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.
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 120 days 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 Phoenix sets, Forged in the Barrens, and the Core set. 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 Rogue, Shaman, and Warrior lists. They are really solid versions of well-performing decks from last expansion. As it stands, Shaman would likely perform the best in United in Stormwind meta.
- Druid, Mage, Rogue, and Shaman decks have the most non-Core set legendaries for the best rarity value.
- The Demon Hunter deck has plenty of cards from the previous expansion - 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 and tempo decks available. Shaman seems like the best choice.
What are the Full Decklists for the Free Decks?
You can find all the lists down below along with a quick description.
Demon Hunter - Rattling Rascals (United in Stormwind)
The Demon Hunter Deck, Rattling Rascals, is a Tempo deck that takes advantage of the Deathrattle mechanic.
Druid - Get Buff with Guff (United in Stormwind)
The Druid Deck, Get Buff with Guff, is a midrange deck. In addition to Taunt synergies the deck plans to swing the tempo with Guff Runetotem combined with a bunch of Nature spells.
Hunter - Raptor Frenzy! (United in Stormwind)
The Hunter Deck, Raptor Frenzy!, is an aggro deck. Hunt your opponent down with your Beast friends.
Mage - Magical Trio (United in Stormwind)
The Mage Deck, Magical Trio, is a tempo deck! Fight for the board and build up for the decisive Mordresh Fire Eye swing.
Paladin - Cariel's Chosen (United in Stormwind)
The Paladin Deck, Cariel's Chosen, is a midrange deck that heavily utilizes the Libram mechanic.
Priest - Power of the Sun (United in Stormwind)
The Priest Deck, Power of the Sun, is a control deck. Keep your opponent's minions in check while building up your own board.
Rogue - Scabb's Scoundrels (United in Stormwind)
The Rogue Deck, Scabb's Scoundrels, is a tempo deck. Swing the game with miracle turns enabled by Efficient Octo-bot and Field Contact.
Shaman - Brukan's Thunder (United in Stormwind)
The Shaman Deck, Brukan's Thunder, is a aggro deck. Use the Elemental synergies to keep ahead on the board and beat your opponent down with Doomhammer and spells.
Warlock - Roaming Souls (United in Stormwind)
The Warlock Deck, Roaming Souls, is a tempo deck. Manipulate your Health with the Soul Fragment mechanic to get some cheap Flesh Giants.
Warrior - Feel the Rush (United in Stormwind)
The Warrior Deck, Feel the Rush, is a midrange deck. Take advantage of the handbuffs and Rush mechanic to stay ahead on the board.
Previously Available New & Returning Player Decks
Here are all the decks that were available to new and returning players during Forged in the Barrens.
Old Decks From Year of the Phoenix
Looking for the old decks from Year of the Phoenix? We've added them to our archive over here.
Comments
Are there any infos on the new decks for returning players yet?
They were announced couple of days ago but we missed it with all the expansion launch stuff. The guide has now been updated.
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