Blizzard announced with the Year of the Phoenix that we'd see new and returning players receive 1 free deck of their choice from a special set. This guide can help you make a better decision on which deck to take.
- Free decks will be available starting on November 12, 2020.
Criteria to Receive a Free Deck
In order to receive a free deck, you must meet either of these requirements.
- Created a new Hearthstone account.
- You did not sign-in to Hearthstone for the past 4 months starting on April 1, 2020.
Receiving Your Free Deck as a New Hearthstone Player
If you're brand new to Hearthstone, you'll need to complete some extra steps before receiving your free deck.
- Log into Hearthstone and complete the tutorial and the Starter Quest line.
- You will need to graduate from the New Player Ranks (Ranks 40-1).
- Upon completing these quests, you will be able to select your free Class Deck once you return to the main menu.
What Are In the Decks?
The free decks contain a mix of class cards and neutral cards from the Year of the Dragon sets and Classic. This will not only give you a starting deck to play the game but it will also boost your collection for future success - especially when you consider that the decks use popular archetypes. Full decklists can be found further below.
- Protip: If you already own a card that is in a deck, you still receive extra copies! Free Arcane Dust!
Which Classes Are the Decks For?
All of Hearthstone's 10 classes now have their own deck, with Demon Hunter being added in Madness at the Darkmoon Faire.
Which Deck Should I Choose?
A tough question with a complicated answer! We'll try to boil this down easily for you.
Best Free Decks for Returning Players
- We love the Demon Hunter deck. It is one of the more expensive decks which is always great for your collection but it is also just really well rounded.
- Druid and Priest lists offer the highest amount of dust, while also being solid decks themselves.
- The Paladin deck is full of cards from the latest two expansions - great value for a returning player!
Best Free Decks for New Players
- Anything aggressive (Aggro). They are simpler to play and will get you climbing the ladder!
- There are plenty of aggro decks available. Hunter is a good choice as it is one of Hearthstone's easier aggro classes to play.
What are the Full Decklists for the Free Decks?
You can find all the lists down below along with a quick description.
Demon Hunter - Malicia's Malice (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Demon Hunter Deck, Malicia's Malice, is a Tempo deck that uses the Soul Fragments introduced in Scholomance Academy.
Druid - Survival of the Fittest (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Druid Deck, Survival of the Fittest, is a combo & ramp deck. Overwhelm your opponent with Guardian Animals and Survival of the Fittest.
Hunter - Face is the Place (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Hunter Deck, Face is the Place, is an aggro deck. The title tell you what you need to know: no trading with this deck.
Mage - Spell-tacular! (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Mage Deck, Spell-tacular!, is a tempo deck! Generate tons of spells with Mana Cyclones and finish the game with cheap Mana Giants.
Paladin - Liadrin's Librams (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Paladin Deck, Liadrin's Librams, is a midrange deck that only uses Paladin cards and uses the Ashes of Outland Libram mechanic. Loads of newer cards in this deck make it a nice starter for Paladins lovers everywhere.
Priest - Scaled Souls (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Priest Deck, Scaled Souls, is a control deck. Keep the board clear and outvalue your opponent with Galakrond Invokes.
Rogue - Looking Sharp (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Rogue Deck, Looking Sharp, is an aggro deck. Take your enemies down with Stealth minions and weapon swings.
Shaman - Totemic Overload (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Shaman Deck, Totemic Overload, is a midrange deck. Buff and copy your Totems and end the game with Bloodlust.
Warlock - Small but Mighty (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Warlock Deck, Small but Mighty, is an aggro deck. Manipulate your Mana with Darkglare to go wide right from the start.
Warrior - Ahoy, Mateys! (Madness at the Darkmoon Faire)
The Warrior Deck, Ahoy, Mateys!, is a Pirate aggro deck. Your Pirates quickly jump onto the field and with your powerful weapon swings, you'll make your foes walk the plank.
The Old Returning Decks - Ashes of Outland
The concept of "new and returning decks" originated with Ashes of Outland. Here are the decks that were initially offered.
- These free decks were available starting on March 26, 2020 through July 30, 2020.
- To be eligible, you must have not signed-in to Hearthstone for the past 4 months starting on March 17, 2020.
The Old Returning Decks - Scholomance Academy
- These free decks were available starting on July 30, 2020 through November 12, 2020.
Comments
If you have signed say at the end of april for the last time, can you login at the end of august and still get a free deck?
The blog with these Scholomance-updated decks said that 120 days is the limit. As long as that is fulfilled, you're good to go.
If you want to get into Wild, Pirate Warrior is Tier 1 currently. It shares many common cards with the starter deck listed here, you only need to craft a few commons, Patches the Pirate and Leeroy Jenkins. Both of which are extremely safe crafts and are used in many other aggro decks.
How do you find out what is the date when you logged in for the last time? And don't tell me that I have to login to figure it out, I am not falling for that :)
I believe there is something in Battle.net account management that shows you.
This was always really annoying how long it would take to get the free deck, I had some friends that tried to join when they heard about it and after learning how long they would need to play to get it they immediately dipped out.
Hunter seems the best one
Rogue seems to be the best value...
Priest is just scary....
This time around Hunter seems to be the best one