Theotar the Mad Duke
1 Trial by Fire
1 Badlands Brawler
1 Boomboss Tho’Grun
1 Reno, the Lone Ranger

9. Mech Rogue

I bringed you a present.

While Mining Rogue has certainly become a formidable build with the addition of Drilly the Kid, the more mechanically focused Rogue still edges it out competitively. These decks focus on building up one or two giant minions by magnetizing smaller mechs together and adding devastating abilities in the process.

This is best served by buffing the mechs in your hand which you can then graft onto your mechs in the field to bypass summoning sickness. Very difficult to combat if you manage to keep even a single mech alive through the first few rounds of play.

Mech Rogue Strengths

Strong Aggro. Come out swinging with multiple mechs playable on turn 1, and buffed by turn 2.
Synergistic Minions. Mechs are one of the better minion types for playing off of each other, surpassed only by murlocs and maybe imps.
Magnetization. Skip summoning sickness by simply attaching the mechs in your hand to those you've already played.
V-07-TR-0N Prime. This deck is built around this TIT4N, and its buffing abilities are no joke.

Mech Rogue Card List

2 Preparation
2 Click-Clocker
2 Drone Deconstructor
2 Frequency Oscillator
2 Gear Shift
2 From the Scrapheap
2 Invent-o-matic
2 Pit Stop
1 Security Automaton
2 Serrated Bonespike
2 Coppertail Snoop
1 Mimiron, the Mastermind
2 SP-3Y3-D3R
2 Scourge Illusionist
1 Ini Stormcoil
2 Mothership
1 V-07-TR-0N Prime

8. Totem Shaman

Totem power activate!

Next up is a staple of the game, good old Totem Shaman. The recent addition of Shroomscavate adds new spice to what could otherwise be a very tired recipe.

Nothing quite so aggravating as getting your opponent down to a single minion only to see that minion sprout a Divine Shield and double attacks at the drop of a hat. Add Bloodlust on top of that and the incredible buffing power of Grand Totem Eye’Sor and you have a deadly combo on your hands.

Totem Shaman Strengths

Early Board Domination. Totems are cheap and easy to mass produce early on.
Ruinous Buffs. Bloodlust, Shroomscavate, and Eye’Sor add immense punch to the normally shrimpy totems.
Golganeth the Thunderer. The Shaman’s signature Titan is a one-card game changer with incredible flexibility. Turn your opponent's BBEG to ash, mow down a hoard while healing your side of the board, or breathe fresh life into your hand, your choice.

Totem Shaman Card List

2 Mistake
2 Totemic Evidence
2 Tour Guide
2 Amalgam of the Deep
2 Ancestral Knowledge
2 Anchored Totem
2 Carving Chisel
2 Jam Session
2 Needlerock Totem
2 Trusty Companion
1 Grand Totem Eye’Sor
2 Shroomscavate
1 The Stonewright
1 Bloodlust
1 Golganeth the Thunderer
2 Thing From Below
2 Gigantotem

7. Automaton Priest

Resistance is futile.

Time for everybody’s (my) most hated enemy, the Automaton Priest. A good metric for how effective a deck can be is the sheer amount of blood-boiling rage it induces in a savvy opponent. Few decks, or indeed classes, can match Automaton Priest in this regard.

Be it the titular automaton that never seems to run out of ever stronger copies or the Titan he’s played FOUR TURNS IN A ROW, a canny priest can get under the skin of even the most venerated of Hearthstone players. And now so can you with this handy dandy build guide!

Automaton Priest Strengths

Exponential Potential. Every automaton is stronger than the last and also increases the strength of the existing automatons.
Magnetization. Further buff these monstrosities by adding Ziliax's vast array of abilities to their sheer stat power.
Endless Repetition. Copy after copy after copy after resurrection after copy.
Aman’Thul. Possibly the most frustrating Titan to deal with in the entire game, harness that annoyance again and again!

Automaton Priest Card List

1 Illuminate
2 Animate Dead
2 Astral Automaton
2 Shard of the Naaru
2 The Light! It burns!
2 Celestial Projectionist
2 Creation Protocol
2 Power Chord: Synchronize
2 Thrive in the Shadows
2 Cathedral of Atonement
2 Holy Nova
2 Switcheroo
1 Ignis, the Eternal Flame
2 Clean the Scene
1 Ini Stormcoil
1 Zilliax
1 Ra-Den
1 Aman’Thul

6. Arcane Hunter

Pew pew pew!

If there is one thing that the hunter class excels at it is shooting the opposing player right in the face over and over again. What a time to be a hunter. It may not be particularly flashy, but this spell-based deck tends to get the job done.

Arcane Hunter Strengths

Overwhelming Firepower. The idea with this deck is to buff its plethora of cheap arcane spells into real board clearers. Star Power is already a powerhouse in its vanilla state.
Decent Aggro. Get a lot of secrets and cheap beasts out early as a preventative to enemy shenanigans.
Cheap Mana Cost. This deck tops out at 6 mana cost, you won’t be stuck with an expensive card in your hand for most of a game.

Arcane Hunter Card List

2 Arcane Shot
2 Awakening Tremors
2 Costumed Singer
2 Ricochet Shot
2 Trinket Tracker
2 Cat Trick
2 Conjured Arrow
2 Hidden Meaning
2 Silvermoon Farstrider
2 Titanforged Traps
2 Ancient Krakenbane
2 Eversong Portal
1 Halduron Brightwing
2 Star Power
1 Aggramar, the Avenger
2 Starstrung Bow

5. Rainbow Death Knight

The Lich King has given me true power.

Hearthstone’s newest class continues to stand out for its balance of aggro tactics and long-game potential. Oh no, you foiled my early game rush? Too bad I have all these corpses and infused cards to work with now!

The most balanced version of the death knight is of course the rainbow version, with cards drawn from each of the three rune sets that make up the class as a whole. With the recent addition of Maw and Paw, Reska, and the earth-shattering Climactic Necrotic Explosion this build has never been more viable for competitive play.

Rainbow Death Knight Strengths

Balanced. Draws from all three rune sets giving you a little flavor of frost, blood, and unholy power as well as access to some truly terrifying multi-rune cards.
Aggro and Long Term Potential. Get a lot of weak minions out quickly to try to end things before they start. If that doesn’t pan out the sacrificed minions fuel your higher-end cards.
Climactic Necrotic Explosion. Genuinely one of the most powerful board clearers I’ve come across, randomly improved by every single minion death while it's in your hand. I imagine nerfs are in its future, use it while you can.

Rainbow Death Knight Card List

2 Arms Dealer
2 Tour Guide
2 Gold Panner
2 Mining Casualties
2 Plague Strike
2 Acolyte of Death
2 Crop Rotation
2 Sickly Grimewalker
2 Malignant Horror
1 Maw and Paw
2 Murlocula
2 Quartzite Crusher
2 Corpse Bride
1 The Primus
2 Stitched Giant
1 Climactic Necrotic Explosion
1 Reska, the Pit Boss

4. Secret Mage

Shhh, it's a secret.

Another Hearthstone annoyance hall-of-famer, the secret mage. Nothing quite like having that ace in the hole card countered when you need it most, or holding onto it til it’s too late out of fear of the same.

To then have that same secret counter fuel Orion’s neverending secret generator is a whole other level of frustration. Welcome to Secret Mage.

Secret Mage Strengths

Secrets. Hearthstone’s signature trap cards are ingenious, making your opponent second guess every move they make and punishing them severely if they guess wrong.
Orion, the Mansion Manager. The lynchpin of this deck. He grows stronger every time a secret is triggered and immediately casts ANOTHER secret to take its place. This can go on and on.
Excavation. While your opponent is occupied trying to navigate your labyrinth of secrets, get busy uncovering powerful spells and creatures to put an end to them.

Secret Mage Card List

2 Costumed Singer
2 Anonymous Informant
2 Arcanologist
2 Cryopreservation
2 Frozen Touch
2 Kobold Miner
2 Counterspell
2 Explosive Runes
2 Objection!
1 Blademaster Okani
2 Chatty Bartender
1 Orion, the Mansion Manager
2 Reliquary Researcher
2 Burrow Buster
2 Blastmage Miner
2 Contract Conjurer

3. Treant Druid

The blessings of the forest lord.

While Dragon Druid has been making the rounds of late, and has some powerful late-game potential, Treant Druid is in my opinion the more fearsome build currently. Pure aggro combined with death rattles to combat board clearing makes this deck extremely competitive.

What makes this a particularly top-tier deck to my way of thinking is that it makes for extremely fast games. You’re likely to know if you’re going to win or lose before you hit 10 mana. So either you grind them into dust or you can concede knowing there’s no last-minute hail mary coming with that next draw.

Treant Druid Strengths

Aggro Aggro Aggro. Fill your board and then buff it. Rinse and repeat.
Deathrattles. Give your treants the ability to summon yet more treants when they die, filling your board again and again.
Fast Games. With this deck there will be a clear tipping point into either certain victory or certain defeat and either way it should happen pretty quickly.

Treant Druid Card List

2 Aquatic Form
2 Cactus Construct
2 Forest Seedlings
2 Lingering Zombie
2 Living Roots
2 Witchwood Apple
2 Natural Causes
2 Aerosoilizer
2 Herald of Nature
2 Plot of Sin
2 Soul of the Forest
2 Blood Treant
2 Summer Flowerchild
2 Life From Death
2 Cultivation

2. Sludge Warlock

Welcome to the pain train!

Warlock has always been a high-risk high-reward option, even it’s hero power hurts you in exchange for an extra draw every turn. This new sludge variant is true to form but with a seemingly much higher success rate.

Pack your hand and deck with barrels of sludge and then find ways to cast, discard, or destroy them en masse to decimate your opponent's field and hp. There are numerous ways to accomplish this but none is more effective than utilizing Pop’Gar the Putrid to unload discounted barrels from your hand with life steal added in.

Sludge Warlock Strengths

Flexibility. There are multiple paths to loading up a sludge barrage, adding to either your hand or the bottom of your deck and multiple ways of getting them to trigger.
Target Priority. Once triggered the sludge will start by targeting your opponent's weakest minions first, clearing their board before moving on to face damage.
Risky Aggro. As always warlock manages to get a lot done early on by sacrificing HP and discarding low-cost cards, though the latter can now be leveraged as yet another way to trigger sludge barrels.

Sludge Warlock Card List

2 Flame Imp
2 Fracking
2 Miracle Salesman
2 Monstrous Form
2 Baritone Imp
2 Crescendo
2 Disposal Assistant
1 Elementium Geode
2 Forge of Wills
2 Sludge on Wheels
2 Trogg Gemtosser
2 Trolley Problem
2 Crazed Conductor
1 Pop’Gar the Putrid
2 Waste Remover
2 Chaos Creation

1. Mining Paladin

Diggy diggy hole.

It’s fitting that the final deck should showcase Showdown in the Badlands’ signature mechanic, excavation. Most decks in standard are utilizing a little excavation here and there, Brann Warrior notably really doubles down on it, but the paladin’s divine shields put this deck over the top.

Mining Paladin Strengths

Aggro. Get cheap minions out quickly and keep them alive with divine shields long enough to buff them in the mid-game.
Excavation. Many of the treasures you’ll be able to excavate are particularly suited to this style of deck, cheap minions, cheap buffs, and a lot of summoning power.
Amitus, the Peacekeeper. The Paladin Titan specializes in buffing your board and reducing incoming damage to a manageable size.

Mining Paladin Card List